Threads of sunlight peeked in between the spaces of the blinds, coating the pegasus with warm rows of welcoming light. She stirred, allowing her wings extension half-way from her body and lifting the blankets off her form. On cue, the early birds of her menagerie of pets pawed at the door or planted their sad faces against the windows. Fluttershy smiled, gracefully casting her blankets aside with her wings and half-gliding, half-hopping out of bed.
Her morning was like most others. Eat breakfast, brush her teeth, preen her feathers, feed Angel, then feed the rest of her animals. For the most part, everything went according to the routine, barring a peculiar incident where her tame mice escaped from their cages and tore open bags of cereal. That had been a mess most difficult to clean.
By the time her floors were free of breakfast debris and her animals were all fed their generous morning portions and assorted medications, it was already nearly time for lunch. For Fluttershy, lunch had become little more than an abstract concept most days, due to the unpredictability of her critters' needs. But ever since three or four months ago, every Thursday's lunch was an entrenched plan.
Since Twilight's ascension to her newfound status of Princess of Friendship, the non-royal Elements left without Twilight for the duration of her training in Canterlot brought themselves closer to each other, making up for the temporary void left by the lavender alicorn. Fluttershy, particularly affected by Twilight's absence, arranged with Rainbow Dash to have lunch each Thursday, except for the first Thursday of the month, reserved for Rainbow's Wonderbolts training.
Fluttershy departed her unassuming abode with naught but a lone saddlebag slung over her back. Various forest animals accosted her for attention on the winding path into town, and as always, she could not help but spare a few moments to pet, scratch, or massage them to their heart's content. The cream mare finally trotted into town at least fifteen minutes behind schedule, but she had quite the reputation - albeit understood and forgiven - among her friends for tarrying on account of her forest critter pals, so Rainbow had brought with her the latest Daring Do adventure tale.
Dash reclined lazily between a chair and the front wall of Sugarcube Corner against a backdrop of faux-frosting near some outdoor seating. She held the book over her face by her hooves, eagerly turning the page every minute or so. Her wings were draped over the table and off the edge of the chair. Her attention under the firm arrest of Daring Do's escapades at Lake Bajklop in Sibearia, she was wholly oblivious to Fluttershy's approach.
The quieter of the two took the utmost care not to unnecessarily disturb the other, speaking out in a nigh-inaudible voice, "Umm... Rainbow? Rainbow Dash? Hello?"
The polychromatic mare flipped another page.
"Rainbow, I'm here for our lunch date."
No reply. The situation was growing desperate. While it pained her to admit it, Fluttershy realized that she would have to get loud if she were to break Rainbow's trance.
"Rainbow!"
She yawned, and flipped to the next page.
With all the care in the world, Fluttershy drew closer and leaned over the table, prodding her friend gently in her right foreleg. Rainbow collapsed from her precarious recline in a panic, her arms and wings scrambling fruitlessly to right her before she hit the ground, her book falling lightly upon her face. At least she didn't lose her page.
"Rainbow! I'm so sorry," Fluttershy squealed and hovered to the other side of the table to help her friend up. "It was an accident, really! I'm so so so so so sorry!" The pink-maned pony grabbed the book in her mouth and placed it on the table before plucking a single feather from her wing and inserting it as a makeshift bookmark.
Rainbow groaned and lifted herself out of her predicament, tossing aside the chair that once rested on her chest and blowing strands of her mane from out of her eyes. Fluttershy pulled her to her hooves and carefully dusted her coat. "Are you mad at me?" Fluttershy inquired sheepishly, hiding an eye behind her wave-like mane.
"Pfft," Rainbow waved with her hoof and giggled. "Don't sweat it, Fluts. I should've heard you coming. Any flier worth their salt can detect somepony coming a mile away," she gave her relieved friend a once-over. "But I think you're an exception. You might be the most impossible to notice pony in town. Hay, maybe even all of Equestria!"
Fluttershy smiled, and the two friends sat down. "I'm just glad you're OK, Rainbow. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt one of my friends."
"Hah! Don't sweat it! It'll take a lot more than some fall to hurt me!"
Pinkie materialized seemingly from nowhere. Knowing her nature, of course, that could very likely be the literal truth.
"You mean like the time you had that crash landing and then Twilight taught you how to read books higher than a 4th grade level at the hospital? Or when you ran into Applejack's farm and had to get a cast on your arm? Oh! Or do you mean the time that you stubbed your hoof and you had Applejack take you to the hospital? Oooooooorrrrrr, do you mean when the time when I heard you moaning and groaning and then I checked it out and you and AJ were there you said you sprained your ankle femur or something and that Applejack was helping you and that I should just go home-" Pinkie took a moment to breath, and ponder. "You should really thank Applejack sometime. She's been helping you a lot!"
"Hi Pinkie." Fluttershy grinned at her overactive friend. She folded her forelegs on the table, pretending to ignore the blush and stutter of the pony across from her. "Is there anything good for lunch today?"
The moment it left her mouth, Fluttershy seemed to realize what a horrendous insult she had accidentally levied on her dear friend's home and place of work. "Not that anything you have for lunch is bad or anything. It's always good! Everything's good! I'll just have the... anything."
In the meantime, Dash seemed to have collected herself. "Uhh... I'll just have what Fluttershy's having too. The, uhh... the anything, that's it."
Their waitress and friend smacked herself in the head playfully. "Du-uh! You guys must be like, starving! I'll go get those anythings for you guys lickety-split! Faster than a greased racepony riding on lightning downhill in the summer with roller-blades and a propeller and some butter and some more grease!" As quickly as she had appeared, Pinkie disappeared once more into Sugarcube Corner, liable to emerge with absolutely anything on the menu.
"That's our Pinkie." Rainbow stated plainly.
"That's our Pinkie." Fluttershy agreed.
For a few moments, they sat in silence, taking in the quaint atmosphere of the town center at noon. The streets were bustling, but only just. The kind of hustle and bustle that lest you know it's an active town with active ponies all going about their business, but only just enough so that it's comfortable and familiar to walk around. You couldn't go ten feet without coming across somepony you know.
"So... Rainbow, how has your day been?"
"Pretty awesome. All my days are always awesome always, but today has been particularly awesome. Daring Do's new book got released this morning and I was first in line to get it. She goes to Sibearia to find an ancient amulet underneath Lake Bajklop, but it turns out that Ahuizotl's brother has got some big army and they want to use the amulet to take over Crineigha, and that's about as far as I've gotten so far."
"It sounds exciting. How many pages have you read?"
"I dunno! I may read, but that doesn't make me some egghead like Twilight. You know me better than that, Fluts!" Rainbow's cream-colored friend seemed to take a scant amount of amusement at this statement. "But what's up with you? Got anything on your mind?"
Fluttershy didn't need to think about her answer. The little pebble in the pit of her stomach shook in its rut. "I was actually thinking about Rarity recently."