Books and Butterflies

Chapters

Crushes and Rainbows
Dreams and Sweets
Sweaters and Scarves

Crushes and Rainbows

The brilliant sun that dominated Equestria’s skies shone down upon a beautiful garden, which contained everything from daisies to marigolds, and roses to blueberry bushes. If it was in a garden somewhere, it was probably here too. It was a wondrous sight for its sole inhabitant, a yellow pegasus that went by the name of Fluttershy. She always enjoyed the times she was allowed to wander her garden, finding it to be very peaceful and relaxing. She held a small watering pail within her mouth, which she used to water the various flowers and plants that she took care of. She hummed a soft, gentle tune, which would’ve lulled anypony to sleep that was close enough to hear it, had anypony else actually been there.

She came across a small flower patch, one which was rather unique given that its flowers had rainbow-colored petals and a cyan stem. She began to water the flowers, and kept her eyes locked on the patch. Studying the flowers, she realized she had no idea what type of flower they were, and had never seen them before in all of her many visits to the meadow. Though they brought confusion, along with that came thoughts of a pegasus with a rainbow mane. This wasn’t the first time Fluttershy had the pegasus on her mind, whose name was Rainbow Dash, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Fluttershy had long since developed deeper feelings than friendship for her friend, and as such she had caught herself dozing off in the middle of the day to think of Rainbow Dash.

There were many things that Fluttershy admired about her friend. From her unbelievable courage to how great of a friend, and possibly more, that she could be, there was no reason Fluttershy wouldn’t like her. Though occasionally she could be a little mean, Fluttershy always knew she was to blame for those moments. It was always whenever Fluttershy was doing poorly, and ended up disappointing Rainbow Dash. She strived to become better for her friend, but could never manage to impress her no matter how hard she tried. She could only hope this wouldn’t ruin what little chance she already had to get with Rainbow Dash…

As Fluttershy continued thinking about her friend, they quickly changed from simple, happy thoughts to much more questionable fantasies. She could feel her cheeks begin to burn and her wings unfurl themselves from her sides, standing straight up. Such a thing would normally be highly embarrassing, but with nopony in sight, she had nothing to worry about.

Her head began to tilt to her side ever so slowly, and she started to drool as her fantasies became much more enjoyable. The world around her meant almost nothing compared to Rainbow Dash, and she hadn’t noticed the watering can slipping from the grasp of her teeth, falling onto the patch of flowers that she had been watering. She had been watering them for far too long, most of the petals had become soggy and started to droop. The watering can falling onto them only made things worse, damaging the flowers even further.

This worried Fluttershy, as some of her precious flowers had been hurt! She prepared herself to try and save them, but realized there was nothing that she could do. She let out a sigh and hung her head low, watching the flowers closely.

“Hey, cheer up!” Her ears picked up the sound of somepony calling to her, and she looked up to see who it was. Of course, it had been the one pony who was previously dominating her thoughts. She immediately felt embarrassed, as she believed that her crush had seen her ruin her flowers.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, walking over to Fluttershy’s side. She picked up the watering can with her mouth, walking over to a shed which Fluttershy kept most of her gardening tools inside. She set the can next to the shed, and almost immediately trotted over to the yellow pegasus. She wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy, hugging her tightly and wrapping a single wing around Fluttershy, whose cheeks had rapidly changed in color. They had gone from their usual yellow to a deep shade of pink, something Rainbow Dash found amusing.

Fluttershy was not used to this type of attention, and she stood still in absolute surprise at the fact that she was receiving such affection, and from Rainbow Dash no less. Rainbow Dash pulled away from Fluttershy and walked in front of her, staring deeply into her eyes. She gave Fluttershy an affectionate nuzzle, and pushed her down onto the grass. She ran her hoof through Fluttershy’s mane, stroking it gently and whispering into her ear, “I l-”

Fluttershy nearly jumped out of her bed after waking from the dream. She panted heavily, wings fully erect and flapping wildly. She lay back down, going back through her dream in her head. She wished she could actually experience such an encounter with Rainbow Dash, and possibly go even further than where she had gotten in her dream. A few minutes later, after having replayed the dream several times in her head, she let out a long sigh and crawled slowly out of her bed. As much as she enjoyed her dream, and even with a good eight hours, or possibly even more, of sleep, she was still extremely tired. The best thing she could do at the moment was take a nice, warm shower, and she went to do just that.

Even in the shower, Rainbow Dash continued to fill her thoughts. All sorts of scenarios, some romantic, some steamy, and some downright perfect played through her mind. These caused her to spend much more time in the shower than usual, and as soon as she noticed this, she turned off the shower, taking a step outside of it. Immediately, she was greeted by a sudden change in temperature, and she began shivering uncontrollably. She reached for the nearest towel, using it to dry herself off.

She walked outside the bathroom, carrying the towel on her back, and went downstairs to check on all of her critter friends, and possibly get some breakfast, provided she had the time. Before she made it downstairs, however, she noticed the picture she had taken with all of her best friends. They were positioned very close to each other, with Fluttershy lying down at the bottom of the picture. Her friend Applejack was to her left and Rarity to her right. Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn who was probably Fluttershy’s closest friend out of the group, was sitting directly behind her. Normally, Fluttershy would be spending much more time with Rarity than the rest of the group, but Rarity had been very busy in the recent months with designing clothing for some of Canterlot’s finest ponies.

To Twilight’s right was Pinkie Pie, and to her left was…

Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy stared at her for much longer than she had the others, and her mind immediately became shrouded with doubt that Rainbow Dash would actually return her feelings. This happened often, but that fact didn’t help that it hurt Fluttershy greatly each and every time it did. She started to tear up a little, and wiped away the tears with her hoof as soon as she noticed them, looking away from the picture. If she stared any longer, continuing her thoughts, she probably would’ve broken down completely right then and there.

Not only was she sure that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t return her feelings because of how weak she was, she was also worried about the simple fact that Rainbow Dash was a mare. A fillyfooler is what she’d be called, a label that she didn’t want. Simply being attracted towards somepony of the same gender would cause problems for her, if anyone knew. Though Rainbow did accept her for it, she had no way of knowing whether her crush was one as well.

Fluttershy decided lingering on such thoughts was not a very good idea, and tried her best to ignore them. However, they seemed to insist on staying, and there was no way Fluttershy could force them out. She didn’t bother to look at the clock to check what time of day it was, but decided that now was a good of a time as ever to get some breakfast. With such a simple thought, she went from thinking about Rainbow Dash to wondering what to eat for breakfast. It was a good thing, thoughts about the cyan pegasus always ended in some ridiculous fantasy or with Fluttershy feeling a little down. Besides, she was hungry too.

