Sunrises and Fresh Rain

    Tap. "Dashie."

    Rainbow Dash remained silent as death, and still as a sack of flour. Fluttershy tapped her again with an unsure yellow forehoof, right on the forehead.

     Tap. "Dash."

     The snoozing ball of cyan plush grunted, following up with a sentence of gibberish that certainly made leagues more sense in her apparently deep slumber. She finished with a huff, eyes still closed, and lazily turned to her back, smacking her lips. Fluttershy wasn't having it.

     A timid yellow forehoof extended hesitantly, swatting Rainbow over the snout like a kitten would a toy mouse, and just as gently, though her voice began to border a rare stern edge. "Rainbow Dash."

     The final tap was the lucky one as Rainbow lifted an eyelid, meeting face-to-face with the wide crystalline turquoise eyes of childhood best friend. Fluttershy snapped back her hoof as though she had just shaken hooves with a hot poker, tucking it to her chest protectively as she adopted an apologetic expression.

     "I-I'm sorry for waking you, Rainbow Dash, I just needed a favor."

     Rainbow's brows sunk over her eyes as she thinned her lips, looking at her soft-spoken friend incredulously before propping herself up on her elbows. The cyan mare lifted a hoof to rake back her unruly bed head before moving to lazily rub her eye, the haze of sleep still clouding her brain like the dull hum of a beehive. "What can I do for ya, Fluttershy?"

    The yellow mare sat back and tucked her hooves into her lap, looking as though she was reminding herself not to fidget. "Could you-Could you watch a few of the animals today? I have somewhere very important to go..." She winced after asking, expecting to be hammered with a big, flaming no.

     Rainbow checked an imaginary watch. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do." She agreed with a shrug. Fluttershy's eyes widened even further, mouth forming a tiny, angelic 'o'.

     "Oh thank you so much, Rainbow Dash, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed, fluttering her wings slightly to show her glee. Fluttershy closed her eyes in joy over a big smile and clopped her hooves together once in an uncanny Twilight-esque way.

     Rainbow chuckled, her morning voice cracking once. "That was cute."

      Fluttershy drew her hooves to her chest once more, one over the other, and looked searchingly at her friend. "What?"

      "That little thing with your wings, the little flutter." she explained, before chuckling weakly again. "That was a cute flutter, Flutter."

     Buttery yellow turned to pink as a blush saturated Fluttershy's cheeks and she grinned, looking down meekly. "Thank you." She climbed to her hooves, gently swishing her flowing pink tail. "But we better get going, um, if that's okay."

      Rainbow never grew tired of seeing Fluttershy's characteristic fade from mildly assertive to passive mid-sentence.

      The blue mare followed the yellow as they flitted to the ground from the grand drifting cloud home that Rainbow called her own. As they left, the cyan pegasus couldn't help but wonder how Fluttershy had even managed to get in to tap her out of her slumber.

     The yellow mare's hidden lockpicking skills became a secondary concern as the pair neared the edge of the foreboding Everfree forest, where Fluttershy's cottage stood on the border between the town and the coppice of dense jungle. "Thank you again for the help, Rainbow Dash, it means very much." Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at her friend, who returned the smile with one of her own.

     "It's no big deal, Flutters, really, you know I love the critters!" Her sentence was punctuated with a flinch as Rainbow dodged a bullet-like hummingbird as it whizzed past her.

     Fluttershy was blissfully oblivious. "And they love you, I'm sure!" Despite her words of assurance, the yellow mare silently hoped today was the day Angel would dial his repugnance to the minimum.

~*~*~

Burning rose flashed in the shiny surface under streaks of intense pigment that competed with the arch spanning the blue sky. Pearly whites gritted against each other in a grimace topped with a crinkled little nose and furrowed brows to complete this picture of raw determination.

Little Rainbow Dash stared herself down in the little mirror, her own intense pink eyes flicking over her reflected face. She had them narrowed to slits as she prodded the ice for weakness, a twitch in her countenance that would give away vulnerability, the slightest crack in an otherwise perfect stance.

Nothing. Rainbow Dash was steel.

"You can do this, RD." The filly encouraged herself. While her voice could not sound more sure, Rainbow was only half-convinced. Then again, she was long past the point of no return.

Now or never.

With a fateful breath that felt like she was inhaling a batch of gaseous courage, Rainbow Dash tucked the small pocket mirror into her saddlebag  and spaced her hooves apart as though she were about to receive a mighty blow.

And then she rang Fluttershy's doorbell.

Ding, dong. The sound rang in the cyan filly's head as though it were too holding its breath for what was about to transpire.

The door creaked open, and a mare with the same coat color as Fluttershy and a flowing light tan mane looked down at the nervous filly. "Rainbow Dash, what can I do for you?" The mare asked, her voice, though beautiful, was stern and icy.

"Oh hi, Mrs. Fluttershy'smom, is Fluttershy home?"

Mrs. Shy shook her head, before flicking a strand of silky tan over her shoulder. "Sorry, dear, you just missed her."

