//------------------------------// // How We Kissed // Story: How We Met // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// How We Met By The Rated Ponystar Chapter 14: How We Kissed Formally Edited by: Fernin and Souldin Now edited by: Clavier and Sirisma Lookin’ 4 Love belongs to Julian Lennon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8RATi1JJiA *** This was a night of celebration. All of Canterlot, from the poorest to the wealthiest, were celebrating, dancing, and laughing for the royal wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the Captain Shining Armor. Streets were filled with dancing ponies as music played across the many districts of the city. Bars, restaurants, and hotels were hosting their own parties to join in the occasion. Even the noble ponies, usually trotting along with grace and firm posture, were shaking their tails with the commoners. Granted, their city had been almost overrun mere hours ago by an army of changelings who wanted to use them as a food supply. However, the power of love between the princess and the captain was strong enough to banish them from Equestria, giving them another reason to celebrate. But the loudest party was the one in the castle, where the actual wedding reception was taking place. Everypony who was anypony was in attendance. Fancy Pants, the Wonderbolts, DJ Pon-3 and even the famous Elements of Harmony who had played their part in defending Canterlot. While everypony was mostly dancing to the beats of DJ Pon-3’s mixing, Fluttershy kept herself to the back while watching the celebration with a cheerful smile on her face. She was so happy that everything worked out in the end. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were now happily married after a long struggle. It filled her with dread, to think that Cadance had long been trapped underneath Canterlot while that mean Queen Chrysalis impersonated her. Thank goodness Twilight had found the princess, otherwise Shining may have married the wrong pony. Not to mention Equestria would have been taken over by the changelings. Fluttershy shivered at the thought of being trapped in one of their cocoons, only to be used as a source of food. She still felt guilty for not believing in Twilight when she said something was off about the fake Cadance. Even after everything she had done for them, Fluttershy and her friends were too blinded by the wedding and their belief that Twilight was jealous to put any real thought into it. They all went to her not long ago and begged her for forgiveness; even Princess Celestia was with them to admit her fault. Shockingly enough, Twilight instantly forgave them all, saying they had a right to believe she was jealous. After much talk, and many hugs, it was past them. Now all Fluttershy wanted to do was watch the princess and newly crowned prince dance together. Their eyes filled with passion and love for one another. It was so romantic the way they held each other's hooves, stroking each other with the gentlest of nuzzles and kisses. Her imagination soon took over, as she imagined herself and Dash. Married and in love, with all their friends and loved ones watching them dance. A playful squeal later and she was hiding behind her bangs, fighting down her blush. Despite Applejack’s rejection, Dash was back to her old self, and thankfully no bad blood was between anypony. Yet despite this, Fluttershy still couldn’t confess her love to Rainbow Dash. She had thought maybe the wedding would give her confidence, especially when she heard Princess Cadance was an expert on love. But with all that had happened, Fluttershy figured it was too much of a bother to tell her and decided to just stay content with things for now. Growing bored, Fluttershy started walking around, hoping to find one of her friends. She saw Rarity chatting with Fancy Pants, Twilight singing an encore of her song 'Love is in Bloom', Pinkie trying to get ponies to do the wave, and Applejack in a drinking contest with some noble pony over a barrel of cider. She began to wonder where Rainbow Dash was when she spotted her, talking to two ponies whose uniforms showed they were from the Equestrian Air Force. She was about to walk away when Rainbow Dash saw her and waved her over. “Hey, Fluttershy! Come over here!” A small ‘Eep!’ escaped Fluttershy’s lips as the two Air Force ponies smiled and waved at her. Nervously, she stepped forward and greeted them. “It’s nice to meet you.” “Nice to see ya again, Fluttershy,” said the female one, who had hair that looked like a raging fire. “Um, do I know you? Have we met?” asked Fluttershy, pawing her hoof. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to remember... um... you are... um...” Rainbow Dash chuckled and swatted Fluttershy’s back. “Relax, Fluttershy. This is Soarin’ and Spitfire from the Wonderbolts.” Fluttershy took a step back. Looking carefully, she pictured the standard Wonderbolt’s uniform on them and realized that they were indeed from the famous team of fliers. “I’m so sorry! I–I didn’t even recognize you.” The two celebrities chuckled and shook their heads. “Forget it, Fluttershy,” said Spitfire, “most ponies don’t recognize us without our gear. Kind of a blessing if you ask me.” “Tell me about it,” agreed Soarin’, rolling his eyes, “I once went to a bakery for a snack in my uniform and I had a hundred mares trying to grab me at once. When I went back without my uniform, not a single pony reacted. I even told one pony who I was and they thought I was crazy.” The four shared a laugh. Fluttershy said, “Well, sorry again if I reacted like that.” Spitfire grinned. “No big deal. You did better than Rainbow Dash did when we met her ten minutes ago.” She turned to her teammate. “How many times did she go ‘Oh my gosh’ before she stopped?” “I lost count at around thirty five,” answered Soarin, with an equally