Fluttershy sipped her second cup of tea while the sun shone directly overhead. A basket of uneaten bread and butter lay in the center of the table, and her menu already lay closed in front of her.
She made it a habit to be customarily early to almost everything. Her anxiety about being late, being rude to anypony, made sure of that. Unfortunately, it was a quality her brother, Zephyr Breeze, did not share.
Which is why it came as such a surprise when, just before the solitary clang of the Ponyville clocktower bell announced one o’clock, the slender figure of her brother came into view from above.
Fluttershy’s eyebrows raised. Then, with a smile spreading across her face, she waved to him from her seat at the table.
“Hey, Zephyr! Over here! I got us a table already.”
Her brother waved back at her, swooping down to the table with a couple of flaps of his wings to slow his descent. The wind from his wings ruffled the cloth napkin over the bread basket, and he landed with a soft plop on the other side of the table. He breathed hard, but he made his reply quickly after taking a couple of gasps of air.
“H-hey! Phew… sorry I’m a little late there, Flutter Butter,” he said, with another puff of air. He propped himself up on the table with his hoof. “Hope I didn’t keep ya waiting too long…”
“Actually, you’re right on time, Zeph.” Fluttershy smiled, and took a sip from her tea cup. She pointed at the clocktower behind him. Zephyr Breeze gave her a confused expression, but when he took a look over his shoulder, he raised his eyebrows with surprise.
“Oh. Really? Huh. Could’ve sworn I was running late…”
Fluttershy giggled. “Nope. Since when did you care so much about getting to places on time?”
Zephyr Breeze gave her a little snort, furrowing his brow, but his smile showed he hadn’t taken the comment to heart. He gestured over his shoulder, pointing above him.
“Well, lemme tell ya, sis. My new boss, she’s… a bear. I mean, not literally a bear or anything, that would be more your kind of thing, but just…” He gave a low whistle, and grimaced. “Let’s just say I showed up late once, and pfft, I ain’t doing that ever again.”
Fluttershy grinned. She set the teacup down and reached over to the bread basket.
“Oh, I’ll bet. Well, good for you, big brother. Sorry to hear she’s, you know, a bear and all, though…”
Zephyr waved her off, blowing a raspberry. “Nahh, that’s okay. I mean, she’s a good boss and I’ve learned a lot, it’s just… stressful. You know? Anyway, it’s good to be on break for the next few days. I’ve got a lot on my mind I wanted to talk to you about…”
He reached over and snatched a couple of baguette slices from the basket. Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow.
“Oh? Well, okay then. What kind of stuff?”
Zephyr was stuffing his face before she could get the question out. He held up his hoof, chewing his food quickly and swallowing in one big gulp.
“Oh, you know…” He opened up his menu, and his eyes darted over the food options. “So, what’s good here?”
Fluttershy smirked, and took a deep breath. “It’s all good. Can’t go wrong here, really. So, what kind of stuff?”
She re-asked the question, setting her gaze on his downcast face. Zephyr bit his lip, and continued staring at the menu. Fluttershy continued to stare.
It seemed like he was looking through the table, not at it. Staring off into space. Fluttershy had her suspicions of what his answer would be, but she didn’t guess. She wanted him to say it.
He smiled nervously, and shrugged. “Oh, you know, just… you know, actually, maybe we can talk about it another day...”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Uh-uh.”
Zephyr leaned back in the chair, and sighed deeply. His hoof rested on the laminated menu, tapping it while he thought to himself. Finally, he conceded with a sigh.
“Ohh, fine. You win.” He rocked forward in his chair, and rested his head sadly in his hoof. “Rainbow Dash… how is she?”
Fluttershy’s smile widened. She picked up the teapot sitting beside the bread basket and poured herself another cup. “Oh, she’s fine. She’s actually out performing with the Wonderbolts right now in Fillydelphia, but she’ll be back in Ponyville by Saturday night.”
Zephyr’s expression when he heard the name of the city seemed to brighten up. His pupils dilated, and he released a pent up breath through his nose. He slumped forward.
“Oh. So she’s gone? Okay, well… I’m usually working on the weekends now, so I guess…”
He trailed off, buttoning his lip. Fluttershy spread some butter onto a piece of bread on her plate.
“I see. Were you hoping to see her today?”
Zephyr stayed silent for a moment, almost imperceptibly nodding his head. But then, he groaned.
“Yes… I mean, no… well, kinda? I dunno…”
“So you’re afraid?” She was drilling him like a psychologist, speaking gently but directly. Zephyr eventually nodded in affirmation, his eyes averted in shame.
“Yeah…”
Fluttershy pursed her lips. She took another sip of tea. “Oh. Well, that’s certainly not like you. To be shy around Rainbow Dash, I mean…”
Zephyr smiled ruefully. He sighed again, and gave a sad little chuckle. “Heh, yeah. I know right? And I guess that’s… kind of my problem. That I was really…” He took a deep breath. “...really not shy. If you catch my drift.”
Fluttershy could still recall Rainbow’s gobsmacked expression, and she winced. Her eyes wandered over to the waiter, which was approaching their table.
“Yeah, you… always came on a little strong. Here comes the waiter.”
Zephyr gasped, and he whipped his head around. When he saw the neatly-dressed stallion approaching, he went back to scanning the menu over frantically. Fluttershy rolled her eyes, but she smiled at her brother endearingly.
“I’ll order first, don’t worry. The risottos here are super good, if you like that kind of thing.”
As soon as she finished the sentence, the waiter was standing next to their table. He stood with his chest puffed out, and his eyes were bright and attentive. “Hello again. Are you two ready to order, or do you need a little more time to look at the menu?”
