Never Grow Apart

Chapters

Chapter 1: What the Heart Wants...
Chapter 2: ...It Can't Have
Chapter 3: The Heart is Free...
Chapter 5: ...To Follow It
Chapter 6: Flutter's Dash and the Start of Something New
Chapter 4: ...So Find the Courage...

Chapter 1: What the Heart Wants...

The cafeteria was buzzing with life, and a new but familiar face was sitting amongst our cherished group of friends. Twilight eyed her lunch wearily, considering how different it was from the usual food at Crystal Prep. The school lunches that were served there were so healthy, but not here at Canterlot High. Everyone else was chowing down like there was no tomorrow, except for Fluttershy and Rarity. They at least were eating with some level of grace, but they were actually eating this stuff!

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and baked beans in a sugary syrup dribbled and slopped against the sides of her tray as Twilight picked at all the ingredients with a plastic fork.

"It ain't that bad." Applejack chuckled as she pushed her hat back on her head to slurp loudly on her beans. "Probably ain't that hoity toity kinda food ya'll 'er used to, but Ah'm sure ya'll 'er gonna like it just as much."

Rarity shrugged daintily. "Mn...I've never had an appreciation for such fatty cuisine, but it is nice every once in a while."

A loud munching and slurping sound came from the boisterous and energetic girl, her poofy hair bouncing with each chomp. Fluttershy eyed her with a shocked expression as she watched Pinkie's tray get completely licked clean. "I'm done!" Pinkie shouted with an inappropriate amount of joy as she jumped up and raced toward the kitchen line again. "Seconds, here I come!"

Twilight felt the urge to hold back a laugh. After so many years at Crystal Prep, she wasn't sure how to act around such open people, or even friends for that matter. "Um...so what do you eat first?" She asked as she picked up the chicken thigh. "This?"

"Have you ever had chicken before?" Rarity asked.

"No, I have." Twilight nodded her head. "But I don't think I've ever had it fried before."

"Oh ya'll gotta just dig in!" Applejack eventually put her hat down next to her side after getting fed up with it. "Here, try eatin' it like this." To demonstrate, she bit off a piece of the skin by the larger end of her chicken leg and chuckled.

Twilight's hunger began to outweigh her hesitation, so she gave it a go by herself. The powerful flavor almost overwhelmed her instantly, making her teeth carve deep caves into the flesh of her lunch. "Mnnnnn!!!" Her voice hopefully conveyed the happiness she felt from the very unfortunate beast she was devouring.

Rarity couldn't help but turn away and sigh. "It would seem we have another food fiend in our midst." Fluttershy just stared at her tray as she only ate one little bean at a time.

Pinkie came back, her tray already half empty as she sat down, her mouth stuffed full. "Mnnn! Thith ith greath chickenth!" She spat tiny bits of food as she spoke. "Are you gonna eath thath?" She asked, pointing at Fluttershy, then at her tray. A shake of the head was all she needed to scoop the contents of Fluttershy's tray onto her own.

"How on earth are you so skinny, dear?" Rarity asked more with grumbling jealousy than anything else.

There was a loud clang of the cafeteria's doors being burst open with an emerging Rainbow Dash running inside, her body clammy with sweat and her hair in a cute little ponytail. "You guys!" She hollered much louder than necessary, almost knocking over three little crusaders carrying jello deserts while running towards her table of friends. "You're not gonna believe this!"

Rarity immediately scooted away from Dash when she sat down right next to her of all places, worried that some of that somehow sweet smelling musk might get on her lovely cardigan sweater. "Rainbow Dash!" She protested in earnest. "PUHLEASE tell me you took a shower after gym class."

"Who has time for showers???" Dash looked around the table. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were sitting opposite of her with their mouths stuffed. "I just got picked for the captain of the soccer team again this year!"

Applejack reached her hand clear across Twilight's face to cover Pinkie's mouth. In a fit of excitement, Pinkie yelled a cheer of "Super duper!" muffled by the food being spit out against Applejack's palm. Fluttershy was sitting directly across from Pinkie, so she used her empty tray as a shield against any oncoming food particles.

Rarity huffed in annoyance. "See, now look what you have accomplished!" She sighed indignantly while pulling a wet-wipe out of her purse, handing it to Applejack.

Pinkie swallowed. "I'm so so sorry! I just couldn't help it!" She sounded a lot less sorry and more happy than her words implied. "This is such super duper amazing-tastic news!"

"It's fine." Applejack chuckled towards Rarity as she wiped her hands. "Kinda was expectin' that."

Twilight smiled appreciatively at her. "You have incredible reflexes, Applejack. It makes me wonder what other external stimuli might trigger such an adaptive physical response."

"Would you please forget about Applejack's crazy country reflexes???" Dash sounded annoyed now that the spotlight had been taken away from her. "This is a big deal for me!"

"Hardly a big deal, darling." Rarity shook her head and pulled out a small mirror to admire herself with. "You were the captain of the team last year too."

"And the year before that..." Fluttershy meekly spoke up. When Dash groaned at her, she squeaked and looked away. "...B-But you're right. It's a big deal."

"I didn't know you were the captain of the team." Twilight said. "I didn't even know you played sports."

"Rainbow Dash's been the captain of our team even 'n middle school." Applejack picked her hat back up and straightened it on her head.

"And the softball team." Rarity sighed.

"And the basketball team." Fluttershy added.

"It's true." Dash giggled. "All true."

"That's quite the accomplishment." Twilight smiled with knowing appreciation. "I've never met anyone who could play that many sports."

"Well, my middle name is Awesome, you know." Dash giggled again, making Rarity roll her eyes at the mirror.

"No it's not." Pinkie said. "I've seen your birth certificate."

"It is too my na-" Dash stopped and glared at her. "When did you see my birth certificate?"

"On the internet." Pinkie snorted with a giggle. "I've looked up alllll my friend's birth certificates on the internet." She pointed at Applejack. "You're blood type is O negative," She pointed at Fluttershy, "Your birth weight was only 6 pounds," She pointed finally at Dash, "And you don't have a middle name!"

"Pinkie, why did you look up everyone's birth certificates?" Twilight asked, "And how???"

"Easy! All you have to do is go onto the city government website and search by birth year!"

"But...why?" Applejack shrugged her shoulders with her palms up at the ceiling.

"Hey, you never know if one of your friends needs a pint of blood!" She pushed Twilight back a little bit on her seat and narrowed her eyes at Applejack while leaning forward to get nose to nose with her. "When you get a bloody nose that lasts for a week, you'll thank me!"

"Ohhhhkkkaayy!" Dash put her hands up. "If we're done talking about blood-"

"Gross." Twilight pushed Pinkie back to her seat.

"Then I have another important piece of news." Dash continued. "I have to quit the other teams except for soccer."

"What???" Rarity actually sounded shocked. "But sports is your passion, darling!" It wasn't like her to get so animated about sports, but if Dash felt strongly about playing sports as she did about fashion, then this actually was big news

Dash sighed. "I know...but it's not that big a deal. I can't lead all the teams by myself, and even if I wanted to, I have to focus on just one sport."

"Why's that?" Applejack had to ask. "Ya'll didn't have a problem with it before. Why now?"

"Cause there's going to be a big soccer tournament for the entire city coming up, and Canterlot High was actually invited to play!"

"The Horseshoe Haven Soccer City Finals?" Twilight asked.

"How did you know that?" It was Dash's turn to sound surprised.

"Crystal Prep has trophies for the past ten years for placing first in that tournament. I passed by them every day to class."

"Great..." Dash growled. "Crystal Prep...Of course."

"Oh, I'm sure you can beat them..." Fluttershy tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible. "...You're the best soccer player I know."

"Ya'll just need to train extra hard." Applejack flashed her a quick thumbs up. "Ah'm sure yer team's gonna put those high fallootin city folk in their place." She winced and turned to Twilight next to her. "Sorry."

Twiilght giggled and shook her head. "It's ok. I never really did like those soccer players back at my old school."

"Hey, yeah!" Dash thrust her fist into the air, nearly sending Rarity backwards next to her. "I just have to train extra hard! I'm gonna hit the fields every morning before school to practice!"

"That's the spirit!" Applejack nodded in approval.

"Can you say BEST SOCCER TEAM EVER???" Pinkie shrieked up at the ceiling. The whole cafeteria went dead silent except for someone making a cough.

Dash awkwardly began to talk again. "I'll...just ignore that." She looked around the table and noticed someone was missing. "Where's Sunset?"

"Um, I think she said something about..." Fluttershy tried hard to remember. "...speaking to Principal Celestia."

"I do hope it's nothing serious." Rarity finally put down the mirror and ran a hand over her hair with a charming smile, earning the glances of a few boys in the cafeteria.

"Is she ok?" Dash asked.

"She seemed fine when she up 'n left earlier." Applejack nodded her head. "She didn't seem upset 'er anythin'."

"I'm sure she's fine." Twilight tried to sound reassuring. "I get the feeling Principal Celestia isn't a mean principal."

"She's pretty nice." Pinkie added. "And she's a Capricorn! You know what that meeaaannns!"

"No...I don't, actually." Twilight tried to think. "I know a lot about our calender horoscope system, and-"

Dash put a finger over her mouth and shook her head. "Just...let that one go. You may have noticed already, but Pinkie is kinda...out there."

"You are such a Scorpio." Pinkie stuck her tongue out at her for a moment.

A loud ring of the school wide bell sounded, making everyone nearly jump. "Oh wait!!!" Dash sounded panicked. "I didn't even get a chance to eat yet!"

"Probably cause you were talking too much and you forgot, silly!" Pinkie giggled again, and Dash was beginning to grow even more annoyed. Dash lunged for the rest of the chicken on Pinkie's tray and jumped up. "Hey! Those are my tasty bird legs!"

"See you guys later!" Dash began running off as the rest of the students in the cafeteria rose from their seats.

-o0o-

Right after school, Dash knew exactly where she needed to go. She prided herself on always being the first one to warm up on the field, but someone had beaten her to the grass. "Sunset???" Dash gasped when she saw the flaming hair of the missing lunchmate.

"Oh hey, Rainbow." Sunset stood with her arms crossed wearing the usual school gym clothes. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Are you on the soccer team now?" Dash asked, feeling a mixture of confusion and excitement as she stopped in front of her.

"Sure am!" Sunset said proudly. "I've always wanted to be on a sports team, and we aren't in high school forever."

"This is awesome! Finally! I have one of my friends on the team!" Dash pumped her fist into the air. "I've been trying to get Applejack to play a sport with me, but she always turns me down. What made you wanna play now?"

"Well, I heard how excited you were about the upcoming tournament when I was talking to the other players in my gym class. I asked Principal Celestia if it wasn't too late to join the team, but she made an exception for me. Something about needing to interact more with the rest of the school. Isn't this going to be fun?"

"So much fun!" Dash threw up her hand, and Sunset high-fived it. "Hey, you wanna practice a bit before the rest of the team gets here? I can be goalie."

"You sure?" Sunset smirked. "I'll probably score the whole time."

"Yeah right." Dash snorted. "You won't even get one ball past me."

"We'll just see about that." Sunset walked over to a stray soccer ball on the grass and began bouncing it against her knees and the top of her head with ease.

Dash gulped. "Looks like I finally have a challenge."

"Oh yoo-hoo!" Rarity called out to them from the edge of the field. Along side her stood the rest of the girls. "We'll be at the coffee shop if you girls want to join us after practice."

"Ok!" Dash waved back at them.

"Since when did Sunset start playin' soccer?" Applejack asked her friends standing next to her. "Was this what she was talkin' to Principal Celestia about?"

"Nevermind them, dear." Rarity let out a dainty little yawn as she covered her mouth with her fingers. "Right now, coffee is our priority."

Twilight pushed her glasses back against the bridge of her nose and smiled. "I could go for a cappuccino right now since I have some studying to catch up on."

Pinkie waved with both arms rapidly at the two girls on the field. "HEYYY!" She shouted much louder than necessary as usual. "We're meeting for coffee later!"

"We heard you!" Dash yelled back and began stretching her arms over her head.

Pinkie beamed. "Ok!" She quickly turned and began skipping down the side of the field with the rest of the girls chatting behind while following her. All the girls, except Fluttershy, who took a seat with her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Are you coming, dear?" Rarity asked. "I can cover for you, if you like."

"O-Oh...um...no that's ok. I'll be there in a bit. I um...I'll just watch them play for a few minutes."

"Ah didn't know ya liked soccer." Applejack looked at her with a slightly worried expression, but she remained cheerful nonetheless. "Is somethin' on yer mind, sugarcube?"

"I'm ok." Fluttershy nodded her head and looked back at the two on the field. "I...just wanna watch them for a bit."

"Alright then." Applejack gave her a quick hug and said, "See ya'll later than."

"Just try not to be too late, dear." Rarity patted the top of her head, and she and Applejack left her to sit by herself.

For a few minutes, Fluttershy observed Dash and Sunset kicking the ball back forth to each other. Sunset seemed pretty nimble on her feet, but her eyes constantly followed the short flowing rainbow hair of the one she truly felt captivated by. Dash's intensity and enthusiasm was incredibly high as ever out there, making her wonder what it would be like to share a common interest with that high energy girl.

It dawned on her that she felt, to a small degree at least, a bit jealous. She wasn't necessarily jealous of Sunset so much as she was jealous of everyone else that Dash could play with and enjoy time together while playing sports. It was a passion that she couldn't share even if she tried, and it bothered her. How many years had she been watching her dear friend, only to be sitting in the shadows of the trees and the bleachers of every game, wondering if Dash even noticed she was there...

A familiar warmth radiated in her chest as her mind, for the millionth time, pondered her relationship with Dash. It was more of a lack of a relationship that bothered her. They officially met in high school, but she had watched Dash all through middle school although they never actually talked once. It hurt her feelings quite a bit when Dash introduced herself for the first time as a stranger even though Fluttershy knew almost everything about her.

Again, even during practice as all the players reached the field, she was destined to sit her by herself, longing to somehow be close to her.

Fluttershy had begun to recognize her strange emotional and physical attraction to Dash in the last year of middle school, but for some reason, she had always been at peace about it falling for another girl. It happened all the time nowadays, and she even knew some girl classmates that dated each other. Watching them together always did hurt her a little inside as she wondered if she was destined to be alone like this, but she never did give up hope.

Since they became friends, Dash would sometimes wave at her from the field when she was playing a game. That made her heart leap with joy, even for just a brief moment, and that's what made her come back to watch every time.

Some trivial thought crossed her mind that suddenly made her blush intensely. Fluttershy knew that there was another world somewhere out there where she and Dash were also friends, living lives as ponies. As silly as it sounded, it was true. Were they close in that other world? Maybe...just maybe they might actually be something more. At that moment, she honestly would have given anything just to be that other Fluttershy to see if such an improbable reality existed. Maybe in that other world they had actually kissed at one point.

A small tear trickled down her cheek, and she giggled at herself more in anger than amusement as she wiped it away. "Fluttershy...you can be so dumb sometimes." She scolded herself internally while focusing her attention back towards the practice.

Dash moved with incredible coordination and speed, working well together with Sunset as they double-teamed goal after goal together, trading high-fives each time. That exhilarating feeling filled Dash, and each time that happened, she always had a habit to look towards the stands or the side of the field to wave at Fluttershy. In the back of her mind, she always remembered she had a constant fan who came to watch her play every time.

A bright smile shown across Shy's face as she returned the wave she had been waiting for the whole time. There it was. An incredibly intense sense of longing consumed her as she lowered her hand after the brief wave.

Fluttershy clenched her small fingers together against the palms of her hands as she made a promise to herself. Somehow, she would find a way to be closer to Dash. Just like Sunset, she also knew that high school wouldn't last forever, and eventually she wouldn't be able to watch Dash play anymore.

The sun had moved farther down towards the horizon into her face, and Fluttershy realized that it had been much longer than just a few minutes since she had been sitting there. If she didn't leave right away, the rest of her friends might actually suspect something was wrong. Very begrudgingly, she got up from the grass and began walking down the street. Each step she took away from the soccer field made her heart break a tiny bit. The only thing she could do was hope Dash would come to coffee later instead of going straight home.

"Awesome!" Dash threw her fists into the air as she and Sunset scored one last time before both sides had to switch positions to practice defense. "Did you see that?"

Sunset was breathing rather heavily, unaccustomed to heavy amounts of running. "Y-Yeah! You sure know what you're doing out there."

Dash slapped her back and smirked. "Yeah, but you are doing really good for your first day."

"I don't think I can keep up anymore though." Sunset heaved a big breath. "My legs are about to give out."

"Take a break if you need to. I gotta have you fresh for the games coming up! Oh, I think Fluttershy is still here somewhere. You can go sit next to her for a bit if you..." She trailed off as her eyes scanned the edges of the field, unable to find the small girl anywhere. She felt a bit sad now that her number one fan was gone. She had never admitted it, but a lot of her motivation came from having a friend constantly there to smile at her. "Huh...I guess she left. Whatever." Dash realized that she had a good friend on the team now, so Fluttershy's absence didn't feel like a big deal.

"I think we're gonna break for some water." Sunset began walking towards the building of the school gym. "You coming?"

Dash hesitated for just a moment. "S-Sure." She nodded. "Right behind you."

-o0o-

Even though she knew she was late for coffee, Shy only took small steps as she made her way into town. She just couldn't bring herself to go any faster. All she wanted to do was return to the field and watch her dear Dash run like crazy in the excitement of her practice. If she decided to turn back now, they would probably be done already on the field, and there was no point now since she found herself staring at the front doors of the coffee shop with her friends visibly inside. She had spent the entire hour walking all the way over here internally debating, and the waste of time made her heart sink.

With a great big sigh, she stepped inside.

Twilight had a notebook open as she sipped her coffee, and Applejack and Pinkie were playing a retro board game. Rarity was sitting comfortably in the big corner booth they all clustered in, thoroughly enjoying her iced coffee. When Fluttershy walked into the coffee shop and approached, Rarity smiled up at her.

"Now I know you said you didn't need me to buy you anything," Rarity patted the spot next to her and smiled. "But I thought you might like something anyway." She held out a small cup of tea.

"Oh...thank you." Fluttershy took the tea and sat down, smiling at the minty aroma coming from the lid. "This is really nice of you."

"Oh pish posh." Rarity giggled. "It was nothing, darling. You seemed down earlier, so this was the least I could do."

Twilight looked up at her after finishing the page she was reading, completely oblivious to the words spoken just seconds ago. "Hey Fluttershy. How is Dash and Sunset doing?"

"They...they seem like they're having fun."

"Ah bet Dash's makin' Sunset really work out there." Applejack started placing marbles in different hallowed out holes of a wooden board.

Pinkie began staring at the marbles with narrowed eyes, scrutinizing them intently. "Ohhh...I think I get how to play this now."

"Wait, yer tellin' me we've been playin' fer over an hour, 'n ya'll don't even know how to play?"

"It's ok!" Pinkie grinned innocently up at her. "I'm winning anyway."

Twilight began reading again and said absentmindedly, "Pinkie wins in four turns."

"What???" Applejack looked down again and scowled. "...Well shoot...Ah reckon since Twilight said so, then...."

Pinkie began moving the marbles around by herself, making moves for both Applejack and herself before calling out, "I win!"

"Aw come on, ya'll!" Applejack sat back in the booth. "Ah didn't even...ya know what, Ah don't care no more..."

Rarity put an arm around Fluttershy and squeezed gently. She said in a quiet voice, "Are you sure you're alright, darling? You know I only ask because I worry about my friends."

"I'm ok." Fluttershy tried to think of the most generic answer. "I'm just tired I guess."

"Then try to sleep early tonight." Rarity let her go and brushed some of Shy's long hair away from her face. Shy could only nod in response. It felt nice to have someone kind of be all motherly towards her, but in truth she would rather have someone else in mind do that. Unfortunately, that person wasn't here and probably wouldn't anyway.

A cute crackling giggle came from the entrance of the shop, and everyone turned to see Dash and Sunset in full gym clothing nudging shoulders and laughing. Sunset gave everyone a wave before taking off down the street. It was apparent that she couldn't stay to chat. Dash began walking over to the rest of the troupe. "Hey guys!"

Pinkie threw her arms up into the air. "Over here! Over hereeeeee!" Dash tossed the soccer ball she was holding at Pinkie, bouncing it off her face. "Ooooh! A ball!" She grabbed it off the ground and held it, not caring one bit that her face now had octagon shapes across her cheeks. "Can I keep it?"

"No." Dash yanked it back and sat next to her. "But you can have this smelly sock I'm wearing."

Rarity put her cup down and pointed a finger at Dash's face. "If you dare pull out a dirty sock, I will spill this on your head." She said with a very stern tone.

"Relax, Rare." Applejack leaned back in the booth and tipped her hat back. "Dash ain't serious."

"Yeah, come on." Dash nodded. "Even I think that would be pretty gross."

