Off Pitch

Can't let this moment end
You set off a dream with me

Fluttershy speed walked down the sidewalk, passing various stores and housing complexes. Whatever Sunset had told the girls worked, because as she neared the ice cream shop, there was no sign of Rarity's SUV. This means that all that remained was Pinkie. She had to watch herself. Not being too worried about Rainbow getting uncomfortable, as she didn't look the type to be uncomfortable. Rather, it made Fluttershy feel uneasy as Pinkie would be filling her own head with...fantasies.

Once in front of the shop's windowpanes, she peered inside to see a patient looking Rainbow Dash sitting with another bowl of plain vanilla ice cream in front of her. She had her chin in her palm as she looked out the window next to the booth, not knowing Fluttershy was outside and across the shop. Fluttershy took in a deep breath.

She's just another friend. Don't get so worked up about it.

Fluttershy continued her walk as she turned and pushed open the shop's door.

*Ding ding*

Pinkie shot up from underneath the counter, about to regurgitate her welcome until she realised it was Fluttershy who'd walked in. Instead, she gave her a less robotic greeting.

"Oh, hi Fluttershy!" Pinkie greeted with a wide smile and a very subtle wink, "You want your usual?"

"Hi, Pinkie. And sure, if it's no trouble." Fluttershy said, widening her eyes momentarily at Pinkie, as if trying to say "don't do or say anything crazy." Pinkie seems to have gotten the message and only giggled at Fluttershy's attempt at a threat. Fluttershy only let out a huff, as she handed Pinkie five dollars, to which she snatched and placed right into the register, and returning Fluttershy's change to her.

"Coming riiiiight up!" Turing on her heels, Pinkie begins scooping up raspberry flavored ice cream into a designed paper bowl.

Fluttershy continued on to the table that Rainbow sat at, who, unbeknownst to Fluttershy, was watching the entire exchange. Fluttershy only clasped her hands behind herself and tried to give Rainbow a happy grin.

"Good afternoon, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, staying quite composed. Mainly due to the fact that her own eyes were closed to help compose herself to be so bold so quickly.

"Back at you." Rainbow said, gesturing with her hand for Fluttershy to have a seat.

Fluttershy obliged and slid into the opposite side of the booth, placing her backpack into the corner at the window end of the booth. She placed her hands in her lap and stared at Rainbow as she took another bite out of her ice cream, which was nearly half done. She tried not to pay attention to the way Rainbow took in each bite. To distract herself elsewhere, she began examining her clothes. The same sky blue hoodie, what looks like a tank top underneath, long rainbow colored strands of hair in that same messy ponytail. It made no difference where she looked, because her face warmed either way. She couldn't examine any further than that before her thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow's boisterous voice.

"So," Rainbow said through a small bit of ice cream still sitting in her mouth, pointing her spoon at Fluttershy "the pink hair. Real or nah?" Fluttershy looked at her own hair, as if looking for the answer herself.

"It's real." She answered calmly. She knew well that the trend of people dying their hair extravagant colors was a normal thing. Just because some people are born with it, and others without. "And yours?" Fluttershy had the notion that out of all of the colors in Rainbow's hair, at least two had to be fake.

"All real, too." She gave an assuring smile. In all of her life, Fluttershy had never heard of someone whose hair was more than two seperate colors, let alone the whole rainbow. This was indeed a first for her. Fluttershy was skeptical, but decided not to argue about how ridiculous that sounded. She'd leave that for Twilight when they would meet. "So, you know the girl behind the counter? You two seem close."

"Y-yes, that's Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy said.

"Well look who's popular," Rainbow noted, "considering yesterday you being with all of your friends. When am I gonna meet them?"

Fluttershy tensed up. She didn't know how Rainbow would fit in. She knew her friends are accepting and patient, but what if for some reason they all get off on the wrong foot? Then she'll have time conflicts for both Rainbow and the rest of her friends.

You worry too much.

"Well, they were busy today, so..." Fluttershy stopped mid sentence, looking past Rainbow with just her eyes. Pinkie was behind the counter, swiped an index finger along her opposite index finger and shaking her head slowly with a playful smile strewn across her face. It was then that Fluttershy realized that Pinkie knew about Sunset's lie. Since her phone hasn't blown up with texts from her friends, she assumed Pinkie hasn't said anything, or at least hasn't said anything to insinuate that her and Rainbow were an object.

