We talk until the sun goes down, and then a little longer still. Fluttershy is a friend with whom I can natter on and on to, and she will still listen. Whether it be worries, secrets, or plain gossip, Fluttershy is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear. Today, I revealed a personal secret of mine, and she took it in her stride. I've not met another mare as considerate and caring as she.
Eventually, after all our tea is gone and our topics exhausted, I feel it is time for me to return home once again. But first, I mustn't forget the gift for Fluttershy that has been waiting months to be given.
"Thank you so much for coming today, Rarity," Fluttershy says as I put on my saddlebags. "You know that I enjoy your company very much."
"Believe me, Fluttershy," I respond, "I love your company as well. Especially our meditation. In fact . . ." I dig about in my saddlebags to retrieve a small box covered in velvet. With my magic, I move it from my saddlebags to the floor in front of Fluttershy. "Let me show you just how much I appreciate that," I finish.
Fluttershy gasps and looks at the box, wide-eyed. "R-Rarity, you shouldn't have!" she squeaks out.
I sit down in front of Fluttershy, the box between us. "It has been a year since we started meditating together, and since then, you have improved my life in so many wonderful ways. I have never been so calm, so serene, so at peace before. Meditation is a wonderful skill that I would have never been introduced to without you. I've even gotten better at picking up social cues because of it!
"But most of all, thank you for being my best friend . . . No, thank you for being the companion with whom I can share my life with. That is a gift of which I can never adequately express how thankful I am for, but perhaps—" I push the box closer to Fluttershy "—this will be a good start."
Fluttershy continues to stare at the box for several more moments. Eventually, slowly, gingerly, she reaches out a hoof to open the box. When the box snaps open, she immediately brings both of her hooves to her mouth and gasps again.
Inside the box is a necklace. Its crowning jewel is a small, flawless, marquise-cut diamond set in a discreet platinum head attached to a golden chain.
I drape the pendant over a hoof to show it to Fluttershy; the stone scintillates in the light. "I had this pendant made especially for you. I know how you like simple jewelry, so I made sure that this necklace matches your tastes. It is no ordinary piece of jewelry, either. With Twilight's power and my expertise, I enchanted the diamond with a spell specifically attuned to you that I think you will find quite useful." With that, I slowly lower the pendant onto Fluttershy's neck with my hooves.
The moment it touches her coat, she gasps for a third time and staggers back, a look of wonder on her face. She is surely feeling the effects of the enchantment now. It took a considerable amount of time and research on both mine and Twilight's part to develop, but the spell I put on the diamond was a sense-augmentation spell. Right now, Fluttershy is experiencing what it feels like to have tenfold-enhanced hearing.
Happy tears start streaming down Fluttershy's face. She remains motionless for several minutes, surely listening to all the things that she couldn't hear before. Eventually, Fluttershy recovers from her stupor and brings up her hooves to gingerly remove the pendant and put it back into its box.
She looks at the jewelry in its open box for a moment before launching herself at me. I catch her in a full-bodied hug, and we tumble to the ground. Tearful but happy, Fluttershy whispers, "Thank you, Rarity. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," I whisper back, and I embrace her tightly with all four of my hooves.
We hug for a long, long while. During that time, I consider why I have never tried reading Fluttershy's nonverbal language before. I don't think I ever have because I've never had a need to read her. Much like I reveal my secrets to her, she reveals hers to me. I've never needed to glean information from Fluttershy because she gives it to me freely.
But now, I remember how Fluttershy just barely gnashed her teeth together when we hugged the first time; it’s never quite left my mind. Why would she ever be nervous around me? Even though I want to believe that I never heard that tell, I can't shake the feeling that, in this instance, Fluttershy is hiding something from me.
Reluctantly and guiltily, I begin trying to read Fluttershy's tells. It feels like I'm violating her privacy, and I feel terrible for it. Nevertheless, I continue. If Fluttershy is feeling nervous at all around me, I need to know why so I can talk to her about it.
"Thank you, Fluttershy, for being such a good friend to me. I love you," I say, trying to set up a response that I can read from her. I hate treating her as if she is a test subject, but it is necessary for me to figure out the truth.
Given how quiet Fluttershy normally is, I have to listen very closely to detect anything at all. The first thing that I do notice is that teeth gnashing again. I did not make up this tell the first time; it seems that Fluttershy really is at least a little bit uneasy. I also hear that she swallows right after I say my part, indicating deception. Please, Fluttershy, I trust you with my life, and I think you do with me as well; why are you hiding things from me now?
But, so faint that I can barely notice, on the last vestiges of her exhaled breath, I hear the echo of a tremor. It's so subtle that I couldn't have heard it in any other position, but with my ear so close to Fluttershy's face as it is now, the sign is definitely there. She's thinking of romance right now.
I recall back to earlier in the day. This pattern of tells that I'm recognizing now is remarkably similar to the one I noticed in Toe Tapper when he first came to my Boutique. He was suppressing thoughts of romance from me at that time, and it seems that now, Fluttershy is doing the same thing. Though her tells are quieter, they are very much there, and I have seen them hundreds of times in dozens of other ponies. As subtle as they are, I am certain I am not misinterpreting them.
But why, Fluttershy? Why would you hide those thoughts from me? We reveal secrets to each other all the time, and it's not like you haven't told me more embarrassing things about love before. A few weeks ago, you revealed to me that you have always been gay; how could a secret crush be any worse than that?
Unless you think that I wouldn't approve of the target of your love. You know that I would support you, regardless of your choice, right? The only reason I can think of that you would hide this from me is if I was the tar—
Oh no. Oh no-no-no-no-no.
It takes all my willpower not to wrench myself away from Fluttershy's hooves then and there. The realization hits me hard, and before long, I'm the one gnashing my teeth in nervousness.
What's the appropriate response to a friend whom you've just discovered is in love with you?