How We Met
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfic
By The Rated Ponystar
Chapter 6: How We Laughed
Edited by: Fernin and Souldin
Disclaimer: I do not own MLP. If I did, I would so make a Daring Do spin-off or Dr. Whooves
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When you grew up in the city of Cloudsdale, seeing snow wasn't exactly something that was spectacular. However, seeing it on the earth's surface was an entirely different matter. The first time Fluttershy saw snow on the ground she thought she had entered a new mystical world. In fact, winter was one of the most important times for her job. The hibernating animals needed somepony to make sure that they weren’t awakened early.
Needless to say, Fluttershy had been looking forward to her first winter in Ponyville. When she opened her door on the first winter morning, the yellow pegasus felt like she had been raptured into a wintry heaven. The snow completely covered the earth as if an artist took his brush and painted the landscape pure white. Fluttershy slowly walked along the soft solidified blanket of snow, sighing in comfort as she felt the solid water beneath her hooves. The young mare inhaled the wispy chilling air before exhaling a warm visible breath, and eager to explore her new surroundings, raced back inside and quickly got her hoof woven yellow and pink striped scarf. She also grabbed her saddlebags filled with other scarves that she had made for any of her animals should they cross paths.
After making sure her door was locked, Fluttershy ventured out into the new white world that lay before her. Humming a favorite tune of hers, the smiling pegasus trotted merrily through the snow covered paths as she looked up and saw blue jays twiddling in the sky. Upon hearing her whistling, the blue jays flew towards the animal caretaker and happily chirped in tune. Fluttershy giggled before she thanked them by giving each bird a small purple scarf.
After they left, Fluttershy looked over the distant town that she had grown to love over the last few months. Coming to Ponyville was one of the best choices that she had ever made in her entire life. Not only were the ponies very nice to her, but Fluttershy had also earned their respect by becoming Ponyville’s official animal caretaker; a job she was took pride in.
Fluttershy also managed to find new friends that helped her settle in. Rarity the dressmaker shared a lot of similar interests such as romance novels and stitching. The elegant unicorn also often invited her to weekly spa trips, mostly so Rarity could talk about her week while Fluttershy just listened. The farmer Applejack was not only kind but also supplied the her and her animal friends with a hefty supply of apples every month. In return, Fluttershy would travel to Sweet Apple Acers and help take care of any livestock issues such as helping the birth of a newborn or calming the sheep down for a shaving. Finally there was Pinkie Pie, who was pretty much friends with everypony. Although no longer frightened of the energetic earth pony, Fluttershy was sometimes still unnerved by her constant sporadic appearances.
But perhaps the greatest thing about Ponyville was the fact that she had found her old friend, Rainbow Dash. Even though it had been years since they saw each other, Rainbow Dash hadn't changed a single bit. Dash was still her cocky daredevil attitude like self, but the rainbow-manned pegasus still retained her loyal adventurous spirit. Out of all her friends, Rainbow Dash was the one that Fluttershy held the closest to her.
Upon thinking of her childhood friend, her teal eyes turned towards the distant cloud home where Rainbow Dash lived. There was little doubt in Fluttershy's mind that her adjustment to Ponyville wouldn't of been as enjoyable if it wasn't for Rainbow Dash. It was Rainbow Dash who gave her the entire tour of the town. It was Rainbow Dash who checked up on her for the first few days in her new home to make sure she was alright and adjusting. And whenever Fluttershy was in trouble, she could always count on Rainbow Dash to help her.
Like the one time a few stallions cornered her behind an alley and kept harassing her for a date. Rainbow Dash happened to be nearby and swooped to her rescue, managing to back the colts off and even slugged one when he said something incredibly rude to Fluttershy. It was like Rainbow Dash was her own guardian angel.
"Hey Fluttershy!" shouted a voice from above. Looking up, Fluttershy spotted a familiar rainbow streak flying in the sky. It zoomed and twirled in the air before diving down towards the surface. Like a shooting star, Rainbow Dash descended at neck breaking speeds. Even though she had seen this many times before, it still made Fluttershy worry. Just as Dash was about to collide headfirst with the ground, she pulled up and fully extended her wings causing her to glide likes she had the grace of the falcon. Placing her hooves on the ground, Rainbow Dash skidded to a halt while kicking up snow into the air.
Fluttershy gasped as the snow pile fell on top of her making her look like a snowpony. Rainbow Dash immediately fell to the ground laughing, her hooves kicking in the air as she struggled to breathe. Fluttershy soon laughed as well before she shook the snow off her mane.
