Clouds

by n

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Fluttershy
Length: 5840

Fluffykins, otherwise known as Vapor, is in love with Fluttershy

Clouds aren't just clouds.
They can be a message.

Published 2012-06-06 03:04:07 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-06 03:04:07 UTC

A Butterfly

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

So it was that a pegasus, one living in a cloud just above a certain cottage, woke up to an alarm. He certainly hoped that the last question wouldn’t be true. The first two were nearly always true, and today wasn’t scheduled for any kind of bad weather. He watched the fluffy white clouds outside float by on their merry way. It was a good day, perhaps even a great day, so he decided to go out and do some painting.

Underneath the cloud, very far below in a grassy meadow, perfect for animals of all sorts, was a yellow pegasus. Animals were frolicking around, as usual, under the yawning rays of the budding sun. It was nice.

The cute little bunnies were dancing a jig with the beautiful butterflies. The birds, happy to be out in the open and free to fly, sang the joyful melody that complimented the playful romp. This was Fluttershy’s haven, the undisturbed scenic nature. This was where she spent her alone time, away from the pressures of life. She would lay there, and stare up into the clouds, watching the butterflies flutter about.

The wind blew through her mane, caressing and protecting her. Swaying with the current of the zephyr was the grass, lithe and tall, the soft bedding that gently bent under the yellow mare. The sweet scent of clovers and flowers permeated the air. It was tranquil, so tranquil that her eyes began to lid. Squirrels began to dance across the sky, their white fur, soft and fluffy. And then came Winona, bright and cheerful as ever, chasing right after the poor squirrel. Tank, the turtle, seemed to be hovering right next to Winona, slowly making his way across the sky.

Fluttershy blinked. It had just been clouds, yet they had been so real. Now that she looked closely, it hadn’t been Tank or Winona, but similar enough that she saw them in her sleepy daze. Somepony had to have made them that way, a master artisan. She glanced around to see if the pony responsible was still there, but she saw nothing.

Vapor, affectionately named Fluffykins because of his pure white coat, was lounging around in his cloud house. He hoped that the yellow pegasus, who often graced the meadow with her presence, would appreciate his picture, but he wasn’t sure. He kept on looking out the window, to see if Fluttershy had any reactions, but to his great disappointment, Fluttershy went home as usual.

He woke up to a sweet melody that floated lightly through his cloud. There was only one pony he knew that could make such pure and heartwarming music. Looking out the window, there she was. His angel, clad in glowing robes, sun illuminating her every gentle curve, and he backed away, cheeks tinged with a red that he couldn’t hide.

Then he looked out again, and saw Fluttershy dancing playfully in the meadow with all her animal friends. He wanted with all his heart to go down and talk to her, even just meet her, but he couldn’t. Every time he tried, he felt his throat seizing up, his heart pounding more than it should’ve been. Why was this? Why did this power keep him away? At the very least, he would paint some pictures for her.

Yet as he did so, he couldn’t help getting the nervous. The creeping feeling that maybe, just maybe, Fluttershy was watching him was more than he could bear. It wasn’t something he was used to, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. He found himself not being able to concentrate, and it took him much longer to finish what would’ve taken him an hour or so. At the same time, it was the most beautiful cloud he had ever shaped. It was his magnum opus. And as it floated away to the meadow, he couldn’t help but tarry a little longer to watch it. With a faint, creased smile, Fluffykins flew home, content to be alone. Either way, he hoped that Fluttershy would appreciate it for what it was.

As he approached his house, the tears started to well in his eyes. He felt as if he had given up too soon, that a great opportunity had been lost, but there was no turning back. He brought his hoof up to his eyes, stemming the tears before they can start to fall. Can’t afford to be weak. Can’t afford to look back. Can’t afford to stop moving forward. Those are the tenants he tried to live up to, and succeeded at. When he finally got home, behind the safety of the walls that hid his true face, he began to sob.

