"So Fluttershy has been hiding the fact that a bunch ah' guys, and I guess girls, have been hitting on her nonstop all week?"
"Eeeyup."
"And y'all came up with this plan to make everyone think y'all's are datin' not more than a minute after hearing bout' this?"
"Eeeyup."
"And that's why y'all got Fluttershy sitting on ya' lap like that?"
Rainbow looked up at the catatonic girl perched on her lap in a rigid state. "Eeeyup."
"Ya' know I hate it when ya' answer like Big Macintosh Rainbow."
Rainbow smiled in a cocky manner. "Eeeyup."
The rest of the group had already entered the lunchroom and had been in route to help before the incident had occurred. Thus they had all seen what had happened clearly. AppleJack was the only one not in attendance as she took shop class at the other end of the campus right before lunch and was usually the last one to make it to the lunch room. So they had had to take the time to get her up to speed before Rainbow could divulge her hastily created plan.
The lunchroom itself had been way too active after the incident to discuss said incident though. So the Rainbooms had all finished their lunches quickly and retreated to a secluded area of the library where they could discuss it in relative peace. Around Rainbow arranged between two couches, a few random chairs, and a table set up for ease of study sat the rest of her best friends, and all were giving her questioning looks of varying seriousness. Minus Pinkie Pie.
AppleJack looked up to Fluttershy. Her expression hadn't changed since her and Rainbows lips had parted. Rainbow Dash had basically had to drag her to the library, but she did so in a way that would look to the many onlookers like they were just embracing while they walked. Now the poor girl sat, still with eyes wide open and arms folded against her chest protectively. As far as anyone could tell she had yet to even blink.
"Has she said anything yet?" AppleJack now questioned.
"Eeenope," was Rainbows response. AppleJack gave her a glare. Rainbow just chuckled.
"Is the poor dear even breathing Rainbow? She looks positively dreadful." Rarity this time, with her patented overreacting.
Rainbow just rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Fluttershy's back, feeling the rhythmic, if short, rise and fall of her breathing. "She's fine. Heart rate is still through the roof though." Rarity gave her a disapproving stare. "What? It's fine. I've seen her get this way before. Give her an hour and she'll shrug it off."
"We're not about to wait an hour to make sure she's ok Rainbow Dash. You must know some way of getting her out of this."
"Well yeah, but I kinda don't want to use it."
"And why in the world not?"
"Because if I use it too much she'll get used to it. You know how she is, finding ways to pull her out of this is hard to do."
"Rainbow Dash, she certainly can't go to fifth period like this. If you can revive her I suggest you do it now."
"Ugh. Fine." Rainbow reached up and tilted her still rigid friend down so she could whisper in her ear. "Hey Shy. Angel bunny fell down the laundry shoot again."
Fluttershy suddenly dove forward, arms outstretched. The only thing that kept her from face planting was Rainbow anticipating the lunge and holding her in place. A piercing, "Angel NOOOOOOO!!!!!" had the group at the center of attention again as the librarian rounded the corner and gave them a harsh glare. Realizing where she was Fluttershy blinked several times. Her cheeks lit up as she noticed her friends around her giving her concerned looks. She leaned back to avoid their stares only to notice the uneven nature of what she was sitting on. Looking back she saw Rainbow Dash smirking up at her. She then noticed where she was sitting.
With a small "eep," she managed to hop herself off the lap and attempted to move away. Unfortunately there was not much room left on the couch they were seated on. She was not even able to move far enough away to avoid it when Rainbow reached over and pulled her back over to her with an arm around her shoulder.
"Relax Shy. I went a little far there, but I told you I'd find a way to protect you. Like I always do."
"S, s, so that really happened. You.. you told everyone we were dating... to protect me. And you.. you...."
"Eeeyup." AppleJack shot Rainbow another glare. "And this time I'm not even gonna get in trouble for protecting you." She got some skeptical looks. "Ok, Blueblood might have a shiner. But that's one day of detention, tops."
A few hands met faces around the group. Pinkie was too busy writing furiously in a notebook to notice what any of them were doing. Sunset Shimmer face palmed the hardest but was the first to respond. "As bad as that is on its own, that's not even the worst thing here. You just went ahead and decided to pretend to be with Fluttershy, and you didn't even talk to her about it?"
"Didn't really have the time. I guess I could ask now." She turned to the girl who looked somewhat uncomfortable under her arm. "Hey Shy. You wanna be my pretend girlfriend for a week?"
Despite knowing it was coming, the words made Fluttershy's face suddenly start going progressively more and more red. Hands met faces around the study nook again. Pinkie kept scribbling away.
"It's a little late for that now Dash," Sunset admonished her when she finally pried her hand from her face. "And would you ease up. This is clearly a little much for her to handle."
"I.. It's ok." The words were barely audible, but the fact that they came out at all suddenly made all attention turn to the pink haired girl. The attention made her shy away again. She unconsciously curled into Dash just a little as she tried to hide. "I..I didn't know how I was going to get through next week if they kept... You know."
