A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Ship
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A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Ship
“Break, boys. Time out, whatever the hell, I need a drink.”
The moment Hoops called the break, the tense stances of the other nine players became relaxed, and all of them quickly made their way to the set of benches beside their court, panting and eager for a drink.
It had finally stopped bugging Rainbow Dash that he referred to the group as boys. Since she was the only girl who had ever played Cloudball with the rough group of athletes, or perhaps the only girl they considered up to their standards, it had bugged her at first, but now she recognized it as a sign of acceptance rather than an insult. After all, she didn't know any female Cloudball players, and it really was her favorite group sport, so she was willing to make some compromises.
“Dash, good hustle.” A teammate of hers clapped her on the shoulder after she had managed to spot and grab her bottle from the others that they kept in a cooler. “Those one pump dunks were sick, you been working on your wing strength?”
“Always,” Rainbow paused to squirt a long stream of water into her mouth, then to squirt a bit more on her head and neck, “I'm aiming for the Wonderbolts, remember? Two pump dunks won't cut it.”
Cloudball had nothing directly to do with the Wonderbolts, it was just a fun way of pushing herself and mixing up her work out routines. The object of it was to get the game ball into her team's designated hoop on the opposite side of the court, with the other team's objective being the same. The catch though, was that the two adjacent hoops were several yards up in the air, constructed from clouds, and nearly impossible to reach by simply throwing the ball. Wings were required, though only two pumps of a player's wings are allowed when scoring a goal.
“You still on that Wonderbolt fantasy?” Dash shot a glare at Dumbbell, who always seemed to have a hard time keeping his opinions to himself. He had a haughty smirk on his face, as he did most of the time, and it was always a challenge for Dash to resist getting into arguments with him. She had learned to remove herself from the situation when she got heated, so she turned and walked a few yards away from the rest of the players. By the time the game started back up, her frustration would have died down, and she would be ready to score some more points.
She was drinking some more water when she felt a light tap on her shoulder, much too dainty to be any of the guys. She turned around to see Fluttershy, who greeted her with a warm smile.
“Hey, Fluttershy! What are you doing over here?”
“Oh, I had to stop by the market to get some more seeds for my garden... radishes grow so well this time of year, but Angel decided to help himself to the patch yesterday.” Fluttershy shook her head, but there was a lighthearted smile on her face. Dash herself couldn't help from snickering at the thought of the discussion she had with that little entitled rabbit. “What are you doing here?”
“Playing a game of Cloudball. You want to watch us finish up? We're 2 points behind, but I'm gonna be-”
“Um, no, I'm sorry, I don't think that's a good idea.” Fluttershy had noticed something behind Dash, and didn't seem to like what she saw. “Besides, I need to get these planted. G-good luck on your game.” She quickly turned and started off, and Dash didn't even need to turn around to see what had set Fluttershy heading for the hills.
“That your girl, Dash, or is she up for grabs?”
Rainbow Dash turned to see Dumbbell standing only a foot or two away, and blatantly watching Fluttershy as she left.
“What?” She was taken off guard for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. “She's a good friend, and I'm sure she hates you for being a jerk all through flight camp.”
“Wait, is that... That's Klutzershy? I forgot all about her...” His gaze continued to look past Rainbow Dash, and he muttered, “All grown up, damn...”
“Stop looking at her like that.” Rainbow Dash's angry command didn't seem to sit well with Dumbbell. He turned his attention back to Dash, who was clearly full of a fury she was only barely able to contain. He had lost his typical smirk, and looked more angry than amused.
“I'd say I'm nearly a foot taller than you, probably close to a hundred fifty pounds more, too. And you want to try and give me orders, dyke?”
“I'm not a dyke!”
Somehow they had nearly closed the small space between them, with Dash glaring up at the muscle head looming over her.
“Right, right... 'cept everyone in flight camp knew, with you always lingering in the locker rooms ten minutes after everyone else. We guessed you were panty raiding, like the pervert you are.”
“You're disgusting.”
The smirk had returned on Dumbbell's face, and with a tone that seemed oddly jovial for the situation he was in, he said, “Get out of here, before I beat the gay out of you.”
A tense few seconds passed, the two unwavering in their contemptuous glares, though Dumbbell had that smile on as he waited for a response. She wanted to swing her already balled fists at him, but the more sensible part of her brain, the tiny portion that was uninfluenced by her anger, was telling her this wouldn't end well if she didn't leave right now.
She turned, but only managed one step before Dumbbell spoke.
“Hang on.”
Rainbow stopped, but didn't turn back to look at him.
“Could you let her know I'm available, Dash? I'm sure she'd jump at the opportunity to get away from a creep like-”
He was cut off mid sentence as Dash spun back around and slugged him, square in the face. Somehow he hadn't expected it, and was sent reeling backwards, but wasn't granted the luxury of recovering long enough to give a returning blow. Dash had spread her cyan wings and flew straight at him, tackling him with enough speed so he that he skid along the asphalt court for several feet. She managed to get three more punches in on him before she was yanked off by two quick acting teammates. She struggled to get free in a blind rage, thrashing and yelling threats at the two men holding her, though they kept a good grip on her. Dumbbell was offered help up by other teammates, but he refused.
His left eye had the beginnings of a dark bruise, and there was blood trickling from his nose and dripping off of his chin. There were also several feathers scattered around him, and more fell as he stood.
“She's insane!”
“Shut up!” Dash spat, but Dumbbell turned his attention from her to the other men around him.
“Tell me you're gonna kick her off the team for this?”
