Fluttershy was currently walking in the direction of Ponyville’s marketing place. She was just a few distances away from her cottage. She passed by a few of her animal friends along the way. As they waved good bye, she waved back at them with a wing.
Rainbow Dash was latched onto Fluttershy’s mane, riding along as Fluttershy continued to walk. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck before she gave a salivated lick on one of her hooves, lifting it high in the air in order to test the wind conditions. She still forgot that her limbs probably weren't even hooves anymore, but it was easier for her to think of them as such.
“Hmm…” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she focused on the wind power that was occurring today. She took a few moments to concentrate on it.
“Something wrong, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked, noticing Rainbow Dash taking more time than usual.
“Mmrph… no…” Rainbow Dash responded sadly while putting her hoof back down. “It’s too strong…”
“What?” Fluttershy asked again, confused.
“The wind…” Rainbow Dash responded. “It’s blowing around randomly and it’s too strong right now for me to fly in.” Rainbow Dash groaned off as she slumped down on Fluttershy’s mane.
“Oh my… I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said sympathetically.
Rainbow Dash stared off in the skies as she lied on Fluttershy’s mane with a glum look on her face. Usually a day like this was like a gentle breeze to Rainbow Dash’s wings. She could fly around freely and effortlessly while just enjoying the wind blowing on her like this. But now, due to her breezie form, it was a rather dangerous weather pattern.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. She groaned again as she got back up to her hooves, putting a stern confident look on her face. She looked over the edge of Fluttershy’s mane, glancing down towards the ground as they treaded along. She could already feel the breeze blowing on her large wings and flowing mane, attempting to pry her off of Fluttershy’s mane.
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck again as she took a deep breath, looking down towards the moving ground. She couldn’t believe that she was so nervous about this. She had always traveled much, MUCH faster than this all her life. And yet, this slow of a speed was making her nervous just because of the wind power outside.
Summoning up her courage, Rainbow Dash leapt off.
“Rainbow?” Fluttershy looked towards her breezie pet as she felt her weight shift. Rainbow Dash struggled a bit as she corrected her unstable flight pattern. She moved her body towards Fluttershy’s underside, using her body as a shield to block off most of the wind power.
“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Fluttershy asked, being concerned while she was witnessing Rainbow Dash swaying in the air, struggling to keep her path set.
“*Pant* I’m flying Fluttershy, *pant*,” Rainbow Dash responded, putting a lot of power in her wings to keep them aligned correctly.
“But Rainbow-“
“I know what I said earlier," Rainbow Dash said, interrupting Fluttershy. "*Pant* but I just want to exercise right now.” Rainbow Dash kept herself close to Fluttershy’s underside, trying her best methods to block out the winds.
“Rainbow Dash, it’s too dangerous, come back inside,” Fluttershy said softly, referring to her mane or coat as an inside. Rainbow Dash didn’t respond and just kept flying the way she was. The way that her flight path swayed around to the point where she was slightly hitting Fluttershy’s legs and stomach made it obvious that she was struggling, but she still kept at it. Seeing that her breezie pet wasn’t listening, Fluttershy stopped walking and put a hoof in front of her path.
“Rainbow Dash, come back inside,” Fluttershy said in a more demanding tone. Rainbow Dash was stopped by Fluttershy’s hoof and she tried to move it.
“But, Fluttershy-“
“Rainbow Dash, listen to me.” Fluttershy’s tone got more serious. She used her hoof to move Rainbow Dash to the front of her so that she could look at her eye to eye. The look on Fluttershy’s face was making Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. “It’s too dangerous right now. There will be more times for you to exercise outside, but today you could seriously hurt yourself if you do.” The tone and look that Fluttershy was giving made Rainbow Dash more nervous than usual.
“But…” Rainbow Dash tried to respond, but the look on Fluttershy’s face was making her words lock up. She put a hoof on the back of her neck as those eyes pierced her soul with regret. It wasn't even the Stare that she was using. It was the stern look that an owner would give to their pet or child if they were misbehaving. Her confidence slowly left her as she looked into those eyes..
