I hope Fluttershy isn’t too upset at me.
Rainbow Dash flew above Ponyville, her rainbow-colored mane and tail rapidly waving behind her as she searched the entire town for her shy friend. She checked the shopping stands, the spa, and several different meadows. She even checked her friends’ homes. But she was nowhere to be seen. But the blue Pegasus wasn’t worried. That meant there was only one place left for her to check.
She flew as fast as she could towards the Everfree Forest. Her magenta eyes spotted a small cottage in the distance and she headed straight for it. She slowed down her speed and ended up crashing into the ground and almost falling into the small stream.
“Ow,” she said, trying to rub the slight pain out of her head. She brushed as much dirt off of her as she could before checking her wings. She flapped them a couple times to get the dirt off before hovering into the air. She flew to the front door and dropped onto her hooves. By now she started to feel nervous.
I hope she is willing to accept my apology. She started playing her apology in her head, thinking of how to say it. She thought of several different options, until she decided to give up and just wing it.
She raised her hoof slowly and knocked on the door. She listened for the sound of hoof steps, but there was nothing. She knocked a little harder, and heard somepony coming to the door. Rainbow started to worry that this was not going to work. She started having second thoughts. But the moment the door opened, she knew there was no turning back.
The yellow Pegasus poked her head out of the door, her pick mane flowing in the light wind. “Rainbow Dash?” she said quietly. She looked rather surprised. Then she smiled. “You aren’t usually up this early.”
Rainbow looked at the mare like it was the dumbest thing she said. “It’s 9:00.”
“Exactly,” Fluttershy said, chuckling lightly. Rainbow shrugged and smiled. Her friend did have a point. She always liked to sleep in until around noon, often missing breakfast. This was part of the reason for her eating habits. “Come on in.”
As Rainbow entered the house, she was slightly confused. Fluttershy seemed happy to see her. She thought she would have been a bit afraid of what Rainbow Dash would say. But she seemed glad that she arrived. Was her apology really necessary in this case?
“Did you want something? Should I make you some tea?” The yellow mare started walking towards the kitchen, with a bunch of small rodents following right behind.
“Uh, no thanks, I’m good. I, uh... I kinda wanted to talk to you.” Rainbow was getting more nervous by the minute. She sat down on the couch.
“Oh? About what?” Fluttershy walked to the couch and sat down next to the blue mare.
“Well, about... yesterday.” Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground. “About how I acted.”
“Oh. Well, I know you made a completely reckless move, but I’ve already taken care of it.” Fluttershy placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
Rainbow sighed and snapped at the shy pony. “Not the dragon!” Fluttershy’s hoof jerked away and she stared at her friend, shocked. The blue Pegasus sighed again, putting her hoof to her own face, mentally yelling at herself. “No, I mean how I treated you.”
Fluttershy’s mood dropped slightly as she remembered the events of yesterday. “Oh.”
Both ponies were silent for a moment as Rainbow Dash was thinking of what to say. “So, I kind of wanted to say that... well, I know that I wasn’t exactly being very nice to you, and... uh...” Come on, just get it over with! “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” Well that was easy.
Fluttershy sadly looked down at the ground. “No, don’t be. You were right. I am scared of so many things that it does tend to annoy ponies. But I never meant to irritate you with all of my silly fears. You were right in saying I shouldn’t have gone.”
Rainbow never expected a response like this. “No, Fluttershy, you should have come with us, and you did. I mean, sure I can sometimes get a little bit annoyed with your fears, but I was just being a total jerk about it. It was mostly because I wanted to hurry the mission up and just get it over with. But we had to slow down for you. I just got impatient. Honestly, bringing you was the right thing to do. The way you handled that dragon was totally awesome. I have never been happier to have had you with us.”
Fluttershy didn’t seem to feel any better. In fact she looked a bit sadder. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow said in a concerned tone. “What’s wrong?”
The yellow mare looked at her friend. “Well, you are all my friends, right?”
Rainbow Dash was clueless as to why Fluttershy would ask this. The answer was obvious. “Of course.”
“And you all respect me?”
“Yeah.”
“And you all think my opinions matter?”
“Yes.”
“And if I desperately wanted to stay here instead of going out to face something that scares me the most, would you respect my decision?”
The blue mare stared at her friends with her mouth hanging open. She looked down at her hooves. She could see where this was going.
Fluttershy looked at the floor. Her eyes started to tear up as she hid her face behind her mane. “That’s what I thought. More than anything, I didn’t want to go up to face that dragon. I said I wanted to stay, but none of you would listen. You forced me to come along with you. It’s like...” She started sniffling, and her pitch went up a bit. “... like my opinion doesn’t matter at all. I’m not allowed to have my own say in things. Even when I admitted to being afraid of dragons, you just... acted like it was the...” She was now starting to sob. “... the stupidest thing to be afraid of. You... just—Nopony cares about anything I have to say. Do none of you... ever care about... about my... feelings?”
