Start of April, 1005 A.D. (After Discord)
The sound of the crowd faded as the canary mare focused on her studious friend. Twilight’s body was tense as she stood before the two pegasi. At the sight of the anxious unicorn, Rainbow Dash landed from her place in the sky to stand beside the other pegasus.
“What do you mean, ‘depressed’?” Rainbow frowned, causing a flicker of fear in the other pegasus for a second.
Fluttershy had long ago associated that frown with yelling and stubborn denial. Twilight, not reading or knowing all the signs, lowered her voice further as she continued to speak.
“Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure, we would have to test for it, but the other Cutie Mark Crusaders stopped by the library earlier today and were checking medicine books. Scootaloo hadn’t been acting like herself for a while and they wanted to see if it was an illness.” Twilight’s tone grew stiff and lecturing like when she spoke of science and learning. She tried to watch both of her friends at the same time but most of her focused gaze was on Rainbow Dash. “When they compared the symptoms with that of depression, it seemed like the correct hypothesis. I know you’ve been helping care for her, which is why I wanted to check with you first Rainbow…”
The unicorn took an unsure step forward. The prismatic mare frowned deeper and shook her head. “But… but she doesn’t seem… -”
“Sometimes… cheerfulness is… a mask…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice cut off her old time friend, causing the others to stare worryingly at her. Rainbow Dash slowly frowned while Twilight shifted uneasily.
“Uhm, would you want any assistance? I have some great reference books…” The unicorn shifted at the blank stares she got in return. “Uh, well, you know I’m here if you ever need a friend…”
Rainbow waved breezily before turning back to focus on her old friend.
“Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind, but me and Fluttershy got this. Thanks Twi’, we’ll see you around.” The sky blue pegasus zeroed in on the other pegasus with sharp concerned eyes. “Was there… Something you wanna talk about Fluttershy?”
The pink haired animal caretaker whimpered, letting her mane break the staring contest. This didn’t stop the cerise eyes from focusing solely on the mare in front of them.
“Fluttershy…”
“You were gone…” The muted response was almost lost in the crowd but since sharp blue ears were trained on the quieter mare, it wasn’t missed.
“Wha-what do you mean?” Rainbow’s ears flicked back as anxiety began to fill her mind.
“You were gone!” Fluttershy closed her eyes as the words were expelled in a rush of air. “You were gone and I had to pretend it didn’t matter.”
Dash’s eyebrows clenched down for a second at the topic before schooling into a neutral manner once more. Glancing around, her muzzle scrunched at the crowd that began to peer curiously towards the two pegasi.
“Alright. I guess… we need to talk. But maybe not in the middle of the street?” A blue hoof waved to show her meaning. A gasp later and Dash found herself standing over the cowering pale-yellow mare who had only just remembered where they stood. Sighing briefly with a roll of her eyes, Rainbow nudged her best friend with a hoof. “Come on, let’s go to my place to talk.”
“O-ok… Oh! Wait, I told Scootaloo I would go and check on how she was doing!” Fluttershy almost immediately lost her frightened stance as the reminder of her promise ran through her mind.
Rainbow scowled briefly as she glanced to the side. She exhaled gustily, closing her eyes for a second, before turning to face the shy pegasus. Continuing to tug on Fluttershy’s hoof, she walked instead of flying, heading towards the small house on the western side of town.
“Alright. We’ll talk there after talking with Scootaloo.” Dash glanced around and noticed the medical tome left behind by the studious unicorn. Fluttershy smiled hesitantly before dropping lower and cautiously following her old time friend and crush.
The two mares drew a few curious gazes as they traveled through town. Though it was mostly the sight of the infamous Rainbow Dash walking anyway that gave most ponies pause. They didn’t notice the stares however, as each mare was lost in her thoughts about the event that took place over six years ago.
I… I finally get to hear what caused her to leave… But am I ready to learn about it…? But it was my selfish desire to know… Fluttershy anxiously nibbled on her lip as she demurely followed her friend. Even as worry weighed her every step, she couldn't help but have a tiny flicker of hope that she might finally get some kind of resolution.
Soon, both mares arrived at the doorstep of the single floored home. Giving a swift knock and shout of ‘It’s Rainbow Dash, kiddo’ to warn the occupant, the blue mare entered and glanced about for the young filly. Fluttershy followed closely behind her, making sure to shut the door behind them.
