High above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash stands statue-still on the edge of a waterlogged cumulonimbus. It took her all morning to gather enough free cloud on a clear summer day to make a patch big enough to support her, half an hour to fill it with water from the reservoir, and the same again to carry it, sopping wet, this far into the atmosphere. Her mind, however, is on neither the lost naptime or on the clamminess in her coat. Her eyes closed, she runs through the trick in her mind a final time. Her legs, shoulders and wings all shift rhythmically as she shuffles, matching motion to thought. At one point, she crouches with her hindlegs, the shift in weight squeezing a few drops from her cloud. Then, as she snaps her legs straight once more, a broad grin splits her face. Here we go.

The pegasus unfurls her wings, tilting them instinctually against the high winds, pinions tilting this way and that in a hundred tiny adjustments to keep her position. She feels the winds caress her like a lover, whispering their moods and intentions to her. She folds her wings once more, then crouches like a cat, chromatic tail whipping once behind her. Then she pushes off the cloud, thrusting it behind her as she spreads her wings.

Instantly, the winds are under her, lifting her upwards. She tilts her head and shoulders back, wings rolling, curving into a graceful loop. Green and blue dance before her eyes, trading places as she inverts. She pumps once hard with her left wing and flips, a perfect Immelmare. As soon as she's righted, she raises her forehooves and lifts her head, unfurling her wings to their fullest extent, cupped downward to catch the wind.

As soon as she's in position, her pectorali begin to burn. A proper Golden Sun is one of the hardest tricks for any pegasus, perfect celestial stillness held aloft purely by the power of one's wings and the air currents beneath them. She swallows hard, sweat starting to bead on her forehead as she counts breaths. One. The ache spreads across her sternum, shoulders quickly starting to ache. Two. Her forehooves begin to tremble and the pain ripples down her sides. Thr--

It's too much. She can't hold it, and her wings cramp, snapping shut in self-defense. The instant they fold, she starts to drop out of the air, her forehooves grazing the cloud that would have been perfectly positioned if she'd held out another half-second. Rainbow takes a mad swipe at the traitorous cloudmass on her way down, but she gets only a hoofful of wisps for her troubles.

It's several hundred hooves straight down before Rainbow Dash gets her wings back under her, and by the time she does so, the cloud's drifted even further afield. With a grumble, she flaps up behind it, then shoves it back into position. Satisfied, she pats underneath, then slowly pushes a hoof inside; it's drier than when she started, but it's still soaked enough to give a good thunderclap if it's kicked right. Okay, no need to rehearse it this time. She hops back up onto the edge of the cloud and crouches, then springs into the air once more, this time shoving the cloud hard behind her.

The Immelmare is easy; she can pull off that move in her sleep, and again she ends upright, forehooves overhead. She spreads her wings, but the ache in her chest spreads rapidly to her back as soon as she unfurls them. Three seconds. Two sec-- The air rushes out of her lungs, her wings snapping back down to her sides as she falls once more. This time the cloud she brought isn't even in reach as she sails past it.

Halfway to the ground, Dash spreads her aching wings once more and catches a thermal, lifting back into the sky towards her practice pad. The underside is dry by the time she reaches it, and inside is barely damp; it'll give a rumble if she slams it at full force, but little more. She rolls her eyes and drops atop it heavily, taking several minutes to catch her wind. With the soreness across her withers, any chance at a Golden Sun of more than a second would be a waste. Okay, fine, more strength training, but for now, let's get the rest of it down. She rises to all fours and perches once more on the edge of the nearly-spent cloud. The pegasus draws in a deep breath and, for the third time, launches herself skyward, pushing the cloud behind her.

Even as her forehooves leave the spongy surface, she can tell the routine is doomed. Her knees aren't even, and her left pastern is damp. Buck. Her Immelmare is shaky, tilting too far and then frantically righting herself with hasty flapping on her right side. She looks down to see her cloud companion twirling merrily off to her left thanks to the scrape of her hoof, drifting away nearly perpendicular to its intended flight path.

