Fluttershy could hardly believe her ears.
Her ears had rarely done anything to lead her astray before, to be honest. They were good, dependable ears, picking up every sound that they needed to. This time, though, she was sure that they had heard something incorrectly. She stared at her marefriend, trying to comprehend what she might have actually said. It certainly wasn't the sentence she'd thought she heard, that was for sure. Nopony, not even Twilight, would come to her and legitimately ask that.
"Um...Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, after giving her a good window of time to respond. "Can you do it?"
"Um...d-do what?" Fluttershy asked. She regretted that response instantly. Twilight would see right through this playing-dumb routine. Sure enough, Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Fluttershy, I'm sure you heard me," Twilight said. Then she cast her eyes downwards. "...Should I take that as a no?"
"No, no..." Fluttershy felt herself respond. As unsure as she was about what she thought she'd heard, the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Twilight. That was the problem, though. If she was to do what Twilight was requesting of her, she was sure to disappoint her.
"Then is it a yes?" Twilight asked eagerly. Fluttershy sighed.
"...Why me?" Fluttershy finally managed to ask. "There are so many other ponies that could teach you to fly better than I can..."
"Like who?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy carefully studied Twilight's response for a hint of sarcasm, only responding once she had failed to find any.
"Um...Rainbow Dash?" Shy offered.
"Rainbow Dash? Really?" Twilight asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"Um...she's the best flyer in Equestria..." Fluttershy told her.
"Well, yes, she's very good," Twilight answered, taking a seat on Shy's couch. "But that's the thing. When you're dealing with a physical activity like flying, you don't send a beginner to the pony who's the most skilled at it. If I went to learn from Rainbow Dash, she'd probably try to go right into tricks, and I'm nowhere near ready for that." Fluttershy nodded a bit. She supposed that made sense.
"...What about Spitfire?" she offered.
"Same situation, Fluttershy," Twilight responded with a smirk. "The captain of the Wonderbolts is a bit above my talent level."
"...Princess Celestia?" Shy whispered. Twilight sighed.
"If you don't want to teach me, you don't have to," Twilight said quietly, looking away.
"It's not that..." the pegasus said, resting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.
"Then what is it?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy opened her mouth, then looked away, ashamed.
"...I'm not a very good flyer," Shy said. "I don't know why you'd want to learn from me...when I'm so bad at it..." She sighed a heavy sigh, then looked up to gauge Twilight's reaction. For her part, Twilight wore a look of confusion on her face.
"Really, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "Of course you're a good flyer." Fluttershy tried to smile, but failed.
"It really is nice of you to say that, Twilight..." the pegasus said. "B-but you don't have to lie just because we're together...I know the truth. I'm the wrong mare for the job." Fluttershy sighed again, her ears drooping. She felt Twilight take her hoof.
"You're the perfect pony for this job, sweetheart," Twilight said softly. Now it was Fluttershy's turn to be confused.
"What?" Shy asked, raising a brow. "Um...why?"
"Fluttershy..." Twilight began. "Who was the pony who flew around when we were doing the whole Mare-Do-Well deal?"
"Um...that wasn't much..." Shy said, rubbing at her mane with a hoof. "It was just a little flight..."
"And who helped Ponyville's pegasi with the hurricane when it looked like they wouldn't have enough wingpower?" Twilight asked, rubbing Shy's hoof gently.
"I-it wasn't much...only just barely enough to get the hurricane going," Fluttershy replied, though she was beginning to smile a little.
"And who was able to pull a hot air balloon fast enough to catch up to Rainbow Dash, of all ponies?" Twilight continued, giving Shy's hoof a little kiss.
"W-well...Discord was being a big meanie..." Shy squeaked, blushing brightly. Her smile grew a bit more as she looked into her love's eyes.
"It doesn't matter why, sweetheart," Twilight told her, scootching a bit closer and leaning against Fluttershy. "Even though you might not think it to be true, you're a good flyer when the situation calls for it. But that isn't even why I'm choosing you."
"Then why are you?" Fluttershy asked, looking deep into her eyes.
"Because you're just what I want in a teacher for something like this," Twilight said. "You're sweet and kind, and you'll be gentle with me when I inevitably make mistakes. You may not be the fastest flyer, or the best at stunts, but you're naturally graceful, and you look absolutely natural and lovely when you fly." She gave Fluttershy's nose a kiss. "And I can't think of a single pony I'd rather learn to fly from than you."
Fluttershy didn't have a proper response. She just hugged Twilight, nuzzlng just under her chin. Twilight grinned and hugged back, stroking Shy's mane.
"So does that mean you'll do it?" Twilight asked, smirking. Fluttershy nodded, leaning into the hug.
"We'll start tomorrow," she said. "Right now, I just want to stay here with you."
Twilight, somehow, didn't have much of a complaint against this.