Why does anypony bother?
...with life...with happiness...with anything, really?
Fluttershy made her way over to the kitchen and busied herself putting the tea kettle on the stove and arranging some snacks, while the prismatic-maned pegasus who followed her in flopped down on a plush sofa in the living room and looked around. As usual, she saw that her friend's home was filled with all manner of small critters: mice scurrying around, cat lapping at platters of cream on the floor, and small birds flying from the rafters. The whole house buzzed, squawked and chirped with life, yet Dash saw a sullen, defeated look on the yellow pegasus's face that made her look like the lonliest pony in Equestria.
"So..." Dash tentatively started to say, trying to think of something she could say so that maybe she could get back to work, "How's it been going?"
From the kitchen, she saw Fluttershy shrug her shoulders and, without responding, take the handle of the kettle in her mouth and pour water into two teacups. Dash pulled herself off from her lounging position and walked over to stand beside her friend in the kitchen. "Seems like you've been keeping busy, pal...." she tried again, taking a tea cup in her hoof and giving a small smile to her companion.
"I guess..." Fluttershy responded sadly, taking her own teacup and saucer over to the kitchen table and sitting down, before adding, "The rain has kept me inside most days."
"Yeah..I suppose that makes sense." Dash replied, chewing her lip in contemplation. She took a the plate of cookies that the yellow pony had put out, and brought it over to the table before sitting down on a stool beside her friend.
The two winged mares sat in silence for several minutes, idly sipping from their cups and nibbling at cookies. Finally, Dash tried again, swallowing a mouthful of tea and starting, "So...Fluttershy..."
The yellow pegasus appeared lost in thought, and looked up slowly at the sound of her name, "Mmm?"
Dash took a deep breath, hoping that what she was about to say would sound right, "So...I'm not that good with all this emotional junk, but it looks like you...um...might be a bit...well...less than awesome, I guess. Is something wrong?"
Fluttershy sighed softly and, taking a sip of tea, she turned toward her friend and their eyes met. The blue pegasus could still see the moisture on her face where her tears had been, and the yellow pony's eyes still looked so sad and pleading. "Oh, Rainbow...I'm so sorry! I really don't mean to make you worry about me." She then looked away in shame before continuing in her soft, sad voice, "I'm not being a very good friend to you."
"Horsefeathers!" Dash responded sharply, suddenly feeling very defensive. She moved her chair closer to Fluttershy's and put a foreleg around her friend's shoulder, "Don't give me any of that fluff, okay? We've been friends for a long time, you and me! Longer than anypony else I know, and if somepony is going to look out for you, it's going to be your pal, Rainbow Dash!"
Fluttershy gave a small smile and rubbed her face softly against her friend's hoof. "You're sweet, Rainbow, but...I...I don't really know why I'm feeling this way. I thought it might be the rain, but I've been feeling down for longer than that, I think. I feel like such a stupid pony, though; I have no reason to be sad."
The blue pegasus used her leg around Fluttershy to rock her gently and, with a giggle, said, "Oh...come on now! Everypony feels down sometimes - even me! And...I know the rain has been a bit difficult to take, but it'll stop soon. Plus, you have lots to be happy about! You have your critters, and you have tons of friends, and...um...well...you have...you have that...stallionfriend of yours, right? What's his name?"
Fluttershy smiled at her friend and, laying her head back, she responded, "Blueheart. Yes, I suppose I do have a lot to be happy about. I guess I'm lucky to have so many ponies and creatures that care about me."
Rainbow Dash smiled too, and slowly got up, "You see how silly you're being? So...are you feeling better?"
She nodded and her smile grew still larger, "Yes, Rainbow Dash, I am."
The blue pegasus had gotten up, but continued to keep her hoof resting on her friend's shoulder. She gently mussed up her friend's mane with it and said, "Not a problem! But, hey...don't go telling nopony that I'm too caring! I have to maintain a cool image, right?"
"." Fluttershy giggled and wiped the wet streaks of her earlier tears from her face, "Whatever you say."
"So...I should really head out, I guess. The weather ponies are probably waiting for me."
Fluttershy's smile quickly disappeared and she looked up at the rainbow-maned pony with another sad look, but she took a deep breath and replied, "I understand. You've spent more time here than you should have. But..um...Rainbow...thank you."
"For what?"
Fluttershy reached up with her forelegs and took Rainbow Dash's hoof between hers. She squeezed it gently and, managing a small smile, she looked into her friend's rose-coloured eyes with her own blue orbs and said simply and softly, "For caring about me." She then stood up and, letting go of Dash's hoof, she wrapped her forelegs around her friend's neck and hugged her tightly.
With Fluttershy's face buried in her shoulder and the pink-maned pony's front legs holding her tightly, Rainbow Dash was filled with a whole bunch of different feelings and thoughts; all of them manifesting in the pit of her stomach as a warm, fuzzy ache. On one hoof, she was anxious to get back into the air and back to work - away from all this gushy emotional stuff that cramped her style. She was, after all, Rainbow Dash...daredevil and all-around coolest pony in Ponyville. But on the other hoof, she wasn't sure why, but somehow it just felt right holding her demure, shy, sad friend against her. It felt right to be with her - to be close to Fluttershy, her closest and oldest companion. It felt good to smell her mane, hear her voice and feel her touch against her fur. All of those times she found herself making excuses to check in on her, spend time with her, and do her aerial acrobatics nearby where she knew her Fluttershy would be seemed to make...
