Chapter Nineteen
Two Dates
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Between the two of them, Fluttershy always seemed to be the one who was more excited about Rainbow’s dates. This time proved to be no exception, although she had learned to not make a big deal about it. That was something Rainbow always hated – people making a big deal about her going on dates.
So she just sat on Rainbow’s bed as Rainbow put on mascara. “Are you nervous at all?”
“Nah, it’s just Flash.” Rainbow finished one eye and moved onto the other. “What’s there to be nervous about?”
Well, maybe the fact that he was a friend and if it went poorly then things were going to get incredibly awkward. But Fluttershy didn’t want to put that thought into Rainbow’s head if it wasn’t already there, so instead she just said, “I don’t know, I think I’d be nervous.”
“Shy, you’re nervous when you have to answer the door.”
Fluttershy would have thrown a pillow at Rainbow if it wouldn’t have messed up her makeup. “I’m not as bad as I used to be.”
“Yeah, fair enough.” Rainbow finished with the mascara and put it away. She smiled and turned to face Fluttershy. “How do I look?”
Although she normally dressed casually, Rainbow did like to get dressed up for special occasions. She was wearing a black dress with a short skirt, a red jacket, and a pair of boots she had dug out of her closet. She hadn’t bothered to style her hair at all, but she’d put on mascara, eye shadow, and lipstick.
Fluttershy smiled. “You look great. Flash is gonna love it.”
Rainbow walked over to the bed and sat beside Fluttershy. “Twenty bucks says he shows up in a fucking tux.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Give him more credit than that. You agreed on a casual date.”
“Yeah, but he’s Flash. He’s like, into cheesy stuff like that. Bet he shows up with flowers too.”
“Flowers are nice.”
“The hell am I gonna do with flowers if he brings them?”
Fluttershy shrugged. “There’s a vase in the kitchen. Anyway, I’m sure he won’t make a big deal of it.”
“I hope not.” Rainbow didn’t have a purse of her own, so she was borrowing Fluttershy’s. She pulled her phone out of it and checked the time. “Still got like half an hour to kill. You don’t think he’ll come early do you?”
“Does it matter? You’re ready to go.”
“Yeah, I’m just worried he’ll want to meet my parents to make a good impression on them.”
“Hmm…” Fluttershy tapped her lips in thought. “You know, that actually does sound like Flash.”
Rainbow groaned and fell backwards on the bed. “If he does, shoot me.”
Fluttershy laughed. “What are you worried about? Your parents would love Flash. He’s polite, he’s sociable, he’s got similar interests to you.”
“Yeah, he’s the perfect guy for their daughter, I know.” Rainbow sighed and sat up. “That’s what I’m afraid of. If they talk to Flash, they’re gonna want us to be this whole thing, you know? They’ll be asking about him all the time, and imagine if things don’t wind up working out.”
“I’m sure you’re just worrying too much,” Fluttershy said. “They’ll understand if things don’t work out.”
“Ugh, I hope so…”
Fluttershy decided to shift the conversation away from her parents a bit. “But you do you think it’ll work, right?”
Rainbow shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I’ve never really thought of Flash as anything more than a friend, but he’s a cool guy.”
“I think all he needs is a chance.”
“Well, I’m happy to give him that.”
Fluttershy smiled. “I think you two will work out well together. So… should I expect you back home tonight?”
Rainbow grinned. “Geez, Shy, it’s a first date! I’ll definitely be back home tonight.”
“Hmm, back home alone?”
Rainbow laughed. “Yes, alone!”
Fluttershy laughed as well. “Oh, like you haven’t hooked up with guys before.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t a hookup. I can do dating properly.”
“Alright, if you say so.”
“I do.” Rainbow glanced away, but she was still smiling when she looked back. “So speaking of dating… What’s going on with you and Lemon Zest?”
Fluttershy blushed and turned away, which she realized was probably not the best way to respond. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rainbow elbowed Shy lightly. “Come on, you think I haven’t seen the way you two are together? Especially since my birthday.”
