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                      Thought Balloon                      
                    -by themoontonite-                     
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                 FutureFutureFuturePerfect                 
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FutureFutureFuturePerfect
Crystal clear waters. Lush, green grass. The wind weaving through her flowing mane and brushing against her wings. This was what Fluttershy lived for. Nothing more, nothing less. Simplicity was beauty to her. But simplicity didn’t oft find its way to her plans, much to her lament. Especially not recently.
        It all started a few weeks ago. She was roaming town, getting some errands done before her spa day with Rarity. She was just leaving the cafe she and Rainbow Dash had been when she noticed Pinkie Pie doing a sloppy job of following her. It wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary for the notoriously eccentric pony but she seemed far too focused for this to be run of the mill. Deciding to cut the chase short, Fluttershy stopped and gave a small wave to the pony crouched some ways away.
        She was ushered into a nearby alley and drawn uncomfortably close to Pinkie, who locked eyes with her despite Fluttershys’ best attempt to avoid her gaze.
        “Do you need anything?”
        “I don’t know. Do I?”
        “I--”
        “That’s not the point. What IS the point is that balloon you’ve got.”
        What balloon? “What balloon?”
        “That white balloon over your head! I’ve seen ‘em before and it means you need my help.”
        Pinkie had pulled away at this point, now back to her default beaming grin and stock-straight posture. “I really don’t know what balloon you’re talking about, Pinkie, but I appreciate your help. What do I need help with?”
        “That’s the thing. All I know is that little balloon means there’s something you need to say to somepony. Beyond that, who knows! It’s up to you to figure out how to get rid of it.”
        “Oh. Okay. Hm. Gosh, I really don’t know what I haven’t said but I’ll think about it.”
        “Me neither. Oh well! I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Good luck with your thought balloon!” With that, she was gone. Never did stay longer than she had to.
        “Rarity?”
        “Mmm?”
        “Have you ever heard of a thought balloon?”
        Rarity adjusted her position in the tub, sending out a series of small waves. “I can’t say I have darling. What makes you ask?”
        “Oh, nothing really. I was just talking to Pinkie Pie before I came here and she mentioned something about them.”
        “She really is odd, isn’t she? What was she going on about?”
        “I guess she could tell there was something I haven’t said to somepony.”
        “Huh. How queer. Any idea what it might be?”
        Fluttershy sank into the water a few more inches, letting out a soft sigh. “I really don’t know.”
        There was a pause as Rarity considered the situation. “I wouldn’t worry too much. You know how she can get.”
She eyed the surface of the water with a frown on her face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
        It had managed to slip her mind for a few days until she found herself nestled up on one of the sofas in Sugarcube Corner. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were locked in heated debate about the most recent Skyathalon competition.
        “I told you Dart would win!”
        “I don’t wanna hear any of that. You know as well as I do how unpredictable storms can be. How was Breezetamer supposed to know her side of the storm was gonna be rougher? There’s no way to ensure a fair, honest race!”
        “Who cares about an honest, fair race?” Rainbow put a mocking degree of stress on honest and fair. “It’s all about skill, dude!”
        Fluttershy caught Pinkie glancing over at her. What did she want this time? She was nothing if not persistent, Fluttershy had to give her that. Remembering their exchange, her breath hitched in her throat. A quick look up revealed exactly what she feared: a white balloon was floating a few feet above her. Nopony else seemed to notice so she was either going insane or Pinkie really was on to something. The second one was the most comforting.
        “I cannot believe you just said that! Why, if I had wings you wouldn’t be talkin’ so big all the time.”
        “Pssh. As if! I could take you down with or without wings!”
        “I highly doubt that.”
        “Oh yeah? C’mon Fluttershy, tell her how awesomely fast I am!”
        Oh no. “Uh, well, I think you’re both very fast. I like watching Rainbow Dash fly a lot-”
        “Hah!”
        “-But Applejack canrun really fast..”
        “Hah to you!”
        “Would you two pipe down? This whole conversation is just plain silly. It’s like comparing apples to oranges!” Twilight seemed at the end of her wits, something that even the Princess of Friendship suffered from.
        “Apples are definitely better than oranges.” Applejack beamed at her clever retort.
        “Really? Did you really just--”
        “CAAAAAAAAAKE!” Mrs. Cakes’ voice split the air, washing the tension away. For now.
        Another day. Helping the Apple family with a little bee infestation in one of their barns. No white balloon. What gave? Dropping off some freshly-collected honey to Twilight. She insisted that she stay for tea. No complaints and no white balloon. Maybe Pinkie was just kind of crazy. Some time to unwind at the lake, soft waves lapping against the banks. Breathe in, breathe out. What did she need to say? Who did she need to say it to?