Looking around her kitchen, none of the food available to her at the moment captured her interest. She figured she would just go out somewhere to eat for the morning, and walked outside to do just so. Upon opening her front door, she was greeted with a cool, relaxing breeze of fresh air. The weather already seemed to show as if today was going to be a wonderful day, and she smiled, trotting towards Ponyville.

Business had been very slow that day, something Pinkie Pie was rather unpleased with. Not a single customer, or even any of her friends, had taken a step inside the bakery at all. Not having anypony to talk to, or even much of anywhere to go, being limited to the small area that was behind the counter, she figured she could find at least something to keep herself from succumbing to absolute boredom. Without even looking, she pulled a bouncy ball from behind the counter; tossing it on the counter and watching it bounce up and down.

Just like everything else would eventually, the bouncing became boring, and she stopped the ball with her hoof. She picked it up, tossing it back behind the counter and letting it roll back off to wherever it came from. She impatiently tapped her hooves on the counter in front of her, trying to find something else to do. She couldn’t leave and go out to find her friends, customers could arrive at any moment and if nopony was there to help them, the Cakes would end up very upset with Pinkie. As unlikely as anypony was to actually show up…

The boredom that was building up had exhausted her to the point where she was beginning to feel sleepy. She closed her eyes and passed out for a few moments, but woke up to a large thud and the feeling of her forehead slamming against the counter. She looked up in hope that there was at least somepony outside, and noticed two of her closest friends, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, walking past the bakery. She never saw the two ponies alone together, and wondered what they were up to.

“Dashie! Twilight!” The pink earth pony shouted out to her friends, waving at them in an attempt to grab their attention, “Come inside, please!”

The unicorn and pegasus exchanged mildly confused glances, but both decided that they might as well see what Pinkie wanted.

“Hey Pinkie! What’re you up to?” Rainbow Dash called to Pinkie as she walked inside, Twilight following closely behind.

“Oh nothing really, that’s why I called you guys in here! It’s been really boring all day, and I need some company,” Pinkie disappeared behind the counter, jumping back up with a tray of cupcakes in her hooves, “Here, for saving me from boredom! Take only one, alright?

“Thank you, Pinkie.” Twilight spoke with a smile as she reached out to the tray, grabbing a cupcake. Rainbow Dash mimicked the action shortly afterwards.

Pinkie put the tray away and leaned closer to her friends, placing her hooves on the counter, “So, what have you two been up to?”

“Oh, nothing much. We’ve just been walking around.” Rainbow Dash replied while taking a bite from her cupcake.

“Sounds a lot more fun than my day so far…” Pinkie sighed, resting her head on the counter in front of her.

“Oh, right! Pinkie, have you seen Fluttershy at all recently?” Rainbow took a step close to Pinkie, tilting her head a little.

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie’s head rose from the counter, and she held a hoof up to her chin, “No, I don’t think so… Why?”

“We haven’t seen her in a couple days, and Twilight here,” Rainbow Dash gestured her head towards Twilight, “Seems to be a bit worried, so I thought I’d help her.”

Twilight’s worried about Fluttershy, huh? Hmm… Pinkie smirked, letting out a small giggle.

“What’s so funny, Pinkie?” Rainbow tilted her head a little more, feeling rather confused.

“Oh, nothing…” Pinkie looked towards Twilight, her smile growing even larger, “Hey, if you’re looking for Fluttershy… Why don’t you go to her cottage? She’ll probably be there, if anything.”

“Well…” Twilight was ready to finish her sentence, but stopped and slapped her hoof against her face, “Wow… Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, looking over to Twilight, “I’d at least expect you to think of that…”

“Whatever. Well, thanks for the help Pinkie! I think we’ll go check on Fluttershy now.”

“And thanks for the cupcakes!” Rainbow added in.

“Wait! Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Pinkie, raising a hoof to stop the rainbow-maned pegasus from leaving.

“What is it, Pinkie?”

“Do you think you could stop by tomorrow? I’ve been trying out some new recipes, I was hoping you could try them out for me.”

“Of course, Pinkie! See ya later!”

Not too long after she began walking towards Ponyville, Fluttershy noticed two ponies heading in her direction. She wasn’t quite able to tell who they were at first, so she stopped and watched them carefully, trying to see who they were. After a while, she was able to identify the two ponies as her close friends Rainbow Dash and Twilight. Seeing Rainbow Dash made her nervous, but with Twilight being there, she knew there was no way that she could do anything that she would like to do with Rainbow Dash.

Nonetheless, a smile formed on her face. She started to slow down a little, and tried her best to seem as if she hadn’t noticed the two ponies. This worked for the most part, as Rainbow Dash noticed her shortly after she had slowed down. Rainbow nudged Twilight with a hoof, who looked up to see Fluttershy, and almost immediately sped up to meet her. Rainbow Dash simply rolled her eyes, flying after the unicorn.

Twilight slowed down when she was within speaking distance of Fluttershy, and soon came to a stop. Fluttershy did the same, and looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying above Twilight.

“Hey Fluttershy! How’re you doing? You’re up late.” Rainbow smiled, waving at Fluttershy.

“I’m, umm… I’m fine, I guess…” Fluttershy managed to say, the volume of her voice barely audible.

“Are you sure? It’s about already a couple hours past noon! Normally you’re up and running errands at this time, or hanging out with one of us. Besides, we haven’t seen you in a couple days!”

“It’s already that late? Oh dear…” Fluttershy began fidgeting her hooves nervously.

“Would you like some help with anything? Taking care of your animals, perhaps?” Twilight joined into the conversation, tilting her head slightly.

“Oh, thank you Twilight, that would be wonderful.” Fluttershy calmed down a little, smiling at Twilight. Not a moment later, her stomach let out a loud growl.

“Have you eaten anything yet?” Rainbow asked Fluttershy, descending to the ground.

“No, I haven’t…” Fluttershy directed her eyes towards her hooves.

“Well, how about we go and get something to eat? Twilight can take care of all of your animals.” Rainbow suggested to the yellow pegasus, glancing at Fluttershy’s cottage in the distance, before turning back to look at her.

“Umm…” Fluttershy’s mind drifted off to thoughts of her and Rainbow Dash going on a date, an ideal situation that she didn’t find likely to become true. She hadn’t noticed herself zoning out, and Rainbow Dash gave her a confused look.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow waved a hoof in front of her friend’s face.

