The Shortcut

“Twilight?” Fluttershy looked less kempt than at Twilight’s last visit, probably less than Twilight had ever seen her before. Her mane was messy, and several of her feathers were bent into the wrong direction. “I... I didn’t forget a date we had, did I?”

Twilight chuckled. “No. It’s a surprise visit.” They were standing in the cottage entrance, and it was right after sunset. “Rarity told me that this is the best time of the day to pass you up.”

“Oh, uhm.” Fluttershy hesitated. “Feeding made a few problems today. I just finished, a-and...” her voice trailed off.

“I think you look cute.” She knew that Fluttershy knew how honest this little comment was, and her heart made a leap when she reacted with an adorable blush.

“Thank... you. You, uhm, didn’t plan for us to go someplace, did you?”

“At this time? No. But I did bring some food.” She levitated a basket from behind her. “Curtesy of Applejack. You said you only just finished feeding, so I take it you didn’t have dinner yet?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief. “No, I didn’t. Come in.”

“This isn’t going to become a thing, so don’t worry.” Twilight said as she entered and closed the door behind her. “The surprise visits, I mean. I know how much you like your ordered life.”

“Mh... ... you do?”

“Yeah,” Twilight simply said. It followed a silence wherein she waited for Fluttershy to say something else, and when she didn’t, Twilight just smiled and lifted the fabric off of the basket, dropping it onto the floor.

“This looks wonderful.”

“Thanks. I asked Applejack what kind of cake you like best... and when she didn’t know, I asked Pinkie.” Twilight cut a slice with her magic, lifted it up... and floated it towards Fluttershy. She gave a giggle upon the gesture, but obediently opened her mouth, allowing Twilight to feed it to her.

“Sometimes,” Fluttershy said after swallowing the bite, “I do become jealous of yours and Rarity’s magic.”

“Ah, shoot.” Remembering something upon the comment, Twilight internally slapped herself. “I forgot to bring dishes. I’m sorry. Wasn’t intentional, I promise.”

Fluttershy giggled again. “No problem.” She stood up from the floor, walking towards the kitchen. “Nothing I don’t have at home.”

“Still thoughtless of me,” Twilight murmured as Fluttershy returned with a fork and a spoon, but she just shook her head, cutting herself a slice.

“Is there any reason for your visit?” she asked. “Not that I wouldn’t appreciate it either way.”

“Ah... yes, there is. But I can’t tell you.”

“Oh. Another surprise?”

“Yeah, but not a scary one.”

Fluttershy giggled – the fact that this was the third time since her visit wasn’t lost on Twilight, and it brought her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, something which was magnified tenfold when Fluttershy reached over to give her a hug.

“Thanks for everything, Twilight.”

Twilight’s cheeks burned, but she still managed a smile. “It’s a pleasure.” Then, eager to change the subject, “Pinkie visited me yesterday.”

“Oh. She didn’t ask you for a wish, did she?”

“No. She thought I had been worrying too much lately-”

“Do you think she was right?” Fluttershy uncharacteristically interrupted her.

“She was,” Twilight admitted with a small sigh. “She wanted to do something to distract me. I didn’t feel like playing a board or a card game, but I said that I’d like to test how much she really knows about everypony, so in the end, we spent the evening walking around town while I asked her random questions about ponies passing by.” She made a break, taking another bite. “It was pretty impressive.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Mostly simple facts about their lives. Favorite color, birthday, favorite food, that kind of stuff. Nothing private.”

“Mh...” Fluttershy yawned. “I remember when she threw me my first birthday party. Instead of inviting half the town, it was only her and Rainbow Dash, and we spent a... well...” A soft giggle, leading into another yawn. “Not really a quiet evening, but it was still nice. Back then I didn’t even know how her parties normally look like. But we’ve been friends ever since.”

“So you’ve met her before AJ and Rarity?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Pinkie knew everypony, and everypony knew Pinkie, but the rest of us only became friends because of you. Except for Rainbow Dash and me, of course, and her and Applejack.” Another yawn made her cover her muzzle with a front limb.

“Do you want us to sit onto the couch?”

“Uhm...” Fluttershy hesitated, throwing a look at the basket, which was all but emptied. But then she nodded, allowing Twilight to guide her to the couch at the end of the room. Fluttershy dropped down, immediately sinking into the cushion, and Twilight sat down next to her.

“I have no idea why I’m so tired...”

“No problem,” Twilight murmured, smiling, but with a beating heart. She wanted to hold the pegasus for what was to come, but she didn’t know how much liberty she really had. At first she hesitated, but then, she moved past her constraints. It was worth the risk.

Unseen by Fluttershy, something else flew out of the basket.

