Fluttershy sat under the stars in a secluded wooded meadow, her giant serpentine body wrapped around Rainbow Dash, whose body shivered in the cold, so Fluttershy wrapped her tail around to serve as a makeshift blanket.
Rainbow had told Fluttershy the story; that she had stood up to Celestia and gotten excommunicated from the Slayers as a result. While normally Fluttershy would want to rejoice at the prospect of one less Slayer, and she should have been happy that Rainbow stood up for her, it was hard not to share in her friend’s heartbreak when she saw the dour look on Rainbow’s face as she struggled to keep her composure.
Fluttershy wished she knew what to say. She wished she could say or do something to make Rainbow feel better, but she felt like it was her fault that Rainbow was miserable in the first place, so she had no right to speak.
She could, at the very least, offer protection from the cold winter night.
Rainbow Dash stretched her arms above her head and yawned as the morning sun greeted her. Greeted her way too freakin’ early for that matter, but that was whatever. She looked at her back and saw Fluttershy snoozing away, coiled up around Rainbow like a blanket and shield combo.
Rainbow softly pet Fluttershy’s tail. She really appreciated Fluttershy. She hoped Fluttershy didn’t take it too hard that Rainbow wasn’t really able to talk about stuff yesterday, but for what it was worth Rainbow appreciated Fluttershy not trying to press the issue with her.
Rainbow would need to think of something nice to do for Fluttershy; she deserved it.
Fluttershy was stirring, and the way she was like kinda vibrating against Rainbow as she slowly woke up was like, kinda cute? Rainbow wasn’t sure what she was getting at, but she did know that her heart was full of affection for Fluttershy, and seeing the dragon rise up and arch her back as she stretched out, and the cute little yawn that she let out, only made Rainbow like her more.
“G’morning, sleepy head!” Rainbow called out, jumping into the air and hovering close enough to Fluttershy’s eye level. “Sleep okay?”
“I did,” Fluttershy nodded, but then her lips pursed concernedly. “How about you? Are you feeling better today?”
“Yeah, I am,” Rainbow said softly. “Now that the like initial shock is over, I’m kinda just… I’ll figure it out. No way to go but up now, right?”
“Right,” Fluttershy smiled, and Rainbow beamed back at her cuz Fluttershy was just too cute not to smile around.
Rainbow hopped onto Fluttershy’s back as Fluttershy slowly plodded back to Green Neigh, the two of them having decided way in advance that this was what they were gonna do, just so they could have a little more time together that didn’t have the shadow of a life or death mission hanging over their heads.
Too bad about the whole Celestia thing, but what’cha gonna do.
“It sucks,” Rainbow grumbled, “to not be a Slayer anymore, y’know? To get reprimanded by one of the women I’ve looked up to all my life.”
“I understand,” Fluttershy hummed. “I’m sorry.”
“Why’re you sorry?” Rainbow laughed. “Not like it’s your fault or anything!”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have—”
“Lived through that encounter with Sonata Dusk?” Rainbow scoffed. “Yeah, I agree! I should be thanking you, not getting an apology!”
“Oh,” Fluttershy muttered, “well, if you say so.”
“I do,” Rainbow crossed her arms and nodded confidently, giving Fluttershy’s fluffy scruff fur a ruffle for good measure. “And hey, this is something that needed to happen anyway. I can’t fight to defend my dragon friends while I’m taking bits from the people who are hunting them down. I was gonna get sacked sooner or later, and it’s probably for the best that it was sooner.”
“For what it’s worth,” Fluttershy looked back at Rainbow and offered a serene smile, “I’m really grateful that you stood up for me. For all of us.”
“Well hey,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her mane and let out an awkward chuckle, blushing at Fluttershy’s praise, “what’re friends for, right?”
“You’re a charmer, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy giggled, and Rainbow laughed too and threw herself into Fluttershy’s soft fur, really getting as much of it against her body as she could. Fluttershy was just too dang soft and cozy for her own good! Illegal!
“Hey,” Rainbow said, a churning in her gut cuz she didn’t wanna ruin the moment, but she wasn’t super good at waiting for the right moment when she had something important to say. “Do you wanna talk about Applejack?”
“I don’t,” Fluttershy said flatly, Rainbow clamming up right away. She didn’t see that response coming. “I’m sorry,” Fluttershy sighed, “I don’t mean to be rude, I just need a little more time. I promise though that I’m going to talk to Pinkie Pie about everything after the Gala.”
“Oh yeah, the Gala,” Rainbow sat cross-legged and pondered, tapping a finger against her cheek. Her brain then did that ADHD thing where she jumped from topic to topic in her head in like two seconds, going from the Gala, to Canterlot, to the Slayers, to Celestia, to Luna, to Rarity, and finally to Rarity a second time as she realized her and Rarity had a lot to catch up on.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow climbed up to Fluttershy’s head and patted her on the ear, Fluttershy’s ear twitching adorably at Rainbow’s touch, “you mind if we take a little detour? I wanna meet Rarity at the Canterlot train station, we should still have time.”
“Canterlot?” Fluttershy bit her lip. “Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded. “Celestia told me she was headed to Bitsburgh next, and that was way before all the stuff I said to her so I don’t think she was lying. She hasn’t been back to Canterlot in a dog’s age anyway.”
“Okay, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy nodded and flared out her wings. “I trust you.”
Rainbow smiled brightly as Fluttershy took off into the air, turning the pair invisible with her magic. It felt really nice to have Fluttershy’s trust, and she was determined to make sure that she was deserving of it.