Venturing deeper into the Everfree, the tree line began to thicken, shading greater proportions of the sun’s glare. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy marched through in silence, save for a couple of words exchanged to determine their direction of travel.
Despite the earlier incident, Fluttershy’s posture remained relaxed – which would’ve made Dash wonder to what end the Dredge attack affected her, were it not for the persistent snickering of small animals behind every damn tree, mocking her nakedness. At least, that’s what she figured they were snickering at. Fluttershy was the critter whisperer, not her.
As much as she’d love to give them a good old knock about to shut them up—just like she’d do with Cloudsdale’s local bullies back in her Jr. Flight Camp days—Rainbow Dash remained true to her word and left them alone. Besides, one glance from Fluttershy, and they shut up anyway.
Even without going into full-on stare mode, no matter how many times Dash witnessed Fluttershy’s intense frowns, it felt strangely unnatural for such a placid individual; demanding respect of all creatures subjected to it, before reverting to her everyday meekness, just like that.
There was one aspect to her body language which always remained the same; Dash had no idea how she did it, but Fluttershy never showed the slightest discomfort while walking around nude.
In comparison, Fluttershy’s strut screamed self-confidence; broad sweeps of her leg, back held straight and head held high – the complete opposite to how she acted in Ponyville. By the way she carried herself—hunched over, arms crossed, and legs held together—she acted more akin to Fluttershy when clothed!
Nevertheless, Dash felt a strong remnant of her skinny-dipping emotions. The warm breeze gently caressing her bare backside, and, as expressed before, the lack of post-training sweaty cloth or chafing armour was much less icky.
It was a sensation similar to being freshly washed after a long, relaxing bath. The primary difference, of course, was she didn't stay naked for long. Usually she’d slip into some simple cotton garments or wrap herself in a blanket of clouds.
But today? Today, she was constantly looking over her shoulder, hoping to Celestia some Ponyville voyeur wasn’t trailing her, hoping to get an eyeful of her.
“So, Dashie,” Fluttershy said, breaking the silence. “How are you feeling?”
“Huh?” she responded, returning from her extended introspection. “Oh, I'm fine, I guess. Why’d you ask?”
“No particular reason,” Fluttershy replied. “I just want to check you’re not freaking out about being au naturelle.”
Dash shrugged, putting on a brave face. “Well… I suppose it’s not all bad? Besides, I’m more worried about you. Your magic going kaput and all.”
“It hasn't stopped working entirely,” Fluttershy corrected. “I just feel weaker. Subtle spells, like making a dress without thread, are a little too much for now. Though I suppose we could find some mud to stick the leaves to your body, if you really wanted to.”
“Nah, that'd just give my skin a nasty rash. But hey, since you wanted me to try the whole ‘naked in nature’ thing anyway, no sense wasting an opportunity, right?”
“Of course,” Fluttershy smiled. “It's an incredibly freeing experience: having your body unburdened from pressure of textiles, never feeling ashamed of your natural state. In a sense, nothing’s better! Wouldn't you agree?”
“Not really,” Dash replied, blushing as she folded her arms across her shoulders. “But I guess, if it's with you, it can't be all that bad, right?”
“Absolutely. You're always welcome to take a naked break with me. But, um, there is one thing you should always do, naked or not.”
“There is? What?”
“Look where you're going.”
Any retort Dash would’ve given ended abruptly via an equally abrupt tree branch to the face, knocking her flat on her back.
“Are you alright there, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, offering her hand to help her up.
“Ow,” Dash groaned, the world spinning around her. “What was that for?”
“I didn't do anything, I swear!” she pleaded. “One moment you were following me, then the next, you wandered into that travelling tree over there.”
“What a load of horse apples,” Dash grumbled as she pulled herself to her feet. “Trees don't just move on their own without magic. That's just absurd!”
“What'd you call me?” it snapped in return.
Dash's only response was to recoil in surprise, scrambling on her hands and knees away from it, only to run face first into the next problem.