“Huh?” Fluttershy snapped back to reality, jumping backwards and falling onto her back. She rolled onto her belly and stood up, shaking her head.

“Are we going or what? Twilight’s already left.”

Fluttershy glanced around, trying to look for the unicorn. Sure enough, Twilight had already gone off to the cottage. “Oh, umm… Sure! Where did you want to go?” Fluttershy smiled a little, eager to go on, what she considered at least, a ‘date’ with Rainbow Dash.

“Well, there’s this one place that seemed pretty cool, I thought we could go there.”

Twilight had just recently begun making her way towards Fluttershy’s cottage, having taken up the responsibility of taking care of Fluttershy’s animals while the pegasus went out for lunch with their friend, Rainbow Dash. Admittedly, she was a little jealous, having wanted to go with Fluttershy herself, but she knew that things probably wouldn’t have gone well between the two. Her infatuation with the yellow pegasus would most likely cause her to do something stupid and highly regrettable, given that she had little experience with relationships at all.

She sighed and dismissed the thoughts, looking up to see Fluttershy’s cottage directly in front of her. She used a simple telekinesis spell to open the door, poking her head inside to see if any of the animals were around at the moment. Luckily for her, everything had been peaceful. She took a step inside, immediately greeted by the calm air that always seemed to reside in Fluttershy’s cottage. She took in a deep breath, and the scent of the cottage reminded Twilight of the pegasus, but it also held the various scents of animals in it as well.

She took a good look around the cottage, making sure she knew all the ins and outs of the pleasant little home. She created a mental map with the locations of everything from mice holes to where each room was, where to find the food for the critters and even the exact position of each window. Just as she had decided the map she had created was good enough, she noticed a small white mouse crawl out from its cozy little den.

It immediately noticed the intruder, sitting completely still and hoping it hadn’t been noticed. Unfortunately for the little mouse, Twilight had indeed seen it. The unicorn walked towards it very slowly, leaning her head down close to it. She gave it a friendly smile, whispering in the calmest tone of voice she could possibly make, “Hello there.”

The mouse stared up at her, and shortly after made a small squeak, running away from the unicorn. She had made a pretty poor decision, choosing to chase after the mouse in an attempt to calm it down. This didn’t do anything good, only drawing other animal’s attention to her. They were all sent into a state of worry, not liking when an unfamiliar pony was there without Fluttershy. Twilight tried her best to calm down each and every one of them, waving her hoof and them and speaking in a very nervous tone, “It’s alright…”

No matter how hard she tried, all the animals would do is run away from her. She let out a sigh; looking up to the clock and noticing not even five minutes had passed since she had arrived. A frown formed on her face, and she slowly began walking towards the group of animals, “Ugh… Today’s gonna be a long day…”

“Thank you, sir…” Fluttershy looked up towards the waiter who had just brought them their food, two daisy sandwiches, one for Fluttershy and the other for Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy took a moment to glance around, noticing that the restaurant was largely empty, except for a white unicorn who Fluttershy had recognized as Vinyl Scratch. The unicorn was passed out at the bar, likely due to drinking a little too much.

Fluttershy’s ‘date’, as she considered, but she knew that her friend would never think of her that way, sat across the table from her. Rainbow had already started on her sandwich, enjoying it greatly, which was made obvious by the almost large smile she wore on her face. Fluttershy suppressed a giggle, instead resorting to smiling back at the blue pegasus. She picked up her sandwich as well, taking small bites as the two sat in silence together.

She had just downed her second bite when she set the sandwich back down onto her plate, looking up at Rainbow Dash as the all too familiar feeling of nervousness flowed through her. She knew it was time, either she said it now, or she may never run across a chance like this again. At least, that’s what she had thought at the time, not considering that they were close friends and would probably eat together like this some time again.

The yellow pegasus broke the silence a few seconds after she opened her mouth, her eyes darting from Rainbow Dash to the window, from there to her sandwich, and from the food back to the pegasus sitting in front of her, “Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah?” Rainbow took another bite of her sandwich, “What is it Fluttershy?” She swallowed after she finished her sentence, looking over to her friend curiously.

“Umm…” A very faint blush began to form on Fluttershy’s cheeks, something neither of the pegasi noticed, “I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now…”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow, “Huh?”

“I… Kind of have…” The volume of Fluttershy’s voice dropped with every word, and she could now easily notice her blush by the burning sensation she felt in her cheeks, “A crush…”

“Aww… That’s great, Fluttershy!” Rainbow smiled, happy for her friend, but it still didn’t answer any questions. Just why did she decide to tell me? Nothing I can do about it. She thought to herself, and after she set down her sandwich she raised a hoof, “But, why are you telling me? Do you want my help or something?”

“No, it’s not that…” Rainbow Dash’s help could’ve done a lot for Fluttershy, but she knew better than to ask for help from her crush.

“What is it then?” Rainbow rested her head on her hoof, wondering when Fluttershy would actually give her an answer. She didn’t want to push her friend to answering right away, so she figured it would be best to just wait a little longer.

“Nevermind…” Fluttershy shook her head and brought her eyes to look back at the table in front of them. She looked at her unfinished sandwich, and pushed her plate forwards a little, no longer feeling hungry.

Knowing that this would likely just go on forever with no answer, Rainbow decided to ask the shy pegasus, despite her previous feelings about the entire situation. Letting out a mildly frustrated sigh, she spoke up, “Fluttershy, just who is your crush, anyway? Do I know them?”

“Oh, yes, you know them… Quite well, actually…” Fluttershy began to tremble, already regretting that she had brought up the subject.

“Oh, I do, huh? Hmm…” Now it was time to guess. Rainbow was sure she could get it right on the first guess, and so she shot out her first answer, “Twilight?” A smirk grew on her face, but it disappeared as soon as Fluttershy shook her head. “Ah…” Rainbow Dash leaned back, resting her head on her hooves and thinking to herself, Well, at least I won’t have to compete with her… The smirk made another appearance, and Rainbow was confident with her next guess. “Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy shook her head again, and Rainbow closed her eyes and jumped back into her thoughts. Well, that doesn’t leave much else… Fluttershy’s interested in mares so that means somepony like Big Mac or Thunderlane wouldn’t be an option… She groaned, deciding she would just wait to see if Fluttershy would tell her.

