Maybe... One Day...

"I'll get there someday, but for now... baby steps, everypony, baby steps."
Those words seemed like a lifetime ago. Fluttershy smiled to herself as she stood behind the curtain, her eyes closed, maintaining her calm composure. Familiar anxiety pushed at the corners of her mind, but she held firm. She wasn't going to let her fear stop her from doing this. She wasn't going to let it keep her from doing something she loved.
Beyond the curtain, the audience was waiting, her friends amongst them, watching from the Royal Box beside the stage. She wouldn't let them down. Inhaling deeply, Fluttershy opened her eyes, staring at the red velvet curtain. It was time. She nodded to a pony off to one side, and he immediately started working the pulley. The curtain rolled away, the light flooded down on her, the crowd offered a welcoming round of applause. Once, Fluttershy would have turned and ran, escaping the spotlight and the eyes of hundreds of ponies... but not tonight. Her heart thundered in her chest and her legs gave a shake, but it was excitement, not fear.
Casting a glance up to her friends, the yellow pegasus gave them her sweetest smile - a silent thank you for being there. Her friends clopped their hooves extra hard, AJ, Dashie and Pinkie whooping their support, ignoring the disapproving glances of the fancy ponies down in the audience. The shy mare thought she could see the glint of tears in their eyes as they looked down on her, their pride and love overwhelming to see their friend come so far.
She had to hold back a tear of her own as she watched them.
Turning back to her vast audience, Fluttershy stepped to the middle of the stage, and on cue the lights lowered, leaving her in a single bright spotlight. She took a deep breath to steady herself and nodded. The sweetest, melancholy music began to creep from the band beside the stage, and Fluttershy began to sing. A song of joy. A song of hope. A song of love. Her gentle voice could've brought Nightmare Moon herself to heel, her perfect tones and heartfelt words breaking the hearts of every pony present.
It was simply wonderful. A tear escaped down Fluttershy's cheek as she sang, hoping this dream would last forever.
Maybe one day, she wouldn't have to dream.
Maybe one day, this would be real.
Maybe... one day...

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So, looking over my past work, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't given Fluttershy as much attention as the rest of the Mane 6, and so this is my attempt to change that. I wanted to do something with a lot of feeling behind it, and the idea of Shy overcoming her fears and being able to do something she loves really appealed to me. I know some people will say it's out of character for her, but hell, it's nice to bend the rules once in a while.
Overall, I like how this picture turned out, though I do wish I'd reconsidered my spacing a little, letting me show off Shy's dress (and everyone else's dresses too). But never mind, I like the end product

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