“Fluttershy, no. Come on,” Rainbow demanded, sounding a bit meaner than she intended.
The yellow Pegasus just stared with those round, big, dumb blue eyes, glossed over with tears. Rainbow Dash didn't dare look into her eyes, finding more interest in the flush green grass that slightly waved in the wind against the shy mare's hooves.
Rainbow knew she messed up, big time, but she couldn't just turn around and lie to Fluttershy about her feelings. Maybe she shouldn't have been quite as harsh, but her words were still true.
Why did this have to happen now?
She wished she could go back in time, but that's impossible. Unless she got Twilight to help, but she would never agree to do that.
Rainbow and Fluttershy seemed to be getting along so well; why did she have to walk in on her and Twilight?
It was this morning, around noon.
Fluttershy was leaving the post office with a large brown sack situated on her back. She hummed a small tune with an accomplished grin on her face as she trotted down the pavement.
Dash flew about the sky, she still had an hour before work, and she was bored. Really, really bored.
She could have napped, but that surprisingly didn't sound very appealing now.
She spotted a familiar pink mane down below, trotting among the Ponyville residents in a flea-market.
She grinned and slowed her wings to lower herself. It's been a few days since she's seen Fluttershy; it was time they got to hanging out.
She landed not-so-gracefully beside the fellow Pegasus, who nearly fell over in surprise. The heavy sack started to slide off her back, and Dash helpfully stretched a hoof out to steady the bag on her back.
“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes wide with fear. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” Rainbow giggled as she sped up her pace, beginning to trot backwards in front of Fluttershy, to maintain eye contact.
“Whatcha' got in the bag? Huh?” She peered over her shoulder in curiosity, although she already knew the answer. The obvious large picture on the sack saying “Rabbit Pellets” in big bold letters sorta gave it away, but it was still a conversation starter.
“Oh,” Fluttershy's reaction loosened and she smiled warmly.
“I just bought a special new diet food for Angel Bunny. He's getting a bit chubby, and the food was on sale,” she said with a giggle, in that same creamy, soft voice that Rainbow loved.
She couldn't help but grin back at her.
“So, that furball's putting on the weight, huh? Don't worry, Flutters, I'll put him on a sweet regime that'll get'im right back on track.”
Fluttershy's cheeks flushed, and she seemed shocked.
“Oh, no, that's okay,” she stuttered, “he just needs the new pellets, and maybe an extra walk once in a while.” She knew an intense exercise program with a pony like Rainbow Dash would be too much for her little bunny.
Dash shrugged nonchalantly and resumed her place beside Fluttershy's side, flying over the pegasus to land in the right direction.
“So, you're just gonna take that to your cottage?” Rainbow inquired, peering over at her.
“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded with a matter-of-fact smile.
“Then what are you gonna do?”
“Hmm,” Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I'm not sure. I think it might be time to clean my hen house.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course. You know, there's more to life than just caring for animals.”
Fluttershy smiled at her friend and chuckled. “I know, but they can't care for themselves, so I-”
“Hey.” Rainbow interrupted as an amazing idea popped into her mind. “Wanna go to Fillies at Heart? It's in Baltimare this weekend!”
Fillies at Heart was the best amusement park in a five hundred mile radius. Seeing as how it's the only amusement park in a five hundred mile radius, but it was still a fun park. There's rides, games, food- Dash's mouth watered slightly at the thought of shoving a fried cattail into her mouth.
Fluttershy's gaze moved to the pavement. “Oh, that sounds fun and all, but the chickens would be so disappointed if I didn't clean their house today...”
Suddenly, the yellow mare's eyes flickered up to Dash's. “But if you want to hang out, you could help me clean. Then we'd finish quickly and be able to make it to the fair,” she added quickly, grinning at her friend.
Rainbow stared at Fluttershy's hopeful smile, and finally broke down. Cleaning chicken poop didn't sound fun at all, but Fluttershy did say she would go to the carnival with her afterward, so why not?
“What the hay! Sure, Flutters, I'll help you clean your chicken coop.”
Finally arriving at her cottage,(Fluttershy insisted that she preferred walking over flying, which, in Dash's opinion, would've saved them so much time) Dash and Fluttershy trotted to the back of her home. Enclosed in a short white picket fence was a large, boring looking house. A ladder led into an open doorway where various clucks and other noises came from inside.
Fluttershy trotted into her cottage first and arrived with a trash can, the rim secured by her mouth. It wobbled heavily in her grip and she lazily dropped it with a clang. She pulled a bucket out from inside the can as Rainbow looked at it curiously, and she entered the hen house.
A moment later, a flurry of white, orange, and brown overwhelmed Dash as the chickens flew about their living space, wings flapping and beaks clacking noisily. Dash grimaced at the sight. She never understood how picking up after a bunch of ungrateful, dirty animals was something Fluttershy could enjoy.