Rainbow had learned of Fluttershy’s interest in mares back when they were in flight school, when they were only little fillies. Luckily for Fluttershy, Rainbow didn’t seem to mind, unlike almost every other pony in Equestria. She had asked the yellow pegasus if she had an interest in somepony, and though she didn’t get an answer right away, she did eventually find out that Fluttershy had been crushing on one of the other fillies in their class. Even more so, they had ended up in a short-lived relationship for a while, though they remained very close friends.

“Umm… Would you mind if I just told you?” Fluttershy shifted her eyes upwards to look at the pony in front of her, who quickly gave a rather eager nod. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts together, Rainbow Dash… You… She tried to get the words out, but no sound escaped her lips, save for a barely audible squeak. A wave of embarrassment crashed over her, and she quickly lifted up a hoof to point at Rainbow Dash.

At first, Rainbow was confused by the gesture. She didn’t know what Fluttershy was trying to say, but after staring at Fluttershy’s hoof for a few seconds and realizing where it was pointing to, it dawned on her. Fluttershy liked her.

“You… You like me?” Rainbow leaned across the table, speaking in a rather hushed whisper to ensure that nopony else could hear. Her friend returned a quick nod, along with a rather red face. “Wow… Didn’t expect that, that’s for sure…”

I didn’t expect it either… I’m surprised I could tell you at all… Fluttershy wished she could talk back, but her body wouldn’t allow her to speak. She brought her head up to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes, waiting for an answer.

The answer that arrived was the one she expected, but not the one she desired. “Sorry… I don’t exactly feel the same way, Fluttershy. I hate to break it to you, but… Sorry, Fluttershy,” she turned away as she finished, not wanting to see her friend’s reaction.

“Oh…” She knew that was coming, but could’ve by no means prepared herself for it. Not wanting to come across as somepony who is emotionally weak, she did her best to hold back tears and any other reaction she could’ve made, but that didn’t stop a sole tear from dripping down her cheek.

Although they had barely finished their food, Rainbow Dash knew that they should probably leave before her yellow friend burst into tears. She called for a waiter, subsequently paying for their meal and walking outside with Fluttershy, who couldn’t bring herself to look at the pony who had just rejected her.

Rainbow Dash brought her wing across her friend’s back, leading her back to her cottage. Nothing would be better than the comfort of her own home, right? She thought to herself. She glanced over to Fluttershy, who’s head was drooping down low, her eyes fixated on her fore hooves. “Come on, Fluttershy. Let’s get you home.

The two pegasi arrived at the cottage not too long afterwards. Rainbow gave her friend the best hug that she could offer, hoping it would be enough to make up for what she said. Although she knew it wouldn’t, she figured that it wouldn’t hurt to at least hope it would. “Sorry Fluttershy, I really didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but…” She let go of Fluttershy, resting a hoof on her shoulder, “I’ll talk to you later, okay? Right now I gotta go.” Turning around, the rainbow-maned pegasus flapped her wings and took to the sky, quickly disappearing from Fluttershy’s sight.

Fluttershy turned around shortly afterwards, deciding that she might as well go inside her cottage. Twilight was probably still there, and maybe she could talk to her unicorn friend about her problem. It was getting cold as well, another incentive for her to go inside. She could hear some rather unusual sounds coming from the cottage, and approached it with caution and curiosity. Nudging the door open with her nose, she placed a hoof indoors, already comforted by the warmth she could feel.

What greeted her upon entrance of the cottage was her friend Twilight attempting, rather poorly, to calm down the animals. Fluttershy assumed Twilight had caused this, most likely unintentionally, which really wasn’t that unlikely. She couldn’t help but giggle at the situation Twilight had gotten into, and thought it best to intervene. A sweet, calming tune filled the room, lasting only a few seconds, but its effects were immediately clear.

The animals calmed down, rushing over to the familiar caretaker, quickly forming a crowd around her that made it nearly impossible for her to move. Fluttershy smiled at them, thankful that she at least had a group of friends who loved her. Redirecting her attention to Twilight, she lifted up a hoof to move, which the animals responded to by moving out of her way, allowing her to take a step forward. “You’ve had your hooves full, haven’t you?”

“That’s for sure… These animals are really difficult to handle, and they don’t seem to like me. I don’t know how you manage to take care of all of them, Fluttershy.”

“It’s not as hard as you think, or at least I think so… But don’t worry; they’re just not used to seeing you here. They’re not that familiar with you, since they’ve either been outside or sleeping whenever you’ve come to visit… Everyone, this is Twilight Sparkle. She’s a really nice pony, and one of my best friends… So there’s nothing to worry about, okay?”

Twilight smiled somewhat nervously and raised a hoof, waving at the animals to greet them, “Hello!” The gesture was returned by most of the animals, which seemed a little strange to Twilight given their earlier behavior, except for one relatively grumpy rabbit.

He didn’t like the thought of somepony being in the cottage to distract Fluttershy from caring to his every need. He shot Twilight a glare and hopped away shortly after, to which she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Oh, don’t mind him,” Fluttershy spoke up to try and reassure her friend. “He’s just jealous of you is all.”

“Jealous?” Twilight glanced to her side, looking at Fluttershy. He’s jealous? Of what?

“You, of course,” she answered Twilight’s question swiftly, and the unicorn’s expression went blank. "He knows he won’t get as much attention, now that one of my friends is here…”

“Oh, right. That’s what you meant…” Twilight shook her head, quickly dismissing her thoughts.

“Of course, Twilight… Why, is there anything else for him to be jealous of?” Fluttershy tilted her head curiously, wondering what her friend meant.

Careful, Twilight. “No, nevermind…” She sighed, mostly to herself.

“Hey Twilight?” Hope she doesn’t hate me for this…

“What is it?” Twilight turned her head to look at Fluttershy, curious as to what she wanted.

“Can we talk, please?” Worry was evident in her voice, which brought the same feeling to Twilight.

“Of course, what would you like to talk about?” Twilight wore a smile on her face, hoping it would quell whatever was worrying Fluttershy.

“About Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy’s focus was redirected to the floor.

Dreams and Sweets

“Hmm… I wasn’t expecting you to say that. What about her?” Twilight asked the pegasus in front of her, feeling rather confused. Did Rainbow Dash do something?

“She, I, her…” Fluttershy made an attempt to speak, but could only manage to get out a few words, which were by no means a coherent sentence. It didn’t help Twilight’s confusion at all.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” She frowned slightly, leaving a worried expression on her face.

“Nevermind…” Fluttershy’s eyes drifted off to her hooves, and she already regretted trying to talk to Twilight about what had happened. Maybe I can change the topic… Probably not.