Rainbow Dash snickered as she lifted herself back up. "Sorry Fluttershy... Haha, I just thought I'd give you a show for your first snowfall here in Ponyville.”
Fluttershy look at her friend with an amused smile. "I really appreciated it, Rainbow Dash. But don't you have weather duties today?"
Rainbow Dash waved the question off with her hoof. "Chill, Fluttershy. I managed to convince Raindrops to take my shift so I could hang out with you. So what sort of awesome snow activities do you want to do?"
"Oh, I don't know. What sort of things you do when it's winter? Nothing dangerous I hope?” asked Fluttershy.
“Relax, Fluttershy. It’s all harmless fun. Besides, you could use a little excitement." said Rainbow Dash.
Dash’s term of the word ‘excitement’ usually meant a lot of intensity that the poor yellow pegasus wasn’t use to. She didn’t want to make it sound like she didn’t want to have fun and hurt Dash’s feelings, but there were previous times that Dash’s fun had gotten a little out of hand. Like the one time the speedster convinced her to help out in a prank that covered the park in green jelly. They had to spend a week cleaning it all up when they got caught. “I don’t know…”
Faking a few sniffles, Rainbow Dash put her forehoof over her heart. “You wound me, Fluttershy. You don’t trust your best and most noble friend?”
Fluttershy fell for the act and started apologizing which just made Dash laugh. Realizing that she had been tricked she glared at Rainbow Dash, but replaced it with a smile. “I really need to catch on when you’re acting serious or not.”
“Yeah, you’re too easy to fool sometimes." Rainbow Dash placed her hoof over her heart again. “I, Rainbow Dash, promise that Fluttershy will have the most exciting, and safe, time of her life if she agrees to follow me.”
Smiling, Fluttershy nodded as Dash quickly took her by the hoof and dragged her into the air.
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“First item on the list! Belly sledding!” announced Rainbow Dash, pointing to a steep hill that was covered in snow and looked very slippery. It was almost as tall as Rainbow Dash’s house.
Fluttershy looked at her friend, stunned that she was even suggesting such a thing. "Wouldn’t sliding down on ice using your stomach hurt?"
Rainbow Dash flew to the top of the hill and looked down. “Don’t worry. It may be icy, but it doesn’t hurt at all. It’s as smooth as a cloud, but much more fun! And if you’re still unsure, try using your flank. Works almost as good as your belly, but not close enough. Watch!”
Licking her chops, Rainbow Dash lowered herself to her stomach at the edge of the hill. She then pushed herself off with her back hooves and gave a thrilling shout as she raced down the icy downward path. Fluttershy couldn’t help but be fascinated by the amount of fun her Dash was having. Rainbow slowly began to subside in speed before coming to a complete halt right next to her.
Lifting herself up, Rainbow Dash did a little pose, showing off how harmless it was. “So you ready? Let’s have a race to see who can go faster.”
“Um, okay.” Fluttershy agreed as the two of them flew back to the top of the steep hill.
Fluttershy decided to go the safer way and sat down on her rear while Dash went back on her belly. “You ready?” asked Dash. Fluttershy nodded as anticipation knotted in her stomach. “Three… two… one… go!”
Both mares pushed off at the same time as they raced neck and neck towards the bottom of the hill. Rainbow Dash then poised her body completely straight like a spear and sailed on ahead. Determined to give it her all, Fluttershy leaned a bit forward in an effort to match her opponents speed. Suddenly, she noticed something up ahead and gasped. A small ramp made of snow was straight ahead in her direction. Fluttershy tried to steer out of the way, but it was too late. Covering her eyes, she flew right off the ramp with a small scream. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, had made it to the bottom and cheered for her victory. “I won! Oh, yeah! Nice try though, Fluttershy… Fluttershy?”
“Look out!” screamed Fluttershy from above. Looking up, Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as Fluttershy crashed on top of her. Fluttershy moaned a bit before she lifted her hooves from her eyes and looked around. “Dash? Where are you?”
“… Under your butt. Please get off…” Dash muttered from below her friend's tail. Fluttershy gave a small 'eep' before getting off. Rainbow Dash shook her head and moaned. “Oh, I’m going to feel that in the morning.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to avoid the ramp but…” Fluttershy’s ears lowered themselves in shame as she turned even redder.
“Ah, forget it. I’m tougher then I look,” Rainbow Dash reassured her friend with a smile. “But just in case. Let’s try something a bit more relaxing for our next activity: snow sculptures.”