"Hmph!" Rarity huffed. "Well then don't joke about such things! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Twilight set her notebook down and yawned loudly. "Well girls, I wish I could stay, but I have to get going home. It's kind of a long bus ride back to town."

"Aw shucks. Well, it was nice havin' ya hang out with us." Applejack got out of the booth to let her stand up.

"Do you have to go?" Pinkie asked earnestly. "Stay pwetty pwweeease?"

"Sorry Pinkie." Twilight actually felt a little guilty for some reason as she took in the adorable face Pinkie made. She knew Pinkie was just kidding around, but it was still pretty darn cute.

"Tah-tah, then." Rarity gave a polite little wave. "Say hi to that adorable puppy of yours for me."

"Oh, he'll be glad to hear that." Twilight giggled and walked away. "Bye girls!"

Applejack sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Ah gotta get home too before my lil' sis 'n her friends destroy the house. See ya'll tomorrow!"

Pinkie got up quickly and ran after the bookworm. "Oh! Wait, Twilight! Can I see your house???"

"Um....sure?" Her voice sounded somewhere between a question and a statement as she held her notebook tighter. "If you don't mind having to go home when the sun goes down."

"Eh, it's no biggie! I can always just drive us, you know. I do have a car. It's parked at school."

Twilight vaguely remembered seeing a pink VW bug with blue polka dots parked sometimes at school, and she instantly knew it had to be hers. "Um...ok. That would be really great, actually. I could definitely use a ride home."

"Super! Then I'm your girl!" They left the coffee shop together, Pinkie sporting a bright smile and skip in her step.

Once they had left, Rarity asked Dash a question that would eventually come up. "How was practice?"

"It was awesome! You should have seen Sunset out there! I mean, she wasn't better than me obviously, but still."

Fluttershy brought her legs up against her chest where she sat in an effort to keep her feet from bumping Dash's legs. There was that faint sweet smell of sweat from Dash's body that made her heart flutter and begin beating faster. "You both looked, um...really good out there." She said softly.

"Thanks, Shy." Dash grinned a beautifully captivating smile from what Fluttershy saw.

"And you still didn't take a shower." Rarity grumbled. "Honestly, darling! You are lucky enough to not smell bad. In fact, you smell rather pleasant. But not washing yourself can ruin your complexion. It's a very bad habit to learn."

"Oh relax." Dash giggled. "I always shower before bed, so it's gonna happen."

"Not soon enough, I'm afraid." Rarity pulled out a tissue and held it out to her. "Could you at least wipe that smudge of dirt off your cheek?"

"What smudge of dirt?" Dash asked, pointing to her own face. "Here?"

Fluttershy very meekly gave Dash's cheek a soft little boop where the smudge was. "It's um...here." Her face turned bright pink as she felt the lovely warm skin against the tip of her index finger.

"Oh cool, thanks." Dash grabbed the tissue, licked it, then wiped her face.

"Ewwww!" Rarity squealed in disgust. "You didn't have to lick the tissue, then wipe your face."

Dash growled. "Seriously? If you didn't want me to, then you should have said something before I did that."

As Dash and Rarity began to argue, Fluttershy had noticed that there was still the tiniest little speck of dirt still lingering on Dash's cheek. She instinctively picked up the tissue from the table Dash had discarded and began wiping Dash's cheek with soft little swipes. Dash's eyes grew wide in surprise and she froze in place.

"U-Uh...Fluttershy?" She asked, but didn't get a reply. Very gently, she waited a few seconds for the small girl to stop what she was doing, but Dash eventually had to push her hand away. "I think you got it."

Fluttershy squeaked softly in painful embarrassment and looked down at the table, letting the tissue fall to the table again. "S-Sorry..."

Rarity sighed and pulled out another tissue, wrapping the dirty one with the clean one before discarding it in her purse. "Honestly, Rainbow Dash." She got up from the table and giggled. "I sometimes wonder how Fluttershy can put up with you."

"You leaving?" Dash asked. "You haven't bought me anything yet."

She scowled at Dash. "You know full well you can buy your own. I am off to the mall for a bit. A new line of scarves has just come out that I must see for myself before the stores close. You be nice to Fluttershy." She pointed a finger at Dash's nose like she was talking to a dog that won't sit for a treat. "And don't kick the soccer ball around in here. I don't want to be banned from my favorite coffee shop because you can't control yourself."

"Thanks, mom." Dash stuck her tongue out at her. "Are you going to check my homework too?"

"No, but someone ought to keep an eye on you." Rarity turned to walk away. "I shall see you both tomorrow."

Dash grumbled down at the table. "Rarity is soooooooo lame sometimes."

Fluttershy shook to head absentmindely. She honestly wasn't sure what to say. She felt a bit awkward, but somehow happy now it was just the two of them sitting there. "S-So..." She squeaked. "...W-What are you gonna do now?"

Dash sighed and leaned back. "I should probably just go home and shower. I kinda wanted to hang out with you guys though, but everyone just left as soon as I got here." It made Fluttershy happy to hear that. She hoped that Dash would want to be close to her friends more, even if it was just a bit more. "Hey, at least I got you here." Dash smiled at her and giggled. "Why did you leave before practice ended? We could have walked together over here."

"I-I...well...I sort of promised that I'd only stay for a little while, and I was running late." She pushed her fingers together nervously.

"I don't think our friends would have cared. It's not like you ran off or something. Besides, we don't really get the chance to talk much anymore."

There was a wondrous joy in hearing those words. "Y-You really think so?" Fluttershy asked as she looked up. "I....I was kind of feeling the same way...to be honest."

"Heh...yeah...sorry about that." Dash rubbed the back of her head and let down her short ponytail. "I've just been so busy lately."

"I know. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks! It's nice to have so much of your support when the rest of our friends don't even care about sports."

"Um...well it's not that they don't care." Fluttershy shook her head and put her hands up. "Maybe...we aren't so into sports like you, but...we're all happy to see you succeed....I'm happy too..."

"That's pretty awesome." Dash gave Fluttershy's hand a small squeeze, making the poor girl look away and hide her blushing face behind her hair. "Wanna walk home with me?" Dash asked. "It's kinda boring walking home by yourself."

"W-Well...y-yes I would like that." Fluttershy only had a few seconds to gather herself as Dash got up from the table and started making her way to the entrance of the coffee shop.

"Cool! I gotta tell you about this funny thing in class." As they both began walking down the street, Dash began rambling on about how she was making paper footballs during class, using them to make goals into the teacher's trash can. Fluttershy nodded a couple of times through the story although she wasn't paying much attention to it.

Fluttershy's eyes kept glazing over Dash's pale blue neckline showing underneath her gym tank top. Her collarbone stood out against her skin from all those years of hard exercise, and Dash's hips and waistline were almost perfectly hourglass shaped with absolutely no hint of fat anywhere. Standing a few inches shorter than Dash, Fluttershy found her strides to be smaller than her friend's, leaving Dash a half a step in front of her as she spoke. Her eyes began wandering down towards an incredibly shapely butt that told no lies through the spandex running shorts covering Dash's backside.

To a small degree, Fluttershy felt giddy from such a heavenly view. Mostly though, she felt jealous of Dash's perfect physique. Everything encompassing her figure was almost non-existent on herself. There was no muscle definition, no real shape to her own figure besides a slide curve of her slender frame. As far as she understood the ideal body of a girl, Fluttershy didn't really have those traits. She was, in her own opinion, too skinny and too flat-chested to be desirable, but her jealousy of her friend's figures was something she didn't dare voice.

Dash looked back her worriedly. "Hey, you ok?" She asked, stopping for a second to let Shy catch up. "You've been quiet for like the past fifteen minutes."

Had it really been that long? Fluttershy blushed again as she nervously let out an awkward giggle. "S-Sorry...I guess...I didn't really have much to say..."

"It's cool, no worries." Dash put her hands behind her head as they walked. "Sometimes you just have boring days, you know?"

In truth, today hadn't been in any way boring, but Fluttershy simply nodded. "M-Mhm..."

"So hey listen, I was thinking." Dash waved her hand around her face to clear away a strand of rainbow hair. "Since Sunset is on the team now, I thought we should get like soccer buddy bracelets or something. Is that kinda lame? I'm not sure she'd go for it, but whatever. It can't hurt, right?"

Something icy cold stabbed at Shy's heart, and a gloomy expression covered her face. Rainbow Dash had never once did anything like that with her, but now she wanted to with Sunset? There was just the tiniest hint of anger flaring inside her chest. They had been friends for many years and never once did they make friendship bracelets. Fluttershy nodded her head slowly and said as calmly as she could, "I think that sounds nice."

"Awesome! Yeah see cause I saw these soccer bands at this once place where I bought this ball," She held her ball up. "And just knew I had to get them!"

"Wait..so...you already bought them?" Shy asked.

"Well, yeah I mean...I couldn't not get them. And they're not exactly friendship bracelets. They're just soccer bands." Dash reached into the inside of her shoe and pulled out two rubber bracelets. "I hope these don't smell." They smelled more like rubber than anything else which she guess was ok. She dropped one of them into Shy's hand, and Shy looked it over. It may have been simple and plain looking, but holding something like this made her nearly boil over in jealousy. Why did Sunset Shimmer get to have one of these??? She was the one who had been to all the games and watched Dash practice after school!

Dash took them back and giggled. "Yeah, I bet she's gonna get a kick out of these, huh?"

Fluttershy nodded her head and brushed away a small tear from her eye. "Mhm..."

They rounded a street corner and Dash stopped. "Well, my house is this way, so see you tomorrow!" She began nudging the soccer ball down the street towards her house with her foot. "Oh, don't tell Sunset about the bracelets! I want them to be a surprise, ok?"

"S-Sure..." Fluttershy gave her a small wave and took one step towards her own house. She waited until Dash was out of sight before sobbing softly into her forearm. "Fluttershy..." She whispered to herself. "...you can be so stupid sometimes.."

Chapter 2: ...It Can't Have

Dash had her headphones in her ears, jamming out to a new rock single she had discovered the night before in bed. Sleep was hard for her last night. She kept thinking about how awesome this new soccer season was going to be, and her excitement carried over to the morning as she walked down her street towards school. Her arms made a loop as she spun the soccer ball she was carrying up and down her body in crazy little tricks. Instead of going the usual way to the street corner where she and Fluttershy would usually meet, she turned directly towards town. If she hurried, she might be able to catch Sunset walking from her apartment. Dash had only been there one time with the rest of her friends, but it wasn't too hard to forget since she lived almost right next to their usual coffee shop.

A streetlight in the middle of the busy city flashed with a stop hand, telling her that the street was not safe to cross. With a stoke of luck however, she saw Sunset across the street in her usual flare colored dress and leather jacket. "Yooo!" Dash shouted loudly, making many pedestrians jump in surprise.

Sunset didn't care that Dash was so full of energy today. She herself felt just as invigorated now that she was part of the team, and for the very first time since coming to the human world, she actually felt like a big part of something other than trying to prevent some magical disaster. Once the light turned green, Dash hurried over to her and tossed her the ball. Sunset bounced the ball off her chest and balanced it on her foot before holding it against her side. "Hey Dash."

"What up?" Dash nudged her shoulder as they began to walk to school together. She wore a sporty track jacket and very form fitting running tights with a long yellow stripe down the seam and a big bolt of lighting on the front thigh which made Sunset a tad jealous. Sunset herself wasn't much of an athletic apparel type girl, but this outfit was actually pretty cool. "Nice catch by the way."

"Thanks." Sunset giggled and blushed just a tiny bit. It was high praise coming from such an experienced player. "I like those pants."

"Yeah? I was kinda worried they looked too flashy, even for me. But...I gotta wear them sometimes. If I don't, it'll be a total waste of money."

Sunset nodded. "I know the feeling. Money in this world is difficult to wrap your head around."

"What do you mean?" Dash bounced the ball against her wrists as they walked.

"Well..." Sunset sighed. "...I had to set up this thing called a checking account to qualify for the apartment I'm staying at. I'm not paying for it or anything though. The school has a program for girls like me, but I've never had to sign so many pieces of paper in my life."

"Wow....that suuuucckkkks." Dash laughed "That sounds totally lame. I bet you had to hang out in a bank for like, hours."

"Right?" Sunset giggled again. "It was really boring. Hey did you see the game last night? I usually don't get many chances to watch sports, but I was out buying dinner last night and saw some highlights on this TV sitting behind a store window."

"No...I didn't." Dash growled. "I had to shower last night right when I got home, but it's recorded on my computer for later."

"You can do that?"

"Sure. It's pretty easy. Want me to show you sometime?" Dash asked as she adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.

"That would be cool, but I don't have a computer." Sunset shrugged. "Don't have the money for it."

"That sucks." Dash bit her lip and thought for a moment. "You know, I got an old computer at my house you can have. It's not fancy or anything, and it's a few years old, but you can totally have if you want."

"Are you sure?" Sunset put her hands up. "You don't have to do that just for me."

"And just let it gather dust in my garage?" Dash laughed. "Come on. I need to get rid of it anyways. You'll be doing me a favor."

"That....is really nice of you." Sunset wrapped her arms around Dash's shoulder and hugged tightly. "Thanks so much!"

Dash narrowed her eyes and growled with the same face she always made when Pinkie would hug her for no reason. "Yeah yeah...whatever."

Sunset let her go and laughed. "You are pretty awesome, you know that?"

Dash giggled and held her head up high. "Oh I know. Trust me. Oh yeah!" Dash suddenly remembered the bracelets she had in the pocket of her jacket. "Here, this is yours." She said as she handed the flaming haired girl one of the rubber bands.

Sunset looked it over and noticed the words 'GO TEAM' and a soccer ball cut into the side of the band. "This is pretty cool. Is this for me?"

Dash nodded and held up her wrist to show a matching bracelet of her own. "Yep! Since we're soccer buddies now, I thought you and I could match."

"That's so cute!" Sunset gave her a nudge on the ribs and giggled.

"Cute?" Dash gasped. "N-No, it's cool! What are you talking about???"

"I'm just giving you a hard time." Sunset put it on and smirked at her. "It is pretty cool. Thanks for this."

Dash grinned back. "You're welcome." She shrugged in a bit of embarrassment as they rounded the corner with the school in view way down the street. It was weird for her to be showered with so many thanks in one morning. In order to keep away from all the mushy stuff, Dash spent the next few minutes walking to talk about the whole paper football incident from yesterday. Much to her delight, Sunset was responding with a lot more laughter than when she tried to tell this story to Fluttershy the day before. Dash felt she finally had a friend who truly related to her and could share a laugh about something like this.

"I was wondering something." Sunset spoke up after the story. "I'm kinda new to soccer, so do you have plays or something you like to run?" Sunset asked. "As team captain, I'm sure you have a bunch of different strategies."

"Uh, not really." Dash pounded a fist into her palm as she said, "Just one: to kick butt!"

Sunset laughed hard for a moment. "You are pretty good at that."

"Always am." Dash let her hands fall to her sides as they entered the school grounds.

Pinkie Pie had been waiting for them by the school gates to ambush them both with big good morning hugs. Sunset was her first victim. "Morning!" She squealed as she hugged her.

"Good morning, Pinkie." Sunset returned the hug and giggled.

Pinkie turned to Dash, and the rainbow hair on Dash's head nearly stood straight up. She knew that a Pinkie hug for her was way bigger than a Pinkie hug for anyone else. "Oh no you don't!" Dash threw the soccer ball at Pinkie, but the throw went straight over her head. Dash began running up and down the courtyard as Pinkie chased her with arms stretched out. "Pinkie! Knock it off!"

"I'm gonna get you!" Pinkie snorted with a giggle. Her quick and erratic zig-zag lines she made across the courtyard gave her an opportunity to tackle Dash to the grass and begin tickling her. "Coochie coochi coo!"

Dash erupted in fits of laughter, kicking her feet up and down in the air. It was getting hard to breathe, so she hugged Pinkie as tightly as she could before bouncing up to her feet. "Now I got you!" She screamed as she began tickling back "How do you like that?"

Pinkie made loud snorts and giggles as she squirmed like a worm on a hook. Her ambush plan had backfired, but she couldn't have cared less. "Dash! Ahahahahah! Dashie! I'm gonna sneeze!" Dash got up off of her and put her hands on her hips. Pinkie's hair was completely frazzled as she stood, but her demeanor didn't change at all. She pulled a small notepad from her hair of all places that came equipped with a small pencil. She made two check-marks on the open paper. "Sunset and Rainbow, check!" She smiled innocently at them both. "That just leaves one more person. Has anyone seen Fluttershy?"

Dash shrugged. "I didn't have a chance to see her yet, but I'm sure she's coming." She commented, completely forgetting about meeting her earlier. "She's usually never late."

"You two live near each other, right?" Sunset asked as she smoothed out her hair.

"Sorta." Dash picked up her soccer ball. "Same neighborhood, but on total opposite sides."

"Well what am I supposed to do now???" Pinkie sounded amusingly angry. "I have this checklist of all my friends that get a morning hug, and the last person isn't even here!" She made a dramatic sigh. "Plan B it is!"

"Wait." Dash giggled. "So you ambushed Applejack and Rarity too?"

"And Twilight." Pinkie looked over her checklist again. "Yep! Twilight too."

Dash laughed hard, wishing she had shown up earlier to see Rarity's reaction. "Oh man, I bet Rarity threw a huge fit."

"You should have seen her!" Pinkie sounded proud. "I messed up her hair so bad she had to break out her emergency makeover kit."

"That's hilarious!" Dash put her hands on her knees and started balling up from painful fits of chuckles.

Sunset put her hand on her back, trying her best to sound serious as she fought the urge to laugh with Dash. "Are you ok?"

Dash took a moment to breathe and nodded. "I'm cool." She nudged Pinkie's shoulder. "Next time, you have to record that."

Pinkie smirked and giggled once, pulling her hair to the side to reveal a small camera phone. "Done and done! Phase two of operation hug-attack, post to the interwebs!!"

Dash began laughing again so hard that she actually had to cough, making Sunset giggle as she helped Dash stand up straight. "Ok, Pinkie. I think you might break our team captain. Go wait in the bushes or something for Fluttershy. I'm gonna take her inside."

Pinkie saluted her sharply and stood straight and tall. "Yes sir, ma'am, sir!" She tip-toed towards one of the decorative bushes by the courtyard entrance and crouched behind it. She was definitely a strange sight to see. There wasn't any need to tip-toe or crouch since everyone walking up to the school doors could see her the whole time, but that didn't stop her.

When Dash and Sunset got inside, Sunset asked, "You good?"

Dash gulped air down hungrily and nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool. Thanks."

"Pinkie...is full of surprises, huh." Sunset said in more of statement than a question.

"Totally. Sometimes she can be kind of annoying, but it's stuff like that I can't get enough of. She's pretty cool sometimes."

"You do know that you pick on her just as much as she picks on you, right?" Sunset raised on eyebrow at her.

"What? No way." Dash huffed. "That's crazy." The bell signalling the start of class sounded through the halls, and they both jumped. "Class! See you at lunch?"

"See you at lunch!" Sunset took off down the hall and Dash the opposite way.

Pinkie was still outside hiding in the bushes. She didn't move from her poor hiding spot even though class started. Instead, she sat motionless with her poofy hair standing out like a sore thumb while narrowing her eyes at the entrance gate. "I'm gonna get you, Fluttershy, even if it takes alllllll day." She knew that she had all her bases covered. Missing class wasn't going to be a problem. In her seat was a tube sticking out of her desk with a big cloud of pink cotton candy, two googly eyes stuck to it just in case. It was the perfect disguise for the perfect plan.

-o0o-

When Fluttershy began walking towards school, she felt pretty depressed. Her phone told her she was already fifteen minutes late, and she still had another fifteen minutes of walking left to go. Each time she came across a pebble, she would kick it across the sidewalk. One of those pebbles decided that being kicked wasn't on today's agenda, and Fluttershy clumsily tripped over it. She fell to her knees, scrapping her delicate skin, and a round of tears began streaming down her face from the sudden burn.

It was silly to think Dash would meet her this morning to walk together. It's not like Dash did that everyday...But at the very least, she would have liked to know.

She had hoped that this morning she would have a chance to say something that had been on her mind all night. Sleep had also been hard for her to achieve since Dash was all she could think about while laying down in the late hours of the previous day.

She wanted to make a desperate request to hang out more. It was a silly little thing to ask, but it would have made her even the tiniest bit happy to hear Dash agree. However, she accepted that her luck would just not let her even have a chance to glimpse her dear beloved before the busy day began.

Fluttershy eventually picked herself up off the ground and wiped her face angrily. Red bruising marks were beginning to form against the bottoms of her knees, and streaks of dirt covered the front of her pale green skirt. Maybe Rarity could help her freshen up a bit at lunch. She sighed heavily at the sight of the school down the street. In truth, the last thing she wanted to do at that moment was go to class late and have to explain herself to her teacher. "What am I supposed to say?" She asked herself. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was waiting for my friend, but she never showed up..." She bit her own lip to keep herself from crying again. "...I can be so pathetic..."

