Fluttershy…I'm gay.
Even though she'd just said it, the sentence replayed over and over in Rainbow Dash's mind as she waited for any kind of response whatsoever from Fluttershy. Each second she waited felt like sixty, and her heart had sped up so fast she felt she might collapse at any of those seconds. Fluttershy's expression had again turned to shock, blue eyes wide. Of all the things Rainbow Dash could've said, she'd never expected that would be one of them.
Finally, though, after the moment of shock had passed, she released a breath, and choked out the only thing she could. "…Oh."
The moment instantly became nearly horrifyingly awkward, for both Pegasi. Rainbow flinched back slightly at the response, almost in confusion, but quickly averted her gaze, feeling a blush coming on. She knew it'd been a mistake to even consider telling Fluttershy this; why had she even done it! Now that it was over, though, she felt the urge to run returning to her again, as it always did when she fell into situations she couldn't bring herself to face. She'd successfully ruined any chances of rekindling her old friendship. Now that that was done, there really wasn't anything left.
"I-I'm sorry," she spoke, feeling her eyes beginning to sting. "I'll just…"
Quickly, she turned to make a run for it, ready to crash into something else, die this time for all she cared, but before she could take to the sky, she was stopped by the shocking scream she'd never dreamt she'd hear.
"WAIT!"
The blue Pegasus froze in her tracks, hesitating a moment before looking back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy only caught the gaze with a worried one of her own, but after another moment, she galloped closer again, breaking the new gap between them that had been made. Before she got too close, she stopped, looking away briefly as she tried her best to say something that would calm Rainbow down.
She said, "Rainbow, it's…it's alright. I-I mean, I don't care…if you're gay. I-I've just…well, nopony's ever…"
Obviously the shy pony had never been in a situation like the one she was now a part of. Rainbow Dash barely even cared about that at the moment, though, as the only thing flooding her mind was the fact that she'd just been told it was okay. She hadn't scared Fluttershy off, after all; Fluttershy didn't care. It was almost too good to be true, and Rainbow was still in complete shock. She instantly turned to face the other Pegasus, eyes wide, just wanting to be sure everything would actually be okay.
"I'm not trying to hit on you," she blurted out, cutting off Fluttershy's explanation.
It would forever go down as one of the stupidest first things she'd ever tell anypony, but now that she knew Fluttershy didn't care, the only thing she wanted was to refrain to freaking her out anymore than she already had. Fluttershy dropped her own words and blinked once in surprise. She averted her eyes again for a second, a small blush coming to her cheeks as her jaw remained dropped open slightly. Immediately after, though, she breathed another of her stifled laughs, and shyly smiled back up at Rainbow.
"W-Well…I kinda figured that," she answered.
"You did?" The question was asked in near-complete disbelief.
Fluttershy only gave a small nod.
Rainbow Dash almost seemed a bit taken aback by this, as if it was an answer she definitely shouldn't have gotten. She looked to the ground, a bit more dazed after a moment, and for a while longer, there was only silence between the two ponies again. She'd not only refrained from freaking Fluttershy out, but also from making her think she had some weird, lesbian crush on her? It seemed almost impossible, so Rainbow thought. She definitely wasn't complaining, though.
Once she'd taken a moment of settle into the reality of what had just happened, Rainbow finally met Fluttershy's gaze again, her magenta hues shimmering just a little, with held back emotion. She released a sigh of stunned relief before dropping to the ground in mental exhaustion.
She breathed, "Oh Fluttershy… You have no idea what I've been through."
Apparently, the shy Pegasus noticed that her friend was on the brink of tears. Her eyes widened at seeing Rainbow's collapse, and very hesitantly, she tried to work up some kind of response. It was obviously Rainbow who needed to do the talking, though, so Fluttershy offered the only thing she really could.
"O-Oh my…" she began worriedly. "Um…come on inside. You can tell me everything."
Fluttershy led Rainbow Dash into her cottage, and so began the very first real conversation Rainbow would have about newly-discovered sexuality. It took a moment or two to get started, but once Rainbow began, she didn't stop. She told Fluttershy everything. The Spitfire poster, the Spitfire dream, the situation she'd gotten into with Valerie, getting struck by lightning, she even told her about Gilda. Nothing was left unsaid. And finally, once she'd gotten to the end, the only thing she could do was try not to cry, which turned out to be a lot more difficult for her than it'd been in the past.
It was then that Fluttershy quickly left the living room of her cottage to go to the kitchen and get some tea for the both of them. She'd done her best to make Rainbow feel comfortable about telling the stories, but she didn't want to make her feel awkward about getting the emotion out that went with it. It had obviously been a while for her, since she'd first started holding everything inside. Once Fluttershy returned with tea, silence also returned for a short moment.
