Flitter's Friday

"Hey guys."

Cloudchaser raised her voice as she approached with Flitter in tow. Thunderlane and Blossomforth were both sitting together in awkward silence on a large blue blanket emblazoned in the middle with the Wonderbolts emblem, spread off to the side of the clearing. Four plates had been set out, each with a hearty salad of mixed greens and carrots, and with a muffin set aside for dessert. Occasionally, a happy, indistinct voice carried down from the hill from another of the other small groups yet remaining, not quite disrupting the ill-ease hanging over theirs.

"Hey," Thunderlane greeted, suddenly very interested in a distant cloud and its passengers.

"Hiya," Blossomforth followed, having a difficult time keeping her eyes on Flitter's face instead of openly staring at the empty space between her hind legs.

Flitter couldn't bring herself to return their greetings in kind or even really look at them. While it had taken all of 5 minutes for her and Cloudchaser to help one another get clean enough to be seen back at the gathering, it had taken another fifteen for her older sister to carefully convince her of the importance of actually talking things through with their friends. As far as she'd been concerned, it would have been far easier to live the rest of her life without setting foot outside of their house again. Instead, she found herself sitting down against her sister's side opposite the two ponies she least wanted to see her right now, bow once more neatly tied in her long sea-blue mane.

"So, hey," Cloudchaser was the first to break the heavy silence that had descended on the four of them. "I'll just come straight out with it. Please don't tell anyone about this. About Flitter, or about us… together. Even if you can never look at us the same way or..." she sighed, her stony expression tightening, "even if you'd rather not talk to us again after this. Our life here together in Ponyville is all we've got."

"Secret's safe with me," Thunderlane answered quickly to this earnest plea from his old friend. She was taken aback at his near-immediate response, and he smoothed down the two-tone hair along the back of his neck. He sat uneasily, his wings rustling restlessly at his sides, but after a moment's repose he continued, "Hey, you know I'm no good at this sorta thing. I was just thinking... Well, you've always stuck with me through whatever featherbrained stunt I've thrown myself into. And I couldn't imagine Ponyville without you girls. Both of you."

Flitter shrunk as she felt his familiar eyes settle on her, sure he'd never see her the same way, or look at her like he had beside the quiet stream an eon earlier that day. She had to try very hard not to sniff, but smiled wanly at the firm, assuring press of one of her sister's hooves beneath a wing.

"Thanks, TL," Cloudchaser said.

"Altius volantis," the stallion replied simply, but with all solidarity of a hundred shared drills and contests.

"Altius volantis," she returned. Cadets stuck together.

Three pairs of eyes turned towards the fourth pegasus at the blanket.

Blossomforth answered with a singular audible crunch as she had seen fit to dig into the salad at her hooves now that all four ponies were present. "Muh?" She regarded their baffled gazes with her own. She continued to chew her salad even as their expectant gazes gradually turned hostile, unbothered as she mulled over the request, or maybe just the taste of the salad dressing. Finally, she nodded a few times, mouth still occupied. "Mmhm!"

"Whew…" Cloudchaser sighed enormously, allowing her brave facade to slip for a vulnerable gratefulness. "I… wasn't exactly sure what I'd do if you guys said otherwise."

Thunderlane gave her a weak but supportive smile, and Blossomforth swallowed her salad. Everyone looked Flitter's way when she finally found her voice, speaking up softly as her own eyes fell to the untouched food in front of her, "It's… It's… Not too weird?"

"Oh, it's super weird," Blossomforth answered with a giggle. Flitter winced and Cloudchaser's wings snapped out aggressively, but the white mare continued on, unperturbed. "But who cares? Or, well, maybe some ponies do. But I don't."

"Clearly," Thunderlane grunted and rolled his eyes. Blossomforth just shrugged.

"Some folks'll say anything is strange. Believe it or not, even I get called strange from time to time," she said, and she smiled Flitter's way. "You guys have always been super close. I never figured, you know, rutting close! That's nuts! But as long as you girls aren't like, hurting each other, I'll just say 'it's a family matter' and leave it at that."

