Author's Note

I've always kinda thought the other FlutterDash story I did should have a sequel. So, when presented with the perfect storyline, I nabbed the chance and here you go.

Hope you enjoy.

Also, special thanks to a group of awesome friends on Discord, without whom this tale probably would never have gotten written!

Picnics and Proposals

Rainbow was alot of things. Happy, excited, thrilled, shaking with anticipation...but oh Celestia, she was as nervous as could be. She was about to meet her sweetheart for a picnic...but this one was going to be more special than all the rest. First of all, Fluttershy knew nothing of a picnic...she had just been asked to meet in thier favourite meadow spot.

Her gaze went over the items in the picnic basket. Some fruit, some cheese, a bottle of wine. Some cucumber sandwiches, which Fluttershy loved, and a certain little black box containing the specially ordered item needed for today's event. She rubbed a hoof through her mane, breathing deeply.

"Ok, Rainbow Dash, you got this. You've prepared, you got your little speech memorised, just breathe! You're a Wonderbolt, for crying out loud, you can handle pressure!"

These words did nothing to soothe her trembling nerves. She groaned. Well, it was time to do this. She placed the basket on her back and took a deep breath before walking out of her cloud home and flying to the meadow near Fluttershy's cottage. Of course the other was waiting for her.

Rainbow couldn't help but smile as she landed softly near Fluttershy, the love and warmth in her sweetheart's eyes somehow managing to soothe her nerves where her self-calming speech had not.

"Hey Flutters." She said, depositing the basket next to her.

"H-hey Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy returned with a gentle smile. "What are we doing?"

"Oh! Uh, I brought stuff to eat. A picnic, I mean...as a surprise. Surprise!" She motioned to the basket.

Fluttershy giggled. "Aw, Rainbow, that's the best surprise!" She said happily, though she blushed a little.

"Right? Um, here."

Rainbow sat and opened the basket, lifting the plate of sandwhiches and offering it to Fluttershy, unable to hide the fact her hooves were trembling a little. Fluttershy didn't seem to notice. She accepted a sandwich.

"So, um...what's all this for?" She asked, softly. "I mean, um, I-I'm not complaining, just...its the middle of the week and um, you had Wonderbolt practice..."

"Yeah, well, you know," Rainbow said with a light cough. "They can live without my awesomeness for a day while I spend time with my marefriend, so...yeah."

Fluttershy giggled and blushed simultaneously. She herself was feeling nervous, because she had a thought, and had acted on it with the help of thier friends, and she could only hope Rainbow loved it.

"Are you ok, Dashie? You seem a little off..."

"Wha? Me? Um...y-yeah? I mean, I'm good!"

Meantime, niether noticed the light rustle if the nearby bushes as the friends that had helped out both mares stealthily hid to watch this scene unfold...and two of them face hoofing at Rainbow's stammering.

"S-So." Rainbow held out the cheeses. "Um, try this!"

"O-ok." Fluttershy accepted some and tasted it. "That's really good."

"Sooo, you'd say, pretty grate?" Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy blinked. "Was that a p-pun?"

Rainbow blushed and coughed nervously, and Fluttershy giggled.

"I guess, it is pretty grate..."

"Its uh, cheddar than others!" Rainbow nodded.

In the bushes, a lavendar head swung towards a pink one.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight hissed. "You said you had the proposal covered!"

"I did! I do! She does!" Pinkie whispered back. "She's just nervicited! She'll get it!"

"But puns???"

"Shhhhh! Watch!"

Fluttershy shook her head slightly, amused by Rainbow's antics.

"I-is this conversation going to end in a pun?" She asked, giggling a little.

"Ummm...mayyyyybeee?" Rainbow said slowly.

"Come on, Dashie, you got this, stick to the plan!" Pinkie hissed with a quiet giggle.

"You are so silly sometimes, Dashie."

"W-well, these are too gouda not to use! A-And you better brielieve it!!!" Rainbow said hastily...attempting to get her nervous brain back on track.

Twilight facehoofed so hard it was a wonder it wasn't loud enough to be heard, and Rarity practically fainted at the pun usage, while Applejack rolled her eyes and muttered something unintelligible. Even Pinkie looked slightly taken aback by the final pun...which was definitely a bad one.

Fluttershy, for her part, giggled a bit but gave Rainbow a slightly raised eyebrow look. Rainbow hastily sought to salvage this situation by changing the subject. Fast.

"Ummm...Oh!!! We need something that goes great with cheese, right?!"

"Like...?" Fluttershy asked softly, confused.

Rainbow dug out the bottle she had packed.

"Like, WINE!"

"Wine?" Fluttershy looked slightly more confused and then giggled slightly. "Why-ne you'd bring that?"

Rainbow snorted. "Ok...that was as bad as my last pun. I brought it to drink, duh! With the cheese! Well, I mean, not...drink the cheese, but, the wine. With it."

"She's drownin' out there..." Applejack muttered. "An' its painin' me to watch."

"Of all the worst possible things!" Rarity dramatically hissed...only to be shushed by Pinkie Pie pointing back to the two mares.

Fluttershy blinked at Rainbow, and smiled a little.

"Is there any better combination?" Her voice was soft.

Any other pony would have seen that Fluttershy had basically just thrown out a life line, but Rainbow was so nervous at this point her brain refused to pick up on it.

"Ummm...nope! ANYWAY!" She dug out two glasses from the basket. "Here we go!"

Fluttershy giggled a bit. "Oh! Right...because we don't plan to drink it straight from the...right."

Rainbow poured wine in both glasses and gave one to Fluttershy, her hooves visibly shaking. Fluttershy did notice this time, but said nothing, instead accepting the glass.

