Fluttershy walked into her cottage, hopped up on the couch and stared at the wall numbly.
Twice now. Twice now she had tried to show Twilight some affection and twice now she had backed away. Sure, she loved the Alicorn, and Twilight said that she felt similarly, but now her own insecurities were getting in the way again.
“I knew I shouldn’t have told her,” she whispered. “I can’t even muster up the nerve to hold her hoof in private, let alone public.”
A knock on the door made her glance over. “Yes?” she called out, standing and walking towards the door.
“Fluttershy, it’s me,” Twilight responded. “Can we talk?”
Her heart hammered in her chest out of excitement and fear. She froze in her travel to the door for a moment.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight spoke again. “I know you’re there. Please let me in.”
The Pegasus shook her head and finished her walk to the door, opening it a little and looking at the pony standing there.
Twilight smiled down at the other mare, an expression of confusion on her face.
“You left rather suddenly,” she said. “I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
The meek pony nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was just feeling a little sleepy.”
“You could have taken a nap in the castle,” Twilight said, an ear flicking in disbelief. “Celestia knows I have enough spare rooms and my own bed can probably fit three ponies if I’m honest enough.”
“Oh, I couldn’t impose like that,” Fluttershy said. “Anyway, thank you for checking on me.”
“Impose?” The astonished Alicorn slid a hoof into the doorway to prevent it from shutting. “Shy, that wouldn’t be an imposition. You’re my friend, and my marefriend at that. You are more than welcome to take use of anything in the castle, including a bedroom. You didn’t have to fly all the way back home just for a nap.”
Her cheeks heating up, Fluttershy stepped back, her mane slipping forward as she ducked her head a little lower. “I know,” she whispered as her wings rippled in anxiety. “It’s just...”
Twilight waited for the mare to continue, but no more words came to her ears. She sighed and removed her hoof from the doorframe.
“It’s ok,” she said. She ruffled her wings as she turned slightly. “See you tomorrow?”
Fluttershy nodded weakly before shutting the door. With another sigh, the Princess of Friendship took to the air but turned to hover for a moment, catching sight of the yellow Pegasus simply sit on her couch and cover her face with her hooves.
“What am I supposed to do?” Twilight pondered as she turned and headed home.
The shy Pegasus looked up at the clouds that drifted by overhead. It was a beautiful day, the birds were singing, the sun was as pleasant as Celestia could make it, and the memories of that awful time in the Crystal Empire had finally started to fade. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reveling in the late summer weather.
She started humming to herself as she went along, smiling. She was going to stop being so shy around Twilight, she had decided. She had helped save Equestria multiple times, for pony sake! She had even managed to stand up for her vision of the animal sanctuary when those other ponies hadn't followed her vision.
Surely she could manage to say a few simple words or hold her hoof, right?
She got to the castle and was let in promptly by Spike.
"Hiya, Fluttershy," he said as he closed the door. He had an apron draped over his frame that was covered in flour. "What's new?"
She felt her smile grow a little. "Not a whole lot. What are you in the middle of making?"
He grinned. "Something Sunshine showed me before they headed for Jamaneca," he said, subconsciously licking his lips. "Something called a cannoli. Want one when they're ready?"
"Sure," the mare replied. "Is Twilight in? I kind of want to talk with her and apologize for something. "
"She stepped out for a minute to clear her head after reading another musty book from the Castle of the Two Sisters," he said, turning back towards the kitchen. "She said if you stopped by to let you wait on the balcony, she shouldnt be long."
"Thank you, Spike," she said before heading up the stairs to the public balcony and resumed her cloud watching, the cool breeze sliding through her mane. After a few minutes, she saw a familiar lavender shape start drawing closer, wings spread wide in a glide across some updrafts.
She's gotten really good at flying, she thought. She was about to wave when something flew by and clipped Twilight, causing her to start falling. She tried to orient herself but Fluttershy could tell that panic had set in. It wasn't the first time she had forgotten she had wings.