The other players exchanged a look, and Dash's heart sank.
“But he was... you don't... you can't actually-”
Hoops spoke up before she could interrupt further, “We've never had a fight like that break out before.” He looked sad, but that didn't make her feel any better. “Maybe you can make another team...”
Dash had been doing some light flying, trying to relax after the ordeal at the Cloudball court. The whole thing pissed her off, and yet she felt a bit embarrassed about it. She couldn't remember ever feeling as upset as she did when she swung that first punch. It was horrible, being that mad at someone... she didn't feel like herself, all she felt was that overwhelming anger.
She sighed and decided to try and find a nice cloud to nap on. She hadn't been paying the slightest attention to where her wings were taking her, and when she finally looked down, she frowned.
She was practically right above Fluttershy's cottage. That was an odd coincidence... but that was all it was. She had been paying no attention to her flying, she couldn't have ended up here on purpose...
But she was here. It wouldn't hurt to take the opportunity to chat with Fluttershy. She had a way of cheering Dash up, though the times when she needed cheering up were few and far between.
Dash made up her mind, and descended towards Fluttershy's cottage, landing lightly in front of her door.
“Hey, it's Rainbow Dash, you home?” She decided not to knock, since last time she did, she had disturbed some sort of bird's nest that was built above the doorway, and ended up getting attacked and chased off by its angry occupants.
Her yell worked, at least; Fluttershy answered the door shortly afterwards.
“Hey,” Dash noticed there was a little rodent in her arms, “What's with the rat?”
“She's not a rat, she's a gerbil.” The gerbil had been lying limp across Fluttershy's arm, seemingly passed out, but when Fluttershy corrected Rainbow Dash, she sat up for a moment and gave a curt nod... but then collapsed once again.
“Priscilla has been horribly wounded, she needs immediate medical attention.” Fluttershy leaned in towards Dash, and whispered, “Not really, she's a bit dramatic...”
The little gerbil... 'Priscilla' had thrown a paw dramatically on her forehead, as if on cue, and Dash chuckled.
“Mind if I watch? Not every day you get to witness a medical miracle.”
Fluttershy stifled a laugh, probably for Priscilla's sake.
“Of course.”
Rainbow Dash followed after Fluttershy as she went back into the cottage, closing the door behind them.
Fluttershy set Priscilla down on the coffee table in front of her couch, on top of a few sheets of paper towels that were already set up there, then sat down beside the table, with Dash joining her on the floor. “We're going to have to perform a complicated surgical procedure to remove that splinter...”
Priscilla writhed at the mention of the splinter, gesturing a few times to her supposedly afflicted paw. Dash looked at it though, and didn't spot anything. Before she could ask, Fluttershy quietly answered, “I already pulled it out...”
“Are you serious?” Dash had to hold back more laughter, then decided to move to the couch so she didn't end up angering the fuzzy drama queen. “I'll be over here, forgot to sterilize... or something...”
She sprawled out on the couch, her feet dangling off the side, over the armrest.
“So why did you stop by?”
“No reason. Just thought I'd see what you were up to.”
“Ah... ok.” Dash wasn't watching Fluttershy's progress with Priscilla, but the little gerbil suddenly squealed in agony... which was probably completely imaginary. Fluttershy didn't sound phased by it. “Did you win your game?”
“Um... no.”
“Oh, I'm sorry.” Fluttershy turned her attention from Dash to the gerbil. “All right Priscilla, you should be able to take that cast off by next week.”
Rainbow Dash looked over to see Priscilla expressing her gratitude by nuzzling Fluttershy's hand, then she hopped off the table and scurried into a little hole in a nearby wall. She doubted any of that would have been possible if she was actually injured.
“Well, there's always next time... for your game, I mean.”
“Yeah... well, no, not really.” Dash sighed, and finally looked at Fluttershy, who was still sitting on the floor. “I beat up Dumbbell and they kicked me off their team.”
“You got into a fight? Are you okay?”
“I'm fine... he didn't really get a chance to hit me back.” She shook her head at the memory of it, recalling how unusually angry she felt. “I've never just attacked someone like that before... but looking back, I don't regret it. It seemed... right. I don't know...”
Fluttershy had gotten up from the floor and moved to sit on the couch, taking the cushion farthest from Dash, who had moved her feet out of the way. She didn't say anything though, so Dash continued.
“He was just taking things too far. He kept...” She frowned, remembering how Fluttershy had been what started the argument between them. “... kept calling me gay. A dyke, a pervert... he was just asking for it.”
“Why would he call you any of those things?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “I don't know, because he's an asshole? He said I always stayed behind everyone else in the locker rooms, which apparently means I'm a lesbian.”
Fluttershy looked down at the floor for a moment, then turned back to Dash, smiling a bit. “You did that because you would give me a pep talk... every day. I never wanted to come out, but you always got me to.”
“Yeah... that's right.”
There was a short silence, then Fluttershy spoke again.
“You were the only one who didn't give up on me, you know. I know now I wasn't meant to be a good flyer, but the fact that you never let me quit... I'm sorry you're being teased about it, but it really meant so much to-”
“Yeah, okay Fluttershy, you don't gotta get all sappy on me.”
“Sorry...” Fluttershy seemed a bit embarrassed, which made Dash regret interrupting her. “I should probably start getting some dinner ready for Angel and I...”
She started to stand, but Dash put her legs on her lap before she could, keeping her on the couch. “Am I not invited?”
“Of course you are... if you want.”
“I do, I don't think I've ever had your cooking.” Dash removed her legs, allowing Fluttershy to get up, “Are you any good at it?”
