Despite All Odds

As Fluttershy flew, she gradually stopped on a cloud and hugged it close as she poured her tears into it. Her plans had been ruined and her confession had been for nothing. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, then looked up. Luna's moon has right above her and shining all over Equestria. She desperately wanted to talk to the royal pony, but had no way of getting ahold of her.

So, she decided to do the next best thing. She hopped off the cloud and with teary eyes made her way home to pack. She was going to be leaving Ponyville for hopefully a few weeks to get her head clear. She knew she would have to talk to Twilight eventually, but now (or anytime soon for that matter) was definitely not an option. She went in through her bedroom window and quickly packed.

'If I know Twilight, she'll want to talk about it now, so I don't have much time.' She felt horrible thinking like that, but Fluttershy wasn't sure how she'd react if she saw her crush right then while her heart was weak and fragile. When she was satisfied, she tossed her saddlebags onto her back and went out the window, heading for Ponyville, or more specifically, the train station.

When she arrived, she placed a bag of bits on the counter and said, “A two way ticket to Canterlot please.” She noticed that she hadn't shied away as she spoke, but she didn't really care. To her, the world was just a monochrome place and she didn't have the energy to do anything except be grey.

“Here you go young lady. The next train will be here in ten minutes.” She took her ticket and thanked the stallion behind the desk, frowning as she walked away.

She could tell he was watching her hips, so she turned and with her eyes narrowed in irritation said, “What're you looking at?” He quickly looked away, turning smack dab into a cork board and falling to the ground. She huffed and walked over to the bench to wait for the train. When it finally arrived, her irritation had drained from her body, leaving only the despair and depression from earlier.

With a heavy heart she climbed aboard and sat in the far back car, away from any and everypony that would most likely ask her what was wrong. The ride from Ponyville to Canterlot was at least two hours, so she used the time (when she wasn't crying her eyes out) to plan what she would do and say when she got to her destination. Thankfully the train arrived without delay and nopony stopped her to question her puffy eyes or her sobs that she miserably tried to hide.

She flew above most of the city, looking for a particular apartment complex named the Shooting Star Apartments. 'Ironic how you look for comfort within a shooting star when your heart was shattered in the presence of shooting stars.' Fluttershy thought unhappily.

She walked in through the front gate and headed for the third floor. Then, after climbing the two flights of stairs, she headed for room 356; the last room on the whole floor. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes again, sniffing for good measure and with a weak hoof, knocked on the door.

Octavia wasn't really a mare for change. She liked to keep things on schedule; wake up, eat, practice, go out for a walk, come home, practice, eat, sleep, repeat. The only time she allowed for deviation was when she had a concert or if something came up with a friend. At the moment, she had just gotten back from her walk and decided to shower. When finished with that, she walked out of her room, sighing happily as she dried her hair.

She looked out the large front window and took in the view of Canterlot at night. It was bright like a city should be, but was still dim enough to give the whole city a sort of strange ethereal glow that gave it a beauty that nopony could match through art or with words. As she began to zone out, a knock brought her back to reality, making her drop her towel.

“Who could that be?” She glanced at the clock and saw that it was 11 at night. So, she walked over to the door and opened it, and needless to say, the sight shocked her. “Fluttershy? Sweet Celestia please come in.” Fluttershy thanked her in a voice that was quieter than normal and slowly trudged her way into the earth pony's home and onto the couch where she tossed off her saddlebags and cried into the pillow.

'This must have something to do with that unicorn.' Even though Fluttershy had never told her, Octavia was smart enough to know when one pony was crushing on another. Instead of asking, the light grey mare simply sat beside her friend and rubbed her back gently. It wasn't until 11:54 that Fluttershy ran out of tears. “It's about that unicorn, isn't it?” Fluttershy just nodded, not caring that Octavia's guess was spot on. Octavia sighed and just kept stroking Fluttershy's back.

“I just don't know what went wrong...the night was perfect and I still managed to ruin it...”

