Two Hearts, Fall Apart

Chapters

Original 1: Storms of the Heart
Alternate 2: Sleeping Wide Awake
Original 3: Left in the Dark
Alternate 4: Say You Love Me... Just For Now
Original 5: The Truth Can Hurt
Alternate 6: Submitting
Original 7: Love Shared
Original 9: Words Never Said
Alternate 10: Things May Change
Original 11: Paradise City
Alternate 12: A Step Closer
Original 13: Transcend
Alternate 14: Amends
Alternate/Original 15: The Return Home
Original: Epilogue
Alternate: Epilogue
Alternate 8: Truth of the Heart

Original 1: Storms of the Heart

Clouds hung overhead in the sky, promising a storm scheduled for later that day. The normally calm breeze was becoming increasingly violent as the trees swayed in natural rhythm of wind. The light sounds of thunder rung off in the distance with no breaks in between their repetition.

Down on the ground, on a small hill, sat Fluttershy as she observed her best friend. Rainbow Dash, the pegasus in question, was doing a combination of performing some tricks while she was arranging the clouds accordingly.

Looking down at her friend, Dash winked before doing a little barrel roll, catching a cloud, and bringing it upward.

“Good work, Rainbow!” Fluttershy called up to her.

Rainbow Dash heard her, but just barely, as always. “Heh, no sweat!” she called back with a smirk. With a quick burst of speed, the speedster kicked the clouds into nothingness.

The creamy yellow pegasus continued to observe, offering little cheers here and there if she felt up to doing so. Although the impending storm meant having the hassle of making sure every storm precaution was to be made, it did make Fluttershy feel a lot more brave and ready. There had been a time when storms scared the living daylights out of her, much like how dogs and most other animals reacted to loud storms.

But for the past few years now, after the last Storm Day, she’d felt a lot better about impending storms, and even found them to be fascinating. On top of that, there was the safety factor. She’d always been told time and again the weather pegasi knew what they were doing and ensured the storms wouldn’t harm anypony.

With Rainbow Dash on the team, she knew there was plenty to enjoy when it came to her storm organization and execution.

“You can come down now! The sky is covered!” Fluttershy called up to her. “Your shift finished ten minutes ago!”

Rainbow Dash came to a hasty stop mid-flight and turned to look down at her companion. “Huh!? Seriously? It’s already that late?” she muttered to herself a bit. “Okay, comin’ down!” the pegasus called out quickly as she made her way to ground. Once Dash landed, she trotted up to her meek friend with a grin on her face. “Enjoyed the show, eh, Flutters?”

Blushing a bit, Fluttershy smiled, nodding quietly, “...You know I always enjoy watching you perform, Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash held a cocky smile as she made her way closer. “Oh, I know you do! But come on, I need a little feedback on tricks, ya know?” She could not help but notice the weak blush on her friend’s face and felt oddly pleased that she had caused it.

Ha ha... Yep, ‘Shy is still too cute when she blushes like that, Dash thought to herself for a brief moment. Woah woah, hold up! Gah, I’m doing it again... She’s my best friend, almost like a sister, and here I am sizing her up... Still, she is pretty cute when she starts hiding in her mane and- Dash, shut up.

“I know, you’re absolutely right. I really do try... sometimes my voice just... won’t cooperate. But your tricks are wonderful... I wish I could express just how... amazing they are...” Fluttershy looked at her with despondency. “You’re amazing. You really are...” She smiled, albeit a bit sadly.

I wish I could shout my cheering... and tell her how I feel... both of which I have no courage to voice properly... the shy mare thought.

Rainbow Dash gave a smile as a light came over her face, “Hey, hey, hey, your cheering is fantastic!” The cyan pegasus rubbed the back of her neck. “Seriously, you give me a lot more faith in myself than you know!”

With her heart skipping a beat, Fluttershy looked to her best friend with a hopeful smile. “...Really? You mean that...?”

“Of course I do, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash said with a toothy grin. “You know I don’t say stuff like that unless I really mean it. So, you’re not as loud as Pinkie Pie or Applejack, but you don’t need to be! You do a great job just being you.” She looked away for a moment. “I kinda do wish you would speak up a bit more... but I guess I could always dress you up as a cheerleader or something for added effect...” With a quick shake of the head, she realized what she had just said aloud.

Why the buck did I say that?! Okay, yeah, I would totally kill to see her wear one- oh come on! This is Fluttershy I’m talking about here, not some floozy fangirl...

The suggestion, however, wasn’t lost on Fluttershy. She considered it for a few moments, before smiling brightly. “I’ll dress up as a cheerleader for you, Dashie...” Her voice was soft, almost suggestive, more than she intended.

Yes! That’s perfect! I can really get her attention with it! I might even feel more courageous! Oooh, this is a wonderful idea! thought the now excited yellow pegasus.

To this, Rainbow fell somewhat silent. “You, uh... you would? Like, seriously?” She blinked a few times looking somewhat dazed. Her blush was slowly building by this point as a vast array of different emotions began to come forth.

“I would do anything for you, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said softly, her smile and blush growing. “And I’ll dress up as a cheerleader if it would help...”

Rainbow Dash started to smirk almost childishly as her wings rose up against her will. Oh yeah! Score one for the Dash, baby! I’m gonna see Flutters in a- GAH! I’m doing it again! Fluttershy is my best friend. I can’t have her degrade herself for me... even if she is willing... and very tempting...

“Hehe... Thanks, Flutters, but you don’t gotta do that if you would rather not,” Rainbow Dash spoke a bit shaky as she smiled.

The creamy yellow mare shook her head. “I know that, Rainbow. But I do want to do it. I mean, I can’t say I’d thought of it before... but when you brought it up, I thought it was a nice idea. I’m not doing it because I feel I have to... I’d do it because I want to. You’re not making me do anything, I promise.”

“Well, if you’re sure...” Rainbow Dash started to say. Don’t say it! Oh, for the love of Celestia, tell her it’s okay and that she doesn’t have to and let this thought die! She looked away briefly, then looked back to Fluttershy. Her eyes were shining with such a look of sheer joy and even hope and to this, Dash knew what she would say. “I’ll look forward to seeing ya wear one!” Dash winked at the end. I’m a bucking idiot...

“Yay!” Fluttershy giggled, coming closer to her and giving Dash a sweet hug. “I’ll do whatever I can to help this along, Dashie!”

The moment there was physical contact, Rainbow Dash’s wings went straight up and locked stiff. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened, but she was normally much more in control of her body than right now. It was always the same around the timid mare when she would start talking like this. It made it more difficult to think and react the right way. It always made her defences fall flat. She, of course, returned the hug, albeit somewhat awkwardly as she hoped Fluttershy did not notice.

“Oh, I can think of few things you could do...” Rainbow muttered lightly as she was lost in the moment.

A blush darkened on Fluttershy’s cheeks, her body tingling with excitement. The atmosphere was perfect. Here they were, alone, on a hill, on a beautiful though overcast day... and with her crush holding her. Fluttershy let out a dreamy sigh, gazing at Rainbow Dash with a sweet, loving smile. She brought her forelegs around Dash’s neck, leaning a little closer to her face.

“Tell me, Dashie...” Fluttershy cooed, her eyes half-amast.

Rainbow Dash was all but lost now. By the name of... Oh geez. Oh dear mother of Celestia. This is not happening. No, this is a dream and I’m gonna wake up and beat my head into the wall just like every other night for dreaming about ‘Shy like this... But still... Those eyes... And those lips...

“I could think of a few...” Dash spoke completely dazed.

A soft giggle escaped Fluttershy, to which she leaned closer, stroking a hoof through Rainbow’s mane. Yes, this is perfect... I can finally make my move... Oh Dashie... kiss me... kiss me, you amazing future Wonderbolt!

“And what would they be...?” Fluttershy touched her snout to the cyan mare’s, their lips just centimetres away.

“Well...” Rainbow Dash began almost breathlessly, “I’ve wanted to say this for a while now, so-”

A distant, though loud, crash of thunder was heard further off. Startled, Fluttershy let out a frightened yelp, tightening her grip on Dash. The force of her hold caused the two pegasi to fall to the ground, with the yellow mare now on top of her best friend.

Trembling a little bit, Fluttershy snuggled into Rainbow Dash for comfort, while her heart pounded furiously. No... I’m not scared... it was just a bit loud and it startled me... I’m going to be okay... I’m fine... I’m not scared, I’m-... oh my, her heart is pounding...

Slowly, she rose her head a bit to look down at Dash. Her long pink hair fell around them in a soft curtain, as if shielding them from the world all around.

Rainbow Dash stared deeply into Fluttershy eyes, almost entranced by them. “...Am I dreaming?” She reached up a bit with a foreleg to touch the shy pony’s face. “Fluttershy?”

The blush returned to Fluttershy’s cheeks, she felt herself just as lost in the moment as she was before. She smiled, leaning her cheek into Dash’s hoof. Heart pounding, mind reeling, shivers coursing up her spine, she went for it.

“No... you’re not dreaming, Dashie...” Fluttershy said sweetly, leaning down a bit closer to her. “But I think I might be the one dreaming...”

Rainbow Dash blushed wildly as she heard this. “Good... Then do me a favor and don’t wake up...”

Oooh... I don’t know what’s gotten into her... but this is amazing! Fluttershy thought, beaming.

“I don’t want to wake up when I dream about you...” Fluttershy whispered in a sweet coo. She too, reached down to touch Dash’s cheek.

Rainbow gave a weak chuckle. “You too, huh? Good to know.”

“...You dream about me, too?” The creamy yellow mare leaned down a bit closer, her eyes half-lidded. “That’s so sweet, Dashie...”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes completely as she let her head rest on the grass. “Way more than I should,” she muttered softly. “And right now... I’m glad I do...”

It’s just a dream, Dash. You know that, right? There’s no way this could ever really happen. No way ‘Shy would ever say stuff like that, even if it is totally in character, to me... I’ll just wake up right before she kisses me like every night... so why fight it? I’ll just pretend... this one time...’’ Dash thought to herself.

“Ooh....” Fluttershy was a bit taken aback by this admission, but didn’t let it ruin the moment. “Awww... I dream about you all the time, too, and it’s wonderful... It makes me sad when I wake up. Oh, but I’m so happy we’re here now...”

“I am too. I mean, why wouldn’t I...?” Dash smiled in her dazed state with her eyes still closed. “I’m here with the most awesome mare ever... the sun’s blocked... we’re alone... and I’m gonna wake up any second now and be wishing this had happened...”

I have to be dreaming... there’s no way Rainbow is actually saying these things... Oh...and I thought for sure that I wasn’t dreaming... Oh well... I may as well enjoy it while I can... Fluttershy thought.

Nonetheless, she smiled and nuzzled their noses sweetly. “I feel the same way. I don’t want this wonderful moment to end... Oh, Dashie... Kiss me...”

To this, Rainbow’s eyes shot open. Wait wait wait wait! This isn’t how my dreams normally go... ‘Shy is supposed to try to kiss ME and then I wake up! Staring down at the mare beneath her, her gaze softened. No, this is still a dream... Just a better one than most...

“I can definitely do that...” She leaned in slowly until her lips were just a few inches away before their lips met. In just a brief moment, both their hearts stopped. The warmth, the feeling: it was real. It was all too real. And within that moment, neither would question why, or how, as it was their moment in time.

Oh my gosh... Was about the same thought going through their heads.

Fluttershy utterly melted into the moment, lost in the wonderful feeling. The touch of their lips felt real, unlike in any dream she’d had. A strange, warm, but soft smoothness covering her mouth. She gently and slowly applied pressure, snuggling more against her companion. Heart pounding, insides melting and bursting, she was in pure heaven. The creamy yellow mare gently ran her hoof through the soft rainbow strands, the other caressing Dash’s cheek.

Rainbow’s mind was all, but shut down. She was almost fighting the urge to fall asleep within moment of utter bliss. As she finally pulled away, she was completely breathless. All the air in her lungs was gone from a moment of absolute bliss.

“Woah... That was...” Rainbow Dash stumbled in her speech as she tried to talk. “Wow...”

Blushing immensely and giggling with glee, Fluttershy sighed dreamily. She felt so light-headed, her heart pounded, and continuous shivers coursed up her spine. She looked down at the dazed mare beneath her, beginning to smile more.

“Oh Rainbow...” the creamy yellow pegasus cooed, laying their foreheads together. “That was wonderful... wow...”

The two pegasi gazed at one another, now at a loss for words. Their kiss had been unlike anything they’d ever felt, let alone how it felt to share it with each other. While they didn’t communicate in words, they slowly leaned in for more, their eyes closing...

“Hiya girls!” A third voice rang out of nowhere. Without any signs of approach, a pink maned head popped up in between the two pegasi. “What’cha doin’?!”

“Meep!”

Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat up, all four legs around each other, cheek to cheek; staring wide-eyed at Pinkie Pie. Said pony looked at them with a big, curious grin.

“You guys were kissing?! You were! Wow! That’s sooooo adorable! Why didn’t you tell me?! You two are so cute together and you didn’t let me see you kiss?! That’s the cutest thing ever!” Pinkie gushed, clapping her hooves with delight. “Awww, you gotta tell me next time! That’s just awesomely cutetastic! Get it?! It’s cute and fantastic, but I couldn’t use both... so I combined the two! Cutetastic!”

Rainbow Dash’s mind was now finally catching up to the rest of the world. This... This isn’t a dream?! I just made out with my best friend?! For real?! That’s actually kind of aweso- NO! Not awesome! Oh man... Why?!

“Pinkie, you got it all wrong!” Dash quickly shouted.

I wasn’t dreaming! It was happening! I kissed Rainbow! Oh my gosh, it was nothing like I imagined it... it was even better... She kissed me! I kissed her... we kissed! Oh my goodness! Fluttershy thought to herself.

“Got it all wrong? But how can I, Dashie? Flutters was lying on top of you, you two were snuggling, she had a hoof in your mane and on your cheek...” Pinkie pantomimed the actions and gestures, giggling. “You two were looking at each other with these dazed, lovey-dovey smiles, and you were leaning close, letting your lips slowly come together! That’s the telltale sign that two ponies are going to get all kissy-kissy!”

“Well, you thought wrong then!” Dash shot back. “Flutters here just fell on me and was, uh, makin’ sure I wasn’t hurt!” she defended as she blushed a bit more.

“...No, I wasn’t...” Fluttershy mumbled sadly. As much as she realized that it was just how Dash reacted to some things, especially this, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit hurt. What had happened to the moment? Did Dash truly believe it was a dream? Then it had to be her honest feelings, wasn’t it? So many questions...

Pinkie poked Dash on the snout. “Now Dashie, what have I told you about lying?! That’s not nice!”

Rainbow Dash became rather flustered by this. “I’m not lying! I just... Gah, whatever! As if I would ever... ‘Shy, I’m gonna call it day and split... Later!” Rainbow Dash took off for home hastily, without so much as waiting for a reply from either of her two friends.

Stricken, Fluttershy looked and felt as if she were going to burst into tears. Her stomach knotted, her heart dropped to her stomach, and she felt as if her legs had gone numb. Trembling, the creamy mare couldn’t stop the tears pooling in her eyes.

“...Fluttershy?” Pinkie said softly, coming up beside her. “...Are you okay?”

Fluttershy came to the realization that Pinkie was once more talking to her directly, but her tears were still falling. She tried to wipe some away, but it was useless, more or less. The timid mare sniffled and shook her head, trying to find her voice.

“I’ll... I’ll be o-okay, Pinkie...” Fluttershy spoke up, softly.

Pinkie looked at her friend sadly, bringing a foreleg around her shoulders. “I’m sorry she said that, Fluttershy... That wasn’t nice. But you know Dashie... she was nervous, put on the spot... and she just... said something she didn’t mean because of it. I don’t believe a word she just said, but I’m sorry it hurt you...”

Fluttershy heard her friend’s words, but it made little difference at the time. She was far too lost in her own thoughts. It was a maze of emotion and confusion where she had no real answers and stranger still, no real thoughts on the matter. In the past, she would go to Rainbow Dash for help, but seeing how she was part of the situation at hoof, ‘Shy could not do that.

“I... I know. She just needs time to think... I guess. I might too...” Fluttershy responded after a few minutes of silence.

“Um, well!” Pinkie looked as if she just remembered something. “You’re going to have to do that later, Flutters. The reason I’m out here was because I needed to find you. Twilight wants to see you and me for something!”

Fluttershy gave the party pony an odd look when she said that. “Pinkie... I’m not really sure if I’m up to it right now... But, um, what was it Twilight wanted to see us for?”

“I don’t know! She just said for us to go over to the library. It shouldn’t take too long, Flutters!” Pinkie said, smiling again. “You should come, just to get your mind off of this for a while! Then, once you’ve had some fun, got to do something else, you’ll be able to tackle the subject with a clear mind, approach Dashie, and finally tell her you love her!”

“L-Love her...? How do you...?” Fluttershy was trying her best to come up with a response, but was drawing a blank with how to proceed. “Nevermind... I do suppose that you could be right and this might help me get my mind off this for a bit...”

The pink earth pony grinned widely. “Great! Then let’s go, Flutters! Up up and away! To infinity and beyond!”

With that, she scooped up Fluttershy onto her back, and made a run back to Ponyville.

XXXX

Within the Ponyville library, a certain alicorn paced across the floor in a frenzied manner. Twilight Sparkle was worried, as anyone would be if they had sent one of their friends to track down someone during what could be described as the beginning of a storm.

She paced the room while Spike stood by to watch, her mind reeling from the situation.

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight! They can take care of themselves, and it looks like the storm hasn’t even started yet,” Spike said, trying to coax her.

“I know, Spike, but still...” Twilight looked over to her assistant with a worried look. “The storm is picking up a lot faster than usual. And I need them here before it gets too bad.”

Looking out the window, Spike could see that she was right. While it was beginning to rain a bit, it still wasn’t horribly bad, but if it did pick up...

“You may be right, Twilight. But you know Pinkie, she always finds a way to make things work in her favour...” Spike said this lightly, despite how much weight it carried. “And when it comes to Fluttershy, she can be resourceful. But either way, they do have legs. They’ll just run.”

As if on cue, a crack of thunder rung in the air as a light rainfall began to set in. This made the alicorn jump a bit, making her rush over to a nearby window. Twilight was amazed at how dark it had gotten in such a short time frame and at the rate the rain had come. She let out a sigh turning back to face Spike.

“See what I mean? I hope nothing too bad has happened...” Twilight spoke up.

Lightning flashed, followed by a loud crash of thunder. The loud sound of rain rapidly pelting against the window was then heard, to which the two peered out the window; only to see that the storm had indeed picked up. A lot faster than expected.

“Oh, man! They’re going to get soaked out there!” Spike realized, concern etched on his features.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, only for rapid knocking to sound at the front door. Using her magic, she opened the door, revealing two very wet ponies in the form of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. It especially looked comical on the latter of the two, what with her normally poofy, curly hair, now a limp blanket around her face.

“Oh, thank Celestia, you both made it here all right!” Twilight smiled, as she made her way over to them. “I hope you weren’t caught out there for too long.” She motioned over to her assistant. “Spike, would you please go get some towels so they can dry off?”

Spike nodded, heading to the bathroom to fetch the towels.

“Of course we’re okay, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie greeted, hugging her. “Always!”

Fluttershy merely nodded, not saying anything. But it was clear by her expression that she was very troubled about something.

Twilight flinched a bit as Pinkie involuntarily got her wet. “Yes, I should have known...” She glanced over at Fluttershy and noticed her odd look. “Fluttershy, are you...?” the alicorn started to say as she tried to break free of the hug with Pinkie, only to be held tighter. “Pinkie, would you kindly stop trying to remove my head?”

“Oh, sorry!” Pinkie kissed her forehead, in a sweet manner, then let her go. Twilight was very confused as to why Pinkie had kissed her forehead, but quickly wrote it off as her friend being herself.

“I’m fine,” Fluttershy said flatly, sitting down on her haunches. She didn’t bother to make direct eye contact, as her mind was somewhere else.

Why did Dash say those things and just leave like that... I know she’s never been one to romance, but I was just so sure that... that just maybe... she would drop her defences for me. Let me see her vulnerable... No, no, Fluttershy. Remember what Pinkie said. I have to calm down and clear my head...

The timid mare picked her head up a bit. “So, Twilight, what was it you wanted to see us for?”

Clearly unconvinced, Twilight decided to tackle that subject later. “Well, Fluttershy, I’m glad you asked.” She cleared her throat. “Have either of you ever heard of multiverse theory?”

“Not really, no,” Fluttershy responded, a bit absently.

Pinkie grinned widely. “I’ve heard lots of things! Multi-verse? Sounds like a song with a lot of verses! The Multi-Verse Song!”

Twilight suppressed a light giggle from hearing Pinkie Pie’s answer. “No, no, multiverse theory. It's also called the ‘meta-universe’ theory as well. You see, the theory states that there is the hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes, including the historical universe we consistently experience that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them.” She looked to her friends to see if they understood what was said to them. “I know this is a little difficult to follow, but let me explain. In simpler words, it’s thought that there’s a reality for every single possible outcome of everything that has ever happened, could have happened, did happen, and what may or may not have happened afterwards.”

“Oooohhh! That’s so cool, Twilight!” Pinkie bounced on the spot, excited for the possibilities. “I always wondered if there were other me’s out there! Maybe there’s another me who’s, I don’t know, a pig! Or a hamster! Ooh! A cute little hamster! Yeah! Maybe in another universe, I’m a monkey! Or a great big crocodile!”

As the party pony prattled on about the possibilities, Fluttershy spoke up. “Um... so, what does this have to do with Pinkie and me?”

To this, Twilight smiled brightly. “Everything. You see... lately, I’ve been researching the topic a lot and found, what I believe, to be an error in the original calculations, meaning, there are not an infinite number of possible realities. However, I need assistance to see if I’m wrong. Pinkie is here to help with the equation, as she is just chaotic enough to act as the unknown variable that I need. You, on the other hoof, are the key factorial.”

“Uh-huh! Go on!” Pinkie nodded, sitting down in front of Twilight and looking at her intently.

“....What do you mean by that?” asked a very confused Fluttershy. She looked to Twilight with uncertainty. “What am I supposed to do?”

Twilight gave her a reassuring smile as she walked over to the stairs. “You just have to be here. You see, I need a focal point so as to peer into the veil of this ‘meta-universe’ to see if there is or is not an infinite number of a single pony. I can’t use myself, as I’m casting the spell. I couldn’t use Pinkie, as she is acting as the unknown variable. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash have too strong of personality traits to trace over. And Spike is afraid that he’ll explode or some such nonsense...” The alicorn breathed out with a sigh before looking back up. “So really, you’re perfect for this. With your passive personality and reclusive nature, tracing over all possible versions of you would be much more simple... assuming that you are the shyest ‘you’, but even then, you would make the best choice for this!”

The creamy yellow pegasus still looked a bit uncertain. She bit her lip, considering this, managing to have caught on to the gist of what Twilight was explaining. A nervous, uncertain feeling pooled in her gut, coupled with intrigue at the matter. Whatever this all came to be, it sounded like something beyond her own reach. But as long as it was nothing too harmful or dangerous; she was growing more and more curious to see how it all worked and what would happen.

“So... you’re asking me to overlook the other possibilities...?” Fluttershy confirmed.

“In a sense, yes...” Twilight gestured for her friends to follow her upstairs. “Come up here and we can get started.”

Pinkie and Fluttershy exchanged glances before the pink earth pony bounded up after Twilight. Fluttershy, however, was still puzzled about all of this.

“W-Where are we going? How does this work?” Fluttershy followed after them both.

“Just to the second floor, Fluttershy,” Twilight said reassuringly. “I’ve got most of everything set up already.”

As the group entered the alcove of the second floor, Fluttershy was quick to note minor differences within the room. The telescope that normally stood by the window was moved over and set aside, with the window itself shut tightly as the rain pounded down against it on the other side. Most of the floor was cleared of anything, feeling somewhat larger than usual. There were also several markers on the floor as well, which she assumed were placed by Twilight.

Taking in everything, Pinkie nodded with clear approval, before sitting down on her haunches. She looked to Twilight expectantly, seeming to be waiting for something. Following her example, Fluttershy sat down as well, hoping Twilight would finally offer a simple, straight answer about their tasks and how it all worked.

“I’m going to need you two to sit on the markers I placed. They’re designed to connect you both with the spell that I’m going to cast. Pinkie, you sit there on the right. Fluttershy, you’re on the left.” Twilight instructed.

“Okay, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie did as she was told.

Nodding, Fluttershy sat on her marker, too.

Twilight observed the two carefully as she gave the next set of directions. “Okay then... Pinkie, I want you to just think like you do normally, all sporadic and what not. Can you do that?”

Pinkie looked at her in a “duh” manner before grinning. “Well, of course, Twi-Twi!”

“Good. Now, Fluttershy, you have to do something a little different.” Twilight started to explain. “I need you to think of just one thing and focus on that. You need to able stay on that one thing and not lose your thoughtline. As you’re acting as our focal point, you have to stay on key and remain calm. Will you be able to do that?”

“...I-I’ll try...” Fluttershy murmured, nodding.

“Excellent.” Twilight Sparkle smiled as she moved over to the third maker on the floor and the book beside it. “Now then, if you’re both ready, we can attempt our first try... To think, we’re about to peel back the very fabric of space-time and see what no pony has ever dreamed of before! This is really exciting!” She gushed for a moment. “Are you two ready?”

Pinkie saluted. “I’m ready, baby!”

“I-I’m ready too, Twilight...” Fluttershy nodded slowly.

With a smirk, Twilight read off the spell to herself one final time before looking up. “Then let’s begin...”

Igniting her horn, magic surrounded it, before its streams coursed along toward the other two ponies. It surrounded Pinkie and Fluttershy, encasing them within magical bubbles. The markings on the floor reacted with flashes, as if pulsating. Both Pinkie and Fluttershy sat, eyes closed, trembling ever slightly in reaction to the magic, but otherwise remained where they were, perfectly calm.

Fluttershy felt her nerves tense ever so slightly, but kept her eyes closed nevertheless. I just have to think of one thought and stay focused on it... she reminded herself. ... Rainbow Dash... I knew that she would be my one thought, she always is... but... why does she have to be so... closed off? Why can’t she let me see her soft side? We’ve known one another since we were fillies, so... is it really too much to ask for? I want to believe that she really does care about me... that she loves me the way I love her, but... why won’t she try? As the spell continued, the timid mare found herself in deep thought.

Pinkie, meanwhile, was having different kinds of thoughts. Oooh... hee hee... Twilight and me having a picnic... all warm and cuddly under the sun... Ooh! I see a butterfly! Twi-Twi wants to go after it, it looks like a rare butterfly species... but I kiss her and hold her, telling her to just relax and have fun... with me... She relaxes on the blanket next to me, smiling her sweet pretty smile.... Oh, I think I’m going to kiss her! So cute! I have to keep watching!

Twilight watched her two friends within the spell’s engulfment, as the very thing she was hoping for was unfolding. In the middle of the room a small rip appeared in the very air itself, pulling back ever so slightly, revealing a void. Of what, Twilight could not explain.

“This is... beyond anything I could have hoped for! This is almost like a reality nexus, all connected by a single pony in this exact moment...” Twilight spoke breathlessly. “Girls, you can open your eyes, but don’t lose your thoughts or move from your spots! This is... astounding.”

Fluttershy remained, having heard, but was too lost in her thoughts. Pinkie, however, opened her eyes and grinned widely at Twilight.

“This is so cool, Twi-Twi! I see a lot of things! I see me! I see you, too!” Pinkie gushed.

Twilight gave Pinkie an odd look. “Pinkie, what are you talking about? I don’t see either of us... unless... Now I understand. As time and space are subject to personal thought, you see things different than I do as this is a place that the two intersect...” Twilight nodded in agreement with herself. “Regardless, this ‘nexus’ is incredibly vast! But, is this truly infinite? Or is it a set number of infinites? This is just too much...”

“What, can you see something differently?” Pinkie tilted her head. “What do you see, Twi-Twi? Can I see?”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, Pinkie...” Twilight sighed a bit, trying not to facehoof. “It’s a matter of personal perception. I see what I want; you see what you want. As for what I see... I see a multiverse as a whole with a countless number of possible ‘rifts’ that all show something different.”

“Ohhhh! Well I see us together! We’re having a picnic! It’s so nice!” Pinkie giggled. “Flutters? What do you see?”

Fluttershy did not respond, her own thoughts too demanding at the time. Oh, Rainbow... Why are you so... so... distant with me? Why can’t you just drop your mask just a little bit for me...? I want to be there for you... to love you... so why won’t you let me?

“Pinkie, it might be best if you don’t break her line of thought.” Twilight advised. “If she does, the rift will close and we’ll have to recast the spell later. I’m not sure if I have enough magic for that today.”

Pinkie glanced at Fluttershy, then back at the alicorn. “Okay, Twi! Sooo, can I come and see? I wanna see what you are! Where’s this void? Where’s all this-”

There was a sudden jolt as Pinkie stepped away from her mark, moving, and therefore, breaking her train of thought. All around her, the stream of magic dissipated, as did the pulsating of the mark on the floor. It then surrounded Fluttershy, growing stronger and stronger. The timid mare, however, remained where she was, eyes closed, as if she didn’t feel a thing.

“Uh... what’s going on?” Pinkie blinked, staring with wide eyes at the display.

“I’m... not sure!” Twilight said panicked as she stepped back. “The spell didn’t account for a pony acting as both a variable and vocal point! Plus, this isn’t my magic anymore! It’s... It’s the rift! It’s forcing the connection to stay open!”

A bright flash of magical light erupted from the magic surrounding Fluttershy, which had her screaming. Worse off, they now couldn’t even see Fluttershy within all of it. All they could hear was her screaming. Worried, and nearly blinded, Twilight and Pinkie tried to rush in to her aid. But whatever force was surrounding her was repelling them. Even trying to dispel it, Twilight had no luck, and began to panic.

“Twilight! What’s happening to her?! This is isn’t good!” Pinkie cried, grabbing onto her with fear. “Flutters!”

Twilight grabbed onto Pinkie Pie as well, feeling the rift as it caused the entire room to shake. “I don’t know! She’s somehow tethered to something on the other side! In another reality or something!” Her eyes darted about, noticing the rift beginning to close in on itself slowly. “Pinkie! We have to close it, now! I’ll try to cancel the spell, go over to where your maker was!”

“I’ll try!” Pinkie promised.

She released the alicorn, rushing back to where her marker was. Over where Fluttershy was... or used to be, the magic, still opaque and hiding her, was only growing. It was now a swirling vortex, like a tornado, though they couldn’t feel any force of a wind. Twilight once again tried to cancel the spell, at least enough to get the rift under control. This time, she had to pour all her energy into it, using whatever strength she had left.

Her magic surrounded the vortex, neutralizing its power and flow. But then it grew bright again, rising. Twilight struggled, keeping it as neutralized as she could. Pinkie, noticing this, closed her eyes and tried to think hard. Both concentrated, trying all they could to stop this.

All at once, the magic faded. Fluttershy fell to the floor, face down, looking no different than before and yet, her mane and tail appeared to be shorter... But as Pinkie gazed upon her, she knew something just wasn’t right. Not that she could put her hoof on it. Either way, something had gone wrong.

“Twi-Twi... I think something’s wrong with Flutters...”

Twilight looked over at Fluttershy with a sense that Pinkie was right. “...Fluttershy? Are you okay?”

Groaning, as if in pain, Fluttershy managed to sit up, showing that something was very wrong, indeed. Her mane looked considerably shorter, ears pierced and her eyes looked fierce. She rubbed her head a bit, managing to open her eyes. For a few moments, the creamy yellow mare held her head, blinking her eyes and looking around her. A frustrated groan sounded from her before she turned to Twilight, glaring at her.

“I’m fine, Twilight! No thanks to you and your magic tricks! What the hay were you doing this time?! I was just at home, minding my own business, and now I’m here?! In the library?! If you’re going to teleport me around, at least tell me first! What’s your problem?!” Fluttershy said loudly, and quite crankily.

Pinkie’s jaw dropped as she stared wildly at the pegasus. She turned to Twilight, looking for an answer. “Um... Twi-Twi?”

“No, Pinkie... I have no idea what’s going on...” Twilight spoke almost shushed.

Fluttershy noticed Pinkie there, and groaned, facehoofing. “For cryin’ out loud, Twilight! First you drag me here against my will and now you’re just gonna go suck face with Pinkamena?!” She huffed out in irritation. “Geez, Pinks... the least you could do is keep her on a shorter leash for me!”

Author's Note

I have to give credit where it's due. The plot was Poison Cure's idea. When it was pitched to me, I was amazed and so intrigued by it. I just all but demanded we write it. I'm SO glad we did, because it turned out so good. A lot better than I imagined it would! It was so fun, and we hope you guys will like it!

The chapters labeling will be as follows. Original means the current world, and alternate will be the other reality.

And yes, there will be FlutterDash and Twinkie (or TwiPie) present. :P

Alternate 2: Sleeping Wide Awake

There had been pain. But soon the pain was gone. Whatever it had been was unknown. Following the end of her pain was a period of mysterious darkness. For that while, she felt, heard, nor saw anything. As if she were floating, floating within an endless abyss of darkness. Unseeing. Unfeeling. Unknowing.

Then there came something. Fluttershy still couldn’t see, but she could feel, and she could hear. Wherever she was, she was laying on something soft, and could hear voices. Clear as day, she was beginning to recognize them.

“Pinks... I think something is wrong with Flutters...” Came the voice of Twilight, however, it sounded somewhat odd, almost childish. And she called her ‘Flutters,’ something she had never done before.

“Fluttershy, are you all right? Are you hurt in any way?” The voice was Pinkie’s but yet, not at all like herself. Her voice was calm and soothing, almost relaxed. “If you can hear me, please give me a sign...”

Feeling a strange sense of fatigue, but otherwise coming to, Fluttershy squeaked a little bit as she tried to open her eyes. When she did, she focused on the concerned faces of her friends. At least...who she thought they were.

Twilight had her mane pulled back into a ponytail, something she rarely ever did, and was smiling widely. Next to her was Pinkie... with her mane straight, but nothing about her looked upset or self-destructive. In fact, she looked calm, calculating, and concerned.

“W-What... what happened...? How long was I... was I out?” She mumbled, blinking her eyes a few times. “It must have... b-been a while... if you two had time to do your hair...”

Pinkie looked at her friend with mild shock, but didn’t seem to change her stance. “Fluttershy, I assure you, we have no idea what you’re talking about. I sent Twilight to retrieve you almost an hour ago, when she came back saying you we passed out on the floor of your home...” She she a hoof up and placed it on the timid mare’s forehead. “... No fever... Anyway, I had Twilight bring you here as soon as she could, and I brought a few things just in case you were injured or ill... So, do you remember what happened?”

Something was seriously wrong here. Pinkie was not acting like herself. Fluttershy could see that immediately. While the party pony did have her moments of being serious, logical and intuitive... this was far beyond it. And why was her hair straight? She never had it straight unless it reflected her down mood.

“I... I remember... Twilight was... using a spell.. .on you and I...” Fluttershy said, managing to sit up a bit. “She was trying to... to see into the multiverse theory... Using Pinkie and I as... um... well, different kinds of... focal points, I think... I don’t remember... how did you put it, Twilight? I-I don’t....” Fluttershy rubbed her head a bit.

Twilight stared at her with a look of utter confusion. “Multi-what? Multi-verse? Ooh, is that a song with a lot of verses? I know a few songs like that, but no magic spells for songs... Plus, I’m not allowed to do magic unless Pinkamena is with me!”

Fluttershy stared at the alicorn, dumbfounded. “...W-What?! I... that doesn’t make any sense! Twilight... you use magic all the time, even if Pinkie isn’t around... why would it matter? And I-why are you calling her Pinks and by her full name? I don’t understand... what’s going on here?” She began to sit up more, trying to get off the bed.

Pinkamena reached over and gently pushed Fluttershy back down onto her bed, making sure not to hurt her. “Fluttershy, you have to relax right now, all right? I’m not sure what has transpired here, but I will find out for you, I promise.” The pink mare gave a small smile. “For right now, just try to recover. I’ll have Twilight do a base level sweep of the ground floor of your home for any magical occurrence that could have caused this. Then, we’ll move up and check each floor. Until then, you mustn’t push yourself. Your body seems to be suffering from a type of mystic fatigue and you have to take it easy in order to fully recover, understand?”

“B-But... I... Pinkie... you’re... Twilight... what’s happening here?! Why is nopony acting like themselves, why is everything so different?!” Fluttershy cried, beginning to panic. “I’m scared... I’d like to wake up! This is not a good dream...!”

“But Flutters! You’re not dreaming at all, I promise! You’re awake, this is real, it’s okay!” Twilight assured her in a very Pinkie-like manner, patting her shoulder. “You’re just a little woozy from... whatever hunky-dookie happened to you! But it’s going to be okay, we’ll make sure nothing baddie-waddie will get to you! We’re here to help you!”

Pinkamena gave a gentle nod as she placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Twilight’s right. We’re your friends, Fluttershy. And as such, we’re going to make sure you’re safe... But you have trust us. I know that can be hard for you at times, but please, you need rest. I’m sure everything will make sense after you recover.”

“But...” Fluttershy fell back into the pillows, moaning sadly. “Oh, all right... I’ll rest for a while... I do feel a little tired.”

“Oh... Pinks, we have to do something! Poor Flutters is delirious!” Twilight said with worry, hugging the pink earth pony. “It’s worse than we thought! Dashie is going to be sooooo worried about her, now!”

“...Dashie?” Fluttershy immediately perked up a bit.

Pinkamena held an inquisitive expression before speaking up. “Yes, Rainbow Dash will be quite worried once word reaches her of this. But don’t worry, Twilight, we will find the cause of this, and Fluttershy will be all right. She is one of the strongest mares we know in terms of willpower.” She turned her head to look back at Fluttershy. “If you like, I could tell Rainbow Dash to worry now if you wish so she won’t disturb you.”

“No, no...I want to see her...please? I-I need to see her...” Fluttershy said quickly, sitting up again. ‘If there’s one pony who will be honest and give me a straight answer, Rainbow will! ...Besides, if we’re alone, maybe I can get her to open up, and we can talk about the kiss...’

“I... suppose that can be arranged.” Pinkamena nodded a bit with another odd look. “If she comes by, I’ll send her up. For now, just relax. Maybe try to sleep it off.”

Fluttershy nodded, and rolled over in bed, facing the window. Outside, the weather was overcast, but not raining as it had been earlier. In fact, she could see some weather pegasi gathering clouds and placing them into formations around the sky, preparing for a storm.

What was going on? Why did everything seem so...odd? Why were her friends acting different? Why did everything around her feel different?

‘I must have hit my head... but I know what I saw... what Twilight had said and done... what happened?’ Fluttershy thought, curling up into the fetal position.

Downstairs, a very worried Twilight turned to Pinkamena, biting her lip. She felt worried for Fluttershy, who didn’t usually act this... vulnerable. Whatever happened was serious if it affected her like this; that much she knew. As much as she tried to keep herself in check, all she felt was worry and despair. Even her usual party mood wasn’t helping, all it did was remind her that there was a huge problem, and that parties weren’t going to solve it.

“Pinks...I’m so worried about Flutters... She’s not acting like herself...” She said, sadly, and nuzzled her marefriend for comfort. “What are we going to do...?”

Pinkamena was somewhat at a loss for words to this. “Well, we need to approach this delicately. Whatever happened is most certainly an oddity. We’re going to go to her home and check for anything strange... Hopefully whatever it was left a trail of some kind for us to follow...” She cuddled back a bit, but the look on her face held more to her true mood. She was so used to knowing the solution to problems like this, and the one time she needed to know, she was speechless. She ran what she knew through her mind.

‘Dear Luna, this is something I was not expecting to occur... Fluttershy is acting less like herself and more... shyly. What could have caused this change in behavior? And what was all that about multiverse theory? She’s never stricken me for a researcher of such a complex field, so where did that come from? So many questions... and no answers... ‘

“Right, just like you said...” Twilight nodded, and kissed her cheek. “We should go then, before it gets all stormy-wormy. Plus, we gotta tell Dashie... She’s not going to take this well at all, is she, Pinkie?”

Pinkamena blushed a bit at the sound of her nickname, something only Twilight called her, before forcing a smile. “No, I don’t think Rainbow Dash is... After all, you know how she can be. We just have to explain it to her carefully so she does not jump to conclusions...”

The lavender mare nodded, using her magic to open the front door so that they could step outside. “Okay, Pinkie. We’ll do that.”

The pink mare gave a warm smile as she pulled away from her marefriend. “Right then, let’s not waste any more time by standing around idle. We have quite a task ahead of us...” She made her way over to the door and opened it. “Also, remember while you cast the search spell, you mustn’t be moving around like last time or else we’ll be there all day again.” Pinkamena gave a light hearted chuckle.

“I can do it!” The excitable alicorn protested, pouting ever slightly. “You know I can, Pinkie-Winkie! I can do it! I’m gonna do it if we’re gonna save Flutters from her delirium!”

Pinkamena smiled as she led her companion over to the doorway. “I never said you couldn’t. Nor did I say I was complaining.” She gave her a slight nudge, “I was simply doing as I always do; acting as your advisor on such matters and helping where needed. Now, let’s go and ‘save Fluttershy from her delirium,’ as you put it.”

“It’s what you would say, and you know she’s delirious!” Twilight pointed out, and followed the pink mare outside. ‘Gosh, I hope Flutters is gonna be okay! No wonder she’s so scared, she probably lost herself a bit! No, no, no, no! This won’t do! We have to do something! At least Pinkamena knows what to do...’

Once outside, the two mares found themselves on the main road heading in the direction of Fluttershy’s house. As the clouds overhead were gathered, the sunlight slowly began to fade and the wind started to pick up.

“Twilight,” Pinkamena started to say, “tell me something... what do think could have caused Fluttershy to act this way?”

“...Magic, I bet,” Twilight mumbled. “Some kind of magic made her delirious, and she was saying I did some kinda spell. I don’t know what she was talking about, but it might’ve been some kinda magic!”

Pinkamena gave a serious stare before nodding in agreement. “That is quite possible, as we have seen firsthoof that there is no limit to what some magic can do... so I do believe that magic is involved somehow... I’m just not sure of it yet.”

“We’d better get going and find out then,” Twilight bit her lip, feeling worried all over again. She just hoped that they would find out what kind of magic caused this issue.

“Agreed,” the pink mare gave a nod as the two picked up the pace ever so slightly. ‘There’s has to be something more to this, however. No matter what spell or form of magic it was, it could not have rewritten a pony’s personality... Fluttershy seemed to behave that way not only from the situation at hoof, but as if it were natural... Curiouser and curiouser still...’

XXXXXX

Fluttershy wasn’t sure how long she’d been sleeping, but ended up dozing off after a while. The strange fatigue in her system hadn’t faded, she only felt more and more lethargic from it. She yawned a little, rolling onto her back. As much as she did want to get up, her body wasn’t letting her, and the last thing she wanted to do was inconvenience her friends.

‘Even if they weren’t acting like themselves... they did still care... they want me to rest... and I guess I really should...’ Fluttershy thought. ‘What time is it? How long was I even out? I don’t even remember what time it was when we came here... I don’t even know what the date is supposed to be... or what day it is... I feel so lost...’

Downstairs, she heard the front door open, then close. Whoever was in the house didn’t speak, nor call up to her. In fact, whoever came in was being very quiet. She figured it must’ve been Pinkie and Twilight returning from their investigation. But why were they being quiet? Did they not want to disturb her? That was nice of them and all, but it did still confuse her.

As she listened, she could only hear one set of hoofsteps. One of them must have come up on their own to check on her.

Fluttershy yawned a bit, facing the doorway to showcase that she was awake; hoping that she could finally get some answers.

The bedroom door opened, slowly, very quietly.

“H-Hello...?”

Fluttershy recognized the voice almost most instantaneously, but she could not bear to believe it by the tone.

“Are you... a-awake? I hope it’s okay if I come in...”

Fluttershy’s mind reeled in the sight she saw. It was Rainbow Dash, but... it wasn’t at the same time. Yes, she looked like her and her voice was the same, but her mane and tail were much longer, and better kept. There was also a small braid on her left side that mixed each multi-color strain of hair into colorful rainbow like helix.

“Um... I uh, I really hope I didn’t wake you up...” Rainbow Dash took a step forward, but flinched a bit as if afraid to move any farther.

“You look beautiful....” Fluttershy murmured, taking in just how cutely beautiful Rainbow looked. ‘Of course, Rainbow has always been a beauty in her own right... But here... she looks... soft, well kept... and pretty... So... cute... and that little braid! Oh my gosh, that just makes her adorable...’

Realizing what the other mare said, Fluttershy cleared her throat, speaking up again.

“No, you didn’t wake me up, Rainbow... I was already awake... I’m actually very glad you’re here... Um... I have to know... what’s going on here? What day is it? What’s the date? The time? And... why is everypony acting so... strange? I-I don’t understand what’s going on... and I need help...” Fluttershy pleaded, looking to her with despondency.

Rainbow locked eyes with her for a split second before she quickly looked away. “You... You want my help?” She said meekly. “Are you s-sure...? I mean, I could go get Pinkamena or AJ if you wanted me too...”

‘Oh no, not her, too! She’s... she’s acting... like... like me. Rainbow Dash... is like me...’ Fluttershy was stunned at this point. Her friends weren’t acting the very opposite of themselves. Far from it. They seemed to have switched personalities with each other. ‘Maybe... Twilight’s spell ended up doing that! ...But then, why do they look different? Is it because of their personality switch? But how would they have changed? Unless I was out for longer than I thought? ...Long enough for Rainbow’s hair to grow out? That would’ve been weeks! Oh, what’s going on here?!’

“No, no... Rainbow, please don’t go... I... I just... I need your help. I’m going to ask again, what day is it? What time is it?” Fluttershy asked, gently.

To this, Rainbow Dash, blushed a bit. “It’s... Wednesday. And it’s just a little bit after one in the afternoon...”

“Wednesday...” Fluttershy repeated. “...Yes... that seems about right... I think it was Wednesday. Um...okay...” She looked around nervously, twiddling her hooves. “Rainbow, I’m... really glad you’re here... I think... we need to talk about something... very important...”

‘I don’t know... what if this really isn’t my Rainbow Dash? Pinkie and Twilight are so different... is she different, too? That different? Will she not remember what happened? No... I have to chance it... I can’t ignore this.’

“You really wanna talk to me?” Rainbow Dash spoke up quickly as her blush deepened considerably. “O-Okay! What did you wanna talk about?” Her voice did nothing to hide her excitement.

‘Okay... at least I have her attention... She’s still acting very meek for some reason... but at least we can talk.’

“Rainbow... it was about earlier... when we were... out on the hill... and we... we...” Fluttershy blushed immensely. “Well... we... um.... we...”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as her own mind made a connection of its own. “Oh no! I’m sorry about that! I really am...” the cyan mare pulled back a bit, almost in what looked like fear. “I just... I was... I panicked and I... I wasn’t trying to... I’m sorry.”

Stricken with guilt, Fluttershy wondered if anything in her words or tone spoke to how upset she’d been with her response. But all of that just melted away instantaneously. Most especially at the fear in her best friend’s eyes.

‘Oh... this really hurt her a lot too, didn’t it? Poor Rainbow...’ Fluttershy thought. Gingerly, she climbed out of bed.

“It’s okay, Dashie... I forgive you. I know that you never meant to hurt me... It’s okay...” Fluttershy said softly, approaching her, albeit shakily. “I just... I want us to be able to talk about it... and be open with each other. What happened was... wonderful... and I... I was hoping... you’d at least try to just... be open with me. Like you were before we kissed...”

“K-K-Kissed?!” Rainbow’s mind was all but no longer working at the mention of the single word. “We... We kissed? On t-the hill? You and me...?”

“Well, yeah...” Fluttershy partly deadpanned, feeling worried. “Don’t you remember? You were doing your weather duty work, and doing some tricks... then we sat down together? Then we were hugging, we almost kissed... then I was startled by the lightning, and you were in a daze? We kissed, remember? Oh... it was real, and it was an amazing kiss, Dashie...” She approached her friend a bit closer, smiling. “I can’t stop thinking about it... I... I just... I wanted us to talk about it... If that’s okay with you... that’s all I’m asking.”

With each step Fluttershy took Rainbow Dash’s body locked up more and her blush was becoming all consuming. “Y-You... You haven’t called me ‘Dashie’ since we were fillies...” She shook her head. “...A-And on the hill... That’s not... Well, it is, but, I... and you... And...”

A worried jolt coursed through Fluttershy. Something was not right about any of this. “Rainbow... are we talking about the same thing?”

“We were talking about me... kissing you, r-right?” Rainbow looked ready to cry as she spoke those words. “I didn’t mean to... I mean, I did, but... I just... I wanted and I... I now it was wrong... I’m sorry...”

“...But... I asked you to.... I-I know we’d thought we were dreaming...” Fluttershy said softly, approaching her more. The sight of her looking ready to cry was heartbreaking. Finally reaching her, she embraced the cyan mare, snuggling her. “Don’t be sorry, Dashie... We both wanted to...at least, I hope you did... I hope I didn’t demand you to kiss me... I was just lost in the moment, I even thought I was dreaming... But I wasn’t... It was real...”

Rainbow Dash sniffled a bit as she returned the hug. “But... You were asleep... and I just... I always wanted to do that. I always wished I could have been brave enough to... But I wasn’t and I was so afraid that you would hate me if you knew...”

“...I wasn’t asleep, Dashie... I was awake when you kissed me.” Fluttershy frowned a bit in confusion. “But um.... what do you mean... if I knew what?”

Rainbow Dash tighten her grip, a mixture of emotions flooded over her. ‘She was awake? She was awake... And she doesn’t hate me! She... she... I was so scared that when Fluttershy was taking that nap on the hill, she would have gotten mad at me for kissing her... But she’s not! She was awake! Does that mean... that just maybe...?’

“If you knew that...” Rainbow started to say as her tears fell, “that I loved you...”

The words struck Fluttershy’s heart, in combination to seeing Rainbow Dash shedding tears. She hadn’t seen her cry since they were fillies, and over this? Now the words sunk in, embedding into her mind, repeating over and over on loop. Along with this was the heartbreaking vision of Rainbow Dash, tears falling, looking to her with pleading despondency. An image she would never forget.

It felt as if her mind had shut down, she had no idea what to do, what to think, or even how to process this. All she knew was what Rainbow had said. Beyond that, she felt lost, and amazed. To actually hear those words, with such emotion, was astounding. Her entire body went rigid, her heart pounding, and her insides bursting. A shiver coursed up her spine, making her tremble ever slightly.

‘She loves me, too... She loves me...’ Fluttershy thought, feeling tears of her own pooling in her eyes.

All at once, warmth filled her body and her heart swelled. She had hoped for this, dreamed of it for as long as she could remember, of Rainbow loving her back. Their moment from earlier had been a clear indication that she must have felt something, if not attraction, and seemed to enjoy it. Now she finally opened up and told her the truth. Fluttershy felt her wings flare up a little, flapping gently. She held the cyan pegasus closer to her, gazing lovingly into her tear-filled but still captivating cerise eyes.

“Rainbow... I’m so happy you said that...” Fluttershy managed, tears falling down her own cheeks. “Because.... I love you, too...”

Rainbow pulled away gently, locking her eyes onto her crush’s as she fell short of breath. Never would have thought she would ever hear those three words from Fluttershy, never should have even dream it. Yet, this was real. She was awake. And she had said the one thing that the cyan mare had hoped to hear for so many years.

Even through her tears, Rainbow smiled happily. “Fluttershy... I always wanted to hear that... Just once... Thank you-”

“Hey, there you are, Fluttershy!” A small dragon came into the room, turning out to be Spike. “Twilight and Pinkamena told me what happened when I was on my way home. Are you all right?” He noticed Rainbow, and hid a smile behind his claw.

‘At least Spike is acting normally...’ Fluttershy thought.

“Um, yes... I’m okay... I’m just tired and... a little confused about what’s going on around here...” Fluttershy admitted, looking away bashfully. She looked over at Rainbow then, giving her a sweet, loving smile.

The mood was killed and ruined, but it didn’t mean she forgot about their sweet exchange.

Rainbow Dash blushed once more from Fluttershy’s gaze and began to twirl her small braid around with her hoof. “I was just c-checking in on Fluttershy... I was worried she might have been hurt... If you n-need me to go, I can come back later... can’t I?”

“Nah, you don’t have to go, Rainbow Dash!” Spike waved it off, grinning. “You hungry, Fluttershy? I can go make you something.”

“Um... are you sure? I don’t want to impose...” Fluttershy said.

Spike stared at her weirdly, before looking at Rainbow. He whispered to her, “Is she feeling okay? She’s... acting kinda weird now.”

Rainbow smiled softly a bit as she replied, “I think she’s just in shock from whatever happened, but... I think it’s kind of nice for the moment...”

He gave her a pointed stare, rolling his eyes slightly before turning back to Fluttershy. “Nah, it’s cool! Just tell me what you’d like and I’ll make it for you!”

“...Well...um...could you...make me some steamed vegetables?” Fluttershy asked hopefully. She looked at Rainbow, smiling. “Would you like some, too?”

Rainbow Dash looked a bit shocked by this offer, but nodded in regards. “I would... If you don’t mind sharing with me, this is...”

“Of course I don’t mind. I’d love to share!” Fluttershy now came up by her side, nuzzling her sweetly.

Spike’s jaw dropped. “Uh... okay... I’ll just... go... do that... then....” He stared, wide-eyed, rubbing his eyes, and then leaving the room. The small dragon grumbled to himself, shaking his head.

Giggling, Fluttershy then looked at her best friend, bringing her into a happy side hug. “Well, Dashie... About what we were saying...”

Rainbow blushed immensely as she froze up. “I was... Um... I think I should... go help Spike, he’s not a good cook and I know how you like your food prepared... And then we can eat... so you can feel better and we can... hang out?”

Fluttershy pouted ever slightly. At the same time, she could understand exactly why Rainbow felt the need to get away for a little bit. Just to be by herself, get her mind off things and try to come to terms with what happened. That’s what she herself did. At the same time, it still worried her. Rainbow was not acting like herself at all, still.

“Um... yes, of course, Rainbow... Um... what do you mean he’s not a good cook? We all love his cooking, remember? He’s a great chef and bakes really well!”

“Are you sure you’re not running a fever...?” Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s forehead before pulling it away with a sad smile. “I mean... Spike’s not a terrible cook, but normally Twilight and Rarity are the ones who do the best at cooking...”

‘Weird... Well, Rarity can cook very well... even if she makes the more expensive and fancier kinds of meals sometimes...’ Fluttershy thought. ‘Oh, Dashie is so cute... I think I’ll flirt with her a little... she’s adorable when she blushes!’

“I see... well, no... I’m not running a fever... but you can kiss it better if you want...” Fluttershy batted her eyelashes cutely, smiling as she leaned toward her.

Rainbow was fighting off her wings natural reaction to lock up skyward as she felt her face becoming heated. “You want me to... k-kiss it better?” Her words were, at best, fumbled in speech, but her thoughts were moving faster than she could account for. “As in... right now?”

“Well...” Fluttershy giggled, blushing all the more. “If you want to... I mean... we’ve kissed before... and we love each other...” She reached over, touching a hoof to her cheek. “And you look beautiful... I know that’s not exactly relevant... but I love your braid... it’s so cute... Oh, Dashie... I’m just so happy we could finally get our true feelings on the table... I just... I really want to show you all the more... how wonderful this is, and how much I love you... So... only if you want to, of course...”

“O-Okay...” All at once, Rainbow Dash’s brain came to a screeching halt. There were no words, no thoughts, no emotions that could come close to expressing how she felt in that exact moment in time. She was only able to stare in wonder at the sight before her: Fluttershy. Without thinking, she leaned over and gave gentle little kiss to the top of Fluttershy’s head and moved away slowly, feeling something running down her nose.

A little squee escaped Fluttershy, making her giggle. It wasn’t quite what she was hoping for, but the gesture was sweet and adorable, there was no possible way she could deny that. Looking at Rainbow, her eyes went wide with worry.

“Rainbow! Your nose is bleeding! Oh, no!” Fluttershy came to her aid, overlooking her snout.

“It’s what...?” Rainbow Dash said almost dazed, not sure of what she had heard.

“Your nose is bleeding!” Fluttershy hurriedly grabbed a couple of tissues, tilted Rainbow’s head back, and plugged them against her nose. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dashie... are you all right?”

Rainbow gave a smile as Fluttershy gestured for her to sit down on the bed, which she did. She held her head a bit, before her hoof moved, slightly coaxing Fluttershy’s.

“No... I’m not all right...” Rainbow said with half asleep look. “I’m in love...”

“Oh...” Fluttershy’s concern melted ever so slightly, replaced with a sweet, dreamy smile. “You’re so sweet, Rainbow... I’m in love, too...” She leaned in, kissing her on the forehead. “You’re going to be fine...”

Rainbow forced a smile as she fell into a dreamy look as well. “I think I might actually be better than fine...”

The creamy yellow pegasus giggled, kissing her forehead again. “Awww... I’m glad, Dashie...”

Within the darkened cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest, a few sparks of mystic light came from inside. With the storm well on its way, the two mares were well aware that time was not in their favor.

“Nothing...” Pinkamena spoke breathlessly as she looked over the room once more. “And yet I’m sure there’s a magical residence here. Twilight, are you sure this is the exact room you found Fluttershy in?”

“Positive!” Twilight said, nodding toward the room itself. “Fluttershy was on the floor, near the door, just like I said.”

The pink mare scanned over entrance once more. “And yet, tracking spells have no effect. Illuminus spells are useless unless there was someone here with her that caused it, which was not the case... And there’s no physical signs of assault, spells, or even self-injury... What could have happened here?”

“I wish I knew how to do one of those screened flashieback spells...” Twilight mumbled, slumping on the floor. “At least then we’d get an ideasie about what happened with Flutters! Everything is all one big mystery!”

Pinkamena’s eyes darted open wide at the sudden realization. “Twilight, say that again!”

“I wish I knew how to do one of those screened flashieback spells?” Twilight looked at her, confused.

Pinkamena smiled at this. “Yes, it would be convenient if you did, however, you do know one spell that we haven’t tried... and it also makes perfect sense as well.” The pink mare walked over to the doorway. “If the event did not occur from here and there was no signs of a physical confrontation, yet there is clearly a magic residence within the air... then the event must have occurred from a starting point we can’t see. All her talk about multiverse theory... the spell... her behavior... it’s beginning to makes perfect sense...”

The lavender mare regarded her lover with confusion, tilting her head slightly. “Pinkie-Winkie... What do you mean? That sounds so big, awesome and smart, but I don’t know what it is!”

Pinkamena gave Twilight a gentle smile, but opened the door quickly, gesturing for the two to leave. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but if I’m right... this may be far more important that any single event that has occurred in all of recorded history. Come now, we mustn’t dilly-dally.”

“But... we didn’t find anything! How are we going to conduct solving this mystery?” Twilight wanted to know, bouncing over to her. “Come oooonnn, tell me!”

“Well... I’ll tell you once I know for sure, how’s that sound?” Pinkamena asked.

Twilight still pouted, but made no further argument. She knew better than to pester about that kind of information, especially when Pinkamena was dead set on not making conclusions until she truly knew. “Fine. But we have to make cupcakes when we get home. I’m hungry! All of this magic and detective work is not easy with an empty stomach!”

Finishing her share of the vegetables, Fluttershy smiled with satisfaction, drinking down her juice. She surprisingly felt a lot hungrier than she anticipated, and was glad to finally feel a little more pony again.

“Thank you so much... that was delicious... And you made such a delicious sauce for it, Rainbow... thank you so much!” Fluttershy smiled brightly at the cyan mare.

Rainbow Dash blushed a bit at the compliment, “It wasn’t anything too difficult to make... Just something I picked up...” She looked down at the empty bowl. ‘Fluttershy’s never said such nice things about my cooking before... It’s really weird, but... I kinda like it.’ She moved slightly closer to her crush. “But if you ever wanted me to cook for you again sometime... I wouldn’t mind.”

“Well, okay... I’ll take you up on that, Rainbow...” Fluttershy smiled brightly, blushing a little. “I um... I’m a bit of a cook myself... I uh... I’m not a gourmet chef out of Canterlot or anything, but I cook just fine... Perhaps... we can cook together... sometime... a little meal... for the two of us...” She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.

Rainbow almost fell over from the sight of this. ‘She’s... is she’s openly flirting me? As in... like... flirting? With me?’ Her mind tried to keep up the best it could.

“I would... really like that, Fluttershy...” Rainbow Dash spoke up meekly.

“...Me too...” Fluttershy looked away a little, giggling.

“Uh, I’m still here!” Spike said from across the table. “...Do you want me to leave you guys alone now?”

“Huh?” Rainbow quickly looked over to see that the small dragon was, in fact, still there. “Oh, I’m sorry Spike. You must still have plans with Applejack today, don’t you?”

The little dragon blushed a bit. “Aw, come on! Not fair! ...But yeah, I do, actually. She asked me to help her out at the shop today! So I’ll just... go there now! Bye!” With that, Spike dashed out of the room and out the door.

“Oh my... I hope he’s not too mad at me...” Rainbow said quietly. “I just know that Applejack can be a little demanding at times...”

“...Wait, what?” Fluttershy looked at her in confusion. “Rainbow... where does Applejack work?”

Rainbow gave her a questioning look as she answered. “...At the boutique over on the corner. But you know that. She’s worked there for as long as I’ve known her...”

“No, Applejack runs Sweet Apple Acres with her grandmother, older brother and little sister,” Fluttershy countered, shaking her head. “She would never work at Rarity’s boutique! We’ve seen that happen, remember?”

“W-Well, Applejack did work there at one point, but she didn’t really care for farming, I think...” Rainbow Dash responded slightly shushed. ‘Something’s wrong... Everypony knows that Applejack runs the boutique. Her designs are famous... What’s wrong with you, Fluttershy?’

“But-” Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest.

That was when the library door burst open again, with an excited Twilight flying in through the doorway. She came over, landing near the two pegasi, and receding her wings.

“Flutters! There you are! Pinkamena’s got something she wants to talk to you about!” She said, bouncing on the spot.

“Yes, that is correct.” Pinkamena said with a calm tone as she entered. “This is very important, Fluttershy, as I might be able to answer your questions, but you have to promise me to do two things. You must answer me truthfully and you must not panic...” She came to a stop in front of the two pegasi. She cleared her throat a bit. “Fluttershy, what do you do for a living?”

“...I... I’m just an animal caretaker...” Fluttershy responded, still confused. “I care for other ponies’ animals and pets at times, too. Sometimes I do odd jobs for others... I also work as a bit of an animal control specialist. It earns a very decent living... Why do you ask?”

To this, everypony fell dead silent to this.

“...What?” The creamy yellow mare looked at them, feeling frightened all of a sudden. “I-I’m telling the truth! Really! I-I wouldn’t lie about that... I do care for animals! I love animals! I really do! I-I... okay, I was a model at one point, but I hated that job! I quit a few weeks after, but that’s it! I swear! I look after animals! You have to believe me!! Y-You girls know that!” She was beginning to get desperate, now backing away out of fear.

Pinkamena sighed, as she approached the frighten mare. “I believe you, Fluttershy...” She closed her eyes as she shook her head. “However, what you just described was Rainbow Dash’s job. She works as an animal caretaker and you work on the weather patrol flight team...” She looked right at Fluttershy. “Normally, you’re a brash, brazen, show-off with little cares for rules or regulations. You’re considered one of the best there is in terms of flying and are very loud... Yet, that doesn’t seem to fit you, does it?” Pinkamena stepped closer.

Stunned, all the yellow pony could do was stare at them in complete shock. None of this was making any sense at all. She trembled, wide-eyed, trying to understand what Pinkie was trying to say. It didn’t make a lick of sense even to her. She was not Rainbow Dash, not in terms of her personality or skills! How did that even apply to her? Why did they think that? So many questions buzzed in her mind, but nothing she could do gave her the strength to speak.

Body numb, insides flaring, all she could do was stare helplessly at the pink earth pony.

Pinkamena moved closer still. “You are a much more reserved, shy, meeker pony than that. You are less self-absorbed, and more afraid... You’re not an impostor, as Twilight would have known, but you’re not Fluttershy it would seem...” She opened her eyes with a strange look that was both serious and somehow caring. “...Unless, you are Fluttershy, but a different one.”

Dead silence once again befell the room.

“...What?!” Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all exclaimed in unison.

“After all that I have been able to gather on this matter, there is only one logical explanation to this event.” Pinkamena stopped in her tracks. “That somehow, you, Fluttershy... have done the impossible... you crossed over into a different plane of reality. Our reality. And due to the laws of space-time, two of you can’t exist in one plane of reality at a time, thus... our Fluttershy and you must have switched places! You’ve transcended the very law, every rule of Meta-Universe theory and stepped past your own dimension... Fascinating...”

At that moment, Fluttershy realized exactly what she was talking about. Twilight’s experiment with the multi-universe, to see other realities and possibilities.

“Of course... Twilight was performing this experiment... in looking into the multiverse...” Fluttershy said, wide-eyed. “Pinkie and I were to help her with it... to see all the different realities we were in... And I... But... that doesn’t make sense... how am I here? How did that even happen? I-... wait... you said... there was another me, right? ...Then... where’s the other me?”

“I would assume in your reality.” Pinkamena said flatly. “But that’s not important right now. Do you realize what this means? You performed inter-dimensional travel! You’ve proven that it is possible! You are living codex of information!” A smile began to play on her lips. “You very well might be the key to unlocking the entirety of reality...”

“...Oh no....” Fluttershy whimpered, wide-eyed. “H-How... am I going to get home? I-I can’t stay here! I don’t belong here...!”

She took notice of the stricken look on Rainbow Dash’s face. “You...?” The cyan pony stared at Fluttershy with a look of sadness that was almost all-consuming. She quickly bolted from the room and dashed outside.

All at once, Fluttershy tried to go after her, but was stopped by Pinkamena grabbing onto her tail with her mouth. The timid pony did so, but stared after the departing pegasus with shame. It was then that she realized what she’d said... and how it must have hurt.

‘Oh no... She must have thought that I.... That we... But she isn’t Rainbow Dash... not the one I remember... not one from home... she’s... different... She’s like me... but... she’s still very sweet and I... I really... I must have felt something, right? Oh.... if I’m anything like they say I am in this reality, then Rainbow must be-.... oh my gosh. She’s in love with me... the other me... but the other me... probably doesn’t love her... and with me... I actually... oh no... That poor girl... I know exactly how she feels...’

Tears pooled in her eyes as she could now see what had happened.

“...I’m sorry, Dashie...” She uttered, voice shaking.

“Now, now...” Pinkamena said calmly, “She’s a very fragile pony... but she’ll be alright, I know it. For now, we need to focus on the matter at hoof. I’m going to have to ask you to stay here for a little while longer to run a few tests... to see if there is way to get you home... Afterwards, well... I’m not sure...”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, not even looking at her. All she could even think about was the stricken look of heartbreak and despair on Rainbow’s face. Right when it looked like she herself didn’t even care and just wanted to leave. Abandoning her.

‘I have to talk to her... I have to do something... I can’t leave here unless I know she’ll be okay...’ She thought.

Author's Note

So, here we are! The alternate reality! Pinkie-I'm sorry, Pinkamena is wise, knowledgeable and calm. Twilight is hyper and silly. Rainbow Dash is meek and kind. This was a lot of fun to do! :D Pinkamena has easily become our favourite character in this. X3

Enjoy, folks!

Original 3: Left in the Dark

“...What?! Why are you staring me all weird?!” Fluttershy said irritably, frowning. “And what’s with your hair, Pinks?! You never curl it! You look weird! Twilight... what’s with your hair? You always wear it up and it’s much longer than that! What’s going on here?!”

Twilight stared at the sight before her with a look of utter confusion. ‘Is that really Fluttershy?! No, no, no... That’s... It can’t be...’ She quickly looked over the pony in question. All too soon did she note the differences in her physical appearance. Her mane was much shorter and less well kept, her tail was considerably thinner and she even had several piercings in her ears. ‘That’s definitely not Fluttershy...’

“No, no, no, no, no, NO!” Pinkie yelled, shaking her head. “That is NOT how you’re supposed to act, Flutters! You’re supposed to be all sweet, meek, complacent and kind! Now you’re just acting like Dashie on a bad day! That’s not right! Even in your worst mood, you’re just a little irritable! But not like this!”

“...Rainbow Dash? On a bad day? Please, that pony is afraid of her own shadow!” Fluttershy said, rolling her eyes. “What the hay are you on, Pinkamena?! You don’t act like this at all! That’s what Twilight’s supposed to do!”

“What I’m supposed to do?!” Twilight finally responded in a slightly irate tone. “What’s gotten into you, Fluttershy?”

The yellow pony looked at her incredulously. “What’s gotten into me?! I’m fine! Your magic must’ve really ratted out your brain! Nothing’s making any sense! Why’d you guys change your manes and why are you acting all... weird?! Could somepony PLEASE tell me what’s going on?! If it’s some kind of prank... yeah, Twilight, it was lame! LAME! You’re better at pranks than this!”

Twilight looked beyond confused at this statement. “... Pranks? I’ve never so much as attempted- Fluttershy, I’m beginning to think that spell did something to you... You’re not acting like yourself.” She said in a worried tone.

“Why do you keep saying that?” Fluttershy groaned. “I’m fine, really! Look... can I just go now? I’ve got some weather duties to take care of, anyway.”

“Weather? Flutters, since when do you do weather jobs?” Pinkie asked, looking curious. “I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing!”

“...Uh, Pinks... I’ve been working the weather in Ponyville since I moved here! You know that!” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “Whatever... I-I just gotta go now! This is getting too weird.”

With that, the attitude-prone mare trotted down to the door. She spread her wings, preparing to take off, and opened the front door. Only to be greeted by rushing wind, rain, and the sound of thunder going on outside.

“What the hay?! They started the storm without me?! But I told them to wait!” Fluttershy yelled, about to go out. “They know better than that!”

Twilight moved over to Fluttershy with a look of concern. “Fluttershy, you never told anypony to do anything. To my knowledge, you were with Rainbow Dash all this afternoon, and came here prior to my request. It started raining almost fifteen minutes ago...” She gave her friend a questioning look. “And you don’t work on the weather patrol.”

“...What? Well, yeah, I was hanging out with Rainbow Dash for a while...” Fluttershy frowned. “I took a nap, I woke up, then I went home... All of a sudden I was feeling really weird, and this strange bright light came on, I didn’t know what was going on... next thing I knew, I was here! Love to stay and chat, but I gotta run! These weather ponies are not doing their jobs right!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight called over to her pink maned friend quickly, “I know I’ll regret this... Pony pile on Fluttershy!”

“ON IT!”

Before Fluttershy could move, the pink earth pony had leaped into the air, as if on a spring, and tackled her to the floor. Yelping, Fluttershy tried to escape, but Pinkie was far too strong and managed to hold her down pretty well.

“Get off me!” Fluttershy yelled, struggling. “I’ve got. My. Job. To. DO!”

“We’ll let you go on one condition,” Twilight said as she walked over, “you have to listen to what I’m about to say. Understand?”

“Or else you’re staying right there, Fluttershy!” Pinkie giggled.

‘Guess I may as well... these crazy pranking ponies won’t leave me alone otherwise...’ Fluttershy thought bitterly. “All right, fine. Just get off me.”

Twilight gave a gentle smile. “Okay then... Pinkie, you can get off her... for now.”

Pinkie nodded, getting up off of Fluttershy. Said pony groaned, standing up on all fours and stretching her muscles. Casting an annoyed glare to the other two, Fluttershy sat down on her haunches.

“Now tell me what the hay’s goin’ on here. Frankly, none of this is making any sense and I’d sure like a simple straight answer!”

“Sadly, I’m afraid that this will be anything but simple...” Twilight sighed. “Considering how you act, your reactions, and your overall appearance... I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you’re not Fluttershy. Or at least, not our Fluttershy...”

“...What are you talking about?!” Fluttershy looked at Twilight as if she were insane. “I am Fluttershy! I’m the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale! I moved here to Ponyville a few years ago with Rainbow Dash, I took a job in the weather patrol division, and I work on awesometastic tricks! You all know that!”

Pinkie blinked, staring at her weirdly...all before bursting out laughing. “Hee hee! You sound just like Dashie! That’s adorable! Hee! You’re so clever, Flutters!”

“...Just like her?! Hello?! That pony’s quieter than a mute mouse!” Fluttershy protested. “I should know! I’ve known her since I was a filly! She’s my best friend! Why wouldn’t I know that?!”

“Perhaps you are, but the Fluttershy we know isn’t anything like that...” Twilight began. “And believe me when I say I wish Rainbow Dash did act like that sometimes... The point is, something went wrong. You remember seeing a flash of light, correct? Well, that was in fact us, but not directly us. It was our Fluttershy. She must have become tethered to you somehow through the rift and when it closed, the vacuum it created switched the two of you around!” She stopped to consider what she had just said. “Oh dear Celestia! I sent one of my closest friend’s into an alternate reality against her will! How am I going to fix this...?”

“...What?!” Fluttershy and Pinkie shouted with unison, wide-eyed.

“That’s crazy! I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” Fluttershy sounded a mix of angry and worried. “This is nuts! I must be dreaming!”

Twilight looked mildly irate by this. “Pinkie, you know what to do.”

Coming up beside the creamy yellow mare, Pinkie raised her hoof... and tapped her lightly on the face, as if slapping her.

“Hey!” Fluttershy recoiled, as if in pain.

“Nopey-dopey-lopie! You’re not dreaming!” The pink earth pony grinned widely.

Twilight exhaled as she looked back to her book. It was badly charred from the spell somehow, as now many of the pages, including the one with the spell, were gone.

The alicorn looked over Fluttershy with a sense of worry. “Let me explain... I was conducting research on multi-verse theory and was seeking assistance from two of my friends. The spell backfired and overcharged, somehow switching you and my friend around into the other’s reality. I can’t for sure how, but as it stands... I have no idea how to fix this.” She placed a hoof on the yellow mare’s shoulder. “You can choose to believe me or not, but that’s the truth...”

Fluttershy took this in, unsure of what to make of it all. It somehow made sense, considering that nothing around her felt or looked familiar, despite that this was still Pinkamena and Twilight... just with different personalities, who were used to another Fluttershy. A Fluttershy who was apparently just like Rainbow Dash... whom she herself was apparently reminding them of. But that still begged the question as to what she was going to do now. She felt tense, trying to hide it, looking away from the two ponies barely resembling her friends.

“Then what am I supposed to do?!” She wanted to know the answer, but feared it at the same time.

“Well...” Twilight began, but quickly halted. She mumbled something to herself before continuing. “ I suppose you should lay low and not draw attention to yourself. Maybe go home- our Fluttershy’s home, and stay there for a bit until I figure out how to fix this... But then there's Fluttershy prearrangements like Rarity’s spa days and Dash’s practice runs... and our sleepover tomorrow... Um... Just, I guess, don’t do anything that you wouldn’t do. I mean, that Rainbow Dash... no, I mean, our Fluttershy wouldn’t do... This is making my head hurt...”

“Mine too!” Pinkie complained, holding her head. “Owie! This is no fun, Twi-Twi!”

“Ugh... Is my cottage at least in the same place?” Fluttershy asked irritably, holding her head as well. “W-What, spa?! Spa?! Oh, no! No, no, no! I don’t do spas! I don’t like them! Forget that!”

Twilight sighed as she did her best not to groan. “If it’s on the edge of Everfree Forest, then yes... And as for the spa... hopefully, I’ll have everything fixed before that. If not, either play sick or put up with it... Uh, I think I need ice pack...”

Pinkie zipped out of the room, then came back, an ice pack in hoof... all in a matter of a few seconds.

“Here you go, Twilight!” She said cheerfully.

Twilight looked at her rather surprised, but took the ice pack with a minor blush. “Oh, uh, thank you Pinkie...” She said as she applied the pack to her head.

“Whatever... I’m just gonna go home...” Fluttershy grumbled, heading to the door. “See you... later or something, I guess.”

“Flutters! There’s a storm out there! You can’t go out in it!” Pinkie protested, blocking the door. “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow when it clears!”

“One, stop calling me that,” Fluttershy said pointedly. “And two, I’ll be fine. I can fly faster than this storm can move.”

“At least take a raincoat or umbrella so you don’t get completely drenched, Fluttershy.” Twilight asked her kindly.

Pinkie shook her head. “The wind is really strong, Twilight. It’ll either flip the umbrella or blow it away. She really shouldn’t take one out in this weather, even if against resistance of the wind.”

“... Oh, yes... That is true.” Twilight blushed a bit from embarrassed by her friend’s correction. “Then, if you insist on going out, take a raincoat at the very least.”

Looking out the window, Fluttershy could see just how strong the storm was, and sighed, slumping over. “Okay, fine. I’ll wait out the storm until it’s either lessened or finished. Just let me-”

“WHOA!”

One of the windows burst open, a flash of blue and rainbow flying in, crashing onto the floor near the bookshelves.

Fluttershy suppressed a chuckle, ‘Dang, even in this reality she can’t go more than five minutes without crashing into something!’

Twilight jumped in shock from the crash landing as she looked over the now, upside down cyan mare. “Rainbow Dash! Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash responded, rolling over onto her stomach. “Just thought I’d drop in!” She noticed Fluttershy, recoiling ever slightly. “Uh... h-hey, Fluttershy... why uh... what are you doing here? I-whoa! What’d you do to your mane?!” She stood right up, overlooking her. “And you have piercings?! What the hay?! You did all of that in less than half an hour?! How’s that even possible?!”

Fluttershy gave a smirk, “Well, I could ask you the same thing, Dash.” She brought a hoof up, pointing Rainbow Dash’s head. “Your mane ain’t no picnic, either! As for earrings, you can get them pierced in less than five... If ya got the guts to handle it.”

This rendered Dash with wide, surprised eyes. She knew Fluttershy could be snarky and/or sarcastic if she wanted to, but this was... beyond that. Whatever Fluttershy did to her looks and attitude... it was weird.

Pinkie grinned widely, and pulled away a silently protesting Twilight to go upstairs.

“What’s wrong with my mane?! It’s fine! And seriously? You did all of that?! Why?!” Dash exclaimed, loudly. “What are you trying to prove?!”

Fluttershy just chuckled at this. “Well, for one, that thing you call a mane looks more like a mop that’s been sitting bucket of water for a week!” She snickered a bit as she relaxed against the wall. “And I’m not trying to prove anything. Maybe I just like the bad girl look. What do you think?” She said with a wink.

“What do I think?! What do I think?!” Dash half-yelled, coming closer to her.

All at once, a barrage of mixed emotions fell over her. She had no idea what to make of anything that was going on now. Fluttershy had somehow gone from her usual, sweet, kind, and quiet demeanour... Into a rough and tough, wisecracking delinquent. Her mane, once so long and beautiful, was now cut unevenly, barely resembling her own style. Her normally soft and warm teal eyes were hard, but bright and fun. Along with that were the piercings on her ears, and her tail. Everything about her was completely warped. Changed for... what? It didn’t make any sense. Not only in the sense of timing, but the entire reason for it all.

“You look.... weird!” Dash burst, feeling her heart pounding madly. “Yeah, you look WEIRD! Your mane looks like you cut it with hedge clippers! You’re like some insecure pony trying to act all cool and tough, but instead you come off insecure and jerky!”

Fluttershy smiled as she pushed off the wall and walked right up to Rainbow Dash. “Insecure and jerky? Really?” She leaned in close the cyan mare’s face with a wide grin on her face. “Is that the best you got, Dash?”

‘Oh jeez! Sweet Celestia, this is so HOT!’ Dash thought, wide-eyed. Her body trembled, burning with desire, but she remained as she was, trying to ignore just how much this was getting to her.

“N-No! I’m just getting started!” Dash leaned in closer, their snouts touching. “It’s like you’re trying too hard! Going around and shouting ‘Hey, look at me! I’m not the same little Fluttershy anymore! I’m totally cool and awesome! Worship me!’ and all that! Well... you’re not fooling me! You’re just... just... acting all like you’re cool and stuff! But... but you’re not like that! I know you, Fluttershy! You’re a lot different than that!”

Fluttershy nuzzled her nose a bit. “Ooh, getting better!” She said before pulling away. “I’m not trying to shout it that I’m cool. Why should I? After all, you either got it, or ya don’t. I cut my hair myself because I don’t need any help! I got my ears pierced because I wanted them pierced! Somepony wanna worship me? Let ’em. I don’t really care.” She moved back to the wall once more, “So tell me, Dash, how much you know about me... How different am I?”

The nose nuzzle sent a jolt through Dash. Everything about this was maddening. She felt so conflicted, like never before. Something about the entire situation felt so wrong to her. Yet, there was an undeniable gravitation that came with it, and she couldn’t ignore it.

‘What’s happened here?! I feel weird... like something’s not right... and yet I’m so turned on at the same time!’ Dash thought, trembling a bit.

“A lot different, that’s what! You don’t act like this, and frankly, this freaky transition you’re making doesn’t feel natural! It feels like you’re trying too hard! Like you’re just... not understanding any of it! You just... took what you see and hear from others, like me, and just... ran away with it! Like you’re quoting stuff from a movie! You went from being cute, pretty, and soft... to just...” Dash found herself trembling again. Even her voice was beginning to lower, yet crack. “...That! You’re... you’re hot!”

Fluttershy looked mildly surprised by that last statement, but grinned even more. “Oh, I’m hot, am I?” She turned around facing away from Dash. “Well now, that is news to me! So, if I’m hot, what do you really think of my looks? Eh, Rainbow Dash?” She teased out her name, but didn’t look back. ‘This is... really turning me on now. I was just messing with at first, but this is...’ The yellow mare thought.

As her breathing grew heavy, Dash could feel the heat pooling in her stomach; along with a coiling sensation in her gut. Her heart pounded, and she could feel a clench between her legs. Whatever was happening here, whatever Fluttershy was doing, she loved every second of it. All impulse in her body took control, which she didn’t even try to resist.

Dash practically sprang forward, grabbed Fluttershy, turned her around, and held her to the wall! That feat in itself was shocking, considering she’d never, ever done that to her before. Getting physical with passion was not something she actively tried to do against Fluttershy... and yet, right now, it was all she could think to do.

“Yes... you’re hot! Sweet Celestia, you got hot, Fluttershy! I don’t know what you did, but frankly, you look... awesome!” Dash managed, her breathing laboured. “Your mane is so cool, the way it’s short and frames your face, it’s edgy and awesome! I don’t know what happened to your eyes, but they’re just piercing into me like they never did before and I freaking like it! Those earrings of yours, I never really thought about earrings, but you really pull ‘em off pretty cool! You look totally awesome, and right now....!”

She looked into the other mare’s eyes, her own hazed with lust and passion. There was no denying any of this now. None of it. All that her mind could conjure was what she wanted, what she could see reflected back in the normally timid mare.

The cyan pony’s voice lowered, almost to a whisper, “Right now you’re turning me on.”

‘Oh dear Luna, that was... Mhmm... I’ve wanted Rainbow Dash to act like this for years! I’m starting to like this place...’ Fluttershy’s thoughts raced as she rested her forelegs around Dash’s shoulders.

“I’ve got a little news for you, Dash... The feelings mutual.” Fluttershy teased. “No, that’s a lie... I’d say I’m more than just that...” She cocked her head a bit as she locked eyes with the cyan pony with a playful look. “So, what'cha gonna do about it?”

Even more so, Dash’s breath hitched when she felt one of Fluttershy’s hind legs stroke against her inner thigh, dangerously close to her nethers. She let out a breath, holding back the urge to moan. Her grip on the creamy yellow mare tightened, while her eyelids lowered to half-mast.

This was all when something inside of her just snapped like a twig.

“Aside from throwing you down onto the nearest surface and having my way with you.... I’m gonna do this!”

With that, Dash leaned in and kissed her hungrily, not holding an ounce of her passion back. All at once, everything just released, putting her all into this moment. Her hooves coursed either through the rough, yet soft, pink strands of Fluttershy’s mane, or wandered her sides, going down, and then back up again.

Fluttershy could only pull her more into the kiss as she wrapped her forelegs around Dash, her eyes rolling back slowly as she lost herself in the moment of lust and passion. She fought the urge to push Rainbow Dash back and pin her down, but something in her wouldn’t allow it. Gentle moans escaped from both mouths as they were held in place.

Every moment of this felt a combination of awesome, right, yet wrong. But Dash ignored anything that would prevent her from going through with it. Fluttershy’s responses to the kiss were only encouraging her, to which she wanted so much more of. She growled sensually, running a hoof through her mane, while the other wandered the toned body of her companion.

‘This is AWESOME! Best. Kiss. EVER! I don’t know what happened to Flutters here, but she’s ten times more awesome now! I don’t know how she got over being all meek and shy, but she’s just so sexy when she’s acting cool!’ Dash thought, completely lost in a haze of lust.

She ran her tongue along Fluttershy’s lips, demanding entrance, only for Fluttershy’s tongue to shoot out and overtake hers almost immediately. Groaning, their tongues engaged in a battle for dominance, adding further to the passion and lust growing between them.

‘Oh, Rainbow Dash... why couldn’t I ever get you to be like this where I’m from?! You were always so darn shy and meek, but now... This just so... Oh, holy mother Luna! If you don’t take me, I will make you! I will drag you off and make you want me!’ Fluttershy’s thoughts screamed.

Feeling the bolder mare slip her hind leg between her legs, Dash groaned loudly between kisses; actively grounding their hips. A growl sounded from Fluttershy, to which she pulled Dash even closer and kissed her roughly. She even bit down on her lip, painfully, but awesomely. Their tongues dueled all the more, exploring each other’s hot mouths.

‘Where’d Fluttershy learn to kiss like this? Earlier she was so... gentle, and kinda slow and more like being cute... Here, wow! She’s raw, passionate, daring... it’s awesome!’ Rainbow Dash thought, her mind hazing over with the raw passion between them. ‘Why’d she never do this before? If I had known she could be this awesome, I’d have tried this a long time ago!’

The more their kiss grew, the more rough they became, and the more turned on Dash was. Moisture was building up between her legs, her inner muscles clenching and responding to everything. The cyan mare growled sensually, almost in a primal way, burying her hoof against Fluttershy’s head, while the other grabbed at her hip.

‘Getting a little wild here, are we?!’ Fluttershy could barely contain herself as she started wrapped her hind legs around Dash’s waist. ‘I can play that game too, Dash.’ She was beginning to grip the back of Rainbow Dash’s head, forcing the kiss into a wild frenzy of lust.

The slight change in position alerted Dash a bit, but she all too gladly accommodated as best she could. It even caused a little more delicious friction, and it wasn’t hard to tell that Fluttershy was definitely getting off on this; the telltale scent and mild hint of moisture were all she needed to know.

Using her hooves to hold her up further against the wall, Dash then pulled back a little, their lips just barely touching. She panted hard, trying to regain her breath, as she gazed with a lusty, suggestive smirk at Fluttershy.

“Buck... that was....” Dash panted out, locking eyes with the other mare, her own glazed with lust and passion. “...Awesome... All right, Flutters...” She leaned a little closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “My place or yours?”

Fluttershy’s breathing was labored as she grinned up at Dash. “Why wait? I bet there’s some great places to play in the rain.”

Heart jolting, Dash grinned widely. While she usually wasn’t one to have romantic fantasies (or so she told herself), she did admittedly find the idea of getting wild and romantic in the rain pretty appealing. And to think that Fluttershy was being that adventurous, especially after their hot, raw, passionate make out session.

“I’m already soaked enough as it is... like the rain’s going to make any difference...” Dash smirked, licking her lips. “Why don’t we race outside...”

“A race?” Fluttershy questioned her with a confused look. ‘Is she serious? Wait... this Dash is suppose to be like me, so...’ A playful smirk played on her lips.

“You honestly think you can keep up with me? As if you could even touch my dust...” Fluttershy roughly grabbed Rainbow Dash’s head once more. “Sure, we’ll race! I’ll even give you a head start... Of course, the loser has to give one after the race...”

Taken aback by the response, Dash half grinned and half smirked as she squeezed Fluttershy’s hips closer to her own. “You got it all wrong, Flutters... I think it’s a question of whether or not you can keep up with me... I am the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale, after all. You know that....” She licked her lips sensually. “But I accept your challenge. You’re gonna regret giving me that head start... I won’t go easy on you... But that’s good loser consolation...”

“Fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale, huh?” Fluttershy teased as she pulled away. “Well then, I guess you’re about to lose that title, aren’t you?”

Hot, bothered, aroused beyond belief, Dash all but lost control of herself. ‘THAT’S IT! I’M TAKING HER NOW!’

“Darn it, Flutters...! Forget that, I want you now!!” Dash growled, advancing once more and holding her to the wall like before.

Just as they leaned in, about to kiss once more-

“WHOA!” Came a shrill cry from nearby. “What are you two doing?!”

Both pegasi turned their heads in surprise, seeing a shocked, wide-eyed Spike in the doorway of the basement. Obviously, he’d been down there this whole time, and only just came up... now. Of all the timing in the world, it had to be right now. Neither said a single word, especially since there was definitely no other way to explain this. Their position was compromising, and Dash had a very good feeling that she spoke loud enough for him to hear what she’d just said.

‘Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me! I was this close to getting to taste the rainbow...’ An annoyed Fluttershy thought to herself. She wasn’t just mad, she was irate and turned on. She shot Spike an annoyed look.

“Spike, you've got less than ten seconds to turn around and disappear before I make you... got it?!” Fluttershy shouted at the baby dragon.

Dash’s gaze snapped right back to Fluttershy then. ‘What...? She’s never reacted like that before!’

Even Spike looked stricken for a second, but then bit his lip. “Right... um... I’m just gonna... go see if Twilight needs me for something... over there...”

Without waiting for an answer, he dashed upstairs, not looking back.

Fluttershy sighed a bit. “I guess that killed the moment...”

Nodding, Dash gently released her, feeling a mixture of irritated and turned on still. She trembled, trying to keep herself in check.

“Guess so... Doesn’t mean I’m backing out, though. Just gotta... take a rain check,” she said, a little smirk on her face.

“Oh, where's the rimshot sound effect when you need it?” Fluttershy giggled a bit at Rainbow Dash’s remark.

That made Dash snicker, to which she grinned at. “Whatever you say, Flutters. C’mon, let’s get a snack or something. May as well wait out for a bit...” She leaned to one of the creamy yellow mare’s pierced ears, “before I finally make you mine...”

“Oh, really now?” Fluttershy as she met her gaze with toothy smirk. “Well, I think I know what I want for a snack then...” She turned and began to back her way into kitchen area, but stopped before turning back. “Skittles.”

Dash watched her go, wide-eyed, even trembling a bit. Whatever had just happened in the past little while, especially to Fluttershy... she had no idea. But at the same time, she didn’t care. Basking in the moment’s awesomeness was by far the best she’d felt all day.

‘Oh, she’s REALLY going to get it...’ Dash thought, licking her lips as she followed the sight of Fluttershy’s retreating flank. With that, she went after her toward the kitchen to join with the others.

‘Weird... I don’t remember her body being that toned...’

“Care to explain why you dragged me up here, Pinkie?” Twilight asked with a mixture of concern and irritation.

Pinkie gave her a look, before lowering her voice, “Well, duh! There’s a whole ton of belligerent sexy tension between them... we had to leave them alone!”

Twilight stared at her companion in utter confusion. “Pinkie I have no idea what you’re talking about right now. From where I was standing, it looked like the two of them were going to kill one another.”

“To the untrained eye, maybe!” Pinkie said, shaking her head. “But Dashie was attracted to Flutters acting all... different! There were sparks flying and so much raw sexual tension between them, like you wouldn’t believe! As for Flutters... I think she has a Dashie back home, and wanted her!”