Rainbow Dash looked away and sat down, sighing out in defeat. Fluttershy shifted her body lower towards the ground as she brought her hoof to lie Rainbow Dash down on the dirt road they were treading on.
“Cheer up, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy continued in a more soothing tone. She used a hoof to start petting along Rainbow Dash’s head, slightly calming her down. “One day, the weather will be calm enough for you to spread your wings in safety.” Fluttershy reached into one of the bags she took, pulling out a small brush, the same brush she used yesterday.
“…Fluttershy… ooh…” Rainbow Dash’s depressed figure slowly took a change as she felt that brush rubbing along her coat. The brush stimulated some pressure points to her body that absolutely pleasured her. Rainbow Dash gave a depressed moan as the brush ran along the back of her neck, delighting her soul much more pleasantly. She couldn’t stop herself from shivering and stretching her neck as the brush slid. The contact she was feeling was so much different than before, but in the good way.
“I’m only looking out for your safety,” Fluttershy said calmly as she brushed along Rainbow Dash’s coat, sliding from her neck all the way along her back. “If you want, I can take you back to the cottage,” she offered.
“…Mmm, no, Fluttershy, I-I’ll listen,” Rainbow Dash said while she was moaning from the pleasant contact. Even if she couldn’t do much, she would rather be outside than wait for Fluttershy while indoors all day.
“That’s a good Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy finished. Rainbow Dash started to tear up slightly while she was being groomed. She couldn’t tell if it was because of her sadness or her pleasant feel. She wished that she could fly freely again, but at the same time, she was absolutely loving this contact. The two feelings were too conflicting for her to tell. Fluttershy noticed that Rainbow Dash seemed to be sobbing slightly.
“…Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked concerned.
“*Sniff* I’m fine,” Rainbow Dash responded, wiping a tear off her eyes. She looked back to Fluttershy with a slight smile on her face. “Can we continue now?” Fluttershy smiled back at Rainbow Dash. She put the brush away, using her hoof to carry Rainbow Dash back on her pink mane.
“Of course,” Fluttershy said as she patted Rainbow Dash on the head. She wanted to make sure Rainbow Dash wasn’t pressured and was kept happy and safe.
As Fluttershy continued to walk towards the market place, Rainbow Dash decided to curl inside Fluttershy’s mane, keeping herself comforted inside. Her large wings were able to be curled inside the pink mane, allowing her whole form to be hidden and concealed. She decided that it would be best to take a nap right now. It certainly wasn’t easy being a breezie, but thanks to Fluttershy, it was much easier than working all those jobs she had been receiving at the weather factory, most of which weren’t even her jobs at all.
Rainbow Dash gave off a happy sigh as she started slumbering off. She wasn't sure how she felt right now about being so vulnerable, but as long as Fluttershy kept providing those relaxing petting moments, Rainbow Dash didn’t mind missing out on exercising.
______________________________________________________________________________
Fluttershy was now entering the Ponyville market plaza that was being held outside. While Rainbow Dash was napping, she took short moments to slightly open her eyes to take a peak outside. She was able to see through the hairs of Fluttershy’s mane enough so that she could tell what was going on, while at the same time keep herself hidden from other ponies' views.
She saw the other ponies walking by, but not changing their path. Fluttershy was the one who was walking out of the path these ponies were walking. Unlike animals, Fluttershy didn’t do so well with crowds of ponies who she wasn’t very familiar with. No matter how long they lived in Ponyville, there would always be unfamiliar faces.
It was due to reasons like these that Rainbow Dash wished Fluttershy would fly around more often. It would be much easier to avoid the ponies that she crossed paths with as a result. Of course, she didn’t expect Fluttershy to fly now since she was not only shopping, but also carrying precious cargo, if she could call it that. It would be harder to carry her supplies while flying after all.
Speaking of flying, Rainbow Dash noticed a few pegasi flying above the market plaza. But they seemed to be traveling in groups and looked to be doing something. Rainbow Dash had managed weather teams enough times to know that those pegasi weren’t doing a casual flight or travel. They were doing something, but she couldn't tell what it was from here.
“That’ll be five bits ma’am.” Rainbow Dash's mind halted when she heard the voice of another pony. She noticed that Fluttershy was currently at a stall that was selling carrots.