        It wasn’t like she got too many chances to say much of anything. She didn’t really have a lot to add to conversations beyond platitudes but was more than capable of running her mouth on subjects she did care about. Like botany and horticulture and the care of wild animals. Nothing that came up most days, really. And still she had an incredible group of friends, despite her social reservations. Getting to know Applejack and Rainbow Dash was natural for her. Rainbow Dash was her first friend in flying school and the only one to remain after she left. She and Applejack both made their living from the earth, a bond that wasn’t easy to break.
        Rarity and Pinkie Pie definitely made interesting first impressions. Rarity had enlisted her help with what she called a vermin problem in her freshly-opened boutique and insisted Fluttershy remain afterwards to try on a few dresses. Pinkie introduced herself at the first possible moment and continued to find ways to exert her influence on Fluttershys’ personal life until they became fast friends.
        Twilight was… Twilight. The story of their friendship was quite literally a part of Equestrian history, albeit a still forming part. These girls were the cornerstones of her life and many, many more ponies played roles of every shape and size. But all this reminiscing was getting her nowhere and she knew it. She was still missing something. But what?
        “Hey Fluttershy!” A familiar voice called from behind her. There was Rainbow Dash and Applejack standing in the spring sun. They must’ve just finished some athletic demonstration, judging by their flushed complexions. “What’s up?”
        “Oh, not a whole lot. Just enjoying the sunshine.”
        “Same dude! Although I guess AJ and I were a little less… stationary.”
        This elicited a good-natured chuckle from Applejack. Fluttershy didn’t mind too much. She wasn’t as fast as a Rainbow Dash but she wasn’t a complete slowpoke. “I’m perfectly happy to sunbathe. It’s such a beautiful day!”
        “Sure is! Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a totally radcannonball calling my name.” Moments later the pegasus dove into the water, surfacing with a beaming smile on her face. Fluttershy would’ve joined her were it not for something catching her eye. There was a shape, just barely cresting a hill some ways away. A sort of vague, pink blob… Pinkie Pie? She was gesturing excitedly at her. What did she-- Oh.
        The balloon was there, above her. Why? Why did it show up one moment just to disappear the next? Fluttershy could just barely make out the form of Pinkie Pie gesturing vigorously towards the lake in front of her. In the lake were two of her friends splashing around, laughing and having fun. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then it clicked.
        The balloon didn’t show up with Twilight or Pinkie or Rarity or Applejack. It didn’t show up when she went into town. The only constant in its appearance was Rainbow Dash. And there she was, in all her… Rainbow Dash-ness. What did that entail? Loyalty, naturally. Dedication to her goals. Good-natured. Athletic. Headstrong. Maybe just a little full of herself at times. All these things and more made up her friend and it was these that made Fluttershy love her. Love? Like. Like? Oh. Oh no. She had to go.
        “Fluttershy? What’s up?”
        Those words threatened to follow her as she fled the scene. There was no way she could respond. Not right now at least.
        Home. Fluttershy was home. Deep breathing techniques. She stretched out on the couch, pulling a pillow over her head. She wanted to scream. That was a big deal. She didn’t want to scream very often because there usually wasn’t much of a reason to. But right now? Right now she’d indulge herself in yelling into the couch cushions, jettisoning as much of her frustration as possible.
        Once that was finished, she collected herself. So she felt something towards Rainbow Dash. And there was a white balloon that would never leave her alone until she told her. But how could she tell her? This wasn’t the first time she had a crush but it was the first time that the powers that be insisted she did something about it. What were you even supposed to say to that special somepony? I like you? That was too simple. You mean the world to me? Too sappy. I want to kiss you every time you say something silly? Too forward. Definitely too forward. Having a crush was hard. It was hard and nopony understands.
        Dusk followed quickly, much to Fluttershys’ chagrin. Time passed quicker when one was ocupied and boy had she been occupied. Not with much of anything, really. Just thinking. Lots and lots of thinking. Thinking that wasn’t getting her anywhere, that much was becoming painfully clear. Rainbows’ words echoed in her head: “You have to be more assertive!” The universe was clearly gifted in the ways of irony.
        All of this was leaving Fluttershy wishing it was some sort of joke, an elaborate prank concocted by her friends, (with some help from Discord, no doubt) but that didn’t seem to be the case. Just your regular case of … of what? Just another inexplicable event in a line of them that started with Twilights arrival? Just another friendship lesson or something?
        She sighed, completely spent emotionally and mentally. She dragged herself to her bed, laying in it heavily. She wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep quite yet but it’d do her some good to close her eyes. Only for a while, of course...
        An open field. The sun was shining. The scent of freshly-blooming flowers hung in the warm air. The grass waved to and fro, mesmerizing her. She sucked in a lungful of air, exhaling slowly. She was content for now. Something hovered on the edge of her mind but she paid it no heed. This was a dream, after all. No need to bring your waking worries into your sleep.