Fluttershy, as she finally lay down exhausted, saw the faintest wisp of a white tail. Except it was just another part of a cloud. She shook her head again. The wisp was gone. Then she gasped. The cloud above looked just like her cutie mark, a butterfly. As glided across the sky slowly, Fluttershy began to sing.

It’s so pretty in the sky
That singular butterfly
Making nature beautiful as I sing

Slowly, the rabbits came out to listen followed by Angel. It was something new, and amazing. The sweet voice of the yellow pegasus was honey.

Flapping its wings in unbridled flight
Spreading its colors everywhere
Enchanting patterns
Make me want to lay there and stare

And then the squirrels and snakes and other animals came out as well, enchanted by the beautiful voice.

I know that wildlife is pretty
And Equestria is nifty
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Away when they’re so cute
'Cause everything is never as it seems

Then the birds came out, the melody sweeter than their own.

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand animals
As they tried to teach me how to dance

Slowly, the animals began to sway to the beat of the song.

A bunny above my head
A flamingo next to me
All the little animals gather round

In a large circle, the dance began.

I know that wildlife is pretty
And Equestria is nifty
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Away when they’re so cute
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I observe slowly

The birds started to chirp an accompaniment.

The meadow is open for all
Isn’t this such a grand ball?

And Vapor’s tears started to stop.

I never tire of counting sheep
I really like it when they leap

He started to hear the notes, rising from the meadow. They revitalized him, and gave him strength.

To that singular butterfly
I'm enraptured by its eye
The smile on my face starts to form

He flew out of his house and toward the sound of the music.

But I'll know where several are
The flower’s nectar calls
'Cause I saved some drops that are in a jar

As he flew down, he couldn’t help but close his eyes so he could concentrate on the music.

I know that wildlife is pretty
And Equestria is nifty
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Away when they’re so cute
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I observe slowly

And when he opened his eyes, he saw that the ground was awfully close, and he tried to correct his path. Whimpering and flailing, he tried to slow down, but the butterflies in his stomach kept that at bay.

I know that wildlife is pretty
And Equestria is nifty
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Away when they’re so cute
'Cause everything is never as it seems
When I observe slowly

Awkwardly, he tumbled across the ground, the soft grass trying everything to keep him safe.

I know that wildlife is pretty
And Equestria is nifty
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay
Away when they’re so cute
Because my happiness is overflowing like a dream

“Oh,” she whimpered, as she turned around to look at him, startled by the groan that slipped from his lips.

His vision was filled with his angel. As everything started to fade to black, he reached out to her. He wanted to say something, but the pain kept words from forming in his head, flustered as he was from finally meeting Fluttershy. Slowly, he felt himself slip away, and soon he let go. Surreal images of Fluttershy clouded his mind that night.

Fluttershy saw the collapsed stallion, unconscious and injured, and immediately gave him basic medical attention. Seeing as none of his bones seemed broken, she took him back to her cottage and laid him upon a sofa carefully. It was getting late by the time she managed to drag him into her cottage, so she fell asleep the moment she hit the sack. That night, she had troubled dreams that she had not taken good enough care of the mysterious pegasus. She tossed and turned as dream turned to nightmare.

As the rooster crowed its alarm, Fluttershy woke up, already half awake from the impending disaster raging within her head. She went down to check on the white pegasus, just to check if he was okay, then went to the kitchen to start preparing a hearty breakfast. The stallion would need it if he wanted to recover. She made sure to put in extra protein in the form of nuts to speed up the healing process.

The smell of freshly cooked food wafted its way into the living room, causing him to roll towards the wonderful aroma. The feeling of inertia, a dreadful sinking feeling, caused him to flail awake. He hit the floor with a dull thud, cushioned by the soft carpet that Fluttershy had the foresight to lay. Waves of wracking pain tore through his body, causing him to groan. He wanted to muffle it, but couldn’t as moving his body only worsened the sensations.

