"Fluttershy... Say that again, because there is absolutely no way I heard that right."
Rainbow Dash was laying across Fluttershy's bed, fingers still holding the magazine she was absentmindedly flipping through before her thought train was thoroughly derailed. It wasn't uncommon for the two old friends to hang out together after school when they were not doing stuff with their other friends. It was however uncommon for Fluttershy to actually ask Dash to come over.
"Umm... I, uh. I mean. I think..." Fluttershy had descended into one of her usual prolonged anxiety attacks that kept her stuttering to respond for a while. This was also how their conversation had started. Upon entering the familiar girly room of her friend Rainbow Dash was told in a very serious manner that Fluttershy really had to tell her something. However that semi confident moment had came and went, and after a few minutes of the stuttering Rainbow was only half listening as a statement finally came while she was thumbing through one of the many magazines she had left here over the years.
".... I said that I want you to scare me." Fluttershy's resolve had come back, and this time Rainbow Dash was fully paying attention. That was what she had thought she had heard before, but even hearing it clearly this time she still didn't trust her ears.
"Yeah, I think I still got something crazy in my ear." She stuck her finger in her ear and twisted it around, removing it a few seconds later with an audible pop. "Try that again," she said after finishing.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy said at about two decibeles over speaking volume, or aggressive shouting in Fluttershy speak. Thus did she suddenly retreat back under her hair and press her forearms against her chest defensively. "Sorry. B.. But I'm serious."
Rainbow Dash would admit she was not the smartest person she knew, but she was by no means dumb. However when she was in a perplexing situation she did not usually like taking the time to figure things out for herself. She generally just prefered to ask and get it over with. "Oooook then. What the heck is this about? You don't like being scared. You've been walking down the hall with your head down ever since all the Halloween stuff went up. So why would you want me to scare you, especially since you live in a constant state of fear around this time of year?"
Fluttershy took another minute to answer, something that was trying Rainbows patients even for how well developed they were from years of dealing with her oldest friend.
"Well that's the reason. It's not just Halloween, I'm scared all the time. It's just worse right now, so now is probably the best time to fix it." Rainbow still wasn't following, so she remained quiet so the awkwardness would press Fluttershy on. "I.. I don't want to be scared all the time. And tomorrow is Halloween and you're going to be scaring the whole school for fun anyway. So I just thought that if you would focus on me instead, then maybe I wouldn't be so scared of normal things anymore."
Rainbow had to stop and think about that for a minute. "I still don't really get it. I know I'm always telling you to be more brave, but scaring yourself to try to do it? I don't think that's how it works."
Fluttershy looked downcast at these words. "Yeah, I know it sounds weird," she proceeded to hide herself even further behind her hair, "but nothing else seems to work either. I.. I really need your help Rainbow Dash, there's no one else I can ask."
Dang it. That one always worked on Dash, and Fluttershy knew it. And she was peeking the puppy dog eyes out from just beyond her hair. Rainbow Dash cringed, knowing there was no way for her to say no now. But she was at least going to put up a fight. "Come on Shy. You know I always avoid scaring you on Halloween because I know you too well. If I did this you know I'd do it too good and end up going too far. You'll probably cry, then I'll feel bad, then you'll feel bad for making me feel bad, then we'll spend the next week apologising to each other. Do you really want to go through that?"
"Rainbow I... I want you to go too far." Rainbow Dash could only gape at her at those words. "If.. if you go too far then I promise not to be mad. I'll even spend the next week thanking you if it makes you feel better." She gave Rainbow Dash a hopeful smile, and that's when the last of Rainbows defences crumbled.
She let out an exaggerated defeated grunt. "Uuuugggghhh. Fine, I'll do it." Fluttershy smiled brightly and embraced the other girl who had long since come to a seated position next to her. Normally this sort of outpouring of emotions would result in Rainbow rolling her eyes and returning the hug only tokenly for the sake of her image. However in private she openly hugged her back until Fluttershy began to pull away.
