She simply laid there.
Waiting.
Hoping.
She winced slightly as the cold rain pelted her yellow coat, the icy needles stabbing against her sensitive body. It was hard to see as her long, pink mane clung to her face, obscuring her vision along with the storm, both working against her. One wing pinned against her body and the floor, the other spread out, trying to protect her body.
She was tired. So tired.
The exhausted mare could barely muster the strength to lift her head to view her surroundings for the umpteenth time.
The view hadn’t changed. Everything around her was gray and brown. Large cliffs reached the sky above her, a place she would never grow very fond of, casting their large, ominous shadows over her, blocking her from the outside word.
She was trapped in a ravine a long ways from Ponyville.
She groaned as she tried to adjust herself against the stony floor and away from the small stream that was slowly pooling around her. She gently pushed herself with her hooves until her back met the encasing rock.
Adjusting herself until she was sitting up, she looked to the sky and hoped.
~~~
“Check this out Fluttershy!”
The scrawny, yellow, pegasus filly stood up on her cloud to greet the owner of the voice before growing woozy and flopping down on the soft surface. Craning her neck instead, she was unprepared for the cyan, rainbow maned torpedo that crashed into her, knocking her onto her back.
Shaking her head to remove the stars in her vision, Fluttershy looked up only to be met with a sheet of paper hitting her squarely in the face.
“I finally passed the entrance exam to get into Flight School! There’s no way a stupid school is going to split us up! We’ll show those suckers at Flight School how flying is really done!”
Fluttershy carefully moved the paper so that she could see that her friend hadn’t been lying. Rainbow Dash had indeed made it into Flight School. Setting the paper aside, she looked up to see magenta eyes excitedly looking at her.
All she could do was smile.
~~~
Fluttershy smiled at the memory. It was their first adventure. She and Rainbow Dash were going to take on the world together.
She stopped smiling and curled into herself as a particularly strong gust of wind raced through the ravine. She trembled as she clenched her eyes closed. It was almost as strong as the current that caught her and sent her flying into the dangerous recesses of the Everfree Forest.
After the wind had passed, she pulled her hooves even tighter as sobs shook her weathered body as a realization dawned on her. She’d never see any of them again.
She’d never see Twilight roll her eyes as she made yet another book reference that no one in the group understood.
Never wished for Pinkie to just jump out and startle her.
The spa days with Rarity were forever lost to her.
Helping Applejack catch Winona she’d catch glimpse of Opal off in the distance.
And she would never stare in awe as Rainbow Dash played with the clouds above her home without a care in the world, tough façade dropped, completely trusting her yellow friend.
She sobbed as she shivered.
~~~
“Fluttershy! That was so awesome! Did you see it? I was all voom! Swoosh! And then, Bam! Cutie mark! And even you got yours! What did I tell you, we do everything together!”
Fluttershy sat as she watched Rainbow Dash excitedly reenact the infamous race. It may have sent her toppling, but she didn’t hold it against her blue friend. She gained her cutie mark. Three pristine, pink butterflies now adorned her flank and she couldn’t be happier.
She giggled when Rainbow Dash tripped over herself trying to replicate the sonic rainboom. Standing up, she made her way over to her dizzy friend and wrapped a wing around her. Looking down, she saw grinning magenta eyes meet her own blue ones.
“Fluttershy, we’ll do everything together, right?”
She stared back as she realized that Rainbow Dash had not only placed butterflies on her flank, but in her heart, before softly replying.
“Together.”
“Forever.”
~~~
Her sobbing had quietly subsided as she recalled the memory. The butterflies were still there, even after all the years. Sometimes they fluttered softly, usually when the pegasi were together, casually enjoying the other’s company. Sometimes they created a whirlwind, mostly when she was a spectator to Rainbow Dash’s great feats.
She smiled softly as she recalled their time together.
Battling Nightmare Moon.
Defeating Discord.
The Best Young Flyers Competition.
Their changeling invasion of Canterlot.
The picnics.
The late night stargazing.
Catching up after a long day of work.
The time Rainbow Dash was sick with the feather flu.
Each memory was a stab to her heart as she quietly wished that there were more memories to make.
Just like she promised.
Together forever.
~~~
A soft voice broke the silence.
“Fluttershy?”
The pink maned pegasus turned to look at her suddenly quiet companion.
“Now that we’re both fully grown mares we’re probably going to be go our separate ways.”
Fluttershy didn’t like where her normally outspoken friend was going. She didn’t want to interrupt, so she just fidgeted in her seat and bowed her head, pink hair obscuring her face.
