Ugh… Feels like my wings are gonna fall off…
That was all Rainbow Dash could think about as she hobbled in the air, each flap of her wings making her wince. Spitfire had been especially harsh during that day’s training, pushing her and her fellow recruits well to the breaking point. Night couldn’t have come soon enough, and all Rainbow wanted to do now was crawl into bed and sleep for a week.
Luckily, she finally spotted her cloudominium hanging over the outskirts of Ponyville. Gritting her teeth, Rainbow pumped her aching wings and flew as fast as she could, blitzing through the nearest window and crashing down onto the floor.
She made no attempt to get up, the thought of just sleeping where she lay becoming more and more tempting with each passing second. Just as she was about to doze off, she felt something rub up against her nose. Cracking one eye open, Rainbow was met with a pair of tiny eyes looking up at her.
“Oh, hey, Tank,” she weakly greeted the tortoise. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
Shaking his head, Tank stretched his neck and tapped against Rainbow’s nose again, slowly raising a leg and pointing towards the stairs behind him leading up to Rainbow’s bedroom. When Rainbow’s response was to close her eye again and ignore him, Tank resorted to climbing onto Rainbow’s face and yanking on her ear with his mouth, looking to all the world like he was attempting to drag his stubborn owner to bed himself.
“Alright, alright, I’m getting up. Geeze…” Grunting, Rainbow Dash forced herself to stand up, loudly yawning as she got to her hooves. “Sorry, buddy, practice was harsher than usual,” Rainbow said, fighting back another yawn as she plucked Tank off her face and set him onto her back, dragging her hooves as she trudged up the stairs.
Eventually, the two arrived at Rainbow’s room and she, not even bothering with the door, simply walked straight through the cloud wall. Sparing a moment to set Tank down in his little bed, Rainbow finally crawled into her own, sighing in relief as she burrowed herself under her covers and laid her head against the pillow, finally able to get some—
Knock, knock.
Rainbow’s ear twitched as a sound echoed from downstairs. Mumbling incoherently, it took a second for her to process what the noise had been. Is… Is somepony knocking at my door?
Knock, knock.
Again came the noise, much louder this time and unmistakably the sound of someone beating against her door. Grumbling to herself, Rainbow pulled her covers over her head, in hopes that whoever was there would just give up and leave.
Knock, knock!
No such luck, as the pounding only got louder. “Go away already!”
When no further knocks answered her, Rainbow sighed in relief that they had finally taken the hint. Now for some well-needed res—
Knock, Knock!
“Oh, for the love of Celestia!” Throwing off her covers, Rainbow leapt out of bed and stomped down the stairs, her previous fatigue all but forgotten in her rage as she prepared to unleash Tartarus on whoever had been dumb enough to bother her at this hour. Reaching her foyer in record time, Rainbow threw the door open with enough to force to nearly rip it from its frame.
“WHA—“ The tirade Rainbow had prepared to unleash died in her throat, a startled gasp escaping from her mouth as her eyes widened in shock at the bundle of yellow feathers trembling on her doorstep. “Flu…Fluttershy?
Fluttershy’s whole body shook with fear, her wings twitching at her sides like a baby bird ready to take flight as she cowered away from Rainbow, her face hidden behind her mane. “Oh, Rainbow... I… I… I’m sorry t-to bother you… especially so late. I know you… you must be busy with the Wonderbolts, and… and…”
As Fluttershy blathered on, whatever filter normally existing between her brain and mouth having seemingly vanished, Rainbow Dash could only stare at her fellow pegasus, beginning to notice little things like the way her ears pressed flat against her head or how the tips of her wings twitched. To anypony else, it would just be Fluttershy being Fluttershy, but Rainbow Dash knew better. The last time she had seen Fluttershy like this was when—
No, it can’t be! “Fluttershy!”
The sound of her own name finally distracted Fluttershy from her rambling. “Uh… yes?”
Stepping aside, Rainbow gestured inside with her wing. “Come inside, it’s cold out.”
Fluttershy stayed put, glancing over her shoulder like she was considering turning tail and running. Gathering what little courage she still had, she weakly got back to her hooves and walked inside, letting Rainbow shut the door behind her.
***
Rainbow Dash hated tea.
It took way too long to make, was essentially just flavoured boiled water, and, worst of all, it tasted awful. Why anyone would drink something so bitter was beyond her, but she knew many of her friends liked it, so she always made sure to have a box of it in case she had visitors over, which was how she found herself waiting for the kettle to boil so late at night.
Yet, even when she had been preparing the kettle, Rainbow had kept sneaking glances back towards Fluttershy, afraid of letting her out of her sight for even a moment. From her kitchen, Rainbow could still see Fluttershy sitting on the couch, staring off into space while petting Tank’s shell as he sat next to her.
Just like his owner, Tank knew that something was wrong with Fluttershy, having spent some time in her care before being adopted by Rainbow. In any other situation, he would have been delighted at being rubbed, but now all he could do was stare up with worry at Fluttershy, unsure if she even registered that he was there.
Rainbow grimaced, recalling the last time she had seen Fluttershy like this. But why now? Rainbow wondered to herself. Even after all the crazy stuff we’ve gone through in the last couple of years like dealing with that dragon, to Discord, and even fighting off Chrysalis and her horde of changelings, why is this happening to her now?