Twilight was once more held in a state of bewilderment. “Don’t you think that’s a bit presumptuous to assume that? Aside from acting like Rainbow Dash, we don’t know anything about this Fluttershy!” The alicorn tried to hold her voice down. “... But that’s beside the point. We have to think... How do we solve this...”

“Um... don’t we just do the spell again, and send her back the same way we switched them?” The pink earth pony said, pointing to the spot where the spell had originally been cast.

Twilight sighed as she shook her head. “That’s part of the problem, sadly... As it stands, I have no idea how they switched places, just the why. I also don’t know why it was this Fluttershy either out of all the other possible Fluttershy’s. Then, there’s matter of actually getting ours back... as I’m not sure how the two were tethered together in the first place or if they still are...” She looked over to her companion.

“Didn’t it have to do with her thought process?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head cutely.

“I believe so...” Twilight nodded in agreement. “It had to do her thoughts, but that’s also a problem. It had to do with our Fluttershy’s thoughts, not this one.” She pointed over to the partly burned tome. “But even if I figure out all of this, the biggest problem still remains... The actual page the spell was on was destroyed...”

Looking down at the book in question, all Pinkie could do was sigh sadly. She then curled her forelegs around Twilight’s neck, hugging and nuzzling her.

“I’m sorry, Twi-Twi... this was all my fault... I never should’ve moved...”

Twilight hugged her back. “No, no, Pinkie... I should have been more careful. This was just as much my fault as yours. But we will fix this.”

“But I moved... I was told not to, I knew better... I know better, and I didn’t listen,” Pinkie said sadly, her mane now going flat at every passing second. “And now Flutters is gone...”

“She’s not gone, just... misplaced.” Twilight said calmly, holding her friend closer. “We can fix this. I’m sure Princess Celestia has another copy of the book somewhere and I’ll study it more carefully this time... and you’ll help me.”

This made Pinkie smile a bit, nodding. “Of course I will. I’ll do anything I can to help you, Twilight! Just like when we tried to find that timey-wimey spell!”

“Yep, you sure will.” Twilight spoke up with bright smile. “And we’ll get this all under control! Until then, we shouldn’t panic or get worked up. We should take this opportunity to learn what we can about this Fluttershy and her reality. After all, this is literally a once in in a lifetime experience!”

The curls poofed back up again, to which Pinkie hugged her alicorn friend tighter. “Okay, Twi-Twi! We’ll do it! We’re gonna bring back our Fluttershy and send the other Flutters back home where she belongs!”

“Gah... Pinkie... You’re crushing me again...” Twilight struggled to mutter out.

Giggling, Pinkie released her and then kissed her cheeks. “So! What’s the first course of action, my Princess?!” She looked at Twilight with bright, sparkling cerulean eyes, her smile growing.

This simple phase, accompanied by Pinkie’s light kisses, made Twilight blush almost uncontrollably. She was not used to such treatment and always felt rather odd when her friend acted this way. In the past, the alicorn would write this off as Pinkie Pie just being herself, but she was beginning to feel that this might be something else.

“W-Well... I suppose the first thing we should do is wait out this storm, then I’ll send a letter to Celestia asking for the book...” Twilight tied to hide her blush.

“Okay! And I’ll stay right here with you all the way!” Pinkie clapped her hooves. “We’ll have an epic sleepover!”

Twilight turned away from her friend nervously. “You mean... just the two of us?”

“Yes! I mean, aside from tomorrow, since we’ve got the sleepover with our buddies then!” Said the excitable mare, giggling with glee. “But until we get this solved and done, I won’t leave your side!”

Twilight was stunned by this declaration, but felt something comforting about knowing her dear friend would be by her side. ‘If Pinkie Pie wasn’t the Element of Laughter, she would have been Loyalty, I swear...’

Her cheeks still red, Twilight tried to chuckle. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“Anytime, Twi-Twi!”

The earth pony proceeded to stand them up on their hind legs, dancing around a little. From what they could hear now, the downstairs was quiet. This made Pinkie pause, then she began to shake a bit.

“Oooh! Both my hind legs buckling! That means something very intensely romantic is happening!” Pinkie declared.

“Pinkie Pie, I’ll never understand how your ‘Pinkie Sense’ works...” Twilight facehoofed.

“You don’t have to!” Pinkie proceeded to dance with her some more. “Soooo! What do you want to do now, Twi-Twi? We still have a storm to wait out!”

Twilight was not sure how to respond this. “I don’t know... I guess, hmm...” Twilight place a hoof on her chin. “I’m really not sure what we should do... What do you think?”

Pulling away, Pinkie began to pace the floor. Pace, pace, pace. She went at it for a couple of minutes, humming to herself as she tried to think of something they could do. However, before she could say anything further, Spike came rushing in. He looked dazed, even surprised, as he barely looked at them.

“Oh, there you are, Spikester! Where were you?” Pinkie asked.

“...Basement...” Spike blinked, leaning against the wall.

“Spike, that doesn’t really explain why you look like you just saw Nightmare Moon.” Twilight spoke a bit concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“It was... weird... I saw Rainbow Dash holding Fluttershy to the wall, and they looked like they wanted to eat each other! Rainbow was saying she wanted Fluttershy... for something! And Fluttershy was acting mean, telling me to get out of there!” Spike exclaimed, not even really looking at them. ”I think they were... getting intimate or something! I just walked in on them!”

“...I’m sorry, but what?” Twilight stared at Spike with wide eyes.

“I knew it!!” Pinkie giggled with glee. “I knew they’d be all over each other, and my Pinkie Sense just proved it!”

“What?!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. “They’re... doing what in my library?!” Her mind reeled. ‘Doesn’t Rainbow Dash understand that... that’s not our Fluttershy! I have no idea what that might mean for the space time dimensional flow of reality! AH!’

“...I think they were gonna do it...” Spike mumbled, shaking his head. “But more importantly, Fluttershy was acting all weird, her hair was different, and she... what’s up with her?!”

Pinkie snickered, turning to Twilight. “I think our little baby needs an explanation, Twi-Twi!”

Twilight blushed as her mind slowly started to realize to the full extent of the situation. “.. Oh dear Celestia...”

“Hey, guys!” Rainbow Dash announced as she and Fluttershy appeared into view. “Did we miss anything?”

Pinkie giggled behind her hooves, grinning. “Nopey-dopey-lopey! So! You girls must be hungry! It’s going to be a looooong storm, and it’s time for lunch!”

“It’s two in the afternoon,” Spike pointed out.

“Shush! We’re going to make a nice lunch!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “Flutters, what do you want to eat? You’re going to have to tell us what you want!”

“Oh, nothing too difficult...” Fluttershy waved it off. “Something sweet, juicy, and multicolored... Skittles would be great!”

“Ooooohhh!!” Pinkie laughed, scooting over to the creamy yellow pegasus. “Well we’ve got plenty of Skittles that you can have!” Lowering her voice, she leaned in toward her, whispering, “The closest thing you’ll have to Dashie for now, won’t you?”

“For now...” Fluttershy responded with an equally low tone. “So yeah, that would be great.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up then, grinning. “I’ll just have some of Spike’s bread! I thought I smelled that a mile away when I came in!”

Despite earlier, Spike did look a bit cheered up. “I made a fresh batch today!”

Fluttershy reeled at this. “You cooked something? Hm, I think I’ll take a pass on that.”

Everyone stared at her, while Spike looked offended. Pinkie scooted over to Fluttershy, whispering into her ear.

“Uh, Flutters? Spike’s an awesome cook in our world! He gives my baking a run for its money!” She whispered.

Fluttershy looked at her oddly. “Seriously?” She looked back the dragon. “Well, I guess I could give it shot! Hit me up with some of that bread.”

Spike looked over at Twilight, who in turn gave him a look as if to say she would explain later. Shrugging, the baby dragon went into the kitchen area, with the rest of the ponies following. They all sat at the table, while Spike went to retrieve some freshly baked bread, all while Twilight helped him out and set the table with what they needed.

Now sitting at the table, Dash felt the presence of Fluttershy next to her, all too aware of the other mare’s eyes on her. Since she had some time to think a bit, there was now the matter of what was going on.

‘What made Fluttershy do this? Why’s she acting all...unlike herself? Not to say she’s not awesome and it’s not... hot... but, why? I still don’t get it. She just pulled a 180 out of nowhere!’ Dash thought, staring down at the table. ‘Seriously... something’s not going right here. Did Twilight put on some kind of personality-warping spell? ...Wouldn’t put it past the unicorns to make a spell like that! Let alone for Twilight to try it... Now we-oh, right... We were about to pretty much buck each other’s brains out! Never thought I’d see that happen with Fluttershy... She DID kiss me earlier today, and just now... she does want me, and I want her too... But why didn’t she say anything before? Man, this is all confusing...’

Looking over at her best friend, the mare in question was giving her a smirk, while licking her lips. Dash blushed, but grinned widely in response.

‘But she’s awesome! Can’t wait to get my hooves on her...’

Fluttershy looked over the table from Rainbow Dash to Pinkie Pie. “So... I’ve had a great day far, so how about everypony else?” She flashed a toothy grin at Twilight. “You and Pinkamena hit it off upstairs, Twi?”

“Pinkamena?” Pinkie then said, giggling, “Silly Flutters! Twi-Twi doesn’t call me that! Nopony does!”

Twilight on the other hoof did not take that comment as light hearted as her friend. ‘Me and Pinkie?! A couple? That’s absurd! That would never work... Would it? I mean, could it? No, no, Pinkie Pie is one of my closest friends and... I...’ The alicorn sat quietly as a blush rose on her cheeks.

Fluttershy chuckled a bit. “So, tell me... what’s so good about this bread?”

“Try some, silly!” Pinkie said, indicating to a slice of it having been placed in front of her on her plate. “Just cut it up and put on some warm butter! It’s super-duper yummytastic!”

They all started to eat, while Fluttershy took her sweet time in trying to decide how she wanted to.

Dash meanwhile took a knife, cutting her own slice in half down the middle. She pried it apart with her hooves, exposing the white, warm, chewy centre.

“Mmmm...” The cyan mare smelled the warm, fresh scent that steamed from the opening.

Taking the butter knife, she proceeded to spread in some warm butter, all along the sides and middle; going along pretty quickly. Once done, she took a little lick along the slit, and then proceeded to eat through it. Slowly, she started from the bottom, working her way up.

‘You’re kidding me... Oh, Dash! You’re a naughty little thing, aren’t you? I might just have to take you with me when I leave...’ Fluttershy thought to herself. ‘If I leave... Well, if nothing else, I’ll take you back to teach my Rainbow Dash to be like you... Hmm... I think I got a little idea here...’

With that, Fluttershy mimicked Dash’s idea, doing just what she was doing. Only, her movements were slow, deliberate, as she cut the bread down the middle. Making sure Dash could see what she doing, the yellow mare spread in some butter, especially along near the top, and then a little more along the inside... just enough to make it appear as though it were leaking out. She then began to slowly lick and suckle along the bun, even chewing a bit. It looked more like she was performing a sexual act than eating a bun with butter.

Dash’s breath hitched as she watched Fluttershy do this. Given the look on her face, as well as continuously looking at her...

‘She’s.... oh Celestia, she’s doing that on purpose! She’s eating that bun out like she’s-what!’ Dash tried to look away from the display, focusing on eating her own bread. However, she just couldn’t avert her gaze completely, she was far too intrigued by the way this new Fluttershy seemed to be acting.

Twilight tore her vision between the two pegasi and their display with a look of curiosity before leaning over to Pinkie to whisper something. “...Did I miss something here? What’s going on between these two?”

“It’s simple! They’re trying to seduce each other! Especially Flutters... see the looks she shoots Dashie? That sexy, ‘Come Hither’ smirk while she eats out her bread? She’s pretty much telling Dashie that’s exactly what she’s going to do to her later!” Pinkie whispered, winking at her.

“But... I still don’t understand.” Twilight whispered back, even more confused. “So... this Fluttershy wants to spread butter all over Rainbow Dash? And then... nibble on her?”

Now Pinkie was giving her a look of disbelief. “...With all the books you have, you don’t know? Well, okay, maybe the butter... I don’t know what Flutters’ kinks are... But what she’s trying to do is tell Dashie that she wants to go down on her...”

Twilight was beginning to feel very out of place. “What do mean 'go down on her,' Pinkie? If she moved downward during a conversation, what would that benefit?” She could not understand the phrase.

The look of surprise on Pinkie’s face was priceless. She then turned to the others, excusing her and Twilight, before taking the alicorn into the other room.

“Twi-Twi, my dear little Princess.... I’m going to have to explain it to you better, then,” Pinkie said, looking at her pointedly. “I mean that Flutters wants to give Dashie cunnilingus. Eat her out. Perform oral sex. Munch a mare. She wants to get sexy intimate with Dashie, and Dashie wants her too! Right now she’s seducing Dashie by pantomiming giving oral sex, and using the piece of bread in order to do so!”

“Ooh, well that makes sense. They just want to- WHAT?!” Twilight shouted louder than she had thought possible. “Don’t you understand what that means!? I don’t know how that might affect the space-time dimensional reality flow! It might change the flow of our future! It might lock this Fluttershy in our reality! It might destroy all of the multiverse! It might... do something I don’t know!!!”

Unfazed, Pinkie giggled and patted her shoulder. “Silly Twi-Twi, they were already doing something before, and everything’s fine! It’s not like time travel!”

Twilight was hyperventilating by this time. “But that’s a bad thing! I don’t how this works! I don’t know if this will affect us or not!” She was shaking her head furiously. “I don’t know the rules of interdimensional travel! It might... It... It might...”

“Twilight.” Pinkie said seriously, and then drew the lavender alicorn into a sweet, full on kiss. She kept it gentle and slow, but just enough to calm Twilight and keep her quiet; she still gave her space to move away.

Twilight was stunned by this. Her body froze up, her legs stiffened, her wings shot up and locked in place, and every single inch of her body went numb. She could not react, and oddly, she did not want to. There was a foreign sense of comfort in the gentle kiss, something that Twilight could not place, but she could not deny it either. It was the single most illogical, unknown, and strange moment she had ever been in personally and she liked it.

Holding the kiss a few more moments, Pinkie then pulled away, grinning widely. “You need to calm down, Twi-Twi. So far nothing’s happened since Flutters has been here, and I think jumping to that kind of conclusion won’t help anything. We just need to figure a way to switch them back like we planned.”

All Twilight could do was nod in agreement as her eyes were wide. Her voice was lost in her thoughts while her thoughts were lost in the moment just a few seconds ago. Her blush was covering whole face now. Against her will, her horn began to glow as a weak spell shot out and struck out the lights, leaving the two in the dark.

“Twilight!” Spike called from the kitchen. “What happened?! It’s dark!”

“The storm must’ve knocked out the power!” Dash said.

“What’s wrong, Dash? You afraid of the dark?” Fluttershy called out teasingly over the two.

“No! But you are!” Dash shot back in the darkness.

“HA! As if!” Fluttershy called back.

Dash snorted with disbelief. “What do you mean ‘as if’?! I know you’re scared of the dark! When we had sleepovers, we had to keep the nightlight on because you wouldn’t go to sleep in the dark!”

As the two pegasi carried on with their banter, Twilight was far too lost within the labyrinth of her own thoughts. 'Did... Pinkie just kiss me? She just... did. She kissed me... Why? Why did she did she kiss me? Why? Did she do it just to calm me down or... or... Did it mean something more? Does Pinkie like me? As more than just friends...? But why? Why would she...? Would it even work? We’re too different, aren’t we? Or...?’

Author's Note

Not much to say about this one, except that things are getting crazy! XD And this is where the sparks of Twinkie in the original 'verse come about! :P

So you're probably wondering about RariJack, right? Well, I will say that they get a bit in a later chapter. But not by much. XD The focused pairs are FlutterdashDash and FlutterRainbowshy. ...Yeah, we gave the alternate Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nicknames. XD Rainbowshy and Flutterdash. :P

Alternate 4: Say You Love Me... Just For Now

“All right, Fluttershy. Next question: do you know the spell flux type?” Pinkamena asked with a small smile on her lips. She stood in front of Fluttershy in the kitchen with Twilight standing beside her with a notepad and pen hovering in a magic field nearby.

“Um.... not entirely, but I know Twilight does... Um... she’d be able to explain it better...” Fluttershy responded, a bit nervous.

Pinkamena shook her head as she explained. “No, no, it’s quite fine. The flux type is just a fancy way of asking if the spell forced a color change in the natural magic’s energy flow. In example, if Twilight here cast a spell naturally, it has a purple aura. However, certain spells, such as spells from books or non-natural spells, would change the color of this aura.”

“....Really? I... didn’t know that...” Fluttershy murmured, shaking her head. “I just... knew that the colour of magic differed from unicorn to unicorn...”

“Most ponies don’t. It’s not necessarily common knowledge.” Pinkamena said gently, careful to make sure her tone was calming. “So, do you remember if this occurred, or no?”

“...Not really, I had my eyes closed the entire time... Twilight told Pinkie and I not to move, and to focus on a single train of thought as best we could. I didn’t see what Twilight’s magic was doing,” Fluttershy said, biting her lip.

Pinkamena nodded, then gestured for Twilight to take note of what was just said. “I see. So, tell me... What was your single train of thought?”

“...I was thinking about... how Rainbow Dash... that is, my Rainbow... had reacted... earlier on...” The creamy yellow mare looked down at the floor. “Before I went to Twilight’s, I was spending time with her while she finished her weather duties, set up for a storm, and did some tricks. She came down, and we... um.... well....” She blushed, unsure about telling the story. “Some... things happened, and after Pinkie caught us... she was embarrassed, and said... said as if she’d ever... let what happened actually happen and ran off... Then Pinkie brought me back to the library, Twilight told us about the spell, and then it happened. All I was thinking about was how... upset I was at Rainbow’s embarrassment cover... like she... just couldn’t be honest, couldn’t herself...”

Twilight continued to write down every word said while Pinkamena pushed forward with her questions. “Are you sure that was it? There were no other thoughts? If not, how did this affect your emotional state?”

The shy pony hesitated, before meeting Pinkamena’s kind cerulean eyes. “Well, yes, there were other thoughts, but they didn’t quite interfere. Um... my emotional state? I felt... confused, a little sad, upset, and just... well, at the end of my rope. I wanted to stop hiding, I wanted us to talk, to finally get it all out on the table...”

Pinkamena met her stare with one of her own, a concerned look on her face. “I see... Now, Fluttershy, I know these other thoughts might have seemed trivial, but I need to know. Just what were these thoughts?”

Closing her eyes, Fluttershy took a breath, trying to recall what she’d been thinking of. Everything just about came back to her, reminding her of what she’d been feeling.

‘Oh, Rainbow Dash... I knew that she would be my one thought, she always is... but... why does she have to be so... closed off? Why can’t she let me see her soft side? We’ve known one another since we were fillies, so... is it really too much to ask for? I want to believe that she really does care about me... that she loves me the way I love her, but... Why won’t she try? Oh, Rainbow... Why are you so... so... distant with me? Why can’t you just drop your mask just a little bit for me...? I want to be there for you... to love you... so why won’t you let me?’

“I... I...” Fluttershy mumbled, opening her eyes again, blushing. “I... I just... I wanted...”

Pinkamena read Fluttershy’s face easily. “You wanted gentler Rainbow Dash, is that correct? I assume that, considering how you act and from what you’ve told us of the others from your reality, that your Rainbow Dash was much like our Fluttershy.” She looked at the timid mare with a sad smile. “Is... that correct?”

“....Yes! Yes it was! I just wanted Rainbow to be open and honest with me, like she can be!” Fluttershy burst, tears in her eyes. “And thanks to my own selfish thoughts, I payed the price... and now I’ve possibly lost her forever! I’ve lost my entire world forever...!”

She trembled, nearly falling over, hugging herself.

‘But I can’t just leave here... not after what I said... to make this Rainbow sad...’

Pinkamena moved over to her side and pulled Fluttershy into a gentle hug. “Now, now, hope is not lost. I’m sure from what you’ve told me, we can find out exactly what happened and send you home. It might take some time, it will be tiresome, and the answers won’t come easily, but I promise you, we will get you home.” She pulled away slightly and smiled a bit. “And you shouldn’t fret. I assure you, this reality is quite nice and you are with friends. Albeit, we are somewhat different from those you are used to, we do care.”

Sniffling, Fluttershy managed a small smile at Pinkamena’s words. They were kind, sincere, and she felt a bit better. She believed her, she could see they truly cared, and wanted to help. It was all she could even ask for, and at least she was in good hooves. The environment was, so far, very familiar and not unlike what it was back home. Just with a bit of different makeup here and there.

“...Thank you, Pinkie-sorry... Pinkamena.... I really appreciate that, thank you... thank you very much....” Fluttershy murmured, wiping her eyes. “I’ll be fine... I don’t feel scared... It’s just... going to take getting used to.”

“Uh-huh! You’re gonna be just fine with us, Flutters!” Twilight promised, grinning. “We’re here for you!”

“Twilight is absolutely right!” Pinkamena said in agreement. “You’ll be fine. If you wanted, now that the weather seems to have died down some outside, we could show you home, or around the town if needed. We’ll keep it slow and peaceful for you. After we have you relaxed, Twilight and I will go over our notes and start to research the topic best we can.”

“Okay...” Fluttershy said, sniffling. “Um... yes, I’d like to see where I live. I suppose I can... try to get myself settled around here. Um... on the way, you can show me around and-” A thought occurred to her. “...Where does Rainbow Dash live?”

“Ooh, that’s easy! She lives in this beautiful, majestic cloud house right near town! It’s a little high, but still low, and there’s always some animals running around the place!” Twilight said, pointing out the window. “It’s amazing, really! I think you’ll love it, Flutters!”

Pinkamena nodded in agreement. “It truly was an engineering feat, if I do say so myself. I was requested to create the paneling on the floors for the animals that stay within her home and was asked to create a few internal habits for a few. All in all, it’s a zoologist paradise. If your ideal paradise involves floating forty-five feet in the air, that is.”

All at once, Fluttershy’s ears perked as her smile grew. Now that sounded like her kind of home! “Ooohh! Well, I’ll certainly have to drop by her home later, then... Sounds... like a plan to me...”

Pinkamena chuckled a bit. “Very well then. If you don’t mind, we are going to be showing you about town. May I suggest Applejack’s boutique first? I have something rather... important to pick up from her today. If you don’t mind that is.”

“No, I don’t mind...” Fluttershy said. ‘Applejack. Working at the boutique... liking the... fancier things in life? ...I have to admit, this is something I gotta see.’

“So be it then. Twilight,” Pinkamena called over to her marefriend, “care to gather my saddle bag?”

“Absolutely, m’lady!” Twilight said, bowing dramatically before she skipped off to get the requested item.

Fluttershy watched after her, amused. “I thought she was the Princess....” She giggled.

Pinkamena tried to suppress a giggle. “Oh, she is, but she refuses to be treated like one. I’ve tried a few times. It seems to make her sad to see others go out of their way for her... I’ve yet to understand why, but she likes to see others happy over herself. I theorize that she may find joy in others happiness... It’s rather sweet, actually.” She sighed quietly. “It’s no wonder she became the Element of Laughter.”

‘Twilight... is the Element of Laughter?!’ Fluttershy thought, wide-eyed. “I.... ooh... wow.... I see. That’s very different... Where I come from, she’s... just like you... and um... the Element of Magic, actually.”

Pinkamena looked over to Fluttershy with a look of mild shock, but smiled regardless. “I see... Here, it’s very much the opposite. I am surprised by this, but I think I can understand. For now, just know, I am the Element of Magic. If it comes down to it or if you really must know, I’ll explain... but it is a rather long story.”

Now, that was interesting to say the least. Fluttershy gave a nod, definitely keeping a mental note to ask about that later. For now, Twilight returned with Pinkamena’s saddlebags, using her magic to levitate them onto her back.

“Here you go, Pinkie!” Twilight cooed, nuzzling her. “Let’s be on our way!”

“Agreed.” Pinkamena said back returning the nuzzle before looking back to the yellow pegasus.. “You’re in for quite the treat, Fluttershy. This should be quite the learning experience for you.”

“Um... all right,” Fluttershy said, shrugging a bit.

XXXX

The trio walked around Ponyville, with Pinkamena and Twilight showing Fluttershy around the place. As the creamy yellow mare noted, not much was too different about this world’s Ponyville. Aside maybe from some minor structure or cosmetic changes, there wasn’t anything all too drastically different. She probably wouldn’t have even realized too much if she hadn’t known this wasn’t the Ponyville she was from.

As said, they went to what was now Applejack’s boutique, which had a surprising change of its own. Instead of a glamorous, carousel-look to it, giving its name, there was an apple theme to it. It retained a sort of roundness, mostly red, like an apple. The accent colours were white and gold, making it seem less like a big red ball and more like an eye-catching home/business establishment. A sign above the door read:

Apple Boutique

“...So... this is it?” Fluttershy spoke up, taking in the place.

Twilight giggled a bit at this. “If not, then this is weirdest looking apple stand ever!”

“Sadly, Twilight does have a point.” Pinkamena tried not to laugh. “This is the place, Fluttershy.”

Brushing off that they were subtly making fun of her, Fluttershy approached the shop, peering inside through the door. She couldn’t see much, due to the reflective light, but caught sight of something moving around inside. Twilight used her magic, opening the door, and allowing them to go in, which they did.

“Applejack? Are you busy at the moment?” Pinkamena called out into the store. “We have a few things we wish to discuss with you!”

“Comiiiinnngg!” A sweet, singsong voice sounded from a nearby closet.

Turning back to Fluttershy, Pinkamena grinned as she spoke. “So, Fluttershy, what’s the Applejack from your reality like?”

“...Um... well, she and her family run an apple farm, Sweet Apple Acres. She’s a farmer, an expert in apple bucking, very fast on her hooves, participates in rodeos... On top of that, she’s very reliable, helpful, fun, outgoing and very honest,” Fluttershy said.

Before either of them could answer, out came the orange earth pony. Or, so it seemed. This Applejack was completely different, at least in terms of her style. Her hair was down, free from its usual scrunchies. The pale blonde locks were in long, dangly curls, falling on either side of her face. On her head was not her stetson hat, but a French beret. A red one, like an apple. She wore light but enhancing makeup, even concealer to hide her freckles. On her nose was a pair of reading glasses, around her neck was a measuring tape, and she carried a saddlebag of sewing supplies on her back.

Her normally toned and muscled body was now more slender, with barely much meat at all, but still in very good shape.

Fluttershy was utterly awestruck by this. Applejack... was just like Rarity. It would be hilariously comical if not the for the situation at hoof.

“Hellooooo!” Applejack drawled in the slightest hint of her regular accent, covered up by what appeared to be a fake Manehattan accent. “Why, Fluttershy! What did you do to your hair?!”

“Um...” Fluttershy looked to Pinkamena for help.

“Well, you see, Applejack, that was part of what we were hoping to discuss with you.” Pinkamena said flatly. “Quite a few things have happened and I believe that you should be brought into the light about it. You see-”

“You’re wearing extensions?! As I’d been telling you for ages, dear!” Applejack interrupted. “You must be, there’s no way your hair grows overnight, considering how short it used to be!”

Pinkamena resisted the sudden urge to facehoof. “Twilight, please keep Fluttershy company as I explain the situation at hoof to our friend here.” She walked over to Applejack and motioned for her to step out for a brief moment.

“All right, we shall discuss this in the back room!” Said the fashion pony, leading Pinkamena away.

“...Wow...” Fluttershy mumbled, coughing into her hoof.

“What’s a matter, Flutters?” Twilight said with a bright smile. “You’re not getting sudden space-time sickness, are you? Ooh! If you are, I think Pinkamena might have something for that! She has stuff for colds, the flu, the measles, pony pox, air sickness, sea sickness, being allergic to the color purple...”

Shaking her head, the timid pony smiled and tried to shush her, “No, no. I’m fine, Twilight. Thank you.”

Twilight shook her head in understanding. “Okay, Flutters. Then, if you’re feeling all sicky-icky, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Fluttershy protested, looking around her in the boutique. Everything about it was fairly the same, aside from the change in decor. “I’m just... amazed, that’s all.”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you just say so, silly!” Twilight giggled as she playful stuck out her tongue. “Yeah, it is really nice in here isn’t it?”

Fluttershy nodded, taking in the place again, before sitting on her haunches. “Yes, of course. Um... Twilight... could... I ask you something?”

“Sure ya can, Flutter-Butter!” Twilight chimed with glee.

“...Flutter-Butter...?” Fluttershy repeated, but waved it off for now. “Never mind. Um... I was wondering some things about... this world’s Rainbow Dash. I mean, I can tell she... behaves differently than I know, and seems to have a different kind of job... But um... what else is there? What’s she like? ...What does she like? What doesn’t she like?”

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “Hmm... well... I guess the easiest way to say it would be... Since you’re Rainbow Dash sounds like our Fluttershy, then our Rainbow Dash would probably be like you!” She beamed. “She’s real quiet and calm. Oh, and shy. She likes animals and going to the spa with Applejack, too! Um, she likes reading romance novels, I think... and she likes the colors pink and yellow!” Twilight pointed at the back room. “I think you should ask Applejack about it! She spends more time with her than I do, but not as much as our Fluttershy! So, you should ask her, too, if ya can.”

Despite that the information was vague, it did still help. Clearly this world’s Rainbow Dash was just like herself, and seemed to do some of the same things she did. She made a note to talk to Applejack a bit, but of course she knew what she really had to do. Talk to Rainbow Dash herself.

“Okay, thank you... Um, I wondered... does... your Fluttershy... love her back?” She asked, her voice worried.

Twilight blinked. Then again. She stared at Fluttershy with a curious expression. She opened her mouth a few times, but no words really came out.

“Well...” Finally Twilight spoke, “I really don’t know... Our Fluttershy can be a little on the, um, rough side of things and she doesn’t really seem to like lovey-dovey anything. She can be protective of Rainbow, but she acts like it bothers her to sometimes... So, I really don’t know.” She gave a fake smile, hoping that her answer was okay.

“...Oh...”

‘Poor Rainbow... That’s almost similar to what my relationship with my Rainbow is... Perhaps a few different details of course. Then again... Rainbow only complained about protecting me when she thought it made her look weak... In truth, she always defended my honour... with no hesitation.’

“Well... I suppose she just... wears a mask all the time...” Fluttershy murmured thoughtfully. “And it can be hard to express herself. I... guess that’s why Rainbow was nervous around me... Oh, but don’t worry. I’m going to make her happy... if I can... I know I’m not her Fluttershy, but I will be there for her...”

Twilight flashed was wild smile. “Oh, I know that! You’re just too sweet, like you were born in a barrel of sugar! But don’t worry too much about Rainbow Dash. She may be sensitive and all that, but she’s not a porcelain doll! She can be tough when she needs to be!”

A giggle escaped the timid pegasus, knowing that kind of feeling all too well. “I believe it. Me too. Well... when we’re done here, I want to-”

“WHAT?!” A loud cry came from back as Applejack hastily trotted over, fake accent losing its edge over her southern drawl. “You... Yer... And ya ain’t...?!”

Pinkamena followed suit, right on her trail. “Applejack, what did I just say about staying calm?!”

Twilight intervened, bringing a foreleg around Applejack’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Applejackie! We all know what’s going on! ...Well, almost...! But it’s okay! Flutters is nice! Really sweet, like Dashie!”

Applejack shook the alicorn off and continued until she was almost eye to eye with Fluttershy. “Ah’m well... I’m well aware of that...!” She snorted. She scanned over the now trembling mare before her. “So... Yer... You’re not our Fluttershy...?! You’re... different? Yes, physically speaking, you are much softer than her... and you’re well kept...” She looked up and down the pegasus with a look that Fluttershy could not place. “Yer... You... Tell meh... How do you act? Are you anything like that hooligan?! What’s your likes? Dislikes? Speak.”

Twilight snickered, nudging Fluttershy lightly. This made the yellow mare smile, especially since Applejack was now using her normal accent, giving her some familiarity.

“Well... um, I’ve been told that I’m very much like Rainbow Dash... Um, back home... I spend a lot of time with Rarity... who is just like you, Applejack. I sometimes model for her clothes, I help her with making them on occasion, I go to the spa with her, and sometimes we get our hair done... Um, for my... likes? I... well, like vegetables, breads, sweets, oats and hay, I love flowers.... I really love animals, I care for them all the time... Dislikes? Um... I’m scared of dragons... I also don’t like when ponies are mean....” Fluttershy said nervously, but managing to smile.

Applejack stared at her with an intense look. Almost instantaneously, her expression changed to the most wonderstruck look possible. She rushed over and bear-hugged the shy mare, shouting.

“Yeehaw! That there pain in mah side is gone and Ah I get this here angel as ‘er replacement!? Oh sweet Luna, thank ya!” Applejack tighten her grip. “Ya go to the spa! Y'all's all calm and stuff! And ya don’t crash into mah store! Yes! Yes! Yes! PLEASE tell meh y'all's stayin’!!!”

“Eee!” Fluttershy squealed with surprise, trying to free herself. “Can’t... breathe!”

“Flutters is going to stay with us for a while, Applejackie!” Said Twilight, bouncing on the spot. “We have to figure out how to send her back to her world and bring our Fluttershy back! But for now, she’s here to stay! Now you, Dashie and Flutters can go to the spa together!”

‘Oooh! I’ve always wanted to go to the spa with Rainbow!’ Fluttershy thought, a dreamy smile overcoming her face. ‘I wonder if Rainbow will let me massage her and preen her wings...’

“Oh, this here is wonderful! Ah’ll get to finally put a dress on yer- send her home!?” Applejack pulled away from the hug, shocked once more. “Why?! This one is here is a little darling! Why in the name of Luna would ya want to get rid of this angel of a pegasus?!”

Pinkamena sighed once more as she facehoofed. “I’ve already been through this with you, Applejack... We have to get her home to restore the proper balance to ours and their reality.”

Applejack tore her vision between Fluttershy and Pinkamena, almost pouting. “Ah... But... This one is so much better!”

“Now, now, Applejackie, that’s not true! They’re both Fluttershy and they’re wonderful!” Twilight said, shaking her head. “But we’re going to have funsies, anyway!”

Before Applejack could respond, the shop’s door opened, and in walked Rainbow Dash. Despite how calm and collected she seemed, her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, as if tired or teary.

Applejack cleared her throat, doing her best to hide her accent once more. “Darlin’ what’s wrong? You look rather upset...”

“AJ, I-” This was when the cyan pegasus took notice of the other three ponies in the room. “O-Oh, hi, girls... I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just come back later...”

Feeling her heart seize, Fluttershy reached out toward her. “Rainbow, wait... please don’t go.”

Rainbow Dash froze at hearing Fluttershy’s voice. “But... I thought... you...”

“...You thought I what...?” The creamy yellow pegasus approached her slowly.

“I-I thought..” Rainbow backed away a small bit, but found herself unable to move once more. “I thought that you... wouldn’t have wanted to see me...”

The words made her body go numb and her heart sink, most especially when Fluttershy met those sad cerise eyes. She bit her lip, unsure how to follow that up, yet feeling guilty for having given her that idea.

Before Fluttershy could think, she rushed over to the distraught pony, bringing her forelegs around her in a tight hug. She nuzzled into her neck, comforting her and stroking her back.

“Never... Of course I want to see you, Rainbow... I’m so sorry...” Fluttershy said softly, fighting back tears of her own. “I was just shocked and scared about what had happened... it had nothing to do with you... I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

“You... You really wanted to see me again? Even though... I’m not the Rainbow Dash you know? You still wanted to see me? Even after... earlier?” Rainbow tried to ask without crying.

Smiling warmly, despite the tears in her eyes, Fluttershy lifted her head a bit to meet the other mare’s gaze. “I did, Dashie... I wanted to see you again. I didn’t mean to make it sound like I didn’t. But I do... while I’m here, I’d be happy to spend time with you... If you’re okay with that...”

The other three ponies watched intently as the two pegasi seemed to pretty much forget that they were there. Twilight especially nudged her earth pony friends, whispering.

“We should leave them alone, they’re having a super sweet moment!”

Pinkamena nodded. “Agreed.”

“But... I wanna see how this plays out!” Applejack pouted a bit. “This just like in the romance novel Deux Coeurs, S'effondrer!”

Twilight blinked, confused. “Hootie-hattie-what-now?!”

Pinkamena sighed, irritated. “It’s an old Prance novel, roughly written fifty years ago... It was horribly cliché. But that’s irrelevant... Help me drag her off before...” She stopped and noticed how Applejack was almost as engrossed in the moment as the two pegasi. “Never mind, just help me.”

Nodding, the alicorn used her magic to surround the intrigued earth pony, proceeding to levitate her away. This, of course, caused Applejack to struggle, trying to free herself, while Twilight and Pinkamena headed upstairs to give the two pegasi some privacy.

Rainbow Dash cuddled back gently. “Of course I would love- like you to spend time with me...”

Giggling, Fluttershy nuzzled her. “Yay! It’d be lovely... and um... I heard that you like going to the spa, don’t you?” Her eyes twinkled. “Perhaps we can go together sometime....?”

Rainbow stared at her blankly. ‘She actually wouldn’t mind doing that with me? My Fluttershy would never even consider going to the spa with me... But this Fluttershy seems so... nice. She acts like she really cares about me...'

“Oh, yes...” Rainbow Dash blushed a bit shyly. “But do you mean with Applejack and me... or just us?”

Fluttershy smiled brightly. “Well, it’d be nice if the three of us could go together, of course. And...” She leaned a bit closer, her voice lowering to a soft whisper. “I love going to the spa... and I’d sure love to go with you, just the two of us...”

Rainbow felt her cheeks heat up as she tried to answer. “Y-You would? That would be really nice! Oh, um... if we did, could I maybe preen your wings...?”

“Ooh!” The creamy yellow pegasus blushed, nodding as she smiled, “Yes, of course... I’d love that. Hee... I was thinking the same thing. Preening your wings too, I mean...”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash picked up her head a bit. “That would be really nice. And we could take turns... and cuddle... a-and...” She started to daydream aloud.

A soft, warm smile overcame Fluttershy’s face, holding her timid lover close to her. “Mm? And what, Dashie? You can tell me...” She nuzzled their noses.

Rainbow Dash blushed even more. “A-And we... We could... Never mind, it’s silly...”

“Nooo... tell me!” Fluttershy giggled, smiling more. “Nothing you think of could possibly be silly. And even if it is... I don’t mind. We can be silly together if we want. If we have fun, enjoying it together... what’s wrong with it being silly? Come on, tell me, pretty Dashie...”

Rainbow Dash shyly looked away before meeting Fluttershy gaze, with a look of adoration. “Can we... no... Can I kiss you, Fluttershy?”

A soft blush tinted the yellow pony’s cheeks, but she smiled more and nodded. “Of course, Rainbow... I’d love to kiss you, too. We’ll definitely kiss...” She nuzzled their noses again, giggling.

The two met gazes, both of them smiling, eyes locking. Right then, Rainbow leaned in, and touched her lips to Fluttershy’s in a gentle kiss.

‘I’ve always wanted to do this...’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy’s waist. Her wings flared up as she leaned forward ever so slightly.

Though she was taken aback by the sudden kiss, Fluttershy couldn’t help but melt. If the kiss with her Rainbow Dash from earlier was wonderful, this just about surpassed it. Sweet, soft, gentle, warm, and loving. No holding back any tenderness, just letting it out, but gently. She brought a hoof to Rainbow’s cheek, gently caressing it, while her other hoof stroked the back of her head.

‘Oh, Dashie... You’re a sweet kisser... You’re making it so hard for me to leave you... I’m going to get so attached to you... Never mind, no... I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now... I’m just going to love her... my pretty Rainbow... my little Dashie...’ Fluttershy thought, returning the kiss with as much tender sweetness.

Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof up and began to stroke Fluttershy’s long pink mane. ‘Oh... Wow... She’s kissing me back. She’s really kissing me back... I used to dream about Fluttershy finally understanding how I feel about her and now... I know this isn’t my Fluttershy, but... is it wrong I like this? Is it wrong I still feel this attraction to her? I... I don’t care right now... This moment is perfect and... I want this...’ She began to push into the kiss ever so gently.

‘No... no... this is wrong... I can’t... I’m not her Fluttershy... just as she’s not my Rainbow Dash. Are we taking advantage of each other...? But I can’t ignore this feeling.... I’m attracted to her... I want this... I want her. I want her! Is it wrong that I like this? Is it wrong... that I want her?’ Fluttershy thought, her hold tightening on the cyan mare. ‘No... I’ll see this as it comes... For now, I’m going to love her... even if it’s more for her than for me... I’ll make her happy... I’m going to make her feel loved...’

She applied gentle pressure into their kiss, emitting a soft coo between their lips.

Moments later, the two pegasi parted, albeit reluctantly. Regardless, they smiled at one another, blushing immensely. Fluttershy giggled, laying their foreheads together.

“You’re a wonderful kisser, Dashie...” She said sweetly, kissing her nose.

“I-I’m sorry about that...” Rainbow Dash looked away nervously as she started to rub the back of her head. “That wasn’t right for me to do that... Sorry.”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy took hold of Rainbow’s cheeks, gently turning her gaze back to her. In doing so, she kissed her, gently and sweetly. While it lasted a bit shorter than their first, it was no less tender and loving. She pulled away after a few moments, gazing at her with a sweet smile.

“Don’t apologize... I loved every second of it, and I know you did, too... I don’t regret it, Rainbow. Do you?” Fluttershy whispered.

“No... No, I don’t... I just...” Rainbow Dash held her tears at bay. “I just don’t wanna lose you again. I mean, I know that you’re not the same Fluttershy I know... and I’m not the same Rainbow you knew, but... I just don’t wanna be alone...”

It was too much. Tears pooled in her eyes, to which Fluttershy held the cyan pony closer, as if she were afraid they’d disappear from each other. She realized Rainbow was right, that she herself was feeling the same thing. It was all too true, neither of them being the same pony they knew, and that losing each other would be worse. Especially if they were too attached. The inevitable loss and pain would be hard on them...

Nonetheless, the last thing Fluttershy wanted to do was turn her back on her. She couldn’t bear to just leave her. Not like this.

“You’re not alone...” Fluttershy whispered to her, her voice breaking with emotion. “You’re not my Rainbow Dash... and I’m not your Fluttershy... I know this... And I know I can never replace her... nor would I try... and I know you can’t replace the Rainbow I know... but...” She cuddled the other timid mare close. “As long as I’m here, I want to be with you... there... may even... be a chance I’ll be staying here forever. If that happens... at least we’ll have each other... I know it isn’t right... But I... I can’t just leave you now... not like this... not unless you truly want me to... I love you...” She whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks.

There were those words again. Those three simple words that struck more emotion than any single moment, event, or phase could ever express. She loved her. Rainbow Dash could not understand it, but something told her that it was the truth. That it was okay.

All at once the cyan mare collapsed into Fluttershy, crying as she did so. “Please don’t leave, Fluttershy! Please... please stay! I-I don’t want you to go!” She nuzzled into Fluttershy shoulder. “Please... I... I love you too... I don’t want you to go... I don’t want to be alone...”

‘....Oh no... this is awful... my poor Dashie... she’d be heartbroken if I left... and all alone... Ooohh, what is wrong with that other me?! How can she not see the wonderful, beautiful mare right in front of her?! ...Well, it’s her loss, then. I’ll treat her well. I’ll love her forever...’ Fluttershy thought.

She held the crying mare close, while she cried a bit more herself.

“Rainbow... I won’t leave you... I won’t... I’ll stay...” Fluttershy whispered sweetly, though sadly. “You’re not alone... I won’t leave you, I promise... I love you... I’ll stay, Dashie. It’s okay... I’m here, I won’t let you go...” She kissed her head gently, stroking her braid. “It’s going to be all right, now... We’re together, it’s going to be okay.”

Fluttershy smiled, applying sweet kisses along the cyan mare's neck, earning soft moans and happy giggles. She coursed a hoof through the soft rainbow strands, admiring their lengthy, soft feel.

"Ooh, Flutters..." Rainbow cooed lovingly. "I love you..."

The words struck Fluttershy's heart, the very words she'd longed to hear since forever. Now from the Rainbow Dash... that wasn't her own. Yet, there was genuine emotion within these words, she knew this meeker Dash meant it, and truly loved her. Every moment she heard them, it broke her heart, yet, made it soar all the same.

"And I love you, Dashie... I'll always love you," Fluttershy cooed in a soft whisper.

Rainbow trembled a bit in her embrace. "Fluttershy... say it again, please..."

Fluttershy smiled and kissed her sweetly. "I love you."

"Again..."

"I love you. I love you, my beautiful rainbow... I love you..." Fluttershy kissed her once more. She could feel the heartbreak, the longing, the true desire of having this world's Fluttershy love her.

Rainbow cuddled closer as she whispered into her lover’s ear. “And I love you too...”

Cherishing the sweet moment between them, a comfortable silence befell the two pegasi. There wasn’t much else that could be said at the moment, but it didn’t matter. What they knew now was enough. Everything may not have been in their favour, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t relish in the love they had. To anyone else, it would seem that they were taking advantage of one another, with the other fully knowing it.

But to them, it didn’t matter. They knew how they felt.

It felt so right to Fluttershy, then. To be here, in the hooves of a sweeter and gentler Rainbow Dash, was a wonderful feeling. Never mind the voice at the back of her mind telling her otherwise. She loved her, she wanted to be with her. Her heart swelled, body relaxed, and wings gently flapped. A beautiful feeling she hoped never to lose.

Remembering where they were, Fluttershy giggled, and kissed her lover’s forehead. “Well, Rainbow... I do have some things I need to take care of. Pinkamena and Twilight are just showing me around and also where I live... Um... and I’m sure you and Applejack have things to do. Um... why don’t we get together later, and go back to your home? I heard you have a menagerie of animals!” She giggled at this, beaming. “And I love animals...”

Rainbow Dash looked slightly disappointed by this, but gave a nod. “O-Okay then. You finish up what you need to do and I’ll talk with AJ for a bit... Then, I’ll go home and set up everything for a nice visit! I’ll cook us something nice and um, I’ll make sure Fluffy is upstairs and...” The cyan mare went on, listing off things she would things she would do to assure Fluttershy’s visit would be perfect. “Oh dear Luna, I’ll need to clean up a bit. It’s been awhile since you- I mean, our Fluttershy came over to my house... B-But don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything will be ready when you come over.”

Giggling, Fluttershy kissed her cheek. “All right, I look forward to it, Dashie! I’ll meet you there, at say... four? Oh... and who’s Fluffy?”

Rainbow giggled a bit as well. “Fluffy is my pet tortoise. He can be a bit of hoof-full some times, but he can be sweetheart when he wants to,” she started to twirl her braid once more. “He’s always been a little... harsh to our Fluttershy, so I’m not sure how he’ll react to you.”

“He’s... oh, he must be Tank!” Fluttershy thought out loud, wide-eyed. “You named him Fluffy? That’s so cute! Back home, I named him Mr. Tortoise before Rainbow chose him as her pet. She named him Tank.”

Rainbow stared at her with surprise then smiled brightly. “Really? Wow, you’ll have to tell me that story later!”

Nodding, the creamy yellow mare nuzzled their noses. “Sure, I’d be happy to tell you. You’ll have to tell me how you got Fluffy, too.”

Before either of the two pegasi could speak any further, a loud crashing noise was heard form up stairs. As they directed their attention to the staircase once more, they watched as a mass of three ponies came tumbling down with Applejack on the bottom. It looked as though Pinkamena and Twilight had been trying to restrain her, to no avail.

“Did I miss the dramatic kiss scene?!” Called out the orange earth pony. She looked over the timid mares as they stared at her in utter bewilderment. “They’re... cuddling?” She held a thoughtful look for a moment, before her expression changed back. “Y’all made meh miss the entire confession scene! How could ya?!”

“They’re shy and timid, like some animals, silly!” Twilight said, shaking her head. “We have to be quiet and leave them alone to be cute!”

“Um...” Fluttershy said, slowly releasing Rainbow from her grasp. “We’ll just... get back to this, then,” she said, and turned back to the cyan pegasus. She whispered, “I’ll see you at four, my sweet Dashie...” She offered a brief peck on the lips, giggling.

Rainbow blushed as she giggled cutely. “Okay... Flutters.”

Applejack was about to protest further to her binding, but Pinkamena quickly placed a hoof over her mouth. “That’s quite enough of that, Applejack. Just ask Rainbow Dash about it after we leave so we don’t have to tie you to the ceiling...” Pinkamena demanded. Applejack gave a defeated sigh as she nodded. “Good.”

Twilight released her magic, then trotted over to Fluttershy, “So! You ready to go? We’ve taken care of our business here, so let’s be off!”

“Yes, I’m ready to go,” Fluttershy nodded. “Um, it was very nice meeting you, Applejack... I’ll see you again, sometime...?”

Applejack, finally being allowed to speak once more nodded. “Of course you will, darlin’! I intend to finally make you a dress- even if you’re not the same Fluttershy as ours. So, be prepared!”

“A-A dress? For me? Oh, Rare-sorry, Applejack... you really don’t have to do that. I appreciate the gesture, though...” Fluttershy said shyly.

“You shall not deny me this!” Applejack said with gleeful tone as she picked up her fake accent once more. “I have wanted to make that mare a dress since the day she moved to Ponyville, and I finally have a chance! Of course, the dress will be mostly for you... but this is just as much for you as it is for me! You simply must!”

Managing to smile, the creamy yellow pegasus nodded, “All right, Applejack... I accept.”

“Excellente!” Applejack clasped her hooves together. “We can get started-”

“If I may,” Pinkamena cut her off, “perhaps at a later date. We need to show Fluttershy to her home. Now, good day, Applejack.”

Applejack looked a bit irritated by this, but smiled nonetheless. “Very well then, darlin’s. I’ll see y’all- you all soon!”

“Goodbye, Applejackie! C’mon, Flutter-Butter!” Twilight said as she and Pinkamena led Fluttershy out the door.

“I’ll see you later, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called out weakly, but louder than she normally did.

The door closed, and Applejack approached her friend with a big, eager smile. “Rainbow Dash, darling, ya gotta tell me what happened between ya both!” She said, dropping her accent.

“Oh... Um...” Rainbow blushed a bit as she looked away. “N-Nothing, really... We just talked and plans to meet up later. T-That’s all...”

“Don’t ya lie ta me, RD!” Applejack advanced toward her, giggling. “Ya gotta gimme them there details! Tha sweet stuff! Y’all reminded me o’ some romance novel, ‘specially tha way y’all were makin’ sweet lovey faces at each other!”

Rainbow Dash was completely taken aback by this. Never had she heard Applejack completely drop her accent like this before. This made her even more nervous than she already was, enough to push her to the point of backing up slightly.

“Um... N-No, really. W-We were just talking and... M-Maybe, um...” Rainbow felt a lump in her throat, “kissing...?”

“Ah knew it!” The orange mare chuckled, going over to a nearby table to start sketching something.

Rainbow stared at her friend with a curious look. “Not to be rude, but... um, what are you drawing?”

Grinning, Applejack continued to draw. “Ah’m drawin’ out a nice dress fer her! That Fluttershy’s a real darlin’, don’t ya think?”

“O-Oh, yes. She’s really... I guess... awesome.” Rainbow said almost dreamily as her mind began to wander. ‘She’s so different from our Fluttershy... she’s much calmer, very gentle... and so sweet... I can’t remember the last time our Fluttershy wanted to take interest in me like this... and... I think... I think I don’t want her to leave. No, I know I don’t...’ She sighed happily. ‘This is just like a dream... Fluttershy really cares about me... She wants to be with me...’

“Ta think, Fluttershy of all ponies... Ah never woulda thought. That there pony’s always such a ruffian!” The earth pony sighed, detailing her sketch a bit. “Ah mean, she ain’t evil or some kinda bad pony... But Ah could stand fer her ta cool it down a bit. It sure is refreshin’ an’ amazin’ ta meet such a kind, sweet an’ even meek pony like this new Fluttershy!”

Rainbow Dash smiled a bit at this. “I believe so, too...” She once more began to twirl her braid. “Hey, um... AJ? Did you mean what you said back there? About how you think this Fluttershy should stay and stuff?”

Pausing in her work, Applejack exhaled, and looked to her friend with an unreadable gaze. “Perhaps Ah was a bit hasty in sayin’ that. If this new Fluttershy stayed here, Ah think it’d be nice! Amazin’! We’d be able ta go ta tha spa, she’d be a perfect model for mah dresses, an’... she even seems ta have taken a shinin’ to ya, Rainbow Dash!” She winked at this, grinning, before growing serious. “But Ah cain’t control that, an’ whatever she does is up ta her. If we do get our Fluttershy back... it definitely won’t be the worst thing ever ta happen. Still, if they ended up stayin’ where they are now, Ah wouldn’t complain.”

“I... I guess you’re right, AJ.” Rainbow spoke up little sadly. “So... Is it wrong that... I kinda don’t want her to leave...?” She looked to her friend with a hopeful gaze, wishing that her friend had an answer to her dilemma.

Applejack thought about that for a few moments, continuing to sketch out an idea for Fluttershy’s dress. She then placed her pencil down, looking to Rainbow seriously.

“Well, darlin’, Ah cain’t say Ah blame ya fer thinkin’ that. Ah know our Fluttershy does care about ya, even if she doesn’t admit it... But ta see this new Fluttershy actually returnin’ yer affections tenfold, it’s so adorably sweet. But Ah guess Ah also cain’t ignore that this is gonna lead ta some problems in tha long run. Ah just... hope y’all can work it out somehow. That’s really all ya can do.”

Rainbow Dash shied away briefly before meeting Applejack’s gaze. “I should have guessed... but, I hope we can too... I just... I’m so conflicted. I know I miss my- our Fluttershy. I always had a crush on her, even if she never returned those feelings... I always liked her, and I miss her so much... but at the same time... I feel so... special, so... loved around this one... She makes me feel like I’m important. Like everything is going to be okay... I just... I think I need time to think...”

Regarding her with a sad smile, Applejack went and touched her shoulder, “Ah can understand what yer sayin’, Rainbow. All ya can do is realize what’s most important fer yerself, an’ fer her. Ya gotta do tha right thing... even if it may sometimes go against what ya really want.”

“I know, AJ... I know.” Rainbow Dash said with shushed voice. “I just want, for once, something nice in my life... To not have to give up something I want... But you’re right. I have to think of what’s best for the both of us...” She looked about the shop for a brief moment when a thought crossed her mind. “Um, speaking of which... when are you gonna tell Spike about you know what...?”

“...I know what, dear?” Applejack placed her Manehattan accent back in, looking confused.

Rainbow Dash smiled a small bit. “Well... You’ve known that Spike has had a crush on you for awhile now... it’s why he’s always wanting to help you around the shop... So, don’t you think you should tell him about you and Rarity?” Rainbow shied away once more as she blushed brightly. “Or... am I wrong about that? It’s just I saw the two of you last week in the back and... well, it just looked like... the two of you were...”

“I-I-I-I darling, really, I shouldn’t...” Applejack met her gaze, and then sighed. “Fine... No, Ah haven’t said nothin’ yet. Ah understand he likes me, an’ Ah’m real flattered. Ah jus’ feel terrible ‘bout hurtin’ his feelin’s. But Ah know Ah cain’t lie ta him, either.”

“But didn’t you just tell me that you have to do what’s right, even if it’s hard?” Rainbow asked meekly.

“....Yeah,” Applejack admitted, giving a weak smile. “Ya got me there, RD.”

Rainbow Dash returned her smile. “It’s okay AJ... I won’t hassle you about it... But I have a feeling Rarity might...” She gave weak giggle.

Chuckling, the orange earth pony shook her head, going back to her sketch. “Ah know... Don’t ya worry, Ah’ll figure somethin’ out.”

Rainbow grinned a bit as she looked at the sketch. ‘Yeah... We’ll figure something out, too. Even if she leaves... I’ll always have the now. So, I’ll make the best of this. She loves me and I know she does... If she stays... then... I’ll take care of her forever... I just hope our Fluttershy is okay though...’

Author's Note

We've met Other Applejack! Next we'll soon meet Rarity. X3 And here it begins, Fluttershy and Rainbowshy's adorable, sweet romance. Now, you might make the argument that Fluttershy seems to feel sorry for her as opposed to loving her. Well, you see what it says and take it for yourself, dear readers.

Original 5: The Truth Can Hurt

“Thanks for the snack, guys!” Rainbow Dash called over her shoulder as she headed to the door. Despite that the storm was going on, though slowed, she was ready to get going. “I’m gonna head out now! Gonna do some flying practice in the rain and all that good stuff!”

She approached the door, opened it, and stretched. First her legs, haunches, then her wings. With a grin, her wings spread, Dash was ready to head on out!

“And just where do you think you’re going, little miss fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale?” Fluttershy called over to Rainbow Dash with a teasing voice wile she trotted in front of the door. “You’re not chickening out of our race, are you?” She chuckled a bit. “Gosh, afraid you’ll lose to little ol’ me?”

A tremor coursed through Dash, but she smirked widely at her companion. “Not a chance in Tartarus, Fluttershy! Here I thought you’d lost interest… and just didn’t have the heart to tell me.”

Twilight suddenly shot up. “Oh, um, Fluttershy... I don’t think-”

“You wish, Dash.” Fluttershy cut her off. “Your flank is as good as mine... in more ways than one...” She quickly flared her wings once before relaxing them once more.

“Oooh!” Pinkie came up beside Twilight, watching the scene unfold as well.

“Heh… oh, you think so, Flutters?” Dash licked her lips, winking. “I think you got it all wrong. Your flank is as good as mine.”

Fluttershy turned around, facing outside. She flashed a toothy grin as she reared back into a sprinting stance. “Ooh, you want this?” She cooed, flicking her tail. “Then you gotta catch it first!” Quickly, she took off with a burst speed through the door and outside, brushing off the raindrops with ease.

Wide-eyed, Dash watched her go, amazed. She knew Fluttershy could fly fast if she wanted to and just let herself, but this was just beyond any of that. Her own wings stiffened, while her body remained anchored to the floor, trying to take this all in.

All at once, though, she smirked, “You are so ON!” She yelled, and flew out the door at incredible speed.

“Pinkie! This is bad!” Twilight grabbed her pink friend roughly. “We just lost the other Fluttershy! And she’s with Rainbow Dash now! We have no idea how this might affect the others!”

The pink earth pony just giggled, winking at her. “That’s okay, Twi-Twi! We’ll just have to make sure to tell Rarity and Applejack about this!”

Twilight sighed. “I’m beginning to think you’re actually enjoying this... All right then. Let’s go tell Rarity first... then Applejack. And let’s be quick about this.”

“Okey-dokie-lokey! Now, I hope you have a plan in how to tell Dashie!” Pinkie reminded her.

Wide-eyed, Twilight slumped to ground. “Oh dear mother of Celestia... We’re doomed...”

XXXX

Zipping through the rain-filled air, Rainbow Dash flew along, managing to pull ahead of Fluttershy. The pony in question was really proving to be a fast flyer, managing to keep up with her and occasionally pull ahead! It amazed Dash immensely, seeing Fluttershy being able to muster this kind of strength and speed like never before!

‘Now THAT’s what I’m talking about! Fluttershy’s doing her best, giving it her all, and not holding anything back! Atta girl, Flutters!’ Dash thought, grinning toward her.

“Hey Fluttershy, hope you’re hungry over there!” Dash called out to her.

Fluttershy shot her a wicked glare and smirk. “You kiddin’ me?! I’m not even breaking a sweat yet!”

“Well, neither am I! But I know you’re about to EAT MY DUST!” Dash yelled.

With that, the cyan mare pulled farther ahead, zipping faster than ever, leaving quite a rainbow streak behind her. She looked behind her, seeing Fluttershy attempting to catch up to her. Laughing, the daredevil kept going forward, dodging obstacles and performing some flips and twists along the way.

Fluttershy grinned. ‘Breaking the color barrier, are we? Well now, that’s interesting... Okay, Dash... I’ll let you win since if I push too hard, we’re gonna have a problem. Plus, I wouldn’t want to hurt your ego too much.’ She flared out her wings slowing to a gentle glide. ‘I gotta remember... This Fluttershy doesn’t have my talent and I doubt cutie marks in this reality work the same way. Hmm... I got an idea!’ She came down to ground, stumbling down and falling, covering herself in mud, laying down in the ground.

Noticing this, Rainbow Dash flew back around, zooming over to where Fluttershy had fallen. She landed on the wet ground, and ran over to her. A sense of worry and concern overcame her senses, to which she pushed herself hard to reach her friend fast.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, you okay?!” Dash said, reaching her muddied form. She picked her up, holding her close and looking her over, making sure not to injure her. “Did you hurt yourself?”

Fluttershy lay limp in Rainbow Dash’s forelegs. “R-Rainbow...?” She coughed with voice low.

Heart skipping, Dash let out a sigh of relief. “Fluttershy! Oh, thank Celestia! You okay? Where’s it hurt? Should I take you to the hospital? Do you need something? Is anything broken?”

“I’m... I’m fine...” Fluttershy looked up sweetly for a moment, batting her eyelashes, before a wild grin appeared on her face. “But you’re not!” She suddenly tackled Rainbow Dash into the mud.

“Hey!!!” Dash squealed in surprise, wide-eyed. She looked up at the grinning mare, to which she smirked in return. “...Fluttershy, you naughty little pony! I’m gonna get you for that!”

Fluttershy quickly slid one of her wings in the mud, then flung a large amount of it at her friend, coating her face in the mud, grime, and dirty water. “Oh, I’m so scared of the big bad mud monster!”

“Oh yeah?!” Dash grinned maniacally, launching some mud right back at her. “Well this big bad mud monster strikes back! Rar!”

Fluttershy looked shocked as she wiped some of the mud off her face, but grinned back. “Oh, that was a ‘dirty’ trick... You’re in for it now, Dash!” She wildly tackled her onto the ground, growling playfully.

Fighting back, Dash growled and pushed Fluttershy away, or tried to, as the two pegasi now rolled around in the dirt. Despite the growls and application of strength to keep the other down, there was jovial laughter amidst all of it. When Fluttershy had her pinned, Dash would roll them around, and eventually pin her back. This of course had Fluttershy repeating the process all over again.

“You’re mine now, Flutters!” Dash growled, pinning her completely to the ground, smirking. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

Fluttershy struggled a bit, but gave up, slumping back onto the ground, laughing maniacally. “You’re asking me?! Oh, Dash... you’re such a filly.” She gave a seductive smile. “You have me pinned to the ground, out in a pasture, completely alone... I’m covered in mud, soaking wet, and completely helpless... What are you gonna do about it...?”

Feeling a jolt, Dash realized she was right. This was all too perfect. She had Fluttershy exactly where she wanted her, with nothing around to stop them. It was a perfect opportunity, especially since Fluttershy was practically inviting her to do so.

A seductive smirk overcame Dash’s features, to which she leaned down, licking her lips.

“We are gonna pick up right where we left off... And then I’m gonna take you right here!” The cyan daredevil growled sensually, bringing a hind leg to stroke along the inner thigh of the mare beneath her.

Fluttershy breathed heavily as Dash did so, panting ever so slightly. “Ooh, so are you gonna just take me? No more foreplay?”

Chuckling, Dash licked her tongue across Fluttershy’s lips enticingly. “I never said that... You didn’t think I wasn’t going to wind you up first? That’s kinda sad... Here I’m trying to make sure you burst like a volcano and yell my name...” She winked, licking her lips again.

Fluttershy pulled back glaring at Rainbow Dash with a look of mixed emotions. “Let me break this down to you. Either you take me right now or I will make you wish you did... Understand?”

Eyes wide, Dash was admittedly caught off guard for a moment. Fluttershy wasn’t just being assertive, she was demanding. It was almost... kind of scary. The fact that it was pretty much an all-or-nothing ultimatum at this point, with a pony at the end of her rope and knew what she wanted... Dash was way in over her head. She had no clue how to react.

‘Here I thought Fluttershy would be nervous, but willing... gentle, ready to take it slow, and just... enjoy it.’ Dash thought. ‘Never mind that, she wants me and I want her too! If she wants to go at it like we’re wild, we will!’

Regaining herself, Dash pinned her down again, bringing her hind leg right to her nethers. A glare of her own overcoming her features, leaning close, snout-to-snout.

“I think you’re in no position to be calling the shots here Fluttershy... You’re the one pinned! I’m going to take you, take you hard, and you’ll be screaming for more!”

Without letting her answer, their lips met in a hungry, passionate lip-lock.

‘Oh, yes! Finally! Rainbow Dash... This is what I’ve wanted!' Fluttershy moaned as she swooned under her lover’s grasp. ‘How long have I wanted this? Forever and a day....! Please don’t stop! Oh, for the love of Luna, don’t you dare stop!’

Dash kissed her roughly, her hind leg already attacking at her nether lips. Her own arousal grew with each passing second, as she now could see that she, too, couldn’t wait a second longer. Her stomach churned, knotting with excitement, with all the blood rushing down south.

‘This is it, I’m gonna take Fluttershy right here... I’m gonna make this unforgettable! This is going to be so AWESOME!!’ Dash thought, trailing a foreleg down her side, along her flank and then around to-

“Whoa! What in tarnation are y’all doin’ there?!”

Fluttershy suddenly pushed up almost knocking Rainbow Dash completely off of her, glaring daggers at the pony who just spoke. “What?! What?! What?! WHAT?! What the buck is wrong with all you ponies?! LEAVE!!”

Nearby, Applejack stood, wide-eyed with surprise. Not just at what she was seeing, but Fluttershy’s overall reaction. Even Dash was pretty much thrown for a loop.

“Fluttershy, what in tarnation is wrong with ya?!” Applejack wanted to know, advancing toward them. “Y’all are gettin’ naughty on mah property! Ah don’t care what ya do behind closed doors, but Ah’d think ya’d have tha courtesy not ta do that ‘round these parts!”

Groaning, Dash sighed, “AJ, come on! We were kinda busy here!”

The yellow pegasus scooped up some of the mud in her wing and slung it at Applejack, hitting her dead in the face. “Beat it, will ya?!”

“Hey!!” Yelled the farmer pony, wiping the mud off her face. “Fluttershy, what’s gotten inta ya?! Yer bein’ mighty rude fer no good reason!”

Deciding she should do something, Dash averted the situation; she picked up Fluttershy off the ground, cradled her, and then flew off.

‘Gosh, Fluttershy’s REALLY wound up if she’s snapping at AJ like that...’ Dash thought.

The pair soon arrived at Rainbow Dash’s cloud home, which not only was closer to their previous location, but for an added measure of privacy.

Inside, Dash set Fluttershy down onto the floor, shutting the door behind them. She shook some of the mud and rain water off herself, before heading toward her bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

“We gotta wash off, Flutters...” She said, wiping some mud off her face.

“Yeah...” Fluttershy said looking about the home. ‘This place feels so... empty without all the little critters and stuff running about. And it’s kinda messy... Do I... actually miss my Rainbow Dash? Nah, why would I? Focus, Fluttershy.’ She nodded in agreement, followed by a wink. “So, mind if I wash up with you?”

Blushing a bit, especially considering Fluttershy’s... carnal intentions, Dash nodded. “Y-Yeah... sure thing...”

“Well, lead the way, Skittles!” Fluttershy chuckled as she teased. “I’m still waiting to taste the rainbow...”

Dash blushed a bit more, but said nothing, only tossing a wink over her shoulder.

They went into the bedroom, then into the adjoining bathroom. Dash went to work on getting the shower readied up, making sure the water was at a good temperature.

“Mind grabbing a couple towels? You can put ‘em on the countertop,” said the cyan pegasus, making sure she had enough body wash and shampoo they could use. “I’ve got smaller towels if you want to use one for your mane.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, I can get ‘em.” She began to dig through and pulled a few out and set them down. ‘Okay, so we are finally all alone! I can make my move here... I’m about to finally get you, Dash... I don’t even care that you’re not my Rainbow, I want this! I’ve wanted this for far too long...’

Unintentionally swaying her flank in Fluttershy’s view, Dash pulled the faucet pin up, activating the shower. She looked over her shoulder, grinning. “All right, Fluttershy. Ladies first!”

Fluttershy froze up for a second. “You’re a stallion?!” She shouted in pure shock.

“....What?” Dash turned to her, giving her a deadpan look. She then hovered up in the air, exposing her very obvious marehood. “Yeah, totally a stallion. Want a closer look? You going blind? Should I come closer?”

Fluttershy blushed a bit as she turned away. “Nah, I’ll get plenty of that later!” She grinned playfully. “So, you just gonna stand there and flash me or wash up?” She brushed it off as she stepped into the shower. ‘Shoot! That was close... Stupid multiverse crap...’

“Very funny! I’m gonna get clean!” Dash stuck her tongue out at her playfully, before getting into the shower as well.

Both mares wet themselves, clearing off the initial run of mud from their coats and manes. Dash whistled a bit, taking some body wash, and squeezed some onto a washcloth. She handed the bottle to Fluttershy for her own use, then went to work at washing herself off.

The yellow pegasus stared down at the bottle in her hooves before almost tossing it aside. She slid up behind Dash a with devious smirk on her face before wrapping her forehooves around the cyan mare’s waist, gently cradling her as she did.

“Oh, Dash...” Fluttershy called out to her, “I thought you said we were gonna pick up where we left off? And we are alone now... So, how about it?” She leanedd into her ear. “Don’t make me beg.”

“Now?” Dash managed, feeling her body jolt. “You sure you don’t want to wait ‘till we-oh!!” She cried out at the feeling of Fluttershy’s hoof traveling down her body.

“Here’s a quick lesson in Flutter-Love one-o-one, Dash...” Fluttershy said as she gently began to massage lower down Rainbow Dash’s body. “First, if I say I want, I mean it...” She ran her free hoof through Rainbow’s mane. “Second, if I act like I want, I really want it...” Fluttershy moved ever so lower as she tease. “And lastly... I am always on top.”

Trembling, Dash let out an involuntary grunt in response to Fluttershy’s teases on her body. “Point taken, Flutters...! So I-... oh no you don’t! I’m the one on top!”

Fluttershy felt Rainbow Dash’s wing begin to stiffen as she began to push onward, teasing her lover ever more. “You don’t get it yet, do you? I’m not giving you a choice... You’re mine. I’m gonna make you mine and you’re gonna let me... Rainbow...” She purred out her name, now playfully nibbling on one of Dash’s wings.

“Ngh-!!” Dash uttered, nearly falling over. She trembled from the pleasure, her legs shaking a bit on the wet porcelain. “Okay... okay! Fine! Have it your way, then! Let’s just do it already...! I’m getting antsy!”

“No, no, Rainbow...” Fluttershy said, backing her into the wall for support. “That’s not how this works. You have to ask for it. Beg for it. Show me just how bad you really want this...”

Managing to turn around to face Fluttershy, Dash gave her a weird look. “W-What?! Beg?! Fluttershy... you know I don’t beg! The hay are you thinking?! If any of us is more likely to do the begging, that’s you! What, you want me to start getting all weepy, meek, quiet and begging you like a child begging for a cookie?!”

Fluttershy looked shocked, stepping back. ‘What? She... Wait... She’s not like my Rainbow Dash. She’s a fighter, not all willing and what not. So why was I...? Do I- gah, shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don’t miss her! I don’t! She was too weak! Too soft! Too... too...’ She took another step back. ‘No, I don’t miss her, I’m just stuck in my ways... Yeah! I don’t... miss her...’

Fluttershy’s look changed to a very odd, sad look as she turned away. “... Yeah, sorry. Don’t know what got into me Just, I don’t know, get washed up or something...”

“... Fluttershy?” Dash spoke up, her voice laced with concern. “...What’s wrong? You okay? I… if you really wanted to play a role reversal, it’s fine... I’m just...I kinda overreacted a little. I’m sorry...”

“Nah, just... forget it, okay?” Fluttershy shot back, almost coldly.

On some level, Dash just wanted to leave it alone, like she usually did. But somehow, this just wasn’t letting her. Something about everything wasn’t right, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Whatever it was, Dash felt a tinge of worry for her friend/lover.

“... No. No, you’re not just gonna brush me off this time! If something’s wrong, if I said or did something, tell me what I did! I can’t fix it or help you if you don’t tell me what’s goin’ on! So just come out with it!” Dash said with sternness in her tone. “I’m... I just… I don’t want you to be upset about all this, Fluttershy! You’ve got nothing to be upset about, really! I-I know I overreacted, and I’m sorry! I just… you caught me off guard and I wasn’t thinking! Just… tell me what’s wrong! I want to help you!”

Fluttershy looked back to the cyan mare with sense of annoyance. Something about the sternness in her voice made her want to yell. But she knew that would not help anything. She was lost in a mixture of emotions.

“You wanna know what’s wrong? Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t even believe it... I... I don’t know what to say or do or even think right now. So, just drop it, pretend this didn’t happen and move on, okay?” Her own tone mixed both anger and sadness. “And I’m not brushing you off, I just... I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“... Fine, but you’re not off the hook yet, Fluttershy. We’re still gonna talk about this later.” Dash warned, taking some shampoo and beginning to wash her mane.

‘Seriously, what is UP with her?! As awesome as she is... none of this is making any sense! Did Twilight’s magic warp her personality or something?!’ Dash thought, barely able to even look at her at the moment. ‘...Guess it means she’ll probably want to go home...’

Fluttershy turned away as she did the same. “...Yeah, I know.” She sniffled a bit, fighting off the odd sense of tears building up behind her eyes. ‘I don’t miss her,’ she chanted in her mind, ‘I don’t miss that lame slow poke… I don’t miss her smile, or her mane, or those cute little kitten eyes of hers... I don’t miss her... I don’t...’

The yellow mare paused as a forelegs came around her, along with a cheek nuzzling her own.

“But ya know... I’m no good at this kinda thing, Fluttershy… but... If you want to talk about anything… you can tell me what’s on your mind,” Dash said, her voice soft, but serious. “You’re my best pal, and I just... want to help you.”

Dash kissed her cheek, then released her, proceeding to continue rinsing her mane.

In a quiet voice, far lower than any she had ever used, Fluttershy spoke to no pony at all. “No, I’m not...”

“... You’re not what?” Dash said, curious and a little concerned.

Fluttershy didn’t turn back, she just continued to wash off. She didn’t acknowledge that Rainbow Dash had spoken, even though she heard her. She refused to turn around. She did not want to. She could not. Memories flooded back to her of years gone past, those she had long forgotten...

“Fluttershy....! I… I... um ...well I wanted to… give you your present… if you still wanted it... Happy birthday....”

“I know it may not mean much coming from me… but… but I… wanted you to know that I’m really proud of you, Fluttershy... I really am... And you know I’ll always support you...”

“Thank you! Oh, I will take care of him... absolutely, I will! I’ll call him Fluffy... that’s a great name, don’t you think? Come on, Fluffy… I’ll take you to your new home!”

“I-I’m sorry, Fluttershy... I’m really sorry… please, forgive me...”

“Really? For me? Oh, you shouldn’t have… oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Fluttershy! I love it! You have no idea how much… how much this means to me… thank you....”

“You’re my best friend, Flutters… and I’ll always be your best friend… forever!”

Fluttershy trembled ever so slightly, trying to holding her tears despite the fact she was already crying. ‘I don’t miss her! I don’t! She was so slow! She could never keep up with me! She was too different from me! Too boring! To fragile! Just too... shy... and gentle... She was always just there, looking out for me. But she was just slowing me down! I don’t need her! I don’t miss her! I don’t... I can’t… I shouldn’t… I… I don’t miss you, Rainbow... I don’t want to miss you...’

“... Fluttershy? Fluttershy… why are you crying?” Dash’s voice reached her ears. No longer did she sound confident, daring, and cool. Instead, she sounded worried, soft, and even a bit sad.

The sound of her voice snapped Fluttershy out of thoughts. She turned back to Rainbow Dash with tears flowing. The wetness of her mane made it look longer. The steam from the shower made her eyes appear softer. And her voice... was just the same, even for a brief moment. All of this, everything, had finally broke her. She rushed forward into Rainbow Dash’s forelegs, crying loudly.

“I don’t want to miss you!” Fluttershy cried out. “I don’t want to! I can’t! You’re.. You’re... I just can’t! I don’t! I swear I don’t! So, why?! Why do I...?!” Her words were almost lost in her screams and crying. It was all she could do in this single moment. She was no longer strong, she was vulnerable... and for the first time, she did not have her Rainbow Dash to take care of her.

“...F-Fluttershy?” Dash said, confused. Nonetheless, she held the crying pony close. Whatever was bothering her, it broke her heart; just as it always did to see Fluttershy crying.

‘What’s she talking about? Why’s she crying? ...Was it something I said? She’s talkin’ to me like that... so I don’t know...’ Dash thought, and stroked her lover’s wet mane. ‘Poor Flutters... I don’t know why she’s upset or what she’s talking about... I hope she’ll be okay...’ She held the creamy yellow pegasus closer, trying to comfort her as best she could.

“It’s okay, Flutters… I’m here for ya, pal... I promise, I’m here for ya,” Dash whispered to her soothingly.

Fluttershy shook her. “No! No, you’re not! You’re as far away as possible and I should be happy! You should be happy!” She squeezed Dash tighter. “I was just a jerk! I know that and yet... here you are! So, why?! I shouldn’t care about you and... you shouldn’t care about me!”

“...What?” Dash looked at her in a mix of surprise and concern. “Fluttershy, what are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry... I’m... sorry...” Fluttershy’s voice began to crack and fade. All she did was repeat the phrase over and over as her body finally gave. Fatigue set in from the race at last as she fell asleep crying right there.

“.... Fluttershy? Fluttershy?” Dash shook her gently. Only to realize that she had just fallen asleep.

Sighing, she turned off the water, managing to get them out of the tub. Dash dried herself, then Fluttershy, getting rid of the excess water. Once again, she felt worried and very confused about what was going on, especially with Fluttershy having passed out just now. Her heart sank into her stomach, while her mind reeled with questions and concerns, unsure of how to even deal with any of this.

Bringing Fluttershy into her hooves, Rainbow flew back to her bedroom, and gently placed Fluttershy onto her bed. Getting her comfortable under the covers, she kissed her forehead sweetly.

“Sleep tight, Flutters... I’ll join you when I get to bed later,” she said softly.

‘I hope she’s okay... I wonder what she was talking about… none of that made any sense... It’s like she wasn’t even talking to me. But she was, wasn’t she? She had to be! So… what happened? What did all that mean? I gotta ask her when she wakes up...’

Fluttershy slowly began to stir some hours later feeling something warm covering her. She tossed a few times gently, before coming to a rest once more.

‘It was just a dream... Oh thank Luna... It was just a dream. I swear, when I get up, I’m gonna go straight over to Rainbow’s and apologize for everything! I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out I was being such a jerk. I- wait...’ She felt something was off, something was wrong. Running her hooves over the bed and blanket she knew right away what is was. ‘This isn’t my bed...’ Slowly, she forced her eyes open.

She looked around the darkened room as best she could. It was a home designed much like those in Cloudsdale. Fluttershy realized where she was then.

‘This is Rainbow Dash’s house...! Why am I...?’ She felt something holding her cuddling her back. She gently turned over to see the cyan mare in question. ‘Rainbow...’ She smiled a bit has she ran her hoof through the multicolored mane, but something felt off. It was much rougher, shorter and... she was missing her braid. ‘Please no...’ Looking around the room once more, she saw that it was ill-kept, messy, and littered with posters of the Wonderbolts, all of which were things her Rainbow Dash would not have.

Fluttershy sighed as she turned away, sitting upright on the edge of the bed, looking down at her hooves. ‘So it wasn’t a dream. I really am in a different reality... I lost my best friend thinking I didn’t need her... What’s wrong with me? I can’t lie to myself and say I’m not attracted to this Rainbow Dash, but... it’s not like how it is with mine... Why did this happen to me, anyway? What did I- oh, yeah... I’ve been a horrible pony to the best friend I ever had, just to look cool... Pony feathers... Why? I’m so sorry... Rainbow...’

On her side of the bed, Rainbow Dash stirred. A sleepy, tired groan sounded as Dash slowly woke up. Yawning, she groped around the mattress a bit, letting out an annoyed little whimper. Eventually, she opened her eyes, yawning again. This time she caught sight of Fluttershy, which began to alert her.

“...Flutters? Fluttershy… you’re awake...” Dash said, sitting up. “What’s wrong? You all right?”

Looking over, Fluttershy sighed. “Actually, there’s a lot wrong, Dash.” Her tone wasn’t harsh or dark this time, but slightly sad. “I think... there’s something I should tell you.”

Rubbing her eyes, Dash scooted closer to her friend, bringing a foreleg around her shoulders. “What’s up, Flutters? You can tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“I know this is gonna sound crazy, and there’s a good chance you won’t believe me, but I’m gonna tell you anyway...” Fluttershy looked away before meeting Dash’s eyes. “I’m not your Fluttershy...”

Silence.

Dash stared at her weirdly. “...What? ….Fluttershy, that doesn’t make any sense! Unless you’re a Changeling, I don’t know what ya mean by that!”

“A what? Oh, you mean a Shifter.” Fluttershy said calmly. “Anyway, it’s complicated... It’s like this; you ever hear of somethin’ called the multiverse?”

“Well, yeah,” Dash shrugged, “I read about that kinda plotline in books and comics! What’s that got to do with-wait! ….If you’re.... a Fluttershy from some other place... then where’s my Fluttershy?! And for that matter, how did you get here?!”

Fluttershy sighed a bit. “I don’t know, okay? Your friend, Twilight, was doing something with wanting to see all the different realities or something and somehow your Fluttershy and I got switched... I don’t know how or why, but I’m stuck here...”

“So, Twilight did this? It’s because of… and she didn’t tell me?!!?” Dash burst angrily, her hooves grabbing at the covers roughly.

But it all made sense now. Fluttershy’s very different look, attitude, and everything... especially with the way Twilight was acting. Now, Dash wasn’t sure whether to be fascinated or freaked out. How was this all possible? She couldn’t even fathom how Twilight would’ve been able to pull it off. She cringed, looking around the room a bit, biting her lip.

‘Now it makes sense! And now... oh my gosh... I can’t believe I nearly had sex with her! And she didn’t-! Gah! And now Fluttershy’s out there in some other universe!!’ Dash thought, trembling a little. ‘What now?! What are we gonna do? What’s she gonna do? What about Fluttershy? What’s gonna happen? Think, Dash, think!’

“And you didn’t tell me, either.... But I guess I can see why...” Dash mumbled. “Still, all that, earlier... I mean... I thought… I thought you were actually Fluttershy.... And seeing her... act like this was a huge turn-on.... Not to say I’m still not attracted to ya... still, though...”

Fluttershy looked away. “This is why no pony told you, yet. They figured you’d freak out and stuff.” She gave her a slightly annoyed look. “And I am Fluttershy, just not your Fluttershy. And look, about earlier... I was acting out a little fantasy of mine I’ve had in the past... My Rainbow was all meek and junk and... Never mind. Point is, I’m sorry I didn’t come clean sooner, okay?”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! There’s another me… and that other me is all… meek and shy? ...Whoa. So you mean to tell me, that you, Fluttershy, are like me... and that other me, is like Fluttershy?” Dash said, wide-eyed. “....That’s just crazy. I gotta-” She smacked herself. “Never mind! Look, don’t worry about it. I guess… I can see what you were trying to do.”

“You can?” Fluttershy looked at her in confusion. “I nearly bucked you, on three different occasions, with you thinking I was your ‘Shy and you’re just okay with that?” She shook her head. “What’s with you? Then again... I’m the same way. So, I guess we’re both pretty twisted...”

“...Well, you kinda were pretending I was your Rainbow Dash… there I was pretending you were my Fluttershy without even knowing it,” Dash mumbled. “Guess we are pretty twisted. But uh, I also wasn’t complaining, either...” A soft blush formed on her cheeks. “It was all awesome.”

Fluttershy looked over at Dash oddly, but smiled a bit. “Yeah, it was kinda awesome... It’s just...” She turned away. “I don’t know what I want anymore...I mean, yeah, you’re hot, but... Gah, I just... don’t know...”

“You’re hot, too...” Dash smiled. “I wouldn’t turn ya down for it… but yeah, I guess… guess we’d better just play it by ear. See what happens. Especially if we never see your Rainbow Dash and my Fluttershy.”

“Then... there’s a chance I’m stuck here... for good...” Fluttershy said flatly.

“I think Twilight can answer that better...” Dash mumbled.

“Tell me something,” Fluttershy looked back to Dash, “you and this reality’s Fluttershy... was there... something between the two of you?”

Looking to her, Dash bit her lip, unsure. She looked away, shaking her head. “No, not really. She’s just my best friend, she has been since I was a filly. Although, Fluttershy’s real cute, and yesterday, well… we kinda uh… kinda might’ve kissed... And she was acting all sweet, like always, and there I was being a sappy sweet moron, thinking it was a dream,” she mumbled, blushing. “Why are you asking? ...Is there something between you and the other me?”

Fluttershy gave her a mixed look. “No… I did some awful things and I doubt she’ll ever forgive me. I can’t blame her though… As for you and me? You’re not my Rainbow, but I can tell I do feel something in here...” She pointed to her chest. “It’s just... back where I’m from... I just don’t want her to hate me anymore than she does now. If I ever see her again... I want to make-up for it...”

“Oh...” Dash mumbled, nodding in understanding. “Yeah, I see what you mean... There were some times I wasn’t all that nice to Fluttershy. And believe me, I hate myself for that. She didn’t deserve it in the slightest. I mean, I’ve made up for it since then, but it still sucks, knowing I’d done that. And um...” She blushed, looking away. “I know you’re not my Fluttershy either, but I... do feel... somethin’ there, ya know. I uh… looking back, it wasn’t as freaky... And I… wow, I guess my Fluttershy and your Rainbow Dash might be awesome friends if they meet.”

“Are you kidding me?” Fluttershy rolled back rest her head in Rainbow Dash’s lap. “Those two are probably already best friends as we speak. Chillin’ out back at my place, drinking up all my cider and junk.” She snickered.

Dash grinned a bit, chuckling as she gently ran a hoof along Fluttershy’s mane. “You like cider too, eh? Awesome. Yeah, I bet they are the best of friends... or heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were like us… kinda sorta, you know, except all kissy and cute.”

Fluttershy smiled a bit as she laughed. “Yeah, you never know! Hay, they might have even...” Her smile faded, but she did not raise up from her spot. “Look, I know I’m not your Fluttershy and you’re not my Rainbow Dash... but, maybe we can keep one another company until we get to see them again? If we do, that is. How’s that sound?”

Looking down at her, Dash felt... a nice feeling in her heart. It was true, this wasn’t her Fluttershy. But in turn, she herself wasn’t this Fluttershy’s Rainbow Dash. She was going to be stuck here for some time, if not for the rest of her life. The least they could do was make the best of it either way, no matter what happened.

‘Yeah… I can do that... I think we can. She’s still Fluttershy… just different. Plus, it doesn’t change that I’m real into her... And she’s still hot... And she’s awesome...’ Dash thought, stroking the other Fluttershy’s head.

She leaned down, catching her lips in a sweet, full-on kiss. It definitely was different than kissing her Fluttershy, but no less enjoyable. It was especially stimulating on her senses, firing her up.

Pulling back, she grinned, whispering, “Sounds awesome to me, Fluttershy. May as well make the best of it. Besides, you’re still awesome.”

Fluttershy blushed a bit, grinned back. “Then there’s only two things you need to know now.” She teased. “One, I’m still on top. And two, if you want anything to happen, I need a lot of hard cider.”

“One, fair enough. Two... oh, really? You didn’t seem to need cider before...” Dash said suggestively, nuzzling her nose.

“That was before I had an emotional breakdown, numbskull.” Fluttershy tapped the base of Dash’s skull playfully. “And, I was pretending you were my Rainbow. Now, I need something to make me forget you’re you, so I can go back to pretending.” She nuzzled her nose back. “Plus, if we get caught again, I can just blame you for getting me drunk.”

“Real funny,” Dash poked her snout. “Fine, I’ve got a stash of cider, anyway.”

Fluttershy licked Rainbow Dash’s nose. “Well then, why are we still here? Let’s go get some!”

Smirking, Dash gently got up, motioning for her to wait. She flew out of her room, disappearing around the wall. A minute or so later, she returned, holding a bottle of apple cider in her hooves.

“I don’t need to pretend you’re my Fluttershy... but I guess I’ll have some too, to even us out...” Dash said, landing back on the bed.

“Whatever you say, Dash.” Fluttershy smirked. “If you really are like me, then... Nah, I’ll let you figure it out by yourself.”

“Oh no ya don’t… no more secrets! ‘Specially after we have some of this!” Dash said, indicating that she’d already opened the bottle. She took a sip, a very generous sip, then handed the bottle over to Fluttershy. “Bottoms up, Flutters...”

Fluttershy giggled as she took a sip as well, but not nearly as much as Dash. “Trust me on this, Rainbow Dash, this is something you’ll have to experience yourself. It’s kinda, hm...” She looked at the bottle in her hooves before downing a large amount in front of Dash, almost a fourth of the cider. “Ah! That’s better. Anyway, it’s emotional stuff. It’s like they say, ‘you don’t know what you got... til it’s gone...’ ya know? You’ll know when it happens.”

“I g-get what ya mean...” Dash managed, giggling a bit as the cider was slowly overtaking her system. She took the bottle back, drinking down some more, then placed it aside. “N-Not that I don’t… kinda miss Flutters… but it’s fine, it’s fine... I’ll be fine...”

Fluttershy snatched the bottle away. “Oh, you’re lightweight. You’re not gettin’ buzzed before I do, got that?” She turned up the bottle quickly, taking in a large amount. She could start to feel the effects of the cider at last. “Now you listen to me… You think you will be, but you won’t! I thought I would be too, but I went ‘snap!’ and now... I’m trying to get drunk to forget that I’m stuck in another reality... So, if you’re REALLY like me, you’ll be a wreck before the end of the week!” She shoved the bottle back to Dash, sticking her tongue out as she did.

“I’m not a lightweight!” Dash protested, drinking down more. “It’s just… harder stuff! But okay… you’re on! I-I bet I’ll be fine! R-Really! I’ve had to go… bit of my life… ’thout Fluttershy… and I turned out okay!” She took another sip, then gave it back to Fluttershy. “Course, not like I spent every day misshing her… hoping she’s okay...”

“You are so a lightweight.” Fluttershy took the bottle away once more. “Oh, and I’m so sure you turned out all right! Just look at us... Well, more you than me. I’m not in denial. I know I like my Rainbow Dash, but I like you too, even if you are as ugly as sin!” She started to laugh wildly. “The point is, you’re lying to yourself, not me, Dash... You’ll be bawlin’ your eyes out in seven days tops!”

“Denial? Me? Ha! I’m in no denial! I jusht hope Fluttershy is okay...” Dash grabbed it back, giggling like a school filly. “But if th’ other me’s sweet as candy, like ya said... I’m not worried! She’ll be fine... Heck I bet they’ll be all cutesy-wutesy together... hee hee! Sooo… you like her? Hee, that’s sho cute...” She drank down a bit more cider, seeing now that the bottle was well over half empty.

Fluttershy snatched the bottle, downing more and holding it to her side, and pushed Dash away playfully. “Yeah, so? She was cute! You sayin’ you didn’t like your Fluttershy?” A toothy grin appeared on her face. “‘Cause you sure were all over me when you thought I was her...”

“You were being hot… Fluttershy acting and looking hot...” Dash giggled, rolling onto her back. “Fluttershy being all confident and cool… awesome… why not? She’s cute… made it even hotter... Me? Like her? Nah… she’s my pal, but she is kinda cute...”

Fluttershy stared at her oddly before she smiled. She downed the remainder of the cider, then crawled on top of Rainbow Dash, trying not to collapse on her. She sat up on the cyan pegasus’ waist, placing a hoof on her chest to hold herself up and Dash down.

