When We Were Fillies

by Flint Sparks

Rating: everyone
Tags: Fluttershy, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 4896

Fluttershy recalls the time when Rainbow Dash decided she was to become a Wonderbolt and the foalhood promise she had made with Fluttershy.

It's common knowledge that Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt. She's proven again and again that she's the fastest flyer in Equestria already, so why is she so determined to earn that role? Money? Fame? Power?

Only Fluttershy knows. She's been waiting all those years, quietly cheering her friend on and waiting for their dream to come true.

A gift for I HV NO FEAR, for being with me since the start. You wanted FlutterDash, so I delivered.

proofread and edited by my besties: Afro Pony and DegeTheMighty

Published 2013-10-09 23:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-09 23:10:03 UTC

The Promise

Fluttershy laid in bed, slowly wiggling under the sheets in discomfort. A light rain pattered on her window as lightning in the distance flashed. For a pegasus, it was the cultural definition of a good night’s sleep. For Fluttershy, it was an anxiety attack. Her wings popped from their sides; her mane tickled her nose; her tail could not find a comfortable place to rest. Her chest compressed, constricting her breathing into quiet wheezes.

Sensing her high emotional state, a squirrel and a chipmunk crawled in with her and curled up in a ball. The small act of kindness lessened her discomfort and returned her breathing to normal. Smiling, she hugged them to her chest to share her warmth. The critters snuggled closer still.

Even with her new comfort, her mind was elsewhere. Fluttershy had full confidence in her friend achieving her dream, but many nagging doubts clouded her mind. What if Rainbow Dash sprained a wing joint and had to go home early? What if she failed the Wonderbolt tryouts? What if she got lost in a storm and landed somewhere in the nopony lands? What if she for-

Fluttershy gasped at the offensive thought that dare penetrate her mind! Rainbow Dash would never…

A scarlet blush burnt into her butter cheeks as she shoved her face into the pillow and screamed. It came out as a tiny, drawn-out squeak but a scream nonetheless. A small crowd of various critters noticed her distress, crawled across the floor, and climbed up her bed to rouse the distressed mare. Their concerned sniffs and muzzle pokes finally drew her out of her shell.

Fluttershy sat up in her bed and looked through her pink mane to her various animals, including the concerned bear. She gave a tentative sniff and wiped a tear away on her foreleg. “I’m so sorry for making you worry so much about me, but thank you.” A smile touched on her lips as she lied down. The bear, feeling she was feigning recovery, gently shook her shoulder.

Fluttershy rolled over and looked up with a melancholy shine in her eyes. The bear blinked, his eyes dull with a sad, bestial emotion. Their gazes held together momentarily, causing Fluttershy to sigh in defeat. “ I guess you would like to hear about her after all, wouldn't you?”

The animals gave a collective nod, urging her to continue. It was only fair; she had been fretting about her friend all day for no apparent reason. They've all seen Rainbow Dash fly: she was faster than any hawk they’ve ever seen. Her speed and skill did not make Fluttershy fret any less; any more and she’s have turned them grey and have to find an igloo for a polar bear. Fluttershy patted the bed with a hoof and invite the audience to settle down for the story.

“When Rainbow Dash and I were just little fillies…”

The first time the shy pony had met her prismatic friend was outside the elementary schoolhouse in Cloudsdale. Flight school would soon follow, but young pegasi required rudimentary knowledge of the world at large first. High altitudes chilled the air despite the allotted summer season ending as the dawn of a new school year was about to start.

Fluttershy, a second year, feared the start of school as she quivered behind the pink pegasus escorting her. The mare, Mary Matron, rolled her eyes and wrapped a wing around the foal.

“Come along, Flutter dear. It’s time for school,” she coaxed, lightly brushing a feather against her ward’s wing. Flutter shuddered and pressed her body against the wing, trying to hide among the pink fluff. Mary Matron started to scoop up the filly into her wing when she heard the squeals of a nearby filly.

She turned around and noticed a cyan stallion and his daughter approach. They both sported a rugged rainbow mane and tail, and the filly was clinging to her father’s foreleg. When he stopped, she turned and stared at the mare. She couldn’t help but notice the same confident spark in their eyes. Like father, like daughter.

The stallion grinned at her and spoke. “First day skitters?” Mary Matron looked down at her charge; Flutter was nervously peeking out of her mane, careful to keep hidden underneath the pink curl. The rainbow filly hugged her father’s foreleg and gazed at the older filly, trying to pierce the pink wall with her bright eyes.