"So...? What are you looking at?" Rainbow began following Fluttershy's gaze. Before she could make it halfway, Fluttershy caught her.

"N-Nothing!" Fluttershy said, louder than normal. Rainbow snapped her attention back to Fluttershy. "It's nothing..." She repeated, quieter this time. Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, confused. Her expression morphed from confusion to mischief.

"Ohhhh, I get it." Rainbow said, smirking, "So your friend over there thinks this is like, what? A date, or something?"

"No! She doesn't!" Fluttershy exclaimed quietly, her cheeks slowly changing from pink to a deep crimson. She started to panic, not knowing what to do. She never accounted for Rainbow to jump to such a conclusion.

"Did you tell her it was?" Rainbow prodded, smirk still painted on her face.

"I-I just told her we were going to hang out...!" She continued reasoning, stumbling over her words, now hiding behind her hair once again. She thought the hang out was going to be over. Or at least, she wanted it to be. Rainbow had begun assuming and nothing was going to stop her. Fluttershy was tempted to just run out of the shop and to not look back. To her surprise, Rainbow seemed unmoved by all of the teasing.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow said, the mischief in her eyes had faded away into something more sincere. "Come sit on this side." Rainbow scooted towards the window and patted the aisle spot next to her.

Fluttershy remained inert for a few seconds before unconsciously obliging. She timidly scooted out of the booth, making sure to keep Pinkie out of her peripherals should she still be there. Once into the other side of the booth, Fluttershy spoke from behind her hair.

"Why?" Was all Fluttershy could ask about the request to sit on this side next to her. From here, Fluttershy could see that Rainbow was wearing running shorts. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she found it difficult to not stare at Rainbow's sleek, smooth, yet toned legs. Fluttershy began gripping her own bare lap with her nails, trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

Oh gosh, what's happening to me?

"You ask 'why' after you sit down?" Rainbow chuckled. Fluttershy seemed unresponsive. "Look, I had you sit here so your friend doesn't mess with you while we talk. As long as you can't see her, she doesn't exist right?" Fluttershy could see what she meant. But as if on cue to blow Rainbow's theory out of the water, Pinkie strolls up to the booth with a paper bowl in hand.

"Here you go, Fluttershy." Pinkie announced with a satisfied smile on her face, "One raspberry twist with blueberry syrup!" She placed the sweet treat before the almost quivering girl.

"Thank you, Pinkie." Fluttershy remained quiet, not making eye contact with the boisterous extrovert. Fluttershy could see Pinkie at the corner of her eye from the waist down. She hadn't moved from her spot, even after placing the ice cream on the table. Within the next few seconds, however, she skipped away back towards the counter, not uttering a single word.

Fluttershy raised her eyes to the ice cream in front of her.

Maybe a few bites can help.

She extended an arm slowly until the plastic spoon was between her fingertips. She scooped a chunk of ice cream and guided it to her mouth. The tart and sweet burst of flavor gave her a pleasant reaction on the sides of her tongue that she was familiar with. She reached out for another scoop. Once she had another chunk on her spoon, she realized something.

Rainbow's been awfully quiet...

Spoon halfway to her mouth, Fluttershy peeked through her hair at the unsuspecting Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy continued her motions and saw that Rainbow had been staring, but only with her eyes while her head remained forward to make it seem her attention was elsewhere. She had failed in her nonchalant gawking as Fluttershy was able to quickly detect her stares. Every spoonful, Rainbow traced the spoon's path to Fluttershy's mouth with her magenta irises. Fluttershy continued to eat spoonful after spoonful, checking if Rainbow watched each time in order to prove her theory that Rainbow was, for some reason, entranced by Fluttershy's movements.

One spoonful, Fluttershy stopped and brushed her hair out of her face to see Rainbow sitting, mouth slightly agape. She quickly closed her mouth, and tried to act like she had only glanced at her. Fluttershy giggled with her hand over her lips. Rainbow looked away quickly, obviously embarrassed.