It was the quintessential absence of fear and worries that was one of the most precious feelings in the world to Fluttershy, and one that was all too rare in everyday life. But here, in this vast garden of sheer, expansive beauty, nothing was there to bother her, nothing frightening, nothing hasty. A smile on her face, she flew over a collective of green and red bushes with gentle flaps, coming to a soft landing in front of two gorgeous fountains that spread their colorless liquid among the fauna around.

This was a nice place to rest. A nice place to sit and enjoy the calamity of the moment.

The seconds slowly crept by while she sat still, watching her surroundings which gradually shifted upon her lone gaze, from the artistically designed garden, divided into square sections by an array of marvel tile, into a wide and natural meadow, sprinkled with flowers in a wide variety of colors.

Only the two fountains remained, casting their water upwards and around...

Suddenly, the falling liquid was caught in a purple cloud. Rather than falling down, it was kept afloat, hovering in mid air, until it began to slowly circle the fountains...

Turning her head, she could see Twilight standing behind her, a smile on her face. At the same moment, the question of where she was made itself known, immediately shattering the blissful nescience of the entire scenario. The fountains that poured water out of nowhere, the endless meadow of fantastical flowers and grassy soil, it all seemed to flicker for a moment... until it stabilized again.

“I fell asleep?” Fluttershy murmured. “Where...” ...had she been?

And then, “Oh...”

Twilight had been visiting her. It had been their second meeting, or date if she wanted to call it that. Fluttershy bit her lip. How could she have fallen asleep?

She cast the dream-Twilight a nervous look. If dream-Twilight was her mind’s projection of the real Twilight, then maybe she could learn something by talking to her? Even though it was an experiment that was more likely to end with her waking up than anything else... but waking up was something she should probably do anyway.

And it was too good of a chance to pass up.

“Are you mad that I fell asleep?” she asked. Twilight smiled, stepping even closer.

“No,” she said. Then, in a soft whisper, “I’m here, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. “Twilight?” she asked disbelievingly. “Then... d-does this mean you...?”

Still smiling, Twilight took a final step forward. “I chose this as my wish,” she whispered, answering the unspoken question. “I thought a lot about it, and once I got the idea to surprise you this way, I just couldn’t pass it up. I hope you don’t mind the invasion of your privacy... and that I moved a bit closer after you fell asleep.”

“I...” Fluttershy stocked, overwhelmed by the reality of the moment. “N-no...”

“Look ahead.”

Fluttershy nodded numbly, doing as she was told.

“Now... think of something. I spent a lot of time working on the exact phrasing of the wish, and I made sure that it grants full control to the dreamer. Whatever you want, you can make it.”

Whatever she wanted...

Her heartbeat accelerated when she realized what Twilight was asking her to do. She was fully conscious inside her own dream, and she could do or create whatever she liked. It was something which surely everypony wished for at some point during their childhood.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, waiting... one second, two, three. Then she opened them again. She could hear the soft swashing of water against a shore even before the meadow parted in front of her eyes, giving way to a white beach and an ocean of crystal clear water.

“Predictable, I know,” Fluttershy murmured, with a blush and a coy smile.

“Never mind that. Just make whatever your heart tells you to.”

Fluttershy nodded, smiling again. Before them, but so far away that it was only barely visible against the overhanging fog, a castle arose from the depths of the water. Enormous, distant, majestic, beautiful. Fluttershy hadn’t been sure how well she’d be able to do it, but it looked exactly as she remembered.

“I used to dream of this when I was young,” she said, trembling under a sudden surge of nostalgia. “The castle was something that appeared in my dreams almost every night. And it was always like this, always far away, just barely visible. No matter what I did, I could never get closer.”

Twilight said nothing to that, only staring at the building from afar, until...

“Do you want to go inside?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy turned her head. The smile on Twilight’s face had vanished, replaced by a solemn and difficult to read expression.

“Inside? But I just thought it up. What would we find there?”

“I have no idea. But... you created the castle, and it’s now there. If you leave it as is, then there will be something inside... unless the point has always been that it’s empty, then that something is nothing. I... I considered these kinds of possibilities when I chose the wish. I never thought I’d use it on the first time, but... we can go inside, if you want to. Your choice.”

Fluttershy’s gaze was fixated on one of the castle’s towers, and now, a new sense of excitement dwelt up inside her. She had dreamt of this place countless times in her fillyhood, and countless times had she asked herself what was inside. And now...

“Let’s do it.”

She had to know.

Twilight nodded, then she gave Fluttershy a questioning look. For a few moments, neither of them did anything, until Twilight began to trot forward. The soil under her hooves gave way to sand, and soon after, she made contact with the water. Fluttershy followed, feeling several new emotions overlaying with her excitement as she watched Twilight slowly tread forward into the sea.

