Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade


229. Escape From the City

Fluttershy was lying on her back on a cloud high above the city of Canterlot, away from the congested mass of buildings and the crowds of ponies who were now terrified of her, whether they knew it or not. A whole city full of people who would rather she be dead than alive, and after last night those feelings must have multiplied a thousand-fold.

She put it out of her mind. Nothing she could do about it now, and thinking about it made her feel sick.

Fluttershy sat up on her little cloud. Skies were gray, clouds were numerous. The weather reflected how Fluttershy felt— miserable— and that actually made her feel a little better, like the earth itself was empathizing with her.

“Yo what’s up girl!” Rainbow shouted, poking her head through Fluttershy’s cloud as Fluttershy screamed in shock. “Oh, sorry about that.” Rainbow laughed softly as she climbed up through the cloud and sat next to Fluttershy.

“You’re okay,” Fluttershy sighed, hand over her heart. She puffed up her cheeks and gently punched Rainbow in the arm, but then immediately felt bad about it and put her hand softly on where she punched. “Just don’t sneak up on a girl like that.”

“Yeah, that was my bad,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, “sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a mischievous smile, “I forgive you.”

And then she shoved Rainbow off the cloud, Rainbow flailing in the air for a sec before remembering she could fly, with Fluttershy peeking over the edge of the cloud to make sure Rainbow did remember, because if Fluttershy had to save Rainbow’s life over Fluttershy’s innocent prank, she was going to feel HORRIBLE.

“You’re funny, Fluttershy,” Rainbow cackled as she floated back up and sat on Fluttershy’s cloud. “Do you wanna hang out today? What’re you doing all the way up here anyway?”

“I don’t feel safe in the city,” Fluttershy admitted, curling her legs up in front of her and wrapping her arms around them. She was wearing the pale green dress that Rarity had gotten for her though, the one that saved her life from Lightning Dust, and that at least made her feel a little safer.

She was also still wearing Applejack’s hat. And that made her feel… a lot of things.

“Yeah, okay, I feel ya,” Rainbow arched her back and stretched her arms over her head. It reminded Fluttershy of a cat a little bit; Rainbow was cute. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m happy to just hang out up here with you all day. Or if you wanna spend time alone, I can bounce too if you want.”

“Well, um, I don’t want to put you out,” Fluttershy muttered, her muzzle pressed up against her knees, “but I would appreciate the company.”

“You’re not putting me out,” Rainbow scoffed and dismissively waved her hand. “You’re my friend! I like hanging out with you.”

“You’re sweet,” Fluttershy said fondly.

“YOU ARE!” Rainbow shot back very aggressively, and while it initially caught Fluttershy off-guard, she quickly found herself laughing, with Rainbow doing the same alongside her.

Rainbow did indeed stay with Fluttershy, but unfortunately Fluttershy wasn’t exactly the best conversationalist, and the two mostly just sat in silence watching the clouds above them and below them.

It was nice.

It was pleasant.

It was really boring.

“I’m sorry, but, um, I’m bored,” Fluttershy muttered.

“Oh thank goodness you said something!” Rainbow released an agonized sigh and starfished on the cloud. “I am so bored!”

“Do you want to grab a bite to eat?” Fluttershy suggested. “There are plenty of restaurants on the outskirts of the city, that don’t require us to um, go too deep inside where all the ponies are.”

“Yeah, I’m down,” Rainbow nodded with a big delightful grin, and it brought a smile to Fluttershy’s face; Rainbow was really cute, and fun to be around. It was hard not to feel safe around her.

The two flew down to the city, though after doing some window shopping here and there, they decided that instead of going to a restaurant, they would simply pack up a nice lunch and have a picnic in the grassy mountain hills surrounding the city, and as Rainbow laid out the blanket and Fluttershy took a deep breath of the beautiful, misty mountain air, she was already feeling a lot better than she had all morning.

The food was nice, but the company was far nicer. Rainbow did a lot of the talking between the two, and it was very relaxing for Fluttershy to not feel like she needed to fill up awkwardly empty space in a conversation.

“And then he was like ‘now it’s time to get serious’, and he pulled out a whole bunch of weapons!” Rainbow said excitedly, flailing dramatically and pacing back and forth as she relayed a tale of a pony called Drop Shot finding a bunch of weapons. Fluttershy wasn’t entirely following the plot, but Rainbow’s enthusiasm was just too infectious not to give her Fluttershy’s full attention.

“So what happened next?” Fluttershy asked, utterly enthralled in this story she didn’t understand.

“He threw his weapons at ‘em and they all died,” Rainbow beamed, “the end.”

“That’s a great story, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy giggled, and she tried to stop herself but she just couldn’t and she ended up falling on her back laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle of her own as she sat next to Fluttershy on the blanket.

“I dunno,” Fluttershy chirped. “I guess I’m just happy to be hanging out with you. I really appreciate you not giving me grief over being afraid of the city right now.”

“Of course,” Rainbow scoffed. “I get anxiety, believe me. So I’m not gonna give you shit for something you can’t control. You’d have to be such an asshole to do something like that.”

“I guess I’ve known a lot of assholes in my life,” Fluttershy muttered.

“Well not anymore!” Rainbow stood up proudly, flaring out her wings. “Now you know me, and the others too! And we’re all great! And if any of those assholes from your past give you guff, I’ll stab ‘em with a knife!”

“Th-thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy snorted laughing. What a strange gesture of support, and yet Fluttershy appreciated it, or at the very least the sentiment behind it, immensely. “I love you.”

Fluttershy went ghostly pale, as she had not, in fact, meant to say those words. She wanted to throw her hands over her mouth and profusely apologize, but before she could…

“I love you too!” Rainbow said cheerfully, sitting down beside Fluttershy and extending her pinky finger. “You’re one of my best friends, for sure! And I’m super glad that I met you.”

“Likewise,” Fluttershy sighed peacefully as she wrapped her pinky around Rainbow’s, “Rainbow Dash.”