It was a friday night after a long school day. The sky was clear with partial clouds, the air was clear, and the stars were twinkling. As were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy when they just got out. They were at Rainbow Dash’s place wondering what to do next.
“I didn’t realize it before, but I've been inviting her over a lot lately… Not that i’m complaining of course. I enjoy her company and she seems to be enjoying herself as well,” Rainbow Dash thought. “Here you go. Is the usual okay?”
Fluttershy nodded and gladly took the drink. “Thanks.” After taking a drink, she looked at the movies sorted out. Just then, Fluttershy spoke up. “Oh, it’s your turn to pick a movie tonight.”
Rainbow Dash kept telling herself that there was nothing weird about it. It was what they do when they had free time. Ever since they got out of school, they just have a lot of time to spare. “Already ahead of ya, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow Dash searched through her pile of movies. She picked out something that she noticed was something Rainbow dash would pick. “I knew you would choose this, Rainbow Dash. What’s it about?” she asked.
“Well, I know how much you love movies involving adventure, right? But I don’t know if it’s that interesting,” Rainbow Dash answered.
She had that weird feeling in her heart again as her friend looked at her. It was a look she liked to always see. She kept telling herself it was nothing and that they were only friends. “Is it weird that I like the way she looks at me?”
Fluttershy shook her head in denial. “It’s okay if it’s not interesting. It’s certainly better than nothing at all.”
“In fairness, I haven’t seen it yet so it could be good,” Rainbow Dash said with a small smirk.
“But you looked it up, right?” Fluttershy asked.
“Just enough to not know the whole story. From what I heard, it was pretty good,” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s not my fault that I like her company. I just feel a thousand times better when she’s around.”
“Oh? Then how do you know what will happen next?” Fluttershy asked smugly.
Rainbow Dash laughed but didn’t answer her question as her thoughts went into another place. “I’m just glad we're not dating anyone. If either of us were, it could prove to be awkward at best and a conflict of interest at worst…”
Rainbow Dash failed yet again to stifle a yawn, eyes lethargically flicking from the screen to her friend, fingers unconsciously drumming against the sofa armrest. The internet had promised explosions, Hollywood violence, car chases and excitement. The internet was a damn liar. This... this was just sappy romance stuff, with enough cheese to whip up a sixteen inch mozzarella, and even more still to make the mother of all quesadillas. After two and a half hours of agonising fluff, the thing was finally over, and Rainbow Dash couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.
“It’s not the worst movie i’ve seen… But from what I read, I assumed it was would be a action movie, not some cheesy romance story…” Rainbow Dash thought. “I really shouldn’t be watching these kinds of movies with her. This is the last time I trust the internet for advice.”
“Hey, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash thoughts quickly went away and turned her attention to her friend. “What is it? Was the movie bad?” she asked. “If you thought the movie was boring, I’m on your side.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “It’s not that. It was a really good movie.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she said that. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her. But Fluttershy was satisfied, so the former was more relieved. “Huh… that’s good. I’ll take note that you also like cheesy romance in the future,” she said in a playful tone.
“N-no, that’s not what I was trying to say…” Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash as she continued, “H-have you… ever fallen in love before?”
Rainbow Dash was taken by surprise as she heard those words. It wasn’t like her to ask something like that out of the blue, much less towards her. She put up a brave face and acted like it wasn't a big deal. “...Huh? What’s with that all of a sudden?”
Fluttershy moved her fingertips around, trying to figure out what to say next. She was flying on fumes with her next sentence. “Well… I-it’s just I’ve never really thought about it before until now and… With school and helping the animals, I’ve never experienced falling in love,” she answered with innocence in her voice.
“So you’ve never watched movies like these before?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Have you ever fallen in l-love, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked, ignoring her friend’s previous question.
Now it was her turn to be awkward and embarrassed. As if it weren’t enough for her to blush. She didn’t like to admit it, but she had no other recourse. “Honestly… It’s not that I haven’t…”
Fluttershy’s curiosity got the better of her as she asked, “R-Really?! When?! With who?! How was it like?! How did it go?!”
“Hey, hey, let’s not get too jumpy now. Besides, what's got you so interested all of a sudden?” Rainbow Dash asked as she attempted to change the subject.
“Aw, you don’t have to hide it, Rainbow Dash. Tell me. Please,” Fluttershy begged with her eyes.
She knew how persistent she could be when it came to something she is unfamiliar with. And Rainbow Dash was powerless to stop it. She decided to try and deflect it. “Consider the following. Why do you think I’m single right now? It usually means that me and the significant other went separate ways. It’s not something most people like to talk about,” she said, trying to shift the conversation.
Fluttershy started to regret asking as Rainbow Dash countered her question. She even blushed as she turned her head. “O-Oh… I-I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine. You didn’t know so the apology isn’t needed.” Rainbow Dash smiled, touching her shoulder. “Since we’re on the subject matter, what got you so intrigued by it?”
Fluttershy started to blush slightly upon being asked. The roles are now reversed once more now that Rainbow Dash asked. “I-it’s because I’m curious. I don’t know the first thing about falling in love. I mean sure, I love the animals and my pet Angel but it’s not the same. There might be that one person I’ve missed without giving it the realization.”
Rainbow Dash smiled at the thought of a good person. She can only hope that Fluttershy can find that good person. It would mean so much for the former to see that happen.
“And I thought if anyone should know, it’d be you. Everyone loves you and sees you as cool, collected, and courageous person. So what is it like to fall in love?”
