Off Pitch

by PoH

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Fluttershy, Equestria Girls, Sex, Profanity, Slice of Life, Human, Rainbow Dash
Length: 12671

When a rainbow striker and a timid keeper meet off the turf, sparks of a different kind can begin to ignite.

Set in an alternate Equestria Girls universe, Fluttershy is the top goalkeeper in the district. Her drive to push on to professional and national football teams knows no limit. But when a new player enters the game, life off the pitch will become quite different. Will she choose to follow her heart for a more common life? Or will she fulfill her dream and becoming that football star on a poster in another girl's bedroom?

Cover art credit to: oDaefnYo
oDaefnYo works: https://www.deviantart.com/odaefnyo/art/Secret-Garden-719848551

Published 2019-06-04 02:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-06-06 23:31:45 UTC

Contact

I'm trying to hold my breath
Let it stay this way

Time slowed as she forced herself from the ground, outstretched. The stadium lights flooded her vision. A shock of force ran down her arms, their origin centered in both of her white gloved palms. The lights provided the perfect backdrop to the deflected zebra colored, hexagon designed ball fleeing her vision. Just her and the ball. Whenever an attacker drew near, the rest of the world faded out. The sounds of the cheering crowd, the weight of her own body, even the one in control of the ball rushing for that final euphoric moment of seeing the net bulge behind her. The ball was all she could see. Watching the slightest movement of the foot, the ball would be slung to her left or right.

With the ball out of harm's way, her nerves were shocked with an increase in volume of the jeering crowd for her acrobatic save. Her body made contact with the dampened grass below. Using the momentum, she hurled a leg around and planted the spikes of her boot into the soft earth to quickly return to her feet in front of goal. To her relief, the ball had crossed the back line for a corner kick.

She gave her fist an excited pump and an inaudible jeer as her fellow defenders approached the penalty box to set up for the corner, praising her for her incredible save. All of the power of the attacker had been thrown behind that one shot, just to be deflected by the pink haired keeper. The dive was pure instinct, a natural instinct that landed her a spot on the junior varsity team in her first year of high school.

Here she was, the first game in the Canterlot High varsity team, senior year. Her own goal remained in sight through her four years in high school: to be recruited by a professional soccer club. If it were not for this goal, she wouldn't have bothered even trying to place in varsity. Her sophomore year, this idea was a distant dream only to have the doubts fanned away by a news report she watched when getting ready for her morning commute. Hope had filled her heart after hearing the news. With the flame in her spirit rekindled, she planned on not stopping until her heart was in the correct place.

As of that year, the World Football Association had passed a set of surprisingly progressive regulations. One of these regulations being the diminishing of gender specific professional football. That a coach may send recruiting officials to recruit any male, female, or other specified genders for their club. Within that year, the first female midfielder took the spotlight of the world by being placed on the Klugetown Dusters' starting lineup. This midfielder, Midday Snow, had impressed the coach with her outstanding performance by the age of twenty. Since then, Fluttershy, the humble keeper for Canterlot High, had her idol. Her inspiration. Her competition.

She trained hard from then on, also wanting a spot on a world recognized football club. Sharpening her killer defensive instinct during practice one save at a time. Her teammates did not go easy on her, but that's just what she wanted. Every day, the ball became slower and slower. The black and white refused to meld together into a blur. Instead, it whispered secrets of its next move. She could hear it tearing through the air, spinning wildly until it either landed into her gloves for a catch, or was parried out by the sturdy force of her powerful arms.

She was an ironic character, however. The next day, when the rush of the pitch is no longer upon her, she became this stammering, hair-twirling, nervous wreck. Even amongst her teammates, she remained quite recluse. They had taken a liking to her rather calm and timid composure and never once let it get in the way of their team. However she could voice her opinion with her teammates without fail, albeit in a low volume. On the pitch, she becomes this confident, strong, football playing machine. A nearly impenetrable keeper, some may call her. Calling shots during the corners and free kicks, giving no less than one hundred percent on penalties, and being this overall monster of a player.

When away from the team, she'd be with her second group of friends. Where she could let loose from the strain of practice. Letting her long, pink hair down from its competitive ponytail. She could then wear relaxing, athletic school colors, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst her friends. Even when not on the pitch, she wanted to show pride in her school and team. While this second group were all diverse in their activities, it didn't stop them from being so close.