        This was a dream, wasn’t it? How strange, to be aware of your dreams. Fluttershy hummed idly. It wasn’t quite as awe-inspiring once you knew it wasn’t real but she could still enjoy herself. Looking around, it didn’t seem like there was much in her immediate area. Unfortunate, but not awful. Hmm. Why not talk some things over?
        “So. Fluttershy. You’ve got a problem.”
        “I sure do. The problem is Rainbow Dash. No, that sounds rude. She isn’t a problem at all. Is the problem me?”
        “I don’t think so? No, no I’m not. The problem is that words can be really difficult sometimes.”
        “Yeah, that’s it. Words are the problem. I know plenty of words but not the right words for the situation. What are the right words?”
        “Hmm. I don’t really know, if I’m going to be honest with you here. I was trying to figure it out but I just really don’t know.”
        “How about ‘Hey Rainbow, I like you a lot?’”
        Silence.
        “What? Is that not good enough?”
        “Gosh, I just don’t know. I’ve never really had to deal with this sort of thing before.”
        “I think sometimes all you can do is rely on yourself, you know?”
        “I rely on myself for plenty of things.”
        “But nothing like this, right? You have to trust yourself to be able to say the right things at the right time.”
        “I … I don’t know if I can do that.”
        “Sure you can! You’ve just got to pull the words out of thin air.”
        And that was the end of it. Daylight was streaming in from the windows. Time to face the music, apparently. What was the music exactly? Rainbow Dash was. Feelings were. Time for a quick visit to one tiny cloud bed to ask the greatest flier this side of the globe if she had an open schedule.
        “Hey, Rainbow, are you doing anything today?”
        “Well, I’m supposed to be at this fitting Rarity is pushing me into in a few hours but after that I’m all clear. Why?”
        “I was just wondering if you had time to hang out is all. I know how busy you can be.”
        “I’m glad somepony around here notices how much I do! Maybe when we hang out you can tell me what yesterday was all about.”
        The suspicious look from Rainbow Dash was enough to make her retreat a few steps. “Maybe I can. I’ll be waiting for you at the lake. Just so you know. Y’know.”
        “The lake sounds good. I’ll see you when I see you!”
        Back to the moment. She was waiting for Rainbow Dash to show up. How much longer would she have to wait? She really didn’t know. Punctuality was not one of her friends’ strong points. She tried to rehearse the scenario in her head. The only problem was that there was nothing to rehearse. There were no words to be said. There was nothing that came to mind at all. She’d have to wing it. Heh. Wing it. That was pretty good joke, given her circumstances. It was the best she could do at the time, at least.
        “Hey! Fluttershy! You wanted to hang out, right? What’s goin’ on?”
        “Not much, really.”
        “You sure? What about all that muck with me and Applejack? Is that ‘not much, really?’”
        She had a point there. Darn. “Oh. Hm. I guess that’s something, isn’t it?”
        “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” Rainbow tapped a hoof against the earth, making it plain that she wasn’t going to let her beat around the bush.
        “I… It’s really complicated, okay? I’ve just been thinking a lot recently and--”
        “And?”
        “And I can’t finish anything if you keep interrupting me.” Alright, Fluttershy, not bad. Just gotta bring it home, just need to tell the cyan speedfreak in front of you that she has pretty wings. Or something like that. How hard can it be? “I like you, Rainbow Dash.”
        Silence.
        “Is that it? Everypony should like me.”
        It took immense willpower to stop a giggle from escaping her lips. What a her thing to say. No time to get sidetracked, though. It was now or never. “I mean like you.”
        “Like, like like?”
        “Yes, like like.”
        It was clear that this is not how Rainbow was expecting things to go. She wore a vacant expression for a moment. Closing her open mouth she studied the ground in front of her intently, as if a response would be found in the dirt.
        “Rainbow? I know that it’s all pretty sudden and maybe you feel differently but I just--”
        “Just need to follow my advice more, is all.”
        What?
        “If you had told me like, a month ago, we could’ve totally already been dating! C’mon Fluts, have I taught you nothing?”
        “So, you’re not… You. You like me too?”
        “Fluttershy, pal, I’ve had a thing for you since things were things. Probably. The point is that I’m way too cool to show my hand too soon so I had to figure out what your move was gonna be before I made mine. Y’know?”
        “So you were scared to tell me too?”
        “I-- Yeah, I was a little scared.”
        That was enough for Fluttershy, who leaned up against her new marefriend. It felt a little weird but everything did right now. All part of the moment, right? “Just as long as we’re in the same boat.”
        “Anchors up.”
        A white balloon drifted off into the sky, carried on the lazy spring breeze.