Her pace quickened when she saw Vice Principal Luna closing the school gates, only reaching the courtyard just in time to get scolded and hurried off to class with a stern warning. Fluttershy bit her lip again as she realized the only silver lining of her entire morning was not getting detention.

When she entered class, she had her whole speech prepared in her mind, but not a single student even turned their head to look at her when she peeked her head inside. The teacher was already in the middle of her lesson, giving Fluttershy a chance to take her seat quietly. The class moved painfully slow as she jotted down bits of information from the lesson into her notebook. The clock seemed to move so fast when she was walking over here, but now time seemed to inch along at an almost unbearable pace. With still a half hour left, she put her pencil down and laid her head down in her arms to shield her face. Tears began to trickle down from her eyes onto her desk when she noticed a pink piece of paper sticking out of the bottom of her desk.

The paper was covered in stickers when she gave it a closer look while holding it below the desk so the teacher wouldn't notice it. It read, "From commander Pie to scout Fluttershy. Stop. I didn't see you this morning. Stop. Are you ok? Stop." Fluttershy muffled a soft giggle as she kept reading. "You owe me one big hug. Stop. Please destroy this letter upon reading. Stop."

First the first time that whole day, she actually cracked a small smile. It warmed her heart to know that one of her friends cared enough about her to actually notice her missing and even went out of the way to write such a goofy letter. Instead of destroying the letter like it asked, she folded it up and put it into the pocket of her skirt. When she'd get the chance, she would give Pinkie the hug she wanted. With some sense of happiness, she picked her pencil back up to write down the rest of the notes on the whiteboard before class ended.

-o0o-

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were the first to sit down at their usual lunch table. As usual, Pinkie had an enormous amount of food, and Applejack couldn't help but giggle at how jealous Rarity would get each time she had to eat her salad and stare at the mouthwatering goodness of high calories. "Hi-ya, Pinkie." Applejack greeted her warmly in her usual country flare. "Ah see ya'll got everythin' on the menu."

"Mhm!" Pinkie bit into a piece of garlic bread. She waited until she swallowed to speak only because the bread was so dry. "I bought enough food for Dash and Sunset today. I would hate to think my friends went hungry at lunch."

"That's mighty nice of ya." Applejack wondered how incredibly forgiving this girl was, even after how Dash stole her chicken the day before. "So, did ya get a chance to hug everyone this mornin?"

Pinkie shook her head. "No...I sure didn't." She made an adorably sad frown. "Fluttershy never showed up."

"Is she ok?" Applejack asked, scooting over so the approaching Rarity could sit next to her after she had gone to go buy a salad.

"I think so. I waited and waited outside school for her, but Vice Principal Luna caught me hiding in the bushes and sent me to class." Pinkie took a deep breath to prepare for the amount of words she needed to say. "I tried to explain to her that this was super duper important, and that I had to be there! I even showed her my checklist of allllll my best friends, and she didn't even bother to read it! I told her that Fluttershy was the last one on the list for a super duper hug of the day, but I was sent to class! Then when I got to class, someone had eaten my cotton candy disguise so the teacher noticed I wasn't there so I had to go get a late pass from the front office but the secretary was in the bathroom so I waited even more and then when she finally came out she said go to class and don't bother me! Can you believe it???"

"Uh.......no, Ah sure can't." Applejack shook her head slowly, her mind only fitting together a few pieces of the pointless puzzle.

Rarity just sat there and gave her a look of unbelievable incomprehension. She shook her head and gave up on ever trying to understand what Pinkie ever said or ever would say starting now. "Quite." Was all she could contribute to the conversation.

"I know, right???" Pinkie sighed. "They act like I was up to no good or something!" She took another deep breath and completely changed gears.

"So...What's this about Fluttershy?" Rarity asked, trying to lead the conversation as far away from silliness as possible. "Did something happen to the poor darling?"

"I dunno. I didn't have a chance to ambush her, so I left her a note."

Rarity sighed. "PUHLEASE don't do that again." She pointed at Pinkie. "It took me nearly three minutes just to finish fixing my hair."

"Aww...but it was fun!" Pinkie sounded defensive. "Plus I already got a thousand views!"

"Uh, what's that now?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

Instead of explaining, Pinkie pulled her phone out to show the video she took that morning through her hair. The edges of the video were tinted pink, no doubt from the hair which hid the camera. In the video, Rarity had dropped her purse as Pinkie appeared to be running up to her, and she began screaming loudly as if her toes had been stepped on. "Unhand me, you crazy ruffian! AHH! My hair!! My beautiful hair! You're ruining my perfectly ironed one-of-a-kind blouse! MY NAILS!" She shrieked. "Stop it this instant!" Applejack began cracking up, remembering the whole scene that morning.

"I call this one the Fashionista Freakout." Pinkie put her phone away.

"Call it whatever you like." Rarity growled in such a way that Pinkie's mouth formed a scrunched expression. "I hold you personally responsible for any damaged strands or split ends."

"It ain't a big deal, Rare." Applejack shrugged and whipped Rarity's hair to the side teasingly with her hat. "Ya'll got plenty more a those pretty lil' hairs on yer head."

Rarity cooed softly at her. "You mean that, dear?"

"Course Ah do." Applejack nodded.

Pinkie reached over to Rarity's blouse and picked a stray hair off her shoulder. "Like this one?"

"AHHH!" Rarity screeched and began combing her fingers through her hair. "I'm losing hair! You're going to get it, Pinkie Pie!"

"Whoopsie!" Pinkie snorted with a giggle. "Here, let me put this back for you." She reached over and placed the hair on top of her head.

"EWWW!" Rarity jumped up from the table and began tossing her head back and forth. "Get it off me! Get it off of me!" She whined loudly, making many of the other cafeteria patrons turned to look at her.

"What's going on here?" Twilight giggled as she walked up to the table clutching her notebook. "Did a fly land on your head, Rarity?"

"FLY?" She screeched with an incredibly strong crack in her voice before running clear out of the cafeteria towards the bathroom. "FLLLLYYYYY!!!"

Pinkie had already pulled her phone out and began recording right after she gave Rarity back the hair she took. "I'm calling this one the Fashionista Freakout Frenzy!"

Twilight sat down next to her to watch the video in curiosity before putting her notebook down. "Wow...All of this over a hair?"

Applejack chuckled. "Sure looks that way."

After a long moment of considering how unprofessional it would be to ask, Twilight gave in. "Can you send that to me?"

"No problemo! I'm gonna save this as my ringtone!" Pinkie stuck her tongue out thoughtfully while fiddling with her phone.

Sunset had just been nearly knocked over in the hallway by a screaming girl before she entered the cafeteria. Once she walked up to the table, she asked, "Was Rarity just in here?"

Twilight and Applejack traded smirking faces. "She sure was, sugarcube." Applejack tried to say through a giggle.

"What happened to her?" Sunset asked. "It's like she saw a ghost or something."

"Pinkie was just teasin' her." Applejack scooted a bit for Sunset to sit down. "Ah'm sure she'll calm down 'n 'bout a week 'er two."

"Oh-kayy..." Sunset shrugged. "So...How's everyone doing?"

"Pretty good!" Pinkie held out a bowl of spaghetti and a piece of garlic bread for her. "This is for you!"

"Me?" Sunset took her food. "Wow, thanks! This is really nice of you." She looked back up at Pinkie from her new meal, but she was playing airplane with a spoon and a fork, completely lost in another world.

"So how're thing's goin' bein' the new member of the team?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll aint get'tin' stressed out now that yer on the team, are ya?"

"Nah, I'm good." Sunset shook her head. "Rainbow Dash has been really great helping me out. She's even giving me an old computer for school and to watch soccer games."

"That is really nice of her." Twilight smiled and looked up at Sunset when she finally heard something she could actually talk about. "What kind? Is it a laptop, or a desktop PC?"

"I honestly have no idea." She turned to Twilight. "Hey, you know a lot about computers, right?" Twilight simply nodded and adjusted her glasses. "Then I was wondering if maybe you could show me how some of that stuff works. I would ask Dash, but she's already doing so much for me on the soccer team."

"Sugarcube, ya don't gotta feel bad fer askin' yer friends for help." Applejack patted her back. "And Ah'm sure Twilight would jump at the chance to help a friends learn somethin."

"She's right. I would love to help you learn about computers. It would feel nice to help a friend out too." Twilight flashed her a cute dorky smile.

"You girls are the best." Sunset nodded her head. "Thanks."

-o0o-

Now that she was feeling a bit better after class, Fluttershy decided to go to the gym's locker rooms to look for Dash instead of heading straight to the cafeteria. She knew that there was a good chance Dash wouldn't be there since she usually ran around the school in a hurry all the time, but it was worth a shot. At the very least, she wanted to make sure Dash was ok. She didn't have a chance to even say hi to her once today, and not seeing that gorgeous face made Fluttershy long for her.

The gym class that ended right before the lunch bell meant that there was going to be a large number of students clustered in the locker rooms. She didn't know a single person in there since she tried to avoid taking gym classes all together, but rainbow hair stood out easily in a crowd. Before she even had a chance to step inside the locker rooms, a flood of students piled out in a big storm, leaving her pinned up against the wall, her eyes scanning each person that past by.

Not a single rainbow hair in the entire crowd showed, and Fluttershy sighed when she realized she may have missed her. However, there was still the sound of a couple people left inside the locker rooms, so she took a careful step through the door. "R-Rainbow?" She asked in a quiet voice while peeking her head around the corner.

To her enormous surprise, Dash wasn't even half dressed yet. All she wore was a tight fitting sports bra and a red pair of spandex panties adorned with a sport's company symbol on the butt. Fluttershy gasped and felt a strong heat rise up in her chest, suddenly feeling guilty for unintentionally spying on her.

Fluttershy waited outside the locker room doors while leaning up against the wall, feeling very nervous and excited. That image would never leave her mind for the rest of her life, and seeing that perfect body so suddenly had been to much for her to handle all at once.

Dash came out of the locker rooms and nearly jumped back in surprise after almost bumping into the very flustered girl. "Fluttershy?" She asked more defensively than what was called for. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I...um...I was....looking for you." Was all she could manage. "I didn't see you this morning...and I was worried about you."

"Oh...right." Dash sighed. "Yeah, I walked to school with Sunset."

So she walked to school with Sunset. A small flame of anger crept it's way past Fluttershy's neck up to her ears as she realized that all she had gone through that morning was because Dash blew her off. She wanted to explain to Dash how much that hurt, but she just nodded her head and said. "I..see..."

"Are you ok?" Dash asked as she walked down the hall, Fluttershy skipping a step to follow her. "You look kinda...scraped up."

"I...fell down earlier." Shy looked down at the floor as they ventured away from the gym.

"Yikes. Well, it doesn't look too bad." Dash shrugged it off. "You'll be fine."

"Y-Yes...I'll be fine..."

"Hey, so remember how we were talking about soccer bracelets yesterday?" Dash asked absentmindedly.

Shy couldn't forget about that. It was one of the biggest reasons why she had screamed into her pillow the night before. "I do..."

"Sunset tooootally loved it! She did tease me about it for a second, but I knew she would be on board. How awesome is that? Seriously, I never thought Sunset would have so much in common with me."

Fluttershy squeaked very quietly and bit her lip. "...That's nice."

"She's so cool. After our first game, we're probably gonna be like, best friends or something! I haven't had a friend like this since I went to Junior Speeders Camp in second grade!" Dash grinned and put her fist into the air.

"Best friends..." Fluttershy just repeated those words to herself as she realized that coming to see Dash had been a huge mistake. All the abandonment and hurt she had felt that morning was now being validated by Rainbow's offhanded comments. Her hopes of asking Dash to hang out with her more would probably be a bad idea too. The possibility of being told no right to her face made her realize how close to crying she was for the second time that day.

"So are you going to lunch?" Dash asked as she stretched an arm over her head.

"N-No..." Fluttershy shook her head. She had planned on it at first, but now all she wanted was to be left alone. Pinkie's hug would have to wait.

"Ok, well I'm gonna go." Dash began picking up the pace to run down the hall. "See you later or something!"

With a small wave that Dash didn't even acknowledge, Fluttershy stood in place in the now empty hall by herself. She turned towards the doors toward the school fields and began walking slowly, thinking about that special spot of hers under the bleachers where she would sometimes go just for times like these.

The sunlight was bright outside as many students were eating and laughing in the fields and on the bleachers, all enjoying their perfect school day. It pained Fluttershy to see how great everyone else was doing when her heart just wanted to shrivel up and crawl under a rock. When she did take a seat under the bleachers, she hugged her knees and scooted herself under the shade of the stands to plant her face on her arms.

She wanted to cry, but after everything so far, she felt tired. Crying would actually take some energy she just didn't have at the moment, and her mouth felt dry from the crying earlier that morning. With a heavy sigh, she leaned against one of the support pillars under the bleachers and closed her eyes, hopefully wishing for a small nap to pull her away into an escape from her reality.

-o0o-

Pinkie had a couple clues to go on when school ended. At lunch, Dash had informed everyone that she had in fact seen Fluttershy, so she had to be at school. The second clue was the most obvious: no one else had seen her anywhere, so she must be by herself. The third clue was something she knew from experience. Fluttershy sometimes went to her alone time place, and that was the only place on campus she could think of to find her. With Applejack as backup, the two earth pony counterparts made their way around the school to the bleachers.

"She's not here!" Pinkie whined and sighed as they peeked under the stands.

"But, look." Applejack pointed to a small blanket and a backpack. "Looks like somebody set up camp here. Probably Fluttershy. Ah'm sure if we wait, she'll come back 'round eventually."

"Hm...You may be right, my dear Applejack." Pinkie examined the area as if piecing together a puzzle. "If we wait long enough, Fluttershy will have to come back for her things, and then we will find her!"

"That's what Ah said." Applejack groaned. "I just told ya that."

"Don't be silly." Pinkie contradicted herself in multiple ways.

Instead of fighting her on this, Applejack sat down on the blanket and leaned back on her arms. "So, where do ya think Fluttershy's off to?"

"Probably the bathroom. If it was me sitting outside all day, I would want lots of snacks and fruit punch, so she's probably making room for more."

"That's..." Applejack cleared her throat. "...gross, but Ah guess ya do have a point. Missin' lunch sure can make a person hungry."

Pinkie crouched down behind one of the support pillars as if she was hiding, but she looked ridiculous since the pillar was only half a foot wide. "Now we wait." They didn't have to wait long. Sure enough, Fluttershy had come back holding a small carton of milk and an apple. She saw Pinkie and stood still right before getting pounced with a massive hug that squeezed the air out of her. "Fluttershyyyyy!" Pinkie squealed as she half strangled her victim. "We were so worried about you!"

Fluttershy gasped for air awkwardly as she felt the hug loosen. "P-Pinkie...Applejack."

The country gal got up and put a hand on her shoulder, pushing Pinkie back with the other arm. "Are you alright, sugarcube? Everyone's been worried sick 'bout ya."

"I'm...ok." Fluttershy did her best to sound cheerful. "I just...forgot about meeting for lunch when I...saw this cute squirrel over here."

Pinkie Pie instantly bought the fib and then some. "Oh! Is he still here?" She asked, making a squishy cheeked squirrel face.

Applejack just ignored her. "So, yer alright then? Nothin' wrong? It ain't like you to be sneakin' off all 'n yer own."

Fluttershy surprised Applejack by giving her a gentle hug. "I'm ok." She nodded, actually feeling a little better knowing that at least some of her friends cared enough to come find her.

"Do you get my letter?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh, um, yes I did. It was very...nice." Fluttershy poked two fingers together. "But there wasn't really any way for me to reply to it."

Again, Applejack ignored this. She knew that whatever letter Pinkie Pie had written probably wasn't too important to pursue a conversation about. "Listen, sugarcube." She sat Fluttershy down on the blanket and sat next to her. "Ah can tell when somethin's botherin' one of my friends, 'n right now, somethin's botherin' you. Ya'll can tell me yer ok as many times as ya want, but Ah ain't as dense as all that."

Pinkie sat across from her and nodded her head. "Spill the beans, Fluttershy."

Applejack took her hat off and covered Pinkie's face with it while growling softly. She turned back to Fluttershy and rubbed her back. "Ya'll ain't gotta tell us if ya don't want. All Ah'm sayin' is, we're here for ya, 'n you can tell us."

Fluttershy sighed softly and looked down at the ground. She wanted to say exactly what was on her mind. She wanted to tell her friends everything that was bothering her and all that had happened to her that day. While her mind processed how to speak, she failed to notice a couple tears make their way down her cheeks.

"No no no no no.." Pinkie got up and threw her arms around the small girl's shoulders. "Pwease don't cry... You're gonna make me cry!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and decided to just give her a hug as well, letting Fluttershy cry until she was ready to speak. "It's alright, sugarcube....it's ok..."

Fluttershy sniffed a couple times as she regained some of her composure. "Sorry..." She whispered. "....I just had a bad morning."

Pinkie began brushing her hair away from her face. "Oh you poor wittle Fwutters..." She reached into her pocket and fetched out a small lolipop which Fluttershy gratefully accepted.

"You wanna talk 'bout it?" Applejack asked as she pulled the small girl against her chest.

"Nothing...really happened..."Fluttershy took a deep breath. "I was just waiting for Dash this morning to walk to school...but she never showed up. I was running late and tripped....and after that...I felt stuck in a bad mood." All of this was true, but she left out the important parts like how hurt and abandoned she felt by the one person she loved the most.

"Awwwwww..." Pinkie gave her a soft little peck on the cheek. "Dashie can be big meanie-head sometimes." She didn't know it, but Pinkie had actually hit the nail on the head.

"Well shucks. Ya should've said somethin. Ah'm sure me 'n the rest of the gals coulda pulled ya out a yer funk." Applejack scolded her. "We're yer friends, right? It's our job to help ya feel better."

"I know....I just didn't want to bother anyone. It's just silly little stuff."

"Maybe." Pinkie shrugged and shook her head. "But that's no reason to go hiding all day. You made me super duper mega worried!"

"I'm sorry..."

"Hey, no more a this sorry nonsense." Applejack began packing up her bag and blanket off the ground. "Ah'm gonna treat ya to a nice big 'ol mug a hot chocolate."

"Oh, and some cake? Please say some cake!" Pinkie clapped her hands together.

"Sure. Some cake. How's that sound?" Applejack slung Shy's bag around her shoulder and smiled.

"I...would really like that." Fluttershy smiled up at them both. "Thank you."

"Cake!!!"

Chapter 3: The Heart is Free...

Rainbow Dash felt pretty darn good after running around for the last two hours. Hanging out with one of her best buds and spending so much time kicking and screaming had never been so much fun. She hoped that her games would be just as great to be a part of. As she was packing up her gym bag by the side of the field and waving goodbye to Sunset Shimmer, she noticed something on her phone. It was a text message from Pinkie, but no ordinary text message. There must have been at least a hundred words on her screen! It looked like each sentence had some emoji to go with it. Dash sighed and begrudgingly began to read through. Something something, blah blah blah...

Dash's eyes grew wide when she read through the first paragraph, realizing that Pinkie actually had something important to tell her. Fluttershy was ok! However, she was having a bad day. This didn't surprise Dash all that much until Pinkie's message blamed her as the reason. "What???" Dash gasped, stopping in place from walking farther down the street towards home. "What did I do?"

After skimming through the rest of Pinkie's nonsensical rant, Dash dialed Fluttershy's number and began walking again, holding the phone up to her ear. She waited for nearly a minute before hearing an answer.

"Hello?" Fluttershy's voice sounded softer than usual, almost sleepy.

"H-Hey..." Dash nervously piped up. She always did feel awkward making phone calls. "Are you ok? You sound like you just woke up."

"Mn...I'm sorry." Fluttershy muttered softly. Dash could hear the rustling of blankets on the other end as Shy spoke again. "I was taking a nap."

"Oh crap, I'm totally sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok..." Fluttershy yawned softly with a slight smile. The big meal of cake and cocoa she had an hour earlier with Pinkie and Applejack had put her into a food coma until now. "I'm actually glad you called."

"Me too....I got a message from Pinkie. She said something about you feeling pretty down today." Dash paused. "She...also said something about me being a jerk and how it was my fault."

"Oh..." Fluttershy hadn't realized that her conversation with her friends earlier might have had some other consequences. To be fair, she hadn't told Applejack or Pinkie Pie the whole story. The only things she told was them were how she felt Dash was distancing herself and how lonely that made her feel. It was enough for Pinkie to nearly scream in the corner booth of the diner and call Dash a 'jerky-face'. After that happened, Fluttershy really didn't like feel like saying more. "...N-No...that's not it." Fluttershy lied.