Shortly, though, after taking her cup, Rainbow spoke again. "I can't even go around girls anymore. I don't even know how I came around you."
Fluttershy hesitated a little longer before attempting a small smile, trying once again to be soothing. She really wasn't sure what to tell Rainbow about everything, but she knew one thing for sure; she just didn't know if it would be any help.
"Well…ya know, Rainbow," she told her. "Just because you like girls…it doesn't mean you'll…like…every mare you meet."
Rainbow looked up to meet her friend's gaze, almost helplessly. Fluttershy continued.
"W-What I mean is, well, I'm sorry if this is kind of obvious, but…mares who like mares…they aren't really that different than mares who like stallions. I-It's the same thing, just…not…with stallions."
"…Do you like mares?" Rainbow asked, confused.
Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she instantly looked away, another blush coating her cheeks. "U-Um, w-well…no, not exactly…but…"
"Then how do you know?"
"I…um…I don't know, I just do," she paused, looking back up. "Why would it be any different?"
Rainbow gave a silent sigh, averting her eyes this time. "…I don't know."
She knew Fluttershy was right. There really was no sense in worrying over if she would crush on everypony who was a mare, but she still couldn't help it. There was a possibility of crushing on any mare, and she hated that possibility. And as unlikely as it was, she still couldn't quite let it go. She wasn't crushing on Fluttershy, though…nor had she crushed on the strange Pegasus who'd helped her get here. Hell, she hadn't even crushed on Valerie, just tried to get away from her so it wouldn't happen. That was three ponies she'd run into recently, and refrained from liking that way. But would that pattern really continue? Was her crush on Spitfire, the sex with Gilda, really just a random coincidence?
She wanted them to be coincidences. She wanted to completely accept Fluttershy's weird knowledge on the subject of things. But she just didn't know.
Fluttershy didn't try to argue the topic anymore. She knew Rainbow would see for herself that she didn't need to be scared, once she'd had more time to interact with other mares. She was still pretty surprised to know that Rainbow Dash was a lesbian, since she didn't remember anything like that at all from her flight camp days; then again, they had been quite young back when she was still going. She really didn't care, though. Rainbow had helped her a lot through flight camp, and if Rainbow needed her now, she wanted to be there.
The conversation went on through the night. It'd gone from Rainbow pouring her heart out, to Fluttershy convincing her that there really wasn't anything wrong about being a lesbian, or anything to fear (though Rainbow still had a hard time believing it). Rainbow Dash was a bit surprised to find that her old friend actually seemed to be interested in what all had happened; she really hadn't expected to be up so late still telling her about it, or answering questions she had. After a while, though, the subject took a small turn, as the ponies began discussing how their lives had been since Fluttershy moved away. And eventually, as it carried on into the wee hours of the morning, the two fell asleep.
When the next day arrived, and Rainbow Dash finally awoke, she realized she'd ended up staying at Fluttershy's home overnight without even knowing if Fluttershy was okay with it. She couldn't help but feel a little rude, and she really hoped her friend wouldn't mind. Fluttershy, of course, didn't mind at all. She was already awake and trying to make pancakes (which wasn't going as well as she'd hoped).
It took Rainbow a moment of coming to before she noticed the burning scent from the kitchen, and immediately jumped to her hooves, rushing into the adjacent room to see what was going on.
"Oh dear…oh dear!" The yellow Pegasus whimpered as she frantically tried to use her wings to clear the smoke that the burning pancakes were now making.
"Fluttershy! What the—"
Hurriedly, Rainbow took control of the situation and made Fluttershy get back. She moved the burning pancakes, turned off the stove, and in minutes, she had the smoke, and the kitchen settled down again. She then turned to the other, unable to hold back a immensely dumbstruck look, though it was also painted with a bit of confusion. Based on the way the kitchen looked, the shy pony obviously had no idea what she was doing.
Rainbow sighed. "Pancakes?"
Fluttershy looked away in embarrassment, her cheeks reddening just a little.
"U-Um…yes."
"…Why?"
"I-I…I just wanted to make some breakfast…for us. I-I mean…well…I don't have guests often."
Even if she tried, Rainbow simply couldn't be annoyed. She rolled her eyes, giving another sigh. Fluttershy was only trying to be hospitable. Finally, the blue one shook her head.
She answered, "Well, thanks, but…let's…not burn your cottage down today. Kay?"
"Yes…okay."
