Rainbow After Rain

Rainbow After Rain

Chapter 2

The first day at Junior Speedster’s Flight Camp was often accompanied with the excited wing beats of many young pegasai, eager to try their hooves at stunt flying. Posters of the Wonderbolts plastered to the insides of cabins, alongside several action figures of the pegasai idols carefully placed atop nightstands. Of course, some pegasai are never as deep into the excitement as others.

“But… but… Dad… I-um, well. I don’t really want to go to flight camp…” The yellow filly squeaked.

“Nonsense! Of course you want to go to flight camp! Every Pegasus loves to fly, you’ll have a great time!” The oblivious stallion gestured to the check-in area. The pair made their way up to the desk, Fluttershy’s father lost in memory of his time at camp.

“B-but… I don’t really want to fly… If um, that’s okay with you…” Fluttershy buried her face in her mane, trying to look away from her still distracted father.

“Sure you want to fly! You’ll meet other pegasai and have a great time! I lov-“

“If you could just sign here, sir.” A few scribbles of a quill later and Fluttershy was shuffling to her cabin.

“Don’t worry! I loved flight camp, and you will too!” The shy filly turned her head back, managing a small smile at her father. She continued on her way, hooves dragging a bit through the thick clouds. Several slow minutes later, Fluttershy finally had made her way to her cabin. It was a fairly small building, even compared to places where other campers were staying. Upon walking through the doorway, the timid filly was met with a single bunk bed, and her roommate busying herself put up a myriad of posters on the wall. Tiptoeing towards the lower bunk, Fluttershy set down her saddlebags on the bed, with an obtrusive thump. Her roommate cocked her head back at the noise,

“Oh! Hey, I’m Rainbow Dash! I didn’t see you come in! What’s your name?”

“I-I… I’m… M-my name is Fluttershy…” Rainbow’s brow furrowed.

“Hey, what’s the matter? I don’t bite!” The cyan filly let out a small giggle. The more timid of the two couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the spirit! Do you wanna go out and fly a bit?” Rainbow beamed expectantly.

“W-well… I’m not really a good flyer…” Fluttershy blushed furiously.

“Oh that’s alright! I’ll teach ya’!” The excitable filly leapt off the top bunk, half leading, half dragging her new friend out to the open air.

~~~~~~~~~

“Come on, Fluttershy! You can do it!”

“O-ok…” Spreading her wings tentatively, Fluttershy glanced back at her cheering section. Her new friend beaming at her, the timid pegasus flapped her wings, and found her hooves on the cloud ring. Smiling to herself, she looked back towards Rainbow. Returning her gaze to the cloud, Fluttershy was head over hooves, and careening down a hill back towards camp.

“Nice going Klutzershy! They ought to ground you permanently!”

“Ha! My baby brother can fly better than you!” Fluttershy sunk to her knees. Her eyes blurring and her cheeks flushed, Fluttershy cowered behind her mane. A rainbow-colored streak sped by, stopping in front of the cowering pony.

“Leave her alone!”

“Oooh, what’re you gonna do, Rainbow Crash?”

“Keep making fun of her and find out!”

“You think you’re such a big shot? Why don’t you prove it?”

“What do have in mind?”

~~~~~~~~~

Celestia’s sun hung low in the horizon, painting Cloudsdale brilliant shades of oranges and pinks. The traces of the Sonic Rainboom now faded from the sky; the triumphant pegasus was now full of worry upon hearing of the fate of her new friend. Searching from cumulus to stratus without a trace of the timid pony, Rainbow shuffled back to the cabin, disheartened. Nearing the small structure, the Cyan filly was met with a myriad of birdsong.

“What the hay?”

“Ooh! That was really good that time! Let’s try it again!” Rainbow entered the cabin with a measure of trepidation, and found herself amidst a chorus of songbirds being conducted by a familiar filly.

“Fluttershy! You’re okay!”

“O-oh! R-rainbow! When did y-you come in?”

“Just now, but never mind about me. What happened?”

“O-oh, well… It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

“Well… okay.” Regaling Rainbow with her time spend down on solid ground, Fluttershy felt a goofy grin spread across her face. The both of them exchanged stories, grins, and giggles well after the Sun had set. The fillies lay on the floor, not a care in the world. A firefly lantern filled the room with a soft glow. The songbirds had long since flown back to their nests on the surface, leaving the two pegasai to chatter throughout the night.

“Hey, Rainbow…”

“Yeah, Fluttershy?”

“D-do you want to be best friends? I’ve never had one before…” Fluttershy squeaked, cheeks flushing crimson.

