//------------------------------//
// Just Friends (Fluttershy + Rarity) 
// Story: Friends And Lovers 
// by FourShadow 
//------------------------------//

The goth girl everyone knew as Fluttershy brought only two things with her while she was walking. A knapsack she had slung over her shoulder, and the phone in her jacket. She walked through the cold outside with only one specified place in mind; Rarity's home. This time, maybe this time she would have someone to hang out with. 

She knocked on the door of the house, and stood idly, waiting for someone to answer. And someone did; in the form of the freshmen middle-schooler known as Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, hey Fluttershy."

"Hey Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity home?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs," she said, letting her inside.

"Thanks." 

Walking inside, the goth girl walked up the stairs to where Rarity's room was. In the bedroom, she could see Rarity was fixing up the back of her hair. While she was still keeping her hair to it's punk style that she grew to love, she did let a bit of it grow out the back and wrapped it up into a ponytail, held together by a spiked bracelet.

"Rarity?"

She turned around and her eyes sparkled to see her friend. 

"Fluttershy, darling, so nice to see you! What brings you around?"

"Pinkie Pie's busy helping with a birthday party, Rainbow Dash is going on another date with Indigo Zap from Crystal Prep, and Applejack's off to visit her brother in college," Fluttershy deadpanned. "I have nothing else to do, so I thought I would see how you were doing."

"Oh. I'm so sorry," Rarity frowned.

"Eh, it's okay. Kinda. It's just one of those days," Fluttershy shrugged.

She sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Rarity was continuing to adjust her hair. She wore the same spiked heeled boots, tight jeans, a blue tank top underneath a black sleeveless vest, and two spiked bracelets on her wrists. The nasty witch that she once was, was completely gone. Out with the old hag, and in with the casual punk.

"So..." Fluttershy said, hoping to start a conversation. "Valentine's Day is in a few days. You, uh... you have a special someone?" 

"I'm afraid not, no," Rarity said, frowning at the thought. "Do you?"

"Not really. Though to be honest, I'm okay with it. I make it a me day," Fluttershy said. She looked back at Rarity, thinking for a moment. "You... do you want to hang out? I mean if neither one of us is dating--"

"--Wait. Darling do you mean like, us going on a..."

Fluttershy didn't let her finish the rest of that sentence and shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I mean just you and I hang out, as friends."

Rarity blinked. "Oh! My apologies darling, I misunderstood. But uh, sure, yes! Yes of course! Anything you would like to do?"

"Actually, there is."





"Roller derby!?"

Some skaters sped right on past Rarity, blowing her mohawk in the wind. 

"What? I thought it could be fun," Fluttershy said, finding themselves some seats. She patted the chair next to her, and Rarity took her seat.

"Well, it's just... I don't know, I didn't think you liked roller derbies of all things," Rarity asked.

"You girls never asked," Fluttershy deadpanned. "Though I didn't show it, I was honestly jealous of you and Pinkie Pie getting to skate. I would have loved to try that." Her hand reached into the bucket of popcorn she purchased. "Popcorn?"

"Hmm... sure," Rarity said, sticking a hand in to grab a few pieces. 

Another whoosh went by as the skaters sped on past them. 

"And Griffonstone takes the lead again! Scorin' Hoops taking the second place and Shining Harmer in the third! With only 20 laps to go, Griffonstone is taking a huge lead!"

"Oh I don't know about you, but I think that Shining Harmer girl might take it. She may be in the back, but you don't ever wanna mess with her out in the rink."

"If our egos extended to commentary as much as skating, we'd be getting our own butts kicked in this sorry mess!"

And the racers went by past them again, with the crowd roaring. 

"So are there any particular favorites?" Rarity asked, drinking from a straw. 

"The Griffonstone girl, that's my favorite," Fluttershy pointed. A racer in a light brown tank top and black shorts, and a helmet painted with a bird-like head design. "Her name's Gilda. She's a friend of mine."

Rarity blinked. "I didn't know you had friends outside of us."

"Before I met any of you, she was honestly my only friend. I met her out here, and she helped me practice roller skating. We've been friends ever since."

The mohawked girl smiled. "That's rather nice, darling."

"Mmmhmm," Fluttershy nodded, eating another piece of popcorn.

As the loud rock and roll echoed through the speakers over the crowds of screaming fans, Rarity drew her eyes over to the skaters down in the course.

"Wait a minute. Fluttershy, doesn't that skater look familiar? The pink one?"

"Shining Harmer? Wait a minute..." she looked closer and gasped. Now she looked familiar. Pink skin, and there was some tufts of pink and soft yellow hair hanging out of the back of the helmet. "Is that--?"

"ARE YOU BLIND, REF!? THAT WAS A FOUL!!" 

Fluttershy was tense. And even more so to see it was from Rarity of all people. She looked sheepishly at Fluttershy, tittering a bit. "I, may get riled up if people don't play by the rules..."

Fluttershy looked back at the crowds in fear. "Now I've seen everything..."





