With a long dramatic sigh that would have made Rarity proud, Rainbow Dash looked down at Fluttershy’s cottage from over the edge of her raincloud. She wondered how she had gotten herself into this mess.
The cloud itself was a work of art. Sculpted in just such a way that it would water all of the plants around Fluttershy’s cottage, but leave a small spot near the front of the cottage that she could sit in without getting wet.
Fluttershy loved watching the rain, but didn’t much like getting wet. Dash knew that. Just as she knew that Fluttershy liked pecan nuts over walnuts, had a secret fondness for carrot smoothies, and loved feeling the wind of flying in her face as long as she didn’t have to be afraid of falling.
She was delicate like that. Wings that were half and again as big as Dash’s own, but afraid of heights. Scared of her own shadow, but capable of scolding a dragon without flinching. Was delicate the right word? Dash shrugged to herself. It seemed appropriate. Even Fluttershy’s colors felt like they couldn't stand up against Dash’s own, more vibrant plumage. She was beautiful and soft in both appearance and behaviour, but possessed a core of iron that meant she stuck to her guns once she’d made up her mind. Dash knew that too.
They had been friends for as long as Dash cared to remember. That was to say, ever since flight school. She might have picked on Fluttershy a little when they were really, really young, but that part wasn’t at all important. Water in a raincloud. During flight school they had become the best of friends, mostly due to Fluttershy always tagging along when she hung out with Gilda, but friends nonetheless. After that it was one big stream of ‘together-ness’. Helping Fluttershy move, Fluttershy helping her sculpt her cloud villa (she was surprisingly good at sculpting finer details in clouds, which still amazed Dash), Twilight’s arrival, and all of the adventures they’d endured since. She supposed she’d developed something of a crush on her lifelong friend along the way. There was something about how she could be a little less... awesome, and Fluttershy wouldn’t fault her for it; all the ways Fluttershy knew just what to say when she was feeling down; or her unwavering support when it came to flying, no matter what Dash was trying to accomplish. And somehow, Applejack knew that too.
That’s right! Applejack, that cheating, good-for-nothing mud-pony had tricked her! And now she was going to have to confess to Fluttershy or lose her standing as the bravest pony in all of Equestria. She took a deep breath and let it out in one big derisive snort. Applejack thought she would chicken out of telling Fluttershy how she felt? All because it could mean the end of their friendship as they knew it? Well... Applejack had another thing coming.
Like, come on! The winner of a bet never had to do any of the embarrassing or stupid stuff. It was like, a rule, or something. But nooo... apparently Applejack had said that, even if she won, Dash was going to have to tell Fluttershy about her crush. It wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t listened intently enough. She’d just wanted to get started! But now she was stuck here, and Applejack was laughing behind her back. For sure. Stupid Applejack. Stupid crush.
It wasn’t as though she was scared of telling Fluttershy. Not at all! It was just cold this high up, and she was mad at AJ for tricking her like that. Yeah, that sounded good, and cool. Somewhat anyway. With another sigh, she tipped backwards and let herself slip off of the cloud.
Maybe just one more round over Ponyville before she actually told Shy everything.
A vastly prolonged tour of Ponyville later, an exhausted Rainbow Dash settled back down on the the same cloud she’d vacated about an hour before. It had been reduced to mostly vapors. Enough for a minute or two more of rain, but after that it would dissipate without any outside help. Just for a moment, she wondered if she should have packed the cloud more thickly. Rain was Fluttershy’s favorite weather.
Maybe she could just...
She shook her head, trying to knock some sense into herself. There was a time for hesitation, and a time for action. And now was definitely the time for action, if only because she would probably chicken out otherwise. She launched herself from the cloud and arced around, angling herself towards the cottage below.
Rainy days were among Fluttershy’s most favorite things next to pecan nuts, hot tea, and long conversations with Rarity. Or Rainbow Dash. It was almost but not quite an afterthought, one that was quite new to her. She blushed, not for the first time that day, and it was all Rarity’s fault.
But she’d thought about that enough. More than enough even. Suffice it to say, she liked rainy days. Most of her animals would rather stay inside with her than go out like they usually did, and the activity made her entire cottage feel alive and cozy. After taking care of the food for everyone, she could sit in the little nook by her front door and stare out into the yard for hours. And think.
It was a simple pleasure. Enjoying the ambience of the rain. She did, of course, enjoy the company of her animal friends as well, but for all of the noise they made, the rain provided a serene backdrop. And the best thing was that she only had to do absolutely nothing. Between having to perform acts of heroism that were expected of her now, an unexpected epidemic of species-spanning pneumonia that had affected the entirety of her domain, and a deep and frankly terrifying conversation with Rarity, she was due for a little bit of nothing.
