//------------------------------// // The Importance of Memories // Story: The Big Secret // by StolenMemes //------------------------------// There was two posts, each coming within three minutes of one another. The first of which being a yearbook with the name "Rainbow Dash" scrawled across the top surrounded by various doodles of lightning bolts and other Rainbow Dash-esce decorations. The second post contained that actual secret- what was in the yearbook. There it was, right in front of everyone; the big secret. The post was that of a yearbook open to the Junior section. At first glance, it seemed normal, but with closer inspection, one could easily see a heart drawn around an individual: Fluttershy. … It was a warm summer afternoon. A young, six year old girl named Rainbow Dash was kicking around a soccer ball in her front yard. She wasn’t very amazing, but she knew with practice, one day she’d go pro. She was better than most kids her age and could usually dribble well. Today however, she’d gotten tripped up when another girl knocked her out of the way. “Hey what’s your problem!” Rainbow Dash got up to look at who would dare interrupt her soccer time. She saw the girl before her, a cute girl with bright hair with a beret in covering one of her eyes. The other girl’s demeanor seems aggressive but only for a short moment as she regressed into that of a shy mouse. “I-I’m sorry… Y-ou were about to run over Angel…” Before Rainbow Dash could lay into the girl more, she noticed the bunny the meak girl was holding. It was a cute little thing; and it was still a baby. The girl held her bunny close as she practically cowered at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked upon the girl and for one of the first times in her young life, felt something she couldn’t explain. She didn’t know why, but she knew this girl would be her best friend forever, but it’s not like she understood complex, indescribable emotions at the ripe age of six. But to her, it was something of a gut feeling, and Rainbow Dash trusted her gut more than anything on Earth. “Sorry I almost killed your bunny. Wanna be friends?” Silence. Rainbow Dash didn’t get it. She apologized and asked a straightforward question. She wondered why this girl was being so odd. The two girls stood in awkward silence for a moment before Rainbow Dash spoke up again. “I’m Rainbow Dash! What’s your name?” More silence from the cowering girl. Thinking it would help, Rainbow Dash held out her hand to be shook, but was met with the other girl cowering even lower. Rainbow Dash didn’t understand this girl. She even used the handshake introduction for pete’s sake! Suddenly, a man walked up behind the girl. “Hey Fluttershy, is this your friend?” He said while crouching down beside her. “Can you make her talk, mister?” Fluttershy’s father laughed. “Well aren’t you just adorable.” “Hey, I’m not adorable!” Rainbow Dash threw up her arms in anger. Her reaction was even more vivid once the man patted her head. “Hey, quit it!” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash became neighbors that day, and (while it wasn’t immediate) the two became best friends. They grew up together, going through various adventures and getting involved in many kinds of wacky hijinks over the years. Sometimes, Rainbow Dash invited Fluttershy to play soccer (which she’d almost always say no to), and other times Fluttershy would ask Rainbow Dash if she wanted to go to the animal shelter with her (which she would almost always say no to). Fluttershy was far too shy to say so, but she had a deep love for animals and taking care of things. She was quite motherly towards all creatures she came across. She took care of animals no matter what shape they were in. When she was thirteen, she had asked her parents if she could take in ANOTHER puppy that she’d found roaming around the neighborhood, despite already being responsible for one dog, a bunny, and a kitten as well as a family of racoons that liked to stop by their home every night. “Fluttershy, you already have multiple animals you take care of?” Fluttershy stood before her parents pointing towards a stray australian shepherd sitting outside their back door on the patio. “B-but-” “Your father said no, and no means no.” “What it-” “Oh dear,” Fluttershy’s mother crouched down. “Listen, as amazing as it is that you wanna take care of every animal you see, you can’t take care of all of them at once. It’s too much for a thirteen year old girl.” “Your mother is right, Fluttershy, you’re thirteen. You should be out having fun with your friends. Not taking care of-” He stopped as his wife gave him a glare. “I mean, you’re doing a great job sweetie, but maybe you should consider taking it easy. You’re still a kid.” Fluttershy sunk into despair before her mother spoke up. “Listen Fluttershy, we can take him in tonight-” “REALLY!?” Fluttershy and her father reacted. Fluttershy being one of hope and joy while her father being of confusion and deep concern. “...but tomorrow, we’ll drive him to the shelter. She’s still a puppy so I’m sure she’ll find a good home. Are you alright with that, sweetie?” Rainbow Dash on the other hand, liked all things fast-paced and exciting; sports being her favorite of them all. Her love for these things all stemmed from her natural ability to do good in sports (probably genetic as her parents were both excellent athletes in college). Despite this, she was shocked when her best friend and next door neighbor asked her if she wanted to take in a turtle when they were sixteen. “Please Rainbow Dash? My parents won’t let me take in any more animals.” “It’s a turtle, Fluttershy! Who would keep a turtle as a pet!?” Fluttershy pretended not to act offended at this. “Please, Rainbow Dash? Tank doesn’t have a home to go to and the local shelter is full right now. Won’t you take him in?” Fluttershy shot her friend a pair of puppy dog eyes. Rainbow Dash could never tell if she could do that intentionally or it was a natural accident, either way, by now Rainbow Dash had gotten an understanding of how she felt deep down about her best friend and (despite not really wanting a pet) would gladly help out her best friend. “Fine…” She sighed as her friend squeed in excitement. “But you’re gonna have to help me learn how to take care of…” She hesitated. “His name is Tank.”   “Help me take care of Tank, I haven’t really had to take care of a pet before.” “I’d love to, Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash warmed up to her new pet pretty soon, and despite her mother wanting to get rid of him, she kept it and took great care of Tank, not just because she developed a love for the animal, but also because at this point in her life, Rainbow Dash understood herself more and started noticing how she truly felt about her best friend. During her freshman year of high school, Rainbow Dash had gotten home from a long jog around the neighborhood. Once she got upstairs, she accidentally got a glimpse into Fluttershy’s blind-less window in which she saw her best friend, having just gotten done bathing, taking her towel off, giving her a full view of what lay beneath. Quickly, Rainbow Dash averted her eyes, before opening them again, this time taking in what she was unintentionally viewing. The eyes lingered for just a few seconds more before she buried her face in her pillow. Again, Rainbow Dash found herself trying to take a peek, but by now, Fluttershy had become more decent and slipped into bed, finally turning off her lamp once Rainbow Dash could see into her room once more. ‘What’s wrong with you? Why would you do that!?’ She thought to herself. ‘That’s your best friend and you’re violating her privacy!’ Rainbow Dash felt disgusted with herself. She slammed her pillow over her head and clutched it tight before flipping over and looking up at her ceiling. “This is not happening… I can’t be-” She paused. ‘I’m fucking Rainbow Dash! I can’t be a fag! That’s just…’ Rainbow Dash sat up the entire night contemplating and contemplating her situation. She was disgusted and confused, but most of all- she was scared. Very scared. She feared what her friends might think of her. What her mom would think. What her teammates would think. This was new territory to her. ‘No.’ It came to her. ‘I’m not gonna tell anyone. Not mom, not Pinkie, not coach Spitfire, and especially not Fluttershy…’ Rainbow Dash thought back to her friend’s seemingly nonchalant nudity in front of her window. Her window was on the second story, covered by a room that jut out in front and the fact that the only thing behind their houses was nature, so the only people that would be able to see would be Rainbow Dash and anyone looking through her window. Even then, she had forgotten why the girl would leave her blinds up when she remembered Fluttershy’s twelfth birthday. Fluttershy was a very shy girl, so she didn’t make a lot of friends growing up, because of this whenever her birthday came every year, it was usually only Rainbow Dash there. Her twelfth birthday was no different as the two girls had a sleepover and spent the day watching movies and playing games in Fluttershy’s room. “What do you wanna do now?” The two girls were gazing at the ceiling, Rainbow Dash was starting to become bored while Fluttershy seemed to be in a state of zen. “Hm… I dunno.” “Well it’s your birthday.” “Well, I guess we could gossip? Is that what girls our age do?” “I think so?... I’ve never talked any gossip, though.” Rainbow Dash sat up and faced her friend, who was still lying down and gazing upward. “I think I’ve overheard some of the other girls in the locker room talking about boys.” “Well um… I guess we could do that.” “Alright! Uh…” The two sat in awkward pre-teenage silence not knowing what to say. “Anyone you like?” Rainbow Dash finally spoke up. “N-no… I don’t think so…” Fluttershy stated. “Huh… I don’t think I like anyone either.” Rainbow Dash replied. The two stared at each other for a moment before they began giggling, their giggles soon turning into pure laughter. The two enjoyed the rest of the night as two young pre-teens would before they eventually went to bed around 2 A.M. A few hours later, Rainbow Dash woke up. She sat up and saw her friend staring out the window. “You up?” Fluttershy turned to her friend and nodded. Rainbow Dash decided to come closer and see what her friend was looking at. Upon reaching the window, she could now understand and appreciate the view. Outside the window was a perfect view of town, and past that, the forest beyond. It looked so peaceful to her. “I like the view.” “It sure is a nice one.” “It’s better on the roof.” The two girls went up on the roof and looked out into the world and up at the stars. Taking in the beauty around them. The quiet, nature-filled summer air. Everything about it was wonderful. “This is why I took my blinds down.” “Well I don’t blame ya.” “I know a lot of scary things happen at night, but everything else about it so… beautiful. The stars, the sounds of nature, everything! And a view like this makes it perfect. Sometimes, I wish it could stay like this.” For a brief moment, Rainbow Dash looked at her friend with wonder. As they grew older, she could understand this deeper side of her friend. She wasn’t just the shy girl next door, she was the nature-loving kind-hearted girl she loved spending time with. “You know what, Fluttershy?” “Hm?” “I don't want things to change between us ever! I wanna become a Wonderbolt when I grow up and you're gonna be the... best animal person alive, like that guy who got killed by a Sting Ray!" "Oh my..." "And we're gonna be best friends forever! We'll be next door neighbors and we'll get old and die together!" Fluttershy giggled. "I hope so too." The two looked back into the night sky, having gotten closer to one another and optimistically thinking about their futures.