She grinned down at her. “ The truth... is limitless in its range, Rainbow. If you... drop a “T” and look at it in reverse... It could really hurt...” She giggled a bit. “You get it?”

“Eh? Oh... oh... oh!” Dash giggled, wiggling a bit. “You’re so cute... Hurt... truth... haha, you’re funny... You’re sho funny... all three of you...”

“Oh, dear Luna... You’re wasted, aren’t ya?” Fluttershy said with a giggle. “Forget lightweight, you’re now officially a featherweight.”

“I’m fine!” Dash pouted. “It’s just stronger cider, that’s all...”

Fluttershy leaned down to Rainbow, until their noses were touching. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that? You’re dunk... You obviously have a crush on your reality’s Fluttershy, and are just acting out some fantasy about her being all awesome... You’re lying about it when I know it already... and, this is the best part, I’m totally game for it...”

“Hee hee… okay, fine… I’m game! Game...” Dash giggled, nuzzling her nose.

Fluttershy quickly pulled away and bounce off her, grabbing covers and hiding under them with just her head poking out. “B-But, Rainbow... you’re really gonna take advantage of me? Your best friend? I thought you didn’t like me like that…” Fluttershy made a mock pout.

“No, Flutters… I wouldn’t do that...” Dash giggled, crawling toward her. “I’d only make sweet love to you if you wanted me to...”

Fluttershy started to giggle wildly. “Oh, but, Rainbow Dash... I’ve never done anything like this before...”

“Me neither… but I guess... it’s better with somepony ya trust...” Dash approached her, blushing and giggling. “Beshides… You were pretty much… into something earlier today… like you were dreaming...”

Fluttershy pulled the blanket up higher to hide her grin. “But I don’t just trust you, Rainbow... I love you...”

“Really?” Dash blinked, her wings flaring a little bit, though in a delayed sense. “Nice... I love me too... hee hee... uh, oh, wait... You’re cute, Flutters... you love me? Yay... Now I’ll really give you… give you stuff… that lovey mushy stuff. Why not… you’re my pal...”

Fluttershy giggled a bit as she pulled back. ‘Ooh, I see... So she does have a thing for her Fluttershy. I could call her on it, but she’s too drunk to care... and who am I kiddin’? This is kinda fun...’

“Ooh, Rainbow... I know you’ll alway be my best friend... and I do love you.” Fluttershy batted her eyelashes. “I’m so sorry I never told you...”

“It’s okay, Flutters...” Dash smiled, her words slurring a bit. “It’s real sweet... I’m totally awesome and cool… but what’d I do to deserve your love? I’m no good for you...”

Fluttershy pulled away teasingly once more. “Well... why don’t you come here and... I’ll show you... Rainbow Dash.” She purred her lover’s name out.

“How’re you gonna show me?” Dash pouted, crawling over to her.

“Just... come over here and I’ll show you... I’ll show you everything. All of me...” Fluttershy cooed.

The cyan mare giggled, finally reaching Fluttershy and snuggling her. “Okay… you’re not dreaming this time, Flutters... promise...”

“But what if you’re dreaming, Dash...?” Fluttershy teased.

“If it’s another dream, I’m gonna be sad...” Dash giggled, kissing her nose.

Fluttershy pulled down the sheets and smiled sweetly. “Then you better act fast... so you don’t wake up and miss the best part...”

Instead of answering, Dash cuddled in close and kissed Fluttershy sweetly, albeit a bit drunkenly. They lay together on the bed, wrapped up in one another, rolling about as Fluttershy yet again took her position on top.

Within the alcohol-induced realm of Dash’s mind, she thought of one little thing, before her mind eventually shut down.

‘Fluttershy... Didn’t think she’d want this, but if she does… I’ll do it...gonna make sweet love to her... Why’s she on top? Who cares… it’s awesome...’

Author's Note

And here, we can see just how much Flutterdash truly does miss Rainbowshy! Trust us, folks. She does. :P But that's where you just have to keep reading to see it all unfold!

Not much else to say except that we hope you guys are enjoying this! Remember, I'm not the only one writing this. Poison Cure is my co-writer and editor. :3

Alternate 6: Submitting

“... So, tell me, Fluttershy, in the reality you are from, what was your Rarity like?” Pinkamena asked curiously as the trio made their way across Ponyville. “So far, you’ve explained that our Rainbow Dash is much like yourself, that the ‘Pinkie’ and Twilight you knew were the reverse of of this Twilight and myself, and that Applejack was most certainly not a dress maker... so, what of your Rarity?”

“My Rarity...? Well, she’s actually...doing what your Applejack does. She runs her own dress shop, only hers is called the Carousel Boutique,” Fluttershy explained. “She also has a bit of a more classy accent she puts up.”

Pinkamena nodded as she looked over to Twilight. “Would please make a note of this, Twi?” She asked kindly.

“Okey-dokey-lokie!” Twilight said enthusiastically, producing her notepad and pen with her magic, writing this down. “Wait till you meet our Rarity!”

“Let me guess. She’s the complete opposite and acts more like my Applejack?” Fluttershy guessed, her voice dry.

Pinkamena nodded and pointed ahead. “You’re about to find out. You may want to brace yourself for impact.”

“...What? What are you talking about?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

Without any forewarning, Fluttershy was tackled to ground by a blur of white and purple. Her eyes went wide as she staring up at this reality’s Rarity. Her mane was parted down the middle and braided into large sections. Around her neck was a loosely tied dark purple bandana. However, the most striking thing about her was her eyes. They were sharp, determined, rough, yet still held a since of honor that Fluttershy was so used to seeing in both Rarity and Applejack.

“Fluttershy?! Where were you today?!” Rarity was half shouting. “You promised you were going to help out at Sweet Apple Acres before the rain set in! Well, guess what? You’re late.” She looked down at pegasus underneath her carefully before her expression changed. “What’s wrong with you, Fluttershy? And... are you wearing hair extensions?”

“Um...h-hello, Rarity....” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. She’d been right, and was now greeted with the comical idea of Rarity being a farmer. “Um...there’s....a few things...we have to tell you...”

“Hi, Rare-bear!” Twilight greeted. “You’re not going to believe any of this, but it’s true! Flutter-Butter over here isn’t Fluttershy at all! She’s another Fluttershy from another place! Completely different from who she is!”

“Allow me to expand upon that, if you would.” Pinkamena locked eyes with the farmer. “Apparently, this Fluttershy is from a different reality. One is which I assume has each of us behaving in a different, polar opposite manner. It would seem that her Twilight attempted to see into the ninth level of multiverse somehow. Through means I’ve yet to uncover, she involuntarily switched our Fluttershy with her own and Twilight and I are currently looking for a way to fix the conundrum.” She stopped and look at the white unicorn.

Rarity stared at her with look of utter bewilderment. “And... you’re not pulling my tail...?” She gave Pinkamena a questioning expression. She knew that Pinkamena would never lie about something like this, and even if she did, why would she? Looking down at the timid mare under her, she stepped off of her, noting that something was indeed different about Fluttershy.

“I swear to you, this is not our Fluttershy.” Pinkamena said with the utmost seriousness.

This was when the creamy yellow pegasus managed to get up. “It’s true... I was part of that experiment, something went wrong... and I ended up here, somehow... I-I can’t explain it... but that’s how it went. And now... until we find some kind of way to send me back, I’ll... be here for a while...”

Rarity looked between the three ponies in front of her. She sighed as a small smile came over her face.

“Well, why didn’t anyone tell me sooner?” Rarity extended her hoof out to Fluttershy. “It’s a pleasure to to meet you, sweety.”

“Nice to meet you too, of course,” Fluttershy shook hooves with her. “Um... if you don’t mind my asking... you work at Sweet Apple Acres?”

Rarity shook her head. “Not at all. I’ve never been one to shy away from a question.” She raised her head up proudly. “I do, in fact, work at Sweet Apple Acres. I assist most with apple-bucking and daily maintenance of the property... along with a few other minor things was well.”

“...I see....” Fluttershy gazed at her friend’s counterpart, wondering just how comical it would be if her Rarity found this out. “That’s interesting, Rarity...”

“I’d also like to apologize for tackling you like that. I thought you were- well, you know.” Rarity waved it off. “So... are you any good with your hooves?”

Fluttershy thought about that for a moment. It wasn’t often than Applejack would ask her to help out at the farm, at least not in the same way she’d ask Rainbow Dash. She herself was better at helping with the animals and insects from destroying the crops, while maybe doing some other little odd jobs.

“Well...I’m not very strong or good at heavy lifting... but I can help you out with the animals, watering some plants, planting, and stuff like that...” Fluttershy offered. “Um... what is it you need help with?”

Before Rarity could answer, Pinkamena placed a hoof between the two. “While I can understand you’re short-hoofed at the time with the weather schedule the way it is, but I don’t believe it would be wise to push our new friend here too hard on her first day of interdimensional travel. If need be, I’m sure Twilight would be more than willing to assist you, Rarity.”

“Sure! I’ll help out!” Twilight nodded, bouncing on the spot, grinning widely, “And then Flutter-Butter can help you tomorrow!”

Rarity took a step back with a nervous smile. “Um... Thanks, Twilight, but I think I can manage the rest of today’s work with just Big Mac and myself...” Memories of the last time Twilight helping her and the oddity of all the trees coming to life bothered her slightly. “Yeah, I can handle it. I might ask Fluttershy for a bit of help tomorrow with gardening the crops, but that’s about it.” She looked over to the shy yellow mare. “I’m sure I’ll see you around, sweety. And don’t be afraid to drop by Sweet Apple Acres if you ever need anything.”

“All right, sure...” Fluttershy nodded, smiling a bit. “I’ll keep that in mind, Rarity. I’ll come by tomorrow afternoon, if nothing else.”

“Wonderful,” Rarity grinned as she quickly shook hooves with Twilight and Pinkamena. “Now, if you girls would excuse me, I need to get back to work soon or else Big Mac is going to start slacking again...” She gave one last smirk as she trotted down the road.

The three ponies waved her off down the road, before continuing on their way. Fluttershy pondered in silence, taking in more and more that everypony she knew had pretty much switched personalities (and sometimes jobs and hobbies) with another pony. It was going to be quite an adjustment, she knew that much, and hoped that she would be able to at least live with it somehow.

“Well now, that was a rather pleasant diversion, wouldn’t you say?” Pinkamena asked with warm and friendly tone.

“...Yes, I think so,” Fluttershy managed, nodding a bit, and smiling.

“You’re not still scared, are you?” Twilight asked, sadly.

The creamy yellow mare shook her head, “No. I’m not scared. I suppose I... overreacted a bit, but I just didn’t know what to expect or why any of it was happening. Now... now that I know a bit more about what’s happened... I guess I just have to go from there, and try to live with it... I... well, now I’m beginning to expect it, to know that everypony is different than I remember. But of course, I’m different to the rest of you, as well... so that’s part of it...”

Pinkamena nodded in response. “I can understand how you must feel, Fluttershy, but rest assure, as different as things may be, I’m positive you must also see a certain level of similarity as well. I know we can’t expect you to adjust overnight to this, but we all do want what’s best for you.”

Touched, Fluttershy offered Pinkamena an appreciative nuzzle. “Thank you, Pinkie-sorry... Pinkamena. I really appreciate the effort you two are putting in to help me with this, to help me adjust to this new world... It really does help me to know I can turn to either of you for help...”

Pinkamena smiled a bit at this gesture as she returned it. “Of course, Fluttershy. As odd as it may sound, I was once in a very similar situation a long time ago... But come now, we should get you home. Or what will be your home for a while... and before you make Twilight too jealous.” She chuckled a bit.

“Mine!” Twilight giggled, bringing her foreleg around Pinkamena’s neck.

“...Oh! You two are-? Oh! Oh my...I’m sorry, I had no idea...” Fluttershy giggled a bit, blushing. “Considering that my Pinkie and Twilight aren’t dating... I didn’t make the connection.”

Pinkamena giggled as well. “I can see that. Well, I can honestly say I pity your reality’s ‘Pinkie’ then.” She cuddled her marefriend gently. “However, this is not the time for boasting. Let’s be off, shall we?”

Nodding, the timid pegasus agreed to this idea. At least now she would be able to relax, wherever her home was supposed to be, and prepare for her rendezvous with Rainbow Dash. She smiled, her heart skipping a little bit at the idea.

‘She may not be my Rainbow... but at least we can keep each other company.’

They arrived at the edge of the Everfree Forest, which, to Fluttershy’s surprise, consisted of a very similar cottage to her own. Despite the different colouration and landscape layout, there wasn’t all too much that was different. All except for animals running around, a chicken coop and pens, it was pretty much her home. She felt relieved at some level, at least there would be some familiarity in this regard.

Inside, the overall layout was the same, just with some different sorts of furniture, paint job, and other sorts of knick-knacks. There were also some sports equipment laying around, it was a bit of a mess, but not a pigsty hazard. Upstairs, she had a bit of a bigger bed, with a more low-key style of covers and pillows.

On the walls of her room, surprisingly, were posters of the Wonderbolts, some music stars, and sports teams. Fluttershy couldn’t help but think that this was very akin to a room Rainbow Dash would have.

“Well, it’s different than my own home...but it’ll be fine. I’ll just have to keep it clean and maintained...” Fluttershy said, nodding toward the room.

Pinkamena smiled as she looked about. “No need to put yourself through any paces, just relax for now, Fluttershy.”

“Yep! You just relaxies and then be ready for your little date with Dashie!” Twilight giggled with glee, winking at her.

Looking at the clock, it was 2:28, which surprised Fluttershy. It hadn’t been very long, and yet, it felt as if several hours had passed.

“Oh, and I suppose you may wish to meet your house’s other occupant as well.” Pinkamena gestured off to the side, pointing at a small, shy looking white rabbit. “His name is Devil Bunny... oh, but don’t let his name fool you, he’s really quite the opposite.”

Settling her eyes on the white rabbit, Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “...A-Angel? ...Oh... I’m sorry, Devil... Hello, there...” She smiled, slowly approaching the rabbit so as not to scare him. “I’m Fluttershy... Not the same one you remember, but I’ll take care of you. I hope... we can be friends?” She gingerly held out her hoof.

Devil looked over the yellow pegasus before him. She looked like his mother, she smelled like his mother, but her mannerism was completely different. He considered what was said and found himself understanding it less than before. However, there was one thing he was sure of. Whoever this pony was in front of him was, whether it was his mother or not, was nice, even sincere when she spoke. That was all the reassurance he needed.

Rather than taking her hoof as Fluttershy had seen Angel do countless times, Devil bounced over to her side and hugged her foreleg gently, even slightly tickling her with his whiskers.

“Awwww....” Fluttershy giggled, gently touching his back. “It’s lovely to meet you, Devil... I’m glad we can get along.”

Pinkamena giggled a bit at the sight before going over to stand beside Twilight. “Now, was there anything else you needed before we head back, Fluttershy?”

“Um...I don’t think so, not at the moment... but um, if I do... I’ll come see you. Um, come to think of it...where do you live, Pinkamena?”

“Twilight and I both reside at the library, however, I still do most of my private work at the room I rented from the Cakes several years ago.” Pinkamena spoke calmly. “It still has most of my personal books and what not, and I occasionally assist Twilight with her job as a cook... although, admittedly, I’m not much of a chef.”

“Oh...so...you two live together? That’s really sweet....” Fluttershy smiled. ‘Wow, Pinkie, not much of a baker or cook? This truly is quite a strange parallel world...’

Pinkamena smiled in turn as she gave a gentle kiss to Twilight on the cheek before turning back. “So, if you need anything, we’ll either be at our home or at the Cakes’. Twilight, are you ready to leave?”

“Yepperoonie! Let’s go, Pinkie-Winkie!” Twilight kissed her cheek, too. “See you later, Flutter-Butter! Come over to the library anytime you like! We’ll be there!”

Smiling, Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, I will. Thank you, girls. Thank you so much for everything.”

“Oh come now, Fluttershy. I’m sure if the situation was reversed, you would do the same.” Pinkamena chuckled. “Let’s be off now, Twilight. We have quite a lot of work ahead of us.”

Nodding, the alicorn gave a dramatic salute, “Aye aye, Captain Pinkie!”

Pinkamena lead the way down stairs and called back up, “Oh, and, Fluttershy, I’m not sure how the mail works where you’re from, but if a large, male pegasus crashes into you home by the name of Thunderlane, he’s the mail pony... Anyway, we’ll come check on you tomorrow.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Fluttershy giggled a bit. “Um, well, I’ll see you girls tomorrow!”

The front door closed, and Fluttershy explored the house a little bit more. As well as that, she cleaned up the little messes, put clothes and sheets in the hamper, dusting, whatever she could do to spruce the place up. Following her around was Devil Bunny, likely to get more used to her.

“Well, Devil Bunny...it’s a very complicated story...but your Fluttershy and I were switched...so I’ll be here for a little while...” Fluttershy explained, finishing up in dusting the downstairs.

Devil followed her, nodding his head in agreement, as he watched his temporary owner do something he had never really seen before. Clean. Within certain rooms of the home, he had no idea there were even carpets at all. It was really something amazing to him. After some time, he tired a bit and seemed to ask something Angel would have considered. He asked if he may sit on Fluttershy’s back as she cleaned and watch.

“Oh, of course you can!” Fluttershy lowered to the floor, crouching low on all fours so that he could get up onto her back.

Devil gently climbed onto Fluttershy’s back and nuzzled beside her neck. He was rather happy to see this side of his mother, even if this pony wasn’t truly her.

“Well, Devil....we’re going to make the best of this!” Fluttershy smiled at him over her shoulder. “It’s all we can do, and, well, it shouldn’t be too hard. I think I might enjoy myself as I adapt. And besides... I have good friends to help me here... Something I never thought of, but, I’m so glad for. Not to mention Rainbow Dash...”

She smiled brightly at the thought of her lover, and went to work on resuming her dusting. It wouldn’t be very long before she had to get going.

Later, at about 3:55, Fluttershy arrived at Rainbow’s cloud home. It was indeed around the same location as it was back home, if not a bit closer to town and to the ground. While her Rainbow’s cloud home was still hanging relatively low to the ground, this one hung even lower. Maybe not quite at the reach of an average pony, but it was a far less high of a drop.

Much as she expected, this cloud home was far less majestic, but still appealing. It took more of a basic home look. It did still have a rainbow fountain, flowing into a little rainbow pond. The structure was two floors, with a possible attic space, an ordinary front door, along with a little access ramp for animals. There was even a paved walkway leading to the front door, which Fluttershy guessed made it safe for the animals to walk on.

There was a pen on the ground near the house, plenty of perches for birds, along with a chicken coop. Excited, Fluttershy flew over to see the menagerie of animals.

“Oooh! Wow! Look at all of her animals!” She squealed with delight. “Hello, friends!” Fluttershy then sang out a little tune for good measure.

Many of the animals were taken back by this sudden change in the yellow mare’s personality. She was normally rather rude to them, however, something felt different about her. She had an odd appeal to her, an almost calming allure. After a few seconds, several of the smaller animals began to move closer. Then, the larger ones. Before long, most of the animals were slowly approaching her with pleasant looks on their faces, smelling her, touching her mane and tail, and simply adjusting to this strange new pegasus before them.

Fluttershy giggled, smiling brightly at her animal friends. “Oh, I’m very glad to see all of you, too! I’m sorry if my counterpart was so... rude to you... but I’ll be here for a while! It seems Rainbow and I have a shared interest in animals...”

She spent a little time with the animals, getting to know them and feeding them if she had to, before she had to attend to her appointment. Promising to see them again, Fluttershy then flew up to the cloud home, landing at the doorstep.

Fixing her mane, making sure she didn’t smell, as well as her breath, Fluttershy rang the doorbell.

“I-I’m coming!” Fluttershy heard from the other side of the door, followed by several odd noises. There were several more sounds, which could be assumed to be locks on the door being undone. As the door opened, Rainbow Dash stood in front of her half wet, half dry. A towel was wrapped around her waist, along with a second one on her head, concealing most of her mane, aside from the single braid that fell loosely. “I-I’m sorry about that! I was just... um, wanting to freshen up a bit before you got here...” Rainbow let out a nervous giggle.

“Oh... I’m sorry... should I... come back later?” Fluttershy asked with concern, blinking.

Rainbow blushed brightly as she quickly shook her head. “No no, it’s okay... I just wanted to... l-look nice for you...”

“Awww....” Fluttershy giggled, flattered. She came inside, nuzzling their noses. “You’re so sweet, Rainbow... You didn’t have to, of course... You already looked quite beautiful... Oh! And there’s something I wanted to do...”

Rainbow Dash looked around nervously as she blushed once more. “T-Thank you, but, um... w-what’s the thing you wanted to do, Fluttershy?”

Giggling, the creamy yellow pegasus gently drew Rainbow into a hug, then kissed her sweetly. Full-on and with a hint of passion, but keeping it slow and gentle. Minding the towels so they wouldn’t fall, Fluttershy gave her a gentle squeeze, then released her as they parted.

“I’ve always wanted to greet you with a kiss...” She smiled.

Rainbow Dash stood there, paralyzed with emotion. Her heart raced and her mind slowed. Almost against her will, her wings flared up behind her, undoing the towel at her waist.

“Wow...” This was all the cyan pegasus could muster to say at the time as a smiled played on her lips. “I always... wanted you to greet me like that too...”

“Oh?” Fluttershy beamed, and approached her slowly. “What... else have you... fantasized about, Rainbow?” She batted her eyelashes cutely.

“I-I uh, I um... hmm... I...” Rainbow tripped over every attempt to form a natural sentence, but failed almost every time. “H-How about we, um... talk about that after dinner?”

A small pout formed at Fluttershy’s lips. “Oh, come on...” She mumbled. But when she smelled dinner cooking in the kitchen, she came to realize that it was probably the better idea. “...You’re right, I’m sorry.... I wouldn’t want all of your hard work to go to waste...”

“My what...?” Rainbow Dash said with flustered look on her face. Then she remembered what Fluttershy was doing there to begin with. “O-Oh, yes. I mean, no. It wasn’t too much trouble to make, just some simple pasta dishes I learned how to cook back in Junior Flight Camp...”

“Really?” Fluttershy smiled brightly, advancing on her lover and giving her a hug, nuzzling her cheek. “Aww, Rainbow, that’s wonderful! I love pasta! It smells so good, I can’t wait to try it! Oh...you’re going to spoil me...” She kissed her cheek.

Rainbow giggled a bit as she returned to hug. “No, I’m not... besides, I’m sure you must be hungry... then again... I’m not sure how anypony would feel after, well... you know.” She broke away from the hug shyly as she lead Fluttershy into the kitchen. “And you like pasta too? My- um, this reality’s Fluttershy liked pasta a lot. That’s why I learned to cook it.”

“I see...” Fluttershy nodded, smelling the intriguing aroma. “That’s really sweet of you, Dashie....” ‘It sounds like she did a lot for her... I can see why...I know I did, too...’

As the two arrived kitchen, Rainbow gestured towards the dining table. “So, um, you can sit wherever you would like to. I know the table’s not that big, but I promise the chairs are comfy. Oh, let me get you a plate, okay?” She asked sweetly.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help you set the table?” Fluttershy asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs. She smiled, seeing that they were indeed very comfy. “Um, you don’t have to worry about the size of the table, I think it works just fine.”

Rainbow turned back with a small smirk. “Thank you... Oh, and it’s fine. You are my guest.” She quickly filled a bowl up with pasta and carried it over to Fluttershy. “Here you go! Um, the two bowls on the table are cheese and tomato paste. The noodles are already lightly seasoned, so you could eat them like that too... Um, oh! And if you need the salt or pepper, I can get those for you real quick.”

Fluttershy looked down at her bowl and beamed, taking a sniff. “This smells delicious, Rainbow! It really does... Um, that’s all right, I’ll be fine. Why don’t you get yourself some and join me? I think that’s all I need right now...” She giggled, reaching over to spoon some tomato paste and cheese into her bowl.

“O-Oh, right...” Rainbow Dash said before she remembered the odd pressure on her head. “I-I’ll join you in just a second, I need to go and... um, dry my mane real quick.” With that, she began to head back out of the kitchen beyond Fluttershy’s sight. “I’ll be right back, F-Flutters...”

“Um, okay...” Fluttershy giggled, shaking her head and waiting at the table.

Realizing there were no drinks to be served, she got up, going over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of apple juice. She searched around for glasses, seeing that the kitchen area was definitely decorated differently than her Rainbow Dash’s home. It was more of a quaint country kitchen, as much as it could be in a cloud home. Eventually, she located the glasses, placing them on the table along with the juice.

‘This Rainbow Dash has a very clean, quaint and cozy home... My Rainbow sometimes can be messy, but her home was...majestic, really ‘cool’ in her eyes, and interesting...’ Fluttershy thought, taking her seat back at the table.

“Okay then, I-I’m back.” Rainbow Dash called into the room. Her mane was indeed dry, however there was something else different now as well. It looked as though she had applied a light amount of makeup. Nothing overbearing but, noticeable, nonetheless. “S-Sorry if I kept you waiting... I was just, um, you know.” She giggled a bit nervously as she also, fixed a small bowl for herself and sat down. “I uh, I hope everything tastes okay...”

Taking in her appearance, Fluttershy smiled warmly as she proceeded to spoon-twist her pasta around her fork. “It’s all right, Rainbow. You didn’t keep me waiting at all. Although... you sure look beautiful... pretty Dashie...” She winked sweetly.

Rainbow blushed as she tried to do the same, but fumbled the fork several times. “Tha-Thank you... I’m glad you think so.”

“Oh! I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to fluster you...” Fluttershy apologized, taking note of her lover’s fumbling. “Yes, I’ll save that for later... um... for now, let’s just eat... and we’ll make pleasant conversation...” She smiled.

“No! I mean...” Rainbow stumbled in her speech for a second, “I kinda, um... like it when you say stuff like that. I’m just not use to it.”

Smiling in understanding, Fluttershy reached over to touch her hoof across the table. “I understand, Rainbow... I’m not used to it, either. I mean...it’s not that my friends don’t compliment me, they do. It’s just...it takes getting used to, and you just don’t see yourself like that on a daily basis...”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right...” She chuckled nervously as she put her hoof over Fluttershy’s. “But it is nice... ya know?”

“It’s very nice, especially when you know they mean it...” Fluttershy looked into the other mare’s captivating cerise orbs. “I know I mean it... you’re beautiful... inside and out.”

“Not as beautiful as you, though, Fluttershy...” Rainbow said almost dreamily. “If... I’m beautiful, then you’re at least... twenty percent more so then I will ever be...”

‘Twenty percent.... Like twenty percent cooler...’ Fluttershy thought, her eyes going wide.

“...Rainbow?”

Rainbow blushed a bit as she leaned closer with a concerned look. “D-Did I say something wrong? I was just trying to be sweet, like you... I’m sorr-”

“No, no! Rainbow, that was sweet... it really was....” Fluttershy smiled, her eyes glazing over. “...Could you... say it again? Twenty percent cooler?”

Rainbow blinked in confusion. “Um... sure, I guess. Twenty percent... cooler? Like that?”

The creamy yellow mare nodded. “Yes, but... say it with gusto... like you’re really excited and confident!”

“I can try that...” Rainbow said with small small smile. She took a deep breath, then looked up to Fluttershy. “You’re... at least twenty percent cooler now!” She sat back down blushing from her outburst. “Was... that better?” She looked up to her guest with ever hopeful eyes.

Fluttershy felt a little stunned. If not for the braid and makeup, it would’ve been an exact... clone. She smiled warmly, nodding, “Yes... much better, Dashie. Thank you... That was great.”

“O-Okay then!” Rainbow blushed brightly as she held back a giggle. “So, um... was there any reason you wanted me to say that?”

“...Well, not really... just that it reminded me of home, that’s all. It was just a funny little connection,” Fluttershy said, eating more of her pasta.

Rainbow Dash nodded once more. “Oh, all right. So, your Rainbow Dash says that sometimes too?” She asked curiously as she began to eat as well. “Oh, and please do tell me if the pasta is too salty for you...”

“Mmm,” Fluttershy said, swallowing her bite, “No, it’s perfect! I usually put salt in the water when I’m making pasta, anyway. It adds flavour, and makes the cheese stick on better. It was a trick I learned a long time ago... So no, it’s just perfect, actually.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Rainbow smiled as she watched her eat. “I really hate to pry but, um... with your Rainbow Dash... did she...? You know?”

“...’Did she’, what?” Fluttershy repeated, confused. “What do you mean?”

Rainbow Dash became flustered quickly as she looked away. “Oh, uh, nevermind...”

The pink-maned timid pegasus pouted, “Oh, come on... don’t leave me in suspense now, Dashie! You know you can ask me anything... really, and I’ll answer you as best as I can. Please... just tell me?”

Rainbow looked back a little less tense. “W-Well... did your Rainbow Dash... like you?”

“...Like me?” Fluttershy blinked, realizing what she was asking. She tensed a little bit, feeling uncertain about how to answer that. Her mind reeled back to the last time they’d seen each other, when upon sharing that very intimate moment. “Well...I...I couldn’t...say for sure... We...did share a kiss...and she...”

“I’m not lying! I just... Gah, whatever! As if I would ever... ‘Shy, I’m gonna call it a day and split... Later!”

The memory of the very last thing she’d ever said came rushing back as Fluttershy’s thoughtful look faded into a frown. She looked down at her half-eaten bowl, trembling a bit.

“...No. She doesn’t... It’s one-sided... I suppose she may be attracted to me... but attraction doesn’t mean love. So... no. She was just my best friend...” Fluttershy mumbled, shaking her head.

“O-Oh...” Rainbow spoke aloud. ‘I know how that feels... Longing for somepony, but the pony you love not even giving you the time of day... It’s just... I can’t believe that other me wouldn’t want to be with her. She’s so kind, gentle, sweet, pretty and cute... She’s... awesome.’

Rainbow reached across the table to brush a few strands of hair out of Fluttershy’s eyes. “Well... it’s her loss, then!” She said in a serious tone. “If she couldn’t see how awesome you were... then... she didn’t deserve you anyway... You’re the nicest, kindest, pony I’ve met in a long time a-and...” Her voice was slowly cracking. “I’m glad you’re here... w-with me...”

Taking this in, Fluttershy felt speechless. She felt conflicted, uncertain at this point. Deep inside her heart, she did want to return home, and try to make amends with her own Rainbow Dash... But then on the other hand, she couldn’t help but strongly take this reality’s Rainbow Dash into account. Her gut wrenched, feeling as if it were being pulled back and forth in tug-o-war, while her mind reeled.

‘Maybe... she’s right... Would I really be wasting my time with my Rainbow? Now I have a choice, in a sense... I can stay here with a Rainbow Dash who would love me... or go home, if I ever can... to a Rainbow Dash who, although I’ve known all my life... doesn’t love me back. Well, it’s not the end of the world, of course... But... it would be kind of sad... to leave what I could have here, and go back to that... losing it forever... Well... maybe I just won’t. Maybe I will stay here... it might just end up coming to that. Staying here... I’ll miss my friends, my animal friends... but, I guess... I would just have to make the best of it... I mean, it’s not bad. Pinkamena, Twilight, Rarity and Applejack... even though they’re different, have been very nice and welcoming to me... they’ve even helped me...

‘And Rainbow... she just loves me. She’s very sweet, kind, loving... She is a lot more like me, but she’s still her own pony... What choice have I got? My best friend...or an alternate version...’

Tears gathering in her eyes, Fluttershy smiled sadly at her lover, leaning over to nuzzle their noses. “I think...you’re right... M-Maybe...Maybe I should stay here... And with you... I mean... I don’t know of the relationship you had with your Fluttershy... And I won’t try to replace her...but I will love you... as me... and for who you are...”

Rainbow Dash quickly stood up and rushed over to Fluttershy, pulling her into a loving embrace. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I-I promise I’ll make sure you feel at home here a-and I take care of you! I’ll help with anything you need! I-If you want, I’d even let you move in with me, here! I promise I’ll love you back and I’ll never leave... I swear!” Everything single word she spoke was through her own tears, but there was no sadness in her voice, just joy. The feeling of knowing that she was loved, this was all she had ever wanted and while this wasn’t her Fluttershy, she did not care. She was loved.

“...Rainbow...” Fluttershy felt tears flow from her eyes, and she returned the loving embrace; holding her crush’s alternate counterpart tightly.

It was all she could manage at the moment, as she relished the wonderful feeling that coursed within her. To think that she was loved like this, in a way she’d always hoped, but never truly expected. In a world that wasn’t her own, with a pony who was different from whom she remembered... Fluttershy didn’t even care about that, now. Everything about this felt so right.

All she wanted was to be happy, happy in her life, and to one day share her life with somepony.

‘Yes, I want her... I want this... I love her... We can make this work... We can be together...’Fluttershy thought, gently stroking the rainbow braid idly. She sniffled, trembling a little, but was feeling so happy. It wasn’t sad, just pure joy.

“I love you...” Fluttershy said softly, pulling back a little to meet her gaze, smiling through her tears. “I’ll stay here with you... I’ll never leave you, Rainbow. I won’t go. I’ll stay. This is what I’ve always dreamed of... And really-I couldn’t live with myself... if I left you with somepony who didn’t love you... when you had that chance. No. I won’t let it happen. I’ll stay here, with you... with all of you. I may have a lot of adjusting to do, but that’s nothing I can’t handle! I love you.... And I want you, I want to be with you, if you’ll have me, Dashie...”

Rainbow Dash nuzzled against her sweetly as she cried back. “I love you too... and of course I’ll have you! It’s all I ever really wanted. To be close like this. To... to feel like this.” She pulled away slightly so that she was able to see Fluttershy’s face. “I love you so much... and I meant every single thing I said. I... I don’t want you to leave... I just want you...”

“And I... I want you, too...” Fluttershy managed softly, kissing her forehead. “It’s all I wanted, too. I don’t care what anypony thinks of this... I know what I want, you know what you want, we know what we want. I love you, and we love each other... that’s what counts, that’s what matters. I do miss my Rainbow... I always will, there’s no denying the good times we’ve had, that much is true. She’ll always be there in my heart. But, I’m going to move on, to make my own choice and to live the life I want. If I ever can go back...well, then I’ll only go back to say goodbye and get proper closure. Beyond that, I won’t leave you, my darling...” She held the cyan mare closer, nuzzling her neck. “I’ll never leave you.”

Rainbow sniffled as she spoke. “A-And I’ll never leave you either... I know I’m not very brave, or fast, or anything like that, but... I’ll alway be there for you, Fluttershy, I promise...”

“I’ll always be there for you, too... And really... I’ve learned that true bravery comes from overcoming your fears,” Fluttershy lay their foreheads together, sniffling a bit herself. “I’m not fast or daring... but I will protect you with my life... I promise, Dashie. I promise.”

‘She’d really go that far... for me?' Rainbow thought to herself as she tightened her grip. ‘She’d do that for me, even though she’s not like my Fluttershy... Wow... If she’s willing to do that, then maybe I...’

Rainbow Dash pulled her closer. “I know you would, but... it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t try to protect you too. So, I’m gonna do my best... to be brave, too.”

“Doing your best... is all you can do,” Fluttershy giggled, nuzzling their noses and curling her forelegs around her neck. “I’ll do my best as well... we both will. This will be quite a bit for both of us, but I think we can make it.”

“I think so, too... No, I know so. We can make this work.” Rainbow smiled back at her warmly.

Giggling softly, Fluttershy kissed her sweetly, then pulled back, stroking her braided mane. “I love you, Dashie...”

“I love you too, Flutters...” Rainbow kissed her back gently before pulling away. “So, um... we should probably finish eating before it gets too cold.”

Nodding, the creamy yellow pegasus released her lover and they returned to their seats. With some idle but pleasant chatter made, they soon finished eating dinner. Fluttershy, of course, insisted on helping her with the dishes, despite Rainbow’s protests in how she didn’t have to.

“Oh, come on... You’re giving me so much, and you even offered me a place to live if I wanted...” Fluttershy said, pouting playfully. “Can’t I pull my weight around here, too? I’d feel bad making you do all the work...”

Rainbow giggled a bit as she tried to hide her blush. “That’s true... but you didn’t agree to living here just yet. So, until then, you’re my guest... Therefore, no work for you! Besides, we still have dessert.”

“And how long do I have to not live here before I can help out?” Fluttershy challenged, giggling.

“Hmm... Until you live here.” Rainbow Dash playfully poked Fluttershy’s nose.

Now Fluttershy rose an eyebrow, giving her a playful smirk. “You know, it would be very easy... I don’t have my old home to go back to... And this one is certainly nice, the deed is still in my name, so it’s technically mine... But then there’s you... And I love it here... there’s even a menagerie of animals, which is just wonderful... Mmm... I could easily stay here with you, and we could keep the cottage as our own little private retreat...”

Rainbow Dash almost froze up at the idea. ‘Our own... private retreat? Like what some of those rich, married ponies have? Where they go to-oh my... That sounds way too amazing. And she’s really willing to stay here? This is just like a dream...’

“W-Well, if you really wanted to move in here... it wouldn’t be a problem at all.” Rainbow laughed nervously. “I could help you bring anything from there here and ask Thunderlane to help out... and we could have Devil Bunny keep Fluffy out of trouble... and we could do this every night, a-and...” She began to trail off once more, daydreaming.

“And what?” Fluttershy giggled, looking to her with a curious smile.

Rainbow snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, um... don’t worry about it!” She gave small grin. “Just thinking out loud...”

“Oh, come on, Dashie...” Fluttershy approached her, sidling up to her. A playful yet fairly suggestive smirk overcame her features. “I think I’d like to know what’s on your cute little mind about little ol’ me and you... So, come on, tell me,” she said teasingly.

If it were possible for Rainbow Dash’s mind to shut off, this was the exact moment it did. Every single muscle, every follicle of her physical being locked up. Her wings went up and stiffened. Even her tail frenzied up as she locked eyes with Fluttershy. Everything she was doing had been dropped at the sight of her.

“F-F-Flutters...” Rainbow stuttered out almost absentmindedly, her body trembling as she became short of breath while her face heated up with a mixture of embarrassment, confusion and excitement.

“Yes?” Fluttershy smiled more, leaning closer. “Aren’t you going to tell me what’s on your mind, Dashie?”

Rainbow learned closer. “I-I... I...” Her mind was no longer in control of her body. She was acting mostly off impulse, but as such, she blissfully unaware of crimson red liquid dripping from her nose once more.

This of course had Fluttershy’s teasing smirk melt into a look of concern. “Rainbow! Your nose! It’s bleeding again!”

She quickly rushed to grab some paper towels from the counter, coming back to hold them against Rainbow Dash’s snout.

Rainbow, however, was too lost in thought to even realize what was going on around her. ‘Fluttershy... She looked... Just for a second... She looked just like my Fluttershy. I could just feel it, it was so... so... Oh, geez... I was so- no! I was just... I don’t know, really... Do I miss my Fluttershy? Of course I do, but... she was never interested in me. She was always wanting to hang out with other ponies than me...’ She slowly started to come back to her senses as her eyes met the timid yellow mare’s. No, I just... I’m just being submissive, that’s all...’

“M-My nose started bleeding again, didn’t it?” Rainbow asked, still dazed.

“It did... oh, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked with concern, tilting her head back a bit. “Do you have a bit of a nose bleeding problem?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah... It’s kinda hard to explain.” She began to hold the paper towels herself. “Whenever I get really excited and um, stuff, my nose starts bleeding. Dunno why...” She looked away a bit.

“Oh... I see...” Fluttershy nodded in understanding. She wiped her nose with the paper towel, then pulled away to get a better look. She took another piece, holding the fresh one to Rainbow’s nose. “Is....what you were suggesting we do....intimate?”

Rainbow Dash once more became flushed as she turned red. “M-Maybe... Bu-But only if we were- I mean, if you wanted to... No, I mean... yes...” She just barely whispered the last word out.

“Rainbow... you can tell me. I can’t promise how I’d feel about something, especially since I don’t know what it is... but you can share it with me. I promise, if nothing else, to hear you out first. Okay?” Fluttershy smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Okay then...” Rainbow spoke up, somewhat recovered from her ordeal. “I was just thinking aloud and stuff earlier... I do that sometimes. I uh... didn’t actually realize you heard me until you said something about it. I-I guess, I was being a little silly...” She chuckled a bit.

“It’s okay, we all have our moments... Maybe it was silly, but I don’t mind,” Fluttershy assured, pulling away the paper towels. Sure enough, her nose had stopped bleeding. Relieved, she tossed them away into the garbage can. “Besides, you’re my silly, now!” She giggled.

Rainbow did her best not to laugh, but did anyway. “I guess so!” She looked over her shoulder to see her refrigerator and smiled. “Oh, um, would you like to head upstairs now..? We can have dessert in the bedroom, if you like?”

“Oh? What did you have for dessert?” Fluttershy asked, grinning.

“Well... go upstairs and I’ll get it for us!” Rainbow beamed back a response.

Fluttershy pouted playfully. “You’re not going to tell me?”

Rainbow Dash gave her a teasing grin. “I want it to be a surprise!”

“Oh, fine...” The creamy yellow mare kissed her nose, then turned to head upstairs. “I’ll be waiting for you, then!”

Going upstairs, it didn’t take long to find Rainbow’s bedroom. The only other rooms upstairs were the bathroom and a guest bedroom. Inside the master, it was somewhat similar to her own Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. There was a round double bed, a single window, a closet, and an en-suite bathroom. The rest of the furniture consisted of a dresser, a desk, a reading chair, a bookshelf, and two nightstands. On the walls were some photographs, some of her friends, family, and some of natural landscapes and animals.

Fluttershy inspected a few of them, curious. A few on the wall, desk, and nightstand consisted of a few single shots of... Fluttershy. She was finally seeing her alternate counterpart! In some photos, her mane was long. Others consisted of her mane being shorter. Rainbow Dash was in a few shots as well, looking adorable and usually with her hair long or a little short. Some were filly shots, others seemed to have taken place recently or a few years previous.

One in particular made Fluttershy smile a bit. Not only did she have a similar one back home, but this one was adorable. It was the two of them, as fillies, hugging each other while grinning at the camera. In the corner, messy but legible writing read:

You’re my best friend forever, Dashie! XOX ~Flutters

Feeling her heart soar, yet sink, Fluttershy stared sadly at the photo. She could only imagine how much it must have meant to her...and how it felt as if maybe this world’s Fluttershy just didn’t seem to care anymore.

‘Poor Rainbow...it’s an awful feeling... I’m sure she misses those good times... they must have been very close back then; like Rainbow and I had been.’ Fluttershy thought. ‘Well...it’s her loss, now. Rainbow will be happy...and I won’t let her down.’

“Okay, I got dessert, Fluttershy!” Rainbow called from hallway. “It’s a little messy, but I think we should be able to eat on the bed...”

Snapped out of her reverie, Fluttershy quickly jumped onto the bed; making herself comfortable and as if she’d been there the whole time. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, trying not to look or act as if she’d been caught trying to steal a cookie.

“Um...okay, Rainbow!”

Walking into the room on her hind legs, Rainbow Dash was carrying a rather large bowl filled with ice cream with two spoons on either side. Fluttershy couldn’t make out all of the different types, but it appeared to contain several flavors she could tell were delicious.

“S-Sorry for the wait!” Rainbow called over to her lover, “I wasn’t sure what flavor you would like so... I just got a little be of everything.”

“You could’ve asked...” Fluttershy giggled, eying the dessert. “But they all look delicious... and I’m always willing to try a new flavour of ice cream.”

Rainbow blushed a bit as she set the bowl down on the bed. “Yeah, I know I should have, but I wanted to surprise you a little bit...” Grabbing a spoon, the cyan mare giggled. “Dig in.”

Taking the other spoon, Fluttershy stabbed it at a random scoop of ice cream. She tasted it, finding it to be strawberry ice cream. Always a nice little standard but delicious flavour!

“So... why did you want to have ice cream on your bed?” Fluttershy asked curiously, taking another taste of another flavour.

“Oh, um... no real reason!” Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head as she somewhat slid a dream journal underneath her bed, out of sight.

“Yes there is...” Fluttershy giggled, smiling. “If it’s nothing... why won’t you tell me?” Realizing what she was saying, who she was talking to, her smile faded. Ears drooping, she looked away, ashamed. “...N-Never mind... I’m sorry....”

Rainbow Dash recoiled a bit at seeing Fluttershy’s mood drop. “No no! Don’t be sad! I was just, um... Well...” She started to blush a bit. “I always thought it would be kinda... romantic to share ice cream in bed, ya know...? Um, well... any dessert, really, but that’s beside the point... I just thought it would be nice...”

Looking up at her again, Fluttershy smiled warmly, “That’s really sweet, Rainbow... It is... But that’s not it. I just... well, even when something is no big deal, not something so private or secretive... you just don’t want to share them to others, for whatever reason. There I was, trying to justify it, saying that if it’s nothing, why would you hide it? And I... I do that a lot sometimes... Where I have something that isn’t even that big of a deal, and yet it isn’t something I openly broadcast. Because I’m a private pony, I keep to myself... And I’m sorry if I pressured you... that wasn’t my intention. But like I said, that’s a really sweet thought. I like the idea... I um... never really thought of it myself, but now that I do, I see how nice it can be.”

“No, you didn’t pressure me...” Rainbow said sweet. “I just get a little worried about if my ideas are stupid or something. I know I can overreact sometimes, even if I don’t mean to. I guess I just... don’t wanna mess this up...”

“...Oh....” Understanding, Fluttershy finished another bite of ice cream, reaching over to touch her shoulder. “I understand...I get that way all the time. It’s....y eah, really not something I’m proud of. But um... if it helps, I won’t laugh at you, or make you feel bad for them. If there is a chance I don’t like one of your ideas... I’ll just tell you, I won’t lie to you, but I also won’t make you feel bad for it. Um... I-I know that’s easier said than done, but I’ll try. The last thing I want to do is lie to you and lead you on. But at the same time, we can also compromise. I know you wouldn’t do something to hurt me or anything like that, so of course I’m going to hear you out with your ideas. Um... if you can... do the same for me, too. If you don’t like an idea I have, tell me... and we’ll work it out… Okay?”

Rainbow sat there, taking it all in slowly before answering. “I can definitely do that, Fluttershy.” She scooped up another bit of ice cream, but instead of eating it, she held it up to Fluttershy. “Try it. This is really good.”

Smiling brightly, Fluttershy nodded, taking the spoon into her mouth. The ice cream melted onto her tongue, filling her taste buds with a very sweet flavour. Giggling, she withdrew from the spoon, finishing the helping.

“Mmm! That’s delicious!” She said, nodding in approval. “What flavour is that?”

“Butterscotch. It’s one of my favorites.” Rainbow Dash giggled a bit. “Hey, Fluttershy? Can I ask you something?”

Curious, the creamy yellow pony looked at her alternate companion, “Mm? What is it, Rainbow?”

Rainbow blushed a bit as she shied away a bit. “Well, um... you asked me why I wanted to have dessert on the bed and all so... what did you think I really wanted to?”

“Oh! Oh...” Fluttershy blushed a bit, looking embarrassed. “Nothing in particular! I just, never knew of such an idea... it was... out of the box, I suppose... and I wondered what your reason was behind it. I mean, I know we don’t always need a reason... we just do things because we want to sometimes... But um, yeah, I was just curious.”

“Didn’t you just tell me not to shy away from questions like that?” Rainbow Dash teased a small bit. “But I understand. It is a little ‘left field’ I guess... However, if you thought it was something else, you could always tell me.”

“I didn’t, but um... if it did... I’d tell you so,” Fluttershy giggled, blushing a little bit. “Still, like I said... it’s sweet. If it’s something you wanted to do, well, no reason we can’t partake! ...As long as we don’t spill and make a mess.”

Rainbow Dash scooped up a small amount of ice cream in her spoon, then reached over and smeared a little bit onto Fluttershy’s nose. “Like this?” She giggled.

“Hey!” Fluttershy laughed, shuddering slightly from the cold treat being smeared on her face. She took some on her own spoon, smearing it onto Rainbow’s nose. “There, some for you!”

Rainbow snickered as she placed her spoon down. “So, we’re even?”

“I think so...” Fluttershy giggled. She eyed her for a moment, then leaned in, proceeding to lick the ice cream off her lover’s face. “But I’m going to have to clean you, first...”

Rainbow Dash blushed brightly once more, before giggling. “Well... o-okay, but... what about you? You’ve still got some on your face too.” She leaned in gently licked her companion’s nose. “There... now, I think we’re even...”

“I think we are...” Fluttershy winked, and proceeded to eat some more ice cream.

“So, um... I was wondering...” Rainbow said fidgeting a bit, “would you like to stay here for the night? L-Like a sleepover?”

The invitation surprised Fluttershy a little bit, but she smiled and nodded. It had been ages since she’d had a sleepover, let alone with Rainbow Dash! She placed her spoon down, clapped her hooves, and giggled with delight.

“Yes, of course!”

“Really?! Okay then! I’ll get a few things here and there and, um... I hope you don’t mind, but I normally like to sleep with socks on... I get cold hooves at night.” Rainbow fought off the urge to blush.

Smiling, the creamy yellow pegasus shook her head. “Of course I don’t mind. I can understand, I sleep with socks on if it gets cold at night. Besides... I bet you’re adorable with socks on...”

Rainbow Dash chuckled as she shook her head. “Nah, not really... but if you like... I think I might have an extra set of socks for you to wear... if you wanted.”

“All right,” said Fluttershy, nodding, “I’ll take you up on that, Dashie.”

“Okay then, um... they should be in the drawer over by the nightstand.” Rainbow Dash confirmed. “I’ll take the ice cream back downstairs if you’re done. I’m full myself.”

Taking a few more bites, Fluttershy smiled and placed the spoon back into the bowl. “I’m done, too. You can take it downstairs now. And, um... thank you for dinner, and dessert... it was all absolutely delicious...” She beamed brightly at Rainbow, reaching over to touch her cheek. “I really appreciate it.”

Getting up, Rainbow Dash picked up the bowl with a blush slowly forming. “No problem... I’d be happy to do it again sometime... o-or every night...” She quickly made her way over the door. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” With that, she was once more out of sight.

Getting up off the bed, Fluttershy went to the nightstand drawers, pulling one of them out. Sure enough, it contained some socks, all of them different colours and patterns. She pulled out a pink and yellow striped pair-why Rainbow had them was obvious-to wear to bed that evening. Placing them on the bed, Fluttershy walked around to explore a bit more, curious. Most especially at some of the things sitting on the desk.

One thing on the desk that caught her eye was a board game, turning out to be an old classic; Jumanji.

“Oooh!” Fluttershy took the box off the desk, inspecting it. “How lovely, I haven’t played this game in ages!”

Rainbow Dash returned to the bedroom smiling from ear to ear as she looked over to Fluttershy. “Okay, I put up the ice cream... Hey, what ya got there?”

Turning around, Fluttershy showed her the game in her hooves, “I just noticed this right here on your desk. I haven’t played it in a long time, and I...never really have anyone to play it with... Why don’t we play it?”

“Really? I was hoping to find somepony to play that with me one day...” Rainbow said with a happy tone. “Sure, let’s play!”

“Yay!” Squealed a very happy Fluttershy, already setting the game up on her bed.

It was going to be a very, very fun evening for them, now.

Later that evening, it was fairly late when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy decided to turn in for the night. They had worked together at making sure all the animals were fed and taken care of, both impressed with each other’s skills at doing so. It wasn’t long before all was well, and they were ready to get to bed. This of course had also led to the inevitable “Where do I sleep?” discussion.

“Well, it is your home, Rainbow...” Fluttershy said softly, looking away shyly. “I um... well... until I... do... officially... live here with you... where should.... I sleep?”

Rainbow Dash blushed a bit at the question. “W-Well... I do have a g-guest bedroom... but, um... since we’re kinda treating this like a sleepover... you could sleep up here with me...?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy giggled a bit, responding by bringing her forelegs around her fillyfriend. “I’d be happy to sleep here with you, my sweet Dashie...” She kissed her cheek, nuzzling her. “I’ve.... always... w-wanted... to hold you, cuddle you and kiss you all night long...” The admittance of this fantasy made her blush immensely. “Ever since... Flight School... and Junior Speedster’s Flight Camp... we-sorry, Rainbow and I shared a room... and sometimes we slept in the same bed... especially during a storm, when I’d get scared... When we did, it just... made me so happy, feel so safe... like I just... belonged there with her... in her hooves...”

A look of wistful sadness overcame her features, her grip tightening ever so slightly on the cyan pegasus. She sighed, trembling a bit as the memories of those days flooded her mind... a reminder of what was now lost, never to be seen again, at least not in the same way. Nonetheless, Fluttershy felt a strange panging for home.

‘No... it can’t be... I mean, I do miss Rainbow, I really do... I could never forget those days, and that she was my best friend all those years... But everything’s okay now, it’s different... So... why do I... miss her so much, now? Why are these memories so... sad for me? I have a new life now, and this wonderful mare right here... Why does it matter?’

Either way, Fluttershy sniffled and felt tears pool in her eyes.

“Rainbow... hold me tonight... please...” She whispered, trembling a bit more and fighting back tears. “I-I don’t want to be alone...”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by this sudden change in Fluttershy’s mood, but it did not change how she felt, nor what she felt she had to do. Wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy tightly, Rainbow rested her head atop her lover’s. She cuddled her close, feeling her heart skip a beat each time she felt her tremble.

“It’s... It’s okay, Fluttershy... you’re not alone. I’m here with you... just like I promised.” Rainbow said with her voice cracking slightly. “I’ll be here with you forever... I won’t let you be alone anymore...”

Snuggling more into her neck, Fluttershy sniffled, smiling a bit against her coat. “...Thank you, Rainbow... I’m sorry... I was just feeling a bit emotional... but I’ll be all right. Everything will be fine.”

“It’s... it’s okay. I know how that is... but I don’t mind if you cry.” Rainbow Dash nuzzled the top of her head. “I know everything will be okay, but if you need someone to cry on... I can be there for you...”

Moved by her lover’s comfort, the yellow pony managed to take a few calming breaths; most especially with the comforting scent of her perfume. Fluttershy savoured the sweet, flowery scent, along with the heartfelt embrace. It had been a long time since she’d thought back to those memories, the younger years, when things were simpler. Though those days were gone, they remained in her mind, fueling her hope for the future. Despite that for some time, that future dream seemed unreachable.

But now it was here. In the most unexpected and unorthodox way possible.

It didn’t matter, though. Fluttershy felt happy, comforted, and overall, peaceful. What more could she ask for?

“Thank you, Dashie... I’ll remember that,” Fluttershy whispered softly, kissing her neck lightly in thanks. She pulled away a little, nuzzling their noses. “Well... enough of that, then. Shall we... go to bed?”

Rainbow smiled a bit as she moved near the head of the bed. “If you want... But are you sure you’re tired? It’s only about nine.”

“Well... we don’t have to sleep just yet... we could just lie down together...” Fluttershy cooed sweetly, climbing onto the bed. “And cuddle...”

“C-Cuddle...?” Rainbow said. ‘When she says that, I know what she means... but then, why am I thinking this has a double meaning...?’

Giggling, Fluttershy lay back on the bed, decked out in her own socks, and beckoned Rainbow to join her. “Come to bed, sweet Dashie...”

Rainbow Dash blushed heavily as she slid under the blankets. “Um, o-okay...”

Once she was in bed also, Fluttershy crawled over and cuddled up to the cyan pegasus, nuzzling her. She giggled with glee, proceeding to plant butterfly kisses along her lover’s face, all while stroking the soft strands of the rainbow mane.

“Are you comfy, Rainbow?” Fluttershy queried between her kisses.

Rainbow giggled as she squirmed under the blanket while she tried to nod. “V-Very comfy.”

“Yay!” Giggled the timid pony, kissing her forehead, before meeting her lover’s eyes. “Oh, Rainbow... I hope I’m not dreaming... This really is too wonderful to be true, isn’t it? But I hope it’s not another dream...”

Rainbow Dash felt completely transfixed by those gentle teal colored eyes. They were so different, yet so similar to the Fluttershy she knew. It was an odd feeling, to feel so far away from someone, but to be looking right at them. All she could do was smile.

“If this is a dream, Fluttershy...” Rainbow said with a gentle, shushed voice, “then please, promise me you won’t wake up...”

“I could never wake up from a wonderful dream...” Fluttershy whispered, stroking her mane. “Not with you, my love...”

Rainbow Dash felt so peaceful, so calm in this moment, it was absolute bliss. “I love you, Fluttershy...”

“And I love you, Rainbow...” Fluttershy kissed her forehead, snuggling more into her. A thought then occurred to her. “...Rainbow?”

“Yes, Flutters?” Rainbow responded quickly.

“Is there... anything you wanted to do, while we’re here... snuggling?” The creamy yellow pegasus asked softly with curiosity.

Almost in the same second that Rainbow heard this question, her wings flared up as she felt an odd pressure build up in her nostrils. “Um, uh... W-Well, maybe... if you wanted to... B-But that depends on w-what you mean by that...” Her face was almost completely red as she spoke. “N-Not that I wouldn’t want anything and everything to- er, with you...”

“Well, games you wanted to play, sorts of snuggling, positions...” Fluttershy said, gazing at her with a smile. “Or... intimacy...?”

Something in the way Fluttershy said that struck a chord inside Rainbow Dash. It made her heart skip a beat. It made her lungs feel weak and labored. It was just like earlier.

‘There it is again... She looked like my Fluttershy just for a second. Why does that excite me? Why do I feel so... so...? Gah, it doesn’t make sense. What’s wrong with me? I know I miss her, but why is she on my mind right now? At a time like this? Or maybe... Is that it? Am I just really submissive? Or is it something else...? Rainbow thought to herself. ‘I don’t know. But something about when she acts like this...’

“I mean... if you wanted to... of course...” Fluttershy said, looking away shyly. “I... definitely would.... love to get intimate with you, Rainbow.... but only if you’d want to... If it doesn’t feel too soon... but if you do want to wait, that’s fine. I would never force you... ever... so... it’s up to you...”

Rainbow was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Fluttershy. “Huh, what? N-No, I would to be intimate with you! I was just... in really deep thought, that’s all.”

“....Oh...” An embarrassed blush coated Fluttershy’s cheeks. “I’m sorry.... Um... what were you thinking about, if you don’t mind my asking?”

To this, Rainbow blushed a dark shade of crimson. “W-Well... you promise not to laugh?”

Fluttershy nodded, kissing her nose. She could understand her fear of that, it was something Rainbow Dash would sometimes say. Just as always, Fluttershy would assure that she wouldn’t laugh. Even if it was funny, it was never laughter that was directed at her, but more at the situation than anything.

Stroking her lover’s mane, Fluttershy looked her in the eye, “I promise I won’t laugh. You can tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Okay, well you see...” Rainbow shied away a bit as she spoke. “I was just thinking about how... sometimes... you kinda remind me of my- um, this reality’s Fluttershy... but in a good way. Like, back in the kitchen and... just a moment ago. I don’t know why, but I... I’m not sure how to explain it... I just...”

“Oh!” Fluttershy caught on, and giggled a bit, “I see what you’re saying, Rainbow. Um...earlier on, when you said twenty percent cooler... it reminded of my reality’s Rainbow Dash... She says that sometimes... So... I guess maybe... I just had a moment of reminding you, and you just... miss her a little, I suppose. You’re used to her. I can understand that,” she said softly.

“I see...” Rainbow Dash nodded, remembering earlier at dinner. “So... I guess there are a few things that aren’t so different after all. Yeah, I know I kinda miss this Fluttershy too, but I’ll be okay.” Rainbow smiled sweetly before blushing a bit more. “H-However, I think... there something else to it too...”

“Something else? What do you think it is?”

Rainbow suddenly felt very embarrassed as she pulled up the blankets over most of her body. “I, uh... I think... I might... kinda... just a bit... like that.” She pulled the blankets up even more, hiding her snout. “N-Not the reminding part... well, no, I like that part too. I guess, I mean... the me feeling submissive part... Oh, does that make any sense?” She finally completely covered her head. “It’s been on my mind for a while now, it’s kinda bothering me a bit, and I just don’t get... Is there something wrong with me? It’s weird... I just... bleh...”

“Hmmm....” Fluttershy pondered this a moment, trying to make sense of it. “Rainbow, are you trying to say that you... like feeling submissive?”

Rainbow pulled the sheets down a bit, enough to see Fluttershy’s face. “I... I don’t really know... I think I do... kinda...”

Thinking that over, Fluttershy smiled and kissed her forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Rainbow. Some ponies are more... well, submissive than others. I know I am... I mean... Rainbow has always taught me to step up, be assertive where it counts... but it doesn’t mean you have to change who you are. It’s all about knowing how and when to act where it counts.”

Rainbow Dash pulled blankets off her head and stared. “Really? So... there’s nothing really wrong with me?”

“Of course not. Nothing at all,” Fluttershy assured her, patting her shoulder. “If you’re submissive, that’s just who you are, Rainbow. I’m submissive... it’s who I am... and that’s all right. I always remember one thing, of course. I have good friends who just want me to be the best I can be. And you know what? I say the same to you. I want you to be the best you can be. Whatever that is... even if it’s submissive.”

“Okay then, I can do that.” Rainbow said with a wide smile. “I was a little worried there was something really wrong with me for a second... but I understand. I guess... I’m just me. But, um... would you mind if, uh...” the cyan pegasus blushed as she tried to form her words once more. “Nevermind... Just thinking aloud again.”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy looked to her lover attentively. “Mind if I what? You can tell me, Rainbow.”

“W-Well, I was wondering if...” Rainbow started to ask very hesitantly, “if, um... if you would... maybe act like that again? L-Like back in the kitchen and... earlier...? I mean, y-you don’t have to. It was a silly suggestions... I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking and I, um...”

“You.... want me to act like your Fluttershy? ...In turn kind of acting like my Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy confirmed, smiling.

Rainbow Dash reflexively pulled the blanket back over her head as she started to giggle nervously. “S-See? It was just a silly idea! I-I don’t why I said t-that, I-”

This in turn made Fluttershy yank back the covers, crawl on top of her, and look down at her with a suggestive smirk. She giggled, finding this to be an interesting little game they could try. If this was what her sweet, submissive lover wanted... she was all too willing to try.

“What’s wrong, Dash? Can’t take the heat? That’s too bad... I was hoping to... roll in the hay with you...” Fluttershy cooed seductively, stroking Rainbow’s side with one hoof. “Why wouldn’t I find your adorable, meek, submissiveness to be sexy?”

Rainbow Dash almost felt her heart completely stop at the sound of this. “O-Oh, wow... I uh... I would love to do that with you, F-Flutters...”

It was a little hard to stay in-character, so to speak, since Fluttershy felt a mixture of wanting to laugh and hoping she wasn’t too rough. At the same time, Rainbow appeared to be enjoying this, so it seemed that she was doing a good job. It even felt strangely exhilarating to take on more of a dominating role like this.

With a strange jolt overtaking her body, Fluttershy leaned down and kissed along Rainbow’s neck; all while rubbing her hooves along her sides.

“I’ll make sweet love to you, Dashie, I’m going to make you cry out my name to the sky...” Fluttershy purred.

Rainbow Dash felt an odd sensation inside her body, like that of a roaring flame. It made her body clench and melt at the same time, made breathing almost impossible, and all the while, she loved it. Every moment, every kiss, the odd feeling swelling up deep inside her, a near all-consuming longing she felt. It was sinfully blissful.

‘Is it wrong for me to like this so much?’ She thought in her dazed state, ‘No... no, it’s not. This feels so... I don’t even know how to describe it! Please, don’t let this be a dream... This is too perfect to be another dream. Fluttershy...’

Rainbow slowly brought her forelegs around her lover, pulling her down lower. “Oh... Flutters... I... Oh, I love you... So much. Please... don’t stop...”

Allowing herself to be pulled in more, Fluttershy nuzzled Rainbow and smiled amidst her ministrations. In a sense, she broke character and went at this more gently.

“And I love you, Rainbow... so very much... I won’t stop.” She cooed lovingly.

The night went on, as both mares transcended into a beautiful night of gentle and sweet lovemaking.

Author's Note

Not much to say here except... woohoo! Sweet lovemaking, baby! :D With Rainbowshy and Fluttershy being so cute! <3

Also, a big thanks to Lathier for kindly editing for us! He'll also be editing the previous chapters, so they'll be all nice and polished. I'll be uploading the ones I have soon!

Original 7: Love Shared

It was early morning; the sun had yet to fully rise into the sky above. Even then, it wouldn’t have woken up the sleeping cyan pegasus. It was rather normal for her to sleep in, as she was not typically a morning pony to begin with. She valued her sleep as much as the next pony, but this morning was somehow different.

Rainbow Dash was forcing herself to stay asleep, but failing. Her body felt rested, energized, and alive, as if she had been racing in her sleep, or perhaps her dreams. Even then, it did not explain the feeling she had. She tossed and turned, yet could not seem to find a comfortable spot to lay in. It was then she felt something under the blankets with her. Somepony was in her bed.

“Wh-Wha...?” Dash mumbled sleepily, cracking her eyes open to see just what was going on.

Much to her surprise, her tired, but slowly awakening eyes focused on a head of pink hair, along with a creamy yellow ear poking up from it. The other pony, now seen to be Fluttershy, was asleep with her back facing her, but still quite close to be able to smell the strong scent of... musky ocean breeze and apple cider.

“....Fluttershy? ….Fluttershy, you’re here...” Dash mumbled softly, scooting closer to her bedmate. “Last night was... just a dream, huh? I guess it was... had this weird dream that you... said you were from another dimension.... and I was beginning to miss you... Heh... well I’m glad everything’s okay now... So... hey, you awake?” She gently nuzzled the back of her head.

Something was off about her mane. It was rougher. Not exactly coarse, there was still some softness within it, but it still felt rougher, like she didn’t wash it very often.

“...Fluttershy?”

“Five more minutes, Dash...” the tired voice of her friend replied.

Pouting slightly, Dash rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling for a bit. For whatever reason, she felt a strange compulsion to... snuggle with Fluttershy. Not that snuggling with her was a foreign thing, especially not recently, but everything about this moment had every sense in her body screaming for snuggles.

‘Weird... what’s up with me? I feel... kinda... sore, yet really good, but it’s all down-’

Rainbow Dash sat up in bed with start, wide-eyed.

‘I HAD SEX WITH FLUTTERSHY LAST NIGHT!!!!!’ Her mind screamed. ‘Last night wasn’t a dream!!! I didn’t get drunk and fall asleep, dreaming all that! It REALLY HAPPENED!!’

“Oh my gosh....” Rainbow Dash uttered, wide-eyed, breathing heavily as she stared straight ahead. On top of that, a hard blush smeared her cheeks.

Groaning a bit, Fluttershy shifted over a bit, resting beside her while still looking away. “You talk a lot... in your sleep...” she muttered.

“...Of course I do, Flutters. You know that...” Dash said softly, not quite looking at her. “You know that better than anypony.”

“Doesn’t change... how cute it is...” A half yawn came out as she spoke while she tugged on the blanket slightly.

Exhaling, the cyan pegasus looked out the window for a moment. She bit her lip, feeling every bit uncertain about this entire situation. What to do next, where to go from here, everything. Her mind reeled with so many unanswered questions, it made her head spin.

‘What NOW? I slept with Fluttershy... my best friend! I mean, yeah, I guess I’m glad I had sex for the first time with somepony I actually trust and care about... But what now? What’s it mean? What’s she gonna do? What am I gonna do?’

“What was I... saying in my sleep?” Dash asked, trying to get her mind off the topic for as much as she could.

Fluttershy, at last too awake to lay down any more, sat up in the bed... and Dash’s heart stopped. The pony in her bed did in fact look somewhat like Fluttershy, but her mane was much shorter, her ears were pierced several times, and her eyes were shaper, more edgy, almost wild.

She scratched the back of her head slightly before answering. “Talkin’ about how much you miss ‘Shy, I guess... you were pretty low key about it, ya know?” She looked over to Dash with a questioning gaze.

Dash didn’t answer her right then. At that moment, the dawning realization that this was not Fluttershy, that everything that came to be last night was shared with... this alternate version of her. But the real Fluttershy was somewhere in another dimension. A place Dash couldn’t find her and help out of.

‘She’s gone.... Fluttershy’s.... really gone... Replaced... she’s been... replaced... And she’s... gone... probably... n-never coming back...’ Dash thought, staring down at her lap. ‘And the last thing I said to her was... was... making her believe I wouldn’t-what was I thinking?! Just because... Pinkie showed up? Just because of THAT?! It’s not like it was some stranger! All we did was kiss, all we did was... that... and I... I liked it... and now... I just went and had sex with her replacement! Why?! ...She’s awesome, she turns me on, she looks like Fluttershy.... And the Fluttershy I know is... is...’

“...I gotta use the bathroom. I’ll be back,” Dash said listlessly, getting out of bed.

Without waiting for an answer, she went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Releasing a breath, the prismatic pegasus turned on the faucet in the sink to splash some water in her face. She did so, managing to burst her senses all the more. Looking into the mirror, she could see her reflection had seen better days. Her mane was more frazzled than usual, her eyes were tired and heavy, even her coat looked fuzzier.

Groaning, Dash turned off the water, drying her face.

“Fluttershy’s gone... she’s gone... if Twilight doesn’t do something, if she can’t get her back...” Dash mumbled to herself. “If I never see her again, I’ll-”

Time seemed to freeze all around her. Memories flooded back to her mind, resurfacing as if they’d only happened yesterday. Those fillyhood days they’d had together, growing up like the best of friends they were. Fluttershy’s sweet smiles, laughter, fun frolicking, adorable habits, her voice, everything was coming back. Even the day before, during their intimate moment.

‘Gone... never gonna see her... again?’

At that moment, Rainbow Dash burst into tears. She fell over onto the floor, sobbing brokenheartedly into the towel she was holding.

A loud knocking came from the door. “Hey, Dash? You okay in there?”

Hearing her voice then, knowing way too well that it wasn’t Fluttershy, only seemed to hurt Dash more. “I’m fine!” She yelled amidst her sobbing.

“Look, Rainbow Dash, hiding away from this isn’t gonna help...” Fluttershy called back through the door. “You need to talk about this... We both do...”

“G-Go away! Go away! You’re not her! You’re not Fluttershy!” Yelled the heartbroken pony, angry tears flowing down her face. “I want my Fluttershy back!”

It wasn’t Fluttershy, it was nothing more than a replacement clone, reminding her of the cruel reality at hoof. Dash couldn’t handle the thought; all it did was make her crumble. Her body all but collapsed, her heart sank into her stomach... she felt so lost. So alone. Fluttershy was gone, possibly forever. With nothing but an in-name-only alternate version in her place. Rainbow Dash didn’t want this anymore. She wanted her best friend, the sweet and meek pony she’d always known.

“...Fluttershy!” Dash wailed, crying all the more.

“I’m not...” Fluttershy heard the words repeated. “Hey, you better listen here! I may not be the Fluttershy you know, but that doesn’t make me some two-bit copy! I’m just as real as she was! Look, I know you must miss her, but don’t go taking this out on me...” She slumped against the door, hanging her head low. “You’re not the only one hurting, ya know...? How do you think I feel? I’m not even in the right reality... Everyone I know is still here, but... different. It’s like being a stranger in your own home... and it’s creepy. But I’m not gonna just give up. I can make the best out of this and there’s still a chance that your Twilight can fix this... right? So, stop being a filly and mare up...” She sighed heavily. “... Don’t you think your Fluttershy must be hurting, too?”

“.....Door’s open,” was all Dash could say.

Fluttershy lifted her head up to look at the door knob. She took a deep breath as she stood upright once more. When she opened the door, the first thing her eyes caught sight of was Rainbow Dash, looking away.

She took a single step forward, but quickly moved back, looking away. “Look I... I don’t know what you want me to say, okay? But we really do need to talk about this...”

Managing to look at her, Dash sniffled loudly, her eyes bloodshot and teary. “It’s not just th-that... I never g-got to... say I was... sorry...”

“Yeah... I know the feeling...” Fluttershy said sadly.

Wiping her eyes, Rainbow Dash sat up, choking a sob. “The last time I saw her... was yesterday... before I went to the library... I was... doing some tricks... while getting ready for the storm. Fluttershy was with me... supporting me... like she always does-did. Once I was done, I went and sat with her... not sure how it happened, but we got... real cuddly... And she just, got all sweeter than usual... Then she got a little startled from the thunder… Heh, heh... cute... I fell down onto the grass, she was on top of me... felt like a dream or something... I didn’t feel like myself, yet it felt... real awesome. She kissed me-or I kissed her, I don’t remember... it was... great... Really great...” She smiled ever so slightly at the memory. At least before it melted into a sad frown. “...Then Pinkie came along, interrupting us, and I... ugh... I was an idiot. I made...Fluttershy think I’d... never wanted that in the first place. I took off before she could say anything...”

Dash trembled, hugging herself as the tears began to flow once more.

“I never got to say goodbye... or tell her that I was sorry... and that I... thought our kiss was awesome...”

Fluttershy sighed as she nodded. “I... can kinda understand what you’re talking about. You’re upset about how things went down. You panicked and acted on impulse... Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve... done some pretty stupid things, too. Way more than I can count... But, I’m sorry about how things happened...” She shook her head, forcing a weak smile. “But hey, it’s not the end of the world. There’s still a chance you’ll see her again and make things right. You just gotta not stop trying. That’s what you-my Rainbow Dash would tell me, back when we were fillies.”

Sniffling, Dash looked at her again, trembling slightly. “I-I know... I know I shouldn’t give up... we shouldn’t... We gotta get you home... get Fluttershy back here... I just... Who am I even kidding? She probably doesn’t even miss me... If your Rainbow Dash is anything like her, like you said... she’s probably so much gladder to be with her than me... Probably doesn’t even want to come back... Why would she... when she’s got a me who’s just like her? Somepony who’s gonna treat her right... be a better friend to her than I ever was... Why would we she want to come back to a complete coward like me? I was valuing my stupid... stupid reputation over.... over the one pony... who means more to me... than anything... What kind of friend am I?”

Fluttershy placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder. “That’s why you gotta try to fix it. Nothin’ worth having is easy. Life is naturally a pain in the flank, you gotta work at happiness... I kinda wish I was this smart back in my reality... Anyway, I’m sure if you do see her, she’ll listen... and even if... she does get together with my Rainbow Dash... the best we could be is be happy for them. They’re still our friends, after all...” She did her best not to show her own emotions, hiding them away.

“But what then? What if she really doesn’t want to come back? What if she does stay out there? ….What about you? You’re gonna be forced to stay here when all you wanted was to go home... What then? We trade places with them? ...What do I care if she’s with your me...?” Dash looked away, wondering why this made her even more uncomfortable. “At least she’ll be happy...”

“Well, I guess we find out.” Fluttershy spoke up, turning away from Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know what will happen and I’m not gonna pretend I do anymore. All we can do is wait and see.”

“Fine, fine! Okay!” Dash sighed, standing up on all fours. “Let’s just go see Twilight and-... wait a second. Did you just say... they’d get together? As in... romantic? Lovey-dovey? ...Really? Your Dash and my Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy didn’t bother to look back. “Yeah, well, that’s what you were implying just a minute ago, wasn’t it?!” Her tone was oddly bitter as she spoke.

Rainbow Dash blinked. The bitterness in her tone didn’t go unnoticed. By the sound of it, she could only deduce that Fluttershy was bothered by that idea. For whatever reason, she not only came to that conclusion, but didn’t even like it.

“I never said that,” Dash frowned lightly. “I just said that your me would be a better friend to-”

It dawned on her.

“...Oh no... you have got to be kidding me...” Dash began to laugh a bit, shaking her head. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy reeled back as she glared at the cyan pony in front of her. “Oh, shut up! As if I care what they do!”

“Obviously you do care if you came to that conclusion and were pretty angry about it! If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be saying these things or acting like that!” Dash retorted. “Don’t try to lie to me, I know the way you think! Hard-headed, stubborn, and trying to look tough! Of course you’re gonna lie about that kind of thing! I know I would! Just admit it. You want to go back. You want my Fluttershy to come back here and stay here. You’d take your me away from her. Why? Because I think you like your Rainbow Dash! Admit it! You’re jealous of my Fluttershy because she’d be a better Fluttershy for her than you ever were!”

A mixture of odd emotions rose up inside of Fluttershy. Too many to account for. She knew on some level that Rainbow Dash was right, but on the outside a very different emotion was showing. Anger.

“Yeah, so what?!” Fluttershy shouted loud enough startle Dash. “I was a horrible, worthless, sorry excuse for a friend! I took advantage of my Rainbow Dash all the time! I hurt her! Made her feel like she wasn’t even a pony! I bucked up and I know I did, okay?!” Her face was almost completely red as a small amount of tears started to form. “You think you messed up?! You don’t even know what it’s like! I... I know that if your Fluttershy is anything like what you say she is then... then...” She felt almost defeated. “Then I know she would make a better me...”

“Hey, I messed up, too! I’ve messed up in the past and I messed up yesterday! I’ve had my share of being a moron to her! And you know what, you’re right! She is a better you! Just as your Rainbow Dash is a better me! They deserve each other! At least they’re happy and will make each other happy!” Dash yelled, tears flowing all over again. “They deserve better than you and I! We treated them like garbage and forced them into each other’s hooves! A better you, and a better me! Dream come true for them! While we’re sitting here and reaping the penalty! Face it, we deserve this... we deserve to lose them forever! They must be ten times happier in the past day together than they ever were in their lifetimes with us! And they deserve this, we deserve this! If we take it away from them... we’re just gonna make it worse.”

“Maybe... Maybe you’re right...” Fluttershy spoke with a sombre tone. “But, you know... at least you still got a chance to make amends with our Fluttershy… I lost that a long time ago....” She wiped a few tears away, “Sitting here, just beating ourselves isn’t going to make anything better, though... We both know we bucked up. We both know that things are bad. But, if we just sit here, thinking about how bad we’ve got it, we miss the point of all of this! We shouldn’t be yelling at one another about how we should be miserable forever... We should be happy for them.”

Trembling a bit, Dash wiped her eyes, letting the words sink in. Of course, Fluttershy was right. If there was any sort of solace they had in any of this, it was that: their counterparts finding each other, finding happiness, and treating each other better. She felt her heart sink, knowing she’d never see her best friend again. The idea of that filled her with dread and misery, but at the same time, she felt a strange sense of comfort.

“...You’re right, Fluttershy... At least they’re happy, right? If they’re treating each other a heck of a lot better than you and I treated ‘em... We gotta be happy for them. They deserve it, and at least... that’s a good thing...” Dash managed, nodding her head. She looked to the alternate-no, to Fluttershy, and hugged her. “I didn’t make as many amends as I could have. She’s still gone before I could say sorry. ...Never mind, though. It’s not gonna matter anymore. If they’re happy, we may as well make the best of this. I’m just... sorry you couldn’t make peace with your Rainbow Dash... And uh, you know... I’m sorry, too. You’re real, you’re just as much Fluttershy as mine was... I uh... was just upset, that’s all.”

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Fluttershy started laughing wildly. “Man, what is wrong with us?! Here we are talking like we know the two’re gonna get married today and whining about it like little school fillies! We don’t know what’s going on over there!” She continued to chuckle while fighting off her tears. “I mean, come on? If she’s anything like my Rainbow Dash, those two are probably too scared to talk to one another!”

“Hey, give ‘em some credit! They’re not mice!” Dash rolled her eyes a bit, but managed a smile. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. We don’t know what’s goin’ on over there! I could be right, they’re just friends! I guess... well,” she grew serious once more, pondering the situation, “we should just... find a way to get over there. If nothin’ else, we can... see what they want. If we’re right and they are together and happy, or even just plain happier... we can just, well, let them be. But I guess if Fluttershy really wants to come back, no reason we can’t try to get her back, right?”

“Exactly! We don’t know what’s going down over there!” Fluttershy held in her giggles. “Besides... I really hate to say it, but you make for some wicked company! So, if I gotta be stuck in some freaky new reality, at least I can drag you along for the ride, eh?” She pulled out of the hug with a grin on her face.

Despite the situation at hoof, Rainbow Dash managed to smile, and even laughed a bit. She also couldn’t forget about this, the very strange but understandable bond they had now. If there was anything that could help them through, it was this.

“You got that right, Fluttershy... And hey, you know, you make wicked awesome company yourself!” A soft blush tinted her cheeks, her gaze shifting. “And uh.... last night was... awesome. I know I kinda freaked out, but it was still awesome.”

Fluttershy nodded back. “Yeah, last night was way more fun than I thought it would be, Dash. You sure know it! So, you wanna hit the town? I kinda wanted to do a few pranks here and there... just to get them out of my system!”

A grin crossed Dash’s face, which melted into a smirk. “Before or after we head to Twilight’s?”

“Before, of course!” Fluttershy gave a playful teasing grin to Dash. “After all, we can’t have Miss Bookworm killing the fun before we can have any, right?”

“Heh, may as well have a blast before she breaks the ‘Sorry, can’t help you!’ news!” Dash laughed, nudging her lightly.

Fluttershy darted out of the room quickly, then turned back around. “So, you coming or what? Or... are you too busy staring at my flank again...?”

Although she wasn’t, Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist it as she came up beside her. “How can I, when you’ve got such a hot flank?” She purred, giving her flank a rub, winking at the creamy yellow mare.

“Well, you better get used to seeing it... as it’s the only thing you’ll be able to see of me!” Without any other warning, Fluttershy took off out of Dash’s sight.

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Dash couldn’t help but smile as she followed after her. ‘Yeah, she may not be my Fluttershy... but I’ll definitely make the best of this! She’s still awesome to be with, and... hot dog, the sex is THE BEST!’

Celestia’s sun had risen far higher into the sky, a signal of the late morning. Within the Golden Oaks library, all seemed quiet; it would soon become anything but.

At her desk lay Twilight Sparkle, sprawled over some papers and books, fast asleep. She had not slept at all the previous night due to her reading. She had pressed on until the early hours of the morning, hoping to find something, anything, that could have been of use. She had poured through countless books, tomes, scrolls, and manuscripts, with the hopes of finding something that could have been of help. But it was in vain. She had stopped some time ago after Spike and Pinkie Pie had insisted that she rest and simply wait until Princess Celestia sent them word of another copy.

Twilight groaned in her sleep as she reached up and tugged on something draped over her. It was then that something crossed her mind.

‘I didn’t fall asleep with something on me...’ She slowly began to stir from her slumber, forcing her eyes open. There was indeed a blanket over her. One from her room, in fact. She looked about the room in silence before thinking of the reason for this. ‘Pinkie must have done this before going to sleep as well. I wonder... is she still here?’

“Pinkie?” Twilight called into the empty looking room. “Are you still here?”

No response.

But the door did open, revealing a relieved-looking Spike.

“Twilight!” He said, coming over to her. “You’re awake!”

Twilight slowly began to get up, removing the blanket. “Spike...? How long have I been asleep? Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“It’s almost ten-thirty, and Pinkie’s in the kitchen, making you breakfast!” Spike explained, pointing his thumb toward the doorway. “She sent me to come see if you were awake yet.”

“Oh... That’s very kind of her...” Twilight shook herself from her tiredness. “I don’t believe... Princess Celestia hasn’t responded to my letter yet, has she?”

The baby dragon shook his head, “Nope, haven’t heard a thing! All I got was a letter from Cadance,” he held up some parchment. “She wanted to know if you’d be coming to your brother’s surprise party and if you could help her set it up!”

“My brother’s... Oh, dear Celestia...” Twilight groaned. “I’m not sure anymore... With the current state of affairs, I don’t believe I can make it... Not without making some type of progress...”

“I know...” Spike mumbled, nodding. “It’s not for two weeks, since his birthday’s next month. She wants to have it earlier to really make it a surprise. There isn’t much else we can do, Twilight, not until Princess Celestia gets back to us.”

Twilight started to get up from her chair with a saddened look on her face as she approached her assistant. “I know, Spike... I just wish there was something more we could do.”

“...Well, at least... the other Fluttershy’s having fun...” He said, giving a mild shrug.

“Don’t remind me...” Twilight groaned. “So, what’s Pinkie making for us? Nothing too extreme, I hope...”

“Pancakes and waffles!” Spike grinned, patting his stomach. “I tried to help, but she insisted on doing it herself! She’s even got some fruits to have with the waffles, and it smells so good!”

Twilight was a bit taken aback this, surprised to hear her friend would go to such trouble. “Um, wow... So, can we go into the kitchen, or is she not letting anypony in until she’s done?” She placed a hoof up to door. “Pinkie? Can we come in?”

“Come on in and sit down, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie called.

Twilight blinked a few times, but shrugged at Spike. “I guess we can go eat...”

Opening the door, the pair went into the kitchen, finding Pinkie working away at the stove. The dining table was also set quite nicely for a regular breakfast: three plates, napkin holders, utensils, a jug of orange juice, a carton of milk, and three cups.

‘Wow, I gotta admit, Pinkie really is going out of her way this morning... afternoon... whatever time it is.’ Twilight stared in awe as her friend cooked. ‘This really is nice of her... I wonder if... If what happened yesterday meant anything. Was it just to calm me down or...?’

“Hellooooo, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie greeted, turning around to face her.

Sure enough, she even had an apron on that read Kiss the Cook along it, completing the domestic image.

“Come and sit down, you silly filly! It’s ready!”

Twilight felt an odd combination of feelings, but shook most of them away as she was still feeling tired. “All right, then. Spike, care to join us?” She teased as she made her way to her seat.

“Very funny,” Spike rolled his eyes, going to the table and taking a seat as well.

Pinkie distributed pancakes and waffles to their plates, giving two of each, as well as the same amount for herself. She took her seat at the table, removing her apron before doing so. With a big, bright smile, she clapped her hooves in delight.

“We shall now partake in a delicious and hearty breakfast! After that, we must, of course, prepare for tonight’s epic super special awesome sleepover!” The earth pony announced, winking at the two.

“Count me out of that!” Spike made a fake gaggimg motion before he proceeded to eat.

“Yes, the sleepover...” Twilight sighed, using her magic to cut up pancakes. “This will be very interesting to say the least... Considering that Fluttershy won’t be here with us, or rather, this alternate Fluttershy will be here.”

“It’ll still be fun, Twilight! We can get to know the new Flutters, our friends will get to know her, it’ll be funsies!” Pinkie insisted, giggling. “After all, Dashie seems to like her tons, so it’s all good!”

Twilight tried to smile a bit, but it was half-hearted. “I suppose you’re right... Still, there’s just so many things we don’t know yet. For example, why this Fluttershy, out of all the infinite possible others, was the one that got switched with our Fluttershy? Did it have to do with something ‘Shy was thinking, or something about that reality in general?” She took a bite of her pancake, and her eyes went wide. “... These are absolutely wonderful, Pinkie! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie giggled, eating her helpings as well.

“If you ask me,” Spike reiterated, “it might’ve had something to do with what Fluttershy was thinking. It was probably about Rainbow Dash! That other Fluttershy acts just like Rainbow, maybe that’s why that particular Fluttershy switched with her?”

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “That is a possibility, but it raises the question as to just what thought it was, and why she was thinking about that. Then, there’s the matter of the spell itself...” The alicorn took a slip of her drink as she thought aloud. “We know why it happened, but we don’t know how it forced the two to switch... I really hope Princess Celestia has another copy of the book.”

Both mares looked at Spike expectantly. He looked from one to the other, then rolled his eyes.

“Staring at me isn’t going to make a letter from her come any faster,” he deadpanned.

“We know, Spike.” Twilight spoke back. “But you are the one who sent it. Anyway, it won’t do us much good until we get the book, so... I guess I’ll just have to relax and wait.”

Looking to the lavender alicorn sadly, Pinkie brought her chair closer, nuzzling Twilight gently. “It’ll be fine, Twi-Twi. We just have to be patient and wait. Princess Celestia is very wise, you know she’ll have an answer for us.”

Twilight looked back to her, a smile slowly forming on her lips. “Thanks Pinkie... You’re right. Princess Celestia has always had the answer and hasn’t ever let us down. I just hope that Fluttershy-our Fluttershy is okay, where she is.”

“...I think she is okay,” Pinkie said softly, smiling. “I think our little baby is just fine, Twi-Twi.”

“... Our little baby?” Twilight repeated slightly confused. ‘Pinkie Pie has always been overly affectionate to all of us, but lately she seems even more so. But I haven’t seen her acting like this around any of the others... So, does that mean something? I wonder what it would be like if we did- no, no, this is not the time nor place for such thoughts...’

Twilight shook her head, freeing herself from her thoughts. “Pinkie, Fluttershy is older than you...”

“And she’s growing up...” Pinkie faked a sniffle.

Before Twilight could respond, two blurs, one rainbow-streaked and the other yellow, came rushing in through the nearby open window. Two pegasi went tumbling to the floor, laughing and landing on top of one another. When the dust cleared, it revealed to be Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They giggled madly, barely even noticing the audience they now had.

“Whoa! Hi, Dashie and Flutters!” Pinkie greeted, grinning. “What were you two doing? You’re just in time for breakfast!”

“Hey, Pinks!” Dash waved, grinning madly. “Twilight, Spike! Aw man, you guys sure missed our awesometastic pranking spree!”

Fluttershy playfully pushed Rainbow Dash a bit. “Are you kidding me? Who said anything about it being over?” She paused as she looked about the room. “Uh, you gals know that it’s a little late to be havin’ breakfast, right?”

Pinkie gasped, wide-eyed. “Travesty! It’s never too late for breakfast! Ever! Why, sometimes, I have breakfast for dinner! Supper for breakfast! And brunch for lunch!”

“Isn’t brunch and lunch the same thing anyway?” Fluttershy asked bluntly.

“Twilight overslept, so Pinkie decided to just make some breakfast late, that’s all,” Spike shrugged.

“Heh, I know that feeling...” Dash mumbled, shaking her head.

“So!” Pinkie eyed the two, giving a big grin. “You two ladies are still getting along, eh? Having fun?”

Twilight could only roll her eyes at the scene before her. “Pinkie, I’m quite sure they have been... assuming I think I know what you’re talking about this time...”

“Oh, we’ve had a lot of fun! Right, Dash?” Fluttershy shot a playful smirk over at her companion.

In response, especially to just mess with her friends, Dash gave Fluttershy a quick kiss, and winked. “You said it, all right!”

“Ooooh!!” Pinkie giggled, slapping her hoof on the table, causing the dishes and utensils to clatter noisily. “Must be fun to have a special somepony that’s able to keep up with you now, Dashie!”

At that, a stricken look overcame the cyan pony’s face, and she looked away ever slightly. Twilight shot a shocked look to Pinkie, who just smiled and winked at her. She knew exactly what she was doing.

“I’m gonna go look for a book to read,” Dash said, exiting the kitchen and going down to the library section.

Fluttershy shrugged as she looked over to pink earth pony. “Well, I guess I’ll follow suit... Oh, and Pinks, as Applejack would say, assurez-vous vous déplacez sur Twilight, ‘kay?” With a slightly stiffened chuckle, she left the room, going after Dash.

Confused, Pinkie looked over at Twilight and Spike, who were exchanging very knowing glances.

“Um... what did she say?” She asked, tilting her head cutely.

Twilight did not respond, move, and was quite possibly not breathing at the time either, before quickly shouting an answer. “Nothing! It was just gibberish! No meaning at all! None!” A low pitched, nervous giggle came out at the end. ‘Did she just tell Pinkie to... make a move on me?! Does Pinkie even...? Maybe she does. I’ll have to ask her... o-once this is all taken care of, of course! I-It’s not like I want to actually date Pinkie Pie... right?’

“Okay!” Pinkie said amiably, and gestured to the table. “Shall we finish up?”

Down in the library, Rainbow Dash barely spoke even a single word as she scoured the titles for something to read. Normally her first choice, any new release of a Daring Do book, weren’t exactly coming to her mind. Instead, she just scanned the spines randomly, looking for something that interested her. Something. Anything.

Although aware that Fluttershy was in the room as well, Dash felt unable to look toward her. She did so, seeing that the other pegasus was also scanning a few book titles, using her hoof to do so.