Fluttershy bowed her head. She actually didn’t remember much about that day, but she woke up hungover with Lemon Zest holding her in the morning and never really found the will to question it. And since then, Lemon Zest had been even more friendly than before, enough so that Fluttershy even started going out to shows just to see her.
Which… kind of proved Rainbow was on to something. “I guess… nothing really.”
“I don’t buy it.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I mean it. We’re not dating or anything, but… I think, uhm… I guess maybe I’d like to.”
Rainbow clapped her on the back. “There you go! Now you just gotta ask her!”
Fluttershy blushed. “It’s not that easy.”
Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “Sure it is, why wouldn’t it be? She’s obviously into you.”
Fluttershy sighed. “I know it seems like that, but we’ve been this way for years. Why would it be any different now?”
Rainbow shrugged and smiled. “That’s a good question to ask her after you ask her out. Seriously though, I don’t know why it’s different now, but it obviously is.”
“So… what do I do?” Fluttershy’s blush deepened. “I’ve never exactly asked someone out. Not someone I care about, anyway. Sunset and Sonata just sort of… happened.”
“Just be like, hey, I really like hanging out with you, wanna try going out on a date?”
“You make it sound so easy…”
Rainbow shrugged. “Because it is, Shy. You can totally do this. You’re not the same shy girl you used to be, you’re a kickass band manager now. You got this.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Thanks, Dash.”
“And what better time than today? I’ll be out all day anyway, and I don’t think you want to hang out around here by yourself.”
“I was going to call Pinkie.”
“We hung out with Pinkie and AJ all day yesterday, and we’re going to the beach with them tomorrow.” Rainbow’s face lit up. “Hey, you can invite Zest there and make it a beach date!”
Fluttershy smiled. “That sounds kind of nice. Does that mean you’re inviting Flash?”
“Sure, if today goes well. We can make it a double date. Plus, you know, Pinkie and AJ.”
Fluttershy laughed. It sounded like it would be fun. She didn’t mind that her friends would be there on her first date – if anything, a day with all the people she cared about would be even better.
There was a knock on the door, and Rainbow’s mom popped her head in. “Rainbow, your date is here.”
Rainbow stood up. “Thanks, Mom.”
Firefly smiled at her daughter. “He seems nice.”
Rainbow cast a desperate look to Fluttershy, who could only giggle. Rainbow sighed and shook her head, which seemed to confuse her mom, although she didn’t comment.
Rainbow turned to Fluttershy before leaving. “Text me if you need me, but really, just ask her. Everything will work out.”
“Alright. Have fun, Dashie.”
The two of them walked out of the room together, then Rainbow waved Fluttershy off and walked downstairs. Fluttershy instead walked into the guest room which was hers when she was in town, closing the door behind her.
First things first, if she was going to ask Lemon Zest out on a date, she was going to look her best. She had taken to dressing more punk while on tour, but her clothes that she’d left here were more in her old style.
Rather than be bummed out about it though, she looked forward to the style change. She could try her best to look pretty for Lemon Zest, for a change. She dug out a long blue skirt and paired it with a white tank top. It showed off her tattoos, which she didn’t always like to do, but she liked the outfit too much to want to change it. She clipped a butterfly clip into her short hair and smiled at herself in the mirror, happy with her outfit choice.
Next she moved onto her makeup. She didn’t bother to wear it much on tour, but she was still quite skilled with it. Besides, even Rainbow put on a bit before a date. So she put on a full round of makeup, starting with foundation and working her way through her whole kit from there. By the time she was finished, she was almost happy with how she looked.
It was as good as she was getting in any event, so Fluttershy pulled out her phone and dialed Lemon Zest. It rang twice, and then Lemon Zest answered. “Hey, Shy.”
“Hi, Zest,” Fluttershy said as her lips curled into a smile. God, all it took was to hear Lemon Zest saying her name to get her to smile. “I was wondering, uhm…”
Suddenly the words Rainbow had said seemed much harder to say. Fluttershy tried to get them out, but they clung to her throat and refused to leave.