“Well, I suppose.” Mary Matron shrugged, smiling nervously at the stallion. He was well built and despite his ruggedness, he was quite handsome. As a single mare herself, she felt somewhat heated around him. And his wings! Fine specimens indeed. She’s love to see them rise-

Noticing that she was blushing, she coughed and pushed Flutter in front with her wing.

Flutter tried to back away from the towering stallion, but Matron placed a hoof on her back and gently brushed against her mane, calming the filly. The rainbow stallion lifted his hoof up and shook, dumping his daughter in front as well.

The two ejected fillies quietly stared at each other for a minute, assessing each other. A single, blue eye poked through the opening in Flutter’s long mane and stared at the other. The rainbow filly crouched on all fours and stared at Flutter’s wings as her own buzzed in anticipation.

“I’m Wainbow Dash!” the bold filly declared, grinning as a single tooth poked over her lip. She creeped forward toward Flutter like a cat, waving her tail back and forth appropriately. “What’s yo’ name?”

“F-F-Flutter…” the butter filly squeaked, lowering her head and turning away. Rainbow Dash cocked her head in confusion.

“Wut.”

“F-Flutter…”

“Wut?!” Rainbow Dash spoke louder, wondering why this filly was whispering. Flutter merely squealed in surprise and tried to dash away, finding a pink hoof blocking her. Mary Matron smiled down at her and looked away to Rainbow Dash.

“I’m sorry, but she’s very shy. Rainbow, this is Flutter.”

Rainbow Dash bounced into the air, trying to hover with her tiny wings. “You mean like Fluttershy?!” she laughed, falling onto the cloud with her back. The two adults chuckled as Flutter looked back at the laughing filly in curiousity. For some reason, she liked that name. Maybe Rainbow Dash wasn’t scary like the other ponies.

Maybe they could be friends.

Flutter-Fluttershy lifted her head up from near the ground and stopped cowering. To Mary Matron’s surprise, the filly trotted cautiously to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow leaned forward, intently staring at Fluttershy and nonverbally daring her to try something. Fluttershy, in a bout of bravery, leaned forward and touched their noses together.

Mary Mare’s heart stopped. “Aw…” she sighed, watching the two fillies rub noses together.

Rainbow’s father agreed. “Isn’t it? They’re really cute toge-”

“Achoo!” Rainbow Dash sneezed, frightening her new friend into the air. Mary Matron lifted into the air and caught the jumpy Fluttershy in her hooves, holding her close. Rainbow’s father scooped his daughter up and joined Matron.

“Sorry about that, she doesn’t really understand manners yet,” the cyan stallion apologized. Rainbow struggled in his forelegs, but he held firm. The two adults looked toward the schoolhouse, realizing that time was short. Mare and stallion, each with a foal in hoof, sighed in defeat.

“Well, I guess we should be going…” Matron tried to fly past, but Rainbow’s father intercepted her.

“Um,” he started, lightly rocking his beloved daughter despite her wiggling. “They really hit it off, if I must say. Little squirt here usually pummels her new playmates.”

“...” She stared at him, unimpressed.

“Kidding!” He rubbed the back of his mane with a foreleg, making sure Rainbow wouldn’t slip out. He sighed and looked Matron in the eye. “Look, I think these two could get along and was wondering-”

“Cloudsdale Orphanage,” Matron interrupted. “It would be lovely if Rainbow came to visit and play.”

“O-Orphanage?” Rainbow’s father’s posture slackened in sympathy, his usual confidence faded. A moment later the spark in his eyes returned and he nodded. “Right, we’ll be there. I can tell these two girls are going to be the best of friends!”

Matron smiled, a slight blush on her cheeks. The two fillies stared at each other from their guardians’ hooves and waved goodbye at each other, hoping to meet again. With that, the two flew into the schoolhouse and into separate classrooms, anxious to make sure their little slices of heaven wouldn’t be late for class.

“And that’s how I met Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cheered, clapping her hooves together in dismissal to end the story. Her animals, curled up on her bed and around the room, grimaced at her. Her gaze traveled across the room, scanning the unimpressed expressions of the animals. With each set of eyes she met, her ears slowly lowered until they were plastered to her head.

She sighed and crossed her forelegs, hugging herself. “I guess I’ll c-continue…”

The animals relaxed their glares and perked their ears, eager to hear more.

“Well, as you know, for the next year we went on to continue being excellent…”

“Racers!” Rainbow Dash shouted, having pounced on Fluttershy’s stack of letter blocks and rolling in the ensued mess.

