Chapters Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
Everypony who knew them regularly described them as “fire and ice”, along with similar figures of speech, for the two radically juxtaposed each other, nearly being polar opposites.
The former was gregarious, bold, and, at times, a little presumptuous. Her impatience made her prone to become irritable easily. As an adrenaline junkie, she always wanted things to keep moving along as quickly as possible without any interruptions. She was not afraid to voice her opinions, no matter how rude they may be. Overall, she perfectly exemplified an extrovert.
The latter was withdrawn and timid. Her patience and gentle kindness delighted others, though her taciturn nature and phobia of attention often made conversation a bit difficult, making others become irritable easily. As a demure pony, she never felt comfortable when things were going too fast. She usually was afraid of voicing her opinions, worried about hurting one's feelings. Overall, she perfectly exemplified an introvert.
Their personalities clashed, but despite the differences, they were still the best of friends. The two Pegasi have known each other for a major portion of both their lives. Their lives crossed paths when they were fillies at Junior Speedster's summer flight camp, wherefore they developed a close, platonic bond.
Over the years, however, Fluttershy's feelings for her peer grew into something more. She looked up to her friend with great love and affection, seeing her as sort of a guardian and protector. She denied her emotions at first; the thought of everypony ridiculing her for being attracted to other fillies and mares got her worried. Her efforts were futile, though, and, before long, she accepted her feelings.
Rainbow Dash's love grew subconsciously, and has yet to fully blossom. Which leads into this story, one recounting the rainbow-maned Pegasus' revelation, as well as following Fluttershy as she works hard to change her shy ways so her crush will like her more.
It was sweltering, the air suffocatingly damp and muggy. Ipso facto, virtually everypony in the small village of Ponyville was inside their houses trying to avoid the awful heat outside. Though there was one Pegasus pony, named Rainbow Dash, who flew above the town at a slow and steady pace, a major change from what she was used to doing, which was soaring through the sky at high-speed. It was simply too hot and humid for that, though; the pony had left her cloud house only five minutes prior and she could already feel a film of sweat on her body. Rainbow Dash would have just stayed in her cloud home, but she was feeling the need to socialize.
So she scanned the town that she was gliding over in hopes that she would find some ponies out and about. Nopony was outside, though, much to her disappointment.
"Ugh!" she exclaimed. "Of all the days that I'm restless and wanting to do stuff, it HAD to be THIS day."
Rainbow Dash was in great condition and health, but the weather begun to make her feel exhausted and overheated. "Why does it have to be this hot?!"
She stopped her search for ponies outside and instead thought which one of her friend's places she could go to and cool off.
"Let's see," she mused out loud to herself. "Twilight's library is nice and comfy, but she probably has her nose in a book. Carousel Boutique is like an icebox; that would feel amazing!"
As she started to change her course, she stopped herself. "Rarity and I don't really have much in common. And she'll probably want to dress me up in her sissy clothes."
She resumed aimlessly flying in the direction had been. "Applejack is always working like a dog and probably will make me pitch in, so forget that. Pinkie Pie...Not in the mood. All that's left is—"
Her voice trailed off as she shifted her vision towards Fluttershy's cottage. She groaned. A part of her didn't want to go because of how shy and fragile her oldest friend was; sometimes she didn't understand how she was even friends with somepony so different. Yet, ever since the day they met, she always loved her company. She couldn't place her hoof on why, but something about the reserved infatuated. Not only that, but she felt like her guardian or protector, making sure she wasn't afraid or nervous.
She smiled to herself and glided down toward her friend's cottage, arriving at the front door in no time. Before knocking on the door, she made sure she looked alright. She checked her mane and tail, and sniffed her coat and hoofpit to make sure she didn't stink. She abruptly interrupted this process, however, and began thinking to herself.
Wait, why am I so worried about my appearance; I normally don't care about that sort of thing.
With a simple shrug, the thought was put aside and she rapped on the door.
"Just a moment," Rainbow heard Fluttershy say in her sweet, melodious voice. Soon her yellow friend answered the door.
"Oh," Fluttershy said softly. "Hello, Rainbow. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything is fine." Rainbow Dash replied as she trotted across the threshold into the cozy house.
"...Is there anything that you need?" Fluttershy inquired. Her tone confused the rainbow-maned Pegasus.
"No, I don't need anything." she answered, reclining down on the comfy the couch in the living room.
The demure pony awkwardly moved her forehoof across the wooden floor and lowered her head, her bubblegum pink mane shrouding half her face. The uncomfortable silence became too much for Rainbow.
"I came over to beat the heat, and to just hang out with you, ya know?"
"Oh...?" voiced the yellow mare, sounding a bit surprised as well as unconvinced with her friend's claims. "Really?"