Rainbow felt sick.

"Could you tell me where she went?" She asked, her voice bordering frenzy.

"I don't know, Rainbow dear, she just headed out so quickly, I couldn't ask."

A knot hardened in Rainbow's stomach like a black stone, choking her. She breathed quick, short gasps as she took off, not bothering to yell a goodbye to Fluttershy's bewildered mother, focusing only on the cloud as her hooves thundered over it and the distance in front of her.

The distance to Fluttershy.

*~*~*

     Smack!

     Today was apparently indeed the day when Angel decided to crank his mean-spirit to eleven as a furry white paw connected with Rainbow's shoulder.

      Rainbow whipped around. "Why you little-"

      Fluttershy scooped up the pissy white bunny just before Rainbow was going to show him a backhand of her own, "Now stop that, Angel. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, he's just had a bad day." She apologized on his behalf.

     Rainbow wasn't fazed. "Has he? How'd he like to have a worse one?" The bunny peeked around Fluttershy's hoof with his tongue out and an illicit "come at me" expression on his face. Rainbow could use a new furry wallet, or at least Rarity could. Rabbit's feet were good luck, in any case.

     "This is a lot of animals, Fluttershy," Rainbow remarked, looking around at the cottage filled with every kind of garden animal, all scurrying around on tiny little feet. "I didn't think there would be this many."

     The too familiar apologetic expression rose again on Fluttershy's features as she shifted her weight from one hoof to the other.

      "Oh, I'm sorry, I can stay if you want, it's no problem..." She pawed at the floorboards gently, staring down. The yellow mare looked up with sad eyes through a sheet of hair.

      Dash sighed; how could she say no? "It's okay, I got it. Go ahead and have fun."

       The tiniest smile crept up Fluttershy's face as her turquoise eyes picked back up their sparkle. "Are you sure?"

       So this was what being whipped tasted like. "Yeah, I'm sure." Rainbow affirmed. At least it was Fluttershy holding the other end.

      The yellow mare approached the blue, gently tilting her head up with a hoof, gazing into pink eyes with glimmering turquoise. "Thank you." Fluttershy planted a soft, delicate kiss on Rainbow's cheek that made the gave the pegasus that weak feeling that only a certain yellow mare could bring about.

      The moment burst like a bubble as a thump sounded from the doorway. Fluttershy abruptly drew back her head, looking away for the source of the sound, leaving Dash dazed and suspended as though on the edge of a cliff. "Wha-?"

       As she gathered her head, Fluttershy was already crouched over a small, feebly-stirring figure on the floor. "Baby bird, fell from his nest." She diagnosed, curtly beckoning to the mess of twigs and hay matted into the top of the doorframe. "We've got to get you stitched up, little guy!" She cooed to the little thing, before turning to Rainbow in a silent plea for assistance.

     The cyan mare sighed and trotted over, scooping the injured bird into her wing. Leave it to a baby animal to ruin any perfect moment.

~*~*~

Blood pulsed through Rainbow Dash's ears as she sped away, every beat bringing about another sickening rush of adrenaline and potent dread. Her hooves fell faster and faster, running into the horizon before Rainbow came to a realization, the most harrowing of them all.

She had no idea where she was going.

She should stop, sit, catch her breath, and give it a thought, but Rainbow's hooves ran as though she was on fire. Fluttershy pulled her like a magnet from out of sight. She needed to find her, she needed to find her.

The cyan filly's mind was falling, tumbling over and over, right off the edge into a numb abyss.

Right over the edge.

The filly finally stopped. Her lungs seared with exhaustion, the pain ripping white-hot through her, but Rainbow couldn't feel it, she didn't feel a single thing around her.

She knew where Fluttershy was.

*~*~*

      "Gauze."

      Dr. Fluttershy screwed her face up in concentration as she hunched over the delicate baby bird, as Nurse Dash watched curiously over her shoulder. The precision, the finesse, the accuracy with which Fluttershy toiled over the broken wing...

      "Gauze, please, Rainbow Dash." She asked again, yanking her not-so-faithful assistant out of her trance.

      "Wha-oh, yeah, gotcha." The cyan mare snapped back to reality, passing a folded wad of the medical supply to the focused Dr. Fluttershy, who accepted it with surprising dexterity in her wing without breaking her gaze to the patient.

      Dab, dab, discard.  "Bandage."

      Rainbow was on top of it this time as she passed a strip of firm cloth. Fluttershy snapped it up, holding it down with her hoof over the unconscious bird's splintered wing as she wrapped it around in her jaw before pulling it tight over the creature's feathery shoulder.

     She did it with such expertise and care that Rainbow couldn't help getting her attention captured again. It was left only to speculation as to how many animals had received the same treatment by what seemed to be such a helpless mare turned lifesaver and healer.

      Finally rearing up, Fluttershy swept a bead of perspiration from her brow and slumped back, looking at her friend with half-lidded, satisfied eyes. Rainbow smiled an looked down to the bird, whose wing was securely fastened in a makeshift sling, weaved over his shoulder in a fashion that was no less than impressive.

