The moment Rainbow opened the doors and entered the shelter, she was given the usual greeting that she'd come to expect when coming here. Animal after animal squawking, barking and otherwise making their presence known with some sort of call. Combined, it was almost a deafening experience, causing the young athlete to grimace slightly. But, she nevertheless continued to enter the building, and with her she carried a lager box, which she struggled to hold onto as she closed the door behind her. However, she managed to get inside all the same, and after glancing around for a few moments, she broke into a smile as she caught sight of the one she'd come here for.
"Hey there, Flutters!"
Her childhood friend was indeed there, kneeling beside one enclosure in particular. A pair of small dogs were rearing up to feed out of her hand as she was offering a few treats to them, but they, like every other animal, soon started barking happily once they'd noticed Rainbow's approach. As for Fluttershy, she too smiled as she turned to look upon her colleague.
"I'm glad you were able to make it, Rainbow."
Rainbow chuckled to that.
"Hey, it's no problem. I've still got some time before Aria expects me and Indigo down at the gym. So..."
She looked around for a few seconds.
"...where do I put this?"
Seeing Rainbow nodding down to her box, Fluttershy got up from her position, standing upright and brushing down her skirt briefly before walking over to her. Graciously, she accepted the delivery, taking it herself and moving it over to the front desk of the shelter. After fumbling around with it, she soon got it open, and once she'd done that, she reached in and pulled out a few small bags of what was clearly animal food. Looking back to her friend, she smiled.
"The shelter will be able to make good use of this for some time. Thank you."
Rainbow nodded, seeing her friend start to rummage around and get more of the box's contents out, before then moving over to one of the nearby animal enclosures. She reached inside, petting one of the docile-looking dogs, before glancing back to Fluttershy.
"So, you alone here today?"
Fluttershy turned to her, then noticed that she was looking at the currently-vacant front desk, prompting her to look back to her and shake her head.
"Oh, don't worry about that. The head of the shelter just needed to pop out and talk with a colleague of hers down the road."
Though Rainbow nodded to that, she placed her hands upon her hips and started looking around the rest of the room.
"Yeah, but...isn't there anyone else to help you with this stuff? I mean, I could always call Aria and..."
But, she was halted, as Fluttershy gently raised a hand to her, offering her a genuine smile as she shook her head.
"Oh, you don't needn't worry about that, Rainbow. I'm not alone here today."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow to that, once more glancing around to see that there was, in fact, nobody here. But, as before, she didn't get the chance to say anything on the matter, as both she and Fluttershy could now hear the sound of a large vehicle outside the shelter. Turning in unison, they found that it was a bright yellow bus, stopping just outside, which prompted Fluttershy to continue smiling.
"Ah, here she is."
Though confused, Rainbow continued to look on as the bus stayed where it was. Eventually, it started to move, and once gone, it was revealed that there had been somebody dropped off on the other side. Standing on the far side of the road from the shelter was a girl, one who looked both ways before crossing, and as she drew nearer, Rainbow was able to get a better look at her. The most obvious aspect of her appearance was the familiar uniform of Crystal Prep, CHS's former rivals. But, there was one definite addition to this attire, and that was the light blue hijab the girl wore around her head, leaving only her face of bright pink skin exposed. As the mystery girl finally entered the shelter, she smiled as she saw Fluttershy.
"Hi, Fluttershy."
The young animal carer nodded back to her.
"And hello to you, Amira."
She turned, gesturing to Rainbow.
"This is Rainbow."
Amira turned, looking to Rainbow with bright blue eyes, and smiled, offering her hand.
"A pleasure to meet you. Fluttershy's told me all about you."
To that, Rainbow smirked, taking the offered hand and shaking it.
"All good stuff, I hope?"
There was a brief round of laughter after that, and when it ended, Fluttershy gestured to the newcomer while facing Rainbow, and then started to explain things.
"Amira started volunteering here a few months back, just before the Friendship Games."
Rainbow was taken aback by this news, looking over to Amira, who continued the explanation.
"Yeah, it was just after the local shelter in the city got shut down. I started hearing about this one and...well...here I am."
Taking that in, Rainbow folded her arms, nodding.
