Chapter Thirteen
Talk of the Town
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If Fluttershy were to single out one thing about Ponyville that made it her favorite town in all of Equestria, she might say it was how friendly everypony that lived there was. Whenever she walked through Ponyville, she was sure to find lots of smiling faces and friendly greetings. Which made it very strange when instead, she found ponies staring at her and whispering things to their friends as she walked past.
It was unlike the other day, when her disheveled state had caused her to stand out. Ponies had been concerned about her then. Now she felt more like a curiosity, something on display for everypony to gawk at, and she had no idea why.
It wasn’t everyone. There were plenty of ponies who offered friendly waves and smiles, or who simply went about their day without noticing her. But just when she thought she might’ve imagined it, she’d catch another sideways glance.
She considered asking somepony what was going on, but she couldn’t work up the nerve. Maybe one of her friends would know something about it. Rarity was the closest, so Fluttershy shifted course towards the Carousel Boutique.
She didn’t make it to the Boutique before being stopped. A young unicorn mare approached her, smiling nervously. “Uhm, excuse me, Miss Fluttershy?”
“Oh, hello,” Fluttershy said, trying to figure out if she knew the younger mare.
“I was just wondering if, uhm, if it’s true? About you and Princess Twilight?” She levitated over a tabloid magazine for Fluttershy to see.
Fluttershy knew as soon as she saw the picture. It was from the other day, showing Fluttershy and Twilight walking through town after the newt-salamander dance. Although both of them were extremely disheveled, it was easy to see that they couldn’t be happier. More to the point, they were looking at one another in adoration, with Twilight’s wing resting on Fluttershy’s shoulders.
That had been one tiny moment, something Fluttershy could barely recall even having happened, but there was no way to tell that through the photo. Viewing just that one moment frozen in time, anypony might assume Twilight had walked with her like that the whole way through town.
So of course, Fluttershy knew what the article was about without having to read it. She knew, and yet every word struck her. The headline read ‘Princess Twilight and Fluttershy – Caught in a Secret Tryst?’ and a quick skim of its contents revealed that even if the tone was speculative, the implication was obvious. It even noted that the two of them had been seen spending time together constantly over the past few months.
Fluttershy was left speechless. The unicorn seemed unaware. “It’s all anyone’s talking about! I know it might just be nothing, but if it’s true then this is huge news!”
“I…” Fluttershy looked around and noticed several ponies were listening in. She grasped for an answer, any answer, but couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Oh, it’s true, isn’t it! I can’t believe it, this is so exciting!”
Fluttershy took a step back. She should deny it, or say that she preferred not to comment on her personal life, or… or something.
Instead, she turned and flew away without a word. She couldn’t think of how to say what was on her mind, couldn’t even decide exactly what was on her mind. All she knew for sure was that she had to get out of there as soon as possible.
There was no doubt that she drew more attention to herself by flying through town, but it was too late to care about something like that now. She had to go. She had to get to Twilight.
She tried her best to avoid looking at anyone else on her way to the castle. She certainly didn’t stop to talk to anyone else. She didn’t even stop to knock on the door once she reached it, throwing it open and letting herself in.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy called as she flew through the castle. There wasn’t a response, but Fluttershy had a pretty good idea of where she would be.
She flew up to the library, once again going in without knocking. Predictably, Twilight was sitting at a table hunched over a book.
“Twilight, I –”
“Aaah!” Twilight jumped up and stared wide-eyed at Fluttershy. After a moment, her expression softened to a smile. “Oh, hi, Fluttershy. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Sorry,” Fluttershy said, frowning at herself for startling Twilight. But they had something more important to discuss, so she put that aside. “I was just in town, and… Somepony found out about, uhm, us…”
Twilight frowned. “What do you mean?”
“There’s a magazine article about us with a picture of us on the way back from White Tail Woods the other day. It, uhm, it makes it look like we were walking through town with you holding me in your wing. And… it talks about how much time we’re spending together, and how we’ve been seen going to each other’s houses so much, and, and… And somepony asked me about it, but I didn’t know what to say!”
With every word, Twilight looked more and more panicked. “Wait… Somepony wrote about us!? And… And other ponies are reading it!?”
Fluttershy could only nod.
Twilight held her head in her hooves. “Oh, this is bad! I wasn’t ready for this! I didn’t plan for this! What are we going to do!?”