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Now this was an activity more to Fluttershy’s taste. Not only was it quiet and safe, she could also create cute snow animals. Both girls decided to do their sculptures in secret; agreeing to not see the other’s work until they were both finished. Fluttershy carefully made a set of baby snow bunnies all hoping around a larger snow bunny that had angel wings on its back. It looked like the bigger bunny was watching over the smaller ones playing around like a divine guardian. It brought a tender feeling to Fluttershy’s heart as she began to imagine the scene playing out in her mind.
“Nice one, Fluttershy. Totally fits you,” Rainbow Dash commented from behind. Fluttershy turned red from the praise as she started to turn around.
“So what did you make Rainbo-DRAGON!” Fluttershy flew straight through her snow bunny angel, sending the pieces flying as she hid behind a nearby tree. Every part of her body shivered as she closed her eyes and hoped the giant beast would go away.
“Fluttershy! It’s just a model. It’s not real.” Rainbow Dash’s words perked Fluttershy’s ears. Slowly peeking out of her hiding spot, she saw that the dragon was indeed just made out of snow, much to her relief. Embarrassed, Fluttershy walked back to the sculpture, continuing to shiver at the sight of the snow monster. It was so life like, right down to the scales. Its wide sharp teeth looked almost big enough to rip her into pieces and its tail lifted off the ground like a spiked whip. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was made of snow, Fluttershy was sure she would have had a heart attack.
“It must be good, if I made it scare the feathers off of you.” Rainbow Dash then flew up to the snow dragon and gave it a good smack in the face. The face of snow monster fell to the ground, leaving the dragon headless. “See? Harmless.”
“I know, but… I-I-it was j-just s-so sc-cary,” stuttered Fluttershy .
Rainbow Dash landed next to her and gave her a pat on the back. “Don’t worry, Shy. If any dragon comes near you, I’ll kick its scaly behind back to the cave it crawled out of.”
Although it was highly unlikely that Dash could do anything against a real live dragon, Fluttershy was grateful nonetheless. Having Dash around as company always made Fluttershy feel better no matter what and she hoped it would stay that way forever. “So any other activities?”
A sly grin grew on Dash’s face which made Fluttershy a bit worried. “Yeah, do me a favor and turn around.”
Reluctantly, Fluttershy obeyed. A second later she felt something soft and cold hit her on the backside of the head, nearly knocking her off her hooves. Fluttershy turned around to see Rainbow Dash holding a snowball in her one hoof. “Third, and my personal favorite, is a snowball fight!” Fluttershy gasped and she ran away, avoiding snowballs from above while Dash laughed hysterically. “Come on, Fluttershy! Show me your stuff!”
Whipping behind a thick oak tree, Fluttershy gulped and tried to focus. Taking some snow, she rolled it into a ball as she slowly peeked around the tree only to narrowly dodge another snowball. Dash, a few feet away, whistled a tune while lazily flapping her wings. “I can wait all day, Fluttershy. Come out and take this snowball like a mare.”
Gulping, Fluttershy tried to think of a solution to get out of her predicament. She saw trees nearby for cover, but Rainbow Dash would surly hit her again. Maybe she could fly? No, it would be too obvious. An idea then came to Fluttershy as she smiled. If she couldn’t go around or above, she would have to go under.
Not too far away, Rainbow Dash yawned. “Okay, that’s long enough. I’m coming for ya!”
With a loud cry of excitement, Rainbow Dash zoomed around the tree and fired her snowball… only to hit nothing. Confused, she landed on the ground and looked for signs of the pink-maned pegasus. “Where is she? I could have sworn she was around here…”
Dash was so preoccupied with her pondering that she didn’t notice a small lump moving across the snow similar to a groundhog underneath the dirt. Just as she was a foot away from her target, Fluttershy leaped out from underneath the snow with her snowball raised. Rainbow Dash turned around and was shocked by the sudden ambush until she felt the snowball smack her dead center in the chest.
Realizing she had been hit, Rainbow Dash faked a groaning sound and raised herself to the air, forehooves placed over where she had been hit. “Augh! You got me! I’m a goner!” The dramatic pegasus proceeded to fly around like a wounded bird while giving out fake death cries and coughs. Putting her hoof over her forehead, which reminded Fluttershy of a certain white unicorn, Rainbow Dash shouted, “Why cruel fate! Why do you end the life of such a young, awesome pegasus?! Oh, woe is unto me!”