"Oh thank you so much Dashie!" Rainbow would surely die if Fluttershy ever used that nickname in public, but in this context she knew it was a sign she had done something right. Fluttershy was happy, and that made her happy. But she still worried if it would stay that way.
Their embrace finally ending, Rainbow knew it was time to prepare her for what she had just signed up for. "But Shy, you do know what you're getting into here right?" Fluttershy regressed somewhat and became more like her usual nervous self all of a sudden. "If you really want me to scare you, and scare you enough that nothing will ever seem scary to you ever again, then you know I'm going to be going all out right?" Fluttershy gave a weak nod. "And I've been planning my Halloween reign of terror for weeks. You are literally going to be taking the full brunt of something that's meant for dozens of people." Fluttershy nodded again. "And I know EVERYTHING that scares you the most. There is literally no one who knows how to scare you better."
Fluttershy straightened up again, and with some confidence returned she said, "that's why it has to be you Dashie."
Rainbow Dash let out an exaggerated breath of air, letting it putter her lips just a little while she did. "Ok then. Looks like I'm gonna have to alter my plans for tomorrow a little bit." She put a hand to her chin and made a show of thinking for a minute. "I think this means Pinkie is going to get exclusive rights to tormenting the drama club this year. She's gonna be thrilled."
Fluttershy smiled at her again. "Thank you again Dashie. You don't know how much this means to me."
"Yeah yeah, no problem," Rainbow said as she stood up from the bed. She turned around and grabbed her long forgotten magazine and with practiced skill tossed it into one of the many inexplicable piles of her stuff that always seemed to end up at Fluttershy's house. "I gotta get going if I'm going to make this work. See you tomorrow Shy."
Fluttershy kept smiling to her friend as she left the room.
***
Not liking the bus much due to it's crowded and noisy nature, Fluttershy was always happy that her mother's work schedule and location made it convenient for her to drop her off at school every morning. Stepping out of the car and giving her mom a wave as she drove off Fluttershy felt a slight shiver run through her. The first snow of the season had thankfully not hit yet, but it was going to be a briskly cold autumn day for Halloween.
Another shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the cold as she turned to the school. Halloween, at school, with her usual defender now under orders to do the exact opposite of what she usually did on this day. Rainbow Dash was usually discreet about it, but Fluttershy knew that in-between scaring the majority of the school every Halloween she also took the time to make sure nobody was doing the same to her. Now her entire attention was going to be focused on her all day. A confusing shiver ran through her this time.
For now though she figured she could relax. While the timing was pretty convenient, Fluttershy's mom still had to drop her off somewhat early to be on time for work. And Fluttershy herself knew that Rainbow Dash liked to jog to school for the exercise, but also liked to sleep in. She regularly broke her own best time by accidentally waking up late and still making it to school on time, if at the last second. So for now Fluttershy could relax before... What was that!!!???
Fluttershy turned quickly at the sound of rustling in the bush she had just passed. The moment she did the sound stopped. She knew most of the little critters around the school and knew that most of them were already turning in for the winter. Thus she had no idea what that was. Or that!!!???
Another rustling behind her in another bush started, and again stopped the second she turned to it. Followed by a third in another bush next to the first one. Breathing heavily by this point Fluttershy was now examining each bush in the area carefully for anything scary. There was no apparent sign of anything, but suddenly she didn't care as she experienced what felt like fingers gently brushing through her hair.
Letting out a squeak she turned like lightning, but still found nothing. She began backing towards the school quickly but stiffly, her backpack now being clutched to her chest as some form of protection. This made it all the more noticeable when she backed into something, something that growled and grabbed her tight.
Fluttershy finally let out a shriek of pure terror as she struggled to get away from her captor. The growling it made grew to a full roar as it held her tight. The slightest give in it's grip let her finally get away. Her legs were shaking too much for her to escape though. She fell to the ground and shakily turned to her attacker.