“Start from the beginning.” Octavia simply said. So, Fluttershy quickly explained her crush for Twilight, then told the musician about the evening up until that point.

“To me, it doesn't sound like she rejected you.”

“You should've seen the look in her eyes Octavia...she looked so apologetic. I just know she was going to say no.”

“But you don't that for sure. Listen, let's go to bed and we'll talk more in the morning. You look like you could use the sleep.” With a sigh, Fluttershy nodded and followed Octavia, who took her to the guest bedroom. “I apologize if it's a little messy. Vinyl usually doesn't clean up after herself after she “crashes” here.”

“It's okay. I just want to escape reality right now. The state of where I do it doesn't matter.” Octavia had nothing to say, so she simply allowed Fluttershy into the room, wished her a good night, and went to her own room.

When Octavia awoke, she went through her usual morning routine, she quietly walked up to the guest bedroom door and peeked in. She was greeted with pitch black nothingness. She wasn't really surprised though; Vinyl had spent a great deal of time making it totally dark for when she had a hangover from one too many drinks from her job.

It wasn't like she did it every time, but those few times that she had gotten drunk, she found Vinyl in this room, sprawled out and groaning in pain. However, the last two times her pegasine marefriend Rainbow Dash had been in bed with her. The second time she had looked in to check on them, she had caught sight of them in the middle of a rather...intimate act. So she usually knocked when she knew Vinyl was there.

However, since it was Fluttershy, she didn't want to wake the heartbroken pegasus. However, when she barely cracked the door open, she heard the faint sound of sobbing, so she just quietly closed the door again and walked into the kitchen to begin making breakfast.

Though, even after breakfast had been made and she had eaten, she saw no sign of the yellow mare. She got up from the table and made her way back to the guest room and knocked lightly. “Fluttershy? Would you like some breakfast?” The reply was barely heard by the earth pony. “No thank you...”

“Oh...alright. Well, it's in the kitchen if you want some. I'm going to go out for a walk, okay?” She was answered with silence. “I'll be back soon.” With a sigh, Octavia walked out of her home and began walking her usual route through Canterlot.

(Later that week)

“Twi? It's almost been a week. You need ta come out now sugarcube.” Applejack knocked on the library door a few more times with increasing irritation. “That's it! Sorry about this Twi.” She turned and with a sharp kick, knocked the door off it's hinges and into the darkness of the library. The orange pony saw a large amount of dust fly off the ground as the door hit the floor.

“Applejack? Is that you?” Spike walked around the corner, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Hiya Spike. Where's Twilight?” As soon as the question left her lips, she heard a loud thud behind her. She jumped, spinning around and landing on her hooves easily. “Twilight? You look about as good as a rattler on a cool winter's day.” Twilight's mane was ragged and sticking up all over the place, she had numerous cuts and bruises on her body, and near pitch black circles around her eyes (which she could barely keep open).

“Gotta...find...Fluttershy...”

“Trust me darlin' we all wanna find her, but runnin' ourselves ragged ain't gonna help.” Applejack said, laying beside the unicorn and offering herself as a pillow. “You don't understand Applejack! I have to make things right!”

“I know sugar, but think of what Fluttershy would think if she saw you like this.” Twilight was silent, allowing Applejack to continue. “Lemme throw a suggestion out to ya. Why not leave the search to us and go take a break up in Canterlot. Ya know, go for a nice walk around the gardens, talk to the Princesses.” Twilight nodded and with a deep sigh, fell quickly into sleep's grasp.

Applejack sighed in relief and looked up at Spike with a small smile. “Mind gettin' me a pillow partner?” He smiled back and quickly went to grant the request. When Twilight woke up later that day, Applejack went over the conversation they had before Twilight passed out and handed her a train ticket and her saddlebags packed for a three day vacation.

“You know...now that I've had some sleep, I've been able to think something over.”

“What's that sugarcube?”