Fluttershy heard the groans and shrieked. She spun around, knocking some plates that promptly shattered as they impacted on the floor. Fearing for the poor critter that was obviously hurt, Fluttershy rushed into the living room, stopping all other tasks.

“Oh, you poor little thing,” said Fluttershy upon seeing the condition that the stallion was in.

“Unh,” was the only reply that Vapor could muster.

“Here, why don’t you rest on the bed a little longer. I’ll get some hot food for you in just a moment,” cooed Fluttershy as she gently lifted the white stallion onto the couch. Gently, she laid a blanket over him.

A wif of grey smoke started to rise out from the kitchen. As Fluttershy trotted back into the kitchen, she could smell the smoke.

“Oh my goodness,” she repeated in her soft voice, as she hurried to what was going to be the white pegasus’ breakfast.

Instead of finding the breakfast, she found a great black lump of charred substance. She gave a wistful sigh at the waste of food, and dumped it into the garbage. It wasn’t safe for the animals to eat, let alone anypony. Quickly, she found more of each of the ingredients, and the unpleasant odor was replaced with the fragrance of fresh food. Once the food was done, she loaded it all onto a floral patterned tray, and took it to the living room.

It appeared as if the white pegasus was still too weak to move, even though pegasusi usually recovered quickly, so Fluttershy took it upon herself to spoon feed Vapor. A faint shade of pink began to form on the white stallion’s face as food was slowly administered by the yellow mare. With every bite, and with every swallow, Vapor’s white coat steadily became more stained with red. Slowly, the innate magic of Equestria began to work its way through his body, causing his wounds to heal.

And so it was that when he began to edge slowly away from the yellow angel, the pain that he would’ve felt before was no more. At last, the last droplet of the feast was eaten, and Vapor let out a sigh of relief. Then she spoke.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“uh, I, uh.” The words were stuck in his throat, choking him. He had a coughing fit.

“Oh dear, I suppose I’d better get some cough medicine,” said Fluttershy, who turned around to go back into the kitchen.

“I-I,” sputtered the white stallion, “I-I’m fine.”

But it was already too late, for the yellow pegasus was out of hearing range. He didn’t want to impose, but the cheerful humming that came out of the kitchen made him forget about his concerns. Closing his eyes, he listened. Each note had their own qualities, and together, they made a spell, enchanting and alluring.

When she came back, he took the medicine without complaint. But when he opened his eyes again, it was all he could do to stop himself from bolting. He was way in over his head, and he finally realized where he was. It was obvious that he had a crush, and he needed to get away as fast as possible. Fluttershy could only blink as a white blur faded to nothing.

Vapor occupied himself for the next few hours kicking at the clouds and forming little critters. They floated over the cottage one by one, a long migration of critters. Why did he run? It was his perfect chance. His anger at himself fueled him to make even more cloud shapes.

Fluttershy, worried for the injured pegasus, went out to the meadow, looking around. Then she saw him, up in the sky. And then she saw the clouds, a flock of animals. So she just watched, as it seemed that he was better already. In any case, she would be there if there were some unforeseen complications.

As time passed, Fluttershy grew more curious of the odd coat coloring that Vapor had. It was as if he too was a cloud, wispy, white and hard to capture. Not that she would ever try to capture him again, but he was a rare specimen. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask about it? So she slowly stretched her unexercised wings, and gave a few experimental flaps. Then she was off, flapping as gracefully as a butterfly, rising to the unexpecting white pegasus up above her.

For a moment, Vapor ignored the sound of flapping, assuming it was some other pegasus that just happened to be in the vicinity. Then an oddly familiar soft voice asked him a question.

“Um excuse me, but could you tell me why your coat is such an unusual shade of white, that is um, if you don’t mind?”

Vapor paused for a moment, haven’t having heard this question for quite some time. A torrent of unpleasant memories rushed through his head, stabbing him with cruel words and beating him with the pain of his low self esteem. Without an easy way to cope, all he could do was curl into a ball and whimper.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s okay,” said Fluttershy soothingly. Having been through similar experiences herself, Fluttershy knew exactly what to say.