The race eventually ended, with the winner being Griffonstone, and Shining Harmer taking second place. Everyone was getting themselves ready to leave, but the two girls wanted to pay a little visit to 'Harmer' first. Luckily they caught her just as she was about to walk into the locker room.

"Cadence?" Fluttershy asked. 

The adult spun around and looked at the two students. "Oh, Fluttershy, Rarity, so nice to see you two." 

Rarity sputtered. "I... I thought you were a teacher!"

Cadence nodded. "Well, right now I'm mainly doing substitute work. And what can I say, roller derby is a great stress release after dealing with some classes."

Fluttershy gave a sly grin. "Does, uh, does Shining know?"

Cadence chuckled.  "Nope. Not yet. I'm hoping one day if we ever get back together I can take him out here on a date." 

Rarity giggled. "I bet he would be quite surprised."





After leaving the course, the two of them wandered around Canterlot for a bit more fun. They stopped at the Canterlot Mall, played a few games in the local arcade (and Fluttershy soon learned of Rarity's hidden talent for racking up high scores in first person shooters), and even went for a bit of fun shopping. Some new accessories, snacks for later, and other little bits of fun stuff. And in all that time, Rarity completely forgot about how sad she was about not having a date. 

And so the two of them were walking through the city streets, looking around for more places to stop at.

"Well, darling I want to say thank you hanging out with me. This is rather nice," Rarity cooed.

Fluttershy smiled. "No problem. I'm glad you're happy."

Rarity sighed. "Though I do wish I had a special someone this holiday. I thought I would have been attractive enough to at least get the attention of one boy..."

"Don't put yourself down, you're a very attractive woman," Fluttershy said, sternly.

Rarity blushed. "You really think so?"

"Yes, I do. Any boy would be lucky to have you."

Rarity sighed again. "I guess so. But what boy wants to be near me when I have... this?" She pointed up to her mohawk. "Don't get me wrong darling, I love it, I don't want to change it but... I suppose I feel like that's the only thing boys are ever going to see when they talk to me."

"Rarity, you need to not worry so much about the hair. You still look good even with the punk hair. I bet anyone would be surprised how generous you are underneath that mohawk. If you're going to be with someone, you should be with someone who likes you for you, not for your looks."

"Like what Adagio and Trixie have?"

"Exactly. I mean looks are good, but they're not everything," Fluttershy said.

"Oh." Rarity said, not sure what else to really say. "Well... hmm. Fluttershy is there anyone you've had your eye on?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

"But darling, don't you want to have a special someone?"

"Well, yeah. But not now. Just because I'm not interested in someone now doesn't mean I never will. Besides, I'm too focused on trying to do okay in school to even worry about finding a nice guy to date."

Rarity smiled at that. "Well I guess I can see where you're coming from. And I do agree, I mean, who says you have to be dating someone?"

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Fanfiction shippers?"

Rarity raised a brow.

"I spend a lot of time alone," Fluttershy sunk in her shoulders. "Even before I met any of you girls. But the point is, you don't always need to have a special someone to be happy. Sometimes all you really need is just a good friend."

Rarity softly spoke. "When did you become so wise?"

The goth girl just shrugged. "I learned a thing or to at my therapist."

"I see. But still, I... I do love all of you, but I just wish I... You know what I mean," Rarity said, dejectedly. 

Fluttershy moved in front of her, stopping them both from walking. She gripped her shoulders and looked at her with 'The Stare', a move that she perfected on almost every animal she tamed.

"Rarity. Listen to me. You'll find your perfect one. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow. But you'll find someone. Okay?" 

Rarity slowly nodded. Fluttershy smiled back, before helping adjust the soft ponytail hanging out of the back of her head.

"Good. Now come on, I'm hungry."

"But you just had popcorn!"

"It's junk food, Rarity. I need an actual meal," Fluttershy pouted. "... Unless you um, had something, in which case, we could just go back home."

Rarity waited to respond, but her stomach growled audibly at her. She hadn't had much to eat either, aside from some nibbles at the popcorn. "Perhaps it would do us good to get something to eat."

And they were in luck. Around the corner was a mini diner, a perfect stop. Fluttershy looked back at Rarity with a soft smile. "I know this place. It's not exactly high class, but they make really good food."

Rarity smiled back at her friend. "Fluttershy, that is perfectly fine with me."

The two of them walked inside, and first glance, it just seemed like any regular diner. Plenty of tables and chairs, some booths with comfy cushioning, it looked relatively clean for the most part. In the corner, there was some music playing out of a jukebox, mostly contained the hits. A bar for people to sit at and just simply eat there. Heck, this was nearly identical to the diner that Pinkie Pie liked to go to (and talked about wanting to apply for a job there)

And surprisingly, there were some familiar people here. In a circular table was Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat, and Lemon Zest all together.

"Oh. Sunny Flare, darling, so good to see you," Rarity grinned.

"Hey Rarity," Sunny said dully.

The fashionista frowned. "Darling, what's wrong?"