“Me?” Rainbow Dash asked, now completely dumbfounded.
“Yeah! It can be anything. Please tell me,” Fluttershy answered.
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment about that question. She was confused about what say next. But it was too fruitless to resist Fluttershy’s question. “Hmm… Well… alright, I suppose I can teach you a lesson in love.”
She looked at her phone to see what she could find. It was a stupid method, but she had to do something. “Alright, the first thing you need to know is if that person is someone you trust. All in all, it’s on a first-time basis. When it comes to friendship or love, that’s the first step you should take.” Fluttershy nodded as she listened intently. Rainbow Dash glanced at her phone once more. “Now the next step is… thinking about the person you’re in love all the time. The next thing you know, you start to have feelings for said person. Looks, attitude, and the way he talks. You could just fall for him because of the way he smells or speaks. Reactions are the key to taking an interest in this person.” She took another quick glance as she scrolled her phone down to search for more advice to find. “Next thing you know is that your gonna start thinking about whether or not you wanna be with him. Not all the time, but enough to where you are together. Just not to the point where you are addicted to each other, you know? Anyway, if you reach that point, everything comes falling into place. You just keep pushing and sooner or later, you’ll be two peas in a pod,” she said, putting her phone back in her pocket.
Fluttershy had a lot to take in. If it wasn’t complicated before, it sure was hectic now. She was more than exasperated now. “So that’s what love is?” she asked, putting her finger on her lip.
“Honestly, it varies from person to person. I can’t fully answer that as everyone has their own way of knowing,” Rainbow Dash answered. “The only thing you have to do is to be sure if he loves you before just jumping into his arms. That’s the bare basics of it anyways.”
“That doesn’t sound very pure…” Fluttershy said, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow Dash was in trouble now. But she improvised and said this. “I think you may have missed the big picture here. Love is nothing like how it’s shown in the books or movies. It all comes from the heart, you know?” She grabbed her drink and added, “The main point to take away from all this is if someone is making you feel all fuzzy and such, there’s a strong chance you have feelings for them. But that’s just my take on it. With that said, is there someone you have in mind?”
Fluttershy tried to think of a guy who made her feel like that. Rainbow Dash was glad she brought her explanation as she didn’t know the first thing about real love. She would have been flustered in trying to figure it out. “I’m trying to think…”
Rainbow Dash laughed as she wondered. “Well, if you didn’t have that someone in mind, then it seems kinda silly to ask, doesn’t it?”
She took a drink as Fluttershy continued to ponder on her crush. Then she thought of someone. “Well… The truth is, the only person who makes me feel like that, is you, Rainbow Dash. Do I have to wait until I meet someone like you?” When she said that, Rainbow Dash spat out her drink, choking as she hunched over. She couldn’t tell if she was playing a cruel joke or if she was being serious. “H-hey, are you okay?!”
While Rainbow Dash tried to recover from her near shock, collecting her thoughts on what her friend just said. “Did… Did she just say what I think she said?”
“I told you to be more careful when you start drinking like that,” Fluttershy scold as she patted her friend on the back.
“She didn’t realize what that meant?!” She managed to regain her breathing and said, “I’m… I’m fine. It wasn’t because I rushed my drink. It was because you delivered one heck of a bombshell…”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Trying to find the words, Rainbow Dash wracked her brain for ideas. Then she came up with what to say next. “Alright, let’s try this from a different angle… Try saying that again and this time, think about the context of what you meant.”
“Huh?” She didn’t understand what her friend was talking about but decided to go along with it. “Well, the only person that makes me feel like that, is you, Rainbow Dash. And… A person… Like Rainbow Dash…” It was then she realized what she just said. It came coming to her like a bus ready for a crash. Her blushing was redder than the sun.
Rainbow Dash was oblivious to this as she spoke. “Well if you thought about someone familiar, then it’s obvious that you thought of me. It’s okay though. I realize what you mean but in the future, you should be careful when you talk to anyone else regarding this. They may get the impression that you’re in love with them or-”
It was then she saw her deep blush as she saw her. Rainbow Dash stopped talking and went to see if she was okay. “Hey, Fluttershy?”
As quickly as her thoughts appeared, she snapped out of it but maintained the blush. “I-I-I just realized I have to get home!”
Rainbow Dash was taken back by her sudden outburst. “O-Okay… do you want me to walk you there-”
“N-no! I-It’s okay!” She covered her face in attempt to run out. “I-I’ll see you tomorrow! Good night!”
And with that, she left before Rainbow Dash could say any more. She let go of the facade the had been holding for the past few minutes. “Fluttershy… you're a bad liar, you know… if you weren’t acting so different… you would’ve admitted you had a thing for me… was she leaving me a hint… or was it something else?” She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen, showing her and Fluttershy together at the water park. “But in reality, I'm just as guilty. Even though it was off the top of my head, everything I’ve said lines up to a T. Whenever I’m with you, I suddenly feel so much better. When we’re away from each other, I feel unwell. But what would be even worse than that… which one of us confessed our true feelings first…?” She covered her face as a blush grew on her face as well. She laughed at how silly she was acting. “Perhaps I’m just overthinking it. Maybe they were already visible without even blurting it out… since the day we first met, I suppose…”
She calmed down and looked at her phone once more. Soon, her blush went away. “Well… Now that I know how I feel, what will happen next? Everything was fine just the way it was. Yea… No matter how you slice it, it’s just one sided. It’s just we both realize now how we feel. I’ll just see what she’ll do next. What will you do, Fluttershy…?”