‘Why did Pinkie say that?! Why?! This Fluttershy can keep up with me, and therefore I like her better? No! No, that’s not some reason to like another pony better! Sure, it’s pretty awesome, but come on!’ Dash thought, plopping down on her haunches as she scanned a lower shelf.

“Something on your mind, Dash?” Fluttershy asked with a small hint of concern.

Managing to glance toward her, Dash sighed, looking back at the shelf. “I don’t know. Guess I... just didn’t like that implication Pinks said. That because you can keep up with me, I must like you better, right? ...When is everypony going to realize that I didn’t care if Flutters could keep up with me or not?”

Fluttershy sighed as she leaned against a bookshelf. “Yeah, I get you. Most ponies don’t seem to catch on to stuff like that. It’s always, ‘Oh, you’re this and they’re like that too, so you must date!’ Gah, I got sick of hearing that back where I’m from... But there’s not much you can do about it. Well, other than getting your Fluttershy back and proposing to her.”

“You got that right,” the cyan pony mumbled, shaking her head. “Well I-wait, what?! The hay do you mean proposing?!”

Fluttershy moved over the Rainbow Dash’s side, smiling almost teasingly. “Oh, come on, Dash... You and I both know you really want her back... for more reasons than one, I might add.”

Eyes wide and cheeks pink, Dash shook her head. “Y-You got it all wrong! I don’t!”

“Oh, do I now?” Fluttershy walked away a bit. “You know... you and my Rainbow Dash do share one thing in common... wanna know what that is?”

“...What’s that?” Dash looked at her with a confused frown.

“You both keep dream journals...” The yellow pegasus giggled. “Oh, like this little bit I read from yours after you passed out. To die for, I swear... How did it go? Oh, right. ‘I had that dream again, me and Fluttershy were at the royal wedding, except, it was our wedding! Oh, she looked so beautiful in that wedding gown. My heart was just a flutter as I saw her...’ Need I go on?”

“You read my dream journal?!” Dash squeaked, now wide-eyed. “Y-Yeah... maybe, sometimes, I kinda dreamed of Fluttershy... so what?! I can’t control my dreams! A-And she’s pretty, she looks nice in outfits... so what?”

Fluttershy giggled sweetly. “Soooo, you wouldn’t care if I read aloud the one you titled, ‘FlutterMaid’, or maybe that one really spicy one about her being a model... Oh, and didn’t I spy a few magazines under you bed with her on them? ”

“I-I think she’s attractive! Yeah, she’s attractive! I’ll admit that!” Dash said, blushing. “J-Just ‘cause I’m attracted to her doesn’t mean I’m gonna marry her like that!”

Fluttershy was having too much fun to simply stop. “Is that so? Then need I bring up the fact that you’ve admitted to wanting to in several dreams? Or that you have a ‘you know what’ in your room? Ooh, or the little love letter you have in the journal and-”

“Y-Y-Y-You know what?” Dash squeaked, wide-eyed.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Dash.” Fluttershy teased in a mocking tone. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“...Fine, okay, maybe I-... wait, love letter?! I-look, I was... it...” Dash blinked, taking another step back, looking around frantically.

Fluttershy gave her a coy look. “Relax, will ya? I didn’t read it. I just saw it in the journal. Looked like you were actually gonna send it, too. Had a stamp and everything...”

Looking a bit flustered, Dash rubbed her forelegs nervously. “...How’d you even know it was a love letter?”

“Let’s see...” Fluttershy bit her lip a bit. “It was addressed to Fluttershy, it was written in red ink, smelt of perfume, the stamp had a rose on it, and it was sealed with as kiss... You do that for all the letters you write?”

“...No...” Dash mumbled, looking around a bit.

Fluttershy started to step closer. “So, if that’s not a love letter, then what was it?”

“...I-It was... a long time ago! Yeah! I wrote it a long time ago!” Rainbow Dash said, trying to sound convincing. Only for it to sound as if she had no idea what she was talking about.

“... It was dated two days ago, Dash.” Fluttershy moved in even closer.

There was no hiding it from her. Dash’s ears drooped as she felt the dam burst, the volcano erupt, and the twig snap. Everything she’d hidden, even from herself at times, was coming out. Her biggest secret was to be revealed, in her own words. She felt compelled to do so, in all senses of why she would. It all came rushing through; there was no holding back.

“F-Fine! I’ll admit it! I don’t want to hide anything from you anymore...! I-I do! I love Fluttershy! I’m head over hooves, loop-de-loop, over the moon! I’m in love with her! I dream about her all the time, I wrote a love letter to her, I write about her in my journal, I keep her modeling page magazines! Fine! There you have it! Me! Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale, in love with her best friend! Fluttershy! Ooooh, the awesome daredevil in love with a complete shy and gentle softie! Yesterday was awesome because I finally kissed her for real! There! That’s it! I love Fluttershy! Are you happy now?! Do I have to-”

Dash was cut off in her confessional rant when Fluttershy came forth and kissed her. But not in a rough and passionate sense. It was soft and gentle... much like her first kiss with her Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash trembled a bit, before embracing her and kissing back. It wasn’t the same, but it felt similar, and no less enjoyable. She all but melted as the creamy yellow mare ran a hoof through her mane, the other stroking her back.

They kissed for some time, savouring each other; engaging in probably one of the sweetest and most gentle kisses they’d ever shared. Dash felt at ease, peaceful, and even comforted. Whatever it was, she felt a spark reach her heart. This definitely wasn’t her Fluttershy, but that didn’t make her any less of a pony, much less a Fluttershy herself. The warmth and compassion she felt from the other mare was evident, even mutual. She felt it fill her body, reach her senses, and overcome her, like a warm blanket.

Fluttershy’s lips were soft, warm, melding with her own perfectly, much like yesterday. Dash let out a soft coo, much unlike herself, but she didn’t care. A warm tongue touched at her lips, to which she opened her mouth and eagerly granted it entrance. Their tongue dueling wasn’t as intense as it was before, but still passionate. It excited her and warmed her all at once.

Pulling away, the two gazed at each other with lust. Yet, within that lust was caring, understanding, compassion, kindness...and love.

“...Y’know Fluttershy, in a crazy way... I love you, too,” Dash admitted, giving a chuckle.

Fluttershy chuckled a bit, as a small smile began to form on her lips. “Well, ya know that there are different kinds of love, right?” She stepped back a bit.

“Duh, of course,” Dash said, shrugging mildly.

“Well, there you go!” Fluttershy stuck her tongue out.

“Hey, come on! I’m trying to bear my soul, here!” Dash giggled, sticking her tongue out right back.

Fluttershy nodded with a grin. “Yeah, I get you. It’s cute...” She turned her head away a bit. “Anyway, I understand what you mean... I kinda, in a freaky way, love you too. It’s, well… crazy.”

Giving a grin of her own, Dash nuzzled her a little. “Awesome. If anything, that’s really making the best of this. ...You’re still gonna pay for snooping, y’know. That was not cool.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure I will...” Fluttershy teased a bit. “How about I let you get me back later on tonight... What do you say to that?”

“Fine, you’re on! And we’re not gonna drink this time, either.” Dash poked her snout, smirking. “I’ll take you on so hard, you’ll be sore all week.”

“You guys!” Pinkie interjected, coming between them. “You can’t have hot kinky pegasus sex tonight! We’re gonna have our super special awesome sleepover!”

Fluttershy stumbled backwards, shouting in both anger, and shock. “Pinkie? Where the buck did you come from?!”

Ignoring her, Pinkie grabbed Dash’s shoulders, shaking her a little, “Please, Dashie! You two can have your sexy times later and tomorrow, but tonight is gonna be fun! Flutters here is our guest of honour! So, no, no, no, no, no, and no!”

“Okay, okay!” Dash tore away, shaking herself. “I got it, yeesh!”

“Guest of honour, huh?” Fluttershy inquired. “If that’s the case, would you kindly explain where and how you just happened to appear out of thin air?”

“I didn’t do that, silly!” Pinkie winked at her. “I’m just quick!”

Dash whispered to her, “It’s uh... better that you don’t question how Pinks does what she does.”

Fluttershy let out an exhausted sigh, hanging her head low. “Fine, whatever.” She shook her head in annoyance. ‘At least it made sense when my Twilight would do that stuff. She had MAGIC, and that explains whatever it was she did. This Pinkamena... er... Pinkie, is just an earth pony, right? Geh... So creepy...’

“So!” Pinkie came up again, looking excited. “You two need to be alone for your epic bedroom stuff or are you going to take it elsewhere?”

“You’re almost more frightening than Pinkamena, you know that?” Fluttershy mused to herself quietly.

Giggling, the pink earth pony winked at the two before she hopped off upstairs. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both stared after her, both unsure about what to do or say next.

“Okay, Dash, I’ve made up my mind.” Fluttershy looked back to her lover. “If your Fluttershy doesn’t want to come home, we are going to switch the two Pinkie’s... as I honestly think this one is more frightening.”

Dash giggled, shaking her head. “Okay, Flutters. But trust me, Pinkie’s the kinda pony who grows on you.”

Fluttershy smirked at this. “Oh, really? Well, that’s what they said about my Applejack and I never got used to her!”

“...How long have you lived in your Ponyville?” Asked the cyan pony.

“I’m gonna guess about as long as you did.” ‘Shy gave her a playful grin.

Dash thought that over, snickering. “Yeah, probably. Why did ya, anyway?”

Fluttershy blushed a bit as she turned her back to Dash. “That’s um, not really important...”

“Oh, come on! I want to know! I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours!”

“Nah, I’m good!” Fluttershy started to head into another room. “You coming or what? If I got to go to a sleepover for friends-slash-strangers, I want to get this built up energy out!”

“Awesome! How do you want to play it? Race, fly, play some iron pony games?” Dash followed her.

Fluttershy kept her head forward as she answered. “Yeah, sure. All of the above. Let’s just go!”

Author's Note

So Flutterdash and Rainbow Dash come to the conclusion that they've got to essentially make the best of things. For the most part! And sadly, they were kind of right, weren't they? Rainbowshy and Fluttershy are happy together, practically driven into each other's hooves!

Not much else to say except we hope you guys enjoyed it. X3

Original 9: Words Never Said

“One... two... three... four!” Pinkie counted with her hoof, concentrating hard. “Four! Quatre! Quatro! Vier! There’s only four of us here, now! Dashie and Flutters have yet to arrive!”

Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie bounced around, counting their friends for the seventh time in the past ten minutes. While it was cute, it was easy to tell that it was slowly getting tiresome. She decided to take matters into her own hooves by grabbing Pinkie within her magic aura and pulling her over to herself.

“I know you’re excited, but counting us, expecting it to be different, won’t change the fact they aren’t here yet.” Twilight explained with a gentle tone. “So, why don’t we all just relax a bit?”

The pink earth pony pouted, appearing petulant. “Because! This is going to be so exciting, don’t you know? Oh, but you’re right, my sweet Twilight! I should relax! Allow me to do so, and therefore I shall relax myself! After all, relaxation is important, if not more important!”

“My sweet?” Twilight was once again taken back by her friend’s choice of words, feeling a bit flustered by them.

“Well, Ah for one got a few choice words for this ‘new’ Fluttershy...” Applejack said with a minor hiss of irritation. She had not forgotten the incident from the other day and was more than ready to speak her mind on the matter.

Rarity flipped her hair dramatically, “I quite agree! That new Fluttershy is such a ruffian like I’ve never imagined! It’s as if someone had taken her and Rainbow Dash, put them into a blender, hit puree, and out came.... this!”

Twilight snapped from her thoughts for a moment, considering what was said. “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, Rarity? I haven’t even met her yet.”

“Shhh!” Pinkie suddenly jumped up. “You girls hear that? By the door! They’re here!”

“Pinkie, there’s-” before Twilight could finish, a knock came from the door. Twilight was admittedly startled by this, as were the others, but she had learnt better than to question such things. “I... just get the door.” With a quick trot over to the entrance of the library, she opened the door only to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the middle of a heated, and possibly playful, discussion of some kind.

“Face it, Fluttershy, you know I won that last game! You just knocked the board off the table before you could accept defeat!” Rainbow Dash declared, smirking at her.

Fluttershy pushed her back a bit. “As if! You know the only reason you won was because I-” she stopped in mid-sentence, realizing that somepony was now standing before them. “Oh, hey Twi. We late?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, you’re not. We haven’t started yet... but I am afraid to ask what you were talking about now.”

“Hey, I may be awesometastic and can tell you all about that fact, but even I have standards to what I don’t tell!” Dash said, blowing a raspberry.

“RRRRight, of course you do,” Fluttershy teased while she rolled her eyes, “you so didn’t drop a huge hint as to what happened just now.”

“Did not! Just stating a fact! Sure, I talk about how awesome I can be, but come on! I don’t talk about that!”

Pinkie chose that moment to show up, appearing behind the two pegasi. “You two silly lover birdies! It’s time for the sleepover party! You can bicker about your sexual tension later!”

“Okay, seriously speaking here, how did you do that?” Fluttershy quickly questioned, looking a tad bit worried about entering the home now.

Twilight just sighed, unable to give her a real answer. “She’s Pinkie. Simple as that. You’ll get used to it.” She stepped aside, smiling, allowing the three to enter. “Come in, please.”

Both pegasi entered the library, joining up with Rarity and Applejack. Pinkie, meanwhile, remained alongside Twilight, and winked at her.

“This is going better than I thought, so far!” She said, giggling. “If for nothing else, this evening is sure going to be entertaining! I wish I’d brought my camera!”

“And by good, you mean an all-out war, right?” Twilight exhaled heavily, resting her head against Pinkie. “This is going to be a disaster.”

Shaking her head, Pinkie brought a foreleg around her for support. “Don’t be silly, Twi-Twi. We’ve got it all under control! You’ll see. Just have faith, and have fun! Besides, you’ll have me to help you!” With a wink, she kissed Twilight’s cheek. “And you know I’ll never let you down, my sweet honey!”

Once more, Twilight was left speechless by her friend’s decree. She could not fathom as to why she felt this odd pull to her friend, or why Pinkie was acting the way she was as of late. However, Twilight could not ignore the fact that, in a way, she liked it. As odd and foreign as the feeling was, she enjoyed it. This only made her question it more as she looked back to her friend, feeling her heart skip a beat.

“Thanks Pinkie.” Twilight manage to speak up, fighting off a blush. “Guess I can try to have fun.”

“Atta girl!” Said the party pony, nuzzling noses with her, then kissing her snout. “C’mon! It’s party time!”

Pinkie nuzzled her, then hopped off to rejoin their friends in the middle of the room.

‘I really hope everything will be okay...’ Twilight thought for a brief moment, but shook it off, remembering Pinkie’s words. ‘She right. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?’ With a new mind set she returned to the room with her friends, all of which were at last present. ‘Yes this will be a fun night. I just know it.’

Upstairs, Pinkie happily introduced the alternate Fluttershy. “Ladies, allow me to formally introduce Fluttershy! From the other reality! As you know, she’s not quite the same Flutters we all remember, but let’s make her feel welcome! She is with Dashie now, after all!”

Rarity appeared stricken by this, but said nothing of it. “...I see. Well, Fluttershy, dear, it is quite nice to finally meet you. How are you finding it here, so far?”

Fluttershy stared at her, almost absent mindedly, before fighting off the urge to snicker. “I’m sorry, but your accent! Oh man, it’s killing me... Yeah, I’m finding this to be a pretty stellar place and- Oh sweet Luna, your voice! Ha!” Unable to hold it any longer, the yellow pegasus began to laugh loudly while trying to apologize, all of which were in vain.

“And what, might I ask, is wrong with my accent?!” An offended Rarity wanted to know.

Fluttershy, still trying to recover from her laughing fit, grinned up playfully. “No, no, no, no, no, you see, where I’m from, you got this much more rough and tough voice and no accent. You sound like AJ! And-” a thought occurred. “Oh my gosh and she sounds like you! This is too good!”

Applejack walked up, a little irate that this comment. “Now hold on there, pardner! I ain’t exactly likin' the way ya said that.”

“Ha ha ha! Where’s a camera when you need one?!” Fluttershy continued to chuckled a bit more before fighting it off. “I’m sorry, okay? It’s just back in my reality, Rarity here was a lot more, um, “fun” I guess would be the word. No offense to you. She was my racing buddy and we’d compete a lot, ya know?”

“C’mon Rare, AJ, settle down!” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “She’s not used to you guys like this!”

“Ugh...” Rarity slapped her forehead. “...All right, all right. You’re just used to a different... sort of Applejack and myself.”

Applejack, still irate from the other day did not back down however. “I don’t rightly remember gettin’ an apology from this here Fluttershy and I ain’t droppin’ nothing ‘til Ah do.” Her voice was a tad bit stern and she appeared to be looking more at Dash than Fluttershy. “Ya almost-”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Said Pinkie, coming between them. “Now, let’s not get in a fight! Applejackie, you tell your side of the tale. Then Flutters, you tell yours! Go!”

AJ sighed in annoyance. “Ah weren’t about to fight, Pinks, but fine. Winona got out yesterday and Ah went ta find ‘er. While Ah was looking, Ah saw these two,” she pointed over at the pegasus, “rolling around in the mud, gettin’ frisky. Then, they threw mud at mah face and flew off.” Applejack snorted at the last part.

“Okay, that’s... actually pretty accurate.” Fluttershy said, slightly nervous. “So, yeah... Sorry about that. I wanted a little bit of Rainbow and got carried away. I shouldn’t have thrown mud up unless you were trying to get in on it too and I shouldn’t have yelled. Happy now?”

“Ah guess Ah can- wait, whut?” Applejack realized the full extent of what was said.

“...It was exactly what it looked like,” Dash clarified, looking away.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity’s eyes went wide. “You can’t possibly mean that you-”

“Ooooohh!” Pinkie giggled behind her hooves. “Well then! Now I know what this is going to call for! Don’t you, Twi-Twi?”

Twilight, who had remained silent through most of this, was not sure what her friend meant by this, but was willing to take a shot in the dark. “Um, Truth or Dare?”

This made Pinkie’s jaw drop with shock, to which everypony else reacted in the same way. Oh, they knew what this meant.

“Twilight! You guessed it right! That means you’re a mind-reader! Hooray!” Pinkie hugged the alicorn, kissing her cheeks. “Wonderful! Yes it is! It’s time for Truth or Dare!”

Twilight shook her head, blushing furiously in Pinkie Pie’s grasp. “What have I done?”

“Well... I suppose we could play that...” Rarity gave a mild shrug. “It couldn’t be worse than the first time.”

AJ shrugged as well, her eyes darting away. “Ain’t that the truth...”

“Sounds fine to me, I guess!” Dash said indifferently, but grinned. “Could be fun!”

“Excellent! I shall go fetch a bottle!” Declared the pink earth pony, rushing off to do so.

“Hey, uh, you guys?” Fluttershy spoke up. “Mind if I sit this out? I, uh, I don’t really like this game.”

Dash caught on, then rubbed her back. “Yeah, I hear ya. I’ve had some real rough rides with this game back in the past. But trust me, Fluttershy, it’s not gonna be anything overly extreme or stupid! Heck, the worst that could happen is that Rarity forces you to wear your hair a certain way for the rest of the night!”

Fluttershy sighed heavily. “Oh, I’m not worried about me...” She mumbled to herself.

“...Then what’s up?” Dash wanted to know, puzzled.

“Don’t worry too much about it. Just don’t let the bottle point at you.” She winked a bit.

Rarity snickered, shaking her head. “Now this, I have to see!”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh, whatever. Fine. Have it your way, Flutters! You’d better hope the bottle won’t point at you when it’s my turn to spin!”

AJ chuckled a bit, approaching Dash. “What ya gonna do? Dare ‘er to kiss ya? Ah think ya don’t gotta do that ta get one from ‘er.”

“Real funny, AJ!” Dash blew a raspberry, then smirked as she stole a kiss from Fluttershy. “Like I need to dare her to do that!”

“Okay, backers!” Pinkie reappeared with an empty glass bottle that she set down on the floor. “Twilight my sweet honey, it’s your home, so you spin first!”

“My sweet honey?” Twilight questioned her friend for a moment, but shook it off. “Right, sure. I’ll go first.” Using her magic, Twilight spun the bottle counter clockwise. As it slowed it laid on Applejack. “Okay, AJ, you know how this works. Truth or dare?”

“Ah’ll take a dare!” Applejack snickered, swishing her tail.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin, trying to think. “I dare you to... dress up in a cape and magicians hat and refer to yourself in third person for the rest of the evening.”

“....Yer makin’ me act like Trixie?” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

She got up, going over to a costume trunk to look through. Moments later, with Twilight’s costume hat of Star Swirl the Bearded, the only magician’s hat available, and a blue cape, Applejack returned.

“There. Applejack’s all set,” she said, looking displeased. “M-Ah mean, her turn.”

With that, Applejack spun the bottle, which pointed to Rainbow Dash. With a slight chuckle, AJ sat down.

“All right then, RD,” Applejack snickered a bit, “Ah, er, Applejack here ask of ya, truth or dare? Ya chicken?”

“I’m no chicken, Applejack! And you can make that a dare!” Rainbow Dash smirked, flipping her mane. “Bring it on!”

AJ almost chuckled, but she held it aside for what was coming next. “The great and powerful Applejack dares ya ta not use yer wings ‘til sunrise!”

“Urgh....” Dash looked at her wings with despondency, but nodded. “All right, fine. A dare’s a dare. Not like I’m going anywhere between now and tomorrow morning, anyway.”

She then spun the bottle, which landed on Pinkie. With a wide grin, she faced her fellow pranking buddy.

“All right, this should be good! Truth or dare, pinks?” Dash grinned.

“Truth, Dashie!” Pinkie said with a bright smile.

“Seriously? You’re picking truth? ...Eh, we’ve had two dares, gotta change it up!” Dash shrugged a bit. “Okay, then! Do you... Like anypony?”

Giggling, Pinkie nodded. “Sure I do! I like everypony I know!”

“Uh, Pinks, I don’t think that’s what she means.” Fluttershy deadpanned.

“It’s not? Ohhh! Then you have to be more specific, silly!” Pinkie winked, giggling madly. “Yes, I do have a crushie on somepony!”

Twilight’s heart stopped for a moment. ‘Does she mean me?!’

Dash grinned, eager for the answer. “Yeah? Well, tell us! Who is it?”

“Nopey-dopey-lopey! You asked if I had a crush, and I answered it! To find out more, you’d have to wait until I choose truthie again!” The curly-haired pony winked, snickering. She then spun the bottle, which then landed on Rarity. “Perfecto! Okay, Rare-Bear, truth or dare? ...Hey! That rhymed! Awesometastic!”

Rarity gave a weak chuckle. “I’ll take truth, darling. Ask me what you will.”

Pinkie thought for a few moments, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. For a few moments or so, the room was quiet, as the rest of the group stared at her with question. It was time to think of a good question, something to make it count and make it fun.

“Got it!” Pinkie suddenly said, startling them. “Tell me, Rare-Bear, if you could have somepony as your slave for the next twenty-four hours...who would it be, and what would you make them do?”

Applejack trembled a bit at this. “Applejack doesn’t wanna be thinkin’ o’ THAT again...”

At Fluttershy’s confused look, Dash giggled. “Long story, Flutters.”

“If you say so... This sounds like a story I’d like to hear later.” Fluttershy giggled.

Rarity considered for a moment, blushed, then nodded. “Well, I suppose... Um... If it was for only twenty-four hours, I would have Appl- no, Twilight! I meant, Twilight. So that she could use her magic to assist me with dressmaking. Oh, and the publicity of having a princess wearing one of my outfits would be wonderful... yes. That’s what I was going to say. That.” She let out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, really?” Dash grinned, snickering. “Sure sounded like you were about to say Applejack! Tell me I’m not the only one who heard that!”

Pinkie snickered, winking. “I heard it, too!”

“Are the two of you insinuating that I lied?” Rarity placed a hoof on her forehead, letting her hair drape her face. “I’m hurt you would think that of me.”

“No, no, no! We know you’re telling the truth about having Twilight model your dresses, silly filly!” Pinkie said, shaking her head. “But we know you were about to say Applejackie before you changed your mind!”

Rarity picked her head back up. “Well then, I did answer your question truthfully, so I do believe it’s my turn.” She spun the bottle, ignoring the frustrated groans within the room.

The bottle then landed on Fluttershy. This, of course, changed the mood completely, as everypony’s curiosity was heightened.

“Well, then! Truth or dare, dear?” Rarity gave a keen smile.

Fluttershy snickered a bit. “Well, I’ll start off slow just this once. Truth.”

Eyes sparkling, it was clear that Rarity was going to jump upon this like a shark smelling blood in the water. “Marvelous! I do have more than one question... but perhaps I shall ask them in due time. For now, however, I will ask this. Did you... have a special somepony back in your reality?”

Fluttershy’s mood sank at hearing this. “No... I... Let’s just leave it at ‘no’, okay?” She asked Rarity in way that felt almost similar to their old Fluttershy.

Rubbing her back in comfort, Dash gave her friends a silent nod to pretty much let them know not to ask further about this. Applejack and Rarity exchanged concerned glances, but said nothing further.

“Well,” Pinkie spoke up, trying to cut the tension. “I do believe it’s your turn, Flutters!”

“Huh, I guess it is.” Fluttershy said smiling a bit. She spun the bottle furiously as it landed on Pinkie again.

“Yay, I won!” Pinkie laughed, rolling onto her back.

Fluttershy started to giggled a bit. “Oh, this will be good. So, Pinks, pick your poison. Truth or dare?”

“Dare time for me!” Pinkie clapped her hooves with delight.

This made Dash grin. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

“Great!” Fluttershy grinned wildly. “Pinks, I dare you to kiss Applejack!”

“Say what?!” Applejack’s jaw dropped.

“Eh? You want me to kiss Applejackie? Okay!” Pinkie sauntered over to her cowgirl friend, and kissed her on the cheek.

“You didn’t let me finish, Pinks.” Fluttershy giggled madly, shooting a glare between Twilight and Rarity. “It’s gotta be on her mouth. With tongue.”

“Ohhhhh!” Pinkie realized, looking thoughtful. She cast a quick glance to Twilight and Rarity, and then smiled. “Well, okay! I can’t promise it’ll be my best, but I’ll try! Hold on, Applejack!”

“Wait! Ah didn’t agree ta this!” Applejack shouted over to Fluttershy. “Ah-”

“C’mere!” Pinkie cut her off, and kissed her right on the lips.

It wasn’t forceful, but it definitely held a lot of passion, which Pinkie poured her all into. She even ran her hooves along her back and sides, to further entice the orange earth pony. Their friends watched with their mouths agape, no more so than Rarity and Twilight, each of their expressions a mix of shock and something else. Especially when Pinkie’s tongue met Applejack’s, engaging in a heated duel.

Dash had to admit, it was pretty enticing to watch!

After a few more moments, Pinkie pulled away and gently released Applejack. “That was nice! You have very sweet lips, Applejack! You even taste like apples!”

Applejack on the other hoof was completely dazed, blushing a deep shade of red. “... Damn, sugarcube...”

Looking down at the floor, Rarity pawed at it lightly with her hoof. She clearly looked a mixture of livid and yet uncertain, trying not to look at either of them. “...Indeed...” She said, her tone cross.

“Damn is right!” Dash exclaimed, whistling. “You sure gave it your all, Pinks!”

“What can I say? I’m quite a dramatic!” Pinkie giggled, sitting back with Twilight.

Twilight looked a bit unhinged by the display, her mane slightly frizzy from the display. ‘She just kissed her. Applejack... Like that. Does that mean when she kissed me, it was just nothing? I’m... confused. Does she like me or not?! Darn AJ why did you-’ she stopped in her thoughts, ‘Why am I getting so worked up over this? I don’t like Pinkie, do I? No, she’s just a friend... Who happens to be a great kisser... And- do I like her?’

Snapping from her thoughts, Twilight tried to give her a smile back despite how fake it must have looked. “I guess you are, Pinkie.”

“Right! Pinks, you’re up!” Fluttershy giggled a bit, clearly amused by her dare.

“Here we go!” Pinkie spun the bottle, which then landed on Rarity again. “And there it is! All right, truth or dare?”

Rarity looked up a bit out of it, before realizing it was her turn once more. “Oh, right... Dare.” She spoke almost absent mindedly.

“Hmmm...” Pinkie pretended to think, and then smiled brightly. “I dare you to...make out with Applejack!”

“And the Devil said what now?!” Applejack almost fell backwards in shock of this dare.

This now had Rainbow Dash falling over and laughing. “Aw man, this is too good! Looks like you’re getting popular tonight, AJ!”

Rarity was perplexed by this, blinking a few times. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that for me, darling?”

“Make out, as in, lots of kissy, with your good ol’ friend Applejack, of course!” Pinkie said, winking at her.

“Oh, oh my...” Rarity blushed brightly looking over at Applejack curiously. “Well, I’m not going to back down from a dare...”

The white unicorn approached her friend, going slowly. All the while, Applejack looked a mixture of terrified, and yet curious, herself. Neither moved for a few moments, they just stared at one another. Rarity made the first move, slowly leaning in and capturing the orange mare’s lips with her own. Unlike earlier, when Applejack had frozen up before giving in, she immediately kissed Rarity back. Their hooves encircled each other, heads tilted, and they grew caught up in their passionate kiss. Even to where they were moaning lustfully! It went slow, gentle, but still riding with desire. Their tongues met shortly after, dueling madly.

Whump!

Rarity eventually pinned Applejack to the floor, neither breaking their passionate lip-lock. It seemed as if their friends weren’t even in the same room as them anymore!

“Wow,” Dash remarked, wide-eyed. “And here I thought the kiss from before was on fire!”

Pinkie giggled, winking at them all. “I told you!”

“That’s, um... unexpected.” Twilight stared at the two.

“I suggest we leave the room, turn off the lights, and come back in an hour to see if the two bucked one another yet!” Fluttershy giggled a bit, pushing Dash off balance a bit.

“Whoa! That’s nuts!” Dash said, shaking her head.

Fluttershy smirked at her, getting up a bit. “Rule one of attraction, Dash. Opposites always attract. Oh, and rule of dealing with farmers: stay away from them when they look like that.” She pointed over the two ponies locked middle of a heated make out session.

“Very true indeed, Flutters!” Agreed Pinkie, nodding sagely. “We should leave them alone for a while! C’mon, everypony! Let’s get a nice smackerel!”

Twilight nodded, walking over to the door. “Pinkie Pie, I have never agreed with you more. A small snack sounds great.”

“I’m so there.” Fluttershy exhaled with a grin, following after.

“Me too!” Said Dash, following after them.

They went upstairs to the kitchen, to which Twilight and Pinkie went to search the fridge and pantry for some snack foods and drinks. Dash and Fluttershy playfully nudged each other, taking a seat at the table. Not much could be said, considering what they were walking away from, but that didn’t mean everything had to just end.

“So!” Dash said, breaking the silence. “I got a letter in the mail today, from the head Weather Division in Cloudsdale. There’s a big event going on this Friday in Las Pegasus, and it sounds pretty awesome!”

Fluttershy laughed a bit, trying not to show her excitement. “Sure, does! I’ll admit, it was kinda trippy for me to see Derpy Hooves as the mail pony, but the event itself sounds like a lot of fun.”

“It does! They hold these things all across Equestria, great way to travel!” Dash said, leaning back in her chair. “So we’re thinking of going out there for the weekend!”

“Ooooh! That’s right, you said you were a weather pony in your world, Flutters! Soooo! A fun little vacation out to Las Pegasus! The flashiest and coolest city in Equestria!” Pinkie giggled, grinning widely at the two. “Should be tons of funsies!”

“Don’t it?” Fluttershy remarked, waving her hoof. “Well, we were considering on asking you two if you wanted to come along with us. After all, little Miss ‘I’m the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale’ here can’t hold her cider worth a bit.”

“Hey!” Dash stuck her tongue out at her.

Pinkie bounced up to Twilight, looking eager. “Yes, yes, yes! Can we go!? Can we go?! Pwease, Twilight?! Pwease?!”

Twilight stared down at her friend in a mixture of confusion, delight, and uncertainty. “Well... it’s only for one weekend, correct? I suppose I could have Spike stay over at Rarity’s and watch for any letters from the Princess... and a little vacation from this stress would be nice... okay, we can go.”

“YAY!!!” Pinkie squealed, hugging the alicorn and nuzzling her. “This’ll be awesome! Hooray!”

“Yeah, it’s from Friday to Sunday,” Dash confirmed. “We were thinking of heading out Friday morning, and then coming back Monday morning.”

“At least that’s the plan,” Fluttershy added. “We all know that anything can and will happen between now and then!”

“You’re right about that, Flutters!” Pinkie winked. “It’ll be awesometacular!”

Chuckling at her antics, Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair again, staring up at the ceiling. She exhaled, thinking to herself, while her mind reeled.

‘So, yeah... we’re going to Las Pegasus... Fluttershy and I, along with Twilight and Pinks... Y’know, I always thought I’d take Fluttershy out to the city with me... The Fluttershy I know. Mmm, guess that’s not happening anytime soon. Aw man, this sucks... I really miss her....’ Dash thought, feeling her happy expression melt into a sad, thoughtful look.

“Something on your mind, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked her thoughtfully as Fluttershy looked over at her chair as well.

“...Nah, nothin’, really,” Dash said, sitting up straight.

Pinkie pouted, looking unconvinced. “That’s not an explanation, Dashie.”

“Look, Dash, if you need to talk about something, we can.” Fluttershy added to what Pinkie had just said, doing her best to sound sincere.

“It’s nothing. I just… I just miss Fluttershy, okay? It just crossed my mind, that’s all,” said the cyan pegasus, looking away from them.

“Awwwww... but that’s normal, Dashie! You don’t have to be ashamed of that! We miss her, too!” Pinkie said, smiling. “We’re all getting by just fine, right? Doesn’t mean we can’t miss her!”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Pinkie’s right, Rainbow Dash. We all miss Fluttershy, too. Remember, this was my fault that this even happened in the first place, so I don’t intend to rest until this is solved. Even on this trip, I plan to bring a few books with me to see if there’s something I might not have noticed. So, we are going get her back, I promise.”

“...Wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash suddenly looked up. “...What do you mean, this is your fault?”

Pinkie blinked, her eyes wide. “Ohhhh! Yeah.... we should explain what happened, Twi-Twi! It’s just as much my fault as is it is yours!”

Twilight sighed, looking away for a moment before speaking. “Well, this going to be hard to explain, but let me try. I’m sure by now you’re familiar with the term multiverse...”

“Hello! We’re back!” Rarity said as she and Applejack came into the kitchen. “Terribly sorry, darlings, we just got a little carried away! We-...is everything all right?”

Rainbow Dash was now sitting on the floor, near the table, looking stricken and distraught. Like her wings would never lift. Her ears were drooped, she was hunched over a bit, and was breathing heavily.

She felt so... lost. Completely lost and distraught, as if her body now felt nothing. A little whimper escaped Dash’s lips, as she stared straight ahead at nothing. Everything around her felt as if it disappeared, she could barely hear the voices of her friends. Only her pounding heart, which seemed to tear heatedly, was what reached her ears.

“...Dashie?” Pinkie stepped forward a bit.

Applejack did so as well. “RD, ya feelin' okay? Ya don’t look quite like yer usual self...”

“Hey, give her some room to breathe.” Fluttershy stepped between the three ponies defensively. “Pinks, you know she’s not taking this too well after just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, dear... This is about Fluttershy, isn’t it?” Rarity realized, her eyes wide.

Twilight walked over to the group. A slight bruise on her cheek was enough to let the others know something had most certainly happened. “Yes, Rainbow Dash isn’t taking this well at all. She’s really upset right now...”

“Look, Rainbow Dash...we’re really-” Pinkie reached out to touch her shoulder.

Only for Dash to slap it away.

“Don’t touch me!” Dash growled, her cerise eyes hardening as tears pooled in them. “This is YOUR fault! Your fault!! Why can’t you sit still?! Oh, that’s right, it’s too much of a hassle for you! Even when you were told NOT TO MOVE! But you did anyway! In a dangerous experiment! I’m no science expert, but even I know better! And you just-!! Urgh! Thanks to you, Fluttershy may never come back! And all because of your carelessness! Both of you! I just-! How COULD YOU!? You took her away from us! From me! I may never see her again! I’ll lose her forever! Don’t come near me!”

Before anypony else could get a word in, Rainbow Dash flew out of the room and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Twilight shook her head in disappointment. “... I knew she would react this way. It’s why I didn’t want to tell her. Pinkie,” she gently placed a foreleg over her friend’s shoulder. “You know she didn’t mean all of that. She’s just upset and angry. She just needs time...”

“...I know...” Pinkie’s hair had then gone flat and straight, imitating her distraught mood. “But she’s right, Twilight. It is all my fault... She has every right to be angry at us. Especially me. We just... I was careless, and it cost us our dear friend, and pulled Fluttershy here, out of her world... She’s a stranger in her own home... Just as our Flutters is... All of this was because of me...”

“That’s not true, Pinkie.” Twilight corrected her. “It takes two to create a problem. I’m just as much at fault as you. No, I’m more at fault. I shouldn’t have even been attempting that spell... but we’ll get our Fluttershy back.”

Applejack moved to her side as well. “She’s right, sugarcube. Y’all’re doin’ the best ya can to fix this here problem and Ah fer one am proud of ya fer taken this much responsibility fer this. But ya ain’t gotta hold it up all by yerself. Ya got us, yer friends.”

Nodding in agreement, Rarity joined them as well. “I couldn’t agree more, darling. We’re right here to help you all through this ordeal. One way or another, whatever happens, we’re going to be there.”

Pinkie, now becoming Pinkamena, managed a smile. “Thank you, girls...”

Fluttershy looked over at the group of friends with a weak smile. ‘Look at them all. They’re all so close, just like they all are in reality. Eh, even Pinks is looking like my Pinkamena... I never really thought about it, but I miss them all. Especially Rainbow Dash. This world isn’t so bad, but here I am causing all types of problems for them. I know it’s not really my fault, but it sure does feel like it. I wish there was something I could do...’ She exhaled, looking away for a brief moment before an idea popped into her head.

“Hey... everypony?” Fluttershy called over. “I’m gonna head out for some air real quick, this is just too much for me to take... but I’ll be back in just a bit, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response as she quickly left the room, out of sight. ‘This is so stupid, but it might work. I just know my ears are gonna feel weird after this...’

“....Where’s she going? What’s she gonna do?” Pinkie wondered, her mane slowly coming back to life.

Nopony had an answer to that.

In Twilight’s bedroom, Rainbow Dash lay on the guest bed, crying her eyes out into the pillow. It was all she could think to do, much like she’d done earlier that morning. Everything was clear, now she knew the truth. An experiment, a freak accident. Carelessness. It all weighed down on her, pretty much crushing her heart. She trembled, sniffling as she sobbed loudly into the pillow. Her head throbbed painfully from all of her crying, her cheeks soaked with tears.

“Flutters...” Dash moaned, trembling. “Why’d you have to go...”

It's so loud inside my head
With words that I should have said.
As I drown in my regrets,
I can't take back the words I never said.

Sniffling, Dash curled up, staring blankly at the wall, losing herself in the saddening memories...

“Fluttershy... when’s it starting?” Rainbow Dash sighed, adjusting her pitch helmet for the umpteenth time. “Seems like the butterflies missed the memo or something...”

Fluttershy giggled a bit. “Oh, Rainbow... this is a seasonal event, they do this every year, regardless if we are here.” She moved closer to Rainbow Dash slightly, fluttering her wings. “It’ll be starting at any moment now.”

“Oh, all right,” Dash pouted, laying on the ground. “You’re just lucky that you’re my pal!”

“I know, but you must like coming here with me, don’t you, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked her cutely, smiling sweetly at her. “After all... if you ever wanted to not come you could say no...”

The pout on the cyan mare’s lips became more pronounced. “I had nothin’ else to do...”

Fluttershy place a hoof over her lips to cover her giggle. “So, you had nothing to do every year that we came to this?"

“....Yes!” Dash sat up, crossing her forelegs. “I had nothing else to do and you always give me those eyes whenever you ask me!”

Fluttershy moved even closer to the cyan mare, sitting side by side and placing the binoculars down on the grass. “Well, at least I’m making you come with me... so this works out for both of us. I have somepony to watch the butterflies with and you have something to do.”

“It’s boring...” Dash grumbled, looking away.

“Oh... I’m sorry.” Fluttershy shied away a bit.

A sledge of guilt overcame her, as Dash looked over at her best friend and sighed. She crept closer, bringing a wing over her back.

“... It’s boring, I like butterflies and all, but I guess it wasn’t much my thing… But at least it’s with you, Flutters.”

Fluttershy smiled slightly, blushing a bit as she rested her head against Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “I know, Rainbow. I just wish I could show you what I see when I see them here... At least, if it really is boring... we can be together to make it more fun.”

In actuality, watching the Butterfly Migration was far from the worst or even the most boring past time. Dash knew this far well, and actually did think of just how pretty the migration could be. A little slow, if nothing else, but it was nice.

“.... Yeah... we can...” Dash murmured, nuzzling Fluttershy’s head, leaning their heads together. For good measure, she even brought her foreleg around her.

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy looked up at her friend, smiling warmly. “Can I ask you to... make me a promise? It’s a little selfish, but... would that be okay?”

The cyan pegasus regarded her friend curiously. What could this have meant? Especially if Fluttershy regarded it as selfish?

“Well, sure... what is it?” Dash asked.

Fluttershy looked away briefly, blushing a bit, before looking back to Rainbow Dash. “Would you... promise me to come here with me every year…? Just the two of us?”

“Don’t we already do that?” Dash rose an eyebrow, a bit puzzled. But she exhaled, nodding. “Yes, I promise. I promise to come with you to the Butterfly Migration every year. Just you and me.”

“Oh, thank you, Dashie...” Fluttershy cuddled closer to her friend, simply enjoying the warm. “Rainbow, I-”

Before she could finish, the Butterfly Migration began, but in the most breathtaking way they had seen in years. Thousands of butterflies blanketed the sky, flying in a set of double helixes in a fluidic motion. Each twist and curve added to the form, until the large formations met, sowing through the large rainbow in the distance.

Naturally, Fluttershy observed it with a bright smile and dreamy eyes; Rainbow Dash found her own gaze drifting to her companion. How radiant and beautiful she looked, just simply admiring something that she perceived as wonderful. Dash felt her heart melt, glad to see that such a thing could excite Fluttershy. If there was indeed one thing she felt thankful for, it was this. Seeing Fluttershy this happy and spending time with her was worth it.

It was worth every second, every butterfly.

A soft blush dusted her cheeks, but Rainbow Dash leaned in and pecked Fluttershy’s cheek. She looked away, her own blush growing, and to hide the goofy smile on her face.

Fluttershy looked over to Dash with wide eyes, “R-Rainbow?” she began to question, but smiled instead. She simply cuddled closer, casting her gaze upward once more. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“... Yeah...” Dash murmured, looking at her again. “Beautiful. And the butterflies sure look pretty, too. Real pretty.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course they do. The monarch butterfly is always very pretty...Oh, and the rainbow sets the scene so perfectly. How lovely.”

Dash wasn’t sure if she was relieved or frustrated that Fluttershy had missed what she’d said. But then again, she could mull it over later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy spending time with her best friend.

Sniffling, Dash rolled onto her back, clutching one of the pillows against herself. She felt as if her body were going numb, with the pain in her heart going beyond any sort of physical force.

“I broke that promise... I’m gonna break it if I never see her again... if she never wants to come back...” Rainbow Dash whimpered, staring tearfully up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, Flutters...”

Breathing heavily, she rolled over once more, hugging the pillow. The memories continued to override her mind, taking her down completely. She felt her body seize, her tears fall, ready for another sobfest.

At least, until she heard a tap at the window. Ears perked, she rolled over, facing the bedroom window.

From the other side of the window came a weak coughing, muffled by a hoof. “... R-Rainbow? Are you in there...?” The voice soft, weak, almost fragile.

All too soon, Rainbow Dash jumped up, wide-eyed. Her heart skipped a beat, she listened hard, and knew. It had to be. She recognized that sweet, angelic voice anywhere.

“...Flutters?”

“C-Can you hear me?” Fluttershy called back.

“...Yeah, yeah, I can hear you!” Dash looked around for the voice’s source, her heart pounding. “Flutters? Is that you? Where are you?”

The tapping came from the window again. “... Over here.”

Practically fleeing to the window, Dash pushed it open, enough for a pony to come in through it. The anticipation rose within her, making her hooves shake, and her body warm up. Her ears rang with the sweet voice she knew so well, hope rising through her mind.

“F-Fluttershy? Fluttershy?”

Entering slowly to the room from the window was the yellow pegasus in question. She looked drenched, wet, soaked. Her mane covered most of her face as her tail slumped down, almost touching the floor.

“Rainbow? I’m sorry...” She called over, her voice sounding weak.

Stricken, all Rainbow Dash could do was stare at her. Her heart pounded, her very being filled with many emotions. The fear, the regret, the guilt, the despondency... And yet, the joy, the wonder, the relief, the love....

“Fluttershy...!” Dash cried out tearfully, enveloping her beloved into her hooves. Tightly she hugged her, sobbing all over again. “I missed you, Flutters! I can’t believe it’s you!”

Fluttershy shook her head, voice trembling. “No, I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash...”

“No, no! Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault! It was never your fault, never!” Dash uttered, her voice broken with emotion. “I’m just glad you’re okay-I...I don’t know what I’d have done... if something happened to you...”

“Why do you have to make this so hard...” Fluttershy hung her head low, sniffling.

“...W-What do you mean?”

Fluttershy looked back, crying. She placed a hoof up to her face, pushing her hair aside, showing Rainbow Dash her eyes. Those sharp, daring eyes of a fighter now, filled with tears. She looked beaten, but not weak, even now. She uncurled her tail, letting several earrings fall to the floor.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash... I’m not her...” She cried, biting her lip. “I just needed to see you... I didn’t mean to make you think I was... her. I just... care about you too... I’m sorry.”

Defeated, distraught, and overall lost, Dash shook her head. She didn’t even have it in her to feel angry at the deception of this. Yet she also couldn’t even feel upset, knowing that Fluttershy was only trying to help. It had been her own delusions. Her own hope. Her own eyes deceiving her.

“...No...” Dash mumbled, cuddling against her for warmth. “I’m not... I’m not mad. I just missed her too much, and practically imagined... you were her. Don’t leave me, Fluttershy... just hold me... I need you...”

Fluttershy wiped a few tears away. “I can do that...” She pulled Dash into a full embrace. “I know you miss her, Dash, and I know I can’t ever be her, replace her... but I’ll be here to help you through this until you see her again. I promise.”

Gently squeezing her a bit tighter, Dash nuzzled her neck. “I won’t be her, either... I can’t replace her... But I’ll be there with you, too...” She sniffled a bit, trembling, and looked up at her. “I don’t want you to be her, I just... I want you to be you… Y’know I meant it, when I said I love you... right?”

Fluttershy smiled just a bit, shaking her head. “...Rainbow Dash, I know what you said, but I know how you feel better than you know.” She started to stroke the cyan mare’s mane, “I know what you said, but I know what you’re doing... I’m doing it, too. You love her. You told me that, remember? You don’t have to lie to me, Dash.”

“I’m not. Of course I love her, I always have... And you love the other me. But like you said, there are other kinds of love. I know how I feel, and I know you’re not her. I’m not trying to make you her, either. Face it, I know. We love our... er... well, we love the other you and I more, we’re always gonna. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, too. Like I said, it was crazy. But I know it’s there. I know I love you, too.” Dash now pulled back, looking ashamed. “I’m not tryin’ to replace the other me, or making you replace my Fluttershy. I just... I can’t do this without you, either. But it’s not even just that. It’s everything. You! All of you. I just know how I feel, okay?”

Fluttershy merely smiled, nuzzling against Dash, tearfully. “And like I said, I’ll be there for you. I love you too.” She tightened her embrace. ‘You still don’t see it, do you? I know you must feel the same way I do, but this feeling is different. I want to be there for you, I really do and in some way... this is a blessing. I finally understand. I understand why I was so afraid in my reality. I really can’t take back the words I never said... I’ll be there for you Dash, both of you and mine. And when I see my Rainbow, I’ll make things right with her, and I have you to thank for that...’

The warmth overcame her, filling her. Dash felt a sense of ease, comfort, and amazement all over again. Much like last night, then this morning, she knew it was true. Somehow, everything was going to be all right. Whatever happened, it would be okay. There was nothing to fear.

Dash nuzzled her sweetly, managing to smile through her tears. “Thank you, Fluttershy... I-I feel better now. And y’know I’ll be there for you, too. This is even harder for you, anyway, isn’t it? Well...we’re gonna make it, like we said, either way it goes. And y’know, I have to thank you for all this, too. You gave me that kick in the flank to just come out and admit how I feel, ya know? I’m sure glad you did, too.”

Fluttershy looked a bit shocked to hear this, but smiled anyway. “Yeah, you sure needed it. I know I did too. So, don’t worry about me... I’m pretty tough, after all. And this world, as different as it is, is a lot more like my own than you think. I guess you’d say it’s like a mirror. Everything’s flipped, but it’s not bad. So, if I am here to stay, I can’t complain about it. I did get to meet you...”

“I’m just sorry you lost everything else... and all I lost was my best friend. But... then again, I did get to meet you, too,” Dash smiled a bit more. “And I’m sure as hay not complaining about that. So if you are here to stay... Yeah, I definitely won’t be complaining.”

Fluttershy nuzzled her a bit. “Trust me when I say I would rather lose my home world than lose my best friend. Even if-” she paused for a moment. Thinking of something that Dash could not tell. “Maybe... maybe she read my letter... maybe even if she never sees me again, she’ll at least know I was sorry...”

“...Letter? What letter?” Dash asked, curious.

Fluttershy sighed, smiling to herself. “Don’t worry about it... Chances are everypony is glad to be rid of me. I doubt they would find it anyway. It was just a nice thought, that’s all.”

“...Well, knowing my Fluttershy... she must be at your place now, and if she found anything like that, she’d tell the other me... so that she’ll know the truth...” Dash murmured, shaking her head.

On some level, this small piece of information gave her a fragment of peace. Even if it was truly unlikely, the thought of redemption, however impossible, despite the fact was she may never see her Rainbow Dash again, it made her happy to know that she may know the truth.

“I hope so. I really do.” Fluttershy muttered silently as she rest her head against Dash’s.

“Me too, Fluttershy,” Dash said, kissing her sweetly and holding her close, resting her head against hers. “Me too.”

Fluttershy pulled away a bit, forcing herself to giggle. “Hey, come on, I’m supposed to be helping you feel better, not vice-versa. Besides, we still gotta talk with Twilight and Pinkie.”

“....I can’t now,” Dash looked ashamed, her gaze downcast as her ears drooped. “I got so mad I… I just hit Twilight... and I was all mean to Pinks...”

“More of a reason to talk to them about this,” Fluttershy corrected her, trying to still sound supportive. “Trust me, I’ve been down this road before, and the sooner you clear the air, the better. I feel that silence is worse violence in this case.”

“...You’re right...” Dash sighed, shaking her head and standing up on all fours. “It’s not like they did it on purpose, it was an accident... I shouldn’t have been so mad.”

Fluttershy stood up beside her, grinning. “Hey, I never said you didn’t have the right to be mad. If I was in your horseshoes, I’d want to kill somepony by now. I’m just saying you gotta know when to let it go. You vented, you calmed down a lot, enough to know you were wrong, and now, we clear the air.”

“...It’s not even just that, I was just reminded about how much I miss her so much...” Dash went toward the door, wiping her eyes. “Fluttershy wouldn’t want me moping... she’d want me to be strong, to move on, and to try to overcome this. But every time I remember how much I miss her, I just... feel like someone cut off my wings...”

“I can understand how that feels...” Fluttershy shook her head. “Trust me, I do, but you’re right about her wanting you to be strong. She’s gonna want to see you tackle her down when she gets back, ya know?! Oh, and, uh, don’t go cutting off you wings or your new name will be Saddy McSadderson.”

“I’m not gonna cut my wings off,” said the cyan pony, shaking her head. “I just said it felt like it. Trust me... I’ll be tackling her when I see her, I’m not gonna be able to hold back!”

Fluttershy chuckled a bit, picking up her earrings. “Good. Now go out there and scream your apology!”

Casting her a small smile, Dash nodded and exited the room. She returned to the kitchen, finding her friends still there and partaking in having something to eat. Once she came in, they all fixated their gazes to her, stopping in their current conversation. Tension. It filled the air, so thick that you could cut it with a knife. While nopony seemed upset or scared, it was clear that they didn’t know what to expect.

“Hey... Look, Twilight, Pinkie... I’m sorry about earlier. I just... got really upset, and plus... I remembered that I missed Fluttershy s-so much...” Dash said, choking a sob as she said this. “And I’m sorry I hurt you, that wasn’t something I was trying to do. There’s no excuse for that. What happened was an accident. Not like you guys were trying to-”

“Dashie...” Pinkie cut her off, giving her a gentle smile. “It doesn’t matter if it was an accident or if we didn’t intend for it. What happened was still careless on our parts. We take responsibility for it, and we’re going to atone for our mistake. Don’t you worry about that, Dashie.”

Twilight nodded, smiling slightly. “Pinkie’s right, Rainbow Dash. We know that this is our fault, and we don’t blame you for being mad at us. But we’re going to do what we can to fix this.”

“I know, you did say that. But it’s like I didn’t even hear it, all I was thinking of was... my own selfish... well, anger,” Dash admitted, looking away and rubbing her foreleg nervously.

“Aww, Dashie...” Pinkie came over and hugged her. “Don’t say that! We all say and do things we regret when we’re angry! All the time! Besides, of course you took this the hardest. Flutters is your best friend, you know her the best and has always been a constant in your life. It’s no wonder you’re traumatized! We understand. We miss her too, and we’re gonna get her back! But we see why it hurts you the most.”

Stiffening ever slightly, Dash managed to relax and return the hug, appreciative of Pinkie’s consolation. She sniffled a bit, fighting back tears.

“Thanks, Pinkie...”

“You’re welcome, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie smiled, and then pulled back. “And besides, you love Flutters, of course you miss her!”

Voice breaking, all Dash could do was nod. “...I do love her. More than anything. I’d clip my own wings if it would bring her back...”

“Awwwww!” Pinkie giggled, looking among their friends. “See? Everything’s going to be all right!”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t go cutting off you wings, Dash?” Fluttershy walking into the room with her earrings back in.

“You know what I mean!” Dash stuck her tongue out. “I’d only do that if there was no other way.”

Pinkie snickered, “Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen! That’s just silly! So! Are we ready for some food? I think all of this saddy-waddy stuff worked up an appetite!”

Twilight giggled a bit, leaning forward in her chair. “Agreed. Something to eat would be great about now.”

“I couldn’t agree more, dear!” Rarity proclaimed, winking toward Applejack.

Applejack, blushed a bit, tipping her hat. “Uh, yeah, Ah think so, too.”

“Hey, uh...” Dash spoke up again, “You guys still want to come to Las Pegasus with us?”

“Of course we do, Dashie! Why would it be otherwise?” Pinkie grinned.

Fluttershy walked over between the Pinkie and Dash. “Well, we gotta know if you two can hold your cider better than she can, of course!”

“Hee hee! I can hold my cider just fine! Dashie can’t!” Pinkie strolled over to Fluttershy and whispered, “One time Dashie had too much cider, and was all over Flutters, calling her sweet names and giving her kissies! It was sooooo cute!”

Fluttershy giggled a bit. “Seriously? Oh dear Luna, anypony got pictures?”

Nodding, the pink pony produced some photos seemingly from out of nowhere. “Uh-huh! Here they are! I caught quite a few of them! Dashie is quite an affectionate drunk, it’s sweet!”

“Haha, she looks like me when I get wasted!” Fluttershy laughed out laughed out loud.

AJ looked over the table giggling wildly. “That ain’t nothin’! Y’all should have seen ‘er back after Pink’s last party! She was outside makin’ out with a tree callin’ it ‘Shy!’ It was killin’ meh!”

“Applejack!!” Dash cried, wide-eyed. “You said you wouldn’t tell ‘em about that!”

“It’s true!!” Pinkie snickered, shaking her head.

She showed a few photos of that, a hilarious depiction of Rainbow Dash tenderly making out with a tree. The next photos to follow were Fluttershy (also drunk, it seemed) prying her away from it, before she tackled them to the ground and started making out with her.

“And now I know what the biggest difference between our worlds are!” Fluttershy chuckled. “All you ponies can’t hold your cider!”

“I can!” Pinkie winked. “Takes me a while to even get tipsy!”

Fluttershy grinned wickedly. “Then, when we get to Las Pegasus, you and I are having a drinking contest!”

“Challenge accepted!” Pinkie declared. “Twi-Twi, you’ll be able to keep watch over us!”

Twilight sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I suppose I can do that.”

Fluttershy snorted with a smirk. “You’re going down, party pony!”

This was indeed going to be quite a long night, as it were.

Author's Note

We're approaching the home stretch, folks! Just a few more chapters to go! So yeah, now Rainbow Dash knows the full truth of the matter, even if she did get a little bit too upset. At least Flutterdash is still there to help as best she can. So yes, as you can see, they do indeed love one another, but it's different. Definitely different, But at least it'll help somewhat, right?

Let us soon go back and see how Rainbowshy and Fluttershy are doing! :P

Alternate 10: Things May Change

On Friday morning, Fluttershy arrived at the library. Just to see on the progress of where things were going in terms of the experiment. This was her intention, but she, of course, walked in on a more intimate scene. Pinkamena and Twilight were sitting together on a sofa, cuddled up and reading a book together. Or rather, Pinkamena was reading out loud, while Twilight snuggled and listened attentively.

They both looked up upon her entrance, stopping.

“O-Oh... sorry... I-I hope I’m not interrupting anything...” Fluttershy said, backing away toward the door.

Pinkamena smiled warmly, placing a bookmark on the page she was reading and looked up. “Fluttershy, it’s all right. You may come in.”

“Hello, Flutters!” Twilight greeted cheerfully. “We missed you guys the rest of yesterday!”

“...Yes...” Fluttershy murmured, shaking her head. “Um, I wanted to ask... about any... progress made? N-Not that I’m trying to be pushy! I-I’m just curious...”

“Of course, no need for you to fret. After all, you are entitled to know.” Pinkamena nodded, placing a foreleg over Twilight. “We still have not heard anything from Princess Luna as of yet, but I’m quite sure she’ll have copies of the manuscripts I requested. As far as my personal studies on the matter, I’ve made a bit of progress. I’m beginning to grasp this theorem quickly, and I should have most of the basic understanding of how the ninth tier of the multiverse works. If I can just piece together all the factors, I can begin to figure how the spell switched the two of you and work on a reverse spell.”

“Yep! What she said!” Twilight nodded.

“...I see... well, at least there’s that, then...” Fluttershy shifted a bit on her hooves. “I guess, I just want to know where this all could go and if it would be possible. If not... well, I suppose I would just have to make the best of things.”

Pinkamena chuckled slightly, moving the book over to a nearby table. “That’s a very positive way of looking at this. I’m amazed at how quickly you adjusted to all of this. I’m quite glad to see that.” She tilted her head a bit, placing a hoof on her chin. “Have you done something with your mane, Fluttershy? You look slightly different today.”

“Huh? No, not really... I just... brushed my mane and used a different shampoo, that’s all,” Fluttershy said, shrugging a bit. “I didn’t really do anything to it. Why do you ask? You think I look different? How so?”

“It could merely be a trick of the lighting and angle, I suppose.” Pinkamena shook it off, smiling once more. “Never mind me. It just appeared that you styled your mane in a different way, covering one of your eyes. Not a bad look for you, if I may say so, just very similar to our Fluttershy’s back when she had long hair.”

Twilight studied Fluttershy for a moment, thinking, and then smiled. “Yep! I agree, Flutters! You do look like her when she had long hair!”

“Ah, I see...” The creamy yellow pegasus nodded. “That’s nice, then. So... um... I just uh... wanted to ask something...”

Pinkamena, gestured for Fluttershy to move closer. “Of course, you may ask us whatever you may.”

Doing so, Fluttershy approached them and sat down. She felt uncertain about revealing this subject, but it was a part of why she came here. Everything at the moment was up in the air, including the very thing on her mind. Nervous, her hooves trembled slightly against the floor, she swallowed a bit, and tried to gather her nerves. She exhaled, calming herself.

“Yesterday... I.... I asked Rainbow to marry me.”

Pinkamena looked over at Fluttershy with wide eyes, then to Twilight before returning her gaze. “You... asked Rainbow Dash to marry you? Not that I’m opposing this, but do you not think that was a bit hasty? After all, you’ve only been here three days and we are not sure how long you will be in our reality.”

“It... was in the heat... of the moment...” Fluttershy said bashfully, shaking her head. “And to be fair... she did say maybe, and only if I was staying here forever. By default or otherwise.”

“Or otherwise?” Pinkamena questioned, but shook her head. “Well, regardless, I don’t see a problem here if both of you have come to an agreement on this.”

“What do you mean otherwise? You might... choose to stay here, even if you can go backers?” Twilight asked, wide-eyed.

Biting her lip, Fluttershy nodded slowly. “...Yes.”

“No.” Pinkamena flatly said. “If it’s possible to send you back, we must. This is non-negotiable, Fluttershy. We have no idea what effect you remaining here or our Fluttershy remaining there could cause to yourself...”

“I-I understand... but I can’t just leave her! I-I can’t!”

Pinkamena sighed, looking away. “I can understand your concern for Rainbow Dash, but you must understand that it’s possible something terrible might happen to you. I will not allow any deaths if I can prevent them.”

“I’m not leaving unless I know that she’s safe!” Fluttershy said indignantly, slapping a hoof down. “...And loved...”

“Fair enough.” Pinkamena nodded, not looking up. “I can allow that.”

“Oooooh, you’re worried about our Flutters not loving her!” Twilight realized, and smiled. “Silly, she does love Dashie!”

“...I know,” Fluttershy murmured. “I know she does, now.”

Pinkamena looked over at Fluttershy, her eyes looked as though they could see through her into her soul. “...This has to do with your Rainbow Dash in a way, does it not?”

“...W-Why would you say that?” Fluttershy squeaked, looking at her with surprise.

Pinkamena looked at her seriously, not blinking. “You stated before that when the event occurred, you were thinking about how your own Rainbow Dash behaved. You wanted her to be gentler, emotional open, and kind. Tell me, does this Rainbow Dash sound like this to you?”

“...Yes... v-very much... This Rainbow is much like mine, without being brash or aggressive,” Fluttershy looked down at the floor with shame. “She is a bit more like me, especially in how she cares for animals, but isn’t a clone.”

“I’ve already deduced that this is why you were switched with this reality’s Fluttershy. You wanted your Rainbow Dash to be more like this one.” Pinkamena said with her tone softening. “You don’t have to feel ashamed, I know that this world’s Rainbow Dash had wanted to see a gentler Fluttershy as well, but you must know that there are forces at work we cannot control. I only want what is best for both of you, this I swear.”

Twilight gave a solemn nod in agreement. “Mm-hmm!”

“Y-Yes... She has appealed to me because of how much she’s Rainbow in a more... gentle way, but I swear I’m not replacing her! I do truly love her, you have to believe me! I-I’d be good to her, I really would! I would do all I could to make her happy.... I-I just... don’t want to leave knowing she’ll be alone...” Fluttershy said, still not looking at them. “I know your Fluttershy does love her... we discovered that... But what if she still won’t? I-I can’t just leave her like that...”

Pinkamena exhaled, gathering her thoughts before speaking. “I never said that, Fluttershy. I know you would be a kind and wonderful lover for her to have, and I am aware that our Fluttershy may not love her back, but allow me ask you a hypothetical question.” The pink earth pony pointed at her. “If I told you that this universe, this reality would either try to make you become like our Fluttershy or simply erase you from existence, would you still stay?”

“....I.....” Fluttershy squeaked, taken aback by the question. She looked around nervously, biting her lip. Waves of uncertainty washed over her, leaving her heart swelling and her stomach churning. Her hooves felt sweaty, as did her forehead, and her breathing quickened. Not a single answer came to mind to help her in this. “....I don’t know. Probably... Probably not. Especially if the latter happened...”

Pinkamena simply gave nod. “Again, this is just hypothetical, and there is no known proof that this could happen, but it is a possibility. You see, this is why I am trying so hard. I don’t want to lose another life.” Her mane seemed to slightly curl, to which she quickly grabbed the strand of hair and forced it straight.

“We gotta get you back, Flutters! We don’t want anything bad to happen to you or to our Fluttershy!” Twilight pouted, looking worried. “If you’re worried about Dashie... don’t be. If it makes you feel better, we’re going to give our Fluttershy a kick in the flank so she’ll come forth with her feelings! Promise!”

“...Okay...” Fluttershy murmured, looking at them, then. “All right.”

“Of course, we have to figure out how to do so first, and this may take some time,” Pinkamena smiled a bit, her tone more kind. “So, until then, you should make the best of your time here. Enjoy yourself and let us know if anything odd begins to happen.”

“...All right, thank you...” Fluttershy smiled a bit more, but it was a bit sad. “I’ll go now, then... Thank you for your time.”

Pinkamena grinned, pulling Twilight closer. “If you must, Fluttershy, but don’t be afraid to speak with us about anything.”

“...I won’t. Thank you for that, and thank you for being honest with me.”

Fluttershy bid them farewell, and left the library without another word.

Twilight watched her go, smiling a bit, then exhaled. “...I hope she’ll be okay. She does seem to like it here, at least... and she does care about Dashie.”

“That’s true. I wish I knew more about this so I could give her an option.” Pinkamena muttered, looking back at her lover. “We’ll see what fate has in store for us.”

“You’re right...” Twilight kissed her cheek and snuggled more into her. “You’re absolutely right, Pinkie-Winkie!”

Pinkamena cuddled close to her lover, and picked up the book once more, smiling. “Shall we continue with our story?”

The alicorn nodded. “Yes, pwease!”

With a giggled, Pinkamena opened the book to the bookmark. “Very well then... Chapter Six: Of Wings of Love... that’s where we left off, correct?”

“Uh-huh! That’s where we left off!” Twilight nodded, snuggling her lover. “Read on, my fair Pinkamena!”

Flying back home, Fluttershy’s mind reeled with the information she’d taken in. It was apparent that Pinkamena, with the help of Twilight’s magic, surely would find a way to get her back home. The consequences of mixing their two realities so far had unforeseen consequences, but the risks did indeed sound terrifying, if there were any.

Choosing to remain here was, more than likely, not an option. At least until Pinkamena was able to prove it would be fine. But even so, the very factor that it wasn’t going to work that way felt a little too real. Too possible. Fluttershy could feel her heart wrenching at this prospect, knowing that her time here was truly limited.

It wasn’t a horrible factor, she did miss her home and her friends. But it still stung, knowing she was leaving her lover behind. Something she had tried to promise she would not do if she could help it. But now, it was looking like she had to do that.

She sighed, hoping that it would all work out in some way. The last thing she wanted was for any of them, especially Rainbow Dash, to suffer. She also knew that forcing her counterpart to stay behind in her world just because she herself wouldn’t go back was ridiculous. For all she knew, the other Fluttershy was more than likely determined to get back home.

Eventually, she finally arrived back home. After greeting all of the animals, singing to them and keeping them company for a few minutes, Fluttershy went inside the cloud home.

“I’m back, Rainbow...” She said, not as enthusiastically as she’d hoped.

“O-Oh! Hold on, Fluttershy... I got something for you.” Rainbow called to her from the kitchen.

‘I can’t make this harder for her, or for me... but I can’t leave her alone, either... I’ll just have to... tell her what we’re up against. We’ll have to make the best of it... I just hope she’ll be okay...’ Fluttershy thought.

She went to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash turned about to face her, holding a large cake of some kind. “I know it’s a little silly and all... but I wanted buy you something for lunch today. The Cakes gave me this to commemorate us moving in together.” She placed it up on the table. “I think they called it a ‘chocolate cheese cake’. I’ve never had one before, but they said it was really good, a-and I thought it might be nice to share.”

Touched, all Fluttershy could do was look at the smiling cyan mare. Her heart melted in happiness, yet sorrow. “It... It looks... delicious, Rainbow... that was so sweet of you...”

Walking over to Fluttershy, Rainbow looked at her with concern. “Are you okay, Flutters? W-What’s wrong?”

“... I...” Fluttershy looked to her with sadness, her heart falling to the floor.

Every moment she spent gazing at this sweet, lovely pony, the more it broke her heart. One day she would leave her, one day it would likely be all over. Even with her hopes and trust that she would be okay, especially when it came to the other Fluttershy... It didn’t make it any easier to know that they would part ways someday.

“...Rainbow...” Fluttershy muttered, bringing her lover into her hooves and cuddling her.

“F-Fluttershy, did something happen?” Rainbow asked even more worried.

“... No...” The creamy yellow pegasus said tearfully, shaking her head. She leaned in, gently nuzzling her mane, and then kissed Rainbow’s face. “I went to see Pinkamena and Twilight... just to see if they made progress on the spell... So far, no, but Pinkamena had found some information and such... Either way, though.... It looks like I will... have to go eventually... I might not even be able to remain here even if I was able to choose... Oh, Dashie, I’m sorry! I was hoping with all my heart that I would never leave you!” She began to cry softly, holding her mare tighter. “I don’t want to leave you! I love you!”

Rainbow Dash felt her heart give out, her chest reveled in pain. She felt like crying, but she could not shed any tears. Her legs trembled slightly, yet the cyan mare managed to return the embrace. She nuzzled against Fluttershy gently, closing her eyes tightly.

“It’s... okay.” Rainbow muttered. “It’s all right. I-I know you don’t want to leave and I d-don’t want you to either... But, if you really don’t have a choice, I-I understand. I love you, too. I really do.” She tried to tighten her hug, but did not seem to have the strength to do so.

“R-Rainbow…” Fluttershy whispered to her ear, tears falling down her face. “Promise me something, please...”

Rainbow sniffled, feeling somewhat weak. “Of course, anything.”

Pulling her head back to look into her eyes, Fluttershy gently caressed her cheek, “Promise me... you’ll be happy. Promise me you’ll go for it, you’ll try all you can.... and to tell your Fluttershy you love her... Please... I don’t want to leave this world unless I know you’re going to be all right. Please? Please promise me...”

“I-I promise.” Rainbow’s voice faded a bit. “... I promise I’ll try.”

Sniffling, Fluttershy pulled her in for a gentle, tender kiss. She lingered, savouring the soft, sweet feel of her lover’s luscious lips.

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash... I love you so much.... I promise you, we’re going to make the best of the time we have. I promise you that. We don’t know for sure what will happen, but we have to be prepared, no matter what. Until then... may I still live with you?”

Rainbow’s eyes finally began to tear up as she almost tackled Fluttershy to the floor crying into her mane. “Of course you can! I don’t want you going anywhere! Please stay! Please...”

Managing a sad smile, Fluttershy held her closer and nuzzled her. “Then I’ll stay. I will, my lovely Rainbow... I’ll stay. I won’t leave you.”

“Please don’t go...” Rainbow Dash cried quietly, clutching Fluttershy tightly.

“I won’t go, I won’t...” Crying quietly as well, the creamy yellow pony opened her wings, closing them around her lover. “...Rainbow... there was the possibility, though not proven... That if I stay in this realm... I’ll turn into the Fluttershy of this reality.”

Rainbow Dash pulled away slightly, looking up at Fluttershy, confused. “W-What? What do you mean?”

“Believe me, I have no idea...” Fluttershy admitted, wiping her tears a bit. “But Pinkamena was giving me a hypothetical. Of what would happen if I... remained in this world, and turned back into the Fluttershy of this reality. As I said, it isn’t proven... But it’s almost a scary possibility, if there are any consequences to... mmm... interdimensional travel... I mean...it had to switch us out, in order to put me in here.... What if it changes me?”

Rainbow looked at her, considering what was said, despite how confusing it was, but pulled Fluttershy back into a tight embrace. “Even if that’s true... I’ll still love you! I swear I would...”

Smiling through her tears, Fluttershy kissed her forehead. “Oh, I don’t doubt that, Rainbow. I suppose I’m just... curious, and wondering how I would feel... would I... inherit the memories and feelings of your Fluttershy? Or would I still remember me, and yet I’d still be her? ...I have to admit, it’s kind of scary... it’s as if I’d be gone forever, if I forget who I was...”

“I don’t know how something like that would work.” Rainbow admitted, giving Fluttershy a shy little kiss to the cheek, “but I don’t think... anything can take away your memories... could it?”

“...I wouldn’t know,” Fluttershy murmured, and kissed her cheek as well. “Well... it’s been three days, and I’m still me... perhaps we have nothing to fear in that regard.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, cuddling close to her. “I think everything will be fine. Maybe... Maybe you will have a choice after all, a-and you can stay.” Her voice was still weak, but held optimistic tone.

“You’re right.... It’s not absolute if my staying in this world would be a bad thing, and we certainly don’t know how our counterparts in my world feel.” Fluttershy agreed, a tinge of optimism entering her tone. “Even Pinkamena knows that... She will still find a way, but we also can’t prove anything yet, either. So I think... As long as we know what we may be in for, we can still hope for the best.”

“I agree.” Rainbow lifted her up, smiling just a bit. “That’s really... all anyone can do, right?”

Nodding, Fluttershy smiled and kissed her sweetly, stroking her mane. “Yes. It’s all we can do. Oh, I’m so sorry for bringing such bad news... especially when we were going to enjoy some cake... which I’d still love to do, if you want...”

Rainbow Dash started to pick herself off of Fluttershy with a weak giggle. “O-Of course I would like to. That is, if you still want some?”

“Of course I want some... And then after...” Fluttershy’s smile grew, her voice suggestive. “I’ll take you to bed.”

“Isn’t it a little early for-” Rainbow started to say, before catching her meaning and blushing a bright red. “Ooh...”

“I never said we were going to sleep, my love...” Fluttershy cooed, nuzzling her cheek and kissing her face.

Rainbow Dash returned the nuzzle with a quiet giggle, trying not to blush further. “I guess if you really want to, we can. It’s sounds... awesome.”

“Oooh... will you say it again, Dashie?” Fluttershy nuzzled their noses, giggling. “Please? Just for me?”

Rainbow giggled, knowing what she meant by this. “That sounds awesome, Flutters.”

‘Oh goodness, I miss her...’ “Thank you, my pretty Rainbow...” Fluttershy hugged her warmly.

“Anytime you want me to do something, Fluttershy... just ask me and I will. I promise.” Rainbow returned the embrace, cuddling close.

“Me too, Rainbow. I promise,” whispered the creamy yellow mare.

Rainbow giggled a bit, pulling away. “So... did you wanna eat up here or in the bedroom?”

“Let’s eat here, so we don’t make a mess,” Fluttershy smiled, indicating to the cake. “Then we’ll... work it from there...”

“Okay then.” Rainbow Dash nodded, pulling up a chair for Fluttershy. “Let’s eat.”

Giggling at how sweetly chivalrous she was, Fluttershy sat upon the chair and beamed. “Thank you, Rainbow...”

Taking a seat beside Fluttershy, Rainbow began to cut the cake up and placed a slice on a plate. “You’ll have to tell me how it tastes. I’ve never had a cheese cake before.” Placing a fork near both plates, she sat up, waiting for Fluttershy to taste the dessert first.

“No? Aww, you’re missing out!” Fluttershy giggled, and took a bite of her slice. She let the taste sink in, and then smiled brightly. “Delicious, so decadent! Why don’t you try it?”

“O-Oh, all right then.” Rainbow blushed lightly as she took a bite. “Wow, this is really different! I like it.” She began to cut up the slice and eat yet another piece.

With a warm smile, Fluttershy continued to eat her slice as well. At least now, they could enjoy their time together, and hope for the best. Whatever may have been in store for their future, nothing was certain, nor set in stone, so maybe there wasn’t cause for worry. Optimistic caution, maybe, but nothing worrisome. At least not now.

Fluttershy tossed a bit, trying to get comfortable under the blankets, but her legs felt restless. It was an odd feeling for her to feel pent up energy, wanting to get up and move. She tried to fight off the feeling, but it was becoming clear that this would not be a battle she could win. With a weak exhale, she started to open her eyes.

‘Well... there goes that nap...’ Fluttershy thought. She looked over at the clock, groggily, seeing that it was a little late in the afternoon. ‘I should go feed the animals... Rainbow is probably still tired...’

Looking to her right, she found her assumption correct. Rainbow Dash lay fast asleep next to her, her mane spilled out over her pillow, snoring softly. Fluttershy smiled, and leaned over to kiss her gently on the forehead.

Making sure not to disturb her lover, Fluttershy rose out of bed by flying, and then quietly flew to the dressing table. She brushed out her mane, then flew out the room without making much of a sound. Deciding to get some air, she opened the front door and stepped outside. The beautiful afternoon radiated all around, with a cooling breeze refreshing her, and with the sounds of nature all around her.

Closing her eyes, Fluttershy breathed in the fresh air, then exhaled. Hearing the birds singing, she giggled, and sang along with them.

Looking across the field, Fluttershy saw a rather large figure stand around with the animals. It looked as though it might have been playing with them, teasing the smaller critters slightly while playing with an odd ball shaped toy. It took Fluttershy a moment to tell who this lone figure was, before coming to the conclusion that it must have been none other than the Spirit of Chaos, Discord.

As she descended to the ground, she could see that she was right. With a big smile, she rushed over into the pen to see him.

“Oh my gosh, Discord! I can’t believe it’s you! You’re here!” Fluttershy greeted fondly, a wide smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you!”

Discord looked a bit confused by the reaction of the yellow pegasus. “You’re glad to see me?! Last I checked, you weren’t too fond of me.” He said wagging a claw at here.

“No, I’m-” Fluttershy paused, realizing something else. This had to be the very Discord of this reality. It seemed completely preposterous, all things considered, but there was no denying it. “Oh... Um... actually... it’s a very long story...”

Discord placed a claw on her chin. “Let me guess... you’re not this reality's Fluttershy and you happen to be all sweet, kind and nice like this reality’s Rainbow Dash, being switched by a failed spell cast by friend, and now you’re stuck here until someone can figure out how to send you home. Until then, you’re trying to make the best of this and have fallen in love this Rainbow Dash.” He pointed at her, flatly asking, “Is that about right?”

This of course, caused Fluttershy’s jaw to drop in a very unceremonious manner. “...W-What?! H-How did you-? Where did... how-what? You knew?!”

“Wait, I was right?” Discord said, a bit surprised, but quickly waved it off. “I mean, of course I’m right! I am the Spirit of Chaos after all! So, I know when something chaotic is happening, even if I didn’t cause it! Oh, and believe me, breaking reality is very chaotic!” He chuckled wildly, then slid up beside her, placing an arm over her. “Good for you! You’re well on your way to taking my job! Uh, don’t do that, please... I get horribly bored as it is!”

“N-No! No! Of course not, I wouldn’t do that... Besides, it wasn’t even my doing.... It was a spell casted by my friend, Twilight Sparkle...” Fluttershy explained.

Discord laughed, now floating above her head. “You let Twilight cast a spell on you?! No wonder you’re stuck here. That is one alicorn that is truly frightening! All that power! And no control! I can see why Princess Luna assigned Pinkamena to watch over her.” He crossed his arms, looking at her eye to eye, upside down. “When you go back, swear off the magic. Next time, she might turn you into me! Not that being me is a bad thing, but I’m not sure if you got the heart for it... or do you? Eh, I can’t tell with you.”

Fluttershy shook her head, gathering some feed so that she could feed the animals. “No! Not this Twilight. I meant my Twilight, the one from my reality. She’s....well, she’s not exactly that crazy like she is here.”

“Wait, you mean there’s a Twilight that’s not as nuts as a nut pie?! Now that’s scary!” Discord follower her, picking some of the feed as well. “Does that means there’s another me?! Wow, I’d loved meet me! Or hate it. Depends, really.”

“Yes, there is another you in my world. I... um, I don’t know... I don’t see much difference between you both... Um, you were reformed too, right?”

Discord looked at her, oddly. “Reformed? For what? Did I do something when I wasn’t looking again?! I swear, I’m such a hoof-full!”

Giggling a bit, Fluttershy shook her head. “No, no.... Well, backstory aside... You were released from your stone prison, and you reigned chaos on Equestria... Then with the Elements of Harmony, we sealed you away again. Then Princess Celestia tasked us with reforming you, which we managed to do... Or rather, I did... at least, back in my world... Who was in charge of helping reform you, here?”

“Wow, you’re world sounds freaky.” Discord rolled his eyes, and held up the feed, “I gotta see it now! Well, I guess something like that happened here, although I can’t recall being trapped in stone or old Sun-Butt tasking something like that to the Elements of Harmony. Then again, I don’t remember a lot of things that happened to me. Must be the whole 'Spirit of Chaos' thing. I guess you can say Rainbow Dash helped me get settled into life around Ponyville.” He picked up a small piece of feed in his claws and licked it. “...This ain’t half bad.”

“I see...” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, nodding. “I suppose that makes sense, it’s no wonder you’re around here. I take it you and Rainbow get along well?”

Discord grinned wildly, nodding a bit as he ate some of the feed. “You bet! She’s a sweet little mare, if a bit too passive. She needs to learn to step up and speak what she wants. For instances, with that crush she had on this reality's Fluttershy. I offered to make her a love potion once, but she turned it down. Can you believe that? Eh, not the point, but get it, right?” He looked back to Fluttershy, offering her some of the feed. “Ever tried it?”

Fluttershy nodded, tasting it to humour him. “A love potion?” The creamy yellow mare tilted her head curiously.

Discord, chuckled, giving her a sly look. “I still got it! You want it for something?”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy blushed a bit. “No, no... that’s all right. I was just curious. I mean... I suppose that would be interesting to use it on my Rainbow Dash... but that wouldn’t be the same a-anyway! Um, you’d said I wasn’t fond of you... meaning the other me doesn’t like you. Why is that?”

“Well, I normally only answer one question at a time, but since I like you better than the old Fluttershy, I’ll do it!” Discord pointed at the air, materialising a vile of pink fluid. “The way love potions work is it makes some creature fall in love with you, but it doesn’t really work if they already love you. To be Frank, and yes I go by Frank at times, I dumped at least two gallons of the stuff into this Fluttershy’s cider a year ago and it didn’t do a thing! Zilch, zero, nada! So, she was either in love with her back then, or she has no heart!” He snapped his talons, causing the vile to vanish. “Now as for why this Fluttershy doesn’t like me, oh, now that’s a tale to tell! So, wanna hear it!?”

‘Well, so the love potion also proves that this Fluttershy loves her...’ Fluttershy thought. She nodded then, still feeding the animals. “Yes, of course. You can tell me the tale.”

“Oh, you’ll love this! Since, in a way, you’re her, but not her!” He snapped his talons, causing a small sofa to appear under Fluttershy, making her squeal a bit in surprise. A second snap cause a large tub of popcorn to appear beside her. Clearing his voice, he took a dramatic pose, before dropping it and floating just a few feet in front of her.

“It was back when I was first trying to get adjusted to this whole ‘normal’ life bit. I wasn’t exactly having an easy time dealing with all this, so Rainbow Dash stepped up to help me!” Discord began, partially beaming. “So, she let me move in with her for a while. That tortoise was a pain though.... So, anyway, it was nice and all, but Fluttershy seemed to think I was gonna eat her or something. I can’t remember her exact words. It was some gibberish about babies or something. Then, she got all worked up when Rainbow Dash started calling me her friend. Fluttershy showed up saying I was trying to steal her best friend and she just went crazy! Ever seen anything break the light barrier with a kick? Note: avoid being hit by it. Well, after that, she calmed down and chilled out a bit, but she still thinks I’m up to something, which is silly. I’m the Spirit of Chaos! I can’t do something that’s expected!”

“...Oh... I see...” Fluttershy murmured, sampling some of the popcorn. She thought for a few moments, taking in his story. It almost sounded like something her Rainbow Dash would do, and even had done at first. Not in the same way, but somewhat. “I think... it sounds like the other Fluttershy might have been jealous.”

Turning upside down, Discord nodded with chuckle. “You think?! I still have the bruise from the kick! Two years I had it! Two! And it still hurts. Again, never be hit by an object that breaks an anything barrier!”

Fluttershy shuddered at the thought, unable to imagine how painful that might have been. “Oh my... I’m sorry to hear that...”

“Eh, don’t worry about it!” Discord waved it off. “So, are you gonna stay or leave?”

“....Well, I don’t know... Pinkamena has been telling me that it’s uncertain about what could happen. If there is a way to get me back, if something will happen if I stay here for an extended period of time... everything is up in the air at the moment. So, I don’t know...” Fluttershy admitted, leaning back a bit on the couch.

Discord floated over to the other side of the couch, laughing. “Well, as the Spirit of Chaos, I might happen to know a bit about what will happen if you do stay. After all, I know what happens when you break the rules.”

“...Really?” Fluttershy looked up at him with wide eyes. “What is it? Can you... tell me?”

“Well, I know what might happen, I can’t tell you for sure since I haven’t broken reality before; this is what I think I know.” Discord said, snapping his talons. A small mirror appeared in front of Fluttershy, floating in the air. “Well, you’re you. But here, you’re still you, but not you at the same time. And judging by your aura, you’re also the Element of Kindness, right? Well, the universe ain’t gonna like that. So, what does it do? It’ll make you change Elements! Now, I’m not sure about how this works, but...” Discord snapped again, causing the image to change, showing a Fluttershy with short hair, “It’ll either make you look like this or...” he snapped again, making the image vanish completely, “It will just ignore you and change somepony else into the new Element of Loyalty. Hard to tell. Heck, you might even be able to choose if you’re changed or not!” He snapped and the mirror vanished. “So, what cha think?”

“...Oh goodness....” Fluttershy raised her hooves to her face, wide-eyed. “Pinkamena said something along those lines! What if that’s true? What if the universe does try to fix things somehow? I’m a different Fluttershy than who was born here, and also replacing the Element of Loyalty with a second Kindness... oh dear... This isn’t good... I wonder what could happen...”

Discord looked at her questioningly. “What? At worst, you get a new snazzy haircut, some earrings, and act tough. At best, nothing happens! What’s the problem?”

“I... don’t know, I guess I was scared of the possibility of becoming this world’s Fluttershy. To the point that all of my memories would be erased...”

“So what if you do?” Discord asked bluntly. “You seem to like it here just fine. If you lost your memories and became her, you’ll not remember you forgot anything and just carry on! Sure, I doubt we’d chat like this, but hey, you still got the girl, right?!” He flashed toothy grin, elbowing her a bit. “So, what’s the problem?”

She managed a small smile in return, then looked off into the horizon. Sighing, her ears drooped ever so slightly.

“I don’t know... I just, in a way, I still miss my home... my friends, my pet bunny... And I... well, I still love my Rainbow...”

Discord nodded, placing a talon on his chin. “I see. But if you forgot them, you wouldn’t remember them and thus, not miss them, right? But, I guess I get what you mean. First home, first love and all that.”

“Mm-hmm...” Fluttershy nodded, exhaling once more. “I don’t want to forget it all... I mean, I know I won’t know that I forgot, but the prospect of it is kind of... sad.”

“Well, why not write it all down?” Discord spoke up, trying to sound charming. “You know, write it all down somewhere so if you ever forget, you can read it and remember!”

“....That’s a great idea!” Fluttershy smiled widely, and hugged him around his torso. “I’ll do that! I’ll write down everything I can remember! That way, if something does happen to me, I’ll be able to look back somehow!”

Discord pulled away, hiding a weak blush. “Hey, hey, hey, now! I’m just trying to make a suggestion. For all I know, I could be wrong!” He chuckled a bit, now floating in the air.

“Maybe... but it was still a good idea,” Fluttershy smiled warmly.

Discord turned away, laughing. “Not often I hear that!”

“Well... then it’s about time you did,” giggled the timid pony. “Really, I just... well, I’ll have to make the best of whatever happens. I just hope Rainbow will be okay when I’m gone...”

“Well, if she’s anything like the Fluttershy from this reality, which is what I assume by the way, she’ll be fine!” Discord chuckled, turning to face her.

“...Are you sure? I mean, we did find out that this world’s Fluttershy does love her... But I just hope it’s enough, that she’ll go through with it and won’t... hold back... I just... I want her to be happy, and to be loved...”

Discord waved a claw at her, still smiling. “You’re not giving them enough credit. Our Fluttershy may be a pain and stubborn, but she can do better, plus Rainbow Dash is a lot stronger than she looks!”

“...I know she is, I just hope they’ll move forward, you, know?” Fluttershy looked up at him, pouting a bit.

Discord looked down at her and cringed, looking away dramatically. “Oh, not the face! Rainbow Dash gives that look whenever she wants me to make a promise.”

“Well, I want you guys to.... give them a push, make them stop avoiding each other,” Fluttershy pouted still, but was beginning to smile.

Discord gave a sigh of utter defeat, drooping his head. “Fine, I promise. If they don’t act, I’ll personally lock the two in a chapel until they agree to marry!” He looked back to her, grinning. “Deal?”

The thought of that made Fluttershy laugh at how adorably silly that would be. She giggled, grinning widely. “Yay! Thank you, Discord! You’re a pal!”

Discord chuckled, rolling in the air. “Yeah, I like you better than the other Fluttershy! But be mindful of your vocabulary!”

“Hee!” Fluttershy laughed, smiling widely. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing, Fluttershy!” Discord dismissed it, waving a talon.

Shrugging a bit, Fluttershy leaned back into the couch, smiling as she gazed out into the horizon. Her worries were slowly melting away, like a snowflake in a fiery grip. Life felt good, if not more reassured now.

“F-Fluttershy? Are you out here?” A voice called over to her a bit away. Rainbow Dash had come out to see where she had went after waking up.

“Over here, Rainbow!” Fluttershy waved to her, smiling. “Come join us!”

Rainbow looked over to see a Fluttershy sitting on a sofa in the middle of the opening. Before she could question it, she spotted Discord floating nearby. With a bright smile, she trotted over to them, giggling. She sat down beside Fluttershy, cuddling up beside her.

“You c-could have woken me, if you wanted help with feeding the critters, Fluttershy.” Rainbow spoke up happily, yawning a bit. “And Discord! I didn’t know you were coming by today.”

“What can I say? I just love surprises!” Discord snickered, grinning widely at the two.

Fluttershy cuddled Rainbow in return, kissing her forehead. “You were still asleep, and you’ve had a busy morning. You looked so sweet and peaceful, I couldn’t bear to wake you.”

“I know, but still... I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this for me. After all, we should be able to feed the animals together. It would be faster.” Rainbow giggled a bit, covering her mouth as not to do so loudly.

“You’re right,” Fluttershy agreed, nuzzling noses with her. “That’s true! But it’s okay if I have to do it myself, sometimes. I’m used to this kind of thing, so it’s nothing new. But it is nice if we do it together, of course.”

Discord hovered overhead, placing an arm over them both. “And let’s not forget yours truly! With all three of us, this will be done quickly. Then, you two can go on that date Fluttershy was telling me about!” He winked over at yellow mare.

“I was?” Fluttershy blinked, caught a little off guard. But when she saw the brightened smile on Rainbow’s face, she retracted. “Uh... I mean, yes! I was! A nice little date, tonight!”

Rainbow started to giggle wildly as she hugged Fluttershy tightly. “Oh, that sounds so nice! I’ve never been on a real date before...”

“Neither have I...” Fluttershy hugged her back. “Then we’ll have a nice date together! Our first date, and it’ll be wonderfully special!”

Discord snapped his talons, causing the couch to vanish and quickly grabbed the two pegasi, gently setting them to the ground. “Well then, we better get to work!”

“Right!” Said the creamy yellow mare, kissing her lover’s nose. “Let’s get to it, shall we?”