"Yeah, we get that you needed help, but I just think it was a little... Forward for Rainbow to just go and do something like that. I mean, are you ok with this?" Sunset gave Fluttershy a concerned look.
"Umm well..." She looked away, suddenly realizing how much she was using Dash as a shield and moved away with her face going more red again. "It.. It might be a little uncomfortable, but.. Dash knows me well enough to know when..." She trailed off, unsure whether she should finish. She looked up to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow only rolled her eyes before continuing the story. "You guys know me and Shy have known each other longer than the rest of us have been together." Three heads nodded around her. Pinkie kept scribbling away. "Well, this isn't exactly the first time I've done something like this." Surprised looks went up among all those paying attention. "Not the whole, ya know, fake relationship thing, but I kinda have been trying to do everything I can to protect her ever since we were kids."
Fluttershy gave a small nod and a small smile. "Dash kinda knows when I really need help, and gives it to me even without me asking. Even sometimes when I feel like I don't want it and tell her not to." She looked up to give Dash as close to an admonishing glare as she could. Rainbow just laughed it off and finally let her go, feeling that there were no longer any interested parties still watching them. Fluttershy looked back to the rest of her friends. "I guess we've never said it out loud to anyone before, but Dash has pretty much been my protector ever since we first met. So... I think this is ok. Dash is just protecting me again. And.. If there's anyone I think I could fake this with, it's Dash."
"Yeah, minus the mushy stuff we're already around each other enough to act like a couple. I just gotta smooch her every now and then and we're good." Rainbow laughed as her sudden declaration made Fluttershy "eep" and freeze up again. "No honestly, after what I did in the lunchroom I think we can get away with hand holding and junk like that." Fluttershy was now leaning away from Dash, her blushing face still visible through her hair despite now unashamedly hiding behind it.
Once again it was Sunset who tried to make sure she was ok. "So Shy. Even knowing what this is going to entail, are you still ok with this?"
Fluttershy did not move from her protective position, but the whole group noticed and gave a sigh of relief as her hair bobbed just a little indicating a nod.
Rainbow Dash unconsciously reached out and began rubbing Fluttershy's back in a comforting gesture. "See, I told you all it's fine. We don't even have to worry about the next two days, and next week is totally already handled. Fluttershy just has to fake dump me right before the prom and we're good until the next fall formal."
Rarity let out a sigh. "Well I guess this is all settled, but it does rather put a damper on what I was planning on telling everyone today." Everyone's attention now turned to Rarity, minus Pinkie Pie who now had a stack of papers much larger than should have been possible from her notebook piled up on the table in front of her. "I had figured that since none of us had actual boyfriends going into prom week that you girls might be up for a group event for prom. Just a bunch of friends getting together to take the prom by storm. I already had some group dress ideas that would have made us all the talk of the school. But I guess that doesn't really work now."
The whole group contemplated this for a moment. Rainbow was the first to respond. "No, actually that's even better." This drew her quizzical stares. "I just figured on not going at all. But if we actually do go and Shy dumps me there, nobody will even think of asking her out again. Her reputation will be stone cold."
"Not too stone cold I hope. I'm sure the dear would like to have a boyfriend some day."
"Why would she, it's all downhill after dating the Rainbow Dash right." This finally got the rest of the group to relax, even Fluttershy managed a little laugh.
Rarity looked excited. "So you girls are really on board with this." A chorus of agreement went up among the girls. "Oh this is going to be so much fun. You girls are simply going to love..."
"And finished!" Pinkie exclaimed as she slammed one last piece of paper down on the stack that was now taller than her.
"Pinkie dear, what in the world is all that." All the assembled girls were now wondering just when she had managed to get the stack so tall.
"This is my plan for my 'Dashie and Shy Shy are finally the super duper cutest couple ever and that is super duper awesome' party." She ended with a smile that looked like it shouldn't be possible on a human face. The rest of the group just stared.
"Pinkie, have you been paying attention at all?" Rainbow asked.
"Nope!" Her smile didn't waver for a moment.
"Pinks, we're faking it to keep Fluttershy safe."
Pinkie's smile finally fell. She looked over to the massive pile of papers earnestly before looking back at the fake couple now sitting comfortably close to each other. "Are you sure?" The pair just nodded. Pinkie looked back to the pile, her eyes becoming more earnest. Suddenly her smile came back and she looked back at them. "Well I guess you'll just have to get together for real then."
"Not happening Pinkie." Rainbow said flatly. Everybody was too focused on Pinkie to notice Fluttershy's cheeks start to take on color again.
"It could happen," was Pinkie's only response. She rested her hands on the pile of plans protectively. It was just then that they heard the bell indicating the end of lunch.