“At cooking?” Fluttershy had started for the kitchen, and Rainbow Dash followed shortly after. “No, I'm horrible. Really, really awful. You should save yourself, before it's too late.”
“Sarcasm! I like it!” Dash had pulled out a seat from the kitchen table and turned it around, sitting on it backwards. Fluttershy flashed a modest smile at her. “See, there's a first time for everything. For you it's being sarcastic, for me it's trying your weird vegetarian cooking.
Fluttershy had turned away from Dash, and was having a hard time reaching a book on top of her fridge, standing on her tip-toes in an attempt to retrieve it. Instead of offering help, Dash zoned out as she watched her friend struggle. The slight bounce in her step she had displayed just a moment ago, when she entered the kitchen, and the fact she was joking around for once, it was clear she was very happy about something. Was it because of her? She didn't visit Fluttershy as much as she probably should... maybe she needed to do that more often. Fluttershy was an introvert, and close with her animal friends, so Dash had figured she didn't need visitors, but that didn't seem to be true at all.
Fluttershy had finally grabbed the book, which appeared to be a recipe book, and held it out to Dash.
“You want to pick something out?”
Dash looked at the book, then back to Fluttershy. “Nah, surprise me.”
“Well... okay.” She folded her arms, seemingly thinking of what to make. “Oh, I know!”
She wasted no time getting to work, setting a pot of water on the stove to boil, and retrieving several different vegetables from the fridge, which she began to dice up. She was very focused, and it was interesting to watch all the work she was putting into the meal, since Dash never bothered making anything that would take longer than ten minutes.
Though the water was starting to boil, the dull chop of Fluttershy's knife against the cutting board was the only other sound. It was too quiet for Dash's tastes.
“I changed my mind.”
“Hmm? On what?”
“On the sappy. Feel free to tell me what an awesome friend I am.” Dash laughed before adding, “Or just how awesome I am in general.”
“Oh...”
Fluttershy slid the sliced up veggies off of the board and into the boiling water, then opened a nearby cupboard and began looking for something.
“Well... we're very different. You have a lot of qualities that... that I sometimes wish I had. You're outgoing, brave, motivated...strong, in every way. But it suits you better than it would me, or... anyone else, really. You light up when you talk about the Wonderbolts, and you're so determined, I know you'll be there one day. You have so much going for you... I'm sorry, can you reach this?”
Fluttershy had found what she was looking for, but it was on the top shelf and just a bit out of reach. Dash quickly got up and went to grab the container of what appeared to be vegetable broth, and handed it to her. She went on talking, and Dash leaned against the nearby counter.
“Um... right, you're going places. You've gotten caught up in the spotlight before, but I think... you've learned how to stay more down to earth because of it. You're my best friend... I hope you know that, and... I hope you'll remember that, no matter where you end up.”
Dash was unsure how to respond right away. She certainly was a proud individual, but no one had ever flattered her so completely and so genuinely. Well, Scootaloo had, but she was just a kid. Fluttershy was someone who had known her long enough to be familiar with her flaws, yet still seemed to revere her.
She wanted to say thank you, first and foremost, but that sounded too small after a speech like that.
Fluttershy had finished with the broth and was standing right next to Rainbow Dash, again trying to reach the top shelf.
“I got it.”
And she was going to help, and put the container on the shelf, and then say thanks for all the flattery. That was what she was going to do. But it didn't end up happening that way.
She took the container, and absentmindedly set it on the counter. Fluttershy had somehow caught her gaze, which Dash held for only a second, before kissing her.
She didn't know where it had come from, it was an impulse that overtook her so suddenly she didn't have time to think about it before she acted on it.
It wasn't spectacular, just a quick kiss on the lips, and Dash had pulled away, leaning back against the counter as she tried to gauge Fluttershy's response. She had closed her eyes for the kiss, and when they opened, she was staring intently at Dash, who found herself staring back. Again, it didn't last long, but this time Fluttershy abruptly turned and walked over to the stove.
She turned it off. That was an odd thing to do, half way through cooking something.
“What are you doing?”
“I don't... I don't want my house to burn down.”
Dash's voice was hushed, and she couldn't seem to return to her normal speaking volume. “You could, you know... finish making it.”
Dash crossed her arms tightly over her chest, watching as Fluttershy removed the pot from the heated burner and carelessly tossed the knife and cutting board into the sink. Dash was trying to resist a wave of panic that seemed ready to wash over her... what had she just done?
Dash decided to say something, apologize maybe, but before she had a chance, Fluttershy had suddenly turned back around and was walking towards her. She pressed herself against Dash, as unexpectedly as anything else that had just happened. She had her hands on Dash's bare shoulders, and began running them down her arms. Her touch was light and exceedingly delicate, yet it stirred some sort of fire inside Dash.
Dash didn't move, though. She didn't know what was expected of her, so she just stayed still and watched. Fluttershy had cracked a small smile, and had this look in her eye that Dash hadn't ever seen before.
“Have you heard of fainting goats?”
Fluttershy's voice sounded calm. Much more calm than Dash expected her own voice to sound. It was an odd question anyway, so Dash decided to spare herself the chance of having her voice cracking, and didn't respond.
“They freeze up whenever they're scared. And then pass out.” Fluttershy had reached Dash's wrists with her hands, but instead of stopping there, she started inching her hands up under her jersey.
“You can freeze, but please don't pass out.”