“I… I don’t know…”
Twilight fell to the desk with her hooves over her head. She stopped talking, and instead switched to rapid breathing.
Fluttershy recognized that Twilight was having an anxiety attack and walked across the room to sit next to her. She wasn’t sure what she could say, so she just pulled up a chair and put her forelegs around her marefriend.
Although she didn’t look up, Twilight shifted one foreleg from its place over her head to put it around Fluttershy. Her breathing slowed to a more normal pace, and Fluttershy might’ve thought she was calming down if not for the whimper that escaped her mouth.
“It’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said without even thinking of the words. Twilight was upset, and Fluttershy would calm her down. She didn’t need to think to know that. “We’ll get through this.”
“But how!?”
“We’ll get through this together.” Fluttershy smiled, even if she felt like doing anything but. “We’ll lean on each other. No matter what happens, as long as we’re together, it’ll work out in the end.”
“I… I wish that was true…”
“It is. I love you, Twily.”
That was her secret weapon. Even now, Twilight couldn’t help but smile when Fluttershy called her ‘Twily’, and she answered in turn. “I love you too, Shy.”
As silly as it was, Fluttershy smiled too. When Twilight had decided to find a nickname for Fluttershy, that’s what she came up with. It was hardly original; Rainbow had been calling her ‘Shy’ since they were fillies. But in a way, that was even better. Just as ‘Twily’ was what Twilight’s family called her, so was ‘Shy’ for Fluttershy.
“No matter what anypony else think, I’ll still be there with you,” Fluttershy said softly. “And you’ll still be there for me too, right?”
“Of course I will,” Twilight said, starting to sound a little calmer.
Hearing Twilight start to sound better emboldened Fluttershy. “And who knows? Maybe it won’t even be so bad. Maybe ponies won’t pay much attention to it, or… or maybe they won’t even care.”
“Maybe…” Twilight sighed. “I just wish I had prepared for this.”
“You can’t prepare for everything. Sometimes… sometimes we just have to take things as they come.”
Twilight turned to her and smiled. “You’re right. Thanks, Shy.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Fluttershy said, although she was smiling as well.
“You keep me grounded. And you can ask Spike, that’s no easy feat.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, I don’t think anything could keep you grounded. Maybe just… a little closer to the ground than usual.”
Twilight laughed, which helped push away more of Fluttershy’s worries. “Since when do you pick on me?”
“That’s just part of being marefriends.”
“Oh yeah? Who told you that?”
Fluttershy nuzzled against Twilight. “Nopony. I just figured it out on my own.”
“I guess that’s how things have mostly gone for us. Figuring it out on our own.”
“Yeah. But I think we’ve done pretty well so far.”
Twilight nodded and leaned against Fluttershy. “Yeah, I think so too. And I guess… this is just another thing we’ll have to figure out together, huh?”
“Exactly.”
Even though they still didn’t know what to do, Fluttershy was feeling much better. Maybe it was time for something like this to happen. They had been dating for three months, and somepony was bound to figure it out sooner or later.
And no matter how scary it was, maybe this was a good thing. When they had first started dating, Fluttershy hadn’t wanted anyone to know. But now that she thought about it… there was an undeniable appeal to being able to walk through Ponyville with Twilight without needing to hide anything.
“Hey, Shy?”
“Yeah, Twily?”
“Will you… stay the night tonight?” Twilight blushed. “I know that’s part of what got us into this situation, but if I’m alone, I’m going to panic all night…”
If Twilight hadn’t asked, Fluttershy would have. “Of course I will. I… probably would be doing the same thing if I was home alone…”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Everything will be okay… no matter what happens.”
Fluttershy thought of everything ahead of them and how hard it would be. But then she looked at Twilight and she knew that didn’t matter. “Yeah,” she said. “Everything will be okay.”
Things seemed better after the night went by without any cataclysmic disaster. Nothing out of the ordinary happened – Spike made them dinner, the three of them ate together, Fluttershy and Twilight read to each other for a bit, then they turned in for the night. No ponies came knocking, no distressing letters from concerned citizens arrived, nothing happened at all.
Of course, all that fell apart in the morning. They had both started the day a little anxious, but they smiled through it during breakfast. It was only when they couldn’t put it off anymore that the full weight of the day hit them.