"You sure?" Dash wasn't convinced. "Pinkie's message was pretty clear. She said I was kind of a bad friend for blowing you off earlier."

"Oh..." Fluttershy couldn't help but agree, but her kind heart wouldn't allow her to say that exactly. "Well...just a tiny bit...It's no big deal."

"You sure? Cause...it sounds like a big deal." Dash scratched the back of her head. "Uh...you know, practice is over. I could come over and hang out with you if you want."

The proposition sounded so nonchalant, but Fluttershy couldn't help but feel an incredible level of sudden excitement. "T-That would be nice." She squeaked.

"Cool. I'll be over in like, twenty minutes. Is that ok?" Dash asked as she checked the face of her phone for the time. "Want me to bring any snacks or something? I'm starving anyway."

"O-Oh...umm..." Fluttershy thought about it. She felt really full, but if Dash was hungry, then why not. "Ok. If you want."

"Awesome. I gotta cross the street really soon here. See you soon!"

Fluttershy heard a click and a soft 'burr' as the call ended, and she held the phone to her chest and squeaked softly with a smile across her face. Finally! Her day was actually shaping out to be a good one, despite running late that morning. It took her a moment to notice a couple things all at once, making her nearly jump out of bed. Firstly, she had just woken up from a short nap, so her appearance was a total mess. Dash probably wouldn't care at all since she would probably be dirty and messy from practice, but her insecurity about her appearance still resounded strongly.

Fluttershy scrambled to her mirror by the nightstand in her room and began running a brush through her long hair in an attempt to make herself look more presentable. It wasn't working. She still looked like she had just taken a turn on a roller coaster, and after spending three whole minutes trying to fix herself up, she was running out of time.

Next, she went to work on her room. It wasn't a complete mess, but her sleeping pet bunny and hamster cage by the window did need some cleaning. After running to the hallway's laundry room, she grabbed a dustpan and ran back to sweep up any bits of newspaper and food from the floor by the cage. Her pet bunny became annoyed by her sudden manic behavior, so he excused himself to sleep under the bed.

Once the cage was clean, she tried to make her bed and straighten out all the pillows to look as cozy as possible. Fluttershy stopped for a moment to wonder why she was so worried about what Dash would think of her bed. It was really silly. Dash wouldn't even be in her bed anyway. It wasn't that kind of relationship, so who cares, right? With a sigh, Fluttershy flopped face first onto her bed. She knew Dash wouldn't even care, but a part of her hoped that Dash would show up and suddenly lay her down and begin kissing her on top of her freshly cleaned blankets.

Wow.... Fluttershy rolled onto her back and marveled at how her imagination could really run wild in the comfort of her own room.

A knock came at the door, making her head dart side to side. "Eep!" She inhaled sharply and held her breath, only exhaling when she heard Dash's voice.

"Fluttershy?" Dash stood at the front door holding her gym bag and a small bag of snacks she had picked up from the convenience store on the way over. "You in there?" The door opened very slowly, Fluttershy's face barely peaking out from behind the doorknob. "Oh hey. Whoa, nice hair." Dash giggled at her, making the poor girl's face turn red.

"C-Come in..." Fluttershy let the door swing open, letting Dash step inside. Her body was a glistening piece of artwork, with her legs nearly bare and her slender but shapely body visible in all the most precious of places. Her butt was only covered by a pair of white spandex running shorts that Fluttershy just couldn't take her eyes off of. She heard a snicker, making her eyes move back up to Dash's face.

"That's what you're wearing?" Dash asked, pointed to her body. Dash looked her over, noticing the big yellow t-shirt Fluttershy used as a nightgown although it didn't even pass her hips. This wouldn't have been all that bad if Fluttershy hadn't been wearing a slightly loose fitting pair of short shorts with little paw prints all over it. "I thought you might put pants on or something if you were gonna have company over."

Fluttershy squeaked loudly in embarrassment and ran back to her room to put something on. "I-I'm so sorry!!!"

"I was kidding!" Dash called out after her. "It was cute!" She had watched Fluttershy shake her adorably cute little butt while sprinting to her room, and Dash felt a bit puzzled at how much she liked Fluttershy's soft, skinny legs. With a shrug, Dash put it out of her mind. It wasn't the first time this happened.

Fluttershy closed her door behind her and quickly slipped a pair of flannel pajama bottoms on. A part of her she didn't know swelled in her mind and desperately wanted to just walk out there again and show herself off to Dash. Being called cute like that made Fluttershy want to be called cute again, but she knew her decency wouldn't allow it. With a sigh, she walked back out to the living room where Dash had already taken a seat on the couch. "...Sorry about that."

"I don't care." Dash giggled. "Look at me. I'm not exactly in formal clothes either."

Fluttershy stood in front of the couch, nervously pressing her fingers together while looking down. "...Ok…" Was all she could muster.

Dash opened the bag of snacks and patted the spot next to her. "I got you something that might cheer you up." She pulled out a small red box as Fluttershy took a seat. "It's animal crackers."

They were her favorite. They were her absolute favorite. Fluttershy gratefully took them and smiled up at Dash "Thank you."

"No prob." Dash bit into a protein granola bar that smelled like peanut butter. "So...look I wanted to say I'm sorry about today."

Fluttershy nibbled on the end of a cracker very slowly like a rabbit nibbling on a carrot. "Hm?"

"You know, about blowing you off this morning." Dash leaned back on the couch, letting the gym shirt she wore ride up on her stomach to show a nice and smooth set of abdominal muscles which Fluttershy instantly had her sights drawn to. "I went to walk with Sunset to school instead of meeting you, and I'm really sorry. I just...forgot about you."

Fluttershy looked down at the floor and watched herself wiggle her toes. "I-It's...ok...I know you didn't mean to."

"Well, yeah duh, I mean of course I didn't mean to, but still." Dash put a hand gently on her shoulder. "It was pretty lame of me. Totally not cool."

Fluttershy's body tensed up just a bit as she felt her hand lay against her shoulder. It left Dash's side opened to a snuggle that she desperately wanted to give, but she just couldn't bring herself to actually do it. "I-I...know..."

"So, you forgive me?" Dash asked, letting her hand fall to her side.

"Yes, I do." Fluttershy nodded slowly and felt a bit of regret as her opportunity to snuggle attack had vanished. She wondered just how Pinkie could go up and hug the daylights out of her friends whenever she wanted to, and Fluttershy wanted nothing more than to bury her face into Dash's side like that.

"Sweet, thanks." Dash sighed. "I was really worried you'd be mad at me." She giggled at herself. "I know it's kinda dumb, but I was worried you wouldn't wanna talk to me when I got here."

"Why...do you say that?" Fluttershy looked up at her and pressed her shoulder against Dash's.

"Well...I have been going on and on about Sunset lately. Pinkie said in her text that I have a girl crush on her...which I do not!" Dash put her hands up. "That's crazy. I just thinks she's cool." Dash turned to her with a bit of worry on her face. With hesitation, she asked, "Hey, do you thinks that's...weird?"

"Weird?" Fluttershy asked, not sure what she was asking her.

"You know, two girls-" Dash shook her head, an obvious blush covering her face. "It's stupid. Forget it." To keep herself from talking, she went back to eating her protein bar. "It's totally stupid. I mean, I don't even like her...I mean I do, she's cool and all, but...eh, whatever."

"O-Ok..." Fluttershy turned back down at the floor to nibble on her animal cracker. She did know what Dash was trying to say, and she did want to answer her. But, if Dash felt this uncomfortable talking about it, then Fluttershy knew she shouldn't push her.

"So...do you wanna sit here like this or...I dunno, play a game or something?" Dash asked, very aware of the awkward atmosphere she created. "I feel kinda bad coming over here and not doing anything with you."

"Oh um...we can do anything you want." Fluttershy was completely honest there. She didn't care what they did, as long as her Rainbow Dash was with her the whole time. "My...mom isn't going to be home for a while, so we can do pretty much anything."

"Anything?" Dash giggled and shook her head again. "Sorry, that was a really lame joke. How about a board game or something." She got up from the couch and walked over to the closet door. On the small ledge above her coats, she found what she was looking for. "Oh nice! I still remember where stuff is around here."

"I forgot we even had those." Fluttershy got up and walked over to her to see what Dash was holding.

"Oh yeah! I remember this stuff. We used to play this game all the time when we were little." Dash put the rest of the games back, only keeping in her hand Fluttershy's boxed set of Wildlife Monopoly. It had been years since both of them had even played that game, and Fluttershy began to remember all the cute furry critters to choose from. "You wanna play this?" Dash asked.

"Ok." Fluttershy nodded her head with a smile. It felt nice to be hanging out with Dash again like back in the good old days of innocent childhood.

They sat down on the floor in front of the television, the game laid out before them on the floor. Fluttershy had picked the bunny to be her game piece, a decision Dash could have easily predicted. In polar opposite of Fluttershy's choice, Dash had picked the tiger. Unlike regular monopoly-ish games, the object was to start as many charity organizations as possible. Whoever had the biggest pile of donations once all the different charities had been taken up on the board would win the game. This game had been, at the time, one of Fluttershy's biggest inspiration into her preteen years.

"So, you wanna go first?" Dash asked, laying across the floor on her side.

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, it's ok. You can go first."

Dash giggled. "Ok, let me rephrase that. Shy, you can go first."

When Fluttershy realized that Dash's original question wasn't actually a question, she blushed and simply nodded her head. "O-Ok..." She rolled the dice and moved her game piece, buying the first charity she landed on.

Dash yawned and rolled the dice after her, moving her game piece with sluggish hands. Her practice earlier had begun to make her feel tired, and the food she had just eaten wasn't helping either. Dash knew she had to stay awake because Fluttershy could really use the time together, and in a way, Dash felt as if she needed the time with Fluttershy just as much.

The position Dash laid in while sprawled out on the floor resembled one of those poses a model would make in a yearly calendar. Fluttershy couldn't help but steal glances that would trace up and down Rainbow's curvy, slender hips, and she wondered if Dash laid around in running shorts at her own house. That would definitely be something she could get used to seeing. For at least that reason, Fluttershy resolved to spend even more time with her.

"Uh, Fluttershy, it's your turn." Dash pointed to the dice on the board.

"O-Oh, sorry." Shy picked the dice up and rolled, averting her eyes away from that gorgeous body. She hoped that Rainbow didn't notice her staring at those long, smooth legs.

Dash hardly cared why she seemed so flustered. It seemed Fluttershy was always flustered for any number of reasons. "No worries." Dash sighed as she rolled onto her back, arching her neck and back against the floor while stretching her arms over her head. Her shirt began to ride up on her stomach again, giving Fluttershy an almost golden view of Dash's exquisite figure.

"G-Goodness..." Fluttershy gulped hard, muttering softly to herself. She felt a tickle move its way up her spine, making her body shiver slightly. It took a great deal of focus just to move her little game piece bunny around the board.

Dash sat back up again to lazily roll the dice. After she took her turn, she looked over at Fluttershy and noticed that she was hiding her face behind her hair. It dawned on her that Fluttershy's appearance as she sat cross-legged like that was just as cute now as it was when they were kids. "You...haven't changed much since we were kids, huh?"

"I...guess not." Fluttershy replied as she made her move on the board. "But...I guess you haven't either."

"That's a good thing, right? I'm just as awesome, huh?"

"Yes." Fluttershy giggled and brushed her hair back. "You are still awesome."

For some reason, those words coming from Fluttershy's lips meant a lot more than anyone else saying it. "Heh, thanks." Dash blushed just a bit and rolled the dice. "You're still just as nice. To keep a bad friend like me around has gotta suck sometimes."

"No, you're not a bad friend, Dashie." Fluttershy put her hands up. "Honest. You're not...We're just...getting older. That's all."

"Yeah." Dash yawned. "One of these days, we're gonna be living in different cities or something. I'll probably be off playing soccer somewhere while you're going to vet school."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and exhaled a soft sigh. "Y-Yes..." She agreed. "...probably."

"Maybe we should make the time we have worth something then." Dash rolled her eyes and laughed. "I mean, school sure has been pretty exciting with all those portals and crazy magical dangers, but I..." She trailed off.

Fluttershy waited for her to finish, but after a few moments of silence, she looked up at her. "...Is something wrong?"

"No...nah, it's nothing. Just whatever." Dash blushed hard and scowled at herself. "I was just thinking that..." She stopped and gave Fluttershy a serious stare. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure." Fluttershy almost felt giddy being asked.

"Cool." Dash took a moment to collect herself. "I was just thinking that at some point, I should've at least had a boyfriend or something. It's been a while since we started high school, and I've never been asked out once."

"Ohhh..." Fluttershy nodded her head in understanding, although she did feel a bit surprised. For someone as cool and beautiful as Dash was, it was big news to hear. "Never?"

"Yeah, never. I think Pinkie Pie got asked out a couple times, and Rarity has been on tons of dates, but I've never been." Dash looked up at the ceiling and blew a lock of hair from her eyes. "I dunno...I feel like I'm missing out or something. It's not like I have any crushes on any boys or anything, but still. Girls talk about their dates all the time, but I never get to."

"Well...I've never been asked out either." Fluttershy admitted. "...But...I don't think anyone would ever ask me out anyway."

"What??? That's crazy!" Dash shook her head. "You're cute!"

Fluttershy turned away from her and hid her face behind her hair again to hide a growing, burning blush. "I-I...n-no..."

"Yeah, you are. You have the whole cute silent girl thing going on. I hear a lot of guys like that. If I were a guy, I totally would've asked you out." Dash giggled at herself. "Me as a guy...eh, no thanks."

"I..." Fluttershy paused and contemplated whether or not to say what she had in mind to say next. "...I...don't really like...guys."

Dash gave her a puzzled look. "So...wait...you mean you don't like any guys or you don't like guys in general?"

Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to answer right away. She just shrugged her shoulders. "I...I don't know...Like I said...I've never been on a date before."

Dash groaned and laid back down on the floor. "Yeah...Kinda sucks, huh? What's wrong with us??? Are we not pretty enough or something?"

"Y-You..are.."

"Really?" Dash began nibbling on a cracker from Fluttershy's animal cracker box. "That's pretty cool. Thanks. Kinda nice to know at least SOMEONE thinks so."

"Mhm..." Fluttershy mumbled. Dash had been right. It was nice to know at least someone out there appreciated your appearance. Fluttershy couldn't help but feel somewhat uplifted from being told she was cute for the second time in one day by the very person she desperately needed to hear that from. "T-Thank you..."

"No prob." Dash shrugged with a sigh.

They continued to play their game for a while, Dash constantly stealing crackers from Fluttershy's box. Although she noticed, Shy didn't care. She was glad someone was enjoying them with her.

With a very loud yawn, she rolled onto her side facing Fluttershy. "Hey...is it cool if I close my eyes for a while? I'm getting sleepy from running around so much, and my legs kinda feel tight."

"M-Mhm." Fluttershy nodded her head. She stole one last glance at those long smooth legs again before nibbling on the end of her big shirt. "Want me to put the game away?"

"If you want. We can keep playing later if you feel like it. I just need like fifteen minutes." Dash yawned again.

Fluttershy picked up the board game and gently put it down on the couch, taking great care not to shift any pieces around. She sat back down on the floor with the TV remote in her hand, her feet curled up under her butt. "U-Um...i-is it ok if...I watch something? There's a funny animal moments show on TV right now."

Dash nodded her head and crawled over to her, taking advantage of Shy's sitting position by laying her soft rainbow head down on her lap. "Sure, I don't care."

"O-O-kay..." Fluttershy squeaked softly as she both saw and felt Dash rest her head on her thighs. The feeling of her short hair pressed against her body was nearly indescribable in the simplistic and blissful joy she felt.

With one more yawn, Dash closed her eyes and smiled up at her. "I'm really glad you let me come over...It's awesome hanging out with you like we used to."

All Dash received in reply was a nod, and Fluttershy did her best to remain perfectly still while fiddling with the remote. She hoped the sounds from the TV would drown out the loud thumping of her heart. There was a big smile on Rainbow's face as she nuzzled her cheek against the soft flannel material that covered Shy's thigh. Unlike her own legs, Fluttershy's legs were soft and less tightened by years of strenuous exercise, making her the perfect pillow. In less than a minute, she was asleep, snoring softly with her mouth open.

Little kittens and puppies danced across the television screen as they tried to jump through tiny hoops and over small obstacles. Under normal circumstances, Fluttershy would have been giggling to her heart's content while watching the little critters, but although she had the TV on right in front of her, she just could not focus.

Her gaze remained glued to the sleeping form of her Rainbow Dash, scanning up and down her graciously carved figure. Fluttershy took great care to take in those smooth, tight long legs, that perfectly heart shaped butt, and the well defined hourglass waist before her. Very, very gently, Fluttershy brought a hand up to brush away some of Rainbow's short strands of hair away from her face. It was almost miraculous to see that Dashie's complexion was perfect in every way, her lips and nose perfectly proportioned.

Fluttershy hesitantly put a hand against her cheek and stroked the pad of her thumb across Dash's lips. They were warm and soft just like she imagined they would be, and a part of her yearned to know what they might feel like against her own. At that moment, Dash snorted in her sleep and snored loudly for a brief second while rolling onto her back. It had been the most adorable thing Fluttershy had ever seen in her life.

A thought raced through Fluttershy's mind; a dangerous thought. It was a thought so exhilarating that she held her breath involuntarily. She could, if she wanted to, give Dash a kiss, and Dash would never have to know. She would be asleep the whole time, and in that position, it would be so easy. A grand battle of wills began to take place in Fluttershy's soul. Her logical mind was fighting against the growing intense desires of her emotional heart. It was an intensity so powerful that she felt tingling in her ears, and even before she made her decision, she already knew exactly which side would win.

Fluttershy lowered her head slowly, stopping when she felt the warm and slightly peanut buttery breath of her sleeping Rainbow against her face. Their noses touched, and Fluttershy felt certain that Dash would wake up from their contact, but being the heavy sleeper she was, Dash remained unconscious.

With a soft yet sharp inhale, Fluttershy closed her eyes tight and planted an extremely soft kiss against her beloved's lips. When she felt the soft tingle of heat from the kiss, Fluttershy knew that she had never felt anything more gratifying and beautiful in her entire life.

There came the faintest little 'pop' when Fluttershy pulled away, bringing her face a good foot away from Dash's nose. She took a long, very slow deep breath as she let this near orgasmic feeling wash over her in a wave that was so physically satisfying, she had to moan softly into her hand.

Dash had felt something on her lips while she slept. Her unconscious mind didn't register it, but a lack of oxygen from the kiss did make her twitch and squirm for a moment. Her head turned to the side as she snuggled her face into Shy's tummy, and one of her arms draped around Fluttershy's butt lazily. Fluttershy couldn't get over what was happening. When she woke up that morning, she never would have dreamed something like this would actually be happening today.

For much longer than fifteen minutes, Fluttershy just sat there in place with a sense of peace washing over her as she let Dash nap to her heart’s content. The television program had changed to the afternoon news, but Shy's eyes never left Dash's sleeping face. The beauty of her innocent and luscious face looked heavenly as she slept, and the feeling of Dash's arm draped around her butt filled Fluttershy with a burning joy. The only downside was how sleepy she was beginning to feel just watching her. In a soft, dainty little sigh, Fluttershy yawned while covering her mouth.

While only semiconscious of how long she had been asleep, Dash stirred gently as her mind urged her to get up. "Mn…" She groaned softly, not wanting to leave the comfort of her newly found heaven of a pillow. She instinctively squeezed herself deeper into Shy's lap while her arm wrapped tighter around her butt only for a brief second before she rolled herself onto her back to sit up. She covered her mouth with a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Whoa....I slept hard...really hard..." Dash commented as she tilted her head side to side to pop her neck. "I gotta stop staying up ‘til midnight playing video games..." She turned to Shy who was blissfully glazed over. "How long was I out?"

"Um...maybe a half hour..." Fluttershy mumbled with tired eyes, gently swaying back and forth. She might have felt nervous and embarrassed after doing something so daring, but the kiss left such an overwhelming sense of joy which drained out all of her inhibitions.

"Oh yikes. Sorry." Dash giggled and put a hand on her shoulder. "You ok? You look just as sleepy as I feel."

"I'm ok..." Shy yawned again, and rubbed her eyes. "You...smell nice."

"Okay...?" Dash cocked her head and nudged her shoulder to see if she was still lucid. "You're acting funny. You wanna lie down?" Dash asked. "Come on. I'll help you to your bed."

"But...what about you?" Shy asked. "Are you leaving?" She suddenly felt very disappointed although she didn't want to be a bad host. "If um...you're gonna...go...then I should see you out."

"No worries." Dash shrugged and slowly helped her to her feet. "I can close the door on my way out."

The thought of Dash leaving now made Fluttershy feel extremely lonely, so she slumped against Dash's side with an arm draped around her. "I...don't want you to go..."