Fluttershy now couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s performance as Rainbow Dash flew to her side and placed a hoof around her neck. She pretended to cough as she weakly whispered, “Tell them…I fought well, Fluttershy… do not weep for me… my time has come…” Removing herself from her friend, Rainbow Dash proceeded to stumble around. “So cold… I’m so… cold…”
Giving one last ‘death cry’ the ‘dying’ pegasus ended her performance with a flop to her back and lifted her hooves straight up in the air as she closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Fluttershy clapped her hooves for the performance. Just as she was about to speak, she looked up and spotted something not too far away. Narrowing her eyes, Fluttershy spotted the body of a small tiny creature that looked like it wasn’t moving.
Her material instincts kicking in, Fluttershy galloped towards the creature while accidently stomping on Rainbow Dash’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Groaning, Rainbow Dash glared at the retreating Fluttershy and yelled, “Hey! Is that any way to treat the dead?!”
Seeing Fluttershy running like the wind, Rainbow Dash got up and followed. When she arrived, she saw the animal lover cradling a tiny bunny in her arms. Rainbow Dash got a closer look at it. “Is it dead?”
“No, but he’s very weak. I need to take him home!” Fluttershy gently held the bunny with one hoof and proceeded to fly in the direction of her home, Rainbow Dash right behind her.
Realizing that time was of the essence, Rainbow Dash decided to take action. She flew ahead with her tail inches from Fluttershy’s face. “Grab my tail and hold on to that bunny!”
Fluttershy gently grabbed the rainbow colored tail with her mouth and held on tight. A split second later, Fluttershy felt the wind rushing against her cheeks as Rainbow Dash double timed it through the woods. In a matter of minutes, they managed to arrive at Fluttershy’s cottage. Despite feeling a bit woozy, Fluttershy quickly entered her home and got to work on saving the poor bunny.
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“Here you go, little one. Eat it all up,” Fluttershy gently pushed the carrot soup towards the weak little bunny that lay on a small basket covered in blankets. The bunny looked at the soup and put his paw inside the bowl before licking it. His eyes widen and immediately dived in, slurping the delicious soup greedily. “Oh my, some little bunny was really hungry wasn’t he?”
When it finished, the bunny held out the bowl for more, but Fluttershy shook her head. “You can have more later, ok? Right now you need to rest.”
The bunny’s response was throwing the bowl against her head. Fluttershy yipped as it sailed over her and crashed into pieces against the wall. Now she was going to have to buy a new one. “Please go to sleep Mr. Bunny? I promise to make you more soup when you wake up. Extra carrots too!” The bunny thought it over before nodding. He gave a loud yawn and lowered his head, drifting into a deep sleep. Fluttershy couldn’t help but be moved. It was as if the bunny was sleeping like an angel.
“Everything alright, Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash, flying from the staircase. A towel was wrapped around her head before she shook it off and left it on the ground.
Fluttershy picked up the towel and threw it near a hamper. “Oh, just fine. Nothing to worry about, did you enjoy your shower?”
“Yeah, thanks again for letting me use it. How’s the little guy?” Rainbow Dash nodded towards the sleeping bunny.
“Oh, he’s going to be fine. I really am grateful for your help, Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy, nuzzling her friends neck.
“Y-Yeah well, I’m always there to help out.” said Rainbow Dash, blushing.
After she finished, Fluttershy went to her couch and took the big red blanket off it before walking towards her fireplace. “You want to sit with me next to the fire? Um, unless you got other plans then forget I said anything…”
Rainbow Dash shook her head and sat down beside the yellow pegasus as they wrapped themselves around the warm blanket, staring into the dancing flames across from them. The two mares sat next to each other in silence, but occasionally glanced at each other and smiled. Fluttershy could feel the blood rush to her cheeks as she muttered, “I really had fun today… I never knew winter could be so much fun.”
“And we’ll have plenty more of them in the future,” Rainbow Dash yawned as she began to feel her eyes droop.
“Oh, um… you can sleep here if you want…” said Fluttershy, but the tired pegasus was already asleep. Fluttershy smiled as she leaned on her oldest friend, her sensitive ears listening to the strong heartbeats inside. Rubbing her snout against Rainbow Dash’s warm cyan coat, Fluttershy sighed in comfort as she slowly drifted into her own dreams. Dreams of a certain cyan pegasus…
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If you haven't guessed, I’m making it romantic.
Thanks to Souldin for his edits.
Still more to come.
Rated out
(Plays Metalingus from After Bridge)