“Excuse me?” Fluttershy asked, picking up two blocks and restarting her activity. She had tried spell a new word, but only had P-E-G-A-S when Rainbow Dash unsuccessfully tried to tackle her from behind. The cyan filly’s wings were growing stronger everyday, but she lacked the control to fly where she wanted to go.

Rainbow spun in a circle on her back, using her hind legs to push until she could see her friend, albeit upside down. “Yeah!” She threw her hooves up in excitement. “We should be racers!”

“R-racers?” Fluttershy asked as she set down the block she was holding. School was over, and they were currently in the common room with the other foals waiting for their parents. At least they were. Fluttershy knew that Miss Matron would arrive with Mister Prism to pick her up. Why the two adults always showed up together, she never knew. Maybe she liked him?

Fluttershy looked up to Rainbow, currently tossing a block up repeatedly and catching it with all four hooves like a cat with yarn. She looked just like her dad, rainbow mane and all. Fluttershy cocked her head in curiosity. The other fillies in her grade had started talking about colts and makeup; girly things that Rainbow Dash had warned her were ‘lame and boring.’ Fluttershy’s eyes trailed across the different colors on the prismatic mane. Now that she thought about it, she could see the appeal. Rainbows were pretty. Maybe Miss Matron liked rainbows too?

Rainbow Dash threw the block aside and flipped onto her belly. “Uh, yeah! Racers! Just like daddy!” Her wings began to buzz as she assumed a predator’s crouch. Fluttershy faintly smiled and waited. Rainbow pounced toward Fluttershy, but her right wing had too much power and caused her to swerve off course and crash beside Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stood up on all fours and turned around, poking her friend’s mane with her muzzle. “You okay?” she asked, turning Rainbow’s head up with a push. Rainbow’s eyes snapped open and she pounced up, finally catching the Fluttershy.

She squeaked in surprise as the two tumbled over the blocks. Her wings twitched as Rainbow landed on top of her and pinned her down. “Finally! Gotcha!” Rainbow laughed and hopped off her friend. Fluttershy shook her head and took an offered hoof, allowing Rainbow Dash to pull her up.

As she fixed her scruffed up mane, Fluttershy heard the hoofsteps of another pony. The two fillies turned around to see a white colt approach.

The colt’s name was Snowflake, but everypony called him Rage. For a colt, he was already the size of a young stallion. His muscles bulged under his coat as his moving joints rolled. He came to a stop and stared down at Fluttershy. Her wings had snapped shut and clung tight to her sides. Word was that he had a crush on her, not to mention he was huge compared to the little filly.

“Hey.” His unblinking red eyes bored into her soul, inciting a nervous shiver in the butter filly. His voice had a rough edge to it, like a bull-like creature who lived to shout at ponies and sell them stuff. The other fillies all had crushes on him, but only Fluttershy resisted his charms.

“...” Fluttershy looked to the side and shielded herself with her long mane. She heard the pops of Rage’s muscles move as his bones cracked. She quietly gagged as she felt him snort onto her mane. His breath was hot and smelly, like that one time she dropped an egg on the floor of the orphanage and forgot about it. To put it in filly terms: it was gross.

“Can.” He leaned closer. “I.” His breath tickled her neck, drawing an anxious shudder into her spine. She felt his muzzle poke her mane. She drew in a deep breath, ready to scream for help.

Something shoved her aside in her time of need. Rainbow Dash took her place and stared up at the larger colt, a fire burning in her magenta eyes. “What do you want, buddy?!”

Rage looked down as a small hoof tapped his chest. He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Can I borrow some blocks?”

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, nonplussed, before coming back to her senses. She shook her head and backed away. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

Rage nodded and scooped up a few blocks from the ground. He lifted off with his pathetically short wings and turned around. Rainbow watched him fly away, wondering just how he could fly with those… stubs.

“Hey, Flutt-” She turned around and saw her friend was shaking like a leaf.

She crouched and slinked over, lightly stepping on her hooves while her friend was frozen. Once she was right beside Fluttershy again, she reared up.

“BOO!” she squeaked, raising her front hooves up. Fluttershy squealed and tried to jump away, but Rainbow wrapped her forelegs around her and squeezed. Rainbow Dash could feel her rapid heartbeat against her own. Fluttershy’s elevated breathing calmed as Dash squeezed her into a hug and lightly nuzzled her cheek.