“Well...You're the only pony I've told about my...situation with Fluttershy and you didn't react at all like I thought you would.” Applejack's eyebrow rose in amusement.

“An' how did ya think I was gunna react?” Twilight looked down at the ground, pawing at a patch of dirt.

“Well...I figured that with your background as a member of a family with deep traditions...” Applejack was silent, then burst out laughing, shocking Twilight.

“Yea, that's what I figured. Listen Twi, it's not a well known fact, but I myself prefer mares as well. In fact, I even have a marefriend.” Twilight's jaw nearly hit the ground.

“R-really? How long have you-”

“About a year now. An' before ya ask, the answer is yes; you do know her...kinda.” Twilight still couldn't answer due to her jaw still hanging. Eventually, it caused the orange pony to turn as red as her brother. “C'mon Twi...you're makin' me blush.” She said, putting a hoof on the unicorn's chin and raising her jaw up to close her mouth.

Twilight shook her head for a moment, absorbing the information, then asked, “Who is it?”

“Spitfire.”

“Spitfire? As in...captain of the Wonderbolts Spitfire?”

“Eeyup.” Twilight smiled and hugged Applejack.

“Thanks for trusting me with your secret. Also, congrats on the whole having a marefriend...it must be nice to have somepony to love...” Twilight's smile faltered and she couldn't help but look at the ground.

“Don't'chu worry sugarcube; we'll find Fluttershy and you can fix this. Maybe get your own marefriend.” Applejack said with a wink. Twilight blushed lightly and nodded. “Now go on. Your train'll be leavin' soon.”

“Oh! Right! Thanks Applejack.”

“T'ain't no problem Twilight. Now get movin'.” She gave the unicorn a shove and Twilight took off towards the train station while she began walking back towards Sweet Apple Acres to wake up a certain fiery pegasus who was probably still sleeping in her bed.

Twilight had had Spike send the Princess a letter that let her know that she would be in Canterlot for the next few days and of course the Sun Princess had insisted that she stay within the castle. Twilight wouldn't say no of course. She loved the castle and everypony in it; she had practically grown up around most of the ponies in the castle before she moved to Ponyville.

It would be nice to get her mind (somewhat) taken off the hunt for Fluttershy as she visited all the castle residents. When the train pulled into Canterlot, she stepped off and took a large breath. She couldn't quite explain it, but there was always a somewhat sweet scent that lingered in Canterlot that she always liked to smell before she did anything else. After she finished inhaling the scent, she began walking towards her former home. When she came up to the front gates, she smiled and said hello to the guards.

“Ahh, Ms. Sparkle. I was told by the Princess to inform you that Guard Captain Shining Armour has returned from his honeymoon and would like to see you at some point during your stay.”

“Shining Armour's back?! Yay!” She took off down the road that lead to his home with a speed that would impress even Rainbow Dash. When she had got there, she quickly rapped on the door several times, waiting for an answer. As soon as the door opened and she saw his white coat, she jumped at him, knocking him to the floor. “Welcome back!” He laughed and she hopped off him, allowing him to get up and hug her.

“Heya Twily. How've you been since I've been gone? Good I hope.”

“Of course. How was your honeymoon?”

“It was fantastic! Isn't that right honey?” Twilight turned and saw Cadence coming down the stairs, a smile on her face.

“Hello Twilight.” She lifted a foreleg and hugged Twilight, chuckling at the mare's excitement. “C'mon. Let's get something to drink while Shining Armour finishes unpacking.” She said, laughing as the stallion rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. “So what brings you into town? We just got back not even two hours ago, so it can't be to see us.” The pink pony said as she began to make tea.

“Well, I'm kind of taking a break. You see, a friend of mine went missing because of me so this past week I've been looking for her nonstop. My friend Applejack told me to come up here to take a small break while they keep looking for her.”

“Oh my. I hope you find her soon. But what did you mean that she went missing because of you?” Twilight didn't know how to answer. On one hoof, Cadence was family, AND her special talent dealt with love. However, on the other hoof, she didn't know where she stood on the whole “both of them being mares” thing.

