Rainbow Dash looked up as she turned the corner onto Fluttershy's street. After talking to Applejack a few days ago, she had made a beeline to the local animal shelter, where she knew Fluttershy would be. There, she explained that it would be best to tell their friends that they were dating. Agreeing, Fluttershy decided that they should all come over to her house at the end of the week. Reaching Fluttershy's door, Rainbow Dash lifted her hand to knock, but the door opened before she could.
"Well, well, if it isn't Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash looked up and was greeted with the smug smile of Fluttershy's younger brother, Zephyr Breeze. "I was about to meet some friends, but I can definitely turn that into a movie night for two."
Giving a polite smile, Rainbow shook her head as she fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm good Zephyr. I'm just here to see Fluttershy." She then attempted to step around Zephyr, but he moved with her effectively keeping her from moving forward.
"Aw, come on Rainbow, you know you wanna get caught in this Breeze. You don't have to pretend." He stepped closer to Rainbow, and she saw as his eyes quickly trailed down her body before meeting her own again. "We both know there's a spark here, so why don't we ignite the fire?"
Resisting the urge to push him aside, Rainbow looked at him with a straight face before responding. "Look, Zephyr, I'm really not interested. Actually, I'm….already seeing someone, so…" She trailed off, watching as he began to process what she had just confessed to. She took the chance to step around him and into the house.
She was about to head up the stairs when Zephyr spoke up, a hint of panic in his voice. "W-wait!" Rainbows turned to him, an eyebrow raised. Seeing the look she was giving him, he cleared his throat, regaining his aloof composure. "I-I mean, Rainbow, baby, come on. Who could you find that's better for you than me? You're not gonna find anything better than this Shy charm you know." He gave another smug smile before he continued. "It's how my dad met my mom."
Rainbow Dash felt her patience running out. She made a move towards Zephyr but stopped when she felt two hands on her forearm. Turning around, she was met with the face of her girlfriend, a small smile on her face. "Fluttershy, talk to your brother, please? He-" she stopped as Fluttershy shook her head.
"I was actually thinking that we just let him know now."
Rainbow watched Fluttershy's face for a second before responding "Really, you're okay with telling him?" As soon as Rainbow Dash asked, she saw a mischievous twinkle in Fluttershy's eyes that only appeared whenever they were alone together.
"Well, not really telling him." Before Rainbow could question her, Fluttershy moved her hands from Rainbow's arm to around her neck, bringing her head down. Instinctively, Rainbow placed her hands on Fluttershy's waist as their lips met. It wasn't a long kiss, but once Fluttershy pulled back, Rainbow could already feel her head start to spin. She looked at Fluttershy with a goofy smile, and it took a second before she remembered that Zephyr was still standing by the front door. Turning around, Rainbow Dash dropped one hand, and nervously wrapped the other around Fluttershy's waist as they looked at him.
Zephyr looked at them with wide eyes for a moment. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to speak in a normal tone. "Huh. Ah…...well, I guess…. Fluttershy is... I mean, the Shy charm does runs in the family after all." As he spoke, he seemed to come out of his dazed state. Letting out a breath, he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his usual air of indifference seemingly disappeared as he looked at his sister, not speaking. After a moment, he smiled at her, nodding before walking out the door, closing it behind him.
Rainbow Dash let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She turned her attention to Fluttershy. "Are you sure that was okay? 'Telling' him like that?" As she waited for a response, she saw the smile on Fluttershy's face as she kept her eyes on the door. Immediately, Rainbow felt herself relaxing. She realized that Fluttershy and Zephyr just had a silent conversation before he left.
Fluttershy gave a sly smile. "Well, he was always flirting with you in front of me." She waited a beat, a more serious tone as she continued. "Don't worry about him. He'll be okay. I know it."
Taking Fluttershy in her arms she smiled at her. "Okay, but let's use words when our friends get here."
Rarity paced the length of her bedroom as she looked at the clock; It was nearing seven in the evening. After Brunch with her sister, Sweetie Belle had called Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and invited them over. A few minutes after they agreed, Rarity had received a text from Applejack. She had said that she would drop off Apple Bloom, and then they could walk to Fluttershy's together. Rarity agreed and had wanted to ask questions, but she decided to wait until she saw Applejack in person.
Rarity hadn't realized how nervous she was until later in the day when she began to get ready and began to think back to Pinkie Pie's sleepover. She knew she wanted to talk to Applejack about what had happened. She wanted to tell Applejack that she was happy when she had called her beautiful, and, in the last week, she began to consider telling Applejack the truth about how she felt. Taking a breath to calm herself, Rarity stepped out of her room, and began to make her way downstairs. She was about half-way down when she heard voices coming from the kitchen, remembering that Scootaloo had already arrived. She stopped walking when she heard Applejack's name as Scootaloo spoke.