“Of course!” Rainbow replied, blushing brightly.

The pegasi came to a halt outside a large, rectangular building. It had a fairly basic color scheme being mostly red, with green windows and shutters, frame, and roof. The windows were tinted a shade of blue, mostly for privacy of the window seat occupants. The roof was also open, allowing guests to eat outside if they so wished. Just over head was a sign that read the name of the restaurant, along with the design of a crescent moon.

Cheshire’s Moon

The name was very befitting the restaurant, seeing as it did not open until six in the evening. Rainbow Dash had wanted to come here a few times for different occasions, but had never gone in. It was given several high marks and was popular among most of her friends.

“Oh, t-this place.” Rainbow stated with a smile, pointing up at the sign. Despite the short amount of time she had to get ready, Rainbow Dash had put on a cute pink dress. The sleeves were short, and a simple white trim, and the skirt was of a ruffle design. The white sash tied into a bow in the back at her waist completed the outfit well. “I hope you don’t mind us coming here, Fluttershy. I’ve just... really wanted to go here for a while.”

“I don’t believe there’s one like this back home...” Fluttershy said thoughtfully. But she smiled brightly and nuzzled her lover. “But it looks lovely! I’d love to try it.” She too was wearing a dress, taken from her counterpart’s wardrobe. It was a simple green dress, though a lot more casual in comparison to Rainbow’s cuter and more stylistic dress.

“Yay!” Rainbow giggled a bit, leading the way to the entrance. “All right then. We should be able to get a nice seating since we’re pretty early.”

“That’s good, then,” Fluttershy followed after her. “You know... Rainbow and I had this little tradition when we were kids. We’d have pizza on Fridays... homemade, frozen or take-out... We sometimes still do it to this day, if we’re getting together on a Friday and we don’t feel like cooking.”

Rainbow turned back at the door, smiling sweetly. “Really? My Fluttershy and I did that too, when we were younger... I’d almost forgotten. Wow, I guess that’s something that won’t have to change for you.”

“Wow...” Giggled the creamy yellow mare, nuzzling her. “You don’t have to have any if you don’t want to, of course. It’s just something I remembered.”

Rainbow cuddled against her a bit, blushing. “No, I would really like to do that. It would be nice.”

“...Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, biting her lip. “Well, if you are, then we’ll see if they have some on the menu.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, looking at the door feeling a bit nervous. “O-Okay then. Could you... lead?” She asked quietly, hoping that she was not asking too much.

“Why?” Fluttershy asked, opening the door for her. “Oh.... Because your Fluttershy led?”

“A-Actually, we never went here together before...” Rainbow spoke up sadly, trying to dismiss it. “But it’s okay, I never asked her to take me either, a-and now we’re going.”

“...Oh...” Fluttershy let her inside first, then let go of the door as she came in herself. “Well, tonight, I’ll give you that opportunity you missed.”

They went to the hostess standing at the podium, to which Fluttershy requested a table. The hostess led into the place, which very much reflected the outside, with low lighting that gave a dark and dim atmosphere; but it was meant to be intimate and soft. The tables all had candles on them, making for a romantic, candlelit dinner look.

“Oh, my...” Rainbow softly spoke, “It looks lovely inside.”

Fluttershy took in the place, whistling a bit. “It does...”

Brought to a table for two, the pair sat down across from each other. Sure enough, the soft, romantic atmosphere played up perfectly. Fluttershy found herself admiring just how beautiful Rainbow looked in the soft candlelight. She felt giddy, along with her wings rising a bit.

“Oh, Rainbow... you look beautiful...” Fluttershy cooed, batting her eyelashes at her.

Rainbow blushed, shying away a bit. “T-Thank you, but you look wonderful all the time.”

“Noooo... that would be you,” Fluttershy giggled, winking. “But um, anyway... I have a question to ask you. It’s... well, more of a curious question than anything.”

“Of course, Flutters, you can ask me anything.” Rainbow said, slightly cooing at her name.

“Aww...” Fluttershy cooed, then regained herself. “Well... Remember back when we first met? And we... had that misunderstanding? You’d said that you kissed me-or rather, your Fluttershy. How did it happen? And... have you kissed her before?”

Rainbow blushed and quickly looked away, unsure of how to answer. “W-Well... it was earlier that day. Fluttershy was relaxing o-on a hill with me. She, um... fell asleep and I...” She started fidget in her seat a bit.

“...You gave in to temptation and kissed her while she was asleep?” Fluttershy concluded for her. “... Rainbow... come on now. You don’t do something like that when they’re sleeping,” she admonished gently.

“I know...” Rainbow sighed, trying not to look up. “That was wrong of me and I know better. I just... I wanted to so badly, just once... I’m sorry.”

“...I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, but that’s not the point,” Fluttershy softened then, reaching her hooves across the table. “At least you’re taking responsibility for it. And I can understand that you were tempted... I take it you never kissed her before?”

Rainbow nodded sadly. “Not to my knowledge... or at least not a real kiss. Then again, that didn’t count as one either.” She shook her head, blushing slightly. “I know I have to apologize to her one day. I hope I get the chance to...”

“Well, I hope you get a chance to do so,” Fluttershy leaned over and kissed her nose. “You two have so much to talk about, and so much unfinished emotional business. And I... hope you get a chance to give her a real kiss...” She giggled at the thought. “I guess I was lucky in that department...”

“If it means anything, I’m glad it was you that I gave my first kiss to... among other things” Rainbow Dash giggled a bit, covering her mouth to hold in the outburst.

Blushing a bit herself, Fluttershy smiled, “I’m glad to have been your first. I’d love to say that you were... but... I’ve already kissed my Rainbow before... But that doesn’t make our kisses any less wonderful or meaningful.”

Rainbow shook her head, still giggling. “It’s okay, I know it was important to you. And it means something else, too.” she leaned over the table and nuzzled Fluttershy’s nose. “You’re braver than I ever was...”

“Actually... it’s.... a bit of an embarrassing story... but I’ll tell you if you want to know...” Fluttershy’s ears drooped as she smiled sheepishly.

“Only if you want to tell me.” Rainbow cooed gently.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. It was back-”

“Helloooo, ladies!” A pegasus stallion waiter breezed to their table. “Can I get you two a drink?” His eyes fell on Rainbow Dash, his smile growing wider. “How about you, Miss?”

Rainbow giggled a bit, shaking her head looking over at Fluttershy. “Oh no, I couldn’t order before you.”

“Rainbow, if you know what you want, I don’t mind if you order before me. It doesn’t matter who does,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head.

“O-Oh, okay then.” Rainbow Dash nodded sheepishly. “Um, just some water would be nice.”

“And I’ll-” Fluttershy began.

“Excellent!” Said the waiter. “Would you like to order, or do you need more time?”

“Um, sir?” Fluttershy spoke up. “I’d like a drink too, please...”

“Huh?” The waiter looked at her, then laughed nervously. “Ah, sorry! What do you want, miss?”

“Fruit juice, please.” Fluttershy then overlooked the menu for a brief moment. “And to order, we’ll have a deep dish pizza, to share.”

“T-The four cheese, if that’s okay.” Rainbow blushed a bit, smiling up at Fluttershy.

“Absolutely! I’ll return with your orders momentarily!” The waiter took their menus, before walking off.

Fluttershy relaxed, turning back to Rainbow, “Anyway, so as I was saying... Sometime back, my friend Pinkie was throwing a fun party between the six of us. Applejack brought us some cider, and we decided to partake. Unfortunately… Rainbow had too much to drink, and so did I... Despite that, we were still aware and remembered the night before.... but it was still a bit crazy. I will say this, my Rainbow Dash is a very affectionate drunk. She was saying all kinds of nice things to all of us, giggling and laughing... And she was all over me. Flirting, kissing my face, saying sweet things to me...”

Rainbow blushed, staring at her. “Oh my... it sounds like she had my tolerance for cider. I can’t drink it, as I get easily, um... intoxicated. So... what happen after that?”

“Well.... nothing else happened aside from us making out gratuitously...” Fluttershy blushed immensely nonetheless. “But we... well, kind of brushed it off as us reacting to the alcohol and feeling... comfortable about making out together. I... well, knew better, but I suppose she really didn’t feel that way...”

“I see. Well, maybe there was something there?” Rainbow Dash placed a hoof over Fluttershy’s. “After all, cider might make some ponies affectionate, but it can’t make you think you like somepony for no reason...”

“...Well, that’s true...” Fluttershy murmured, looking at their joined hooves. “We just never talked about it since then... Rainbow especially denies it whenever any of our friends bring it up. I think she probably wouldn’t want me to dig too deep into it... How can I, when one of the things she said was ‘Marry me, Flutters’...”

Rainbow giggled a bit, looking up at her. “That... actually sounds really cute.”

“...She didn’t mean it,” Fluttershy mumbled, staring down at the table.

“Oh...” Rainbow drew back, understanding how sad this was. “I-I’m sorry... That must have hurt you really bad... She really should have talked about it with you...”

“...Yeah...” Fluttershy smiled a bit, glad she could understand. “I wish we had... I really should have, too. And I, oh speaking of that ... I wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

Rainbow was a little taken back this, somewhat confused. “F-For what?”

“When I made that... impromptu little... proposal...” Fluttershy looked away with shame. “It wasn’t just... because I wanted you to be happy and assured that I was committing to you, and all of that... It was.... f-for my own selfish reasons, too. And stupid reasons, on top of that! Like I’m a desperate little harpy who wants to get married... But I also had done it because... I was just tired of it. Tired of not knowing where I stood with her, tired of having mixed signals and tired of... just tired of it all! And I tried to take advantage of you like that. So we’d be married, have the security, and not... not have to play guessing games anymore... Because I love you and you’re also Rainbow Dash... It was me trying to... to live out my own fantasies... I am so sorry... I’m glad you said no... It’s better that way...” She began to cry softly.

Rainbow Dash gave a weak a smile, shaking her head. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it... I know that it was a little soon, but if you really are here to stay, forever... I really would love to be with you. I just...” She reached over the table, wiping a few of Fluttershy’s tears away, “I don’t want to keep you here if you don’t want to stay. You deserve to have a choice. So, don’t think that I was mad or upset or anything like that. I thought it was sweet of you. I really did.”

“I-I know.... thank you....” Fluttershy sniffled, shaking her head. “But I just... Didn’t want you to have to do that just because of my own... desires...”

“I know, Flutters. But you have the right to choose how you want to live, and no matter what, you know I would love you.” Rainbow leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the nose. “But let’s not worry about all this right now... This is our first date, so let’s try to enjoy it. Together.”

Sniffling a bit, the pink-maned pegasus managed a small smile. “....All right, Rainbow... Thank you. You’re right... Let’s just enjoy our date. That’s why we’re here, to have fun.”

“Ladies!” The waiter breezed by again, placing their drinks down, along with a deep dish pan pizza. “Your drinks, and a four-cheese deep dish pizza! Will there be anything else, miss?” He looked right at Rainbow Dash fondly.

Rainbow giggled a bit, looking over to Fluttershy. “Did you want to order anything else? Like an appetizer or dessert?”

“Um... sure, I’ll have a cheesecake for dessert, please,” Fluttershy said.

The waiter nodded, turning to Rainbow, “And what will you have, miss?”

Rainbow thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, no, we’ll share.”

“An excellent choice! Very sweet of you, miss!” The waiter praised, and then walked off.

Staring after him for a moment, Fluttershy bit her lip, “What’s up with him? It sounds as if everything you say is wonderful to him...”

“Excellent choice?” Rainbow repeated, somewhat confused. “I didn’t order anything... I think he might just be a little... funny in head, like Thunderlane.”

“Well, that’s what I meant. He praised your choice when you didn’t order anything...” Fluttershy frowned. “I think he’s flirting with you.”

Rainbow frowned a bit as well. “No, I’m not worth flirting with... Besides, we should try to just ignore it and enjoy our food!” She brighten up a bit, smiling once more.

“Not worth flirting with?” Fluttershy pouted, leaning over toward her. “Well, I think you’re worth flirting with, you gorgeous pony...”

“Oh, you!” Rainbow blushed a bright shade of red, leaning in to meet Fluttershy for a brief kiss. “So, let’s eat.” She giggled a bit, taking two slices and placing them on plates for them. “Here you go... I hope this is as good as I’ve heard it was.”

“It looks and smells delicious!” Fluttershy blew on her slice, before taking a bite. She chewed, allowing the warm, cheesy flavour to fill her mouth, and then swallowed. “Mmm! Oh my, this is delicious! And fresh from the oven! You can’t get better than that!”

Rainbow Dash did the same, amazed at how wonderful the taste was. “Oh my goodness! This is wonderful. Oh, now I wished I had come here sooner...” She soon took a second bite, humming slightly.

“I hope there’s a Cheshire Moon back home!” Fluttershy remarked, taking another bite of her food. “Mm, we’ll have to come back here!”

“Well, if there’s not... you could just stay here?” Rainbow teased a bit, taking another bite.

This made Fluttershy laugh a bit. “You’re right! I can’t go back now, I have to stay here and enjoy this place!”

“Yay!” Rainbow let out weak little cry of joy.

“Well, if I do...” Fluttershy leaned over a bit, finishing another bite. “We’ll certainly have to come to this place... as an anniversary sort of occasion...”

Rainbow nodded, chewing another bit and swallowing. “I agree. I think that-”

“And how is everything, miss?” The waiter appeared again, grinning widely at Rainbow.

Rainbow recoiled a bit, looking up at the waiter. “Oh, um... yes, e-everything is wonderful.” She gave weak smile, hoping that he would leave soon.

“Awesome! So....” The waiter rubbed the back of his neck, clearing his throat. “I was uh, wondering something... You’re really nice, and I wondered if you wanted to... I don’t know, get coffee sometime?”

Before Rainbow could answer, Fluttershy loudly tapped the table. Something within her was snapping, and she wasn’t sure why. But this was just infuriating, enough for her to have no fear in speaking up against this.

“Excuse me, buddy. You’re trying to ask my fiancée on a date?” Fluttershy cut in, her voice hard. “We’re your customers, not your next date options. Do your job!”

Rainbow was taken aback by this sudden outburst from Fluttershy. ‘Oh my gosh! She sounds just like my Fluttershy right now! Is that even possible?! I’m not sure what I should do.’ She tried to intervene a bit.

“Yes, we were going out on a date here a-and we just wanted a quiet evening. I-I know you didn’t know that before, but if y-you just apologize... I’m sure we’ll forgive you.” Rainbow pleaded a bit.

The waiter, looking embarrassed, sighed and nodded. “Right. Sorry, girls... enjoy your meal,” he said, and walked off, sadly.

“F-Fluttershy, are you okay?” Rainbow called over to her, looked at her and almost gasped. Just for a moment, she could see the sharpness in her eyes.

For a few moments, Fluttershy remained quiet as she regained herself. Whatever that had just been felt so foreign to her. It almost reminded her of when she had been wrapped up in Iron Will’s misguided lessons in assertiveness. She couldn’t believe what she’d said! Not only was she too rude to somepony who didn’t know any better, but had even referred to Rainbow in a more possessive way. Going further into saying they were engaged when that was barely the truth at all. Tentative, at best.

‘What was that? It made me... angrier than I should have been... And I don’t know why... I mean, I don’t like seeing other ponies flirting with her, but this was ridiculous... I don’t get it...’ Fluttershy thought, shaking her head.

“...I’m fine, I’m fine. I don’t know what came over me,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head.

Rainbow exhaled a bit, relaxing now. “All right, then, as long as you’re okay. Um, we should try to just enjoy the rest of the evening. I don’t think he’ll be bothering us anymore.” She gave a small smile, trying to look happy. ‘Oh my... What was that just now? She was acting so... aggressive. It was very similar to my Fluttershy. I wonder... was what Pinkamena said true? No, it’s just my imagination. She just didn’t like the idea of others flirting with me, that’s all.’

“...Yeah, sure...” The creamy yellow pegasus said absently, not quite looking at her. “Let’s um... let’s finish eating, yeah...”

Rainbow, not completely believing that Fluttershy was truly feeling better, decided to speak up. “I-I know this may sound strange, but, um... I thought it was very sweet of you to call me your fiancée. I really do mean it.”

“...Really? I-I don’t know why I said that... I could just as easily have said you were my girlfriend...” Fluttershy mumbled, shaking her head. She smiled ever so slightly. “But um... if you think it was sweet, that’s good... It felt... nice to say it.”

“Yes, I did think so, and yes, it was... nice to hear it. “ Rainbow Dash blushed a bit, shying away a bit. “A-And it was a little... exhilarating to hear you like that too.”

“Awww....” Giggled Fluttershy, feeling a bit better. “You would make such a beautiful bride, Rainbow... I’d be a lucky pony to be your bride, too...”

Rainbow giggled a bit as well, “No, no, I’d be the lucky one.”

“Dashie, stop selling yourself short....” Fluttershy pouted. “You’re a lovely mare, and you know it.”

“I-I know I can be pretty sometimes, but I’m nothing special! I’m just plain little old Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow giggled, shying away a bit. “You’re the beautiful one, Fluttershy.”

‘If not for her choice of words... she’d sound so much like Rainbow...’ Fluttershy thought, shaking her head. “I think you’re special. Not just in how beautiful you are, but who you are as a pony. I’m so fortunate to be here with you, I really am... I’m glad you’re here with me, Rainbow. I love you...” She smiled warmly, finishing her slice of pizza.

“And I love you too.” Rainbow giggled, finishing hers as well.

The rest of their little date went off without much problem from there on. Despite the little moments of tension in regards to a few factors, it didn’t do much to ruin their evening. At least that counted for something.

Author's Note

We didn't originally plan to include Discord, but that's what happens when a story can take a life of its own. And it worked! Writing Discord is just so fun in any case, here is no different. You might think, "Hey! He's the same character!" and you would be right. He is! Gotta love breaking the rules. :D

Next time, we'll see what soon shall happen with Rainbow and Flutterdash! It's going to be interesting! ;)

Original 11: Paradise City

“And.... luggage is loaded!” Pinkie announced, tossing the last bag into the cargo hold of the hot air balloon. “Twi-Twi, you’ve checked our check list five times now! We have everything, you silly!”

Twilight sighed, shaking her head a bit. “I know that, but I don’t want to leave anything important behind, such as our notes and spell tomes. And we do have our toothbrushes, right?”

“Check, checkaroonie!” Pinkie nodded, hopping into the balloon.

“So, you’re sure you can handle flying all the way out to Las Pegasus, Twi?” Rainbow Dash teased lightly, flexing her wings.

Twilight scoffed a bit, turning her head up. “Despite what you may think, I have been practicing basic flight and I do believe I am more than capable of making the trip.” She trotted past Dash, placing the last item in the balloon.

Fluttershy was fighting off a giggle as she watched the scene play out. “This is just too good, I swear. If only the others could see this. I think Rare would be dead from laughter.” She muttered to herself a bit.

“All right then!” Pinkie said, activating the hot air balloon. “Let’s go, everypony! Las Pegasus awaits!”

“I never thought I’d get a chance to correct, Pinkie, but...” Fluttershy glided over to the pink earth pony, “you do know that the city’s not going anywhere, right?”

The party pony rolled her eyes. “Well, duh! Of course it isn’t, you silly filly! It’s a city! A place! They don’t grow legs and walk away! It’s a figure of speech!”

Fluttershy giggled at this, flying over to Rainbow Dash. “I guess in this reality you gals didn’t have a city built on the back of a giant tortoise then!”

Twilight was a bit taken aback by this, blinking in shock. “Wait, are you serious?”

“I might be, princess.” Fluttershy stuck out her tongue.

Pinkie gasped, wide-eyed. “They have those?!”

Fluttershy looked over to Pinkie, teasingly. “Maybe. You’ll just have to go to my reality and see.”

“You know we can’t do that, Fluttershy.” Twilight deadpanned, now seeing what she was doing.

“Oh, well... Your loss.” Fluttershy mused.

“Bet you can’t wait!” Dash winked. “So ladies, let’s go!”

“Let’s rock the sky ‘til the thunder rolls!” Fluttershy grinned wildly, readying for flight.

Undoing the rope, Pinkie’s hot air balloon rose into the air! Following along, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight all rose into the sky as well, flying alongside the balloon.

Now soaring high in the air, Fluttershy shouted over at the three. “You gals know what we need now, right?”

“What’s that, Fluttershy?” Dash called back to her, looking over at the mare in question.

“Some kick-flank traveling music, of course!” Fluttershy glided beside her, winking.

“Oooohh! Good thing you said that, Flutters!” Pinkie produced a boom box from the balloon, turning it on. “Let’s ROCK THE SKIES!!”

Twilight almost froze mid-flight as she started fly over to her. “Pinkie! Where did you-that wasn't on the list!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you, my lovey!” Pinkie called to her, smiling. She turned up the music, with loud rock music blasting from the speakers.

Fluttershy laughed maniacally as the song played louder. “Oh, yeah! I love this stuff!”

“But-” Twilight tried to rebut against all this, but soon saw that her three friends were already enjoying the music. With a defeated sigh, she gave a weak smile. “Three on one? I guess majority wins after all.”

“YEAAAAH!!” Rainbow Dash shouted, doing flips and turns in time to the music, sometimes spinning.

The four set off, flying towards their destination of Las Pegasus. The two pegasi performed tricks, the alicorn read the map, and the earth pony created enough noise to wake up the dead. Along with most of the citizens of Ponyville.

Some hours later, into the afternoon, they had the city in sight just some ways off along the landscape. Due to the fact that it was still broad daylight, the very bustling and prosperously flashy city seemed quite underwhelming. It was huge, bigger than Canterlot and Ponyville put together. Many of the buildings skyrocketed, some big and wide, others thinner, along with all kinds of neon signs and shapes proclaiming the hotels, bars, restaurants, and of course, the casinos.

From above, it almost looked like a model, until they flew in lower and closer.

“So Twilight, what’s the map say? Where’s that hotel you reserved us at?” Rainbow Dash wanted to know.

Twilight looked over the map, spotting the red marker she placed to let her know where the hotel was. “It’s on the corner of Thirty-Fourth and Third Street, just off the main boulevard.”

“You got us a hotel that close to the boulevard?” Fluttershy asked, a bit surprised.

“Yepperoonie!” Pinkie chimed in. “Especially since that particular hotel has a great parking area for wagons and other such cargo units!”

Twilight chuckled a bit, nodding her head. “It also happened to be the only one that would allow us to park a hot air balloon there as well.”

Fluttershy just giggled a bit, looking back at the large balloon. “Now that makes more sense than what I thought!”

“It’s very big! I’ve seen the brochure!” Pinkie said, giggling happily. “But Twi-Twi and her connections helped!”

“You mean the Princesses, right? So, let’s land this monster and get our party on! As decreed by Celestia and Luna themselves!” Fluttershy shouted, flying beside Dash and giving her a playful push.

Laughing, Dash pushed her back playfully. “Yeah! You said it!”

“I wouldn’t call it a decree, you two.” Twilight said flatly, glancing down a bit. “That’s it, over there!” She pointed down to massive building with a giant horseshoe on the front of the building, set up in lights.

Within some time, they finally landed outside the hotel in question. The hot air balloon was parked and anchored in a very convenient location within the parking lot. As a bonus, the area was guarded to make sure nopony would steal it. The hotel itself was huge, several stories up, and quite luxurious in a flashy and fun kind of way.

Fluttershy let out a loud whistle. “Dang, a water fountain in the parking lot and guarded by ponies that look like they competed in Mister Universe. What’s next? Singing bell hops on roller skates? Ninja ponies as personal bodyguards? No, no, better yet, we run into Princess Luna having a fling with somepony?” She looked around at her friends, waiting for any reactions.

Twilight exhaled, “I highly doubt all of that...”

“Nah, we won’t have that luck!” Dash snickered, shaking her head.

“Ninja pony bodyguards?! That is AWESOME!” Pinkie grinned widely, placing their luggage onto a trolley, with Twilight helping. “Now c’mon, let’s go inside!”

“I’m right with you on that one, Pinks!” Fluttershy chuckled, assisting a bit as well. “The sooner we check in, the sooner we can paint the town red! Or polychromatic in some cases.”

“Very funny, Flutters!” Dash blew a raspberry.

Twilight started to lead the way, analyzing the entrance. “Now remember everypony, this was very hard to pull off on such short notice, so please be on your best behaviour here.”

“No promises,” Fluttershy snickered, elbowing Dash a bit.

“Don’t you worry, my lovey!” Pinkie assured, bringing a foreleg around the alicorn’s shoulders. “I will most definitely be on my best behaviour. Starting now.”

Twilight blushed a bit, but did not move away from her friend. “Thank you, Pinkie. And Dash, you’re not gonna do something crazy, are you?”

“No, Twilight, I’m not!” Dash rolled her eyes. “I can behave!”

Fluttershy muttered quietly, “Not in bed, you can’t.”

Twilight chose to pretend that she did not hear that as they entered the hotel.

Inside, the place was gigantic. The lobby, reception area and the bar were big enough to hold all of Ponyville! A lot of the pillars and other surfaces were gold-plated, or silver. The flooring was marble, with a large carpet along the lobby, housed with some comfortable couches and chairs. The front desk was huge, rounded, with a large silver pillar in the centre. Ponies of all kinds walked about, either being guests or employees, some pushing along luggage trolleys.

Much to all of their surprise, the bellhops were wearing roller skates!

“Unbelievable,” Twilight muttered to herself.

Fluttershy held a smug grin as she looked over to her friends. “One to three... Who wants to place bets on what we see next?”

“I’m gonna go with Ninja Pony Bodyguards,” Rainbow Dash said, nudging her lightly.

“Me too, in fact,” Pinkie said sweetly. “Twilight? Would you care to lead us to the front desk?”

Twilight snapped from her daze, nodding. “Right. Let’s check in. Oh, and just to prove how silly this all is, I’ll place a bet on seeing Luna here with somepony.” Walking over to the front desk, she cleared her throat a bit and rung the bell.

A unicorn in a sharp suit and glasses came to the front, eyeing them. “Yes? Can I help you?”

Twilight gave him a kind smile, nodding. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends. I believe we have reservations here, courtesy of the Princess, correct?”

“Mm-hm...” The stallion behind the desk checked the open book, giving a slow nod. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle, a reservation for a party of four.” With his magic, he slid them their card keys. “Your room is 1408, enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you very much...” Twilight squinted to see the name on his badge, then took one of the cards. “... Mister French.”

Fluttershy took the next card, “Thanks, Frenchy!”

“Thank you sir, we’re much obliged,” Pinkie smiled sweetly.

“Indeed we are, Mr. French!” Dash grinned, saluting him.

Making their way over the elevator, Twilight looked over the card. “It looks like we’re on the thirteenth floor, everypony.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “Great, unlucky thirteen it is!”

“Don’t tell me you actually believe that,” Dash said dryly, giving her a deadpan look.

“Now, when something crazy happens and you can’t figure out why, I’ll just point at the floor and say ‘bucking thirteenth floor!’ Okay?” Fluttershy snapped back.

“You’re so silly, Flutters!” Pinkie ruffled her mane, giggling. “Wait! Our room is 1408? And yet we’re going onto the thirteenth floor? How does that work? Twi-Twi?”

Twilight giggled a bit, deciding to explain as they entered the elevator. “I’ll show you. You see, here on the list, there is no number for thirteen.” She pointed at the control panel and there was in fact no thirteen on the list. “A lot of hotels don’t include a ‘thirteenth floor’ due to superstition, but even if they don’t mark it, the fourteenth floor is really the thirteenth.” She pushed the button to go the floor their room was on and the doors began to close. “Does that make sense?”

Fluttershy snorted a bit. “Now, that really bugs me. Just because they don’t mark it as the thirteenth floor doesn’t make it any less of the thirteenth floor!”

“I’m with you on that one!” Dash said, rolling her eyes. “I mean seriously, thirteen is just a number! Maybe some superstitions can be scary if they seem real, kinda like any horror legend, but come on! Thirteen? Ooooh! Watch out for the scaaaaary number! Oooohh! Please, I could write a better horror story in my sleep!”

Fluttershy grabbed Dash’s mouth shut. “Hush! You want the number to hear all you?” Then started to laugh wildly.

Dash laughed too, nudging her. “Hey, you’re right! Shh! Wait a minute, isn’t 1408 supposed to be a horror story? About a haunted room? Twilight! What have you done to us?!”

Fluttershy let out a fake gasp. “Oh no, Dash! We’re gonna die! Oh, just hold me one last time!”

“Hahaha!” Rainbow Dash laughed, throwing her forelegs around her. “I’ll hold you, my dear Flutters!”

Twilight just rolled her eyes in annoyance at the two pegasi, then looked over at Pinkie with a warm smile. “I at least hope you found it informative, Pinkie Pie.”

“I did indeed, my dear! Thank you for supplying the information,” Pinkie giggled, smiling brightly at her.

Twilight blushed, looking away just as the door opened. “All right, girls, let’s find our room and get settled in.” She stepped out, looking around for their room number.

Not surprisingly, it was fairly close.

“Well, here we are,” Twilight mused to nopony in general as she slid the card though the electronic lock.

With the door opened, the four stepped into the room, with Pinkie wheeling in their luggage. The room was a suite, with one bed located near the door. Near the bed was a nightstand, a dresser, a safe, a mini fridge, a closet, and a television. On the wall were two doors, with one leading into a bathroom, and the other door led to a secondary room.

The other room mirrored the main one with the same kind of layout, only it also had a couch, which seemed to be a hide-a-bed. The other difference was that it had a floor-to-ceiling window, offering an amazing view of the city. A nighttime view was promising to be even better, to be sure.

Inside the bathroom, there was a window facing the secondary suite, which had an electronic blind that would lower over it. There was a jetted tub, counter on the sink, and a shower stall.

“Wow, I can’t believe that the Princess would actually get us a suite!” Twilight commented in awe of the grand room.

“And to think it’s a basic suite!” Pinkie remarked, taking it all in. “It’s super duper AWESOME! Oooh! Who’s taking the window bed?”

Fluttershy quickly rushed over the bed in question and jumped on it, ruffling the bed sheets and pillows. “Called it!”

“All right!” Dash joined her on the bed, grinning. “What an awesometastic view! That’s gonna look so cool at night! Yes! Definitely taking this side of the suite!”

“That’s fine,” Twilight stated happily as she started to unpack their belongings. “But to be fair, the next night Pinkie and I get that side of the room as we’ll only be here two nights.”

“I think that’s perfectly fair, Twi-Twi!” Said Pinkie, going back over to the other room and plopping onto the bed.

“All right!” Rainbow Dash rolled about on the covers, giggling. “This’ll be an awesome night!”

Fluttershy quickly pinned Dash to the bed, giving her a coy look. “Why? Because of all the partying? The excitement? The cider? Or are you talking about something else a little more bedroom inclined? Either way, I have to agree.”

Being pinned did surprise Dash for a moment, but she eventually gave a coy grin of her own. “I could be talking about all those cool things! But I think that last part sounds really awesome, if you ask me...”

“I would rather you two not do that while we’re in the room,” Twilight spoke up, giving them a slightly annoyed looked. “Besides, what about this supposed ‘big weather event’ you were telling us about?”

“That’s tomorrow afternoon! But later today, there’s gonna be a briefing in the conference room a few hotels away. But that place was fully booked, anyway.” Dash told her.

“So, tonight we party like our names are Octavia!” Fluttershy shouted loudly, then noticed that all three of them were giving her an odd. “Um, you know, DJ Pon-3?”

Snickering, the cyan pegasus whispered something into her ear.

“Seriously?” Fluttershy gave her a confused look. “Well, if you say so. Still kinda weird, though. So, Twi, any good clubs to hit up?”

Twilight shrugged a bit. “I’m not familiar with the area, but you two are more than welcome to look over the map.” She levitated the piece of parchment over to the pegasi.

Taking the map in her hooves, Dash opened it up along the bed, and scanned it. She searched, trying to figure which of the tourist indications were nightclubs, or at least something of that calibre. The birds-eye-view map of the city was huge, and very likely that they’d have to travel a bit further in to find what they were looking for.

“Well, looks like there’s a club a few blocks away!”

“Then let’s hit it!” Fluttershy shouted with glee then point over at Twilight and Pinkie. “And you two are coming with us. I’m still drinking you under the table and somepony’s gotta be the designated flyer, right?”

“If we must.” Twilight sighed a bit, but smiled nonetheless.

“Sure!” Said Pinkie, coming back into the room. “First thing tonight, we’ll go right to that clubby!”

Fluttershy fell back onto the bed giggling, “Oh, man, this is gonna be great! I’m holding you to that, Pinks!”

The group stood outside of a large, black two story building with different coloured neon lights that read Paradise City. Loud, thunderous music played from inside, setting the mood of the club as a party place. Surprisingly, the line to get in was rather short, though this was most likely due to how early it was.

Standing near the door in line was the quartet, each of them dressed in something nice. Rainbow Dash wore a simple, fairly short dark blue dress, with her mane tied back into a ponytail. Pinkie had a pink t-shirt, along with a pair of blue shorts that matched the blue balloon of her cutie mark. Twilight had on a simplistic yellow dress with a lighter shade on its tips and a pink bow over her shoulders. Fluttershy wore a black tank-top and matching stockings, along with a short, plaid skirt held up by a faded grey belt and her usual earrings.

“Wow, this place looks a little crazy,” Twilight commented looking about curiously.

“It looks so amazing!” Pinkie gaped, bouncing on the spot. “I can’t wait to see what it’s like inside!”

“And we don’t have to wait outside all night!” Fluttershy pointed out, noticing that they would be next in line, after the group in front of them.

“Guess it was a great idea to come out here early after all!” Remarked Dash, taking a look around the street and behind them. “Barely anypony else is here!”

The pink earth pony bounded toward the front, shaking with excitement. “Cmoooon, I want to get inside already!”

Twilight smiled a bit, shaking her head as she noticed that they were in fact next. “Well, I guess we’re about to see the inside then!”

Once they were next, the bouncer gave them a once-over before allowing them inside. The interior of the club was flashy, yet dark; with a black light and all kinds of colourful neon lights shining about. Tables, high and low, were littered about with a few ponies sitting at them. A huge, colourful, flashy dance floor was at one end of the club, where a DJ was playing some electronic techno dance music. The other end of the club had a bar, which stood quite elongated.

It was early in the evening, so not much was happening, nor were there a lot of ponies, but the atmosphere was definitely promising.

“Whooooooooooooo!!!” Pinkie hollered over the music. “This is AWESOME!! C’mon, Twilight! Let’s go dance!”

Twilight looked about, nervously glancing form one friend, to another. “Pinkie, you know I can’t dance, right?”

“I do know,” Pinkie said, but smiled warmly, “but that’s okay! We’re just going to go and have fun!”

“If you say so.” Twilight mused a bit, offering a hoof. “Lead and I’ll follow.” She spoke up with a happy tone.

“That’s the spirit, my sweet!” Pinkie took her hoof, nuzzling her. “Dashie, you and Flutters go save us a table!”

Rainbow Dash nodded, winking at her. “You got it, Pinks!”

Fluttershy giggled a bit. “It’s kinda funny when you think about it. We’re the ones who want to party, but those two rush off and we have to hang about, looking to get a table.”

“That’s so unexpected of Pinkie, it’s expected,” Dash snickered, shaking her head. “C’mon, let’s go get a table.”

“I have to agree with you on that!” Fluttershy nodded, following behind her.

Going along the club, they eventually settled on a table not far off from the bar. There were even menus of some treats that the bar had to offer, along with a few listings of what drinks they were selling.

Looking over one of the menus, Fluttershy chuckled for no real reason. “As much stuff that’s written here, all I’m getting is a lot cider in everything!”

“I’m gonna go lighter this time!” Dash declared, sitting herself in one of the chairs.

“Oh? Not going hard this time?” Fluttershy asked teasingly.

“Nope!” The cyan pegasus shook her head. “I’m gonna go for those mixed fruit vodkas, those are great! It’s what Fluttershy and I drank that one time we-er, never mind...” She blushed, looking away a bit with a sheepish smile.

Fluttershy giggled a bit looking at Rainbow Dash, feeling somewhat odd for a moment as she witnessed this sudden change in her behavior. She looked much softer and gentler almost. ‘Almost like my Rainbow Dash. Heck, even the dress looks like something Rainbow would wear for me. It’s nuts, I swear, but it was just... Okay, just relax. You know why you’re doing this, ‘Shy, so just chill. Speak words, stupid!’ She shook herself free from her thoughts, looking over to Dash.

“If you don’t feel like telling me, that’s fine, Dash.” Fluttershy muttered a bit, blushing. “It’s not like I would make fun of you or something... but I won’t pry or make you.”

“Nah, it’s just... yeah, a bit of an experience I don’t talk about much,” Dash shrugged, looking back at her. “I made out with a tree, thinking it was Fluttershy... Eventually I made out with the real Fluttershy, but we... kinda don’t talk about it.”

Fluttershy nodded her head, chuckling a bit. “I remember Pinkie and AJ talking about that now! Pinks even had a few pictures of the night! Anyway, I don’t really see a problem. If you both agreed to not talk about it, then you’re good, right?”

“...Not really,” Dash mumbled, and then looked up to see a waitress coming over to them.

“So what can I get for you gals?” The waitress, a unicorn, grinned widely.

“Two bottles of the strongest stuff you got! Bring on the vodka!” Fluttershy beamed wildly, winking at dash a bit while she did.

“Oooh, wild gals, eh? You got it!” The waitress winked, and then slinked off.

Fluttershy dropped her act as she looked over to Rainbow Dash with a look of real concern. “Now, what did you mean not really? Either you decided to not talk about it and let it slide or not. What happened?”

“Well, we did kinda agree not to talk about it, but that was more me. I remember that Fluttershy looked... disappointed, but she didn’t even protest, and just agreed to it,” Dash recalled. “After that, I just didn’t know what to say or do about it.”

“And you’re sure that’s all it was about? Just a drunken make out session?” Fluttershy asked her curiously.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, “Not to me. It wasn’t just that at all.”

Fluttershy’s curiosity was now peaked. “Then, what was it to you, Dash?”

“Well... yeah, no doubt, I was drunk, we both were, but I definitely wasn’t lying about everything I said to her. I was flirting with her, calling her sweet names, touching her, and when I made out with her, it was for real... I just had no inhibitions,” Dash blushed a bit at the memory. “It was... letting myself stop being an idiot and just really showing her how I feel.”

“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?” Fluttershy leaned over the table a bit. “You said something to her, didn’t ya? Something personal... right?”

Cheeks bright red, Dash could barely look at her. She felt a churning in her stomach at the memory, most especially with the way Fluttershy looked, despite drunk. “...I.... said.... ‘Marry me’.”

“Wow... Um, just wow.” Fluttershy just stared at her blankly. “I can see why that would make her upset. And you never said anything more about it?”

“No, of course not... By the time I sobered up, I had my stupid idiot mind kicking in and telling me ‘No!’ before I could even try. After that, it was impossible to even think of it.”

Fluttershy looked a bit sad to hear this, appearing to be in deep thought. “But... don’t you think she might still be upset about this? I know I would...”

Exhaling, Rainbow Dash gave a slow nod, barely even looking up as the waitress returned with their drinks. Once she spotted the bottle, she took hold of it and sipped it.

“Yeah, I bet she is... it wouldn’t surprise me at all,” she said, her ears drooping.

“Then when she gets back, tell her!’ Fluttershy shouted a bit, but not in an angry way. Her tone was still kind and sweet. “You really should, ya know?”

“Believe me, I really want to. I just hope I’ll be able to,” said Dash, sipping her drink again. “But then again, I miss her like crazy, and if I see her again, well... You know what happens when you get something back after you thought you lost it forever...”

Fluttershy was quiet to this, unsure of the answer. In truth, she had no response to this at all.

“...Fluttershy?” Dash spoke out, her voice soft, almost a squeak. “...Are you all right?”

Fluttershy was taken back just by how much in her mind this Rainbow Dash looked like her own. The differences melted into a blur of color. Each brighter than the last, holding a piece of a memory.

“I-I’ll be fine, Rainbow...” Fluttershy replied weakly. “Just thinking about a few things here and there. You know, just... being lost.”

“...Right,” Dash sipped her drink again. “You going to have some, or what?”

Fluttershy stared at the bottle for a moment with an intense look. “Gah, why are we talking about this at a nightclub? This is supposed to be about us, about fun, about... not sad stuff!” She snatched the bottle away and quickly downed almost the entire beverage in hoof. “So, no more! And Dash! When you drink, you either do it to get bucked up or forget, so either mare up or back up!”

With a smirk, Dash snatched the bottle back. “Gimme that! You’re on, Fluttershy! You are on!” She downed the rest of the bottle, slapping it down onto the table. “Aaaah! Pretty good start! I feel pretty awesome!”

“And the night is still young, Dash!” Fluttershy chuckled, looking over to her friend. “So, how about we bust out the good stuff, get wasted and really paint the town!”

“Buck yeah!!” Dash whooped, hailing the waitress over for more drinks. “Then I’m takin’ you back to our room and pounding you into the bed!”

Fluttershy slid her chair up beside Dash’s, cooing into her ear, “But what about Twilight and Pinkie? I don’t think they’d like that very much.”

“They’ll understand... besides, I’m sure they’ll appreciate some alone time.” Dash cooed back into her ear.

“That they would, but I don’t think they’ll get it if we’re bucking horseshoes on the other side of the wall...” Fluttershy teased, lightly nibbling on Dash’s ear.

Dash giggled girlishly, taking the new bottle that was set down onto the table. “Oh, what are they gonna do? Go all ‘Hey, don’t do that!’ and we’d be all like, ‘Go away!’ and tossing socks at the door!”

Fluttershy snagged the bottle and took a hearty swig of it, followed by a weak giggle. “Okay, you gotta point there, Dash. But what if big, mean ol’ number starts trying to scare us again?”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Dash took the bottle, sipping it quite generously. “I’ll protect you! I’ve always got your back!”

“Oh, my hero!” Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s shoulders, pulling her into an awkward embrace, the yellow pegasus cuddling against Dash’s face. She reached with one of her hooves. “Can you pass the bottle?”

“Hee... sure, Flutters...” Dash kissed her lips, then handed her the bottle. “Drink up, pretty butterfly!”

Taking the bottle, Fluttershy easily guzzled down the entire thing, giggling loudly afterward. Surprisingly, she did not slam it down, but instead tightened her hold on Dash, nuzzling her.

“Oh, Rainbow... I told you this was gonna be fun, right?” Fluttershy asked, her face flushed a weak red. “And it’s not even seven yet! Oh... so many things to do...”

“Ha, no kidding! Getting buzzed already?” Dash giggled, nuzzling her sweetly. “Hey, no fair... I wanted some more! Hey, waitress lady! More over here!”

Fluttershy looked over at the waitress, then back at Dash with a curious smile. “She has a cute outfit... I should get one too! For you and other you and whatever other yous there are...”

“You’re so sweet, Flutters...” Dash giggled, nuzzling her nose. “But there’s only one of me, silly! Oh, who cares... Let’s have some more, then we’ll go... go paint the room...”

“Yes there are!” Fluttershy pouted a bit, fighting the urge to smile. “I’ve met at least... one other you, so I know two! And... why would we paint a room?”

“I don’t know!” Dash laughed and held her closer. “Y’know, you look so pretty... You’re pretty. Pretty pony... I miss you, Flutters...”

Fluttershy blinked a bit, feeling flustered, but cuddled up closer. “I miss you too, Rainbow. You just don’t know...”

Another bottle was placed onto the table, to which Dash took a long sip of. She burped, giggling, and nuzzled Fluttershy. Everything in her head that was against this entire situation was being pushed off to the side, in favour of just having fun and living in the moment.

“Awww... that’s sweet... You don’t know how much I miss you, Flutters... There’s so much I gotta tell you...” Dash cooed, albeit slurring her words slightly. “I’m sorry, my sweet butterfly...”

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash... because I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.” Fluttershy replied with a loud burst of laughter.

“Hey.... shhh... it’s okay, pretty pony...” Laughed Rainbow Dash, kissing her cheek, “You’re awesome, Fluttershy... I love you!”

“Really? Wow...” Fluttershy stared at her with wide eyed amusement. “Guess what? I love you too, Rainbow Dash!”

Dash grinned widely, kissing her face. “Really?! Yay! You’re so sweet, Flutters! I love your sweetness! You have nice hair. Did I mention your mane is soft? I love your soft mane, but I love you too!” She took another sip of their drink, quite a bit, then held it to her lover. “H-Here, have some, my butterfly Princess...”

Fluttershy drank heavily, giggling much like a school filly. “Oh no, Dash! No buttering me up, okay? I’m not a princess... I’mma Fluttershy, silly! If anything, you’re the one who should be a princess!”

“Hee hee... okay, why should I be the Princess?” Rainbow Dash giggled, smiling widely. “Tell me, my sweet butterfly... ooh, I love you!”

“I love you, too! Umm...” Fluttershy snickered, thinking for a moment. “You should be a princess because... you’re more awesome?”

“Me? More awesome? Awwww! You’re so sweet!” Dash kissed her cheeks, laughing with childish glee. “Okay, I’ll be your Princess!”

“Yay!” Fluttershy shouted weakly, the drinks beginning to set in.

The drinks sank in more for Dash, who giggled and drank some more, albeit sloppily. “Y-Y’know, Flutters... Since I’m a Princess now... I’m gonna need a wifey...”

“Really? A wifey? Like a waifu?” Fluttershy slurred a bit, trying to pronounce the words.

“Who cares.... I need a wife... I gotta make her my Princess... and later my Queen...” Dash slurred, chuckling. “Hey, I love you... you love me too... let’s get married... you can be my Princess...”

Fluttershy blushed a bit, reeling back with wide eyes, then started giggling maniacally. “Okay! I can do that! I think... Yeah! But... how? Pinkamena isn’t here and I don’t know any other pastors...”

“It’s Las Pegasus, Flutters.... we can get married instantly.... just gotta find the right place for ‘em... I think I saw a Zen garden wedding place... figured you’d like that setting...” Dash giggled girlishly, getting off her chair.

“Ooh! That sounds nice! We can do that... Right?” Fluttershy laughed, trying to follow, but half stumbling. “But what about Pinkie and Twilight? Are they coming?”

Rainbow Dash giggled, helping her lover to stay steady, despite fumbling a bit herself. “Gotcha, Flutter-baby... hang in there... Hee hee... Pinks and Twi will be fine... they’re... they’re over there... moving... I think... hee hee!”

“But they’ll miss the wedding if they’re moving that way!” Fluttershy slurred a bit, leaning hard against Rainbow Dash.

“Okay... let’s go get ‘em... they can witness us getting married...” Rainbow Dash brought her foreleg around her, tightly.

“We need two of those anyway! I think? Do we...? I don’t remember...” Fluttershy giggled sheepishly, following Dash’s movements.

“Me neither...” Dash giggled, stumbling ever slightly toward the dance floor.

As the two made their way across the dance floor, Twilight spotted the two quickly due to their stumbling, and quickly pointed this out to her friend.

“Um, Pinkie? Is that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy over there?”

“Hmm?” Pinkie followed her gaze, and giggled. “Why yes, it is them!” She waved her hoof to flag them over. “Wow! It’s not even eight and they’re already drunk!”

Watching the two for a moment, Twilight sighed in grief. “We better go get them before they hurt somepony... or themselves for that matter.”

Pinkie nodded, and they made their way over to the two pegasi. Of course, Pinkie’s observation proved correct. Both pegasi stumbled a bit more, laughing and grinning like fillies, with their eyes a bit glazed over.

Fluttershy looked over at the two with a wide eyes. “Twilight! Pinkie! We found you! We’ve been looking for all... of... five minutes!”

“Five minutes! Felt like... hours!” Dash giggled, slurring her words. “H-Hey, how you doing? All... all six o’ you...”

“Hello, you two sillies! What’cha doing?” Pinkie asked curiously.

“H-Huh? Oh! Yeah... hee hee... Flutters is so cute... And I’m a Princess now! Princess me! Hee... We’re gonna get married so I can make my Flutter-baby my Princess, too!” Said the cyan mare, kissing Fluttershy’s hair, likely aiming for her cheek.

Pinkie’s eyes went wide, before she laughed with glee. “Oooooohh!! That’s awesome, Dashie!”

Twilight face-hoofed, almost wanting to fall backwards. “You do know that’s not a good idea, right Pinkie?” She turned her attention to thecouple in front of her. “As for you two, you’re drunk. And furthermore, getting married is not what we came here to do.”

Fluttershy interjected. “B-But plans change! We all change! And... since we- wow... Pinkie! I just realized you’re pink! It’s like... symbolic... or somethin’...”

This made Pinkie laugh. It was silly, even for her, but she couldn’t help but feel amused by it. “Why, yes! You’re absolutely right, Flutters! Good point!”

“T-Twi.... Twiiiilight.... We wanna get married... don’t be... don’t be a meanie....” Dash stuck her tongue out. “I wanna marry my Flutters... I missed her so much... I’m sowwy, Flutters.... you can be my Princess now... makes up for it... hee hee...”

“Rainbow Dash, you do know that that’s not our Fluttershy, right?” Twilight deadpanned. “And even if she was or if you even knew what you were talking about, the answer would still be no.”

Fluttershy blinked very slowly, trying to process what was said. “But ‘no’ backwards is ‘on,’ so if you say it backwards it can kinda mean ‘yes,’ I think... maybe...”

“Y-You’re not the boss of me... If I wanna marry... I can... same for Flutters... she said yes!” Dash giggled. “You’re not my mom... I’m an adult... I-I wanna walk down the aisle!”

Pinkie thought of that for a moment, turning to the alicorn. “...Well, Twi-Twi, she does have a point. You can’t exactly stop two ponies from getting married if they want to.”

Twilight sighed, but nodded in agreement. “That’s true, for the most part. However, they need at least two witnesses and I will not be getting blamed for this mess later when they sober up. I’m just trying to prevent any further insanity.”

“Pwease, Twilight?” Dash pouted.

“Now, now, everypony... let’s go sit down. Twi-Twi, you should have a nice drink, just to settle down,” Pinkie suggested.

“Another drink would be awesome!” Fluttershy added, stumbling more onto Dash.

Twilight shook her head a bit, annoyed by the situation at hoof. “Maybe something non-alcoholic for me... but a drink might help me calm down.”

“We’ll get you something light!” Pinkie said, leading the alicorn to the table, the same one where the two pegasi had chosen. “Something delicious!”

Dash giggled, following with Fluttershy and trying to support her. “Whooo, more drinks! I want some, too... yummy nummy...”

“I’ll take whatever Dash is having! Or... whatever she doesn’t drink...” Fluttershy muttered, kissing Rainbow Dash’s neck a few times.

Twilight shouted over the two pegasi. “Non-alcoholic!”

“Oooh, make us!” Dash said, giggling from the kisses.

Twilight looked over the two, then at Pinkie who looked to be ordering exactly what she did not request. It would appear that all odds were in fact against her in every way she could think of. Deciding on just hoping for the best, Twilight stood by her friends musing to herself.

“One drink. That’s all. Then dance a bit and we head back... what’s the worst that could happen?”

Along the darkening streets of Las Pegasus, four ponies were walking along together, all of them laughing occasionally. To any random passerby, it was just a silly occasion that normally occurred in this city. But on the deeper level, it was all as complicated as it could ever get.

Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle walked up front, with the latter of the two leaning up against the former. Behind them were the other two ponies, both of them stumbling and giggling as they tried to support each other.

“S-So we’re.... going to... hee hee... that zen garden.... romance... wedding thingy...” Rainbow Dash slurred, winking at nopony in particular. “Gonna... gonna be so pretty...”

Fluttershy chuckled, almost too dazed to answer fully, but tried to anyway. “Y-You said... that we were gonna, um... get hitched, right?”

Dash nodded, smiling widely. “Uh-huh... we’re getting hitched... Mrs. and... Mrs. …Dashie... hee hee...”

Twilight looked back at the two, slightly stumbling into Pinkie with a half drunken gaze. “You two still talkin’ about that?! Pinkie, tell them... something that I would say if I wasn’t so drunk...”

“Okay, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie cleared her throat. She faced the pegasi, giving them a serious look. “You two are making a silly decision. You’re drunk, you’re not thinking clearly, and getting married is probably not the best idea. You should go back to the hotel and relax yourselves,” she said, and looked back at the alicorn. “How was that, Twilight? Did I do good?”

Twilight stared at her in awe, then giggled. “Do I really sound like that all the time? So... we should go back to the hotel, but if we do... they’ll just keep asking. What do we do to make them stop asking, Pinks?”

“In order, yes you do! But that’s just you, being logical and trying to do the right thing!” Pinkie assured her. “And we simply have to go through with it! We’ll let them get married! Besides, they’re cute together! ...Not as cute as our Flutters and Dashie, but still cute!”

“Oh... so, if they get married, they’ll stop asking to get married?” Twilight paused in her drunken stupor, “Okay... yeah! That makes sense! So we’ll go and let them get married and then go to bed. Would that work?”

Fluttershy suddenly shouted, wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow Dash. “Yes! We’ll... we’ll stop asking if we do it!”

“Yep!” Dash agreed, wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy as well. “We’re gonna get married! Ooh, ooh! There’s a lot of green over there... is that the place?”

Twilight looked across the street and attempted to make out what the sign over head said. “I think so. Yeah! So... wait... do I know what I’m doing right now or not, Pinkie?”

The pink earth pony shrugged. “I think you do, Twilight! You’re just not letting your inhibitions take over to stop you!”

“Oh, okay then. I know something was wrong and I trust you, Pinkie! So, let get these married so I can go back to being mad at them later!” Twilight called out to no one. “Because I will be later, won’t I?”

“...Probably,” Pinkie said honestly.

Twilight gave her a goofy smile and kissed her nose. “Good. That sounds more like me anyway... To the gardens!”

“Eeee!!!” Pinkie squealed happily, then faced behind her. “Dashie! Flutters! We’re here! We’ll have to go to the front desk, so we can acquire your marriage license!”

“H-Hear that, Flutters? We’re here... yay!” Rainbow Dash cooed, her wings rising.

Fluttershy looked up at her, grinning while her wings rose a bit. “Where’s here?”

“...Here!” Dash pointed to the front desk as they approached it.

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with a mixture of emotions. “You mean... we died and this is where we check into heaven?”

“Nooo... this is....this a... a garden place... to get married!” Said the cyan mare, shaking her head.

Pinkie approached the front desk, which was located at the entrance of the garden, as a small enclosure to the otherwise outdoor area. She rang the bell for service, waiting for the receptionist to return up front.

“Good evening, and welcome to the Las Pegasus Zen Gardens for Weddings. How can I be of help to you, miss?” She said, adjusting her glasses.

“Well, my two pegasus friends want to get married!” Pinkie indicated to her two drunken friends. “So we’d like to acquire a marriage license for them, please!” She reached into her saddlebag, producing a couple of cards, which she placed on the desk for the receptionist to read.

The earth pony behind the desk did so, reading them over, then looking at the two pegasi. “I see. Which name do they wish to take?”

“I-I’m.... Rainbow Dash... fastest... flyer outta Cloudsdale! It’s gonna be mine... Mine, I say!” Dash slurred, laughing. “Mrs. Dashie... and... other Mrs. Dashie...”

Fluttershy just giggled, looking about the room. “But I don’t wanna be ‘other Mrs. Dashie,’ Dash.... I wanna be Mrs. Dashie.”

“Okay, but you are Mrs. Dashie... Mrs. Dashie!” Giggled Dash, kissing her cheek.

Looking to the two, the receptionist rose an eyebrow. “So, I don’t even need to ask. Dash it is, then. Wait here, I shall return with the paperwork.” She took their ID’s and headed to the back room of the enclosure.

The four ponies waited. Or rather, Pinkie and Twilight waited, while the two pegasi walked about the enclosure, pointing at things and laughing. Dash eventually hopped onto the nearby couch in the waiting area, giggling with glee.

“Hee hee! Couch time! It’s so comfy!” She said happily.

“But it’s purple... it doesn’t look good under you... or does it?” Fluttershy asked as she kneeled down beside the couch close to Dash, looking between the two. “Only by twenty percent... Irony.”

Laughing, the cyan pony pulled her onto the couch with her and cuddled close. “You’re so shilly, Fluttershy! So cute!”

Fluttershy pulled away chuckling. “But I don’t wanna be cute! I wanna be... Mrs. Dashie!”

Twilight looked at the two pegasi and laughed at how silly they were before making eye contact Pinkie, grinning a bit as she did. “Hey, Pinks? Can I... can I ask you a quest- er, questions?”

“Mm?” The pink mare regarded her with a curious grin. “Sure, Twilight! Ask away!”

Twilight tried to brace herself a bit against the desk. “First of all, are you drunk too? I kinda can’t tell... and for that matter, how drunk am I?”

Shaking her head, Pinkie brought her foreleg around the lavender mare’s neck, smiling. “Nopey-dopey-lopey! I’m not drunk! I did have a couple of drinks, so I’m just barely tipsy! And you had quite a few drinks, so you’re drunk enough... to be drunk, but you’re still aware of what’s going on, I suppose!”

“So, you’re not drunk, but I’m half drunk... okay.” Twilight repeated in a sluggish manner. “That means you... all right. Um, you said you liked somepony back at our sleepover, right? Would you tell me who? Or maybe why? Or... something?”

Quiet for a few moments, the party pony sighed. She wanted to say more, yet there was that bit in her head telling her not to. At the same time, there was so much in her that Pinkie wanted to just get it out on the table, regardless of how Twilight was going to react. Drunk or not.

“Twi-Twi, if I tell you, you’re going to have to understand that it’s the truth. Okay?”

Twilight nodded her head, smiling just a bit. “All right, just remind me again later too.”

With a smile, Pinkie leaned to her ear. “You, Twilight! I really like you!”

Twilight backed up just a bit, almost in awe in her drunken state, trying to understand what was just said. Her facial expressions went through a wide range of different emotions, but settled on one after a few moments. Slowly, Twilight started to laugh, a bit strangely, but laughing all the same.

“Really? And here I was thinking it was somepony else and I was going crazy...” Twilight tried to get herself to stop, but was having a bit of trouble to do so.

“Oh? Why were you going crazy?” Pinkie asked, glad to see that Twilight was at least taking it well. For now, anyway.

Twilight finally got a hold of her laughter and answered. “You see, I thought you were just being you and acting nice, but really, actually were going out of your way for me! And now I know why... so, it’s funny because it took me getting drunk to find out.”

“No it didn’t, you silly! It took you asking me and, me telling the truth!” Pinkie declared.

“Exactly! I would have never asked if I was drunk!” Twilight corrected her as one of her hooves slipped on what looked like nothing.

“True...” Pinkie said, nudging her lightly. She then saw the receptionist return with the paperwork, and went over to collect it.

“All right, so here’s the document. You’ll find the pastor under the flowery arch you can see in the middle of the garden, you can’t miss it. Standing by are also a camerapony and a photographer. Give the paper to the pastor, he’ll fill it out as required, then come on back and we’ll make the copy. For now, just sign this paper here, so we’ll know where to send the bill. Hoofbands, rings or pendants will be provided on site.”

Nodding, Pinkie signed the paperwork, then took the license and placed it into her saddlebag.

“Thank you, miss!” She said, turning to her pegasi friends. “Okay, Dashie and Flutters, it’s all set! Let’s get you gals married!”

“So it is just like that dream!” Fluttershy yelled suddenly. “I always... always knew you were out pastor, Pinks!”

The statement confused Pinkie, who looked at her with a curious grin. “Silly Flutters, I’m not a pastor! I’m a baker, babysitter and confectioner!”

Fluttershy gave a stern look, or as stern of a look as a giggly, drunk pony could, to Pinkie. “No, no, no, I know how this dreams goes! Don’t try to trick me, brain!”

“Flutters... you can tell us later... I wanna marry you, my sweet butterfly...” Dash cooed sweetly, kissing her cheek. “I’ve wanted this for ages...”

“Okay, then... then let’s get married you silly rainbow!” Fluttershy giggled, trying to stand.

They all made their way out of the enclosure and to the centre of the garden. Sure enough, there was a tall arch, decorated with all kinds of flowers, in front of a lovely view of the garden and its rich splendour. The entire area was surrounded by all kinds of hedges, trees, little ponds, flowers of all kinds, and just made for a very sweet and relaxed atmosphere. A pastor, dressed in typical robes, awaited nearby, while a few other ponies were standing by. A camera pony and a photographer were set up, making sure to capture most angles as they could, while a unicorn jeweler was set up as well. Pinkie had a few words with the pastor, the paperwork was handed over, the camera pony and photographer were appointed to document it and there was just one last thing.

Making their choices, albeit drunkenly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy opted for wedding pendants. As per tradition, the pendants were to be made in the likeness of their cutie marks. Taking careful study of their marks, the jeweler set to work on getting them ready. At this point, the two pegasi went to stand beneath the arch, before the pastor, as the ceremony began. Pinkie and Twilight sat upon one of the benches, as the proud witnesses of the little wedding.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” the pastor spoke up, with an amused smile to indicate the irony of this, “we are gathered here today to unite these two young ponies in matrimonial harmony. To be forever bound by the bonds of true love as they embark on this first step in their lives together. Many a thing will occur in these times, but as any working relationship will tell you, it takes great effort to overcome those stormy times. May these two overcome the great perils that will await them, their hearts entwined and minds adjoin. Love is a strong force, meant to surpass and sail along even the greatest of tides. As we move along in this ceremony, the couple has written their own vows, which they will now recite to each other. Miss Dash, you may proceed.”

“Yay... I’m no good at mushy stuff, but I’ll do my best. Okay, here we go,” Rainbow Dash giggled, her wings rising. She blinked, focusing on her wife-to-be, clearing her throat. As her mind relaxed, managing to settle, her magenta eyes seemed to glimmer. There was something about the lighting, the way Fluttershy stood, and a combination of her drunken mind... She smiled brightly, feeling the words come to her mind.

“Fluttershy... You’re really my sweet butterfly... You’ve been there with me most of my life, and I have no idea what I’d do without you. You’re my best friend, heck... you’re my soulmate. I remember, when I first defended your honour, against those jerks who tried to mess with us. I gotta say, best moment of my life back then, since I not only got this baby....” She giggled, indicating to her cutie mark. “But it brought me closer to you than ever. Every Sonic Rainboom I’ve made since then, they were for you, too. You’re my inspiration, my rock, and my greatest support! Everything! I’m just sorry I was an idiot all this time... There’s a ton more I can say, but I can’t think of it... But I love you, Fluttershy... I promise to make up for all this lost time, to be with you and love you until the end of my days. I promise all of that. I know I can’t give you as much as I wish I could, but I hope giving you that promise and all of my love... will be enough. I love you, Fluttershy, and I’m sure glad to make you as my wife... I can think of no other pony than my best friend to be by my side in marriage.”

Fluttershy was silent for a moment, awe stricken by the words. They were beautiful, despite the circumstance in which they were said. She giggly, but could not laugh. She felt touched, but could not smile. She even felt a little sad, but could not cry. It was a confliction she had not felt in some time and just as before, she was silent.

Perhaps, it was this moment, the same thing that had happened to Dash, or her drunken state, maybe even nothing at all, but she spoke. “I’m... I’m not good with stuff like this, I never have been, but I want to be. I want to say all those things I never said, to take back all the words I didn’t mean. I want to say ‘I love you’ every single day, for the rest of my life. I... I want fix all my mistakes, but I can’t... However, I can assure you that our future is better. In this vow, I swear to be a better pony, but not for me, but for you. In this vow, I want to be known that despite all the things I’ve said and done in the past, that I loved you since the day I saw you. I always... always have. Each moment we’re together is the best thing ever and I would never change a thing about it. So, in this vow, I want it to be heard that I will never leave you again... ever. I will always be there to take care of you, to watch over you, to... to love you the way I should have been for all these years...” She paused, a memory of a dream played in her head for a brief moment as a weak smile fell over her lips. “In your eyes alone, I found my home. In your heart, I found my love. In your soul, I found my mate. With you, I’m whole, full, and alive. You make me laugh. You let me cry. You are my breath, every single heartbeat. I am yours and you are mine. Of this, I am certain. You are lodged in my heart and the key is lost. So... you have stayed there, forever...”

“Awwwwwwww!” Pinkie chorused cutely, awed by the adorable displays of true love. Of course, she knew quite well what they truly meant.

Dash felt stunned herself, touched by her sweet words. The circumstances reflected the way she’d spoken her own vows, which she, within her mind, was aware, even if her drunken stupor was affecting her quite a bit. It made her laugh a bit, even smile quite a bit more. Her heart pounded, the blood in her cheeks heated.

The pastor spoke up again, “In the light of these words, if there is one out there who believes these two should not be wed... let them speak now, or forever hold their piece.”

Neither Pinkie nor Twilight spoke a word. But the photographer did sneeze lightly.

“Very well then,” the pastor went on, “may we now have the pendants?”

The jeweler came forward a minute or so later, carrying the pendants on a small cushion in the shape of a heart in her magic. As traditional wedding pendants went, they were made in the likeness of each other’s cutie marks.

“Now then, we shall proceed with the exchange. Miss Dash, take the pendant and repeat after me: With this pendant, I hereby wed you, Fluttershy.”

Nodding, Dash managed to take hold of the pendant bearing her own cutie mark, and smiled brightly. “With this... this pendant, I hereby wed you, Fluttershy,” she said, and gently placed the pendant around the other mare’s neck.

“Miss Fluttershy, the same procedure. Repeat once more after me: With this pendant, I hereby wed you, Rainbow Dash,” said the pastor.

Following in suit, Fluttershy took the remaining pendent. “With this... pendant, I hereby wed you, Rainbow Dash.” She place the pendant around Dash neck carefully, hooves shaking a bit, either from nervousness or drunkenness.

“Tell them to kiss already!” Twilight shouted out of nowhere, startling everypony. She looked over at Pinkie and grabbed her hoof, raising it into the air. “Is it our turn yet?!”

Everypony stared at her, as did Pinkie, who went wide-eyed with shock. She blushed immensely, managing to sit Twilight back down.

“Twi-Twi, shh! It’s a wedding!” Pinkie whispered, hissing lightly.

Twilight rolled her eyes a bit, obviously still intoxicated. “I know that Pinkie, but they’ve been up there for a while now and I want it to be our turn.”

“W-We can... have our turn... later....” Pinkie squeaked, looking around nervously. “Uh... proceed Mr. Pastor, sir!” She managed a big grin.

The pastor chuckled, before moving along, “Well then, with the power invested in me by the city of Las Pegasus.... I now pronounce you wife and wife. Mrs. and Mrs. Dash, you may now kiss.”

With a joyous, even if slightly drunken laugh, Rainbow Dash brought Fluttershy into her hooves and kissed her deeply. But Fluttershy took control as she twirled them around and dipped Dash back. Pinkie and Twilight clapped with glee, cheering and whistling. Rice and birdseed were tossed into the air as the couple sealed their marriage.

“WOOHOO! Go Flutters and Dashie!” Pinkie squealed.

Moments later, they parted, pulling away and laughing a bit.

After parting, Fluttershy giggled, still holding Rainbow Dash close to her. “That’s Mrs. Fluttershy Dashie, if you will.”

“Sure thing, my Mrs. Dash...” Rainbow cooed, bright-eyed with a big smile.

Behind the curtains of the hotel room’s large window, the sun shone brightly with its morning light. Tangled up together in the sheets of the bed were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, haphazardly cuddled up. The alarm clock on the bedside table read 10:36 AM, a clear indication of them having been up to things late into the night before. Sure enough, they even looked it. Their manes were a mess and even the fine hairs of their coat were ruffled.

Blissfully unaware of last night’s events, at least for now, Rainbow Dash slowly woke up as she was roused from her slumber. She yawned, just barely opening her eyes as she felt a very tight but warm grip around her body. When opening her eyes, within the dark dimness of the room, she could see a head of pink hair.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” she whispered tiredly, kissing her forehead.

Carefully, so as not to disturb her, Dash worked to try to disentangle herself from the yellow mare’s grip, only for Fluttershy to keep holding her tighter every time she tried. Try as she may, the yellow pony was just not letting her go.

“Okay, okay... I’ll stay in bed with you, Flutters...” Dash said, yawning a bit as she cuddled into her.

The two lay there for quite some time, wrapped in one another’s embrace. Eventually, Fluttershy started to toss a bit in her sleep, snuggling against Rainbow Dash’s chest and letting out a soft sigh. Slowly, she started to lift her head up, looking about the room before her eyes laid upon her lover.

“Oh... hey.” Fluttershy cooed sweetly, trying to brush away a few strands of hair from her eyes.

Chuckling, Dash kissed her lightly and nuzzled their noses, “Hey. G’morning, Fluttershy. You sleep all right?”

Yawning, Fluttershy laid her head down on top of a nearby pillow. “Yeah... better than I have been for a while now.”

“Mm, me too... Guess our drinks wore off faster than I thought...” Dash yawned a bit, propping up on her foreleg. “I sure feel a bit sore, though. Eh, nothing I can’t handle. Bet last night was awesome, if it could leave me sore like that!”

Within the dim light, she caught sight of something gold and shiny around Fluttershy’s neck, and smiled.

“Hey, what’s that around your neck?”

Fluttershy looked down at the odd pendant around her neck, tapping lightly. “I have... no idea. Heh, it kinda looks a-” she stopped, staring at Dash, and more, the pendant around her neck as well. “Oh dear Luna...”

“W-What?” Dash sat up then, looking concerned. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy reached over and grabbed the pendant around Dash’s neck, lifting it up just enough for her to see it. “You see this? Is this what I think it is? Please, tell me I’m still drunk and this is not what I think it is...”

“It looks like a necklace of-hey! That’s my cutie mark!” Rainbow Dash realized, and looked at her own necklace. “This is yours... Fluttershy’s... But why would we be wearing necklaces of each other’s cutie marks? We’d have to be-.... oh no… Last night wasn’t a dream?!” Her eyes went wide with horror.

Fluttershy gave her a mirrored looked, fear completely overcoming her. “I bucking told you! Thirteenth motherbucking floor! We are soooo screwed!”

“Never mind that! We were drunk and we... got married! MARRIED!!!” Dash cried, grabbing her head.

She then caught sight of some things over on the desk, which she flew over to see. Sure enough, sitting there was a marriage license, officiated and all. Next to it was a tape labeled Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy Wedding Video, along with a mini photo album issued by the Zen Gardens for Weddings.

“Oh my gosh...!”

“Well you two please shut up...” The voice that echoed from across the room was that of Twilight Sparkle herself, suffering from a mild hangover. “My head hurts so bad right now.”

Pinkie poked her head in the room as she opened the door. “Hi, girls!” She whispered. “How are you two newlyweds doing?”

“You know about this!?” Fluttershy shouted in a frenzy, holding up her wedding pendant.

“Of course I do, silly! Twilight and I were your witnesses!” Pinkie giggled, then held a hoof to her lips. “But shhh! You have to be quiet! Twi-Twi’s got a headache from her hangover!”

“You WHAT?!” Fluttershy scream so loud, even Rainbow Dash jumped back a bit. “You knew we were about to do this and you LET IT HAPPEN?!”

Sighing, Pinkie closed the door, and nodded. She faced the two with a serious, but kind smile.

“Yes. We weren’t going to interfere with you two. And anytime I or Twilight tried, you resisted and continued to insist. You were both quite drunk, making silly decisions, yet still somewhat aware. I guess maybe, we may have been wrong to think that you truly knew what you were doing or would at least remember it,” she said. “But as you two can see, you’re both legally married, now. This will be a shock, but you just have to relax and take it in. Now, I’m going to go make Twilight feel better from her headache. You two sit tight and PLEASE try to be quiet!”

Pinkie exited to the other room without another word, not waiting for a response.

Fluttershy just stood there, shaking, slowly trying to calm herself down. She was mad, but knew that Pinkie Pie had a point. There was really nothing she could say or do in this moment in time that would make a difference to what happened the night before. Emotionally and mentally defeated, the yellow mare sat back down on the bed in silence.

“...Fluttershy?” Dash said, her voice soft, almost meek. “I-I’m sorry... about all that... I-I feel like I’m responsible for it... And I... didn’t mean for this to happen, at least not like this... If you’re... well, really that unhappy about this... I won’t stop us g-getting this annulled. I don’t want you feeling like this while you’re here... Still, I’m just... really sorry about it... The last thing I wanted to do... was ruin things for you.”

Fluttershy looked over at her with a sad expression, shaking her head. “You didn’t ruin anything, I just... I guess, it was just, this wasn’t how I thought I’d get married. I can’t really say I’m ‘unhappy,’ ‘cause that’s a lie. I know I love you and all, but...” She paused, looking back up at Rainbow Dash and seeing her face the way it was. Something about it made her yearn for home, her real home. The life she had before all this. “But as wonderful as everything is, how nice this place is I... I wanna go home. I miss everyone I used to hang out with. I miss my cottage. And I miss my Rainbow Dash... As much as I know we’ve talked about this before, I... I want to make things right and...” A few tears began to fall down her face.

Her heart breaking, Rainbow Dash felt tears of her own falling down her face, too. She brought her forelegs around the vulnerable pegasus, holding her close and kissing her tears.

“I can see why you feel that way, Fluttershy... I don’t quite know how it feels, maybe I never will, but I don’t blame ya. I can see why you miss your old life... and your Rainbow Dash...” Dash murmured, stroking her mane comfortingly. “I-I miss my Fluttershy, too... I know I love you, I’m always gonna love you and I’ll never forget you... I guess I kinda thought things would be different,” she sniffled, squeezing her tighter. “I’m just sorry you had to be dragged into this. It’s worth it since we got to meet, but then again, it took pulling you away from your life to get it. I hope whatever happens, you’ll be happy... and that we’ll find a way to get you back home.”

Fluttershy just felt her body go limp, she just felt so weak and helpless. “Oh... Rainbow Dash, i-it’s not your place to take care of me. I-I can’t ask you to do that... A-And you never dragged me into a-anything. I just... Dashie, I don’t know what to do...”

Holding her closer to support her, Dash kissed her forehead, “I know I don’t have to, and it isn’t my place. But I want to help you, I’m not gonna turn my back on you. Trust me, I don’t know what to do, either... But I’ll be here for you, don’t you worry.”

For one second, it almost felt like it was her Fluttershy, but she knew better than to dwell on that.

“I’ve been nothing but a burden o-on everypony since I got here... I-I even took advantage of you too, just to act out some silly fantasy of mine. I s-shouldn’t even be crying right now... I’m just... I d-don’t deserve to have anypony be there for me...” Fluttershy’s voice wore on, weak, soft, heartbroken. Even her crying was softer, gentler.

“Hey, hey... shh...” Rainbow Dash soothed, gently rocking her back and forth. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I wanted it, too. It was mutual. I don’t regret it. You haven’t been a burden, none of this was your fault, none of it. You can think what you want, but you’re not driving me away. I’m gonna help you through this, and we’re gonna find a way to get you back home. We’re not turning our backs on you. Friends don’t do that. And you’re our friend. I’m the Element of Loyalty, and I don’t leave my friends hanging.”

Fluttershy pulled away gently, meeting Dash’s with tears in her eyes. “If you’re the Element of Loyalty... then what am I...?”

“...What do you mean? You’re not the Element of Kindness, like Fluttershy?” Dash asked, puzzled.

Fluttershy shook her head, “no... I-I was the Element of Loyalty in my reality... So, w-what am I here? Do I even really matter?”

Dash frowned, uncertain about that. “I... don’t know, actually. So, there’s two Elements of Loyalty now, and the Element of Kindness is gone. Does it matter? I have no freaking clue. I guess Twilight might actually know that better.”

Fluttershy rested her head against Rainbow Dash, feeling even more lost than before. “I’m scared... What if I never get to go home? W-What if I don’t even exist here? I... I... Please, don’t leave me alone, Dashie... please...”

Crying more herself, but staying as strong as she possibly could, Rainbow Dash held her and stroked her mane some more. She kissed her wife's forehead sweetly, applying a couple more just for good measure.

“I promise, Flutters. I promise I’m not going to leave you alone. Never. I’ll never leave you. You’re not alone. You're my wife now, and I'm not taking those marriage vows lightly.” Dash whispered softly.

Author's Note

You saw it, folks! Rainbow Dash and Flutterdash end up getting married! Oh, snap! Just when you thought maybe the gentler half would've done so, but nope!

I don't normally like to bring in ponies drinking, but I figured to play with the idea. And the last thing I wanted to do is play up to The Hangover. Which is now the same movie over and over and over again...

Sorry...^^; Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it!

Alternate 12: A Step Closer

As the sun rose the next morning, it was around when Pinkamena was awakened from her slumber. She yawned, wiping her eyes and sitting up in the shared double bed. Yet another peaceful, quiet night. Stretching her limbs, cracking her neck, rolling her shoulders, the pink earth pony relaxed then.

Looking down to her left side, Twilight slept on peacefully. Sleeping was indeed one of the few moments that she was quiet and calm, but sleeping was a given, anyway. Given the smile on her face, she could only guess that she was having a good dream.

Moments later, the alicorn yawned squeakily, then woke up as well. When she took notice of Pinkamena, she grinned widely.

“Hello, Pinkie! Good morning...” She giggled.

“Good morning, my princess.” Pinkamena smiled back in turn, kissing Twilight’s nose. “Did you sleep well?”

With another giggle, Twilight sat up and stretched. “Uh-huh! You know I always sleep soooo awesomely with you, Pinkie-Winkie! Did you sleep good, too?”

Pinkamena sighed a bit, but forced a smile nonetheless. “For the most part. I suppose I’m just still concerned about the situation at hoof.”

“Oh... Yes, Princess Luna still didn’t get back to us, aside from saying that she was going to try to find the bookie...” Twilight murmured, her ears drooping. “Pinkamena... what if Fluttershy really won’t leave, if she can?”

To this, Pinkamena was silent for a moment, pondering what to say next. “I suppose... there’s nothing we can really do about that, if it happens to be the case.”

Twilight sniffled, “...It’s not that I want her to leave, I just... wonder about what you said. How saddy-waddy it would be if something happened! But I don’t want to force her, either. She’s... she’s happy, and Dashie’s happy...”

“I know, Twilight... All we can do is hope for the best... and hope that Princess Luna, gets back to us soon, of course.” Pinkamena said, laying back down on the bed.

Laying back down beside her, Twilight snuggled close to her mate. “I hope so, Pinkie-Winkie! I don’t want anypony to be saddy-waddy or mad...”

Pinkamena sighed, looking over at her lover with a weak smile. “I know you don’t. You want the best for everypony, I know that, but this must be hard on you as well. After all, this did push back our own plans quite a bit... Ah, but maybe I’m just overthinking things again. Perhaps, I need to relax...”

With a warm smile and a giggle, Twilight then gently climbed up onto of her lover. She nuzzled their noses, then lay over her gently. “Awww... well, I can help you feel better, my lovey!”

Pinkamena laughed a bit, allowing her limbs to relax. “Is that so, Twilight? How would you assist me in relaxing?”

“Hee... I think you know very well what I mean, my darling Pinkie...” Cooed the alicorn, giving her lover very suggestive bedroom eyes.

Pinkamena returned the look, almost in a beckoning manner, “Perhaps I do, perhaps I do not. Perhaps it’s best if you show me?”

“Well, then you’re mine!” Twilight all but pounced, kissing her passionately and aligning their bodies perfectly.

Kissing her back, Pinkamena suddenly felt a strange twitch in her left ear, a feeling she knew all too well.

Doing her best to break away for a brief moment, she breathed out, “Somepony is about to walk in on us.”

“Huh?”

Sure enough, the door flew open, with Spike holding a piece of parchment in his hand. Before he could speak, he caught on to their position, and was wide-eyed.

“Aw. man! Again?! Why do I always have to end up walking in on you guys?!” He exclaimed, facepalming.

Pinkamena exhaled, looking somewhat irritated by Spike, but did catch notice of parchment in his claws. “Spike, was there some reason or purpose for you to come in here without knocking? Something you wish to infer or share with us?”

“Pwease tell us?” Twilight grinned.

The small dragon blinked, as if remembering something and nodded. “Right! Well, you’ve got a letter from Princess Luna! Here, I’ll read it to you!” He unrolled it, clearing his throat, then began to read it.

“My dearest Twilight Sparkle and Pinkamena, I am happy to inform you that I have managed to locate a copy of the book in question. It is in fact within the Canterlot Archives, as I had suspected. It had taken some time, but it was finally located. You two may come to Canterlot so that we may oversee the spell and its workings. I shall be expecting your arrival.

Yours, Princess Luna”

“She found it?!” Twilight exclaimed, grinning. “Hooray!”

Pinkamena nodded, but did not look as relieved. “This is good news, however, we need to find transportation and somepony to watch over the library while we’re away. And of course you know Princess Luna will not let us leave the same day. After all, it’s been almost half a year since our last visit... and Celestia will of course have quite a few question about what we’ve been doing since then. I suspect a three day trip is ahead of us...”

“Why not just get Rainbow and Fluttershy to look after it? That way, when you come back, you’ll know where they are and be able to relay your progress to them!” Spike suggested.

Twilight thought on that for a couple of moments, then nodded. “That’s a great idea, Spikester! I think we can do that! What do you think, Pinkie-Winkie?”

Pinkamena agreed, smiling faintly. “Yes, I do believe that would be a wise choice. Very well then, we leave this evening, traveling under Luna’s sky with her blessing and we’ll request that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watch over our home sometime this afternoon.”

“I’ll go get the train tickets,” he said, and exited the room.

“Yay! Oh, Pinkie, this is awesome! We can go to our hometown! Finally! After all this time! Oooh, Princess Luna will be so happy to see us! I can’t wait to see Princess Celestia too! It’ll be funtastic! Hooray!” Twilight cheered, kissing her face. “Aren’t you excited?!”

“To some degree, I am.” Pinkamena chuckled lightly, “But remember, this isn’t a leisure visit, sadly. We have quite a lot to do during our time there, and only three days to do it all.”

“But we’re gonna find the book, see what we gotta do, take it home, and we can do whatever the rest of the time, silly!”

Pinkamena giggled a bit. “Ah, but you’ve forgotten. Princess Luna said the book was located, not retrieved. The last time we went to the royal archives, I spent two days looking for you, remember? If I recall, you got lost within the fiction section... regardless, besides finding it ourselves, we also have to fill out the surrounding paperwork to check out such a rare manuscript, and that alone will take half a day. And of course you know Princess Celestia will insist to come along with us, as she always does.”

“...Couldn’t we just stay longer, then?” Twilight pouted a bit.

“Was there something you wished to do while we were there?” Pinkamena asked Twilight, a almost playful grin on her lips.

“Hee, I just want to be with you! On vacation! Vacation to our hometown!” Giggled the alicorn, grinning.

Pinkamena placed a hoof under her chin. “I suppose an extra day couldn’t hurt... very well then! We shall.”

“Yay!! Oh, you’re the best, my lovey!” A very happy Twilight smothered her lover’s face with kisses.

“Now, now, I only wish to make you happy, my Twilight Princess.” Pinkamena giggled from the onslaught of kisses.

Giggling, Twilight continued her onslaught of kisses as she immersed herself upon her lover’s body once more, likely with the intent of picking things up where they’d left off. “I love you, Pinkamena... You’re the bestest.”

Pinkamena giggled, blushing just a small bit. “Believe me, Twilight, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Therefore, you’re the ‘bestest’, as you would say.”

With a bright, beaming smile, the lavender mare kissed her sweetly, before then disappearing under the covers...

Sometime later that afternoon, Fluttershy arrived home after purchasing some apples to restock.

Humming and singing a bit to herself, she went into the kitchen to put away the fruit, only to find her lover at the sink, doing the dishes. As quietly as possible, so as not to disturb her or rouse suspicion, she put away the apples into the fridge. Then, much like a butterfly to a flower, even with a tint of being a playful predator, Fluttershy came up behind Rainbow Dash. She encircled her forelegs around her torso, nuzzling her head against hers.

“Hi there, Dash...” She purred sweetly into her ear.

Rainbow Dash’s wings almost instantaneously flared up as her grip on the dishes were lost. She literally felt like melting at the call of her own name, relaxing in the embrace. She fought off the urge to give up complete balance and instead gently stroked one of Fluttershy’s forelegs.

“Hello, Flutters... I didn’t hear you come in.” Rainbow closed her eyes, smiling to herself. “Did you already pick up the apples for tonight’s dinner?”

“I sure did, beautiful...” Fluttershy purred, nibbling her ear. She gently stroked her free foreleg along Rainbow’s stomach and torso, chuckling. “But I’d rather have you for dinner...”

Rainbow giggled, gently pushing her hooves away a bit playfully. “You sure are feeling playful today, aren’t you, Fluttershy?”

Laughing a bit, the creamy yellow pegasus pulled her back. “How can I not be, when I have the most beautiful and... desirable pony in Equestria? I could just eat you until you’re dry...”

“B-But, you still need something to eat eat, of course...” Rainbow Dash found herself breathing a bit faster, but was fighting off the feeling.

Licking her lips, Fluttershy purred and then held her lover up against the nearby wall, turning her around to face her.

“Yeah, I know... We’ll eat later... I want you...” A suggestive smirk overcame her normally sweet features. “You and your tasty, sweet, awesome snatch... And the rest of you...”

“F-Fluttershy?” Rainbow called out weakly, trembling a bit.

Chuckling, Fluttershy gently placed her hind leg between her thighs. “Yeah, Dash?”

“N-Not that I’m against this, but... didn’t you want to write s-something today? You d-didn’t really tell me what it was, but it sounded important...” Rainbow blushed a deep red color, a mixture of both excitement and worry could be seen in her eyes.

“Already wrote it, Dash... Nothing to worry about...” Fluttershy cooed, kissing her neck.

It was then that Rainbow noticed something odd, enough to have her gently push away a bit. “Dash? Um, Fluttershy... when did you start calling me that?”

“When did I-...what?” Fluttershy blinked, then took everything in. What was happening, what she was saying, everything. It was strange, she was fully aware of what she was doing and thinking, but everything about it was unusual. As if she wasn’t even herself. “I.... oh my gosh.... Oh, Rainbow! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, my love... I didn’t mean to just... oh dear, I just lost my mind, and I don’t know how... oh, I’m sorry... Please forgive me, I’m sorry...” She trembled, kissing her lover’s face sweetly.

Rainbow smiled sweetly, shaking her head. “No, no, Fluttershy! It just... caught me off guard, that’s all. I-It wasn’t like I didn’t... kinda... like that you were acting like that, it just s-startled me a bit.” She gave her lover a sweet little kiss on the nose. “So, there’s nothing I have to forgive... l-like I said, a part of me... liked it.”

Relieved, managing to breathe once more, Fluttershy nodded and released her. “A-All right, then... I’m just glad you weren’t scared or hurt. Um... and I did... write that entry today...”

Rainbow nodded, smiling a bit. “Okay then, I-I never doubted that you did.”

“Okay... So... I guess we should-”

Knock knock knock!

Jumping ever slightly, the creamy yellow pegasus went wide-eyed for a moment, then relaxed. “Um, would you get the door, honey? I’ll um... get the apples prepared for dinner.”

“O-Oh, all right.” Rainbow Dash giggled a bit, exiting the kitchen. She made her way to door and promptly opened it, only to have a moment of mild shock. “Twilight? Pinkamena? Why are-how are you here?”

“Hiii, Dashie!” Twilight greeted, ignoring the question. “We’ve got some good news! Princess Luna finally got back to us, and said she found the book we’re looking for! Now we’re going to head out to Canterlot tonight!”

Pinkamena nodded, “This is all true. We’ll be leaving later this evening, and were hoping that Fluttershy and yourself would be willing to watch our home while we retrieve the book. We will be gone for about four days total to completely assure that we have all our business taken care of. Would the two of you be able to do this for us?”

“Please, Dashie?” Twilight begged. “Toothy will be soooo lonely!”

“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem!” Fluttershy said, coming up behind Rainbow, hovering overheard. “We can take care of the library for you two!”

Rainbow smiled warmly, agreeing. “W-Well, I guess it wouldn’t be too much trouble, and we can still come by here to feed the animals.”

“Great! Thank you! Besides, you two know how to handle Toothy, anyway! So that’s perfect!” Twilight clapped.

“Oh? Who’s Toothy?” Fluttershy queried, but had a pretty bad feeling of the answer.

“Silly, Toothy is my baby crocodile! He has a lot of teeth!” Twilight beamed.

Fluttershy paled. As much as she did love all living creatures, there was still a bit of danger in owning such an animal. “Um... okay, what kind is he? You do realize he’s going to eventually grow big, right? Crocodiles are carnivorous predators...”

“Not a problem,” Pinkamena stated calmly. “During a past experiment, my pet owl, Xaldin, got caught in the crossfire. It seemed to have flipped their personalities. Toothy seems to think he’s an owl now while Xaldin... stays outside. You would be surprised to see how vicious an owl with the mind of a crocodile can be.”

“Well, of course... They’re very intelligent and have analytical skills... and he can fly,” Fluttershy pointed out.

Pinkamena chuckled a bit, trying not to be rude. “No need for alarm, Fluttershy. I have trained him to dislike the taste of ponies, so he does not attack anyone in town.”

“He’s an owl!” Twilight said, shaking her head and laughing. “He’d have quite a hard time even trying to swallow us in one bite or tearing us to pieces.”

“Ah, but what he lacks in size, he doubles in ferociousness. He makes an excellent guard dog-er, owl.” Pinkamena blushed in embarrassment at her own correction.

“Hee hee! Guard Owl! I like that! Xaldin the Guard Owl!” The alicorn proclaimed heroically.

Fluttershy laughed, shaking her head. “Well, anyway, we’ll come by after dinner, then. Would that be all right?”

Pinkamena nodded. “Chances are we would have left by then, but not by much. So, we’ll give you our spare key so that you can get in. Twilight, if you would?” She asked her lover to retrieve the keys.

Nodding, Twilight produced a set of keys with her magic and handed it over to Rainbow Dash. “There you go! The keys!”

Taking the key in hoof, Rainbow smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Twilight... We’ll be over right after dinner.”

“We’ll leave a list of instructions and things you gotta knowsie! Now excuse us, we have to finish packing! Toodles!” Twilight giggled, waving at them before she descended to the ground.

Rainbow Dash giggled a bit, placing the keys down. “Well, that was certainly unexpected.”

“It was...” Fluttershy agreed, smiling. “But I suppose it’ll be like a little vacation!”

“I agree! It would be nice to take a real one someday... but this is a nice substitution.” Rainbow nodded as they stepped back inside, closing the door.

This earned a giggle from the creamy yellow pegasus as she nuzzled their cheeks. “Oh, really? What kind of... vacation, Rainbow?”

Rainbow laughed a bit, nuzzling her back. “Well... something nice. I wouldn’t really mind where. Maybe a warm beach on the coast where all our friends can come and we can have fun... or maybe a small cabin in the north where it snows all the time, so it can be just you and me...”

“I sure like the sound of those, Dashie...” Fluttershy purred, now coming behind her and encircling her forelegs around her torso. “It’d be wonderful...”

“Maybe if you stay, we can.” Rainbow giggled, teasing the matter at hoof a bit.

“Pbbtt, please.... Like I’d ever leave you, beautiful...” Fluttershy purred suggestively.

Rainbow pulled away a bit, holding back her laughter. “At least wait until after dinner, Flutters.”

“Fine, I’ll-wait a minute! You tricked me! We’re leaving afterward!” Fluttershy paused again, then shook her head a bit to clear it. “...What’s happened to me? I really don’t know why I’m saying things like that...”

Rainbow just giggled, pulling Fluttershy into warm hug. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I really don’t mind. So, let’s go get dinner underway and then we’ll see about... everything else after.”

“...Sure... whatever,” Fluttershy mumbled, not quite feeling as enthusiastic.

Rainbow Dash pulled away a bit, a concern look upon her face. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?”

“I... just don’t know what’s coming over me, Rainbow... It’s not like me to say those things,” said the creamy yellow mare, looking away.