For a moment the kitchen was silent, until the two ponies began cleaning everything back up. Fluttershy tried to assure Rainbow Dash she could do it all herself, but Rainbow wasn't about to let her do everything alone. Two ponies could clean up faster than one, after all. Rainbow was actually kind of surprised to see how messy the table was now, from Fluttershy's attempt to mix good pancake batter, but she'd watched her parents clean the kitchen enough to know how to fix everything. Back when she was so young that her mother wouldn't let her go out alone, she spent a good bit of time in the kitchen, just because it was less boring.
When she and Fluttershy were finally close to being done, the shy pony spoke up again with her own question.
She asked, "Um…well…do you wanna help me cook something?"
Rainbow turned to give a weird look, brow raised. She couldn't cook. She knew a few things about the kitchen, but she'd never wanted to try cooking for herself.
"…Me?"
"Well…" Fluttershy averted her gaze a moment. "I-I mean, if you want to… You know how to make pancakes?"
Eyes widening, Rainbow finally got it. Her weird knowledge of kitchen stuff had thrown Fluttershy off. She stifled a weird smirk. "Oh. Not really. I've just watched my dad do it. And my mom made me clean sometimes… I never did the cooking part."
"…Oh…sorry," the yellow said through her own sheepish giggle.
With the burning pancakes and the cleaning, Rainbow Dash hadn't even thought about her lesbian worries yet. Her worries over accidentally being rude to Fluttershy by staying at her cottage overnight had left her for a little while as well, but now that things were settling back down, they slowly returned to her. Fluttershy wouldn't have even tried to make the pancakes in the first place if she hadn't had company; so Rainbow couldn't help but feel like this was partially her fault. And her lesbian worries, well, while they'd been gone all morning, Rainbow was about to find them again.
Fluttershy spoke after a pause. "Well, we need to get something to eat, at least. Do you wanna come to town with me to find something? …I could show you around, too."
It wasn't that Rainbow didn't want to come: she really needed to find a place to stay at while she was here. But town meant public, and public meant mares. Everywhere. Upon hearing the question, she backed away just a step or two, her ears lowering slightly as she gave a nervous grin.
"Uhhhh…no…not really."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she remembered what she'd forgotten for the second there. Of course Rainbow didn't want to go into town again just yet. Immediately, she closed her eyes a moment, giving a smile before she opened them again.
She said, "O-Oh. Right. Sorry. Well, you can just stay here, then, if you want. I'll go get us something. It won't take long."
Staying at the cottage sounded like a much better plan to Rainbow Dash, even if she did really want to find someplace else to stay, so she wouldn't be getting in Fluttershy's way the whole time. And as Fluttershy wanted her to stay comfortable, especially given that it was only the second day she'd been in Ponyville, she did leave after a few moments to get the two of them something to eat, letting Rainbow stay behind. She assured her she'd hurry and get back, but Rainbow really didn't mind how long it took, as long as she could stay where nopony else was. She knew eventually, she'd have to go out. Perhaps tomorrow, or another coming day. For the time being, though, she just wasn't ready yet.
While there weren't any other ponies around, Fluttershy's cottage (or the outside of it, anyway) was home to many animals. They didn't bother Rainbow much, though. Before she'd left, Fluttershy had told Rainbow that she was more than welcome to explore around outside, and that no other ponies lived nearby. Rainbow had stayed inside for a little while after the shy one had gone, but she soon got bored, and decided maybe exploring outside wasn't such a bad idea. After all, she had stayed cooped up at her own home everyday, back when she'd still been there. Being outside just to be outside was something she hadn't done in a while, and something she couldn't deny she missed. Quite a lot, actually.
Rainbow had seen the outside of her friend's cottage when she'd first arrived, but she hadn't really made an effort to look at everything. Now that she was doing so, she was pretty impressed at how nice everything was. Fluttershy certainly knew how to keep a yard looking welcoming, even if she didn't have visitors that often. Rainbow couldn't help but wonder if she preferred it that way or not.
She hadn't expected to find the chickens, and wondered why Fluttershy had them. Did she just like chickens? Ponies didn't eat chickens, so she knew they weren't for that purpose; the thought of chickens as food alone was disgusting. Still, that was so weird to her, to have chickens. Maybe it was because she'd been in Cloudsdale so long and wasn't around them that often. In any case, she still stayed by the pin for a few minutes, just looking at them, head tilted in confusion.