Fluttershy gasped at the terrible sight. Within a dozen spherical cages—each one made from an assortment of tree roots and other twisted plants—a plethora of forest creatures lay, trapped by an unknown assailant.
Surprisingly, despite the look of horror on Fluttershy's face, most of the animals looked, to Rainbow Dash, mildly annoyed at best. A pair of rabbits yawned, arms crossed as they tapped their paws on the ground, waiting for something to happen. A hamster beside them rolled around in a huff, covering his ears and closing his eyes, looking like it was trying to sleep.
To top it all off, the tree Dash had collided with was one of two large Treants: similar looking elementals to the Dredge from before – though their upright posture and heads full of lush foliage did give them a greater sense of approachability. Standing to the side of the makeshift prisons, their sharp, uneven facial features and relaxed vocal tone suggested to Dash an expression of satisfaction at something – presumably the cages.
Now, if only their casual chit-chat wasn’t in an unintelligible language, Dash would know for sure that they were the bad guys.
“Excuse me!” Fluttershy whacked her staff on a Treant's leg, sounding particularly cross.“Fluttershy, what are you doing?!” Dash called out, slack-jawed at her friend's callousness.
“Yes, what do you think you're doing?” Fluttershy asked the Treants, to which Dash buried her face in her palm. She had a sneaky suspicion the context of her question fell on deaf ears.
“Grub dub narsh parsh,” said one of the Treants.
“Oh no, don't try and fool me! I know full well you can speak common, so start talking, understand?”
“Garb nesh?” The other Treant reiterated. Rainbow Dash never thought she'd see a pair of trees would give someone the 'innocent puppy dog eyes' look.
“I'm warning you! If you don't tell me what you’re doing to these animals, you will regret it!”
Dash scratched her head. What more could Fluttershy do? She was already giving the stare. Was this her peak level of threatening?
Whatever the case, this was an opportunity to free the animals while the treants were distracted. Quietly tip-toeing over to a bramble trap, Dash raised her gladius and took careful aim – aligning the blade’s edge to slice open the cage containing a bear.
The bear in question glanced up at Rainbow Dash, shrugging its shoulders with a disinterested grunt, then returned to filing its claws with a flattened piece of wood.
Meanwhile, the treants continued their conversation, in whatever way such communication could be considered conversing.
“I... am... Grontus?” The Treant on the right said to Fluttershy, smirking with a grin so forced that even Dash’s adopted sister, Scootaloo, would recognise as playing dumb.
“I am Grontus!” The other Treant nodded vigorously in agreement, seemingly unaware of Rainbow Dash hacking away at the cages in the background.
“I hope you realise the 'I can only speak my name' shtick is the oldest trick in the book,” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “That's it, don't say I didn't warn you!”
Rainbow Dash halted her strikes, bracing herself for whatever Fluttershy was about to do.
As her friend took a deep breath, for the briefest of seconds, Dash could have sworn that the Treants looked legitimately worried.
“Rawr!”
By this point, Rainbow Dash had to admit that this was the strangest thing she had seen all year. Not the fact that Fluttershy was being laughed at by tree-people, nor the fact that a group of harvest mice had somehow found a deck of cards three times their size to play blackjack with.
No, the most bizarre, twisted, and quite frankly unreal thing to Rainbow Dash? She almost expected Fluttershy to be fierce.
“Alright, alright, you win,” the Treant on the right said, trying to catch its breath between heavy bouts of laughter. “But for the record, my name is actually Grontus.”
“And I'm his husband, Grontoos,” added the other Treant, with a slightly lighter voice.
“It's nice to meet you both,” Fluttershy replied, softening her tone.
By now, Rainbow Dash had given up questioning how Fluttershy’s attitude could reverse on a dime.
“Now, can you please tell me what you're doing, trapping animals?”
“Trapping?” Grontus gave a curious look. “Whatever do you mean? We're just transporting them to their new home.”