Rainbow gently place a hoof on Fluttershy’s cheek, turning her gaze back. “I know that... I can’t really help with something like this, but... I’ll be there for you, no matter what. And I still love you. So, whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll be all right.”

Exhaling heavily, Fluttershy managed a small smile and hugged her. “Thank you, Dashie. You’re such a sweetie. I don’t know what I’d do without you...”

As dusk was slowly setting in, the two pegasi arrived at the Golden Oaks library. Sure enough, as it were, Pinkamena and Twilight had already departed for the train station sometime earlier. Barely any of the lights were still on inside, while Xaldin was standing full guard on his perch some ways above on a branch.

“Oh, it looks like Spike went along with them,” Fluttershy remarked, peering in through one of the lower level windows.

“He normally does...” Rainbow giggled a bit, taking out the key. After a brief moment, the door was unlocked and pushed opened. “Oh my... i-it’s a lot darker in here than I t-thought...” The vague outlines of the room were able to be seen, but most of it was too dark to see. Stepping in, Rainbow felt a bit shaky, staying close by the door. “F-Fluttershy? C-Can you see the light switch?”

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked with concern, coming inside and turning on the light. “You’re not very comfortable with the dark?”

Relaxing a bit now that the lights were on, Rainbow Dash exhaled heavily, nodding her head. “Y-Yes... ever since Junior Flight Camp, I-I’ve been afraid of the dark. It’s always gotten the best of me.”

“...Oh...” Fluttershy closed the door behind them, and then gave her a warm hug. “I understand. I used to be afraid of the dark when I was younger. I mean... I’ve gotten better since then, and even now, I still feel... a little uneasy if I’m in the dark alone. But I know how you feel.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash was a little shocked by this, “You didn’t even flinch just a second ago... you must have gotten a lot better since then.”

“Well... to be fair, I knew I had nothing to be afraid of right now,” Fluttershy giggled, nuzzling her.

Rainbow nodded a bit, now smiling. “I guess you do have a point. So... I guess we should find the list that Twilight left for us?”

Nodding, the creamy yellow pegasus stepped further into the library, locating the note in question sitting on the desk near the door. She read it over briefly, seeing that it was the usual kind of list of things to keep in mind when house-sitting. Feeding the pets, keeping the books in order, watering the plants, pick up messes, and the like. She glanced around, seeing that nothing needed to be done just yet.

“Well, I found it,” said Fluttershy. “We’ll leave it there so we’ll know where to look for it.”

Rainbow walked over to her to see where she was placing it. “Okay then. So... what now? We have the entire library to ourselves for four whole days and we don’t have to leave to go anywhere until six in the morning...”

“Mm... I suppose we should check the fridge and pantry to see if we need to buy any food while we’re here,” Fluttershy suggested.

“I guess we could, but I think Pinkamena keeps a lot spare food anyway...” Rainbow gave a shy smile, looking away quickly. “We might have to check on Toothy every now and then, too.”

“There he is!” Fluttershy pointed to a small aquarium filled with a couple of inches of water along one side. She approached it, amazed at the sight of the baby crocodile laying on a rock inside it. “So you’re Toothy...”

Rainbow giggled a bit trotting up beside Fluttershy. “I know I shouldn’t, but... did you wanna see something kinda funny?”

“What is it?” She asked, curious.

Rainbow held in the urge to laugh and instead tapped on the glass of the aquarium. “Toothy? Are you awake?” Almost instantly, the small crocodile looked over at the two pegasi. “Say hi, Toothy.” What followed was Toothy opening his mouth and letting out what could only be described as an owl-like woot before his mouth snapped shut again.

Seeing the display, Fluttershy began to laugh with glee. It was not only silly, but adorable. She shook her head, smiling all the more. “Oh, that’s just silly!”

“I guess it came from Toothy thinking he’s an owl...” Rainbow giggled alongside Fluttershy. “I’m actually not sure, but it’s so silly!”

“Hi, Toothy,” Fluttershy waved at the baby crocodile. “I’m Fluttershy. It’s lovely to meet you!” She turned back to Rainbow Dash, “Shall we... get settled in?”

“Yeah... that sounds like a good idea.” Rainbow Dash nodded with a bright smile. She sat down her saddle bags and started to take out a few of their personal items.

The train wasn’t far off from Canterlot at this point, especially as night had descended upon Equestria. Spike sat on his own on a seat across from the two mares, playing a hoofheld game system to occupy his time.

“Spike, put that away. We’ll need to get ready to carry our belongings off the train in a moment,” Pinkamena leaned over, advising him.

“I’ll be ready...” Spike responded, not looking up.

Twilight giggled, shaking her head. “You’re so silly, Spikester!”

Pinkamena sighed, trying to force a smile. “You claim you’ll be ready, but every time we have done this, you always complain about us not telling you in advance.”

Rolling his eyes, the small dragon turned it off and replaced it into his carry-on bag, “All right, fine. Happy now?”

Pinkamena looked over to Twilight then gave a mock pondering stance. “Am I happy now? Well, considering that you listened to me, I am sitting beside my dearly beloved, and on our way home to our hometown, I suspect that I am at eighty-three percent maximum happiness that can be achieved at this time... So yes, I am happy.” The pink earth pony grinned a bit, looking over at the baby dragon.

This made the alicorn laugh, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re so silly, Pinkie-Winkie!”

“I can attempt comedy when I so wish, apparently.” Pinkamena chuckled a bit.

Moments later, the train pulled up the main platform at Canterlot station. Nighttime in the prestigious city was, while nothing much compared to that of Las Pegasus or Manehattan, still had its own kind of fun going. It certainly did have a look of beauty, with all kinds of lights illuminating the areas all around, helped along with the glow of the moon up above. Ponies disembarked from the train, as those waiting to board approached the cars.

Stepping out of their car, Pinkamena lead the way, followed by Twilight and Spike. Each carried their personal belongs, aside from Twilight, who insisted on carrying some of Pinkamena’s books.

Stopping for a brief moment, Pinkamena took in the surroundings. “This place hasn’t changed a bit, has it Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head, feeling a surge of emotions come through her. Seeing her hometown, the place she’d grown up in along with them, it was strange. Strange to come back, to see it all. She looked around, taking in the familiar sights as they exited the train station. All the same, with maybe a few new features since they’d last been there. Overcome, she took a moment, then grinned.

“Hasn’t changed a bit at all, Pinkie!” She agreed.

“It’s odd, don’t you agree?” Pinkamena asked Twilight. “Despite how much time has passed, it feels almost the exact same as it did all those years ago. Amazing how our minds perceive these memories and connect them to certain places, even if the place has changed. Or is it more of our own emotional connection? Whatever it is, it’s hard not to remember.”

The alicorn looked about again, another surge of emotion running through her. “...Are you sure we weren’t here yesterday, Pinkie? It feels like it...”

Pinkamena chuckled a bit, shaking her head. “If we were, how did we not remember it until now?” She pressed on, gesturing for them to follow. “No, we were not, but it does feel so familiar. Almost like that of a dream. I suppose this is what others call nostalgia.”

“I know that, silly! Now c’mon, let’s go to the castle!” Twilight bounced as they walked, giggling with glee. “We’re almost there!”

“Of course. Come along, Spike.” Pinkamena called over to the small dragon as she increased her pace. ‘I would hope there would not be any complications on this trip. With any luck, we can do what we need and relax a small bit. Aside for answering Celestia’s questions, it should be a rather quiet trip... assuming Gleaming Shield and the Prince are not here.’

Eventually, they arrived at the castle and were allowed entry upon the factor of Princess Twilight’s arrival. Much like every time they visited, they went to their old bedrooms, all of which hadn’t changed a bit and were kept up well in their absence. As if they’d never left them.

Twilight especially felt a burst of nostalgia as she lay on her old bed, making herself comfortable as she settled. The soft, large double mattress, the warm and thick comforter, the silken sheets beneath them... She lay on the pillows, reveling in their softness. A warm feeling overcame her, enticing her senses and uplifting her. Rolling onto her stomach, she spread her wings, allowing them to freely flap and stretch for about a minute. Receding them, she relaxed, closing her eyes.

Twilight jumped a bit as she heard somepony knocking on her door only to hear her marefriend’s voice call out. “Twilight, do you mind if I come in? I was hoping to speak with you before we meet with the Princess.”

“Sure, come in, Pinkamena!” Twilight grinned. “We can talk!”

“Under any normal condition, I would. However, it appears you have locked the door.” Pinkamena giggled outside the room, giving the doorknob a few turns to show it would not open.

Giggling, Twilight used her magic to open it. “Sorry! I didn’t even know I did that! Silly me!”

Walking in, Pinkamena closed the door behind her and looked about. “My, my, they kept your room almost the exact same. Even those old books.” She reached for one of them on the nightstand near the bed. “It’s almost like you never left.

“Isn’t it, though?!” Twilight beamed, rolling onto her stomach as she watched her. “It’s so fantastical!”

Picking up the old book, Pinkamena could not help but to smile. “Quite. Being in here brings up fond memories... It would be nice to just spend the day to reminisce a bit.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed and chuckled. “Even the bed feels the same way it back then too.”

“It is! Soooo, what did you want to talk about, Pinks?” The alicorn asked with curiosity, tilting her head cutely.

“Nothing considerably important, just wanting to chat, really.” Pinkamena relaxed, resting on the bed. “You know how I get when we come here.”

“Ohhh... well, if you wanted to chat, all you had to do was say so, you silly!”

Pinkamena sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “I know, Twilight. I suppose I just feel a little on edge, that’s all. The situation with Fluttershy, your sister’s wedding, finding the book... it’s all a lot of stress. I feel like I’m going to let everypony down again. I don’t want that.”

Pouting, Twilight went over and cuddled her, nuzzling their cheeks. “Awww.... now don’t feel bad! You’re trying your best, Pinkie... That’s all you can do.”

“I know, but still... it bothers me,” Pinkamena cuddled a bit closer to Twilight. “Not only that, but your sister scares me.”

“Silly filly! Why? She’s not scary!”

“You do remember what happened last time we met, correct?” Pinkamena stated calmly.

The lavender mare was slightly puzzled, but then nodded. “Yes... So that scared you?”

Pinkamena exhaled a bit, looking over at Twilight. “Of course it did. You remember her reaction.”

“Because she’s a little too friendly to you sometimes?”

“Friendly is not the word I would use, but yes. I find it a tad unnerving.” Pinkamena said bluntly, resting her eyes.

Pouting again, the lavender alicorn came closer and snuggled her lover, kissing her neck lightly. All Twilight could think was how it affected Pinkamena like this. The way it seemed to leave a bad taste in her mouth. There wasn’t much she could say or do about it that would work. She sighed, stroking her pink mane, feeling crestfallen.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie-Winkie...”

Pinkamena smiled faintly and shook her head. “It’s not your fault, so it’s unnecessary for you to apologize. We all have our fears. Mine just happens to be your sister.”

“I know...” Twilight climbed on top of her. “But it’s not fair, Pinkie-Winkie! Why can’t all families love each other? It’s so... saddy-waddy.”

“Fate deals odd cards to us all, it’s just how things are, or so it would seem.” Pinkamena shrugged as she opened her eyes. “However, I can’t say it’s like your family hates me, as I don’t think that’s the case. Do they?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, they love you!”

Pinkamena nodded, smiling up at Twilight. “Then I assume that I just fear your sister for no real reason. Much like how Applejack is afraid of getting mud on her hooves. It’s an irrational fear.”

“Mmmm, you could be right, Pinks! Fears are irrational, after all!” She said, nuzzling their noses. “Like me! I love honey, but I don’t like bees! Bees are buzzing and they sting! I don’t like bees!”

“Precisely, so I shouldn’t allow this to bother me. After all, it’s not like your sister is here in Canterlot right now.” Pinkamena chuckled, her mind feeling at ease. “So, whenever you’re ready to meet with the Princess, I am as well.”

“Okay!” Twilight kissed her lips sweetly.

Pinkamena smiled up at her lover, repositioning. “So... are we to leave now, or do you plan to keep me pinned down all night like what you used to do back when we lived here?”

“Hmmm.... Well, I could do the latter, because I luffles you so much and want to give you all kinds of snuggles and lovins! Hee hee!” Twilight purred lovingly, licking her cheek. “Buuuut, we gotta go see Princess Luna first! Then when we go to bed, we’ll be free to be all lovey-dovey and all kinds of... uh... glovey? Movey? Tovey? Covey? ...Hovey?”

“Sounds lovely.” Pinkamena giggled.

The alicorn laughed, nuzzling her, “Besides, your pretty body makes me go Cuckoo for Coco Puffs! We’d best be going!”

The two mares cuddled for a moment longer before getting up off the bed and heading out of the bedroom.

In the throne room, Twilight and Pinkamena walked briskly to meet with Princess Luna, who sat upon her throne alongside Princess Celestia. The guards bowed in respect to Princess Twilight, who of course just laughed off the attention.

Coming to a stop, Pinkamena kneeled down with a respectful bow. “Princess Luna, Princess Celestia. It’s a pleasure to see both of you, as always.”

“Hiiiii, Lulu and Celly!” Twilight greeted cheerfully.

Both Princesses stifled laughter behind their hooves, before Luna addressed them.

“Twilight, Pinkamena, it is, of course, wonderful to see you two again as well,” she said, smiling. “I trust you’re doing well?”

Pinkamena rose from her bow with a faint smile. “Personally speaking, yes, Twilight and I have been well. However, as I am sure you are currently aware of, we have quite an unusual problem at hoof. May I assume this is part of wishing to speak with us directly, Princess?”

Luna gave a nod, “Yes. I’d felt it was a better idea that we speak of this matter directly.”

“As the letter detailed, our reality’s Fluttershy has been switched with that of another reality’s, and as it stands, I was wishing to borrow the books I had requested in order to better understand and fix this problem. I have my theories, but nothing further than that without some type of base for me to go off of.” Pinkamena stated calmly. “If you need any further explanation, I would be glad to break it down from what little I know of it now, but without the main manuscript I requested, my knowledge is limited on this subject.”

“Oooh, oooh, oooh! Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!” Discord suddenly appeared near the thrones, waving his lion paw. “Me! Me!”

“Ooh, hi, Discord!” Twilight waved, laughing.

“Ugh...” Luna groaned, facehoofing. “Discord, do you have anything constructive to contribute?”

Discord jumped into the air, sitting on something that was clearly not there and chuckled. “For once, I actually do, Lulu! I happen to know a bit about this multiverse stuff!”

Pinkamena sighed a bit, fighting off the urge to roll her eyes. “Yes, yes, what do know, Discord?”

“I’m so glad you asked!” Discord said happily, clapping his paws. “You see, my dears, what you all seem to have experienced is reality switching! The kind of spell that the other Twilight performed was meant to... tap into other realities! As it were, the spell seems to have... malfunctioned, and our Fluttershys switched! Why? It seems that the other Fluttershy was... thinking of one much like ours!”

“Ohhhh!” Twilight immediately said. “So Flutters was thinking of our Flutters, and switched because of that?”

The draconequus shook his head, “Not quite, my little pony! She must have been thinking of somepony she knew that was just like our Fluttershy!”

Pinkamena thought for a moment. “Of course! She has admitted to thinking of her own Rainbow Dash, whom we have discovered shared many personality traits with our Fluttershy! Their minds were synched; it was drawn upon shared thought. Which would mean our Fluttershy was thinking about the reverse!”

“They were both thinking of Dashie!” Twilight threw in. “Our Dashie, who’s just like the other Fluttershy! Then her Dashie, who’s just like our Fluttershy!”

“Bingo! We have a winner!” Discord shouted floating across the room. “So, we know what happened now! The question is... what will become of the two Fluttershys? Anypony wanna try to take a shot in the dark on this one?”

Celestia ponder for a moment, clearing her voice a bit and, remembering to use her inside voice, decided to speak up. “Thou hast not explained enough to fully allow anypony to form such a conclusion. However, thou hast asked: Tis there something more to this event than thou has presented?”

“It would seem so,” Luna agreed. “What do you mean by this, Discord?”

“Oh come now, it’s easy! Here’s a hint. Have either of you noticed,” he turned back to Pinkamena and Twilight, “how Fluttershy’s been acting this week?”

Pinkamena thought for a moment, trying to recall. “Hmm, she has been adjusting rather well, but I can’t seem to place anything out of the ordinary...”

“Mmmhmm... Well, allow me to show you!”

Snapping his eagle claw, a screen appeared in midair, showing a live feed. On screen, Fluttershy was sitting at a desk in Twilight’s library, writing something in a journal. She looked worried, biting her lip, at least, until Rainbow walked by her. Fluttershy looked right over at Rainbow before a predatory smirk overcame her face. She pursued the cyan mare, before taking hold of her and pinning Rainbow to a wall of bookshelves.

“You know, Dash... we never did get to... finish up from earlier,” Fluttershy purred, her eyelids half-mast.

Rainbow blushed a bright crimson while she smiled, “I-I suppose so...”

“Yeah...” Fluttershy moved closer to her, “You want me, don’t you? To hold you, kiss you, snuggle you?”

“O-Of course I do... b-but only if you want to.” Rainbow trembled a bit, but don’t fight back.

“Come on Dash, seriously? I wouldn’t be right here if I wasn’t! I could be holding a cake out to you, for you, telling you to eat it, and you’d still say that!” Now there was evident frustration in Fluttershy’s tone. “Just tell me what you want, you know I’ll give it to you.”

Rainbow Dash shied away a bit, looking down at the ground. “I-I’m sorry, Flutters. I’m still k-kinda new to all this... I just don’t wanna make you do anything. Y-You know I want to, I just... I don’t want to come off as some needy little filly to you...”

“You’re not some needy filly... It’s about expressing your desires, sharing what you want with me so I know how to.. .make you feel good. Come on, Dash... You can tell me these things. That’s why we’re here! So just stop being a mouse, and please just tell me what you want! I’m not a mind reader! Tell me these things, otherwise I can’t please you!”

The words seem to have struck a chord with Rainbow, causing her to freeze up. “I... I want to be loved... That’s all...”

Now Fluttershy looked surprised, her eyes wide. Then she looked thoughtful, knowing, and understanding. She embraced the other mare, nuzzling her and kissing her face. “You are loved, my beautiful Rainbow Dash.... You’re loved... and I love you...it’s okay...” She said in a sweet, warm tone that completely betrayed her rougher tones from earlier.

The feed was cut, with a disappointed groan from Twilight.

“Aw, come on! That was soooooo cute!” Twilight whined.

Pinkamena was almost speechless, trying to fully understand what she just saw. “That... What we just saw, was it real? Discord, are you suggesting that this Fluttershy is actually taking on the characteristics of our Fluttershy against her will?”

“Precisely, my dear,” Discord nodded slowly. “It seems my theory was correct! She is slowly becoming the original Fluttershy of our reality!”

“What?!” Pinkamena shouted, startling everypony in the room, her mane curling ever so slightly. “What you’re suggesting it’s- not possible! Even junior level spell casters know that memories can’t be erased, only blocked! To become another pony aside from yourself, it- it can’t be happen! And ponies can’t just change like that!”

Discord gave a shrug, floating in midair, “Perhaps not, my dear. Even I don’t know for sure! Replacing her memories or maintaining them is a mystery, even to me! Why do you think she was writing something down? She’s keeping her memories in check, since you can never be too careful!”

Luna spoke up then, “Discord... We see what you’re trying to convey, and this does help a lot more in realizing how this works. However, there is something I do wish to know. Can you help us, at all? Is there something your magic can do?”

“Oooh, I’m glad you asked, Lulu!” Discord chuckled. “I am the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, after all!”

Pinkamena interjected harshly. “I will not have him interfering with my work! This requires order and control.Two things he knows nothing about!” At the last word, her mane began to curl ever more.

“What if I told you that I could switch between realities? Easily?” Discord smiled. “What if I could solve this entire issue?”

Pinkamena fell silent, staring up at Lord of Chaos. “You? You can fix this? Explain.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, Discord! You can warp between the realities?! Really?!”

“I’m Discord. I can break the rules,” he said, winking.

Looking hesitant, as well as uncertain, Luna cleared her throat. “Perhaps... this would be possible to help things through?”

Celestia nodded in agreement with her sister. “It seems feasible, does it not?”

Pinkamena felt her mane straighten a bit as her breathing became normal. “If you can do so, then yes. It would make things considerably easier and would allow us to contact the others from that reality...” She looked up at Discord with a hint of spite, “However, the problem of Discord going to the right alternate reality out of the near endless possibilities would be a task.”

“Then we’ll maybe need to use Flutters, as a connection to it?” Twilight guessed.

“I can’t say for sure, but I suppose that would work. At least, in theory.” Pinkamena nodded, her mane now straight once more. “The question is, can Discord do this?”

“Do pegasi fly? Can unicorns perform various types of magic? Is the daylight sky blue? Are you ponies?” Discord said, floating upside-down in front of them, winking. “Of course I can, my little ponies!”

Pinkamena sighed. “Saying ‘do pegasi fly’ is open to discussion as one can chose not to. Also, they cannot if their wings are broken. Unicorns can only perform magic of high calibur due to their horns, and if completely broken off, then no. The day sky is not blue, it’s just our perception of it due to light and water. Ponies is a general term, but is incorrect when speaking of us as a race.” She exhaled. “I’ll believe you once you do it.”

“Pinkiiiieee! Don’t do that now!” Twilight pouted. “We gotta believe it! Believe! ...Uh, how’s he gonna prove it?”

“By assisting, of course.” Pinkamena said bluntly. “He shall leave with us when we return to Ponyville. Then, we can see if it’s truly possible for him to do so.”

Discord gave a laugh, patting their heads, “I’ll see if I can squeeze that into my oh-so busy schedule...”

“Very well,” said Luna, “In the meantime, you may retrieve the manuscript in question. We have located it within the Forbidden Reference section of the Canterlot Archives, as it were.”

“Of course it would be in the single section that lacks a map.” Pinkamena sighed.

Smiling, the Princesses nodded to one another before Luna conjured up a book. Fairly weathered, but still in good condition. She levitated it over to Pinkamena and Twilight, placing it within reach.

“I never said you two had to go find it yourselves. Just that we’d found it,” she said, smiling.

“All right!” Twilight cheered. “We have the book! Now we have all the answers! Hooray!”

“This does make things considerably easier. Thank you, Princess.” Pinkamena gave a sincere smile, relieved that she could dive into her studies.

Luna smiled warmly, nodding, “You’re welcome. All I can advise to you both is that you be careful. It does seem to be quite complex magic, even with Discord’s help. However, I do have faith in you two, I know that you will be able to solve this dilemma.”

“You may also have thine assistance as well,” Celestia spoke up, cheerfully.

With a bright smile, the smallest alicorn gave both Princesses big, happy hugs. There was even laughter and cheers, which, while it threw off the more serious encouraging mood, didn’t fail to create such a light-hearted shift in atmosphere.

“Thank yoooouuu Celly and Lulu!” Twilight said sweetly, letting them go. “We won’t let you down!”

Author's Note

Well folks, we're really in the homestretch now! Just a couple more chapters, plus two epilogues! :D I was hoping we'd get this done before Christmas, and it looks like we have! Hooray! ^w^

Poor Fluttershy, slowly becoming Flutterdash! Oh noes! And Rainbowshy is just as adorable and sweet as ever. D'awww!

So stay tuned, folks! We shall see how it all unfolds! Woohoo!

Original 13: Transcend

“Thank you sir, and have a good day!” Pinkie said cheerfully to the room service stallion, paying him a tip and then closing the door.

She turned back to Twilight, who was still nestled in bed, trying to recoup. Though it was now early afternoon, namely lunchtime, it was taking quite a bit to convince her to even move from the bed.

“Pinkie,” Twilight called over to the pink earth pony weakly.

“Coming, Twi-Twi! I’ve got your lunch! It’s okay, you don’t have to worry! Dashie’s gone to the weather... thingy, and Flutters is taking a nap!” Pinkie indicated to their little lunch, placing it all on the nearby table. “Now come and eat!”

Twilight sat up slowly, still holding her head, and looked about the room for the table. Getting up, Twilight felt sickly as she moved over to the table, almost cursing under her breath.

“Pinkie, please promise to never let me drink again. Ever.”

The pink earth pony smiled brightly, “I promise not to let you drink again! I Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“The odd thing is, you did fly here. Not by yourself or with wings, but... yeah, you flew.” Twilight tried to rationalize, but fell short of a real meaning in her words.

“Mm?” Pinkie tilted her head. “Whatever do you mean, silly pants?”

Twilight shook her head, groaning. “Never mind, I don’t even know.”

“Okay!” Said Pinkie, beginning to eat her lunch. “By the way! Dashie and Flutters are married now!”

Twilight stopped in mid thought, then resumed to groan... “We did something stupid last night, didn’t we?”

“Nope! Not really! Dashie and Fluttershy got married, which was sooooo cute! You and I just kind of hung around and were all snuggly before you fell asleep!”

“Yeah, that sounds about how I figured things went...” Twilight muttered, still feeling sick from her hangover.

Pinkie nodded, giggling as she ate her food. She paused, thinking of what else to say about it all. Especially since Twilight seemed to still be a little bit affected by her hangover. She hummed, fidgeted, whistled, anything to keep the mood light.

“Well then, Twi-Twi, what do you suggest we do in... assessing this matter?”

Twilight looked up, still appearing a bit dazed. “To be honest, I have no idea. This entire situation is completely out of hoof. I doubt if Discord himself could have created a more problematic situation even if he tried.”

An exaggerated, elongated gasp escaped from Pinkie, to which her eyes went wide. “Twilight! Twilight, that’s it!”

Twilight flinched from the screaming, exhaling deeply. “What do you mean, Pinkie? Something about Discord?”

“Uh-huh! Maybe he can help us out! He’s got all kinds of crazy super duper magic!” Pinkie clapped excitedly. “If anyone can warp realities and make it work, he can! We gotta ask him to help us!”

“You... You may actually be right.” Twilight looked up at her friend with mild shock. “Since Discord is the Spirit of Chaos, he should be able to assist, even more so if we explain what happened to Fluttershy to him. Gah... why didn’t I think of that sooner! It’s just getting in contact with him from here will be a problem.”

“Let’s call his name! Ohhhhh, Discoooooord!” Pinkie called in the room.

No response.

Twilight looked about the room, then set her gaze onto Pinkie. “Did you really think that would work?” She could not help but to giggle a small bit.

“Of course!” Pinkie pouted. “Discord! Here, boy! Come on, Discord! Come on!”

“Pinkie, I know you mean well, but didn’t you say Fluttershy was still sleeping?” Twilight gave a gentle smile as she placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder.

Snickering, the earth pony winked jovially, “Dashie says she can sleep through a tornado!”

That was when the room door opened, with Rainbow Dash walking in. She placed her key card into her saddlebags, waving at the two.

“Hey, girls,” she said, sounding a bit tired.

“Hi, Dashie! Did you have fun?” Pinkie grinned.

The cyan pegasus gave a little shrug, nodding, “Yeah, it was fine. So, uh... is Fluttershy all right?”

Twilight shrugged, getting up from the table. “I can’t really say, I got up just a few minutes ago myself. We just assumed she’s still sleeping.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, then slipped out into the other room, closing the door behind her. Pinkie and Twilight stared after her for a few moments, uncertain what to make of it all. There seemed to be such a lack of drive and passion in Dash’s demeanour, like she just didn’t care about much anymore. It worried them, to which Pinkie hoped they would manage to fix things soon.

“Poor Dashie... I think she’s too worried about Flutters,” Pinkie remarked, pouting sympathetically.

“I know Pinkie, but there’s nothing we can really do at the moment.” Twilight sighed. She wished there was more to say, something they could do, but as it stood, the best anypony could do was hope.

In the other room, Rainbow Dash quietly dropped her saddlebags onto the floor. She looked over toward her wife, surprised to see that she actually wasn’t sleeping. Fluttershy was lying awake, on her side, facing the window. Very slowly, she approached the bed, as if afraid she would hurt the other pony if she went too fast or too loud. Tension ripped through her, as did worry, which pitted within her stomach.

“Hey, Fluttershy... You all right?” She asked in a soft voice.

Fluttershy did not look back, her eyes focused on the window. Or perhaps it was what was outside the window. Maybe not even that, as her eyes held no expression of any kind to speak of, much unlike herself. The pillow beneath her was stained with tears, but that was hard to believe considering who she was. Even to herself.

“Hey Dash... Y-Yeah, I’m okay.” Fluttershy responded with weak tone, still not looking at Rainbow Dash.

“...No you’re not,” Dash murmured, getting up onto the bed. She crawled over to her, laying back against Fluttershy, spooning her. “Is everything from before still bothering you?”

Fluttershy closed her eyes, feeling herself about to cry, but fought it off. “I don’t know. Whenever I think I do, I’m wrong... I don’t know how I feel anymore.”

All the more, Dash’s heart broke. This was not the same Fluttershy who had come into this world. She was beginning to resemble the original Fluttershy more and more. While she truly missed Fluttershy so much, it was not going to help the case by having the more daring and brash Fluttershy acting so... sad.

“I’m sorry...” Was all Dash could muster, gently kissing the back of her neck. “Anything I can do to help you?”

Fluttershy could not find the words she wanted to say, even though she wanted to speak. Her mind felt hazed, lost and confused while her body was so numb. In truth, she wanted somepony to help her, but knew there was no such help to be given. This was nothing anypony could do anything about, because this was about herself. All those years being strong, confident, of always knowing herself and who she was, meant nothing now, for she realized she never knew the truth in the first place.

“I’m so fake...” Fluttershy muttered, “It took me losing everything, including myself, just to figure that out... I really am a faker.”

“A... faker, huh...” Rainbow Dash repeated, and held her closer, “You always felt like being vulnerable meant you were weak, because you couldn’t express yourself really well. Then you just made this... image of yourself that you wanted to be. The perfect, winning, awesome, heroic, and fast ponysona. The side of you that didn’t have to answer to anything, the side of you that was... perfect. To hide your real self, your real feelings, and not admit to your failures. This awesometastic version of you became better than your real self, and you strived hard to be that ponysona. You were convinced it was you. But then... you realize that it’s all one big fake spectacle. That the real you is vulnerable, struggling, doesn’t win all the time, and has trouble expressing your feelings.”

Fluttershy trembled, feeling the tears on her face once more. “Yeah, you’re right... I never wanted to be me, I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to show that I was able to take care of myself... and everypony else. Truth is, I can’t even stand on my own four hooves without help. I can’t do anything by myself. I’m weak... pathetic.”

Dash kissed her neck, then over to her cheek. “You’re not pathetic, Fluttershy. Just because you’re not like that ponysona you made up doesn’t mean you’re not awesome. I-I don’t win all the time, I’m not always right, and I’m not always in top form. But then I remember that I did make it this far. I’m steps closer to being a Wonderbolt, I have awesome friends, I have a great job, I live in a nice place... Y’know, it makes me realize that the real Rainbow Dash isn’t all that bad. I don’t think the real Fluttershy is bad or pathetic. I think you’ve got a nice heart in there, and you do have a lot to offer. You just gotta let yourself do it.”

“You don’t even know the real me, Dash...” Fluttershy sniffled, curling up. “I’ve been... this for so long, I don’t remember who the real me is... and I doubt it matters anyway. I’m sure no pony misses me. I’m not worth missing...”

“Hey, you’ve had your moments. Maybe I don’t know, but you sure seem real now,” said the cyan pegasus, shaking her head. “I’m sure your friends back home miss you. I bet even your Rainbow Dash misses you.”

At the sound of that name, her emotions overflowed. She violently sat up, turning to face Dash with a look of convection on her face.

“Just shut up!” Fluttershy shouted, her face red, tears streaming down. “You don’t know anything about me prior to coming here! You even thought I was your Fluttershy at first, remember? The only reason any of this happened was because of that! If you had known that from the beginning, do you think you would have still wanted all of this? Do you think you even would have given me a chance? No! No pony would want me and I'm sick of you saying you do! You just don’t see it yet! The only reason you care is... is because of your Fluttershy... and I...” She stopped. Her mind reeled at her own words, forcing her to hear them. “I know I’m not her and yet... a part of me wishes I was more like her. Maybe then, I wouldn’t hate this... Maybe then, somepony would miss me. But I’m not! I’m... I’m just...”

Completely defeated by her own words, her own truth, Fluttershy gave in to her sadness. She cried openly, loudly, collapsing back onto the bed.

Although surprised, Rainbow Dash felt a strangely unfazed as she saw Fluttershy break down. It only made sense that it came to this point, what with everything that happened at this point. At the same time, she was unwilling to give up. Her heart sank to her stomach, the sadness within her spreading all over as she felt utmost empathy for her.

Bringing her back into her hooves, Dash cuddled her close and kissed her forehead. For a while she simply lay there, letting her cry, and stroked her mane. She didn’t say anything, not that she could have, and simply remained quiet as Fluttershy sobbed. Then again, she felt sure that it was all she needed right now. Just to be held, to be allowed to cry. It was probably ages (aside from a few days earlier) since she’d had a good cry, especially about something so deep and personal.

Eventually, Fluttershy’s sobbing lessened and she managed to relax, just crying silently and making occasional sniffles.

Courage broke through her as Rainbow Dash spoke again.

“Y’know, it’s true. I do care about my Fluttershy, and I know I mistook you for her at first. But give me a break, I didn’t exactly expect any of this to happen. To be fair, I’m sorry...” Dash murmured, looking away a bit. “Maybe I don’t know the real you, but you gotta show me who that real you is if you want me to love you. And, hey, maybe I don’t know how the others back home feel. But neither do you. Even you couldn’t tell me how they’re feeling about your absence. But I think if they were your real friends, they’d miss you. Same for your Rainbow Dash! I’m no good at this mushy stuff, and I know you’re not doing that well, but you gotta keep going. Don’t give up!”

With swiftness, Dash lay Fluttershy onto her back, then climbed over her, straddling her. This earned a wide-eyed, shocked look, but no further protest was made. But it wasn’t just that. A whole other method of helping her was executed, to which Fluttershy trembled from.

“So don’t get down on yourself! We’ve still gotta find a way to get you home and make things better for yourself and your friends! And if you give up now, then all you’re doing is letting yourself fail before you even tried! You know what it takes to master a new trick, right? To keep trying! Even if you fail! You get right back up and try again! Sometimes you’re gonna fail, sometimes you’re gonna fall, but you can get up and try!” Dash said, furiously stroking her hoof along her. “You can do it, Fluttershy! You can! I know you can! We all do! You just gotta let yourself fly! Let yourself be who you want to be! It can happen, it will happen, and you can make things better! You just have to do it!

“I’m not giving up on you, neither is Twilight, Pinks, Rarity, or Applejack! You’re still my wife, and I’m still gonna see this through to the end no matter what happens! Now you can either cower under the covers like a mouse or you can be a mare and try again! Because you want to, because you want to try hard to overcome your obstacles! Do it, Flutters... You can do it. Do it for your friends, for your Rainbow Dash, do it for yourself!”

Fluttershy laid there, trembling, the words sinking in, replaying in her mind. She exhaled deeply, allowing herself to truly think. Closing her eyes, a single tear fell as a faint smile played on her lips.

“You’re right... You really are right...” Fluttershy muttered. Before Dash could respond, Fluttershy pushed up against her, pushing Dash onto her side. “You really suck at saying mushy stuff...” She reached over, placing a hoof on Dash’s chest. “But I understand what you mean, I really do. I guess... I just needed to let that out. Twelve years of being somepony you’re not kinda has that effect on you. I’m sorry I put you through that... But thank you, Dashie.”

This made Dash grin, looking relieved. “Hey, no sweat, Flutters. I did promise I’d be there for you. I’m not about to go back on that! Besides, you may not be my Fluttershy... But come on, you’re still Fluttershy, you’re still real, doesn’t that count?”

An odd thought occurred to Fluttershy, making her laugh. “Yeah, it counts. It does in more ways than you realize, too.”

“How do you mean?”

“Eh, you’ll figure it out later,” Fluttershy teased.

Dash pouted a bit, “Not fair! I want to know! Quit being so cryptic!”

“Cryptic my flank, even you said it,” Fluttershy waved it off, “I am Fluttershy, I am real, and this so counts.”

“Ha,” Dash blew a raspberry, “You’re hilarious, Flutters.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Fluttershy giggled, resting her eyes.

Giggling, Rainbow Dash licked her cheek. “So you finally believe I’m being serious about this?”

Fluttershy nodded, chuckling to herself. “Maybe.”

“And what’s it gonna take to prove it?”

“Us meeting Luna here, who is secretly dating somepony.” Fluttershy looked over at Dash, grinning.

Rolling her eyes playfully, Rainbow Dash tackled Fluttershy on the bed and rolled around with her. The two laughed jovially, wrestling about as they attempted to dominate each other. All of the tension from earlier lifted, the mood was more lighthearted, filling them with fun. Giggles and squeals of glee sounded from both ponies, just enjoying their silliness. Eventually it was Dash who pinned down Fluttershy, smirking at her.

“Or I could just find other ways to prove it to you, Flutters,” she said sultrily.

“Oh, like what?” Fluttershy smiled wildly, despite knowing exactly what Rainbow Dash meant.

Rather than answer, the cyan pegasus closed the gap between them and kissed her passionately.

Fluttershy fully expected this to happen, but did not fight against it in the least. She wanted this, needed to feel the closeness of somepony else. Wrapping her forelegs around Dash’s waist, she pulled her closer, bring her into a gentle embrace. A slight moan escaped between their kiss as Fluttershy found herself feeling almost submissive under Rainbow Dash, and stranger still, enjoying it.

As the two were slowly getting into their heated activity, it was cut short by a loud squeal coming from-the closet.

“Oooohh! Sorry, girls! Didn’t mean to interrupt, but we have to go!” Pinkie yelled, poking her head out of the closet.

Almost too fast for Dash to react, Fluttershy pulled away, looking completely bewildered. “What?! How did you- how are you in our closet?!” She gently pushed Dash off and over to the side of the bed as she ran over the closet. “You know what? I don’t care how! Go back in there and just use the door like every other pony without magic!” She closed the closet door and rested against it.

“But.... we have to go!” Pinkie said from the other side of the door.

Dash groaned, sitting up. “Go where?! We were kind of busy, you know!”

“If you wanna talk, Pinkie, you better use the door, ‘cause I’m not opening this closet. So you either do that, or just wait until we have finish our private time!” Fluttershy stated bluntly.

Pinkie giggled, “Okay! You two finish up your hot pegasus sex! When you’re ready, we have to go back to Canterlot!”

“... Why?” Dash said, confused.

“We just got word from Discord himself! He said he’s got something that can help us!” Pinkie replied, now in the doorway of the room.

Shocked, Fluttershy went wide-eyed. “Discord? He can help us? Like, he knows how to- wait... How in the name of the sun and moon did you get out of the closet?!”

The pink earth pony giggled, ignoring her last question, “He does! So we’ll go to Canterlot when you’re ready! Toodles!” She winked, then closed the door.

Fluttershy was tempted to open to closet to see if Pinkie was there, but decided against it. “Okay, setting aside that fact I think this Pinkie is a unicorn and-slash-or a demon, this is great news! Maybe your Discord isn’t as much of a lazy good for nothing and can seriously help.”

“Ohhh yeah, he’ll be able to help!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly. “Too bad Fluttershy isn’t here to talk him into it... but we’ll have to go see what he’s gonna do to help us out!”

“I certainly hope so.” Fluttershy smiled brightly. “So, let’s get our stuff and get moving!”

Not needing to be told twice, both pegasi hurriedly packed up their belongings. The excitement and utter curiosity of the entire possibility was overwhelming them, making it hard to sit still. It even brought back the shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, this could all be resolved in some way. They looked at one another, grinning widely, before going into the other room to join up with Pinkie and Twilight.

Pinkie was already set to go, as she was waiting by the door. The alicorn, however, was frantically checking her bags and looking over her list to make sure she had everything. By Pinkie’s look, it was likely the second or third time she was overlooking the list.

“You two can go wait in the lobby if you want,” Pinkie said evenly, “She’s... going to be a while.”

“You sure about that? She looks like she might need a little help or something.” Fluttershy asked Pinkie, a bit confused. “Or at least somepony to take away that list...”

With a smirk, Rainbow Dash did just that, yanking the list right out of the magical hold. “Yoink!”

Twilight froze for a moment, then completely panicked. “Rainbow Dash, give that back! I need to make sure we have our belongings!”

“And you checked how many times?” Dash wanted to know.

“I’ve only checked over it three times! Princess Celestia suggests five re-checks to assure that nothing is lost!” Twilight shouted a bit, wishing to look over it once more.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, “I think I liked her better drunk... Hey, Dash! Throw it out the window!”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Dash cleared her throat and looked over the list. “I’ll read off the items and you tell me if they’re put away in your bag or not. Go! Toothbrush.”

Twilight froze yet again, realizing what this meant. “No! Please don’t read that out loud!”

“I didn’t bring one!” Fluttershy shouted.

“What? Is there something private on this list?” Dash quirked an eyebrow, confused.

“N-No! I just... would rather do this myself!” Twilight shot back, a faint blush starting to form.

Now Fluttershy and Pinkie were peeking over Dash’s shoulders to see what was on the list. Their eyes scanned it, trying to find whatever could possibly have embarrassed Twilight to have reveal. At least until the pony in question quickly grabbed the list away in her magic, which prevented them from doing so.

“Awww, but I wanted to know too, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie pouted.

“No!” Twilight said, becoming even more flustered. “I-I read over the list myself, the rest of you can wait in the lobby.”

Rolling her eyes, Dash opened the door, “Fine. But if you take more than ten minutes, we’re coming up here, taking that list away from you, reading it out loud, and then burning it!”

“Uh... isn’t burning a bit extreme?” Pinkie said.

“Whatever, just don’t take too long, Twi! We have more important things to worry about!” Dash stated, leaving the room.

Fluttershy giggled a bit following after her, “Aww, you look cute when you’re angry, Dash!”

Pinkie, however, looked dead serious. “Twilight, I’m afraid you’re going to have to hurry. We have to get back to Canterlot, and we really can’t waste time now. Either do a search of the room with your magic, or just leave it at three times checked.”

Defeated, Twilight sighed looking over to her friend. “All right, Pinkie. Could you just... wait outside with Dash and Fluttershy for a minute?”

“Sure, but please don’t be long,” said the earth pony, leaving the room as well.

Twilight sighed as she watched her friend walk out the door. Looking at the list, she tossed it aside and dug into her bag. She checked it three times now, and it was still not there, which made her feel a bit worried. She knew she had brought it with her, but it was missing. Considering for a moment where she could have placed it, with the hangover from before, that would make sense to herself if she was drunk.

Then, she realized where it would be. Trotting over to the bed, Twilight used her magic to toss aside the large pillow to reveal just what she was looking for. A small hoof-sized plush doll. One made by Rarity as to Twilight’s request. One that bore a striking similarity to certain pink party pony.

Picking it up for a brief hug, Twilight carried it over to her bag and placed it inside, and picked it up. “Now I have everything...”

It was a hasty departure from Las Pegasus, but the quartet did so nonetheless. A prompt arrival in Ponyville had them dropping off their bags, before catching the next train to Canterlot. While it was already late afternoon, approaching the evening hours, they pressed on to make it to the city and see what this entire situation was about. As it were, Discord’s message was very vague, though comedic and entertainingly written, and was simply to tell them to come and see him and the Princesses.

Finally, it was close to dinnertime when they arrived in the city and the palace. The entire trek was quick, almost a blur, but before they knew it, they were entering the throne room. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were awaiting them, but Discord was nowhere to be seen.

“Twilight, my dear faithful student,” Celestia greeted, more out of habit than anything. She managed a warm smile, “I’m glad you four have made it.”

With a quick bow, Twilight answered. “Thank you, Princess. We came as soon as we received word of our summons.”

“So, where’s Discord?!” Dash wanted to know, bouncing on the spot. “If he’s got something that can help us, we’d sure like to know it!”

“In time, Rainbow Dash... Even I don’t know where he’s gotten off to,” Celestia admitted, shaking her head. “However, I do also have good news. Luna has located the book in question, Twilight.”

Twilight beamed to hear this. “That’s wonderful news! I assure you, I never meant to destroy the original manuscript. The spell simply got out of hoof and-”

“Sent Flutters away and brought over this Fluttershy right here!” Pinkie said, pointing to Fluttershy.

Celestia nodded, “As I can see. Fluttershy, I can see we were not formally introduced, were we? Despite that, I hope you are feeling all right.”

Fluttershy looked over Celestia before nodding. “Yeah, I guess I’m okay. Been zapped to another reality, learnt a bit about myself, got married while drunk, and my mind is probably broken in a way that leaves scars for the rest of my natural life, but yeah, I’m pretty good.” She giggled a bit. “Also, you’re a lot shorter in my reality.”

Not the least bit offended, Celestia giggled, “I see. Well then, I suppose we-”

“Hellooooooooooooo!” Discord, coming out of nowhere, drawled out in a cheerful greeting. “Terribly sorry to be late, my little ponies! I had been quite delayed!”

“It’s about time!” Rainbow Dash said, tensing again. “So what can you do to help us? We gotta know!”

This made him laugh, floating in midair as he produced an apple into his lion paw, “Patience, patience, Rainbow Dash. Let me just show you a little something.”

Twilight stepped forward a bit. “What are you getting at Discord?”

“Wait a minute...” Fluttershy spoke up. “That apple looks kinda familiar...”

Winking, Discord tossed the apple a few feet away from him, to which it floated in midair for a few seconds. Then it spun crazily, out of control, before it then formed into... another Discord. An identical clone. Only this one was wearing a cyan scarf around his neck, to which the original Discord had a light yellow scarf.

“Well, everypony, I suppose it’s only fair that I introduce you... to me!” Discord grinned, making a dramatic gesture to the other Discord.

“Not this guy...” Fluttershy sighed.

“Hello, everypony!” The blue scarfed Discord shouted. “I am Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and- well, actually, in a way, you all know who I am, but not really. So, I’ll skip the dramatics of entrance and allow you all to react now... Go on, I’ve been dying know how this reality’s Elements of Harmony act, the Princesses are just a bonus!”

Everypony stared with wide eyes, completely unsure how to react. Most especially Celestia and Luna, who looked as if he’d grown two heads. Which almost wasn’t far off from the truth, in fact.

Pinkie, however, was quick to recover. “Wow! This is soooooo cool! Two Discords in the same reality! What a whacky fun time that is! Oooh, ooh, oooh! Other Discord! With the blue scarfie! What’s it like? Do you still make cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk? Do you at least make sure to include whipped cream? What’s it all like?! I want to know!”

“Pinks, not now!” Dash snarled, stepping forward. “If you came here all the way from the other reality, then you can go back?! How’d you do it?! Can you really help us here?!”

The ‘other’ Discord playfully jabbed this reality’s Discord in his side a bit. “She’s not really getting the whole Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony thing, is she?”

“Not in the slightest! She can be quite daft!” Said the yellow-scarfed Discord, chuckling.

“Is Fluttershy okay?! Is she all right?!” Dash demanded, ignoring their remarks.

“Is Fluttershy all right, you ask?” the blue scarfed Discord repeated. “Why, yes and no. Yes, as she is physically okay, but no, as she is not okay in the mental department. I assume you’re not doing too well there either, eh, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes at him, showing a bit of annoyance. “You’re still a jerk...” She paused for a moment, then regained a bit of composure. “Just what do you mean by that, huh?”

“Ah, and there’s your answer!” Discord declared, toying with his blue scarf. “Think, girl... If we were back in our reality, you would have torn into my like your friend here! But instead, you were quiet for the most part. Even now, your voice is considerably low. Or, have you not noticed?”

Fluttershy was about to respond, but realized, he was right. She would have been shouting, fighting against his words, arguing, or at least speaking more. Yet, even now, she found her voice unable to speak. She felt weaker, more reclusive, and small. She was seeing what he meant fully at last and this frightened her.

“Oh, dear Luna... You can’t be serious...” Fluttershy muttered.

“Oh, but sadly, I am.” Discord interjected. “The rules of reality are a tricky thing, as they have to play into rules of time. The universe knows you’re not this reality’s Fluttershy, however, for the events to occur on track with course of this reality, there must be a Fluttershy that is this one. If not, the flow of events can’t happen the right way! So, in short, you will end up, in a sense, becoming this reality's Fluttershy and... oh, I didn’t have the heart to tell the others but, eventually you’ll lose all your memories of who you once were and of your real home. You’ll be exact copy of her... and her, you.”

The yellow-scarfed Discord gave a solemn nod, “It seems he proved my theory correct! Such a shame, isn’t it?”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her heart sinking. “This can’t be happening! They’ll forget who they are, and become... like replacements for the originals? No, no, no! Discord, can you take us to the other reality, and I mean now?! I gotta get Fluttershy out of there!”

The blue scarfed Discord sighed, “Sadly, what you’re asking is a little impossible. I can traverse all of known reality as I am the Spirit of Chaos, meaning, I don’t have to play by the rules. But you all? You’re not me. So, you have to do things the long way around. With the spell. And we kinda gotta do this, like, before the next three days, or else I think they might completely forget who they were and are stuck where they are... so we do have a bit of a deadline. No pressure, though.”

“Ooh, but I may have a way of getting you there!” Yellow-scarfed Discord announced. “But getting back... not so much.”

Rainbow Dash stepped forward, her body trembling as the very dreaded thoughts ran through her head. “W-We’ll do anything! Anything! I’m going over there whether anypony likes it or not! I’m gonna help Fluttershy! I gotta get her-”

“Oooh, but what if she won’t leave?” Pinkie asked, wide-eyed.

“...Oh...” Dash realized that possibility, and looked downward. “Then I’d at least get to say goodbye, and that I’m sorry.”

“But she won’t remember...” Pinkie pouted. “But I wanna go, too! I gotta see the other me!”

Twilight exhaled, worry covering her face. “This does create a serious problem. Discord, what you were talking about, on how to take us there? Even if it’s just one of us, it would be enough.”

Grinning, yellow-scarfed Discord winked at his counterpart, before picking up Twilight and bouncing her in his lion paw, “It’s simple! I can transport all of you to that reality, of course! But you’ll have to use that nifty spell to bring yourselves back!”

“But with the way it happened last time, Fluttershy was linked to another of herself. If we all go, what is there for us to link to? And how do we keep it from switching again?” Twilight asked before using her magic to levitate in the air. “And please stop doing that.”

Both Discords looked at each other, giving twin shrugs. Yellow-scarfed Discord then snapped his eagle claw, to which a pile of papers, about two feet high, appeared on the floor.

“I think this is the only way to explain all of it!” He said dismissively.

Twilight, landing in the papers, looked at him confused. “And just what is all this?”

Fluttershy, who was most likely the most emotional broken of all the ponies, actually spoke up, albeit weakly. “This is... paperwork. He’s toying with you. He’s saying to explain it the way you want to hear it will take forever.”

Now Rainbow Dash felt worried, seeing just how serious this was. Tension ran through her limbs, practically gluing her to the floor. “Look, it doesn’t matter! We’ll take it! We’ll go and find our way back before the three day time limit! Just take us there already! We gotta stop this!”

The blue scarfed Discord chuckle a bit. “Oh, but you didn’t hear the best part! As Spirit of Chaos, I can exist within a reality with myself,” he pointed over at his copy, “but you all... can’t. So, to be frank, when you get to my reality, this Fluttershy here with us, will be in deadlock, as she’s in the right place... but the rest of you, well, I’ll say it like this. You can’t exist for very long with yourself, so the universe is gonna kill you. So, keep that in mind while you’re there, and do what you gotta do. But do take that time to enjoy the sights and the food. My reality’s Twilight is quite the cook!”

“Okay, so we got three days before Fluttershy and Fluttershy’s memories erase completely, three days before they become each other, three days before existing in the same universe kills us, and three days... just because!” Rainbow Dash clarified, trying to sound confident. “Fine! We’ll take it!”

The blue scarfed Discord leaned over to his counterpart, “She’s not very smart, is she? Brave, but not smart.”

Laughing, the yellow-scarfed Discord nudged him, “She’s just in love and worried. Figures!”

“Can we please move this along, Discord?” Fluttershy cut the two off, her tone both annoyed and saddened. “I... I want to fix this as soon as we can.”

“She’s right, the sooner we can act, the better.” Twilight spoke up, after actually reading several pages of the documents on the floor.

“Brilliant!” Said yellow-scarfed Discord, clapping with delight. “Celestia, I do hope you won’t mind if we... borrow these ponies for a while!”

Pursing her lips lightly, Celestia gave a curt nod, “I cannot make the decision for them. I only wish that they return safely.”

“No promises on that, Celly.” Blue scarfed Discord remarked. “You know the dangers as well as they do. So, what’s it gonna be?”

Fluttershy nodded, “I would rather die than lose my memories... and since that’s the case, I can live with it. Besides, I gotta make things right with my Rainbow Dash... I just have to...”

“As the only one who knows the spell here, I don’t have a choice in the matter. That, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit curious about this other reality.” Twilight spoke calmly, knowing that she would go.

“I will go along for moral support!” Pinkie stated, smiling brightly. “And I have to meet the other us!”

Trembling a bit, Rainbow didn’t look at either of them as she spoke as well, “I’m going because I want to make sure Fluttershy’s okay, and tell her I’m sorry.”

The blue scarfed Discord chuckled, “This feels like the start of one of those old, fantasy stories about the group of heroes going off into the unknown. Somepony should write a story about this, I swear... Oh well!” He gave dismissive shrug. “Now, when we get there, I’ll be tagging along with you and this handsome devil here will be, well, here so you do have something to link to! Since he’ll be ready for you, it’ll work. Or it should as it has at least a ninety-eight percent chance of working.”

“What’s the other two percent?” Twilight asked out of curiosity.

“Eh, you don’t wanna know. Trust me.” Discord turned to his yellow scarfed copy. “I’m gonna miss me when I’m gone... be sure to write, me. Now, let’s do this before I get all teary eyed.”

“Will do, me!” Laughed the yellow-scarf Discord. “Now then, all of you stand together, that’s it! Just like in school! Front row sitting, back row standing!” He made a frame with his paws as the ponies and his counterpart gathered. “Ah, a little to the left, Twilight... Oh, Rainbow Dash, take one little hair to the right! Pinkie, you’re too high, lower yourself a bit! Fluttershy, turn towards me... Perfect! You all look fabulous!”

Fluttershy frowned as she locked eyes with Discord. “If you don’t hurry up... I’m gonna kill you. Both of you.” She looked back at the Discord sitting behind her. “Just do whatever it is you're going to do and let’s go...”

“Tut tut, have patience, my dear,” yellow-scarfed Discord then produced a fortune cookie.

With a grin, he snapped it open, sending a plume of dust right at the gathered group. In moments, the dust engulfed them all and they disappeared, as if never having been there in the first place.

Pinkamena paced across the throne room, her mane swaying from side to side. She had asked all the others, beside herself and Twilight, to wait outside the room. She knew that Discord would return soon, but she did not fully trust him, she never did. It took all her reasoning to allow him to do this with Twilights mystic aid and even then, every moment, she expected him to return and destroy the castle with needlessly large explosion of an entrance.

With a sigh, she trotted over to Twilight, who was drawing something on a piece of paper with crayons. Looking back at the throne, Pinkamena wondered if she made the right choice. After hearing Discord fully explain the situation only added to her unnerved state. She only hoped that things would go as planned.

“Twilight,” Pinkamena looked down, her face hid her emotions well, “do you believe that everything is all right within the other reality? Discord has been gone for longer than four hours. He claimed it would only take one.”

Twilight grinned, nodding, “Of course I do, silly! Maybe there’s some timey-wimey stuff involved! And look!” She held up her drawing. “I drew you!”

Pinkamena giggled a bit. “I can see that. You’re getting better. However, it’s missing something rather important...”

“What’s it missing?” Twilight tilted her head cutely.

“You, of course.” Pinkamena teased her, chuckling as she placed a foreleg over Twilight’s shoulder. “You know I don’t like to be in your pictures alone.”

Giggling with glee, Twilight snuggled against her, smothering her cheek with kisses. “Hee hee! You’re right! I’ll add me in there! Being all alone in a piccy isn’t fun! It’s better to be right with somepony you love!”

“Of course it is.” Pinkamena smiled warmly, giving her a gentle kiss. “I suppose I was just overreacting again... One day, you really must teach me how to relax properly.”

“But you do know, Pinkie! You just have to think of happy things and lie down! Get all nice and comfy, you’ll love it!”

“Twilight, that sounds like something else to me,” Pinkamena chuckled.

In response, the lavender alicorn blew a raspberry, giggling.

A few feet away, along the carpet, there was a strange, pulsating glimmer of light that formulated. It remained there, getting brighter at each second, before it seemed to burst! As the room cleared and became normal once more, there was the surprising sight of Discord- accompanied by four ponies, right where the light had once been.

The ponies, as it were, consisted of a widly curly-haired Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle with her mane a bit shorter and left down, Rainbow Dash with a shorter and scruffier set of bangs while her cooler colours seemed to simply lay there...

And Fluttershy. Their Fluttershy. There was no mistaking the shorter mane/tail and earrings.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, you’re back!!” Twilight exclaimed with glee, hugging the yellow pegasus. “We missed you soooooo much! You’re okay!”

Twilight quickly jumped back in shock, staring wide eyed at the sight. “Oh, dear Celestia... there really are counterparts of each of us.”

“Duh,” Discord spoke blandly, “And you’re supposed to be the smart one? Well, not as smart as this reality’s Pinkie, but smart nonetheless.”

“Hiiiiiii!” Pinkie said brightly, getting up in Pinkamena’s face, grinning. “Wow! You wear your hair like I used to, but don’t anymore!”

Pinkamena took a step back, “By the word of the divine, you really are the other me. Positively astounding, and yet, frightening.”

“Yeah, she’s some kind of freak magic earth pony or something.” Fluttershy said with bored look.

“Wait, is this true?” Pinkamena shot back, suddenly inspecting the other her. “In your reality, earth pony’s can perform magic without focal points?! Do explain.”

“Never mind that! Where’s my Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash wanted to know. “I have to see her, now! Please, tell me where she is!”

“Oh, she’s at the library, with our Dashie!” Hyper Twilight giggled.

Fluttershy sighed deeply, giving her an annoyed look, “You left them alone and didn’t bring them here? Not to question you, but why?!”

Hyper Twilight blinked, tilting her head. “Um... But I thought we asked them to look after the library while we came out here to Canterlot when Princess Luna said she had news for us... Is that. ..bad?” She looked at Pinkamena for an answer.

Pinkamena shook her head, “Well, according to what Discord explained to us, they now have three days to return before this universe tries to erase them from existence, and the trip to Ponyville takes about half a day, even by the fastest means, so it could create a small problem.”

“Then teleport us there, or something! Somepony use freaky magic here!” Rainbow Dash half-yelled, though more out of passion than anger. She pawed at the floor, anxiety coursing through her and quickening her heartbeat. “Please, I can’t take this anymore! I have to see Fluttershy!”

Twilight was a bit overtaken by this reality’s Pinkamena and her demeanor. “A minor problem? While I hate to agree with Rainbow Dash on this, we need to get this done and fast. I can just teleport us there.”

“No, you can’t.” Fluttershy deadpanned, “From what I remember, teleporting doesn’t really work the same way here as it does where you’re from, right, Pinkamena?”

“Indeed, not only that but I believe Discord might have forgotten to mention the effect of bringing you all here. Since he mostly told us, I’ll tell you in simple terms. The spell has most likely drained you both physically and mentally, meaning, I doubt that this other Twilight has the magic necessary to perform a class A teleportation spell. That, and you all will most likely begin to feel the exhaustion once the adrenaline wears off.” Pinkamena explained, now facing the entire group.

Crestfallen, Rainbow Dash looked out toward a nearby window, then the doorway, contemplating. She could see what they meant, that this wouldn’t be easy, but she was not ready to give up. Already she was finally this close to seeing Fluttershy again, the very excitement of that coursed through her madly.

“No! No! I’m not gonna just park myself here and wait! I’ll fly there myself!” She said, spreading her wings. “I’m the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale and I’ve gone from Canterlot to Ponyville a few times in a matter of a few minutes!”

“Only in this reality, you’re not!” This reality’s Fluttershy said back. “Here, I’m the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale, and there’s no way you’re going without me, got it?”

“...Oh...” Dash gave a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean that, Fluttershy... I wasn’t gonna go without you anyway. Besides, your Rainbow Dash is there too. Perfect coincidence that they’d be in the same place, eh?”

“Well of course they would be!” Said Hyper Twilight, giggling. “They live together!”

Fluttershy turned back to face her. “They what?”

“This will not end well...” Pinkamena sighed. “Go on, my dear, explain it to them.”

“Ohhh...” Hyper Twilight said, and cleared her throat. “Our Dashie and your Flutters are in love! They started living together since a couple days ago now! You haven’t seen them, but they are soooooo sweet together! It’s so cute! So we asked them to look after our library and they agreed to do it together!”

“Wooooow!” Pinkie said, wide-eyed. “No wonder!”

“What?!” Dash cried, feeling dread stab at her stomach. “....We were right... they... they actually did...”

Fluttershy looked emotionally unstable, almost on the verge of tears, but something stopped her. “I’m not changing my mind... I’m still going. The only difference is now I’m going to explain the situation, apologize, and do my best not to kill the other me. So, Dash,” she looked over to her companion, “You better get there before me, got it? Besides, who are we to talk? We got married while drunk... I think we’re more at fault than them.”

“I-I know that, Fluttershy...” Dash said, exhaling. “I guess I just felt surprised, that’s all. C’mon, let’s go there and... I don’t know, fix all this, I guess. Let’s go!”

“Good luck, Dashie and Flutters!” Said Pinkie, waving her hoof.

“Bye bye! Go and win back your loveys!” Twi giggled, waving as well.

“Au revoir!” Discord shouted, “Bonne chance, or in other words, good luck you nutcases!”

Twilight just shook her head, feeling as though this would be a rather painful experience. “This will not end well, I already now.”

“Ah, but seldom is anything worth doing easy,” Pinkamena chimed in, startling Twilight.

Readying her wings, Fluttershy looked over at Dash with a grin, “Last one there has to confess first!”

Dash smirked, nodding. “You’re on! Let’s do this!”

Casually walking over to the window, Pinkamena pushed it open and exhaled with a look of mild annoyance. “Please do not destroy anything while breaking the sound barrier, thank you.”

“Speaking of which, I’m not gonna go easy on you this time, Dash!” Fluttershy mocked. “We’ll see just who’s the fastest and, oh, by the way, it’s me.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m the fastest and you know it, Fluttershy!” Dash blew a raspberry.

Continuing to banter, the two pegasi flew out the window and out into the night. The other ponies and Discord watched them go for a few moments, before regaining themselves.

“Sooooo! Who’s up for a party?!” Pinkie said, grinning.

Twi beamed! “Oooooh! A party?! Yes yes yes yes! I am SO there! I’ll even help you set it up!”

Pinkie gasped, wide-eyed. “...Other Twi-Twi, this is gonna be an AWESOME friendship!”

Twilight felt a bit unnerved by the site of Pinkie and her other self speaking to one another so friendly, even hugging a bit. She could not place the emotion, but it made her feel sick, angry, and even sad. A faint blush came over her as she continued to watch.

Pinkamena chuckled, startling Twilight a bit as she approached her. “No need to feel the sting of jealousy, I assure you. This reality’s Twilight is already in a commitment. Engaged, actually.”

“I-I’m not jealous! Wait, huh? She is? Really? With who?” Twilight looked at her in confusion.

“Me, of course.” Pinkamena stated bluntly, smiling.

“...What?”

Author's Note

Yep! Pinkamena and Twilight are engaged! :D Isn't that cute?

But hey, now we have them in the other reality! Yay! XD The next chapter is going to be so interesting, to be sure! Yes! The next chapter will finally have Flutterdash, Rainbowshy, Rainbow and Fluttershy finally all confronting this together! Yay! ^w^ After that, one more chapter, then it'll be two epilogues! One for this reality, one for the alternate.

Enjoy, folks!

Alternate 14: Amends

“There, all done,” Fluttershy said as she finished up the dishes, wiping her hooves on a towel.

Rainbow smiled faintly as she approached her, “You know... I would have been more than willing to do the dishes if you didn’t want to, Fluttershy.”

“But you cooked dinner, Rainbow,” Fluttershy giggled, smiling. “You know our agreement. One of us cooks, the other does the cleanup.”

Rainbow Dash nodded quietly. “I-I know, but I just don’t like feeling like I’m making you do something. I know you said that this is fair, but I can’t help it... I like helping.”

“I know... so do I, but don’t worry about it,” Fluttershy kissed her forehead. “Now, why don’t we go curl up with a good book, hmm?”

Giggling, Rainbow lead the way into the living room. “What kind of book did you want to read? I-I kinda like old romance novels a-and little bits of fantasy... b-but we can read whatever you feel like.”

“I love fantasy novels... and lately more and more, I’m into adventures and mysteries!” Fluttershy admitted, going down toward the library section.

Rainbow looked about the different section before spotting a book that caught her attention. It was not really in her taste as it was a more adult themed book, but it did give her an idea. Taking the book, she made her way over to couch, she beckoned for Fluttershy to sit with her.

“H-How about this one?” Rainbow asked her, a slight undertone of playfulness in her voice. “I thought maybe you would like it...”

“Hmm? What did you find?” Fluttershy asked, sitting on the couch next to her.

Rainbow fumbled the book a bit in her hooves before holding it up for Fluttershy to see. “Just this...”

Much to Fluttershy’s surprise, it was an erotic historical fiction novel. The cover consisted of two beautiful mares interlocked in a passionate embrace on a grassy meadow. If that wasn’t enough, the title was Sensual Frenzy.

“Ooh...you want to read that?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

Rainbow blushed a deep shade of red, hiding her snout behind the book, “Well... maybe, but only if you want to.”

Giggling, Fluttershy nodded. “I’d love to.”

Passing her the book, Rainbow Dash settled into a slight cuddling position, waiting for Fluttershy to begin reading.

The creamy yellow pegasus did so, bringing one foreleg around her lover, holding the book open against her other hoof. She began to read, blushing ever slightly at the content.

“Daisy carefully removed the silk robe from Passion’s toned body, allowing the garment to fall. Eager, the smaller mare lay sweet kisses along the strong neck of the other mare. Passion let out sighs and gentle coos, something only Daisy could allow her to emit. Wasting no time, Daisy carefully traversed her hoof further down Passion’s body...”

Rainbow felt herself starting to heat up, blushing from the words. She grinned faintly, subconsciously running one of her hooves up Fluttershy’s hind leg.

Not really noticing, Fluttershy continued to read on, blushing at every turn. It was getting more and more passionate. She did, however, start to wonder if Rainbow had deliberately picked out this particular book. With a giggle, she looked at her lover for a moment, then went back to reading.

With each passing sentence Rainbow found herself ever more heated. Resting her head against Fluttershy’s shoulder, she started to nuzzle against her, her hoof slowly drifting to Fluttershy’s nether region in an unknown daze. Rainbow bit her lip, waiting for the next paragraph, only to notice that Fluttershy had stopped reading and was not grinning at her.

“Rainbow....” She said tenderly, smiling then. “You did pick this book on purpose...”

Rainbow Dash blushed, looking away nervously. “N-No... I just f-found it and thought it was an adventure book, like what you said you w-were wanting to read...”

“No, you didn’t... I can feel you getting frisky...” Fluttershy giggled. “Well, Rainbow.... if you wanted me...” She fell back onto the couch, exposing her body.

“F-Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelped, taken aback by her boldness, “A-Are you sure that this would a good idea? We’re not at our house, and we’re in the l-living room...” She looked down at her lover, blushing bright crimson. “E-Even if it’s really... really tempting...”

“You weren’t complaining earlier... besides, don’t start what you can’t finish, Dash,” Fluttershy said sultrily, giving her lover bedroom eyes and licking her lips.

Rainbow felt herself feeling weak, almost as if she could not say anything other than yes in the moment. “W-Well... I don’t want to disappoint you and I... really do want to.” She ran a hoof over Fluttershy’s chest, finding it hard to think clearly.

“Shut up and love me,” Fluttershy commanded, smirking lightly.

Before Fluttershy could comment more, Rainbow lunged down, pulling her into a fiercely passionate kiss, almost taking her breath away. She pulled her close, close enough to feel the other heartbeat, gently caressing her sides, lightly brushing against the feathers of her wings as she did so.

Pulling away slowly, Rainbow Dash muttered, “Like that?”

“Oh yes....” Fluttershy cooed, gazing up at her; eyes hazed over with lust.

Just as they leaned in to lock lips again, there was a loud sound of glass shattering. It startled both pegasi, who nearly fell off the couch in shock. A loud thump followed, along with groans of irritation and pain. Finally coming upon the sight, there were... another Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, sprawled on the floor, wings spread.

“What the hay just happened?!” Yelled out Fluttershy from the couch.

The Rainbow Dash on the floor stood up, trying to gather herself. She felt like she was spinning, as well as seeing stars in her eyes. “Urgh... H-Hey... you got in here, first...”

The short maned Fluttershy was attempting to stand, completely out of it from the crash. “I... I told you I was faster...”

“Nuh-uh....” Dash mumbled, attempting to stand as well. “I’m faster...”

“...Rainbow?” Came a soft, meek voice.

Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash’s ears perked as she followed that voice. That voice! There was no mistaking it now, now that she knew. She regained her sense of vision, looking to where the voice had come from. Right there, on the couch, sitting up, was none other than Fluttershy. Her Fluttershy. The long pink mane, yellow coat, soft teal eyes.

Dash took a step forward, a wave of emotions overtaking her, while tears pooled in her eyes. Her heart pounded, yet swelled with happiness, and her body seemed to melt. What had only been a few days felt like forever to her, along with her moments of just plain missing her so much. It felt too good to be true, to finally see her again. Regret, joy, relief and excitement coursed through her as she tried to gather herself.

“Fluttershy...!” Rainbow Dash spoke out, her voice breaking with emotion. She didn’t waste another second before running over to her and hugging her tight.

“R-Rainbow Dash?!” Fluttershy half shouted, feeling herself locked in Dash’s embrace. “What... Why... How are you even here?”

“It doesn’t matter... I’ll explain later!” Dash said, shaking her head. “Fluttershy, I’ve missed you so much! I just-I’m so glad you’re okay!” She felt moisture leaking from her eyes, clearly the sign that she was crying. But for once, she just didn’t care. She just wanted to savour finally seeing her again.

Meanwhile, the meeker Rainbow Dash was staring with stunned eyes at the other Fluttershy. She trembled, as if afraid to approach her, as many mixed emotions coursed to her heart. On the one hoof, she felt so glad to see her, and missed her immensely. But on the other hoof, she wasn’t even sure what to feel.

“....F-Fluttershy?” She managed, her voice above a whisper.

Slowly regaining her senses, this reality’s Fluttershy shook her head, looking up at the meeker Rainbow Dash. “Rain-” she stopped before she could even finish saying her name. It was a feeling she had grown accustomed to over the past few days. A mixture of emotions too sporadic to account for overflowed in her mind. Her expression was mute, however, unable to express anything in this moment.

The bold Fluttershy’s words did not want to come, as if afraid to say something and cause her to run away. She was at a true loss, not only for words, but for emotion, expression, even tears. It was painful to be this happy and yet saddened at the same time.

“Yeah... it’s me,” she bit her tongue. Even now, after all of this, she could not bear to face the one pony she had wanted to see more than any other.

Recoiling, the meek Rainbow just took a few steps back, lowering her head. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing her counterpart hugging Fluttershy. In fact, the two of them were locked in a very passionate embrace. Her heart sank. She’d seen this coming... just didn’t think she’d actually see it.

With a sigh, she looked back toward the bolder Fluttershy, most especially when she noticed something shiny. Her eyes went wide. It was a wedding pendant, of her own cutie mark. Or rather, one of her counterpart’s obviously.

“...Y-You... two.... got married...?” She uttered, her voice breaking.

The entire room fell silent for a moment, not even the sound of breathing was able to be heard.

Wide eyed, Fluttershy pulled away almost violently from Dash, eyes locking with the pendant around her neck. “You... you got married after knowing her for only a week?” She casted her gaze back up to Dash, now in tears.

“We were drunk!” Dash defended, her cheeks pink.

Before anypony else could speak, Fluttershy shouted back, “Was I really that replaceable to you? Was I? And now, you show up here... I don’t care that you were drunk! You married her!”

“Me?! What about you?! You sure had no problem shacking up and moving in with the other me right there!” Dash yelled, pointing to her meeker counterpart, who had by now had a “Keep me out of this!” look on her face. “Yeah, so I replaced you, and yet it’s okay that you replaced me? Hi, Pot! I’m Kettle!”

Their two counterparts looked as though they wanted to say something to stop this fight, but it was far too late, seeing the look in Fluttershy’s eyes. “I was all alone! My home wasn’t even my home! I had no money or income and couldn’t do this Fluttershy’s job,” she pointed at her counterpart, “so I needed a place to stay! She invited me, I didn’t beg! I needed a friend and she was willing to help me through this!” She exhaled heavily, then shot Dash a cold look. “You know, back when I got here, I thought about marrying this Rainbow Dash, but you know what? I didn’t! Why? Because I was still hoping to see you again, Rainbow Dash!”

This was when the meek Rainbow Dash came forward, now coming up next to Fluttershy, “It’s true. And I did ask her. ..if she’d like to stay with me. I wanted to help her, even if I had no idea what was going on at first... But she... she just needed help, and I wanted to extend my hoof to help her... It’s true though, we are in love. Fluttershy here... She’s always been so kind and sweet, so understanding and... I just... I couldn’t help how I felt. I just...”

The meek Rainbow paused then, looking over toward the bolder Fluttershy. All of a sudden, she didn’t look so meek anymore. If anything, she could feel her own source of anger and resentment rising in her. Before she could stop it, it bubbled within her like a volcano about to erupt. A force of nature she couldn’t hold back, and had held in for so long.

“She’s everything you weren’t!” Meek Rainbow shouted angrily, tears in her eyes.

The bolder Fluttershy felt the sting of these words: they hurt. They hurt more than any other pain she had known. To see her Rainbow Dash this mad at her, to see that rage in her eyes directed at herself, it was too much. Dropping her low, her mane hid her face.

“Yeah, you know what? I said it! I’m not holding this back anymore!” Meek Rainbow yelled angrily, now advancing on her. “You were mean to me, you insulted me and you never appreciated anything that I did! You were always pushing me around or pushing me away! I’ve had it! But I always forgave you, I always came back because that’s what friends do! They forgive each other! But if you don’t want me to be your friend, why didn’t you just tell me?! Why did you string me along?! I don’t even know why I love you! Yes, I love you! I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember! If that’s such a horrible insult to you, then I don’t care! And then you replaced me! You go and marry the other me! Well, lovely! Congratulations! You have my blessing! Replace me! Like I care!

“Maybe I don’t want you coming back! Maybe I want this Fluttershy to stay! At least-at least she treats me well! She loves me! She’s everything you’re not! And you know what? I love her too! I love her so much! And I’m not giving her up unless she wants me to!” Turning to her counterpart, she added, “Until then, you’re going to have to pry her from my cold, dead hooves!”

There was deafening silence in the room. Not a noise was made until faint sound of tears was heard hitting the floor.

“You’re right...” The once bold Fluttershy spoke up, the tears fell freely. “You’re completely right. I was never worth it... I wasn’t worth the love you gave me. Look at me. I’ve been a horrible pony, a horrible friend for so long... I don’t even know who the buck I am... I just... I always do this. This right here. I hurt you. I hurt everypony around me. I even hurt myself,” She felt her legs tremble, against her will, almost falling over. “I was horrible to you, I know that, but I did it because... because...” She reared her head up, showing her face, “Because I wanted you to hate me! All I was gonna do is just hurt you again and again, over and over until you broke and I didn’t want that! I loved you so much that I didn’t want to make you suffer with a horrible pony like me!”

All the screams out of her lungs, the short maned Fluttershy darted out of the room, not flying, but running. For the first time, she ran. Not out of fear, meekness, of anger, but shame. The sound of a door being slammed opened was heard somewhere, but never closed.

Yet another dead, uncomfortable silence befell the room. Neither knew what to say, what to do, nothing. Even the meek Rainbow Dash looked as if she were a mix of shocked and yet kind of sad.

“....I-I-I knew... about all of that...” Meek Rainbow uttered, trembling. “I knew it... and yet... I... I still... got angry... at her... even though I knew all along...”

Fluttershy looked between the two Rainbows, a mixture of feelings overcoming her. She wanted to be mad still, she wanted to yell at Rainbow Dash and say this was her fault, but a larger part was more concerned and worried. She was conflicted in every sense of the word.

“Rainbow...” Fluttershy called over the meek Dash. “I’m... I’m sorry...”

Said Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, she just stared straight ahead toward where the other Fluttershy had gone.

All the while, Dash had taken this whole thing in. While she’d figured why the bold Fluttershy had done what she did, even that still hurt. It made her wonder if she’d done the same thing all along, but it was hard to tell. At the moment, she just felt... hurt. No, more than that. She felt so many things, it was hard to even pinpoint what. It was as if her entire body was running on so much, about to explode from the emotional overload. She felt more tears stinging her eyes, her legs weak, and her heart just shatter.

“Flutters... I just... there’s another reason we’re here. It’s because in three days, you’re gonna lose your memories completely, and become the Fluttershy of this reality. We just... came back to try to save you and stuff. But you don’t even want to come home now, do you? Well... fine. I’m not gonna force ya. I just... I wanted you to know I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything I said and did to you. All that stuff... And that, you do mean the world to me, you really do. I’m sorry I reacted the way I did the last time we saw each other. I lied. Completely. That kiss was awesome. Totally awesome. Everything we’ve ever done together was awesome. You’re my best friend, and I... never truly knew how much you meant to me until I saw I was going to lose you forever. I just.... couldn’t let this go without seeing you one more time. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. And I... wanted you to know...”

Rainbow Dash sniffled, not even hiding that she was crying.

“I love you, Fluttershy. I love you more than life itself... I wanted you to know that. I’m sorry, Flutters... for everything,” she sobbed, then looked at her counterpart. “Listen, Other Me... thank you. Thank you for taking care of her, for helping her... and loving her. You did everything I should’ve done. I’m not gonna take her away. You have my blessing. I’m just sorry about what happened... We’ll just go when she’s ready. We’re gonna be in Canterlot.”

Without waiting for an answer, she went after her legally married wife.

Fluttershy reached out as if to stop Dash from leaving, but her voice would not come. She watched as Dash walked away from her, after traveling to this reality just for her. Her heart ached in the strangest way, like a nail was piercing through her chest, tearing at her insides. She knew all too well despite what she said, all that had happened, she still loved her. To see this played out like that of a scene from a novel was heartbreaking. Soul-shattering.

“Rainbow Dash...”

The meek Rainbow Dash looked at her sadly, then turned to her. “Fluttershy... can you wait here, please? I-I need... to go talk to her. I can’t-just let her go like that... Not like this. I-I hope that’s okay...”

Fluttershy did not say anything, she merely turned away collapsing onto the couch silently, curling up.

“...I’ll be right back...” She said softly, sensing that Fluttershy needed time alone, too.

Exiting, she made her way upstairs, finding the room she knew that her Fluttershy was in. Rainbow Dash was sitting outside of it, the door half ajar, and looked uncertain. Taking a breath, the meek Rainbow went to her, touching her shoulder.

“Rainbow Dash... let me go in there, please,” she whispered. “I need to go talk to her.”

Looking to her, Dash sighed and nodded, stepping out of the way. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you... Please, go back downstairs when you can. You and Fluttershy need to talk.”

Dash said nothing, but nodded as she went to the kitchen.

Without hesitation, the meek cyan pegasus stepped into the guest bedroom where this reality’s Fluttershy was. She closed the door behind her, slowly approaching the bed.

On the bed, Fluttershy lay there, facing away from her, curled up in the fetal position. Rainbow hesitated, but was not going to turn back, now. She took a breath, coming closer.

“Fluttershy?”

“Really messed up, didn’t I?” The once bold Fluttershy cried sadly, assuming that she was talking to the other Rainbow Dash. “We come here and I was gonna try to do better... I really was. I didn’t want to hurt her again, but I did anyway!” She sniffled to herself. “I just... I wanted her to know I was sorry! That's all... I knew she would find somepony better than me one day, and she deserves it. I was never worth anything... I told you no pony would miss me... Me, the stupid pony, the prankster, the racer... the complete faker! Who in their right mind would ever miss me? And Rainbow... she was so mad. I guess she really does hate me now, huh? Just when I finally figured it out... that it was okay to love her... she hates me.”

“...She doesn’t hate you, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said softly. Now that she saw that Fluttershy assumed who she was, maybe it was time to play up to that. “I think she was just letting off steam, y’know? We all do that sometimes. Besides, I think she knows a bit more about what’s going on than you realize... It just took her awhile to get it all out. But she can’t hate you like that. You still had those great times with her, all of it. You don’t just stop loving somepony. If anything, she was really upset by the time you left the room.”

Fluttershy only sobbed more. “Great times? What do you know? Yeah, I enjoyed all those time I had with her... I still keep all our photos in case. But do you really think she liked just watching me fly around? Or going to shows and stuff she didn’t even like? I’m sure she hated it, even if I did like every moment... She’s better off without me...”

“Fluttershy... Sometimes we do things together with those we like, because spending time with them is more important than what you’re doing,” Rainbow murmured. “And you really have to stop saying things like that. You should let her decide that for herself. You never know. Maybe if you two just talk to each other, be honest and get it all out, she might... well, be willing to give you a chance. Because she still loves you. You just... have to try.”

“Decide? It’s pretty clear who she wants to be with... You didn’t see her face the way I did. That was hate in her eyes... hatred of me. I never want to see her like that, really. I was just wanting her to move on, to find a nice stallion or mare to take care of her the way I should have. But it’s too late for me to even apologize... She hates me...” Fluttershy laid there frozen with those words hanging in the air.

Tears in her eyes, it took all of Rainbow’s strength not to break down herself. This was all too much. She couldn’t possibly hate her. Not like this. All she felt was sadness, love, and hope. Even regret of her own. Very slowly, she came closer to the bed.

“Can I... just ask? What if she still loves you? What if... she actually knows a lot more, and I mean a lot more, than you think? What if she knows a lot of what you did and why you did it? What if she wants to give you a chance? I mean... You did still come all this way, to come back, to come home... And to own up to what you did wrong, to apologize. That’s amazing, it really is... It’s never too late, Fluttershy. Maybe she wants you to know that. If you’d let her... she’ll let you, too.”

Crying softly, Fluttershy tried to answer her. “If any of that was true... I would spend the rest of my life trying to be a better mare for her. Trying to make up for all the stupid stuff I did. I would fly up to the stars in the night sky and bring one down for her if she asked... I’d do anything to have that chance... just one last chance to do better.” She slumped down even more, hooves shaking. “But I know I never will... So, I guess... I just want her to be happy, that’s all.”

All at once, Rainbow smiled warmly as more tears pooled in her eyes. She came to the bed, mounting her forehooves onto it. Emotions ran through her as she took in the other mare’s words, and felt so compelled. Gone was her anger, gone was her resentment, everything. It all made so much more sense now. She felt a warm love swim along her body, making her heart pound and swell. Everything was slowly looking up.

“Fluttershy... can you turn toward me?”

Fluttershy did not move, even feeling the presence now beside her. “Dash... I just want to be alone right now. I know you mean well, but I... I can’t. I just can’t... It hurts too much to move.”

“....Okay, then I’ll come there.”

Before Fluttershy could respond, Rainbow Dash made her way to the other side of the bed, completely in view of Fluttershy. Making sure her braid was in view, she sat down before her, meeting her saddened gaze.

The moment her eyes saw just who she was speaking to, Fluttershy felt her body tense. Pushing up a bit only to have her forelegs give, she felt every part of her tremble with emotion.

“Rain-” she froze yet again, too afraid to speak. The events from just a few minutes ago replayed in her head. She was scared, honestly scared. She dared not move, speak or even breathe. All she could do was stare, stare at the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

With a sad, but warm smile, Rainbow leaned in toward her, “...I love you, Fluttershy... and I forgive you.”

Starting to cry once more, Fluttershy moved towards her slowly, before almost completely collapsing into her. “I’m so sorry! I really am! I’m sorry I never told... I’m sorry that was just a jerk... I’m sorry I did all those stupid things... I loved you for so long! I’m sorry I never said that before... I’m sorry...”

Laying her back, Rainbow cuddled against her and embraced the crying pegasus. She nuzzled her wet cheek, kissing her tears, rubbed her back and her mane.

“I forgive you, Fluttershy... You see, on top of that... the other Fluttershy had seen some things you had. Your dream journal, and your actual journal. We-We’re sorry we went through them...well, she did... I just read a bit... And... And we found your love letter to me... I... I’m sorry about that... But you do need to understand that we had no idea if this could be fixed or not... And even though... I knew all of that... I still got angry... even if I knew better. I’m sorry for that, Fluttershy... for all of that. I love you, and I forgive you...” She whispered, crying a bit herself.

Fluttershy didn’t look the least bit affect by this in a bad way, not even moving away from her, but holding her closer. “It’s okay, you had every right to be mad at me... I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did hate me... and honestly, I always kinda hoped that you’d find that letter one day. I just- I’m sorry it took me so long to say this.” She sniffled, nuzzling against Rainbow’s shoulder.

“I-I almost didn’t want to read it... I just... I couldn’t do it, for a lot of reasons. But my curiosity and desire to know got the better of me,” Rainbow whispered, stroking her mane. “But I’m glad I did... I’m glad I found it... It was written so nicely. We took it to my house... it’s all still there... I’ll bring it back for you later.”

“You can keep it...” Fluttershy said trying to not cry further.

“Are you sure? It’s still your stuff... it’s all the memorabilia you’ve collected... I didn’t know you kept all that stuff... I-I was... so surprised. It was touching...” Rainbow murmured, managing a smile.

Fluttershy shook her head, pushing her up enough to look into Rainbow’s eyes. “I won’t lie to you, not anymore, so... I’ve waited what feels like a million years just to say this. You’re the most important thing in my world, in any world, to me. You’re... everything to me. You’re the way my heart beats, the words my tongue speaks... I couldn’t live without you in my life. As long as I have you, I don’t care about anything else.”

Trembling, Rainbow Dash felt more tears come to her eyes. She’d longed for this moment since forever, and while the circumstances were far from what she imagined, it was still everything she’d hoped for. Finally, they could be honest together, and just get it all out on the table. Her heart swelled, insides burst, and smile grew. Everything just felt as if it were lifting, making her feel more light. She felt so peaceful.

“Fluttershy, you’re important to me, too... You always were. And I was lying, earlier, when I said I didn’t want you to come back. Please don’t believe that, I was lying. I was just angry. I want you here, with me... I want you to come back. I’ve missed you ever since you were gone. I-I know I did... fall in love with the other Fluttershy, and I was happy with her, I still am... I love her... But I never stopped loving you. I never stopped thinking about you. M-Maybe I was hurt by you, but I still love you. And I... have to tell you one last thing. During the last time we saw each other, while you were sleeping....”

Rainbow shook hard as this admittance was rising to her mouth. She had to say it, just had to. There was no way she couldn’t tell the truth about it, especially not after all of this. Her body now tensed, trembling ever slightly, as if terrified of what could happen. But it came out, it had to, and she couldn’t let it sit with her guilt anymore. Taking a breath, she spoke once more.

“I-I kissed you. While you were asleep. I’m so sorry for that... I should never have done that. You don’t just kiss somepony while they sleep... I’m sorry, Fluttershy... I’m really sorry for doing that.”

Fluttershy managed to smile faintly, shaking her head. “First off, I completely understand what you mean... I had a lot of stuff to me, too. I thought that I was finally figuring out things only to have reality slap me in the face. I was stupid... but now I get it. So, I guess it’s all right. Secondly... I wasn’t actually asleep. I kinda knew what you did, and just didn’t say anything... Sorry.”

Eyes wide, Rainbow felt a tinge of fear course through her then. “Y-You... You weren’t asleep? You... oh... i-is that why you were mad at me and just left?”

“Mad? No, I was pretending to be asleep because I, um, wanted you to do that... I was mad because when I got up, I saw those dimwits were trying to start the storm without me, knowing none of them knew how to without making it a thunderstorm...” Fluttershy gave a very weak, nearly sickly chuckle.

“...Oh...” Rainbow murmured, feeling relieved, yet still slightly unnerved. “I... well... I... Fluttershy, can I... give you a proper kiss? ...Please? I-If that’s okay...”

Fluttershy smiled warmly down at her, trying not to tear up again. “I was about to ask you the same thing... I figured, I own about, I don’t know... a lifetime's worth of kisses to make up for all the ones I stole from you while you were sleeping...”

“You mean you-” Rainbow squeaked, then blushed immensely. “Aww... I missed them, then... Well then, we have a lot of making up to do...”

“I guess so...” Fluttershy blushed as well, looking away for a second, then smiled. “So... do you wanna start now or let interest build up? Either way, I think I’ll be here awhile...”

“Let’s start now... I think I can let interest build up later...” Rainbow cooed sweetly.

In a bold move, but still taking it slow, the cyan mare leaned in and touched their lips together in a tender kiss. A moment in which they’d longed for, a moment that couldn’t have come at a better time. With nothing to hide, nothing to fear, Rainbow Dash kissed the pony she loved, the true Fluttershy of her world, with all the love she had.

This kiss was by far the sweetest, most genuine, and loving thing Fluttershy had ever experienced. She relaxed, gently pulling Rainbow Dash closer to herself, and for the first time, she could feel the other pony’s heartbeat. It was a wonderful, warm feeling that eased her mind more than any other feeling in all her life. She knew this was where she was supposed to be, in this single, perfect moment.

XXX

Rainbow Dash walked solemnly down the stairs, thinking over the situation at hoof. She was so confused as to what to do. She was scared, upset, and concerned about what was going to happen to Fluttershy. When she looked up, she realized she was now at the entrance to the living room. For a moment, she considered turning around and going back upstairs, but something told her otherwise. It urged her forward.

Knowing all too well that she may make things worse, she sighed heavily, and walked into the open room. “Fluttershy...?” She called out weakly.

Still laying there, curled up on the couch, her back to her, Fluttershy trembled ever slightly. “R-Rainbow... I really... I can’t believe I said those things to her... When all of those words... left my mouth... the very moment that they did... I-I just wanted to reach out and take them back! How... How could I have gotten angry at her? I practically did what I accused her of... replacing her... I may not have married you, but that still shouldn’t have meant I had the right to yell at her...”

Realizing that Fluttershy must have assumed that she was talking to the other Rainbow Dash, she could not find it in herself to tell her otherwise. Dash thought it might have been better to just leave silently and not say a word, but her own desire to want to make sure Fluttershy was all right was strong. Against her better judgement, she decided to speak up, but acting as her other self.

“Fluttershy... I, um, know this must be hard on you... but you can’t just blame yourself. You... you do have every right to be mad at her,” Dash choked on the last phrase, but pressed on. “I think that... maybe tempers just got a little flared, that’s all... I know you’re not like that.”

“M-Maybe... but...” Fluttershy sniffled, trembling. “I still love her... And what she said... about having three days.. .b-before...s omething happens... I-I think... maybe it is best if I go back home... and I... just... I didn’t know what to think... but I knew I was still in love with her... And now she loves me, too... She-She even... came all this way... just to find me... to warn me... to try to make amends with me... If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is... And all I did was bite her head off... When all she wanted to do was help... Because she loves me...”

Rainbow Dash blushed a bit, shaking her head as she tried to come up with a response. “I-I’m sure if you wanted to, Dash and you could probably sit down and... talk this all out. I bet she would be more than willing to listen... After all, she did all that stuff for you, so she would definitely want to talk to you. Just... give her a chance to explain everything. Maybe this can be solved a-and everypony can be happy.” She tried to sound a little more upbeat with that last part, hoping that she still sounded like her counterpart.