“I'm not scared.” Dash's voice had sounded better than she expected, more confident, and at a normal volume. That was good, at least. But then she tried to keep going. "This is sudden, I didn't... I mean I don't- I'm not scared, but..."
Fluttershy removed her hands from her jersey and rested them on the counter behind Dash. She was looking up at her, her smile becoming more of a smirk... since when did Fluttershy smirk?
“Prove it, then.”
Dash didn't move, and Fluttershy dropped her self-assured gaze, though the smirk wasn't going anywhere. She began unfolding Dash's arms, her touch once again igniting a heat in her, but this time it was a bit stronger, more nagging, unable to be ignored. She wasn't able to fight it any more.
Dash kissed her, with a sort of aggressive desperation this time, though Fluttershy reciprocated it fully. Something that had been building up for years was finally being released, and neither of them seemed capable of handling it calmly.
Moments ago Dash had been feeling an anxiety similar to how she felt before the Best Young Flyers Competition, but it was gone now. Dash was hardly aware they had been moving, and as Fluttershy bumped into something behind her, both of them jumped, breaking the kiss.
It was the kitchen table. Without missing a beat, Dash lifted Fluttershy up on to the edge of it and returned to kissing her, though this time it was her neck.
As with most clothes made for their kind, Fluttershy's sundress lacked an upper back portion to it, so her wings weren't constricted, but it still had a zipper on the lower portion. Dash had reached behind her and zipped it down, thankful that it wasn't anything more complicated than that.
Fluttershy slipped out of the dress, and as more skin was revealed, Dash worked her way downwards. Her dress must have had some sort of support built into it, as once it was gone, the only thing she wore were panties.
It was a marvel how incredibly soft she was. Dash would have been content just to get a feel of her for the next hour or so, but the way Fluttershy was gripping her jersey and breathing in ragged but silent gasps... she doubted that idea would go over well.
Her lips were now not far under her breasts; she had left a visible trail of bites from her neck down to the top of her stomach, and at this point Fluttershy seemed to be putty in her hands. She had been bold and domineering earlier, but now she just seemed to be aroused beyond coherency.
Dash began pushing Fluttershy to lie down as she joined her on the table. She kicked off her shoes and slipped off her jersey in the process of situating them both. It didn't seem comfortable, but Fluttershy clearly didn't care. Dash was being lightly tugged back down into a kiss, which she allowed as she scaled Fluttershy's leg with one hand.
And suddenly, Dash was being assailed by chunks of carrots.
“Ow! What the hell?”
She sat up and spotted a little white rabbit standing in the kitchen doorway, throwing well aimed carrot slices at Dash's head. She held up a hand to block them, but he didn't stop throwing them.
“What's your problem?!”
Fluttershy finally sat up, though she had a dazed, glossy look on her face. Angel had run out of carrots, and turned his attention to her, communicating with a slew of elaborate gestures.
She seemed to be understanding what he was saying, and started to look upset. He wasn't done by the time Fluttershy spoke, though her adamant tone seemed to cut him off.
“Angel, you don't have a say in this.”
He slapped a paw on his face, in apparent disbelief, then turned his attention to Dash and started up with more gestures.
“... What is he saying?”
“He said you're a foul temptress, and you should be ashamed for coercing me to join you in your depravity.”
Dash raised an eyebrow at the enraged bunny, then looked back to Fluttershy.
“I'm not sure what that means, but can you tell him to get lost?”
“He won't listen...” Fluttershy got off of the table, and took Rainbow Dash's hand as she also hopped down. “We should go upstairs.”
Dash smirked, and started to follow, but after glancing at Angel, who was having a tantrum, she stopped.
“Wait... I'll grab our clothes. Meet you up there in a sec.”
Fluttershy dropped her hand, and with a suggestive smile that sent a pleasant shiver through Rainbow Dash, she left the kitchen. Angel was now desperately looking around for anything else he could throw.
Dash picked up Fluttershy's dress, her own shoes and jersey, then went over and nudged Angel with her foot. “If you don't want to hear her screaming my name, you should bounce, furball.”
He looked livid, and tried to bite her foot, but she pulled it away and darted out of the kitchen, running to Fluttershy's bedroom fast enough to break records.
Author's Note
I believe there's a quote from a movie that describes my pony-related fics pretty well. It goes... hang on, lemme remember...
"It's so fluffy, I'm gonne die!" - Agnes, Despicable Me
Fluttershy had a hard time fitting in with the other kids her age, and as her father, Sun Strider was always alert for any hints that her school day hadn't gone well. Even as subtle as those hints often times were, his parental intuition had yet to fail him, and he had come to learn that Fluttershy slipping into their cloud home without a word and quickly resigning to her room was typically a bad sign.
He was always prepared to give her a hug, offer support, or listen to Fluttershy recount the bullying she encountered all too often. On the outside he was always collected and compassionate, but internally his anger would flare at the children who were so dedicated to making his daughter's days miserable. Ruthless bullying is not something any parent ever wants their kids to experience, and Sun Strider was no different.
Today though, this was odd. Fluttershy had been withdrawn from school, and today was her last day. With her interest in the ground below becoming more and more evident over the past few years, and her undeniable talent with the animals there, arrangements had been made for her to move and live alongside her earthbound friends. Sun Strider hadn't been very involved in the preparations, the woodland animals had taken care of most of it, and had even built her a cottage all on their own. He had simply been asked for his approval, which he happily gave. Fluttershy was such a gentle girl, and the animals there treated her with the kindness and respect her father knew she so deserved.