Pinkie Pie, junior, room leader in home ec. Rarity, junior, student council member and lead athletic uniform designer. Applejack, junior, pinch hitter on the Canterlot junior varsity softball team. Twilight Sparkle, senior, currently top of the class and a part of nearly every academic team. And finally, Sunset Shimmer, sophomore, still trying to find her place within the wide social ladder of Canterlot High.

They are a home away from home to Fluttershy. And a breath of fresh air from the pace of the locker room.

~

"So if I integrate this... slope?" Fluttershy cautiously said aloud to her vioket haired friend, trying not to make a mistake in her vocabulary, "Then that means it will give me the original equation?"

"Exactly!" Twilight exclaimed from right next to her in the booth of the ice cream shop.

"Oh. Wow, okay." Fluttershy surprised herself that she herself understood the concept. Twilight smiled at the sight of Fluttershy's grasping of the topic. "Here, let me try the next one on my own." She began looking over the next problem while Twilight gave her a nod and scooted away towards the window.

Their entire group had been present in the ice cream shop. Pinkie worked here part-time after school, so she'd always be behind the counter across a column of tables and chairs seperating her from the booth. Sunset sat across from Twilight in the opposite window seat. Light taps from her fingers were making contact with her phone from playing a game. Rarity sat on the aisle seat to the left of Fluttershy, carefully applying nail polish to her natural nails. Applejack slouched into the booth next to Sunset, her stetson tipped down to shield her eyes from the shop's bright lights.

"So," Twilight spoke to the entire group, "How's everything going girls? This is the first time we got to hang out all together this school year and it's already October."

"Well, we have been quite busy with school activities." Rarity said, examining her work on her nails. "It is still the beginning of the year..."

"Yeah! Home ec had a lot of starting work to do in order to bake enough sweets for Senior Sunrise!" Pinkie exclaimed, leaning over the counter where she worked. "We couldn't decide on whether to go with a whole bunch of small sweets like cupcakes or a few bigger ones like whole cakes." She giggled. "In the end, we just went with the small ones to get the freshies interested in the program."

"Well, that's good you've been having fun there, Pinkie." Twilight said with a smile, turning her attention to the slouching Applejack. Twilight pursed her lips, wondering if she should disturb her southern friend. "And you Applejack? How's softball going?" Applejack lifted her stetson to reveal her emerald eyes. They seemed indifferent. She shrugged.

"Same old, same old." She let the stetson fall back down over her eyes. "Ah'm still not all that great at fieldin', so coach put me as pinch again."

"Did you want to field this year?" Twilight prodded. Applejack nodded slowly. "Oh, I'm sorry if this isn't something you want to talk about."

"Oh no, it's alright, sugarcube." She lifted the stetson again to make eye contact with her friend sitting across the booth. "You didn't hurt my feelins none. Ah'm just in the dumps a bit cause ah didn't make it onto the field."

"I don't understand." Sunset said, still glued to the game in her phone. "Why won't coach let you play? You're fast and strong. You'd be at least good in right field, right?" An explosion sound eminated from Sunset's phone as a fanfare played, signaling a game over. "Crap." She hit the power button on her phone and slipped it into her leather jacket, turning herself to face the once again slouching Applejack.

"This year's harvest was a big one back at the farm. So ah couldn't make it to many important summer practices." She seemed to slouch further into her seat. "'Lotta the girls said I wasn't committed enough." She huffed. Fluttershy looked up from her homework with a worried frown. Although focused on her calculus homework, she made sure to listen to everything said.

"But you were helping your family." Fluttershy said, frowning. "Don't they understand that?" Applejack glanced at Fluttershy from behind the brim of her stetson and gave the pink haired girl a satisfied smirk.

"You'd think they would, right?" Applejack said, "But ah guess they're different than ah expected." She shrugged at the thought of her teammates understanding her predicament. The ultimatum of her family's income or the effectiveness of the team.

"Tch," Sunset scoffed, "what a bunch of two-faces. When they need you, they're gonna pray that you save their precious game with one of your crazy good hits." She gave Applejack a playful punch on the shoulder. Applejack seemed to be feeling better, as she was grinning bashfully under her leather hat. "They'll be eating out of the palms of your hands."