“They're quite safe, I assure you,” Grontoos noted, gesturing at the cages and Rainbow Dash. “Why, just look at them, they're having the time of their lives!”
The bear yawned and rolled its eyes, tapping its foot impatiently.
“You could help me, you know,” grunted Dash, unaware of the vines creeping from behind. At least until they had wrapped around her waist. It was hard to ignore the sudden mild restriction to her breathing.
“What in Equestria are you doing to me?!” Dash yelled, though it was a half-hearted yell, as to her surprise, the ensuing wrapping was rather comfortable.
They weren't pressing against any intimate areas, but they did squeeze select pressure points to relax her muscles; an experience she likened to being in an outdoor spa, receiving the best massage of her life.
“Ahhh...” she exhaled.
“See?” Said Grontus, gesturing to Rainbow Dash. “It's the policy of the new Fashion Master. We can’t give our fashion makeovers if nobody’s comfortable, now can we?”
“Well, I guess that is sweet of you,” Fluttershy half-heartedly admitted. “I mean, fashion makeovers aren’t inherently bad. But there is a bit of a small flaw in your plan...”
“Really?” Grontoos asked with a genuine look of confusion.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you had asked me and the other animals for permission first?”
“But, we did!” Both Treants said simultaneously. Reaching into their thick, leaf-filled heads, they pulled out two identical pieces of paper, both containing sloppily handwritten notes scribbled all over them, complete with signatures at the bottom reading “I am really Fluttershy”.
“See? You authorized everything. Just as the Fashion Master told us upon delivery.”
“Let me see that!” Fluttershy snatched the notes out of the Treants' hands, scanning over the contracts which, other than the signatures, consisted of a single paragraph reading;
“Fluttershy says Fashion Master Gothereon cannot be stopped, so she surrenders to his amazingly powerful evil and that she will bow down to the awesomest, powerfullest, most brutal and most kvlt of Dragons in all of existence!!!”
“This is ridiculous!” Fluttershy shoved the papers back, face contorted in utter disbelief.
“Mmmhmmf...” Rainbow Dash mumbled in agreement, her facial muscles too loose to properly speak.
“This isn't my handwriting!” Fluttershy proclaimed.
“Mmfmm?!” Dash mumbled in objection.
“Look, how are we supposed to know this is a fake?” Grontoos asked, putting his hands on his hips and frowning. “It's not exactly like you send letters regularly! Besides, the process has already started.”
With a click of his fingers, patches of huge, black flowers sprouted around each cage. As each petal bloomed, hundreds of sticky black spores spewed forth from within, indiscriminately bursting open upon contact with any surface they would land upon. With each pop, fur, feathers and scales alike became covered in a thick, leathery substance.
The same substance produced by the Dredge at the lakeside.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Fluttershy threw out a cleansing spell; only for it to be snuffed out amongst the rain of spores. As more of it layered upon the captives’ bodies, it began to shift, smoothing over as it solidified over each animal form.
By contrast, a series of short, bone-white spikes jutted out around the wrists, shoulders and tails. Only now did it click in Fluttershy’s mind what this was all about.
She gasped. It was clothing! Just like in her vision.
The ‘Fashion Master’, as the Treants had put it, were dressing the animals in rugged, long-sleeved jackets, tight trousers, boots and gloves. As a finishing touch, every animal suddenly grew long, straggly black locks from their heads—regardless of whether they normally had fur or not—parting across their faces to reveal white, skull-like masks with varying patterns of thin, black streaks encircling the eyes.
“Simply ghastly, isn't it?” Grontus proclaimed in a sing-song voice, grinning as he gestured over his captives.
“Oh, I quite agree, my love!” Grontoos added. “It is an exquisite form of bleakness which only the Fashion Master could provide!”
Joining hands, the Treants stared longingly into each other’s eyes, smothering themselves with the spores. With twisted delight, the elemental lovers laughed as their bodies began to melt, their features degrading as they merged into one, unified being.