Rainbow Dash looked up at her friend with one eyebrow cocked up in curiosity. "Yeah, really. Why would you think that I was lying?"
"I don't know," Fluttershy bashfully responded,. "It's just that...You're usually out playing and flying around; I would think that you'd want to see somepony like Applejack instead of, you know...somepony like me."
Rainbow was taken aback slightly. "We may be different, Fluttershy, but that doesn't mean I don't like you any less. You're my oldest friend—you're my best friend."
"Really?!" Fluttershy exclaimed in elation, a huge, beaming grin plastered on her face and her eyes sparkling with joy. She immediately frowned, though. After hastily composing herself, she nonchalantly spoke, "I mean—...really?"
Rainbow's eyes widened, shocked and puzzled at the sudden outburst that her friend just had. It was extremely rare whenever Fluttershy would ever raise her voice like she did just then. And the look on her face; it was happy, for sure, but Dash swore she was able to see a little glimpse of hope, as if Fluttershy was finally receiving a valuable prize.
The cyan Pegasus cleared her throat and tried brushing it off to make her friend feel at ease. "Yeah, you totally are. And it's not just because you're my oldest friend, but you're fun to be around and really kind and stuff like that, ya know...?"
And incredibly beautiful...
Dash swallowed and looked off to her side to avoid making eye contact with the other mare. Whoa...What was that all about? I shouldn't be thinking that way about another mare, let alone my closest friend...
"...nbow...Rainbow, you okay?"
"Huh?" Dash replied as she was pulled out of her daze.
"Oh, I was just wondering what you would like to do..." the yellow pony asked.
"Well, first of all, your place isn't much cooler than it is outside," Rainbow commented in annoyance. Then an idea popped into her head. "Let's go way up high in the sky and just lie on a cloud or something; it'll cool us off."
Rainbow Dash saw Fluttershy's face contort into one of discomfort and nervousness. "Oh, well...Umm...How high would we go?"
The rainbow-maned Pegasus grunted in annoyance; she didn't mean to hurt or pick on Fluttershy, but her reactions are something she struggles controlling.
"C'mon, Fluttershy. We won't go far up, I promise," she assured her shy friend. She mockingly added: "I'll hold your hoof along the way, okay?"
"You will?" Fluttershy replied in glee. Rainbow noticed that glimmer of hope in Fluttershy's eyes again. Just as before, Fluttershy quickly got herself together and pretended like nothing happened. She wanted to ask what was going on, but she didn't want to pry. Instead, she just played along with her and acted oblivious to the reaction.
"Nah, I was just messin' with ya."
"Oh, I see," Fluttershy replied, an extremely subtle hint of dejectedness in her soft tone. Once again, Rainbow felt tempted to ask her if there was anything wrong, but—not wanting to seem pushy—she just dropped it.
"Well, let's go then!" Rainbow shouted. In a flash, she was out the door and speeding off towards the sky.
"Oh, goodness! Wait for me!" Fluttershy called, galloping as fast as she could while flapping her wings. Soon she took off after her friend.
Fluttershy was stunned and surprised as she took off into the air following her friend Rainbow Dash. Nevertheless, she was overflowing with a mixture of pure joy and aggressive nervousness.
Oh my goodness! the yellow mare thought to herself. This is so unexpected! I mean, I didn't have anything planned for today other than the usual tending to my animals, but this is...this is SO much better! Oh, do I look alright? Does my breath stink? Oh dear, I must look awful! Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, maybe I should have stayed—
"Hey, Fluttershy! Try to keep up!"
The aforementioned pony lifted up her head to see her friend was a good distance away from her. It was moments like these when she wished she wasn't such a terrible flier. Times like these also made her wish she wasn't afflicted with acrophobia. So she focused on not looking down behind her at the receding ground, and flapped her wings harder in order to catch up to her friend.
Friend...
Fluttershy sighed solemnly to herself as she ascended higher into the atmosphere. Her life wasn't fantastic, but she wouldn't complain about it, either. Yet, there was one thing missing in her life, a long desired treasure of hers that, if she had it, would make her life absolutely perfect. That one thing—or one pony, rather—that she desperately longed for was the cyan Pegasus that she was chasing after.
Romance was never an extremely important aspect for the demure pony, but when she did dwell on her love life, there was only one pony that came to mind, and her name was Rainbow Dash. It all started out as an innocent crush when Fluttershy was in flight camp with her. She was stunned when the bold Pegasus stepped in between her and a group of bullies; nopony had ever stood up for her, let alone notice her. While she was timid by nature, she would still long for somepony to call a friend. So, needless to say, she was incredibly happy when Rainbow Dash's path crossed her own, even if she couldn't figure out how two ponies who were so different could maintain a steady friendship.