Still, Vapor continued to whimper unabated. He had always been teased for his unusual coat and mane, even though he was just as good as any of them. It hurt more than he thought she knew. What did she know, that she could say it was okay just like that. Sadness quickly turned to anger, as he had no other conduit for his bitter childhood. The love that he had was momentarily forgotten. He had seen Fluttershy before. She had Rainbow Dash to help at nearly every moment. But he, he had always been markedly different, and very alone. Nopony could sympathize with him, let alone emphasize. Who was she to comfort him?

“I’ll be here for you,” cooed the yellow pegasus with a motherly tone. “So don’t cry, please?”

“What would you know?” snapped Vapor.

“Well I-I,” stuttered the yellow mare, a little afraid.

“Well nothing!” The white stallion finished Fluttershy’s statement for her. “Besides, what would you know anyway? You always had Rainbow Crash as a friend. But I, I was always alone. There was nopony to notice me, and nopony to care.”

Fluttershy stared at the white pegasus for a moment, then stared. For a moment, Vapor looked defiantly into the deep blue abyss, but as he did so, the monster in the abyss opened its eyes. He was caught, a foreboding feeling of what would happen if he tore his eyes away consuming him. Yet he was afraid of what glared out from the blue.

“You can insult me all you want,” started Fluttershy, “but you do NOT mess with my friends,” she finished steadily. The force of each word made Vapor step back. It was his turn to feel fear.

He opened his mouth and closed it several times, as he tried to apologize profusely for his mistake. He tried everything, from bowing to kissing her hooves, but his body refused to move an inch. The tears started to well in his eyes. Was he going to die? Was this the end? Paralyzing feelings of uselessness overpowered his mind, slowly choking out his very life.

And then the sensation stopped, replaced with one of falling. He flapped his wings, hoping he wasn’t too late. The pain he felt as his legs buckled against the ground was the last thing he would ever feel that day.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?” Fluttershy had reverted back to her usual kind self.

She hadn’t intended for the Stare to last that long, causing the white stallion to seize up and fall. As he did, she flew after him, but to no avail. If only she was a fast flier like Rainbow Dash was, she could’ve made it. Sighing, she lugged the body back to her cottage a second time. When she got back, she was met with a worried looking Twilight, along with the rest of their friends.

“Hey Fluttershy, we’ve been worried,” said Twilight. “We haven’t seen you in a while...”

Twilight trailed off as she noticed the pony that Fluttershy was carrying. She stared more closely, and realized that the pony in question was heavily injured.

“Stand back Fluttershy, I’m going to try a spell and see if it does something. It’s an emergency,” said Twilight.

Her horn began to blow as she channeled magic. Thin tendrils of purple started to snake around the white stallion. Slowly, the wound began to close. Every moment that passed drained Twilight further, and soon she was grunting in exhaustion. Yet she continued anyway, her friends looking on in awe. With a final gasp, the last bit of magic entered the white pegasus, causing him to cough.

“Wha--what happened,” he said, disoriented.

“You’ve been injured, and I’ve just healed you,” panted Twilight.

“Who?” The world was congealing, but for now, all he could see was funny little shapes.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you, uh, what’s your name?” said Twilight.

The name sounded oddly familiar, and gears started to turn within his brain. Was an Element of Harmony, a decorated hero of Equestria, perhaps the most famous one, talking to him? This was too real to be true. He smacked himself in the face with his hoof, perhaps a little too hard. It did confirm one thing however, the fact that the situation he was in was very, very real. He did the typical thing, panic. Out the door he went, eleven seconds flat, so he was tackled by Rainbow Dash, whom he had managed to insult only moments before.

“What’s the big idea?” she said, obviously suspicious.

“Um, he was just injured,” answered Fluttershy.

“Oh, well then. Carry on,” said the cyan pegasus.