"Okay...and you weren't bothered about Flutters being...you know...?"
To that, Amira rolled her eyes a little.
"If you mean that she's from CHS and I'm from Crystal Prep, then nope. I mean, come on, it's just a sports contest between two schools. That's nothing to get hung up over, right?"
Hearing that, Rainbow chuckled nervously.
"Hehe...yeah...I mean...who'd obsess over that...right?"
An awkward silence fell over the three girls, during which, Fluttershy slowly shook her head as she kept her eyes on Rainbow. As for Amira, she looked from one friend to the other with some slight confusion, only to then break the silence after clearing her throat.
"Right...well...do I need to get out some of the equipment, Fluttershy?"
Turning to her, Fluttershy resumed her earlier small smile.
"That would be nice. Rainbow already brought the food, so we should probably get started."
Amira nodded, walking over to a door on the far side of the room, all while Rainbow and Fluttershy watched her go. Only when the girl was gone did anybody say anything, ad that was when Rainbow spoke up to her friend.
"So, must be pretty nice having someone else here to help you out for once, eh, Flutters?"
Fluttrershy nodded.
"Yes. Amira's been a big help. And the way she gets on with the animals is just remarkable."
Unbeknownst to Fluttershy, Rainbow now placed one hand upon her hip, raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly.
"Oh yeah?"
Fluttershy nodded, continuing.
"One time, when Sour brought her dog over for one of his regular training lessons, she handled him so well, even I couldn't believe it."
Taking those words in, Rainbow nodded slowly, maintaining her smirk.
"Uh-huh...thought so."
Fluttershy turned to her, seeming confused at her friend's tone, which led to the latter pointing a finger right at her.
"You like her, don't you!"
Immediately, bright red came to Fluttershy's cheeks, and she started fumbling her words.
"What?! No! I mean, I never really thought about it, even though I...well...she and I have never..."
But Rainbow cut her off, shaking her head slightly.
"Don't even try, Flutters. I know like-face when I see it."
Before the animal lover could react, Rainbow's hand was upon her shoulder.
"Ask her out."
The words had not been a suggestion, but a command, causing Fluttershy's head to snap in Rainbow's direction, still bearing a massive blush.
"W...what?!"
Folding her arms, Rainbow nodded.
"You heard me. Next time she comes out here, ask her out."
Fluttershy looked over to the nearby door, then back to Rainbow.
"But...but...it'd be too...you know...embarrassing!"
Rainbow once more raised an eyebrow.
"What, more embarrassing than some of the stuff I've had to do lately?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth, only to pause as she took in Rainbow's words.
"I...no, that's actually a good point."
Rainbow nodded.
"Fluttershy, this is something you want. Don't even try to say otherwise."
The pink-haired girl looked away, unable to look Rainbow in the eye right now, especially since her obvious blush would have made it impossible to attempt a denial at this point. However, she wasn't even given a chance to say anything, as it was at this point that Amira returned, carrying a few pieces of cleaning equipment from the back rooms. For the time bring, she didn't look at the other two girls, giving Rainbow an opening to silently gesture to Fluttershy. Though clearly hesitant, it was also evident to Fluttershy that Rainbow was not going to let up on this. So, after taking a few deep breaths, she walked over to her fellow volunteer, pausing just as she was sorting the equipment out at the front desk, before making a deliberate cough, catching Amira's attention.
"Something wrong, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy paused again, weighing her words carefully, scratching the back of her head in a nervous manner, before just starting to speak.
"Well...um...what are you up to tomorrow?"
Though uncertain as to where this was going, Amira considered that question.
"Tomorrow? Er...nothing really. Why do you ask?"
Embarrassment was plastered all over Fluttershy's face, and as she took a moment to twirl her finger in some of her hair, she found herself just coming out and saying what this was all leading up to.
"I was...I was wondering if, maybe...you'd like to...spend some time together?"
Naturally, Amira seemed to be taken aback by this.
"What, you mean...like a date?!"
Unable to look at her, Fluttershy nodded.
"Um...yes?" she said meekly.
"Amira said nothing, looking away from Fluttershy for a few seconds before turning to face her yet again, bearing a genuine smile.
