Cloud Nine

by ThatPonyNextDoor

Rating: everyone
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Romance, Fluttershy, Wonderbolts, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 3589

It's a FlutterDash shipping....

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have been lifelong friends since Junior Speedsters Flight School. One day Twilight Sparkle gains the assistance of Fluttershy to help her explore an ancient ruin in the Everfree Forest. After Twilight returns, panicked from what happened; Rainbow Dash saves Fluttershy from the ruin. After that, things change between the two

Published 2012-09-09 05:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-11 18:13:23 UTC

The First Day

The Day opened like any other. The birds were chirping and the sun was glowing over all of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was taking her daily afternoon nap on a lone cloud in the sky. Dozing off after one of her many training sessions in her pursuit to become a Wonderbolt.

Rainbow's eyes shot open from yelling on the ground. She looked off the edge of the cloud to see Pinkie Pie hopping up and down and shouting her name enthusiastically. Pinkie noticed that Rainbow finally woke up and started yelling something about a party. "RAINBOW! I'M THROWING A PARTY TODAY!" Pinkie repeated until yielding an answer from Rainbow.

"Okay okay, what time and where?" Rainbow replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Sorry for waking you but it's tonight at the Carousel Boutique. Rarity wants to celebrate that her sales are doing well." Pinkie started. "I thought it would be a great time to throw a party" Pinkie finished before saying her goodbye and trotting into the shopping district of Ponyville.

Rainbow closed her eyes trying to fall back asleep. After a few minutes she realized it was futile and groaned while crawling out of her temporary cloud bed. Flying back to ground level and walking into the direction of town. By the time Ponyville came into view, it was a little past noon. A couple.hours before another one of Pinkie's signature parties.

Rainbow stepped inside one of her favorite coffee shops, StarBucks. She trotted up to the counter and ordering a cup before spotting Fluttershy walking into the store herself. Rainbow's instinct lead her to surprise Fluttershy with a hello. They have been long time friends after all.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Rainbow started, taking Fluttershy off guard who didn't expect to see her there.

After a slight jump and a quiet squeal Fluttershy started speaking in her quiet mellow voice. "Oh hey Rainbow Dash, i um... didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah I could kind of tell when you jumped back and squealed." Rainbow said jokingly, giving Fluttershy a friendly smile.

Fluttershy let off a slight blush and a small smile. It eventually caught both of the ponies attention that RD's drink was ready.

"I'll... see you at the party i guess." Fluttershy stumbled over her words until stepping up to the register herself. Rainbow got her drink, said her goodbyes to Fluttershy, and walked out of the shop.

The skies changed from blue to an orange tint as the sun was starting to set. Rainbow stretched her wings and considering to fly until ultimately deciding to walk. She trotted through Ponyville while taking sips of her drink. After about half an hour she changed her pace to more of a jog. Heading towards Carousel Boutique for Pinkie's party.

She was the last to arrive to the party. Rarity boasting about her recent sales in the past few weeks to Applejack and Twilight. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy playing 'Eye Spy' in the corner.

"Hey guys" RD said walking up to Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Both of them too preoccupied in their game to notice Rainbow. "The... curtains?" Fluttershy guessed. "Took you long enough hehe" Pinkie Pie giggled. Rainbow cleared her throat to catch their attention.

"Oh hey Dashie! Glad you could make it." Pinkie said in her hyperactive voice. "We were waiting for you to get here so we could start 'Pin The Tail On The Pony'" Pinkie trailed off and headed towards the far end of the room.

"Hi Rainbow." Fluttershy quietly said.

"Hey Fluttershy, you know that theirs no need for you to be so shy around me. After all we've been friends since like Jr. Speedsters Flight School!" Rainbow said.

"I know... it's just my personality." Fluttershy said with a small smile.

The party went on for a couple good hours. By the time the party ended even Pinkie was tired. Rainbow stepped into the cool midnight air. The sky was completely blacked out by then. She looked up for a couple moments until hearing a small voice behind her.