"Y-You know," Fluttershy said meekly to Rainbow, who's turn it was to not make eye contact now, "if you're gonna be staring at me, you may as well take a picture." Rainbow was shaken awake from her daydreaming. She reeled back with saucers for eyes, cheeks taking on a pink tint, and staring at the normally very shy girl. Fluttershy resumed her giggling.

"Wha-what?" Rainbow's voice cracked from the surprise. "I'm not staring! I was just...thinking about that ice cream you have there. It looks pretty tasty and stuff." Rainbow crossed her arms in denial of Fluttershy's accusation. Fluttershy hummed in feint acceptance. Fluttershy closed her mouth around the ice cream sitting atop the spoon. Once done, she scooped another chunk and offered the handle of the spoon to Rainbow.

"Try it." Fluttershy insisted. "I like how strong the tart flavor is."

"Oh, uh, okay." Rainbow said hesitantly, reaching for the handle. Once the spoon was in her full control, she raised it to her mouth, her lips enclosing the frozen treat. Removing the spoon from her mouth, she savored this new flavor, examining it with her tongue. She began to nod slightly. "It's actually really good! It's almost sour. Might have to get me one of those another time."

She handed the spoon back to Fluttershy, who was riled up by the sight she had just witnessed. Feeling her body get warmer, she needed to ignore it. She composed herself to speak. "Y-Yeah, it's my favorite." She dipped the spoon once more into the ice cream. Raising the spoon to her mouth, she could see the small, scattered droplets of saliva from Rainbow's trial of the flavor.

Once the spoon reached the inside of her mouth, Fluttershy experienced an extra taste alongside the tart of the ice cream. It was an extra sweetness. Like marshmallow. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she let her imagination run wild at what she assumed this extra flavor to be, her stomach floating at the thoughts. She pulled the spoon from her mouth and rested it within the paper bowl, hoping she didn't make her thoughts known audibly or visually.

"Hey, I've been meaning to bring this up." Rainbow said. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, now feeling comfortable with their current situation of sitting on the same bench. She hoped Rainbow could progress the conversation to thin this awkward air around them.

"Yes?" Fluttershy responded, allowing Rainbow to continue.

"You didn't tell me you were the best keeper in the district!" Rainbow said, giving Fluttershy a playful shove on her shoulder. Fluttershy was relieved that Rainbow had chosen a more appropriate topic and not something hiding excitement like her ice cream.

"Oh, well, I did tell you I helped win trophies for Canterlot." Fluttershy began fumbling with the ends of her long hair. "I- I thought I implied it."

"Not well enough!" Rainbow said, raising her arms outwards from her sides out of bafflement before returning them to her lap, sitting back in her seat. "You only said you helped. Not that some of those trophies are actually fully yours!" She gave Fluttershy an elbow to her arm. "Now I'm really curious about how well you play." Rainbow put on a competitive smirk and shot it towards Fluttershy, who could only reciprocate the smile meekly.

"I'm sorry, " Fluttershy began, looking down, "I just don't like talking about my trophies or anything." Fluttershy began tapping her foot lightly out of nervousness.

"Why not?!" Rainbow asked, leaning in towards Fluttershy, once again invading her personal space. Fluttershy leaned back a small bit, making direct eye contact with Rainbow. "That's the whole point of the trophy! So people can look at it and go 'man, it must be awesome to be the best like her.' Thats how it was for me at Crystal Prep, at least. You should really show off your talent a bit more." Rainbow returned to her original position, looking out the window, not noticing how Fluttershy was becoming more and more flustered. "But back there I wasn't 'the best.' Here though, I think I could be."

"W-well I think you will." Fluttershy said with a nervous twinge. Rainbow turned her only visible eye towards Fluttershy, as if asking for confirmation on what she just said. "I think so definitely. And I'll try talking about my accomplishments more. Okay?" Fluttershy cringed to herself and her own tone. "O-or something like that. I don't like to be the center of attention."