Off Vapor went again, flying as fast as possible to who knows where in order to escape the pressure. Fluttershy chuckled as she watched the white blur fade into the distance, as she was happy to see anypony so lively. That was a sign that they were healthy, and she was glad that something she did had helped him.

As Vapor began to slow down, he realized what had happened that day. Despite having narrowly botched it with the pony that he liked very much, he had met the Elements of Harmony, and gotten cared for. It was like a dream come true. The smile that had been held back popped into place, almost causing him to wince in pain.

“Say, who was that pony anyway?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Must be pretty strange to crash into the ground like that.”

“I don’t know,” squeaked Fluttershy, suddenly embarrassed that she hadn’t asked for his name.

But the mysterious stallion was gone, and she had no way of finding him. She and her friend said goodbyes, having cleared up the situation. With a sigh, she went to sleep, tired after a long day.

The next day, Vapor was back, creating new cloud shapes. Among them was a box with a mare inside, which was not a little filly. He felt as if he needed to do something for Fluttershy since she had taken care of him. It was a thank you gift of sorts. As Fluttershy came out of her cottage, she saw the long trail of oddly shaped cloud sculptures.

As her eyes went down the trail of shapes, she spied Vapor. On a whim, she flew over and watched, laying on a cloud. He took notice, but continued, as he felt he hadn’t paid his debt yet. He had to man up, just this once.

Moments later, Fluttershy said, “A bunny please? That is only if you really want to...” It was a statement said on whim, but it had devastating consequences.

Vapor nearly died from how cute the voice was. He was suffering from a diabolical disease known as diabeetus, and needed some help. But he didn’t get it, so he complied with the wishes of the voice, and made a cute little bunny. Fluttershy giggled at his interpretation, and he felt the blood rushing to his face, almost too fast.

“How about a nice bird?” asked the yellow pegasus.

And so Vapor continued to make whatever Fluttershy asked of him. They passed the day this way, laughing and giggling awkwardly as Vapor made some silly things with the clouds. Vapor couldn’t remember another day when he’d had so much fun. It was something that he didn’t mind either. Soon, they devolved into a mess of laughter as the shapes got ridiculous to an extreme. Together, they rolled on the cloud.

Then they met together, at the center of the cloud. This time though, it felt right, and Vapor didn’t pull away. Neither did Fluttershy, who was quite content, and used to physical contact from her animal friends. The mysterious stallion looked like a cute little bunny anyway. Then she remembered.

“What’s your name?” she asked. Usually it was the other way around.

“Fluffykins,” said Vapor, who wasn’t entirely sure why he was giving his nickname. “You can call me Fluffykins.”

This caused another fit of giggles and rolling around. They both knew how silly it was.

“It’s actually Vapor,” said Vapor, now embarrassed that he had let out his little secret.

“That’s nice,” replied Fluttershy sincerely.

Dusk came, bringing with it a glorious myriad of color. That marked the time where Vapor stopped making cloud forms, because it would soon be too dark to see them anymore. He laid back on the same cloud that Fluttershy was on, and sighed. It was tiring work, and parts of him were glad that it was the end of the day.

Dawn had its own set of colors to show off when morning came round. This was what Vapor woke up to, and what inspired him to do something he had never done before. It would take a while so he needed to make some preparations to keep the clouds in place. So he flew down to Ponyville in the early hours and found a couple of his unicorn friends, which he had made later in his life, to do some enchanting for him.

With that out of the way, Vapor set to work. First things first was to find some proper clouds, nice and big. He wanted four or five of them, just to be safe. Then he activated the magic that the unicorns had been kind enough to provide. That would keep the clouds in place long enough so that he could finish the ensemble and send it off. All that was left was his imagination, and a lot of careful hoofwork.

