A whole month, that was how long it had been since Clay last saw Firefly at the Gala, and from that day forward she was all he could think about. He would daydream about her constantly, so much so that he was becoming a bit of a problem for his mom and others around Ponyville. He had asked everypony he knew if they knew where he could find her, but no matter who he asked nopony knew anything about her; she might as well have never existed.
“I'll find her even if I have to search all of Equestria!” Clay told himself one night as he thought about her in his bed before drifting off to sleep.
The next morning Clay had gotten up earlier than usual and was feeling a bit energetic, so he decided to have another look around Ponyville for his crush.
“Maybe I can’t find her because she likes to fly early in the morning.” Clay told himself as he left a note telling his mom where he was before heading out the door.
The cool morning air made Clay feel invigorated as he trotted around Ponyville, keeping his eyes on the sky and his ears open for that sound she made when she zipped by. After walking and searching for 20 minutes he was starting to lose hope of finding her at this hour. He was about to head back home when he heard it, a familiar whooshing sound.
Clay whipped his head around searching the sky for Firefly. His eyes darted back and forth looking for any sign of her, and then he saw it: a pink and blue streak in the sky. His heart stopped as at that moment he had found her.
Clay took off in a full gallop as he followed the pink and blue streak from spot to spot never stopping.
“Wow she’s fast!” Clay said aloud running out of breath as Firefly continued zipping along in a zigzag pattern. What is that filly doing? Clay thought as he continued chasing her. Firefly was picking up speed and starting to give off sparks, as she did Clay realized what she was trying to do. She was trying to perform an old Wonderbolt trick, the Zip Bolt! Clay had only read about that move in a book Twilight had given him years ago, the objective was for a Wonderbolt to fly in a zig zag pattern and built a static field so that when the Pegasus reached full speed they shot out like a bolt of lightning. It was a very complex and dangerous move to perform, only the most experienced Wonderbolts could perform this move and here this filly was trying to pull it off.
She’s got guts, I’ll give her that, Clay thought as he continued to follow Firefly. As she started to build up speed, Firefly started to wobble slightly as the sparks that were forming grew bigger and more rapid.
“Oh no she’s losing control!” Clay said as she gave another violent shake. Just as Clay predicted Firefly shot out like a bolt, but ended up taking a hard swerve. She hit a nearby tree and landed in the lake below it. Clay ran up to the lake to see Firefly starting to sink, completely unconscious. Clay began to panic as she continued to sink and showed no signs of awakening. He had to go in and save her, but Clay wasn’t a strong swimmer and the thought of entering the lake filled him with dread. However the thought of Firefly drowning scared him even more. He jumped in and began to paddle his way to Firefly as she continued sinking. Just…keep…going! Clay said to himself as he made his way to the center of the lake. Finally he reached Firefly and grabbed her mane in his mouth as he paddled back to shore with her in tow. Eventually he made it back onto dry land and gasped for breath, feeling weak from fear and swimming.
Clay turned his attention to Firefly who was still unconscious.
“Hey, hey wake up!” Clay shouted as he looked her over. Clay placed his head on her chest and was relieved when he heard a heartbeat. He could see that she was still breathing, which brought him more relief, but the fact that she was still out cold had him slightly worried. He began looking at her body closely.
“Well, no cuts or bruises. That’s good. And her wings look fine too.” Clay was no doctor but he didn’t notice anything obvious so that comforted him. “I guess I better keep an eye on you until you wake up.” Clay looked at Firefly as if he expected a response, but all he got was her light breathing.
Clay sat on his haunches and waited beside Firefly until she was awake, the anticipation made Clay feel like he had a knot in his gut. He knew that he would have to talk to her when she woke up, what would he say? As he thought about the eventual conversation Clay found himself getting wound up thinking of all the possible scenarios that could occur. This didn’t last long, as Firefly started coughing and then started to slowly open her eyes.
“Uh…what happened….where am I?” She groaned as she started to regain consciousness.
Clay looked down at her to make sure that she was really awake. He wanted to talk to her, but as he stared into her eyes he felt that familiar tightness in his chest. It was too much, he had to leave. For a brief moment their eyes met, and before Clay or Firefly said a word Clay ran off. As he ran Firefly bolted up to her feet.
“Hey wait I. . .” She started, but Clay was already gone. “. . .wanted to thank you.”
Firefly was confused and slightly dizzy, but otherwise fine. Who was that? She thought as she flashed back to the face of the pony that had saved her, Firefly then started flapping her wings to shake off the water. When they had dried off she headed for home.
Clay ran as fast as he could back to his house, he didn’t even bother to see if he was being followed by Firefly. He just ran. He finally reached the front door, flung it open, and slammed it closed, panting heavily the whole time.
“Why can’t I talk to her? Why does she make me so afraid?” Clay shook his head in frustration. “I mean she’s just a pegasus. . . a very beautiful pegasus, but still why is it so hard for me to say hello?” Clay sat on the floor and hung his head
“I blew it.” He said quietly.
“Clay are you okay?”
Clay looked up to see his mother.
“What happened…why are you all wet?” Dash asked, concerned.
“I…I found her mom.” Clay said quietly.
“Found who?” his mother asked.
“Firefly.” Clay replied. “I found her and she was in trouble and I saved her and…and…I ran away.” Clay looked at the floor again. “Why can’t I talk to her, Mom?”
Dash placed a supportive hoof on Clay's shoulder. “You’re just nervous. It’s perfectly normal for you to feel like that when you like someone.”
“But how can I tell her that I like her when I can’t even talk to her?” Clay said raising his voice slightly.
“I can’t tell you how, Clay. But if I were you, the next time I met her I'd find the guts to tell Firefly how I felt before somepony else did.”
Clay continued to look up at his mother. “But what if she doesn’t like me back?”
“Well you won’t know if you don’t ask her, now will you?”
Clay looked thoughtful for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Okay I’ll. . . I’ll try, Mom.”
Dash gave him an encouraging smile, and ruffled his mane. “That’s my boy.”