"Too late for that." Rainbow said flatly as the corners of her mouth raised themselves and her eye returned to the street outside. "The girls and guys at Cloudsdale said you're quite the hero. Blocking shots from one-on-one chances to stopping intense teamwork to get the ball in dead flat. 'No matter what we do, in the end she's always there to stop us' is a common thing I hear." Rainbow flicked her eyes at Fluttershy, who was now flushed, and trying to look away at the idea that the other school thought so highly of this meek, soft spoken girl. "You're definitely gonna give me a run for my money once we play each other."

"I-It's not that big of a deal." Fluttershy said softly. Her shoulders tensing up as she felt something drape across them and yank her to one direction. She gave a small yelp as her head ended up in the crook of Rainbow's neck.

Okay, don't panic. She's just being extra friendly. She's like this. Don't worry about it too much. She wants you to calm down around her. By making you five into these situations, you'll be more comfortable being around her. This is...for the better.

"Aww, come on." Rainbow said with her arm around Fluttershy's shoulders. Fluttershy's face began to burn an even brighter red, trying not to dwell on the fact that their bare outer thighs are now in contact with one another. "It's a huge deal, ya know. Maybe you'll get recruited by a pro team. How cool would that be?! And when I'm officially the best striker, we can put on quite the show!" Rainbow shook the girl under her arm for emphasis.

Okay, it's like she's reading my aspirations now. And I guess that really would make for quite the match. Her and I. Fighting to be the district MVP. That would be pretty hard to forget.

"U-um, that would be pretty cool, u-uh I think?" Fluttershy barely mustered out.

"Damn straight, it would." Rainbow responded confidently. Her arm remained around the now quivering Fluttershy.

"Oh, u-um, thank you, Rainbow.." Fluttershy stuttered, cursing her timid demeanor.

Fluttershy had never been this close to another person before that wasn't family. Her personal space was what everyone at Canterlot respected. Everyone knew that invading it meant making her extremely uncomfortable. This is what she was known for. That she would do almost anything in order to escape that situation, triggering a fight or flight response within her, but always choosing flight.

But she didn't feel that urge to run today. Even her friends kept in mind of Fluttershy's space. But today, she didn't feel socially attacked or even wanting to use the word "invasion" in her mind when thinking about what Rainbow was doing. More like Rainbow was welcomed in her personal space. Her quivering slowly came under control, but she tried not to melt into the embrace Rainbow had her in either. However, she did relax a bit from her tense state, just enough so Rainbow didn't feel she was making her uncomfortable.

Fluttershy controlled her heartbeat, trying not to let it beat out of her chest. She began to lightly perspire on her outer thigh, the one in contact with Rainbow's. She could only hope Rainbow wouldn't notice.

She kept her hands on her own lap, trying not to move them at all. In this moment, Fluttershy felt something primal in her. It felt almost like her keeper's instinct. Like she wanted her own hands to wander a small bit over to Rainbow's unoccupied hand. Her fingers twitched occasionally, feeling the need to explore.

Maybe just a few inches to my left and...gosh, her hand looks so soft and... No! What am I thinking! Okay, I'm starting to admit, I may have a little...crush onthis girl. But that doesn't mean I should do something so crazy with someoneI just met! If I do, she'll be disgusted. Or think I'm weird or something. I need to control myself. I know it's exciting to be so close to someone that's not family, but jeez Fluttershy, calm yourself! Then again, depriving yourself from...intimacies with others did bring on such a huge burst of pent up hormones. Deep, slow breaths now.

The rest of their time at the shop remained this way. Fluttershy at one point reached for her bowl and resumed eating her ice cream to help her calm down and occupy her hands. Rainbow hadn't released her embrace from Fluttershy for a moment. Unknowing to each other, they both feared that if one were to let go or move in the slightest, the embrace would be broken, and it would be too suspicious if one tried to return to that position.

So they spent the next hour and a half like this, talking lightly of their friends, classes, and stories of injuries and funny moments they saw while on the pitch. Fluttershy told Rainbow about some of her most impressive saves from some of the best players in the district. This is the first time Fluttershy spoke so in-depth about her experience as a keeper.

She felt like Rainbow could understand her due to their experiences on the pitch. Perhaps this was why she felt so comfortable around the girl. As for Rainbow, she recited her best shots and her ability to drive through an entire defense all on her own as if she prepared an essay. To Fluttershy, it looked like it came much more naturally for Rainbow to boast.