“Come on Fluttershy, please tell me. If there’s anything that’s troubling you, I’d like to… Assist you.” Twilight was determined to help her friend, and although Fluttershy would normally be grateful for this, she wished she could lie down on her bed and soak the sheets with her tears. Crying had always helped her feel better before, and she believed it would help another time if she was allowed to.

The pegasus sighed in defeat, bringing herself to look back up at her friend who only wanted to help. There’s no other option… I guess I have to. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking, “I’ll tell you, but could you please, please not tell anypony?”

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, your secret is safe with me,” she said as she gave a reassuring smile to Fluttershy, hoping it would help. The pegasus’s special condition only increased Twilight’s interest in what had happened between the two pegasi.

“When we were eating, I told her how I… Felt…” Fluttershy wanted the conversation to be over already, but knew she couldn’t leave Twilight without an answer. Come on Fluttershy, get yourself out of this, one side of her mind spoke to her, to which seemingly another side answered, I can’t.

“How you felt? Felt about what, exactly?” The bookworm’s mind brought up a multitude of possible answers to her own question, and she tried to find which one would be the most likely, not unlike trying to find the correct pieces to put together in a jigsaw puzzle. Putting two of those ‘pieces’ together, she found what she believed to be the most likely answer. Oh…

“How I felt about her…” Fluttershy clarified, and the volume of her voice dropped with each word that escaped her lips. She shed a small tear, which made its way down her face, moving very slowly. Don’t hate me, Twilight… Please…

Well, there go my hopes and dreams. Though, judging by Fluttershy’s reaction, even if she does like Rainbow Dash, there’s still a chance… She likes mares at least, so I guess that’s a small victory. Twilight thought to herself, almost smiling at her last thought before remembering she was still with a very sad pegasus, and rested a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Well, uh… Wow.”

Fluttershy could only nod, keeping her gaze directed at anywhere but Twilight. If her friend outright objected to the idea of fillyfoolers, she could easily lose her friends right there. Luckily for her, things didn’t seem to be that way. “Come on, Fluttershy. Let’s sit down, and then you can tell me about what happened.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, seemingly in surprise, and she turned her head to look at Twilight. She doesn’t hate me? That’s good… Fluttershy sighed in relief, glad to know there was another pony who didn’t mind her being a fillyfooler. Walking over to the couch with Twilight by her side, she sat down, not quite ready to have to remember Rainbow Dash’s rejection, but wanting to anyways if it would help. “Thank you Twilight…”

“You’re welcome, Fluttershy,” Twilight smiled and sat down on the couch next to Fluttershy, tucking her hooves under her chest. “Now, start from the beginning. Where did you two go?”

“Well… After you left… We went off to this really nice restaurant not too far from Sugarcube Corner… I don’t quite remember the name though…” she said, and sniffled shortly afterwards. “We had a nice little lunch together… I had a daisy sandwich, so did she…” she stopped herself as soon as she felt a wave of tears coming once she remembered the events that followed. She buried her face into the arm of the couch, hiding her tears to try and not look weak in front of Twilight.

“Fluttershy…” Twilight brought her hoof over to her friend, resting it on top of Fluttershy’s back. She rubbed her hoof up and down Fluttershy’s back to comfort her, something that seemed to work, if only a little. “You have to tell me what happened. I can’t help you otherwise.”

Pulling her face back away from the couch, Fluttershy turned to face Twilight, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks. “I decided to tell her how I felt around halfway through our meal…” The scene had begun playing through Fluttershy’s mind over and over again, as if she was doomed to never forget the crushing feeling of rejection.

“How exactly did she react?”

“Well, umm… She was confused at first, and didn’t really know what I meant… All I did was point a hoof at her, after all… Though she did realize after a few seconds, and she seemed pretty surprised… Shortly after that, she said she didn’t feel the same way…” The tears that had been only slowly travelling down Fluttershy’s face were now coming down quickly, and in much larger quantities.

Twilight couldn’t bear to see her friend in such a state and pulled the pegasus closer to her, resting her head on top of Fluttershy’s. Placing a hoof on the back of her friend’s head, she began a slow, rubbing motion to try and ease the emotional pain Fluttershy was experiencing.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy looked up at Twilight, her eyes filled with tears and cheeks damp from the crying.

“Yes, Fluttershy?”

“Would it be too much for you to spend the night here with me? I’d really like having a friend here…”

“Of course it wouldn’t!” Twilight shook her head, smiling at the pegasus next to her. “If it will help you feel better, then it’s fine with me.”

“Thank you, Twilight. You’re really a great friend.”

Friend. Of course.

“Just get some rest, Fluttershy. You really need it right now,” Twilight said as she gently stroked Fluttershy’s mane.

“I will…” Fluttershy shuffled around, changing into a more comfortable position, and brought herself a little closer – physically, that is – to Twilight.

Angel, having overheard the last portion of the conversation and sensing that something definitely wasn’t alright with Fluttershy, hopped into the room to see what was happening. When he saw his caretaker resting on the couch with that unicorn, a mild wave of jealousy passed through him. He would’ve much preferred Fluttershy cuddling with him, rather than some unicorn he barely knew. Upon seeing her tears, however, he quickly made his way to the couch and found himself a comfortable spot under Fluttershy’s wing, giving her a bit more company.

“Thank you, Angel bunny…” Fluttershy smiled at the arrival of Angel, glad that he could at least be kind in a moment like this. The pegasus slowly drifted into the world of sleep, the comfort of both unicorn and critter aiding her as her consciousness slipped from her grasp.

Twilight’s cheeks burned with a deep shade of red as soon as she noticed that she was, essentially, sleeping with her crush. If everything goes perfectly, that would definitely be nice… Though there’s also the possibility of her falling for somepony else, or even never getting over Rainbow Dash… She shook her head to dismiss the negative thoughts. No, don’t think of that. Think of a more positive outcome, Twilight.

And she did just that. Her mind conjured images of her with the pony she cared so much for, hundreds and thousands of different possibilities, all with their own major and minor differences. It wasn’t long before her focus transitioned back to the world around her, and she glanced over to the pegasus laying down next to her. For a moment she considered kissing the top of Fluttershy’s head, but decided against it, knowing it would be far too risky.

Good night Fluttershy, she thought, falling asleep merely moments later.

The loud, obnoxious noise of an alarm clock woke the sleeping Rainbow Dash, who took the opportunity to silence her alarm and attempt to go back to sleep, before realizing that she should probably get out of bed. She spent a few seconds simply staring at the clock, trying to read the time but having difficulty doing so in her tired state.

