Old Friends
Rainbow Dash landed, and looked up at the weather-beaten house she was all too familiar with.
Come on, deep breaths Dash... she thought, as she crossed the rickety bridge.It's just like ripping off a plaster...
Her hooves landed on the dirt trail when a traitorous voice in her head spoke up.Yeah, get it over with quicker, so it hurts less...
Rainbow Dash swallowed the lump in her throat, and knocked on the gnarled door. A few seconds passed, and the door opened. At least, it sounded that way, but she couldn't tell by looking.
"H-h-hello," Fluttershy's soft voice barely reached Dash's ears from inside. "Is...Is someone there?"
"Uhh... hey 'Shy," Dash replied, rubbing the back of one foreleg with the other. "How you been?"
"Rainbow Dash? Umm... I'm OK, I guess," a tinge of pale pink appeared through the crack in the door. "Would you like to come in..." the young mare started to ask, before flinching away from the door, the shadows of the unlit house filling the doorway once more. "Oh, but you don't have to if you don't want to... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, you must be busy. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing..."
Rainbow Dash's face fell into one of her waiting hooves. "'Shy, I camehere. I wanna," she started, before shaking her head. "No, I kinda need to talk."
Fluttershy froze. Oh no, those words are never good... she thought. She took a second to swallow the lump that had appeared in her throat, before answering. "W-we could talk through the door, if that would be easier..."
Jeez, Dash... Dash thought, as she realised what it sounded like, tapping her head with a hoof throughout. There's this awesome new thing. It's called 'Thinking before you talk'. Maybe you should try it some time?
"D-dash, please..." Fluttershy's shaking voice snapped Dash from her thoughts. The door was now wide enough for the timid Pegasus to poke her head round the door. "You're starting to scare me..."
"It's... It's nothing," Dash waved her old friend's concerns off. "Don't worry 'bout me, I can handle anything," the athlete puffed her chest out in her usual bravado. "Just watch me."
A small smile appeared on Fluttershy's face. "Of course, Dash. I'm sorry I doubted you."
Rainbow Dash shuddered slightly as Fluttershy vanished into the room. After waiting a little, she followed the shy Pegasus into the house.
Unable to see anything through the gloom, the daredevil started looking rapidly around the room, trying to locate her friend. "Hey, 'Shy? You got anything to drink?"
"Oh, umm..." Fluttershy's voice was joined by the clinking of metal on china. Seconds later, she emerged from the kitchen, a large tray perched across one wing and her back. Her spare wing flicked a switch on the wall, and the small cottage was instantly lit. "I'd just finished making tea when you got here. Or I could get you something else, I'm sure I have something, I know you don't like tea much..."
"Tea's fine, 'Shy," Dash took a seat at the table. "Don't worry."
"OK," Fluttershy placed the tray on the table between the pair. "Umm... so... why'd you come round Dash... if you don't mind telling me that is...?”
The cup froze on its way to Dash's lips. A sigh escaped her, as she turned her head away from her old friend. "'Shy, I‘ve never been any good at the mushy stuff, you know that. But I feel like I've gotta do this, before I lose my nerve and just try to brush it all off like last time..." Dash paused to take a deep breath, and turned back to Fluttershy. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now..."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as Dash spoke. Is she actually saying... she thought, biting her lip in anticipation. Please don’t let this be a dream...
However, after a minute of silence realised that Dash wasn't about to finish. "Ohhh, w-we can talk about something else if you're uncomfortable. I'm sorry for being so..." Fluttershy paused, noticing Dash's wince this time. "What's wrong Dash, are you OK?"
Dash nodded. "Yeah, I'm OK. Just, please, don't apologise..."
"Oh... I was doing it again, wasn't I? I'm sorr..." Fluttershy started, catching herself at the last second, gaze cast to the floor. "Umm... maybe... maybe we could go back to what you were saying?"
Dash silently gulped her cooled tea, baulking slightly at the taste. After finishing the cup, she screwed her eyes shut, and took the final leap. "'Shy, I’m sorry."
"Sorry," Fluttershy's face soured for a second. I knew it was too good to be true.... Once the thought had passed, she cocked her head to one side in confusion. "Sorry for what?"
"A lot, 'Shy, probably more than you can remember, but let's start at the beginning. I’m sorry for knocking you off the clouds at flight camp. I was meant to be saving you from those bullies, not nearly killing you.
I'm sorry for bringing you up a mountain to fight that dragon. I never even thanked you for saving my life.
I’m sorry I keep dragging you out to watch me do the same old tricks, instead of asking if there's anything you want to do.
I'm sorry 'bout forcing you into the Hurricane team. I got so focused on doing something with you, I didn't even think 'bout whether you'd want to.
