Twilight
I'm getting that strange feeling in my gut again, and I'm sure it's not just Fluttershy's absolutely divine tea. It's so weird.... I've just never felt like this before. It doesn't feel bad in any way, just.... odd. I would tell her about it to see if she knows what it might be, but I really don't want to worry her.
She seems so happy sitting next to me sipping her tea, and nothing should ruin that. Seeing her happy always cheers me up, she's just so cute. And the way the sunlight from the window is washing over her, basking her in radiance.... I think the only word to describe it is "beautiful".
Actually there's a ton of words I could use to describe it, come to think of it. Gorgeous, pretty, magnificent, breathtaking, glorious, visually pleasing.... wait that one was two words. Am I allowed to use two words for this? I'm the one who made the rules for this, so who's to say that I can't? My own conscience, I guess. But why should my conscience care about something as trivial as this? I'm sure it will now since I thought about it, but-
My train of thought gets cut off by Fluttershy talking. "-really nice. We should do-" Crap. I missed the beginning of her sentence, I hope that part wasn't necessary. "-soon. What do you think, Twilight?" Oh no she's wanting me to respond. Why is this making me so nervous? Just ask her to repeat herself. No, I can't do that! If she knew that I wasn't listening, she'd think I was a terrible friend!
Uhhhhhhh.... just nod and hope for the best? I silently nod my head with a grin on my face. Oh, I think she liked that. She's smiling. "Oh, I'm so glad that you agree." Quick, say something before she thinks that you're weird!
"Hahaha, you too!" Oh no. I can clearly tell by the way she's looking at me that I had said the wrong thing.
"Um.... th.... thanks?" As much as I wanted to savor it, I quickly gulp down the rest of my tea to escape this awkward situation.
"Well! We should uh... probably get going to the library now? Those books won't sort themselves!" She quickly nods in agreement, clearly also wanting out of this conversation.
"Oh, of course. We wouldn't want to start too late...."
We walk up to the cottage door together, and Fluttershy sweetly says goodbye to her animal friends before leaving. As we enter the great outdoors she takes a deep breath, savoring the fresh air around her. I guess she really hasn't been out much lately.
The warm summer breeze lightly rustles her soft fur and pink mane, and that feeling in my stomach is starting to return. Wanting to keep my mind off of it and also feeling bad for butchering our previous conversation in cold blood, I try to start up some light chatter as we make our way over to the library.
"Sooo..... how have you been doing? Has the cottage recovered from that whole thing with the Everfree Forest?" As I speak, she lets out a tiny squeal in surprise. Seems like she was lost in her own head, but she quickly recovers and responds to my question.
"Oh..... yeah..... that......." She ponders for a moment, doing what I can only assume as reliving bad memories inside her mind. "The cottage itself is back to normal.... as you saw........ but a lot of the animals still haven't mentally recovered from it." I give her a sympathetic nod.
"The library got hit pretty hard as well. It's actually the reason why it's such a mess over there, I've just been so busy with all this princess stuff that I haven't been able to actually do anything about it." Fluttershy visibly cowers a bit at the word princess, I don't really understand why but I ignore it.
"It's not all that bad though, sorting through books means that you get to read stuff that you never would have otherwise. And besides, it also means that I get to spend some time with you, which is always a treat." If the last sentence made her cower a bit, this one both physically and mentally destroyed Fluttershy.
"I- wha- you-" She's stammering really hard, and she does her best to hide her face from me for some reason. "I didn't- I........ thank you........" Her wings are outstretched, and I swear that I can see a bit of blush on the part of her face that she wasn't able to cover with her hooves and mane. "That...... that means a lot to me. It..... it really does."
Fluttershy seemed to be in a really good mood after that, she just kept on smiling as we made our way through Ponyville. We stayed pretty much silent for the rest of the walk. I wonder why that made her so flustered? It's normal for friends to compliment each other like that, right? Was it normal? Was I being weird?