"Aww hush it, Sunset. You're gonna make me blush." Applejack gave a small chuckle, "Ah suppose you're right. Yeah! No need for me to be mopin' in front of you girls." She sat up, raising the brim of her stetson and leaning forward with her arms crossed on the table. "Enough about that nonsense, then." She landed her attention on Fluttershy who was about to return to her homework, which Twilight couldnt keep from analyzing from her current spot. "Now, what about you, sugarcube? I hear you're givin' 'em hell on that soccer field."

"Oh! Umm, yeah... I guess?" Fluttershy timidly said, her cheeks tinting a rose color. "I-It's going good."

"I hear she's got top keeper in the district right now!" Pinkie said loudly from the counter. The rest of the girls reeled back as Fluttershy retreated behind her long, pink locks.

"It's only the beginning of the season..." Fluttershy said, almost inaudible.

"Hey, that's amazing!" Sunset exclaimed. "None of us here are the best at anything really, except Twilight in academics." She pointed a thumb in Twilight's direction, who smiled bashfully as well, pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose.

"What about..." Fluttershy asked, scanning her eyes frantically across each of her friends until she saw Applejack and Pinkie simultaneously. At some point in their conversation, Pinkie came from behind the counter and stood outside the booth next to Applejack, smiling wide as ever. "Applejack with her batting? O-or Pinkie with her baking?" Pinkie started to giggle uncontrollably.

"Baking isn't a sport, silly!" Pinkie said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "All it takes is patience, love, ingredients, and some creativity! It's nothing like what you, Applejack, or Twilight have to do."

"I wholeheartedly agree." Rarity joined. She had finished painting her nails a violet color to match her perfectly coiffed hair. "Even though designing, creating, and distributing the school attire, like that tank top you're wearing," she gestured to the turquoise and gold accented, loose racerback with the school's name emblazoned across the front and Fluttershy's name printed vertically down the center of the back, "is quite the chore, I'm not the one actually parading school pride. I simply print the name, and then you make it truly fabulous with your performances on the field. Same goes to you, Applejack." Rarity smiled sweetly in Applejack's direction.

"Yeah," Applejack responded, confused at the praise from the girl who was normally annoyed with the southern girl's mannerisms, "but maybe hitting one softball per game ain't exactly a skill to be too proud of either. Ah don't think it's considered 'parading' if ah only play for five minutes in a game."

"Oh but that's five minutes people like Pinkie, Sunset, or I aren't playing." Rarity countered. Applejack opened her mouth to say something else but was ultimately cornered and shut her mouth with a surrendering shrug.

"See?" Fluttershy said, glad the spotlight wasn't totally on her. "I'm not the only one who's doing good."

"But ya gotta admit," Applejack assured, "you do have one of the most stressful positions on that field. Ah wouldn't be able to stop that ball even if my college tuition relied on it."

"Well..." Fluttershy tried to counter that argument, "I would say the, um, striker or wings have more stressful responsibilities."

*Ding ding*

"Ooh, hold that thought, gotta handle this customer!" Pinkie jumped away from the booth and sped behind the counter as she warmly welcomed the customer who remained out of sight from the booth.

"Well," Twilight said, thinking about what Fluttershy said and her own understanding of the game, "there are disadvantages to both positions. You as keeper have a huge responsibility, that I don't need to iterate for obvious reasons. As for the striker, they are expected to be skilled, crafty, accurate and, above all, confident in their ability. Eyes are always on them, but you as keeper have to make the adjustment to their decisions." She tapped her finger against her chin, deep in thought.

"So, what does that mean?" Sunset asked, genuinely curious about Twilight's take on the two types of positions.

"Personally, I think both positions are quite difficult." She responded with a shrug. "But in the end, the experience is subjective."

Sunset only nodded slowly several times in understanding. Fluttershy took this opportunity to continue working on her homework, hoping it will diffuse the conversation centered around her and her achievements. To her relief, everyone seemed to take interest elsewhere. She was selectively focusing on the problems in front of her, so the outside noise drowned out. Her pencil scribbled numbers and other math forms, occasionally reaching her hand over to type in a few numbers and operations within the graphing calculator Twilight had lent her.

She lifted her head from the paper after doing a problem. Interlocking her fingers, she raised her hands up, stretching her arms and back. When she opened her eyes after the satisfying stretch, she'd locked eyes with a pair of unrecognized ones.