I'm sorry I... I...." Dash shook, before the dam finally broke. "A book! My best friend for a book! Does that sound fair,Element of Loyalty?" she yelled at herself, tears streaming down her face. Her hooves started pounding at her temple. "Stupid! Stupid!
Fluttershy darted across the room, wrapping her wings and forelegs around the distraught Dash. "Shhh, it's OK Dash," she whispered into her friend's ear.
"I... I mean it, 'Shy. I'm sorry 'Shy," Dash murmured, while swallowing a lump in her throat. "For more than you'll ever know..." She started hastily rubbing away the tears. "Aww hay, how do you turn these things off?"
"Umm, normally you just wait for it to stop,” Fluttershy answered, absent mindedly stroking her friend’s back. “I'll... I’ll just go get you a towel..."
Dash watched her fly upstairs through bleary eyes, still wiping away at the tears rolling down her face. "You know, you're amazing, 'Shy...” she whispered to the now lonely room, before sighing. “I just wish you’d let yourself see it..."
***
It took a few minutes for Fluttershy to return. Dash just hung the towel over her head, as she felt Fluttershy drape a soothing wing across her back. "Thanks 'Shy," she said before sighing. "I think I should go before I make a bigger fool of myself..."
"Are you sure you'll be OK," Fluttershy started, before blushing and waving her hooves in front of her face. "N-not that I think you won't be..."
"Relax, I get it," Dash rested a foreleg across the back of Fluttershy's neck. "I don't know, but I just feel a lot better now I've said it, you know? Anyway, gotta fly," she offered an awkward chuckle. "Sky won't clear itself..."
Dash moved towards the door, softly opening it, staring across the endless grey above her.
Fluttershy watched her friend move across the room, her thoughts racing. Oh just tell her already... her mind screamed. She just said she feels better for talking, and she's not about to abandon you after all that. As she heard the door start to creak shut, her mind snapped back to reality.
"... Dash, wait..." Fluttershy said suddenly, as she heard the door start to creak shut.
Dash's head appeared through the doorway. "Yeah 'Shy?"
“Umm... I... Err...” Fluttershy stumbled over her words, the small amount of confidence she had gained just as suddenly evaporating.
Dash raised an eyebrow. “You OK there ‘Shy?”
“I...I...” she managed to mumble, before her gaze hit the floor. “I forgive you...” was all she managed to say, her mind instantly berating her.Coward...
“’Shy...” Dash studied her friend carefully as she spoke. “Even I can tell you didn’t mean that. So, either you’re lying, or you’re hiding something,” she slowly advanced on the shaking Pegasus. “C’mon ‘Shy, you can tell me.”
“...I can’t...”
“’Shy, c’mon, it’s me,” Dash took another step towards Fluttershy, who started to back away. “We tell each other everything.”
“If I tell you this, you’ll hate me,” Fluttershy said, as she shrunk closer to the floor. “I don’t think I could take that...”
Rainbow Dash sighed, sitting down in front of her trembling friend. “Fluttershy, I doubt there’s anything you could say to make me hate you. I mean, you’re... you.”
“...What about ‘New Fluttershy’?”
“That wasn’t yo...” Dash started, before finding a yellow hoof in her mouth.
“Yes it was, Dash,” Fluttershy turned away from her friend. “I told some of my best friends their talents were pointless. I was the one who attacked half the town over nothing...” she began wiping her face as the tears rolled down it.
“’Shy...” Dash started moving towards her, but froze as she spoke again.
“But...” Fluttershy added, as she reached the foot of her staircase. “At least back then I wouldn’t have been afraid to tell you how I feel...”
Dash stared at the space her friend had been stood in, only moving once she heard a door slam shut upstairs. Wait, what just happened? she thought, before she flew out the door. Aww hay, I don’t have time to sort this out right now, I’ve got a sky to clear.
***
Dash groaned in exhaustion as she flopped into the lonely cloud in the sky. “Stupid Everfree clouds...” she grumbled, as she reached around to start preening her unkempt wings. “Why can’t they ever stay over there," she grunted, before finishing the thought in her head. Hay, why can't they just stay still?
Spitting a mouthful of broken feathers out beside her, she began to massage her head as she looked over the edge of her cloud. “Alright ‘Shy...” she asked herself, as her gaze rested on the cottage. “What’re you trying to hide?”
Alright, she thought, closing her eyes and stretching out across her fluffy perch. I know it’s about me. And she’s worried I’ll hate her... she paused for a second, and shook her head at that. Yeah, it’s ‘Shy, she’s always worried about something like that... she sighed, and took a few deep breaths. Ok, it’s not gonna be that she hates me, or she probably wouldn’t be worried about me hating her... a brief chuckle escaped the tired mare’s lips. Not that ‘Shy could hate anyone... Maybe it’s that she likes me... the smile quickly fell into a frown. Nah, ‘Shy’s not like that. I mean, she was never checking out the other girls at... flight... camp...