"Sure."
Fluttershy's head snapped in her direction.
"What?! Really?!"
Amira nodded.
"Yep. Does twelve at Sugar Cube Corner sound good?"
Though she fumbled her words again, Fluttershy nevertheless got an answer out.
"Um...yes?"
Amira smiled to her.
"Great. I'll see you there then. Oh!"
She snapped her fingers.
"I forgot the disinfectant. I'll be right back!"
And with that, she rushed off back to the back rooms, leaving a somewhat dumbfounded Fluttershy in her wake. The young animal carer was unable to say anything right now, simply watching as her latest friend went away again, but when the doors were closed, and it was once more just her and Rainbow, she turned to face the latter. Rainbow, for her part, was looking very happy about all of this, bearing one of her usual looks of confidence. As for Fluttershy, she, eventually just blinked slowly before looking her friend in the eye and sighing.
"Well...I guess I'm having a date then."
Despite being a weekend, Sugar Cube Corner was not as busy as Fluttershy had been expecting. Oh sure, there were plenty of people here, enjoying their time and partaking of whatever delicious cakes the place's owners had to offer, but it lacked a lot of the usual hustle and bustle of the weekend crowds. But, then again, given what Fluttershy was here to do, having fewer people here to watch her was probably something she was grateful for. Nervously, she looked to the clock on the nearby wall, watching as minute after minute passed. It was only a short while until it reached twelve, and for every moment that passed, she would take a deep breath to calm herself. However, twelve soon arrived, and as soon as it did, the door of the Corner opened up. Seeing the one who now entered, Fluttershy offered a genuine smile, waiving her hand.
"Over here, Amira!"
Her date had indeed arrived, and as soon as she saw Fluttershy, she returned the smile, making her way over to their booth. But, in contrast to how Fluttershy had seen her before, Amira was dressed far more casually than usual. Gone was her Crystal Prep uniform, replaced with more relaxed-looking attire of a simple shirt and long trousers, complete with sneakers, not unlike what girls like Rainbow or Lemon might have worn on a day off. To top it off, her prior headwear was gone for the day, allowing Fluttershy to see her purple hair, that was more-or-less the same shade as Rarity's, which was long enough to reach just past her shoulders, and was styled to fall on only one side of her head. Soon enough, however, the girl reached the booth, taking her seat and smiling to her date for the day.
"Hope you haven't been waiting long, Fluttershy."
The other girl, still smiling, shook her head.
"Not at all. Did you have nay trouble getting here?"
Likewise, Amira also shook her head.
"Nope. I mean, there was a little bit of trouble when the bus driver got caught in traffic, but aside from that, nothing to worry about."
Fluttershy nodded, but said nothing further, for it was here that none other than Mrs Cakes turned up, carrying a tray that bore two cups of tea. As she started setting it down on their table, Fluttershy, while seeming just a touch embarrassed, spoke up.
"I hope you don't mind, but I ordered us some tea."
Amira nodded to that.
"Thanks. I was actually pretty thirsty."
The girl smiled to Mrs Cakes, who, in turn, smiled back to both her and Fluttershy, and once she set the two cups down, she got back to her nearby counter. The two youngsters took this moment of silence to carefully blow on their respective cups, before taking a small sip of them. Unfortunately, after they had done so, it wasn't long before the silence continued on just a little bit longer than they would have liked, as neither really seemed to know what to say. Fluttershy looked around, thinking hard on how to just break the ice on this matter. Then, after glancing back to her colleague, an idea came to her.
"So...um...must be nice to get out of that uniform, right?"
Amira smiled and nodded to her.
"Yep. I mean, I've got no issue with it, but after a while, it just gets a bit samey."
Fluttershy, at last, started to form a genuine smile.
"And I have to admit, it's a little strange not seeing you without your...um..."
Suddenly, she realised what it was she was going to say, and started to take on a rather embarrassed look. Amira stared at her, waiting to see what it was she was going to talk about, but instead, Fluttershy found herself unable to say anything.
"I mean...your...um..."