Sky met magenta, as Fluttershy watched the customer who'd entered moments before. Long, frazzled, rainbow colored hair tied in a messy ponytail stuck out and drew Fluttershy's eyes upward. The reddish-purple of her eyes contrasted the lighter colors she wore. The thin sky blue hoodie, the short indigo athletic shorts, and running sneakers all gave Fluttershy the most conflicting thoughts. She could feel her face beginning to become warm, but not quite fully. Just enough to give her cheeks color.

The magenta orbs drifted from the gawking Fluttershy and she continued behind the group to a distant booth. She seemed almost annoyed. Fluttershy was the only one keeping a close eye on the unknown customer while her friends chatted about mundane dramas of high school. To not draw attention, she sat back down and returned the pencil to her hand.

She couldn't focus. She'd never felt this before. For anyone. It confused her, to say the least. Occasionally, she'd glance back over the seat, pretending to stretch. When she looked at her, there's was this sense of comfort, but accompanied by hostility. She never considered that she would like other girls, considering none had ever caught her interest or attention like this stranger had. As for boys, much of the same. It was in this moment, Fluttershy thought of all the things couples do. Only now had she been curious about how it all felt.

She always saw the drama and affection of couples from middle school to now. This idea of relationships became a part of her world, but she was never a part of that world. It became common place for her to see Rarity, Pinkie, Sunset, and even Applejack have their share of love interests. Twilight seemed to have no interest in anyone. Fluttershy thought that maybe Twilight and herself were the same in that aspect. Either way, she tried to deny the feelings she felt now. She argued that after today she wouldn't see this girl again, and everything will go back to normal.

Getting only halfway done with her work, her friends began to leave in pairs. Applejack got a ride with Rarity, Sunset took Twilight home on her motorcycle, while Pinkie stayed to finish her shift. The shop had become silent. Only the occasional muffled tack tack coming from the mystery girl scooping amounts of plain vanilla ice cream into her mouth.

When beginning another question on her homework sheet, she genuinely needed to stretch. So she did. When she raised her arms and arched her back, she only gave a glance over her shoulder at the girl. To her shock and horror, the girl was walking in her direction. Fluttershy quickly sat back down and became interested with nothing in particular outside the shop.

Hearing the sneakers rapidly approaching, her shoulders tensed up more and more. She bolted her eyes shut, praying that the girl hadnt noticed anything. That was, until the steps passed her booth. Through the locks of hair in front of her face, the stranger had gone to throw away the paper bowl that her ice cream was served in. Fluttershy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She picked up her pencil to continue working, hoping to distract herself from the now leaving girl.

"Hey," a high pitched but ragged voice said from the head of the booth, "if you're gonna keep staring at me, you could just take a picture, you know?" The voice chuckled teasingly.

Fluttershy gave a small gasp at this, and, by nature, immediately avoided eye contact. She felt mortified. The girl seemed to know about her peeping over her shoulder. Fluttershy considered the obviousness of her peeps, as she'd never actually "checked somone out." Unsure of how to handle the situtation, she handled it like she did any other.

"I-Im sorry..." She said extremely quiet, almost too quiet for herself to hear. Her hands had receded under the table as her nails began to dig into the skin of her thighs, cursing herself mentally for her uncontrollable curiosity. She could feel the stranger's eyes piercing through her curtain of hair. She shifted herself in hopes that the extra strands would stop the seemingly judgemental eyes.

"Tch." The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes with a smile. "Hey, I'm only joking, you know?" Fluttershy didn't respond. The other girl sighed, knowing she made her observer uncomfortable and knowing this kind of personality. "I hope you don't mind if I take a seat." Fluttershy unconsciously shook her head. "Alright then." The girl slid into the booth on the opposite bench. "So," she interlocked her fingers under her chin and smiled, hoping to pull this recluse out from behind her social shield, "the name's Rainbow Dash. What about yours?"

"Um, I-I'm F-Fluttersh-shy." Her voice began audibly and then depressed to an almost silent squeak. To her surprise, the girl known as Rainbow Dash responded.

"Fluttershy, hunh? That right?" Fluttershy nodded slowly, still hiding behind her locks of hair. "Well, that seems scarily...fitting." Rainbow cleared her throat. "Well, I see you go to Canterlot High, right?" She gestured to the racerback currently on Fluttershy's person. Fluttershy answered with another slow nod. "Nice, nice. I went to Crystal Prep before moving here. So I've been going to Cloudsdale High since. I've heard a lot of cool things about your school. Winning all kinds of awards and championships and all that stuff. You have a part in any of that?" Rainbow seriously doubted it. She knew this type. Probably a part of some obscure club like art or something. She didn't have any problems with people like that, just that she knew people like that and that they all seemed to follow some sort of social pattern.