Fluttershy looked at her panicked brother, and she tilted her head sympathetically. She answered, “Sure, uh… Maybe just one more mi...”
“Mushroom risotto!”
Zephyr blurted out the menu item with a raised voice and a sudden jolt in his chair, slapping the menu with his hoof. He took a deep, shaky breath.
The waiter blinked with surprise, but he kept his dignified composure. He nodded curtly. “Certainly. And you, miss?”
Fluttershy had to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. She smiled up at the waiter. “Well, never mind then. And make that two.”
“Of course. I’ll put those orders in for you right away.”
He picked up their menus, turned around with a small adjustment of his tie, and walked away with a parting nod. As soon as he left, Zephyr shrank in his chair, grinning sheepishly.
“Heheh...Sorry…”
Fluttershy waved it off. “Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s my fault for asking you so many questions, anyway.” She took a bite out of her slice of buttered bread. “Sorry if I’ve been putting you on the spot a little too hard.”
Zephyr Breeze blew a raspberry, waving off her concern like he was shooing a fly. “Nahh, it’s okay. You’re fine…” He picked up the last baguette slice from the basket. “Hey, Fluttershy? Can I ask you a favor?”
When it came to her brother, Fluttershy knew very well what the word “favor” usually entailed. As such, she gave her answer with a great deal of reservation.
“Depends on what it is.”
Zephyr grimaced at hearing her answer. The mistrust in her voice was evident, and it seemed to hit him a little hard. He sighed, and asked the question with a lowered, timid voice.
“When you see Rainbow Dash… can you ask her if she’s, you know… maybe interested? Just to, you know, test the waters...”
He asked it in a way that suggested he already knew what her answer was going to be: bottom lip curled, voice shaky, and his head tilted away from her. His guess was not wrong. His face fell when Fluttershy shook her head.
“Sorry, Zeph. That’s something you gotta do yourself.”
Despite her firmness, Fluttershy felt a pain of sympathy in her chest when her brother’s shoulders slouched forward, and he covered his head with his hooves. He shook his head, groaning softly.
“Ah, jeez, sis…” He laughed, but he was far from merry. “Since when did you get to be such the whip-cracker?”
Fluttershy closed her eyes, and chuckled. “Since I realized it was the only way to get through to you.”
Zephyr groaned. He sat back in his chair, and sank downward like he was trying to hide from the world. He hung his head.
“Yeah… you’re right again. As always. But how do I, you know… do it? I’m kinda freaked out, to be honest...”
Fluttershy sipped her tea thoughtfully. She glanced between him and the table, clutching her teacup tightly. With a smile spreading across her face, she reached her hoof across the table, and set it down in front of of him.
“Well, Zeph… I won’t ask her for you. But I think I know something you could do, just to start with since you’re so nervous. Something I can help you out with...”
One of the downsides of leaving to perform with the Wonderbolts was that there was always a week’s worth of mail for Rainbow Dash to sort through when she got back.
This week was no exception. Sighing when she saw the lid of the mailbox bulging outward, the corners of the letters sticking out like tiny white flags, she went over to her front door, unlocked it, and opened it up just a crack before attending to the stuffed mailbox. She didn’t even have to give it a thought; it was a part of the weekly routine.
It took her at least a minute to the get the enormous stack of letters to pile up neatly in her hooves, but to Rainbow, it was better than taking two trips. She kicked the already unlatched door wide open, and as soon as she got inside the house, Rainbow Dash dumped the collection of envelopes on the floor, and fanned them out with her hooves.
She glanced at the addresses from left to right, quickly sorting them into two piles. With learned efficiency, she picked up the bigger of the two stacks and dropped them into the trash can next to her stairs, and taking hold of the remaining letters, she flew to her living room and sat down in her biggest, comfiest chair.
Rainbow flipped through the letters one at a time. Most of them were from Ponyville, as usual, a mix of bills that needed paying, town announcements, and a few personal letters from acquaintances and friends.
But there was one letter that stood out from the rest; a stamp from Cloudsdale caught her eye. Curious, she took a closer look at the sending address.
Her eyes widened. Then, her brow furrowed downward. Fluttershy’s parents?
Maybe it was an invitation to have lunch again? But that was odd. Usually, Fluttershy just invited her face to face. Tilting her head, she grabbed a sharp pin from the end table next to her chair and slit the envelope open.
It was a single sheet of paper, folded into thirds. She could see the faint outline of black ink through the back of the paper, hoofwritten. Intrigued, she flipped it open and began to read it silently to herself.
As she made it further and further down the letter, her pupils slowly widened. She soon abandoned her slouched, laid back posture and leaned forward on the edge of the seat cushion, clutching the letter in both hooves hard enough to wrinkle the paper.
Her cheeks turned pink as she neared the end of it. Shakily, she gave a deep exhale and closed her eyes.
The corners of her lips twitched upwards into the barest hint of a smile. She gently set the open letter down on the end table and rested her head in her forelegs, sighing again.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, but her smile widened. Then, she looked over at the other side of the room, at a small, dusty writing desk in the corner. Her gaze shifted between the desk and the unfolded letter on the table beside her. She remained frozen in place for at least a minute, contemplating with tip of her tongue hanging out of the corner of her mouth.
Until finally, with a mirthful shake of her head, she got up from her seat, snatching the letter from the end table and walking over to the writing desk. Sitting down in the sturdy, hard-backed chair, she set the paper down to the side and withdrew a pen and paper from the drawer.
She skimmed back over the letter with a spark in her eyes. Rainbow felt her heart do a little jump in her chest, and with cheeks a warm red, she said under her breath, “You better not make me regret this, Zephyr.”
Clenching her teeth around the pen, Rainbow began to write.