Standing above her was Rainbow Dash. "Guess you don't know I usually come in early on Halloween." Rainbow noticed tears starting to coat Fluttershy's eyes and lowered herself down to embrace her violently shaking friend.
"NO DON'T!!!!!" She screeched as she drew away.
Rainbow retreated with a cringe. "It's ok Shy, it's just me. I'm not going to do anything else right now." She moved forward again.
"THAT'S NOT IT!!!!" Fluttershy managed to shout between heavy breaths. Rainbow cringed again as she drew away again. Fluttershy continued to breathe heavy for another few moments. "If you hug me now I'll feel better. That's not what this is about." She managed to look back up to her friend and see the apprehensive and hurt look in her eyes. "You said you'd do this Rainbow. Please, that means no letting up too.
Rainbow looked down and let out a sigh. "Whatever you say Shy. But just a friendly warning. If you haven't recovered soon, I'd avoid your locker." And with that, and without looking back into the terrified eyes of her friend, she stood back up and took her leave.
***
Rainbow Dash was working every possible angle throughout the morning. The locker was a distraction. Fluttershy had spent an anxious ten minutes trying to decide if she really needed anything from it for first period. When she finally managed with shaking fingers to enter the combination she just closed her eyes and yanked it open. When she finally opened her eyes she found there to be nothing out of the ordinary. With a relieved sigh she went to open her backpack to put the fifth period homework away for safekeeping, and let out a scream as a spring loaded zombie mask jumped out at her from it. Rainbow had apparently managed to sneak it into her backpack during her initial attack, and Fluttershy was so focused on what was waiting in her locker she hadn't noticed the change in weight.
The morning proceeded in that way, leaving Fluttershy with no place she felt safe. Considering that she had no classes with Rainbow Dash during the morning she figured her torment would be limited to passing periods. She was wrong. Rainbow had apparently made it to Fluttershy's first class before anyone else, and switched her chair for the squeaky one from the corner of the room that no one used. She had known that Fluttershy would by now be too frazzled to notice. She had known that Fluttershy would be too self conscious to change it when she did notice. And she had known that it would leave Fluttershy in a state of rigid terror as she tried her best to not move for the entire class for fear of any attention being paid to her from any random sound she might make. She knew her way too well for this to be fair.
Fluttershy spent most of her next passing period wondering if the first distraction was the only one. Her locker was undisturbed again, the relief of it much less this time. The only thing to happen during the rest of the passing period was another light brush of her hair with no source. The message was clear, she could get her at any time.
Being that she had not found anything wrong with any of her stuff so far she was not expecting what happened second period. Opening her book to the marked page absentmindedly she found a grotesque rotting zombie picture popping out at her. Rainbow had taken the time to make it function like a pop up book to scare her even more. And of course her scream from it left her feeling like the whole class was watching her for the rest of it.
Third period was surprisingly uneventful, but by this time it didn't need to be. The mere act of waiting was now putting Fluttershy on edge. She kept checking around her, kept checking everything she picked up, jumping at every random sound and movement. Thus she couldn't be sure whether it was Dash or her own imagination as to what happened during her next passing period. To avoid crowds she always took the usually deserted and dimly lit hall to get to her last class before lunch. On this day however she suddenly became convinced she was being followed.
"H.. hello," she squeaked out as she stopped to look around. She could swear she'd heard the softest of whispers, and the lightest of foot steps. She began to walk incredibly quickly down the hall, gripping the straps of her backpack hard enough for her knuckles to go white. She could swear she could still hear the whispering and footsteps when she got to class. It wasn't until nearly the end of class that she discovered Rainbows old mp3 player taped to the underside of her desk, the volume turned just high enough for her to hear.
She stopped the track it was on and threw it into her bag. Then she had a paranoid thought. What if that's what Dash had wanted her to do. She pulled the player back out, powered it completely off, removed the headphones, wrapped it in the spare scarf she kept in her backpack for emergencies, and then tied it up with the headphones. She was looking forward to lunch, Dash would probably tone it down in front of the rest of their friends. Hopefully.