She didn't mind. In fact, she felt a little intimidated. If half of what Rainbow said was true, then she could be a bigger problem for her own team's defensive line. Since she alone made up a third of the team's defense, her coach focused more on attack, leaving Fluttershy with more responsibility than a normal keeper.

*Vrrrr Vrr*

Rainbow's phone vibrated next to her in the middle of one of her stories. She picked it up with the opposite hand of the one still grasping onto Fluttershy's shoulder. Fluttershy looked away from the phone screen as to not invade Rainbow's business, deciding to take interest in her now empty bowl of ice cream. Rainbow made a tsk sound and began swiping with her thumb all over her keyboard. Making a final tap on her phone, she released Fluttershy from the long overdue embrace.

"I gotta go, and this coming week is gonna be busy." Rainbow said, as Fluttershy began scooting out of the booth awkwardly to allow Rainbow to exit.

Once Rainbow stood, Fluttershy finally saw the size comparison between the two of them. Rainbow stood only up to the tip of Fluttershy's chin. Fluttershy thought it was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen. "But I hear your next game is next Saturday? Maybe I'll go see you play?" Rainbow said, "And I'll be making sure to take some notes." She smirked, accompanied by a wink, instantly making Fluttershy's knees feel like they were made of gelatin. Size didnt matter, because Rainbow still packs a punch to Fluttershy's thought processes. Her heart felt weightless as Rainbow extended a fist out to the shy girl.

Fluttershy responded as quickly and nonchalantly as she could by returning the gesture lightly with her own fist. Before she could give Rainbow a proper goodbye, the striker girl was already on her way out the door. "See ya later, Fluttershy!" She called as she pushed the door open quickly and mounted her bike. Again, Fluttershy watched closely as Rainbow pedaled down the same street as before and turning on the same unseen street towards Cloudsdale Heights.

~

Once home, Fluttershy completed her chores quickly. She needed time to think. Once she had her practice uniform laid out on her desk for the morning, she undressed down to her boy shorts and an oversized Kludgetown Dusters jersey she had bought while at one of their matches. Slipping under her cool sheets and comforter, she closed her eyes to let her body rest for tomorrow. Her mind, however, remained at war.

How can you let this happen? She thought to herself. You can't just fall for someone you just met! It's...weird. You just have to wait this thing out. Maybe at some point, you'll realize that she works better as a friend and you can stop this ridiculous crush thing.

She turned over to her other side, grabbing the long pillow on her bed and stuffing it under the sheets as to hold it close to her body. She couldn't sleep properly without her holding something close to her. She found this pillow to be her favorite as her regular bed pillows simply lacked the length for her to fully grasp. Her friends called it cute. But to her, it was almost necessary.

You didnt even know you liked girls before you met her. You could just be experiencing some kind of hormone dump or something. That's a thing, right? It's like this part of puberty years ago didn't show itself, so now it is. A little late though, considering you're eighteen already. Don't worry. You have control still. You just need to be patient. All you need to do is put a lid on it until it passes over. Remember, deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep...breaths. Deep...breaths?

Fluttershy did breath in deeply and then exhaled warm breaths. Composing herself. But it quickly spiraled out of control. Her breaths were being dragged out as her body acted seemingly on its own. Instinct took over, and the voice in her head morphed its tone into something new and unheard of.

Yes, deep...breaths.

Under the covers, the pillow she'd used to assist her sleep in the past became the object of her desire. Her breaths went from deep and calming to raspy and desperate. She couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. An image of the girl on her mind overlaid on the pillow before her.

Her hips made mindless motions against the soft and fluffy nature of the pillow. She clutched it closer, wrapping her legs tighter around it, fearing that it would be taken away from her. That the image overlain on the pillow would be taken away from her. The electric shocks that the fabric of her boy shorts and soft pillow gave to her more private parts of her body rocked her system in a way she'd never felt before. This feeling was new and colorful to her.

All of the tension of school, her family, and her future melted away further with every light, gentle motion. Along with each motion, the image in her head became more and more vivid. To enhance the vision, she experimented with her touches. She slipped a hand under her shirt, dragging her fingers up her toned abdomen until reaching a fair sized globe of flesh. Her back arched as she whispered a name in an experimental moan.