Wearily, Rainbow Dash flaps over to the cloud and shoves her foreleg inside: dry and cold, all the moisture either frozen or evaporated. Kicking it would do little more than make it spit out a limp flurry. She groans and turns, lashing out with both hind hooves at the offending puff. There's a moment of light and then with a soft whump the cloud dissolves into wisps that vanish. Tartarus. She hurts from her withers to her knees, and her wings ache, but what hurts most of all is the frustration. She can see the motions perfectly in her mind's eye. She can feel every necessary twitch and flex of her muscles, every impact in her joints. And yet, a week of practicing and she still feels like a clumsy foal stumbling through her first routine.

She forces herself to stop, hovering over Ponyville. She draws in a deep breath, tensing all the muscles in her neck, then lets go as she exhales, forcing the air out of her lungs and most of the irritation with it, leaving a few glowering embers and exhaustion. Fastest flyer in Equestria, she reminds herself. Lead pony at Wonderbolt Camp. Beat Discord. Saved Rarity's life. Best Young Flyer. The words are almost a mantra, a litany of her accomplishments, both on her own and as the Element of Loyalty. They don't quite erase the knot in the pit of her stomach, but they help.

I think I need a nap. That thought, at least, lifts Rainbow's spirits. Her chest and back ache and her wings feel ready to fall off, but she holds herself in a steady glide. Her home hovers at the edge of Ponyville proper, just far enough from Sugarcube Corner to make breakfast doughnuts a rarity instead of a routine, just close enough to library to make Daring Do a habit instead of a hassle. As her hooves touch down on the roof, she lets out a sigh. Her hooves sink slightly into the welcoming surface, and her eyelids droop just thinking about letting her whole body do the same into her mattress--

"Oh, Rainbow Dash! Oh, thank goodness you're back!" --only to try to force them open again again at the sound of Fluttershy's panicking. Rainbow sways her head to try to clear some of the fatigue and squints over the edge of the second-floor landing. In front of her front door, Fluttershy's shifting uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. Her pink mane covers one eye, but the other is wide and watery. "I... I really need your help."

"Hey, Fluttershy." She can't quite push the soreness out of her voice, and she can't quite care enough to try harder. "What's up?"

Fluttershy squeaks, glancing behind and down at the ground below. "It's... it's really personal, I'm sorry. Can we talk inside?"

Rainbow doesn't roll her eyes, but she can't quite keep her mouth from twisting into a frown. "Flutters, I'm, like, really sore. Can this wait until after I've had my nap?"

"Oh, um...." Fluttershy chews on her bottom lip and takes a half-step backwards, but then stops at the edge of the cloud and puts her hooves down. "I don't think so, Dash." Refusing to be put off , but then the mare continues. "I'm really sorry, I know you must be tired or you wouldn't ask, but I really need somepony I can talk to about... um...." She looks down again, her mane spilling in front of both eyes. "Please?"

Rainbow draws in a deep breath, but she doesn't sigh. She just breathes out slowly, spent. "Just let me get a shower, okay?" She doesn't wait for an answer; she hops down from the roof to the second-floor balcony, then ducks inside through one of the many wide-open windows. "I'll be in the kitchen in ten."

Rainbow's bathroom is just outside her bedroom, somehow managing to be both messy and barren: her tiny mirror and the clouds beside it are dotted with toothpaste, a smear of dried soap bubbles clings to the wall under her private raincloud, and musty towels spill haphazardly around her overflowing hamper. Wrinkling her nose, she dodges the laundry pile and raps the raincloud with a forehoof. Instantly, a torrent warm spring rainwater soaks the pegasus to the bone.

The pegasus turns her face up into the rain, then puts her forehooves on the wall in front of her and spreads her wings. The water rushing over her back helps wash away the soreness. As she turns herself around under the shower, her mind turns around the memories of her workout. Strength, definitely a priority. She grimaces; she's built for speed, not power. Power is Applejack's thing.

Applejack.Her muzzle bends like she's bitten into something bitter. Even now, the memories are tart, even acid. Being in a relationship with Applejack had been like flying into a headwind; the harder she pushed, the harder Applejack pushed back. As long as all they did was kiss, everything was sunshine and clear skies. As soon as Rainbow went for more — an intimate caress, a hint of romance, even just a blatant demand for physical attention — Applejack shut everything down, and shut it down hard. It wasn't my fault! She grits her teeth. She's the one that quit on me!