“What’s up?”
To hell with it, just get together with her first. “Do you maybe wanna hang out today? Rainbow has a date.”
“She does? Oh man, why didn’t anyone tell me! I didn’t even get to tease her about it or anything!”
Fluttershy giggled. “You’ll get plenty of chances later. It’s, uhm, with Flash.”
“Oh ho ho! Love on the tour, eh?” Lemon Zest sighed wistfully. “Love songs between two bands, so romantic.”
Fluttershy giggled again, happy to just hear the way Lemon Zest talked about Rainbow. But still, it would be better to get back on track. “So, uhm, what do you say? About going, uhm, out with me today?”
“Yeah, sure! Sounds good to me!”
Oh God, did that count? Fluttershy said ‘going out with me’ and Lemon Zest said yes. But how did she take it? Fluttershy realized that even she had no idea what they were to each other when it came down to it.
“Great. Want me to head over to your house, or do you want to meet up somewhere?”
“I’m helping my grandparents with their internet connection right now, but if you wanna come over here that’s cool. Or if you wanna wait, we can meet up somewhere once I’m done.”
Fluttershy glanced in the mirror. She was already dressed and ready to head out, so she might as well. “I don’t mind waiting at your place while you do that. I, uhm, feel a little weird being at Rainbow’s house without her.”
Lemon Zest chuckled. “Yeah, sounds good. Come on over whenever, we can figure things out from there.”
“Alright. I’ll see you in a bit then.”
“Cool, see you then.”
Fluttershy hung up the phone and used it to order a cab from a ride-sharing app. Once that was done, she went to put it in her purse before realizing she leant it to Rainbow. She also didn’t have pockets, so she wound up grabbing a denim jacket that did.
She left the room and went downstairs, where she ran into Firefly again. The older woman smiled at her. “Hey, Fluttershy. You look like you’re getting ready for a date too.”
Fluttershy blushed. “Is it that obvious?”
“The makeup’s a bit of a giveaway. Heading out now?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’ll probably be back tonight.”
“Well, have fun.”
It was only a small interaction, but it left Fluttershy smiling. Rainbow always felt awkward around her parents, who weren’t around much when she was growing up, but Fluttershy enjoyed exchanging pleasantries with them.
There was a difference between exchanging pleasantries and actually talking to them, of course. Fluttershy didn’t know what to say beyond that, so she just said a quick goodbye and walked outside. She could wait for the cab on the porch and not have to worry about making conversation with someone she didn’t know as well as she really should.
It was a warm day, but not bad for late July. Her jacket was a little too warm, but she figured they could just plan to do something inside. Frankly she didn’t care if they didn’t leave Lemon Zest’s house at all, what mattered was just spending time together and figuring out where they were going to go from there.
She wasn’t waiting too long before the cab arrived. From there, it was a fairly short ride to get to Lemon Zest’s house. She didn’t quite live in the same suburbs as Rainbow did, but her neighborhood was nearby.
Lemon Zest lived in an upscale neighborhood mostly inhabited by older people who had retired to the area and families where both parents had high salary jobs. The houses were big, and so were the lawns. Everything looked immaculate because it was the kind of place where people paid for lawn maintenance.
The cab reached her house and Fluttershy thanked the driver before getting out. She walked up to the driveway and knocked on the door. A few moments later, Lemon Zest opened it. “Hey, Shy. Wow, you look nice.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you.” She couldn’t really return the compliment exactly; it wasn’t that Lemon Zest looked bad, but she was wearing pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt, so the compliment would come out a little awkward.
She stepped aside to let Fluttershy in and then closed the door after them. “I just finished fixing the internet, so if you give me a minute to get dressed we can head out.”
“Who was at the door?” an older lady asked.
“Fluttershy, Grandma,” Lemon Zest answered.
An older woman with yellow skin and green hair walked into the room. “Oh, hello. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello,” Fluttershy said.
“You and Fluttershy met once before,” Lemon Zest explained. “She stayed the night before we started touring.”
