With All My Heart, Fluttershy
"H...here, take this!"
Fluttershy recoiled a little bit, confused about the folded note now held a few inches from her face. "H...huh?"
Rainbow Dash had just randomly come to Fluttershy's cottage. They had bumped into each other earlier, and Rainbow ran off at top speed almost instantly. And now she was here, handing off a note with no explanation.
Fluttershy took the note and began to read it to herself.
Fluttershy,
We've know each other for so long now. We've been friends since we were little, and recently, I began to notice something different. Something felt different.
But I didn't know how to say it. I couldn't just say it to your face, I was too freakin' proud to do that. So I decided to write you a letter. But of course, you know me. I'm bad at writing. You've known that since way back when we were in school.
So I tried to ask for help. No-one seemed to get it though.
This letter isn't about me, it's about you.
I could have gone a made a Sonic Rainboom, or crafted a heart out of clouds, but that would just be stroking my own ego. I needed to show you not how awesome I am, but how awesome you are. How beautiful you are to me.
"D...does she really think that?" Fluttershy thought to herself. Absorbed in the note, she payed no heed to the slight touch she felt against her mane. She continued reading.
You balance me out. You help keep me calm. You've shown me the joy of slowing down and taking everything in. And I can't thank you enough for that.
But what I can do is say...
"I love you."
Fluttershy was caught off guard by Rainbow's voice. It was a lot softer and more gentle than her normal tones. She looked up to get a glance at her friend but instead saw a small mirror, reflecting her own face. She very quickly noticed a plain, yet oddly beautiful pastel blue flower in her hair. She felt her cheeks beginning to warm as the reality of the situation finally settled in.
Without thinking, she leaned in and gently kissed Rainbow on the cheek. "I love you, too."
In that moment, Rainbow turned the brightest shade of red Fluttershy had ever seen on a pony's face. Rainbow suddenly bolted out of the cottage.
"Eep!" Fluttershy recoiled. After regaining her composure, she slowly stepped out the door, her expression beginning to droop. Was the kiss too much?
Her question was quickly answered by a resounding cheer in the distance. Looking up, she could see a rainbow streak twisting and turning through the sky.
She smiled and turned to walk back inside. After a few steps, a patch of white on the ground caught her attention.
"What...?" As she leaned down, she realized it was a folded piece of paper. Upon picking it up, and unfolding it, she immediately recognized Rainbow Dash's scrawled handwriting upon it. With curiosity getting the best of her, she began reading it as she walked inside.
I understand. Really, I do. If I was you, I wouldn't go on a date with me either. I'm a brash, tactless jerk, and you had every right to reject me.
"What the...?" Fluttershy sat down on her couch and continued reading.
I have no grace, I'm insensitive, I'm just... bad. And I've been this way since I was young... since WE were young... So... you've known this for a while.
So I'm sorry. You deserve better than me. I'm glad, at least, that you were able to see that.
With My Sincerest Apologies,
Rainbow Crash
Reading those last two word, she shuddered, as tears began to form in her eyes. Did Rainbow really think all that?
A light thumping sound started in front of Fluttershy. She looked up to see her little bunny looking up at her with disdain.
"Hey, Angel Bunny..."
Angel's expression quickly changed to that of concern. He hopped up onto Fluttershy's shoulder and looked down at the note. A few moments later, Angel turned and slapped Fluttershy in the face.
"W...what was that for...?" Fluttershy took a moment, then turned back to Angel. He had already made his way over to one of the endtables, and was impatiently tapping his foot next to a solitary picture frame.
Fluttershy walked up to the picture, giving a light smile. "Ah... Angel, that's right..." It was a picture of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash together, just smiling, being happy. A trained eye would be able to distinguish a slight reddish tint on Fluttershy's cheeks in the image. The picture was taken right after they had finished on a butterfly watching trip; Rainbow didn't make a single complaint during it. A little bit before and afterwards, but she kept quiet and considerate the entire time.
None of the things in that letter were true. And Fluttershy would prove it to her herself if she had to.
She would prove how beautiful Rainbow was to her.
Fluttershy let her eyes flicker open. All she could see before her was white. About what she expected from sleeping inside a cloud.
She pulled out the pocketwatch that Angel had given her earlier. Today was supposed to be clear skies... so, in only a few minutes...
Suddenly the world burst into color, and Fluttershy started to tumble to the ground. "EEP!"
She spiraled for a moment, then stabilized into steady flight and glanced around. She quickly saw Rainbow Dash staring confused at her.
"W...were you hiding... in...?"
"Umm... y...yes...?" Fluttershy blushed and started to back away. This was a lot more embarrassing than she thought it would be.
But something stopped her. She could barely make out a blush on Rainbow Dash's face. She took a deep breath. This was about Rainbow, not her. She couldn't let her embarrassment get in the way.
"So... Do you... um... wanna fly together a bit...?"
Rainbow's blush grew more intense. "Uh... Yeah...!"