She watched for a moment before leaping from the balcony and arrowed towards her friend. She hoped that she could manage to at least slow her fall long enough for Twilight to get her wings under her again. There were even a few clouds they could use as crash pads if needed.
She caught up with the Alicorn, and the poor dear had her eyes shut in worry. She reached out and grabbed her hoof, pulling her close.
"I've got you," she said over the whistle of the wind. "It's ok."
And that was when she was enveloped in a soft lilac glow, their fall slowing. Her eyes widened when Twilight leaned forward and kissed the astonished Pegasus. She felt her cheeks heat up and her heart start to race as they slowly settled on a cloud.
"My hero," Twilight said as she pulled away slightly. The smile on her face wasn't a smirk or her grin of amusement, but one of quiet contentment.
"Are you alright? " Fluttershy asked, looking over her mafefriend for injury, the kiss being pushed to the side when memory caught up to her.
"I'm perfectly fine, Fluttershy," she said as she settled down on the fluffy surface of the cloud. “Sit down and talk a moment, please?”
Fluttershy sat, confusion in her eyes. “If you’re ok,” she asked. “Then why did you lose your flight path?”
“I did it on purpose,” the Alicorn said. “I wanted you to see that I trusted you to be there if I needed you to. I must have circled the castle a dozen times before you got on the balcony!”
The yellow Pegasus stared at her marefriend. “How did you know I would make it?” She asked. “You know I’m not as fast as Rainbow Dash.”
“I had faith,” the lavender mare breathed, her eyes showing the depth of feelings she held for the shy pony across from her.
“And how long until you’d have corrected your dive if I didn’t make it?”
Smiling, Twilight giggled. “Half a heartbeat, Shy,” she said. “You had me a bit worried for a moment.”
“Twilight, you didn’t have to go through this,” the yellow mare said a little louder than she intended. “You know I would help you if you needed it.”
“But I wanted to show you how much I trust you, and hope that you would realize there was no reason to hold back.” The Princess softened her look, some pain showing through. “You’ve shown a great deal of growth in the last couple months, but with me, you keep reverting to how you were when we met, and you don’t seem to want to talk about it.”
Fluttershy sucked on her bottom lip for a moment as her wings rippled and shifted.
“I’m not used to exposing myself,” she admitted. “At flight camp I got picked on a lot until Rainbow stood up for me. But even after that, I was always worried that if I tried to open up, I would be hurt again. Animals I get, they’re simple. They don’t have ulterior motives and don’t do things just to hurt somepony else.”
She looked up at Twilight. “I love you, Twilight,” she whispered. “I really do. But I have trouble forgetting sometimes. You’ll have to be patient with me some times. But I think now it will be a little easier that you know.”
Twilight gave a knowing smile. “When you need time, you’ll have it. But I hope that you’ll try to open up to me a bit. After all, nothing we do will be before you’re ready. I haven’t even told a soul about us yet.”
“What about Spike?”
“Not even him,” the princess replied. “He’s the type to want to do something for us, and I know that’d be a bit much for you at first. Whenever you’re ready to start letting ponies know, let me know.”
Fluttershy thought for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed Twilight a little more forcefully than the Princess of Friendship expected.
“You’ll know,” the Pegasus whispered as she broke the kiss, staying in close, feeling Twilight’s horn resting along her crest. She spread her wings to either side to sun them as she leaned in to kiss her marefriend again, basking in the returned affection.
Twilight spread her wings as well, but she held them as though a shield from the outside world. Fluttershy felt safe, and protected for the first time in a long time.
“We need to get going,” Twilight said. “There’s a shower scheduled for this afternoon and the weather team will need the clouds soon.”
Fluttershy stood and smiled as she tossed her mane back out of her face. “As long as we don’t have to go back quite yet,” she breathed, looking at the blue sky. “I feel like flying right now.”
She turned and looked back at Twilight. “If you’ll go with me, that is,” she finished.
Twilight closed her eyes as she nodded. If anypony were to see them, they might have seen how as they simultaneously shifted from flapping to glides, they moved a little closer together, the tips of their wings touching.