Her hoof strikes the raincloud harder than she intends, knocking a thunderclap out of it when it hits the back wall of the bathroom. Rainbow cringes at the muffled boom, noting with chagrin that at least the water stopped when she hit it. She shakes the water out of her mane and shoves the rest of her thoughts to the back of her mind as she pushes her shower back over the tub. Yesterday's storm, she reminds herself. Applejack's still a friend, even if they do have a history, and she doesn't have time for any more anger. It's been eleven minutes. Fluttershy's waiting.

Rainbow's mane and tail are still damp when she gets to the kitchen, and her feathers are still a tangled mess, but she pushes the itching along her wings into the back of her mind. Fluttershy is at the sink, tackling the backlog of dishware. The Qilinese takeout cartons have been moved from her cheap powderboard table to the trash, as has the pizza box lid she'd been using as a plate. Her cheeks redden as she rubs the back of her head with one hoof. "Uh... yeah. I wasn't expecting guests. Sorry."

"It's okay." Fluttershy's tone is anything but. She scours a glass between her hooves as she talks. "It gave me something to keep me busy. I checked on Tank, too, while I was here. He had plenty of greens and a tomato slice left, but I filled his water bowl."

Rainbow ducks her head. "Yeah, I... forgot to do that when I left. I took him out flying earlier, but then I had this great idea for a trick." Watching Fluttershy clean her kitchen reminds her uncomfortably of flight camp. She takes a seat on one of the two flimsy folding chairs that came with the table and drums her forehooves. "So... you said you had something important to discuss?"

The glass slips from Fluttershy's hooves and clatters in the sink. "Rainbow... I think... I think maybe I've done something bad."

"Hunh?" Rainbow stops drumming. "Where did you get that idea?"

Fluttershy taps the sink and looks around the kitchen, then dries her hooves with a paper towel, dropping it in the trash as she slumps into the other seat. "I..." She stops, then takes a deep breath and blurts out, "I have two dates in two days with two different ponies and I feel terrible!"

Rainbow's expression twists rapidly, flashing through wide-eyed surprise and squinting envy before settling on curiosity, head canted slightly to the side. "Uh... why?"

"Oh, um... just...." Fluttershy pulls back her hooves to the edge of the table, wringing them against each other. "Well... it's complicated."

"Uh-huh. Complicated." Rainbow nods slowly, but her eyes remain narrowed and her muzzle slightly open. "Like, how is this complicated? You go on one date on one night, and another date on the other night."

Fluttershy's wings shift as she brushes her mane away from her eyes. "It's not that easy. I mean, I like both of them."

"Well, duh." Rainbow drags out the interjection. "If you didn't like them, you wouldn't have agreed to go out with them." She raises one eyebrow. "Right?"

Fluttershy looks down at her hooves. "Well, no."

"Good. So, it's not like you're going out with some loser because you were afraid to say no." She ignores Fluttershy shrinking back into her chair. "So, what's the issue?" Rainbow hops down from her chair and trots over to the sink, grabbing the glass Fluttershy just washed. "Hey, you want anything?"

"No thanks." Fluttershy shakes her head. "And, the issue is, they..." She wrings her hooves. "So, these two ponies might know each other?" Her voice rises nervously, turning the statement into a rhetorical question. "And, well, I don't want either of them to get the wrong impression. So, I'm not really sure how to bring this up to either of them."

Rainbow pauses in front of her icebox, one hoof holding a couple of cubes. She looks back at Fluttershy, sitting at her table. "Right. Complicated." She drops the ice in her glass, then presses the cold hoof to the bridge of her muzzle to try to stave off the headache she knows is going to follow. "Let me ask: do I know either of these ponies?"

Fluttershy's first response is to duck her head so that her mane falls over her face, the other cheek darkening in a blush. Several awkward moments of silence follow, broken only with a squeak. "Maybe? I don't... that's not really important, is it?"

Rainbow narrows her eyes. "Is one of them...." She stops, then shakes her head. "You know what? It's none of my business." She trots back to the sink and fills her glass, then drains half of it instantly. Even if it is.