The sound of three sets of hooves on the floor drew their attention to the bedroom. The Crusaders exited with sheepish smiles, though Scootaloo, who stood in the middle, still hunched closer to the ground. The sight of other fillies made Rainbow pause in her advancement, eyebrows twitching down in confusion before going back into a neutral face. Fluttershy however, stepped forward with a gentle smile.
“Hello girls. Did everything turn out ok?”
“Yeah, we apologized to one another.” Scootaloo spoke up once she saw her friends were waiting for her to answer. “We were just playing some Gone Fishing.” The other fillies nodded agreement, tiny smiles on their muzzles.
For a moment, everypony fell silent, unsure of what to say next while the issue at hoof remained unaddressed. The trio of fillies shuffled on their hooves, gaze dropping down every so often as the adults thought about what to do next. The chime of the town clock broke the stillness, causing both adults to look in the direction of the clocktower.
“Oh my, it’s already noon! Have you girls eaten anything yet? Perhaps Rainbow Dash and I can start on a meal for everypony…?” Fluttershy, realizing Dash may not know what to do still, took the lead with a small smile. Though her grin flickered for a second when the prismatic mare didn’t make any comment and nodded silently. Fluttershy checked on the fillies before them and also found agreement to her suggestion. Nodding to herself, she nudged her old time friend with her shoulder, pushing the cobalt pegasus towards the kitchen.
The two mares left the girls in the living room and began to prep for a quick lunch. While Rainbow grabbed plates, cups and utensils, Fluttershy checked the fridge and shelves for what was available. Finding only basic foods that made simple imbalanced meals, she glanced to the other pegasus, confusion evident in her eyes along with the unspoken question.
“What? I went and bought food that the squirt and I could cook.” Dash was quick to understand the glance and shrugged defensively. “We don’t all have your cooking skills.” The brash mare tried to temper her words with a teasing smirk, though it only served to exasperate the mare.
“Yes Rainbow, but instant-oats is not very good for a growing filly.” Fluttershy grabbed the few vegetables and began to make a simple salad. “I’ll help get some groceries tomorrow. If you could, stop by and look at what I buy? So you know some of the proper diet for a growing pegasus?”
The shy mare couldn’t face her friend as she asked for more of the speedster’s time. The sigh and eye roll, even though it went unseen, that answered her request caused Fluttershy flinch in worry. Rainbow, watching from the table in the middle of the kitchen, noticed and expanded on her answer.
“Alright, alright… I’ll see what kinds of food to get from now on.” The pegasus checked that the girls were still in the living room, not listening to the adults talk, and leaned closer to the animal caretaker. “After lunch, if the kids are still playing, let’s find a cloud and have that talk you wanted, ok? Then we can come back and talk some more with Scoots.”
Fluttershy blushed as she nodded her agreement. She couldn’t turn from the counter where she was chopping the ingredients, so she made sure the head shake was pronounced for the other mare’s benefit. Biting her lip gently, the canary mare focused on the veggies, trying to silence her inner voice that was squeeing at how the rendezvous sounded.
In moments, the two adults had the meal ready to go and called for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to join them at the table. They didn’t really have enough chairs for everypony, so Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood while Scootaloo sat in one of the smaller armchairs they had to bring over. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both had the regular wooden chairs, having argued that the hurt pegasus should have the most comfortable seating.
“You guys going to hang out here for most of the day?” Rainbow smirked to the trio, though she kept her main gaze on the orange filly.
Scootaloo looked up from her barely touched food and slowly turned to her friends. Seeing the cheerful expressions that obviously held back from demanding anything from the young pegasus, Scootaloo shrugged.
“Uh, guess so. If, that’s uh, ok?” The pegasus could barely return the curious gaze of the sky blue mare.
“No worries kid, you guys can all chill here. Me and Fluttershy are going to talk and get some more food, more than what I’ve already got.” Rainbow playfully rolled her eyes. Seeing that this got a tiny chuckle from the exhausted filly, the blue mare chuckled herself. “Look kid, you may be tired, but you should still try to do things. Even if they are just boring stuff or stuff you don’t think you should bother with.”
Scootaloo smiled briefly before returning to her plate and poking at her meal. The others ate their meal just as slowly, keeping a wary eye on the orange filly. Scoot didn’t notice this attention, focusing on her food in front of her. Fluttershy frowned at how much she was actually eating and tried to gain the older speedster’s attention. When Dash finally did glance towards the quieter mare, Flutters jerked her head minutely towards the door. Rainbow scowled in thought before remembering her other mission. She nodded discreetly back and took a step back from the table. Ruffling the orange filly’s mane, Dash led the way out. Fluttershy smiling goodbye to the girls as she followed along.