"Can you umm.... walk me home tonight?" Fluttershy stumbling over her words. A quiet second went by between the two. "Yeah of course." Rainbow said, surprised by the question.
"May i ask why?" She asked curiously.

"Well it's... it's dark and my cottage is all the way on the other side of Ponyville." Fluttershy said, not trying to sound cowardly.

A quiet thank you came out of Fluttershy's mouth and the two headed to her cottage. The streets were shrouded in darkness at that time of night except for the occasional otaku staying up to do whatever they do. All that was heard was a gust of wind everyonce in a while.

"Rainbow, can i ask you something?" Fluttershy asked to break the long silence.

"Yeah Flutters?" Rainbow said.

"Do you think the rest of our friends care about me?" Fluttershy asked.

"Course they do. Where would you get that idea? You know how protective me, Rarity, and Pinkie are of you!" Rainbow replied in a defensive manner for some reason. Her reply seemed to hush Fluttershy until an apology forced itself out of Rainbow. "Fluttershy... sorry if that sounded harsh. It wasn't supposed to be." Rainbow said with a reassuring smile.

Fluttershy returned a smile and the rest of the walk was silent. By the time they arrived to the cottage, all stars were out and gleaming over the dark landscape. "Here we are." Rainbow yawned.

"Thanks Rainbow. I guess i owe you one now." Fluttershy said jokingly.

Rainbow smiled, just then her stomach growled from all the time she's been spending on Wonderbolts training.

Fluttershy giggled. "Well umm why don't you stay for dinner? I mean if it's okay with you?" Fluttershy suggested shyly.

"You do realize what time it is right? Well if you insist then why not." Rainbow joked. "I never would pass up free food."

Fluttershy prepared the food and they sat down at the wooden table in her main room. "So what's the greatest flyer in Equestria been up too?" Fluttershy asked not trying to sound too nosy.

"Wonderbolts try outs are soon. I'm gonna try out this year!" Rainbow exclaimed with a huge smile.

"Well I'm really happy for you Rainbow... and so is the rest of our friends." Fluttershy replied.

"Thanks Fluttershy, don't worry about if i become some famous athlete, i won't forget about any of you in Ponyville." Rainbow reassured.

"Thanks" Fluttershy answered, her reply answering empty in a way.

"Promise me that all of you will at least try to come to some of my races?" Rainbow asked.

"I promise" Fluttershy answered. The reply was followed by a long silence in the room.

After a few minutes Rainbow's eyes started to drift towards Fluttershy's. An awkward second passed by until Fluttershy instinctively asked "Rainbow, what are you doing?"

Rainbow's brief second of zoning out ended with that question. Seconds passed by with Rainbow trying to think of a valid answer. She eventually realized that she didn't know the answer herself.

"Sorry I... i don't really know what got into me." Rainbow returned a small blush and an awkward laugh. "I better go before it gets even darker." She got out before making even more of a scene.

'What's with me tonight?' Rainbow thought to herself. She gave out a loud sigh while flying off for the night.

———————————————

Rainbow awoke to the sound of Pinkie Pie giving her a wake up call like usual. She yawned and flew down.

"Yeah Pinkie?" Rainbow muttered.

"Twilight needed you earlier but you were asleep so she just went with Fluttershy." Pinkie answered quickly.

"So?" Rainbow asked tiredly.

"They should have been back like an hour ago!" Pinkie replied with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Maybe Twilight had some kind of scientific stuff she wanted to try?" Rainbow suggested.

"They traveled to a ruin in the Everfree Forest! Why would she want to stay any longer than planned!?" Pinkie asked, this time showing a lot of worry in her sentence.

"Twilight seriously thought it was a good idea to go with only Fluttershy? Alright which direction?" Rainbow asked trying to hide her own worry for the two.

"Hey I'm going with you!" Pinkie demanded.

Just a few feet from the edge of the forest they saw a silhouette run towards them.