"Rainbow..." She shivered at the sound. She liked it. She only wished Rainbow could hear it too.

She thought back to her time in the shop. A moment where events could have played differently. The embrace that Rainbow had given to her. Instead of fidgeting at the thought, her mind gave her full control of the situation. She remembered clearly the look of Rainbow's peach skin. Her muscular legs begged for Fluttershy's attention.

She couldn't help it as her hand reached out for that beckoning display of flesh. Her hand landed softly on the other girl's inner thigh, feeling the warmth of Rainbow's body. Her skin was as soft and smooth as it looked. Fluttershy's mouth remained slightly open, lust taking over her salivary glands, as she continued her affectionate ministrations. Rainbow's hand shot down and grabbed Fluttershy's wrist and dug her nails into it.

"Fl-Fluttershy...what are you...?" Rainbow tried to finish her sentence but cut herself short with a light gasp, her eyes clamping shut and her mouth lulling open. Fluttershy had imagined a moan, but felt that it wouldn't sound the same as in real life. The gasp sufficed, and it drove her forward as Fluttershy became even more excited as she squeezed and lightly rubbed Rainbow's inner thigh.

Rainbow's hand that grasped Fluttershy's shoulder began a slow expedition down Fluttershy's bicep to her waist. It desperately tried to reach further around her waist to its ultimate destination but couldn't as the rest of Rainbow's arm was pinned between the booth and Fluttershy's back.

Before the image could become more colorful, she had been shaken back to reality. Unknowingly, her right hand had been underneath her boy shorts while the left had been kneading her breast to accompany the pleasure. Her body jolted several times as a wave of something new rushed over her. This feeling was one completely foreign to her. And she felt it over and over again.

After several long seconds of rhythmic twitching and expelling some satisfying squeaks, she calmed herself down. She focused again on her breaths so they were smooth and collected. Once she had the consciousness to realize her position, she pulled her hands from their positions quickly.

She violently threw the covers off of herself and jumped out of bed. Wobbling from the ecstacy of what just happrned, she put her ear to the door. Silence. Gently opening the door, she peered down the dark hallway. She tiptoed her way down the hallway, hoping the hollow floors of the mobile home didn't wake anyone. She could hear the faint buzzing of the TV as well as snoring emanating from her father, no doubt asleep on the recliner again.

Slipping into the restroom, she closed the door, clicked the lock, and flicked the light on. She washed her hands of the intense moisture clinging tightly to her fingers. She felt it between her fingers and only had a small glimpse of the viscocity of the foreign fluid. Once cleaned, she dried her hands and was on her way out. She stopped when passing by the medicine cabinet's mirror.

She looked deeply into her own eyes, unsure of what to think. Shame? Release? Guilt? Thrill? Her mind went silent. Her hand remained still, curled around the doorknob, waiting for some kind of thought. Accepting silence as an answer, she quietly returned to her room, closed her door, and slid under the covers once more. She grabbed her large pillow again, and held it close.

That was...something, to say the least. I've never done something like that. And I guess I can see the appeal. But it came about so suddenly. I don'tget it. All I could think about was Rainbow. I know that liking her is relatively normal, but...was what I did "normal?" I can't ask the girls about it...it's too embarrassing. Maybe the week we'll be away from each other will be good enough time for me to recollect myself.

She felt a wave of sleepiness wash over her. Despite her self judgement, she was neck deep in bliss with her head still swimming. While she was gone washing herself of her actions, the blankets took a nice, cool temperature. Against her warm body, it gave her the push she needed to leave her thoughts behind and to finally fall asleep.

~

When the pressure and excitement of the pitch wasn't upon her, Fluttershy was a little bit more mindful at practice. Being at Canterlot High when there's no students around gave her the concentration needed to lose herself in her game. The sun was low, just barely peeking over the massive mountains surrounding the large town.

She couldn't help it. She would think about her footing, her shifts in weight, down to something as small as how intimidating she didn't look. Practices like these were the times to think about these little things. Things that made all the difference in the actual games. She used her time wisely and effectively at practice.