"My special someone dumped me... and so close to Valentine's Day," Sunny frowned. 

"What? Why?" 

"I don't know!" Sunny's face planted right into the surprisingly squeaky clean table, while getting a soft pat from Lemon Zest. 

"What about you Lemon Zest?" Fluttershy inquired. 

Lemon shook her head. "I uh... I was ready to ask this person I had a crush on but... I found out they're already dating someone. I just went here cause I have nothing else to do," she frowned. 

"What about you Sugarcoat?" Rarity asked. 

"Actually I didn't plan on doing anything today. I didn't really ask anyone out so I just thought about chilling here, maybe enjoy some karaoke. Maybe play some of the arcade games in the corner over there," Sugarcoat looked at the few arcade cabinets. "And then I saw Sunny and Lemon come in, and well, here we are now."

The two Rainbooms turned their heads, seeing two other girls they recognized at the establishment; Amethyst Star and Vinyl Scratch of all people. The two of them were just sitting and chilling at their table, enjoying the sweetness of fresh, warm, chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk.

"Geez, the sound is coming out horridly," Vinyl cringed, hearing the sound from the speakers cutting in and out.

Amethyst tilted her head looking at the speaker that wasn't functioning properly. A light bulb popped over her head and she flashed a grin. "Oh, I got it." The keytar player raised her hand up and snapped her fingers, suddenly the music starting coming out of the speaker much more clearly. 

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." And casually, Amethyst just dipped her chocolate chip cookie into some milk and took a bite.

Vinyl saw the goth and punk girls come to their table and she greeted them with a smile. "Evening Rarity, Fluttershy. How are you two doing?" 

"We're doing alright darling. Might we join you?" 

Vinyl looked at Amethyst who gave a soft nod. Vinyl looked back and she nodded back to her.

"Either of you two want a cookie?"

"The offer is appreciated, but I think I'd order some food first," Rarity said, graciously.

"Kay. But cookies are still there, so," Amethyst shrugged, dipping it in her milk again. "So what brings you two around?"

"Slow day, nothin' to do. We went to a roller derby," Fluttershy said casually. "Apparently Miss Cadence is a derby racer. Who knew?" 

Vinyl and Amethyst looked at each other and shrugged. 

"Pardon my asking, but have you two found anyone... special for Valentine's Day?" Rarity asked hesitantly.

Amethyst shrugged, still chill. "Not really. I mean, sure, there's some cute guys, but I guess I'm not really demanding to go and spend Valentine's Day with anyone."

"Me too. I mean, the thought sounds nice, but... I don't know. I haven't really had any feelings for anyone at CHS," Vinyl added. 

"So, it looks like we're all single," Rarity stated.

"Yep."

"Yes."

"Mmmhmm."

Rarity and Fluttershy looked back over at the table with the three CPA students. They frowned, seeing Sunny Flare so sad and upset, and poor Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest unsure of how to make her feel better. Three single people all alone. And across from a table of more single people. 

The fashionista repeated that idea in her head, until she had an idea. "You know, darlings, I know all of us are single and don't have anyone special for Valentine's Day. Anyone perhaps want to hang out as friends?"

Amethyst and Vinyl looked at each other, and then back to Fluttershy and Rarity, thinking about the offer. Sure they were still trying to work on being a bit more acquainted (they were friendly for the most part now). And they were trying to be nice to them. Maybe they could take them up on their offer, not like they have anything else to do. 

The two musicians nodded with grins. Rarity felt a sense of joy in her heart, happy that she and Fluttershy were going to have more friends to hang out with on Valentine's Day.

"Hey, girls?" Rarity asked.

The three Shadowbolts looked over at their table. Sunny Flare's cheeks were red, her eyes were bloodshot, and her makeup was officially runny. But that one look at Rarity's warm expression was enough to make her smile for the first time that evening. Rarity tilted her head, nudging them to come and join them. Sunny sniffled and wiped some of the leaky makeup off her face before joining their table. 

Sugarcoat and Lemon soon joined as well, now sitting with the rest of the singles. Rarity helped wipe off the stains on Sunny's face.

"You'll find your perfect date, Sunny. It may not be today, and it may not be tomorrow. But you'll find him," Rarity said.

The drama student sniffled again, only she was happy. "Thank you, Rarity."

"And you two will find yours," Fluttershy said, looking at Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest.

The two CPA girls smiled back. 

"And you know something else? So what if we don't have a special someone on this day. We'll all find someone eventually. Somewhere out there, there is that perfect compatible human being for us. Why rush things? Let's just enjoy the way things are now," Amethyst said, taking another bite of her milk dunked cookie.

"I agree with that statement," Sugarcoat said, a small but sincere smile added. 

"Then how about a little toast?" Rarity suggested, raising her cup. Everyone raised theirs as well, all joining together; well, still waiting for Amy to finish her cookie bit real quick. "To the single people out there, and to all our friends and family. To the love of our family... and friendship."

"To friendship!"