"Oh." Dash giggled again. "Well tomorrow's a school day. I have to go home and shower eventually. Sorry, Fluttershy."

She sighed but didn't remove herself from Dash's side. "It's ok." Shy said in a quiet sigh. She felt Dash gently sweep her off her feet, pulling her into her room and laying her down on her bed.

Dash pulled her blankets up over her tummy and scooted a pillow under her head. "Here you go." She yawned loudly and slumped forward for a moment. "Yeah, I need to get home and crash. Have a good night, Shy. Text me how you're doing later, ok?" She paused, waiting to receive an answer, but all she got back was a lazy nod. "I think that's a yes. Ok, see you." She turned to leave the room, but she felt a gentle squeeze of her hand and a soft tug of her arm. Dash realized Fluttershy had a grip of two of her fingers inside her tiny little fist. "Uh....Fluttershy, I gotta go." She struggled to pull her hand free. "Seriously..."

"Please don't." Fluttershy turned onto her back and opened one eye up at her. "Just..." She yawned again. "...sleep here."

Dash sighed. "Um, is that, like, ok? I'm still sorta clammy from practice, and I don't know if it’s such a good idea on a school night." She felt a rather hard tug, pulling her down onto the bed. Fluttershy quickly wrapped her arms around Dash's waist and held fast to her side, her face buried into her shoulder. "H-Hey, Shy come on." Dash giggled and squirmed a bit. "I'm serious. You bed is gonna smell like me."

"That's fine." Shy mumbled softly, her voice nearly muffled by Dash's shoulder.

"Weird." Dash groaned. "Ok ok, whatever." She sighed and began sinking down into the bed, wrapping her arm under Shy's head. "But I get to use your shower tomorrow." Dash didn't receive a response. It seemed Fluttershy almost immediately fell asleep when her face pressed into her ribs.

The bed and the sleeping form next to Dash began to feel extremely soft and invitingly warm. It was a surprise how awesome this bed was. Maybe she should get one like it instead of the bed she had that looked like a giant race car. It looked cool, but it was nowhere near as comfortable. Rainbow was forced out of her musings when she felt Fluttershy's warm breath against her side. The coziness from Fluttershy's touch was something almost alien to her. Was this what it was like to sleep with a family pet, or better yet, a loved one? Dash had always been the loner type, tossing and turning most of the night because she couldn't get comfortable no matter what position she tried to sleep in. Maybe this was the secret: snuggling.

"Heh..." Dash's face turned a shade of pink as she turned to head to look down at Fluttershy's face. "This...is kinda awesome..." There was something about Fluttershy's soft pink hair that looked comfy, so Dash pressed her face against the top of her head and sniffed. She smelled nice, like flower scented candles. "Mn..." Dash closed her eyes and thought to herself, Wow, yeah this is pretty cool...but...is this kinda weird? She inwardly shrugged as she argued with herself. Nah, girls do this all the time. Not me, but...girls. So, I guess it's fine. She sniffed again, and a small smile spread across her lips as she nuzzled her face deeper into Shy's hair.

-o0o-

An hour had passed when Fluttershy's mother came home. There were signs that someone else besides her daughter was here. By the door was an extra pair of training shoes that were covered in grass stains and a gym bag on the couch next to an unfinished board game. It had been a while, but she knew who these foreign items belonged to. It was strange however that neither her daughter nor her friend was anywhere to be seen. Not only that, but it was quiet.

In keeping with the quiet, she tip-toed her way to Fluttershy's room and opened the door, cutting herself off from speaking when she saw the two girls sleeping in bed. It was an almost touching sight. Dash had flopped onto her back with her arm under Fluttershy's shoulders, snoring softly up at the ceiling while Fluttershy's head rested on her chest. They looked just as adorable now as they did as small children.

With a soft click, she closed the door and left them to their slumber.

Chapter 5: ...To Follow It

It came as no surprise to Rainbow when she saw Fluttershy watching her practice after school. It was nice to have a friend both to be playing with and another to watch her practice, but Rarity had come with Twilight and Pinkie to pick Shy up for an edible and much needed lunch. Now that she was gone, Dash began to concentrate every little grey cell she had on getting the most out of practice before the big game. Her legs pumped harder and faster than ever, and for the first time since she started high school, she felt winded. Her legs tightened and ached with each stride as she dribbled the soccer ball down the field with Sunset running parallel to her.

Sunset was just as tired, even more so now that she had to keep an even faster pace alongside her team captain. It was easy to tell how much soccer meant to the longtime athlete. Sweat and dirt covered her brow and grass stains covered her bare shins as she hopped sideways along the field to open up for a pass. When the ball came to her, she deflected it quickly back to Dash. This quick but decisive action had given Dash a couple seconds to get into a good scoring position in front of the team's goalie. With a kick powerful enough to break a brick wall, Dash launched the ball to score.

During the past week, the rest of the team had trained with Dash just as hard and just as furiously. In just a matter of days, they became slightly faster and stronger out there on the grass. What should have been an easy goal was anything but. The goalie, a young girl of average height and brown hair as wild as a tumbleweed, leaped into the air and threw herself at the ball. She collapsed onto the ground with her body curled around her prize. To everyone's astonishment, she got up and threw the ball back out onto the field.

Dash was almost mystified. She ALWAYS scored, every time she kicked. Now, in exhaustion and frustration, she collapsed to her knees and gasped for air. "H-How??" She croaked as she put her hands behind her head to open up her lungs. In a similar fashion, Sunset flopped down onto her back next to her and began knocking back air like there was no tomorrow. When she sat up, she exhaled hard and put a hand on Dash's shoulder.

"I think our team is getting faster." She reasoned, trying to reassure her friend.

"But...I never miss." Dash turned to her and wiped her grass stained hand across her face. "I never miss!"

Sunset just shook her head. "Rainbow, it's ok. I'm sure you'll make the next one."

The goalie walked up to the two girls with a big grin on her face. "Great catch, huh?"

Dash scowled, instantly feeling silly and immature. Yes, it had been a great catch. It was awesome catch. Deep down, she knew her team was strong, and this girl's performance showed their strength as a unit. "Yeah." She nodded and stood to look her in the eye. "That was pretty cool. Nice one."

"Thanks!" The girl seemed exuberantly happy to hear that. "Coming from you, that means a bunch!" Dash couldn't help but feel that this kid was a bit too enthusiastic. Based on her size, Dash guessed she was an underclassman.

Sunset gave the girl a thumbs up. "With you guarding for us, I think we're gonna win easy tomorrow."

"Yeah! You're looking pretty good out there yourself!" She gave her back a thumbs up of her own. "Weird how you just now started playing."

"Alright guys." Dash ran her hand back and over her hair to brush it out of her face. "Let's set up to run a couple of plays before we call it a day."

"Sounds good!" The girl sauntered back to the goal and began stretching out her legs while yelling out at the rest of the team what was going to happen.

"You ok?" Sunset asked, turning to see Dash leaning more on her left foot. "You look like you have a cramp or something."

This was true. Her last kick was beginning to have consequences, but Dash was never one to admit she was in physical pain. "Nah, I'm good." She lied as she shifted her body weight to a more natural posture. This was incredibly painful, forcing her go back to favoring one side. "Ok, maybe I have a tiny cramp. I'm sure it'll go away in a minute."

"I think you need to sit down." Sunset tried to sound as concerned as possible. "You've been running harder than I've ever seen for almost two straight hours. The rest of the team takes breaks, and you should too."

"I can't take breaks." Dash limped casually towards the side of the field. "I'm team captain!"

"Yeah, you're team captain." Sunset sighed and put an arm under Dash's waist to ease her into a sitting position on the grass. "But you should also be taking breaks like the rest of us. Besides, we have a big game tomorrow. It would kinda suck if you were too worn out to play."

Dash sighed and began rubbing her thigh with both hands. "Yeah...It would." She groaned and bit her lip. "But I just can't stand the thought of losing tomorrow."

"We won't." Sunset giggled. "Trust me. If we play even half as hard as we practice, we'll be fine."

"Heh, yeah totally." Dash nodded her head. "Hey, who was that kid?" She pointed at the goalie. "Isn't she like Cloudchaser's little sister or something? I swear she's not the same goalie as last year."

"Beats me." Sunset sat down next to her and watched the team shuffle towards the big water cooler on the other side of the field. Since the team captain was taking a break, everyone else decided it would be a good idea to do the same. "I don't really know anyone else here besides you."

"Well, when we graduate, that kid is probably gonna be the new team captain." Dash pressed her knuckles into her thigh to fight against the cramp.

"Are you already thinking about graduation?" Sunset asked.

"Um..." Dash nodded her head slowly. "Kinda, I guess. I think I talked about it with Shy at some point yesterday."

"Ohhh..." Sunset put a finger to her chin. Was this why Dash was working even harder than usual today on the field? "You know, we still have a while before that happens. I wouldn't worry about it until we get there."

"Yeah, true." Dash groaned as she felt a shooting pain instantly burn her thigh before suddenly disappearing. With a sigh, she smiled. "That's way better."

Sunset turned to her. "That sounded really painful."

"What, my leg?" Dash laughed. "It's nothing. Just a small cramp, like I said."

"If you say so." Sunset shrugged. "You know, if you have a cramp, you could go see the school nurse."

"No way." Dash shook her head. "Last time I was there I had to sit next to a kid sneezing and coughing all over the place. Totally not doing that again. Besides, it's not like I'm actually hurt or anything. Cramps happen all the time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sunset leaned back on her arms. "Just don't push yourself too hard. I don't think you realize it, but you don't have superpowers. Maybe your 'pony-up' thing kinda counts, but you still might end up actually hurting yourself if you're not careful."

"Huh..." Dash gave her a smile. "Sure, anything is possible. I guess...I've just always wanted to be the best player at every practice."

"I think everyone on the team would agree that you are the best. Everyone in the whole school pretty much thinks so."

"Whoa, really?" Dash giggled. "That's awesome! I always had a feeling that was true, but if you say it is, then I believe you." She paused and leaned back on her arms as well. "You have really changed, Sunset. In a good way."

"T-Thanks." Sunset blushed a bit and grinned at the grass beneath her. "That...actually means a lot. It's nice to know people think I'm a better person."

"WAY better." Dash rolled her eyes and giggled. "You used to tooootally suck!" Sunset frowned at her, and Dash cleared her throat. "Um, but you're cool now....sorry."

"It's ok." Sunset laughed. "I did used to suck. I'm just glad I have good friends now to hang out with."

"And play soccer with." Dash nodded her head with a grin.

"And play soccer with." Sunset repeated with a smile. "Should we get up and go back to practicing? Only if you're feeling up to it. I don't mind resting for a few more minutes."

"Nah, why wait..." Dash hopped up and shook out her legs. "If we take too long, the football players won't be happy."

Sunset sighed and stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "Let's get practice over with so we can all go home and eat."

"Awesome idea." They jogged their way back out onto the grass where the rest of the team was waiting for them.

-o0o-

Nestled nice and cozy into her blankets, Fluttershy lay on her side clutching her pillow, eyes lazily opening and closing as sleep beckoned her towards unconsciousness. Her mother had come in a minute ago after coming home from work to check on her before going to bed, and yet again Shy was feeling the effects of a food coma. As she laid there, a thought had occurred to her which was partially amusing.

Earlier that day when Rarity had taken her and a few others out for lunch, Fluttershy did not have the luxury of choosing her meal. Pinkie and Rarity had agreed that she was much too skinny, especially for someone as short as she was. Now, after a couple hours of homework and thumbing through a Cat Fancy magazine in bed before laying down completely, Shy was beginning to feel as if her friends were trying to put more meat on her bones.

While they had been eating, Rarity kept talking profusely about dresses, dresses, and more dresses. It was evidently clear how excited she was to make the new Twilight a gown, so excited in fact that immediately after they ate, she had taken Twilight back home to do measurements. With their little party only a day away, Rarity had her work cut out for her.

Being so snug and warm was almost heaven for Shy at that moment except for one slight discomfort. She usually slept with a great number of blankets, and because of this, she was too hot. Her feet felt a bit clammy and her head felt warm against her pillow. With a small sigh, she pushed her blankets back with her feet and rolled onto her back.

Thoughts of Rainbow Dash danced through her head when she spread her arms across her sheets to feel just how alone she really was in her bed. The night before had been near magical bliss. Having Dash in her arms, herself in Dash's arms, just being so close to her was an experience she was beginning to regret. The physical loneliness now was worse than ever before. Even the faint scent of her Rainbow Dash that clung to the pillows was beginning to drive her crazy.

Images of Dashie's sly smile and the sound of her cute crackling giggle filled Shy's head, and her eyes could easily picture her smooth and tight legs leading up to her cute round behind. Fluttershy opened her eyes and sat up a bit to look around the room. She had to make sure she was truly alone with her thoughts right now. Her mind was craving the idea of scouring her memory for more Rainbow Dash thoughts, and her body might respond in turn in a VERY embarrassing way.

Most teenagers have their ways of stress relief....

...and Fluttershy is no different.

With the lights off and the room nice and cozy, Fluttershy's face turned cherry red as she pulled her big comforter over her head, hiding herself from the rest of the world while she indulged her body and soul. She closed her eyes and let all of those precious Dashie images race through her mind while laying herself down flat on the bed with her hands resting on her tummy. A small sigh escaped her lips as she bit the top of her shirt with a squeak, her hands moving slowly down passed her hips to her thighs. For a couple minutes, she lazily squeezed her own thighs while watching the image of Dash's head resting on her lap from the night before. She remembered the nervous anticipation she felt as she moved her head down slowly to steal a kiss, making the present Fluttershy grasp her hips and whimper ever so softly up at her ceiling.

A shrill chirp of a bird rang out throughout the room, and in a panicked shock, Fluttershy squeaked just as loudly while curling up under the blankets like a turtle. It took her a few seconds to catch her breath and realize it was her phone making that noise. Slowly, like a cat peeking out from a box, Shy brought her head over the blankets to look at her phone. The chirping ended suddenly, and Shy picked her phone up to look at it more closely. The only notification on the face of the screen was a text message. It was from...Rainbow Dash?

She frantically slid her finger across her screen and opened the message which read, "Hey, Shy...u up? I no it kinda l8. Was thnkn we cud chat. Kinda nervous bout 2mrrw. Sry if I woke u. Call me if u want." Fluttershy had to read the message nearly five times to understand the terrible spelling. She sat back in her bed and collected herself, running her fingers through her long hair to smooth out any evidence of self-foreplay. Although she knew absolutely no one could have been watching her, she did feel a tad guilty.

While Shy had been alone with her thoughts, Dash had come home a couple hours ago from practice. Her body was stiff and achy like she had just taken a dive off a cliff and had to climb back up. It felt very unusual and unnerving to be so tired. Normally, she would have been happy to be so sore, but there were two reasons why this was making her worry. The first was the most obvious. She had a big game tomorrow that was going to need everything she had, so being tired was not a good thing. Second, just being sore and tired in general was not a good sign. She was the star athlete of Canterlot High, so Dash had to wonder why she was so worn out.

She felt as if there was an underlying pressure or weight on her back, like something was weighing on her mind that only added to the aches and pains. No matter what, she couldn't shake the continuing reminders her brain was giving her about Fluttershy. That girl was on her mind a lot, and Dash wasn't entirely sure why. It was as if her heart was trying to tell her something important, but her ears needed to pop first.

After a long thirty minute shower, Dash sat on her bed with nothing on except a pair of cotton shorts and a towel around her neck. Not being one for homework, Dash immediately turned her TV on to play one of her racing games. Her father came in an hour later with a big plate piled with boneless ribs and macaroni salad, and he immediately groaned and rolled his eyes at her revealing appearance. Her father was a brawny and rather handsomely built man with a scruffy but trimmed beard and a full head of rainbow hair worn in a short spiky mess. It was always easy to guess whose dad he was when Dash was growing up in elementary school. "Ah, come on, kiddo!" He sighed heavily and put his daughter's dinner on a plastic dinner tray next to her with racing flags printed on the face. "You're not a little girl anymore. Put some clothes on."

"Uh-huh." Dash wasn't even paying attention to him. Her nose picked up the scent of food, and she paused her game to turn to her meal. "Cool! Food!"

Her father picked up a stray shirt that was lying on the floor and threw it at her face. "Put a shirt on before you eat." He walked back towards the door of her room and stepped on a small foam basketball. He picked it up and balanced it on his finger. "You wanna clean up in here one of these days?"

"No." Dash shook her head and swiped her finger across her food to lick up the barbecue sauce. "Not really."

"Too bad. This weekend, you're cleaning your room." He bounced the foam ball off his knee a few times. "At the very least, put your plate in the sink when you're done."

"Fine..." Dash grumbled up at him. "Hey, dad. Did anything come in the mail for me today?"

He shrugged. "Probably. Check the stack of mail on the kitchen counter. I think I saw your soccer magazine somewhere in there."

Dash shoved a rib into her mouth after pulling her shirt over her head. She rushed out of her room past her dad and began rummaging through the mail. She found her soccer magazine and her gaming magazine and tucked them under her arm before walking back to her room. Her father gently threw the foam basketball at her head, the ball bouncing off back towards him before hiding it behind his back. When Dash turned to angrily stare at him, he whistled non-nonchalantly while walking away.

More hungry than annoyed, Dash got back up onto her race-car bed and began eating with one hand while playing her game with the other. This method of multitasking wasn't working, causing her to spill food onto the dinner tray and crash her car repeatedly until finally wrecking her vehicle. With a sigh, she flipped the channel input to watch something on TV while eating. After just a few minutes of inhaling her food followed by a loud burp, Dash sighed. It was nice to feel full after working so hard, but she didn't feel any better. She hoped the food would help to some degree with her aches and pains, but no such luck.

She began to wonder again whether or not she would perform to her own expectations tomorrow. She knew there was a good chance she was just psyching herself out, but a part of her really did feel unsure of herself. Sure, she was a great athlete, but what if she got out there on the field during one of her future games and realized she wasn't the best player? This had never happened before, but it was a possibility that hadn't crossed her mind until today when she was goal blocked by an underclassman.

With a sigh, Dash laid back on her bed and thumbed through her game magazine, glancing up every now and then to see if the TV could be just as good of a time waster. The hour hand of the motorcycle tire clock on her wall moved an hour higher towards midnight, and Dash closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Without wasting another second, she picked up her phone.

She wanted to talk to somebody about how nervous she was feeling, but it was already pretty late in the evening. The only person who would definitely still be up right now was Pinkie Pie, and that was just not gonna happen. The last time they chatted on the phone in the middle of the night, Pinkie had tried telling her a bad Brittney Spears joke that was almost painful to listen to. She really wanted to talk to Fluttershy, but she would probably be asleep. Instead of calling her, Dash sent her a message.

"H-Here goes..." Once Fluttershy had collected herself, she pressed the call-back tab on her phone. Giddiness began to rise up in her chest as she heard the ringing of her connection dialing out.

"Hello?" Dash asked. "Fluttershy?"

"U-Um, h-hi Dashie." Fluttershy squeaked as she pulled her blanket over her head.

"No way! I didn't think you'd call back! Kinda thought you'd be asleep by now." Dash sat up in bed with a smile.

"W-Well...no I'm not asleep yet." Shy made a soft little giggle which made Dash smile even more. Too bad she couldn't see that smile over the phone.

"Yeah, cool...cool...hey listen." Dash cleared her throat and laid back down, looking to her side to check to make sure her bedroom door was closed. She was about to speak again, but all she could do was sigh into the receiver.

Shy noticed her friend's hesitation and asked, "Is everything ok?"

"Mhm. Yeah, it's cool." Dash shrugged and laughed at herself. "I'm just being stupid."

"You...are?" Shy felt genuinely confused. "I don't understand."

Dash sighed again. "I'm...uh...I dunno...I guess I'm just kind of nervous about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Shy laid her head on her pillow and stared vacantly at her wall. "The game tomorrow?"

"Yeah..." Dash rubbed the back of her head and flopped back completely.

"That's...new." Fluttershy mumbled softly. "I never thought you could ever get nervous."

"I know, right?" Dash giggled. "I guess I'm just being silly then."

"Well...why are you nervous?"

"I...uh..." Dash gulped and palmed her face. "Hey, you think I'm a pretty good soccer player, right?"

"Y-Yes." Shy scrunched her nose with a finger and curled up farther into her blankets.

"Thanks." Dash smiled and sighed. "I think for the first time ever...I'm actually...doubting myself."

"Oh..." Shy instantly felt like rushing over to her house to give her a hug. "Aw, Dashie..."

"I know, I know...It's really stupid." Dash covered her phone and yawned, looking at the face of her screen for a moment to check the time. "I'm just worried that...when I go out there on the field, I won't be the best."

"You...you are the best." Shy said directly. "I've never seen anyone as good as you are. I...I don't know much about soccer, but...I don't think you can lose."

