Memories of the Future
“And too much blood has flown from the wrists,
Of the children shamed for those they choose to kiss” – Rise Against
Fluttershy looked into the mirror of her flight school dorm room. She looked at her frazzled mane, from there to knife in her hoof, then to the blood pooled on the floor and at the cut along the underside of her fetlock. The pain had felt good, or at least better than the way she had been bullied. After that she had seen no other way to express her sorrow and her dismay.
Dash would kill me if she knew
Her roommate and marefriend of almost a year now, was at class. Fluttershy had been bullied since she moved to Cloudsdale about her sexual orientation. She was called names like ‘fillyfooler’ and ‘marekisser’ and while technically it was true, the comments still hurt.
She looked back into the mirror and jumped at what she saw. Dash was standing right behind her. With tears still in her eyes Fluttershy tried to speak. Dash just turned around and walked away and her eyes full of tears and disbelief. Instand regret for what she had done hit the pink maned filly. She realized that hurting herself had also hurt the pony she cared for most, the pony she loved.
When Fluttershy left the bathroom after bandaging her self inflicted wound she was instantly face to face with her lover, Rainbow Dash.
“Please tell me ‘Shy, why do you hate yourself?”
“B-Because I feel like I have no reason to like myself.” Fluttershy put her head down and backed away from her marefriend.
I deserve this
“What do you mean?” Dash was almost to the point of being furious, tears began welling in her eyes and she nuzzled up to Fluttershy’s neck and cried into her mane. Fluttershy leaned into her and they cried together for what seemed like hours.
“I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy said through her tears. “I won’t do it again Dashie.”
“Thank you, I love you ‘Shy and I’ll always be here for you,” Dash smiled through her tears and gingerly kissed her.
Fluttershy knew it wasn’t total forgiveness. She knew that Dash was going to keep a close eye on her for some time, but, it was a start.
“C’mon ‘Shy, lets get some sleep.”
The couple laid down together and Dash wrapped her hooves and her wing around Fluttershy. She showed both great love and concern for her marefriend, but also a worried eye for the emotional filly. The two drifted off to sleep slowly, with the comfort only a loved one could bring.
Fluttershy sat in her cottage remembering the night. It had been one of the saddest, and also the happiest moments of her life. Before that moment she had never felt as loved as she did then. It was also the happiest until… She looked at her right front hoof. The gold band was engraved with the words ‘Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, two mares, one heart, and one love.’ Fluttershy smiled as she remembered her wedding night. Her dress had been made by their friend Rarity, and it was absolutely stunning, one of her masterpieces. The cake had been baked by Pinkie Pie and it was a masterpiece as well. Dash was wearing a Blue tuxedo that complimented her rainbow mane perfectly. When Fluttershy walked down the isle the two locked eyes, making the short walk seem to take an eternity, but the happiest eternity of her life. The words still rang in her head. “You may now kiss the bride.” The tender kiss had been the most memorable of her life.
A sound broke her trance. It was the door.
“Hey ‘Shy! I’m home!”
Fluttershy got up and happily trotted over to the door to meet Dash.
“Welcome home Dashie,” she kindly said, giving Dash a small kiss. “How was work with the weather today?”
“It was actually pretty good!” Dash smiled “I’ve managed to change the weather schedule so that our seventeen year anniversary next week will be just perfect.” Dash beamed, looking proud of what she had done.
“That’s great!” Suddenly confusion hit Fluttershy, “wait we’ve only been married five years, not seventeen.” She was greatly confused by such a large gap.
“I know!” Dash was estatic, “seventeen years since the night we truly fell in love!”
“Oh!” Fluttershy blushed, “I was actually just thinking about that night.” She looked down at her left fetlock. Although the fur was covering it she knew that the scar was still there, a bittersweet reminder of her foalhood but also the beginning of her true love with Dash.
“Well ‘Shy, I’m beat! I’m gonna go get some sleep!” Dash kissed her on the cheek. “Night ‘Shy!”
“Good night Dashie! I’ll be up in a little bit!”
Fluttershy went about her usual activities putting all of her small animals to sleep. She brewed herself a quick cup of tea and was off to bed. She found Dash sleeping peacefully in their bed. She looked on the scene and more memories flooded her mind.
After class the next day, Dash returned to their room. She found Fluttershy curled up on the bed bruised and beaten.
“Who did this to you ‘Shy?”
“Its not important,” Fluttershy struggled to speak through the tears in her eyes.
“Yes it is important! This has to stop!”
“… It was those colts again.”
Dash just sighed and curled up next to her and after a quick check for severe injury, Dash wrapped a wing around Fluttershy and they slept.
“Dashie, I love you.”
She had said it both in her memories and out loud. Dash stirred in her sleep and returned the comment, making Fluttershy smile. She curled up behind Dash, put a hoof and a wing around Dashie’s body and drifted off to sleep.
