Pinkie and Rainbow were stomping down the halls of the Green Neigh Inn— well, Pinkie was stomping, Rainbow was being pretty chill. Pinkie was still huffy about learning that Fluttershy was jealous of Applejack this whole time and hadn't told Pinkie, even lied to her about it!
And Applejack, speaking of, got called away by Twiggle Sparkle, which was just as well cuz Pinkie needed to talk to Fluttershy sooner rather than later.
Rainbow was being a real sport; Pinkie wanted to talk to Fluttershy on her own but she was really scared of conflict just in like a general sense, and especially now cuz she loved Fluttershy and she hated that there was this bad blood between them now! And Fluttershy probably didn’t even know yet!
So Pinkie was scared. She knew she needed to have this conversation and hash things out with her gf, but there was basically no other conversation she wanted to have less. And Rainbow— this is where the her being a good sport part comes in— agreed to go all the way to Fluttershy’s room with Pinkie, and then Pinkie would handle things on her own from there.
That was the plan.
Rarity always said ‘a plan never survives contact with the battlefield’ and she was right.
“Oh, hello, Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy said sweetly, approaching Pinkie and Rainbow from down the hall as the two reached the top of a stairwell. “And hello, Rainbow Dash! It’s nice to see you both.”
Pinkie walked up to Fluttershy without saying anything, stomping grumpily until she was right in front of Fluttershy and then looking up at her with puffed up cheeks, her hands on her hips.
“I-is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked nervously, and it broke Pinkie’s heart but she couldn’t just melt into affection and apologies right now— Fluttershy was the one who needed to offer her an apology!
“Uh, I’m just gonna g—”
“Please don’t,” Fluttershy said as Rainbow took a single step down the stairs, Pinkie turning and looking at Rainbow pleadingly cuz Pinkie didn’t want Rainbow to go either. Rainbow stayed put, and Pinkie returned her attention to Fluttershy, the dragon kneeling and sitting with her legs folded under her to look at Pinkie at eye level. “Pinkie Pie? Did I do something wrong?”
“Mm-hm,” Pinkie nodded, trying not to cry cuz she just hated this so much. She just wanted everything to be cotton candy and snuggles again!
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, “we told Pinkie about your jealousy situation. Me and Applejack did, and Pinkie’s really upset that she heard it from us and not from you.”
“Oh.”
Fluttershy said, and then sat silently.
“I see.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath, in slowly through the nose, out slowly through the mouth; Pinkie could feel the icy chill coming off of her breath.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Pinkie said coldly, but then she shook her head and hummed irritably. “No, I know why, I get it. Anxiety’s a real kick in the stomach. I wanna know why you lied to me!”
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Fluttershy muttered. “I didn’t want you to be upset with me cuz I can’t control my stupid emotions.”
“Your emotions aren’t stupid!” Pinkie fumed, angry now that she was making Fluttershy feel better instead of focusing on where the problem was, especially cuz she still hadn't gotten that apology!
“Can I chime in for one sec?” Rainbow asked, Pinkie and Flutters turning to her and waiting for her to speak. “Fluttershy, Pinkie was really hurt by you lying to her, but like, you can just stop lying to her. You can just tell her how you feel without any of the woe-is-me self-deprecation crap, y’know?”
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow and blinked silently, Rainbow awkwardly turning her head away and rubbing her neck.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy took Pinkie’s hands and kissed them delicately. “You’re right, and Rainbow’s right. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
“Then tell me the truth now,” Pinkie blinked away some tears, “please.”
“I’m, um,” Fluttershy bit her lip.
What was she supposed to say?
‘I’m mad at Applejack for stealing you away from me’? That sounded horrible. Fluttershy was caught in a really shitty situation where she had no good options; either make herself sound like a monster, or keep lying to Pinkie Pie, and she hated to do either.
So she wasn’t going to do either.
“Promise me you won’t hate me,” Fluttershy closed her eyes and squeezed Pinkie’s fingers, “if I lay out my heart for you, and all the garbage that’s inside it.”
“I could never hate you,” Pinkie whispered, and that brought a smile to Fluttershy’s lips. She didn’t even need to look at Pinkie to know it was true.
“I’m not jealous,” Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked dead into Pinkie’s. “I’m possessive. Part of it’s a dragon thing, part of it’s a me thing, part of it’s a my shitty old magic teacher thing. But I’m possessive. You’re my partner, you’re my girlfriend, you’re mine, and that’s all there is to it.
“And I know— I know how selfish that is. I know that it’s wrong, on some level I know that. But I think about releasing you, I think about giving you up or sharing you ‘equally’ with someone else, and I gnash my teeth despite myself.”
“Okay,” Pinkie took a deep breath and nodded, but then she offered Fluttershy a charming smile. “Okay. Thank you, Fluttershy, for being honest with me. I still love you every bit as much as I always have.”
“Y-you’re not afraid of me?” Fluttershy asked, her ears flicking back for the inevitable confirmation.
“Nope!” Pinkie beamed, and Fluttershy’s jaw honestly dropped; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “The fact that you’re willing to be honest about that stuff is a good sign! And I wanna make it clear, I am not okay with any of that! I’m not your possession, I’m not your plaything or trinket or a part of your hoard.
“But I am your partner, and I wanna help you work through your demons, if you’re really willing to work through them.”
“I am,” Fluttershy nodded, squeezing Pinkie’s hands even tighter, but then loosening her grip cuz that felt weird considering all the stuff they were just talking about. “What I really want is for you and me to be happy, and I want to be happy for your other girlfriends too, I really, really do. I promise you, I’ll get my feelings under control, and I absolutely won’t lie to you again.”
“Great!” Pinkie nodded effusively. “Then that settles that!”
“Just promise me you’ll make time for me at the Gala,” Fluttershy said. “Time for us to be together, just the two of us.”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie beamed, doing a bunch of silly gestures that just made her look far too adorable. “That’s a Pinkie Promise! And I never break a Pinkie Promise!”
“I’m glad,” Fluttershy sighed, and she looked over at Rainbow and giggled at the big grin and thumbs-up Rainbow was giving. “I’ll be a worthy partner for you, Pinkie Pie. I Pinkie Promise.”