     "That was...awesome." Fluttershy smiled at Rainbow's compliment.

     "I've had a lot of practice."

     Rainbow raised her eyebrows, still impressed. "I could never do that. Too clumsy." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, prompting a concerned look from the mare next to her.

      Fluttershy changed position, leaning against Dash so that her head rested on the cyan pegasus's shoulder. She tilted her face upwards, meeting Rainbow's eyes with her own from below. "Of course you can, Rainbow Dash, you know I believe in you."

     Dash felt her insides melt and trickle away once more, reveling in the warmth that permeated her chest. Their eyes stayed locked for only a few seconds, a mere smidgeon of time that may as well have been a lifetime, before Fluttershy turned back, nestling herself more comfortably against her best friend turned marefriend.

      "Besides, we make a great team."

      Dash chuckled breathily, leaning away with a grin. "Yeah, right, you know I'll be there whenever you need a scalpel handed to you." She listened to the small giggle from Fluttershy before continuing. "You can go do whatever you need to do now, I think I can handle the animals for now." She cringed at a chitter from a nearby squirrel. "Just don't be gone too long."

     Fluttershy had already blissfully guided her lids shut, seemingly unwilling to move. "It's alright, I'd much rather stay here with you."

      This was a vastly better option to Rainbow Dash, for so many reasons. "You sure? Who were you meeting anyway?"

      Lazily, the yellow mare replied, "It's nothing, just meeting a friend. I'm sure she won't mind a reschedule."

       Rainbow too let her eyes slide shut. "I'm sure she won't."

        *~*~*

She was far out, far from the unforgiving city of Cloudsdale, while still remaining within the boundaries of the gargantuan cloud that made up the ground. The edge approached Rainbow's vision, a vast desert of cloud spanning from one horizon to the other, before dropping off into a blue sea. It was flat and white and endless, save for the small curled lump at the edge of the city.

Rainbow approached the slumped filly with a light step, all nerves forgotton and replaced with sheer concern for her friend. She took her place next to Fluttershy, nestling into the cloud.

Neither said a word, Rainbow simply lost herself in the expanse of blue over the edge.

There were once two fillies here, one yellow, another blue, sitting side by side as they were now. One speculated the possibility of what lay under the floating city, one shared her dreams of one day becoming famed and fortuned. One was shy, timid, soft-spoken, and scared, one tough, resilient, outgoing, and vowed to protect the other forever. One became friends with the other.

One came out here a month later, one was taught how to fly her very first flight. One flew, the other fell.

One fell in love with the other.

Fluttershy finally looked up, crimson seeping into her cheeks, tears seeping into her eyes. She hopped to her feet, turning away and preparing to bolt.

"I-I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash-" She exclaimed, her voice experiencing the rare break. The yellow filly made to escape, but was grabbed by an alarmed Dash.

"Please, Fluttershy, don't go, I'm sorry about the note, I don't want to lose you, please-" She pleaded, deperation and sadness seeping into her tone through voice cracks as she pulled her friend to her. "I'm so sorry, please, I'm sorry, I'll fall out love with you, anything, I'm sorry!"

Rainbow turned the filly toward her face more forcefully than she had intended, desperately locking eyes with the watery ones of the trembling filly. Fluttershy looked back, searching, frenzied, and, more than anything, afraid. "I don't want you to." She said in a whisper, terrified of her own words.

Rainbow stared back like a deer under the frightful beam of a headlight, not trusting her own ears. "What?"

Fluttershy averted her eyes, staring into her own mane as Rainbow's face hovered an inch from her own. "I don't want you to. I'm in love with you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow shivered, a feeling she had never before experienced spreading inside her chest, and irresistable attraction pulling her completely to the yellow filly that was now the center of her world around which she was only a satellite.

Two fillies, one yellow, one blue once sat here, at the edge of the cloud. One fell, the other caught her.

*~*~*

      Pinkie Pie tapped an impatient hoof against the counter of the sugary bakery, azure eyes flicking back and forth with the swinging pendulum of her wall-mounted cuckoo clock. She puffed a strand of frizzy pink from her eyes, adjusting her head so it rested in her hoof on the smooth surface.

      "This is so much not like Fluttershy," the party pony confided in what was quite possibly the best listener to ever grace the planet. "She's never ever late! Especially not by an hour..." Another glance at the comical clock proved her statement true.

      Gummy didn't say a word, clearly only prompting Pinkie to continue.

       "Where do you think she is? We were gonna decorate cakes together today, you'd think she would remember, that silly filly."

       Once again, Gummy provided no usable insight.

        "Guess we'll reschedule..." She drifted away before breaking into a fit of infectious giggles and snorts. "Fine with me, more for Pinkie!" She exclaimed, clapping her hooves together in glee over the bare counter, topped with the complete absence of cakes.

       Of course Pinkie Pie didn't mind, she'd eaten the cakes for decorating long ago anyway.