amused grin as Rainbow Dash blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. Fluttershy giggled, but soon jumped in surprise when Pinkie Pie’s voice was heard over the speakers. “Hey everypony!” The four of them turned to the stage where they saw the party pony waving her hooves for everypony’s attention. “Let’s give another round of applause to Twilight for her awesome song!” Everypony clopped their hooves or whistled at Twilight, who was blushing by the side of the stage. Pinkie waited until they were all quiet to continue, “We still have time for one more singer to come up and perform on stage! Who’s going to be the lucky pony?!” A nudge to her side alerted Fluttershy to a smiling Rainbow Dash. “You should totally go on stage and sing. You’ve got the best singing voice out of all of us.” “M–me?!” shouted Fluttershy in surprise. A second later the spotlight was on her, causing her to freeze as everypony’s eyes looked towards her. “We have a volunteer! Fluttershy, come on down!” cheered Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy could feel her stomach beginning to turn as ponies encouraged her to head up to the stage. She longed to open her wings and fly, but they were shut as a locked door. Fluttershy wanted to shout that it was a mistake, but she could only squeal in fright. Another nudge and she saw Rainbow Dash nodding at her. “Go on, Shy. Don’t leave them hanging.” Gulping, Fluttershy nodded and stepped forward. The journey to the stage felt like an eternity, and the silent, staring crowd wasn’t helping. A hundred songs she knew went through her head, from classic nursery rhymes to the latest music. What do I do? What do I sing? What if I sing a song nopony likes? I wish I could just disappear right now. When she reached the stage, Pinkie happily gave her the microphone and bounced away. Fluttershy slowly turned around. She gasped. So many eyes. So many ways she could mess up. She could feel her rear hooves crossing, much to her embarrassment. Now they think I need to use the bathroom or something! A few ponies coughed or began to mumble to each other. She had to say something. Anything! I can’t do this... I can’t... Just as all hope seemed lost, a voice cried out, “Come on, Fluttershy! You can do it!” In the back of the crowd was Rainbow Dash, still cheering her with the utmost confidence. As she stared into those exuberant purple eyes, Fluttershy could feel all her worries slowly melt away. In her heart, she knew what she wanted to sing right then and there. She flew to the orchestra ponies, who had been taking a break. “Um, excuse me. Can one of you play piano?” asked Fluttershy politely. A light brown stallion with a white mane nodded and stepped forward to his instrument. Fluttershy whispered her request to him, earning a smile and a nod of approval. She flew back to her spot and faced the crowd, focusing on Rainbow Dash only. A few whispers were heard as she cleared her throat and nodded to the piano player. The soft music of the instrument echoed across the silent crowd as Fluttershy began to sing: “Why do you always look the other way when I’m trying to see your soul I want a love that grows in every way But my heart can’t find resolve.” Her fears began to fade away as she closed her eyes and thought of all the time she and Rainbow Dash had spent together. From their first meeting as foals to today. “I just want peace of mind with a love I can depend with a lover and a friend I need to find someone with the purest heart and mind It’s the hardest thing to find.” A series of drums started to play, spooking Fluttershy a bit, but she quickly recovered and continued. “I’m looking for love but I’m searching in all the wrong places Oh Faust from above can’t you help me see through all these faces?” Peeking her eyes open, she saw that ponies were already slow dancing with one another. Some were eyeing her like she was a goddess of music and they were her enraptured servants. Giggling she continued, thinking of the time she realized she was in love with Rainbow Dash. “I want to feel that feeling deep inside when my heart begins to burst I want to find a love that’s not a lie So I know that I’m not cursed." She thought of their adventures. From their first time on the ground to the changling invasion. How together they managed to overcome every odd, and overcome every obstacle, and had seen their friendship grow stronger as a reward. "I just want peace of mind with a love I can depend with a lover and a friend I need to find someone with the purest heart and mind It’s the hardest thing to find. I’m looking for love but I’m searching in all the wrong places Oh Faust from above can’t you help me see through all these faces?” How despite their mistakes, hardships, and even fights, they managed to still be together. Maybe Rainbow Dash still didn’t know about her feelings, but it didn’t matter. She loved her and always would. “I am down but I'm fightin' back again I need love that can stare at me blindly Show me that your love is honesty And I'll show you the joy love defines me.” By now the crowd was cheering for her. Loudest of all was Rainbow Dash who was up in the air waving her hooves out. A smile stretched across Fluttershy’s lips before she finished the song. “I’m looking for love but I’m searching in all the wrong places Oh Faust from above can’t you help me see through all these faces? I’m looking for love I’m looking for love I’m looking for love.” *** When the song was over, Rainbow Dash and everypony else applauded as thunderous as a hurricane. She whistled and cheered as if she was at a Wonderbolts performance. Ponies were screaming for an encore and even threw flowers on stage. She merely waved and nodded in thanks. “You were right, she does have a great voice!” shouted Spitfire as she continued to clap. “I’m surprised her special talent isn’t