Lemon Zest’s grandma didn’t seem to recall Fluttershy, so she smiled. “It was a long time ago, and it was only the one time.”
“Yeah.” Lemon Zest walked over to the door that led to the basement, where her room was. “Anyway, I’m gonna get dressed then Fluttershy and I are gonna head out.”
“Alright, Zesty.” As Lemon Zest left the room, her grandma turned instead to Fluttershy. “Can I get you something to drink… Fluttershy, was it?”
“Yes, and that’d be lovely,” Fluttershy said.
The older woman went into the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of something, then she pulled out a cup. She filled it with a yellowish liquid, and then handed it to Fluttershy. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be lemonade.
“Are you one of Zesty’s friends from her music group?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Fluttershy said as she sipped her lemonade. “I’m their manager.”
The older woman smiled. “Ah, so you’re the one taking care of my Zesty. She told me you always make sure they don’t have anything to worry about.”
Fluttershy smiled, happy that she had come up in conversation. “I do what I can.”
“We worry about our Zesty out there without any of her family. It’s nice to know she has a nice girl like you looking out for her.”
Fluttershy wondered what she’d say if she knew there may soon be something romantic between the two girls. Fluttershy was always worried about coming out to older people, but Lemon Zest was close with her grandparents so there was no way around it. At least her grandma seemed nice enough.
Lemon Zest wasn’t too long in coming back up. She hadn’t dressed up like Fluttershy had, but Fluttershy didn’t mind. She was wearing ripped jeans and a T-shirt with an unbuttoned long-sleeve plaid shirt.
“You’re going out like that when your friend looks so nice?” her grandma asked.
Lemon Zest smiled and shook her head. “Grandma, Fluttershy doesn’t care what I’m dressed like.”
“I think she looks nice.”
The older woman walked over to Fluttershy and placed a hand on her shoulder. “See if you can get her to wear something nice once in a while.”
Fluttershy giggled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
They said goodbye to Lemon Zest’s grandma, then walked back outside. “So where are we headed?” Lemon Zest asked.
“I don’t know. Is there anything you want to do.”
Lemon Zest shrugged. “We could just hit up downtown, see if any of the shops catch our interest.”
“Sounds good.” Fluttershy nodded and ordered another cab for them. They made light conversation while they waited, about how it was a nice day out and how Lemon Zest’s grandma was nice.
The whole time, Fluttershy wondered how to say what was on her mind. She wasn’t even sure when was a good time to bring it up. Now, so that they could factor it into their day? Later, after she had some time to feel out how things were going for them?
As she waited, the cab arrived. She wasn’t going to ask there, so she might as well put it out of her mind.
No trip downtown on a hot summer day would be complete without a stop by the ice cream shop. Fluttershy and Lemon Zest got a large hot fudge sundae to split between them, then decided to eat it inside to get away from the heat.
Fluttershy took a bite of the sundae, smiling at the sweet taste. “I had a lot of fun today. Thanks for coming out with me.”
Lemon Zest nudged Fluttershy. She had opted to sit next to the other girl instead of across from her, so they were pressed side to side. “You say that like I didn’t. I’m just as happy about today as you are.”
Fluttershy just took another bite of the ice cream. It had been a good day. They each had a bag of purchases from the various shops, and even if walking around downtown had been hot, they’d managed to stay inside most of the time.
More to the point, there were all the little things. Like Lemon Zest holding Fluttershy’s hand, complimenting her as she tried on clothes, and the way she was always just so close to Fluttershy. She’d still had some doubts even after she suggested hanging out together, but now she was sure: She was going to ask Lemon Zest out on a date by the end of the night.
All that was left to do was to figure out when. She didn’t want to do it in the ice cream shop, so she just enjoyed being next to Lemon Zest while they ate the sweet treat.
“Hey, Shy?” Lemon Zest said after taking a bite.
“Yeah?”
Lemon Zest swiped her finger across the whipped cream and poked Fluttershy’s nose with it. “Boop!”
Fluttershy giggled. “Hey!”