“Five? But I thought they were only three bits,” Fluttershy said to the female stall manager.
“Sorry ma’am, but I’ve got a family to feed,” the stall manager replied in a soft tone. This brought Rainbow Dash’s attention away from the skies. She decided to peak through Fluttershy’s mane to take a look at the situation. “We’ve been running low on supplies, so I really need to bump my prices so that I can feed them.”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy replied back in a sympathetic tone. “I’ll pay the five bits.”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A pack of carrots went for no more than one bit and Fluttershy not only thought three bits was the original price, but was now paying five? This was an absolute outrage to Rainbow Dash. As Fluttershy started digging through one of her saddle bags to pull out the bits, Rainbow Dash crawled through the pink mane to get close to Fluttershy’s ear.
“Fluttershy, stop!” Rainbow Dash yelled in a rough whisper. When Fluttershy heard this, she froze in place. “What are you doing?!”
“Rainbow?” Fluttershy replied a bit shocked in a soft whisper. “Um, I’m buying carrots from this pony.”
“For five bits?!” Rainbow Dash said, flinging her hooves in the air, or rather, in the air that covered the pink mane.
“I know it’s expensive, but she needs it for her family,” Fluttershy continued, still with her muzzle inside the saddle bag. The pony at the stall couldn’t see the conversation that she was having due to this.
“Fluttershy, don’t you see?” Rainbow Dash continued to scold, pressing her hooves against Fluttershy's head below her mane. “She’s just trying to scam you with a sob story so that you’ll pay her more!” Fluttershy’s eyes went wide within the bag at this mention.
“W-what? But, how can…” Fluttershy stumbled over her words. “What if her story is true? I can’t do that to her…” Rainbow Dash groaned a little at this comment.
“Fluttershy, look at her,” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Follow the words that I say to you. You’ll see what I mean.”
“W-what?”
“Just do what I say!”
Fluttershy hesitated a little, but she did as Rainbow Dash said. She removed her head from the bag so that she could look back towards the pony. She heard Rainbow Dash whisper something in her ear. She did as she was told, carefully.
“Um, y-your family?” Fluttershy started, unsure of what she was doing. “H-how bad is it?”
“What?” the stall manager replied casually.
“H-how big is your family?” Fluttershy closely followed the words Rainbow Dash was telling her.
“Um… well…” the stall manager took her time while she thought. Rainbow Dash eyed her carefully while she was giving Fluttershy commands. She knew that lack of confidence anywhere. If the manager’s story really was true, she wouldn’t have to think about it.
“I manage a family of three, alone,” the stall manager said. Fluttershy paused for a second as Rainbow Dash continued passing words to her. Rainbow Dash also told her to focus more on her words and not to stutter them.
“They’re home alone while you work?” Fluttershy said with a bit more confidence.
“Err…” the manager started to look nervous. There was a lack of the mention of somepony watching over those fillies and or colts while this stall manager worked. However, the stall manager regained her stern look. “Why am I telling you this? This is none of your business!” Fluttershy squeaked a bit.
“Don’t lose confidence, Fluttershy, focus,” Rainbow Dash silently told Fluttershy. She continued passing words while Fluttershy tried to keep her focus.
“Y-you say that you need to feed your family, but you left them all alone while you work,” Fluttershy said, trying to keep herself more focused on her words than the pony in front of her.
“Why, I… I oughta report you to the authorities for peeking into somepony’s private business!” the stall manager yelled. Fluttershy was getting really nervous about this, but she continued on as Rainbow Dash told her.
“You’ll be the one in trouble for trying to scam somepony with false charity,” Fluttershy said. This made the stall manager stumble back a bit.
“Gh… No! They wouldn’t believe you! You’re just taunting me!” the stall manager pushed her reasons.
“Do you really wanna take that chance?” Fluttershy finished, trying hard to keep her stern look. The manager was gazing back at her, trying to keep her own stern look and intimidate Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash locked her gaze on the manager’s eyes. They looked like they were slowly losing confidence. It was obvious she was lying, but she had to make sure Fluttershy saw that too. She put the final touches on Fluttershy’s look by shaking her pink mane slightly. This produced a vibration that the stall manager could see that made it look like a silent rage building up. Her confident look started faltering quickly as a result.