"Thank god your here!" The silhouette yelled from a distance. The shadow ran into open view which revealed to be Twilight.

"What happened! Where's Fluttershy!?" Pinkie asked panicking.

"While I was getting samples we must have tripped a wire the ancient ponies left behind!" Twilight started explaining.

Just like that, Rainbow Dash was off in a flash flying through the dense forest. Until eventually arriving at the mouth of the vegetation covered ancient ruin.

Rescue

Rainbow Dash eased her way into the forgotten ruin. Her hoofsteps echoed of the damp walls. The sound drops of water bounced off the walls. She reached the center of the opening corridor where paths branched off in several directions. She waited a minute to listen to the small noises and traveled up the hallway of the leftmost path. She followed the twists and turns of the halls. Dead end after dead end until finally arriving in a dark room.

"Fluttershy, Fluttershy! it's me! Rainbow Dash!" She yelled through the room. 'No answer' she thought to herself until hearing a low growl on the far side of the room followed by heavy breathing just right to the room's opening. "Fluttershy..." Rainbow whispered to the direction of the heavy breathing.

Fluttershy inched herself towards the direction of Rainbow Dash and the door. "Thank you." Fluttershy whispered to Rainbow. She stopped once the growling was backed up by other voices starting their low snarls. The sounds grew closer and closer to their position. "Hurry up Fluttershy!" Rainbow started to yell in a rushed voice.

"I'm going, I'm going." Fluttershy started to tear up in her slow sidesteps to the door. "They're getting close!" Rainbow pressed. "Once you get to the door... we're gonna sprint towards the exit okay?" Rainbow Dash precipitated. Several tense moments passed by with the constant growling reminding them the danger.

By the time the two pegasi were gathered by the door exit the creatures in the dark sprinted towards them. The girls made for the exit, following the same odd halls that Rainbow ventured through earlier. Their adrenaline pumped through so fast it went by in a blur. Next thing they knew they were running towards Ponyville when their fatigue caught up with them.

"Thanks for... saving me." Fluttershy barely managed to say between the quick panting. Fluttershy nearly collapsed before alarming Rainbow. "You need help Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, not too tired from the run out. "Yeah." Was all Fluttershy managed to say.
Rainbow wrapped her right wing over the back of Fluttershy's. She stood right next to the other to steady them both. The sun started dipped behind the mountains turning the sky into a mix of orange and light yellow. They started their trek back to Ponyville. Even spotting Zecora's hut on the way. Eventually making it into the familiar setting of the area around Fluttershy's cottage.

"Well uh... we made it." Rainbow stated.

"Hey uh... thanks for... bringing me back." Fluttershy said in a way to make sound less cliché. Before RD could properly reply Fluttershy interrupted with "You wanna do something?"

"Like what? It's pretty dark already." Rainbow asked stunned by her normally reserved friend.

"I know a hill where... we can watch the stars tonight... if that's cool with you?" Fluttershy shyly asked.

Rainbow again surprised by the statement. "Uhhh.... sure. Why not?" She said.

Fluttershy let off a small smile and took her friend to the hill just mentioned. The two sat on the top of the hill, leaning their backs against the wood of the old oak tree overlooking the town. By then the sky turned into a slightly dark violet. The bright lights of the stars lit the night sky. The first few minutes remained quiet although nothing much needed to be said.
The smile from Fluttershy turned into a full smile while staring at the stars. The lights gleamed off and lit up her face.

"Why have I never seen you smile like that?" Rainbow asked.

"You haven't?" Fluttershy questioned although her smile didn't die down.

Her smile radiated around and Rainbow's smirk grew into a smile too. "You should smile more! They're almost as contagious as Pinkie's constant smiles!" Dash joked. The two joked until it slowly turned into playful roughhousing. The two wrestled as a game until finally Rainbow found herself the victor. Standing over the blushing face of her friend.

"Hehe i call a rematch!" Fluttershy giggled. In the middle of Rainbow's little speech, Fluttershy flipped her onto her back. This time finding herself over the other.