"Y-yes. I h-have." Fluttershy stammered, just wanting the conversation to end. Ironically, her answer brought the total opposite reaction she intended. Rainbow blinked, surprised that this pattern was proven inaccurate today right in front of her.

"Pssh, someone as shy and scared as you? Winning awards?" Rainbow questioned unintentionally aggressive. Fluttershy would hide deeper in her hair if she could. "What did you do then, Fluttershy?" She asked, her tone turning to a more playful one after realizing how mean she may have sounded.

Despite how extroverted and playful Rainbow was, Fluttershy couldn't help but get a little bit more comfortable with her. She was obviously making an attempt at making a friend, so who was Fluttershy to deny that from Rainbow? As a side note, she particularly enjoyed hearing her name come out of this new girl's mouth. She dug her nails deeper into her skin, mustering courage to tell her this little fact.

"U-um, I play s-soccer, s-so..." She barely got that out. To her genuine surprise, the other girl's hands were on her shoulders, shaking her out of her protecting hair, making her face completely visible. Rainbow had sat up and reached across the table just to invade Fluttershy's personal space. And for some unknown reason, she didn't mind.

"No. Fucking. Way!" Rainbow iterated slowly. She had this beaming smile in her face that almost forced Fluttershy to smile herself. She was so in shock that she just sat there with a dumbfounded look. "I play too! What's your position?" Rainbow was dying to know.

"Oh, uhh, keeper?" She quivered, almost asking herself if her answer were true. Her eyes remained locked onto Rainbow's, that is until Rainbow released her shoulders and sat back into her seat.

"Daaang, now that's a hard spot. Takes a lot of strength and guts." Rainbow said in awe. "Respect." She pounded her fist twice on her chest to put emphasis on the word. Fluttershy made no response, only continuing to stare at the girl across from her. "Yeah, depending on what coach needs, I'll play either mid or striker. But mostly striker since my defensive game isn't exactly top notch." She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "But I bet you're amazing at all the stuff that I'm not, right? Defense, and all that. That's pretty good considering I'm awesome at nearly everything." She ended with a boast, puffing out her chest.

Fluttershy giggled to herself at how big Rainbow made herself look. "I-I'm not too sure." Fluttershy said. She realized that her eyes were still gazing into Rainbow's, so she tried to be casual and returned her hand to the half finished paper before her. With less of her hair in front of her face, she smiled slightly. She enjoyed this conversation. So far, she's warmed up quicker to Rainbow than she did with any of her current friends when she first met them.

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow exclaimed, crossing her arms, "even though you seem so shy on top, there's a good reason your coach put you there. You're obviously good at what you do." Rainbow sighed again. "Look, if you're playing this year, maybe we might end up playing each other. Then I'll know for sure. You're varsity, right?" Fluttershy nodded once again.

Suddenly, Rainbow shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out her buzzing phone. After a swift swipe, she began typing away. Once she seemed done, she slipped the phone back into her pocket. She slid out of the booth and stood at the head of the table.

"I gotta go, my PO's calling me." She said flatly. Fluttershy's eyes widened slightly.

"Y-you've been in trouble? Before? Like...with the police?" Fluttershy asked in a meek tone, almost not wanting to know the answer. When Rainbow started laughing, Fluttershy was as confused as ever.

"No!" Rainbow said, her voice cracked through the laughter. "It's my mom. She's telling me to get home so I can help unpack." She wiped out the final tear in her eye along with a deep breath. Fluttershy could only look away, her cheeks turning beet red. "Whoo, Fluttershy you're a riot, you know that? Look, you're pretty cu-uhh cool," Rainbow stammered, rubbing the toe of her shoe against her ankle nervously. "Maybe we can hang out again?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy said, surprised that Rainbow would want to get together again and hang out. She was able to finally make eye contact with the rainbow haired girl after her own face turned relatively back to its normal color. "Um, I'm okay with that. If that's fine with you?"

"Totally!" Rainbow exclaimed, louder than she'd wanted. She pulled her phone out once more and began typing again. Fluttershy sat with a curious expression as Rainbow's thumbs moved in a blur. "Here," she handed the phone to Fluttershy who jumped at the confidence of the hand-off, "put your number there and I'll shoot you a text in a little while so you can save mine."