“Rainbow?” Fluttershy called out from inside the coop.
“Yeah?” Dash instantly responded, her ears pricked.
Fluttershy poked her head out with the bucket's handle in her mouth.
Dash instinctively took the bucket from her, which was now full of creamy white eggs. She trotted into her house and set the bucket on Fluttershy's kitchen counter, unsure of where to put it.
Settling with the spot she originally picked, she trotted back outside where Fluttershy was using her hind legs to kick all the dirty hay out, which flew into the trash can nearby. Dash picked up the hay that didn't make it and threw it into the trash, sneering at the smell of used hay. She didn't get why Fluttershy would use hay just to spoil it. Hay was a tasty snack, not chicken bedding!
Once they were finished putting new hay into the chicken's beds, Dash wiped her forehead with a hoof, feeling accomplished. She then shook her body vigorously, shaking free any rogue hay that was sticking to her fur and mane. Fluttershy, who still had pieces of hay and feathers sticking out of her mane, grinned at Dash.
“Thank you for helping me, Dash,” she said, “I wouldn't have gotten it done until tonight if it weren't for you.”
Dash felt her cheeks burn slightly, and she waved a hoof nonchalantly. “It was nothing. What are friends for? Now, let's get to that carnival!” she called excitedly as her body pushed off the ground and into the air for emphasis.
“Wait,” Fluttershy yelled, which was pretty much still an inside voice. “Can you feed Angel Bunny? I have to refill the chicken's water dishes. I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay- I know you only came to help clean the hen house, but-”
“Leave it to me, Shy.” Dash said with a reassuring grin.
“Oh, thank you,” she said, relieved, “the bag of food is over-”
In a flash, Dash was in her cottage with the bag of pellets, leaving Fluttershy alone with a multicolored dust cloud.
Dash halted suddenly once inside Fluttershy's living room. She looked around, squinting some.
“Hey, rabbit! I got some food for you!”
Instantly, the albino bunny poked his head from around the corner, a hopeful expression on his face. His ears lowered when he saw a cyan pegasus rather than a yellow one.
He hopped over and waited for Dash to fill his bowl.
Dash grunted as she lifted the heavy bag upside down over a food bowl. Pellets flew out and overflowed the bowl instantly, leaving a trail of dust as Dash turned the sack right-side up, dropping it with a loud, but peculiarly muffled thud.
“Bon appetit,” Dash said sarcastically.
She looked around when the food went uneaten. “Where'd you go, little guy?”
There was no response. She shrugged and flew out of the house. He''ll eat when he's hungry.
Fluttershy was waiting for Dash outside, ready to go.
“Come on!” Dash said with a grin and took to the sky, Fluttershy following close behind.
The carnival was exhilarating. As soon as they were in eye-shot of the fair, they could hear the happy-go-lucky carnival music playing loudly over the field. Ponies of all kinds were outside on the field, trotting towards the entrances.
Dash could already see some of the bigger rides, like the more intense roller coasters and Ferris wheel.
Fillies ran about excitedly, yelling at their slow-poke parents who didn't want to catch up with them.
“Rumble, you better slow down,” Dash heard a familiar voice nearby.
It was her Ponyville friend Thunderlane. He was with a pretty tan mare with red hair.
“You better speed up!” Rumble yelled at him in his cute, squeaky voice. Dash grinned at the colt's excitement, mirroring his expression.
As the two soared overhead, Rainbow looked at Fluttershy excitedly, who grinned back.
“I haven't been to the fair since I was a filly,” Fluttershy commented, remembering the times her parents took her.
She would just gawk at all of the colorful stands and rides, and all of the different kinds of ponies. She mostly enjoyed the food, games, and spirit of the carnival-- she didn't like rides much.
Once they reached the entrance, the couple fluttered to their hooves and approached the line. Rainbow's mouth hung open at the length the line went. It went on for miles! (Actually, there was around 10 ponies )
Rainbow Dash let out a long frustrated groan. Fluttershy giggled and fluffed her feathers.
“It doesn't look like too long of a wait, you can do it, Dash.”
“No! I'm gonna turn old and brittle before this line even ends! Come on, Shy.”
“Wait, what are you--”
Dash took Fluttershy's mane in her mouth and pulled gently to signal her to follow.
“Out of the way, Elements coming through!” She said loudly for the ponies in the line to notice.
Everypony glared at the two menacingly as they cut through the line. Fluttershy tried making herself as small as possible. This was so incredibly rude! She wanted to say something to Dash, but she seemed to have lost her voice for the moment.
Once they were at the booth, Dash put her forehoof on the counter in front of her.
“Two tickets please,” she said with a smug grin.