Lemon Zest just grinned while Fluttershy wiped off her nose. Fluttershy shook her head and put an arm around Lemon Zest’s shoulders.
‘She’s so much like Sonata sometimes,’ Fluttershy thought, then felt guilty for the comparison. Lemon Zest didn’t deserve that. Not after Sonata had gone and abandoned Fluttershy while Lemon Zest had always been there for her.
Unaware of her thoughts, Lemon Zest scooped up another bite of ice cream and fed it to Fluttershy before getting a spoonful for herself. That chased away the bad thoughts, and Fluttershy found herself leaning her head against Lemon Zest’s shoulder.
“Why are you so good to me?” Fluttershy asked.
“Uh, ‘cause we’re friends?” Lemon Zest pulled away a little bit, so Fluttershy lifted her head. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”
“I don’t know.” Fluttershy looked down at the ice cream and decided to use it to stall for time. What she really meant was if there was another reason other than just being friends, but what wound up coming out was, “It’s not like I’m anything special. Except maybe as a manager, I’m pretty good at that.”
“It’s definitely not because you’re our manager. It’s just like I said. You’re my friend. I like spending time with you, and… I don’t know.” Lemon Zest chuckled. “I’m not great at this sentimental thing, you know?”
“Sorry.” Fluttershy smiled. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.”
“No worries.” Lemon Zest had another spoonful of ice cream. “But if you want any of this, you better get in on it. I’m ready to devour this thing over here.”
Fluttershy giggled and went back to savoring the moment as she ate more of their sundae. They managed to make it through the rest of the dessert without any more awkward questions from Fluttershy.
Once they finished, they left the shop and Fluttershy immediately reached for Lemon Zest’s hand. The other girl took the offer, intertwining their fingers together. Fluttershy smiled to herself as they walked.
“So what next?” Lemon Zest asked. “It’s getting pretty late, want to wrap things up?”
“Hmm… Not just yet.” Fluttershy wanted to find the way to talk about the two of them before they went their separate ways. Even if she went back to Lemon Zest’s house, they would have her grandparents around to make talking difficult.
Which brought the question of what to do back to mind. Fluttershy looked up at the sun, which would be setting soon. That gave her an idea. “We could walk out to the pier and watch the sun set over the water.”
“Good idea.” Lemon Zest shifted direction and led them to the pier.
“So what are your plans for tomorrow?” Fluttershy asked as they walked.
Lemon Zest grinned. “What, can’t get enough of me now?”
Fluttershy was tempted to ask if it would be such a bad thing if she said yes, but she wasn’t ready to be that forward – even if Lemon Zest wanted to try dating, that didn’t mean Fluttershy should insinuate that they’d spend all their time together. “We’re going to the beach tomorrow. I was thinking you might want to come.”
“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun,” Lemon Zest said. “But I made plans with my Crystal Prep friends already. Sorry.”
Fluttershy shook her head, only a little disappointed. “No need to be sorry. Go have fun with your friends. I’ll still have Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie to hang out with.”
“I’m sure it’ll be a blast.”
Fluttershy smiled. “So do you keep in touch with your Crystal Prep friends?”
Lemon Zest shrugged. “Not really. You know how bad we were at friendship back at Crystal Prep. We do try to get together at least once when I’m in town though.”
“What about Indigo Zap?” Fluttershy asked. She had a little more than casual interest in this answer. “I mean, you told us that one time you two… you know.”
Lemon Zest just laughed it off. “Yeah, and it was only that one time. I told you, it didn’t mean anything, and we’re not any closer than I am with any of my other old classmates. I’m a lot closer with Dust than her sister, honestly.”
Fluttershy nodded, pleased with that answer. “Come on, you weren’t even a little tempted to see if it meant something more to her?”
“I don’t know, not really. To tell you the truth, I never really stopped to think about what it might mean to Indigo.” Lemon Zest frowned. “I hope she was just messing around, because I can be really dense sometimes.”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but think that maybe Indigo did have a crush on Lemon Zest, but she didn’t want to bring her friend down. “I’m sure she would’ve said something if it meant anything to her.”