“Gaah! Okay fine, I don’t have a family!” the manager broke out, shutting her eyes and looking away. Rainbow Dash gave off a victory smile seeing the manager break. Fluttershy felt an adrenaline of warmth rush through her body when she saw this change. “I only said all that stuff so that I could get more business. Please don’t tell anypony!”
The sympathy that Fluttershy held before came back, but in a different way. But before she could say anything, Rainbow Dash gave her more words to follow.
“A pack of carrots are only worth one bit,” Fluttershy said.
“Oh, of course, here!” the manager said, bringing out one of the packs of carrots she had in stock. Fluttershy pulled out a single bit and gave it to the manager. But before she did the trade, she continued as Rainbow Dash told her. “If I see you trying to scam any other ponies, I will tell.”
The stall manager couldn’t even reply to this with words. She just nodded nervously, accepting the exchange. Of course, Fluttershy wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on this pony for those scams, but it was the threat that scared her into believing that she could.
With the pack of carrots bought, Fluttershy started walking away from the stall while she put the carrots in one of her bags. Fluttershy let out an amazed and shocked sigh. She couldn’t believe what she had just done.
“R-rainbow Dash, h-how did you know?” Fluttershy stuttered. Since other ponies at the market place were busy with their own businesses and conversations, they wouldn’t notice Fluttershy talking to herself.
“I’ve ran into this kind of thing before, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said as she starting lying herself on her back, within the pink mane. “It happens from time to time in the weather factory. Ponies are always trying to give us sob stories so that we’ll give them special requests, or one of our workers try to come up with an excuse to skip their shift.” Rainbow Dash flicked the back of her ear as her face started turning annoyed. “You wouldn’t believe how many ponies have tried that on me, trying to get me to help them with their weather duties.”
Fluttershy looked around the scenery nervously. She was looking towards different ponies that were doing their shoppings and sellings. She grew nervous as she thought about them and their tactics.
“How can you be sure that their stories aren’t true?” Fluttershy asked as she brought her attention back on the floor. “I can’t bear the thought of ruining somepony’s life like that.”
“That’s just it though,” Rainbow Dash said. This caused Fluttershy’s attention to adjust. “Ponies will look at you and take advantage of that because they know you’ll believe them.” Fluttershy’s expression saddened at this remark. “It’s a little thing called confidence, Fluttershy. Ponies will take advantage of that. Don’t believe their lies unless they can back it up.”
Fluttershy took a moment to think about that. It wasn’t that Rainbow Dash could instantly tell that they were lying, but rather that she was assuming it at first, and their lack of confidence afterwards revealed that they were lying. It was alien to Fluttershy because that sounded quite mean, but it was also true.
Things like these were reasons why Fluttershy was always so shy. She wanted to be nice, but the fact that other ponies would take advantage of her vulnerability was something she’s had to deal with for a long time now. In fact, Rainbow Dash was always her inspiration to become more outgoing and confident than she normally ever was. But there was always just some new obstacle keeping her from coming out of her shell all the time.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash… I don’t know what I should do,” Fluttershy said as she looked back towards the stalls. “If these ponies are like you say…-“
“Don’t worry Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, cutting Fluttershy off. “Just keep doing your shopping. I’ll make sure no pony is taking advantage of you.” Fluttershy held a smile at this remark. Even as a breezie, Rainbow Dash was there for Fluttershy and looking out for her.
______________________________________________________________________________
Fluttershy continued doing her shopping like Rainbow Dash had told her. Things were moving along a lot smoother than usual. Fluttershy had gone through many stalls, purchasing food items ranging from grapes, boxes of celery, bouquets of flowers and leaves, and somepony tried to scam her with purchasing acorns and nuts by saying that they were special nuts, but Rainbow Dash’s words allowed Fluttershy to avoid that.
While Fluttershy was shopping, Rainbow Dash was feeling an odd pressure of wind power blowing along Fluttershy’s mane. Thanks to the thickness of that pink mane, Rainbow Dash didn’t have to worry about getting blown away, but it was still oddly powerful. Today wasn’t supposed to be such a windy day, but it certainly was rather windy right now.