“Oh...uh...we got into an argument and...stuff...” Twilight wanted to smack herself for not coming up with a better explanation. However, the princess in front of her seemed to take no notice.

“Oh my. I hope you find her soon.” Twilight could've swore she saw a glint of something in her sister-in-law's eyes, but dismissed it to the light. When the tea was finished, Cadence took a cup to her husband, then sat back in the kitchen with Twilight and told the purple unicorn of their honeymoon in Baltimare.

However, when the clock struck seven, Twilight politely excused herself and headed for her room in the castle after giving her family one more hug. By the time she made it to her room, Luna's moon was half visible and hanging in the sky. Twilight tossed her saddlebags onto the floor of her old room and stared out at the sky, watching as the stars began to fade into existence.

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts. “Come in.” She turned and saw Princess Luna walk through the door. “Hello Princess Luna. What brings you here?”

“Hello Twilight Sparkle. I simply wish to know if you liked the meteor shower or not.”

“Oh.” Twilight's mind quickly went into overdrive. 'Did she set up the meteor shower in order for Fluttershy to confess to me? She must have with the way she's smiling right now. Oh...what do I say? What should I do?' Question after question fired through Twilight's mind as fast as little jolts of electricity fired from nerve to nerve in her body.

“Oh? Why simply oh?”

“Er...the meteor shower itself was nice...but...”

“But...?” Luna asked. Twilight couldn't speak another word; she was too busy trying to figure out what to say. “Enough of this...beating around the bush; that is the term correct? Anyways, I wish to know if Fluttershy and yourself are together.”

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and said, “No...not exactly...” Luna frowned, and that was all Twilight needed before she felt tears in her eyes. “I messed everything up! I've been trying to fix it but I can't find her and let her know that I feel the same way she does!” She collapsed to the floor, sniffling and trying to stop the torrent of tears from escaping her eyes.

Luna laid next to her, nuzzling her sister's student and offering comforting words. When she had managed to calm Twilight down, she asked for what had happened. Twilight explained, trying to go through the part with Star Bright quickly so she didn't have to dwell on it (that and she really didn't want to have to explain THAT as well).

“And so I'm here taking a break even though I shouldn't be...” Luna stood up and walked away from Twilight and over to the large window.

“I see. Well, I shall keep my eyes peeled and perhaps I shall see her at night. On the other hoof, continue your search here. Who knows; she may have come here to get away from Ponyville.” Twilight nodded and thanked the princess, wiping her arm across her eyes and bidding the Night Princess fair-well. Twilight sighed and crawled into her bed and fell into a dreamless, restless sleep; a surefire way to know that the Princess of the Night was more than a bit upset with her.

Octavia awoke and the first thing she did was check on Fluttershy. The pegasus had improved little since she had arrived a week ago, but was gradually doing better, especially after the little “incident” she had had. Luckily, the pegasus was still asleep. “I really should send Twilight Sparkle a letter. Talking to her is the only thing that's going to help Fluttershy at this point.”

She said to herself as she closed the door. After eating, she left her home to begin her morning walk. However, this morning was different simply because she didn't get even two blocks away from the apartments when she saw the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. She made her way over to the unicorn, who was window-shopping at a candy store. “Excuse me, but are you Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight spun around and looked at the earth pony.

“Yes. And you are?”

“Octavia, first chair cellist for the Canterlot Orchestra.”

“Ahh, I thought you looked familiar. I saw you play a couple of times when I still lived around here. How can I help you?”

“Walk with me. We have much to talk about; namely Fluttershy.” Twilight's eyes widened and she nearly tackled the pony to the ground.

“Where is she?!” Octavia politely pushed the unicorn off and simply began to walk.

“Come with me. Like I said, we have much to talk about.” Twilight could only comply, her heart jumping around in her chest at the thought of being reunited with Fluttershy.