Her feelings grew exponentially from that point on, though. She started feeling funny whenever she was around Dash. Her heart would begin to race, and making conversation was even more difficult than it already normally was. At first she didn't want to believe that she was attracted to mares and not stallions; it felt like it was the wrong way to feel. Eventually, however, her emotions took control of her, and she accepted her feelings. Besides, she felt like she couldn't help but be infatuated with Rainbow Dash.
Her gaze went up toward her crush, who was now only a few meters in front and to the right of her.
"...You're my oldest friend—you're my best friend."
A frowned formed on her mouth as she thought about those words. Rainbow Dash was everything Fluttershy wished she was—confident, outgoing, bold, funny, smart, strong, and, not to mention, a phenomenally-skilled flier. Additionally, Rainbow's impatient nature would often cause her to get aggravated with the shy Pegasus. Fluttershy was unable to recall the number of times Dash had been frustrated and curt as a result of being annoyed with her. Because of these facts, she would frequently wonder why and how Rainbow Dash was remotely interested in being her friend, or even associating with her. Fluttershy herself was able to see that she was nowhere near as cool as Dash was. With those points in mind, all of Fluttershy's hopes of ever starting a romantic relationship with Rainbow Dash would dissipate, vanish, and evaporate into thin air.
And yet, there was still a mysterious force inside her that always kept pushing her forward. A force to maintain a microscopic shred of hope that her dream wasn't that outlandish.
"Yoohoo, Fluttershy! Where you going?!"
Fluttershy—falling out of her thoughts—swirled around to see that her crush was sitting on top of a small puff of a cloud. Two scarlet blush stickers appeared briefly on her cheeks.
"Oh, sorry," Fluttershy apologized as she went back down and sat next to Rainbow. "I was just thinking about some stuff..."
Rainbow Dashes face switched to an expression of mild curiosity. "What's going on? Is there anything wrong?"
Her friend's concern caused Fluttershy's blush to intensify, to which she turned her head slightly and covered her face up with her bubblegum pink mane.
"It's nothing, really, don't worry about it," she reassured her friend.
Rainbow looked at her incredulously, but decided not to pry anymore. "Well, you can always, ya know, come talk to me whenever you have any issues and stuff. I'm not exactly great at all that emotional junk, but I'll still be here to listen."
Fluttershy had to restrain herself from leaping onto Rainbow and plant a loving kiss on her lips. In her mind, she was stunned and elated that her friend had so much concern for her, but did her best to hold those emotions in as well.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash…" Fluttershy started. She quickly tried to come up with something witty and funny yet thankful to say. "That's so loyal of you—no pun intended."
Rainbow Dash gave a light giggle at her friend's joke. "Yeah, well, I AM the element of loyalty for a reason, ya know?"
You certainly are, Rainbow Dash.
Those words stayed within the confines of her mind, however, and an empty gap in the conversation started to grow, making the tension uncomfortable. Rainbow sighed contently to herself as she lied on the soft cloud. Fluttershy did the same and lied next to her crush. The temptation to scoot just a bit closer to her was overwhelming, but she resisted it. She also did her best to keep her wings from becoming erect from all the excitement.
"It sure is much cooler up here," she remarked, neither to herself or Fluttershy.
Suddenly becoming aware of the temperature, Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it certainly is. This was a lovely idea."
With that, a silence in their dialogue entered, but this time it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. Rainbow Dash's mind drifted off instantly, but Fluttershy was still on edge a bit, as they both closed their eyes and soaked in the sun.
Her mind may have wandered, but Fluttershy's wings were still very aware of the fact that Rainbow Dash was lying down only a mere inches away. They continued to extend out until the left wing tickled the side of Rainbow. Fluttershy's eyes opened wide when she realized this.
"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, Rainbow!" she exclaimed as she scrambled up and moved to the other end of the cloud hastily. Fluttershy expected that Rainbow wouldn't have been freaked out or uncomfortable, but she just wanted to make sure.
Though, she was right; her friend burst into a fit of laughter.
"Okay, Fluttershy," she said in between bits of giggles. "Now I'm really curious as to what you were thinking about; whatever it is, it must be pretty interesting." With that, Rainbow jokingly gave her friend a coy smirk and a playful wink.
Fluttershy's cheeks turned to a vibrant shade of red. She felt like she was going to faint. Her mane fell in front of her face as she composed herself real quick. "It's nothing, Rainbow...you wouldn't care, anyway."
"C'mon, Fluttershy. I told you already; you can tell me anything."
The yellow mare sat and bit her lip, unsure of what to do next. She was nervous as to what would happen if she were to confess her feelings to Rainbow. It would crush her if she didn't return the feelings, and it would destroy her heart if it were to break their friendship. Despite her fears, she felt that she needed to tell her, that she needed to be brave and let her know the truth.
This is your chance, Fluttershy; you can do this.