A moment passed before they separated. Rainbow knew that Fluttershy was afraid of other ponies and only she could calm her down. It was a duty she was more than happy to fulfill.

“You alright?” she asked her shy friend, grinning. Fluttershy smiled back and bowed her head.

“Y-yeah.”

“You want to race across the room?” Rainbow challenged, extending her small wings from her sides. They buzzed slightly, awaiting an answer. Fluttershy’s smile faltered, her eyes losing their usual glimmer.

“D-don’t you want to play house?” she asked, hesitant. “We could be m-mommies…” House was a common game for the fillies. The school provided a few dolls for the fillies and colts. Colts preferred to roughhouse, but didn’t mind winding down occasionally with the girls. Only one filly, however, didn’t.

“Nah!” Rainbow stuck out her tongue. “House is for sissies! Let’s race!”

Fluttershy huffed and blew a stray lock out of her face, irritated. She sighed and discretely rolled her eyes. “Why?”

Rainbow abruptly stopped her teasing and scrunched her muzzle in confusion. Fluttershy never spoke against her. “Because, racing is fun?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “For you maybe, but I’m a weak flyer.” She flapped her wings, barely moving a centimeter, to make her point. She tilted her head to allow Rainbow Dash to see her eyes clearly before asking, “Why do you like flying so much? What’s wrong with playing House?”

Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. “Because I want to be like daddy! House is for sissies because daddy met mommy when he became the fastest!”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and bobbed her head in warm delight. Rainbow loved her father and always looked up to him. Even Fluttershy saw him as a role model. Mary Matron liked him too, but obviously in a different way. As her mind trailed there, her cheeks turned pink.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and gently pawed the cloud carpet. “M-maybe when you are the fastest… you’ll be a mommy too?”

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah! Daddy says I can be a mommy after I become the fastest!” She stomped the ground a few times in annoyance.

“T-then…” Fluttershy turned away for a moment to catch her breath. She turned back and met Rainbow’s eyes. “You’ll be a mommy with me?”

“Hm…” Rainbow rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Then I guess... being the fastest means I get the prettiest pony!” She clapped her hooves in delight, rearing up with her wings buzzing as Fluttershy let out a gasp as a metaphorical blanket wrapped around her heart, warming her chest. She leaped forward and nuzzled her cheek against Rainbow’s when she landed, causing her to blush as well. Their fur bristled together, causing a slight jolt of electricity to charge between them.

“W-what are you doing?” Rainbow stuttered, her petrified legs unable to budge. Having natural resistance to static electricity, she felt more nervous than surprised. Fluttershy’s carefully groomed fur felt nice against her roughly brushed coat. Sometimes soft things were nice.

Fluttershy gave one last rub before stepping back. “Giving you an incen-sive!”

Rainbow finally recovered and scowled. Fluttershy had made a sappy moment! In an effort to kill the mood and save the day, she tackled her filly friend and wrestled.

“See?’ Fluttershy blushed and hugged herself. Her animals had dropped their skepticism, and had adopted more sympathetic expressions. Her bear leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head, bringing a new smile to her face.

Angel, however, felt something was missing. He hopped onto Fluttershy’s lap and stared at her. Fluttershy tried looking away, but his fierce stare locked hers onto his. He tapped his foot and crossed his arms. Fluttershy bit her lip, debating.

“Do you really care that much about me?” Fluttershy asked in a dead whisper. Angel’s expression softened and he lowered his arms. Fluttershy looked to her left, out the window, and noticed how bright the moon was that night.

“Okay.” She turned back to Angel and smiled. “I suppose I’ll tell you. You already know most of it, but…”

Fluttershy’s frolicking among butterflies felt euphoric! Flight camp in her third year was only made bearable with Rainbow Dash around, and even the bullies had become a footnote in her mind. They were right, she was meant for the ground!

Fluttershy’s talent filled her with joy and life she never thought possible. She met squirrels, rabbits, and even a bear cub!

The squirrels were nervous at first, but eventually made a game of gathering nuts with the filly. A few robins flew nearby and she bounced and fluttered beside them, whistling a harmonious tune together as they gathered nuts for her. Once they filled the burrow for the squirrels, Fluttershy bounced across the meadow to visit the bunny den.

One bunny, a soon-to-be mother, rubbed against her as the filly bent down to nuzzle her bulging belly. Fluttershy didn’t actually understand their speech, but their emotions communicated their thoughts well enough. She finally understood she had some sort of empathetic talent, explaining why other ponies overwhelmed her so. Except Rainbow Dash, of course.