While this was happening, Rainbow Dash found her consciousness fading. Her vision, for what little she could see past the vines, became blurrier with each passing second, in addition to her head feeling lighter. Yet as the magic tar oozed across her body, its influence also spread to her captive vines.
Like bony bracelets, the thorn count of each vine dramatically increased. This, however, did not seem to bother Rainbow Dash all that much.
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOUCH!”
As painful as this sounded, it still couldn’t match the time Pinkie Pie tricked Dash into sleeping on mattress filled with nothing but thumb tacks; not least due to the unending tirade of tack-related puns she had to suffer for weeks to come.
Even so, Dash’s yelling did serve a purpose: using the sudden, spike-induced burst of reflexive strength to break her arms free. “I don't know what you tree-things are playing at, but I did not sign up for the spiny burrito treatment!”
“Be careful, Dash!” Fluttershy yelled, surrounding herself in a bubble of magic.
“Yeah, yeah, the floor is lava,” Dash grumbled back, carefully sliding her gladius between the vines, letting out a sigh of relief as she cut them off her. “Though I’d like to know your plan for dealing with that thing!”
Dash pointed her sword over to mass of tangled foliage which had once been the Treants now looking less like trees and more like the bizarre, cheaply made Nightmare Night costume of the local mail assistant. Yet, after what felt like an eternity wriggling about the place, the elemental mesh started to reform. Rainbow Dash could only speculate what it would become. Some, horrifying giant insect? A dragon? A horrific creature from the darkest depths of her mind that was indescribable to any sane individual?
No, it was just a bigger Treant. In hindsight, it was kind of obvious.
Like the animals, their new bark was covered in the smooth, leathery outfit. It looked identical to others, save for one or two stylistic differences, including the top lacking sleeves. In addition to the cracked bark on its hand—just as black as its clothing—each of the Treant’s fingers ended in foot-long thorns, sharpened to a point.
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash gulped. “Do Treants have bones?”
“No,” Fluttershy replied. “They may be sentient, but they’re still plants.” Like Dash, she stared at the monster with a wide-eyed expression, somewhere between horror and fascination.
“Then what’s that thing coming out of its face?”
Indeed, the object that popped out the Treant's head could only be described as a skull; white as bone, shaped vaguely like a human head, with two empty eye sockets and a jaw full of jagged teeth.
“So...” Fluttershy tried to keep her teeth from chattering as she forced a smile. “Do you think we can still… um, talk things out?”
“Of course, we can,” the elemental said with a raspy, monotone growl.“Grootus always keeps their promises. But first things first, I think you need a bit of a makeover!”
Snapping their fingers, talons (and every other appendage that could make such a sound), the dark animal menagerie surrounded the mages, flinging a hail storm of seeds from each click.
“I think we'll be fine in the nude, thanks!” Dash quipped, charging at the dark Treant through the air, shield raised to block as much of the oncoming seed storm as she could. Readying her sword, Dash was more than ready to separate Grootus’ head from its shoulders.
Yet with the sheer volume firing at her made it inevitable that some would get through. She barely made it half way before the spores popped open; spraying their thick, sticky juices over her skin.
“Ew! What is this stuff?!” Dash yelled, trying to peel off the viscus substance.
“Do you like it?” Grootus shot her a mad grin. “It's the Fashion Master's aesthetic. And it won't be long until every creature will enjoy it!”
Dash could already feel the thick leather spreading over her, her upper body stiffening with each attempted movement. Thrusting her legs, Dash launched herself forwards on a wave of magic, flying past the Treant and throwing herself over Fluttershy; keeping her shield raised as high as her arms would let her.
“Hang tight, Fluttershy. We’ll be out of here in no time!”
“But, Dash, I’ve got-”
“No time for talk, we’re out of here!”
“Dash, no!”
Bending her knees, Dash once more took flight and promptly collided head first against a dome of tree roots.