“Why hey there, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash’s attention was shifted at the sound of a familiar voice. Looking through the mane towards the voice’s direction, she saw that Fluttershy was walking towards a stall being maintained by Applejack. Rainbow Dash decided to lie back and relax, placing her hooves on the back of her head. Fluttershy didn’t have to worry about Applejack.
“I’d like to purchase some apples please,” Fluttershy said in an oddly casual tone.
“Um, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash felt Fluttershy’s mane shift suddenly.
“Oh! Applejack, oh my, um…” Fluttershy stuttered. Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly at this. If she could guess, Fluttershy must not have been paying attention while she was walking towards Applejack’s stall. She was probably trying to keep up her confidence like she was doing with everypony else at the time.
“Heheh, no need to fret, I’m no stranger ‘round these parts,” Applejack cut in.
“S-sorry, Applejack, I must’ve had something else on my mind,” Fluttershy responded, keeping her head low.
“Not to worry, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. She then motioned a hoof towards her stock. “So, ya here to buy some apples today?”
“Yes,” Fluttershy confirmed with a nod. “One bag please?”
Applejack started filling up the bag of apples while Fluttershy pulled out her bits. They may have been friends, but business was still business. Of course, on special occasions, that fact differed, but today was not one of those days since nothing special was going on. Rainbow Dash just silently watched their exchange with a smile. Applejack had taken the bits while Fluttershy placed the apples in her saddle bag.
“Thank you, Applejack,” Fluttershy said with a nod.
“Yer welcome, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. She gave a wave as Fluttershy started walking off. “Oh, Fluttershy, if ya see Rainbow Dash, tell er she needs ta calm this weather ‘round here.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in a bit of a shock after hearing her name mentioned. “That pony has been slacking off again.”
Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gave off a silent gasp at this comment.
“Oh, s-sure, I’ll let her know when I s-see her,” Fluttershy replied nervously before she continued to walk away.
Those apples were the last thing on Fluttershy’s list of items that she needed to buy. As a result, she was now exiting the marketing place. But as she walked, she was growing increasingly worried about Rainbow Dash. She could feel her shivering through her mane.
That last comment Applejack had made infuriated Rainbow Dash. She was growling low while her hooves gripped Fluttershy’s mane roughly, squeezing it as tightly as she could. Her body couldn’t stop trembling as her emotions riled up. One of her ears was shaking more violently than the rest of her body.
Fluttershy looked towards the part of her mane that was shivering. She brought her muzzle over to nuzzle where Rainbow Dash was, attempting to calm her down.
“Rainbow Dash?… A-are you okay?” Fluttershy hesitantly asked as she gently nuzzled against where Rainbow Dash lay.
“Of course I’m not okay!” Rainbow Dash blurted a bit louder than she wanted to. If she had been any louder, other ponies might have heard her. But thankfully, Fluttershy’s mane blocked out most of the sound. “Didn’t you hear what Applejack said!?” She started beating her hooves against the pink mane. “Even she thinks I’m a lazy, good for nothing pegasus, lying on the job!”
“Rainbow Dash, she didn’t mean that,” Fluttershy tried to defend, pulling her muzzle away. “She doesn’t know that-“
“I know she doesn’t know, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash interrupted. She slumped back into a lying position. “But it’s the fact that she doesn’t know that gets me so mad!”
Rainbow Dash let out a large groan as she put a hoof on the back of her ear, pressing against it. It was just like every other pony in Ponyville. Of course, if she could find the time to tell all her friends about her problem, they would know and most likely understand. But it was because of all those ponies that she never did find that time. And the fact that her friends showed no signs so far of knowing about her problem only infuriated her even more.
Of course, Rainbow Dash didn’t expect them to be able to help her solve her problem if she ever did have that time. Neither of them, not even Fluttershy, could really help her with weather patterns. But besides that, there wasn’t anything she could really tell them. She was being called lazy, so she grabbed more attention to prove she was not, and now her attention was the problem. If it continues, she still has her problem. If they back off, she’s back to her old problem. She didn’t know what to tell them because she didn’t even know her own problem anymore.
