“You should all be ashamed of yourself. Now go away and leave her alone!”
~#~
Deep breath. Count to three. Rinse and repeat.
It took Fluttershy not as long as she would have feared. Considering that usually, the mere thought of telling off a whole crowd of unfamiliar ponies, especially very determined tabloid reporters, would have made her curl up into a ball in the deepest cave she could find. The thought of them staring at her, asking questions, scaring her animals…
And yet, here she stood victorious. In fact, the wonderful feeling of relief, of having come out of a scary situation unscathed was accompanied by a not insignificant sense of accomplishment. She had faced something that caused her a great deal of panic, and not only that -- she had actually defeated it!
The sound of sobbing behind her reminded Fluttershy why all this had been necessary in the first place. She turned towards the sound, the pink alicorn dragging herself into the room.
Cadance was a miserable sight. Her usually perfectly styled mane was a mess, her wings were hanging limp at her side. Tears were running down her cheeks.
“Y-you… you chased them off,” she managed to choke out, in between further sobs and hiccups. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I did this to you…”
Fluttershy was by her side immediately. She picked up a handkerchief in her mouth, dabbing at Cadance’s wet cheeks. “There, there”, she murmured around the fabric, making sure her lips made sporadic contact. She lifted her own wings, framing Cadance’s face, softly caressing it.
In moments like this, she realized how bad she was with words. She wanted to tell Cadance that it was alright, that she was happy with having done something for her. How much she wished to calm her down, make her smile and laugh again. How much she loved her.
The words would not come, but luckily, Fluttershy had other options available. She began to hum, a wordless, soothing melody that reminded her of home, of safety. She moved up to Cadance, drawing her wings up to embrace the still-sobbing alicorn. When she felt the sobs subside, she upped the ante, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to Cadance's cheek.
This finally managed to draw a somewhat-choked, but genuine chuckle out of Cadance. "Thank you," she whispered, voice hoarse from crying. "I love you."
"I love you too". It was surprisingly easy. Usually, Fluttershy felt embarrassed, opening up her heart like this, but in this moment, it was easy. With Cadance soothed and herself actually proud of herself for once, her heart pounding with excitement, it felt right to take charge for once. Fluttershy gently led Cadance to the sofa and laid down next to her, for once not hesitating to touch her, and kissed her cheek. Then, boldly, her lips.
They lay there, lost in their world. For now, there were no tabloid reporters harassing them with rumors and insinuations. No shyness kept them apart, no hesitations prevented them from expressing their affection freely.. For once, Fluttershy was the one who pulled Cadance closer, forelegs and wings both wrapped around her princess.
“What happened?”, she asked gently.
She felt Cadance exhale.
“They saw us. Apparently, there is a photo from the palace garden. From last week.”
The palace garden had been one of their regular meeting places. A secluded spot, highly secure with stationed guards and patrols, private enough for a princess in what was known as a loving marriage to her husband to meet her lover. Fluttershy enjoyed the aviary and the pavilion next to the lake. Cadance enjoyed hearing Fluttershy sing with the birds and cuddling her while looking out over the shimmering depths.
Fluttershy shuddered involuntarily. It had taken her long enough to get come to terms with the fact that her close friends knew. For someone to just intrude on them like this…
“Shining and I, we both knew we could not keep hiding forever,” Cadance continued. “I just… I should have been more careful. Now everyone is gonna find out, and it is my fault.”
A new bout of sobs wracked Cadance’s body. Fluttershy tightened her embrace slightly, nuzzling Cadance, stroking her wings up and down her back.
They should all have known better. It all started on the day before what for all intents and purposes looked like a real dream wedding. The princess, the captain of the guard… it seemed like something straight out of a fairy tale. After the changeling invasion had been defeated, she had met the real Cadance the night before the actual wedding. Fluttershy had retreated to the garden at night, to enjoy the company of the nocturnal birds the Canterlot Palace Gardens were famous for.
Cadance had caught her singing. The mortification she felt soon gave way to tentative curiosity as they got talking. They had spent a wonderful night together, talking about this and that, and only after they had said their goodbyes, Fluttershy realized two things. First, she was attracted to that mare. It was not full-blown love back then, but it was there, and hard to ignore. Second, the mare she was crushing on was going to get married the next day.