"Wow...heh." Dash grinned hard with a slight blush. "Thanks! That's awesome...You're not the first person to say that to me, but I'm really glad you did."

Shy gave her a cute little giggle. "You're welcome."

"Oh, thanks for letting me vent a bit." Dash laid back down and ran her hand through her hair. "I really needed to talk to someone about this."

"Mhm. I'm glad you decided to tell me." Shy nodded and laid on her side. She wondered if Dash's crack in her confidence might be caused by something else. "Is this just about soccer?"

"Uh...mostly, I think. Maybe a little about something else." Dash thought back to her conversation with Sunset. "I dunno...It's whatever. Nevermind that. I think what you said just now really helped me out. I feel a lot better now, so...I'm good."

"Well, ok." Shy rubbed her eyes and yawned softly. "You...you can always call me if something is bothering you. I don't mind listening. Actually...I want to listen."

"Thanks, Shy!" Dash giggled. "You are an awesome friend. I feel like we're little kids again and I can tell you anything. Oh, remember when I told you how I got dared to eat a caterpillar in second grade and you barfed all over the jungle gym?"

"Um..." Shy stared with a blank expression at her wall. "...no?"

"Oh. Maybe it was someone else."

"You ate a caterpillar?"

"Yeah, I did...at least, I'm pretty sure I did." Dash thought back. "Huh...maybe I didn't. I dunno...I feel like I ate a caterpillar in second grade cause I have this memory where a boy in my class found one of the playground and-"

"Dashie?" Shy squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"I um...I don't think...I need to hear this story."

"Oh, my bad." Dash giggled. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Shy nuzzled her pillow, wishing for a miracle to happen so she could snuggle her Dashie as they talked. "Would...would it be ok if I said something?"

"Uh, yeah sure. Go for it." Dash arched her back against to pop her side in a couple places. "You don't have to ask."

"A-Alright..." Shy took a deep breath. "Dashie...I...I kind of know the feeling."

"What, like not feeling sure of yourself?"

"Mhm..." Shy swallowed. "...I...actually feel like that a lot."

"Oh, really?" Dash sighed and sat up, feeling a surge of concern for her friend. "Wow, that's...yeah..." She ran her hand through her hair again. "Like, every week or day or...just all the time?"

"Um..." Shy closed her eyes and bit her lip. "...Well, maybe not all the time, but...most of the time."

"Aww...geez..." Dash reached for her pillow to hug it. "Really? Geez that sucks...I can't believe I never noticed. I feel like a jerk now. I'm getting all bent out of shape over this once, and you're here dealing with it all the time."

"M-Most...of the time." Shy tried to downplay the truth again. "...not all the time. And...Dashie, you're not a jerk. I never mentioned it or said anything about it, so you can't blame yourself. I think...um..."

Dash waited for her to finish, but when she didn't hear anything through the phone, she asked, "...think what?"

"...I think...you're a lot stronger than me. You're able to do amazing things, Dashie. You're an amazing athlete, you are so open and friendly, and you always stick by your friends when times get tough...I can't do any of that stuff."

Dash pinched the bridge of her nose as she heard a soft sniffle through her receiver. "Ah, nuts..." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Fluttershy, that's soooo not true. Sure, you can't run fast or anything, but you're the nicest person I've ever known. I mean, with so many jerks out there, it takes serious guts to be nice to everyone. Plus, out of all our friends, I trust you the most. That right there, that's some major awesomeness."

Shy remained silent for a moment as a smile spread across her face. "...Y-You...really think so?"

"Duh, of course." Dash rolled her eyes. "If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have said all that stuff."

Shy hugged her pillow tightly and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "That's...the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I didn't realize how much I meant to you as a friend."

Dash laughed. "Seriously? You are the best, Shy! You've always been the best! Ok, so maybe we don't have a whole lot in common or anything, but I think that's one of the reasons I always liked hanging out with you. I think we kinda balance each other out, you know?"

"Mhm." Shy hugged her pillow against her chest even tighter and bit the end of it between her lips. "I think I know what you mean."

Dash sighed with relief after hearing her more cheerful tone. She flopped back down on her bed and giggled. "Cool. I'm glad you get it now. Honestly, if you wanna know how I REALLY feel, I wanna keep being best buds when school is over...I know most people kinda drift apart after school's over, but...I don't want that to happen to us."

"Thanks, Dashie." Shy squeaked and bit her pillow harder. "I would...really like that."

"Awesome." Dash grinned harder. "Oh, and go ahead and call me or whatever anytime. I...kinda worry about you. It makes me nervous when you go off by yourself for a whole day without even talking to me."

"I'm sorry about that." Shy let go of her pillow and ran her finger down her long bangs. "I didn't mean to worry you like that."

"It's cool." Dash yawned loudly. "Just come over or something if you feel like that. I'll always hang out with you and try to cheer you up." Dash giggled. "I know Pinks would do the same thing, but she's kinda...you know, out there."

"Mhm....I'll do that for you, Dashie..." Hearing those words was like a dream come true. Shy had planned on asking the same thing sometime in the future, but Dash had beaten her to it. It was a joyous relief to have that relationship door open for her.

"Great." Dash rubbed her eyes. "Hey, I know our talk got kinda heavy all of the sudden, but...we should probably get some sleep. Do you wanna walk to school together tomorrow?"

"I would like that..." Shy nodded her head, knowing full well Dash couldn't see, but she couldn't help herself.

"Sweet. Oh! Is it cool if you bring me a cinnamon roll?"

"Sure, Dashie. I'll bring you one."

"Thanks. I'm gonna shut my eyes here, so text me whenever tomorrow and let me know when you're on your way."

"Ok." Shy curled up like a ball under her blankets and gave the face of her phone a peck. "Have a good night."

"You too. Later."

There was a soft click and a dial tone from her phone that told Shy she was now alone again. This time, however, she was pretty darn happy. The joy she felt was enough for her to let her mind drift back again with great ease to the wondrously delicious thoughts that came before the phone call. Now, alone again with just herself, she indulged her soul until she felt the calm serenity of reaching the pinnacle of relaxation.

-o0o-

"Ah don't know, Appleblooom." The big sister sighed with her hands on her hips behind her apple stand before the big game. "How can Ah be sure ya'll ain't gonna mess nothin' up?"

"Aw, come on, AJ." Applebloom made a pouting frown up at her. Both her friends picked up on cue and did the same thing, giving the older girl the biggest puppy dog eyes they could.

"We promise we'll be on our best behavior." Sweetie Belle gave the best innocent smile she could muster.

Scootaloo was putting all her effort into puppy dog eyes, but her appearance looked more comical than sympathetic. "Pleeeease?"

Applejack sighed one more time and stepped out from behind the apple stand. "Fine, Ah guess..."

"Yes!" Scoots bounced over the counter top and landed squarely behind the stand.

Sweetie Belle joined her and Applebloom hugged her big sister. "Thanks, big sis! Ah promise we'll make lots a money for ya!"

"Ah honestly don't care much ‘bout the money long as no one complains." Applejack pointed a finger at the girls. "Just...don't break nothin'."

"We won't!" Sweetie Belle nodded her head.

"Ok..." Applejack adjusted her hat. "Ya'll take care now, 'n don't give no one trouble."

"We know, we know." Applebloom put her hands on her big sisters hips and began pushing her towards the bleachers. "Ya'll go 'n watch the game with yer friends."

With a groan, Applejack walked away, instantly starting to worry. She knew most of her friends were already in their seats, and she hadn't expected to be able to watch the game at all. In a way, it was sort of a blessing to have a little sister and her friends so eager to do stuff, but there always was an ulterior motive. With great hesitation, she pushed her concerns out of her mind and began walking up the bleachers.

Pinkie was sitting between both Rarity and Twilight, munching loudly on a mountain of assorted snacks. Popcorn kernels scattered around her feet, and Rarity did her best to keep her nice shoes from taking any damage. "Applethackth!" Pinkie pointed to the country gal with a greasy finger and a smiled, cheeks puffed up with food.

"Howdy, ya'll." Applejack greeted them and sat next to Rarity. "How's the food, Pinkie Pie?"

"Goodth!!"

"Good evening, darling." Rarity beamed and gave her a hug.

Twilight brought a hand up to shield her face from a barrage of crumbs. "Hello, Applejack. I thought you were running your family's apple stand."

"Ah was, but my ''lil sis 'n her friends wanted to take over fer the game."

"Oh dear..." Rarity frowned. "I do hope they don't cause any undo commotion."

"Me too..."

"Um, why would that be?" Twilight asked, not entirely sure what they were getting at.

Rarity turned to her. "I suppose you haven't met out little sisters, have you?"

"No, can't say I have."

"They're crazyth!" Pinkie slurped hard on her soda before swallowing.

"They're not crazy, Pinkie." Applejack shook her head. "They're just...full a energy."

"And perhaps even dangerous." Rarity touched her soft white chin with a manicured finger. "Left alone without supervision, I sometimes fear the worst."

"Oh dear." Twilight giggled. "They sound very rambunctious."

"Oh, yeah ram-spunk-cause!" Pinkie nodded her head and mimicked Rarity's thoughtful expression. "My thoughts exactly."

Applejack raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes before turning to the field. Neither team had taken the field yet, but the ticket booths had just opened up. "Ah don't suppose any of ya'll seen Dash er Sunset yet?"

"No-sir-ee, Bob." Pinkie shook her head. "They're probably in the locker rooms right now, and I'm pretty sure the game hasn't started yet."

"So, wouldn't it stand to reason to save some of that food until the game begins?" Rarity asked her, gesturing at the piled high cardboard tray on her lap.

Pinkie looked her in the eyes and very slowly brought a corndog up to her mouth before biting the end off, locking her dead staring eyes with the fashionista's in an almost creepy way. "You'd like me to do that, wouldn't you, Rarity?" She said accusingly. "Just watching me eat is making you hungry."

"N-No!" Rarity shook her head defiantly. "I am not in any way hungry! As a lady, I refuse to spoil my appetite on such fattening and unhealthy food choices. It's preposterous to think I would be even remotely interested in your-"

Applejack cut her off by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Rare, be honest with me, 'n just tell me the truth. Are ya hungry?" She asked. "Ain't no one gonna give ya grief if ya had a snack durin' the game. Besides, Ah'm sure yer figure ain't gonna change overnight from one popcorn er candy apple."

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. "She’s right. Just one snack doesn't even have enough physical mass or enough saturated lipid chains to alter your metabolic rate."

"Uh, yeah. What she said." Applejack just nodded her head.

"Well...then I suppose one candy apple would be fine." Rarity cleared her throat and flashed AJ her most charming smile. "Applejack, darling, would you be a doll and buy me one? I would do it myself, but..." She lifted her foot up to show everyone her open toes high heel sandals. "...I'm afraid someone will step on my toes if I walk down the stairs. I just had them touched up, you see."

With a chuckle, AJ nodded her head and stood up. "Sure." She began walking down the bleachers while Rarity's eyes followed her descent.

"What's with you?" Pinkie asked, waving her corn dog at Rarity, then at Applejack, then back at Rarity. "You've been getting all weeeeiird around Applejack."

Rarity blushed heavily and crossed her arms. "I-I don't know what you mean! That is a ridiculous idea."

"You have been acting kind of funny lately." Twilight noted. "Every time Applejack shows up you always give her a hug before checking your hair. I would estimate this happens roughly four to seven times every weekday, although I haven't yet made a correlation between your behavior and her presence."

"Now, that is…" Rarity wiggled her nose and huffed proudly. "...that is quite the tall tale! Tell me something, you two. Is this your idea of a prank? Are you both trying to tease me? I don't find it particularly amusing."

"No, we're not pranking you." Pinkie shook her head. "If we were pranking you, I would've shocked your finger with a fake stick of gum." She giggled with a snort. "That one's a classic!"

"Indeed." Rarity turned her head so she wasn't making any eye contact with the two girls.

"We could ask Applejack what she thinks when she gets back." Twilight said very directly.

"NO!!!" Rarity's voice went from graceful to croaky and powerfully loud, making a few other students around her turn their heads. Her face went dark red and she forced a nervous laugh. "I mean, that won't be necessary. How about we just drop the subject. I doubt it's in any way important." Twilight and Pinkie traded looks of astonishment before nodding their heads at their rather flustered friend. Rarity took a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

A moment later, Applejack walked back up the bleacher stairs and sat down next to Rarity, a candy apple in both hands. "Here ya are, Rare." She held out an apple to her with a smile. "Uh, somethin' the matter?" Rarity looked away from her, hiding her bright red cheeks behind her curls. "Uh, hello? Rare?"

Slowly, she turned to face Applejack and forced a smile. "T-Thank you, dear." She gratefully accepted the candy apple and twirled it in her fingers. "I do appreciate this gesture."

"Ah shucks, sugarpie. It ain't nothin'. Ah'm just glad ya came to yer senses 'n decided to eat somethin'." Applejack nudged her shoulder and motioned to her snack. "Well? Eat up, now. The caramel ain't gonna stay soft forever."

Rarity bit softly into her apple, and her eyes grew wide. It was the most delicious thing she had eaten in a very long time. She couldn't remember the last time she indulged her sweet tooth like this, and it was exactly what she needed. "This is absolutely divine!" She squealed and licked her lips.

With a chuckle, Applejack put an arm around her. "Ah bet ya'll ain't had a candy anythin' since the day we started high school. At least we know ya'll probably ain't got cavities." This gesture of affection made Rarity press her head against AJ's shoulder for a moment.

"Now I kinda want a candy apple." Twilight mused. "Hey, Applejack, are there still any left? I wanna get one before the game starts."

"Too late!!!" Pinkie nearly jumped out of her seat and pointed to the field. "There they are! There they are!"

The whole bleachers shook as everyone rose to cheer on their team, Applejack had to shout into Rarity's ear to ask, "Where's Fluttershy?"

-o0o-

Dash bounced on her feet side to side, rotating her head around in a circle to loosen herself up. She closed her locker door and pulled her jersey over her head before wrapping the back of her hair into a short ponytail. Sunset sat down on the bench by the shower doors and Dash took a seat next to her. Together, they began to tie their soccer cleats. "You ready?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah." Dash nodded her head and slapped her laces down against the top of her shoe. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"So, you gonna give a speech to the team?" Sunset stood and stretched her arms over her head.

Dash stood and shrugged. "Uh, I wasn't planning on it. Never gave a speech before."

"But, you're team captain. I thought team captains gave speeches."

"What, like in the movies?" Dash giggled. "This isn't a movie, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Sunset giggled. "But it would be kinda cool."

"Yeah." Dash nodded her head slowly with a smile. "Yeah it would be." She turned to the rest of the players and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, guys!"

Everyone turned to face her, waiting for her to continue. A girl with bright silver hair drawn back like she had just gone through a wind turbine asked, "What's up, captain?"

Dash paused. "So...I know this is our first game and all, but I want to set a standard this season. If we go out there and show them our A game, then all the other teams, well, they're gonna have to play at our level." Everyone, including Sunset, nodded their head and exchanged acknowledging smiles. "So, when we play today, I wanna see everyone run harder and faster and scream louder than ever!"

Sunset put her fist into the air and shouted, "Wondercolts!"

The whole room exploded in voices. "Wondercolts!!!"

Dash smiled at Sunset and put an arm around her shoulder. "Are we here to win?!"

"Yeah!"

"Are we gonna bring those Tailwhips down?!"

"Yeah!"

"SO LET"S GET OUT THERE!!!"

Sunset began pumping her fist again, continuing her chant. She gave Dash a thumbs up and a wink, letting her know she did well on the speech. As the team began to make their way out of the locker rooms, every player chanted as loudly as they could into the gym hallway. "WONDERCOLTS! WONDERCOLTS!"

Outside in the hallway and covering her ears from the deafening screaming, Fluttershy stood by the locker room doors, watching the players file out towards the double doors leading towards the field. No one noticed she was even there, but when she saw Sunset and Dash exit, she took a small step towards them. They both began down the hall, but Shy reached out with two fingers to grab the end of Dash's jersey.

Dash turned towards the source of the new tugging feeling, worried she might have snagged her shirt in the locker room doors. "Hey! Shy!" She beamed an excited smile down at Shy once she realized who it was. "Yo! What's up?"

"H-Hi, Dashie..." Shy blushed a bit, feeling very nervous. Catching up to Dash before the game had already taken a great deal of her mustered up courage. "I-I...I um...I wanted to wish you good luck...in person."

"Aw, thanks!" Dash put an arm around her shoulder. "That's really awesome of you. I don't think anyone has ever done that before." Shy put her arms around her waist and hugged very tightly, catching Dash off guard. "W-Whoa...hey..." After a moment, Dash hugged back. "Is...everything ok?"

"Mhm." Shy released her hug and took a step back, feeling much better after getting that out of her system. "I brought you something too." She reached into her pocket to hold up a small rubber bracelet. Embedded into the rubber was an inscription that read 'Unstoppable!' in big bolt letters. Dash took the bracelet and looked it over. "I...I know it's not much, but...I think you needed this. You can do it, Dashie. Don't ever doubt yourself."

"S-Shy..." Dash put the bracelet on and blushed hard. "...this...is great. This is really really awesome...I love it!" Dash threw her arms around the smaller girl's body and held her in a tight grip close to her chest. "You were right. I did need this."

Shy nuzzled her face into Dash's neck and squeezed her hips with her hands. "I believe in you, Dashie."

Dash sniffled hard and laughed, letting her go to wipe the tear running down her own cheek. "Geez, I'm crying!" She laughed at herself. "Seriously, this is the sweetest thing I've ever gotten from anyone!"

"I-I...don't know about all that..." Shy giggled softly and blushed harder behind her long hair.

With a crackling giggle, Dash finished wiping her face. "Shy..." She paused. "...I'm really sorry, but I should probably get going..."

"It's ok." Shy nodded her head. "Go ahead."

"Hey..." Dash brushed Shy's hair away from her face when she saw how sad she looked. "When the game is over, come find me here." She gestured towards the locker room doors. "We can hang out right after I change."

"But...what about Sunset?" Shy asked with gentle eyes up at her.

"She's gonna go home to get ready for the party. Don't worry about her." Dash smiled warmly. "If you want, you can come home with me and hang out for a bit before we go to Twilight's. Sound good?"

Shy nodded her head and hugged her waist again. "That sounds good."

Dash patted the top of her head. "Alright alright, seriously Shy. I gotta get out there." With a solemn nod, Shy let her go. As Dash turned to walk away, Shy stood on her tip toes right when Dash's cheek was in view. She gave a soft peck to her beloved's cheek and quickly turned to run slowly down the hall away from her.

In a bit of confused shock, Dash stood motionless, watching Shy take her leave. Her face turned hot pink and an amused smile spread across her face. "D-Did...she just..."

Once Sunset has stepped out onto the field, she realized she had lost her teammate at some point. She doubled back towards the school and poked her head inside. "Hey, Rainbow! What's the hold up? Come on!"

"Y-Yeah, yeah I'm coming!" Dash bolted towards the door, and together they stepped onto the field to stare down their opponents.

The crowd was up from their seats, cheering so loudly that no other noise could be heard. Dash was very surprised to see the bleachers completely packed on their first game. It looked like the whole school and the surrounding neighborhoods had come to watch their local Wondercolts kick butt. This was exactly what Dash had been waiting for. This was the type of environment she thrived in, and the crowd's excitement was beginning to bolster her own.

The excitement she felt wasn't just fueled by the crowd. Her heart fluttered in a way she had never felt before, and Dash could feel her cheek tingle from the peck Shy had given her.

-o0o-

Fluttershy never did take a seat with the rest of her friends as the game began. Instead, she quietly leaned on the fence line at the end of the field by herself. This gave her a wonderful view of Dash's powerful and methodical scoring kicks. With a smile, she watched as the crowd erupted with each goal, and each time she scored, Dash would throw her hands up into the air. The excitement was almost infectious, but Shy's thoughts weighed more heavily on the leading scorer, not the game itself.

She had just done something she felt very unsure about. While waiting for Dash to emerge from the locker rooms, she had never predicted something like that would happen. It just sort of happened, and Shy was at a loss as to why. When Dash's cheek was exposed to the kiss, she had taken her golden opportunity. However, she hadn't made the conscious decision to steal that kiss. It was as if her body acted on pure instinctual desire. This realization affirmed her earlier apprehension. She had waited far too long to tell Dash how she really felt, and now her heart was going to close the distance between them if her mind was unwilling to follow through.

There was no turning back now. The kiss on the cheek had broken the last dam that held back the rushing tide of her feelings. As Fluttershy bit her lip and began walking slowly towards the bleachers to finally meet up with the others, she resolved to do something she had never tried in her entire life. She was going to follow her heart.

Chapter 6: Flutter's Dash and the Start of Something New

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4: ...So Find the Courage...