Dash sat up, one hoof over her mouth as she tried to remember. Then again, she wasn’t really looking at the colts either. But, they were bullying her... the hoof moved to scratch her mane as she just confused herself even more. Actually, so were the other fillies... Really, the only pony she’d even talk to was...
“... Me...” Dash finished the thought aloud. She started shaking her hooves in front of her, trying to wipe away the ideas in her head. “Arrgh, all this thinking’s given me a headache. What was I thinking? I’m no egghead,” Dash flared her wings, and took off from her cloud, headed back to the small cottage.
A few seconds later, she turned back, and started pushing the cloud along with her.
***
Having finally stopped crying, Fluttershy looked at the bedside clock. ...Hmm, I doubt it’s 88:88... she thought, struggling to clear the blurriness from her eyes. When another look at the clock produced the same result, she moaned, and buried her head in her pillows. Another groan emerged, muffled by the cushions, as the light patter of rain against the windows filled the otherwise silent room. Just what I needed... Why couldn’t I have just kept my big mouth shut?
Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on her door. “G-g-go away, I’m not in,” she sobbed, before the knocking moved up to her window. She tossed a pillow at the window. “I said I’m not in.”
“You know I’m gonna keep knocking ‘til you open the window, ‘Shy,” Dash deadpanned.
“Why does that never work...” Fluttershy asked herself, before opening the window. “Umm... what do you want, Dash?”
“We didn’t really finish earlier, did we?”
“... I...” Fluttershy visibly sagged, as she moved away from the drizzle that was entering the room. “Guess not...”
“You wanted to tell me something,” Dash ventured, leaning in through the window
“Umm... no?”
Dash sighed. I figured as much... she thought to herself, before resting her forelegs on the open window frame. “ Fine, new topic then," she said, offering her friend a smile "’Shy, have I ever told you the whole story 'bout why I want to be a wonderbolt?”
“Umm... they’re... the best?”
“Well, that’s part of it...” Dash admitted, before beckoning Fluttershy closer. “I was kinda hoping I’d be more than a reserve before I told you this, but,” she whispered in the shy mare’s ear, before leaning back and kissing her. It didn’t last more than a few seconds, and Dash went straight back to speaking in her ear again. “It’s ‘cause I think you deserve the best.”
Fluttershy was frozen to the spot. “You like me?”
Rainbow Dash moved back and nodded to the blushing mare.
“You likeme?”
“Well, yeah...”
“You likeme?”
Dash rolled her eyes. “Yes, I, Rainbow Dash, like you, Fluttershy,” she said, wrapping her wings gently around her friends neck. “Do I need to kiss you again?”
“No!” Fluttershy shouted a little too quickly, before blushing deeper. “I mean you don’t need to... not that I don’t... but we... oh my...”
Dash smiled at her flustered friend, before leaning into the hug a little more. “Do you want me to kiss you again?”
I didn’t ask you to stop... Fluttershy thought, as her face turned a deeper shade of pink. “Umm... if you’d l...” she started, before being cut off by her lips meeting Rainbow Dash’s once again. Fluttershy closed her eyes, and just let herself melt into the kiss.
Once they broke apart, both Pegasi gasped a little for breath.
Fluttershy brought a hoof to her lips, as the tingling sensation started to subside. I’ve heard ponies talk about a ‘spark’, she thought as she . But I didn’t think they meant it like that...
Meanwhile, Dash was licking her lips, her mind refusing to move on from the kiss. She even tastes sweet. Almost like Honeysuckle... her mind repeated, as her eyes started to glaze over. However, once her breath was back, she shook the thoughts from her head, and decided to break the silence. “Wow...” was all she managed to say before her cheeks quickly did their best to try and match her eyes.
“Um...” Fluttershy struggled between gulps of air to make words. “I... Um... I...” she looked into Dash’s eyes, and felt the heat in her chest rise. “...Oh, buck it.”
Her wings wrapped quickly around the back of Dash’s neck, slowly bringing her through the window, and into a much deeper kiss. After breaking the embrace, the mares struggled for breath again, sitting side by side on the rug in Fluttershy’s room.
“Alright, I said it earlier,” Dash said, draping a wing over the seemingly exhausted Fluttershy. “But, wow...”
“Mhmm...” Fluttershy managed to murmur, as she nuzzled her head across Dash’s foreleg.
“Hey ‘Shy, you wanna grab something to eat later?”
“You mean like...” Fluttershy swallowed a lump in her throat. “A date?”
“Well, yeah...” Dash raised an eyebrow. “Unless they changed the word.”
“Umm... I don’t think it's changed?”
“Then, yeah, exactly like a date.”
Fluttershy leaned in closer. “Then yes, I’d love to...”