As the midfielders and forwards ran their shooting drills and trying to get the ball past her, she focused on each shot as to not allow any other foreign thoughts to contaminate her concentration. Suppressing her imagination through the hard work of practice helped.

Each parry, catch, or clearance she made took her further away from her worries. She stopped focusing on her teammates behind the ball. Just like in a match, the only thing she could see was the ball. Blurred lines drew themselves from the ball to any possible shooting angle into the back of the net. But then, as she got into her zone, a wall of inconvenience landed in front of her and shook her awake.

"Fluttershy!" a deep and thunderous voice called from her right. She stood straight up from her defensive stance to see what her coach, Iron Will, had to say. He stood at a staggering six foot eight, muscles and veins bulging from his massive arms and chest. A Canterlot coach designated shirt was stretched thin around his massive torso with matching shorts around his legs that were severely disproportionate to the torso they held up.

"Yes, coach?" Fluttershy said as loud as she could, wondering what her coach could possibly want. Stood next to him was another girl in the near-exact same white uniform Fluttershy wore, except Fluttershy's was stained green in certain areas from years of use in practice.

"Front and center!" Coach Will ordered with an extended arm and finger pointed down at the grass in front of him.

Fluttershy jogged to the spot on the ground where Coach Will was still pointing. Once she arrived, Coach Will quickly retracted his arm to a closed fist at his side. He leaned forward and flexed his bicep.

"You see that?!" Coach Will asked loudly, pointing at his flexing bicep. Fluttershy looked indifferent, unfazed by the her over-the-top coach's explosive attitude. "You know what that is, Ace?"

Fluttershy looked to where he was pointing and then back at her coach. She knew the answer. Everyone on the team knew the answer everytime, but they always humor him. They did this just to see that lively explosion of emotion. She glanced at the girl next to Coach Will who started to giggle near invisibly at their coach's question.

"I don't know, coach." Fluttershy responded, trying to sound confused enough to hear Coach Will's answer.

"That's you, Ace!" He boomed his personal nickname for the shy girl with that same determined look on his face. He retracted himself to his full height. "Strong! Confident! And above all, unstoppable! Take a water break Ace, while we let Porter here get some practice in." He gestured with his thumb to the girl standing next to him.

Fluttershy gave him a quick nod as she began walking by her substitute, Indigo Porter. A junior that was new to the varsity team, Porter was preparing to fill Fluttershy's large and accoladed boots. As her name suggests, her hair was of a blue so deep that it was almost violet. Her hair was already cut short so she never had to worry about it getting in the way. Fluttershy had thought of cutting her own hair. It would definitely give her an advantage.

Porter put up her gloved hand to Fluttershy. She gave Porter a muffled high five, both of them squeezing the other's hand momentarily before releasing their grip. Fluttershy smiled at her sub, mentally wishing her luck.

As Porter sped off to the box in front of goal, Fluttershy strolled to the bench, stretching each leg with each step. Once she arrived, she walked normally to the fold out table that carried three large, orange jugs and several name brand bottles with different players' names taped onto each. She picked up the bottle with her name on it and held it with the nozzle pointed at her mouth. She squeezed and water shot from the bottle and into her mouth in a pressurized stream.

Once adequately hydrated, she placed the bottle back on the table and continued to stretch, using the sideline bench as leverage for the next few minutes. Out of the corner of her eye and across the track path, she saw her ride to and from practice leaning over the fence and playing a video game on a sleek, black mobile device. Sunset had recently got her permit so she offered a few weeks ago to take Fluttershy to practice on Saturdays.

She approached the leather jacketed girl. Fluttershy couldn't help but feel guilty for having Sunset bring her to practice. Eighteen years old and she was still too scared of the road to drive. She reasoned with herself, repeating that Sunset offered first. Still, she had her drivers license pinned up on things needed to be done along with countless other fears to be conquered.

"Hey, Sunset." Fluttershy asked, still nervous about what Sunset may respond with. "How are you doing over here? I hope it's not too boring."

"Nah," Sunset replied, eyes glued to her screen, "just a little sleepy from getting up early." She yawned. "Other than that, I'm good."