It was meant to be a good day, she had been so excited in the morning, and Sun Strider had expected her to be even more excited about moving into her new home shortly after her last day at flight school. Well, that obviously wasn't the case. Something had to have upset her.
Sun Strider hesitated for a moment outside her room before opening the fluffy cloud door and poking his head inside. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, and only acknowledged her father with a tearful glance. Sun Strider didn't need any invitation at that point, he immediately went to sit beside her and put an arm around his daughter's shoulders.
“What did they say to you? I don't have to play nice any more, you know... I'd love to tell those parents they've raised a bunch of brats.”
“No, no one said anything...”
Fluttershy was wiping her eyes, and when she lowered her hands she was met by her father's questioning gaze.
“I didn't get to say goodbye to Rainbow Dash. She wasn't there today.”
The tears were threatening to return, so Sun Strider quickly pulled her into a hug. “It's okay... you're not going to be living too far away, I'll make sure she knows she can visit any time.”
Fluttershy's only friend for years was something of a local athletic star. Sun Strider couldn't have thanked Rainbow Dash enough for looking out for his daughter all this time. They had never formally met, he really only knew her through the things Fluttershy said, but she still sounded like a great person to have as a friend.
“No, I think she skipped on purpose... she knew I was leaving today, I told her at the beginning of the week.”
Sun Strider had released Fluttershy from his hug. She was looking away from him, towards the pure white floor by her feet, so he got off the bed and knelt down on one knee in front of her, making himself harder to avoid. She looked away again, but when he spoke she turned back to him.
“Now, I know that's not true, Fluttershy. And you know it too, she's your friend.”
“If she was my friend she would have said goodbye.”
Fluttershy wasn't one to assert herself, but her unusually sharp tone made it clear pushing the conversation further would probably end badly. Sun Strider didn't want to drop it, but he was at a loss. Fluttershy was more like her mother, he was sure she would have been able to handle moments like these much better than he could.
It wasn't the course of action Sun Strider wanted to take, but he decided it might be best to give her some time to herself. He gave her another quick, reassuring hug before standing up and leaving her room.
Over time Rainbow Dash had learned that reputations among athletes required just as much maintenance as workout routines. Sure, once she got a chance to show her skills, her sheer awesomeness would speak for itself, but even when she wasn't blowing away her competition or wowing a crowd she still needed an outstanding reputation. Luckily, keeping her public image up to the standards she had set for herself was easy enough, but part of that was showing no signs of weakness, revealing no soft spots. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she did have a few of those, but really, no one else needed to know that.
Or, that was what she used to think.
For the sake of her dignity, Dash really should have just written off sappy romantic emotions as strictly forbidden. It fell into the weakness category, without a doubt. But her discovery of romance had been so unexpected, and it wasn't something that she had ever struggled with in the past... actually, it was something she hadn't even encountered before. She simply hadn't thought herself to be the type that could fall so easily for another person.
Well, she had been wrong.
If she could get herself to think clearly for a moment she might be able to really see how uncool she had become. She had been reduced to a lovestruck, affectionate, star gazing, daydreaming... mess, and she knew it should bother her, but it didn't.
In fact, she felt great.
And for some reason, she often had to fight off the impulse to tell everyone just how great she felt. She had never known mere feelings could be so... intense, and keeping them hidden away was sometimes unexpectedly tricky. And it really didn't help that her relationship with Fluttershy had somehow become predominantly nonverbal.
Not that Rainbow Dash would know from experience, but it seemed pretty backwards. Three weeks had gone by since their original hook up, and their relationship hadn't progressed beyond seemingly casual sex. Dash had waited a few days without saying anything, expecting Fluttershy to bring up a discussion about whatever was happening between them, but she never did. So, Dash found the courage to bring it up herself, but Fluttershy had immediately seduced her to silence. It went on that way for a few days, with Dash attempting to initiate the conversation, and Fluttershy not so subtly avoiding it.
There weren't many things that could make Rainbow Dash feel insecure, but Fluttershy dodging any attempts to solidify their relationship was apparently one of those things.
A week later Dash had given up. As head over heels as she was, she decided that having some sort of unspoken friends with benefits deal was better than just returning to being friends with Fluttershy. She couldn't even imagine going back to being just friends, and clearly Fluttershy wasn't interested in anything more...
“But then I realized that I'm awesome, and Fluttershy probably just needs a reminder of my awesomeness.”
Tank always gave his undivided attention when Dash spoke, but then again, he couldn't exactly contribute to the conversation. Still, when she visited the tortoise habitat on the ground below her cloud home, he always lit up and seemed interested in whatever she had to say. Since she couldn't really talk about her relationship problems with any of her human friends, Tank had been her go to listener when she felt like venting... Actually, it was usually doting over Fluttershy, not venting, but it didn't matter to Tank.
It was in the dark, early hours of the morning, and the only light illuminating their surroundings shone from the nearly full moon overhead. It wasn't normal for her to visit him this late, or even be awake, but she was clearly excited about something.
“So, I fixed up a surprise for her tonight. Or, actually... 'fixed up' might be putting it lightly. I've been working my wings off for days.”
As busy as she had been preparing the surprise, Dash had hardly seen Fluttershy all week. It was quite the project she had taken on, but luckily she was able to pass it off as being extra busy with the weather patrol.
“If I got it right, it should be ready pretty soon, so I'm just...”
Tanks eyes widened as he caught sight of something in the sky behind Rainbow Dash. She quickly turned to join him in staring at whatever had him looking so amazed.
A mass of what appeared to be small, flying, brightly shimmering lights had appeared on the horizon. They were numbering in the hundreds, and were headed right towards them, though they were still far away. Even at a distance their light was clearly visible, seeing them close up was probably blinding.