"Hey no fair. You caught me off guard." Rainbow said but was too comfortable to do anything about it. The two stayed still then Fluttershy turned over. The two lying next to each other instead watched the sky quietly. Fluttershy turned her head to face Rainbow's.
After a moment of hesitation she pushed her head forward. The two shared a passionate kiss, their muzzles interlocking. Their tongues interlaced and the seconds felt like minutes passing by. The strand of love was eventually broken by Rainbow Dash who shot back to question it.

"What are we doing?" Rainbow asked questionably.

"I thought it was pretty self explanatory." Fluttershy responded. Her previously open and happy personality replaced by her shy and quiet one.

"What would the others think of us if they found out?" Rainbow asked, turning towards Fluttershy who yielded no response. A disappointed "Sorry" was all Fluttershy could muster before getting up and leaving. Leaving Rainbow to her thoughts on the hill. She sat their for a good ten minutes until being shot with a sudden pang of guilt and realization. She started running down to Fluttershy's cottage which by then the doors were locked.

'She's right, who cares what others would think.' She pondered her thoughts. 'I'll tell her tommorow. Tommorow...' she concluded before heading back to her own home for the night.

———————————————--

Rainbow was wide awake, even before Pinkie Pie managed to wake up. She shot out the front door faster than a bullet. Arriving at Fluttershy's cottage in ten seconds flat. She knocked on the door, which a couple seconds later opened slowly. Fluttershy's face appeared in the doorway. Fluttershy's eyes shot open with surprise once feeling the warmth of Rainbow's lips on her own. The two pulled away for a split second.

"I thought.... you?.... I.." The lack of words brought the two in for another kiss. This time lasting a lot longer than the previous two. The world around them melting away, unsure of how long they kissed for. By the time they snapped back to reality they were both panting heavily. Spotting a very confused Twilight and Pinkie standing on the lawn of the cottage.

"We... weren't sure if you were okay or... not but looks like..... you two seem fine." Twilight mumbled out.

"I... didn't know you two were fillyfoolers!?" Pinkie said aloud.

A bright red blush swept over both of the pegasi's cheeks. "Is their a problem you have with me and my..." Rainbow paused to search for the right word until just settling with the term "Marefriend."

Marefriends

"Well do ya!?" Rainbow Dash repeated again but sounding angrier this time.

"No no no! Of course not." The question caught a surprised Pinkie off guard.

"Good, Just making sure." Rainbow responded, this time in a calmer voice. "Yeah.... we didn't mean to offend you two." Twilight added which seemed to calm Rainbow down completely.

"Tell you what. I'll get something planned for you two later!" Pinkie stated before dragging Twilight out of the cottage. Closing the door behind them leaving the only light source squeezing through the shutters of the windows. "Marefriend?" Fluttershy giggled.

"Eyup haha." Rainbow Dash said. "Wanna bet the surprise that Pinkie is working on is just another party?" Rainbow asked jokingly.

"Yeah... think we should uh... tell the rest of our friends about us before the party." Fluttershy hesitantly said.

"Sure, you sound worried. Are you afraid Rarity or AJ aren't gonna approve or something?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm not worried about Rarity but Applejack is kind of... Southern..." Fluttershy mumbled quietly.

"Southern....?" Rainbow asked.

"You know, she's a farmer. She's been raised to hate Fillyfoolers like us." Fluttershy said sadly.

"Hey I... I know Applejack would never disapprove of us. I'll bet you anything that she would just be happy we found somepony to love." Rainbow stated confidently while shooting Fluttershy a reassuring smile.

Fluttershy smiled back but any replies eluded her until settling with a simple "Okay...."

"If your so nervous about this then how about we tell Rarity first?" Rainbow asked while the two made there way out of the door.
———————————————

After a quiet walk through Ponyville's walkways they found themselves at the doorway of Carousel Boutique. A knock and several short moments later Rarity answered the door. "Hello Fluttershy, Hello Rainbow Dash. Did you need something?" She asked.