***
Lunch seemed to be ordinary. Fluttershy made it to the lunch room unmolested, though she gave a start when Rainbow Dash set her tray down next to hers. Looking up apprehensively she saw her oldest friend, giving her the same grin as always. Fluttershy gave one back.
It wasn't long before lunch was in full swing as if nothing was wrong. Though her heart rate never quite got down to normal, Fluttershy was nonetheless amazed that Rainbow was showing such restraint after what she'd been putting her through all day. Admittedly though, it wasn't just Rainbow Dash that had been causing it.
Being that it was Halloween, most of the student body was dressed for the occasion. And while there were quite a few fun costumes, there were also a fair share of scary ones. Being as on edge as she had been all day Fluttershy was noticing all of them too. Luckily there were none of them at this table. Rarity had fashioned herself into a fairy princess. Pinkie was wearing a large, feathery chicken costume. AppleJack had gotten Rarity's help in making some of her old work clothes into a scarecrow costume, complete with hay. Rainbow Dash was wearing her regular soccer uniform with the name and number of her favorite Wonderbolts player over her own. Both Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer were not too much into the costume idea, but at some point in the day Rarity had at least gotten them to put on some accessories to get into the spirit. Fluttershy would never know how she did it, but Rarity had managed to get sunset to wear a set of pony ears and a tail. Fluttershy somewhat matched with a set of cat ears and tail that were still holding on since second period despite all the sudden jerky movements she was making all day.
It was while they were all having a laugh together about Sunset and some dispute about just how cute her costume was that Fluttershy noticed it. At the table behind Sunset there was someone staring at her. And not just staring, staring with eyes wide open and unblinking. She recognized who it was too. Someone from the soccer team, Sourin if she remembered correctly. The sight was jarring, and even more so when someone else from the table suddenly turned with the same wide eyed look.
Immediately Fluttershy froze. A third, then a fourth turned to stare at her. Then out of her peripheral vision she noticed more. Looking around, suddenly she realized dozens of eyes around the room were watching her. She was surrounded by wide, unblinking, judging eyes.
"What's wrong Fluttershy." The voice coming from next to her was not that of her oldest friend, but a slow droning version of it. Slowly Fluttershy looked in that direction. Another set of unyielding eyes focused squarely on her. "We can help. Just talk to us. All of us."
Fluttershy was beyond screaming. Her chair went skidding across the lunchroom behind her as she stood quickly and bolted, going so far as to vault over a table to get to the nearest exit.
"Thanks everyone." Rainbow droned out only loud enough to be heard due to the sudden quiet in the lunchroom at the moment.
Thunk. Before the rest of her friends could look back over to her Rainbow Dash already had her face flat on the table.
"Ya' know y'all should go after her right." AppleJack was the first to speak up. Rainbow Dash didn't move. "Rainbow!"
After another few seconds she reacted by straightening up and taking her usual relaxed posture, but her face didn't match it. She was staring blankly into space as she answered. "Yeah, I probably should."
The whole table stared at her for a few moments while she made no move. "Well, aren't you?" Rarity this time.
Rainbow didn't so much as turn as much as she let her head flop in the direction Fluttershy had left. "When she's not thinking about it she's almost as fast as me. And she has a pretty good head start."
"..., So?"
"So I won't catch her." She leaned forward to grab another handful of fries. She attempted to scoop the last bit of ketchup from her little paper cup before reaching over and sampling from Fluttershy's unused supply.
"You could."
"I won't." She wasn't even sure which of her friends was talking to her at this point. "Besides, I already tried that once. I'm not supposed to do that."
"What in the hey are ya' talkin' bout'?" Ok, that one was definitely Apple Jack.
"I told you all last night I was going to be doing this. And this morning she told me in no uncertain terms to have no mercy." She ate another handful of fries, they were already getting cold and stale.
