The Road to Romance

It was Tuesday night. The stars were spread across the sky, the distant sound of crickets and the occasional frog accented the otherwise silent night, and Rainbow Dash was waving her hoof in Fluttershy's face.

"Equestria to Fluttershy, you there?"

Fluttershy blinked twice and shook her head to clear her mind. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I must seem so awful. I mean, I invited you here and I keep getting distracted."

"Nah, it's cool." Rainbow Dash pulled Fluttershy into a quick hug. "See? I don't hate you. Anyway, you were gonna tell me something?"

Fluttershy tried to hide her growing blush. "I-I was?"

"Um, yeah. You said you had something important to say, then you totally spaced out on me again."

"Oh, right." Fluttershy took a deep breath to calm her nerves. This was it, the moment she'd been spending days preparing for. "R-Rainbow Dash, I wrote a poem for you."

"A... poem?" Rainbow Dash stared incredulously. "Can't say I was expecting that. Go on."

Fluttershy nodded and opened her mouth to begin.

...And froze up. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember the poem she had written for the life of her. Oh horsefeathers, what am I supposed to do now? Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, who was staring at her, waiting for a poem. I guess I'll just have to make something up.

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "Um... Roses are red, violets are—Wait, no. Can I start over?"

Rainbow nodded. "Take your time. This must be one hay of a poem if it has you this nervous."

"Y-yes, it is." Fluttershy closed her eyes so as to focus better. "Roses are red, dandelions are yellow... I can't do it. I'm sorry, Rarity."

"Rarity...?"

Fluttershy snapped her eyes open and shook her head. "Um, Rainbow Dash. Can I just skip to the end of the poem?"

"Um, sure, I guess...?"

"Okay." Fluttershy closed her eyes again so she wouldn't have to look at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, I really like you."

Just like that, the secret was out in the open. It was like a weight had been lifted off Fluttershy's shoulders.  She let out a deep breath she hadn't known she had been holding and—

"I figured as much."

"That's— wait, what? H-how?"

"Well, we're good friends and friends usually like each other, so... yeah?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No no no, I really like you."

"I'm not sure I get what you're trying to say, 'Shy." Rainbow raised a confused eyebrow.

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, too nervous to make anything even slightly resembling eye contact. "Um, I-I'm trying to ask you out. Like on a date."

Rainbow's eyes popped open. "Oh! Uh, I knew that. I, um..." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I'm not really sure how to respond to that."

"But you don't hate me?"

"No, no! I could never hate you, Fluttershy. It was just unexpected, is all." Rainbow stopped for a second to think. "Like I said, I don't know how to respond. I really like you too—as a friend, at least for now—and it doesn't sound like a bad idea, but it just came completely out of the blue. Can you give me a day or two to think?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Okay, take your time. Just let me know when you've decided."

"Will do. Now, are we gonna eat or what?" Rainbow Dash tore into her daisy sandwich as if she hadn't just been asked on a date by her best friend.

Despite the fact that Rainbow didn't explicitly say no, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Part of her had expected Rainbow to give her an ecstatic "yes" before commencing in cuddles (or whatever it is that couples do). Then again, that part of her had expected to recite a long, romantic poem confessing her burning love. I suppose all I can do now is wait, the shy pegasus thought, taking a sip from her apple juice box.

* * * * * * * * * *

Fluttershy spent the next two days worrying that Rainbow Dash would not only say no, but that she wouldn't want to be friends anymore for some reason. She mentally chided herself for coming on too heavy, too suddenly. She hadn't even been certain Rainbow was even into mares! Besides, if she said no and they stayed friends, things would be awkward between the two. Fluttershy, you really shouldn't just jump into things headfirst like that.

Thursday morning, Fluttershy was walking through the market, trying to find the perfect head of lettuce. Angel had been restless lately (in this case, "restless" means "kicking away all bowls of food offered to him") due to inadequate lettuce, and Fluttershy hoped to fix that. After all, an unhappy Angel makes for a vegetable-lined cottage. She was so busy comparing two similar lettuce stands that she didn't notice Rainbow flying up behind her.