singing. Taking care of animals is what she does, right?” “Yup, and she’s really good at it too. She even once took on a dragon and got it to calm down,” boasted Rainbow Dash. “Dang, that is impressive,” said Soarin. He continued to eye Fluttershy, who was trying to politely excuse herself from the mass of fans. “She’s not bad looking too. She seeing anypony?” Rainbow Dash’s head snapped in Soarin’s direction as a light growl escaped her lips. Then she remembered that Fluttershy was like her and smirked. “Sorry, Soarin’. She runs on the other side of the fence, if you know what I mean.” Soarin’ sighed and shook his head. “Why is it always the cute ones?” Spitfire laughed and patted him on the back. “Easy there partner. We’ll find you a mare someday. One with a as big an appetite as you.” The three of them returned their attention towards Fluttershy, who had come back after a frightful ordeal of a hundred ponies wanting to speak to her. She had escaped thanks only to the orchestra providing a new distraction to the excited partygoers. Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a full blown hug, making her blush. “Awesome work, Fluttershy! Knew you could do it if you had somepony to give you a little boost. By the way, why did you choose that song?” Fluttershy looked away. “Oh, no reason.” Her ears straightened as she heard another soft song playing and spotted ponies joining up for a slow dance. She bit her lip, before turning to Rainbow Dash and asking, “Um... Dash? I know you don’t like slow dancing, but will you dance with me to this song?” Rainbow Dash blinked a bit before turning to the dancing crowd. Shrugging, she answered, “Why not, I guess I can handle it for you.” “As much as we would love to join you two, we have to go shake hooves with a bunch of sponsors,” Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Nice meeting you two again. See you later.” The two waved the Wonderbolts goodbye and flew off. Soon they were making their way to the dance floor. Finding a nice spot, they stood up on their hind legs, wrapping one hoof around each other’s waist while holding their free hooves in unison. They swayed back and forth, slowly getting used to each other’s movements as Dash lead them on. She had to admit, she was having a bit of fun with this. Hoof in hoof, they continued to dance to the song, staring into each other’s eyes. Dash took this moment to eye Fluttershy’s dress and thought, She looks really good tonight. Cute even. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Fluttershy lean forward and rest her head on Rainbow Dash’s chest. The surprising motion caused Dash to stumble a bit. “Um, Fluttershy...” “Shh,” whispered Fluttershy, closing her eyes as a light blush appeared. “Just let me stay like this, please.” Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, she only continued to carry Fluttershy through the dance. When it was starting to end, Fluttershy raised her head and slowly got closer to Dash’s face. Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Um, Fluttershy? Why are you looking at me like th—” Her sentence was cut off as Fluttershy pressed her lips against her own. Rainbow Dash felt her entire body freeze up from her hooves to her feathers as she tasted the sweet, cherry flavored lips of her best friend. The music faded from Dash’s ears as did the rest of the world. All she could hear was her heart beating faster and faster as the kiss continued. Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open and she backed away, her mouth covered by her front hooves. Falling to her haunches, Rainbow Dash just stared at Fluttershy for the longest time, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. The two of them continued to stare at each other, both in shock over what had happened. Rainbow Dash tried to speak, but Fluttershy had already took to the skies with tears in her eyes. She didn’t even chase after her, she just sat their and touched her lips. Fluttershy had just kissed her. Her best friend had just kissed her. Dash’s brain struggled to activate again. She sat on her haunches and stared at the retreating figure. Wha... what just happened? “Rainbow Dash!” Turning around, she saw Rarity storming up to her, looking like a volcano about to blow. “What’s going on?! Why did Fluttershy leave crying?! What did you do to her?!” Glancing around, Dash could tell they were gathering attention and tried to point it out to Rarity, but the unicorn slapped her hoof away and huffed. “Well?” “Sh–she... kissed me,” muttered Rainbow Dash. Rarity’s eyes widened, hoof over her mouth. Regaining her composure, she asked, “And... what did you do?” “Nothing! I swear! I was just as surprised as anypony else here and I just... I... I didn’t know what to do!” cried out Rainbow Dash. She rubbed her temples and shook her head. Things were messed up. One minute she was dancing with her best friend, the next she was kissing her. “Why did she kiss me?! I don’t get it!” Rarity shook her head in disbelief and smacked Dash upside the head. “You are seriously the most oblivious pony I have ever met! Normally I would be loathe to break a promise, but desperate times call for desperate actions.” Pointing her hoof at Rainbow Dash, she said, “Fluttershy is in love with you.” Fluttershy is in love with you. That one sentence made everything in Dash’s world suddenly turn in on itself. Her mouth dropped as low as it could go, a million thoughts went through her mind. In love with... me? How? When? What did... I don’t... “W–what do I do?” asked Rainbow Dash, looking at the ground. “Go to her and talk to her,” ordered Rarity in a tone that told Dash that this wasn’t an option. Nodding, Rainbow Dash took off after Fluttershy, hoping to catch up with her. The questions continued to ring in her head. Why me? Why fall in love with me? Do I... do I even love her back?