Hours later, after some careful nudging of cloud, he was almost done. The cloud had taken shape nicely. All he needed to do was add a few more final touches to the piece and it would be done. That, and make the butterflies. Those were always the easiest to make for some reason, even when he was little. It was a talent that wasn’t of much use, and his parents had been very disappointed when he had gotten it. It didn’t help with his bullying either. When he had gotten his cutie mark, all he could do was stare in jealousy as all the other colts and fillies got their celebrations for all sorts of talents.

The tired smile that was on his face disappeared, but was replaced with grim determination. He would not let them get the better of him again. A firm look of concentration replaced the haggard depression, and he started on the butterflies. When he was done, they looked like the best butterflies he had ever made. Satisfied with the progress he had made, he let out a sigh of relief. He laid back on a cloud and rested his sweaty body.

And he stared at his creation. It could never live up to what it represented of course, but imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. He didn’t want to give it up just yet, as the breeze would carry it away. Once that happened, his precious work would be lost forever. He had to make sure that Fluttershy would get it, otherwise it would all be for naught.

It took him some time, but eventually he flew down to Fluttershy’s cottage, and proceeded to tap on the door. Afterwards, he wanted to go hide in the bush, afraid that the wrong pony would show up at the door, or that he would do something incredibly stupid. Instead, he paced around until the door finally opened a crack. A pair of blue eyes peeked out, and then laid their gaze on him. He started to back away.

The door opened.

“Hello Vapor,’ said his angel. Could it be? Could his angel really be saying his name?

“Uh, yes, I’m Vapor,” he said, despite wanting to have said something else. He cursed at himself within his mind that was quickly degrading into mindless mush. Of all the things to say...

“I mean uh, I wanted to tell, er show you something,” he continued, trying to fix his mistake.

Fluttershy stared at him for a moment, perhaps deciding something. Every moment of it, he wanted to hide in some corner of the universe where she couldn’t find him. Why did time always seem to slow down whenever he got to these moments anyway?

“Okay,” was the response.

“Huh?” said Vapor, who was too busy wrestling with his own thoughts to comprehend anything.

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay too,” answered a slightly worried yellow pegasus

“Oh! No, no, I want to show you. Follow me,” said Vapor.

He took off. Looking behind him constantly to make sure that Fluttershy wouldn’t get lost or attacked by an angry dragon or struck by thunder or something else, he wondered if he should turn back. What if she wouldn’t like it? What if she found it creepy? He had done a bunch of strange things recently. Then again, this would be a first, even for her. There was a reason that ponies pointed out cloud shapes anyway. Not that he would ever get appreciation, for it was just a hobby, and it wasn’t really traceable. He didn’t really want the press all over him either.

As Fluttershy flew along, she hummed. Butterflies decided to follow along, if only to listen. Motes of light shining upon them became her halo. Whenever Vapor looked again, he was reminded of how beautiful she actually was. But it would be over soon.

When they arrived at where Vapor had set up, Fluttershy gasped. Was that her? Were those pretty butterflies? It was art. There was no other word for her to describe it.

“Do you like it?” asked Vapor, nervous that maybe Fluttershy didn’t like it.

“I-I,” said Fluttershy.

“Yes?” Vapor asked.

“It’s beautiful,” she finished. She gave him a nuzzle out of gratitude.

His face turned beet red. He made some short, hacking sounds, then collapsed onto the cloud.

“Oh, no, not again,” Fluttershy muttered.

This time, it looked like all Fluffykins would need was a little resuscitation. She used a hoof to brush the hair out of her face, and then leaned in. That was when Vapor opened his eyes again. Seeing her face so close to his was too much for him, and his diabeetus infection raged out of control. He had a short spasm, then fell through the cloud.

“Oh, oh my,” Fluttershy sighed. Yet she couldn’t go after him this time. She flew home in distress, wanting to make it up somehow.

Vapor woke up in his cloud house and groaned. He was lucky that he had managed to save himself this time, and wondered why he kept on falling so much. He supposed he would have to go over to Fluttershy’s to apologize for his strange reactions, and sighed again. Remembering that their lips had met, he wasn’t sure that he could face her.