"…not only that, but Apple Bloom said that Applejack was feeling pretty down this week, but then Rainbow Dash went to talk to her. Apple Bloom said that Rainbow was super excited when she left, and Applejack was in a way better mood! I'm telling you; Rainbow Dash is by far the coolest…"
Rarity's mind began to wander, and she quickly tuned out to the rest of their conversation. She was told Applejack hadn't wanted to talk to anybody. She figured if anything, Applejack would have come to her first. She began to wonder why Applejack had agreed to see Rainbow Dash over her. She wondered what it was that they talked about that had put them both in a good mood, and found her heart drop suddenly as she thought of a reason.
"What am I thinking?" Rarity said to herself. "I really don't think that it was anything like that…right?" Even as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she thought back to the text Rainbow had given her last night: Why had she mentioned Applejack separately? As Rarity continued downstairs, she began to think of instances that found Applejack and Rainbow Dash together. As she sat in her couch, her train of thought continued, and each time she felt she recalled something, the heaviness in her chest grew. A while later the sound of the doorbell rang through the house, bringing Rarity out of her now sea of upsetting thoughts. Standing up, she walked to the door, taking in a shaky breath as she came to a stop in front of it. She began to compose herself as she heard footsteps behind her.
Finally opening the door, she allowed it to swing open as she felt Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle squeeze by her. Keeping her eyes down, she greeted Apple Bloom, who responded with a quick hello before getting swept away with the excitement of her two friends. Within seconds, they had left the front, and Rarity turned and watched as they headed back into the kitchen, leaving her with the other person who had been standing a few feet away from the door. She could feel eyes on her, and she felt happy and nervous; but the train of thoughts she had created came crashing back, effectively overriding any other feelings.
Applejack stood quietly and watched as Apple Bloom reunited with her friends. She let a small smile colour her features before she turned her attention to Rarity. She swallowed visibly as she watched Rarity talk to Apple Bloom. Even though it was only a week, she felt like she hadn't seen Rarity in forever. She began to stare, watching her every movement. Rainbow was right, I do 'got it bad'. Resisting the urge to walk up and embrace her, Applejack stayed where she was, placing her hands in her pockets. Once the girls were gone, she waited for Rarity to turn around. It was a moment, but once she did, Applejack saw a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Trying to act as normal as she could, Applejack gave a one-sided smile as she spoke. "Uh, hey…Rarity, long-time no see, right"
"...Oh, Yes. I suppose it has been a while, Applejack. We can leave in a second, I just want to make sure the girls are settled."
Applejack frowned slightly as Rarity walked back into the house without waiting for a reply. Is she upset? She's actin' a mite strange. After a moment, Rarity came back outside and closed her door, locking it. She walked past Applejack without looking at her and began down the sidewalk. Okay... Something is definitely off. Turning, she followed Rarity, choosing to stay behind her as they walked. After several minutes of silence, Applejack attempted to start a conversation. "So, Rarity, I heard you spent the week with your sister. I'm sure glad to see she's feeling better."
Without turning around or changing her pace, Rarity responded offhandedly. "Well, she was upset, and I am her sister, so…." She trailed off and Applejack concluded she wasn't going to finish.
"Yeah….Well, like I said, it's nice that she has you lookin' out for her. She doesn't have to handle things on her own." Rarity simply shrugged, not saying anything. Applejack realized their conversation was going nowhere. She had wanted to at least talk to Rarity about what happened at the sleepover before they got to Fluttershy's. Speeding up slightly, she reached forward and grabbed Rarity's wrist, causing her to finally stop and turn around "Rare, what's wrong? You seem upset for some reason."
Even though she had turned around, Rarity kept her eyes on the ground. She didn't know why she was being so cold. She had yet to confirm any idea she had given herself before Applejack showed up. Even though her mind knew this, with her current state of emotions, she couldn't help the tight feeling in her chest. She also couldn't keep the irritation out of her voice as she responded.
"I'm fine, Applejack." She tried to turn away and keep walking, but Applejack had a firm grip on her wrist. Turning back around, she couldn't keep her eyes from meeting with Applejack's. For a second, she got lost in the sea of emerald and, for a second, the pain went away. As soon as it did, it came back stronger as she began to think that Applejack didn't like her. Not like Rarity wanted her to. Rarity's eyes began to sting as frustration clouded her mind. "Applejack, I'm fine. Just leave me alone."
Applejack shook her head. She could see that Rarity was upset and wanted to know why. "I can see that you're not fine, Sugar. Just talk to me."