Once the two mares were outside, Rainbow made sure the door was firmly shut before taking flight. She kept her speed slow however, in order to make sure Fluttershy was able to keep up. Hearing the sound of another set of wingbeats behind her, Dash glanced about for a cloud she could move into place. Using a breath’s worth of time, Rainbow grabbed the cloud and pulled it to hover over the small house. Fluttershy bit her lip once more at the gesture and flew up to join the other pegasus on the cloud.
“Alright Fluttershy… We should be good to talk about anything at this point.” Rainbow sat beside the shy pegasus, ears tipped back and cerise eyes unable to make full contact.
Fluttershy noticed this hesitance and hunched down, hooves in front of her and eyes downcast. Rainbow noticed this and sighed, sagging for a second before going to lay down beside her best friend. Tipping over to nudge the flustered animal caretaker, Dash peered curiously to her old friend.
“Did you still want to hear what happened?” Rainbow waited for the twitch of a nod to continue. The pink mane was between the two friends, breaking eye contact and providing a wall for the timid mare to hide behind.
“... I was scared.”
The soft statement shook Fluttershy from her anxiety. Tilting her head back to create an opening in her hair, the timid mare peeked at her neighbor in surprise. Rainbow noticed this and smirked sadly.
“Yeah, I know. ‘Rainbow Dash, afraid? What was she afraid of?’” Dash leaned forward, resting her head onto her hooves. “But I was afraid. I was afraid of losing my edge. My willingness to push the boundaries and go to the extreme... I was afraid of losing what made me ‘me’.”
“What… Who would you have become? Why would you lose yourself?” Fluttershy inched closer. Hesitantly, she put a hoof onto one of the blue ones, trying to reassure the speeding pegasus. Rainbow smiled ruefully, before focusing back towards the ground.
“I would have become a mare who would be very different than I am now. I’m all about speed and awesomeness right now, but had I stayed, I-I wouldn’t have been.” The prismatic head lifted, troubled gaze looking to the horizon. “With my-... with my dad gone, there was nopony else who would push me to the extreme. Nopony who would help me be even awesomer. I… I would have gone soft.”
Fluttershy winced and pulled away, teal eyes filling with sadness. “So… because if you had stayed with me, you would become a different mare that you don’t like? Somepony who is… ‘lame’?”
Rainbow’s head jerked up and to the side where the timid mare lay. Her wings shot out in surprise as her eyes went wide.
“What?! Wait- no, well, maybe that was true at the time, but it’s different now!” Cerise eyes sought out and found watery teal ones.
“W-what do you mean?”
“I… Well, maybe I don’t want to slow down or lose all the awesomeness that I’ve built up. But it wasn’t-... It wasn’t very fun being on my own... I missed my best friend…” Rainbow closed the gap once more and leaned into the canary mare. Fluttershy was surprised and didn’t respond at first. But then she melted into the lean and smiled sadly, accepting one of the few times Dash was willing to be mushy.
“I can’t leave… I won’t leave… It’s too hard to be without my best friend. I may have been afraid to lose myself before, but now there’s no way I can be without you again… Not for a long time at least...” Rainbow titled her head away as a blush covered her muzzle. Though she made sure to continue leaning against Fluttershy.
“I… I couldn’t take that you had left.” Fluttershy didn’t move from her spot, her hooves resting over top of the blue ones. “I… I already said that Hoops, Dumb-Bell and Score didn’t leave me alone while you were gone… But I couldn’t live with myself with you gone.”
Rainbow opened her mouth, about to try and say something, anything, that she could. Fluttershy forestalled this by tightening her hooves over top of Rainbow’s.
“You were-are… my best friend. My only friend. The one that brightened my day… Without, things went dark.” Fluttershy winced and dug her head closer to Dash’s chest. Rainbow frowned worriedly and lifted her hoof to enwrap the yellow head and bring her closer.
“What do you mean…?” The blue mare whispered, not quite understanding and almost unwilling to.