“How long has she been with you?”

“Since the beginning of the week. She showed up around eleven on Sunday and has been with me ever since.” She looked back at Twilight, giving a subtle glare to the lavender pony. “You hurt her quite badly Twilight Sparkle, whether you meant to or not.”

Twilight cringed; she had caught the light venom in the musician's voice and it had hurt. “She's barely eaten, she's only left my home twice, and early Wednesday morning I caught her...well...let me put it this way; what do you think a deeply depressed pony does to rid themselves of pain, even if it's temporary?” Twilight's brain quickly moved through book after book of psychology that she had read and the outcome she came to hurt her much more than the words Octavia used on her.

“She...hurt herself?” A nod confirmed Twilight's fears.

“With what? By Celestia's mane please don't tell me it was with something sharp.” Octavia said nothing and this time, Twilight stopped her. “Answer me.”

Octavia shook off the bookworm and said, “I had to hide all the knives in the kitchen.” Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof and commanded that Octavia take her to Fluttershy. “Of course, but I warn you; she's been improving but please take care with what you say. I may not be as educated as you are in matters such as this, but I do know that a pony that far into depression will stop at nothing to end that pain.”

Octavia was looking Twilight straight in the eyes by now.

“I understand.” The musical earth pony nodded and began the trek back to her home, hoping to both the Princesses of the Sun and Moon that the outcome would be favourable.

Fluttershy had waited until Octavia left to do anything. She knew that she looked like a train-wreck and she really didn't want Octavia to see her like that, especially not with the bandage around her right leg. The cut had only been deep enough to scar, but not bad enough to leave any lasting damage.

She had only done it three days ago and already the pain was dull to the point where she only felt a dull throb whenever she put weight on it. She walked out of the darkness she had called home for the past week and walked into the kitchen to eat the food Octavia prepared for her. She was eternally grateful that Octavia was so understanding of her depression.

Fluttershy sighed as she washed the plate her food had been on and risked looking in a mirror. What she saw wanted to make her repeat her action of three days ago, but knew that she wouldn't be able to; Octavia had hidden anything that was sharp or could be used to inflict damage upon herself.

Her usually luscious pink and flowing mane was ragged and knotty, her silky yellow coat was bunched up in some spots and it was beginning to grow in uneven patches, her beautiful crystal clear eyes were red and bloodshot, the dark circles around her eyes were a testament to all the nights she laid awake, wondering how she could fix what had happened, and her wings were due for a good preening.

She growled and raised a hoof to smash the reflection, but just before she struck, she took a deep breath and slowly lowered the raised hoof. Instead, she just turned and walked away. Just as she was about to head back into her room, she heard the door unlock and open. She gasped and dove into her room and closed the door, but kept her ear pressed against the door.

“She's in the room on the far end of the hallway. I will be back within an hour.” The voice obviously belonged to Octavia, but the next voice shocked her.

“Thank you so much Octavia.”

'Twilight? Here?! Oh no! I don't think I can meet her, I mean, I look terrible and I can't imagine how I must sound. I have to-' Her thoughts were cut off by a knock on the door, making her ear ring. She rubbed her ear for a moment as Twilight knocked on the door.

“Fluttershy? It's me, Twilight.” Fluttershy twisted the door handle, then quickly dove under the blanket to hide herself from the unicorn. The door opened all the way, allowing light to flood into the room and Twilight immediately began to take mental notes. 'Some feathers scattered here and there, the blanket and sheets are mangled like she's been tossing and turning, no light other than what I've let in...'

The last thing she noticed elevated her fear. 'Bandages...some fresh, others...not so fresh with a decent amount of blood...' She took a deep breath and gulped loudly. “Fluttershy? Are you awake?” Fluttershy wanted to stay silent, but knew she had to face this now.

“Yes...” The pegasus was thankful that her voice wasn't too raspy from the lack of use.

“So...” Twilight was unsure as to where she should go from this point.