Hearing Applejack call her 'Sugar' triggered something in Rarity. Her mind raced through all of their moments together that she had believed were intimate. All those times where she felt they had made a connection beyond the confines of friendship now seemed one-sided. Her emotions peaked and she responded heatedly."Talk to you? Talk to you!? Like how Rainbow Dash talked to you!?"
Applejack stood there in shock as she heard the anger in Rarity's voice as she spoke. After a second, Rarity felt Applejack's grip loosen and took the chance to pull her arm away.
Applejack stammered as she spoke. "Y-you heard about that?"
Rarity looked at Applejack in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Applejack, of all people, wanted to hide something from her. "Yes, I did. Why? Was I not supposed to hear about that? Was it something I'm not supposed to know about? Jacqueline...why didn't you talk to me? Especially after the way you just...left last week. I haven't seen or heard from you, my best friend, since then. Instead, you go to Rainbow, and I wasn't supposed to hear about it!? Well, I did, and I know, so if you still want somebody to talk to, go talk to her!" Rarity's chest heaved from her anger as they stood there in silence for a second. Feeling tears threatening to fall, Rarity turned and continued down the sidewalk, walking away quickly.
As soon as Rarity turned the corner, Applejack felt her legs give in. Stepping to the side, she leaned against a fence beside her. She knows. Applejack began to feel her heart slam against her chest. Was this why she was so upset? Because she knows I like her? Grabbing her hat off of her head, she held it tightly in her hands as she looked up at the sky. She hates me. She knows I like her, and she's creeped out and she hates me. She kept repeating the thoughts in her mind, as she continued to blink back her tears. It was a few minutes before she calmed down. Sighing, she placed her hat back on her head.
She didn't want to leave things as they were. The more she calmed down, the more she realized that the best option was to be completely honest with Rarity. She deserves that much, after finding out the way she did. She figured that her hopes of starting something with Rarity were completely gone but she wanted to at least attempt to restore their friendship. Straightening up, she began to continue on to Fluttershy's. I…I can tell her that she doesn't need to worry about it. Although she was trying to be rational, she couldn't help feeling like her heart had been yanked out of her chest.
Rarity found herself on Fluttershy's couch, with Sunset Shimmer on her left and Twilight Sparkle on her right. She was half listening as Sunset and Twilight discussed possible experiments they could perform in the school laboratory without getting in trouble. She kept repeating the fight she had just had with Applejack in her head. Why did Applejack want to keep the fact that she and Rainbow Dash were spending time together a secret? It was one thing, thinking that Applejack may like someone else, but the fact that she would keep it from her, really hurt. She was supposed to be her best friend, at the very least.
Her full attention was drawn away when Rainbow Dash entered from the kitchen, a plate of cookies in her hand. Rarity saw the happy look on Rainbow's face, and felt her heart tighten unpleasantly. She began to wonder what Applejack had fallen for. What did Rainbow Dash have, that she didn't? It wasn't like she would be against them being together; she just wished she hadn't found out the way she did. As her thoughts began to snowball once again, Rarity didn't realize she was watching Rainbow until the athlete spoke up.
"I know what it looks like, Rarity, but I swear to you, Fluttershy made them. I'm just bringing them out for you guys." Rarity blinked for a second before giving a half-hearted smile. Before she could say anything, Sunset spoke up.
"Aw, come on Rainbow, I doubt it would be so bad if you made them, right?"
Pinkie Pie, who was sitting in a chair closest to the kitchen, spoke up, a smile on her face, but shaking her head. "Trust me Sunset, if it's one thing I know, it's cookies…and candy, and cake…...mmmm….cake… oh and parties!" After she finished, she looked over at Sunset Shimmer.
It was a second before Sunset realized the hyper girl was not going to continue. "Uh, Pinkie," Sunset began,"What's your point? What does that have to do with Rainbow's cookies?"
Pinkie Pie stared at Sunset Shimmer a second longer before blinking as she realized she didn't finish. "Oh! right. I know cookies, and trust me, what Rainbow makes, are NOT cookies"
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash interjected, "I may not be the best baker, but I can crush any of you at cooking!" Crossing her arms, she looked over at Twilight. "You believe me, right? You've tried my food."
Twilight let out a quick laugh before replying. "She's right. She shared her lunch with me when I forgot mine one day. It really was delicious. Though, I have to admit; I do find it interesting how she can do one, but not the other. At all." Twilight laughed again as Rainbow feigned hurt.
Rarity joined in as the others began to laugh, forgetting her situation for a moment, and enjoying the long-missed time together with her friends. She had unconsciously reached for a cookie and took a bite. "Oh my, these cookies are simply divine! Fluttershy made these!?"