“... I became depressed. I didn’t know why I should keep going when my best friend couldn’t and wouldn’t stay…” The quiet mare scrunched her muzzle as she tried to keep back tears from the old pain. “I had to pretend all was well for many years in the orphanage. There were times when it was hard to pretend, but I didn’t want to cause anypony else trouble…”
Rainbow’s heart sunk faster than a rock in water. She felt it jam next to her stomach, which put up a fuss only to scrunch up in fear. Closing her eyes, Dash inhaled, trying to calm her mind and not freak out.
“Are… Are you doing better now? Or… uh?” The speedster trailed off, not sure what the proper response is. She felt the shy mare chuckle lightly and relaxed from her worried stiffness.
“Yes Dashie, I’ve managed to recover… For the most part. It never really goes away, but if you focus on what you can do, you can start to live as normally as you could, considering.” Fluttershy sighed. She turned to look out across the town, though she stayed under the cobalt pegasus’ head. “If we want to help Scootaloo, we are going to need to try and show her what she can do. It is going to be hard and I can’t always be the one doing all the work…”
“Yeah, I know… I’ll try to step up my game…” Rainbow sighed and shrugged her shoulders as much as she could while holding Fluttershy close.
“Rainbow. It’s not a game.” The stern tone surprised the brash pegasus.
“I know, I know...Just how I talk, you know that.” Rainbow tried to keep her voice neutral even as she rolled her eyes.
“Yes. But I wanted to make sure you remember that.” Fluttershy pressed into the blue mare’s chest before pushing away and sitting upright once more. “We better head back and talk with Scootaloo about the future.”
Together, the two mares floated down, with Dash throwing a kick to the cloud to break it apart. They opened the door quickly and found the girls were back in the living room with the cards. Rainbow took a quick peek and found that the girls had already taken care of the dishes and nodded once sharply. Stepping back out, she found Fluttershy was checking on Scootaloo’s leg. Rainbow sat on the edge of the room, furrowing her brow in thought.
Now what did Cheerilee say about what was going on with the kid…? Fighting in school, lack of attention… ah, right, failing. Homework and tests I think… Pony, am I the wrong mare for that job… I was barely keeping ahead when ‘Shy was helping me… Dash peeked at the pink maned mare only to find Fluttershy was looking back curiously. Grinning sheepishly, the speedster waved a wing to silently call over the other grownup. Maybe she has some ideas…?
“Hey Fluttershy? Cheerilee said Scootaloo was falling behind on her schoolwork. But you know me, I’m horrible at homework. Any, uh, suggestions…?” Rainbow asked quietly, keeping a cautious eye on the other mare.
Fluttershy tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. Checking on the other pegasus, she found Dash waiting patiently and quietly, on edge for any issue that may suddenly come up. Smiling gently, the caretaker also kept her voice low as she responded, though it wasn’t as difficult for the naturally quiet mare.
“Well, I know you always had issues with school work… But Scootaloo had been doing ok before. It may have been the depression that started causing her problems.” Teal eyes swiveled to the young filly sitting between her two best friends. “Maybe if you showed her that she could do it herself, then things will get back on track? Possibly?”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow tilted her head in curiosity as she also looked to the orange filly.
“Well… uhm, if you asked her to help explain it to you, then maybe she’ll, uh, find she can… do it… herself… eeep…!” Fluttershy ducked behind her mane as disbelieving cerise orbs turned rapidly in her direction.
Dash rolled her eyes with a sigh at the sudden fear of rebuttal. Even she knew that she had never been good with school work nor interested in the past. Actually admitting it to one of her greatest fans was a little embarrassing though. If it means helping the kid, then I guess it’s worth it.
Ducking her head with another sigh, the sky blue pegasus spoke just loud enough for the mare beside her to hear. “Alright, so maybe that might work. Don’t really like the idea, but I’ll give it a try.”
Fluttershy perked up, shifting her mane out of the way to gaze hopefully to the other mare. Seeing the tiny grin on Dash’s face, one also grow on the yellow pegasus. Receiving a bump of appreciation and thanks, Fluttershy watched with tiny smile in place as Rainbow walked over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders and gave Scootaloo a nuggie.
“Alright fillies, Scoots and I have some work to get to tonight, so it’s time to head out. She can play tomorrow after school.” Rainbow stayed beside the orange filly who looked up in confusion. When she saw the reassuring smirk, the young pegasus settled down, happy to know she wasn’t in trouble.
“Alright, we’ll see ya later Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom gave her friend a swift hug before waiting for the unicorn.