Fluttershy paced back and forth within her living room, pondering. What if he hadn’t been okay? She had left him there yesterday after all. What if nopony found him? All she had managed to do was write a short little poem. That wouldn’t be enough to thank him for the work he had put in and apologize at the same time, would it? When she heard the knock on the door, she shrieked.

Vapor heard the shriek, and was about to bash down the door, hoping to save her. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that maybe he was overreacting, and Fluttershy wouldn’t take kindly to him destroying her property. Then again, he could always pay her back, and if she was in danger, he didn’t want to let the pony who broke in to have free reign. So he bashed the door in anyway with a powerful buck from his hind legs.

This only caused Fluttershy to scream even louder, as apparently somepony was trying to break into her quaint little cottage. There was nothing much to steal, as she used most of her bits to feed animals, so the only obvious conclusion was that the pony was there to kidnap her. She found a basket, and hid under it, hoping the intruder wouldn’t look under it. Then she heard the hoosteps. Every time they approached the basket, she squeaked, then hoped that the interloper wouldn’t have heard her.

“Are you alright Fluttershy?” asked Vapor after a bit of walking around.

And then Fluttershy felt really embarrassed for worrying her friend like that. She lifted the basket. “Hello”

“Gah!” screamed Vapor, surprised because of the voice from behind him. He started running around in circles.

Fluttershy was so scared that she kicked the vase that spun around for a full spin. They both screamed their heads off for another few minutes before they realized what was going on.

“Sorry,” they apologized in unison. Then they both looked away, suddenly aware of each other’s
presence.

“If you don’t mind would you,” they both started again, only to come to a sudden stop.

“You go first,” they tried again.

“Alright, I’ll go,” said Vapor, relenting. “Do you want to see some more cloud sculptures?”

“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy, “I mean, I’d love to, but I haven’t even...”

“It’s alright, I can understand if you don’t want to,” Vapor said.

“No!” Fluttershy tried to yell. “I just wanted to show you this.”

Clouds in the sky
So white and high
Animals made
A nice parade
This is a thank you
for the great view

That was on the sheet of paper that Fluttershy opened quickly, then shut, then opened again.

“It’s beautiful,” Vapor praised, overjoyed that she had done something for him.

“You don’t have to like it,” Fluttershy said, afraid that he was saying it just to placate her.

“No really, it’s good,” said Vapor. “I’ll make whatever you want as a thanks.”

Before she protested, he flew off to his usual spot where he made the cloud sculptures for Fluttershy. Fluttershy sighed, and lay in the meadow, knowing that it would be a sight to see. Slowly, the shapes floated over the meadow for her leisure. Some of them were familiar, and some were entirely new. As each one passed over, Fluttershy would give a little clap of applause. Sometimes, she would fly up to him to ask him for something in particular, and he would oblige, although he would always look away. She found herself looking away sometimes as well.

Time passed, and a flock of butterflies flew through the clouds. It was enrapturing, and Fluttershy couldn’t tear her eyes off the scene. She started to fly towards them, and Vapor followed. They hovered there for a while, just watching the butterflies flit about. It was just them, and the butterflies, alone.

And then their eyes met again, and despite the rosy pallor that the color of their cheeks were taking on, they didn’t break eye contact either. They just stared. Then the day was over before they realized it.

As Fluttershy began to leave to go home for her animals, since they would need family, Vapor reached out a hoof and tapped her, lightly. “Would you like to spend some time with me tomorrow?” It was all or nothing.

“Okay, it’s a date Fluffykins,” giggled Fluttershy.

The butterflies and the clouds slowly floated away. It was a beautiful day.

The cover image is somewhat stolen from the talented artist, Qiae. If you like it, stop by deviantart, and drop a nice message.

I also need to thank many people I asked for opinions on this, because it’s somewhat my first serious try at romance, and they’ve definitely contributed, even if some of them don’t know it.

Don’t own Mr. Rogers or MLP or Fireflies so yeah...