"This is just as hard for you as it is for her, isn't it?" And that was definitely the tone of Sunset setting up for some kind of friendship lecture.
Rainbow sat back in her chair and put on a cocky smile that did not reach her eyes. "Well I don't know if it's that bad. I am using up some of my best material on her and she's not a fun target but..."
"Rainbow!" That derailed the friendship speech at least.
"Yeah this sucks," Rainbow said finally. "I've held her crying after too many bullying incidents for this to be any fun at all." She now wore a look of disgust, and her friends could guess that it wasn't directed at anyone else.
"Why is that Rainbow?"
"Cause she's my best friend and I've spent like half my life protecting her from being scared. Seeing her like this and knowing I caused it is the worst."
"Sugar, you know if that was the only reason you wouldn't have signed up for this." Ok back to Apple Jack nagging her. At least that made it easier for her to say this.
"Shut up and mind your own business AJ." She stood and picked up both hers and Fluttershy's trays. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I've gotta go put something in Shys math book since I know she's checked in there already." And with that she left, not so much as glancing back at the table.
Apple Jack made a sour face. "I pushed a little too hard on that one didn't I?"
"Afraid so darling. Those two are about as oblivious as it comes. I think it'll take something major to break through to either of them."
There was a collective sigh around the table. "How the heck did she get so many people to help her with that anyway," Sunset asked.
"Dash and me prepare for Halloween every year. She's been calling in favors all week. This was actually easier then some of the stuff she was originally planning." Pinkie chimed in in her usual cheerful manner, then her smile fell more than a little. "Although apparently she still has one more doosie coming if I'm hearing things right."
Silence reigned at the table for a minute before Sunset inquired again. "Are they going to be ok?"
"Fluttershy is stronger than even she gives herself credit for. Honestly I'm more worried about Rainbow at this point." Rarity answered.
***
The next three hours of Fluttershy's life was a gauntlet of torment. She had all three of her afternoon classes with Rainbow Dash, thus Rainbow Dash could predict nearly her every move for the rest of the day. Now that the anxiety had been established it was now time to poke it, ruthlessly.
It got to the point that Fluttershy was afraid to turn her head because it felt like things were jumping out at her at every opportunity. That was actually far from the case. Rainbow knew that constant scares would lose their effectiveness. She was actually giving her just enough between each scare to calm down just enough for each to have maximum effect.
It got so bad during their sixth period that Rainbow Dash was nearly hauled off to detention. Fluttershy managed to compose herself just enough to stop it from happening. Her reward for doing so was more torment.
This all came to a head during their final period. Fluttershy was shaking nonstop at that point. She didn't hear a word of the lesson, she was just staring at a spot in the center of her desk and trying her best not to look anywhere. Rainbow Dash no longer had to do anything, her mere presence was enough to keep Fluttershy on edge.
It was probably good that Fluttershy couldn't look at Rainbow at this point, because the hurt look on her face would probably not do anything to scare her even at this point.
It was lucky that the teacher decided to let them out early, Fluttershy didn't think she could hold still any longer. The second they were allowed to leave she bolted from the room.
At the speed she was moving there was nobody else in the hallway when she got to her locker. She sat staring at the inside of it for several minutes just breathing hard. This day was finally over. A huge weight should be lifted from her now, but she realized that all this torment was pointless in the end. The reason she had decided to do this, the real reason she had invited Rainbow Dash over yesterday, and several times over the last few months, seemed like it was further away then ever.
She sighed. Rainbow had probably been right, they probably wouldn't be able to talk together normally for more then a week after this. She'd have to find a way to apologise to her without making the whole situation worse. She sighed again, and wiped her face quickly. It was when she closed her locker that she noticed it.
It wasn't a sound, it was actually a total lack thereof. She'd gotten there early, but there should be other students at their lockers by now. Looking around she realized the hall she was in was deserted. Then everything went black. The lights in the hall went out, and while it wasn't perfect darkness it was dark enough that Fluttershy could not tell what was going on as she started hearing rumbling around her and only seeing shapes moving in the dark. Then everything went quiet again.