“I wonder how she’s doing…” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she lay inside the den with the rabbits. Even with the new earthly sensations and experience, Rainbow Dash still flew inside her thoughts. She had defended Fluttershy’s honor, after all. She went through all that, even performing a Sonic Rainboom, just for me!

The den was larger than average, large enough to fit the cub inside. She laid her head on it, using the cub as a blanket. They shared orphanhood together, and a bond was beginning to form with her and the animals. The bunnies were more than happy to have company, but made it clear that anything further than the den’s mouth would upset the mothers and their children

A baby robin perched on the tip of her nose and started a shaky birdsong. Fluttershy pursed her lips and helped it along. After some trial and error, the chick began chirping its very own song to the delight of the filly. She hummed along to the natural tune, allowing the robin to shine among its fellow animals.

The animals cuddled next to her for an hour as the sun set. Fluttershy dozed against the sleeping cub; several bunnies and squirrels lay on her as a makeshift critter blanket. Through her eyelids, she lazily noticed the shining sunlight through her eyes dim and eventually darken.

Her mind, fatigued by the rush of euphoria, drifted off to sleep soon after. Her dreams were bright and happy like the new spring on the ground. She dreamed of butterflies, of animals, and the wing beats of her friend. The last one confused her, but she happily danced around Rainbow Dash in her dream. The two held hooves and flew with the butterflies in a strange pegasi tango, complete with Rainbow spinning Fluttershy and holding her close.

“R-Rainbow Dash..?” Fluttershy whispered as Rainbow tipped her body downward, holding her complete weight in her hooves. It was like one of those dance moves the fancy ponies did at parties with their special somepony and the very thought turned Fluttershy the color of her mane.

“Fluttershy.” Rainbow stared into her eyes, her eyelids slowly closing. Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat when Rainbow whispered her name.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked again, her heart racing. Rainbow began lowering her face toward hers.

“Fluttershy.” Her eyes had the same confident, nearly predatory glint in their depths. When she had that shine, she wanted to win something. And that something was Fluttershy. Her heart threatened to give out.

“Rainbow…” Fluttershy closed her eyes and waited, fire pulsing through her chest. A Sonic Rainboom was proof that Rainbow was the fastest, so that only meant…

“Fluttershy!”

“Rainbow…” Fluttershy whispered, tossing in her sleep. She clung to the club with her hooves as she nuzzled into the warm, brown fur. Something prodded her side.

“Fluttershy!” a voice pierced her dream, drawing discomfort from Fluttershy. It sounded like Rainbow, but not the happy Rainbow she knew and loved.

“Rainbow…” she whispered wistfully, sighing into the bear’s fur. She awaited a response, but a strange pause formed in her one-sided conversation. Lacking the voice of her only friend, she began to drift off…

Splash.

Fluttershy and the animals shrieked and jumped awake. Above Fluttershy was a cloud touching the ceiling of the den. A rainbow mane poked over the edge.

“Hey, you up yet? I was calling your name for like, five minutes or something!” Rainbow’s squeaky filly voice screeched. Fluttershy blushed, remembering the dream, and nodded. Rainbow crawled over the edge of the cloud so she could see her lost friend.

“Hey Rainbow.” Fluttershy gave a sheepish smile, showing her pearly whites, as the animals shuffled away to give them space. “How’d you find me?”

Rainbow giggled. “I had help!”

A fully-clothed pegasus poked his head through the den, too large to fit through. “Hello little one. Have a nice trip on good ol’ ground?”

Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. “I-Is that..?” Every pegasus recognized that uniform. Her eyes traveled across his moonlit body. Those muscular wings, that defined muzzle, a wind-swept and distinct mane…

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash floated down from the rapidly dissipating cloud. “That’s my dad! Fastest flyer in all of Equestria!”

“You got that right, squirt!” Mister Rainbow cheered his daughter. Rainbow took Fluttershy’s hoof in her own and gently tugged her along as she flew out of the den. The stallion took them both in his forelegs and took off, after allowing Fluttershy to wave goodbye to all her new animal friends.

Rainbow Dash happily talked about her day’s adventure and earning her cutie mark the entire flight to Cloudsdale. Fluttershy mentioned her new talent, somewhat afraid she would find it lame and undeserving of her friend.

“Really? Talking to animals? That’s cool!” Rainbow congratulated Fluttershy on her cutie mark. “No wonder you don’t like flying, you’re practically an earth pony!” Fluttershy usually would expect this to be an insult from her braggart friend, but felt the sincerity in her words. It was nice to realize the empathy she had held in this whole time.