"This is v-very random." She offered.

Rainbow coughed a little, steeling her rapidly crumbling nerves.

"Well...I'm random...though not as random as Pinkie Pie, but never mind...ANYWAY! Um, I'd like to propose a toast! And um...to you too..."

"Yes!" Pinkie hissed, excitedly wiggling in the bushes. "You did it, Dashie!"

Fluttershy had frozen in place, staring at Rainbow as she blushed furiously.

"Wait...w-what...?"

Rainbow inhaled deeply. "Lemme just...repeat that better. Fluttershy...w-will you marry me?"

"That was better." Twilight mumbled as the group in the bushes waited for the response.

Fluttershy dropped her glass in surprise, luckily onto the grass, and instantly started to cry a little.

"Dashie, I...I..."

Rainbow blinked, and looked more nervous.

"Oh...oh Celestia...Flutters, d-don't cry, I didn't mean to make you cry..."

She set her glass aside and pulled Fluttershy into a hug, hoping to help comfort her.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash." The shy pegasus spoke softly against Rainbow's chest.

Rainbow blinked. "Y-yes??? Wait, like, yes, yes??? YES! Oh Fluttershy!"

She proceeded to hug the other mare tightly. Their audience just smiled.

"I suppose that ending makes up for the hideous pun usage..."Rarity muttered.

The group continued to watch, unable to help the grins at thier friends' exchange...bad puns aside.

Rainbow, so relieved and happy, had entirely forgotten the item in the basket. She let go of Fluttershy and leaped into the air, doing a series of excited loops and spins before landing with a happy shout.

Fluttershy, now looking both happy and nervous, approached.

"H-hey Dashie? I have one more thing to say...b-but first, what's that?" She pointed a hoof.

Rainbow spun to see, and Fluttershy, gulping down her nervousness, quickly produced a little black box and knelt, opening said box to display a ruby ring...a darker shade of the red in Rainbow's mane.

"Where? I don't see anything." Rainbow peered, alert.

"Oh um...must have been a s-shadow." Fluttershy said. "Uh, but, y-you know...Rainbow Dash, I had the s-same idea."

Rainbow turned back around and her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her.

"I...wha...huh...but...whaa??" She sputtered, speechless.

Fluttershy somehow found the courage to talk without stammering as she giggled a little at her marefriend's dumbfounded expression.

"I think I know the answer, because you asked me first, but...I can't just waste a ring, so..." She smiled up at Rainbow. "Will you marry me?"

"Awwww!" Pinkie squirmed with starry eyes, grinning at the adorable scene.

Rainbow stood slightly slack jawed for a moment, before shaking herself out of her stupor.

"H-Heck yes!" She exclaimed, before seizing Fluttershy in a big hug.

Fluttershy eeped and then giggled.

"Question is, where to put this?" Rainbow said, grinning. "Oh! We could just have Twilight size it so I can wear it on my hoof...er, well, leg. Sort of."

Fluttershy giggled. "Or we could have ring necklaces."

"That works!" Rainbow said, grinning wider.

"Dashieeee, the riiiiiiiing!" Pinkie hissed from the bushes...though of course Rainbow wouldn't hear.

"She did get the ring, did she not?" Rarity asked quietly, arching an eyebrow. "Sweet Celestia, if she forgot such an important detail...I shall faint!"

"Don't worry, Rarity, she got it!" Pinkie whispered back.

At that moment, Rainbow suddenly recalled her own box in the basket.

"Oh! Hey, uh, y'know, Flutters, I got my own thing, for you, so..."

"Oh?" Fluttershy eyed her curiously.

"Yeah!" Rainbow dove to grab the box, and turned, hiding it. "It's um, its special...just for you...cause well, you're special, so..."

"Tarnation, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack muttered, facehoofing."Stop stammerin' an' just give it to her!"

Rainbow held out the box, opening it, to display a silver ring set with three small green stones in the shape of butterflies. Fluttershy's eyes went incredibly wide.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, its so...beautiful!"

"I mean..." Rainbow said slowly. "Only the most beautiful ring for the most beautiful mare..."

Fluttershy blushed deeply and eeped softly, but there was a smile on her lips at the statement, and Rainbow smiled back at her, eyes shining.

"Sweet Celestia." Rarity breathed, eyes wide. "Who knew that Rainbow Dash could be so positively...romantic??"

"She wasn't...until I got ahold of her." Twilight mumbled. "It took multiple books and hours of practice sessions before she could say anything romantic with stammering herself silly."

Pinkie giggled while the other two shook their heads and smirked, imagining poor Twilight trying to teach Rainbow how to be romantic. They looked back at their friends.

"So um...w-when...I mean, h-how...um, where...?" Fluttershy managed, thinking of the future wedding.

"Ummmm...this weekend?" Rainbow offered slowly. "I mean uh...Saturday?"

"Oh my goodness." Fluttershy's eyes were once more wide.

"Too soon?" Rainbow asked, worriedly.

"No no! But, um, that leaves us just two whole days to get r-ready...oh dear.."

"We'll get the others to help." Rainbow grinned. "It'll be ok, Fluttershy. We can do it."

Fluttershy smiled and hugged her tightly in response. Rainbow eased to sit in the grass, with Fluttershy wrapped in a hug. The group in the bushes awwwww'd at the sight, then quietly slipped away to leave them to themselves...and get ready to offer the soon to be asked for wedding planning assistance.

Rainbow and Fluttershy, for thier part, just sat in the meadow grass with the gentle breeze blowing around them, happy to just be in other's company.