“It’s already noon?” she said to herself as she rose from the bed, stretching both her legs and wings. Rubbing her eyes with her hooves, she felt much different than she usually did when she woke up. She felt horrible, as if she had done something absolutely terrible, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Fluttershy, food, crush… “Oh.”

Having discovered the problem, she jumped out of bed and began her usual morning routine. Stretch a little more, take a nice shower, and get some breakfast. One hour and three cups of coffee later, she made her way outside of the cloud home she lived in, and to the edge of the clouds. From there she could get a relatively good view of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres, and even the Everfree Forest, which seemed to stretch on forever.

“And now…” the cyan pegasus said as she leaped off the clouds, diving down towards the ground. The speed, the feeling of the wind passing through her mane, the rush it gave her was enough to fully wake her, and she extended her wings to slow her descent. She landed on a cloud, and rested for a couple minutes, going through in her mind what she was going to do that day.

Pinkie Pie wanted me to try out some stuff, so I guess I could go there first. After that, I could hang out with Twilight, maybe lean over to her and… Wait, where is she anyway? I didn’t see her at all after she left to take care of Shy’s animals for her…

A wave of guilt seemed to pass through the pegasus, and a frown formed on her face. Sorry Shy. Standing up, she jumped off the cloud and flew to Ponyville, taking out a few clouds along the way. Well, off to Sugarcube Corner. She also passed a few weather ponies as she made her way towards the bakery, and felt glad that she was off of work for the day.

Before long she had reached her destination, and landed only a short distance away from the door, which was conveniently open. Pinkie was inside, sitting at the counter as usual and twirling her mane with her hoof. The earth pony took notice of Rainbow’s arrival, and smiled, glad that her friend had actually arrived to help her out with the sweets she had been testing out. So far, she had gotten nopony to try them out, besides herself.

“Dashie! I’m so glad you’re here! I’ll be right back with the samples.” Giving no time for Rainbow to respond, Pinkie hopped upstairs and, true to her word, came back down almost instantly with a tray in her mouth. On the tray were an assortment of cupcakes, chocolates, lollipops and more, all available for Rainbow Dash to choose from.

“These are what you want me to try out, right?” Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at the tray, to which Pinkie quickly nodded in response. “What flavors are there?”

Pinkie began pointing at the items on the tray, showing what each of them tasted like. “This muffin right here tastes kind of like bubblegum, with maybe a teeny bit of watermelon mixed in.” The rest of the goods that she showed Rainbow all had rather strange flavors, such as hot sauce or another clash of two flavors. “This little lollipop looks really small, right?” she said as she picked up one of the smallest lollipops Rainbow Dash had ever seen.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“It… Actually, maybe I shouldn’t tell you… You’ll have to try it for yourself,” said a grinning Pinkie Pie.

“I guess I’ll take that one, then. And this muffin, too.” A hoof was pointed at a yellow and blue muffin. Pinkie grabbed the aforementioned muffin and lollipop, putting them in a small bag for Rainbow Dash to carry around. “Thanks, Pinkie.”

“You’re welcome! I hope you like them!”

“I’m sure I will, Pinkie,” Rainbow said, giving the pink pony a friendly smile. “Oh, do you know where Twilight is? I couldn’t find her at all yesterday.”

“Twilight? Hmm…” Pinkie placed her hoof under her chin, raising an eyebrow and looking up at the ceiling. “Nope! Well, maybe. Didn’t she go with you yesterday to Fluttershy’s? Maybe she’s still there!”

“She probably is, actually… Thanks again!” Rainbow was already gone and flying in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage before Pinkie had the chance to say goodbye.

“Bye, Dashie…” The pink earth pony said after her friend had left, and slowly retreated upstairs to her room.

I probably should’ve asked what flavor that muffin was first… A rather disgusted Rainbow Dash thought to herself after finishing the muffin that Pinkie gave her. Though she didn’t know exactly what flavor it was, she knew it was unlike anything she had ever eaten before. Not in a good way, either. She didn’t dare taste the lollipop, for fear of something even worse.

In search of Twilight, and as if she had forgotten the events of the previous day, she landed just outside of Fluttershy’s cottage. A cool breeze passed by, one of the signals that the weather pegasi used to warn ponies that winter was coming soon, and caused her to shiver. Not wanting to stay outside in case it got any colder, she trotted over to the front door and knocked gently so that she wouldn’t alarm the pegasus inside, but at least loud enough to be audible.

A minute passed. No answer. Another knock, one that was slightly louder. Same result.

Her patience already wearing off, she went to open the door. As a potential fortune and misfortune, the door was unlocked. Pushing the door open, she heard no reaction from anypony that she suspected to be inside, and quietly walked in. Before she had the chance to close the door behind her, she spotted two ponies laying very close to each other on a nearby couch.

Twilight, the unicorn she was looking for.

Fluttershy, her close friend whose heart was broken the day before.

Both were sleeping.

Opening her mouth to speak, Rainbow Dash stopped herself before any words could escape her lips and shook her head. With a turn and a few steps forward, she left the cottage and closed the door behind her, making a much louder exit than she had intended.

Twilight Sparkle was awoken by the sound of a door shutting, and she was almost sure she heard somepony’s voice just a few moments after waking up. The voice came from the direction of the door, but nopony was there, the only other pony who could’ve made any noise was sleeping next to her.

A smile crept onto the unicorn’s face, though it dissipated nearly as soon as it had appeared. Fluttershy appeared to be dreaming, though clearly not enjoying whatever was happening. Taking an effort to calm the pegasus down, Twilight placed a hoof on top of Fluttershy’s head, rubbing it in a circular motion. Her attempt didn’t help at all.

Twilight glanced around the room in search of a pillow, finding one resting on a chair across the room. Levitating it over towards them, she placed it directly under Fluttershy’s head, hoping to ease any pain or distress she was experiencing. Only a few minutes later, Fluttershy relaxed and woke up, stretching out her legs and wings, accidentally pushing Twilight away with a hoof.

“Good morning, Fluttershy.”

The pegasus froze for a brief moment, wondering what somepony was doing in her cottage so early. Her eyes shifted to the side to look at Twilight, and she calmed down, remembering how Twilight had stayed with her to keep her company.

“Did you sleep well? It didn’t look like you were having a very good dream not too long ago.”