“Crystal moths. Aren't they great?”
Tank simply gave a slow nod, still a bit in awe, and Dash looked completely pleased with herself.
“They migrate this time of year, like butterflies, but these guys look way cooler. I found some books about their migration patterns, back at the Crystal Empire. Turns out, crystal humans weren't the only ones who disappeared all those years ago... So, I changed up the scheduled weather so they'd pass by us on their way south. The amount of air currents I've messed with this week...”
Dash looked back to Tank, who still looked impressed, but now the size of his grin practically matched hers.
“It's the first crystal moth migration in one thousand years, and it's gonna go right over us... She's gonna love it, right?”
Tank nodded again, but this time it was a quick, excited one.
In a few minutes they'd be passing over their heads, so Dash quickly jumped to her feet.
“I've gotta beat them to the edge of the Everfree Forest. I'll tell you how it goes, buddy.”
With that she promptly took to the air, zooming off in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage. Along with tampering with the weather, Dash had also spent a smaller amount of time tracking the crystal moths, making sure they were actually on the right path. Unlike their human neighbors, the moths hardly glistened in the daylight, but at night they were brilliant shining beacons.
Their migration was something that hardly anyone still alive had been given the chance to witness, and considering all the work she put into it, Dash was confident Fluttershy would appreciate it. There was no way she would want to simply continue their unspoken friends with benefits arrangement. This would seal the deal for sure.
Or, that was the plan, at least.
All of the animals had endearing qualities . All of them had things that made them loveable, so it wasn't possible for her to pick favorites. She didn't want to, all of them were equally deserving of appreciation, and having a favorite would just be unfair.
So, the little baby bunny who was somehow separated from it's mother couldn't be her favorite. She had found him two days ago, the day she had moved, and she had managed to nurse him back to health. Usually any baby animal left on its own didn't end up surviving, and Fluttershy wasn't so sure about the little bunny's chances when she found him, but now it seemed he was going to make a full recovery.
Against all odds, he was going to make it. He had a shot at having a happy, healthy life... Fluttershy found herself relating to her little bunny more than he could possibly know.
Despite having a bunny to look after and plenty of other animals around to take up her time, she decided she was going to try and tend a garden as well. There was a gopher couple who were giving her advice on how she might go about starting one, and several of the other animals had promised to do their best to get her some seeds once she was able to plant them.
With her baby bunny sleeping soundly in her cottage, Fluttershy was outside deciding where she should make her garden, with the helpful opinions of the gophers.
“So, all of the soil around here is good enough to start a garden?”
After some chattering from the gopher couple, Fluttershy nodded.
“In that case, I'll probably just make it right here.” The gophers gave their input, and Fluttershy went on, “Oh, no, there's no need to promise that. You've been so helpful, you'll always be welcome to dig anywhere around here, wherever you'd like.”
There was a soft thud from behind Fluttershy, and the gophers took one look at whatever had landed behind her and retreated back into their tunnels. Fluttershy turned around, a bit nervous and unsure of what to expect, but she immediately lit up when she saw who it was.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy was happy to see her at first, but her joy was replaced by concern once she really got to looking at her. Pale, swaying on her feet and covered in what was probably fever induced sweat, Rainbow Dash looked incredibly sick. “Oh my, you look awful...”
Fluttershy was going to rush over to help her into the cottage, or at least help her to stand, but Dash held up her hand to stop her.
“Don't come near me, I'm kind of contagious. Feather Flu.”
Fluttershy complied, but it took plenty of self control not to simply ignore the warning she was given.
“What are you doing here? You should be in bed...”
“Pfft, come on, Fluttershy... you sound like my parents.” Dash said after she stifled a cough, “If they would've just let me go to school on your last day I wouldn't need to be here right now, anyway... I had to sneak out to get here. It's like I'm on house arrest, they're being so stupid...”
Rainbow Dash often times went on about how obnoxious her parents were, and how at age sixteen they shouldn't have a say in her life... well, clearly their guidance was needed, or she would be left to continue making decisions like this.
But Fluttershy wasn't assessing Dash's poor decision making skills at the moment. She was trying to comprehend what Dash seemed to be saying.
“Did you come all this way, with the feather flu, just to say goodbye?”
“Well, yeah.” Dash seemed happily satisfied with Fluttershy's stunned silence. “Didn't think I was just going to let you leave without any word, did you?”
“But, you're sick! You look like you're going to collapse, and you... you didn't have to come here like this.” Oh, but it meant so much that she had. Fluttershy wasn't sure how well she was hiding just how delighted this made her, or the warm blush she could feel on her cheeks. “You could have waited until you were better.”
“It looks worse than it actually is.” Even though Dash was determined to stand up straight and look as well as she could, Fluttershy wasn't buying it. “Seriously, I'm too awesome for some little virus to slow me down.”
Fluttershy wondered what exactly awesomeness did to prevent flu symptoms...
“Well, your house is pretty cool. Do you have birds and stuff living up there?”
Dash nodded up to the grass growing on the roof of her cottage, and though her question gave Fluttershy an idea of a good location to build some bird houses, she wasn't going to be so easily distracted from Dash's health.
“You should come back and visit me when you're well, Rainbow Dash.”
Dash groaned, but it seemed she was conceding defeat.
“Fine...” Dash rolled her eyes to emphasize her frustration, but ended up smiling shortly after to prove she wasn't seriously upset. “I'll see you around, Fluttershy.”