With a glance over her shoulder she confirmed that the mice were still resting comfortably on the couch. Normally the most active and excitable of her animals, they had been hit hardest by the disease, and while they were recovering she still didn’t want them to exert themselves too much.
In her musings, she sometimes wondered what it would be like if she was more active. Like Dash or Applejack. Not often, but sometimes. Would she rather fly than read a book? Rather than play with or take care of her animals? It sounded terrible, and yet, she couldn’t deny the exhilaration every time Dash took her along for a ride.
Rainbow Dash…
From the moment she’d been old enough to know what admiration meant, she’d known that she admired Rainbow Dash. Not for her bravery, fearlessness, or loyalty, although she certainly admired her for that. No, what she admired more about Dash than any of those was her strength of character. That stubborn refusal to bend to others, even though she could be wrong. Standing up to the bullies that were plaguing Fluttershy had been but the first of the many times that Fluttershy wished for the same strength. It was a strength that seemed etched into Dash's very being, with the colorful mess of her mane being a physical manifestation of defiance.
“Look out world, here I come,” it seemed to say.
She had quickly learned that Dash had her own moments of weakness, but that didn’t take away from the fact that she loved that strength, physical as much as mental. With a blush and a barely stifled giggle she looked back over her shoulder, wondering if her animals knew what she was thinking about. It wasn’t as though she hated her own body. Sure she might have had a little more fat on her belly, and slightly plumper haunches than was usual for a pegasus, but that didn’t bother her. She even considered it beautiful. An inevitable side effect of her many conversations with a ‘beautician’ which was what she secretly called Rarity. The two of them had talked - at length - about the concept of appeal and while Rarity had convinced her of her own beauty (albeit with some difficulty) Fluttershy had learned another altogether more frightening thing. Namely that she was attracted to mares that were a little more… slim, and sporty.
Something lithe, like Dash. With a sleek flight profile, a messy unkempt mane, and muscles that were toned from years of training. She’d been shocked to realise how much she liked the feeling of those muscles pulled taut with every beat of Dash’s wings, or her arms which made Fluttershy’s weight seem inconsequential on those rare occasions where she’d fallen off of Dash’s back only to have Dash catch her with ease. She fanned herself with a hoof and stifled another giggle, which was swiftly followed by a not so stifled sigh.
However grateful she was to Rarity for exposing just how badly she was in love with Rainbow Dash, it was small comfort compared to the horrors Rarity had then followed that up with. Stories, upon tales, upon anecdote; Rarity had regaled her with more ways romance could end before it began than she had ever wanted to know. Some ponies didn’t show up to a first date, others left at the first sign of trouble, on and on and on.
“Nothing,” Fluttershy told herself forcefully, startling the animals in her immediate surroundings. “Sorry...” she smiled at them until they went back to their own antics before turning back to the window. She was going to think about absolutely nothing, and not about the myriad of ways in which Dash could potentially break her heart.
If only she’d possessed a fraction of Dash’s determination, she’d have asked Dash to be her marefriend, and the statistics would have been on her side. She would never ever abandon Dash like that, so there would be no problems. Another sigh passed her lips, and she put a token effort into getting up before sinking back down. She should really check on the mice, but they looked like they were fine, and she didn’t really want to go anywhere right that second. If only she could stop thinking so much.
With gargantuan effort she brought her thoughts to the past week and some of the more pleasant happenings therein. Clyde (the fox) had found himself a mate, and in an unprecedented move had actually convinced her to come live with him, rather than the other way around. One less friend she would lose to the wild.
Animals usually only came to live with her if they were severely wounded (and she nursed them back to health) or were born to parents who already lived with her. The rest generally preferred to live their lives out in the wild, which she understood. That being said, the fact that Clyde wasn’t going anywhere made her happy, and she was fast making friends with Bonnie as well. Secretly she was already hoping for kits from the pair, and the chance to be a surrogate mother to them. Foxes were always so lovable and cuddly when they were young.
The train of happy thoughts kept on track for just a bare moment longer before being derailed by none other than the mare of her nightmares of the last two days. Rainbow Dash landed none too subtly in her garden. She looked tired, windswept, and wet. Nothing unusual there. Dash liked to push herself to extremes all the time, but there was something about her expression that told Fluttershy something was amiss. The spark of cocky confidence was missing.