"Oh... okay." Fluttershy said, gently taking the phone between her hands as she looked at the display.

"Fl-Flutters"??

She swallowed a small bit at the nickname that would be in Rainbow's contact list before she started typing in her cell number. Once done, she stuck her hand out towards Rainbow, phone in hand. When Rainbow grabbed for her phone, Fluttershy felt the tips of Rainbow's fingers lightly slide down the back of her hand. Her fingers were soft and it forced an unseen shiver from her arm to her spine. Rainbow, on the other hand, hadn't noticed a thing as she quickly stuffed the phone in the hoodie pocket.

"Awesome! I gotta run, so I'll catch you later!" Rainbow said quickly before jumping back and running out the door, mounting a bicycle that had been locked to a bike rack outside. She pedaled down the only street leading into Cloudsdale Heights. Fluttershy watched as this new friend sped up the street, past the park, and made a turn down an unseen street.

Now alone, she had time to recollect everything that occurred. From their eyes meeting, to her sneaking glimpses of Rainbow, Rainbow confronting her, them talking, and now she has her number. It all felt so strange to Fluttershy. How easily she made friends with this person and how non-hesitantly she handed her number to her. It took several days of even weeks for her to give her number to anyone else. But with Rainbow, it only felt necessary.

Do I...?

"Wow, seems like you really like her!" Fluttershy jumped at the sound of Pinkie's high pitched voice cutting through the silence around Fluttershy. "Ooh that's so cute!"

"Pinkie! I-It's not l-like that!" Fluttershy retorted with a shocked expression and a little bit more volume, yet still stammering.

"Oh come on," Pinkie turned around to return to the counter, "I saw the whole thing. Both of you, fidgeting to talk to each other." She let out a high pitched squeal with a wide, toothy smile. "You couldnt see it but that Rainbow Dash was just squirming under the table!" Fluttershy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, feeling the warmth returning to her cheeks.

"Pinkie..." She said in a flustered tone.

"Okay, okay! I'm just playing around." Pinkie raised her hands up, "But let me tell ya: I have seen enough for me to be confident on how this whole thing will end up." She leaned over the counter, arms crossed at her stomach. "Only a matter of time."

Fluttershy sighed again and began collecting her things. "I need to go, too. I need this homework done by tomorrow." Fluttershy said, almost annoyed. Pinkie only watched Fluttershy with a wide grin. Once Fluttershy placed the last of her belongings into her backpack, she slung both straps over her shoulders and started walking out. "Goodnight, Pinkie." Her tone became more relaxed, already forgiving Pinkie for her fantasizing, giving her a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch."

"Okie doki lokie!" Pinkie responded cheerfully. "Ooh! Can I tell the girls about what happened?" Fluttershy stopped and thought for a moment, then turned her head to address the question.

"Sorry, Pinkie," her voice was gentle, "I'd prefer I told them. Okay?"

"Oh yeah, that's a-okay with me!" She smiled and waved her arm goodbye at her shy friend, who was now on the sidewalk outside the ice cream shop.

Fluttershy began making her way down the street when she ended up next to a sign with a printed front shot of a bus with a smiley face on it. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, she heard her phone vibrate with a notification sound. She swung her backpack around to retrieve her phone. Once she had the phone in her hand, she looked at the message.

Unknown 7:21pm
Hey! This is Rainbow

With a few small taps of the screen and a slight grin, Fluttershy saved Rainbow's number under the expected name "Rainbow." A city bus hissed to a stop in front of Fluttershy. After using her student pass, she found a seat at the very back and the bus began to move again.

Me 7:22pm
Okay, I saved your number. It was nice meeting you today. So we'll hang out soon?

Rainbow 7:25pm
Definitely!! Same place? Tomorrow?

Fluttershy swallowed once again. To have another meet so soon after the first? Fluttershy was anxious to say the least. Yet, excitement filled her heart.

Me 7:26pm
That sounds fine. See you tomorrow!

Fluttershy put her phone away after that. She didn't receive another text, assuming Rainbow Dash continuing to unpack. She watched as the city passed by through the window. It was already getting dark, and the lights of the city came to life.

After passing through the much larger, metropolitan looking downtown, the bus ended up going down a long road. On one side were varying housing complexes and strip malls. On the other, open fields with buildings belonging to the military dotted the wide open terrain.

