Twilight approached Fluttershy, who saw her out of the corner of her eye.
"Hi, Twilight," Fluttershy said dreamily as she continued to stare forward with a smile.
Twilight turned her head in the direction Fluttershy was looking.
Several feet away was a somewhat burly pale peach teenager who wore a brown vest over his Camp Everfree shirt. His thick green dreadlocks whipped around as he played tetherball against Rainbow Dash, and there was a twinkle in his emerald eyes.
Fluttershy sighed with a smile as she watched the match.
There was no doubt in Twilight's mind. She may have been inexperienced in the ways of crushes, but it was painfully obvious even to her that Fluttershy really, really liked this man.
"What's his name again," Twilight asked as she sat next to Fluttershy.
"Sandalwood."
Twilight allowed herself a small smile. It felt good to know she wasn't the only girl with a crush here! "And how long have you had this crush on him?"
"Since December."
It was May, so it had been a while. "Don't you think that's a little long to hold onto a crush," Twilight asked.
Fluttershy's smile faded, and she sighed again as she hugged herself. "I... I don't want to hurt someone again."
Twilight's eyes widened. "'Hurt someone? Fluttershy, you would never-"
"Oh, but I did."
Twilight sat down next to Fluttershy. "Do you want to talk about it," she asked softly.
Fluttershy fell silent as she turned her gaze to Sandalwood, then back to Twilight. After a moment she nodded. "It was during my Freshman year." She smiled, but it was a bittersweet smile. "When I saw Bulk Biceps for the first time... my heart just wouldn't stop pounding. I'd never seen anyone so attractive before!"
"What happened between you two?"
"It turned out that the feelings were mutual, and we started dating."
Twilight nodded.
"For a couple of months, everything went fine. We had fun together, laughed a lot... but that all changed when I came to realize that I only liked him for his muscles."
Twilight raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "How'd you come to that conclusion?"
Fluttershy blushed. "One day, during gym class, I was changing with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. When they took off their shirts, I couldn't help but stare at their..." she trailed off, then sighed dreamily. "...their gorgeous abs." She giggled, then rapidly shook her head. "When I saw them, I felt the same way I did when I saw Bulk."
"Wow," Twilight said with widened eyes. "You really like muscles, don't you?"
Fluttershy nodded as she fidgeted a little. "I just couldn't break up with him, Twilight! At least, not at first. He was just so happy." She went still, then turned her gaze to Sandalwood, who was valiantly holding his own against Rainbow.
Sweat trickled down Sandalwood's forehead as he gave the tetherball a good and hard slap, only for Rainbow to swiftly whack it without using her super speed. It whirled around the pole until it reached the end of the rope, and Rainbow pumped her fist. "Yes! That's game!"
Sandalwood cracked his neck. "One more round?"
"You're on!"
Fluttershy turned her gaze back to Twilight, then frowned. "I couldn't keep up the charade for long. Bulk noticed that I was acting a little different than normal, and I cracked almost immediately!" She buried her face in her hands. "I couldn't lie to him anymore..."
"It didn't go over well, did it," Twilight asked softly.
Fluttershy lifted her head from her hands, then shook it slowly. "I apologized so many times before I finally got the courage to tell him the truth. There was no kind way to say it, so I simply told him that my crush on him was only a physical attraction, and that I could only see him as a friend." She fell silent, then watched Rainbow and Sandalwood continue their match.
"The look on Bulk Biceps' face tore me apart that day, Twilight," Fluttershy continued. "I'd never felt so terrible in all my life!"
"But you did the right thing, telling him the truth," Twilight said.
"I know, I know... but I've been unable to forgive myself for hurting him. Even now, years later, I still feel guilty whenever I look at him."
"Has he forgiven you?"
Fluttershy nodded slowly. "He did. About a month after we broke up."
"But you haven't forgiven yourself?"
Fluttershy looked at Twilight. "I honestly don't know if I can, Twilight."
Twilight cupped her chin in thought. "Speaking hypothetically, would you be able to ask Sandalwood out if you did forgive yourself?"
"I...I honestly don't know."
"You won't know until you try."
"I guess," Fluttershy said.
"So," Twilight said, sensing this was a good time to change the subject. "You find muscles attractive?"
Fluttershy blushed. "Very m-much so." She glanced left and right, then motioned Twilight closer. She leaned into her, then whispered. "I-I guess you could say that it's my fetish." Her face reddened further, and she hid behind her hair with a tiny squeak of embarrassment.
"Fluttershy," Twilight said as she hugged her. "You don't have to be ashamed of that."
Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hair as her blush slowly disappeared. "I... I-I don't?"
Twilight shook her head. "Of course not!" She glanced around to see if anybody was nearby. When the coast was clear (aside from Sandalwood and Rainbow Dash, who wouldn't be able to hear her anyway), she leaned into Fluttershy. "I've had plenty of sexual fantasies about lovemaking under the covers. Or in a sauna. Or outside on a hot, hot summer day!"
A sudden urge sprang forth for Twilight, and she gulped nervously. She needed to change the subject again, and fast. "S-So, how'd you get a crush on Sandalwood?"
Fluttershy giggled softly. "I stopped a fight between him and Micro Chips during the Anon-A-Miss incident... and he's been calling me 'Butterfly' ever since!" She put a hand to her chest. "G-Goodness... it's beating so fast right now."
"Does he have muscles, too?"
Fluttershy shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him shirtless before."
"All right," Rainbow said with determination in her tone, gaining Fluttershy and Twilight's attentions. "No more Ms. Nice Girl!" She rushed off, then returned all in the span of a second. She was now wearing a dark blue sports bra with rainbow leggings, with her toned abs exposed.
Twilight watched Fluttershy's face turn red again as she began to sweat. "O-Oh, m-my..."
Sandalwood barked a laugh. "Shirts off?" He took off his shirt, revealing a completely shredded torso. "Bring it on!"
Fluttershy's jaw dropped instantly, and a little bit of drool fell from her mouth. "Oh dear, I need to masturbate badly." She hurried off as fast as she could, leaving Twilight alone.
All Twilight could do was simply shrug, then go about her business while trying to ignore her own urges.