“Why did you come here Twilight?”

“Originally it was to take a break from looking for you. Everyone insisted since I've been running myself to death looking for you.”

“Why? It's not like I matter to you.”

“That's not true! I-” Twilight was interrupted by the blankets on the bed being tossed aside and she saw Fluttershy for the first time in a week. She wanted to act on the urge to rush over and hug her, but the look in Fluttershy's eyes stopped her. They were almost cold, like she didn't care about anything anymore; like her reason for living had been lost.

“You what?! You were going to let me down gently, I could see it in your eyes Twilight Sparkle, so why are you here? And that little stunt you pulled? I thought you were a good pony but after you brought your coltfriend up to what was supposed to be our special picnic, you have the nerve to try and apologize!?” Twilight could feel the rage radiating off her friend like a tidal wave of emotion. She wanted to speak, but fear held her in place.

“I know I may not be much, but I can guarantee that I can take much better care of you than some prissy stallion like that! I would've given everything up for you, but now I don't want anything to do with you, so just go!” Twilight thought she had thought up a counter argument for anything Fluttershy had to say, but this completely eradicated anything she may have planned to say.

“Coltfriend? Fluttershy, you may be right about him being prissy, but he's not my coltfriend. He means absolutely nothing to me. And the reason I'm here is not to apologize, but to take you up on your offer. I've been thinking it over this whole past week and I've realized something. I've always loved you Fluttershy; when I first saw you and your birds getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration I knew that there was something special about you. This past week without you has just...I don't know how to describe it.

It's like you tore a piece of me away when you left. I couldn't do anything except try to find you, mope, or just sit there and be depressed. I couldn't even study, no matter how hard I tried. I know we live far away from each other and that we don't exactly spend a whole lot of time together, but just knowing that if I needed you that you'd be there was enough for my subconscious and myself, but when you left...it meant I couldn't reach you anymore and I was scared that I had lost you.

I was too afraid to say anything at first because my past experiences with love always just ended up hurting me, so I locked that love for you away deep inside me, but as I laid in my bed night after night, it came back from the depths of my mind and let itself be known...Please Fluttershy, I'm so sorry I made you go through all of this, but please...come back with me.”

By this point, tears were running down Twilight's face and dripping onto the floor. She didn't care though; it had felt good to get it off her chest and out into the open, but it didn't stop her from collapsing to her knees and crying. Fluttershy just stood there with an unreadable expression on her face.

'She...loves me too...she's always loved me, just like I loved her...She didn't mean to hurt me, his appearance was just ill-timed...' She stood there for a moment longer before walking up to Twilight. The unicorn didn't notice until her chin was in Fluttershy's hoof, making her look into the cyan eyes she loved so much.

“Fluttershy...” Twilight whispered. Instead of words, Fluttershy let her action speak; she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Twilight's. Twilight's tears continued to fall, but they changed from tears of sorrow to ones of happiness; of love and peace of mind. She closed her eyes as well and pressed her lips against Fluttershy's as well, relishing the feel of the pegasus's lips against her own once again, but this time they were both aware that the other was awake.

Twilight knew that time wasn't really slowing down, but she still felt the feeling of slowness as their lips parted and their tongues began to explore each others mouths in the fiery passion of inexperience and emotion. The unicorn could feel herself losing control of her emotions as her mind started to become fogged from the haze of lust as they continued to kiss, Fluttershy being the one to lead the dance for dominance within their mouths.

She felt surge after surge of pleasure run through her body as the thought of Fluttershy being dominant stuck in her mind. However, before things got more heated than what they were, a light cough broke them apart, both blushing the darkest red of the colour spectrum. It also didn't help that a small strand of saliva was hanging from their lips. Fluttershy reached up and severed it quickly as they both bashfully looked at Octavia. She was leaning against the doorframe, a light smile on her lips.