It was fleeting, but Rarity caught the proud look that flashed across Rainbow Dash's face before she spoke. "You bet. I dare say they may be better than Pinkie Pie's!"
"Hey! Don't you dare say it!" Everyone looked over at Pinkie. She had sounded upset when she spoke, but everyone watched as she reached for her fifth cookie, her mouth practically watering. She spoke again, after taking a satisfied bite of the cookie. "Speaking of, is Fluttershy still upstairs? What is she doing?"
Rainbow Dash replied, no longer making eye contact with anyone. "Uh, I'll go get her in a bit. Just going to wait until Applejack gets here."
At the mention of Applejack, Rarity's face fell as her earlier thoughts circled back. In that same moment, there was a knock at the front door behind her. Rarity felt the shift in the air and knew right away who was on the other side. She watched, numb, as Rainbow walked towards the door and opened it. She couldn't help but watch them out of the corner of her eye. As Rainbow Dash opened the door, Rarity saw the distressed look on Applejack's face. Even though she knew she was the cause, she put everything she had to stop herself from running up to Applejack and comforting her like Applejack had done so many times for her. Her desire was short lived, as she watched Rainbow pull Applejack to the side after letting her in and began to talk to her. It wasn't long, but by the time they parted, Applejack's distressed look had eased slightly. Rarity didn't know how to feel at this point; All the signs pointed to a conclusion she didn't want to face. No longer able to rationalize other possibilities, she let out a small sigh. As Applejack took a seat in the love-seat across from the couch, Rarity no longer felt agitated or frustrated. She just felt a hollow sadness.
Standing in front of Fluttershy's bedroom, Rainbow Dash knocked twice before opening the door. Stepping in, she saw Fluttershy standing in front of her mirror, a nervous look on her face. She hadn't realized Rainbow Dash had walked in and continued to look at her own reflection. Stepping up behind her, Rainbow Dash waited for Fluttershy to look at her through the mirror before wrapping her arms around her waist. Giving Fluttershy a kiss on her shoulder, she rested her chin on the same spot, and felt Fluttershy relax into her embrace. After a moment, she spoke. "You okay? You seem a little nervous."
Fluttershy gave a soft smile as their eyes connected in the mirror. She felt calmer the moment Rainbow Dash had put her arms around her. "I'm fine, I think. I was just thinking about telling the others about us. I mean, I do want to tell them, but knowing that we're actually about to…" She trailed off and let out a small sigh.
Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy a squeeze before replying. "I get it. Nothing like this has happened before. But we know them. They are our best friends, and yeah, they may be surprised at first, but I think everything will be fine. I really do." Rainbow loosened her grip as Fluttershy turned in her arms. They locked eyes and stayed like that, an unspoken conversation between them. After a moment Rainbow Dash gave a reassuring smile, and Fluttershy responded with a nod before reaching up and wrapping her arms around Rainbow Dash's neck, bringing the taller girl's lips over hers. After a moment, they pulled back, resting their foreheads against each other. Giving another smile, Rainbow Dash spoke softly. "We should probably get going, before they start guessing at what we're doing up here."
Pulling back, Fluttershy gave a small laugh as they headed towards the door. "Well, it's not like they would be wrong."
Applejack couldn't keep her eyes off of the lavender-haired girl across the coffee table who was currently engrossed in a conversation with Sunset Shimmer. Rarity had given the smallest response once Applejack walked up and greeted everyone. She was aware that Rarity had stayed in her seat as the other three jumped to talk to her, and it left her without a chance to pull Rarity aside. Well, I reckon she ain't mad anymore, at least. Applejack recalled what Rainbow Dash had told her as soon as she arrived. She also still believed that Applejack should tell Rarity everything she was feeling. Applejack sighed as she dropped her gaze to her hands. She already knew that she was going to talk to her, but she couldn't help the turning in her stomach as she thought about it.
After a moment, Applejack shifted her attention to the top of Fluttershy's staircase. From where she was sitting, she saw as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stopped at the top of the steps and unlace their hands before Rainbow began down the steps, Fluttershy close behind. Wow, those two really look cute together. Applejack gave a smile as she made eye contact with Rainbow Dash, causing the athlete to blush slightly. Gaining her composure again, Rainbow Dash walked up to the coffee table and spoke up as everyone else turned their attention to her.
"Damn, you girls really went at it with the cookies. I brought out, like, 20 of them!"
Sunset Shimmer gave a quick laugh before responding. "If by 'you girls' you mean Pinkie Pie, then you're right. She had at least half of them. I had to force her to put some back for Applejack!"