“Not again!” Dash groaned, rubbing the ever-growing lump on her head.
“I tried to tell you, Dash. I’ve got us covered.”
“Did you have to be so literal about it?”
“Knock-knock, anybody home?” The guttural voice of Grootus followed on from echoes of his fists pounding against the cage.
“That's enough!” Fluttershy screamed, her expression changing in a flash of magic as her wooden barrier exploded outwards. Through gritted teeth, she shot a harsh glare at the stumbling Treant and gestured over the animals with an open palm – all of whom seemed too busy admiring each other’s fashion to care about anything else.
“Can’t you hear the forest? You’re not entertaining them, you’re hurting them! I can hear their souls crying out in pain, desperate to be free! They may look happy on the outside, but inside? I can tell they aren’t. I feel everything they feel, and none of your brainwashing can change that! So, you’d better release them right now, or I will take you apart piece by piece and deal with them myself!”
Rainbow Dash stared blankly at Fluttershy. She was starting to wonder if she had a split personality, given how many times her mood had flipped today.
“It seems you just can't understand the forest like the master can,” Grootus shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “Well, you like listening to trees? Have a listen to this tree and tell me what you think!”
Taking a deep breath, they let out a deep, guttural roar; bellowing with such force that it sent Rainbow Dash tumbling end-over-end backwards in mid-air. Luckily, Fluttershy came to her aid, catching her through the expanding branches of her staff.
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Dash said as soon as her head stopped spinning. “Though if we’re gonna save the animals, we’d better get on with it!”
“I agree,” Fluttershy replied with an exasperated sigh. “Just, be gentle with them, okay? They don’t know what they’re doing.”
“I’ll try, but I will defend myself if they stand in our way!”
And with that, Dash was off, keeping her body horizontal as she tried to power her way through the wind.
She didn't get far.
By the time Grootus was out of breath, his minions moved to attack.
First to attack were a pair of owls, swooping in from behind with talons flared. Faster than any owl Dash had seen before, they were upon her, raking their talons across the exposed flesh of her back
“Ow! Why you little...” Rolling over in mid-air, Dash retaliated, swinging her sword in a diagonal arc at her attackers. Yet the owls were just as fast to retreat as they were to attack, leaving behind only a few, sliced-up flight feathers for her troubles.
Worse still, the owls kept their flight level low, blocking Dash’s ascent and allowing the next wave of critters to do their work. Leaping from the tree tops, more than half a dozen squirrels landed on Dash, biting at her biceps.
Flailing, Dash flung her arms around in a criss-cross motion, swiping at the squirrels with both her armaments. The agile squirrels dodged the attacks effortlessly by jumping over each swing, some even landing on Dash’s shield to blow raspberries in her face.
“Will you get off me already?!” Dash spat, clanging her sword and shield together in a desperate bid to relieve herself of the attackers.
It was through this action that she realized she’d forgotten something.
She had been infected. The black leather was still covering her, growing tighter with each passing second. If she didn’t think of something soon, she would, at best, become yet another mindless puppet of the Treant. At worst, she’d end up as a bizarre, naked lawn ornament, stuck in place forever for people to come and laugh at.
With a kick of her legs, she swung herself around to face Fluttershy – for what little good her seizing limbs could do.
Fluttershy had little trouble holding off the corrupted creatures, though her offensive capabilities were hardly effective. The animals recoiled from the green magic pouring from her staff, yet any patches of leather Fluttershy cleansed, black ooze spread from other areas to compensate.
They were at a stalemate, neither side gaining or losing any ground.
Grootus watched the action unfold carefully, making mental notes of every little detail he considered relevant. Crossing his arms, he scratched his chin, silently pondering how to tip the fight in his favour.
The answer was right under his nose.
Grootus had forgotten about the animals he kept in reserve for a situation like this. With a wave of his hand, he poured the black ooze over a set of five baby bears.
“See that druid over there? Keep her occupied for a moment, will you?”