“Please don’t feel like you’re alone…” Sweetie Belle’s embrace lasted long enough for both fillies to gain a red hue over their muzzles, though for different reasons.
“Thanks you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow…” Scootaloo smiled tiredly, embarrassed at the hugs, though grateful all the same.
“I’d better check on my animals too.” Fluttershy gave both of the other pegasi a quick nuzzle, laughing in her mind at the stunned and bashful faces they both made. “I’ll come back later and see how things are going, ok?”
The last line was directed more towards the rainbow maned pegasus who rolled her eyes playfully before smirking. The two remaining pegasi watched Fluttershy leave before turning to look at one another.
“Heh heh, so, I thought we could work on some, uh, homework.” Rainbow tried to sound casual about the topic. It didn’t work. Scootaloo gave the older mare a confused frown. Dash’s only reaction to the disbelief was to scratch her head sheepishly.
“What’s going on…?” Scootaloo could barely get any energy to question her idol, though her curiosity was helping her feel a little more active.
Dash sighed and sank in her place, dropping her hoof from her ruffled mane. “Alright, so maybe not very subtle…”
Scootaloo raised a teasing brow as she remained silent. Dash sighed once more before sitting upright. She turned in place to face the filly full on with a more serious gaze.
“So Cheerilee said you were having a hard time with schoolwork. It might be kind of lame right now, but school does help in the long run.” Rainbow nudged the girl who stared back unsure. “Why don’t you go ahead and get that homework and we’ll see what we can do about it.”
Scootaloo shrugged with a drooping muzzle, not seeing the point of trying when she hasn’t been able to manage for a while now. Not wanting to question her hero, she obliged and grabbed the recent homework. Without any energy, she plopped down and rested her head on her hoof. Rainbow raised a brow at the action but didn’t press it. She took a look at the homework, which started with math problems.
“Alright kid, so what do we got?” Dash leaned forward and spread the papers out.
“Well, we learned some new kinds of math this week, and been having a lot of homework about it.” Scootaloo waved a heavy hoof to the sheets. The older pegasus frowned at the paper and picked it up with a wing, bringing it closer to read the work there.
“‘Silly Sports has to buy new equipment. She spends thirty bits and now has fifteen baseballs. How much did each ball cost?’ Wait, why did she buy so many anyways?” Rainbow glanced up the other pegasus. “Who’s this Silly Sports anyways?”
“That’s the pony Ms. Cheerilee uses for her examples. We’re supposed to find out how much each ball costs by dividing thirty by fifteen.” Scootaloo shrugged before twiddling a pen in her hooves.
“Oh. Ok. So how much would that be?” Dash continued to frown at the paper, even as Scootaloo pulled it from her hooves and began to show the older mare the equation. “Oh. Heh, not bad kid. So there would be two bits per ball huh? Hang on, she’s getting a rotten deal. Does she hang out with Fluttershy? They both have the worse time in the market place.”
Both pegasi laughed lightly at the mental image. When Dash saw a bit more energy in purple orbs, she nudged the orange shoulder and tapped the next part of the homework sheet.
“Alright kid, what about this next one?”
“Oh, oh no…”
Fur, bright and vastly different from one another flashed rapidly by.
"Uhm, oh, uh, s-sorry-”
Hooves clicked and clopped on dirt roads, kicking up dust and dirt. Voices, trying to be heard over the others, rang out.
“Oh, um, please, excuse me…”
The multitudes of ponies horded together, traveling almost randomly as they each went their own way, against the grain and flow of traffic. Brushing against one another, they merely shared pleasant smiles and smirks as they continued on their way.
“Oh my! Eeep~”
The timid canary pegasus was lost in the sea of bodies, tossed from side to side, face scrunched up in anxiety. She crouched closer to the ground, eyes searching the area, as she tried to press forward.
Oh Angel, why do you have to have that cherry? It’s always the farthest from home… Ooh, I bet I won’t make it today either… Oh Fluttershy, you’re so pa-
“Fluttershy?” The sophisticated voice surprised the pegasus from her musings. Giving a start with a ‘meep’ of fright, the animal caretaker landed with a shiver, searching her surroundings for whomever called out.
“I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to startle you. Out shopping today?” The light gray earth pony stepped into view with a raised eyebrow. By standing directly in front of the cowering mare, Octavia was making the flowing mass around them part as they stood in the center of the road.