Finally, Rainbow Dash gave a sigh and headed down Fluttershy's driveway, toward the entrance of the nearby forest. She'd never been in a forest before, as she'd lived in the sky her whole life, but had always been kind of interested in them. She'd heard other Pegasi talk of them, mostly either about all the horrors in them, or all the wonders. Which of the sides she believed, she didn't know. Still…being here now, right in front of one, she could just find out for herself.
Rainbow waited another short moment, and ever so cautiously took a step forward. Before she could take another, though, she felt a hit to the head, and instantly jumped from the ground in surprise, using her wings now. She quickly turned around to see what had happened, but nothing was there. Her eyes widened a little at the finding, but it wasn't frightening her as much as it was confusing her. Until a small pebble came out of nowhere, and she dodged it just in time.
"Hey!" she said aloud, despite not knowing where it'd come from, or who did it. Something had definitely been thrown at her, though.
The Pegasus looked around this time, and finally stopped when her eyes rested on a small white rabbit on the ground a few feet in front of her. For a moment, she only stared at it, blinking once, magenta hues still wide. It didn't look very happy, but of course, she hadn't seen many rabbits, so she had no idea if this was how they typically looked, or if this rabbit was legitimately unhappy. It wasn't like it mattered, though: the rabbit was the only one around, and thus was the only one that could've thrown the pebbles.
Rainbow snorted in annoyance, coming a little closer as she stayed a few feet above the earth. "What'd I do to you, huh?"
The rabbit only gave a sly smile, though, before hurriedly dashing away from the scene. Maybe it was the smile, maybe it was the pebbles, maybe it was simply that he was one of the only rabbits Rainbow Dash had ever seen, but as soon as he made a run for it, she could do nothing but follow after him.
"Hey! Wait!"
The awkward chase carried on for a few minutes. Rainbow didn't even know why she was chasing the rabbit, really; she was a little annoyed, but it wasn't anything worse than other times, where she'd just brushed it off. Not to mention it was just a rabbit. Still, as silly as it seemed, she wanted to know why the hell this rabbit was throwing pebbles, what the hell his motives were. She'd never had an animal throw anything at her. What could she even do, though? It wasn't like she intended on hurting the rabbit, or expected him to understand her.
Finally, the chase came to an end as the rabbit ran inside a small hole under the side of Fluttershy's cottage, which was much too small for Rainbow to even try fitting into. She still stayed on the outside, though, peeking in as she continued to speak.
"Oh come on! That is so not fair!"
"Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash instantly lifted herself up from the ground at the inquisition, only to see Fluttershy back again and looking very confused. The shy pony looked her friend over, even more confused to see that she was now covered in dirt, and seemed to be quite tired as well. Which, Rainbow Dash certainly was after all that chasing. She blinked, taking a seat and hoping she hadn't done something too bad. A slightly embarrassed blush coated her cheeks.
She answered, "Uhh…hi Fluttershy."
"…What happened?"
"Well…," the blue one looked back over to the side of the cottage again, where the white rabbit had finally poked his head out of the hole he'd been in, and was again, smiling. At this point, though, Rainbow wasn't even annoyed anymore, and she could do nothing but smile as well. Fluttershy stifled a weird giggle as she caught sight of the rabbit.
She said, "Oh. I see you've met Angel Bunny."
"He has a name?"
"Oh yes," Fluttershy nodded, closing her eyes a moment as she kept her smile. "I hope he hasn't caused you any trouble, though…he can be a little mischievous at times. Just don't take anything he does too seriously…"
Rainbow Dash stifled a small, sheepish laugh of her own at the tip, still feeling a bit silly for chasing the rabbit around, even if it had been fun. What she didn't know, however, was that Angel Bunny had only been trying to stop her stupid idea of going into the Everfree Forest, and as he'd successfully done that, he now felt quite proud of himself.
Now that Fluttershy was back with the fruits and vegetables and hay she'd gotten from town, she and Rainbow Dash went back inside the cottage to finally have something to eat. Rainbow took a bath first, though, to get all the dirt and dust out of her coat that she'd gotten into from chasing Angel. Once she finished the bath, she came back into the kitchen where Fluttershy was, and the two shared a meal of hay and apples. Both ponies were hungry, especially Rainbow, who hadn't had anything since she'd left Cloudsdale, so anything edible would've tasted good at the moment.
The ponies talked for a bit about how things had gone at the cottage while Fluttershy was away, but Rainbow Dash changed the direction of the conversation shortly, as she still had something on her mind that she needed to ask her friend about.
"So, um," she began. "Are there any inns around here?"
The yellow Pegasus gave a confused glance at the question. "Inns?"
"Yeah. You know…somewhere I can stay while I'm here?"