“I hope so.” Lemon Zest seemed down from the subject, and Fluttershy regretted pushing it. She had been hoping for some indication that while she never pursued things with Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest did like girls. And yet, all she’d done was bring her friend down…
Well, she was still holding Fluttershy’s hand. And she didn’t deny anything on the basis of being straight, which is probably what she would do if she was straight… Maybe Fluttershy actually had all the answers she needed.
Which just left bringing Lemon Zest’s mood up as the only thing left to do. Fluttershy decided to alter the subject’s course a bit. “Well anyway, I bet you always have a lot of cool stories to tell when you see them. You’re a big rockstar now, after all.”
The subject change worked, as Lemon Zest smirked again. “I don’t know about ‘rockstar’. We’re like, moderately successful.”
“Still, you get to tour around the country and make a living playing music. That’s gotta give you something to talk about.”
“Yeah, it does. But I guess the same goes for you.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
They reached the pier and walked out over the water. It wasn’t too much, just a fairly short pier that people liked to fish off of sometimes. No one was there today, however, so they had the whole sunset to themselves.
They walked to the end, where there were some quarter operated binoculars and a bench for people to sit on. They ignored it, instead going right up to the guardrail and leaning against that.
“The sunset’s really nice,” Lemon Zest said.
“Yeah, it is.”
Lemon Zest put her arm around Fluttershy, who leaned against her. Sunsets usually reminded her too much of the past, but today, she found herself enjoying the view. Even more so, she enjoyed being with the woman she was watching it with.
She looked up at Lemon Zest and smiled. “Hey, Zesty?”
“Yeah, Shy?”
Lemon Zest turned to look at Fluttershy, and without overthinking it, Fluttershy kissed her. She smiled as she did, thinking of how perfect this moment was.
And then everything crumbled as Lemon Zest took a step back. Fluttershy’s heart dropped as Lemon Zest just looked at her with a slightly confused expression.
Lemon Zest bowed her head. “I’m… being really dense again, aren’t I?”
Fluttershy frowned and looked away from the setting sun, instead looking down at the water below them. She considered jumping in; with any luck, she might sink to the bottom and never come back up. “A little.”
“I’m sorry…” Lemon Zest sighed. “I’m… not good at seeing the line between what’s okay to do with friends and what isn’t.”
“So… everything lately has just been you thinking of us as friends? Holding hands, cuddling, sharing a bed, all of it?”
“When you say it like that, I feel really fucking stupid.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, I’m the stupid one.”
“Shy…” Lemon Zest tried to put her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder, but Fluttershy pulled away. Lemon Zest gave her a hurt expression, but she didn’t try to touch her again. “I’m… really sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on, I just thought…”
“What?” Fluttershy told herself she had no right to be angry, but it didn’t help. “What did you possibly think I would feel like after doing all that stuff?”
Lemon Zest winced. “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t really think at all. I liked being so close with you, and I just… didn’t really think about it.”
“Then why not see where this goes?” Fluttershy forced a smile, hoping there was still some chance to make this work out. “I like being like that with you too, Zesty. I… I think we could work as a couple.”
“Because…” Lemon Zest squeezed her eyes shut tight. “Because I don’t want to be in a relationship. With anyone. Ever.”
Fluttershy bowed her head. “I know what that’s like. After Sunset, I didn’t want to be in a relationship either, you know? Not a real one. And then Sonata happened, and well… It really hurt, but it also made me realize how much I miss having someone that was always there for me. And… and I think we could be that, for each other. I think… I think I could make you really happy too, you know?”
Lemon Zest ran a hand through her hair. “Look, it’s not like it’s a you thing. You’re amazing, Shy. If I wanted to date someone, it would absolutely be someone like you.”
Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut. “Someone like me, but not me.”
“What, no! I didn’t…” Lemon Zest held her face in her hands and sighed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
Fluttershy didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say. She’d ruined everything, just like she always did, and now all she could do was wait for Lemon Zest to try and make her feel better.