She had of course seen her in full before, but this was different. Now, it was only the two of them, and at a place that was a literal product of her imagination. A soft wind blew at Twilight’s mane as she trod further into the water, until she gave up walking and did her first strokes, carrying her towards the distant castle. Fluttershy may have been shy to a fault, and often incapable of expressing her emotions, but she was far from insensible.

Her mouth was dry as she followed, swimming right next to her friend. Twilight briefly turned her head, and Fluttershy could see her blush when their eyes met. Hastily, Twilight turned her eyes back ahead.

“Do I, uhm, have to do anything to reach it? What if it just stays far away, like it always used to?”

The question served mostly to distract herself, but it still seemed to work.

“Imagine that we will reach it,” said Twilight. “Your subconsciousness may want to keep the castle hidden from you, but your conscious decisions will always have the last word, as long as you’re linked to me.” A pause. “Can I... touch your feathers?”

“Uhm... I... sure?”

Twilight turned around. Her mane was now soaking wet, and the way it hung from her head on both sides made her look entirely different from normal. Fluttershy could see her biting her lip before she reached out with a shivering limb, gently stroking her left wing. Then she drew back, shaking her head.

“Sorry. No idea what that was about. Let’s continue?”

“Yeah.”

Twilight turned around, making a few firm strokes as if to bring a bit of distance between herself and Fluttershy, but halting only a few moments later.

“Sorry,” she said again as Fluttershy had caught up with her, turning her head but continuing her strokes forward. “I know it’s not my place, there’s just... something about this place... something about the water...”

“Think nothing of it.” Fluttershy let out a long breath, moving her gaze back ahead. They hadn’t been swimming for long, but distance had no meaning in this place. The castle was close now, and before she had even finished this thought, Twilight took her first steps onto the ground, the ascending hill that led toward the castle’s entrance.

There was no sand here, only soil and grass. Before her, the castle stretched itself into the air, a relict of her memory, a monument of stone and marble.

“Twilight...”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad I can share this with you. And I... I want you to see it first.”

She had not intended to say this until she heard the words coming out of her mouth... but knew them to be true.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy now turned around, now facing her friend directly. “I know that you love me, Twilight. I know you haven’t said it yet, but you show it to me in every moment. And I appreciate it more than I can say, and I want nothing more but to love you back, and I... I think I can. I... I think I’m starting to.” She gulped. “I... you gave up the wish that would have given you want you wanted from me... and I know you also did it for me... and for the others. And... and I hope... I think that it won’t matter. I think I’m starting to love you back, Twilight. But... but if it doesn’t work out, if what I’m starting to feel... doesn’t grow... or if it doesn’t stay... I just... I need you to know that I’ll always be there for you. If not as a lover, then as a friend. And this... I... I... I really want to share this with you. Whatever it is, I want you to see it. Please?”

Twilight’s lips had slowly parted while Fluttershy had spoken, and now she could see them quivering. Her words had broken the invisible barrier between them, and now...

“I love you.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I know. Now go inside, will you?”

Twilight nodded. On shaky hooves, she ascended the staircase that led toward the castle’s entrance. It was guarded by a tall and heavy wooden door, but it immediately swung open upon Twilight’s gentle push. Then, she disappeared out of sight.

One second passed, then another... and another.

“What do you see? Is it bad?” She couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She had to know.

“No...” Twilight’s voice lifted the fear off her heart. “No... not bad.”

Flapping her wings, Fluttershy sped towards the entrance, eager to finally see... what had been hidden for so long...

She passed through the door, the castle’s insides now directly in front of her.

“... oh.” The realization, the release of tension, a gulp, and a giggle. “... oh... ...” She laughed, and soon after, Twilight joined.

“Well,” Fluttershy said “I guess that does make sense, in its own way.”

“Yeah.” Twilight snickered, rubbing away a tear from the corner of her eye. “No, it really does. I guess it’s just not what you expected.”

Fluttershy nodded, and then, she turned around and gave Twilight a kiss. Whether it was out of gratitude, sympathy, or just a way to deal with the aftermath of her emotional rollercoaster she didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. At the moment, it was what she wanted to do, no more, no less, and after they parted, she felt no regrets.

“This... this still doesn’t mean that I...” Fluttershy began.

“I know.”

Fluttershy nodded. “And if we do end up together, then this hasn’t been our first kiss. After all, nothing of this is real.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m fine with that.”

“Good.” Fluttershy giggled, then she leaned forward, and Twilight took her into a warm, caring embrace.

“Mhh...” She yawned. It probably wasn’t possible to fall asleep whilst in a dream, but right now, she felt so exhausted that she thought she might aswell.

“... next time, I want to visit one of your dreams...”