Wait a second...why would I think of Fluttershy as mine?
My friend maybe. But...no...no....
Feeling her cheeks starting to burn and her head start to spin, she quickly detached Fluttershy's yellow hooves from her neck and turned away from her, toward the door.
"Well...*ahem*...of...of course I care, Flutters. About you, I mean. Um...as a friend that...well...um...I'll see ya around, p...pal, okay?"
She had already pulled the door open and was halfway gone when she heard, "See you around, Rainbow." from behind her.
As soon she closed the door behind her, she opened her wings and took off quickly into the air. She hoped the wind rushing against her face would cool her face down and blow away all the...strange thoughts and feelings that she kept having. As she burst through the clouds, a single drop fell from the sky and hit the dirt path below.
But the rain hadn't started again yet.
*****
It was late that evening - several hours after sunset - when the door to the cottage slowly opened and a grey stallion stepped inside and shook off. The heavy rain beating on the dirt outside echoed through the dark home and the pony quickly closed the door, both to stifle the noise and keep the tiny needles of rain from entering. As the pony made his way as quietly as possible through the entranceway, the only light to guide him was the tiny fire of the stove with several open pots of stew sitting on them. His attention turned to the lump lying on the couch in the living room, the material of a white quilt visible in the faint light.
Walking slowly and quietly over, Blueheart sat down on the floor next to the plush seat and watched his beloved Fluttershy sleeping soundly; the blanket moving slowly up and down with her deep breaths. He smiled at her sweetly as he watched her sleep; though he hadn't been living with her long, it always filled him with warmth and joy to see her beautiful face in peaceful slumber. He reached out a hoof and gently brushed her pink mane from her face, then slowly leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I'm home, Flutters." he whispered softly to her.
The yellow pony under the blanket stirred and, a smile coming across her face, she moaned and said in a sleepy voice, "Mmm...Rainbow...you came back...." then turned over and, burying her face into the sofa cushion, she began to snore softly.
The grey stallion bit his bottom lip and, reaching out a hoof, he went to wake her up before thinking better of it and slowly retracted it again. For several minutes, he continued watching the yellow mare sleep with a curious expression. It was shortly after he arrived in Ponyville and was introduced to Fluttershy that he met Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy's friends had been very welcoming to him, and it was that warm reception that convinced him to decide to settle in Ponyville. Every pony in Fluttershy's social circle seemed to have a unique personality, yet they all managed to remain close. Rainbow Dash, in particular, struck him as quite brash and arrogant at times - certainly a direct contrast to Fluttershy's quiet, reserved and...well...shy demeanour. Still, it was quite obvious to the stallion that Fluttershy's relationship with her rainbow-maned friend was far closer than her friendship with her other friends. She had told him that she had known Rainbow Dash longer than her other companions - that they were friends back when they were fillies in school. It was clear, during the times that he had seen them together, that they were especially close. But sometimes there seemed to be more between them than simple friendship. In particular, Fluttershy's face seemed to light up when she saw Rainbow Dash in a way that it never did when he was around. And the blue pegasus seemed to be over a fair bit, sometimes just to say hi to Fluttershy and other times to go on short flights with her. Blueheart couldn't help but feel a bit left out that the two pegasi seemed to spend so much time together..
...Perhaps he was reading too much into it.
*****
Rainbow Dash lay awake in her bed and gazed out the window of her cloud home. She found it particularly hard to sleep that night - moreso than even the night before a Wonderbolts show. Fluttershy's sad face with tears streaming down her cheeks filled Rainbow Dash's head, and she was anxious and confused about why it seemed to distress her so. It wasn't the first time she'd seen her friend upset, and certainly not the first time that she had seen her cry; this time, however, seemed to be different. She seemed so...lonely, and it made her normal aversion to mushy emotions be replaced by a nagging desire to comfort and protect her friend. If she was honest with herself, there was nothing she had wanted to do more when she saw Fluttershy was upset that day, than wrap her wings around her and shield her from whatever was troubling her.
"Get ahold of yourself, Dash!" the blue mare said, squeezing her eyes shut and lightly tapping herself in the head with her hooves, "You're going all soft!"
Not as soft as Fluttershy's warm fur, and sweet hugs...
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, held it for several seconds and let it out slowly. She felt like her cool and calm spirit was broken - that she wasn't quite herself. There was also a very distressing thought in the back of her mind that, no matter how many times she tried to bury it, it always seemed to rise up again.
Fluttershy is my friend...my best friend...my oldest friend...my closest friend...my friend.
"Dammit, Flutters!" Rainbow Dash groaned, burying her face in a cloud pillow and trying to dispel the image of her best friend's tearful eyes from her mind.