Fluttershy quickly got up and made her way over to the door, opening it just as Dash arrived at the doorstep. Dash passed her without a word and plopped down on the couch. After a lifetime of providing a listening ear to each other's problems, you simply developed a sense for such things. Or at least Fluttershy liked to think that she had.
“Hello,” she began softly, walking back to her nook before thinking twice about it and making her way to the kitchen instead. Dash could be prickly when something was bothering her, and Fluttershy had learned how not to prick herself. “Would you like something to drink?”
Dash began to shake her head but it swiftly turned into a nod. “Yeah,” she replied with a raspy voice. “That’d be great,” she said with a hint of a smile
Oh dear. That wasn’t good. Not good at all. Normally, when Dash got like this, all she wanted to do was talk. For her to accept a drink meant that, whatever it was, it was bothering Dash a great deal. “Tea or Power-R?” she continued with a smile of her own, determined to make the conversation as painless as possible for her friend. She had learned to do that as well.
“Whatever is fine,” Dash said, making a gesture with a hoof that started out as a dismissive wave, and then turned into a scratching of her temple.
Power-R it was then. A pegasus sports drink that purportedly contained enough energy to make even an earth pony feel like they could fly. Fluttershy personally couldn’t stand the stuff. It made her all twitchy and restless, but she understood that for a flier like Dash it could be a great pick-me-up, and Dash looked like she could use one.
She pulled open a can, and took her time making some tea for herself. Dash would need some time to gather her thoughts, and Fluttershy didn’t want to pressure her. As an afterthought, she filled a second cup of tea so that Dash could still choose if she so desired.
Rosehip tea wasn’t the most fragrant, or even pleasant tasting tea, but it helped calm nerves and stimulate the immune system. She could certainly use some of the former, and perhaps Dash did as well.
A few home-made cookies were added to the ones already on the tray. They consisted mostly of nuts, with a healthy dose of ground up dandelions. Not quite the usual fare served with tea, or with anything for that matter, but Dash was a big eater, especially when she was upset about something.
Fluttershy returned to the living room, tray balanced on a wing, to find Dash lazily sitting on the couch. She was staring out the window, where the last of the rain made its way to the ground.
Putting the refreshments on the table, she sat down next to her friend. She knew there was nothing to say or do to make Dash spill what was bothering her except to wait, so that was what she would do.
Waiting for Fluttershy to come back with something to drink felt like it took forever. In her head, Dash went through the conf— explanation one more time. First and most important was the fact that Applejack was a sneaky earth pony. Without her sneakyisms, Dash would have found a much more awesome and appropriate way (and time) to tell Fluttershy she loved her. Like, with a truly epic stunt, and maybe writing it in the sky or something.
Looking out of the window, she watched the remains of the cloud she’d used drift off. Maybe she should still have written Fluttershy's name in the sky. Would those remains be enough? She tried calculating it in her head, only to find that Fluttershy had returned while she hadn’t been looking.
“So, uhhh...” For the umpteenth time that day, the story she had carefully constructed in her head spilled out of her ears instead of her mouth, making her curse under her breath. “We need to talk...” she said after several moments of silence. A sickening feeling in her stomach told her that moving forward could well turn out to be a bad idea. 'Winging it’ was basically her speciality, but unfortunately, did not translate well into conversations. The only thing that stopped her from leaving and giving up on the whole idea was Fluttershy’s expectant look. Chickening out was worse. “...about... us.”
Anddddd crashed right out of the gate. She watched Fluttershy’s expression go from expectant, to uncertain, to downright worried. “I-is something wrong?”
“No, no, no,” Dash continued immediately. “More like... something’s right?” She scratched the back of her neck with a hoof. “I mean... sort of.” She hopped off the couch and began pacing back and forth through Fluttershy’s living room. She’d looked so calm, almost motherly just a few moments ago. Now, she looked like the shivering filly that was about to cry because she was being bullied all over again. It made Dash feel as bad as the colts that had driven her to cry back then.
Fluttershy had always been the frail, delicate sort, especially when it came to personal relationships, and especially especially when it came to anything Dash said. She was all but certain that telling Fluttershy anything at this point was going to make her gentle friend cry. If not immediately because she felt threatened by the sudden admission, then at the very least later because she would return Dash’s feelings, even if she didn’t feel the same way. That felt like the kind of thing Fluttershy would do. Kind very much to a fault. Perhaps it would be better to not tell her. To simply make up an excuse and reassure her that everything was fine.