What I said was true, Fluttershy is always a delight to hang out with. She's just so kind and sweet. She also seems to at least partially share my social anxiety issues, though hers are definitely more pronounced. Before I know it, we reach the library. I open the door for her, and I can hear her gasp as she walks into the absolute warzone that is my home.
"Oh my...... you really weren't kidding when you said it was a disaster in here." I follow in behind her, just in time to see her look around at all of the books strewn across the floor. I let out an embarrassed chuckle. It really is an irredeemable mess. It actually looks worse than when I left it, thanks to a certain purple dragon. "Thank goodness I came to help, I can't imagine how long this would take to do on your own."
"Yeah..... you better get comfy, because we're going to be here a while." I pick up the first book that catches my eye off the ground with my magic. "Let's see here.... Magical Plants And How To Use Them. Hey, this one sounds interesting!" I flip open the book to a random page, reading it off. "The Temporal Flower is a very rare and powerful plant that only blossoms when planted by somepony outside of their own timeline-" I get cut off from reading the rest of it, as I hear an all too familiar burp and the book turns to ashes in my hooves. "SPIKE!!!!" My tone is filled with pure rage directed at the little reptile.
"Sorry Twilight.... I've been holding that one in for a while and I couldn't help it anymore." He looks genuinely guilty about it. Ugh, now I feel bad for yelling at him. "Oh, hey Fluttershy! Did you come to help deal with this literature landfill?" Fluttershy gives me a look of concern as she can see what I've had to deal with all morning.
".....Yes Spike. I'm here to help with the library." She flies over to him. "But you're just such an adorable little dragon that I won't be able to help until you head upstairs and go to sleep. Could you do that for me?" She has this really soft and genuine sweetness in her voice as she talks to him, like her words are laced with honey.
"Hahaha..... Okay Fluttershy....." That seemed to do the trick, as the little rascal promptly went up to the stairs and into the bedroom. Fluttershy turns around and smiles at me, prompting me to get that feeling in my gut once again. I catch myself staring at her, and I shake my head to refocus.
"All right, let's get these books sorted. I don't expect us to do them all today, so I hope you don't have any plans for the next couple days."
"Oh, no, I don't think I had anything planned....." She thinks for a second, as if debating whether to say something or not. "Actually.... I was wondering if.... tomorrow..... you.... you mightwanttogooutwith........?" She sulks into the floor as her voice gets quieter, before becoming completely unintelligible.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What were you trying to ask me?"
"Oh........ it...... it wasn't very important........ just forget about it.............." I give her a confused glance.
"All right then." I decide not to press it further, since she's clearly uncomfortable. We start sorting out the books and making some light conversation. As we chat it almost feels like there's some sort of tension in the air, but I can't quite put my hoof on what it is. It doesn't bother me though. I just love talking with her, she's so pleasant to be around and it makes want to be a better pony just for her.
The whole time she's been here I've been getting that odd sensation. I secretly skimmed through a few books on related topics as we sorted through them trying to find an answer as to what it could be, but to no avail. About 7 hours later, I look out the window and am shocked as to how late it's gotten.
"Oh wow, it's evening already?! It only feels like you got here a couple of hours ago." Fluttershy looks up from a book she was looking through, and changes her focus right on me. It makes me feel all fuzzy to have her look at me like this, and that feeling inside me is burning hotter than it ever has before.
"I guess.... time flies when you're having fun? I really did enjoy my time with you here Twilight, even if we barely made a dent into this mess." I give her a lighthearted chuckle.
"I enjoyed this as well. Same time tomorrow?" A smile softer than all of the pillows in Equestria appears on her face.
"I would love to." There's that feeling again. I can't ignore it anymore, I need to tell somepony about it. I really didn't want to worry her, but maybe she'll know something about what it might be.
"Fluttershy, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you." All of a sudden, her face perks up with hope and anticipation.
"Yes?" This was.... not the reaction I was expecting. Why does she look so happy? I start to advance towards her, my eyes lost in her visage.
