Fluttershy was many things, but she wasn’t stupid. She could see the way Pinkie looked at her when Pinkie thought she wasn’t paying attention. She saw right through that dreamy little grin, that one-of-a-kind little half-smile, noticed the sometimes not-so-subtle hints that Pinkie dropped on her at seemingly random times, like when she’d pop out of a nearby bush with a “Good morning, gorgeous!” and a huge, warm hug before bounding back to work. Or when Fluttershy would find carrot cake and blueberry scones in her mailbox, or the way that any prank Pinkie pulled on her was careful, thoughtful, and almost guaranteed not to be too scary.
Fluttershy had known for a long while that Pinkie treated her differently than their other friends, although not in a bad way. When Pinkie and Rainbow had gone on their pranking spree, Fluttershy had wondered why she didn’t get hit. Later on, Rainbow had let her know that Pinkie of all ponies had spared her from a squirting turtle to make sure her feelings weren’t hurt in any way. Pinkie didn’t treat her like she was delicate, or breakable, though. Pinkie knew she could take care of herself, and that was why the different treatment was okay. No, Pinkie was gentle with her, gentle around her, but it didn’t feel like she was fragile because of it. It made her feel special, feel important, feel loved.
And Fluttershy didn’t mind the extra attention, the compliments and the baked goods. But even though Fluttershy wasn’t stupid, he was still shy, timid, sheltered, and woefully inexperienced in the realm of romance. Pinkie’s advances were never any sort of problem, were never anything other than a delight, but Fluttershy had no idea what to do about them. So it was easier to play the fool, to pretend she didn’t see anything other than Pinkie being a great friend. If anything came from this, it would be Fluttershy’s first time giving her heart to somepony, and that couldn’t be rushed. It couldn’t be rushed, but she also didn’t want it to end. So she faked a blind eye and enjoyed the warmth that came with Pinkie’s honest flirtations.
Pinkie was many things, but she wasn’t stupid. So maybe she was a bit distractable, random, even a bit crazy, but she wasn’t stupid. She saw the way Fluttershy noticed her little gifts and compliments, how the prettiest pegasus in Ponyville would prance gaily away from the conversations would have, and how much Fluttershy would relax and smile during the tea parties Pinkie would throw for just the two of them. She noticed that when she said she’d be dropping by for a visit, Fluttershy’s feathers would all be straight and orderly, and her beautiful, long mane would always smell like Fluttershy’s shampoo. She saw how Fluttershy saw her looking and pretended not to, and she saw how Fluttershy didn’t really mind the hours Pinkie started spending around her cottage, helping with the animals or baking carrot cakes for Angel Bunny. But she also noticed the slight hesitations in Fluttershy’s words if she came on too strong, and the sudden flinches that most of her surprise hugs would cause.
One thing that Pinkie could be, one that a lot of other ponies didn’t realize, was patient. Pinkie could wait forever for the things that really mattered. She had been prepared to stare at the drying paint for years, if it meant she could stay with her friends. And she would take as long with this as she needed, until Fluttershy finally got around to loving her back. So she let Fluttershy see her looking more often, and left even more pastries and useful little things like syringes and birdseed at Fluttershy’s doorstep and found excuses to give Fluttershy extra hugs. She didn’t need to rush this, not really. The best recipes were the ones you followed to the letter without skipping any steps, and Fluttershy just had more steps than anypony else when it came to this. There was no rush at all, and Pinkie was getting pretty good at waiting. On the days when waiting was hard, when the greedy-pie in her head told her to cover Fluttershy’s pretty face with smooches, she’d play little waiting games to make it easier, like seeing how many times she could make Fluttershy get that cute little rosy blush before Angel Bunny started getting jealous, or finding a dozen different ways to tell Fluttershy just how beautiful she really was.
TIME LIMIT-------------
Some day, and she really hoped it would come soon, Fluttershy would get around to talking about the things Pinkie was doing and what they meant to her. But the waiting was turning out to be alright, and she didn’t want to rush Fluttershy into any decisions about it. Fluttershy didn’t work like that, most of the time. And Pinkie wanted to give her every chance she needed to think and judge and weigh her options before deciding. In the meantime, Pinkie could keep up these silly little gestures and crack silly little jokes and flirt shamelessly and see just how many sweet little smiles Fluttershy was hiding. There was no rush, not just yet, and that was fine.