"Burn it Pinkie," Rainbow said as she stood, stretched, and reached down to help Fluttershy up. She then addressed the rest of the group. "We're still on for the usual study session tonight provided I'm not in detention right." Agreements came from the rest of the girls as they too began to rise.
***
Rainbow Dash had a free period after lunch, so leaving the library with her friends was more of a formality. She gave each girl a wave as they were leaving. Then she got to Fluttershy. As usual there was a lot of foot traffic in the halls. It was apparent that eyes were watching them as they were the last of their friends to part. Noticing this, Dash decided one last show was in order.
Giving Fluttershy a quick look in warning, she leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. It still left Fluttershy a blushing, stuttering mess, but she was able to head to her next class well enough. She gave her a final wave as she rounded the corner.
The halls finally cleared out, and for a brief minute Rainbow Dash was alone in the hall just outside the library. Her hand was still raised from waving to Fluttershy, and for some reason did not stop the process as the silence of the hall spread over her. The hand started to rise up to her head, and the other hand seemed to follow.
The smile that now seemed plastered on her face finally dropped as her hands clutched her messy prismatic hair tightly.
"Shiiiiiiiiit!!!" She paused as her breathing became heavy.
"Shiiiiiiiit!!!!!" She was hissing under her breath, but the stress in her voice was making her words clearly audible if anyone were to enter the hallway.
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
"Shit!"
She had turned around and was now banging her head against the wall with every word.
"What... The... Hell... Did... You......"
At the sound of voices coming from another hall Rainbow turned on a dime, assumed a relaxed posture leaning against the wall she had just been banging her head against, and casually began to whistle. The group of students that rounded the corner and entered the library either didn't pay attention to her or didn't notice her. The second the door closed behind them she turned and ran the other way down the hall. She rounded two corners and barged into the first bathroom door she found.
Once inside she couldn't think of what to do. She just stood at a sink gripping it hard, staring at her reflection in the mirror, and breathing heavily.
"What is wrong with you, you moron. That was the single dumbest thing you could ever do. How are you going to hide..." A toilet flushed in a stall behind her. Without a thought she turned, ran forward, and kicked it open. Inside the stall was a large, muscular, white skinned boy Rainbow recognized. Apparently in her haste she had managed to barge into the wrong bathroom.
He was still in the process of fastening his pants when the stall door nearly smacked him in the face. That was probably why he wasn't able to resist when she grabbed him by the arm and yanked him forward. With a spin she swung him around and planted his face against the same mirror she was just using, his left arm now wrenched into the small of his back.
"You didn't see anything! You didn't hear anything. You don't know anything. You weren't even here and as far as you know neither was I. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND!!!?"
He seemed as if he might try to protest, but additional pressure on his shoulder made that die in his throat. A weak, "yeah," was his only response. With that Rainbow let off the pressure and turned him towards the door with a shove.
"Good, now make sure no one else comes in here."
She turned back to the mirror as she heard the door close. She didn't really care what he did, Rainbow just needed a place to vent for a minute. Oddly the first thing to come to mind was that she was going to have to thank AppleJack for teaching her that hammer lock. It had been extremely helpful lately. Then she actually looked up into her own eyes and saw the terror written across them. She knew what the real issue here was.
"You moron," she hissed much lower this time. "What THE HELL were you thinking? Fluttershy is off limits. You know this. So why did you do that?"
She pushed off the counter with a huff and began pacing, her hand reaching up to gently massage her head where she'd been smashing it against the wall. "This is bad. This is so bad. You are the absolute WORST match for Shy in the world. Case in point, what you just did. Shy needs someone gentle, someone who isn't going to push her too hard. So in other words, the exact opposite of you. No matter how much you want..." All that followed was a growl. She went back to the mirror and glared at herself again.
"You were supposed to put this behind you by now." She looked down, breathing heavily again. This part seemed to be the hardest to say, but she had done this before and knew it had to be said aloud so the words would stick. "She's the only person I think I could ever feel this way about... But there's no way it would ever work. Being her protector is the closest you will ever get, and trying for anything more will just screw that up." She looked back up to her own face again. "You can't be her protector and her lover. GET OVER IT!!!"
She just sat and breathed hard for another few seconds. She finally straightened up, took one last deep breath, and ran her hands through her hair to smooth it back into something passable. "Ok, you got this. Just one week. Keep it together for one week. You've kept a lid on this for years, you can do it on hard mode for a week. Just keep the mushy stuff to a minimum..." She paused for a second as thoughts of what happened earlier came to mind. A swat to the side of the head brought her back out of it. "... And don't think about it." With one more deep breath she moved towards the door.
Exiting the bathroom she found Bulk Biceps standing across the hall looking nervous. "Remember what I said and get lost." He scampered away quickly. Though she had just finished a mile run a little while ago she definitely found herself in need of a good work out. She proceeded in the direction of the gym to see if some of the facilities were free to use.
She thought of the upcoming weekend. 'At least I won't have to deal with this for the next couple days'. It was the only plus she could think of as she walked.