“Ughhhhhhhhhh…” Dash groaned loudly from the sound of an alarm clock, surprised to not hear the usual rock playlist she was accustomed to every morning. Instead, she opened her eyes with a scowl, trying her hardest to resist the urge to pull a pillow over her face. “Not now…still tired...”

On the other hand, Fluttershy was feeling fantastic. The sounds of kittens and puppies that she had set as her morning greeting always made her smile. She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms over her head with a yawn. After a moment rubbing her eyes, she realized that she had not gone to bed alone. A sense of giddy nervousness filled her tummy as she turned to look down at Dash curled up on her side, eyes shut hard. “D-Dashie?” Shy muttered, reaching for her phone to turn off the alarm but keeping her eyes on her sleeping form.

“No.” Dash grumbled angrily. “That’s the other one…I’m sleepy.” She gave in and pulled a pillow over her head. Fluttershy just sat there and giggled, watching Dash next pull the blanket over her face.

“Wait…” Dash bolted up into a sitting position. “Fluttershy?” She asked, feeling very self-conscious of her usually wild rainbow bed head. “H-Hey! When did…” She stopped and rubbed her eyes. “Oh right, yeah” She giggled hard and pulled the blanket over her shoulder to hide her body from view “…I spent the night.”

“Mhm.” Fluttershy gently placed a hand over her thigh more in a gesture of concern that anything else. “D-Did…you sleep ok?”

“Yeah, better than ok.” Dash nodded and smiled down at her. “I slept awesome! Like a rock.” She wiggled her nose and scrunched her face before wiping the drool hanging off her lip. “You…sleep ok?”

Fluttershy smiled brighter and nodded slowly up at her. “Mhm…” She muttered softly while lazily tracing her eyes up and down Dash’s lovely form. “Better than ever…”

“Totally.” Dash got up off the bed, swinging her legs over the side, and arched her back with her hands on her hips to pop her spine a couple times. It looked painful, but Dash seemed to like it. “Ahh, yeah. Nice.”

With a sudden blush, Shy turned away. Seeing Dashie’s white spandex clad butt so early in the morning was like a little slice of heaven. “I-I…umm…I’m gonna go get some cereal.” Shy got out of bed and walked to her bedroom door, completely unaware that she had kicked her flannel pajama bottoms off during the night while she slept, leaving her cute little butt open for the gentle backhand. “E-Eep!!!”

Dash recoiled her hand and immediately blushed extremely hard, putting a hand over her mouth. “I…am so…so sorry….I didn’t mean to do that….It just kinda happened! Fluttershy, I’m so sorry…Sometimes I do really stupid stuff!”

Shy hid her face behind her hair, trying desperately to hide her massive smile while savoring the tingling from her butt cheeks. “It…It’s ok. Hee…” Shy shook her head and gave Dash a quick little hug before leaving the room, surprising the flustered athlete. It was unusual to receive physical affection right after slapping someone on the tooshie, unless…no way. Dash shook her head and giggled at herself as Fluttershy walked down the hall.

Fluttershy’s mother was already in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. “Hello, sweetie. I noticed you had company over.”

“H-Hi, mom…” Fluttershy felt extremely guilty and embarrassed for reasons she wasn’t entirely sure of. “I-I did…It’s Rainbow Dash. I-I am so sorry I forgot to tell yo-“

“Rainbow Dash?” She asked. “I know, don’t worry, hun. I understand if you forget to tell me things every now and then. It’s just nice to see you two hanging out again.”

“It is…” Fluttershy stood on her tip toes to reach the kitchen cabinet with all the bowls. She began pouring some raisin brand into her bowl and went to the fridge for the milk. “She came by to cheer me up yesterday.”

“Aw, she is such a peach.” Her mother giggled softly. “You’re lucky to have such a dear friend.”

“I…am...” Fluttershy poured her milk and hid her face behind her hair. This was a behavior she started to have early as a child, and her mother could tell when she didn’t want to be pushed too far on certain subjects of conversation.

Her mother went back to her coffee and began thumbing through her newspaper. After a few more minutes, the sound of Fluttershy’s bathroom shower came on with a loud crackling voice yelling, “H-Hot! Ow ow ow!”

Fluttershy’s head turned towards her room, and she got up to run towards the noise. She opened her door and turned straight towards the bathroom where a very stark naked Rainbow Dash was standing, a towel around her body. “Oh crap, I’m sorry. The shower burned me. I totally didn’t mean to scare you, Shy.”

“Are you ok?” Fluttershy walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Her worry for her friend outweighed the desire to visually inspect the distraught girl.

“I think the shower might be different since the last time you stayed over, sweetie.” Fluttershy’s mother hummed as she peeked her head in through the door. She held out Dash’s gym bag for her. “You may need this to change. Just turn the nozzle half way to the left instead of all the way.”

“Thanks…” Dash cowered a bit in her towel. “I’ll keep that in mind. Sorry for all the morning ruckus. I feel pretty dumb.”

“Oh don’t be silly.” Her mother waved a hand at her and smiled warmly. “Fluttershy, go eat your cereal before it gets soggy.” She turned back to Dash. “Want me to make you a cinnamon roll?”

Cinnamon rolls were something she enjoyed whenever she spent the night at Shy’s place as a kid. It surprised her how much Shy’s mom could remember. “Uh, yeah that’d be cool. Thanks.” Shy’s mom smiled with a nod and gently pulled her daughter out of the bathroom back to the kitchen. Dash sighed and closed the bathroom door, taking the towel off slowly. Her skin felt tender from the burning water, but after adjusting the temperature, it felt pretty darn nice. It had been over a day since she last showered, and she hoped Shy and her mom wouldn’t be too upset about sleeping in her bed.

The inside of the shower was just as adorable as Shy’s own room. There were tiny shampoo and conditioner bottles in the shape of little animals, and all the soap bars were shaped like paw prints in paw print dishes. Dash wasn’t sure what was what, so she opted to soap herself down with a bar of soap head to toe.

Fluttershy finished her cereal and got up to go back to her room to change, but after a moment’s hesitation, she sat back down. “I-I’ll wait…” She sighed.

“Something wrong, sweetie?” Her mom asked.

“N-No…I was…just going…to change.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I’ll wait until she comes out.”

“You’re a very nice friend, honey.” She gave the top of head a kiss before going to the pantry to fetch the promised pastry. “When I was your age, my friends would slip a raw egg into my shower.”

“That’s terrible.” Fluttershy looked up at her and marveled at the many things that still surprised her about her mom. She must have had a much more fun and interesting childhood, minus the magical disasters.

Her mother just shrugged and giggled. “You get used to it after a while.”

Dash emerged from Shy’s room five minutes later wearing a school t-shirt and a pair of white trimmed blue short shorts with a lightning bolt on the butt, her gym bag over her shoulder. The smell of a fresh cinnamon roll wafted to her nose, quickening her pace down the hall to the kitchen. “Wow, that smells awesome.”

Shy’s mom held out a plate with a cinnamon roll. “Here you are. Enjoy.”

Dash took the roll and began digging in hungrily at the kitchen counter. “Awthsome.” She said with her mouth full. Fluttershy giggled softly into her hand as she watched her beloved eat. There were bits of cinnamon roll all over her cheeks, and Shy found herself reaching out with her thumb to brush the crumbs away. “Uh...thankth.” Dash swallowed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Sorry. I keep forgetting I’m kinda messy.”

“It’s alright, sweetie.” Shy’s mom patted the top of her head and smiled down at her. “You two can leave the dishes when you leave. I don’t want either of you to be late for school. Fluttershy, please go change now.”

Shy had forgotten all about changing when Dash came into the kitchen. “Oh, yes of course.” She got up and took quick little steps down the hall to her room. While she was doing that, Dash stopped chewing her food to stare at that cute little butt, half amused and half intrigued. Her gaze had not gone unnoticed by the woman standing over her.

With a clearing of her throat, Shy’s mother tapped her on the shoulder. “Please eat up.” She said with no hint of harsh stern. She knew it was in everyone’s best interest to hide any suspicion of anything going on between them. Fluttershy was growing up, and she was making her own decisions. If this was some random boy that had spent the night, there would have been problems, but Rainbow Dash was her daughter’s friend that she had known for nearly all her life. However, at some point, she knew she would have to have a talk with her daughter.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Dash polished off her plate and looked up at her. “Thanks for the breakfast. I really needed that.”

Fluttershy came back in less than a minute wearing one of her usual green skirts and a soft tone yellow zip up hoodie. It was so casual, but Dash couldn’t help but notice how adorable it all looked on the small girl. “You two run along now.” Her mother said, gently nudging them towards the door. She gave her daughter her backpack and opened the front door. “Have a good day at school.”

“Ok, mom.” Shy nodded her head and received a kiss on the cheek

“We will.” Dash rolled her eyes when she received a kiss on the cheek as well.

The door closed behind them, and they began walking down the street. Dash put her arms behind her head as she walked before patting her tummy. “That was great.” She giggled. “I gotta spend the night more. Your mom is still pretty nice to me.”

Shy looked up at her and asked earnestly, “Do…you really mean that?”

“Huh? Mean what? Come over more?”

“Y-Yes…” Fluttershy looked down at the ground.

“Oh, yeah totally.” Dash nodded her head and patted her head. “I had an awesome time. You make a good pillow, I slept like a rock, I had a cinnamon roll for the first time in forever, yeah I mean that.”

Shy wrapped her arms around Dash’s waist and hugged gently. “That means a lot to hear you say.”

“Really?” Dash patted the top of her head again. “Well…cool.” She blushed a bit as she felt Fluttershy squeeze her waist.

Shy let go of her and turned to look back down at the ground. Dash shrugged, and they began walking down the street again. In silence, Dash pulled her phone out and began going through messages. She had a message from her dad that asked about where she had been all night. A quick message back to her dad was all she needed to put his mind at rest. Without anything to say, and feeling very conscious of the silence, Shy awkwardly fiddled with her hair while leaving Dash to her phone.

While they walked in silence for a few minutes, Fluttershy took the time to mull over the events of the day before in her head. Something about stealing that kiss had somehow made Shy feel slightly giddy, almost less stressed and less afraid of the world and everything around her. True, she wasn’t in a ‘relationship’ with Dash, but…to some degree, it did feel that way. Maybe her love was one sided, but she knew, deep down, and above anything else, that she loved Rainbow Dash.

The realization of how intense and real her love was made the girl’s cheeks turn red. A flame that originally started out as a small flicker was growing into a warm fire in her chest. With just as much giddy excitement as worrisome apprehension, she noticed one final truth. If her relationship wouldn’t go any further, her heart just might completely take over her actions, leaving her mind in the passenger seat.

There’s a small characteristic about fire that most people often forget. Flames, no matter the size, can be contagious.

Dash chuckled as she scrolled her thumb across her phone. An image had caught her eye that made her laugh, although Fluttershy paid no heed to any of it. With a quick and hopefully nonchalant glance, Dash looked the small girl over. She seemed lost in her thoughts, a behavior Fluttershy often portrayed when something important was on her mind. It somehow bothered the athlete. She stared at her for another whole second and scowled at herself. Was she so obtuse to her best friend that she didn’t feel comfortable asking what was on her mind? Had they become so distant in the past years that it was socially awkward to open up to each other?

With her thumb and index finger pinched together, Dash squeezed the bridge of her nose and sighed softly in frustration. It was unnerving to feel so frustration for no reason. There had to be some reason why she felt so mad at herself. Dash bit her lip and let her mind trace the source. This frustration was simmering, and she could feel other emotions in tandem at play. She could feel a sense of worry for Fluttershy, a worry she did not know she could possess. She felt a desire to make her happy, almost for no reason. Sure, they were friends, but this was almost unconditional. She felt some form of desire for her…almost as if she felt the need to be with her at any time. Lastly, she could feel…

Dash palmed her face and shook her head, rubbing her temples. Maybe I didn’t sleep as well as I thought. Dash sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. Whatever this feeling was, it was kind of dumb. Almost as if I’m falling for that dork. Dash’s eyes grew wide as her hands trembled. What she was feeling now was the same feeling she had once felt as a small child for a girl a year older than her in elementary school. She was fast, quick, strong, everything she had wanted to be growing up. What was her name?...Gilda?

“Um...Dashie?” Fluttershy hesitantly put a hand on Dash’s shoulder after noticing her peculiar facial expressions and body movements. “You ok? You look like you’re not feeling well.”

“Huh???” Dash’s head bolted up to look at who was talking to her. “O-Oh, no I’m good…” Dash shook her head to clear her mind and swallowed. “Yeah, totally. Just kinda…zoned out. I dunno…I get stupid sometimes. Sorta kinda just check out.” She forced a chuckle. “That’s why I’m an athlete, not a bookworm, huh?”

Fluttershy knew she was just trying to use her less than impressive school academic performance to play off something else. She also knew that Dash was never the kind of person to zone out. They already had a friend like that, and Dash was not much like her. “No, I don’t…I mean, I think you’re…smarter than you think. You’re not stupid. You’re not stupid at all.”

“You…really think so?” Dash asked, genuinely surprised. “I’m no egghead. You should see my last Spanish test. I barely passed…like, BARELY passed.”

“Maybe Spanish isn’t your best subject.” Fluttershy tried to console her, but a part of her wanted to steer the conversation towards what was really bothering her. “Is…this about Spanish class?”

Dash shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” She smiled at Shy, getting a smile in return.

“Well, alright.” Fluttershy withdrew her hand. “You would tell me if something is wrong, right?”

“Y-Yeah, totally.” Dash nodded her head and stared ahead. “I promise. Nothing’s wrong. Maybe I’m getting dizzy from not having any Gatorade or something.”

Fluttershy’s eyes face lit up, and she reached into her bag to pull out a small juice box. “Do you want some apple juice?” She asked, holding it out to Dash.

“Um…but it’s yours.” Dash shook her head. “It’s ok. Save it for lunch.”

“But, I want you to have it.” Fluttershy gently grasped Dash’s hand and put the juice box in her palm. “Drink for me, please?” She looked up at her with a pleading expression.

A very slow forming blush spread across Dash’s cheeks as she gazed into that adorable face. “S-Sure…” She muttered, closing her fingers around the juice box while feeling nearly breathless and captivated. “I’ll...drink it…for you.”

“Thanks, Dashie.” Fluttershy broke the gaze to hug her around the waist for a quick split second. “Just tell me if you need some cookies for energy or something. I can always give you more juice boxes too.”

Dash giggled hard and began to sip it. “Can I get a sponge bath if I sprain my ankle?”

“Please don’t sprain your ankle!” Fluttershy gasped, the joke completely going over her head.

“Relax, Shy. I won’t. I’m not planning on it.”

Fluttershy sighed with relief. “Ok…That does make me feel better.”

“Hey!!! Heyyyy!!! You guys!!!”

With a groan, Dash shoved the now empty juice box into her gym bag and looked up to see Pinkie Pie running full speed towards them. “Did she run all the way over here?” Dash mumbled, not really asking anyone in particular.

Pinkie sidestepped Dash with incredible skill and picked up a very surprised Fluttershy, squeezing her tightly with her arms pinned to her side. “P-Pink…k-kie…” Fluttershy tried to choke out a struggling complaint, but couldn’t take in enough breath to even speak.

“I missed you so so so…” Pinkie nuzzled her face against Shy’s side. “…so so much!” She put Fluttershy down and got inches away from her face. “Are you ok??? I was hoping you were feeling better today.”

Dash put a hand over Pinkie’s face and pushed her back. “Seriously, Pinks. Chill. You’re gonna choke her out before school even starts.” Dash looked to see Shy heaving a big breath of fresh air while trying to fix her hair back to normal. “She WAS feeling better until now.”

“Aw, but I was so worrrriiiieeedd.” Pinkie made a pouty sad face and nuzzled up against Dash this time, receiving a long sigh.

“Seriously, Pinkie.” Dash flicked a finger against her cheek and began patting Shy’s back.

“So, is everything ok?” Pinkie stood between them and draped her arms around their shoulders. “You two friends again?”

“Yeah, of course we are.” Dash nodded and giggled. “We never stopped being friends in the first place.”

“Whewwww!” Pinkie made a dramatic sigh. “Thank goodness!”

Fluttershy felt very nice being showered with so much affection in the morning. “I’m ok, Pinkie. Thank you.”

“Awww. You’re so cute.” Pinkie patted the top of her head and pinched her cheek. “You’re super duper welcome. So did you girls just hang out yesterday?”

“Mhm. We had a lot of fun.” Dash scratched the back of her head and blushed a bit, remembering Fluttershy being the best snuggle pillow. “We played board games and watched some TV.”

“Ooooh, sounds like fun!” Pinkie clapped her hands together. “Can I play board games with you guys next time? Please? Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“Fine fine, relax.” Dash smirked at her. “But you have to bring the snacks.” Fluttershy’s head perked up when she heard Dash’s mischievous tone. “And you also have to bring some of your famous Pinkie punch.

Pinkie gasped loudly and covered Dash’s mouth. “Shhhhh! My special punch is supposed to be secret! You can’t tell anyone!” She turned to Shy and stared fiercely at her. “That goes for you too.”

“I-I...I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Fluttershy pulled her hoodie over her face.

“Okayyy, Pinkie. Chill out!” Dash pushed Pinkie away from Fluttershy and sighed, reaching into her bag for a flashy looking headband. She held it out at Pinkie, making her eyes grow wide.

“Oooh! Shinyyyy…” Pinkie took it and began pulling her poofy hair up to put it on. “Look at me! I’m a dancer!” She began doing the moonwalk facing backwards, making her arms perform a wave. They kept walking down the school as Pinkie began doing bits and pieces of different weird dances. When they reached the corner street, someone was else was waiting for them.

“That’s pretty impressive.” Sunset commented, walking up to the three girls. “Nice moves, Pinkie.”

“Hey, Sunset! What’s up?” Dash put up her hand and received a high-five.

“Sunset!!” Pinkie hugged her waist. “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here.” Sunset straightened out her leather jacket. “I was waiting here to walk to school with Dash, but I didn’t know you guys were here too.”

“H-Hi, Sunset.” Fluttershy did her best to sound cheerful despite a tinge of disappointment.

“Hi, Flutters.” Sunset smiled at her and began walking with the trio down the street. “What’s with the headband?”

“Oh, Dash gave this to me!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, I didn’t give it to you.” Dash shook her head. “I showed it to you so you would…Let me have it back.”

“Aww…but it’s so cool! Can I keep it, pweeeaasee??” Pinkie made the biggest puppy dog eyes she could up at her.

“No.” Dash grabbed the headband and yanked it off her forehead, away from her poofy hair. “I need this later.”

“Phooie.” Pinkie made sad doggie noises and laid her head on Sunset’s shoulder. “Dashie can be such a meanie-head.”

Sunset giggled and decided to play along, putting her arm around Pinkie’s shoulders. “Yeah, Dashie is a meanie-head.” She turned to Dash and stuck her tongue out at her.

“Hey! Why am I the bad guy here???” Dash crossed her arms and scowled although she knew they were just joking. “Sunset, I thought we were pals! You just got here, and now you’re taking her side?”

“See? See see see?” Pinkie snickered back at her. “Total meanie-head.”

Fluttershy however, didn’t know they were joking. She never was much for social cues or jokes, so she spoke up to say, “I don’t think you’re a meanie, Rainbow.”

“See?” Dash put her arms around the adorable girl and hugged her, sticking her tongue out at Pinkie. “Fluttershy thinks I’m cool.”

“Oh yeah?” Pinkie made an angry scrunched face. “Well maybe you should just marryyyy her!” She snorted with a giggle.

Fluttershy blushed incredibly hard, feeling very nervous as Dash held her close. “I-I…I um-”

“Fine!” Dash made a dorky cross-eyed face at Pinkie. “Doi-doi-doi.”

Pinkie was never one to back down from a funny face fight. She crossed her eyes and sucked her lips in like she had just bit into a lemon. Sunset began laughing hard while Fluttershy tried to sink deeper into her hoodie.

“You two look ridiculous.” Sunset commented.

“Not me. I look cool.” Dash shook her head and crossed her arms, making Fluttershy feel very relieved to not be put on the spot anymore. “I always look cool.”

“Yeah, cooooool.” Pinkie drew the last word out while wiggling a finger around her ear in a circle. “Cool as a cucumber, maybe.”

“Oh, that’s it.” Dash tossed Sunset her bag and took a long step towards Pinkie.

In a low crouch, Pinkie got into a karate stance and waved her hands around slowly. “Get ready for some Pink-jitsu! Hoi-yaahhhh!”

Dash and Pinkie began circling each other on the sidewalk, trading incredibly silly faces and crouching low in fighting stances. Their dorky dance lasted all the way down the next block while Sunset poked fun and Fluttershy nervously watching for any safety hazards.