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie interjected. "All is fair in love of cookies! And besides, it's not like I was really going to eat them all…"
Twilight let out a laugh before looking at Fluttershy. "Seriously though, they were really good. Where'd you learn to bake like that?"
"Oh, my grandmother teaches me when I go to visit. Thanks girls, but they're just some cookies I made, nothing special."
Sunset smiled at Fluttershy as she tried to hide behind Rainbow Dash. "Fluttershy, the cookies were amazing! And I guarantee you have Pinkie's stamp of approval, especially after eating more than half of them."
"Ha ha, very funny Sunset. But mmmm, those cookies..." Everyone watched as Pinkie Pie began to zone out, a hungry look in her eyes.
Rarity allowed a small smile to colour her features. "Honestly, Pinkie!" Rarity breathed out in mock exasperation. "But Fluttershy, darling, they do have a point. And, I heard one way to a person's heart is through their stomach, so you have that going for you."
Without realizing, Rainbow Dash spoke up immediately, her voice full of emotion, "Oh man, that is definitely true..." By the time she caught herself, all eyes were on her and the goofy smile she unknowingly wore across her lips. The smile was replaced with a blush as she began fumbling for words "U-uh, what I meant i-is...Um..." Sighing, Rainbow Dash ran a hand through her bangs it before speaking again. "I guess now is a good a time as any. The thing is, there's a reason everyone is here today." Turning her attention to the girl behind her, Rainbow Dash moved to the side slightly, allowing Fluttershy to move beside her. Taking Fluttershy's hand in hers, Rainbow Dash laced them together, smiling down at their hands before looking back at the rest of her friends.
Before Rainbow Dash could speak again, Twilight Sparkle gasped audibly as realization hit her. She spoke up, excitement clear in her voice "No way! So, that next morning at the sleepover, when I-" she stopped when she noticed Fluttershy turn a bright shade of red. Thinking over what she heard a week ago, Twilight suddenly went red herself as the meaning clicked. Clearing her throat, she looked at Fluttershy apologetically. "I-I didn't mean to listen in. After I changed that morning, I just wanted to get my bag from Pinkie's room. I didn't know you guys were in there."
Fluttershy looked down at the floor, her face hot, as she remembered the morning after the sleepover. After changing out of her pyjamas, she was struggling to zip up the back of her skirt when Rainbow Dash had walked out of Pinkie Pie's bathroom. After asking for help, Rainbow Dash had obliged. Before she walked away, Rainbow Dash commented that she wasn't used to helping Fluttershy into her clothes.
Fluttershy was brought back to the present when she heard a nervous laugh from Rainbow Dash. "Aha… I guess that one was my fault. I should've been more careful with you girls upstairs as well."
Rarity had a thoughtful look on her face as she thought back to last week. "Then, it was Rainbow's fault when I found you standing in the middle of the room all flustered." Rarity watched as Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably beside Rainbow Dash. It took a moment, but as Rarity took in the bigger picture, she became aware of the current situation and the ground-shaking news that was about to take place.
"Wait, wait, wait." Everyone turned their attention to Sunset Shimmer, who sat up straight in the couch as she tried to process what was happening. "What went on at that sleepover?" she looked at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Something happened between you two?"
Rainbow Dash replied slowly "Well, yes and no…technically, something happened about five months ago." Looking around her friends again, she took in the expectant and excited looks. Rainbow Dash inhaled before finally speaking. "You see, Fluttershy and I are dating."
It was silent for a moment as Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack watched the faces of their friends. After another moment, Sunset Shimmer spoke again. "Wow, I can't believe I never noticed. I usually pick up on these things. You two must have been hiding it really well."
Fluttershy shook her head and spoke up, an apologetic look on her face. "It wasn't like we were trying to keep it from you guys. It just…oh, well, it was all kind of new to us. We decided we wanted to figure it out for ourselves first. I'm so sorry if you guys thought we were deceiving you."
Pinkie Pie stood up from her place in the chair and stood in front of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. She had a small smile on her face as she looked at them. "Well, if you think about it," she started, "finding your special someone is like finding friendship. I mean, look at the seven of us. We are all so different, yet we're all the best of friends. We just work together, and I think everyone agrees when I say I think you two work together too." As Pinkie Pie looked around at everyone, one by one, they stood up, circling around Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as they nodded in agreement.
Rainbow smiled gratefully as she looked at her friends surrounding her. "Thanks, girls. I'm so glad to have you as friends. I don't think we could have asked for better." As she finished speaking, everyone moved in together for a group hug. Once they pulled back, everyone looked at each other before laughing, enjoying the long-missed company of their full group of friends.