Her dreams that night were pleasant, she dreamt of her and Dash’s first date. They had flown out of their school dorm after hours one night and sat on the highest clouds in the sky until the sun came up. It was so peaceful, it had been the first time that they had been truly alone. The dream transitioned, they were still high up on a cloud. The sun was setting this time and they were both about twelve years older. It was the night of their wedding, they had escaped the after party, much to the panic of Pinkie Pie and to the gossip of Rarity. They had flown up high above the clouds and they laid there, just to be alone, and in love.
They awoke the next morning with smiles on their faces and Fluttershy told Dash about her dreams. Their time together has been the happiest of their lives but it had not come without the hard times. But as the happy thoughts filled her mind, the times between also surfaced.
One day at flight school, Dash had disappeared. Fluttershy looked everywhere for her but couldn’t find her. Ingoring the bullying remarks as she cried, she ran back to her and Dash’s dorm. When she had felt that her worst fear had come true she fell into an endless pit of sorrow. All of Dash’s things were gone, Fluttershy thought that she had left her. A piece of paper caught her eye, she hadn’t noticed it earlier. When she examined it, it was in Dash’s writing, she read it out loud to herself.
Dear, my only ‘Shy,
First off, I love you, that hasn’t changedso don’t worry. I can’t stand it here anymore, the rules, the people, everything, except you ‘Shy. I’ve run away and you’re the only pony I’m telling. You can find me in a small town called Ponyville. It’s a place away from everything where we can just be together without all the drama that is involved in Cloudsdale. I’ll be waiting for you my love.
Your Only,
Dashie
She shuttered and shook the memory away. Fluttershy nuzzled into Dash’s mane and softly whispered “Good morning my love,” into her ear. Dash opened her eyes, they stared deep into each others eyes for a long while. With a tender kiss they climbed out of the bed and got ready for the day. While Dash took a shower, Fluttershy made some hot tea and cooked some breakfast. Dash grabbed her tea, kissed Fluttershy and then left for work.
Her mind ventured back to that day, without hesitation she had begun to pack her things so she could rejoin her lover.
“Dash?”
“Rainbow Dash?”
Fluttershy rushed around Ponyville looking for her marefriend. No pony had seen her anywhere. Fluttershy decided to fly up high into the sky to try and spot her from above.
“’Shy?”
Surprised, Fluttershy turned to the sound of Dash’s voice. Sitting on a cloud behind her was Rainbow Dash. She looked great, like she was a new pony. Almost instantly the two were in an embrace with heads buried deep in each other’s mane.
Fluttershy smiled, the reunion had brought so much joy to her heart, she had never wanted that moment to end. In the following weeks and months Dashie had built them a small house out of clouds from which they had lived together while they saved the money to buy the forest cottage that they lived in today. In that time Fluttershy had discovered her love for small animals and gotten her cutie mark. Dash had gotten hers while still in school. She had done a sonic rainboom in a race, unfortunately, she hadn’t been there to see the glorious moment. As she remembered that happy time in her life, one of her most fond memories of the period swept over her.
Fluttershy and Dash trotted happily together along the border to the Everfree Forest. The happy couple was a steep contrast to the dark and mysterious forest. Fluttershy walked on the opposite side of Dash from the forest, her body offering a sense of security from the creatures within. They carried their lunch for the day in bags hung over their backs and also a table cloth to lay on while they eat. When they reached their destination, a small hill just outside of Ponyville they laid out the sheet and placed to food down on it. The meal was just a few simple sandwiches but it was time spent together so it was great. Fluttershy playfully tackled Dash, she knew that Dash was strong enough to throw her off in a heartbeat but that didn’t matter, Fluttershy knew that she wouldn’t, but when their eyes met it was that same heartbeat that drew their muzzles closser together until they touched. Fluttershy blushed and puched against Dash, enjoying every moment that their lips were locked together. That one moment had seemed to last an eternity.
She looked at the clock on the wall. She was surprised that she had lost six hours of her day lost in her own memories. Dash will be home soon. The thought made her smile. Fluttershy went about her duties and responsibilities for the day ad began cooking dinner for herself and Dash.
When Dash got home that evening, just two hours later, the two of them sat down and had a delicious meal while the discussed Dash’s day and Fluttershy’s daydreams. Dash smiled at the memories that they shared together and it gave her an idea.
“Let’s go out for the night.”
“Out? T-to where?”
“Remember our first date? On the Cloud?”
Fluttershy smiled, remembering the night like it had been yesterday. “Yes, how could I forget it?”
“Lets fly up to the clouds and relive that tonight.”
“I’d absolutely love that.”
The couple flew up high into the clouds and they found a cloud to lie on and watch the sunset and they talked and talked for hours. The sun finally dipped below the horizon and in that moment they shared a tender kiss and Fluttershy looked to the future just as she had looked to the past. She hoped that it would stay the same, that it would last forever. She knew it would.
The End’