The cubs obeyed, ominously pacing towards Fluttershy like a hoard of zombies searching for their next meal; with many of the other animals following suit. The harvest mice, raccoons and the adult bear all marched towards Fluttershy in three unified ranks, perfectly in synch with each other, expressionless.
Fluttershy, by contrast, stared mortified at what her animal pals had become; the black tear stains around the eyes being particularly heart-wrenching. “Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy cried. “You poor things! Don’t you fret, I’ll cleanse you of this curse!”
“Fluttershy, wait!” Rainbow Dash groaned, struggling against the ever-tightening leather. No matter how much she squirmed, it would not let go, binding her arms and legs together. “It's a trap!”
Fluttershy didn't respond, too preoccupied with the brainwashed animals. Perhaps somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that she was walking into a trap. Dash could only speculate. Helplessly, she watched the beasts leap onto Fluttershy one by one, knocking away her staff out of her hand.
What Dash saw next took her breath away (or maybe it was the tightness of her new oily suit; either way, it was a shocking sight).
These animals... they were cuddling her to death.
Splayed out on the ground, Fluttershy had close to a whole zoo's worth of furry, feathery, and scaly creatures curled up across her body, some of which gently licked her face. Even the bear had decided to pick her up and gently lay her against its chest, rocking her from side to side as if she were its own new-born cub – along with the other cubs snuggling alongside her.
Rainbow Dash hadn’t seen such a sickly-sweet event since Pinkie Pie caught the Cake twins throwing off their clothes and smothering themselves in a pantry's worth of treats.
It was all too much for her to bear, averting her gaze before she started gagging. Even the deadly venomous snake had simply anchored itself around Fluttershy's arm to bask.
“Poetry in motion, isn't it?” Grootus said as he approached Dash. “Now all that’s left is deal with you, Rainbow Dash!”
Despite the direness of the situation, Dash still refused to give up, using whatever wiggle room she had to try and break free. Grootus simply laughed at the effort, opening his hand to let more goo reinforce the binds.
Never had Dash felt so helpless, so restricted. Her stomach felt like it was twisting itself in knots, her eyes watering as the leather spread up her neck.
“I'm sorry, Fluttershy,” she wept, struggling to remain conscious. “I didn't mean for this to happen. I... I just...”
“You just what?” the Treant replied with a malicious grin.
“I JUST LIKE BEING NAKED WITH YOU!”
Groontus jerked backwards, nearly losing his footing as two gigantic forces slammed into his chest. One was the sudden wind shear booming from Dash’s screamed confession, while the other was the rotten stench of a gassy excretion from her anal region. The fart was terrible enough on its own, but there was worse to come.
Rainbow Dash had, quite literally, broken wind, forming a noxious tornado around her which tore her captive suit to shreds.
Now that she was back in the buff, Dash rode to retaliate. Grootus tried to charge the battle mage, but his limbs seized up whenever he got close, leaving him coughing and spluttering in disgust.
Moulding the wind to swirl around her sword, Rainbow Dash extended the blade, slicing through the cuddle pile to separate the animals from both Fluttershy and their clothes.
“F-Fluttershy, help me!” Grootus pleaded, his face contorted with fear as he backed away. “Your friend! She’s gone mad!”
To say that the Treant’s crocodile tears fell on deaf ears would be an understatement. The Fluttershy who emerged from the cuddle pile was quite a different druid from the one who entered. A pair of feral slits peered out from behind a thicket of pink hair. Her lips curled back in a fierce snarl, revealing a pair of sharp, pointy canine teeth.
She knelt on all fours, flexing the long claws on each finger ominously. Combined with her pink tail rapidly swishing from side to side, Grootus could tell that she was not a happy kitty. A twitch of her cat ears was all the indication he got before Fluttershy pounced.
An ear-piercing screech burst from Grootus’ mouth. The sound was music to Dash’s ears. Grootus was learning just how painful it was to have one’s hair ripped out, even if they were just tree branches. With a twinkle in her eye, Rainbow Dash landed at the Treant’s feet.