The ticket master just stared with a blank, unimpressed smile.
“Ten bits,” he said with a particularly Manehattan-esque accent.
“What, ten bits?! That's outrageous!” Dash leaned her head in, looking shocked. “When I was a filly it was five bits for the whole family!”
“Well, now it's ten bits for the both of you's,” he replied back leaning his head in just as much.
“I'm getting in that carnival, and I'm not gonna pay that much,” Dash said with squinted eyes, leaning her head in closer.
“It's ten bits for one ticket, lady!” The stallion yelled back, leaning in as well until their foreheads were practically touching.
Dash glared as hard and as menacingly as she could, but was stopped short as Fluttershy nervously stepped forward, throwing ten bits onto the table.
Dash looked at her in surprise. “What? No, Fluttershy, I was gonna pay,” she tried to argue, but Fluttershy simply took the tickets in her teeth and walked through the gate. Dash quickly followed behind.
“It's okay,” Fluttershy said with a smile. To be honest, she just wanted to get into the carnival without any problems, and Dash's middle name was trouble.
She liked Dash's boldness, but sometimes, it could get out of hoof.
Once inside, Dash and Shy marveled at everything. Colorful stands were set up all around, selling different goods like jewelry or food. There were also games like hit-the-balloon-with-a-dart or knock-down-the-bottles-and-get-a-prize. Dash didn't really know the names of the games, but that's what they were.
A familiar fried smell wafted into her nose, instantly making Dash's mouth water.
“Come on, Shy! I gotta get one of those fried cattails!”
Fluttershy took a careful bite of her fried delight, while Dash wolfed it down instantly.
“So, what do you want to do first?” Dash said through a full mouth.
Fluttershy rubbed off the bit of food that hit her from Dash's talking.
“I'm not sure, whatever you want to do is fine.”
“Then I say we hit the rides!” Dash instantly yelled excitedly as she pushed into the air dramatically.
“The twister is a good start, and once we've done all the small rides, we can hit the bigger ones! You know, I heard the Dragon is just insane. My friend Caramel said that he totally lost his lunch all over somepony below! Hah, can you believe...Shy?”
Dash looked at her friend, who seemed to be getting smaller as Dash spoke.
She completely forgot that this was Fluttershy next to her. Of course she'd be afraid of the rides!
“You're afraid of roller coasters,” Dash breathed, disappointed.
Fluttershy saw the joy deflate in her friends eyes, and instantly felt bad.
“Um, y-you can ride them, Rainbow Dash! It's okay, I can just watch...”
Dash searched her friends eyes for a moment, then she looked around. There were rides everywhere- it was a waste to go to the fair and not ride the rides. I mean, come on.
“No,” Dash said with a determined face. “I'm gonna help you get over your fear of roller coasters.”
Fluttershy's eyes widened instantly.
“Oh, no, that's okay, I--”
“Fluttershy! This is the carnival! You have to get on the rides! And besides, have you ever even ridden one?”
The yellow Pegasus’s face slowly rotated back and forth, signaling no.
Dash rubbed her face with a hoof, sighing. “Then you definitely need to get on some.”
“I'm good,” Fluttershy assured, her voice faltering slightly as she used her mane to hide as much face as possible.
Dash's expression grew harder. She had to be gentle with Fluttershy, Dash learned that a long time ago. Although the yellow Pegasus could really step up when she had to, she knew Fluttershy was still a very, very nervous filly.
You can't yell at her or say anything mean, even if it was all in good fun, because she will cry. And you can not watch Shy cry. She will tear you apart just from making her eyes water.
Dash hated dealing with Fluttershy's shyness, but she also found it to be charming and undeniably cute.
“Just one?” She finally decided on saying.
“No, no, I...I can't, um...I...”
“Please?” Dash tried her hoof at a 'puppy face'.
Fluttershy seemed shocked at first, but she soon melted into Dash's gaze.
“W-well, okay, maybe just...one...”
“Woo-hoo!” Dash sang as she picked up Fluttershy into her arms, flying upwards.
Almost instantly, Fluttershy's cheeks began to burn.
She melted into the hug for a moment before saying quietly, “just a little one though.”
As the two explored the endless shacks and games, Dash ended up trying her hoof at the strength tester.
Of course, she hit the bell all the way to the top just from a single buck.
She grinned, absorbing the surprised face from the stallion running the game.
He then quickly took Fluttershy's choice of prize off the rack and handed it to her. She instantly squeezed the big, four-armed bear looking thing with a content expression. Dash grinned, just glad she was able to make her friend happy.
“One, please,” a familiar voice said from behind Dash as two bits were flung in the stallions direction.
He caught them, threw them in his saddle bag, then compellingly held a hoof in the direction of the strength tester.