It took Rainbow’s father a few minutes to return home, but he finally landed in front of the orphanage where a worried Mary Matron anxiously waited. As soon as Fluttershy was placed on the ground, she received frantic nuzzles and pecks from her nurturing guardian.

“Oh Flutter, I was so worried!” she cried, shedding tears as she picked up her filly. There were a total of four foals in the orphanage at the moment, but adoptions were quick and most foals were guaranteed to find a home in a month. Fluttershy, too shy to open up to strangers, was the only exception. If it weren’t for the legal complications, Mary Matron would have adopted her herself. Inside, even as an adult, Fluttershy considered her the mother she never had.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight,” the Wonderbolt tried to leave with hardly a goodbye. Quickly, Mary Matron pecked him on the cheek.

“Thank you for bringing back my Fluttershy. That was very brave.”

“Brave? Try being awesome!” Rainbow Dash wiggled out of her father’s hooves and landed on the ground next to Fluttershy. She poked her friend on the chest a few times. “My dad is awesome, and I’m going to be just like him!”

Fluttershy giggled, holding a hoof to her mouth. “I bet you will. Fastest flyer in Equestria.”

“Yeah! And then we can play House just like daddy did!” Rainbow puffed her chest out as her father lifted his mask in sheer confusion. “Just like you wanted!”

“Really?” Fluttershy scrunched her muzzle in nervousness.

“Yeah! Promise!” Rainbow held her hoof out. Fluttershy tenderly took it and gave a tentative shake.

“Promise.”

The perplexed Wonderbolt looked up to the bemused matron and grimaced. “Oh Celestia, in a few years I’m going to have two daughters, aren’t I?”

Mary smiled and nodded. “Looks like our little girls are growing up.”

“That’s why I’ve been so nervous,” Fluttershy said, rubbing her hooves together out of habit. The animals applauded her story, satisfied to hear the truth. A few critters nuzzled against her while the bear rubbed his paw over her mane, eliciting a purr from the meek pegasus. A light drizzle trickled off her window, grabbing her attention.

The moon shone bright through her window, finally stirring delayed confusion. If it’s raining, then why can I see the moon?

Suspicious, and suspecting Discord-like shenanigans, Fluttershy slipped out of bed and shooed her animals away. She flew down and to her door, taking a pink umbrella with her in case it was raining. Twisting the doorknob, the door slung open on its own accord.

“Hey there, I was wondering when you were going to get up.” A familiar figure stood in front of her, silhouetted by the dark clouds behind.

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy took a step back, wondering why in Equestria her friend was up so late. Between her naps, nap attacks, and emergency post-training naps, Fluttershy knew Rainbow treasured her sleep. Staying up past midnight was extremely unlike her. “What are you doing here? And why are there so many clouds outside my home?”

Rainbow chuckled nervously, rubbing her mane like so many times before. “Um, I didn’t want to wake you up loudly so I thought rain would do the trick.”

Fluttershy’s wings fluttered from their sides ever so slightly. “You’re always welcome here, Rainbow. You don’t even have to knock.” Rainbow Dash should know this, having interrupted her shy withdrawal by forcing her to go to flight practice.

“Uh, well…” Rainbow trotted in place, trying to find the right words. “I kind of wanted to go to Cloudsdale for a bit, and wanted to see if you wanted to come along.” Her words caught Fluttershy by surprise.

“In the middle of the night? Rainbow Dash, that’s so unlike you. What ever could be the matter?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be very loyal if I didn’t keep my promises. Applejack would say so, wouldn’t she?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.” Her friend sighed and walked inside.

Fluttershy gasped and backed a meter away in shock. “No no no, you don’t mean..?”

Rainbow turned to the side, allowing the moonlight to reflect off her full-body uniform. “I wanted to show mom and dad, but I came here first. I wanted to see you first.”

“D-don’t you want to see your family?” Fluttershy dimly remembered her old caretaker marrying a pegasus, most likely Rainbow Dash’s father she had grown fond of.

“Fluttershy.” Rainbow stepped forward, carefully as to not frighten the skittish mare. “Of course I do. But…” She looked away for a moment and squeezed her eyes tight. A heartbeat passed before she whipped forward and pecked Fluttershy on the cheek. The act burned both their cheeks, but Rainbow Dash refused to break eye contact in her anxiety.

“Y-yes R-Rainbow Dash?”

“Don’t you mean our family?”