She took another bite from the apple she now had, waiting for Fluttershy's response. Fluttershy only kept the confused expression before looking away, though, and keeping her gaze averted for a moment. She almost looked troubled, and it wasn't too long before Rainbow Dash was the confused one. Was it really that hard of a question to answer? Finally, after what seemed like much longer than the short moment it was, Fluttershy responded.
"Oh," she hesitantly looked up again. "U-Um, well…yes, but…you don't like it here?"
Silently, Rainbow sighed. That wasn't what she'd said. Quickly, she answered, trying to remove any accidental rudeness she may have dropped.
"No! I mean, I do like it here, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just gonna be staying here a while, and I need to find someplace."
Fluttershy hesitated. "Well…okay."
The shy pony still didn't seem too happy with the idea, which kept Rainbow in confusion. A moment of silence passed the two; Rainbow continued to glance up at Fluttershy every so often, but nothing changed. She expected Fluttershy would be glad to tell her about places she could stay. Rainbow Dash really didn't want to keep sounding rude with her questions, but… she didn't get it.
"…What is it?" she finally asked.
"O-Oh, it's nothing…"
"…Nothing?"
Fluttershy looked up for a quick second, then away again. There was more silence before she gave a tiny smile, and shook her head a little. She'd actually been a little excited about Rainbow staying at her cottage for a while, as she still didn't have too many friends in Ponyville, due to her shy nature. Rainbow being a lesbian hadn't even crossed her mind as something that was all that big of a deal. She was just happy to see her again. She wanted to help her out, maybe even become better friends, as Rainbow had done so much for her in flight camp, and especially since… Fluttershy took a second to glance down at her cutie mark, and couldn't help but smile a little more.
She continued, "It's really nothing. I just thought you were going to stay here. But it's fine, I can show you some of our lodgings tomorrow, maybe, if you want."
Rainbow's pink eyes widened at the statement, and this time, it was her turn for silence. She was nearly speechless, really; had she heard that correctly?
"Wait… you want me to stay here?"
The yellow pony quickly met her gaze again, almost worriedly. "N-not if you don't want to! It's fine, really, Rainbow Dash."
Unable to speak for a short moment, Rainbow only left her jaw dropped open. She tried again, though, as she didn't want Fluttershy thinking she was the one who wanted to leave.
"That's not what I meant! I mean…" she paused for a breath, suddenly feeling very hopeful about what her friend was getting at. "I-I can stay here! If you want me to. I don't have a problem with it, I just… I didn't think you'd… You really don't mind?"
One thing for sure was that Rainbow had never thought Fluttershy would actually want her to stay. She figured the shy pony wouldn't say anything about it if she asked to stay, but Rainbow wouldn't have dreamed of ever actually asking so much, especially not from the pony who didn't seem to mind her sexuality issues at all. If Fluttershy truly did want her to stay at the cottage, though, Rainbow couldn't deny she'd much rather do that than stay in town, with ponies she didn't know in the slightest.
Fluttershy looked a bit surprised at the words, but quickly, her expression grew into another smile. She stifled a small laugh, quite relieved to know she hadn't run Rainbow off.
"Of course I don't mind," she assured her. "I told you, I don't get many visitors. I'd enjoy the company."
"…Well…then I guess I'll stay! …Thanks!"
With the last response, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but give a small laugh of her own. She hesitated before finishing her apple, still nearly unable to process that she officially had somewhere to stay now, somewhere she'd feel comfortable. But she did. It wasn't a fantasy, or a joke, or a dream. She still felt the same small worry that Fluttershy might just be trying to show hospitality again, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before; the shy pony had seemed nearly sad to find out that Rainbow was actually trying to find another place to stay.
Fluttershy, though she didn't let it show too badly, was very excited about Rainbow staying at her place. She'd never forgotten her, not only because of flight camp, but also because she'd always held Rainbow at least partially responsible for helping her discover her cutie mark. She loved Rainbow. Not in a way that was more than the friendship she wanted to have with her, but nevertheless, she did. Fluttershy had never even expected to see her again, and now that she was here, visiting her town, seeking out her help, she wanted nothing but to be able to help her as much as she'd done in the past. She'd never be able to thank her enough. But for the brave mare she admired so much, she could try.
When the two ponies finished their food, Fluttershy gave her new roommate a real tour of the cottage, as it was officially her home as well now, at least for a while. Neither of them knew at the moment how soon that would change, or if it would change at all, given that Rainbow was only visiting. But it wasn't something they needed to worry about at the moment. At the moment, both of them were content, and, especially for Rainbow, that was all that was currently needed.