“Glad to see you two have made up. I just wanted to be sure nothing bad happened. I'll be in the kitchen when you two have finished.” She chuckled as she walked away and the new lovers just looked at each other with a sheepish grin.

“Fluttershy...that was...indescribable.”

“Then I must have done something right because your vocabulary is quite large.” Twilight couldn't believe it; Fluttershy had just made a joke and without stuttering once or anything. She couldn't help but snicker and Fluttershy followed after and soon they were in the midst of a giggling fit that neither could escape from. They both felt as if a large weight had been lifted off of them; their emotions had been laid bare to each other and had been accepted, allowing them to move on to the next step in life.

Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy before wrapping her hooves around the pegasus. “Thank you Fluttershy.” Fluttershy said nothing, instead opting to hug her new marefriend back.

“C'mon. We shouldn't keep her waiting.” Twilight nodded and they walked into the kitchen side by side. When all three ponies were sitting, they all agreed that their first rule of business was to clean Fluttershy up and make her more presentable. With the help of Twilight's magic and Octavia's eye for detail, they had quickly managed to clip the overgrown patches of hair and trim her hair back to its normal position before she bathed. After that, she spent the next hour preening herself (something that she had wanted privacy for) before they allowed her to leave.

“Thank you so much Octavia for putting up with me this past week. I'm sure I wasn't a very good roommate and-” Octavia held up a hoof to stop Fluttershy's words.

“It's alright Fluttershy. I'm just glad things worked out in the end for you. I hope you two are very happy together, and know that you're always welcome here.” Fluttershy smiled and began the trip down to the front gate but Twilight stayed behind for a second.

“Thank you for taking care of her. It means a lot to me, and to her no doubt, that she has a good friend like you.”

“Just be sure that it doesn't go to waste. I want her to be happy, and if she finds happiness with you, then I'm content. Now I believe it's your turn to take care of her.” Octavia said with a warm smile. Twilight nodded and thanked the musician once again before she took off after her lover. As the pair walked through the dimming streets of Canterlot, they walked in complete silence opting to just enjoy each others company.

Fluttershy had wrapped her tail around Twilight's and Twilight simply smiled, walking as close as she could to the pegasus. They took many different turns, not really walking to a specific destination. It wasn't until Luna's moon was on the decent that words were finally voiced. “Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you...do you really love me? I mean, you aren't just doing this because you feel bad for me?” Twilight shook her head.

“Of course not. I wouldn't ever do that kind of thing, especially not to you Fluttershy. I meant every word I said and I always will.” Fluttershy nodded slowly, then turned and hugged Twilight tightly, burying her face in the unicorn's mane.

Twilight tenderly nuzzled Fluttershy's neck and said, “C'mon. We should be getting back to the castle. I'm sure Princess Celestia is worried and I think we should go tell Princess Luna that it worked out for us. I'd hate to delay that.” Twilight shuddered and said, “A piece of advice; never upset Princess Luna. Last night was the worst night's sleep I've ever had.”

Fluttershy chuckled lightly and Twilight smiled as they continued to walk. By the time they had made it back to Twilight's room, Fluttershy was nearly asleep, leaning her head on Twilight as they walked to help keep her balance. “Excuse me, sir?” Twilight asked one of the nearby guards with a yawn.

“Yes Ms. Sparkle?”

“Could you tell everypony that we're back and that we'd like not to be disturbed?” She finished her sentence with another yawn and the guard gave a small smile.

“Of course. Have a good rest.” She thanked him and entered the room and after helping Fluttershy into the bed, snuggled up next to the pegasus and was asleep in moments.

(Author's Note: Hello everypony. Hope you enjoyed chapter 3 of the story ^^. Not much else to say, but I do want to thank Incognito for his tips on how to help with my terrible formatting. I just hope I did it right, cuz I have a tendency to not follow tips correctly...so...yea. Other than that, you know the drill; comment nicely and if you absolutely MUST criticize my work, do so constructively and not rudely mkay? Have a nice :insert time of day here:)