They got stuck in place while staring at the door. Once they went through it, there was no telling what would happen. But they both knew that they were doing themselves no favors by delaying the inevitable. Good or bad, it was time to face their peers.
“Ready?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy wasn’t, of course, but she couldn’t say that. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Twilight opened the door, and for better or worse, they walked out into Ponyville.
At first, it seemed that all their worries had been for nothing. They walked into town towards Fluttershy’s cottage – their eventual destination, as Fluttershy had to take care of the animals – and no one stopped them. A few ponies greeted them, and Fluttershy did wonder if it was just her imagination or if ponies were glancing at them a little more than usual, but nopony had any difficult questions for them.
“Are you sure about that magazine?” Twilight muttered.
Fluttershy nodded. “I saw it myself.”
“Then maybe ponies really don’t care.” Twilight smiled slightly. “Maybe this whole thing can blow over without us needing to even do anything.”
“That would be a relief.” Even if this whole experience showed Fluttershy that it might be time to think about addressing their relationship, she still wanted to do it on their own terms.
Not that they would have much choice in the matter, as an earth pony stallion approached them with a grin that suggested he was all too happy to find the two of them together.
“Princess Twilight, a moment of your time for the Canterlot Daily?”
Twilight’s smile was a little too big, but it was better than Fluttershy’s reaction – she just hid in her mane.
“What can I do for you?” Twilight asked, only sounding slightly nervous.
“What do you have to say about the rumor that you and Fluttershy are dating?”
“Oh, yesterday’s silly tabloid gossip.” Twilight laughed nervously. “Well, the truth is that…” Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy, who couldn’t manage to look back at her. “…that we’re working on a research project together!”
Both Fluttershy and the reporter turned to look at Twilight. “A research project?” the reporter repeated.
Twilight nodded. “Yes! That’s why we’ve been spending so much time together! We’ve been studying the local amphibian population, chiefly newts and salamanders.”
The stallion looked between the two mares. “So… just research then? No secret trysts or anything like that?”
Twilight laughed, which caused Fluttershy to look back towards the ground. “No, of course not. Fluttershy and I are just friends with a mutual love of nature, and that’s all. We did discover some very interesting things though, which I’d be happy to discuss for the Canterlot Daily!”
Just friends. Why did that hurt to hear?
“Er, afraid that’s not quite the type of news our readers are looking for, Princess. One final question, though.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Fluttershy, do you have any comment on the rumors?”
Fluttershy hesitated. Had he noticed her reaction to Twilight’s comment? She looked at Twilight but found she didn’t like her awkward smile. “I… no. Just what Twilight said.”
“I see. Well, thank you both for your time.” He quickly bowed his head, then went off on his way.
Twilight sighed in relief. “I expected that to go a lot worse.”
Fluttershy had expected it to go a lot better, although she couldn’t say how. This was what they wanted, for the whole thing to just blow over. So why was she questioning it now?
“I… I think I should go take care of the animals on my own,” Fluttershy said.
She had expected Twilight to disagree, but she simply nodded. “Good idea. Putting a little distance between us for now will help keep the rumors down.”
Fluttershy didn’t want to put distance between them, not really. But she also didn’t really feel like being around Twilight right now. She didn’t know what she wanted, just that somehow, she didn’t want this.
But whether she wanted it or not, it seemed that this was all she was getting. She said goodbye to Twilight, then they went off on their separate ways. No ‘I love you’, nothing to remind Fluttershy that she was important to Twilight. They had to keep up appearances when other ponies were around, after all.
Maybe… maybe that was all she wanted. Just for Twilight to disagree about spending time apart so that she would know Twilight did still want to spend time with her. Not that it mattered. Not when Twilight was already walking away.
Fluttershy could stop her. She could say that she changed her mind, ask Twilight to come with her after all. She was pretty sure that even now, Twilight would come with her.
But she didn’t. Fluttershy found herself walking away as well, heading off to be by herself once more.
She walked slowly to her cottage, thankful that no one else stopped her at least. It was hard enough to agree with Twilight once, she didn’t want to have to do it again.
If anypony tried paid her any attention, she didn’t notice them. Instead, she spent the entire walk back to her cottage trying to sort through her thoughts, getting nowhere.
She was out of town before anypony spoke to her. Thankfully, it was a welcome voice that finally did. “There you are!”