"Yeah... can we talk to you... privately?" Asked Rainbow after noticing all the customers in the shop. Rarity gave a puzzled expression before leading them into one of the several storage rooms on the far back of Caruosel Boutique. Fluttershy's nervousness building bigger by every second passing.

"So what is bothering you two?" Rarity asked worriedly.

"Okay uh so.... remember the whole incident at that ruin?" Rainbow Dash began asking.

"Yeah." Rarity replied.

Fluttershy's nervousness became apparent to her marefriend. She put her arm around Fluttershy's shoulder to calm her. Rainbow spoke again saying "Well.... after that...." Rainbow paused (possibly for dramatic effect) and gave a quick smile to Fluttershy. "We're.... Marefriends now." She finished.

Rarity gave her own pause before speaking. Which was then followed with a joyful smile and, "I'm so happy for you two, it's not everyday two of your best friends fall in love!"

Fluttershy's nervousness was now replaced with a sigh of relief, planting a kiss on Rainbow's forehead. "I'm not sure if you heard that Pinkie is throwing a party for me and Dashie?" Fluttershy brought up.

Rarity gave her own quick laugh, "you know dear, I've never heard you refer to Rainbow Dash as 'Dashie'." The statement gave Fluttershy a deep momentary blush. "But anyways yes, Pinkie stopped by this morning to let me know of a party. I had no idea it was about you two."

"Yup!" Rainbow laughed.

"You two have to tell me the whole story, I mean just two days... that was pretty quick." Rarity joked.

"Sorry Rarity, we'll tell you at the party okay? We have to get going." Fluttershy explained as her and Rainbow left the room. They started their walk towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"That went well." Fluttershy said with a hint of being surprised in her voice.

"Rarity would never disapprove of us." Rainbow replied. "So now we just need to let Applejack know." She then said.

This statement seemed to freeze Fluttershy in her tracks which forced the two to stop for a second. "Rainbow.... I'm not sure if we should.... let her know." Fluttershy nervously said.

"Fluttershy, for what reason would she hate us about this." Rainbow tried assuring her but before Fluttershy responded, Rainbow kissed the shy pegasus. Although in reality it lasted a couple short seconds, the passion between the two made it feel like minutes. Fluttershy's worries faded away for the moment, feeling the warmth of Rainbow's lips against her own. The two pulled away for a breath.

"I promise you." Rainbow said simply. The two then started making their way towards the farm.
———————————————

The two found their way towards the porch of AJ's farm house. Rainbow looked to give Fluttershy an assuring smile again before knocking on the door. None other then Big Macintosh answered the door.

"Eyup?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Can you go get Applejack for us." Rainbow asked herself.

"Eyup." Big Macintosh said before closing the door. Then being open a couple seconds later by Applejack.

"Howdy Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy. Need something?" She asked.

"Yeah can you close the door and talk to us outside?" Rainbow asked, turning to her right to see Fluttershy's stress multiply quickly.

"So what da ya need to tell me that's gettin Fluttershy hassled?" Applejack asked.

Fluttershy's anxiety seemed to start effecting Rainbow as well.
"So remember the.. the story about the ruin?" Rainbow said.

"Yup."

"Well afterwards.... me and Fluttershy discovered a little something... about us." Rainbow quickly said.

"And what's that?" Applejack questioned.

"That me and her are.... are...." the last word giving her trouble.

"...Marefriends." the words came out mumbled from the voice of Fluttershy instead of Rainbow. Fluttershy held her breathe to hear AJ's reply.

"What's that...?" For a second ah thought ya said..." She didn't finish, her friends faces told her the answer.

An awkward silence came up between the three.

"Ah will see ya at the party I guess. I gotta go." Applejack quickly responded before disappearing behind the door of her house.

Rainbow Dash looked over to Fluttershy. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes. "Fluttershy... it's fine. C'mon we should head to the party before it gets too dark." Rainbow tried encouraging her. The two started walking off towards Ponyville Square.