It never failed to amaze Rainbow Dash just how much of a fairy tail dream Fluttershy's cottage looked. From the singing birds in the nearby trees, to the thatched roof, to the tiny little pond just in front, the whole place just had an air of calm and peace to it that you only ever found in children's stories. Smiling to herself, Rainbow shook her head slightly, but soon got back to the business at hand, walking up the small path that led to her friend's front door. Balling her hand into a fist, she gave a brief knock, and began to wait soon afterwards. After a moment or two, however, the door opened, revealing the smiling face of Fluttershy on the other side.
"Oh! Rainbow!"
Rainbow nodded to her.
"Hey there, Flutters!"
The animal lover stood to one side, allowing her friend a chance to enter the cottage in earnest, which the latter gave her an appreciative look over. Once she was inside, Fluttershy closed the door behind her, giving her an inquisitive look.
"I wasn't expecting you."
Rainbow chuckled.
"Yeah. Indigo cancelled on our plan for a soccer match today, so I figured I'd come over, see how you were doing."
Fluttershy gave a sweet smile to that.
"Well, I'm glad to see you here. It's always nice to have company over."
She giggled slightly.
"And the more, the merrier."
Hearing that, Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"More?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, only to be halted when, all of a sudden, she saw a second figure emerge in one of the hallway's doors. Bearing reddish dreadlocks and a relaxed smile, it was a girl around Rainbow and Fluttershy's age, though perhaps just a touch older. Though taken aback, Rainbow soon started to bear recognition as she regarded this newcomer.
"T...Treehugger?"
Entering the hallway fully, Treehugger smiled even wider.
"Hey there, Rainbow! Long time no see!"
Rainbow smiled, offering the new girl an open hand, which she took and shook, allowing the athlete to speak up again.
"Heck yeah! What's it been, a year since we last saw you?"
Tree Hugger nodded.
"Yeah. I've been doing a lot of travelling since then. Seen some real awesome sights, man!"
Rainbow let out a chortle.
"Well, I'd be happy to hear it."
Fluttershy smiled at the both of them before focusing on Rainbow specifically.
"I met her down at the animal shelter earlier. She came upon this sweet little dog who'd been hit by a car."
Rainbow seemed concerned by this.
"Geez! Is it okay?"
Fluttershy resumed her smile.
"Oh, the poor little thing is just fine! Recovering as we speak."
Treehugger nodded.
"Yeah, it was pretty righteous of the Doc down there to drop what she was doing to help that little guy."
Fluttershy nodded back in agreement.
"It was. And so, Treehugger wanted to come over and visit while she was in the neighbourhood."
Rainbow considered that.
"Cool. So, what are you guys up to?"
Treehugger smiled to her.
"We were just about to start a little something I've gotten really into the last few months."
Rainbow smiled back.
"Sounds good. Mind if I join?"
Treehugger turned, heading back towards the door she'd come out of, as she answered the other girl.
"Sure. Come on in."
Rainbow started to follow, only to be halted by Fluttershy, who stood in front of her, much to the former's confusion.
"Something wrong?"
Fluttershy seemed just a little bit hesitant as she answered.
"Well...um...I'm not sure if you're going to really...be all that into this."
Hearing that, Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Flutters, after everything we've been through, I think I can handle..."
But her eyes widened as she started to look past her childhood friend.
"...wha...what is she doing?!"
Looking over her shoulder, Fluttershy saw, to her dismay, that Treehugger was starting on something that, perhaps, she'd been fearful that Rainbow would see; she was getting undressed. Starting with her headgear, the other girl was also starting to slip out of her outfit, all while wearing a look that showed that she had absolutely no issue with doing this while the other two girls were there. Seeing that, Fluttershy let out a sigh, leading Rainbow back out into the hallway proper, before starting to explain things.
"Look...it's just something Treehugger started doing before she left on her big trip."
Rainbow looked to her with her eyes still wide.
"You mean nudism?!"
Fluttershy frowned.
"No!"
After briefly looking over her shoulder, she spoke back to Rainbow in a more reserved tone.
"It's for the purposes of painting. She'll pose, and I'll paint her."
Rainbow seemed incredulous.
"And...you're fine with that?"
Folding her arms, Fluttershy looked to her colleague with slight disapproval.
"There's nothing wrong with doing this, Rainbow. In fact..."
In a somewhat uncharacteristic manner, she started to wear a smirk.
"...we'll be trading positions after I'm done with her picture."
If it were possible, Rainbow's eyes widened even further.
"You...you mean...you're gonna...?"
Fluttershy nodded, confirming her suspicions, much to Rainbow's dismayed amazement.
"And...and you're fine with that?!"
Again, Fluttershy nodded.
"Is there a problem, Rainbow?"
Her tone suggested that she already knew that Rainbow was taking issue with it, but for the time being, she actually seemed to have at least a little fun in this teasing mood she'd started to display. As for Rainbow herself, she nervously scratched the back of her head, trying to get her words in order.
"Well...I...I mean...I don't think there's really any..."
But Fluttershy halted her by raising a single hand, smiling sweetly to her, though whether it was a genuine smile was up for interpretation, as she spoke in a somewhat professional manner.
"Good. In that case, I'd be happy if you stayed with me while I did my painting. I'd be nice to have a friend tell me how I'm doing."
Rainbow seemed, understandably, taken aback by that.
"But...but...but..."
Unfortunately, Fluttershy had already spun around, walking back into the room Treehugger was in.
"Come on then, don't want to keep her waiting."
In this moment, the young athlete let out a long exhale, realising that, on some level, she'd lost this battle before it had even begun. So, letting her shoulders slump in defeat, she did indeed start to follow her friend. Once inside the room, however, she did her best to avoid looking at Treehugger, who, sure enough, was indeed completely naked by this point. From what she could tell from her peripheral vision, Rainbow could see that she'd taken up a very particular pose, standing on one leg while stretching her arms up to the ceiling, all while her eyes were completely closed. In spite of this latter point, the girl seemed to be aware of Rainbow arriving.
"Feel free to look, friend. The body's a beautiful thing."
Rainbow, naturally, was trying hard not to look at her at all right now.
"Yeah, yeah...beautiful...I'll bet."
Fluttershy, taking a moment to be amused by her friend's reaction, soon got to work, standing at her canvas and looking down to her selection of paint jars to decide what colour to chooser first. But, as she did this, Treehugger spoke up yet again.
"Hey, I just got this totally righteous idea, Flutters! How about we ask Rainbow to join in after you and me have finished? Have her up here and stuff?"
Rainbow snapped her head in the direction of Treehugger, not even caring at this point that she was naked while she looked at her, and was aghast at that suggestion. As for Fluttershy, she innocently mused on that idea, before looking to Rainbow with that same smirk from before.
"You know...I think that would be a wonderful idea, Treehugger.
Rainbow looked to Fluttershy, seeming utterly shocked by what was being suggested. But, one look at her expression, that look that showed that she'd once more already won, and, after a brief bout of trying to come up with some excuse, yet again slumped her shoulders.
"Note to self...call first before visiting."