Fluttershy looked up to see Rainbow Dash land in front of her. “Dash?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! There’s uh…” Rainbow looked around, making sure there was nopony nearby listening in. “There’s something you should see.”
“Do you mean in the magazine article?”
“Oh, you saw it already then…” Rainbow brushed a hoof through her mane awkwardly. “Some ponies asked me if I knew anything about it, and I thought you should know.”
Fluttershy nodded and continued walking towards her cottage. “What, uhm, what did you say?”
Rainbow walked beside her. “I told them not to bother you two, and that they shouldn’t listen to rumors.”
That was better than hearing Twilight say they were just friends, at least. “Sorry that you had to do that… I wish ponies would just let us figure this out without spreading rumors…”
Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, that’s just how ponies are, you know? I hope nopony’s been bothering you about it, though.”
“I had somepony ask me about it yesterday, and then a reporter asked me and Twilight about it today.”
“Oh geez, reporters? What’d you tell them?”
“I… I didn’t really say anything. Twilight told them it was just a rumor, and that we’ve been together so much because we’re researching animals together.”
“Smart.” Rainbow grinned. “Leave it to Twilight to figure out the perfect excuse.”
“Yeah…”
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “Is everything okay, Shy?”
“I… I don’t know…”
“Well, what’s wrong? It sounds like Twilight has everything covered.”
“She does.” Fluttershy shook her head and forced a smile. “You’re right, I should be happy.”
“I’m not saying that you have to be. I just… don’t see why you’re not.” Rainbow stopped walking. “Unless you don’t want to keep it a secret anymore!”
Fluttershy winced. She didn’t like how excited Rainbow sounded. “I do. That’s, uhm, that’s what we agreed on, and… and I’m not ready to tell everyone yet.”
Even though Fluttershy had only gotten a few steps ahead, Rainbow still flew the distance between them. “So then what’s the problem?”
“Nothing.”
Rainbow frowned. “Promise me that nothing is bothering you.”
Fluttershy tried, but she couldn’t. “That’s not fair…”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Come on, Shy, it’s me! What could be so bad that you don’t want to talk to me about it?”
“I just… I don’t know, okay?” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut tight. It had bothered her when Twilight denied their relationship. It had bothered her when Rainbow wanted them to come out. How could she say what was wrong when her feelings kept contradicting themselves? “I just wish this had never happened.”
“Is that all? You know how these things go, in a week there will be some new gossip and nopony will even care about this anymore.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath. They didn’t really comfort her like she wanted them to, but she couldn’t deny that Rainbow’s words rang true. “Yeah. You’re right.”
Rainbow looked at her uncertainly, but she didn’t say anything.
Fluttershy crumbled anyway. “I guess I just didn’t like the way Twilight handled it.”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked cautiously.
“I don’t know. Just… hearing her dismiss our relationship hurt.” Fluttershy sighed. “But I’m being dumb. What else was she supposed to say?”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Wait, did she not talk to you before telling other ponies that the rumors aren’t true?”
“Well, we did talk about it. But I thought we were going to tell ponies we are dating, and that we’d figure things out from there. It doesn’t matter though, this is better.”
“Maybe, but she should’ve talked to you before changing her mind like that! That’s really messed up of her.”
“She didn’t…” Fluttershy shook her head. It wasn’t like Twilight changed her mind, exactly. More that they just didn’t really reach a real conclusion. “We just misunderstood each other. It’s fine. I… I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
It was clear by her hesitation that Rainbow still did, but she didn’t press it. Besides, they had reached the cottage.
Even if Fluttershy was used to taking care of the animals alone, she had been looking forward to having help today. “Do you… maybe want to help me with the animals?”
Taking care of the animals had never been Rainbow’s favorite job. Nor was she particularly good at it, as she couldn’t seem to master the delicate balance of being caring enough for the animals to want to be around her, but forceful enough that they would listen to her when need be.
But when it came down to it, they probably both knew that Fluttershy just didn’t want to be alone. “Sure, I can help.”
Fluttershy smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, Dash.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Fluttershy glanced back towards town. At least she had Rainbow to stand beside her. No matter what happened, Fluttershy knew she would always have that.
But Twilight had her own concerns with her reputation as a princess, and if rumors like this kept popping up, all she could do was hope that Twilight would choose to stand beside her as well.