Lemon Zest looked out over the water, and she sounded kind of sad when she spoke. “I’ve never felt, you know, romantic with anyone. I don’t think I can.” She looked back at Fluttershy briefly, but then turned away again. “I just want friends, you know? Kissing, sex, all that romantic stuff? I’m just not interested.”
Fluttershy didn’t really understand, but it didn’t really matter. “I see…”
“So… I know everyone says this, but really, it’s not you, it’s me. And… I’m sorry.”
Fluttershy turned away. “I think we should head back.
Lemon Zest followed after Fluttershy, but she kept a little more distance between them. “So… scale of one to ten, how bad did I fuck things up.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t know, Zesty… I think… I just need some time. Let’s… forget this ever happened.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Fluttershy pulled out her phone. “I’m going to get a cab.”
“Do you… want me to get my own?”
“I… think it would probably be for the best.”
“Alright.” Lemon Zest pulled out her phone as well.
The two of them found a bench to sit on and waited in silence. Fluttershy put her purchases from the day in between them to give them each some room.
At least being downtown meant the wait was short. Fluttershy’s cab arrived first, so she stood up and gathered her things. Lemon Zest stood up as well. “Shy, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be,” Fluttershy said. “It never happened, remember?”
“Yeah. So I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Of course. We leave in four more days, after all.”
Lemon Zest sounded dejected when she spoke. “Yeah, guess we do.”
“Bye, Zesty.” Fluttershy opened the back door and got into the car, while Lemon Zest was left to sit on the bench alone.
She felt bad for leaving things where they were. She really did know she shouldn’t be mad at Lemon Zest, that she just saw relationships differently and that she had never intentionally did anything to make things hard for Fluttershy.
It didn’t really help, but Fluttershy at least knew she was wrong for being angry with her friend.
“Lovely weather we’ve been having,” the driver said.
Fluttershy frowned and didn’t look away from the window. “It is.”
“Doing a little shopping downtown, I see?”
“Yes.”
The driver seemed to write the conversation off as a loss and remained silent for the rest of the trip. That suited Fluttershy just fine. Frankly, she wasn’t interested in making conversation. All she wanted to do was get home and put this whole experience behind her.
It didn’t help that the whole way back, she could only think of the past few days with Lemon Zest. She had been so sure that Lemon Zest was just as interested as she was, but then…
No, no one would ever be interested in Fluttershy. They only wanted to be her friend, like Lemon Zest, or use her like Sonata. And if she did find someone who genuinely loved her and wanted to build a life with her? Fluttershy would just destroy it until the other person got sick of it and traded up for a better girlfriend or two.
The driver pulled up to Rainbow’s house and Fluttershy thanked her then got out of the car. She hung her head as she walked into the house. She didn’t see any sign of Rainbow’s parents, so she crept upstairs before they could notice she was home.
The first thing she did was go to the bathroom and pull out the makeup remover. She had been so stupid to get all dolled up, as if makeup could cover the fact that she was a pitiful excuse for a person.
Once her face was cleaned off, she went back to her bedroom. She took off her jacket and tossed it on the bed, then collapsed onto it with her feet dangling off. She just lay there for a minute before kicking off her shoes and crawling a little higher onto the bed.
She waited a while, but her thoughts wouldn’t move away from Lemon Zest. She decided to dig her phone out of her jacket in the hopes that it would give her a distraction.
It worked for a little while. She checked her personal social media accounts, then checked the band’s. She replied to a few fans, trying to hype them for the upcoming shows.
It stopped being a distraction before too long, though. But she didn’t have a lot to do, so she just kept on scrolling through various news feeds. She considered calling Pinkie after all, seeing if she was maybe up to going out for the night.
She didn’t, though. Some part of her knew she shouldn’t be alone, but she didn’t care. She didn’t really want to see anyone, didn’t really want to risk explaining anything about her day.
