Disclaimer: I do not own anything other then the plot and writing, everything else belongs to Hasbro!
It took only a small second to fall in love with you.
Even when she was a little girl, Fluttershy barely had a friend to her name. It made sense, considering she had just moved to Cloudsdale with her parents from a faraway settlement, and she had never seen that many Pegasi in one big place before. It scared the already timid girl, causing her to isolate herself from the public eye. But there was another reason why she didn’t have many friends…
Even though she was a Pegasus, and old enough for Junior Flight Camp, she could barely fly. In fact, the very concept of it scared the living daylights out of her. And even when she tried to conquer her fear, Fluttershy was only laughed at by her peers. And despite breaking down in frustrated tears every single time, she was never stood up for.
…Until she came along.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!”
She had seen this smaller Pegasus a few times before, but had never spoken to her one on one. And yet, this multi color haired girl was defending her. She was protecting her from the constant teasing, almost like a knight in shining armor would to his Princess.
And ever since then, they had been close. Granted, it took the other Pegasus to actually come up to her again and talk to her, but they clicked almost instantly. Polar opposites in every way, but it didn’t matter.
“My name is Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria! You don’t have to worry about those bullies anymore, I promise!!”
And through their years of Junior Flight Camp and School, Fluttershy couldn’t help but wonder…
Was this what ‘falling in love’ really felt like?
------
“This is Gilda, a real Griffon! She’s gonna be transferring into our class, isn’t it great?”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but be frightened of Gilda when she first saw her. Taller then she and Rainbow combined, piercing golden eyes and such large wings, she looked dangerous from the very moment the Pegasus laid her eyes on her. Rainbow thought she was cool, though, and Fluttershy didn’t mind having a new friend…
The teasing was light, at first. It was in front of Rainbow, and her best friend would always poke fun at her playfully. Fluttershy would just laugh it off and smile, take the jokes with a grain of salt. Even when Gilda would “accidentally” trip her when she walked to her desk, or “mistakenly” knocked the books out of the young girl’s hands, Fluttershy took it and the Griffon’s ‘apologies’. After all, it was in front of Rainbow Dash. And if her dear Rainbow Knight laughed about it, shouldn’t she as well?
It was only until the teases became cruel and more physical did Fluttershy begun to feel something was wrong.
And it wasn’t until a familiar tanned hand violently shoved the frail girl into a row of lockers; staring at her with a cold smile did Fluttershy start to worry.
She behaved in front of Rainbow, just simply teased her and pretended that nothing was going on behind the scenes. Fluttershy followed suit, as she didn’t want Rainbow to find out. Rainbow really liked Gilda…and she deserved to have a friend with similar interests. Fluttershy wanted the one that she felt she loved to be happy….
So she took the constant verbal insults that spewed from the Griffon’s mouth as soon as Rainbow was gone from sight, and she took the times where it got too personal and Gilda had her pinned against the wall, smiling at her in a strange way that made a chill go through her bones. Fluttershy took all of it, continuing to read her fairytale books about a Knight and his Princess sharing true love’s first kiss, wishing that someday she would be able to feel that magical sensation…but more than that, wished that Rainbow would always be her best friend.
One wish was soon ruined, however…on the one day that Rainbow Dash was absent from class.
“What? Isn’t that something you ALWAYS wanted?” Gilda grinned, encircled by a few other classmates staring in bewildered curiosity as Fluttershy gaped at the Griffon before her, a smudge of pink over her cheeks and tears threatening to slip from her eyes.
“You wanted to have your first kiss, right? Well, now you got it.”
----
It wasn’t long before Rainbow Dash seemed to be avoiding her…
Well, avoiding was a rather strong word. It seemed more as if her so-called best friend wanted to spend more time with Gilda, or seemed obsessed with the idea of being ‘cool’.
She was still nice to Fluttershy, of course. Rainbow still flew (or walked, in Fluttershy’s case) with the girl to school and back, though Gilda usually was with them. They still had lunch together…though Gilda also was usually with them.
In all honesty, Fluttershy was beginning to grow irritated at the naïve Rainbow Dash. Wasn’t she noticing how the Griffon would LOOK at the pink haired girl, almost as if she was a piece of meat? Didn’t she see the band aids that Fluttershy had on her legs and arms at times? Didn’t she wonder where they came from?!
Fluttershy wanted to just tell her!
“You even think about telling Dash about what’s going on, and you’re gonna be sorry, Princess.”
But, she couldn’t…she was too scared. What if Gilda meant it?
Besides…Rainbow was happy, right? All Fluttershy wanted was the one she believed she fell in love with to be happy. And if she was happy having someone like Gilda as a…new best friend, then she should accept that.
…Right?
-----
Fluttershy’s second wish was ruined when Rainbow Dash ran away from Cloudsdale with Gilda on the night before Hearth’s Warming Eve. She never even said goodbye to Fluttershy, not even a ‘sorry’ for breaking her promise to her.
It had been years since that night, and it was still fresh in Fluttershy’s mind. The now young woman quietly tended to her animals, smiling softly at the birds chirping happily as she fed them their daily breakfast of bird seed and dried fruits.
Her old friend and first love had returned some time ago, but they barely spoke to one another. They hung around each other, but only when their other friends were present. Rainbow even seemed ruder to her, pushier…she didn’t see that happy grin that always appeared when she saw Fluttershy. But she didn’t feel sad anymore; no…the young girl cried hard and long enough for her fallen Knight.
Now all she felt was a bitter cold form in her heart...which she always hid with a soft and polite smile.
But it only takes a second more for that love to shatter…
-end-