That smile she flashed made Fluttershy melt slightly, and she ended up forgetting to say goodbye, but she did at least manage a wave before Dash made her exit. Now that she thought about it, she was impressed that she had said anything at all, she could have just as easily swooned at the sight of her.
Usually, Fluttershy could hide her affection well enough. Her dreamy stares could pass as simply spacing out, she was nervous about everything, so being extra nervous around Dash didn't seem so strange, and her notebooks from school with I LOVE HER scribbled all over the pages had never been seen by anyone. But Dash hadn't ever done anything quite like this before, and Fluttershy was beyond flattered.
She finally snapped out of it when the gopher couple emerged from their holes and started chattering at her. Turning back to them she listened intently to what they were saying.
“Oh, that was just my good friend.” She paused, looking like she might be reconsidering how she worded that. “Actually, we are friends, but... I love her.”
Saying it out loud was nothing like writing it down. Even after being written hundreds of times, words on a page just weren't quite as liberating.
Her animal friends were much less judgmental than people, she knew she could safely tell them anything. The gophers' reactions were predictably different from how her classmates would have reacted, or even her father. They immediately began offering advice and encouragement.
“Oh, no, it doesn't work like that... it's not that simple. Human relationships are very different from animal relationships...”
They continued on, but Fluttershy shook her head.
“Well, thank you, that's very nice of you. But I don't have an issue with the way I look... Rainbow Dash and I, we're just... very different. She won't ever feel like I do for her, but I'm fine with that.”
The gophers looked disappointed, but the smile she gave them was reassuring, even if slightly forced.
“But I do appreciate your concern, really.”
It was strange how joy could turn to heartache so quickly. It was familiar enough for Fluttershy, but that didn't make it any less strange, when she thought about it.
“So, the garden... are carrots a good vegetable to start out with?”
Being jostled into consciousness wasn't exactly Fluttershy's favorite way of waking up. Actually, number one on her list would have to be waking up on her own, mid afternoon... face buried in Rainbow Dash's neck, one arm loosely wrapped around her abdomen, one thigh possessively draped over her hips. As she slowly awoke she would have to remind herself that the warm, sprawled out, soundly sleeping woman next to her wasn't part of a dream, as this was reality, and somehow reality had become infinitely better than her dreams.
Yes, that was her favorite way to start her day. And being shaken by her shoulders was much closer to the bottom of the list.
It was startling, but Dash's voice, even as urgent as it sounded, helped her calm down from her scare.
“Hey, put some clothes on. I have something to show you.”
Once she was sure Fluttershy was awake, Dash darted over to Fluttershy's bedroom window, sticking her head passed the drawn curtains for a moment. Even in the near pitched black darkness, as she left the window to return to Fluttershy's bedside, it was clear she was excited about something
It still took Fluttershy a minute to wake up and register what had just happened, and took another minute to register the unusual instruction she had been given. Considering how things had been going between them, clothes were usually being taken off, not put on.
Dash had probably gotten in through the window, though why she had drawn the curtains was beyond her. There was probably a reason for that, but Fluttershy wasn't yet lucid enough to try and figure out what it was.
“Seriously, you've gotta get up!” Dash was clearly getting impatient with Fluttershy's slow reaction, and hurried over to her closet to toss her some random clothing. Fluttershy had just gotten to her feet when she was assailed by what was probably a completely unmatched outfit.
“What time is it...?”
Dash stopped trying to rush Fluttershy out of her house for a moment, apparently realizing she didn't even know the time.
“I don't know... late.”
It was too dark for Fluttershy to be able to read her wall clock, but it didn't matter all that much. Rainbow Dash's unexplained enthusiasm had her wondering what was going on, so she quickly dressed, then was grabbed by the hand and tugged out the window.
As soon as they hit the open air, Fluttershy nearly forgot how to fly when she saw what had Dash all worked up. Luckily they made it safely to the ground beside the cottage, and Dash released her as Fluttershy gaped at the approaching crystal moths. The swarm wasn't far ahead of them, soon they would be flying by. The two were bathed in the clean white light the moths gave off, as was the cottage and much of the surrounding area.
“Crystal moths...?”
“Beats a butterfly migration any day, right?” Dash was switching between watching the moths and glancing at Fluttershy, but all her expression gave away was amazement. “I just had to change up the scheduled weather a little... nothing I can't fix.”
Fluttershy looked even more shocked at the fact that Rainbow Dash had orchestrated this by herself. Her initial assumption was that she had just stumbled upon the migrating moths by chance.
“You brought them here?”
Fluttershy couldn't keep her eyes on the moths, despite how astounding they were, and how they were flying closer by the second. Instead, she was gawking at Dash with the same amazed expression the moths had inspired.
“Yeah... I thought you'd like it. I mean, it's their first migration after a thousand year break...” The moths had just begun flying overhead, and Dash was about to try and direct Fluttershy's attention back to them, but something unexpected happened.
Fluttershy suddenly burst into tears. She threw her arms around Dash, who was taken completely off guard, not sure what to make of Fluttershy's sudden rush of emotion. She ended up deciding it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and tentatively wrapped her arms around Fluttershy as she buried her face in Dash's shoulder.
Beyond holding her, Dash wasn't sure what else to do. It didn't bother her that Fluttershy was missing the migration, despite all her hard work with the weather. The migration had still accomplished what she intended it to. It looked like Fluttershy had been holding back feelings of her own, and her revealing them was the perfect opportunity to address them seriously. No more distractions, no more avoidance, no more beating around the-
“”I love you, Rainbow... I always have, s-since... well, probably since I met you.”