Fluttershy’s body shook as she tried to quiet her sobs. Rainbow could only sit there and watch, unsure of what to do. She had never concerned herself with Fluttershy’s consent because Twilight was the one who took the lead. But her friend was right. Her opinion was just as important as anypony else’s. Why didn’t they know that? What kind of friends were they if they wouldn’t listen to their friend? They knew how sensitive she was, and not just to words spoken to her, but to whether her friends would listen to her own words. And she had known Fluttershy since they were fillies. She, of all ponies, should have listened.
The blue mare just stared at her friend. What should she do now? She couldn’t stand to see her friend like this. Feeling a little nervous, she slid herself closer to the crying pony. Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice, or at least she was too busy crying to acknowledge it. She inched closer... and closer... and closer, until Fluttershy threw her hooves around her.
Rainbow was caught off guard. She had never really been much of a hugger. Well, she didn’t really mind joining in group hugs sometimes with her friends. But this was different. One of her friends was upset and seeking comfort, but she didn’t exactly know how to give it.
She slowly wrapped her hooves around her friend and decided that it would be best to let her friend cry into her shoulder. This time, though, she would have to be more patient. As Fluttershy continued to sob, Rainbow Dash had plenty of time to think about what her friend had said. Sooner or later, she and her other friends were going to have to start listening more.
“Look, Fluttershy, we all do care about your feelings and your opinions. It’s just that sometimes, we kinda forget to listen. One pony’s feelings and opinions are just as important as anypony else’s. We should have let you have your say.”
Fluttershy's crying stopped as she looked at Rainbow Dash with red eyes. Rainbow spoke again. "However, if you didn't come, we would never have been able to get rid of that dragon. The five of us would most likely have been killed." She looked down at the floor in shame. "And that would have been my fault. If anyone was to stay here, it should have been me."
Fluttershy pulled away from her friend and thought about this for a moment. As much as she feared dragons, she feared losing her friends much more. If she had stayed, her friends wouldn't be here now. And if that happened, she would never forgive herself. She knew yesterday that she couldn't lose her friends, but she would never have had the courage to face up to that dragon.
Fluttershy felt uncomfortable with this mixture of emotions. She wanted her friends to be safe, but she was afraid to go where there would be danger. She always felt safe at home, but she couldn't stand the thought of her safe in Ponyville while her friends would be out on a dangerous mission.
The shy mare became so confused, new tears started coming down. "You're right, Rainbow Dash. If I stayed here, you all would have died, and I would never be able to forgive myself. I don't want to lose you, but I am also too scared to go where there is danger. I just... I don't..."
Fluttershy placed her head in her hooves, letting out shuttering breaths. Rainbow Dash sighed as she tried her best to not seem annoyed by Fluttershy's crying. She placed a leg over her friend's shoulders.
"Look Fluttershy, there are many things that ponies are afraid of that they are gonna have to face. I know it can be hard, but sometimes, it has to be done." Fluttershy looked up at her as she continued. "But yeah, that doesn't give us a right to force you to come along with us. But there will be times when we need you there with us."
"Well, I wouldn't want to be a burden to anyone."
"If I hear you call yourself a burden again, you and I are gonna have some trouble between us. The point is that there are times when you will have to face your fears. I know you are scared of a lot of things, but you can sure show some guts sometimes. But listen, don't let us make your decisions for you. Okay?"
Fluttershy was utterly stunned by Rainbow Dash's words. All of this from the pony who was hardly scared of anything? It was... strange, but as Fluttershy let her words sink in, she was definitely feeling much better.
"Wow, Rainbow Dash, I never expected this kind of talk from you."
Rainbow's eyes widened as she realized the same thing. She just gave her friend a nervous smile. "Yeah, I know. And if you tell anypony, there's going to be some trouble."
Fluttershy chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."
They spent a few moments in silence. Rainbow Dash, however broke it. " So, uh... yeah, sorry for being a complete jerk yesterday."
Fluttershy smiled at her friend. "It's okay Rainbow Dash. I forgive you." To prove it, she gave her friend a quick hug.
Rainbow felt a sense of accomplishment for helping out her friend. She would see to it that things change a little more when a mission comes up. She certainly learned her lesson. The others would have too.
Now there's an idea.
She pulled out of the hug. "Hey Fluttershy, maybe we should tell the others about what we talked about. It seems that there is another lesson to send to the princess."
Fluttershy stood up from her couch, thinking about her answer. Rainbow Dash stood as well smiling at her friend as she smile back. She nodded as she answered her friend.
"Yes."