"C...can I lead the way?"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I... guess."
"A...Alright then, let's go." She began to fly in the direction of the library.
Their flight proceeded in almost complete silence. Fluttershy was far too embarrassed to say anything. Their flight path twisted and turned, seeming to meander with no particular purpose. Despite Fluttershy's pitiful flight speed, Rainbow Dash didn't say a word to complain.
After about 20 minutes of what seemed like wandering, they turned towards Fluttershy's cottage. "I hope that was enough time for Angel to prepare..." Fluttershy thought, clearing her throat.
"Thank you for being patient with me," she said, letting herself start to descend.
"Ah...? Yeah, of course," Rainbow replied.
They finally landed in some of the sparse woods nearby the cottage. Fluttershy pushed through a bit of brush, holding the way open for Rainbow. "So, um... would you mind having breakfast with me?"
They stepped into a clearing where a wooden table and two seats had been set up. Angel was standing atop one of the chairs, making small, commanding squeaks. He turned towards the pair, and immediately hopped off into a nearby bush.
Rainbow blushed. "Uh... yeah, of course!" She made her way to the table, and Fluttershy followed close behind.
As they sat down, the forest around them bursted into activity. Birds carried in a tablecloth and cutlery, gracefully placing them on the table. A bear lumbered in, placing salads in front of the two ponies. Next, a doe, with an assortment of drinks on a tray upon its back, stepped in. Finally, two groups of butterflies flew in and dropped flower crowns atop each of their heads; a pastel blue for Fluttershy, and a reddish-purple for Rainbow.
"W...wow!" Rainbow eyes were wide, and her cheeks were a rosy red.
In all truth, Fluttershy was shocked herself. She didn't expect Angel to do this much. She leaned over and took a glass of water from the doe. "Thank you."
Rainbow Dash also took a glass of water. "Thanks." She then turned to Fluttershy. "This is awesome. Like... really really awesome."
"Th...thanks!" Fluttershy couldn't help but blush. She fidgeted slightly in her seat. "W...well... dig in...!"
They both began to eat. After only a few forkfuls, Rainbow looked up at Fluttershy. "Are you sure about this?"
Fluttershy sighed. She knew that question would come eventually. "What do you mean?"
"Like... being with me. I told you what you've done for me, but I hardly do anything for you." Rainbow looked away. "There's no reason for you to like me."
"B...bu-" Fluttershy caught herself. She took a deep breath, and clapped her hooves together.
Angel came bounding out of the trees, and hopped onto the table, holding a small folded piece of paper. He presented it to Rainbow.
"What's this?" She took the paper and unfolded it.
Fluttershy saw Rainbow give a quick grin. At the top of the paper, instead of a normal greeting, there was just a crude drawing of a rainbow with motion lines behind it. When they were younger, and passed notes back and forth in school, Flutter would draw that instead of writing "Rainbow Dash".
The note continued to read:
You remember back in flight school? I was teased by almost the everypony. It was painful. I could barely take it. But somepony was there for me.
She never rushed me, she never ridiculed me for my bad flight skills, and she always stood up for me. And she never asked for anything in return, other than I be her friend.
And on top of all that, she pushed me to try new things, to work harder. I wasn't able to fly well by the time I left Cloudsdale, but I was better than I was. All because somepony was willing to be patient with me.
Sure. She could be a bit aggressive at times. Sometimes she would push a little too hard. But she was still better than every other colt and filly in that school. Because she cared. She was sensitive. She saw a failing student and didn't say "Hah, she's so bad!" She said, "Wow, I should help her."
And on top of that, she was so cool! I could watch her fly for hours. She was so confident in herself that it began to spread to me as well.
And that confidence grew over the years. It grew so much that right now, I'm sitting across from her on what is very clearly a date. A date that I set up.
You mean so much to me, Rainbow.
How could I not love you?
With All My Heart,
Fluttershy
Rainbow Dash looked up. "I..." There were tears forming in her eyes.
"Are you about to cry?" Fluttershy said, a little mockingly. She then immediately regretted her tone and looked away, blushing.
"N...no!" Rainbow rubbed her eyes clean. "Allergies. Definitely allergies."
Fluttershy smiled.
"So I assume you saw my second letter."
Flutter's expression shifted to a frown. "Y...yeah...?"
"I wrote that first, you know." Rainbow sighed and looked up at the sky. "First thing I did was think, 'Wow, I suck. And I won't be able to say a thing to her if she rejects me... which she probably will. I won't be able to keep my cool. I guess I should write a letter for that situation.'" She looked back at Fluttershy. "Pretty lame, huh?"
"No..." Fluttershy looked at her with a slight frown and and saddened eyes. "You were scared, right? But... it doesn't matter how scared you were. You were still willing to confess."
"Heh... true." Rainbow looked up sheepishly at Fluttershy. "So... um..."
Suddenly, there was a blur of color, and Fluttershy felt a light touch against her lips.
"Thank you."