"Hey, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy turned around and gave her friend a small smile. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. Aren't you supposed to be working...?"

"Nah, it's cool. We're just taking care of some stray clouds today." Rainbow landed and walked up to Fluttershy. "Anyway, I wanted to talk about your question the other night."

Fluttershy's heart started pounding. This was it, the moment she'd been waiting two days for. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst. "Y-yes?"

"I'd be willing to give it a shot."

Fluttershy stood in shocked silence, her jaw practically on the ground. She had been absolutely certain that Rainbow would say no. After all, what would someone as cool as the Rainbow Dash see in a shy worrywart such as herself?

After a few seconds, Fluttershy finally managed a response. "Y-you would?"

"Sure. I mean, I'm cool and you're cool, so together we'd be the coolest couple in Equestria, right?" Rainbow struck a pose, causing Fluttershy to let out a nervous giggle. "Really though, I'm up for trying it out. We're best friends, so what's the worst that could happen?"

Fluttershy was so excited she could hardly even think. Hay, she hadn't been this excited since the Great Butterfly Migration. Her response consisted of nervous mumbling and a weak "yes".

"Anyway, you wanted to take me out on a date?" Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, who nodded in response. "How does tomorrow night sound?"

"S-sounds good. I was thinking we could go to this new restaurant down on Hoofington Street for dinner."

"I dunno what restaurant that is, but I'm sure you have better taste in food than me. Hay, I would have picked a Burger Colt or something."

"Alright, see you around seven?"

"Sure thing. I'll drop by to pick you up." Rainbow started to fly off. "Sorry, Flutters, gotta get back to work!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy waved at the departing pegasus, still high on excitement. I can't believe she actually said yes! Now I'm gonna have to get a nice dress...

* * * * * * * * * *

Rarity prided herself on being a hard worker, no matter the hour. To this extent, she would usually work even during what would normally be her lunch break, levitating whatever she was eating that day by her side while stitching her dress of the hour. As such, she was in the middle of eating when Fluttershy came into the room.

"Um, hello Rarity, I.. Are you eating a fried hay sandwich?"

Rarity shrieked and threw her plate at the wall. "Fluttershy, I believe I put up a sign saying I'm at lunch, did I not?"

"Um, I don't remember seeing any signs on the door."

Rarity sighed and regained her composure. "Bah, I must have forgotten. No worries, it's in the past anyway, as it 'twere." She got up and made her way over to her friend. "Anyway, do you need something, Fluttershy?"

"Well, I asked Rainbow Dash out, and—"

Rarity cut her off with a squeal. "Oh my heavens, darling! What did she say?"

"She said yes and—"

"Oh, this is just wonderful! Have you two planned a date yet?"

"Yes, we're going to Le Fleur tomorrow night." Fluttershy waited a few seconds to see if Rarity would interrupt again. After receiving a nod from Rarity, she continued. "I came here to see if you could make me a dress—"

"Oh, I'd love to! I'll make sure you look absolutely fabulous!" Rarity stopped as soon as she saw the slightly irritated (or at least as irritated as she could pull off) look on Fluttershy's face. "Oh, sorry. Continue."

Fluttershy nodded. "Thank you, Rarity. I don't really want anything fancy, but I want to look nice for my first date."

"Understood. I'll have something whipped up for you by tomorrow night." Rarity let out another squeal. "This is just so exciting! I take it you're going to need more advice for tomorrow?"

Fluttershy blinked. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea what to do at the date. "Um, if you don't mind."

"Well, be sure to order the same thing as her. There's nothing more romantic than ordering the same thing on a first date!"

"Okay, got it. Anything else?"

Rarity thought for a second. "Oh, I think Le Fleur has a string quartet in the back. Ask them to play Rainbow Dash's favorite song while you eat!"

"Will do. Is that all?"

"All that I can think of for now. Anyway, about your dress..."