After a long and awkward walk to Sugarcube Corner, Soarin opened the door to let Fluttershy through.
He closed it behind her and followed her to the counter, on the other side of which Pinkie Pie was counting truffles.
"Um.. Pinkie?" Fluttershy murmured.
"Fluttershy? Oh, hi fluttershy!" the party pony replied. "What's up?" She bounced once behind the counter and smiled broadly.
"Um... Saorin and I are.. are.. uh.. we're having a bite to eat and.. and uh.. w-what would you like, Soarin?"
Soarin was scowling to himself, and snapped out of his self-hatred. "A slice of carrot cake, please." He said, stepping up to stand next to her.
"A small pack of cherry truffles would be nice." Fluttershy murmured.
"Oh, and a chocolate milk shake." Soarin added. He plucked up the courage to flash her a grin, and she smiled sheepishly back.
"Here ya go, one slice of carrot cake, a small pack of cherry truffles and a large chocolate shake!" Pinkie handed Fluttershy their order. "Twelve bits, please!"
"Ok, t-thank you. Here you go, Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy took the sweets, pulling a bit sack out of her saddlebags, and opened it tentatively. "Twelve bi-"
Soarin held her hooves down with a wing. "I asked you to go with me; I'll pay." He said kindly.
"Oh, uh, t-thank you." she murmured, pulling back shyly.
"No problem." He handed Pinkie Pie the money and nudged Fluttershy's cheek with his muzzle to direct her toward a table next to the window. "Let's sit over there."
She blushed cherry red. "O-ok."
They sat down and distributed the sweets between them.
As Fluttershy fidgeted her wings and held up a truffle with a hoof, looking at it, Soarin nudged the milkshake into the middle of the table with a smile. "I got this so we could share." He said, putting in a second straw.
"A-are you sure? You're the one who bought it, and.. and.."
"It's fine, I want to."
Fluttershy blushed slightly. "Ok."
* * *
After an uneventful dessert, with a few laughs here and there, Fluttershy appeared to be warming up to Soarin. He smiled and took the two bendy straws from the empty glass. The Pegasus put one on each side of his mouth and dipped below the table. "Imma crab!" He exclaimed, the straws sticking up and the bent parts pointing at Fluttershy.
The yellow mare laughed quietly and blushed, then peered under the table.
"Nuu! My true identity!" The "crab" exclaimed.
Fluttershy laughed and sat up. She turned and gazed out of the window, where the clouds were thickened and grey.
"I guess we should get going." Soarin suggested, standing from his seat.
Fluttershy nodded and followed him out the door. "Bye Pinkie Pie." She called softly.
"Bye guys!"
"Bye." Soarin added.
They trotted side-by-side as rain sprinkled lightly onto them, passing the spa.
A drizzle of rain escalated to a massive downpour, battering Soarin's wings harshly. The pale Pegasus extended one wing over Fluttershy to shelter her, and she squeaked in surprise before murmuring her thanks. As the two ponies were approaching the Carousel Boutique, Soarin looked down at his yellow companion with a smile. "Do you want to go inside and wait out the weather?" He suggested lightly.
"U-um, that would be nice, yes." Fluttershy replied, trotting ahead toward the Boutique. She lifted a hoof and knocked on the door, then entered sheepishly.
"Come in, Fluttershy, darling!" A voice chimed from inside, and Soarin followed the butter-yellow Pegasus indoors. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, um, we were just going to wait for the rain to stop before going home.."
The white unicorn looked up from her sewing. "We?" She then saw Soarin and smiled knowingly. "Stay as long as you like, dear."
After half an hour of sitting on Rarity's sofa, Soarin got up and trotted toward a window, looking out to see the rain still battering the ground. He sighed, then turned to see Fluttershy behind him. "You bored, too?" He presumed.
The mare nodded and sat on her haunches. Soarin glanced at the front door, then the doorway to Rarity's work room behind him, and sighed.
The doorbell rang next to them. "Oh, my silk!" Rarity's voice rang unexpectedly close behind him as he stood. He started and fell forward, toppling over Fluttershy with a surprised yelp. He had a hoof on each side of her and he had himself propped up so that he didn't flatten her with his weight. Soarin gazed at her for a moment. "Uh- S-sorry, I didn't mean to-"
The door opened and a hauntingly familiar voice sounded. "Rarity, Ah see why you wouldn't want Derpy delivering this, but Ah can't understand why y'all asked me to..." Big Macintosh's voice trailed off as he saw the situation in front of him.
Big Mac stared at what was displayed in the small living room; Fluttershy was pinned to the ground by a pale Pegasus who crouched savagely over her.
The red stallion dropped the parcel he had on his back and darted forward with a furious fire in his eyes. "Jus' what da y'all think yer doin' to poor Fluttershy??! This is not how you are meant to treat a mare!" Mac bellowed as he dragged the Pegasus away. When he planted a firm hoof on the stallion's chest, he recognized him with a snarl. "Soarin! I jus' knew you some punk with no manners!"
"What are you doing here, ya prick!" Soarin sneered under him as Fluttershy stood up in a panic.
"I'm doin' a favor for Rarity! Y'all don't need to tell me what yer doin', 'cause I can see that y'all was forcin' Fluttershy to the ground!"
"Um.. B-Big Macintosh, we-"
"No need to defend the punk, we both know what he was doin' to ya!"
"B-Big Mac, h-he fell and.."
Soarin shoved the red stallion away and stood up. "I didn't mean to fall on her, you big red bastard!"
Fluttershy glanced between them. "Soarin, you don't need to-"
"Oh, sure! Y'all just happened to fall on top of her!" Big Macintosh towered over him, and Soarin flared his wings and flapped so that they were at eye level. "I saw with mah own eyes, she was helpless!" He jabbed the pale Pegasus in the chest with a hoof.
"Um.. Uh.. g-guys, I-"
"Finally, the uneducated hillbilly got something right!" Soarin jeered.
"Why you scrawny little-"
Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly, then inhaled. "Guys!" She shouted, nudging her way between them. She pulled Soarin to the ground and forced Big Macintosh backwards. "Why are you fighting?" Her voice shook with anger, but her eyes brimmed with tears. "Soarin wasn't doing anything! He just fell on top of me when the doorbell scared him!" The mare explained. "You don't need to assume the worst!"
She then turned to Soarin. "You don't need to start looking for a fight! You could have been a bit more sensible, and less violent!" Fluttershy whipped around and cantered toward the door, tears streaming down her cheeks as she turned back to them. "I'm going home." She whipped open the door and galloped toward the Everfree in the rain.
"Fluttershy, wait!" Soarin called to her, but he was ignored as she disappeared. He turned back and gave Big Macintosh a glare, then spread his wings and took off after the yellow Pegasus.
Big Macintosh stared after them, shocked, then sat down and studied his hooves, ashamed. He'd lost his sense in the anger of what he'd seen. He cantered out of the door to leave Rarity, bewildered, watching him leave.