"It's a bit embarrassing, but recently I've-" I don't get to finish my sentence however, as I trip on a pile of books landing right on top of....
Fluttershy
Twilight's right on top of me. I lay sprawled on the ground with my back against the floor, my wings splayed out to my sides. Twilight's face is inches from my own, and I can feel her breathing both from her mouth onto my muzzle and from the fluctuations in her chest against mine. I usually hate it when somepony is this close to me, touching me. But with her it feels..... nice, soft. I feel safe and protected, despite her having crashed into me only moments prior.
Neither of us say anything. We're both in shock, but I swear I can see a bit of..... happiness on Twilight's face? Is she also enjoying this? We just spend the next minute staring into each other's eyes, absolutely bewildered with one another. I want to break the silence so bad, tell her I love her and then kiss her right on that beautiful muzzle of hers. But as much as I want to, I can't. I'm such a coward.
I have the perfect opportunity to tell her how I feel being offered to me on a silver platter like I'm in a fairy tale, but I'm still too scared to say anything. Oh, why am I like this? Why can't I just be more confident? Twilight breaks my thoughts by clearing her throat and finally getting up off of me. I secretly wished that she would never get up, and just stayed on me like that forever. I guess all dreams have to end eventually.
"I'm uhhhh..... really sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I just-" She pauses for a second. "Sorry." I try my best to hide my disappointment as I respond.
"It..... it's really fine....... I'm not hurt or anything." That was a lie. I may not be hurt physically, but the emotional damage from that is something I'll be feeling for an entire week.
"I uhhhh... can probably finish the rest of this myself with Spike finally calmed down." She looks really guilty. Does she feel bad for staring at me for so long? Oh no, she probably thinks that I hate her. I..... I have to do something about this. Before I can speak, she continues talking. "Thank you so much for your help..... I wouldn't have made this much progress without you."
"No.... no problem......." Quick Fluttershy, say something! Ask her out! If you don't do it now, you might never get another chance! Seize the moment! "Hey....... Twilight.......... would you...... like to....... I was...... wondering if.......... you...... want.......... would you........ with me....... dinner..........." My voice chokes up, and I can't form a complete sentence.
"Yes? Were you trying to ask me something?" There's no going back now. I brace myself, and finish the question.
"Would....... wouldyouliketogooutfordinnerwithmetomorrow?" I gasp for air, breathing heavily. She looks shocked. Oh no, did I offend her? Oh no oh no oh no oh no. She's going to hate me, or laugh at me, or both. "Ummmmm...... nevermind....... you don't have to if you don't-" She cuts me off with a smile.
"I would love to, Fluttershy! A dinner does sound nice." I let out a big sigh of relief. I can't believe it. She actually said yes. Does.... does she really care about me? "Besides, it would help get my mind off of all the other stuff I've been dealing with recently. Meet together here at this same time tomorrow?"
"Y- y- yeee....." My response turns into a soft squeal. My voice is failing me, but I couldn't care less. She said yes! She wants to do this! Barely able to contain my excitement, and wanting to leave before she can change her mind, I blurt out "Seeyouagaintomorrowcantwaitthankyoubye!" and bolt out the door without even seeing her reaction.
My mane whips by my face as I run like the wind, not taking a single moment to look back at the library that I escaped from. I'm panting from exhaustion as I gallop through Ponyville, happy tears streaking past my face and splattering on the ground in my wake. A few ponies gasp as they see me run by, surely expecting there to be something frightening chasing me. But there's nothing behind me to fear except for my own decisions, and the looming anxiety of going on a date with the pony I've loved for so long.
I stop at my cottage door, gasping for air. I slowly let myself in, absolutely exhausted from the run here. I say hi to all of my animal friends and feed them their dinners, before collapsing on my bed. "I did it." I say to myself. "I asked her out." I'm too euphoric to even think about the many possible negative outcomes of this situation, at least for now. I curl up on the bed and slowly fall asleep in happiness, not having even eaten dinner myself. "Tomorrow is going to be a fantastic day."
~End Of Chapter 2~