“I’ve never been one for that whole sappy ‘best friend’ business… but I’ll make an exception.” Smiles broke on the faces of the pegasai, once again bursting into fits of laughter.  Finally hitting the hay a short while after, the fillies went to sleep still wearing smiles.

~~~~~~~~~

The hustle and bustle of Ponyville was always focused in the marketplace. Mares and stallions both trotted about, looking for necessities and oddities alike. Though the crowds used to bother Fluttershy, she now found herself at home in Ponyville, though it took a considerable bit of adjusting. Happy memories lingering within her head, Fluttershy quickly made her way around, buying birdseed, carrots, and all manners of food.  Finished with other errands, Fluttershy looked about for a little gift for Rainbow. A good half hour of searching, and no closer to finding a gift, Fluttershy resolved to go ask Rarity for advice. The bell ringing as she walked in, the timid pony glanced around for a minute.

“Are you there Rarity? It’s Fluttershy!”

“Just a moment, I’ll be out in as soon as I finis- Oh, bother! Where did that measuring tape go this time?”

“It’s fine, Rarity. I’ll just look around for a bit.” Peering around at Rarity’s latest enthralling ensembles, Fluttershy found some oddly sporty clothing on display. It resembled the Wonderbolt uniforms, though the colors were much warmer than the originals. Shades of crimson and orange comprised the impressive outfit. Crowning the mannequin was a pair of weather goggles, though much sleeker than one usually finds.

“Ouch! Opal, drop that this instant!” A few short seconds of meows and falling supplies later, Rarity finally emerged. “Finished! What was it you needed, darling?”

“O-oh, nothing special. I was thinking of getting a present for Rainbow, but I can’t seem to find anything.”

“Rainbow? You mean you know where she is?”

“Well of course, she’s staying with m-… Nobody else knows where she is?”

“Of course we don’t! Nobody has seen the poor dear since yesterday afternoon, we’ve been afraid she was lost in the storm.”

“W-well, that’s partly true. She um… crashed. She’s doing alright, I’m taking care of her.”

“Oh, that’s a relief! She’ll be fine with you taking care of her.” Fluttershy blushed at her friend’s compliment.

“Oh, thank you Rarity. Do you have any ideas for a present I could get her?”

“Certainly my dear, right this way!” Rarity gestured at the clothing Fluttershy spotted earlier, “It’s a new outfit that one of the Wonderbolts requested, I’ve made a few extra so I could sell them to the pegasai living around here.”

“Ooh, it’s lovely, and perfect for Rainbow.” Fluttershy glanced at the price tag, “But it’s awfully expensive…”

“No need to worry about that, Fluttershy! It’s for Rainbow Dash, hopefully some good news will help her feel better! Besides, I owe you a favor for all the times you’ve helped me with Opal. Speaking of which….” A hiss sounded from Rarity’s flank.

“Opal, get down from there!”

~~~~~~~~~

“Rainbow, I’m back!” The house was quiet, save the familiar tweets of her birds. “Hm, I guess she’s still napping. She’s always been one for naps, that’s for sure. Though it is sort of cu-“

“Fluttershy, you said something?”

“O-oh! It was n-nothing.”

“If you say so. How long have you been back?”

“I just did. You seem to have been getting some much needed rest though. How about you go rest while I make you some food?”

“Alright then. See you in a bit, Shy.” Eyelids drooping, Rainbow made her way back up to Fluttershy’s bed. However, Rainbow soon found herself tossing and turning, searching for comfortable place on the bed for her to nap. Eventually, the cyan pegasus simply found herself staring at the ceiling for lack of anything more interesting. ‘I could’ve sworn she called me cute.’

‘That’s because she did.’ The thought brought an odd smile to her face, accompanied with her cheeks flushing red.

‘There’s no way she’d think that. I’m a mare, she’s a mare.’

‘So what?’

‘You know exactly what. Besides, I don’t really care for that sappy stuff.’

‘Maybe if you weren’t arguing with yourself I’d agree with you.’

‘Fluttershy is just a really good friend. She’s my best friend, but nothing more.’

‘We’ll see.’ Battling off her subconscious, Rainbow’s eyes finally closed, he head sinking into the feathery pillow.

“Rainbow, dinner is ready!”

“Alright, be down in a sec!” A soft humming sounded from the kitchen, followed with a clattering of dishes.  Hooves slowly clicking against the steps, Rainbow once again was greeting with the aroma of Fluttershy’s cooking.

“Oh, there you are Rainbow. Sit down, I’ll get you some in a second.”

“Thanks, Shy. What’s for lunch?”

“Dinner, actually.” Fluttershy giggled softly, “You were asleep for quite a while. It’s nothing special, just some simple vegetable stew.” A brimming bowl slid over to Rainbow, loud slurping immediately following.

“This is fantastic, Shy!”

“Oh, thank you Rainbow! I’m so glad you like it.” The cyan mare’s slurping subsided a few bowls later, Rainbow slumped in her chair rubbing her belly.

“Oh man, Fluttershy! I wish I could have your cooking every day!”

“Oh… m-my, thank you so much, Rainbow. I just have a lot of practice fixing food for my animals.”

“Those are some lucky animals.” Rainbow grinned.

“Aww, you’re sweet, Rainbow.” The cyan pony’s cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson. “Oh, it’s getting quite late. Are you feeling tired, Rainbow?”

“Not really. Should I be getting some more rest?”

“Well, if you’re not tired we can wait a bit. Anything you want to do?”

“Heh, I hadn’t planned that far ahead.”

“How about we just talk for a while? I-if that’s okay with you…”

“Of course it’s okay with me, Shy. What do you want to talk about?”

“N-nothing special, just talking. You know, like summer flight camp…” Fluttershy hid behind her mane, concealing a hopeful smile.

“You still remember that? S-sure, that'd be nice.” The timid pony’s smile widened, a small squeak following. Rainbow’s cheeks flushed a bright scarlet.

“Okay, I’ll start…”