The kettle whistled, interrupting Rainbow’s thoughts. Grabbing a cup and a half empty bag of cookies from her cupboard, she quickly set everything on a tray and ran back to her living room, making Fluttershy jump as she set everything on the table. “I made you some tea. Thought you could use something to warm up with.”
Fluttershy eyed the tea as Rainbow poured her a cup, appearing reluctant at first. “Oh, thank you, that’s lovely,” she finally said, picking up her cup with trembling hooves and carefully bringing it to her lips. Silence reigned once more as Fluttershy took delicate sips of her tea, minutes passing without a word between them.
“I- I should go,” Fluttershy abruptly said, setting her cup down while glancing out of the corner of her eye towards the door. “I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, and I have to get up early if I want—”
“How bad was it this time?”
The abruptness of Rainbow’s question was like a splash of cold water to Fluttershy’s face. “W-what? I… I don’t—“
“Don’t lie to me, Shy,” Rainbow’s voice was firm but surprisingly gentle as she locked eyes with Fluttershy. “We’ve known each other since Flight School, long enough for me to know that you wouldn’t be hammering at my door this late at night unless it was because of something. So I’ll ask again: how bad was it this time?”
Her mouth hanging open like a fish out of water, Fluttershy hung her head in shame, her eyes firmly locked on the floor so she wouldn’t have to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes, her ears wilting against her head.
Her silence said everything Rainbow needed to know. “…That bad, huh?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“Do you know what triggered it?”
Fluttershy weakly shook her head, her lower lip trembling. “I… I was just feeding the animals like I always do. There were Mr. and Mrs. Chipmunk, and Barry, and… and then…” Sucking in a deep breath of air, she struggled to say, “My hooves started tingling like they were falling asleep. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe, it hurt too much…”
“Fluttershy, you don’t have to—”
“The room started spinning and it… it felt like everything was closing in on me.” Holding her hooves over her ears, Fluttershy clamped her eyes shut, whimpering in fear. “I remember curling up on the floor, praying to Celestia that it would stop…”
In a flash, Rainbow was at Fluttershy’s side, wrapping her wing around her as tears started to run down her friend’s face. Fluttershy buried her face in Rainbow’s fur as she cried. Unable to sit by any longer, Tank crawled over and nestled against Fluttershy, trying his best to help comfort the mare.
It was several minutes before Fluttershy’s sobs began to diminish. “Sorry…” she muttered, her voice muffled by Rainbow’s fur.
“Don’t apologize,” Rainbow replied, gently running a hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. “You really should have let me know sooner. I would have flown back in a heartbeat.”
“No!” Fluttershy cried out, pulling away from Rainbow and staring up at her with bloodshot eyes. “I couldn’t! Being a Wonderbolt is too important to you, and I just couldn’t bother you when you have much more important things to think—“
“More important than being there for my oldest friend?” Rainbow countered, silencing Fluttershy’s excuses. Putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, Rainbow looked her right in the eyes as she spoke, her conviction clear in her voice. “Fluttershy, I want you to promise me something: if this ever happens again, I want you to come to me right away. Even if I’m away for any reason, just send me a letter and I’ll fly all over Equestria just to make sure you’re alright.”
“B-but—”
“No buts! I don’t care if we just talk, go to grab a bite to eat or just spend time together, I won’t leave until I’m sure you’re feeling better. Promise me you’ll do this, alright?”
For the first time that night, a smile peeked at the edge of Fluttershy’s lips. “I promise.”
“Pinkie Promise?”
Hesitantly, Fluttershy went through the required motions. “Pinkie Promise.” Chancing a glance out the window, Fluttershy realized how late it had gotten. “I really should be going back, though,” she said as she made to get up from the couch.
“Oh, no!” Grabbing hold of her, Rainbow yanked Fluttershy back onto the couch. “I’m not letting you go anywhere like this! You’re spending the night here.”
“But… but the animals—”
“Will be fine for one night. First thing in the morning, I’ll fly you back to your cottage and even stay to help you feed them. Now come on, both of us could use some rest.”
***
Fluttershy had forgotten that Rainbow Dash was a loud sleeper, mumbling and snorting moments after falling asleep.
Reluctantly, Fluttershy had let herself be led up to Rainbow’s room and it wasn’t long before she found herself nestled next to Rainbow in her bed like when they were fillies, Tank snoozing nearby. While Rainbow had been quick to doze off, lingering doubts meant sleep still eluded Fluttershy.
I don’t know… She said I should find her if I have another attack, but what if she’s too busy? I know I Pinkie Promised, but I don’t want to be a bother…
Rainbow loudly snorted again, rolling over and briefly distracting Fluttershy. Looking at Rainbow’s face, Fluttershy recalled the look in her eyes when she had promised to be there for her, a look she had seen before in Rainbow’s eyes when she truly fully committed herself to something. It was that look that finally helped put her mind at ease.
“Thanks for being there for me, Rainbow,” she whispered, unsure if Rainbow was even awake enough to hear her. “I couldn’t have asked for a more loyal friend.”
Before long, Fluttershy finally drifted off to sleep, a smile on her face.