She’d cried that night. This was the first time she felt romantic affection for someone, and it had apparently ended before she had been able to do anything about it.
At night, she had returned to the gardens, and Cadance had been waiting there for her. The talk they had that night was significantly more important.
About a princess who loved mares instead of stallions, who could not use goddess status as an excuse to ward off unwanted suitors. Who had a best friend in a similar situation, and who came up with the idea to pretend-date said friend so both of them would be left alone.
Until the the machinations of a changeling queen and the resulting drop of public morale forced their hooves. The princess was not as diplomatically experienced as her aunts, but she had known that the anticipated wedding being canceled combined with the worry and paranoia over the changelings could do lasting damage to Equestria...
So they had decided to keep up the bluff.
And how, in a twist of fate both fortunate and terrible, said princess had met the mare of her dreams the night before her fake wedding. She was the Princess of Love -- she could only follow her heart.
It took a while for the tears to stop falling this time, but Fluttershy was used to dealing with grief like this. Cadance herself had been there for her so often, comforting her with her warmth, her kisses, her affectionate words, and Fluttershy returned the favor now.
“I should have had more restraint,” Cadance finally said, when she had regained most of her composure. “You, Shining, his coltfriend… now you’re all in the spotlight because of my selfishness. He warned me, you know.” She had to swallow harshly. “He warned me that I would get you into trouble if I kept acting like a teenager in love. And now you are, and I am the one responsible when the reporters don’t leave you alone and I should probably just break up with y…”
Fluttershy silenced her with a hoof on her lips. “No, Cadance,” she said firmly. The rising feeling of conviction was nice, and Fluttershy embraced it. “You, of all ponies, should never apologize for following your heart. Maybe you were careless, but you love me, don’t you?” There was that spike of doubt that always came with this thought. Could the wonderful Princess Cadance really love her, a rather shy and reclusive pegasus spending most of her time taking care of animals?
But Fluttershy fought it this time. She’d faced the reporters, and she would not let Cadance crucify herself now. “And I love you, too.” She smiled at Cadance looking at her with an awestruck expression. “I want to be with you, and if I have to… I’ll face those reporters every day from now on.”
She wanted to go on, but now she was the one silenced when Cadance surged forward to kiss her. There were still tears, yes, but these tears, Fluttershy thought, she could let pass. The warmth she was feeling now had nothing to do with facing fears or determination to help someone. She loved someone, she was loved.
“I’m gonna do it,” Cadance whispered as they finally parted. “I’m going to tell them that I love you, as soon as you are ready. I need to talk it through with Shining, of course, because my coming out might force his hoof as well. And I know it’s not going to be easy to get there... “ She took a deep breath. “But, if you want to… I’d like another wedding. A real one, this time.”
Fluttershy was often lost for words. Usually, it happened out of fear, or just so she would not be a nuisance. She had made peace with it, and was thus content to keep quiet in those situations. She could not remember ever having been shocked speechless, though.
She tried to say something, but she had no idea what. How could she ever match the feeling behind Cadance’s statement?
But the torrent of bubbling excitement rising through her chest let her know that the answer was clear.
Part of her mind was telling her what that would mean. Scrutiny from a lot of ponies, and a lot of animosity. There would be those who would not accept Princess Cadance marrying a mare, even if she was a former element bearer. Standing with Cadance would mean a huge responsibility.
“Yes”
Cadance was on her in a second, pulling her into a tight hug. Fluttershy could feel the trembling, and she knew very well that she herself was not far from it herself. She’d just accepted a proposal. She would marry this wonderful mare, come what may. She nestled deeper into Cadance’s coat, trying to keep her tears in check.
She felt… strong. It was not a familiar feeling for Fluttershy, but at least for now, she felt invulnerable. Not just safe and protected in Cadance’s embrace, but actually able to face whatever challenge would come her way.
Eventually, Cadance relaxed, her breathing becoming steadier. The day’s emotional exhaustion having finally caught up with her. Fluttershy craned her neck to press a kiss to her forehead. Together with the sleeping Cadance, she carefully lowered herself onto the couch.
With a last fleeting thought of two mares in white happily walking down the aisle, cheered on by their friends and relatives, off towards their future together, Fluttershy closed her eyes and followed her lover to the land of dreams.