Fluttershy's voice was soft and a bit muffled, but Dash still caught what she said. She was trying to remember when they met, or at least how old they were. They were just little kids, maybe around six? It was hard for Dash to believe someone could be in love at that age, but as Fluttershy went on, her doubt slowly vanished.
“You were the only one who stood up for me, ever... you were my only friend for such a long time, you looked out for me, you cared about me... sometimes, I didn't even care about me, but you always did.” Fluttershy had pulled away slightly, so her voice wasn't muffled, but it still sounded like she was speaking through her tears. “You're so amazing, you've always been so amazing... I never understood why you wanted to be my friend, and I don't understand why you're here now. It's just been hard to believe...”
It seemed like Fluttershy had a lot of insecurities, more than Rainbow Dash could have guessed. Though it was a relief to know that she didn't seem to just want a superficial relationship, it was also heart wrenching to see her so distraught. Fluttershy clearly needed some comforting, and though that wasn't something Dash was overly familiar with, she needed to try, at least.
“I'm here for the same reason. You think I'm amazing, and I think you're amazing... it shouldn't be any more complicated than that.”
Fluttershy's cottage really was a cozy place. It had only been a few months since sending her to live down here, but it was already equipped with furniture, appliances, and an impressively well grown garden. This definitely was where she belonged, and Sun Strider was glad he had made the right decision in supporting her move.
She had stepped out of the cottage for a moment on a quick animal related errand, though Sun Strider hadn't caught the exact details before she said she would be right back. So, waiting for her to return, he decided to look over the small bookshelf in the living room, skimming over the titles of the few books there were. Out of the three shelves only one of them had books, and it was only half full. Maybe getting her some more would be a good gift idea.
By the looks of the titles, the ones she had were all related to animal identification, except for one, a thinner book that had nothing at all on the spine. Curious, he picked it up, and found that the cover was also completely blank. Without really thinking, he opened it to a random page.
It was hand written, and the date written at the top was only a few weeks ago. He quickly realized it was a diary, and though his first inclination was to put it back, a few sentences he spotted half way down the page caught his attention.
It's ridiculous, since she doesn't even seem to like this girl as a friend, but I get so jealous when she talks about her. I met her once, actually, her family owns an apple farm not far from here. She was really nice to me, but it makes sense, Rainbow Dash's personality could clash with hers.
Still, Rainbow is on the ground more often recently, and jealous or not, I'm glad she's around more. She doesn't sit still very often, or for very long, but when she does it's to sit with me. It's not usually hard for me to just stay quiet, but sometimes I just want to blurt out I love her.
Sun Strider pried his eyes away from the page and quickly put the book back on the shelf, just as Fluttershy opened the front door.
“They thought the ducklings were hatching, but it was a false alarm. This drake is really so anxious, yesterday he called me over twice...”
“Drake...?”
Sun Strider wasn't as educated on animal terminology, though he was learning quickly.
“Oh, the male duck. These will be his first ducklings, he's very excited.”
“Ah...” Sun Strider looked nervous, and Fluttershy didn't miss it. “Well, we fathers love our kids.”
He went to go sit on the nearby couch, and patted the cushion beside him, gesturing for Fluttershy to join him.
“I'll bet that drake will love his kids... ducklings, no matter what. All he'll really want is for them to be happy. It's not any more complicated than that... that's a parent's number one goal.”
Fluttershy had no idea what that was about, and even after Sun Strider left she still wasn't sure. It wasn't until later that evening, when she noticed her diary had been moved, that she realized what he had been saying.
Fluttershy squeaked as she unexpectedly tripped and started to fall backwards onto the stairs, but luckily Rainbow Dash grabbed her and slowed her fall. Navigating her cottage in the dark wasn't an issue for Fluttershy, but being undressed while navigating her cottage in the dark was an entirely different story. Luckily Dash had quick reflexes, and they both ended up uninjured and sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Running her hands up the thin, muscular arms that had caught her, Fluttershy tried to catch her breath, though any progress she made was reset when Dash moved in to her neck, leaving soft kisses and aching bite marks as moved down to her collar bone, and then her bare chest.
Dash had positioned herself so her leg was propped between Fluttershy's thighs, and as she leaned over her she kept it firmly pressed against her, assuring her with occasional movements and varying pressure that she put her leg there entirely on purpose. Even though she was still wearing the sweatpants Dash had thrown her earlier, depending on where she moved the pressure was easily moan inducing.
Digging her nails into Dash's upper arm, Fluttershy tried again to catch her breath and steadied her voice. She wasn't completely successful, but it was better than nothing.
"I'm sorry we missed most of the crystal moth migration."
It was actually something she felt guilty about, especially since it probably took a lot of work to alter their course. Dash certainly didn't seem upset about it, though.
She had pulled away, and Fluttershy expected her to respond somehow, but instead she simply unbuttoned and kicked off her own pants, then began pulling down Fluttershy's. Just after tossing aside the sweatpants, Dash seemed to suddenly realize Fluttershy had spoken to her.
"It's cool... there's always next year."
With Dash's fingers teasingly tracing circles on her inner thigh as she kissed her way down her stomach, it wasn't possible to put together any actual words, so Fluttershy's response was something between a hum and a purr. She had registered what Dash had said though... there's always next year.
For Fluttershy, it had sunken in. This wasn't a fling, they weren't friends with benefits, there was no experimenting or uncertainty. It was serious, and it meant something; it had taken some time to realize it, but her self doubt really had no place here.