She glances to Fluttershy, who is slumping forward on her chair, visibly relieved. She fills her drink again and heads back to the table. "So, let's talk about you. There's Pony A—" She stresses the letter, and Fluttershy bites her lip. A tight grin spreads across Rainbow's muzzle in response as she continues. "—and Pony B. And A and B know each other." Fluttershy nods. "So, let's talk worst-case scenarios. What happens if they find out?"

"Well, I don't know, is the problem." Fluttershy shifts on the cheap folding chair. "They might get mad at each other." Her eyes widen. "They might get mad at me! I don't want them to think I lied when I said I liked them, but if they find out I'm dating somepony else as well—"

Rainbow sets her glass on the table and holds up a hoof. "Listen to me. Are you anyone's special somepony right now?" Fluttershy stops and shakes her head. "So, what you're doing isn't cheating on anypony, is it?" Fluttershy opens her muzzle, then closes it again, staring at the wall. "It's not like either of these ponies who I don't know have any kind of claim on you."

"But they might!" Fluttershy's voice goes up the barest fraction of a decibel. "What happens if both dates go well? At some point, I'm going to have to tell one of them no!"

Rainbow Dash inhales slowly, then breathes out. Here goes. "Why?" The silence that follows is heavy, awkwardly squatting on Rainbow Dash's thrift-store table. Dash's breath is stuck in her throat alongside her heart, and her stomach does an Immelmare of its own waiting for Fluttershy to speak.

When Fluttershy does finally speak, her words are barely above a whisper, but Dash's ears flatten regardless. "What do you mean, 'why?'" She narrows her eyes. "What kind of pony do you think I am, Dash?"

Rainbow presses her hoof more firmly to her forehead. "Okay, let's try it this way. You like birds, right?"

Fluttershy rears back at the non sequitur. "I don't see what that—"

"Just... humor me, okay?" Dash tries not to stutter, but her mouth's gone dry despite the glass of water. "I've got a point, Pinkie swear. You like birds?"

"Well, of course." Fluttershy sits up straighter in her chair, warming to one of her favorite subjects. "They're so bright and colorful, and I just love it when the bluebirds start singing after winter wrap-up every year."

"Right, right." Rainbow nods encouragingly. "Birds. And you like bunnies, too, right?"

Fluttershy's smile softens as she relaxes again. "You know I do. I love my little Angel, even if he can be difficult sometimes."

Rainbow nods again. "Right. So, does liking bunnies mean you don't like birds?"

"Well, no, of course not." Fluttershy ducks her head and bites her lip. "It's not really the same, though. I mean, they're both really sweet and adorable in their own ways."

"Exactly." Dash finishes her water and manages a tentative smile. "So, if you can like both bunnies and birds at the same time, why can't you like two ponies at the same time?"

Fluttershy's eyes widen, and then her whole body retreats, yanking her hooves back up to her chest. "But Dash, that's different. I mean, it... it is, isn't it?"

Rainbow slumps back into her chair and groans, mashing her hoof into her scalp. "Fluttershy, you're talking about a date. Well, two dates." Her tone is flat, every word painfully even. "Just... go on them, and worry about what happens after... after. If you don't enjoy one, you know what to do. If you enjoy them both... well, we'll talk later about that, okay?"

"Oh, I... okay." Fluttershy sinks a little. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. I know this is really complicated."

Dash waves a hoof. "Yeah, sure."

Fluttershy cocks her head and reaches out a hoof to brush against Rainbow's foreleg. "Are you okay, Dash?"

I gave you a solution to your problem and you brushed me off. I think you're dating my ex. I couldn't pull off that routine earlier. My wings need preening and and the feathers rubbing itches like crazy. I'm starting to fall asleep on my chair. You've got two ponies in your life and I can't even keep one. "Yeah, awesome. Just, you know, tired." Rainbow yawns. "Can I get that nap now?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy rises quickly, then grabs Rainbow's glass and returns it to the sink, then trots back over for a brief hug. "I'm sorry, yes, please rest up. I'll see myself out." She turns, then heads out the front door. "Thank you again for listening!"

Rainbow waves with one wing, then heads back to her bedroom, sprawling out on her mattress. She rolls onto her stomach and drags the blanket up over her head. I wonder who Pony B is.

Author's Note

Many thanks to Horizon for not only beta-reading, but also helping me clean up some of the backstory on this.