//------------------------------// // Truth of the Heart // Story: Flutterheart // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// The next morning, Fluttershy was making her way through Ponyville, having made her weekly visit to the veterinarian's to stock up on animal medicine. None of her charges was ill, or even off-color, but the nature-loving pegasus wanted to be prepared. As she walked through the streets, she spotted Forrest talking with Rainbow Dash. As Fluttershy approached them, she heard Forrest laughing at something Rainbow had said, and felt a powerful twinge of jealousy. "And that really happened?" Forrest chuckled. "Hoof to Celestia." Rainbow smirked, before noticing Fluttershy. "Hey, Fluttershy." "Hello Forrest, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy spoke Rainbow's name like it was a sour taste on her tongue. "What are you talking about?" "Oh, I'm just telling Forrest about the time we all got messed up by the poison joke." Rainbow explained. "Remember that big, deep voice it gave you?" "Oh, of course..." Fluttershy blushed, very aware of Forrest sniggering slightly. "Come on, Forrest." Rainbow opened her wings. "We've got a skyball game to get to." Skyball was a popular game among pegasus ponies. It was similar to basketball, but took place in the sky, with the object being to throw the ball through hoops fashioned from clouds. "I love a good game of S-ball." Smiled Forrest. "Me, too." Fluttershy suddenly chipped in. "You do?" Rainbow tilted her head in disbelief. "Since when?" "Since always!" Fluttershy growled at her. "Great!" Cheered Forrest, oblivious of the daggers Fluttershy was staring at Rainbow. "Then we can all play together!" After making a quick stop at the cottage to drop off her animal medicines, Fluttershy joined Forrest and Rainbow at the skyball "field", a stretch of sky east of Ponyville. Many of Ponyville's pegasi residents were also participating in the game, such as Cloud Kicker, Ditzy Doo, and Wind Whistler. As the pegasi gathered together, the teams were picked. "Forrest, would you like to be on my team?" Fluttershy asked him just before Rainbow did. "Sure." Smiled Forrest. Fluttershy shot Rainbow a triumphant, mocking grin, leaving the her scratching her head in confusion. As the teams gathered on the center of the "court", Wind Whistler, the designated referee, blew her trusty whistle and threw the ball into the air. Rainbow dashed up and caught it, sped around her competition, tossed the ball up into the air, then turned and kicked it with her back legs, straight into the opposing team's hoop. "She's good." Forrest declared, showing good sportsponyship. "Lucky shot." Fluttershy scoffed, showing bad sportsponyship. And so, the game continued. Fluttershy, who had never actually played skyball before, flew around madly, attempting to grab the ball and score as often as possible. Unfortunately, due to her general lack of skill in the game, she wasn't having much luck. Rainbow, on the other, was highly skilled in the ways of skyball, and made one incredible score after another. After one of her grandstanding maneouvres went awry, she fell over backwards, and the chivalrous Forrest caught her in his forelegs. "Thanks, Forrest." Rainbow smiled. "My pleasure." Forrest smiled back. As Fluttershy watched from above, her usually cyan eyes gleamed a deep green. After that, Fluttershy's playing became more and more frenzied. As she leapt into the fray once more, the inevitable happened: She accidentally took the ball to her face rather then her hooves, and, losing consciousness, dropped out of the sky. "Fluttershy!" Forrest cried out. "I'll get her!" Declared Rainbow. Rainbow dived down, as fast as she could, hoping to catch her before she hit the ground. However, she did not have to, as a tall tree broke Fluttershy's fall, the numerous branches acting as a makeshift, albeit painful, safety net. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow called as she flew down to the tree. "You okay?" "I'm fine." Groaned Fluttershy, batting away Rainbow's helping hoof. "And I don't help from the likes of you." "Okay, that is it!" Rainbow exploded. "What the hay is up with you? You've been acting weird all day. Why?" "Because you've been trying your absolute best to take him for yourself!" Fluttershy spat irrationally. "Take who?" Rainbow asked, completely bewildered. "Forrest!" Fluttershy snarled, her voice reaching a volume it hardly ever did. "You've been trying to entice him with your showing-off since you first met, and it's not fair, because I saw him first!" "Wait, you think I... with Forrest!" Rainbow guffawed. "Wrong, sister! I mean, sure, he's a great guy and all, but he's not what I'd think of as coltfriend material." "He's not?" Fluttershy cocked her head in disbelief. "And even if I did, I wouldn't just steal him from under you like that." Rainbow continued. "I'd never do that to a friend." Fluttershy felt ashamed of herself, not only for victimising Rainbow over something she hadn't even done, but because she had just blurted out her secret feelings for Forrest. "I'm sorry, Rainbow." Fluttershy cringed. "I just... I didn't..." "Forget about it." Rainbow waved her hoof. "Let's just chalk it up to experience and move on." "Rainbow? Fluttershy?" Called Forrest, as he flew down to see what was taking them so long. "Is everything okay?" "Everything's fine." Said Rainbow. "The tree broke her fall." "Oh, good." Forrest sighed in relief. "You had me worried there." "I did?" Fluttershy smiled. "Forrest, Fluttershy has something to tell you." Rainbow blurted out. "I do?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes, you do." Rainbow nudged Fluttershy towards a bemused Forrest. "Go for it. Tell 'im, already!" Fluttershy was not good at expressing herself. But, as she looked at Forrest's expectant smile, she found the strength to say what she needed to say. "Forrest, I... like you. I really like you. A whole lot." Fluttershy declared. "You're sweet, kind and handsome. You're the pegasus of my dreams." "You... really mean that?" Forrest asked. "Yes." Sighed Fluttershy, expecting rejection. "Funny, I feel the exact same way about you." Forrest chuckled. "You do?" Fluttershy gasped. "Ever since we first met." Forrest admitted. "But I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I'm not really good with mares, especially ones as pretty as you." "Oh, thank you." Fluttershy blushed deeper then she had ever done before. For a moment, the two just flapped there, smiling awkwardly. Rainbow shook her head. "Do I have to do everything myself?" She asked, before gently nudging Fluttershy toward Forrest, causing their lips to meet. For a moment, the two pegasi's eyes were wide with shock. Then they closed, as the two wrapped their forelegs around each other and kissed deeper. "Don't ever say I didn't do anything for ya, Fluttershy." Rainbow smirked. "What's going on down there?" Asked Wind Whistler, poking her head through the clouds. "I'm afraid we've had an injury." Said Rainbow. "Fluttershy's hurt her ankle, and Forrest is gonna take her back to her cottage to rest." "But I'm not..." Fluttershy protested, before Forrest hoisted her up in his forelegs. "Never mind..." She said dreamily, gazing deeply into his blue eyes. "Thanks, Dash." Forrest winked as he carried Fluttershy to her cottage. "Hey, what are friends for?" Rainbow shrugged.