“I feel okay right now, but I didn’t in my dream… It was so scary, Twilight. I was all alone, and…” Fluttershy shut her eyes and turned to Twilight, hugging her tightly and earning a light blush from the unicorn. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here… Thank you, Twilight.”

“You’re… Welcome?” She would’ve said more, but she was mostly focused on the hug she was receiving from her crush. It brought her great feelings of joy, and she almost returned the hug before her stomach growled. “Do you think we should get something to eat? I’m starting to feel hungry…”

Fluttershy’s stomach seemed to growl in agreement. “That sounds good… I guess I’m getting hungry too.”

“What do you want to eat?” Twilight asked, and didn’t give her friend any time to react before an idea came to mind, “I could make us something.” Smiling at her friend, she shook her head and removed the smile from her face. “No… Bad idea.”

“Well, why is that?” A curious Fluttershy asked.

“I’m… Not that great at cooking.”

“Oh. Well, we could always just go somewhere and get something to eat, right?” Fluttershy crawled off the couch, looking back at Twilight and waiting for an answer.

“That sounds great.”

“Alright. But, umm… Where are we going?”

“Actually…” Twilight rolled off the couch, landing on her belly. “That’s a good question.”

Sweaters and Scarves

Rainbow made her way as far away from Fluttershy’s cottage as possible, slowing down once she figured they couldn’t see her. She relaxed her wings and descended to the ground, opting to walk, as she didn’t feel like flying at the moment. She looked down at her hooves, not caring where she ended up wandering off to.

Twilight… Rainbow thought to herself. She sighed and shook her head. No… It couldn’t have been that… Maybe they just… Ah… Who am I kidding? A tear escaped from her beautiful cerise eyes, slowly making its way down her face, remaining unnoticed by Rainbow Dash.

She looked up and found that she wandered quite a ways off from the path to Ponyville. She sighed again and walked back on to the path. Where should I go? She stopped to think after she made it back to the dirt path. Home definitely isn’t an option… Rarity definitely wouldn’t understand… And Applejack… I don’t think she’d approve either… She tried thinking harder, knowing she was missing somepony…

Her head jerked back up as she shouted out, “Pinkie!” She smiled, but quickly covered her mouth with her hoof, blushing in embarrassment and hoping that nopony had heard her. She felt a little bit better, knowing there was at least somepony she could talk to. She trotted her way towards Ponyville, a faint smile on her face.

Before long, she arrived in Ponyville, trotting throughout its streets. She wandered around aimlessly, having nearly forgotten where she was headed in the first place. She occasionally bumped into other ponies, quickly apologizing and trotting off without waiting for a response.

She had trotted down an alley when she stopped to think for a moment. What am I even…? Oh. Right. She shook her head and turned back around, flapping her wings to lift herself into the air, and she flew off into the sky, passing through a small cloud. She looked back down and searched for Sugarcube Corner. Spotting it, she smiled again and dived directly towards the bakery.

Arriving near the ground, she extended her wings to slow her descent. She gave her wings one last flap before landing, and looked at the open door to Sugarcube Corner. Hmm… Pinkie doesn’t seem to be at the counter… I wonder where she is…

She took a step inside, looking around the small shop to see if anypony was there. Not able to see any of the Cakes, or Pinkie Pie, she decided to explore a little. She walked through all of the rooms on the floor, making sure to open any cupboards in case Pinkie had gotten stuck, or was just hiding. Still not able to find anypony, she was about to walk out when she noticed the stairs behind the front counter.

If she’s not down here, then she must be up there, right? Rainbow placed one of her hooves on a stair, which lightly squeaked in response. Taking a little more care with each step, she stealthily made her way upstairs, and found herself in a hallway lined with doors.

Great. How am I supposed to find her now? Rainbow sighed a little, and opened one of the doors. She peeked inside, and found only a few sacks of flour lying in a small room. She sighed, and gently closed the door.

Opening a few other doors, she found nothing that hinted to where Pinkie might be. A couple cradles in one room, which see assumed to be the Baby Cakes’ room, and another containing a double bed, along with a few socks and other bits of clothing spread across the room. She was certain this was Mr. and Mrs. Cakes’ room, and closed the door almost immediately.

She tried opening another door, but couldn’t quite turn the knob. She tried, using as many methods as possible. Her teeth, her hooves, and her wings all didn’t work, and she couldn’t think of any other ways to open the door. Slamming her hoof onto her face, she realized she could just knock on the door, and if Pinkie was in there, she would answer. She raised a hoof and knocked on the door three times, and sat outside, waiting for an answer.

“What?” A voice called from within the room.

Fluttershy stared at Twilight, who was lying on her back on the floor, having rolled off the couch earlier. She smiled, and sat down next to the unicorn. “Well… Is there any place you’d like to go to?” She asked somewhat curiously.

“Hmm…” Twilight began thinking of places they could go, and tried to roll sideways, but ended up bumping into Fluttershy. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were there…” She blushed lightly, looking directly into the mare’s eyes.

Fluttershy giggled, and looked back at Twilight. “It’s fine…” She watched as Twilight sat straight up, and lied down next to her. Twilight took a small breath and turned to look at Fluttershy.

“To be honest Fluttershy, I don’t know. Any place that you want to go?” Twilight asked somewhat curiously.

“Umm… Well there’s this place that me and…” Fluttershy paused and frowned, tilting her head downwards to look at her hooves. “Dash went to yesterday…” She quietly said, with a tone of sadness barely hidden by the volume of her voice.

Twilight frowned, and wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy’s neck. “Hey… You’ll be alright. We can go somewhere else if you want.” She smiled, trying her best to cheer up her friend.

“But… The food there was so good…” Fluttershy turned to look at Twilight, pouting a lip.

Twilight smiled and giggled a little. “Alright… If that’s where you want to go…”

“Well… I don’t know… I don’t think it would be a good place to go right now…” Fluttershy paused, and looked away from Twilight. She looked down at her hooves “We could go to that, umm… You know, that one place where they have really good… Salads?” She nervously smiled at Twilight, before frowning and resting her head on her hooves. “I’m not sure…”

Twilight pulled her leg away from Fluttershy, and stood up. “Hmm… I think I know what you’re talking about.” She smiled, and nudged Fluttershy gently. “If that’s what sounds good, then let’s go.”

Fluttershy, feeling the nudge, looked up at the lavender unicorn. “Are you sure?”

Twilight giggled a little more. “I’m sure.”

Fluttershy slowly stood up, stretching her legs and wings. “Alright… Thanks.” A faint smile grew on her face, but it disappeared quickly as she tilted her head. “Umm… What was the name of it again?” She asked curiously.