"Fluuuuuutershy." The one word sent a shiver down her spine. It was said long and slow in a voice she didn't recognize. All of a sudden a light was cast on her, a bright spotlight that kept her from seeing anything outside of it.
"Fluuuuuutershy." This one came from behind her, where she had been backing up to but abruptly stopped. And then suddenly, eyes. Had she been more coherent she might have noticed how wonkie the eyes looked. But all she noticed was that there was now disembodied eyes now appearing all around her, all staring at her.
"Fluuuuuutershy." It was now coming from multiple sources, and it was now being chanted. "Fluuuuuutershy. Fluuuuuutershy. Fluuuuuutershy."
She wasn't sure if it was real or not, but the eyes, the glowing, judging eyes seemed to be getting more and more sinister as they kept appearing. They almost seemed to be spinning around her now. Or maybe she was spinning, looking for a way out. Or maybe that was just her head spinning. She got her answer as her head started going fuzzy and the world faded away.
***
From behind the shroud of darkness Rainbow Dash saw her oldest and best friend in the world grow pale. She noticed her wobble on her feet as her eyes glazed over. Rainbow Dash charged forward as Fluttershy started to fall back.
She managed to slide in under Fluttershy as she fainted and cushioned her fall. She discarded her cheap glow in the dark glasses after gently lowering her to the ground and the lights came back on in the hall.
"Shy, Shy, Shy. Dang it I knew that was too far. Shy, are you ok?" She was frantically checking the unconscious girl for injuries or any sign she was ok.
"Rainbow Dash! Just what is the meaning of this!?" Looking up, the crowd had parted and the commanding presence of vice principal Luna was glaring down at her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." She didn't seem to be directing it at Luna as her attention had immediately gone back to the unconscious girl now in her arms.
Luna softened slightly as she lowered to the ground on Fluttershy's other side. "What happened here?"
"She told me to do it. I said it was gonna be too much. But she said she wanted it." She was now hugging Fluttershy close, and Luna noticed small dots of moisture appearing on the unconscious girls sweater.
"You should be punished, harshly." Rainbow Dash didn't flinch at the commanding tone. "But I don't think there's anything in my power that I can do that would be worse then what you've done to yourself." Rainbow looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. Luna gave Fluttershy a once over and didn't notice anything that seemed wrong with her. "Therefore, your punishment is to fix what you've done. You are to stay with her until she is better and the two of you have worked this all out. Consider yourself in after school detention until that time. I want to see her in good spirits before either of you can leave." Rainbow could only manage to give a nod. Standing, Luna continued.
"As for the rest of you." Anyone who had not already fled at the presence of the school's head disciplinarian suddenly regretted their decision. "Get that light back to the auditorium, and just be glad it's a holiday and I don't feel like doing the paperwork for three dozen write-ups. Get to your respective rides and enjoy the rest of your day." With that she strode off, leaving a confused crowd to disperse slowly.
***
Fluttershy's senses slowly started coming back to her. She realized what had happened as her brain functions started kicking back in. Fainting out of fear was not the best way to end a school day, and she had no idea what had happened after that. However, considering she still couldn't even process where she was she figured questions could wait until she was a little more coherent. It was the return of her ability to feel that finally started clearing her head.
The first thing she felt was a crushing pressure on her chest and moisture on her shoulder. She started to notice the sounds of her own breathing, and someone else's breathing that seemed much heavier. She finally opened her eyes to notice her vision obscured by prismatic hair.
Rainbow Dash tensed up as she felt arms wrap around her, but relaxed quickly at the embrace. She heard a small sniff as Fluttershy spoke. "You promised you wouldn't try to comfort me." There was no bite to the words. It was clearly said for lack of anything else to say.