A little whimper sounded from Fluttershy before she responded, “Yes...you’re absolutely right. I will listen to her if she wants to talk to me... I want us to sit down and talk... I want her to know that I love her... If she wants to talk, I’m ready to...”

“But, um... How will she know that if you don’t tell her?” Rainbow Dash asked in a sweet tone. “You have to let others know what you want so that... they can do the right thing...”

“I-I’ll tell her... I’ll tell her right now...” Fluttershy sniffled, managing to get up. “Rainbow, thank you for that... I needed this talk. I need to-”

The moment she turned around, facing Rainbow Dash, she froze. For a moment, she hadn’t quite registered that something was off, but as she gazed at her friend, she realized. It was her Rainbow Dash, there was no mistake. Where had-no, she’d been there all along. Everything she had said was right to the source. Her heart stopped, with her body tensing a bit.

“R-Rainbow Dash...?” She managed, her voice breaking.

Dash tried to force a small smile, blushing as she spoke. “I guess... you don’t gotta tell me this time, Flutters, but yeah... I really do wanna talk to you. Not just about this, but everything. I-I’ve missed you so much, ‘Shy, I don’t even know where to begin...”

Tears flowed down her cheeks as Fluttershy practically flew to her best friend and enveloped her into a loving hug. She sobbed quietly, both in a mixture of regret and in joy, but was overall just so glad to finally be with her again.

“I-I’ve missed you too... I’ve missed you so much... There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about you...” Fluttershy cried, nuzzling her. “I’m so sorry about this... You came all this way to find me, to see me, to warn me about all this... But... But we should talk, yes... about everything.”

Bringing her forelegs around Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash could not help but feel her own tears slowly forming up behind her eyes. “It’s okay, ‘Shy, I was being real stupid earlier. I shouldn’t have done any of that stuff I did... If anypony needs to apologize, it’s me. So, I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I’m sorry it took us this long to just talk about all this... for me to really say all that stuff that was on my mind...” She tightened her embrace, nuzzling against her. “I really am and... even if you do really want to stay, I just...”

“...I forgive you, Rainbow... I forgive you,” Fluttershy whispered, pulling her head back a bit to look into her eyes. “To think this all seemed to happen because I was upset about what happened between us the last time we saw each other. I just... I don’t expect you to change yourself drastically, I would never make you do that. All I want... is for you to be honest with me about how you’re feeling. That’s all I ask.”

Dash closed her eyes, trying to hold back the urge to cry, “I know, and I don’t know how good at that I’ll be, but I’ll try my best... I’m sorry about that. I guess, even after all these years... I’m still scared to let anypony in, ya know? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about who I really am and, while I still kinda don’t know everything, I do know that if you’re not in my life... I don’t think I could call it a life at all.” She sniffled, holding onto Fluttershy tightly, “So, from now on, I’m gonna try to be more honest with you about how I feel. No more running away, or lying, or any of that stuff... I love you, Flutters, I really do.”

With a bright, warm, loving smile, Fluttershy leaned in and kissed her sweetly. After a moment or two, she pulled back, laying their foreheads together.

“I love you too, Rainbow...” She cooed softly. “And I’ll come back home with you. When you said, just now... about how I’m slowly becoming the Fluttershy of this reality, and will lose my memories... That was a possibility that was brought up before, while I was here. We just didn’t know for sure if it would really happen. But lately, I’ve had moments of acting just like her, and I never really knew why. But if that is the case... I think I should go home. She’s back here where she belongs... And I really have no right to take her life away. I’d rather die right now, than live without my memories, and without you...”

Dash pulled Fluttershy back into a full embrace, holding her gently as she felt her tears running down once more. “Then, let’s get you home, Fluttershy. I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

“So do I...” Fluttershy smiled more, nuzzling their noses. “Let’s go home, Rainbow.”

“W-Wait! Please don’t go yet...”

They turned, seeing the bold Fluttershy and meek Rainbow Dash entering the room. Given their closeness, and the fact that Fluttershy had her wing over Rainbow’s back, it was quite obvious what was going on between them.

A relieved smile crossed over Fluttershy’s face. At least she knew that the meek Rainbow was finally going to be happy.

“Oh, uh, hey other me and um, other Flutters,” Rainbow Dash attempted to reply, but found it a bit awkward considering she was addressing her other herself and another version of her friend. “What’s up?”

“...We... we just wanted to say goodbye, before you left...” Meek Rainbow said softly. “And um... Thank you for everything, Fluttershy. I really... d-don’t know where I’d be without you having been here.”

“And there’s one other thing too, ya know?” Bold Fluttershy said with a half smirk. Taking off the pendant around her neck, she held it up. “I can’t really say this is mine. So, why don’t you give this to its rightful owner, eh?”

“...Thanks, other Flutters,” Dash chuckled, taking it. She looked over to her Fluttershy, blushing a bit with a sheepish but loving smile. “So, yeah... I was drunk when I married other you over there. It’s a bit of a long story. But we were in Las Pegasus with Pinks and Twilight, for a weather convention thingy. We got drunk there, decided to get married while being drunk, and so we did... We’ve got pictures and everything. But I’ll tell ya, when I looked back at that footage, it kinda... Well, it sounded more like I was talking to you....” She looked over at the counterpart, who nodded with agreement. “She kinda did too, only with other me. But anyway, if you want, Flutters... We’re actually legally married back home. We can get it annulled if you want, but if you want to go with it... You can wear this...”

Fluttershy was at first shocked by this information, but soon realized that it only made sense. After all, Rainbow Dash did marry a Fluttershy from a town called Ponyville, so in all legal terms, they were the ones who got married. Blushing from the thought, Fluttershy giggled as her eyes fell over the pendant.

“Well... since it is legally us that’s married, I suppose I don’t have much of a choice, but to wear it, do I?” Fluttershy teased ever so slightly. “But I would love to, Dashie.”

“Awesome! And, uh... eventually, we can have a real wedding of our own, if you want...” Dash said, blushing slightly. “To make it more official, and so both of us can actually remember it. So... uh, let me do this right.”

With that, even with their two counterparts witnessing, Rainbow Dash knelt before Fluttershy and presented the pendant to her.

“Fluttershy, there’s a ton I can say, and so much I want to say, but you already know it all. Plus it’s kinda hard to sum up how I’m feeling. But, as part of my promise to do better, for myself, for our friends, and for you... I know, now more than ever, that I wanna spend the rest of my life with you by my side. It’s a real huge step to take, but I’ve got a ton of making up to do, and this is perfect for it! So... I love you, and I want to spend forever with you,” her voice then became soft and loving as she gazed into her eyes, “Fluttershy, will you marry me?”

The room was silent, but it wasn’t awkward or filled with tension. It was more about letting it all sink in. The bolder Fluttershy looked amused, but still happy, while the meek Rainbow Dash looked happy and excited. Dash herself waited anxiously, but knew that there was nothing to worry about. But, it still set off butterflies in her stomach.

Fluttershy, though expecting it, was deeply moved. Tears pooled in her eyes, her heart swelled with delight, and she felt as if her body became lighter. She’d dreamed of this moment for such a long time, to which it came to be through such different circumstances.

“Yes! Oh, Rainbow Dash, yes... a thousand times, yes!” Overwhelmed with emotion, Fluttershy brought Dash into a loving embrace, almost pulling the two of them down to the floor. “Of course I’ll marry you!”

Grinning widely, Rainbow Dash hugged her tightly, laughing. “All right! Awesome!” She placed the pendant on around her neck, securing it. “There you go, we’ll be officially Mrs. and Mrs. Dash by the time we get home!”

Smiling brightly, Fluttershy pulled away just a bit to give Dash a small kiss on the nose. “This is so exciting! Oh, I wouldn’t have ever dreamed that you ever want to propose...”

Blushing a bit, Dash giggled, nuzzling their noses, “What can I say... You really know how to bring out the mushy side of me.”

She looked over to their counterparts, realizing exactly what was going on now, and what they had to do. Kissing Fluttershy’s forehead, she released her and turned to them.

“Well, other Fluttershy and other me....we’d better go, time’s a wasting, and we still gotta get back home. But uh, you know... I do want to say thanks for everything you’ve done. And, other me... like I said, thanks so much again for taking care of Fluttershy like you did. I do appreciate it, you know... Um, you know...” She turned to her Fluttershy. “You can go say goodbye to her. I know I have to say goodbye to her,” she indicated to the bolder Fluttershy.

Nodding, the meeker Rainbow Dash walked over to Fluttershy with a sad, but happy smile. “So... I guess this goodbye? I-It’s kinda funny though, I knew we would eventually have to say goodbye, but, I guess, I didn’t think it would be like this... I thought I would be crying, but I’m not. I’m really happy for you, Fluttershy.”

“...You know, I thought I would be crying too... But I’m not...” Fluttershy murmured, smiling sweetly at her. “I thought I would even be worried... But I feel a lot better about this, and I know you’ll be all right. That’s... what matters. And I... I really did enjoy our time together. I have to thank you so much for helping me and being there... I’ll never forget you, ever. And I’ll always love you, no matter what. So...” She leaned in, bestowing a sweet, gentle, and final kiss to her lips. “Goodbye, Rainbow Dash... Thank you for loving me.”

Blushing, the meek Rainbow Dash gave a weak grin. “And thank you, too, Fluttershy... you helped me out in more ways than you know. I’ll always have a special place for you in my heart as well. Please, do take care.”

“I will... you take care, too,” Fluttershy grinned as well.

Observing the scene, Rainbow Dash then went over to the bolder Fluttershy. “So, yeah... this is goodbye, isn’t it? Call me crazy, but I’ll sure miss you.”

The bolder Fluttershy rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Yeah, I’ll miss you too. We sure had a lot of fun while it lasted, huh?”

“Yeah, tons of fun...” Dash chuckled. “And y’know, you really did help. I felt like a wreck sometimes, and you always knew how to make me buck up and start doing something.”

“Eh, you just needed a little kick in the flank to get up and see the light.” Bold Fluttershy waved it off, smiling. “And also, about the whole, love and all... gah, I don’t like talking about stuff like this, but you’ll have a place with me. Not as big as my Rainbow Dash, but a place nonetheless.”

“I get ya,” Dash laughed a bit, grinning. “Same here, so do you. Not as much as my Fluttershy, but you still definitely have a place in there. I’m not gonna forget you or toss you aside like that, anyway. So you know, I’m glad I met ya! It was great.”

The bold Fluttershy nodded, smiling. “Same here, but it’s for the best. You got your world and I got mine. Besides, it would have never really worked out between us anyway,” she tease playfully. “You’re too stubborn and so am I... that, and I still think you're uglier than sin.”

“Riiight, yeah, and you’re ugly, too.” Dash grinned, sticking her tongue out at her. Nonetheless, she gave her a little hug. “Take care of yourself. And you keep going fast! Maybe someday in a strange kinda way, we’ll race again.”

“You too, Dash. And who knows, maybe I’ll let you win again.” Bold Fluttershy flashed a toothy grin. “Just take of yourself... and the other me.”

“Will do, and you take care of the other me, too!” Dash winked, grinning more. She looked at her counterpart. “Hey, other me! Never really had a chance to meet, huh? Oh well... You keep up being awesome too. And your braid? ...I actually kinda like it. Looks nice. I might have to let it grow like that sometime. Oh, whatever! You take care.”

The meeker Rainbow Dash blushed a bit, feeling a little odd hearing herself give her a compliment, but nodded nonetheless. “O-Okay, thank you, other me... Maybe we will get to meet one day more formally. Oh, a-and... your mane looks, um, kinda awesome too...”

Dash laughed, flipping it dramatically. “Thanks, other me! I think so, too!”

Fluttershy giggled with delight at their interaction. “Oh, you two...” She looked over at her counterpart. “Hi, um... other me... I just... well, want to wish you the best, of course. And... you had better take care of her, or so help me!” A threatening look overcame her features, but then she smiled. “Well, okay, I’m just being silly. But I can see you’ve learned your lesson.”

The bolder Fluttershy smiled nervously, scratching the back of her head. “Yeah, I know... Don’t worry ‘bout a thing, me, I know what I gotta do, trust me… Well, yourself, I guess. Gah, talking like this is confusing...” Exhaling, she leaned over to whisper something to her other self. “Also, just between us, consider getting your ear pierced. I gotta feeling your Rainbow Dash likes them. Oh and she’s totally into the whole you wearing green thing. Trust me- yourself, I read her diary.”

“...Oh!!” Fluttershy squeaked, blushing a bit at these ideas. “I-I’ll remember that...”

Walking back to stand beside her Rainbow, the bold Fluttershy snickered to herself. “Well, you two better head out. You guys gotta get back to Canterlot before Pinkamena sets up the spell and all. So, watch yourselves out there, and when you get back to your reality... totally pull a prank on AJ for me, ‘kay?”

“Sure!” Dash grinned, then picking up Fluttershy bridal style. “Thanks for everything, other us! You gals take care!”

“Goodbye... and thank you both!” The meek Rainbow Dash smiled brightly, lifting her hoof to wave them off.

“Goodbye!” Fluttershy called out before Dash readied to leave. “Be sure to take care of one another!”

“See ya gals!” The bolder Fluttershy said.

With a wink over her shoulder, Rainbow Dash flew out the window with her precious cargo; that very moment being the last they would likely ever see them. It was surreal, given everything that had happened. Everything was falling back into place, even after it seemed like it never would be the same way again. Now they’d seen their alternate counterparts, who were now gone, as if never there in the first place, even with the memories, and having just seen them there a few minutes ago, as real as can be.

A soft sigh escaped Rainbow as she looked to her companion, then embraced her. “I’ll miss them... but I’m happy you’re back, Fluttershy...”

Fluttershy chuckled a bit, bringing a foreleg over Rainbow’s shoulder. “And I’m glad to be back! Yeah, I’ll kinda miss them too, but I’ve got you.”

“So we... still have to watch over the library until Twilight and Pinkamena get back... But um, if you would rather go home, I’ll understand...” Rainbow murmured, averting her gaze slightly.

“Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me that easily, Rainbow!” Fluttershy snickered, “I traveled between dimensions twice to figure out what I’ve been missing and get back. There’s no way you’re leaving my side.”

Blushing immensely, the timid mare giggled, “Hee... I-I wasn’t saying that, of course... I was only giving you the option... Of course I don’t want you to go! Um... As you heard, the other Fluttershy was living with me, so a few of your things are at my home... We can bring them back to your cottage after Pinkamena and Twilight come home.”

Fluttershy shook her head, grinning. “Didn’t you just hear me? You’re not leaving my side. Period. That means, until I’ve ‘recovered’ from the post-traumatic shock of everything that’s happened, I’ve got to move in with you.” She blushed faintly, trying to hide it, “Don’t you know anything about taking care of sick ponies? It would be bad for my mental health and stuff if I was to go anywhere without you after all this...”

“O-Oh... Oh... I’m sorry...” Rainbow’s ears drooped a bit. “I-I wasn’t... I didn’t think... Oh, dear... I don’t mean to be so thoughtless! You’re absolutely right. You should stay with me, and you’re not lifting a hoof! I’ll take good care of you, Fluttershy... I promise! I’d best make up for my thoughtlessness, too... So don’t you worry, you’re going to be just fine. We’ll even go back to your cottage sometime, together, so you can have a chance to sleep in your own home.”

Fluttershy, playing up the moment, place a hoof on her head. “Yes... that would be very good. However, I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this ordeal. Ever. Not gonna happen. So, I guess you’ll just have deal with me living with you for the rest of our lives, ya know? Sharing all our meals, sleeping in the same bed... showering together... Oh yes, I don’t think I’ll recover at all.”

Blushing quite a bit, but managing to smile as she caught on, Rainbow Dash giggled with delight. “You’re right... You look awful, you’re going to be in for a very long recovery... So much so that I’m going to have to stay by your side for the rest of our lives! Why, with all the mental stress you’re going to have, you’ll need somepony to talk to a lot! So, sharing our meals, sleeping in the same bed, and... oooh.... showering, excellent ideas! Um... and you know, perhaps one day, because you’ll need to stay with me, and I certainly don’t want to be with anyone else... We’ll have to... m-make it official...”

Trying not to laugh out loud, Fluttershy wandered over to the couch, falling onto it. “Yes, a wonder idea! This way, no pony will question as to why, for the story is far too unbelievable... So, we may need to do that in the near future instead. And can you imagine how our lives would be from that point forward?” She looked over at her and gave her a goofy smile.

Giggling, Rainbow followed and crawled onto her, nuzzling her. “I can imagine, Flutters... Um, I... had seen your dream journal, with that one you had about us getting married... That was so sweet...”

Breaking the rouse, Fluttershy giggled wildly, “Is Pinkamena even a pastor? I’ve asked almost half of Ponyville and no pony seems to know!”

“No, she isn’t a pastor...” Rainbow shook her head, giggling. “But it was an interesting thought.”

“Yeah, I should have guessed.” Fluttershy gestured for Rainbow to come closer. “Well, that part aside, we can totally make that happen.”

“Yay!” Rainbow squealed, embracing her. “Oh, Fluttershy, yes! I’d love to!”

Laughing, Fluttershy hugged her back, snuggling up to her as she did. “Hey, come on now! If you want a wedding like that, it’s gonna cost a pretty bit, so it might take a little time to raise up the funds, but we can do it.”

“That’s all right... it’s already been this long, what’s a bit longer?” Rainbow nuzzled their noses. “We’ll just put money aside for it, then.”

Fluttershy giggled, trying not to blush. “Aww, don’t start up with the cute act, Rainbow! You’ll make me work harder to get this dream turned into a reality!!”

Shaking her head, the cyan pegasus snuggled against her. “I’m sorry... You don’t have to rush this, Flutters.”

“And there you go thinking you were gonna rush me more than I was gonna myself, you silly little thing, you!” Fluttershy nuzzled her back.

“Hee hee...” Giggled a very giddy Rainbow, kissing her cheek. “I’ll be your lovely bride any day, Fluttershy...”

“I know ya would... but if you’re the bride, then what am I?” Fluttershy teased.

Rainbow looked a little puzzled. “....The other bride?”

“Eh, works for me.” Fluttershy shrugged, then kissed the top of Rainbow’s nose.

Right then, Rainbow couldn’t help but recall another factor to this. Her demeanour then shifted as her ears drooped, a sinking feeling coming to her heart. With a tremble, she lifted up a bit.

“Fluttershy, I.... have something else I have to tell you. I... um... this isn’t going to be easy, but I just hope you’ll understand. I... I was.... well, I was... I had been.... fornicating with the other Fluttershy,” she confessed.

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy looked at her oddly, “What does fornicating mean again?”

“...Making love,” she elaborated, then proceeded to try to get off of her.

Blushing now, Fluttershy looked at her stunned, “So... you and the other me... had sex?”

Rainbow nodded, looking away from her as she turned away in shame. “...Yes... w-we did... I’m sorry...”

Gently bringing a hoof up, Fluttershy got Rainbow to turn her head back. “Hey, I’m not mad at you, Rainbow... I uh, well, I can’t say I didn’t buck hooves with other you either...”

“...R-Really? Oh....” Rainbow blushed a little bit, managing a relieved smile. “Well... it’s okay, I-I guess... It all just kind of came when we needed it...”

“I guess so...” Fluttershy gave an almost shy smile. “You know what’s really weird though? In all technicality, we still kinda did it with one another, since they were us and we were them, so... does that count as cheating still, or what?”

“...I don’t know...” Rainbow looked a bit uncertain. “We weren’t... together before then, so I... I suppose it wasn’t. Not essentially. Maybe just.... e-emotionally? I don’t know... It really doesn’t matter. But I.... well, whenever you... may feel ready for it.... we can make up for that, too...”

“Oh, really now?” Fluttershy teased, playfully pulling away. “And how do you suggest we make up for that... Dashie?”

The timid pony blushed immensely. “Um... well, we were reading an erotic book before you two came in here...”

Fluttershy was once more surprised by this, “Now hold up. Little ol’ you was reading an erotic book? Oh, do tell.”

“I-I-I-I just wanted to try....” She said, indicating to a book on the floor near the couch. “It’s right there...”

“So... where did ya leave off, Dash-ie?” Fluttershy teased, picking up the book and opening it up to the first page.

“...I don’t remember?”

Almost beaming, Fluttershy held the book up. “Then I guess we better start from the beginning.” Then, she placed the book down, a seductive smile playing on her lips, “Or would you rather... re-enact it with me?”

Her response was Rainbow Dash practically pouncing on her with a barrage of kisses.

Author's Note

Yay! It's all okay now! They're back with their proper lovers! ^w^ We did it! Yay! So now we just have to get Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie back to the future-I mean, their reality!

All while Rainbowshy and Flutterdash make sweet, sweet love...

Next chapter will be the final chapter, followed by the two epilogues!

Alternate/Original 15: The Return Home

In a lounging room of the castle, four ponies resided for the time being. Joined up with them, of course, was Discord, who was playing some amusing games with the two hyperactive ponies. All the while, Twilight and Pinkamena were sitting on lounging chairs, a round table between them holding some tea, along with the manuscript, which Pinkamena was reading through along with Twilight.

Along with that, of course, made some room for brief chatter. Especially considering Twilight’s curiosity on a few things.

“So... You and... the other me... are really engaged?” Twilight asked, still in disbelief over it all. Of all the things she expected to find in this reality, her and Pinkie’s counterparts being in a relationship was not one of them!

Pinkamena sighed, looking up at Twilight with a half smile. “For the fifth time, Twilight, yes, we are. How many times are you going to ask that before you believe me?”

“I just... never expected it. I mean, my Pinkie and I aren’t even in love...” Twilight looked over to their counterparts. “How did you two... get together, anyway?”

“Well, it’s quite a tale, really. It happen some years ago to be honest.” Pinkamena admitted. “You see, my family was a very... depressive group of people, not very happy, nor was I when I was younger, sadly. However, one day, back in my youth, I saw a bright flash of color, almost blinded me, to be honest, and fell down a hill. At the bottom, what did I see? A lavender unicorn reading, or trying to, by herself. She was having trouble pronouncing the word onomatopoeia, if memory serves, and I helped her. From there, she had another problem, which I helped with, and then another. Before long, I was reading the entire book to her.

“To sum up about twelve years of history, my personal tutoring of her did not go unnoticed, and I was soon asked by Princess Luna to be my Twilight’s personal advisor. I was taken from my original home and moved in the castle with her and over the years... I grew very fond of her.”

“...Wow...” Twilight was amazed at this, fascinated by the alternative personal history they seemed to have. “That’s a really nice story, Pinkie-I’m sorry, I mean Pinkamena. What happened after?”

Laughing now, Pinkamena tried not to show her blush. “You truly wish to listen to me explain how I proposed and why? I’m beginning to assume that you’re asking for more reasons that you’re letting on.”

“Noooo.... well, yes, I want to know that, and some other things too!” Twilight said with a grin. “Such as, why you two went to Ponyville, and how you found the Elements of Harmony!”

“I believe that tale would be a bit too long,” Pinkamena shook her head, remembering the trouble they went through finding the Elements, “but as for why we went to Ponyville, I can explain that at least. It was a request from Princess Luna herself for us to learn about what was known as friendship. To be honest, I thought it was a new type of power source that I could utilize in my research, but what we found was just as good, if not better.”

“New friends?” Twilight said softly, speaking from experience. “What you were supposed to do all along... and yet, never expected?”

“Why, yes. That is correct.” Pinkamena gave her a friendly smile. “I assume you speak from personal experience?”

Twilight nodded, “I grew up in Canterlot, too. Spike and I went to Ponyville after Princess Celestia told me to not only help in overseeing the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival, but to make some friends. I, of course, didn’t take that last part seriously and thought it would be a waste of time. I just did my job as I was asked. But as it were, I ended up making friends, when I didn’t even realize it.”

Pinkamena nodded, listening intently. “I see. So, you were sent there around that time as well. Very interesting. We also arrived around that time, however it was my Twilight who insisted on overseeing the Summer Sun Festival.”

“Was it? Well, with her.... confectionary expertise, it would make sense!”

“Indeed. It was no surprise, really. However, it was when she suggested that the theme be pink.”

Twilight shook her head, snickering a bit. “That’s just silly.”

Pinkamena chuckled, agreeing with her. “It was a rather unorthodox thing to say, but I saw what she was doing, and it was still rather sweet.”

“...Yeah, I guess you can say that is pretty sweet,” the lavender mare admitted.

“So, was there anything else you wanted to ask?” Pinkamena inquired.

A sly smile came to Twilight’s gaze. “How did you propose?”

This question caught her off guard, making her blush slightly. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious! Aside from my brother, I never knew anypony who was engaged... much less alternate versions of myself and Pinkie!” Twilight admitted. “So I’m just curious about how you did it. Unless... she was the one who proposed?”

“No, no, I proposed to her,” Pinkamena stated, a light blush still on her cheeks. “Well, it was- wait... you have brother?” The concept of this was more than frightening to her, but she tried to shake it off.

Now Twilight looked puzzled, tilting her head, “Well, yeah. What’s weird about that?”

Pinkamena nodded slightly. “Actually, it is. Within this reality, my Twilight has a sister.”

“A sister?!” Twilight repeated, her eyes going wide. “...What is she like?”

“You would... best ask my Twilight for that answer.” Pinkamena flinched at the thought. “May we... change the subject?”

“...Okay?” The lavender mare shrugged, wondering why she seemed so evasive on the subject. “So, back on topic! You were the one who proposed? How did you do it?”

“Oh, yes.” Pinkamena spoke up, relaxing a small amount. “Well, as I’m sure you noticed, she enjoys surprises and I am one to consider all possibilities. It was close to eight months ago, I decided on the best way to go about it. I had the evening played out much like a simple date to our favorite restaurant in Canterlot, the Seventh Horseshoe. Despite the name, it’s a fine establishment and the first place we ever went on a date to as well.

“I called in advance to make the arrangements and permission to use a certain something. When we arrived I asked for a table outside, on the terrace of the building. Nothing too special, at least not until once there. I reserved the entire roof, but not for us, a hot air balloon.” She smiled a waving the matter off almost. “As you can imagine, it was no easy feat to convince the owner to allow me to set up a hot air balloon on the top of the restaurant, let alone get permission from the sky patrol, but as I had been planning it for two months, I had time to work out any of the bugs.

“The way her face lit up was well worth it, however. She was practically dragging me into it, which suited me just fine. We went up, as you can guess, and she marveled at the city below. She was so in awe she didn’t even notice when I retrieved the small box from my coat pocket. I called over to her, she turned, and I proposed to her then and there. And then, she said what I assumed was yes, as she tackled me in the balloon, almost causing us to lose control of it and crash, but it would have been a small price to pay to see her as happy as she was on that day...”

Amazed, Twilight let it sink in, then looked over at their counterparts. They were still happily chatting and playing games that Discord was entertaining them with. To think, that this world’s Pinkamena and Twilight found love in each other. Then to lead to such a sweet and thoughtful proposal. It was a really nice thought, a warm feeling that came to her heart.

‘Hey, if the other me and other Pinkie can find love...maybe we can, too,’ Twilight thought.

“Gosh, that’s a really sweet proposal, Pinkamena... I can see why your Twilight must have loved it so much,” she said, smiling.

“Why, thank you, Ms. Sparkle,” Pinkamena smiled warmly at her, “So tell me, did hearing this tale assist you with our dilemma?”

“....My dilemma? What do you mean? I don’t have a dilemma.”

Pinkamena giggled. “Are you quite sure? I’ve seen you stealing glances over at my other self, and how you reacted to seeing her and the other you before hearing that she was engaged was rather odd. If I was foolhardy, I would say you have feelings for her.” She sighed, dismissing her own topic. “However, I would much rather hear you admit it if this is true.”

“Well... Yes, I think I really do,” Twilight looked over to Pinkie, who waved at her. Smiling, she waved back. “I just felt confused most of the time about what to do.”

“Ah, so that explains your questioning of me about how I went about this.” Pinkamena closed her eyes, nodding. “The best course of action when in a situation like that is the simplest and the hardest. Be honest with her and, more important, yourself. If you have feelings for her, tell her, no pony is willing to wait forever for their love to make the first move... assuming you're not as dense as our Fluttershy was, of course.”

The lavender mare gave it some thought, biting her lip. “You’re right... I guess we’ll have to talk more about it when we get home. I mean, if she came out and said she liked me, I’d give her a chance... That’s about as much as I know. But, you’re right, I should probably tell her first.”

Pinkamena chuckled, grinning at Twilight. “Do what you feel is right and no pony can hold it against you.”

“You’re right,” Twilight conceded. She looked back down at the book. “...Wow, the spell is the same... and yet the type of magic used for it is different. ...Oh boy... I hope I’ll be able to cast this spell.”

“You’re speaking as though you must do this alone,” Pinkamena interjected, “The spell, while in order to work correctly, will require two spell casters to work properly. You have four. Yourself, the other you, and two Lords of Chaos, one of which is our link back. You’ll do fine.”

“True,” said Twilight, overlooking the spell again. “I just hope getting back will work.”

Pinkamena paused for a moment, then realized something. “Wait, you stated that these spells are almost identical, correct? Then, that would mean during your first attempt, you should have had a second unicorn or alicorn assisting with the spell.”

“...I didn’t. It was just me, Fluttershy and Pinkie,” Twilight said, confused now.

Pinkamena exhaled. “That would explain why it failed. As you were doing the spell alone, it became unstable, thus when Fluttershy was still connected inside of the vortex, she developed a link between herself and this Fluttershy. The lack of absolute controlled group was missing. Meaning, you’re missing a part of the spell.”

“But that’s impossible! It didn’t say what would happen if there was only one unicorn or alicorn performing it! ...But I think I see what you’re saying,” Twilight realized, looking over the spell again. “And it’s no wonder Pinkie walking away from it contributed to it messing up. I was doing it wrong all along.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. This also might have been fate that set this all into motion, after all.” Pinkamena stated in an encouraging tone. “This has been a rather marvelous learning experience and I would like to think that perhaps it was just what the two Fluttershys needed.”

Realizing that, Twilight could see that she was onto something, and smiled. “I think... that’s true. I guess we’ll have to see how they worked it out when they finally get back here.”

“So then, let us get the spell proceedings under way, shall we?” the pink earth pony gleefully asked.

Twilight nodded, “Good idea, let’s do it.”

Sometime later, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy finally made it back. It was quite a spectacle, what with a very happy Pinkie hugging Fluttershy and gushing about how much she missed her.

“So, how did it go, girls?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah! I remember that you wanted to stay, Fluttershy! What made you change your mind?” Hyper Twilight wanted to know, eager for details.

Smiling sweetly, Fluttershy nuzzled her wife sweetly. “Well... It all just came together really well. We finally had a chance to talk, and so did our counterparts. It was... just what we needed. There was also the fact that I was going to eventually become this world’s Fluttershy if I stayed here. I didn’t want to lose my memories, and I wanted to go home. Plus, I knew this world’s Rainbow Dash was going to be in good hooves. So... I am ready to go home. I enjoyed my time here, and I will miss all of you... but I should go back home where I belong. Don’t worry about the library, they’ll look after it until you two return.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, grinning widely. “Yep! Everything is set right now and we’re ready to hit the road! Or... however this spell stuff works.”

“Awesometacular!” Pinkie squealed happily. “Too bad we couldn’t have a party!”

“I know! What a shame!” Hyper Twilight gave a pout.

“All right everypony, let’s get into position. You too, Discord.” Pinkamena said, anxious to begin.

Discord immediately snapped right over, grinning widely. “Ohh, this is going to be so amazing! To be able to zap you all back home, what a feat!”

Fluttershy giggled, shaking her head, “We certainly appreciate the help, Discord...”

“Well, let’s do this!” Twilight agreed with Pinkamena. She indicated to the floor, where a few markers were set. “Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie, I’ll need you to get onto those markers. It doesn’t matter which one. I’ll be on this one here, since I’m partially casting the spell and will also be going with you guys.”

Pinkie saluted as she got onto one of the markers, “Yes ma’am!”

“You got it, Twilight!” Dash said eagerly. “Come on, Fluttershy, these two marker look pretty close together.”

Giggling, Fluttershy complied and took the marker next to Dash’s. Twilight, meanwhile, set herself onto her marker, making sure they were all in place.

“All right, we’re ready! Discord, and... er..... other Twilight, are you two ready?”

Hyper Twilight nodded eagerly. “Yep! Ready, Other Me!”

Discord chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’m the Lord of Chaos, I was ready before I was born. Of course, I have no idea what I was thinking before that... Never mind, I’m ready!”

Pinkamena stationed herself close by, overseeing everything as best she could. “Now remember, this spell is very taxing on its casters, so we only have a single window of opportunity. If we fail, since we have the Lord of Chaos assisting with this, I have no idea how this will affect the bases of reality. So, no pressure at all is involved, but let us do our best.”

“I’m not going to walk away this time,” Pinkie promised, sounding very serious. “I’m going to remain where I am.”

“All right, then,” Twilight spoke up again. “Just as Pinkamena said, we only have one chance to do this. So, let’s do this and we’ll do it right. Think of it like The Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home!”

Without further ado, both Twilights casted magic around their horns, whilst Discord joined in with his own magic, combining them. The auras of magic surrounded everypony situated on their markers, to which all four ponies closed their eyes, concentrating. Moments passed, the magic grew stronger, enveloping them within it. It became brighter, brighter, and this time there wasn’t any agonized screaming involved. Fluttershy even looked calm, as if she were merely sleeping.

“And... now!” Hyper Twilight announced, igniting more energy into her horn.

Discord followed suit, as did Twilight, and the enveloping magic grew brighter. All of it then became a bright flash, surrounding the room in a heavenly glow. Then any and all sounds that may have emitted from the alternate ponies were silenced, and the light dissipated. Once they opened their eyes and saw where the four ponies once were, they were gone, as if they’d never been there in the first place.

A silence befell the room as it set in. They were gone, back to their reality, and never to be seen again. To think it all even came to be in less than a week. How things had come to change since it all began...

“Wow!” Twilight finally spoke up, wide-eyed. “It... It worked.... they’re gone now! ...Oh, I’m going to miss the other Flutters!”

Pinkamena approached Twilight with a sincere smile. “There, there, Twilight, I... don’t know if this would make you feel any better, but according to the laws of physics, not every entrance is ever fully closed. Meaning that our two realities are still connected, but in the smallest way. So, it may be possible that one day, we can meet them again, hopefully without the threat of cosmic distortion lingering overhead.”

“...Okay, you’re right,” Twilight gave a smile and hugged her. “That other Pinkie was so nice! She was fun and silly, like me! Hee hee!”

“It was nice to get to meet these other versions of ourselves, was it not?”

“Yes! It was! And that Dashie was just like our Flutters!”

Pinkamena nodded, “Yes that was rather interesting to see. I suppose we should tell the Princesses that the problem has been resolved.”

“Oooh, the looks on their faces will be priceless!” Discord gushed, winking at them. “Meet you girls there!” With a snap of his eagle claw, he disappeared.

Laughing a bit, Twilight then kissed her fiancée’s cheek. “You know, it’s a shame they won’t see our wedding...”

Pinkamena giggled at this, bringing a foreleg over Twilight, “If I invent a device that allows for inter-dimensional travel before our wedding, we’ll go get them. How’s that sound?”

“Okay!” Twilight said amiably, nuzzling her. “C’mon, let’s go tell Lulu and Celly aaaaall about this! We don’t have to go home yet, do we? I mean, I know we came here to find this bookie, but now that we found the bookie and also sent the ponies back home to where they belong... Does that mean we have to go now? I don’t want to leave yet! Plus my family’s still coming here tomorrow so we can have a family day out! Pwease can we stay? I think Dashie and Flutters will appreciate some more alone time, anyway!”

Sighing, Pinkamena gave her a warm smile. “Well, I see no reason why not to... Very well then, we can stay. That was the plan to begin with, after all.”

“YAY!” Twilight hugged her more, giggling with delight. “I love you, Pinkie-Winkie!”

“I love you too, Twilight.”

Inside a lone lounge room within the palace, there was a mysterious and magical glow. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, the magical light encased a good portion of the room within it, before dissipating. In its place, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow and Fluttershy were sitting on the floor, all in the same positions they had been in back in the alternate dimension. Opening their eyes, they took a look around, as if uncertain about what had just happened.

“...Did it work? ...Are we back?” Fluttershy asked nopony in particular.

“I... I think so.” Twilight looked about the room, only to be face to face with a grinning Discord.

“Hellooooooooo, my little ponies!” He greeted jovially, giving a laugh. “You came back! Here I was starting to wonder if it would work!”

Pinkie, Twilight and Rainbow Dash could then see he was wearing the same yellow scarf from before. Indeed, there was no mistake. They were back home.

“Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed happily, rushing over and hugging him. “I’ve missed you!”

“Yep, we’re home.” Twilight exhaled with relief.

“We did it, gals!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “We actually went there, saved Fluttershy, and made it back in one piece!”

“We made it! Hooray!” Pinkie danced happily.

Laughing a bit, Discord hugged Fluttershy briefly, clearly glad to see her, before letting her go. “In case you’re wondering how I knew you’d come in here... let’s just say that I have my ways! Oh, you should’ve seen the look on your face, Twilight! Priceless!”

“Yes, the look of annoyance must look lovely on me,” Twilight spoke back bluntly.

“Oh, it’s great to be home!” Fluttershy suddenly said, smiling more. “Thank you all so much for what you did, and for helping me see what I needed to do. Thank you! Oh, I should go home! My poor Angel Bunny must be worried! And I’ll have to tell my animal friends about what happened!”

Rainbow Dash trotted up beside her, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug. “I’ll take you home, Flutters! And this time, you’re not leaving.”

Giggling happily, Fluttershy returned the embrace, kissing her cheek. “No, I won’t be, Rainbow... Thank you! Please take me home. Um... I’ll write a letter to Princess Celestia by tomorrow at the latest, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head. “No need to trouble yourself, Fluttershy. I’ll explain everything to the Princess myself. After all, we are here.”

“I know... But I should relay my personal experience about it, too,” Fluttershy said. She turned to Dash then, nuzzling her, “In the meantime... Would you care to see me home, Dashie?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, nuzzling her back. “Just try to stop me. Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Bye, bye!” Pinkie giggled to her friends. “Have fun with your sweet-loving kinky pegasus-”

“Now, now, Pinkie dear, let’s not get vulgar,” Discord cut her off. “Until tomorrow, Fluttershy! Have fun~” He then winked, disappearing with a snap of his eagle claw.

“So, you wanna fly home or would you rather me carry you, ‘Shy?” Dash teased.

Blushing a bit, Fluttershy nuzzled their noses as she curled her forelegs around her neck. “Well Rainbow, I am your wife... we’re technically married... And I’ve always wanted to cross the threshold with you carrying me like a bride...”

“Can do, Flutters,” Rainbow giggled, quickly sweeping Fluttershy off her hooves and held her up bridal style. “Comfy?”

“Yes, very,” Fluttershy beamed. “Shall we go?”

“You got it,” Dash flashed a toothy grin. “We’ll catch ya later Twilight! Pinkie, don’t party too much. See ya!”

“We’ll throw a party first thing tomorrow! Bye!” Pinkie waved as the two pegasi flew off.

With her precious cargo in her hooves, Rainbow Dash flew out the nearby window after kicking it open with a hind hoof. Pinkie and Twilight watched them go, with the former smiling brightly and the latter looking amused.

“Wow! Quite a night, eh, Twi-Twi?” Pinkie said, turning to the alicorn.

“No doubt!” Twilight sighed, feeling exhausted. “I’m ready to collapse.”

Understanding, the pink earth pony came to her side to help support her, smiling warmly. “That’s true, the other me said that this spell would be very taxing on you. Why don’t I help you upstairs to your room and you can relax? We can talk to the Princesses in the morning, I think they’ll understand that you need your rest. I can even go and tell them on your behalf after you get settled in!”

Twilight blushed, turning away slightly, “No, no, it’s quite alright. I just need a few hours of sleep is all... but I wouldn’t mind a little company, Pinkie.”

“Then let’s get you to your room!” Pinkie said, helping her along. “I’ll keep you company! The Pinkamena Diane Pie Treatment of Company!”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but how is that different from your normal company?” Twilight inquired as they walked.

“It isn’t, silly! I’m just making it sound fancier!” Pinkie said with a wink. “Besides, I found it ironic how the other me actually still goes by Pinkamena!”

Twilight nodded. “That was a bit of shocker... I wasn’t expecting to see the other us as the way they were.”

“I know! Wasn’t it so surprising?! I mean, of course it’s funny to us because we’re comparing what we know about each other and ourselves to the way they normally are. But it really is such a gem for funny stuff! Seeing the other you acting all like me, that was crazy!” Laughed the pink mare, shaking her head. “They even wore their manes different!”

“Actually I was- never mind, it’s not important.” Twilight shook her head. “My old room is just up ahead.”

“Ohhhh! You mean that they were engaged?! Yeah! Other Twilight was telling me all about it!” Pinkie grinned. “Oh, other me is so thoughtful! What a cute proposal story, and I’ve heard a ton of them! I wish I could be there to help them with the wedding! That is just soooo cool! I hope the pony I marry would be that sweet! But I wouldn’t want to pressure them with expectations, either!”

“Oh, yes... It was rather sweet, and I agree, it would have been nice to have seen their wedding... albeit a little strange, but pleasant.” Stepping in front, Twilight pushed open the door to her old room. “Well, not much has changed in here.”

“Nopey-dopey-lopey!” Agreed Pinkie, helping her into the room and closing the door behind her. “Oh, my dear Twi-Twi, you must be soooo tired! Get into bed, you silly bean!”

Twilight blushed faintly as she made her way over to the bed and sat on its edge. “Actually... I was hoping we could talk first, before that.”

Puzzled, Pinkie eyed her for a second, but then got up onto the bed next to her. She stretched, made herself comfortable, and yawned a little. Then she lay Twilight down, and lay next to her, so that they were facing each other.

“Okay, all ears! What’s up?”

Twilight sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “Well, you see, I was talking to the other you about a few things. Matters that had been on my mind for a while now and she gave me some advice...”

“Oh? On what?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, it’s a little personal, but it’s not at the same time. It’s hard to explain. I... Umm...” Twilight thought it over for a moment before feeling defeated. “I’m not very good at this... Is that my bag over there?”

Pinkie looked over, seeing her saddlebags on the floor nearby. “Yes, but you should probably focus, Twi-Twi! That’s what you always say!”

“You right, I’m sorry... I guess it’s just hard getting this out.” Twilight responded, but half toned at the moment. “Anyway, I was asking about how to deal with emotions and what you’re supposed to do when you feel a certain way. I’ve been having a couple of problems with figuring out how I feel, or what I should do, and if I even know what I was feeling in the first place. It’s a tad bit odd, but... Well, what I mean is...” The alicorn looked at a loss for words and this wasn’t far from the truth. They hung there on the tip of her tongue, but she could not place them. She looked back to her bags once more, then got up.

Walking over to her personal bag, Twilight looked back to Pinkie with a slight smile. “Would you give me a minute? I think I want to show you something...”

“Okey-dokey-lokie!” Pinkie said, humming and rolling about on the bed to entertain herself.

“All right then.” Twilight said, beginning to dig through her bag. Speaking out loud, she seemed to have found what she was looking for. “Pinkie, do you remember my old doll I had a while back?”

“You mean Smarty Pants?” Pinkie sat up, curious. “Of course I remember!”

Twilight got back to the bed, holding something Pinkie couldn’t quite see. “Well, little after I gave her away, I asked Rarity to make me a new doll around the time after I was made a princess... a plushy, actually. She didn’t really ask anything about the design I asked for, but... well, this is what I’ve had since then to replace Smarty Pants.” She levitated up the plushy and closed her eyes, almost as if afraid of Pinkie’s reaction. “I actually keep this with me a lot and, uh, it helps me to sleep and... well, you see...”

There was silence as the pink earth pony took it all in. An awkward silence for anypony on the receiving end of it, to be sure. However, a look of surprised yet unbridled happiness overcame Pinkie’s face within a moment or two.

“Ooooooohhhh!! You made a plushie look like me?! Me?! Really?! Awwww! Twilight, that’s sooooo cute! I’m flattered! You made one like me!” Pinkie giggled, grabbing hold of the plushy in her hooves. “It’s so cute and looks like me! Hello, plushy me! Wow! Nopony’s ever made a plushy of me before!”

Twilight looked at her a bit stunned: clearly this was not the reaction she had expected. “So, you’re not mad? You don’t thinks it’s creepy?”

“Of course not, silly! Why would I?” Pinkie looked to her as if it were the silliest question ever. “I’m flattered you took comfort in me somehow! And we’re friends! Of course it isn’t creepy! I don’t mind at all! I’m soooo happy! But the fact it makes you happy like this, how can I not be glad about that?! That’s what I love to do, Twilight! Making my friends happy! If this is something that does, then YAY! That’s wonderful!” She hugged the plushy a bit.

Twilight felt herself ease up, relaxing a bit seeing Pinkie’s reaction. “I’m glad you see it that way. I was a little worried that I would say or do something stupid while trying to explain that I think I’ve got a crush on you.” She blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“REALLY?!!?” Pinkie squealed, cheering happily. She hopped off the bed, still holding the plushy, grabbed Twilight, and then threw her onto the bed. Rejoining her, the pink mare practically pounced and hugged her tight, along with the plushy. “Oh, Twilight! You do?! I’m so happy you do! I like you, too! No, I love you too! Yay!”

Twilight did her best to try to return the hug, but Pinkie had even her forelegs caught. “I-I thought that after I showed you my pushy...” Her blush was nearly completely consuming her face as she spoke.

Realizing this, Pinkie released her a little bit so she could return the hug, and kept her close. Giggling, she nuzzled their noses and grinned.

Twilight was still flustered by the moment, but could not help but to find an odd sense of fulfillment. “But yes... I, uh... I like you, Pinkie, and I just wanted to tell you that before I lost my nerve.”

“Yay! And I love you, too!” Pinkie snuggled her. “You don’t have to be nervous, my sweet honey! You can tell me anything!”

“’Sweet honey’?” Twilight repeated, once more amazed by the sheer number of things Pinkie had called her in the span of a week. “If that’s the case, can you pick a single pet name for me? Counting the last one, you’re up to one hundred and seven.”

Wide-eyed, Pinkie stared at her. “You counted?! Oh my! Well, goodness gracious! …Uh... Hee hee, can I get back to you? I’ll have to check my bingo book.”

Almost involuntarily, Twilight started to giggle loudly. “You actually keep a bingo book?”

“Yepperoonie! You bet I do!” The pink mare winked, giggling as well.

“May I see it?” Twilight asked her sweetly.

“Sure, I’ll show it to you when we get back home!”

Twilight nodded, giving her a playful look. “I suppose I’ll just have to remind you to write down our date that’s scheduled for tomorrow evening...”

Pinkie winked, kissing her nose. “Don’t you worry, Twilight! It’s aaaall up here!” She pointed to her head.

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. “So, you’re perfectly fine with a date, with me, tomorrow? One that you never even agreed to?”

“Of course I am, Twilight!” Pinkie said, poking her snout. “I didn’t object to it, did I? Nope! So of course we’re going on a date tomorrow!”

Sitting back on the bed, then falling over, Twilight sighed happily. “All right then. But I am exhausted. Both physically and emotionally now.”

Falling down with her, and snuggling up to her, Pinkie kissed her cheek. “It’s okay, Twi-Twi! I think it’s time you went to bed! I’ll just tuck you in!” She got up, proceeding to do so.

“Why don’t you lay down with me, Pinkie?” Twilight asked her, fighting off a yawn. “You must be tired too, and you did promise to keep me company.”

“...Even to falling asleep with you?” Asked the earth pony with surprise.

Moving over a bit, Twilight nodded, patting the side of the bed. “If you’re tired, of course. I won’t make you go to sleep if you would rather do something. But the offer stands.”

Almost immediately, Pinkie was back in bed with her, this time with the covers having been lifted up and pulled over them. The pink pony snuggled up against her, nuzzling into her neck.

“I’d be happy to fall asleep next to you, Twi-Twi!”

“Wonderful,” Twilight whispered, snuggling closer to the pink earth pony. “Thank you, Pinkie... goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Twilight!” Pinkie then kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Luffles!”

Twilight just smiled, resting her eyes. “...I love you too, Pinkie.”

“Fluttershy... You’re really my sweet butterfly... You’ve been there with me most of my life, and I have no idea what I’d do without you. You’re my best friend, heck... you’re my soul mate. I remember, when I first defended your honour, against those jerks who tried to mess with us. I gotta say, best moment of my life back then, since I not only got this baby.... But it brought me closer to you than ever. Every Sonic Rainboom I’ve made since then, they were for you, too. You’re my inspiration, my rock, and my greatest support! Everything! I’m just sorry I was an idiot all this time... There’s a ton more I want to say, but I can’t think of it... But I love you, Fluttershy... I promise to make up for all this lost time, to be with you and love you until the end of my days. I promise all of that. I know I can’t give you as much as I wish I could, but I hope giving you that promise and all of my love... will be enough. I love you, Fluttershy, and I’m sure glad to make you my wife... I can think of no other pony than my best friend to be by my side in marriage.”

Fluttershy teared up immensely as she reviewed the video footage from the impromptu Las Pegasus wedding. She kept on replaying Rainbow’s vows over and over again, utterly captivated by them. Although the circumstances weren’t quite what anypony would expect, it was clear. It was clear that those words were truly meant for her.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she gently ran her hoof along the golden pendant around her neck. The wedding pendant bearing Rainbow’s cutie mark, which she was all too proud to wear. Sudden as it was, shocking as it may have been, Fluttershy could not have been more delighted.

‘I can’t believe it all came to this... Rainbow and I are legally married... We’ll have our own wedding one day... And those beautiful vows... I wish I’d been there to hear them... But someday I will...’ Fluttershy thought, looking on to the footage with a tearful, happy smile.

Her heart swelled, her body felt a mixture of numb and yet melty, her stomach boiled with intense heat. Every bit of her felt affected by this, by everything, and just how wonderful it all felt. What a journey it had been, and how wonderful it was to finally be back home.

It had been a while since they’d returned to Fluttershy’s cottage, to which Rainbow had demurely requested a chance to shower. She had spent the entire day busied up and had no chance to get clean, so Fluttershy more than happily allowed her to do so. Not only that, but considering she’d only been in Las Pegasus that morning, it had to have been a long day of traveling.

Coming downstairs, Rainbow Dash was just finishing up drying off. “Thanks again, ‘Shy, I really needed that!”

“O-Oh!” Fluttershy squeaked, and then stopped the video, smiling. “N-No problem at all, Rainbow... You must feel so much better now!”

“Oh, yeah! I feel like a new mare!” Rainbow chuckled, jumping onto the couch, “So, what were you doing down here?”

“Um....” The creamy yellow pegasus blushed a bit. “I... I noticed you had video footage of the... Las Pegasus wedding there... I was curious, so I put it on, to see how it all turned out.”

Rainbow smiled brightly at her, moving closer. “I know it’s kinda odd seeing yourself on camera and it not being you, but believe me, when I said my vows, I was talking about you...” She blushed faintly, deciding to try to change the subject. “But, uh, weirdness aside, was the video quality okay? I mean, I know we were wasted, but I gotta feeling so was the camera dude.”

“Oh, it was fine. The production values were very nice,” Fluttershy smiled. She then blushed, moving closer as well. “I... I gathered that... you said so earlier, back in the other world... And as I watched it, I saw... You really were speaking those words to me... A-And I....” More tears pooled from her eyes. “Rainbow, they were some of the most beautiful words I’d ever heard... And to hear them coming from you, to me... in such earnest love... Thank you...”

Rainbow blushed brightly, bringing a foreleg over Fluttershy’s shoulders. “H-Hey, trust me, my real vows will be at least twenty percent cooler than those. You’ll see. When we have our own wedding, I’ll make sure to put every ounce of soul into it! So, yeah, you know...” She felt a little odd talking about the event, but she tried her best. She wanted to ask Fluttershy something as well, but felt it might be out of place. She instead pulled her into a gentle embrace.

Cooing, Fluttershy returned the embrace and nuzzled her, “That sounds wonderful, it really does... And so will I, of course... Oh, Rainbow... I love you...” She kissed her cheek, smiling lovingly at her.

“Love you too, Flutters...” Rainbow cuddled up beside her, giggling slightly. “So, ‘Shy, was there anything you wanted to do now that you’re home?”

“W-Well... Um... there was... s-something I wanted to talk to you about...” Fluttershy admitted, nuzzling her again. “Rainbow... I’d like you to spend the night with me tonight.”

Dash looked at her a bit puzzled. “You mean stay here the night? Well... since we’re legally married and stuff, I was just considering on moving in or at least moving my place closer to yours, like, making it the top floor of your house, ya know? But that’s gonna take some time to do...”

Now Fluttershy was also a bit puzzled for a few seconds, before she smiled. “Really? ...Really? Oh, Rainbow! I wanted to... to talk about our living arrangements! I’d love it if you moved in with me... You can even bring your cloud home closer to here, so we’ll be able to access it as our own!”

“Yeah, I figured that would be easier on both of us,” Rainbow chuckled. “This way, you got this place and all your animals, and I got my place just over head, so we can sleep on the clouds. It’s a total win-win!”

“Yay!” Fluttershy squealed, hugging her tighter. “Oh, that’s going to be excellent! After what I’d been through... I really... really don’t want to be... well, away from you anymore...” She blushed with embarrassment at this. “N-Not that I want to stop you from becoming a Wonderbolt! I-I mostly meant it in terms of living conditions! I-I just... I want to be with you, and really make up for everything...”

“I get it, ‘Shy,” Rainbow giggled, “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Hee.... And so are you...” Fluttershy nuzzled their noses. “Um, but Rainbow... There’s something else I’d like you to know. I-I know it’s irrelevant by now, but I... I still want there to be no secrets between us. Not anymore. I.... I... well, you see... back in the other reality... I was... deeply intimate with the other Rainbow... I-I mean really intimate... We made... made love...” She then let go, looking down with shame.

Rainbow Dash quickly lifted her head back up, an odd half smile on her face. “It’s okay, I understand completely. See, uh... the other you and I kinda sorta bucked one another silly, if you catch my meaning... So, it’s not like I can really be mad at you or anything.” The normally confident and bold mare looked somewhat unhinged, almost nervous at admitting this. “I know that, uh... that stuff happens and all, but... how do I say it? You wanna make me pay you back and vise-versa?”

“N-No... No... you don’t have to do that,” Fluttershy assured, looking relieved. “I’m just... I’m just glad we were honest. I understand you and her... were together as well. I’m not mad... I-I guess I may have been jealous at the possibility once upon a time... But I see now that it’s silly.”

Rainbow exhaled, relaxing from the confession. “Yeah, it is a little silly, but it would be understandable. I mean, I... okay yeah, I’m still a little jealous! So, I want you to make it up to me! There, I said it. Completely honest.” Dash gave a wide grin, blushing a shade of crimson.

“Oh... Well, that’s no problem...” Fluttershy beamed, blushing as well. She crawled closer, snuggling against her. “I have... learned quite a bit about lovemaking, after all... How can I make it up to you, my wonderful Rainbow?”

“What you’re doing right now is an awesome start.” Rainbow felt her wings stiffen slightly. “Yeah, please continue.”

Trembling a bit as she realized where this was going to go, Fluttershy kissed her face sweetly, running her hooves along her sides. Her body boiled with anticipation, pooling in her stomach with an intense heat.

“And it is our first night together, as a married couple... We really should make it special... Mrs. Dash...” Fluttershy cooed in a soft whisper.

Rainbow Dash could feel herself becoming lost in the moment, her body heating up wildly. “Yeah, it is... Mrs. Dash. And I can think of a few ways to make this unforgettable for you...” She replied in a seductive tone, bringing her forelegs around Fluttershy’s waist, running them down the side of her legs.

“Oooh...” Fluttershy cooed, her voice becoming seductive, “I can think of a few ways to make this unforgettable for you, too... I do have several years of pent-up tension to let out...”

“Just several years?” Rainbow giggled, blushing as she met Fluttershy’s gaze. “Try a lifetime’s worth.”

“...That long?” Came the creamy yellow mare’s stunned response.

“What? You’re acting like this is a shocker to ya.” Dash looked back at her, a little embarrassed. “You wanted me to be more honest with you, so... yeah, honestly.”

Fluttershy blushed immensely, nuzzling her, “I had no idea... I-I just.... didn’t expect it. A lifetime’s worth.... Well, then it looks like we both have a lot of pent-up sexual tension... for one another...”

Rainbow Dash slowly tighten her embrace, pulling Fluttershy closer. “Oh, you have no idea, Flutters. I warn you now, if get me in bed right now, you might not fly straight for a year.”

“Dashie...” Fluttershy whispered seductively, tightening her embrace around her, as well as their hips meeting. “Bring it on. If you get me in bed right now... you won’t be able to fly for a year either... We’ll both be grounded.”

“Under any normal circumstances, that would be a nightmare for me. Being grounded, I mean. But in this case... I couldn’t think of a better way to get grounded.” Dash teased, pulling Fluttershy closer, their lips almost meeting. “So, you fine with that?”

“Yes...” Fluttershy trembled. “Kiss me, Rainbow... kiss me, take me!”

“If you insist...” Rainbow whispered gently, bringing Fluttershy into a soft, yet passionate kiss.

Returning it with fervency, Fluttershy moaned and fell back onto the couch and brought her down with her. Both pegasi, enraptured in the moment, soon fell into what would lead into a long night of everlasting passion and love. After so long in desiring each other, after the seemingly eternal separation, after finally making amends where needed... They were finally together, and would never again part.

Author's Note

Here it is, you guys! The final chapter! :D It has been such a fun, fun ride. Sure, we've been done with this story for a while now, but it still does feel a little sad that it's over. It really was an interesting story to play with and it all came together so nicely! Woohoo!

We're so glad you guys enjoyed it, we really are. We had a lot of fun and we're glad you guys did too. It also marks the first story to contain some Twinkie! Yay for that! <3 I'm glad to have started some Twinkie! Especially when we had Pinkamena in this story. She just became such a neat character and I just love the way she played off the alternate Twilight. :D

So, there's the two epilogues coming! Stay tuned for those!

After that, well, who knows. :)

Original: Epilogue

“All right, so that’s... everything, yes... perfect!”

As the hour of twilight was setting in, Fluttershy happily trotted to her cottage. On her back were her favourite saddlebags, both sides filled with some items and papers. Even with them, she felt fantastic! It was a lovely, cool, crisp evening, a perfect evening to spend outdoors. Who knows, that might’ve been in the realm of possibility, especially since she’d taken care of some last minute chores with her animal friends.

She smiled, taking in the fresh air for a few moments. It did indeed feel wonderful to be back home. The familiar sights and scents overtook her, leaving Fluttershy feeling wonderful. Her entire body felt a mixture of cool and warm, seeming to swell with happiness.

“Aaahh... A lovely evening, just lovely,” she said softly.

Finally reaching the front door of her cottage, Fluttershy’s smile grew, her heart pounding with anticipation. She opened the door, stepping inside to the warm, inviting atmosphere.

“Honey, I’m home!” She called cheerfully.

“Honey?” called back a second voice. Walking out of the living room, Rainbow Dash came up to Fluttershy, giving her a gentle hug and a light kiss on the check. “Since when am I ‘Honey’?”

Undeterred, Fluttershy beamed brightly and returned the hug, nuzzling her wife, “I don’t know... You just said it a couple times since you started living here with me. I wanted a turn, I suppose.”

“I know, Flutters, I was just teasing!” Rainbow chuckled. “So, nothing crazy happen on your way home, right? No dimensional rifts, evil wizards, zombies, and-slash-or other impossible things.” She asked with a playful grin, knowing all too well that nothing was wrong.

“Not in the slightest, Dashie,” Fluttershy assured her with a grin, “I ran my errands, and I went to see Twilight before I came here. She wanted to show me some of the plans she had for the wedding.”

Dash nodded with a slight snicker. “Well, that’s good. I’ll admit, I was just a little on edge for the past few minutes, but nothing major.” Taking Fluttershy’s bags and leading the two into the kitchen, she continued. “So, just whose wedding was she talking about?”

“Ours, you silly.”

“Oh! Oh, right, yeah...”

“Why were you on edge?” Fluttershy asked, curious and a little concerned.

“Huh? Oh, right.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, you left about two hours ago and I figured you’d be back sooner. No biggie.”

This of course, left Fluttershy unconvinced, “Come on now, there must have been something worrying you.”

Shaking her head, Rainbow blushed lightly. “No, seriously. That’s all it was.”

“Come on...” Fluttershy cooed, coming up beside her, nuzzling her cheek and giggling.

“Really! It was just that-” Rainbow looked at her lover for a moment before sighing. “Okay, okay, fine. It’s been about a week or so now since we got you back, and Pinkie came by earlier, asking for you. I just thought that maybe Twilight got you involved in another crazy misfire of a spell or something.”

Fluttershy blinked, letting it register, to which she smiled with understanding. She brought her beloved into a hug, nuzzling her and kissing her cheek, “I can understand that, Rainbow. Especially after the last time, since we nearly lost each other without closure. But don’t worry. I won’t let that happen again, not without letting you know first. And I don’t think Twilight is very comfortable with anything else happening.”

“True, but that doesn’t stop her for very long,” Dash rebutted, hugging Fluttershy tight for a moment. Pulling away, she continued. “What if she decided to try a new spell that changed your gender, or mismatched your species? Or switched your body with something else’s? You can never know with her.”

“Well, then don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take cautious steps next time. But for now, I just want to get back to my life and routine...” Fluttershy leaned in, nuzzling their noses, “And to just be with my awesome wife...”

Rainbow sighed, cuddling her lover a bit. “It’s not you I’m worried about messing up. It’s everypony else. Either way, as awesome as I am, I do worry from time to time. And hey, your routine is gonna be different now, you know that, right?”

“Oh? How do you mean?” Fluttershy giggled, cuddling closer.

With a slight snicker, Dash kissed Fluttershy’s forehead. “Well, for one, it’s definitely about twenty percent cooler now. After all, I’m part of it.”

“Finally...!” Cooed the creamy yellow mare, beaming brightly.

“Finally what?” Rainbow blushed in her confusion.

“You’re finally here, with me, we can share our lives together. You’re part of my life all the more!” Fluttershy giggled, grinning.

“Oh, right.” Dash playfully facehoofed, sticking her tongue out. “Cut me some slack, Flutters. I’m still new to all this ‘lovey-dovey’ stuff.”

“Hey, I didn’t give you a hard time. I know it’ll take a while for you to get used to it, but that’s why I’m here...” Fluttershy cooed, giving her a sultry smile, “And you know I’ll help you anywhere you need me to, my love...”

“I know. I guess I just wanna make sure I’m not goofing this up or nothing. You know how I can be, ‘Shy.” Rainbow giggled just a bit, matching her gaze. “Plus, I kinda expect you to help me out in certain places.”

Giggling, the timid mare brought her forelegs around Dash’s neck and gazed into her eyes, “And what certain places would they be?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you, Flutters?” Dash replied in a hushed voice, teasing at her lover’s name.

“No, but I figure it’s good to be specific!” Fluttershy whispered back, stroking her hair with a hoof.

Rainbow wrapped her forehooves around Fluttershy’s waist, nuzzling their noses. “Well, there’s all those fancy rules about dating. What’s okay for me to do… What and where I’m allowed to go... What I can and will do to you... Stuff like that.”

“Not really... We can go at your pace, though,” Fluttershy smiled, nuzzling their noses back, “But there aren’t any rules as such, just a few guidelines to keep in mind.”

“If we’re going at my pace, why are we still standing here?” Dash purred into Flutter’s ear. “You see the problem?”

Fluttershy winked, giggling from the sensation, “Well… name your place, Dashie...”

“Upstairs. Five minutes,” Dash whispered to her teasingly.

“I’ll go up there and wait for you...” Fluttershy purred, licking her nose.

With that, the creamy yellow pegasus headed upstairs to her room. Before going up to join her, Dash headed to the kitchen, getting a drink of some juice. She looked down at the golden pendant around her neck, touching it gently with her hoof. The very symbol of their marriage, which although was performed in an unorthodox manner, didn’t make it any less genuine.

‘Maybe it’s kinda too soon, since we didn’t really get together beforehoof… But I don’t care, it’s awesome! I mean, look at us. Okay, yeah, maybe her coming back to being married to me is a little more extreme than anything either of us could have guessed. However, it’s been working just fine for us! ‘Shy’s happy, I’m happy, Tank’s way more than happy, and I even think that little devil Angel Bunny is happy. Like… it was just supposed to happen like this.

Finishing her drink, Rainbow Dash slowly walked around the home that was now shared between the two, taking in the cozy feeling. ‘And to think, if all the multiverse stuff didn't happen, I would still be hiding the fact that I was in love with Fluttershy, she’d still be hurting from me being a numbskull, and I don’t even wanna know what the other us would have done… So, maybe this was a good thing, in a freaky, ‘it better not happen again’ kinda way.’ With a bit of a chuckle, she made her way up stairs and knocked on the bedroom door that was, for some strange reason, closed.

“Oh, Flutter-Baby, can I come in?” Dash called through the door with a teasing voice.

“Yes you can,” Fluttershy responded from the other side, giggling.

Opening the door, Rainbow Dash looked about the room to find it strangely empty, aside from the normal furniture and whatnots. “Flutters, where are you?” She chuckled a bit, used to this little game of hide and seek they would play.

A little giggle was heard somewhere nearby, right behind her. But before Dash could turn to look, she was pounced from behind, caught in a hug that nearly sent her to the floor, but she kept her balance.

Fluttershy giggled, nuzzling into her mane, “Hello, my darling…”

Returning the nuzzle, Dash turned around the give her a more proper embrace. “You know, I let you do that, right?” She said with a slight blush.

“Sure you did,” Fluttershy kissed her face, giggling. “Let’s get into bed, shall we?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, releasing her and heading over to the bed. Which was now a much bigger double bed, no longer a squeeze for two ponies. She climbed up onto it, settling into the multitude of pillows at the headboard. Moments later, Fluttershy joined, crawling on top of her and cuddling into the cyan pegasus.

“Remind me again why I wasn’t doing this years ago?” Dash snickered to herself, wrapping her forelegs around her lover.

“You didn’t know… You didn’t even know what the feelings meant or how to express them,” Flutershy murmured, nuzzling her, “I wasn’t exactly helping any.”

“Oh, come on, Flutters,” Dash began, cuddling closer to her, “I was pretty dense, and you were shy. We can’t blame either one of us for any of that. I know I wouldn’t change a single thing about you…”

Blushing a bit, Fluttershy smiled and kissed her cheek, “I know. I wouldn’t change anything about you, either.”

Kissing her back, Dash relaxed her eyes, and smiled warmly, “I love you, ‘Shy… I hope you know that.”

The sweet words touched her heart as Fluttershy felt a sense of warmth wash over her. She looked into the cerise eyes of her wife, as they gazed at her with love. Smiling more, Fluttershy lay their foreheads together and kissed her nose.

“I do, Rainbow… I don’t think I’ll ever forget the fact that you traversed dimensions just to find me… Just to tell me the truth. But for what it’s worth, for everything, I love you too,” Fluttershy cooed.

“And I’d do it all over again if I had to,” Dash gently ran a hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. “So, believe me when I say every word means the world to me.”

Fluttershy nuzzled her, closing her eyes, “I believe you, Dashie. I truly do. I know we can make this work.”

Dash chuckled a bit, cuddling closer, “I do, too. We can make this work. I know I’m gonna screw up at times, but I want this. I want you in my life, nopony else.”

“I want this too, I know we’re going to have tough times… I know I’ll screw up, but I want to live through all of that with you,” the creamy yellow mare whispered sweetly, “I just want us to live our married life together, good times and bad.”

“And no matter what, I am not losing you again,” Rainbow Dash whispered back to her wife. “No way am I giving you up without a fight.”

Moved by her determination, yet giggling with glee, Fluttershy smothered her face with kisses. What could possibly have been better than this?

The journey had not been easy, but she felt it needed to happen. To see what she needed, to see that not everything was as easy it looked. All the same, she felt relieved and no longer scared. While she missed the other Rainbow Dash, she no longer felt worried. She was in good hooves, she would be just fine, no matter what.

She was happy, though, glad to be back home in her own world, glad to finally make amends with her best friend, now her wife.

‘Everything happened for a reason, didn’t it? Almost like it wanted me to find it… I’m glad I did, because I’m here now… With the love of my life, married to her, and I can finally move on with everything. I’m sure going to have a very interesting letter to the Princess, won’t I? Hee… I feel like I can take on anything, like everything is going to be all right. At least, as much as it can be.’

“Hey, Flutters,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, pulling her lover out of her thoughts, “Mind if ask you something a little silly?”

“Hmm?” Fluttershy looked to her curiously, “What is it?”

“Well,” the cyan mare began, waving her hoof in the air “I know that being in that other reality made you act a little like that other Fluttershy. So I was wondering, are you completely you again or did you keep some of that other you, too?”

This made Fluttershy laugh, her smile growing, “No, I’m me again. It’s almost like I didn’t even realize it when the changes were happening.”

Exhaling in relief, Rainbow Dash hugged her wife tighter. “Good. No offense to the other you, but she was a hoof full to handle. I mean, she was still kinda awesome at times, but man… did she have some issues. I hope the other me can handle her.”

“Oh, so you think I was a handful, huh, Dash?” Fluttershy smirked, rising up a bit to look down at her, “Well, you’re no picnic yourself! You thought you were rid of me forever? I don’t think so!”

Hearing that sent shivers down Dash’s spine, enough to make her twitch. “Gah… That impression is way too spot on!” Looking back to her lover, she slightly cringed. “It is just an impression... right?”

Fluttershy laughed, then leaned closer, “Nope… I’m still here!”

Dash's eyes went wide with horror, “What?! But... But you... you went back to your world! We exchanged Fluttershys!”

“Nope! I cleverly made sure to come back! Your Fluttershy is back with my Dash! Forget that lame other me! I’m here to stay! I- okay, that’s enough…” She giggled, nuzzling her, “I’m just kidding. It’s me, Dashie.”

“Oh sweet Celestia,” Dash chuckled half-heartedly. “You trying to give me a heart attack? I don’t mind you being assertive, but that other you was demanding!”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy gave her an apologetic look, kissing her cheek, “I just wanted to tease you.”

Thinking it over for a moment, Dash kissed her back and flashed a large, toothy grin. “I didn’t say you couldn’t tease me. I mean, you did sound pretty hot just now, so… it’s fine, just give me a little heads up.”

Smiling in understanding, the timid mare nodded and nuzzled their noses, “Of course I will, Rainbow. And you know, the other you was so adorable… I couldn’t help but enjoy how meek she was…”

“M-More adorable... than me?” Dash inquired, pulling up the blankets.

“Yes… more adorable than you…” Fluttershy teased, giggling.

Darting her eyes from side to side, Rainbow Dash cuddled closer to Fluttershy. “B-But, you wouldn’t leave me… right? I-I can be adorable too. I could, um… grow my mane and stuff… a-and even wear a ribbon, if you want…”

“No… I’d never leave you, my love…” Fluttershy snuggled her closer, kissing her forehead, “But you would look absolutely adorable with your mane tied into a braid and wearing a bow!”

“I draw the line at the bow,” Dash snickered a bit.

Fluttershy laughed, “All right, fair enough. Are you done?”

“Well, that depends on if you want me to be done,” Rainbow Dash stated with a grin.

“I asked you first, silly. That would be up to you.”

“If that’s the case,” Dash began with a confident voice. “No.” She quickly went back down and cuddled against Fluttershy sweetly. “If that’s okay with you…”

Giggling, Fluttershy snuggled her wife and kissed her face, “Oh, Rainbow… You’re so adorable.”

“Yay…” Rainbow made a mock weak cheer, “I’m more adorable than the other me.”

“Oh, come on now, can’t you be a little louder?” Fluttershy booped her nose.

Clearing her voice, Rainbow Dash let out another low pitch cheer, only slightly louder than the last, “Yay…!”

“Yay!” Fluttershy echoed, kissing her sweetly, “Very nice, Dashie.”

“You do know that if you ever tell anyone I’d do this, I’d get you back one hundred fold, right?” Dash snickered, hugging Fluttershy tightly.

The timid pony giggled at the thought, but smiled in assurance, “I won’t, Rainbow. Don’t worry. It’s our own little game, anyway.”

With a hearty chuckle, Dash laid back against the bed with a wide grin. “And if I’m right, it’s your turn, Flutter-Baby.”

Towering over her, licking her lips and feeling shivers run up her spine, Fluttershy smirked, “You bet your sweet flank, Dash.”

“Rock Forest, next stop!”

Twilight yawned, stretching herself a bit as she awoke from her nap. Looking over to Pinkie, who was very much still awake, she poked her.

“Oh, hello! You’re awake!” Pinkie grinned.

Groggy, Twilight started to register her surroundings. “Oh, yes… I am now, at least.” Looking about, she noticed they were in fact still in their train cabin and she had, in fact slept most of the trip. “Have you been awake this entire time?”

“Nope! I got up twenty minutes ago!” Pinkie said, shaking her head.

“Twenty minutes, eh?” Twilight allowed the words to register, “Well, it sounds like our next stop is coming up. Should we get our belongings now, or wait a few more moments?”

“Wait until the train is at a complete stop, Twi-Twi!” Pinkie instructed, winking at her.

With a slight chuckle, Twilight gave a half nod. “Very funny, Pinkie.”

Giggling madly, Pinkie then gave her a kiss, “Sowwy, forgot to give you a good wake up kissy!”

After almost a week of this, Twilight had grown all too accustomed to Pinkie’s habit of kissing her almost every unknown interval, and, more so, she found herself liking it. “It’s okay, Pinkie. You just owe me another at a later date. And I do mean date.”

“Ooohh! Do you, now?” Pinkie grinned, leaning closer to her.

“When have I ever been one to jest?” Twilight matched her gazed, nuzzling their noses.

“Hmmm....” Pinkie rubbed her chin, then grinned, “Not like that, you don’t!”

With a quick kiss to her companion's cheek, Twilight added, “Then, I suppose you do, in fact, owe me a kiss.”

“Oooh, and should I cash it in now… or later?”

“How about after dinner?” Twilight suggested with a smirk. “I think it more enjoyable that way.”

The pink earth pony giggled, winking at her, “I shall remember that, my little Princess!”

Giggling a bit, Twilight felt a faint blush coming on. “Oh, you don’t have to use just pet names… I really don’t like to be considered above anyone.”

“You’re not, silly! It’s just a fact that you’re a Princess!”

“Even if I humbly accept the title, that doesn’t mean I enjoy being called by it,” Twilight stated for her friend with an earnest smile. “I’d rather simply be with my friends… and you.”

“Awww, Twilight, you’re too muchies!” Pinkie hugged her, nuzzling her, “And I love you, too!”

Even though she had heard the word used by Pinkie several times, it still managed to make Twilight smile every time. Love. An intense feeling of deep affection; unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another; the title given to a beloved pony. After pouring through books and definitions to find the meaning, Twilight could not help but realize that love was truly what she had felt for Pinkie Pie. It seemed so obvious now, looking back. Now, every time she heard that simple word, her mind went to her love.

“I hope you know I mean it, even if I have trouble saying it at times,” Twilight smiled warmly at the pony that was now her marefriend.

“Twilight, sometimes there are ways of expressing yourself without using words,” Pinkie giggled, nuzzling their noses.

Thinking it over, Twilight found herself in agreement. “That’s very profound of you to say, Pinkie. It’s also very true… I still wish I could express it better, though.”

“Oh, come on! You’ll be able to soon! You can’t rush lovey-dovey awesomeness!”

“Don’t tell that to Rainbow Dash,” Twilight giggled.

“Pbbttt!” The pink-maned pony laughed, “Puh-leasey-weasey!”

“I know, right?” Twilight continued, “But she is our friend, and we must respect that she attends to enjoy moving in the fast lane.”

Pinkie paused a few moments, staring out the window as the train was approaching the town’s train station. She bit her lip, pondering, then turned back to her.

“Well, Twi-Twi… It wasn’t like she planned to, but it can still work out with those new circumstances!”

With a slight smile, Twilight patted her lover on the back. “That’s very true. I wish them nothing but the best.”

“And then we’ll soon have a big, real, super-duper wedding! Yay!” Pinkie cheered.

“Yes, I suppose tha-” Twilight froze up in mid-sentence, nay, mid-word upon realizing what was said. “Us? A… a w-wedding? As in a legal bonding ceremony that seals us into single commitment of faith, love, and caring? Oh my…” This had been the last thing on alicorn’s mind, to be wedded to Pinkie Pie. Over all, it did make sense to her that over time, the two of them would want to commit and make their relationship an ordained one, but so soon? With her only coming to realize her feelings for Pinkie, talking of marriage was like asking her what funeral arrangements she wanted, something that seemed too far ahead to plan for now.

And yet, the idea behind it did not seem to bother her. In her mind, she already knew that if she was to marry, even if had to be the same day, Twilight would chose the pink earth pony she had grown so fond of.

“That’s a bit too far off to think about right now… but one day, yes. I’m sure we will have a nice one,” Twilight replied fully this time, smiling.

“Of course we will, silly! But I meant for them!” Pinkie poked her nose, grinning widely. “Oops! Let’s get our stuff! The train’s stopped!”

Feeling a little silly for reading so deeply into her friend's words, Twilight nodded in agreement and began to gather her belongings. “This is my first time meeting your family… what are they like?”

Taking her saddlebags, Pinkie placed them over her back, waiting for Twilight to step out into the aisle, “They always used to be stiff and unhappy. But when I brought parties and sunshine into their lives, they felt a lot better! I haven’t seen them in a couple of years now, but they still write! Mama Pie is quite a mommy but boy she’s quite a business woman if she needs to be! Daddy Pie can be a hard knock, but he’s a real softie underneath it!”

Leading the way to the exit, Twilight listened carefully to Pinkie’s explanation. “I see. I also believe you said you had two sisters as well, correct?”

“Uh-huh! Inkie and Blinkie!” Pinkie followed after her, “They’re a bit younger than me, but they all live out on their own now, too! Inkie’s in Trottingham with her boyfriend, and Blinkie lives in town, not far off from home, since she’s going to school there!”

“Seems like you had quite an effect on them,” Twilight noted, stepping off the train at last, and stood waiting for Pinkie to do the same. “I wonder… what do you think would have happened if things had been different? Like, for instance, if your special talent had not been making ponies happy.”

Pinkie thought for a moment as she stepped onto the platform, “I bet I’d turn out just like the other me!”

“That’s… an interesting notion,” Twilight admitted. “I wonder if that means I would have… Nah. Anyway, are we to meet them here at the station, or at their home?”

“Right there!” Pinkie pointed to a pair of earth ponies standing nearby. “Hi, Mommy and Daddy!” She waved to them.

The pair walked over, smiling warmly.

“Ah, Pinkamena, it’s wonderful to see you again,” said Pinkie’s mother, nuzzling her daughter. She turned to Twilight, looking amazed, “And you must be Princess Twilight Sparkle. It’s quite an honour to meet you.”

Blushing from being addressed by her full title, Twilight shook her head slightly. “Please, there’s no need for superficial titles… It’s a pleasure to meet you both as well.”

“My, my, if this is the future of our kingdom, I know we’re all in good hooves,” Pinkie’s father gave a small bow. “I hope our daughter hasn’t been giving you too much trouble, Miss Sparkle.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Twilight blushed further from this, smiling nervously. “She can be a little wild at times, but nothing that’s ever been a problem.”

“Yay!” Pinkie danced. “Oh, and of course! Twi-Twi, these are my parents! Cloudy Quartz is Mama Pie and Daddy Pie is Igneous Rock!”

“It’s a pleasure to be here,” Twilight slightly bowed before standing once more.

“Now, now, no need to be formal with us, Miss Sparkle,” Igneous smiled warmly. “You two must be tired from such a long trip. Why don’t we head home and get you two something to eat?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Pinkie grinned, bringing her foreleg around Twilight’s shoulders, “Lead the way, Pops!”

They headed back to the farm, getting settled in as the Pie parents prepared dinner. For a good portion of the evening, they’d sat down to a dinner of fried vegetables and egg salad sandwiches. All the while, they chatted here and there, to which Twilight felt more and more at home.

Despite the dreary landscape and the very job itself in maintaining a rock farm, Pinkie had been right. There was a lot more of a warm, inviting feel to the area. The house itself even had much more of a bright but still relaxed decor going for it. While certainly not the bright, louder, more fun colours like you’d see in Sugarcube Corner; Twilight had to admit that it was very cozy.

“Mm-mmm-mmm! That was soooo delicious, mama!” Pinkie said cheerfully as she and Twilight helped with the dishes.

“Thank you, honey,” Cloudy Quartz smiled, “I’m glad it was to your liking.”

“Yes, it was a very nice meal Mrs. Quartz,” Twilight agreed, drying and placing the plates away. “I can see where Pinkie gets her cooking talent from.”

The remark made Pinkie blush, while her parents both chuckled.

“You’re quite right, dear,” Cloudy Quartz giggled, “The minute Pinkamena was able to cook on her own, she was all over the kitchen.”

“She’s right,” Igneous remarked with a chuckle, “We had to do our best to keep her from cooking most nights. She was always up to something, trying new recipes, making her own, or simply cooking to cook. Without a doubt, she’s the best baker in our family.”

Twilight giggled at that, setting the last plate down. “I would say Pinkie’s most likely the best baker in all of Equestria at this point.”

“Hee!” Pinkie giggled, flattered, “You guys are all too muchies! C’mon, Twi-Twi! I gotta show you my room!”

“All right then. I won’t lie, I’m curious to know what your room looks like,” Twilight smiled warmly, then turned to Pinkie’s parents. “Thank you for the wonderful meal.”

“Think nothing of it, Miss Sparkle,” Igneous nodded, “Just enjoy your stay.”

Cloudy Quartz gave an understanding smile as she rejoined her husband at the table. “You girls have a good night, we’ll see you in the morning.”

Twilight and Pinkie headed upstairs, going to one of the bedrooms. While it was since remodeled to accommodate a guest room, there were still some little knick-knacks sitting about to remind the owners of whose room this once was.

A double bed was situated across from the doorway, while a dresser and a vanity table sat at one end of the room next to a closet door.

“Here it is! This was my old room!” Pinkie said, all but hopping onto the bed.
Looking about the room, it appeared to be rather quant. It was not large, but it was livable. The bed itself was pink, which stood out, considering the rest of the colors in the room, but overall it had a welcoming presence to it.

Twilight smiled happily, climbing onto the bed with her, “It’s nice, Pinkie. I expected it to be a little more spacious, but I like it.”

“It’s different than it once was!” Pinkie admitted, rolling onto her back. “But it’s still super duper cute!”

“Different?” Twilight inquired, “How so?”

“Painted stencils on the walls, all kinds of toys, some shelfies for my bookies, you name it! It was waaaaay different back in the day!”

Thinking it over for a moment, Twilight felt a question on the tip of her tongue. “Why did it change?”

“I moved out and they wanted to make it more appropriate for guests!” Pinkie said.

“Oh,” Twilight spoke up with slight disappointment. “I was hoping to see your room as it was back then. Still, it’s nice.” With a sigh, she laid down on the bed, resting her head on a pillow. “But you say you had books here as a filly? What kind of stories did you read?”

“Comic books, storybooks, cookbooks, and even chapter books!” Said the earth pony, giggling at the memories.

“I see... I remember when I started reading, I fell in love with detective novels,” Twilight laughed with her marefriend. “I wonder if we ever met as fillies and just don’t remember it.”

Pinkie brightened, facing her, “Maybe we did! Oh, oh! Oooh! Like Sherlock Holmes?!”

Smiling brightly, Twilight nodded, “Yes, actually! I loved his methods of deduction and the character development of Inspector Watson. I found the two to be a wonderful combination.”

“That is just awesometacular!” Right out of nowhere, Pinkie plucked a deerstalker cap and another hat, placing them on their heads, “You remember that big, epic mystery with the MMMM? Exactly where I got it from!”

“Oh course I remember!” Twilight giggled, touching the rim of the cap, “I should have known then that you were a fan of Holmes. You should have told me, we have quite the collection back at the Ponyville library.”

“Then it looks like our next activity when we get home will be booked solid!”

“That’s a clever little euphemism, Pinkie,” Twilight cuddled closer to the pink mare, “I’ll have to remember that one…”

Giggling, Pinkie cuddled her back, nuzzling their cheeks, “Thank you, Twilight! Hee, you’re so cuddly! I love cuddles!”

With a warm smile, Twilight rested her eyes, “What can I say, you just bring that part of me out.”

“Mm-hmm! So, Twi-Twi, let’s turn in early, shall we? We’ll get up, go for a stroll around the farm! Not much to see, but we’ll go anyway!”

“I guess we could,” Twilight began before suddenly rolling on top of Pinkie Pie with a sly grin, “Or we could stay up a bit longer… After all, it’s not that late.”

Blushing immensely, the pink earth pony grinned, “Oooooh! Got something in mind, Twilight?” She cooed, winking.

With a slight purr, Twilight learned down whispered, “Why don’t you stay up and find out?”

In response, the alicorn was pulled into a passionate kiss, entangling her within a tight but soulful embrace.

Dear Princess Celestia,

This is going to be a very different kind of letter, but I hope you’ll bear with us.

I attempted a spell that was intended to answer questions about the multiverse theory. I can safely say that quite a few were answered. It’s true that they do exist, they are within the realms of the multiverse plane. But, this all came at a price I know neither of us were prepared for. There are some things in this world that just can’t be explained, or even explored… At least, not without realizing the possible consequences. Either way, it nearly cost the wellbeing of our Fluttershy and the Fluttershy of the alternate reality.

But now, I know better than to attempt a spell without the proper precautions and procedure tools. I’m just glad everything turned out a lot better. It did help, even if it took the very circumstances presented to make it work. ~Twilight Sparkle

As for me, I learned to be a lot more careful! Sometimes, one wrong move can lead to a huge disaster. Which is why it’s important to be responsible and to know exactly what you need to do in order for something to work! It wasn’t easy and I was soooo scared for my friends! But it all turned out so good! I just need to take these things more seriously and to remember that anything can go wrong if you’re not careful. In all, I do apologize for my mistake, so hopefully everything will be better from now on! Yay! ~Pinkie Pie

Through this ordeal, I’ve learned that, no matter how difficult, strange, or frightful a problem or issue is, you should never try to avoid it. I wish I had known that before all this had happen. It’s best to face each situation with honesty, even if you’re afraid of the outcome, and that bottling up your emotions can lead to very bad decisions. I will try my best from now on to not run away from things like this, and be true to my heart. Also, I want to apologize if word of what happened reached you before this and if you were worried. I’m glad to say, though, that everything is wonderful now. Oh, and please do tell Discord thank you for his help in this as well. ~Fluttershy

For me, I could probably write you an entire book on the all the stuff I learned. For one, I am never gonna deny my feelings again. Ever. I mean, even though none of it was my fault, I feel it was me that sent Fluttershy to that crazy flip-flop reality, and I’m not repeating that! I also learned that if you bottle them up, they WILL get out and make you an emotional wreck. Also, I learned that hard cider can be a very good or very bad thing, based off of when you drink. But, the thing I think I learned the most, and I will be doing more often? I learned that I’m totally in love with Fluttershy, and I don’t care what anypony else thinks! ~Rainbow Dash

(P.S I also learned that I’m talking Flutters into getting piercings, hehehe…)

Signed, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

Here it is! The epilogue for the original universe! Next is the alternate, and this story is DONE! Woohoo!

Alternate: Epilogue

“Fluttershy! Dinner’s ready!”

Rainbow Dash smiled to herself after she’d called to her lover. Her home was filled with the delicious smells of dinner, consisting of a vegetable stir-fry, oven-baked potato slices, and some garlic bread. She gathered the food onto a few platter dishes, before placing them onto the table, along with a couple of glasses and a bottle of apple cider (non-alcoholic).

Taking a moment to overlook her work, she then removed her apron and hung it up, then poured the cider into their glasses.

Striding in, Fluttershy eyed the spread of food hungrily before coming up behind Rainbow and wrapping her forelegs around her waist. “I gotta say, you went all out on this, didn’t ya?”

“Ooh!” Rainbow giggled, smiling brightly as she leaned up against her. “Well... Living with you really gives me a chance to prepare such nice meals to share...”

“I know, I know, but I told you before. You don’t gotta go out of your way just for little ol’ me, Dash.” Fluttershy chuckled, tightening her hug for a few seconds.

“I know I don’t... But I want to. I want to make nice meals for us, I enjoy it,” Rainbow assured, giggling, “You’re absolutely worth it.”

Fluttershy gave her a gentle kiss on the back of neck. “Nah, not really. You, on the other hoof, are more than worth it!”

A tingle coursed through the cyan mare at the sweet feeling, making her blush and smile more. “Awww... You’re sweet.... But I love to spoil you... can’t I spoil the pony I love?”

“Oh, come on, Dash. If you spoil me anymore, I won’t know how to take care of myself!” Fluttershy teased, giggling.

“Now you’re just being silly,” Rainbow laughed a bit, turning her head slightly. “Let’s eat, shall we?”

Releasing her, Fluttershy flashed a toothy grin. “I thought you’d never ask!” Making her way over to the table, she stopped just before taking a seat herself and pulled out Rainbow’s chair. “You first. I mean, you did cook all this.”

Rainbow beamed, then sat down, “Thank you, Fluttershy!”

“Of course,” Fluttershy replied, taking a seat herself.

The two began to eat, within a contented silence. Usually they did have conversations and made small talk, but sometimes they simply enjoyed a meal quietly. It wasn’t awkward, they just occasionally didn’t have much to say or talk about. Even Fluttershy, who usually didn’t tend to keep quiet, didn’t mind this at all. It was nice, very nice.

Rainbow felt a tingling within her body, coursing to her heart. She faced her marefriend, blushing a bit, “Flutters... Will you... come out and watch the sunset with me after dinner?” She played with her braid a bit nervously.

Fluttershy paused for a moment, considering for a moment. “Yeah, that sounds nice! We can totally do that! You wanna actually go now, though? We could take some of this with us and kinda make it a picnic as the sun sets.”

“Oh... sure! That’d be nice! I’ll just um... get my coat, it’s cold tonight,” Rainbow blushed, and went into the bedroom to fetch it.

Stretching out her wings, Fluttershy started to place a few piece of food in a hoof basket, along with a sheet of paper. “Okay, I got the basket!” She called up to Rainbow in a gleeful tone.

Rainbow Dash came back down, wearing a darker blue windbreaker. “I’m ready too, so let’s go, shall we?”

“Lead the way, mi amour!” Fluttershy snickered, trotting up beside her.

Wide-eyed, Rainbow looked to her in surprise as they headed to the front door, “Y-You know...French?”

Grinning widely, Fluttershy waved it off. “I picked some up awhile back to mess with AJ, ya know? Why? Do you like it?”

“...Yes... I love it...” Rainbow admitted, blushing a bit.

“Je devrais parler français plus,” Fluttershy lead the way to door, opening it. “You coming, Dashie?”

All the more smitten, the cyan pegasus nodded as she followed her out the door.

They went to a hill to start off, since they had a picnic and all. It was some ways off from Rainbow’s home, just outside of town. It was a great location to see the expanding landscape, along with the sun setting behind the horizon. A truly beautiful spectacle as the land was now bathed within the hour of twilight.

As they ate the remainder of their food, taking turns in sipping from the bottle, Rainbow oftentimes stole glances at Fluttershy. She felt so nervous, so unprepared, but knew that it was a great time to go through with it. If she didn’t, she would lose her nerve completely.