"Okay." Fluttershy said, "I'm sorry for dragging you out so early. If you don't want to bring me or if you can't, just let me know, okay? The city bus isn't going anywhere."

Sunset only nodded as she worked the twin joysticks beneath her thumbs, occasionally tapping a button here or there. To Fluttershy, Sunset looked entirely invested in her game. She turned to return to the bench and continue her stretches when she was stopped by Sunset's voice.

"So how'd your hangout with that new friend of yours go?" Sunset asked, still not looking up from the screen. "If you dont want to talk about it, at least tell me her name." Fluttershy rubbed the back of her neck as her now false wish of avoiding talking about Rainbow to anyone had been broken.

"Oh, uh, her name is Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said, ignoring the first question and trying to be concise. She hoped each answer from here on out would satisfy Sunset's prodding questions quickly.

"Rainbow Dash?" Sunset asked again, more to herself than to Fluttershy. "And is she alright? Like what kind of person is she? From what you can gather, of course." Fluttershy's foot began to idly tap against the rubbery track floor.

"She's..." Fluttershy trailed off, trying to find the words to describe Rainbow without sounding like she has a little crush on the girl. As she thought, anxiety shot up her neck as Sunset seems to have paused her game and gave her full attention to Fluttershy. "She's... really nice?" Fluttershy mentally face palmed.

"Really nice?" That's all you got? She's going to be completely suspicious now.

"Just really nice?" Sunset echoed Fluttershy's answer. "Nothing else?" Fluttershy was glad that she was practicing really hard, otherwise Sunset would easily be able to see her sweating bullets.

"And..." Fluttershy said nervously, racking her flustered mind again for words, "...easy to talk to?" Her foot morphed from taping to an almost twitching motion. Sunset didn't look convinced in the slightest.

"I believe it." Sunset said. Fluttershy didn't understand. Sunset looks like she isn't buying a cent of what Fluttershy has told her. "Cause I mean, you were pretty much on her lap, hunh?" Sunset smiled at Fluttershy deviously.

So she didn't buy it...

If Sunset couldn't see it before, she could see it now. Fluttershy would normally go a light tint of pink on her cheeks at the thought of something lewd, but Sunset knew what beet red on Fluttershy's entire face meant. It meant it actually happened, or at least it got really close to what she was suggesting. Just the thought of being fully on Rainbow's lap made Fluttershy look guilty due to the lie detectors on her cheeks.

Fluttershy was in a panic, unsure of how to respond to Sunset's accusation. Instead of focusing on a response, she began deducing on how she could make a nearly accurate assumption. She didn't want to admit it, but Fluttershy had nearly been on Rainbow's lap. She couldn't help it; Sunset had her in a corner.

"I-It's not like that! Who told you that? I-It was Pinkie wasn't it?" Fluttershy scrambled for an answer. She was shocked to see Sunset shaking her head slowly with the same devious smile. At Fluttershy's core, she was annoyed by how correct Sunset was.

"Pinkie didn't say anything, surprisingly." Sunset responded nonchalantly. She resumed the game between her hands. "She said she couldn't see any details after ypu moved to Rainbow Dash's side of the booth. But seriously, don't worry about it. I won't tell a soul. Pinkie Promise." She chuckled at the irony, as she continued her gaming.

Fluttershy tried to say something, but was interrupted but a gloved palm tapping her shoulder.

"Hey, Ace?" Indigo said from behind Fluttershy. The new goalie looked as if barely beginning to work up a sweat. "I need your help with some technique. Think you can give me some pointers? Coach is grilling me about my dives. Something about lacking 'power' and 'the desire to win.'" She smiled sheepishly with her hand on the back of her own neck.

Fluttershy calmed herself, hoping the flushness of her face would pass off as a side effect of her practicing hard. Sunset's confidence in her assumption was scary to Fluttershy. She would even go as far as thinking Sunset could read minds. Who in the world guesses that their friend who met a new friend would end up under the arm of said new friend after knowing them for only a day? She began to walk back to the field with Indigo at her side, still confused about how Sunset acquires this information.

"Yeah, it's no problem." Fluttershy responded to Indigo's question with a smile to her sub. "Just let me in on what the problem is specifically and then we can go from there."