“Um…D-Dashie…Pinkie…Girls?...Um, girls?” Fluttershy was desperately trying to get their attention. “Girls!” Everyone turned to look at her pointing at a stop sign. The four of them had been walking and not paying attention to the four-way intersection up ahead with the school now visibly in the distance.

“Oh…” Pinkie stood up straight. “Whooopppsss…”

“Sorry…” Dash looked to where she was pointing. “We got carried away.”

“I’m sorry too.” Pinkie genuinely looked sad this time.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Sunset patted both of them on the back. “It’s funny to watch you two play around, but be careful.” They both nodded.

“I…I’m sorry for shouting…” Fluttershy managed to squeak, looking down at the ground. “I...didn’t mean to.”

“No worries.” Dash put her arm around her again. “Don’t feel bad. You did us a huge favor.” Sunset nodded her head, and Pinkie did the same. Dash gently hooked her arm through Shy’s and nuzzled the top of her head, making the smaller girl squeak. She did feel pretty bad now after seeing how upset Shy had gotten. “Uh…Come on. Let’s get to class before we end up late.”

“Good idea.” Pinkie nodded her head and crossed the street. “I wanna buy a candy bar before class!”

“That’s great, Pinks.” Dash rolled her eyes and held Shy’s hand as they crossed the street together. After what just happened, it was fairly obvious that Fluttershy was now a bit paranoid of getting into an accident. Hopefully that would go away after the day was over.

Sunset’s ears perked. “Hey you know, a candy bar sounds pretty good right now.”

“Then what are we waiting for!” Pinkie grabbed her hand and pulled her hard towards school. “Let’s go!”

“H-Hey! Pinkie!” Sunset just laughed and ran right behind her, trying to keep pace.

Dash just sighed with a shrug and crossed her arms again. “Well that was fun…”

“Mhm…” Fluttershy gave a small nod as she yawned, her hand covering her mouth.

“You ok?” Dash asked her. “You look like you’re still sleepy.”

“I’m ok.” She looked up at her and blushed a bit. “I…just wanna…go back to bed…It was nice having someone to snuggle.”

“Yeah.” Dash giggled and patted the top of her head before stepping towards school with her hands resting behind her back. Fluttershy picked up her pace to keep up with her.

Inside Canterlot High’s hallways, Dash and Fluttershy could see two more of their friends standing next to an open locker. Rarity had her hands up as if she was warding off an attack, and Twilight stood behind her with a comb and a spray bottle. “Rarity, you need to hold still.” Twilight tried to scold her.

“I’m sorry, darling. I just can’t let my guard down.” She growled softly. “Who knows when that Pink fashion fiend will show her head to ruin my appearance?”

Twilight giggled and combed the brush through her hair before spraying the area a few times. “I’m sure Pinkie isn’t going to ruin your hair today as long as you keep an approximate three foot distance between the two of you, adding one extra foot as a safety buffer zone.” Rarity turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “I mean…I’m sure she doesn’t do that on purpose.”

“Um, quite.” After a few seconds, Twilight lowered her hands, and Rarity examined her appearance in the mirror she kept on the inside of her locker door. “This is splendid work, darling!” She exclaimed with a smile, twirling around in place. The back of her fitted white skirt raised a bit as she finished her rotation. “You really do know what you’re doing, dear.”

“Thanks!” Twilight beamed. It felt nice to be useful to her new friends. “After I got your text, I did some research last night to prepare myself.”

“I marvel at the things you can learn in just one night.” Rarity put a dab of eyeliner in a couple places before popping her lips a few times to see if her lipstick was dry enough.

“Hey guys.” Dash waved a hand. “Is it makeup time already?”

“Oh, you think you’re so clever, don’t you.” Rarity scowled at her.

“Good morning, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy.” Twilight waved hello to both of them.

“Hello, Twilight.” Fluttershy smiled up at her. “You two look nice today.”

“Don’t we?” Rarity put her hands on her hips and giggled. “I must admit I had my doubts, but I knew my beauty would shine through even the worst of wardrobe functions.”

“Hoorayyy.” Dash said sarcastically. “So, what’s with Twilight doing your hair?”

“If you must know, I needed an extra pair of hands to apply some protective conditioner. Just in case our…” She snarled. “…pink party animal decides to make me go completely bald.”

“Gross.” Dash rolled her eyes.

Rarity ignored that. “Twilight here has been an exceptional support to me this morning.”

“Oh, come on, Rarity.” Twilight blushed a bit. “It was nothing.”

“It certainly isn’t nothing. Your assistance may mean the salvation of my appearance today.”

“That’s real sweet of ya.” Came a new voice. Rarity closed her locker door to stare directly into the face of Applejack sporting her usual Stetson.

“Goodness!” Rarity put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. “Applejack, darling. You nearly scared me stiff.”

“Heh.” Dash smirked.

“Don’t you even start.” Rarity pushed a finger at her nose. “It is WAY too early for bad puns.” She cleared her throat and ran a hand over her hair. “It’s very nice to see you, dear.”

“Well howdy to ya.” Applejack nodded her head at everyone before turning her gaze back to Rarity. “Ya’ll look real nice.”

“Oh?” Rarity blushed just a bit and smiled. “Do I? In this old thing?” She lifted the hem of her skirt a bit. “Well, I’m certainly glad you think so.”

“Well, Ah ain’t much of a fashion gal, but Ah can tell when someone looks right pretty. Ya’ll take care now. Ah gotta go give my lil sis her lunch. Darn gal ran right out the house without even grabbin’ all her books. See ya’ll at lunch!” Applejack just gave her an innocently bashful smile before walking away down the hall. Twilight was a bit puzzled at the sudden change in Rarity’s demeanor, and it was very hard not to notice how self-conscious she had just become in front of Applejack. Dash just rolled her eyes, clearly bored of listening to Rarity talk about her appearance for the millionth time, leaving Shy to stare at everyone’s feet.

For a long moment, Rarity’s eyes followed the distancing backside of the country gal. Dash noticed this and smirked. “Too early, huh?” She giggled.

Rarity flashed Dash a dangerous stare and put a finger over her mouth. “Not. A. Word.” She quietly hissed. A heavy blush covered her pale face when she pulled her finger back. “A girl’s appearance is never a joke.”

“Welllll…” Twilight twirled her thumbs together and clutched her book bag. “…I think I’ll be going to class now.” She gave everyone a smile and walked off. “Nice seeing you girls.”

“And I shall be off as well.” Rarity scowled at Dash, only receiving the same smirk as before. “You best keep what you’re thinking to yourself, if you know what’s best. Tah-tah, Fluttershy.”

Shy received a hug from her, and she smiled before letting her go. Dash moved in for a hug but only received a jab in the ribs with an elbow. “Ow! Hey!”

Rarity huffed and held her head high. “It serves you right, dear. Now you behave yourself and don’t get Fluttershy into any trouble.” She walked away proudly.

Dash groaned and rubbed her side. “That was mean.” She turned to Shy. “Did you see that? What was that for???”

Fluttershy giggled softly and gently poked Dash’s side. “Are you ok? You’re not hurt, are you?”

She sighed and shook her head, moving her hands up and down the lower part of her back. “Nah, I’m good. She was right. I did kinda deserve that.”

“But…why?” Shy nervously put two fingers together, feeling silly for not understanding. “Was it because you teased her?”

“Uh, yeah.” Dash giggled and rubbed the back of her head. “I went too far there.”

“I see…” Fluttershy poked her side again. “Are…you sure you’re ok?”

“Totally.” Dash gave her a nod and laughed. “She doesn’t hit hard. I’ve been kicked in the shins way worse at practice.”

“O...kay.” Shy looked up at her with an adorable smile. “As long as you’re ok.” The bell for morning classes rang out throughout the school, and Shy nearly jumped. “Eep!..Oh…sorry.”

Dash didn’t even notice her little fright. “Yikes, class…Well, I guess I’ll see you at lunch, as long as I don’t die from boredom in geometry. Gym class might be a little late, so save me a seat?”

“Sure.” Shy just nodded, feeling the usual crushing disappointment of school actually starting. She was surprised to get a big, tight hug from her best friend. “D-Dashie?”

“Oh, heh…my bad.” Dash let her go and blushed a bit. “I dunno…I just thought you wanted a…nevermind.” She took off down the hall. “See you later!”

Shy stood there, waving meekly with one hand while mumbling, “I…I did want a hug…”

-o0o-

Lunch today was gross. That was all Rarity had to say about it. Everything on her tray was a sloppy mess of soggy carrots and corn, sour and flavorless salad, and something that was supposed to be chicken fried steak but had the visual consistency of a flat sea slug in gravy sauce. This lunch truly was an absolute disappointment. The only thing she got it for was the salad, and even that was inedible.

“Ew.” She sniffed the air around the food and immediately pushed the tray away. The only other people sitting at the table with her were Fluttershy and Twilight. Both of them held the same level of appreciation for what was being served today.

“Is this…” Twilight picked up the sea slug chicken with her fork and watched it ooze back down onto her tray. “…tofu?”

Fluttershy didn’t even want to guess. She had decided that she would buy a granola bar from the vending machines before the day’s last class started. “It…looks like a doggie chew toy.”

“That truly is disgusting.” Rarity got up and picked up the three of their trays with an angry scowl. “I’m going to throw these away and buy us some real food after school.”

“Really?” Twilight pushed the glasses back on her face to look up at her. “You would really do that for us?”

“Of course! I simply cannot allow my friends to suffer threw such vile sludge this place calls a meal. After school, I will be taking us to a nice sushi restaurant.”

“I’ve never had sushi before.” Fluttershy felt nervous about eating raw fish. “Is…it safe?”

“Of course, dear.” Rarity giggled. “I’ll be right back.” She left to dispose of the food properly.

Twilight turned to her and added, “I feel like we should be making our own lunches.”

“It’s not always bad. We usually eat pretty well here. I think Applejack’s grandma might be sick today. That might be why the food is so terrible.”

“That’s a relief.” Twilight’s tummy growled. “Too bad though…I am pretty hungry.” She sighed and laid her head on the table.

Rarity came back holding three Styrofoam boxes filled with various greens. “Here you are.” She set them down in front of her friends. “It’s just a simple salad. I’m afraid we don’t have any dressing, so I apologize. This was the best the kitchen could do so short staffed. I did ask if Applejack’s grandmother was here, but she had taken a personal day.”

“Thank you so much!” Twilight took her fork and bit into it. She chewed her food and swallowed before speaking, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy enough time to do the same. “I really need this.”

“It’s wonderful, Rarity.” Fluttershy beamed up at her, very grateful to have something edible. “Thank you.”

“Oh please, you two. It’s nothing.” Rarity smiled at the simplistic healthiness of her salad. “I’m just thoroughly relieved we have at least SOMETHING edible here at school.” They ate for a bit in silence until all three had finished. Since it was a small meal, it only took a few minutes. “So, darling.” Rarity turned to Twilight. “How do you like it here at Canterlot High?”

She smiled again. “I like it very much. It’s fun, there’s always so much to do, and I have friends to spend time with here. I’ve honestly never been happier.”

“Awww!” Rarity cooed. “That is such wonderful news!” She squeezed Twilight’s hand, and Fluttershy gave her a quick hug.

“Plus, I’m learning a lot from you all.” Twilight took her glasses off to clean them. “Right now, I’m learning about fashion from you, and I’m learning about parties from Pinkie Pie.”

“She’s teaching you about parties?” Shy asked.

“Mhm. When she came over, she was going on about how I have the best house for throwing parties. She said the rotunda overlooking the garden would be perfect for a dance floor.”

“I’m sorry?” Rarity gasped. “Your house has a rotunda?”

“And a garden?” Fluttershy smiled and let her eyes drift to a lovely image of a field of flowers. “That sounds lovely.”

“Just how big is your house, exactly?” Rarity interlocked her fingers with her elbows on the table and rested her chin on top of her hands.

“Um…” Twilight felt a bit embarrassed. “It’s…regular size? Maybe a little more.”

“And just how much more is a little more?” Rarity pressed.

Pinkie walked up behind her holding a tray with a total of five sea slug chickens on it. “Are we talking about Twilight’s house???” She sat down next to Rarity, making the fashionista scoot a whole foot farther away from the dangerous creatures on Pinkie’s tray. “It’s huuuuuggee!!! You could ride bumper cars in that place!”

“It’s not that big.” Twilight put her hands up. “Honest.”

“I had no idea you lived in such a marvelous home!” Rarity grabbed her hands and squeezed them again. “You MUST show me sometime! Tell me something. Do you happen to have crystal chandeliers in the dining room?”

“Welllll…” Twilight giggled. “We do have a couple.”

Rarity clapped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, that is simply divine! I’ve always wanted crystal chandeliers!”

“I’ve always wanted a garden full of flowers.” Fluttershy smiled up at Twilight in admiration.

“And bumper cars!” Pinkie interjected with some chicken gravy on her cheek. The other three girls turned to her and grimaced because she was actually eating those dreaded unknowns on her plate. “What?” Pinkie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Bumper cars would bring the room together!”

“Right, indeed.” Rarity turned back to Twilight. “I just had the most wonderful idea!” She took a sharp inhale. “We should all have a formal tea party at your house sometime!”

“Oh, I love tea parties.” Fluttershy nodded her head.

“Parties!” Pinkie thrust her fork into the air. “And you, Rarity!” She pointed the fork at her. “You can design Twilight a new dress!”

For the first time in a while, Pinkie had something incredibly brilliant to say. “Now that, Pinkie Pie, is a perfect idea!” She turned to Twilight and clapped her hands over the nervous bookworm’s palms. “Could I design a new dress for you?”

“I…sure?” Twilight looked around the table awkwardly. “I mean if you really want to. You don’t have to.”

“But I do indeed want to!” Rarity nearly jumped for joy. “It’s perfect! I already have a few designs I’ve been working on for the other Twilig- …oh never mind that. I know exactly what to make for you! You will look absolutely smashing!”

“Tea party at Twilight’s house!!!” Pinkie shouted before finishing off her first victim on her tray.

After Sunset opted to get at least one thing to eat, she made her way from the kitchen to see some of her friends already gathered. She heard a part of their conversation and asked, “Tea party?” Sunset took a seat on Twilight and Fluttershy’s side. All she had on her tray was a pile of vegetables. “What’s this about a tea party?”

“Oh and you!!!” Rarity pointed an excited finger at her, making the flaming haired girl instantly recoil. “You shall be receiving a new dress as well!”

“Really?” Sunset giggled. “What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. We just wanna have a party at Twilight’s place.” Pinkie held out another victim on her fork towards Sunset. “Wanna chicken slug? It’s pretty gooood!”

“Umm, no thanks.” Sunset pushed the creature away from her face. “And I think those are supposed to be chicken fried steaks.”

“Really?” Pinkie looked it over. “I was sure they were slugs! Chicken slugs! I’m pretty sure they’re chicken slugs.”

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as chicken slugs.” Twilight shook her head.

Pinkie stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Hey everyone! Are these chicken slugs???”

The whole cafeteria went silent and looked over at her. Some girl’s voice spoke up to break the awkward tension. “No?”

Pinkie sat back down and stared at her food intently. “Sooooo, the plot thickens, aye? I’m onto you, not-chicken slug.” She bit the end off, staring intently into the distance, her jaw moving slowly up and down.

“PULEASE stop talking to your food. And I use the word ‘food’ as loosely as possible.” Rarity sighed. “I would rather you eat it so I don’t have to stare at it any longer.”

Pinkie stuffed the slug into her mouth. “Like thith?”

“Ewww!” Rarity just turned away from her and sighed for a long moment. “Like I was saying, I shall make a new dress for you both.” She pointed to Twilight and Sunset again. “And perhaps we could have a fashion show!”

Twilight looked up at her and nodded her head once. “I would love that. I don’t think I’ve ever had friends over for a party before!”

“Are you sure it’s alright if we come over?” Fluttershy asked her. “I don’t want to impose if it’s a bad time.”

“No, it’s ok. My parents have been on my case about making friends for years now. They’ll probably take pictures or something if I brought friends over.” She giggled. “And my brother would love to meet you all.”

“Oh, this is going to be perfect!” Rarity squealed. “A tea party, dancing, fashion show, and pictures!”

“As your friends, we are glad to come over and hang out with you.” Sunset patted her on the back. “It took me a while to figure out that I can ask my friends to hang out with me when I want. You should know that if you want friends over, you can always just ask us.”

“Thank you, Sunset.” Twilight gave her a hug. “That’s really nice of you. It’s nice to know you girls are here to actually spend time with me.”

“Of course, darling.” Rarity very gently pinched her cheek. “We think you are an absolute doll!”

“Aww!” Twilight blushed a bit and giggled. “Thank you, Rarity.”

“You are just the sweetest dress maker ever!” Pinkie got right next to Rarity’s side and hugged her around the waist.

“Pinkie Pie!! You didn’t wash your hands!” Rarity pushed her away and ran her hands up and down her dress to smooth out the wrinkles. “And now I smell like that disgusting food!”

“Sorry...” Pinkie withdrew and dug into her pocket to pull out a pack of mint gum. “Would this help?”

Rarity looked at it and sighed, begrudgingly taking a stick of gum. “Yes, dear. Thank you very much.”

As the girls went back to talking about the upcoming tea party, it was decided that tomorrow, a Friday, would be the perfect day for their festivities. Applejack walked up to the table with Rainbow Dash, both smiling with glee. “Hey gals!” Applejack tipped her hat.

“You guys!” Dash quickly slid into a seat next to Fluttershy and grinned. “Awesome news! The first game of the season is coming up!”

“Really?” Sunset put her hands together. “When? When?”

“When when when whennnnn???” Pinkie got up and shook Dash by the shoulders.

Dash pushed Pinkie back gently and ignored her. “Tomorrow! Right after school, we’re gonna have a skirmish against the Trottingham Tailwhips! Isn’t that awesome or what???”

Applejack sat down on the other side of Rarity. “Plus, me ‘n my ‘lil sis are gonna be servin’ the best darn candy apples this side a the great big blue.” She chuckled. “My Granny Smith’s makin’ em all day today fer the big game.”

“That’s super duper diddly duper…” Pinkie sighed. “…but we just planned a tea party tomorrow.”

“Tea party?” Dash giggled. “Ok, that’s lame. You guys go have your tea party. Me and Sunset will be out on the fields having real-” Rarity reached across the table and flicked her finger against Dash’s forehead. “Ow! What is it with you today??? You’ve been beating up on me ever since I got to school.”

“If you would please refrain from talking for the next ten seconds,” Rarity cleared her throat. “We have organized a small party at Twilight’s house tomorrow.”

“She’s right…” Twilight did her best to hide some disappointment. “It’s ok if you can’t come. I understand you have other priorities.”

“Well shucks, sugarcube.” Applejack took her hat off as part of her apology. “Ah’m sorry. If Ah had known ‘bout this little shin-dig, Ah woulda planned on sellin’ candy apples another time.”

“Well, we could plan this next week if you like.” Sunset told Twilight. “Would that be ok?”

“Sure.” Twilight sighed. “I understand. It’s ok, really. We can always do it another time.”

“Well nuts…Sorry Twilight.” Dash sighed and looked over at her. “You look really bummed out.”

“No, I’m not bummed. I’m not bummed at all.” It was an obvious lie to spare Dash’s feelings, but everyone could see clear through it.

“You sure?” Pinkie asked her. “Cause you look pretty bummed.”

“I’m fine.” Twilight nodded her head, and Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Stuff like this happens when you have friends…right?”

“Hmm…” Pinkie stared down at the table for a long moment. “Ideaaaa….” She turned to Dash with an inquisitive and intense expression. “Rainbow Dash!”

“What???” Dash nearly jolted back.

“When does your game start?”

“After school.”

“When does it end?”

“I dunno, maybe a couple hours later?”

“Hmm, I see…I see…How interesting.” Pinkie rubbed her chin.

“What’s interesting?” Twilight asked her.

“What are you scheming?” Rarity scowled at her. “You better not cause any unnecessary trouble.”

“Wait!” Sunset clapped her hands together. “How about we hold the party after the game!”

“Bingo!!!” Pinkie shot a finger out at Sunset. “You’re right on the money!”

“Well, shucks!” Applejack nodded her head. “That’s a great idea! We’ll all go to the game, ‘n afterward, we can all go back to Twilight’s fer a right fun time.”

“Yessss yes yes yes yes yes!!!” Pinkie shook her head over and over again until Dash reached out and put a hand under her chin to keep her from throwing her neck out. The smile from Pinkie’s outburst still remained on her face. Everyone smiled and turned towards to Twilight.

“Does that sound alright with you?” Fluttershy asked her.

“It’s perfect!” Twilight felt almost giddy in anticipation. “I would love that! My first school sporting event and my first party!”

“Awesome!!!” Dash giggled, then put her hands up. “I mean about the game, not the boring tea-” Both Applejack and Rarity growled low at her with angry scowls. “I mean, yeahhhh. Heh…Tea Party. Awesome...”