It made Rainbow smile nonetheless. "School is over, and I think I did my part as far as going too far. So I'm going to comfort you as much as I want and you can't do anything to stop me." She let out a sniff of her own and pulled back just enough to press her lips to her oldest friends forehead in a comforting gesture. It was the kind of thing Rainbow would only do with Fluttershy, and even then only when in private. And they were in private. Rainbow knew they would have to be alone for this part, so from what Fluttershy could tell she had carried her to the band room. Here Rainbow Dash could make her feel better in the way only she could. This was the side of her only Fluttershy got to see. And yet as the familiar feelings washed over her and started to make the anxiety of the day seem more and more distant she also noticed the other feelings it usually invoked.
"I'm sorry Dashie." Rainbow Dash moved so Fluttershy could put her head on her shoulder, which she thankfully did.
"You specifically said we wouldn't spend the next week apologising to each other, so don't go start on all that now."
Fluttershy smiled sadly into Dash's neck. "No not about that. You did a very good job. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"It's ok, you did just what I wanted you to. It's just that... It still didn't work."
Rainbow gave a slight chuckle. "You're probably going to be on edge for a while yet. Give it a few days and you'll probably feel better."
"It's not that. There's just... There's something I've wanted to do for so long, but I've been too scared to even try. But even after everything today, it still feels like the scariest thing I can possibly imagine."
"It's ok Shy. I know I'm always telling you to be brave and stuff, but honestly I do that for you. If you ask me, you're just fine the way you are."
"No, no I'm not," she said while finally pulling away from the embrace. "Because there's something I want more then anything, and the way I am... I'll never get it." Now that she could look Rainbow Dash in the face she realized just how bloodshot her eyes were. Fluttershy had known she was crying, and that Rainbow would cry if only in front of her, but this was different. "Dashie, how long have I been out?"
"Little over an hour."
"And..." she sniffed as she felt tears of her own welling up, "have you been crying the whole time?"
Rainbow tried to look away, but Fluttershy followed her gaze and kept her focus on her. "I've been crying since you passed out in the hall."
Tears were now streaming freely down both they're faces. "You cried... In front of other people... For me," She choked out between sobs. "And you did all this... You do so much for me... And I still can't say it." Rainbow Dash tried to embrace her again, but this time Fluttershy resisted. It was neither fear or lack there of that motivated her as she did. She didn't know what it was that brought the next words to her lips. "Rainbow Dash... I've been in love with you for so long. I just couldn't say it.... I've tried so many times... I just end up telling you weird things.... Like yesterday."
They both just sat there not looking at each other for several minutes, both trying to calm down. It was Rainbow that finally broke the silence. "Dang it shy. Do you even know.. how long I've spent trying to convince myself you'd never say that to me." Fluttershy looked up, hope glimmering behind tears. "I figured if I ever tried, I'd just scare you off. And I didn't think you'd ever feel that way anyway..."
"Please say it Dashie."
"... I love you too Shy, for longer then I can remember now."
They embraced again, holding each other for some time, tears all dried up. Fluttershy was the first to speak again. "Dashie, could I ask you to do one more thing I'm way too scared to do?"
"Anything Shy."
"Could you kiss me? And not like you do when you try to make me feel better. Kiss me like.."
She was cut off by lips meeting her own. The kiss was soft and tentative, but it no less made both girls' hearts flutter. Both felt the anxiety of the day wash away in that instant. "Like that?" Rainbows cocky smile was back, and it made Fluttershy smile as well. "Well if that scared you, then you'd better be ready to be scared all the time from now on." She leaned forward and caught her lips in another kiss, deeper and more passionate this time.
"I think that's one fear I can face."
Author's Note
Still feels a little rushed after three or four edits, but it's already longer then I had intended it to be. Not much Halloween content, but this is my Halloween story. I like the flutterdash pairing, so it was a natural one for me to do for a quick story.
Happy Halloween everyone hope this makes your festivities a little better.
All comments are welcome. I think this story is a little weak so feel free to offer any and all constructive criticism.