Applejack smirked and started to bend her back legs, and quite a few audible cracks were heard.
Dash just smirked and leaned against one hoof, watching with knowing eyes.
As soon as her hooves touched the target, the bell had shot up the beam and didn't stop there. It crashed through the end, flying straight into the air and sending a shower of debris around the four.
The stallion's eyes widened like dinner plates. Dash wondered if they could get any bigger.
“Wh-what do y'want?” he asked shakily, motioning slowly to the rack filled with stuffed animals.
“That one,” Applejack instantly said, tilting her hat to a stuffed pink monkey. The colt handed her the monkey and she smiled and turned to Dash and Fluttershy. “Looks a bit familiar, don't it?”
Dash snorted through her nose, which was intended to be a laugh.
“Yeah I guess. I wasn't really trying anyway,” Dash bluffed as she casually blew a strand of hair from her face.
Applejack chuckled and turned her head in the direction of a yellow filly who was racing toward her.
“You got me the monkey! You got me the monkey!” Applebloom cried happily as she leaped around her sister.
“Eeyup, just for you Applebutt,” Applejack teased with a grin.
“My names not Applebutt! Your's is!” Applebloom drawled with a big smile on her face, attempting at taking the monkey from Applejack's hooves.
She relented, lifting it high enough to keep Applebloom from reaching.
“If y'can reach it, y'can have it,” Applejack just smirked at the dismayed look on her sisters face.
“Aw, I'm just kiddin', sugar. Here ya go,” she giggled and tossed the monkey towards her sister.
Applebloom grinned and leaped into the air, catching it into her arms like a football.
She quickly raced off to show off her new prize to her friends.
Once Applejack's attention was back to her friends, Dash's wings flared.
“Hey! Wanna hang out with us?” She said with a smile.
“Sorry, I can't,” Applejack frowned, “I'm here on business.”
She tipped her hat in the direction of a colorful cart, decorated with apples. On the shelves were, of course, different apple products. Apple fritters, candy apples, apple pie, fried apples, apple crumbles...
Rainbow Dash let out a loud, obvious groan. “You're always 'on business' everywhere!”
“Sorry, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied with with a frown. “But these apples ain't gonna sell themselves. Specially now that it's harvest season, we got a lot of buckin to do.”
“What about Big Mac?” Dash pressed, leaning in a bit.
“He's here too, runnin' a cart on the other side of the fair.”
Dash just sighed. “Alright, well, work comes first...I guess. Well, we're gonna go hit the rides, so...”
“Well, go on then! I won't keep ya.” Applejack winked and assumed her position behind her apple cart once again.
“Seeya AJ!” Dash called from behind her as she soared down the isle.
She marveled at all the amazing sights. The happy music, the colorful stands, the amazing food, the thrilling rides... Fairs were awesome.
She totally forgot about a certain yellow pegasus struggling to keep up behind her, she just couldn't tear her gaze away from everything.
She remembered a time when she was at the fair with her father.
“Here you go, Dashie!”
Dash grinned from ear-to-ear as her daddy handed her a big, crudely sewn stuffed wonderbolt. It was the team's trademark persona and otherwise leader, Spitfire.
Just moments before, he had used his awesome skills at everything awesome to win the game where you knock down a tower of bottles.
He knocked each stack down in just five seconds flat. He was always so awesome, and this gift to her was something really special.
“I love it!” Dash could only say as she tightly held the plushie to her chest.
The two were never able to spend time together. With Dad working a million hours a week, he never had time for her anymore. But this day he had a day off and chose to take his little girl to the fair, and Dash couldn't be happier.
She remembers them stopping at the top of the ferris wheel. She was so scared, and they were so high. She clung hard to her father, who held her gently.
“Dashie,” he said. “Look out.”
“N-no way! It's too...it's too...high...woah.”
Dash just stared, her mouth ajar. As she had turned her head, she saw it. She could see the entire carnival. The games, the food, the rides, the ponies, everything.
The ponies looked small; like they were just little ants.
The sight of the ground made her queasy, so she returned her attention to the sky.
The sky itself was amazing. It was red and pink and faded to a deep, elegant purple. Stars dotted the night sky, although most hid away from the lights below.
“They say that the stars were formed by a special pony that once ruled the land with her sister.”
“Wow, really?” Dash looked at her dad with big, curious eyes.
“Yeah. Apparently, she was overcome with jealous of the attention her sister was getting, so she tried to make it night time forever.”
“Night time forever!” Dash scoffed, waving a hoof. “It'd always be dark, so you can't see.”
“Well, the moon would light your way,” the father said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, but what about day time? Then I could never go out and play.”
Her father chuckled and pulled Rainbow Dash closer to him, just admiring the stars.
“No, you wouldn't be able to, would you?”