Cloudchaser stared in disbelief, but Flitter finally smiled at her friend's offbeat encouragement. The older twin opened her mouth to offer a comment of her own, but Flitter spoke up again, the pressing question tumbling out before she could stop it, "And, the… Other thing?" She swallowed, but made herself look Blossomforth in the eye. "You're okay that I'm," her tongue couldn't quite form the word, so she settled on, "different?"

"Oh, that," Blossom blurted, halfway to taking another bite of her salad. "Well, sure! That's the easy one. We've been gal pals forever, Flitter. I'm not gonna let a little thing like a penis get betweenus."

Flitter trembled as a giggle very nearly bubbled up past the cold shackle of anxiety that had been constricting her throat the entire conversation, smiling weakly even as her eyes misted up.

"Hey!" Cloudchaser suddenly barked angrily, gaining the stunned gaze of each of the other equines. "It's not that little." Her sister leered intensely her way, and she returned the look with an easy smirk.

Thunderlane suddenly burst out laughing. The rumbly, uproarious strain of his laughter stunned Flitter who, after everything, expected to feel hurt by the sound. Instead, the lilting notes of her own laughter soon joined with his. The cheerful duet of their voices dispelled what remained of the oppressive atmosphere hanging over them, and the next few minutes thereafter were spent with each eating in an amiable quiet broken only by the crunching of salad or the occasional re-emergent giggle.

"I do gotta admit though, I am curious… How do you, well, keep it so well-hidden?" Thunderlane was the first to finally speak up again. He both looked and sounded concerned this particular question might make Flitter upset, but she surprised even herself by smiling brightly over at him.

"There's a special enchantment on my ribbon," she told him simply. The easy freedom of this answer made her heart flutter like it had spread its wings for the first time.

"Well shoot. Magic like that's hard to come by," he said, seeming to look at the accessory with a newfound interest. He traded one of his broad grins for one of her small, unguarded smiles. "Heh, don't suppose you can tell me where I could get somethin' like that?"

"And just what would you need a pretty pink ribbon for, big guy?" Cloudchaser cut in.

"Hey, a stallion can accessorize too!" His golden eyes glinted as he glanced away, and the twins giggled knowingly in tandem.

"I'm a little curious, myself," Flitter started, drawing the stallion's gaze back to her face. She felt her cheeks sting at the painfully fresh memory of what she had been sure was a terminal case of humiliation back beneath the trees, but continued, "Why did you guys come looking?"

"Ah. That," Thunderlane mumbled.

"I told him I saw you two hurrying off into the woods," Blossomforth butted in, wiping the crumbs of a recently destroyed muffin from her muzzle. The siblings looked to one another before four alike eyes settled on Thunderlane. He mussed his own mane with one of his hooves.

"I… Wanted to apologise for earlier," the stallion admitted with a sigh. "When Blossomforth told me that, I figured I must've upset you before. Just, heh, well… it was really nice seeing you open up, y'know? And the way the light played on your coat. I just got ahead of myself as usual, and must've come on really strong."

"Wait, you came onto my sister?!" Cloudchaser bristled, her wings fanning threateningly. It was only the touch of Flitter's hoof at her side that seemed to stay the fired-up flyer.

"You're one to talk!" Thunderlane shot back. Flitter's eyes widened as she looked between her Cloudchaser and her old rival as the two glared at each other, the spans of their wings on full display.

"Heh, got me there." Cloudchaser couldn't hold her chuckle back any longer, and the old glint of mutual respect softened their stony leers. She relaxed again, but settled one of her outstretched wings possessively about Flitter's shoulders.

"Anyway," Flitter spoke, regaining their attention, "it wasn't like that. It was very flattering, honestly. Maybe too flattering." She flicked her ears in an attempt to keep them cool as she thought back to the warmth of his coat and the powerful muscle bristling beneath it. "I was really, really surprised, though. I always thought you had a thing for Cloudchaser."