“I just want to make sure that wherever life decides to take us, you’ll always be my best friend and I’ll always be by your side, promise. Besides, we can’t really take on the world together if we’re not even friends, you know? And don’t worry, we’ll see each other again. I don’t know when, but I can feel it in my gut. We’ll meet up again. Just you wait.”
Fluttershy was beginning to softly cry when she felt a soft coat of fur nuzzle the top of her head. Feeling it might be the last time they were going to be together like this, she roughly buried her muzzle into the crook of her friend’s neck as she continued to cry.
Slightly shocked by her Fluttershy’s uncharacteristic response, she relaxed before pulling her into one of the fiercest hugs she’d ever given.
One of goodbye.
One of promise.
Of hope for their future.
~~~
Realizing that the storm had temporarily broken, Fluttershy raised her head as she heard the soft patter of claws scurry across the earth. Looking over, she saw a simple squirrel. There was nothing special about it, except that at that very moment, that simple squirrel meant the world to her.
Locking gazes with the furry creature for a mere second, her eyes then widened and she tried to raise her tired hoof in dismay, trying to prevent the animal from leaving. She tried calling to it, but her throat was raw from yelling for help during the sudden storm when she was swept away.
She could only watch as the squirrel made its way up the ravine and towards freedom.
The rain and wind had started up again, stronger than before.
Never had she felt more alone and abandoned.
She couldn’t feel anything except defeat.
So she closed her eyes and remembered.
~~~
She could only imagine the look on her face as she nearly fainted in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting it, much less see it coming. It was very hard to see a rainbow colored kamikaze heading its way toward you after all.
“FLUTTERSHY!!!”
She only had three seconds to look in surprise as she was met with a flying torpedo in the next seven. She was frozen on the spot as she was toppled over, landing on her back. All she was aware of was a weight on her stomach, and a voice she knew all too well.
“Took me some time, but I finally found you. Las Pegasus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and Baltimare was kind of lame. So I decided, why not check up on my old pal from Cloudsdale? Then I found this place. Kinda nice. So I got a deed, and built a cloud home here. Make it my base for when I go on adventures and stuff, and then who do I see? You! Looks like the universe really does want us together, huh?”
Fluttershy blinked and she twitched in shock. Rainbow Dash was oblivious to the plight of her shy friend’s shock, all while talking a mile a minute, completely reminiscent of a certain pink pony she knew. But unlike the party pony, Fluttershy hadn’t heard this excited speech in years.
Relaxing slightly, she looked up to get a better look at her assailant and couldn’t help but lose control of her wings as they slowly spread out to their full length, all while being uncomfortable pinned under her and Rainbow Dash.
She blushed as she noticed the years had been good to her winged friend. Her body was sleeker and stronger than she remembered. Her multi-colored mane had grown longer and beautifully fell across her neck. The excited magenta eyes had grown even more vibrant than she thought possible.
She had no control over herself as she lifted her head and nuzzled her friend as she heard a softness on Rainbow’s voice that she thought she’d never hear again.
“Did you miss me?”
She smiled into the blue coat as she softly replied.
“Of course.”
She felt her heart soar when she felt herself being nuzzled back,
~~~
She wasn’t shivering anymore, and the storm seemed to have stopped, but she could still hear it.
She felt warmth.
Curious, she opened her eyes and gasped quietly in disbelief at what she saw. Her rainbow, watching out into the deep shadows of the ravine.
Ever watchful.
Carefully turning to look, she saw a strong blue wing spread out across her body, tucking her against the warmth of Rainbow Dash.
Her normally windswept mane was dripping with water and her coat was matted.
Noticing that Rainbow Dash was shivering lightly, Fluttershy pressed herself closer to her brash companion. Looking up, her tired, blue eyes met loving, magenta ones. There was a brief understanding before either one of them spoke.
“I looked everywhere for you, and if it wasn’t for your furry friend, I never would’ve have found you. I sent your friend back for help, but until help comes, I’m not leaving you, even if it means we’re stuck at the bottom of some hole.I told you I’d always be there for you, and I meant it.”
Fluttershy tried to giggle, but her sore throat only let her cough in response. At the sound, the blue wing could only wrap itself tighter around the weary pegasus in a desperate attempt to stay warm.
Rainbow Dash wrapped herself around Fluttershy as she adamantly spoke.
“Together.”
Fluttershy smiled as she buried her head into a brightly colored mane before hoarsely reciting a reply she knew all too
well.
“Forever.”