“Neverm...” She trailed off halfway through the word. Giving up after having come this far was inexcusable. Yes, it was probably going to hurt, and yes they might have some trouble afterwards. But Fluttershy wasn’t a pony that would hold her feelings against her. Dash knew that. For certain. Okay, perhaps not one-hundred percent certain, but more than ninety at the very least. Regardless. This was happening. “I kinda...sorta... have a crus—”
“Uhm, excuse me,” Fluttershy interrupted her, before getting up from the couch and galloping up the small set of stairs into her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her and leaving Dash flabbergasted. That was apparently the wrong thing to have said. Was she being too direct? Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked at the tray. There was even an extra cup of tea if she wanted... Fluttershy was caring. As always. Perhaps Fluttershy didn’t want to hurt her feelings? It would be just like her.
Hesitantly, she got up and followed Fluttershy’s trail right up to the door of the bedroom. She took a deep breath and knocked. “Fluttershy?”
‘Be still, my beating heart’ as Rarity had once recited it so eloquently didn’t seem nearly intense enough for what Fluttershy was feeling. It was an excitement a thousand times worse than the one she had felt upon her discovery that she was in love with Dash. Each and every one of her limbs were shaking, her left wing wouldn’t stop making little flapping motions that sent her off-balance, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. It felt wonderful!
And yet, it was all wrong.
“You have to be careful, Fluttershy.” She recalled Rarity saying a mere twenty-something hours ago. Even if she returns your feelings, don’t let her tell you in that coarse ‘by the wind in my wings’ kind of way. It always, always bodes ill for the resulting romance.” She’d told Rarity that Dash was always a little windswept, but she meant well, to which Rarity had replied with: “Well, at the very least make sure she brings you some flowers, and looks more presentable than she usually does.” There had been a smile and even a light thither that followed that sentence, but Fluttershy had noticed the genuine sadness that Rarity had tried to hide with a flourish of her mane.
That, more than anything, had scared the life out of her.
“Fluttershy?” Dash’s muted voice drifted through the door. “I know this is like... really sudden, but I need you to know that I-”
“Don’t!” She shouted back, worries of their short lived romance resolving themselves before her mind’s eye.
“Why not?!” Dash shouted back, clearly frustrated.
“Oh what do I do? What do I do?” Fluttershy whispered urgently to herself. She couldn’t close her ears and even with a door between them, Rainbow Dash seemed determined to ruin any chance they had at a happy life together.
Something tugged at her hoof and she looked down to find Thumper, a young bunny that had come to live with her some time ago. He looked about as scared as she felt, and while he would normally have scampered off to hide, her cottage was his home now. Despite the looming threat she bent down to give him a reassuring nuzzle, and then turned around.
He had given her insight. Namely that staying here was a bad idea. Her best option was to make like a rabbit and flee. Maybe she could hide out in Rarity’s boutique? Or even the Everfree forest? Even that last vestige of hope was denied her when she turned to face the window, only to be bowled over by Dash who apparently considered it an entrance, rather than an exit. The only thing she could think to do after that was cry. So she did.
Even though she had expected it to happen, the tears in the corner of Fluttershy’s eyes still took Dash aback. Taking a step back, she helped Fluttershy to her hooves. “‘Shy, it’s okay,” she began with a weak smile. “I know you don’t like me, running away isn’t going to—”
“You don’t understand!” Fluttershy shouted, drifting between simply sniffling and outright crying. “It’s not like that at all!”
Dash let out a grunt in frustration. “Then explain it to me! What is so feather-pulling important?!” Fluttershy’s reply came through choked sobs and more crying making it all but intelligible. The most Dash could make of it was “‘sallwrong.” Which wasn’t helpful at all. She quickly gave up on trying to understand what Fluttershy was saying and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Common, ‘Shy. Deep breaths. Let’s go back downstairs.”
All Dash knew about comforting other ponies was that she wasn’t very good at it. She seemingly always said or did the wrong things which caused more problems than they solved. Still, to her it seemed like all ‘Shy needed was some time to calm down so she could properly explain why she was so afraid of, and while she wasn’t good at waiting either, that at least, she could manage.
It took a good few minutes for Fluttershy to relax, helped along by her animal friends. Dash felt ever more like an outsider with the glares they threw her way, but she wasn’t going to argue with anything that helped Fluttershy right then. The moment she was reasonably certain that Fluttershy wouldn’t burst out into tears anymore she asked again. “So, can you explain what’s wrong now?”
Fluttershy took a sip from the teacup she’d originally made for Dash before speaking. “I like you too,” she began with a hiccup. “But it’s...” She fell silent and buried her face in her cup, continuing only when Dash pushed her hooves down. “It’s...” She tried again without continuing.