“Rainbow Dash, please calm down,” Fluttershy spoke softly as she used a hoof to lightly pet Rainbow Dash within her hair. If other ponies were looking, they would think Fluttershy was just brushing her mane. “Even if Applejack didn’t know, you know she doesn’t mean any hard feelings.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she thought. Her problem didn’t lie with what Applejack thought, but rather that she said it at all. Unless she was just jokingly lying, it only meant that there was a good chance many other ponies still believed she was that lazy.
*Grumble* Rainbow Dash’s train of thought was halted when she felt that coming from her stomach.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy started. “I forgot I hadn’t eaten anything today.” She placed a hoof towards her own stomach. Although, this left Rainbow Dash a bit confused.
“Wait, I thought that was my stomach,” Rainbow Dash said.
“What? No, that can’t be right,” Fluttershy said, putting a hoof over her mouth. “I served you breakfast, didn’t I?”
“…Um, well…” Rainbow Dash nervously rubbed the back of her head as she thought back on that.
“Oh, I knew I should’ve cut those pieces smaller for you, I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. She wasn’t sure if she should talk about that moment she had with Angel to Fluttershy. Even now, she couldn’t understand what that was all about, but she tried to push it out of her mind.
“That’s okay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash started. “Since we’re both hungry, why don’t we eat at a restaurant?”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She looked around her surroundings as her walking led her deeper inside Ponyville, holding many other buildings and business places. “Where would you like to eat at?”
______________________________________________________________________________
*Cha-ching*
______________________________________________________________________________
*Crunch, munch, munch* “Mmm…”
*Crunch* “Mmm…” *Munch*
Fluttershy was happily eating at one corner of the Hay Burger restaurant. She kept some bits of the horseshoe fries and burgers on her hoof to hold towards her mane for Rainbow Dash to take and enjoy. Fluttershy’s mane was literally kept clean and stable enough to the point you could eat in it. Rainbow Dash would be surprised about how that was possible at all, but her mind was more focused on the delicious food to care. Although, she was probably getting Fluttershy's mane messy right now, but Fluttershy made no responses that she minded at all.
Fluttershy’s order was shared in bits and pieces for Rainbow Dash.Small bits of ketchup were already placed on the pieces she brought to her mane. She had ordered two hay burgers with the toppings of lettuce, tomato, and pickles, along with a side of horseshoe fries and an orange fizz drink.
The straw from their drink was small enough for Rainbow Dash to suck through, even after her smaller size. All she had to do was slightly tug on Fluttershy’s mane to signal her when she wanted a drink, which she did a few times. This meant that Fluttershy had to put the straw in her mane for a few seconds, possibly leaving other ponies to wonder what she was doing.
But since Fluttershy's actions were facing towards a corner, not many ponies, if any at all, paid her much attention, which is what she wanted whether Rainbow Dash was with her like this or not.
“Hey Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash slowed her eating when she heard the voice of another familiar pony.
“Oh, hi Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy replied with a smile.
“Isn’t the food here amazing?” Rainbow Dash took a closer peak out of the pink mane while she ate, keeping a hoof to her mouth to keep her food from spilling. She saw Pinkie Pie holding a tray that was… attached to her neck…
“It is,” Fluttershy replied. “Are you eating here as well?”
“Nooo, I work here silly!” Pinkie explained in an extended tone. Fluttershy could only respond with a confused expression. “Wait, you didn’t know? I thought I told you.”
“Um…” Fluttershy tried to remember, thinking that she forgot.
“Oh well, must’ve slipped my mind,” Pinkie continued. “I can’t make small talk right now, so I’ll be taking the trash for you. Ya need anything?!” Pinkie finished by twisting her face around for no real reason.
“Well… I guess if I could get a refill…” Fluttershy gestured to her cup.
“Okey dokey Fluttershy, I’ll be back, lickety split!” Pinkie Pie used one hoof to rapidly swipe around the table, taking all of the wrappers and packets that Fluttershy had on her table and placing them on the tray she had attached to her neck. Without a moment’s notice, she zipped out of sight at a speed that would otherwise spill everything she had on her tray, if it weren’t for the fact that this was Pinkie Pie.