She wished she had brought her guitars. She could be working on one of the songs she was writing with Rainbow, it could even be an outlet for how she was feeling. Then she remembered Rainbow had left a guitar at her parents’ house, so she could work on it if she wanted to. That killed her drive to work on music.
So she sat and she scrolled through social media on her phone, and she tried not to think about Lemon Zest and the day they’d had, and she thought of it anyway.
That was still what she was doing when Rainbow showed up. She knocked on the door and called through it, “Shy, you in there?”
“Yeah, come in,” Fluttershy called back.
Rainbow opened the door and immediately took a seat on the bed beside Fluttershy. “So that went about as well as I thought it would.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Uhm, is that good or bad?”
“It’s good. Flash is a cool guy, I figured it would be a good day.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’m glad things are working out. So you think you’ll keep seeing him?”
“Yeah, I think so. He’s coming to the beach tomorrow.”
“Nice. So is it all official now? You two are dating?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Well, we didn’t ask each other all formally or anything, but we have tomorrow, right? I guess it’s official.”
“I’m happy for you. Knowing Flash, I’m sure he was a perfect gentleman.”
Rainbow smirked and leaned back on the bed, propping herself up with her arms behind her. “Maybe a little too perfect, you know? Like, dude, I make more money than you. I can cover half the bill, you know?”
Fluttershy giggled. “He just wants to be chivalrous. Did he agree to let you pay for some stuff eventually?”
“More like he couldn’t stop me. After he paid for everything at the movies, I paid for dinner. Think it hurt his pride a little.”
“I’m sure he’ll be okay.” Fluttershy leaned in closer and grinned. “So did he get a goodnight kiss?”
Rainbow smirked. “Maybe.”
Fluttershy giggled. “You didn’t wait for saying goodnight, did you?”
Rainbow laughed and nudged Fluttershy. “Yeah, so we weren’t paying that much attention to the movie. So what?”
Fluttershy laughed as well. “Nothing. I’m just glad you had a good time.”
“Yeah, I think I needed something like this. And with the tour, we don’t even have to worry about time apart and all that.”
Fluttershy grinned wickedly. “And just think of the money we’ll save by you two sharing a hotel room!”
“Alright alright, enough teasing me. Come on, I want my chance at revenge! Tell me how it went with Zest so I can tease you!”
Fluttershy turned to face forward and pulled her knees up to her chest. “I… decided not to ask her.”
“You what?” Rainbow’s cocky smile fell away.
“Yeah, I just thought, you know… it might be weird. Dating someone in the band, you know?”
“Bullshit.” Rainbow fixed her with a glare. “I’ve seen you two together. I don’t believe for a minute that there’s not something going on.”
“I’m not saying there aren’t any feelings there.” Fluttershy’s mouth twitched. “I’m saying I don’t want to date her after all. Just like I wouldn’t want to date Gilda.”
“Shy, this is perfect for you!”
“Dash, I can decide what I want.” Fluttershy forced a smile as she turned to face Rainbow. “And what I want is for my friend group to stay the same. This is better for me.”
Rainbow looked uncertain. “Shy… I don’t know what to say, but –”
“You don’t have to say anything, Dash.” Fluttershy frowned. “I don’t want to talk about dating Lemon Zest. I made my decision.”
Rainbow placed a hand on her shoulder. “I just want you to be happy. Lemon Zest makes you happy!”
“She does. And so do you, and Gilda, and Dust, and everyone else. I don’t need a lover, not as long as I have you all.”
Rainbow sighed. “You say that, but you haven’t been that happy lately.”
“I’ve just been in a funk since Sonata left, but I’m coming out of it now. You’ll see, I’ll be better soon.”
Rainbow stared at her for a minute, then bowed her head. “I just hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.”
Rainbow smiled a little and punched Fluttershy lightly on the arm. “You know I just care about you, right?”
Fluttershy smiled. “I know. Thanks for always looking out for me, Dash.”
“Yeah, of course.” Rainbow put an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “What are sisters for, right?”
Fluttershy smiled. She didn’t need a lover, she had her family. “Right.”