She pulled the yellow cord, signaling the driver to stop. Once stopped at the next bus stop, she disembarked, waving a "thank you" to the driver.

She walked a small distance into a trailer park complex. Walking down the asphalt, she approached a double-wide trailer home. The skirts had a few holes throughout, but the paint remained a comfortable gray and midnight blue. Walking up onto the deck and into the trailer home, she announced her presence.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home." She called out, closing and locking the front door.

"Over here, sweetie!" Her mother called from the kitchen.

Fluttershy entered the kitchen to see her mother preparing dinner. Her mother, tall and raspberry haired with teal glasses, was humming away as she was adding ingredients to the stock pot. Fluttershy always found it interesting how her mother would contrast their kitchen. The cabinets barely hanging on by rusty hinges, the small and old refrigerator, the dulled blender. And then there was her mom, a completely opposite entity. A bastion of beauty.

"How was school, sweetums?" She said happily, turning from her work and giving Fluttershy a peck on her forehead.

"It was okay. Just some homework to do." Fluttershy said, bypassing her mother to a thin hallway leading to her and her brother Zephyr's rooms.

"Oh, well can you do me a favor and tell your brother that dinner's just about ready?"

"Mhm." Fluttershy hummed out loud. She approached a fork at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door to the left. After about five seconds, the door was swung open.

Her brother, Zephyr Breeze, held onto the door. Having his long, blond, unkempt hair with five o' clock shadow gave him a sort of bum look, even though he was only a sophomore. Being about three inches taller than her, he barely broke the six foot mark.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he had beaten her there. "I know, I heard her." He said, sounding very agitated, before slamming the door shut.

Fluttershy closed her mouth before entering her own room on the right of the fork, not thinking anything of her brother's attitude. Once in her room, she dropped her backpack beside the door with a sigh of relief. Her walls were plastered with professional football memorabilia. Especially glorifying the legendary Midday Snow, Fluttershy felt at home. She slid onto her firm bed face down.

This gave her time to think.

So I have to finish that calculus work tonight for sure. I can't slack it any more than I already have. Thenthere's that presentation thatI have to get ready for physics. Saturday's practice shouldn't get in the way of it. Oh wait, thenthere's tomorrow with Rainbow. Oh my, Idon't even know what to think. She's so nice and patient. I don't want to be a burden on her. But Iwon't find out if I am a burden unless I hang out with her. Right? I mean, I think being around her might give me clarity on what I want from her. Friendship? Or...something else?

Buzzing began emanating from her backpack. She pushed herself off of the bed to retrieve her phone. Once back on the bed with her phone she laid on her back. Looking at the reason for the buzz, she could see it was Sunset.

Sunset 7:51pm
So I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Pinkie told me about your new friend...

By nature, Fluttershy sighed. Not out of disappointment in Pinkie, but out of relief that she told Sunset of all people. She knew Pinkie would do such a thing, but she's glad she told the one of their group that was the best at keeping secrets. If she had told Rarity, that would've been a whole ordeal on its own. Talking about when she would meet Rainbow and whatnot, thrilling their whole group of friends. Sunset had to be the most honest person in their group other than Applejack.

Me 7:51pm
No, it's fine. I sort of expected Pinkie to tell someone... what exactly did she tell you?

Sunset 7:52pm
Honestly, she makes it seem like you're crushing on this girl...

Am I, though? Fluttershy thought.

Me 7:54pm
You know how Pinkie is. Brash as ever.

Sunset 7:56pm
Well she told me you guys were meeting again tomorrow at the shop. Want me to make sure the girls don'tget ideas of going? Since you obviously don't know how you feel about this chick :p

Not her, too.

Me 7:56pm
It's really not like that. But could you please? I need to know if I can trust her as a friend before anything else.

Sunset 7:57pm
Not a problem.

Fluttershy 7:57pm
Thank you, Sunset. I'm sorry, but I have to go have dinner before it gets cold. Seeyoutomorrow (｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

Satisfied, Fluttershy got up and out of bed to go have dinner with her family. They talked of the usual things. Fluttershy and Zephyr's school day, news on the rest of their family, why their father would be late that night again. Unknown to them, excitement to learn more about Fluttershy's new friend courses through her all the way up through her shower, the rest of her homework, and until she fell asleep that night.

Rendezvous

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."