‘I can do this... If there is one thing I know that the other Fluttershy taught me... It’s not to let chances in love slip you by. Besides, why am I afraid? We kind of already agreed to this. Making it official is a different story, though... I just hope she’ll accept and understand. I can do it, I will do it... I’ll finally step up and take this chance. Fluttershy and I love each other... there’s no reason it won’t work. We’ve talked about it... Go for it, Dash! Go for it! Be like your other you, fast and daring! Take chances!’ Rainbow thought, butterflies quivering in her stomach.

“...The sunset is really beautiful, isn’t it?” Rainbow said softly, snuggling up to her.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Fluttershy said smiling at Rainbow Dash.

A soft blush settled on the timid pony’s cheeks, “It’s funny... I daydreamed of moments like this since forever... I thought it was all one big pipe dream. I never thought it would work, I was always certain that my cowardice would hold me back. That my fear of you rejecting me was holding me back, too. But it’s amazing... how we’re here now. I-I hope I’m not dreaming and will be waking up alone in my bed... I’ve had way too many of those.”

“Well then, let’s find out if you really are!” Fluttershy said playfully. “Kiss me right now, on the lips and see if you wake up. Dreams always end before the best part. Trust me, I know.”

“...True...” Rainbow giggled, coming around to face her. She brought her hooves to her shoulders, then leaned in and kissed her sweetly. For a few moments, she held the kiss, trembling at the sweet feeling. Upon pulling away, her entire face was pink. “...I’m not dreaming... It’s really happening...”

Chuckling, Fluttershy shook her head, “Now we know you’re not dreaming, but what about me? How do I know this isn’t just a super amazing dream?”

Rainbow blushed, smiling brightly. “Well, why don’t you find out?”

The moment the words left her lips, they were already covered by Fluttershy’s. Their wings rose in unison, the pair wrapping their forelegs around each other. Laughter was heard between them, falling more into the sweet moment.

Moments later, they parted, their noses touching.

“Done,” Fluttershy chuckled, nuzzling Rainbow Dash. “This is definitely not a dream.”

“Yay!” Rainbow cheered softly, holding her closer. “I used to escape to my dreams, because they were the only place we could be together... And now, I don’t think I ever want to sleep again.”

Fluttershy shook her head, pulling away. “You sure about that? As long as I’m the only one you dream about.”

“I know,” the cyan pony cooed, nuzzling her cheek, “Dreaming of you as well as having you in reality will be a wonderful bonus.”

“Speaking of which, there was something I was meaning to talking to you about...” Fluttershy smiled faintly, exhaling weakly.

“...Huh?” Now Rainbow felt a mixture of confusion and concern. A stabbing feeling at her gut escalated as she brought a tender hoof to her lover’s cheek. “What is it, Fluttershy?”

“Well, it’s kinda out of nowhere, I guess.” Fluttershy admitted. She blushed weakly while scratching the back of her head. “Just don’t freak out or nothing, okay?”

“I won’t... I mean, I’ve seen a bit of your dream journal, so I don’t think I’ll end up freaking out,” the timid mare assured her, giving her a comforting embrace.

“Right, right... I almost forgot about that little detail,” Fluttershy chuckled nervously. “Still, there’s a bit of a difference in dreaming and doing it, ya know?”

Rainbow nodded, “That’s true. So...what is it?”

Exhaling, Fluttershy pulled away slightly. “Okay, so... we’re dating now, right? And we kinda know that we each love one another, right?”

With a bright smile, Rainbow Dash nodded once more. “Yes...”

“Well...” Fluttershy began, looking down at the grass. She considered the best way to approach this and decided to go with the direct way. “Well, I was thinking about how I, well... the marriage thing and stuff. It’s kinda been eating at me since I got back. I mean, I got married while I was drunk, for crying out loud. I know I already apologized for that, but it still wasn’t right.”

“Oh...” Rainbow said softly, nodding. She smiled in understanding, nuzzling her. “You don’t have to feel bad. I mean... I was this close to getting married, myself. Perhaps not drunk, but I was all the same.”

“I know, but it still doesn’t sit right with me. I, uh, I got something for you.” Fluttershy blushed, smiling as she spoke. Reaching in the basket, she pulled out a sheet of paper. “It’s nothing much, really. Just read it.”

Taking the sheet of paper, Rainbow unfolded it and looked it over curiously.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

If you’re reading this, then keep reading. This piece of paper and words on it are actually more or less a distraction to keep you from looking up and seeing what I’m really doing. Now, even after knowing this, don’t look up, I want this to be kinda like a surprise.

Still reading? Good. Now, I’ sure you’re wondering why I took the time to write this out, huh? Well, I’m kinda nervous. Yes, I really am. If you’re surprised by this... I wouldn’t blame you. I really shouldn’t be, but I am. So, just bear with me.

You know I’m not so good with mushy stuff, but I can write it so much better than I can say it. I love you, Rainbow Dash. I love you so much, and I will never ever be able to actually express just how much I really do. But you know what? I’m willing to spend the rest of my life trying. I know we talked about this before, but I wanted to expand on it.

Well, what I mean is, make this more than just me saying something and you wondering if I really mean it. I want to prove to you I just as serious, if not more, than you are. So, what I’m saying is...

Having obeyed the note, especially with her curiosity getting the better of her, Rainbow Dash looked up. The anticipation in her mind and heart were going wild as she wanted to know what this was all about.

Looking up, Rainbow’s heart stopped.

Fluttershy was kneeling down low, just barely looking up at her, her face hidden by a mixture of a blush and mane. Her wings were spread low, her right wing seeming to be missing a feather. In fact, it was the very large yellow feather laid on the ground in front of her.

“I know it’s kinda old school and not the way things are done today, but... would you mind if we made this official? For real this time.” Fluttershy rose up, meeting her lover’s eyes, “Rainbow Dash, will you marry me?”

A soft gasp escaped the cyan pegasus, completely stunned by this. Her heart ran wild, her body burst with excitement and passion, all of this happened so fast as she tried to let it register. She brought her hooves to her mouth, completely taken aback, but so touched. It was a given, but it was no less meaningful and exciting. Especially in how she was trying to do the same.

‘I’ve waited for this moment for so long... It’s nothing like I imagined... but so much better...’ Rainbow thought, gazing into the hopeful eyes of her lover. She melted, nodding, and then embraced her.

“Yes! Yes.... Oh, yes! Of course I’ll marry you, Fluttershy! Yes!” Rainbow squealed happily, tears in her eyes.

Returning the hug, Fluttershy tightened her grip. “Hey, no need to start crying on me Rainbow.” She cooed. “I know you’re happy, but it still kinda makes me feel sad to see it.”

Giggling, the cyan mare nuzzled into her neck, “I can’t help it, I’m just so happy! And I’m so glad you’re this happy to be together, like this... with me...”

“Of course I am, Dash,” Fluttershy chuckled, pulling away slightly so she could see her lover’s face. “I mean, you said you read my stuff, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise... The point is, I love you.”

“It isn’t, but it still just feels so surreal to me...” Rainbow murmured, gazing at her lovingly. “I love you, too... And you know... There’s something really funny about all of this.”

Now Fluttershy was confused. “What do you mean by funny?”

“Oh, no, no! It’s a good kind of funny, I swear! A really good funny! M-More like.... c-coincidence...” Already the timid pony was beginning to cower and get nervous.

Seeing this, Fluttershy exhaled. She didn’t mean to make it sound like she was upset, but rather just unsure of the meaning. With a soft smile, she ran hoof over Rainbow Dash’s braid.

“Relax, Dashie. There’s nothing wrong, I swear. I think I understand what you mean. So, no more being afraid of me, okay?”

Embarrassed, and a bit ashamed, Rainbow nodded and snuggled into her. “You’re right... I’m so sorry. I suppose I let my anxieties get the better of me... I shouldn’t be afraid of you, I-I know you’re not going to hurt me... I’m sorry...”

Giggling now, Fluttershy placed her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders leaning close enough for their noses to touch. “And there you go, apologizing when you don’t even need to. You really are too cute sometimes, you know that?”

“Hee!” Now Rainbow felt a surge of happiness course through her, her smile returning. “Thank you, Flutters... I feel better, now... Thank you.”

“And here I was thinking you might have needed some ‘special’ attention,” Fluttershy tease, kissing Rainbow quickly, catching her off guard.

A soft blush overcame Rainbow’s cheeks and she giggled, “Oh my... Who knows... Um... Flutters, I...have something for you, too...”

Grinning from ear to ear, Fluttershy sat straight up. “You do? What is it? Not that I was expecting anything, but still.”

Deciding to just go for it, Rainbow Dash reached into her jacket, pulling something out from an inner pocket. In her teeth, she held something long and blue, which turned out to be her own primary feather. She placed it onto the ground, before taking Fluttershy’s, sticking it in her braid.

“I was... going to do just what you did... And you beat me to it, but here you go... I’m giving you my feather in return...”

Needless to say, Fluttershy couldn’t fight off how moved she was by this gesture. It was a given, all things considered, but it didn’t stop the warm feelings in her heart. She looked up again, seeing Rainbow Dash looking to her with a loving, tender smile, with glints of excitement in her eyes. If she could have fallen in love more with the shy pegasus, it would have been now. Feeling her eyes start to tear up, she rubbed them away, sniffling weakly.

“Y-Yeah, I should have figured...” Fluttershy shook her head, smiling all the while. “Of course I would go and propose right before you do and all. Always a little too fast.”

Giggling, Rainbow Dash placed the feather behind her ear, and stood back to admire the look. “Ooh, that’s perfect!” She nuzzled her sweetly, embracing the creamy yellow mare.

Blushing, Fluttershy looked away, trying not to seem embarrassed. “I guess it is. Kinda like it should have been there to begin with.”

“Just as yours is with me,” Rainbow smiled, nuzzling her, “Um... Fluttershy? Can I... ask you a question? It’s about... um... the wedding you had in the other world. I... well, I was wondering what it was like... If you can remember it.”

“Oh, right. Uh...” Fluttershy scratched the back of her head nervously. “I guess you can, if you really wanna know. I’m still a little fuzzy on some of the details, but I can try.”

“As much as you can,” Rainbow encouraged, smiling, “I’m just curious.”

Fluttershy sat up, laughing weakly. “Well, okay... what do you wanna know?”

“Well... Where did it take place? I mean, I know it happened in Las Pegasus, but what was the location like?”

“Well, from what I remember, it was like a garden place, or something. Lot of flowers and stuff. It was pretty, I guess.” Fluttershy tried to recall.

“Oh! Like a Zen garden? I know Las Pegasus has a couple of Zen gardens for couples to marry in!” Rainbow said dreamily, looking starry-eyed. “That sounds really pretty!”

“Yeah, I think that was name of the place! A Zen garden.”

“Wow, Fluttershy! That’s so lovely. Um, and you know... I remember what you guys had said... about your wedding vows... Was that true? Do you... remember at all what you said?”

Blushing even more, Fluttershy mentally reeled back. “Y-Yeah, I remember. To be honest, that’s about all I remember of the wedding or what I recall the best.”

“...Really?” The cyan mare’s cerise eyes sparkled. “Wow... that’s so sweet... I always wanted to write my own vows... But then I thought you could never feel the same way, and that writing them would be too presumptuous.”

“Eh, that wouldn’t be presumptuous in the least, Rainbow.” Fluttershy remarked warmly, “I already wrote nine rough drafts and memorized the final copy two years ago. So, you can see where I stand on this.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide, feeling her cheeks heat up. Yet again she assumed that she had such a pipe dream fantasy about the love they could share-only to find out that Fluttershy was doing the same thing. Or in some cases, even more so than herself.

Giggling, the timid mare snuggled against her, “Gosh, Flutters.... We really did do a lot of stuff like that... It’s pretty amazing. I think you surpassed me again!”

“Not really,” Fluttershy almost deadpanned, but managed to keep a faint smile. “I would tell you them, but... how about we wait until our real wedding, eh?”

“Oh come on... Please tell me? You could revise it!”

“Nope! I want this to be special, Rainbow. So, you’re just gonna have to wait for this one.” Fluttershy teased, kissing the top of Rainbow Dash’s forehead.

“Okay...” Rainbow giggled, blushing at the gesture. “Fair enough, I guess... I’d want to surprise you with mine.”

“Good,” Fluttershy said gleefully. “Now, how about we head back and see if there’s a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, eh, Dash?”

“...Is... that a euphemism for.... you know...” Rainbow asked, blushing a bit.

Fluttershy pulled Dash closer, a seductive smirk coming over her face. “Why don’t we find out? My pretty little rainbow.”

Blushing more, but smiling brightly, Rainbow Dash snuggled close to her. “Sure... Let’s go home, Flutters... And do that...”

Fluttershy gently kissed her forehead, giggling softly. “Now the only question is, can we make it back without me tackling you down, eh?”

“Hee... I guess we’d better fly and go very fast!” Rainbow cooed, giggling, “So that you won’t tackle me until we’re at home in our bed...”

“Well, considering the fact that I’m the fastest flyer in two dimensions, you better get a head start... or else I’ll catch you.”

Laughing with glee, the cyan pegasus flew off towards her home, looking over her shoulder to see if she’d follow.

Slowly coming to, Pinkamena began to sit up, right until she noticed the sleeping mare resting on her shoulder. Sighing, she eased back into her seat, looking out the passenger window. They had left for the Crystal Empire shortly after their stay in Canterlot by the request of Twilight’s sister, Gleaming Shield. Not that she was entirely opposed to going, she was not fond of the Crystal Empire; it was an oddity to her, as was her lover’s sister as well.

Watching the landscape change, she left her head up slightly when she heard the intercom turn on.

“Attention all passengers, we shall be arriving at the Crystal Empire very shortly. Please, be sure to have all your belongings before departing the train. We thank you for your patronage.”

“So, we’re almost there already,” Pinkamena mused to herself. Considering this, she gently tapped on Twilight’s shoulder. “Love, it’s time to arise from your slumber.”

“Mmm...” Twilight mumbled sleepily, a bit annoyed. “Sleepy... five more minutes...”

Rolling her eyes, Pinkamena leaned in as close as she could to Twilight, whispering in her ear. “Oh my, is somepony throwing a party for me?”

“Maybe...” Twilight responded in her sleep.

“Then, are you really asleep or just pretending?” Pinkamena asked in a sweet voice, one she only took with Twilight when they were alone.

The alicorn whimpered groggily, “I’m tiiiired...”

“And yet, you are awake enough to answer me?” Pinkamena giggled.

“Mmmph...” Twilight mumbled, snuggling more into her. “Lemme sleepy...”

Pinkamena brought a hoof up, gently brushing across her face. “Come now, Twilight. Are you saying you don’t want to see your sister? You sounded rather excited at first about this trip.”

Grumbling sleepily, Twilight opened her eyes and yawned, “Pinkiiiiee... I was having a lovely dream!”

“Oh, really now? What was this dream about?” Pinkamena inquired, although she had a good feeling about just what type of dream Twilight was having.

“We were having a super duper pretty lovely wedding!” Twilight dreamily crooned, giggling.

Chuckling herself, Pinkamena was pleased to know that she knew her lover so well. “Is that so? Was there anything special about the wedding itself? Or was it a small, private wedding?”

“It was super small and cute, but awesome!” Giggled the lavender mare. “Soooo bright and full of colours and balloons!”

“That does sound rather nice.” Pinkamena gave Twilight a small hug, cuddling her briefly. “Of course, you always have the same dream, and I say this every time. Nevertheless, I would prefer a small wedding. Something simple, but still wonderful.”

Giggling, Twilight hugged and cuddled her back, “Of coursies! That’d be lovely! We can do a big awesometastic small wedding!”

Pinkamena nodded, smirking almost as she began to gather their things. “Very true, but let’s not delay. The train shall be stopping soon, and I would hate for your family to send the guards looking for you again. You know how they overreact.”

“Nope, they won’t do it this time, my lovey!”

“Assuming they haven’t already.” Pinkamena corrected her.

Twilight shook her head, “No, not this time! Come on! The train’s stopped! I can’t wait!”

Grabbing the remainder of their belongings, Pinkamena gave a small bow. “After you, my princess.”

“Stop it...” Twilight giggled.

They disembarked the train among the other passengers, heading along the platform toward the station. Sure enough, no guards to speak of, at least not beyond basic security guards.

Relieved, Pinkamena and Twilight headed off into the town square of the Crystal Empire, well on their way to the palace.

Glancing about, Pinkamena recalled a few of the reasons why she did not like the Crystal Empire. “It always feels so odd being here. It’s much like being a foreigner in your own country. The streets are quiet, the city is brightly lit, and the palace is in plain view of the entire town. It’s almost like somepony could watch you at all times and you never it...”

“Pinkie, you’d need a telescope for that! And even so, you couldn’t exactly hear anything, so it would all be completely out of context!” Twilight assured, nuzzling her. “Yeah, you can see the entire town and a good portion of the landscape... But when you’re high, you can’t see much! It’s easier to be on the ground, observing everything around you than from up high!”

“True, but you forget the extent of magic that your sister and the Prince have.” Pinkamena chuckled, albeit somewhat forced. “Need I remind you of your sister’s bad habit of eavesdropping?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, but she doesn’t do that anymore. It was a long time ago, Pinkster.”

“Oh yes, six months is quite a long time.” Pinkamena replied, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Ponies change....”

Pinkamena sighed, now smiling. “I know, Twilight. Still, you know how your sister unnerves me. That, and the simple fact of what she was eavesdropping on was very... unforgiving. You know how I am. I enjoy my privacy. You’re really the only one I don’t mind in my personal space. With everypony else, however, I find it odd.”

“I know you do, Pinkie-Winkie...” Twilight nuzzled her, looking a bit sad, “I’ll try to tell my sister and brother-in-law... But sometimes she likes to do her own thing, you know? She doesn’t mean any harm, but I’ll keep trying. You’ll be part of our family soon, and I wouldn’t want you to resent it...”

“Now, now, I would never resent anything that has to do with you.” Pinkamena returned the nuzzle, attempting to comfort Twilight. “So, I will try to not allow past situations to influence my thoughts, opinions, or reactions here, I swear.”

This made the alicorn grin widely, “Yay! Glad to hear it, Pinkie! Nothing’s better than making sure my friends are happy!”

Pinkamena chuckled, nodding her head. “Then let’s make haste, shall we?”

“Way ahead of you!” Twilight laughed, galloping down the street.

And then came back a few seconds later.

“Just kidding, you silly filly! Let’s go together!”

“Of course.” Pinkamena giggled.

Inside the palace, after having dropped off their bags into Twilight’s designated room, guards led both mares to the throne room. Twilight, of course, made enthusiastic chatter with them, which made it impossible for the normally stoic, dutiful guards not to smile and laugh with amusement.

Eventually, they made it to the throne room, where the rest of the family waited.

“Prince Bolero and Princess Gleaming Shield, Princess Twilight Sparkle and future consort Pinkamena Pie have arrived,” stated one of the guards as they all bowed.

“Hi there, Twilight!” Prince Bolero greeted with a big smile as he looked to his former charge. “It’s so great to see you!”

“Hi, Bolero!!” Twilight squealed, rushing to her sister and brother-in-law. “Hello, Gleamy!!”

“Hello, little sister!” Gleaming Shield stated sweetly, hugging Twilight. “It’s so good to see you! How have you been? Has you-know-who proposed yet?”

“Oh, I’ve been awesometacular! You wouldn’t believe what happened!” Twilight hugged her sister back, giggling with glee. “I do have something to share, actually!”

“Hey there, son!” Came the joking voice of Twilight’s father, Night Light. He winked to Pinkamena, grinning.

Pinkamena jumped at the sound of the voice, turning to face Light. “Hello again, Mr. Light. You... do remember the term ‘son’ isn’t the proper word to describe my relationship with your daughter, correct?”

“I know, kiddo,” Light chuckled, smiling. “So, how’ve you been? Has Twilight been behaving?”

“Of course she has,” Pinkamena said with a smile, nodding, “She has her days as a hoof-full, but nothing that’s ever been a problem.”

“Honestly, dear, why must you always ask about our daughter when you see Miss Pie?” A slender unicorn spoke up behind him. It was his wife, Twilight Velvet, sighing playfully. “You could always ask Twilight herself, after all.”

“She is her advisor,” Light said, shaking his head. “I’m only wondering!”

“Mommy! Daddy!” Twilight came over to her parents, hugging them both. “I have awesometacular news!”

Velvet hugged her daughter tightly, “My little Twi-Twi! Settle down and tell us, please.”

Pinkamena cleared her throat, nodding. “Yes, we both have a bit of news to share.”

Twilight looked to Pinkamena, then her family, grinning widely. “Well, it’s been a while, and I know we could have said so before, but we wanted to wait! But without further ado, here it is! Pinkie and I.... are getting married!”

“Oh, my baby girl’s finally getting married!” Velvet almost squealed, pulling Twilight up off her hooves.

Night Light grinned and laughed, “That’s fantastic, you two! Congratulations!”

“That’s fantastic!” Bolero exclaimed, coming over to them, “I’m so happy for you both, Twiley!”

Following suit, Shield rushed over as well, hugging her sister and pulling Pinkamena into the hug as well. “I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened! You two make the cutest couple I’ve ever seen!”

Pinkamena, upon being forced into the embrace, began to feel very claustrophobic. “Um, Gleaming Shield... please release me,” the pink earth pony tried to say.

Bolero nudged his wife lightly, “Yeah... you remember, she’s not exactly comfortable with this kind of thing.”

“Oh, nonsense, Bolero!” Shield giggled, tightening her grip. “She’s part of our little family, so she’s part of our group hug!”

“Well, she is part of our family!” Twilight agreed, “But uh... you should let her go... she doesn’t like it...”

Shield loosened her grip, letting them go, then gave her sister an odd look. “Really? My apologies. I do get a little carried away at times.”

“It’s... quite all right.” Pinkamena answered quickly, trying to regain her composure. “I should be used to this kind of greeting by now.”

“Well,” Bolero said, clearing his throat, “If you two are all settled, why don’t we get some dinner?”

Bouncing on the spot, Twilight nodded, “Yes, pwease! I’m hungry! I haven’t eaten since lunch! Pinkamena didn’t want me to eat or drink too much on the train ride! Going to the bathroom on the train makes me queasy!”

Velvet giggled at her daughter, shaking her head. “My, you haven’t changed a single bit, Twilight... Let me and your father get dinner while you and your sister catch up.”

“We’ll meet you crazy kids in the dining room!” Light said, following his wife out the doors.

“Of course, Mr. Light.” Pinkamena confirmed politely.

“Well, oh my gosh, I have got the BIGGEST story to tell you guys!” Twilight said excitedly. “You’re not going to believe it, either! Not a bit! Oh no, not a bit! Remember, Pinkie? It was SO crazy! So crazytastic!”

“Of course I remember, Twilight. It was only a few days ago.” Pinkamena chuckled, nodding her head. “It’s quite the tale, and it’s even hard for me to believe it at times, even though I was there.”

Smiling, Bolero chuckled as he shook his head. “Well, let’s go to the dining room and you can tell us aaaaall about it on the way,” he said, beginning to lead them out of the throne room.

The lavender alicorn bounced along with them, grinning widely all the while, “Well, here goes! It all started last week! I went to Fluttershy’s house, because my Twilight Senses were tingling! I knew something was up! So I get there, and she’s all unconscious and stuff! It was so weird! I didn’t know what happened! So I brought her back to the library so me and Pinkamena could help her!”

“Oh my, was she all right?” Shield asked, looking surprised.

“Nope! Well, she was, but she wasn’t our Flutters! She was all like ‘You girls are not acting like yourselves! What’s going on?’, and we’re like, ‘What do you mean? Everything’s normal! You need to rest’ and all that stuff!”

“Wasn’t your Fluttershy? What do you mean?” Her sister asked, becoming all the more curious.

Pinkamena sighed, trying not to interpret. “It’s very complicated, to say the least. In short, there are infinite number of infinite alternate realities that increases infinitely. Due to a mishap in one of these alternate realities, we found ourselves with a different version of the Fluttershy we knew...”

“...What?” Prince Bolero exclaimed with surprise, stopping in his tracks. “You mean to say that... who used that kind of magic?! That’s the kind of magic only alicorns could possibly achieve! That spell is... how in the world did it happen?”

“While I’m not entirely sure of that myself, it would have appeared to have been cast by an alternate version of Twilight Sparkle.” Pinkamena stated calmly. “Although, many of the variables as to exactly how our two realities were linked are still unknown to me, but we did manage to solve the problem, of course.”

“How did you? I never would have thought that the spell was easy to obtain,” the alicorn prince admitted.

“Ah, it was easier than we thought!” Twilight answered for her. “We just had to have more than one magic source!”

“Oh, is that so?” Shield inquired, “What other magic sources were you using?”

Twilight giggled, winking at Pinkamena before responding, “Easy! We used the magic of me, other me, and good ol’ Discord!”

“Well, I doubt it was that simple, but yes, Discord assisted with the spell,” Pinkamena nodded.

Gleaming Shield looked absolutely stunned. “You met the other Twilight?!”

“And the other Pinkie and other Dashie!” Twilight nodded. “My gosh, they really are so different from us! It was so funny! The other Pinkie was so funny and very energetic!”

“Rainbow Dash was very... loud, I suppose would be the word. The other Twilight seemed decent enough, if a bit too curious, but with a genuine thirst for knowledge. And the other Fluttershy was very calm, quiet, and rather shy.” Pinkamena added on to what her lover said. “It was very unusual. I wonder how the other Rarity and Applejack’s personalities would have differed...”

“Um, Flutters and other Flutters said that they were... kinda each other’s opposites like they are here?” Twilight said thoughtfully.

Pinkamena nodded, but still had a questioning look on her face. “True, but I wonder to just what extent those differences went.”

Shield was awestruck by all this, trying to find her words to respond. “So... you met these other versions of yourselves, and Discord, the God of Chaos, helped you send them back? That’s just... wow.”

“That’s astounding, but I guess I can see why you’d ask such a being for help in sourcing the power,” Bolero said thoughtfully, biting his lip, “I’m just glad you two are all right, though. That kind of spell can lead to... very disastrous results.”

“I can see why... we nearly had a very problematic situation at hoof, ourselves,” Pinkamena exhaled, calming down. “As fate would have it, however, everything is okay. But let’s not dwell on matters of the past for too long. I must admit, I’m famished.”

“Oh, but wait until you hear about the love square!” Twilight said with excited glee. “It’s sooo funny and even so cute!”

“Love... square?” Shield looked at her sister with utter confusion. “Are you sure you don’t mean a love triangle?”

Twilight shook her head, “Nopers! It was a love square! When the other Fluttershy came here, she fell in love with our Rainbow Dash! Our Rainbow Dash then fell in love with her back! But the other Fluttershy was already in love with her reality’s Dashie! Then our Fluttershy fell for the other Dashie, but was still in love with our Dashie! In turn, our Dashie loved the other Fluttershy, but still loved our Fluttershy! The other Rainbow Dash loved the other Fluttershy, but also fell for our Fluttershy! See? Love square!”

Bolero blinked a few times, glancing toward his wife, then Pinkamena, “I... see. As a pony who specializes in spreading love, I have to say that it’s definitely interesting...”

“That... hurt my head.” Shield admitted, feeling slightly confused by the bombardment of information.

Pinkamena sighed, patting Twilight’s back. “Thus, why I do not try to think of it. Love completely irrational, unpredictable, chaotic, and never the same for two individuals. It’s far too complicated to truly understand, so I simply accept it.”

“And it turned out okay! They got together with who they were supposed to!” The hyperactive pony threw in.

“Yes, as you can see, everything did work out for the best, I believe,” Pinkamena gave calm nod, “but I can’t help but to ponder if- no, no, I know there is still a connection between our two realities. What I mean to say is, I wonder if there is a way to control it without fear of the negative aspects. Twilight, please do remind me to place that on my agenda in the near future.”

Producing a notebook from her saddlebags, Twilight magically wrote that down onto it, “Way ahead of you, Pinkie-Winkie!”

Pinkamena chuckled weakly, shaking her head. “You know me all too well, Twilight.”

“Don’t I?” Twilight batted her eyelashes cutely.

“All right, you two!” Twilight’s sister giggled, stepping between the two. “Save it for after dinner. Then, you two can have at one another all you want.”

“Gleamyyyyyy!!” Twilight whined, pouting childishly.

Pinkamena could not help but to laugh at the sight of the two. “Very well then. Let’s us go and get something to eat, shall we?”

After dinner, the extended family agreed it was getting late and decided to part ways for the evening, with the understand that tomorrow would be a type of ‘outing’ for them all. This, of course, did not sound all too pleasing to the scholarly mare, but she agreed nonetheless. Arriving in their personal room, Pinkamena placed her bags down. Sighing, she made her way over to the bed and collapsed on it.

“Tuckered out, Pinkie?” Twilight asked softly from where she was standing.

“I suppose so,” Pinkamena responded, rolling over on the bed. “I don’t know why, but each time we meet with your family, it exhausts me.”

Twilight hovered up onto the bed, snuggling up next to her, “They have lots of energy, silly! You’re more used to going at a slower pace!”

Pinkamena nodded before letting her head rest back against the pillow. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“It’ll be fun, though. There’s a game going on at the stadium tomorrow!” Twilight giggled, “That’ll be awesometastic! You love games!” She winked, smirking lightly. “Don’t think I don’t know about your enjoyment of watching sportsies...”

“You know quite well my opinion of sports,” Pinkamena chuckled slightly. “Tomorrow will be very tasking on me.”

“Nopies! I told my family that we should keep it slow while you were in the bathroom, so we managed to think of ways to take some breaks in between!”

“Thank you, Twilight.” The pink earth pony mused.

Twilight beamed and kissed her cheek, “You’re welcome! Um... they were asking about our wedding, remember? I’m sowwy... I wish we could have a little bitty ceremony... But you know Equestria... Princesses gotta have big ones.”

“I know,” Pinkamena said, nodding. “We’ll manage something, I’m sure.”

“Okey-dokey-lokie...” The lavender mare murmured, a little pout on her face. “Hmmm... I wonder how the other Fluttershy and other Dashie are doing... They must be all... back in their world and stuff...”

Pinkamena exhaled, staring up at the ceiling. “Well, we can’t possibly be sure as to how they are, but I believe they are all right. After all, they did seem much more at peace with one another than before. So, I believe we should not worry.”

“Hee, I hope so!” Twilight rolled over onto her back as well, stretching a bit before relaxing her body.

Looking over at her lover, Pinkamena placed a hoof on her chest. “All anypony can do is hope for the best. Remember, it looked rather bleak for Princess Celestia for over a thousand years, but her sister never gave up, and with the assistance of the Elements of Harmony, she was awakened from her slumber. Faith is an amazing concept.”

Nodding in agreement, Twilight scooted closer to her, “You always know the right things to say, Pinkamena! I don’t know what I’d do without your smarts to make me feel better or burst my bubble!”

“I’m sure you would have been fine, Twilight,” Pinkamena spoke up with a smile. “Of course, if we had not met, things would have been vastly different. I can’t honestly say if you would be an alicorn now, or if I would have been a scholar, but life has an odd way of working these things out to assure that flow and balance is always maintained. So, it’s best not to dwell on it.”

“Nopey-dopey-lopey!” Agreed the excitable pony, now crawling on top of Pinkamena, “Why would I want to change something sooooo awesometacular? It’s like taking the icing off a cake and then putting on another kind when it was already delicious to begin with!”

Pinkamena pondered her words for a moment before agreeing. “That’s an interesting way of saying it, but yes, that is true.”

“Yes! Either way, I love you, Pinkie!” Twilight cooed, kissing her sweetly.

“And you know I love you, my Twilight Princess.” Pinkamena cooed back. “Speaking of love, for over the past week or so, we have not had any time to ourselves. Yet, here we are, alone: your family has gone to sleep, Spike is not here, and the royal guards are off shift for the next hour. Was there anything you wanted to do, now that we have privacy?”

A lusty smirk overcame the alicorn’s features, “Let’s have a private party...”

“My, my, that’s an interesting euphemism, Twilight.” Pinkamena chuckled, pulling her lover closer. “One I must admit is very tempting...”

“Well, good, because you’re mine now, Pinkamena...”

“Ah, but I see you are greatly underestimating my self-control...”

“I’m not looking for self control...” Twilight winked.

“Then, have at me.”

Author's Note

And it's over! It's all over now, folks! Kind of sad... But it's been a fun ride! Again, thank you guys so much! And of course a big thank-you goes to Poison Cure for this awesome idea and writing this with me. X3 Also give thanks to Lathier for editing! :P

Alternate 8: Truth of the Heart

Hearing the sweet sounds of birds singing outside, it wasn’t long before Fluttershy was roused from her slumber. A soothing breeze floated in, adding further to the comfortable morning environment. She yawned a bit, rubbing her eyes before opening them. For a moment, she felt a strange sense of confusion as to where she was. It wasn’t her bed, or her room.

Fluttershy looked around a bit, realizing that this was Rainbow Dash’s bedroom. Shifting a bit, she tried to make sense of why she was there, especially considering the dream she’d had the night before. A very vivid, strange, but beautiful dream.

Catching sight of colours, she rolled over to see Rainbow Dash asleep beside her. She was curled up, gently cuddling against her side, mumbling something unintelligible in her sleep. Her foreleg was draped over Fluttershy’s torso while her face was hidden partly by the blanket and her mane. Aside from a rare shift or minor tug, the cyan pegasus looked to be at utter peace.

Observing the sleeping pony, Fluttershy smiled and giggled a bit at the sight. “Awwww... So cute...” She said to herself, feeling her heart lifting. ‘Rainbow really is so sweet and tender... when she just lets herself relax. Especially when she sleeps. Oh... I hope she’ll be all right to talk this over, finally...’

The slight giggle was not unheard as Rainbow Dash slowly cuddled closer to Fluttershy, her eyes beginning to open. “...Oh, good morning, Fluttershy...” She spoke with a weak yawn, nuzzling her lover’s shoulder. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy reached a hoof over to gently stroke her mane. “Did you sleep well, too?”

Rainbow smiled sweetly as she pulled her into a tender hug. “Yes, I did... Better than I have in a long time.”

Smiling lovingly, Fluttershy snuggled back into her lover and kissed her forehead. “Oh, Rainbow... I’m so glad... I-”

Getting a better glimpse at the cyan mare, she could see that her mane was a lot longer, especially in the back with the cooler colours. The soft, tender look in her cerise eyes further added to it...

‘Last night wasn’t a dream... this is another reality... and this Rainbow Dash isn’t... mine... Everything was real... everything...’

As much as it dismayed her, Fluttershy pushed those thoughts away. After all, they were happy together, and there was nothing wrong with that. It would just take adjusting.

“Fluttershy? Are you feeling okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little bit concerned.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the creamy yellow pegasus nodded, smiling with assurance. “Of course. I feel... well, I feel amazing. Last night was...” She closed her eyes, leaning their foreheads together. “Awesome.”

Rainbow Dash giggled a bit as she nuzzled her nose. “You think so, too? I was a little nervous... but I agree, it was really awesome.”

“I was too... I can understand we were nervous...” Fluttershy giggled, smiling brightly. “Oh, it was awesome! Amazing, and just... well, beautiful... Look at you, you’re glowing! My gosh, you look wonderful...”

“I-I’m glowing?” Rainbow quickly asked. “Oh, you mean from... I never knew that it was true what Applejack said that... B-But there’s no way I look half as wonderful as you.”

Fluttershy gave a laugh, kissing her nose. “I’m a mess... you look beautiful.”

“If you look a mess right now, then you look angelic all the rest of the time.” Rainbow Dash cuddled next to her, gently kissing Fluttershy’s check.

“Oh, come on....” Fluttershy kissed her nose, leaning in closer. “Well, speaking of... I wouldn’t mind if we... went again...” She cooed suggestively.

Rainbow Dash felt her wings slowly begin to stiffen from the thought, a blush showing on her face. “You mean, like... right now?”

“If you want to, my Dashie...” Fluttershy blushed as well, feeling her wings beginning to rise.

Rainbow’s mouth opened, but she quickly shut it closed, fidgeting a bit in her spot. “Well, I wouldn’t mind if we did, b-but only if you’re up to it! I wouldn’t wanna make you do it unless you wanted to... That’s not to say I know if you do or don’t, though. Although, I would really like to, still, it’s up to you... u-unless you’re asking me, then I-”

The cyan pegasus was pushed onto her back, gently, with Fluttershy climbing on top of her. With a suggestive, though sweet smile, she lay on her lover, aligning their bodies.

“Does this answer your question, or quell your doubts... my Dashie?” Fluttershy cooed, kissing her face.

Rainbow Dash felt her face heat up, a grin overcoming her face. “Y-Yes, it does.”

Giggling, Fluttershy then flipped them over so that Rainbow was on top. Her hooves ran along her sides, reaching her flank. Tingles of pleasure, alongside anticipation, filled Fluttershy’s being.

“Love me, Dashie... As I will love you...”

Basking within the afterglow, Fluttershy lay back on the bed, just some time after Rainbow had departed to make breakfast. Despite her insistence on helping, Rainbow had assured her that she’d have it taken care of. Whilst she did so, Fluttershy stared up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts.

‘I suppose.... if nothing else... I’ll just consult Twilight and Pinkamena about all of this... Hopefully they’ll have some answers... But if not... oh well... I’ll just live my life here, and make the best of what I have now...’ Fluttershy thought, glancing out the window.

The sun had disappeared behind an array of clouds, signaling that of an overcast morning. For a moment, Fluttershy realized that this wasn’t her reality, where Rainbow worked the weather.

‘Wow... this will take getting used to...’ Fluttershy thought.

Ripping Fluttershy from her thoughts was the new sound that came from behind her. Rainbow Dash had re-entered the room, carrying a large silver platter with two bowls of cereal, two glasses of milk, and a single orange.

“S-Sorry for the wait, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash spoke up quickly as she placed the tray down on the bed. “Fluffy was being a little unreasonable just now, but it’s okay. I asked him to go outside for a little bit.”

“Oh, I see what you mean... Angel was quite the same way back home...” Fluttershy murmured, shaking her head. “Don’t you worry about it, though. It looks delicious!”

Rainbow nodded slightly while she sat down. “Thanks. It’s nothing special, really... Um, who’s Angel?”

“Oh! Um, he’s my bunny from back home... He’s the counterpart of Devil, it seems... He’s much like how you described Fluffy...” Fluttershy explained, proceeding to eat. “Actually, speaking of Devil... I’m going to have to bring him here later.”

Rainbow almost choked on her food when she heard this. “B-Bring him here?! You mean that- I mean, you’re really suggesting what I think you're suggesting?”

‘Oh my... she certainly is a lot sharper than I thought!’ Fluttershy thought, amazed. 'I could just as easily have meant that it was for a pet playdate...’

Heart soaring, Fluttershy smiled warmly as she nodded, nuzzling her lover. “Yes. Rainbow, my answer is yes. I’ve decided to move in with you.”

Rainbow Dash felt her heart soar with excitement, a cringe of emotion so powerful, she could not contain it. She almost knocked over the tray and all that was on it as she tackled Fluttershy onto the bed, giggling wildly and nuzzling against her.

“Yay! I can’t believe it! You actually wanna stay here? With me? Oh, this is so exciting! It’s- it’s awesome! I can send for all of your things! Well, they’re not your things... But I can cook for you and we can spend time together all day! And we can- um, well, I don’t know exactly, but do whatever we want! Applejack likes to go to the spa and we could go there too! Oh, and I could introduce you to all the animals and we could-” Rainbow paused, pulling away a bit. “I’m... getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy brought her down for a kiss, wrapping her forelegs around her tightly.

“Not at all, Rainbow... not at all! It sounds wonderful, amazing!” The creamy yellow pony said with excited sweetness. “We’ll do it, we’ll start our lives together!”

Once more the cyan mare grabbed Fluttershy tightly. “You think so too? This is great! Wonderful! This is- this is just like out of a fairy tale! Oh, I’m sure all the animals will love you! And it might take Fluffy some time, but he’ll get used to you! And I can show you where all my favorite places are! We can even go and buy a few things later too! You know, to help you get settled in! You’d have to be if we decided to get married later... but that’s not a big deal right now! This will be so much fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“No... thank you...” Fluttershy beamed, kissing her face, feeling tears pool in her eyes. “Yes, we can do all of that! Yes! Thank you, Rainbow... thank you! You’re so kind to take me in, and I certainly can’t thank you enough for that. This is going to be wonderful... We’ll settle in together, we’ll live our lives together... we’ll see where it all goes!” She sniffled, her ministrations along her lover’s face continuing. “And my cottage can still be our own private retreat...”

“That’s sounds wonderful!” Rainbow shouted as she kissed Fluttershy sweetly on her nose. “We’re gonna need to get in contact with Thunderlane so he can help move your stuff over here... but we can do that whenever you want. I just... I never would have dreamed that this would be happening...”

Heart filling with love and joy, the pink-maned pegasus snuggled her mare, kissing her cheek. “I never would have dreamed of this happening either... Maybe... maybe not in the way we hoped... Maybe not in the way we thought it would... but... we can get by... We’ll build a wonderful life together, Dashie... just you and me...” She kissed her lips, lingering. “Maybe one day... we’ll get to say goodbye to... to our friends...”

Tears pooled in her eyes at the thought. It would be painful, but they would get the proper closure...

Rainbow Dash saw these tears and gently brushed them away. “Hey... there’s no need to cry, Flutters. You’ll see your friends again and I’ll see my Fluttershy... I know it might be hard to explain to everyone, but we can do it... I’ll be strong for you... I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Fluttershy said softly, smiling at her sadly. “Rainbow... if... if there is the chance that I do go back, and your Fluttershy wants to come home... If you want to be with her... if she wants you... I’ll understand. I won’t hold you back, I’ll let you go... No matter what happens, I’ll always love you. You’ll always have a special place in my heart...”

To this, Rainbow had no words, nothing she could say would express her feelings. So, instead, she simply held on tighter, cuddling this-her Fluttershy. She buried her head into the yellow mare’s shoulder, not wanting to show her own tears, yet sniffled loudly.

“I love you so much, ‘Shy... I really do...”

Holding her lover tighter, Fluttershy nuzzled into her hair, stroking her head. “I love you too, I love you... And you won’t have to worry about my Rainbow Dash taking me away... she doesn’t love me, anyway... I’ll stay with you either way, if you’ll have me...”

“Then you’ll never ever leave, Fluttershy...” Rainbow snuggled closer. “Of course I want you... and just you. Besides, my Fluttershy was... she’d never feel the same way about me either...”

“...It’s part of why we came together, wasn’t it?” Fluttershy murmured, nuzzling her cheek. “Well, don’t you worry. I won’t leave you, I promise. I made that promise since yesterday, and I’m keeping it. Besides... I’m sure they must be happy together. Roughhousing, flying, racing, playing games... at least they’ll be able to keep up with each other... truly compete... and have more in common...”

Her tone was slightly bitter, but yet, she knew it definitely wasn’t a bad thing. In her heart, if their counterparts were happy, it would be worth it.

“But if they’re happy... I think the least we can do is be happy for them, too. I’m... I’m sure they would be, if they knew we were together...” Fluttershy said, her voice thoughtful.

Rainbow Dash pulled away so that she could see Fluttershy’s as she smiled a bit. “Maybe, but we don’t how things are there... My Fluttershy likes to sometimes be, um, rough and the two... if they really are that similar, might fight a lot... But I think you’re right. The two of them might be really good friends now and I’d like to think they would be happy for us, just like how we would be happy for them or so on.”

“Yes...” Fluttershy nodded, leaning up to kiss her nose. “Oh... can you imagine...if they wanted us back? I know that’s impossible... it really is, but I have to say it would be interesting. Don’t you think?”

“Hmmm... That would be something, wouldn’t it?” Rainbow giggled. “Could you just picture it? The two them ever saying something like that? It would be like seeing Applejack working on her family farm... very unlikely.”

“Or in my case, Rarity working at the farm!” Fluttershy giggled. “‘Oh man, I want my Dashie back! I was such a fool! Oh Dashie, take me back! Forget that Fluttershy, I’m the original! Take me instead!’” She mimicked her counterpart, laughing.

Rainbow Dash started to laugh loudly at this. “That was a pretty good imitation, actually! Let me try...” She sat back, clearing her voice. “Fluttershy! What are you doing?! I’m your Dash! I’m at least twenty percent cooler than that ‘fake!’ Pick me, Flutters!” Unable to hold her own standing, she fell back into a fit of giggles.

Laughing along with her, Fluttershy nuzzled their noses. “Oh, Rainbow! That sounded just like her! Brilliant!”

“You really think so?” She slowly started to calm down.

“I know so,” smiled the creamy yellow pegasus. “It really... would be a huge dilemma, wouldn’t it?”

Rainbow held a thoughtful look for a moment. “I guess if it really happened... then yeah, it would a huge problem. A really crazy one, too.”

They shared a giggle at the ludicrous notion. Why would their counterparts even want them back, let alone feel that way? It just didn’t make any sense.

“Well, I’m not saying it’ll come to pass...” Fluttershy said, shrugging mildly, “But I suppose we would cross that bridge when we got there.”

“If we get there,” Rainbow Dash smiled a bit as she sat back up. “Hey, um, Flutters? Would you want to go walking around town after breakfast? I could introduce you to all my animal friends along the way too.”

Sitting back up as well, Fluttershy nodded as she returned to their breakfast.

“I’d love to, Rainbow... that’d be very nice!”

“Awesome... let’s finish up here and we can go, if you want.”

The two finished up their breakfast, getting set and ready to face the new day, as well as the next step in sharing their lives together.

The sun hung over head at midday. The light poured into the widow of a large building, a bakery. The room was the size of a typical bedroom, but across the floor, stacked high, were a countless number of books, tomes, and manuscripts, all placed in certain locations of conveyance to their owner. Against the wall was an alchemy set placed on a large desk, with a notebook filled with equations, formulas, and notes on different things that lay open.

In a far corner of the room was an average sized bed, striped of most of its coverings aside from a single white sheet and faded pink pillow. On the bed was a pink mare who placed her hind legs against the wall with her head leaning off the bed. Above her head, she held a notepad which listed the facts she had on the situation at hoof.

Her eyes were locked in place, reading over each word over and over again, looking for any connections she had not yet made. ‘Am I missing something? Think Pinkamena... I know the answer’s right in front of me, but I can’t see them. Literally. I’ve never dealt with such a perplexing situation before. What am I not seeing? There must be something I’m overlooking.’

“Helloooooooooooooo!” A cheerful voice sounded from the window.

With a look of mild surprise, Pinkamena placed her notepad down. “Oh, hello Twilight. Is it already lunchtime? Here I thought I had another hour before your break.”

“Nopey-dopey-lopey!” Twilight giggled, flying into the room, landing on the bed to snuggle up to her body.

“I hope work hasn’t been too taxing on you. If so, you can rest after your shift today while I read up on the metauniverse theory.” The pink earth pony spoke sweetly as she looked over her lover.

“It’s okay, Pinkie...” Twilight nuzzled her lovingly. “I’ll be all right when I’m finished with work! But I’ll resties if I gotta.”

Pinkamena chuckled a bit as she resisted the urge to correct Twilight’s grammar. “Very well then. You know I won’t make you do anything against your will and I trust you to know your body’s limitations. So, has Spike sent word to Princess Luna yet?”

The alicorn nodded vigorously, “Yepperoonie-patootie! He did! Sent the letter first thing this morning!”

“Excellent. With any luck, we’ll hear from her before the end of the week.” Pinkamena began to get up from the bed. “Oh, and what of your sister, Gleaming Shield? Her birthday is coming up, is it not?”

Eyes sparkling, Twilight giggled with glee before tackling her back onto the bed again. “You remembered! Oh, Pinkie-Winkie!” She squealed, and proceeded to smother her face with kisses.

Pinkamena chuckled a bit, blushing. “Of course I remember, Twilight. Your kin are mine as well. So, any word of what the Prince plans to do to surprise her this year?”

“Mmm... well, Bolero said he had a couple of ideas! One of them was building her her own water park right in the fields of the Crystal Empire!” Twilight said excitedly, continuing her hurricane of kisses along her lover’s face.

Pinkamena gave Twilight an odd look. “A water park in the middle of the Crystal Empire? Well, that would a rather large surprise... assuming that planning is done correctly and that the natural layout of the land has been considered before construction that is.”

“True...” Twilight said thoughtfully. “You’d have to ask Bolero for the details... if he has any! Another idea he has is that he wants to take her to this big awesome beach resort in the south! Sounds so awesometastic!” She used her magic to make a brochure appear, levitating it down for Pinkie it read.

“Ah, yes. The Arena Dorada Resort.” Pinkamena looked over the brochure. “I’ve heard of it a few times. Very high class, not a common place for most ponies, except for royalty, of course. If this happens to be the place, don’t tell Applejack; she’d have a fit to tag along with them.”

“Hee! I’ll remember that! Gleaming has always wanted to go there, so I bet Bolero will do that!” Twilight winked. “And one day, I’m gonna do that, too! We’ll go together! You and me! On our honeymoon!”

Pinkamena giggled a bit at this, trying to not show her blush. “With the understanding you don’t try to make me get a tan, that sounds wonderful.”

The lavender alicorn nuzzled her nose and kissed it. “I promise, Pinkie! It’s settled, that’ll be our ultimate honeymoon getaway! Nothing’s too good for you! And as your future Mrs. Pie, it’s my job to give you the bestest!”

“Twilight, how could I ever make you do more than what you do now?” Pinkamena gave her a warm smile, staring deep into her eyes. “The simple act of you being by my side is the most wonderful thing I could ask for.”

“...Awww...” Twilight giggled, snuggling more into her. “Me too, Pinkamena! Always!”

Pinkamena cuddled close to her marefriend, giving her a quick kiss to nose. “As much as I would love to stay here and make use of this bed, I am rather famished at the moment. Shall we go and get something to eat?”

“Okaaaaayyy...” Twilight stuck her tongue out playfully, kissing her lips and then getting off the pink earth pony. “But if Princess Luna doesn’t get back to us by the time my shift is over, you’re mine!”

Pinkamena began to head towards the door, placing the notepad on top of a stack of books. “Is that a threat or a Pinkie Promise?”

Winking, the alicorn strode up beside her, placing a wing over Pinkamena’s back. “That’s a Pinkie Promise, my sweet Pinkie-Winkie. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“Then I shall hold you to it, my Twilight Princess.” Pinkamena teased as she opened the door and bowed in a playful manner. “After you, love.”

“Aw, come on!” Twilight giggled, but stepped through the door and into the hallway anyhow.

Pinkamena chuckled a bit, stepping out into hallway following after Twilight. “I will stop treating you as such once you accept it.”

“Never!” Twilight declared, and rushed off downstairs, laughing.

Pinkamena sighed a bit, tailing after her slowly, whispering to herself, “Then I suppose I will never stop.”

Downstairs, within the subdued look of the bakery, a few ponies sat around at the tables, having their sweet lunches and other such goods. Twilight led the way into the kitchen, passing Mr. and Mrs. Cake as they managed the register.

Finding a table in back of the bakery, Pinkamena sat down. “So, Twilight, was there anything you wanted for lunch?”

“Um...” Twilight tapped her hooves along the table, sitting down as well. “Oooh! Why don’t you pick? You can surprise us!”

“Very well then, how about a basic breakfast spread? Pancakes, omelets, and two glasses of orange juice.” Pinkamena suggested, looking about the establishment. “How does that sound to you?”

Clapping her hooves, the alicorn nodded. “Yes, yes, yes, yes! Sounds yummy! Yummy for my tummy! Make it so, Number One!”

“That, I can do.” Pinkamena grinned a bit as she noticed Mrs. Cake approaching them.

“Hello, girls!” Mrs. Cake greeted cheerfully, giving a giggle. “And what can I get for you two on this lovely day?”

“I don’t suppose a basic breakfast order would be out of the question?” Pinkamena inquired to Mrs. Cake. “I had to skip mine this morning and was hoping that Twilight and I might be able partake in some, assuming the two of you aren’t too busy.” She pointed over to Mrs. Cake’s spouse who was rushing between the counter and the back, smiling the entire time.

“Nonsense!” Mrs. Cake shook her head. “You two little lover birdies just sit tight and we’ll get you two some breakfast! Now don’t you start skipping meals again, young lady! That’s not healthy, but at least now you’ll be fed! Be right back, ladies!” She went back toward the kitchen, winking at the two.

Pinkamena sighed, looking back to Twilight. “It’s hard to believe those two are still trying to look after me, even after all this time.”

“Hee, I guess they just love you so much, like you’re their little baby!” Twilight giggled. “Even though they have the twins now!”

“That’s very true. They’ve been this way for as long as I can recall.” Pinkamena began, shifting in her seat a bit. “It’s odd, don’t you think? How events of the smallest of difference can alter everything in so many lives. Yet, as it happens to us, we claim it’s fate or our destiny.”

Twilight whistled, leaning back in her chair a bit. “Isn’t that the truth! My, oh my, Pinkie! It’s crazytastically weird!”

Pinkamena looked away for a moment, averting her gaze. “Twilight, may I ask you something?”

“Yeeeeess?” The princess leaned over the table a bit, resting her chin on her hooves.

“Would you...” Pinkamena stopped, considering how best to ask her question. “Would you ever consider changing anything about your life? About how things have happened? About... us?”

For a moment, Twilight looked stricken. She lowered her hooves, biting her lip a little, pondering the question. Her smile then returned, despite the moment of looking uncertain.

“No. Maybe there are little things I’d switch around,” Twilight said seriously, shaking her head. “But all in all, I don’t want to change things about my life. Especially not with us... You’re my lovey-dovey sweetie... I don’t want to let you go!” She pouted ever slightly, but the smile remained in her eyes. “I luffles you! You know that!”

Pinkamena gave a weak smile, but nevertheless, a genuine one. “I see. Thank you for being honest with me... and you know I love you as well.”

“Yay! Pinkie-Winkie... You’re the one thing I’d never change about my life,” Twilight pouted. “If some other me switched places like with Flutters... I’d go crazy and try everything to get back to you!”

“I know the feeling...” Pinkamena giggled a bit, reaching over the table to touch Twilight’s cheek. “I could only imagine the insanity I would suffer if the same were to happen to me... or worse. If I was stuck in a reality where the other Twilight was too much like myself... It would be too strange to even fathom it. This is where I am, and this is where I want to be.”

“I do wanna meet that other you!” Twilight giggled. But she smiled, nuzzled into her lover’s hoof, and gently placed her own over it. “But that’s okay, right here is where I want to be!”

Pinkamena nodded with glee. “I’m sure you would. Chances are the two of you would in fact get along rather well. Still, there’s something that’s been bothering me.” Her expression hardened. “Considering that our world lacks an Element of Loyalty and now have two Elements of Kindness, could this cause a problem in the long run if we cannot figure out how to switch to the two Fluttershys back?”

“...Um... I don’t know, Pinkie!” Twilight looked a bit worried. “I hope not! Flutters and Dashie are so sweet together! It’d be saddy-waddy if something happened!”

“I suppose that is true. They are cute, but I can’t help but feel that the two might be entering an unhealthy relationship. At least Rainbow Dash is.” Pinkamena sat back in her chair, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. “With Dash, she always seemed to act like she had a crush on Fluttershy, but never acted on it. Now, there is a new, more approachable Fluttershy here and the two seem to be perfect together... however, Dash is avoiding the real problem of her crush. Although she is technically Fluttershy, she’s not the same one she knew and liked. This could lead to issues if the two do wish to be in a relationship. Then, there’s one other possible ideal that’s got me worried... “

“...What’s that?” Twilight asked, puzzled, with concern creeping into her tone.

Pinkamena gave her lover a serious look, but did her best to remain calm. “I stumbled upon an odd ideal in the multiverse theory. It stated that if something was placed into a new reality or dimension, that universe would try to do one of two things: It would either force whatever it is to fit into that reality, forming it into a shape so that it won’t disturb the flex and flow of that universe; or... it would delete it all together.”

“...Has it been proven?” Asked the nervous alicorn, not liking the sound of this.

Pinkamena shook her head. “No, it hasn’t. Then again, up until now, nopony has ever actually traveled between two dimensions before, so there’s no way of knowing what will happen.”

Twilight nodded, biting her lip nervously. “Okay... But what about Dashie and Flutters? What can we do? They’re sweet... but... what if you’re right?”

At the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the two pegasi in question walking into the bakery. They were practically glued to each other’s side, as well as gazing at one another whenever possible. Fluttershy then indicated to the counter, saying something to Rainbow that they couldn’t make out. Rainbow nodded, saying something in response. They then shared a quick kiss, but still with enough to indicate that it was a lover’s kiss. Rainbow then walked along the tables, seeking one out to sit at.

“Well, at least we know that the two are in fact attending on having a romantic relationship,” Pinkamena sighed, but smiled nonetheless.

Twilight giggled, looking from one pegasus to the other. “They really are so cute! But, wait, what did you mean by Dashie avoiding the real problem with her crushie?”

Pinkamena scratched the back of her head a bit. “How do I explain this... Well, consider this scenario. Let us say you and I were not dating, but you loved me. Now, let’s assume I was, against my will, switched with somepony who looked just like me, but was not me. So, with this in mind, you dated this other pony pretending, in a sense, that this was me. You may even truly love this other pony, but you would be avoiding the problem at hoof. The other pony is not whom you believe them to be, no matter how much you try.”

“...Oh... Oh no!” Twilight realized, looking to her friend again. “We have to do something! We have to tell Dashie! You know how Flutters can make her do anything! We gotta tell her not to do this! She’ll only get more hurt! Our Flutters hurt her enough... we can’t let it happen anymore!”

Pinkamena placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder urging her to relax. “I understand your concern, but this is something those two must figure out on their own. If we tell them that this would not work, we would be doing more damage ourselves. It may hurt them, but if this is what they want, they have to figure it out, without outside help. Assuming they truly want to be together, they will need closure of some kind... assuming it is possible to obtain.”

“...But I don’t want to lie...” Twilight pouted, then looked to see Rainbow Dash coming over to them, waving. “She’s coming! Quick, hide!” She ducked under the table.

“Twilight, why are you hiding?” Pinkamena raised her brow as she looked under the table.

Coming back up, the alicorn giggled sheepishly, “No reason! I think it was just the wrong scenario. Oh, hi Dashie! Ooooh! You look pretty today! Is that new makeup? It’s gotta be new makeup! It’s making you glow! Aww, those are cute ties you’re using for your braid!”

As Pinkamena began to contemplate what possible scenario would call for them to hide from their friend, Rainbow Dash approached the two of them almost beaming with joy. “Hi, girls! Oh, and thank you very much, Twilight. Actually, no, it’s not makeup... but I have some wonderful news!”

Both Twilight and Pinkamena exchanged glances, before turning their attention back to the cyan mare.

“Oh? What’s that?! Tell us!” Twilight encouraged.

Rainbow giggled cutely, placing a hoof over her mouth. “Fluttershy actually agreed to move in with me! Oh, um... I mean, at least until you guys figure out how to fix everything that is.”

Undeterred, the alicorn grinned widely. “Wow! That’s so wonderful, Dashie! Hee! You must be so thrilled! We saw you two come in together, and you are just so sweet! Awww! Good for you, and congratulations! We’re going to have to have a housewarming party!”

Pinkamena chuckled a bit at her marefriend’s reaction. “Don’t you think it might be a little late to throw one or those?”

“It’s never too late for a party, you silly bean!” Twilight giggled, nuzzling their noses.

“Hi, girls...” Fluttershy joined up with them, nuzzling Rainbow. “You decided to come here for lunch, too?”

Pinkamena could not help but to giggle a bit at this remark. “Considering that Twilight works here and many of my private books are upstairs, this seemed to be a perfect location, is it not?”

“Yepperoonie!” Twilight agreed, throwing a foreleg around her lover and grinning.

“I see,” Fluttershy giggled, nodding. “Well... I suppose Rainbow told you the news?”

“I did.” Rainbow Dash added quickly, grinning a bit. “I, uh, hope that was okay. I was just really excited to tell them and everything.”

Fluttershy nodded, kissing her cheek, “Of course it was, sweetheart. I understand.”

Pinkamena looked over the two, more so Fluttershy, before smiling yet again. “Well, congratulations, you two. I know it can be hard living on your own, so I can understand the decision.”

“I think it’ll help,” said Fluttershy, giving a dreamy smile toward her lover. “I’m all alone in this world and do need some help... It’ll feel a lot better with somepony by my side.”

“Awwwww! That’s sweet! That was very nice of you to give her a place to live, Dashie!” Twilight smiled, giggling.

Rainbow Dash blushed a bit, stepping closer to Fluttershy’s side. “I-It wasn’t anything too special... My house is more than big enough to accommodate both of us. Plus, Fluttershy likes working with animals too, so living with me is more convenient for her to find work as well.”

“Oh! Flutters, that’s right! Our Fluttershy worked for the weather team!” Twilight remembered. “You’ll have to do something about that!”

It dawned on Fluttershy then, her eyes going wide, “Oh... oh no! I can’t just quit... that would leave the other Fluttershy with no job... if she ever came back...”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Fluttershy,” Pinkamena nodded a bit, “I know the weather team captain and she owes me a favor for assisting her with her sister when she fell ill. I can explain the situation to them, or at least to some extent, and make some sort of arrangement. So, don’t stress over it.”

“...Well, all right,” said the creamy yellow pegasus, looking relieved.

“Uh-huh! Don’t you worry about a thing!” Twilight assured, winking at her. “Dashie can support you until you find a job! She has a lot of money from when she was a model!”

“T-Twilight!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted in shock from her friend say that.

Pinkamena smiled a bit, brushing away a few strands of hair from her eyes. “Oh, yes, that is correct. I do believe the modeling agency paid her very heavily for her short time there.”

“P-Pinkamena! You too?!” Rainbow pulled back, freezing up with a mixture of emotions.

Fluttershy looked at the cyan mare with surprise, overcome by this new information. If anything, it made them kindred spirits all the more. She smiled, kissing her cheek, “Wow, Rainbow... That’s amazing. I... I was a model, too...”

Rainbow Dash blushed a deep shade of crimson red from hearing the complainant. “R-Really? I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that you were a model... you’re absolutely beautiful.”

Fluttershy blushed immensely, hiding behind her mane a bit. “Th-Thank you, Rainbow... You’re beautiful, as well... I see why you were a model...”

“Hee! Do you two love birdies want to be alone, now?” Twilight snickered. “I think your food’s coming, and so’s ours!”

“O-Oh, I think you’re right.” Rainbow looked over to see Mrs. Cake returning from the kitchen.

The two pegasi headed to a nearby table, bidding waves to their friends. Soon they all had their meals placed on the table, finally digging in. It was fairly silent between both pairs for a bit, especially with Twilight and Pinkamena. A lot was going on through their minds, most especially what they’d been discussing earlier on.

“Pinkie? I think I know why Dashie was glowing! Because Flutters was, too!” Twilight said, keeping her voice low. “They were making love!”

Pinkamena almost choked on her drink at the term, but forced herself to swallow it down. “You mean intercourse? By Luna, I do believe you’re right... It would explain Rainbow Dash’s mood.” She contemplated this for a moment, before looking over at the two pegasi, “I have a feeling this is only going to make things even more complicated than they already were, Twilight.”

“Why? Because now they’ll be too attached to each other?” Twilight asked, puzzled. “Fluttershy isn’t a stallion, she wouldn’t have made Dashie pregnant or vice-versa!”

“I suppose time will tell, Twilight.” Pinkamena spoke softly, looking over Twilight. “As it stands, we have no idea what will happen. So, we must wait and see.”

Twilight gave a nod, smiling. “Okey-dokey-lokie! In the meantime, we’ll wait for Princess Luna to get back to us and get to the bottom of this whole multiverse stuff!”

Both ponies continued to eat their brunch, while occasionally looking over to the two pegasi. As happy as they were for them, they couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of complications were going to arise. There was clearly some unresolved tension with their respective best friends, most especially between this reality’s Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Still, they only hoped that they could get through it all.

Later on, after lunch, Fluttershy headed over to her counterpart’s cottage. While none of her own personal belongings were there, she did want to at least take a few things with her to have on hoof. Most especially Devil Bunny, which had been the main reason she was doing that in the first place.

Along with her was Rainbow Dash, offering to come and help. Fluttershy accepted this, and couldn’t help but wonder if it was also an excuse just to be within her crush’s home. Nonetheless, they were prepared to get whatever she needed and get her settled into Rainbow’s home. Soon to be their home.

They were greeted by an excited Devil, who especially seemed to take a shine to Rainbow; since he was happily hugging her foreleg and accepting her nuzzles. Fluttershy couldn’t help but find it a silly contrast to the way Angel and Dash were more like mutual respected enemies back home.

While in the bedroom, Fluttershy was searching through the drawers for some clothes and socks that she could wear. But that was when she spotted something under the bed.

‘What’s that?’ She thought, pulling it out. ‘I probably shouldn’t go through her things... that’d be wrong! But what’s in it? I wonder if it’s anything I could use...’

Fluttershy pulled off the lid of the box, removing a few sheets of paper off, and came to see a big surprise. Inside the box were a few magazines. The one on top was a fashion magazine, displaying a shy and terrified-looking Rainbow Dash wearing a formal ball gown.

“...Oh my...” Fluttershy murmured, wide-eyed. “...She’s beautiful...”

She looked over the magazines, seeing that all of them featured Rainbow on the covers, dressed in all kinds of outfits. One of them was even a summer issue, targeted for swim gear. Fluttershy felt stunned as she saw all of these, exactly reminiscent of her own experience as a model. One of them was a special feature, with 25 glossy prints of her... and by the looks of how worn it was, Fluttershy could only surmise that her counterpart looked at this one a lot.

Also in the box were a couple of notebooks and newspaper clippings. The notebooks, she found, were journals. One of them labeled as a Dream Journal, the other simply being a private journal.

‘No! No! I can’t snoop! This isn’t mine! ...Well, if she never comes back, it won’t matter, right? No! I can’t think like that! No! ...Okay, just a peek... just a little peek. I can tell them it’s just my way of getting to know how she acts around here and being able to work things out... Which is kind of true, anyway... Okay... I’ll just read a couple of pages. That’s all. Just to get to know her a little.’

Fluttershy first picked up the Dream Journal, which really caught her attention. She turned to a page, reading it over.

Dream log 122

Sheesh, has it really been one hundred and twenty two dreams? I figured I would need a new of these by now. Well, you know the deal, Journal, so let’s record this dream. Just a warning though, it was... different, but in a good way, y’know? And in a bad way, too. Why am I talking to you again? It’s not like anypony other than me is ever gonna read you anyway....

The dream started off normal (or at least as normal as a dream for me could start XP), I was in the Cloudsdale Coliseum with thousands of ponies from all over filling the stands. There were even a few Griffons too! Friggin’ stellar, right? Anyway, I was in the middle of my run, and everything was going perfect, and I do mean perfect.

Spitfire was all slack jawed, Soarin’ died of an overdose of ‘awesome,’ and the audience was eating out of my hooves! Everything was so right! Everything! Then... then it happened.

I was about to do my showstopper, you know the one, right? Of course you do, it was one of the first things I ever wrote about. I was going so fast! So fast the color faded out of everything! The colors faded away... Actually, everything faded away. The world just turned white. Pure white. With nothing in it but me.

Then, I saw her. Rainbow Dash. She was the only thing of color in that place. And she was... beautiful. I can’t think of any other word I can use to describe her. Where she stood, in the white nothingness, was a world of color. It was breathtaking to say the least.

She was smiling at me. She motioned for me to come closer to her. Why? I don’t know, but there was a warm feeling I felt just looking at her. It was so... blissful? Is that a word? Well, even if it’s not, that’s how it felt.

I tried to move closer to her, reaching out my hoof, but Rainbow Dash seemed to drift farther away. Every step, flap, beat of my wings pushed her and that wonderful world of color away. I struggled and fought to go faster! I had to! She was beckoning! She wanted me. No, I wanted her...

I shut my eyes and the world of white faded into black. Absolute darkness. I heard something, somepony shouting off in the distance. My eyes were closed. I tried to open them, but couldn’t. I wanted to, but I just...

I felt something underneath me and it was so soft and warm, and it just made me feel safe. I had to see it. I forced my eyes open and...

I saw her. Rainbow Dash.

Covered in blood.

I had crashed into her, going faster than any normal pony could even imagine. I... I can’t describe how she looked. Broken, scared, bleeding, maimed, and... I can’t say it. I just broke. I was screaming and crying.

I felt something touch my face. It was Rainbow Dash’s hoof. Even after what I did, she asked me if I was all right. Me. I lost it. All my control. I apologized for everything.

All the things I did wrong.

All the neglect.

All the lies.

All the times I let her down and hurt her.

Everything.

Then, she kissed me. Me. After all the things I did to her.

She kissed me and said “I forgive you.”

And then... She died. She died right there in my hooves...

That’s when I woke up, screaming. I’m sure you heard that (assuming you have ears, Journal). I admit, that dream scared me more than any other I ever had, but it made me realiz something. As much as I care about Rainbow Dash... as much as I love her... all I’ll ever do... is hurt her...

Stricken, Fluttershy felt her heart seize. What a dream that had to have been, especially with what she came to realize with it. But of course it answered a few questions, despite how horribly sad the dream was, and even how her self-doubt reflected from it.

She flipped back some pages, looking at any earlier entry she could find, maybe getting more answers in terms of her dreams.

Dream Log 79

Oh buck, Journal, do I have one heck of dream to record this time! Seriously, this one was friggin’ great! Definitely one of the best I’ve had, maybe even better than the one about me getting into the Wonderbolts! Hm, nah; this is better. XD

Anyway, you know how I was talking about my last dream and the whole thing with Twi’s sister? Yeah, it’s related to that, kinda.

So, there I was, standing in the middle of the grand chapel (the one in the Crystal Empire, not in Canterlot in case you’re wondering) with most of my friends. To be honest, I was a little dazed at first, not knowing where I was or anything. When I saw that it was the grand chapel, I just thought it was us going to see the after party of the wedding (go read page 322 of my other journal if you wanna know about that, Dream Journal XP As if you could read!) and cut loose!

But then, I noticed something. The columns were full of ponies from my family and the others I couldn’t tell. Pinkamena was standing in front of a large book behind the altar (is Pinks really a pastor? Eh, remind me to ask, ‘kay?) smiling down at me. Twilight was running up and down, throwing flowers all over the place... so that seemed legit. Applejack as crying about something, Luna only knows what. Seriously, she was crying on Luna’s shoulder. And Rarity was just chilling out beside Pinks, grinning and stuff.

But hold on a second here, Where’s Rainbow Dash? I didn’t see her. I looked around a few times, but I didn’t see her anywhere. Then Pinkamena was telling me to step forward. Well, I didn’t know what was going on and she’s most sane pony I know (as long as her hair doesn’t go all frizzy, then you should run. Fast.) and I figured she could tell me what was up.

I walk up there and music starts playing. You know, the sappy, wedding type music. Then, it hits me like Thunderlane when he’s delivering the mail on Sunday (think about it XD). I’m in a dress/tux thing. I’m at my own freaking wedding! But, who am I marrying? Why? I don’t remember agreeing to any of that!

When I looked back, my mind went dead. I saw Rainbow Dash-my Rainbow Dash, wearing the single most amazing dress ever. But it wasn’t just the dress, she was practically glowing, no, radiating beauty. She was an angel, just absolutely perfect in every single way.

Rarity started to speak behind me saying something like “lucky you” or whatever. That didn’t matter though. I was completely focused on Rainbow Dash. Every move, every step was elegance incarnate (wow, fancy terms? I’m getting better at this!). When she reached the altar, she turned to face me, smiling in a way that it makes your heart just melt.

I heard Pinkamena began to say “We’re gathered here today, blah, blah, blah,” and so on, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off of Rainbow Dash. I was just so lost for words. I am even now, for crying out loud! I just... She was perfect. Period.

“You look wonderful,” I heard her whisper. I just nodded up and down like an idiot. I was gone. I was gone to a far off place of rainbows and butterflies and I was loving every second of it.

Then, the vows. Oh, the vows. I wish I could remember all of what Rainbow Dash said, but it was just the sweetest thing you ever heard!

When I was turn all I say was “What she said. Times infinity...”

I felt stupid for it, but the way Rainbow smiled at me and even laughed, it made me grin like an idiot. She was still touched, so score one for me!

Then came the rings (well, wedding bands. But seriously, who’s gonna complain about terms at a time like this?). Rarity slugged me in the shoulder and dropped the rings in my hooves without a word. Of course, at this point, Applejack was crying about how beautiful everything was and bleh, who cares?! This is my dream about my wedding to the greatest mare in the whole freaking world! You wanna hear about AJ? Go read her diary or something! I bet you she has one!

Finally, we got to the best part, where Pinkamena said, “You may now kiss the bride.”!

Oh, I didn’t waste a second after that! I just took my bride into my hooves, dipped her back, and kissed her for all she was worth. It was AWESOME! It felt so real! She didn’t even cower or hesitate, she just kissed me back! I could hear the crowd cheering, but I barely cared. All I could feel, see, and hear, was the two of us. All I felt were Rainbow’s sweet, soft, candy lips. I’m not even sure how long it lasted, but when we finally pulled away... She just looked at me with this big, heart-stopping smile.

Then? Then I picked her up bridal style and carried her out, of course! Oh, geez! I could go on forever about what we did for the Honeymoon! But’s since I think you’re... what? 6 years old, Journal? I don’t think you’re ready for that kind of writing! So, ha!

As much as Fluttershy wanted to roll her eyes at that last part-she still felt touched. It was beginning to be apparent that her counterpart did indeed have feelings for Rainbow Dash, whether or not she was admitting it.

“Wow...” She murmured, placing the Dream Journal on the floor after flipping through a few other entries. “I wonder what her actual journal says...”

Fluttershy pulled the journal out, inspecting it curiously. She turned to the latest entry, which happened to date back two days ago.

Journal Log 379,

I went to the Butterfly Migration yesterday. Of COURSE, Rainbow Dash asked me to go, why else would I have even gone in the first place?! You’re so dense sometimes, Journal. That’s not cool.

I’ll be honest. It was boring. Yet, actually, kinda cool. I don’t even know why I go to these things, and yet, I also remember why I do. Those butterflies are all flying off like geese going south. So many colours and sizes, how’s that not kinda cool?

Besides, Rainbow really enjoys it. It’s actually kinda adorable to see her happily watching them fly by. Sometimes she even looks through her binoculars. In fact, there’s a photo right here! I clipped it in!

… Aw crap, I just realized that the camera caught me staring at her flank! Damn you, camera!

Meh, I’m still keeping it. Anyway, normally whenever we go to the Migration, it’s pretty much just us, relaxing, watching the bugs, and me seldomly drifting off to sleep (and thinking about a few other things I would rather do), but this year was different. Way different.

I’m not even sure how it happened, either. One minute, we’re just laying there on the grass, and then Rainbow just... Yeah, she came and snuggled. Snuggled! Not gonna lie, Journal, I think I had the goofiest smile on my face when she did that. Hope she didn’t see it...

Nah, I’m sure she did. After all, she never did whenever we got like that. To be honest, I think that’s why I don’t snuggle with Rainbow more often, I don’t want her to see me looking all cuddly and junk. It wouldn’t be right, would it? Okay, maybe neutral, but not right.

So, there we were, just laying there, all cuddled up and stuff. Rainbow Dash sure did look cute in my hooves. More so even when the wind picked up and she started to shiver a bit. It was downright adorable to see her nuzzling against me the way she did. It was... nice. Really, really nice.

Then I had to go buck it up...

“I could hold you all day,” I’d said, and sadly, I didn’t sound cool or confident when I did. I just sounded... cutesy. Oh, and she heard me all right. Crystal clear. But, she didn’t react the way I thought she would. I figured she’d get all spastic or start hyperventilating or something. She didn’t.

Instead, she just cuddled into me more, and nuzzled my neck. She didn’t even say anything. All Rainbow did was... cuddle. More cuddling. Yup, she definitely heard me, and she definitely felt happy hearing it.

While it lasted, it was awesome. D’awww.... my sweet Dashie.

My eyes drifted down, I wasn’t even watching the butterflies anyway. I was only there for the same reason I went every single year. Her. Rainbow Dash. And here we were, cuddling up close, snuggling and... warm. I was really warm. Then, it happened. I slipped up bad. I was staring right at her, smiling when she looked up at me.

“What are you looking at, Flutters?” she asked me in the sweetest tone you could ever think. My mind went blank. Stupid. Held up a picket sign that read ‘I quit!”

“You...” I told her the truth for once. I was looking at her. Right at her. Only her. If my face wasn’t crimson red, then I must have turned purple with embarrassment.

She blushed too, y’know? But in a more cute, sweet way. She looked really surprised, too, but I guess I would’ve been, too, if I was in her horseshoes. Then she got really cuddly, moving closer to face like... like...

Like she wanted to kiss me.

It was all at once, every single muscle in body worked against this moment. I pushed her off, turning away and started shouting.

“What the buck do you think you’re doing?! I was looking at you because you were in the way! I couldn’t see anything!” I snorted. “And stop calling me Flutters! I’m not a damn baby!”

I know I must have sounded like a jerk, probably looked like one too with my back to her and all, but I did it so she couldn’t see my face. I was freaking out. Panicked. Scared.

Yeah, I admit it. I was scared of that moment. Of actually letting myself love her. I can’t do that. I won’t. I know how it will end. I’ll just hurt her, just like every other time. That’s all I’ve ever done...

I told her I was gonna leave early, that the weather team needed me for something and... I just left her there. Alone... Again.

Why do I keep doing that?! Why? Every single time I try to do what I think is right for the both of us, I just end up hurting her. Even when I’m trying to avoid hurting her! Gah, stupid Rainbow Dash! Why do you have be so different from me?! Why can’t... Why can’t you be a little tougher? A little more strong? Then, I wouldn’t have to worry about hurting you! If it didn’t work out, fine! We’d still be friends! Maybe even better friends! Heck, we might even still fool around with one another! But no... You’re soft, delicate, graceful... everything I’m not. I don’t want to hurt you. To lose you again. I did that before and look what it got me. A bad attitude, a few piercings and no real friends... I bucked up and I’m doing it all over again...

I think it might be the differences that make me so drawn to her, though. She’s like, the other half of me, I guess. She’s the one who’s always stuck by me, even when I was wrong. Always cared about me when nopony else did... Buck, I moved to Ponyville just to be near her! I... I missed her.

Yeah, better half would be a better choice of words...

So, yeah. That’s what happened... I screwed up big time and chances are she hates me now. Not that I blame her. I kinda hate myself right now, too.

Anyway, I heard of this “emotional release” thing that’s supposed to help with stuff like this. Normally, you write an Angry Letter and don’t send it. Well, I’m gonna write a Love Letter and never send it. It’ll be a long, sappy, sweet letter and I’ll get everything off my chest once and for all. Then, I’ll hide it under my mattress so if I ever start feeling like this again, I’ll just read it and add stuff to it...

So, that was my crap-tastic day... What about you, Journal?

… Why do I even bother asking you? You never reply.

Hooves shaking, Fluttershy stared at the pages with wide eyes. It was hard to take it all in, but there was no turning from it. A lot of what she was wondering had been in there. Especially as she flipped through it and skimmed a few more entries. Every moment she did, it got her increasingly upset, as well as more protective. Try as she may, all Fluttershy could feel was anger.

Trembling, fighting back tears, she slapped the book shut and tossed back into the box. “You heartless, lying WENCH! I will make sure you never go near Rainbow AGAIN! Ever! You stay away from her!”

Breathing hard, Fluttershy leaned against the bed for support, trying to calm herself. Her blood boiled, unable to quell, as her stomach churned. Everything she’d just read was a mixture of angering and yet heartbreaking. For both of them.

She stared at the box again, wondering what could be done next. Let Rainbow Dash see them? To finally know the truth? Or should she hide them away so as not to hurt her further? Did it even matter?

‘No... I have to show her... She can at least... get some closure... She may not like it... but I’ll be here to help her...’ Fluttershy thought.

Rushing into the room, Rainbow Dash locked eyes with Fluttershy for a moment before speaking. “Fluttershy? Are you all right? I heard screaming and...”

Looking from the box to Rainbow, Fluttershy tensed. She looked around, as if trying to find a better answer, but there was none. There was only the truth. Her heart sank, as she could only imagine how much this would hurt the other pegasus. The last thing she wanted was for her to be even more hurt, especially considering how it would happen. But at the same time, she wanted her to know the truth. At least, if nothing else, one of them would have the truth. She herself probably never would, but Rainbow would.

Fighting back tears, Fluttershy shook her head. “No... Rainbow... I-I found that box... under her bed... I think you should take a look... I-I’m sorry... for what you’re about to find... I just... think you have the right to know...” She managed, her voice breaking.

Rainbow looked over at the box curiously, walking over to it. “What’s in it, exactly?” Kneeling down, she picked up one of the two books and flicked it open to the first page. She didn’t hold it for long however, as she quickly placed it down, looking somewhat fearful. “T-These are- they were Fluttershy’s... Oh my.”

“They are... It’s okay, you can read it... I-I did...” Fluttershy went over to the box, and carefully brushed aside the notebook covering the magazines, revealing them. “And there’s these, too.”

“Why would she... even have these?” Rainbow asked quietly to herself. She opened the other notebook and quickly placed it down as well. “I... I don’t wanna read it. I can’t.”

“You have to, Rainbow... I-the letter!”

Fluttershy went back over to the bed, lifting the covers aside and then lifting the mattress up. Sure enough, there was a letter beneath it. Pulling it out with her wing, Fluttershy lowered the mattress back down, and then looked it over. The envelope was pink, had Rainbow Dash’s name written across it in red ink, surrounded by a couple of hearts. It smelled sweetly of the same perfume she’d smelt on Rainbow, and it was sealed with a kiss.

At the cyan mare’s questioning gaze, Fluttershy brought the letter over to her.

“Here. Her journal said that she had this for you... I-I just... had to be sure.”

Rainbow Dash took the letter from Fluttershy, her hooves trembling. She looked over it a few times, trying to read the envelope. Carefully, she undid the seal and held the paper up to read it. She could not hold back the tears in her eyes as she flung the paper, fell into Fluttershy’s shoulders.

“I can’t! I can’t read it... I don’t want to know...” Rainbow cried, her wings twitching. “Please, don’t make me read it... I just- I want to forget...”

Taking the letter, Fluttershy decided to investigate it for herself. As much as she now would’ve preferred to just stop, she’d come too far to do that. Already her curiosity was getting the better of her, and she just wanted to get it over with one last time.

“I’ll read it. And then we can just get the rest of what we need and go. We won’t have to speak of it ever again. I promise... Okay?” Fluttershy said softly, looking at her with sympathy.

Rainbow sniffled a bit, trying not to cry any further. “O-Okay... you can read it.”

Nodding, Fluttershy looked back down at the letter, reading it carefully.

To my pretty little Rainbow Dash,

First off, I want to say this was the single most difficult thing I have ever done. Just trying to find the right words to explain the way I feel about you was almost impossible and I still feel like this letter isn’t enough either. I only hope that what’s written here will one day make sense...

As perplexing as this may sound, I’m in love with you, Rainbow Dash. No, that’s a lie. There’s nothing perplexing about it at all, is there? I have been, since, well, as long as I can remember, and I know I will most likely always love you. No matter what. I love you.

In a way, I don’t understand why I love you, but at the same time, it makes perfect sense to me. You’re you. You’re Rainbow Dash. The kind, gentle, shy, loving, beautiful, oh I could just go on and on forever, but this paper doesn’t, so let me sum it up. Perfect. You’re perfect in every single way.

And that’s why I’m afraid to love you. Look at me. I’m a horrible friend. I lie, cheat, and break the rules. I’m rough, crude, and loud. I’m not worth your love... I’m not even worth your friendship.

All those times I hurt you... I swear, I didn’t mean to. I never wanted to hurt you, ever. You’re important to me, Rainbow, you always have been. But...

...I always end up hurting you. Every time I try to do better, try to show that I really do care, that I want you, I end up fighting against it. Why? There’s a list of reason, really.

First, there’s my accursed pride. I don’t want to admit that I love you, even if I know I do. It’s weird, I know, but it’s like I think others will think differently of... you. I could care less what they think about me, but you? I’d beat the living tar out of anypony, or anything capable of talking, that bad mouths you. You deserve better than that.

Then, there’s my fears. Yes, I’m afraid of something and you know what it is? I’m afraid of hurting you more. Of you not loving me. Of you rejecting me like the rest of the world. Of losing you again...

Dear Luna, you have no idea how much that last one frightens me. I regret leaving you behind in Cloudsdale all those years ago, I swear I do. Every day I was gone, I worried about you so much. I would dream about you a lot too. Enough to start up a Dream Journal. Some of them were nice, others were nightmarishly horrifying, but all of them made me realize how much I missed you.

I know you’ve asked me before why I moved to Ponyville and now you know. I moved here because of you. I needed to see you again. To see if you were all right or not. I had to, or else I would have gone insane!

And look at you now... You’ve gotten even more beautiful than you were before. It amazes me you haven’t dated before or not married off yet. These ponies have no idea what an angel looks like, because that’s what you are. An angel.

And look at how I’ve treated you. I’ve been acting just like that jerk, Gil the Griffon. I make you do things you don’t want to do. I tease you. I yell at you sometimes when I’m angry. I’m no better than a bully... and I know it.

And yet, you still want to be around me. Why? After all the things I’ve done, you still ask me every year to go with you to the Butterfly Migration. You still invite me over to your home once a month. You still hug me every time we met. Why?

I’m a horrible friend. Worthless. I don’t even deserve to be near you, but you insist.

You should hate me, but you don’t.

If I were you, I’d hate me. I’d have left town and never came back, went and got married to a nice mare or stallion who’d loved me like a real pony and never want to see me again. But here you are, still beside me... caring about me... being there for me... and all I do is hurt you.

I guess, a part of me is happy you don’t hate me, however. It gives me this false sense of hope. That maybe, just maybe, you can love me too, even after all the things I’ve done wrong. I know it’s impossible for that to be true and I’m sure one day you’ll find your real soul mate. I’ll be there, too, happy for you, but I know a part of me will die inside. I’ll wish it was me and not them and hate myself even more than I already do.

I want to love you, Rainbow Dash, but I know I’ll just hurt you again and I won’t do that. I want you to be happy. I know I can’t give you that, however much I wish I could.

Bleck, I’m not any good at expressing myself with all these fancy words, so I’ll make this as simple as I can: I love you and I always will, but I know I can’t. So, I’ll always be here on the sidelines watching after you, Rainbow.

So... I guess that’s it.

With all my love and heart sealed with this letter,
Fluttershy

P.S. If... If by some chance you ever really do read this letter, Rainbow Dash, just know that I truly am sorry... for everything. And that no matter what was said or done... I will always love you...

Fluttershy had no words as she read the letter. Not once, but three times. Just to take it all in, not merely because of its length. Everything about it was not just a love letter, but a chance of redemption she would never take. She didn’t even know her counterpart all too well, having had nothing but the fact that she was more like her own Rainbow Dash. But this just told her so much more than she expected, making her come closer to understanding.

In a sense, she was seeing the inside of the other side. Seeing her own Rainbow Dash, but in a different sort of way, and not exactly a clone.

She felt moved, saddened, sympathetic, and intrigued. Fluttershy could now see just how much of a complex pony the other Fluttershy truly was, especially when it came to her love for this reality’s Rainbow Dash. Her eyes continued to scan the letter while they pooled with tears.

‘Oh my gosh...’ Was all she could think.

Looking up, she saw that Rainbow was no longer sitting across from her, right at the box. A slight movement from behind indicated a presence, to which Fluttershy looked over her shoulder. Rainbow sat there, just barely behind and next to her, having been reading the letter over her shoulder. It was obvious, the fact that she was close enough to see the words, and the stricken look in her eyes said everything.

“...Rainbow...?” She managed, her voice breaking.

Rainbow turned away, shaking her head slowly. She read it and didn’t know in any way how she should feel. She was conflicted with an array of emotions, most she could not understand. Quietly, she walked over the bed and rested her head on it, sobbing silently into the bed casing.

Placing the letter back into the envelope, then into the box, Fluttershy sauntered over. She came behind Rainbow, gently wrapping her forelegs around her middle and laying her head on her back. She kissed the back of her neck, along the remnants of her mane, holding her gently. Her heart broke at the sight of her sweet lover crying, especially given what the letter had said. However, it wasn’t even just that. The fact that the other Fluttershy was now likely never to come back had to have been all the more taxing. Feeling her stomach churn, the creamy yellow mare held her a little tighter.

“It’s okay, Rainbow... you can let it out... I can imagine that this must be hard for you...” She whispered, tears pooling down her cheeks.

Rainbow turned a bit, enough to look at Fluttershy, with tears running down her face. “Why? W-Why wouldn’t she have sent the letter? If I... If I had known just... just a little sooner, then...”

“...Then what?” Fluttershy prompted, sniffling a bit.

“Then this wouldn’t hurt so much...” Rainbow tried to answer, her voice fading. She cuddled closer to Fluttershy, just wanting to feel the warmth of anything, as she felt oddly cold. She did not want comfort, she needed it.

Fluttershy held her closer, kissing her head and stroking her back. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way... I found the box by accident, I was curious, and I let it get the better of me... I’m sorry... I thought... you knowing the truth, that she loves you... would be good... and yet I knew it wouldn’t be without pain. I’m sorry, my sweet Dashie... I’m so sorry...”

Rainbow Dash could not find a voice to reply with. She wanted to say something, anything, but could not. She could only weep for a love that she believed she would never know. And for a friend she felt she would never see again.

All Fluttershy could do was hold her, comfort her as best she could. Despite that her own sorrows were catching up to her. Not just for herself, but for the broken mare in her hooves.

‘Poor Rainbow... She knows the truth... and yet it doesn’t even help... Everything is just heartbreaking. Now she may never see her again... her best friend, the one pony she loves more than anything... All she has now is me. A replacement. A clone. A nicer version. I can love her and give her what she wants, but I can’t be the same pony she knows... Just as she can’t be the Rainbow Dash I remember... Yet, what can we do? What can be done?’

The only solace in any of it was knowing that her counterpart did love Rainbow, so much, that she couldn’t bring herself to say it. But even that didn’t matter now.

“I won’t leave you alone, Rainbow... As much as it would be best if we parted ways... I can’t... and I won’t. I won’t leave you alone like this...” Fluttershy promised, kissing her forehead, still crying herself. “And I still love you... I-I’m not the Fluttershy you know, and I can’t be... All I can do is be me, and love you... I’m only sorry if that’s not enough... But I love you. I hope you know that I truly love you...”

Rainbow nodded her head, forcing herself to speak. “I-I know... I know you do... I love you too... And please... please don’t leave me alone. I don’t want to be alone anymore...”

A small, reassuring smile curled at Fluttershy’s lips. She nodded, cuddling her lover closer. “I won’t leave you. I promise you with all my heart, I won’t leave you. You’re not alone, my love... You’re never going to be alone again. Never. You’re cherished, you’re wonderful, you’re desired, you’re sweet, you’re fun, you’re kind, you’re helpful... but most of all, you are loved.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy... thank you...” Rainbow Dash whimpered silently. She knew that life was going to be difficult, but at least she had somepony as kind as this Fluttershy to care for her in her time of need. She truly did feel loved.

“You’re welcome...” Fluttershy soothed, rocking her gently back and forth.

For a time, they remained there, as it began to rain outside. Despite that, a glimmer of sunshine and rainbows lifted into their worlds. It may have been a saddening time for them, but at least they had each other. Fluttershy vowed to do all she could to uphold her promise, and stay with her. Living in this world was surely a new change she would just have to take. A determined rush overthrew her senses, filling her body and heart with the energy and courage she needed. It was a wondrous feeling, Fluttershy felt herself smile a bit through her tears.

‘Everything is going to be okay... In fact... I may just know how...’

“Rainbow?” She said softly. When the cyan mare looked at her, their gazes locking, Fluttershy stroked her braid. “I have an idea. Rainbow Dash.... let’s get married.”

“...What?”

Author's Note

There, secrets are revealed! :P Woohoo!