Unable to say what was on her mind, she instead started pointing to her own head. Instantly, Amira understood, and after a brief moment of rolling her eyes, she let out a hearty chuckle.
"Yes, Fluttershy, you are allowed to talk about it."
Raising one hand, Amira started to run her fingers through her hair.
"Truth is, there are days when even my Mother forgets to tell me to wear it."
Taking another sip of her tea, Amira started to look just a little bit amused by something.
"But, then again, she was rather distracted at the time."
Naturally, Fluttershy took on a look of curiosity.
"Oh?"
Seeing her date take a similar sip from her cup, Amira started to smirk, nodding to her.
"Yep. It started a few days ago. My family and I were down with the rest of our neighbourhood at the local mosque. Everything was going as normal, everybody praying, when all of a sudden..."
Amusement and embarrassment fought for control in Amira's expression.
"...the whole room started to echo with the sound of snoring."
Fluttershy, perhaps knowing where this was going, raised a hand to her mouth.
"Oh dear."
Amira nodded.
"Yeah...turns out my little brother had spent just a little too much time playing on his Joy-Boy the night before. And...well..."
She snorted a little bit.
"...Haakim had just fallen asleep, right in the middle of his prayers."
Immediately, Fluttershy clasped both hands upon her mouth, both to stifle a gasp from hearing that story, but also partly to keep herself from giggling over it.
"Oh my! I hope he didn't get into too much trouble?"
Folding her arms, Amira leaned back into her side of the booth, laughing briefly before shaking her head.
"Nah. I mean, sure, Mom went full-on lecturing-Mother-mode when we got home, but Dad was able to calm her down. He always does."
Chuckling again, Amira reached for her cup, taking a full gulp of the stuff before looking back to her date.
"Little brothers, am I right?"
To that, Fluttershy raised her own cup.
"I'll drink to that."
Raising an eyebrow, Amira had noted the somewhat exasperated way Fluttershy had said that, and after the latter had taken another sip of her own tea, the Crystal Prep girl started to regain her earlier smirk.
"Let me guess...that brother of yours has shown up?"
Sighing, Fluttershy nodded.
"Yes. Zephyr's having trouble with his teachers...again."
Amira nodded.
"Right. He was training to be a...barber, right?"
The young animal carer shook her head.
"Hair stylist. Or, rather, he would be by now, if he didn't spend so much time bickering with people and flirting with Rainbow."
Amira took on a more intrigued look at that.
"Rainbow? Seriously?"
When Fluttershy nodded back in response, Amira continued.
"Somehow, I can't really picture her being all that receptive to him."
As before, Fluttershy stifled a giggle.
"No. In fact, Rainbow usually asks me to tell her when he's coming over, just so she can make sure not to be there at the same time."
The two girls shared a laugh at that, and when it died down, Amira, leaning back into her side of the booth, took another gulp of tea before breaking the silence.
"Well, I guess some ships just won't sail."
Fluttershy, at first, was confused by that comment, only to gain realisation shortly afterwards.
"Ships? Oh, you mean like that ficcy stuff you write?"
Amira nodded, smiling softly.
"My fanfics? Yeah. I just finished my latest one last week, with a little help from Lemon. In fact..."
She leaned forward, bearing a look of confidence.
"...I just managed to get a full five hundred views on it! That's a personal best!"
At first, Fluttershy was happy for her friend about this, but, after a few moments had passed, she started to lose her smile, appearing deep in thought, before clearing her throat and speaking up in a somewhat nervous manner.
"Five hundred? Um...isn't that the same number of times you said you looked to it yourself to see how many views it got?"
But Amira just waved her off.
"Pfft! Details!"
In spite of herself, Fluttershy let out another laugh, which Amira soon joined in on. It was a pleasant moment, to be sure, and as the two girls enjoyed the calm silence that followed, they got back to the business of their drinks, which they made sure to finish off in good time. None of them said anything, simply relaxing in the moment, but, as Amira was looking out of the window, Fluttershy, for her part, did not seem quite as content. The look she bore made it clear that there was something on her mind right now. Something that, perhaps she was embarrassed to speak about. But, soon afterwards, Amira looked back to her, and immediately noticed that expression, causing her own smile to fade a little bit.