“Rainbow, did something happen to Sugarcube Corner?” Fluttershy asked, bringing Rainbow Dash’s attention back.
“What? Oh no, Fluttershy, of course not,” Rainbow Dash replied, more surprised that Fluttershy was thinking that something terrible had happened rather than the question itself. “Pinkie Pie is just working a part time job here for a little extra money, that’s all.” Fluttershy’s gaze turned towards the window as she continued this conversation.
“When did she tell us about this?” Fluttershy asked as she tried to think. “I just can’t remember.” While she was staring out the window, she saw two pegasi ponies who appeared to be trying to operate a cloud to water some flowers near the restaurant.
“She never did,” Rainbow Dash said bluntly, leaving Fluttershy confused. The two pegasi outside suddenly managed to activate the cloud, but ended up dumping a large batch of it, overflowing the flowers.
“But then, how-“
“I just figured that out when I flew over this place a few times,” Rainbow Dash interrupted Fluttershy. The two pegasi outside were now starting to argue with each other. “You don’t need her to tell you to take a guess at what she’s doing.”
Fluttershy continued to look towards the two pegasi that were arguing outside. She could barely just make out their words.
“I told you to let me handle it, move!” One of the pegasi shoved the other and struck the cloud they were operating with a hoof. Fluttershy saw the cloud evaporate as a result. This left the two pegasi even angrier than usual.
“Look at what you’ve done! I told you to pay more attention to Rainbow Dash.”
“Me? I was following her closely! You’re the one who’s doing everything wrong!”
“You know what? Fine! Let’s go find Rainbow Dash and ask her who’s doing it right! But you’ll be sorry when she finds favor in me!”
“Nuh uh, she’s gonna find favor in me!”
“Oh yeah, well-…”
The two pegasi started flying away from the restaurant with harsh words. Fluttershy couldn’t make them out anymore though. She wasn’t sure why those pegasi were having such a hard time with the weather cloud. There were many other pegasi that were capable of handling clouds besides Rainbow Dash. But then again, Fluttershy didn’t know much about operating weather clouds herself.
The conversation however made Fluttershy a little sick to her stomach. It was just like Rainbow Dash had described to her, if not worse. These ponies found attention in Rainbow Dash to the point where they would argue over each other, and Rainbow Dash had to end up dealing with their dilemma.
Fluttershy debated whether or not she should describe what she just witnessed to Rainbow Dash. She didn’t want her to be more worried than usual.
“I’m back!” Fluttershy’s trance was interrupted by the sound of Pinkie’s voice. “Here’s your drink, Fluttershy.” Pinkie set the refilled cup on Fluttershy’s table.
“Thanks, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said casually.
“Oh, by the way,” Pinkie suddenly changed the subject. “Have you heard about what’s been happening to Rainbow Dash? It doesn’t sound pretty.” Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s attention shifted at this mention.
“Huh?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oops, I think I forgot to put ice in your cup, be right back!” Pinkie Pie zipped out of sight again before Fluttershy could question her further. The unsettling feeling in Fluttershy’s stomach was growing.
“R-rainbow?” Fluttershy tried asking.
“What is Pinkie talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked as well. She wasn’t feeling any better than Fluttershy was.
Fluttershy thought back to those two pegasi she saw earlier. The way Pinkie mentioned this made it sound like they weren’t even aware of Rainbow Dash’s absence yet. Fluttershy decided that now would be the best time to look into this. It would most likely be written in the newspapers.
Fluttershy pulled out some bits out of her saddle bags and set it down on the table. She immediately rushed out of the restaurant, leaving the bits behind.
“I’m back!” Pinkie returned to the table, smiling with a tray full of ice. “So anyway, the newspaper…” But then, Pinkie noticed that the table was empty seated. She heard the ring of the restaurant’s bell just in time to see Fluttershy leaving it.
“Okay, see ya later, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie looked over the table that contained Fluttershy’s food. One of her burgers hadn’t even had a bite while a small pack still had a bit of horseshoe fries left. She looked at the cup with a bit of a disappointed look on her face.
“Aw, she didn’t even drink her soda…”