Half of Dash wanted to leap into the air and celebrate. The other half realised that she’d have to help Fluttershy with her problem first. That’s what marefriends did, right? She grunted, let out a sigh, and smiled supportively. “Come on, ‘Shy. It can’t be that hard, can it?”
“It’s something Rarity told me,” Fluttershy said finally.
Dash nodded. “Okay? What’d she say?”
“She said that there are certain things that lead to... uhm...” She helplessly shrugged her shoulders. “Happiness? Sort of? She had a different word for it, but I forgot what it is. And if they just... blurt it out it always leads to a breakup. She said that those are ponies that don’t really care about a relationship, and only like you until they get bored. So they just leave after that and... it’s like, they’re relationships that are doomed from the start?”
It sounded completely ridiculous. Just the sort of thing Rarity would worry about with those stupid romance novels of hers, but she had apparently made it real enough for Fluttershy that the later looked close to crying again. Dash wasn’t having any of that. She pulled Fluttershy close.
“Do you think that’s really how it works?” she asked softly, letting Fluttershy lean against her.
“It happened to her!” Fluttershy said empathically, pulling away to look her in the eyes.
Dash allowed herself a weak smile. “You mean Rarity, the mare who’s always pining after some stallion she’s never met has had that happen to her?”
Fluttershy peered at her searchingly before finally nodding.
“So... how’s that anything like what we have?” Dash asked, unable to prevent her smile from turning into a smug grin. “We’ve basically been friends for forever! Do you really think I’d suddenly leave you hanging if we were marefriends?”
Biting her lip Fluttershy looked around her cottage before returning her gaze to Dash. “Well... no, but...”
“But nothing,” Dash cut her off. She pointed to the window. “I’m sorry I didn’t prepare for it well enough, there were some... some problems, but I promise I’ll make it up to you, okay?”
“O-okay,” Fluttershy replied with a shaky smile that grew in strength by the second.
“So... uh...” Dash chuckled. “I just wanna say that you’re being a silly pony. And that uhhh...” she trailed off purposely.
“And?” Fluttershy asked when the silence began to stretch between them.
“Annnndddddd,” Dash continued with an exaggerated drawl. “I love you, you silly pony.” And with that out of the way, she kissed her marefriend. She’d been wanting to do it ever since she knew Fluttershy liked her as well. Honestly, she’d been wanting to do it ever since they’d moved to Ponyville, but now she finally could.
Tranquility (of a sort) returned to Fluttershy’s cottage fairly quickly. After half an hour of nuzzling, kissing, and cuddling, Dash had extracted herself from Fluttershy’s arms and declared that she had a lot to make up for with her ‘crummy’ confession.
Fluttershy wouldn’t have minded if she’d tried to redeem herself some other time, or even not at all, and tried to say as much. Dash, in true stubborn fashion had said that she at the very least wanted to do something to which Fluttershy had suggested another rain cloud. So, after a final kiss, Dash had gone to Cloudsdale, leaving Fluttershy alone with her animals and her newfound happiness.
She giggled and touched her lips with a hoof. Even now, several hours later, she could still feel Dash’s kiss on them. Smacking her lips, she turned around on the spot, surveying her little kingdom. Between having done nothing but take care of the mice, and a menagerie of animals living indoors for the last couple of days, the place looked a mess.
“Uhm, hello?” she began to the animals, all of whom had gone back to frollicking with one another after Dash had left. It took a moment for her to get their attention, but once she had it she swept a hoof across the room. “I uh... I would like to make a nice meal for when my special somepony comes back, can I trust all of you to clean up for me?”
There were several affirmative animal noises, but before the hustle could begin she leveled a stern look at the mice, two of which were trying to crawl out of their hidey-hole of blankets. “Oh no, no, no. You two get back in bed. You’re still recovering.” The mice shamefacedly crawled back and chirped their acquiescence.
Satisfied, she made her way to the kitchen. She was going to cook something nice for the both of them, and maybe... maybe Dash would want to stay over for the evening.
Giggling at the giddy feeling in her stomach again, she watched just long enough to make sure that the animals weren’t trying to do tasks that were too difficult for them, before skipping into the kitchen. They’d been such good little beasties. Extra treats were in order for all of them, but first, something extra appetizing for her special Dashie. And when Rainbow Dash came back, they could watch the rain together.
It had been a hectic day and she could do with a little more nothing. She loved relaxing, and pecan nuts, and hot tea, and long conversations with Rarity.
But most of all, she loved Rainbow Dash.