"Something wrong, Fluttershy?"
At first, Fluttershy looked away from her, prompting her date to carry on.
"If something's bothering you, you can tell me."
Fluttershy's eyes went to her, then back to her now-empty cup, before finally just settling back on her date. Eventually, and after much consideration, she let out a sigh, leaning forward and speaking softly.
"Amira...there's something I need to say."
Nodding silently, Amira said nothing as Fluttershy said what she needed to.
"When I first asked you out, I did because...well...I thought that I...you know...liked-you-liked-you. But..."
She hesitated, but Amira gave her all the time she needed to get her thoughts in order.
"...now that we're actually on a date, I...I...I think I just...like you."
Placing her hands upon her knees, Fluttershy looked down at the table between them.
"I'm...I'm sorry. I'm having fun with you, but...I'm not sure if this is something I want to continue with you."
Amira stared at her in silence, and Fluttershy, for a time, just continued to avoid her gaze. Then, after almost a full minute had come and gone, and Fluttershy finally looked up to her date, she found, to her surprise, that the latter was actually smiling to her.
"That's okay," she said.
Instantly, Fluttershy was taken aback.
"R...really?"
Amira nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, if we're being honest, I feel the same. You're great, Fluttershy, and I've been enjoying the date too. But if you were to ask me if I think we're "right" for each other, or if I wanted this to be a long-term thing...I probably wouldn't say it was."
Fluttershy, upon hearing that, seemed confused.
"Did...did you feel that way when I first asked you out?"
Amira nodded in response, prompting Fluttershy to continue.
"Then...why did you agree to come out?"
Hearing that, Amira chuckled.
"Simple. If a girl like Fluttershy asks you out on a date, you'd be pretty stupid to say no to that."
Taking those words in, Fluttershy started to let out a sigh of relief, offering her date a smile in return.
"I...thank you. I'm happy to hear you're not too upset by that."
Amira snorted.
"Pfft! Upset? Me? Nah! Besides, we're both having a fun time out together, right? That's what's important. So who cares if we don't "go steady" after this?"
Then, a look of uncertainty crossed her face.
"Do people actually still say "go steady" these days? I've never asked."
Again, Fluttershy laughed, and Amira joined in. However, mere moments after they'd done so, they found, to their surprise, that Mrs Cakes had returned, and was patiently waiting for them to stop laughing before she added her voice to matters.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but would the two of you care for some more tea?"
The two girls looked to their respective cups, then nodded to one another before smiling to the older woman and handing said cups to her. Getting the message, Mrs Cakes nodded back to them, taking the cups and heading on back to the counter. Now alone again, Amira sighed in a clear display of relaxation, and after briefly glancing out of the window she put on a smirk as she regarded Fluttershy yet again.
"So...how long should we wait before going over to Rainbow over there?"
Fluttershy, who didn't look in any way surprised or taken aback, turned to look out of the window herself. There, on the other side of the street, wearing a rather unconvincing disguise of a trench-coat, fedora hat and sunglasses, was Rainbow, who was sitting beside one of the outdoor tables of the café over there. In typical "bad spy" fashion, the young athlete was pretending to read a newspaper, ducking behind it every time the other two girls' heads even so much as moved to look over there. Fluttershy, for her part, merely smiled in a knowing fashion, then looked back to Amira and spoke in a calm manner.
"Oh, let's just keep this up a few more minutes. Give her a bit more to watch."
Amira laughed, nodding back to her.
"Alrighty then. Well, I was reading a book the other day, and my Dad was sitting there, watching TV and shaking his fist at this new tax that Parliament had just introduced..."
Fluttershy's smile faded a little.
"Um...could we maybe not talk politics? It doesn't seem very...well...datey."
Amira raised an eyebrow.
"Okay then. How about we get into a far more important debate?"
She leaned forward, appearing about as serious as someone can be, before simply returning to her prior smirk.
"Which of your friends' brothers would you rather go out with, Big Mac or Flash?"
Fluttershy stared at her blankly, then, realising she was between a rock and a hard place, merely sighed and slumped her shoulders, still smiling while she did so.
"Okay...politics it is."