"I mean, don't get me wrong. 'Chaser is really hot." Thunderlane took his time to assess the pegasus in question. "She's just, I don't know, sorta coltish."

"Thnargy, too," Blossom chimed in, halfway through Thunderlane's muffin.

"Snarky also, yeah," Thunderlane concurred.

"I'm right here, y'know," Cloudchaser snarked. The lopsided grin he gave her confirmed he knew exactly that.

Flitter giggled softly, "I like those things about her."

That finally made the red in her sister's cheeks tease through her fur.

"All that said, hey, if you girls ever wanna include a stallion in your fun..." Thunderlane's grin widened as Cloudchaser's eyes narrowed.

"Thunderlane," she snarled.

Another press at her side drew her eyes back towards Flitter, and her gaze softened as they looked at eachother. Flitter glanced to Thunderlane and widened her smile just a touch before looking back to Cloudchaser. Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow, and then knitted her brow as she also gave him a short-lived glance.

"Uh," the stallion cleared his throat.

Cloudchaser canted her head a bit to the side, and Flitter's ears rose. Finally, Cloud's ears rose too, and she rolled her eyes fondly. Then, both sisters looked at Thunderlane together.

"We'll think about it," Cloudchaser stated seriously, but it was Flitter's sweet smile that made him swallow.

"Cool," he said, not particularly cooly. Flitter nearly giggled as she noticed him shift a bit, uncomfortably arranging his hind legs protectively in a small adjustment the other two mares weren't likely to catch.

"Cool," Cloudchaser confirmed. She traded one last glance with her twin, and they both climbed to their hooves.

"Leaving already?" Blossomforth said, in the middle of retrieving a book from the nearby picnic basket. Its cover was dramatically emblazoned in red 'Shadow Spade', and the subtitle was too small and too long for anyone else to read.

"Yeah," the older twin said, rolling her neck. She smoothed down the back of her mane, which was still rough with saliva and mingled with twigs. "Weeee… really need to wash up properly, heheh."

"Then maybe take the rest of the night at home. I've had such a long day. I'm totally drained," Flitter sighed, feeling shaky on her hooves, yet somehow lighter than ever.

"Well hopefully not completely totally drained," her sister retorted, her tail snapping against Flitter's cutie mark.

"Cloudchaser!" Flitter yelped, but before she could retaliate, the coltish pegasus took wing, leaving the hapless mare with the fading sound of her laughter. She stretched her own wings to pursue, but stopped as she noticed her friends looking up at her. Blossomforth's amused smile was bright enough to be seen over the edge of her novel cover, and Thunderlane fixed her with a reserved version same half-cocked smile that could be at once so charming and so irritating.

"Thank you two," Flitter finally managed to force out. "I know it must be weird, but… just to have two more ponies that accept me, even after… well, it means a lot. You're the best friends I could hope for."

"Hey, I always sort of figured you had some kind of deep, hidden secret," Blossomforth said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, already looking back down at her book, "and now I find out you have two! You'll make tragic heroine yet."

"Any time, Flits." Thunderlane's smile softened.

Flitter beamed at her friends, and tried to wipe the haziness from her eyes. "I should catch up with CC before she uses all the hot water." With that, the pegasus took to wing, determined not to embarrass herself one more time by crying in front of them.

"Well, that was a waaay more interesting picnic than last time," Blossomforth chirped, turning a page. "Crazy day, huh?"

"You're telling me," Thunderlane grunted, collapsing forward onto the blanket. He watched as one indigo speck circled the other in the distant sky, before moving in unison towards Ponyville.

Only when they were completely out of sight did he lower his gaze. His lingering, bittersweet smile suddenly faded. "Hey, where'd my muffin go?"

Blossomforth buried her muzzle in her book. "Mmff, I'ummo," she swallowed, "Maybe Cloudchaser got it?"