“What's the matter?” she quipped. “Cat got your tongue?”
The noise of Grootus' palm hitting his face echoed throughout the forest, an action mirrored by every other creature within earshot – except for Fluttershy, who busied herself gnawing at the Treant's branches.
“Well I thought it was funny.” With an annoyed grumble, Dash swung her sword a diagonal slash, slicing clean through the Treant.
At first, nothing seemed to happen.
“Ha!” Grootus laughed. “You missed!”
“Wait for it,” Dash replied.
A second later, Groontus looked down at his feet, noticing how they were suddenly walking away without him.
“Oh Fiddlesticks,” was all Groontus could say before his top half fell backwards. His last sight was of all the animals he had captured, picking apart his remains before scurrying away with their trophies.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Rainbow Dash sheathed her sword and stretched her arms. “Man, fighting evil tree people really limbers up the muscles. Wouldn't you say, Fluttershy?”
Turning to Fluttershy, Dash's satisfied smile dropped. Her cat features were increasing in prominence, her long whiskers twitching as she glared at Dash, hissing as she swiped.
“Easy there, Flutters,” Dash said, backing away slowly. “I'm not gonna hurt ya. It's just me, Rainbow Dash!”
Fluttershy tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, showing only the faintest sign of comprehension by softening her growl.
It was clear to Dash that, to save her friend from herself, she needed to take some drastic measures. Dropping onto all fours, Rainbow Dash began mirroring Fluttershy's body language, hoping to Celestia that this wouldn’t agitate her further.
“Meow!” Dash vocalised, reverberating her larynx to create the purring sound.
Fluttershy’s responded with a suspicious stare.
I think I'm getting to her! Gotta step up my game.
And step up her game, Dash did. Letting out a longer string of friendly meows, Dash crawled up to Fluttershy, rubbing the length of her body against hers before rolling onto her back with her limbs in the air, presenting her belly.
I sure hope that Fluttershy doesn't decide it's mating season, Dash thought to herself, gulping discretely. Otherwise, this is gonna be way more awkward than it already is.
To prevent further sexual thoughts, she rolled over onto her front, held out her arm and began to lick it, just like Rarity's cat, Opal.
Strangely enough, Dash found her cat-roleplay to be a relaxing experience, tension draining away from her body the longer she kept it up. In fact, with her eyes starting to feel heavy, a soft yawn rose from her chest. She decided this was the perfect time to curl up and take a cat nap.
“Um, Rainbow Dash?” The familiar, gentle voice snapped Dash back to the waking world. “What are you doing?”
Rainbow Dash looked up to see Fluttershy standing over her.
Her cat-like features were now gone, replaced by scrunched-up expression, trying to hold back the laughter.
“Oh, hey, Fluttershy. You seem... um… well…?” Dash’s face flushed red with embarrassment as she tried to organise her scrambled thoughts into a coherent sentence.
Eventually, the words 'feral shy' and 'calming cat' passed her lips.
That was when Fluttershy broke. Unable to hold back her massive grin, she burst out laughing, making Dash turn an even deeper shade of red. “Well, you’d make an amazing companion if Rarity ever needs a cat sitter. I never thought I had that kind of influence over you!”
Standing up and rubbing the back of her head, Dash returned a smile to save face. “Yeah, I guess you kinda did. I used to be super anxious about being naked with anyone. And now I'm here… naked... with you...” Dash once more began to trail off, too lost in thought to realize where she was staring.
“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked, shuffling uncomfortably on the spot as she averted her gaze.
“Huh? Oh! Oh...” It took a moment for Dash to get a grip on her thoughts, by which time she realised what she just said. “Oh, well, that is, I mean to say, I...”
“That we should move on and find out who or what this ‘Fashion Master’ is?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Yeah! That.” Dash agreed, relieved that Fluttershy was just as eager to finish the conversation as she was.