“Uh…” Twilight put her hoof up to her chin, trying to recall the name. “Honestly? I don’t know either.” She placed her hoof back on the ground. “I’m sorry Fluttershy.”

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize… You still know where it is, right?”

“Yeah… About that… I thought you knew…” She sighed. “Again, I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy held a hoof up to her mouth, chuckling a bit. “You know… For being so smart, you can be pretty clueless at times…” She stopped, and shook her head. “Oh, I’m not saying that you’re dumb or anything… I’m just saying that sometimes you don’t… Ah! I’m sorry…” She frowned, and looked down at her hooves.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and took a step closer to Fluttershy. “It’s alright. I understand. Now, how about we go get something to eat? I’m feeling a lot hungrier now than I did before.”

Fluttershy’s stomach decided that it would be a good time to speak up, and growled lightly, agreeing with Twilight. Fluttershy slowly nodded. “Yeah… But, umm… How are we supposed to get there if neither of us knows where it is?” She asked curiously, shifting her eyes up to look at Twilight.

The unicorn held a hoof up to her chin, trying to think of a good response. Just what were the two of them supposed to do? Deciding she couldn’t formulate a decent response, she sighed to herself and dropped her hoof back to the floor. “I’m not sure, Fluttershy. How about we just walk around and look for some place to eat? If anything, we could probably head to Sugarcube Corner.”

The pegasus smiled at this, and nodded her head in return. The thought of getting at least something to eat was good enough for her, and she lifted her hoof up in preparation to trot outside, but quickly realized that her friend was still there. She couldn’t just leave Twilight there, such a thing would be very rude. “Are you ready?” She looked at her friend, a smile on her face.

The unicorn simply smiled at her friend. “Of course, Fluttershy.” She began walking towards the front door, and a few bunnies crossed her path a short distance away from the door. She nearly fell onto her back from lifting her hooves up so quickly to avoid stepping on any of the bunnies. Fluttershy giggled as she watched the bunnies pass by, and walked up to the door. Upon opening the door, she felt a cold breeze pass into her cottage and a snowflake fell onto her nose.

Twilight shivered as she felt the sudden difference in temperature, and she immediately realized that they should probably get something just a little warmer to wear than nothing. “Fluttershy? Do you think we should get something, Oh I don’t know, a little warmer?”

Fluttershy closed the door to keep from getting too cold, and she turned herself around to face the unicorn. “Yeah, umm… Probably…” She walked over to the closet where she kept most of her warm clothing, such as scarves, sweaters, what you’d expect somepony would wear to keep warm. She pulled out a pink sweater that was of a shade just darker than her own mane, and it looked as if it was way too large for her. Once she put it on, it was easy to tell that it was. The sleeves extended well past her hooves, and it was just a little loose on her. Nevertheless, it still managed to keep her warm, and she loved to wear it. She also took a scarf of the same color, and wrapped it around her neck.

“Twilight? Do you need something to wear?” Fluttershy asked her friend, trying to offer her some clothing. “You can take a look if you’d like…”

Twilight simply smiled at the offer, and walked over to the closet, taking a look inside. She had a bit of trouble finding something that wouldn’t look ridiculous with the color of her coat. Before long, she had decided on a simple, black sweater. Unlike Fluttershy’s sweater, it fit Twilight perfectly, the sleeves ending just before her hooves. She couldn’t find a matching black scarf in the closet, so she ended up grabbing a lavender and pink striped scarf.

Now that they were dressed for the weather, the two mares walked back over to the door, with Twilight opening the door first to allow for Fluttershy to walk through. Fluttershy smiled and took a step outside, placing her hoof into the blanket of snow that covered the ground. Twilight followed shortly after, walking over to Fluttershy’s side and standing next to her, looking up at the clouds. “I didn’t know it was supposed to snow today…”

Fluttershy shook her head slowly, and shivered again. “Me neither…”

Pinkie Pie was residing in her room, feeling a little depressed that the blue pegasus who had stopped by the store earlier seemed as if she was barely interested in the pink earth pony. After all, after she had learned of what was most likely the location of their friend, Twilight Sparkle, she had immediately flown off before Pinkie Pie could do so much as speak a single word.

A large amount of candy wrappers lay on her bed, as the earth pony had indulged herself in copious amount of various sweets to try and keep herself from feeling too down. She had locked her door earlier, not wanting anypony to see her, or her to see them. She let out a long, but quiet sigh, and held onto her favorite pillow, one that reminded her of Rainbow Dash due to its color, as tightly as she possibly could.

Of course, she wasn’t allowed complete silence. The Cake family had made a lot of noise the previous few hours, conversing about various things, such as who they had seen earlier that day, what they had done, and once they reached their room… Well, things Pinkie really wasn’t glad to hear at the moment. For that matter, she never liked to hear it at all.

Once they had quieted down, they stopped by Pinkie’s room to let her know that they would be gone for the night, and that she had to watch the store. Pinkie responded with a grumble, and didn’t bother to get up and go downstairs. She lay in silence for the next few hours, before she heard somepony walking around the store. Her senses seemed to enhance themselves as soon as she realized that somepony was, in fact, in the store. She could easily hear the hoofsteps of the pony below, and she sat completely still, waiting for the pony to leave. She thought she heard Rainbow Dash calling her name at one point, but quickly dismissed it as there was no reason for Dash to be there, right?

She listened closely as she heard the infiltrator walk upstairs and check through each room, and she heard the hoofsteps pass by her door and stop as she heard a knocking upon the door. Since the pony was not trying to break in, she assumed that they wouldn’t harm her, and so she called out to them. “What?”

“Pinkie Pie?” The voice was unmistakable. It was Rainbow Dash; the ‘infiltrator’ was actually just her friend, looking for her.

She stood up, feeling much better, and happily trotted over to the door. She quickly unlocked it, swinging it open to look into the familiar eyes of her friend. “Hello Dashie!” She smiled, greeting her friend with a very tight hug. She lifted up the pegasus into the air, squeezing her tightly.

Rainbow could do nothing more than let out a small gasp for air. Pinkie soon realized this, loosening her grip and bringing her friend back to the floor, but still hugging her. “So, what brings you here Dashie?”

Rainbow gulped nervously, wanting to talk to at least somepony, but somewhat afraid that the pony she had chosen to speak to wouldn’t exactly be happy with the subject she had in mind. “Actually… I just wanted to talk about something…”