Fluttershy noticed this increased space with a relieved smile. She stood up slowly as she tried to speak louder to be heard.
“Well, Angel Bunny can be so picky about what he likes to eat.” The pink maned pegasus smiled at the thought of her pet before focusing back on the musician before her. “What are you doing here, oh, uhm, if you don’t mind me asking…?”
Octavia frowned in concentration to hear the soft voice. Living with a Dj who had extreme hearing had given her plenty of practice to hear fainter noises and understand their meaning. Smiling once more after Fluttershy was finished, she nodded towards the food stands to the north.
“I don’t mind at all. I was also purchasing food for this week.”
“Oh, uhm, well, I-uh, I meant about being here in Ponyville…? Weren’t you, uhm, staying in Manehatten?” The shy pegasus stayed close to the ground, biting her lip in worry that she offended her acquaintance. The ash gray earth pony paused in thought before smiling once more.
“Oh, I suppose I can see how you would think that. Vinyl and I live here in Ponyville, actually. We moved here after college.” Octavia smiled at the memories before refocusing on the nervous mare in front of her. “You seemed to be having trouble making your way through today’s crowd, would you like some assistance?” The gray earth pony tried to smile gently, hoping to set the easily frightened mare at ease.
Seeing the flinch at the mention of assistance, Octavia’s face fell into a more neutral one. Fluttershy grimaced again, remaining on the ground while her gaze clouded over as it looked at nothing, not noticing the carefully blank look of the other mare.
Assistance… I always seem to need assistance. Twilight even wanted to give us assistance…
“Fluttershy…? Is everything ok Miss Fluttershy?” Teal blue eyes blinked dazedly in the afternoon light. In place of the cobalt mare was one of light ash, lacking a pair of wings and distinct mane of rainbow. Octavia’s face was directly in front of the shy pegasus, full of anxiety.
“Oh…! Uhm, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… uh… became distracted…” Fluttershy tried to stand upright but couldn’t meet the worried purple eyes.
“Yes. Perhaps, if it is so distracting, you would like to talk about it?” Octavia rested a comforting hoof on a yellow shoulder. When it wasn’t flinched away from, the earth pony nuded the pegasus along to quieter routes. Fluttershy flashed a grateful smile to the other mare.
“Perhaps, it has something to do with Scootaloo?” When Octavia lightly asked about the young pegasus, Fluttershy winced and dropped her gaze once more. “Or maybe Rainbow Dash…?” Pink mane dropped to hide the bashful and embarrassed gaze. Octavia smiled and continued to lead the way to a quieter location for the frazzled pegasus.
“Oh, I-I don’t mean to trouble… to trouble you…” Fluttershy murmured as she followed the earth pony. Octavia glanced back with a soft grin.
“It’s ok. While we may have only met in Manehatten, that doesn’t mean we have to be strangers.” The pale gray mare waved to a seat in front of a tucked away cafe. “Is… something the matter? With Scootaloo or Rainbow Dash?”
Fluttershy tapped her hooves together as she looked at the new location. It was a small, one story building, squeezed between two other supply stores. The roof was thatched like its neighbors and had two tables set in front of large windows. The sets were solid wood, made with little change from the stump and limbs they were carved from.
“I don’t think… I should talk about Scootaloo… Rainbow would be the one to talk about it…” Fluttershy blushed as she thought about the sky blue mare. Octavia frowned briefly before her curious gaze took note of the red hue. When she looked upwards, beyond her talking companion, the earth pony found a pale cream pegasus waiter arriving to take their order.
“Oh, hello, can we have… two teas?” Searching purple eyes found agreement in teal and turned back to the waiter. “Yes, and then we should be good. Thank you.” The musician waited until they were alone once more before continuing. “Perhaps we should talk about a lighter note? How are things between you and Rainbow?”
“Oh, um, well, we’re doing, uh, fine. She’s trying to be more responsible but she still asks for my help.” Fluttershy couldn’t meet the other mare’s curious gaze as she spoke.
“No noticing how you feel huh?”
“Oh, well, I mean, no…. not-not really. But I’ve had these feelings for a long time, she probably doesn’t think anything of it. Be-besides, she’s never really, um, wanted to get emotionally or physically close in the past.” The animal caretaker shifted in her seat, turning her gaze to her hooves. “I don’t think she will really want to in the future either.”
“Hmmm… reminds me of Vinyl when we first met. She had a rough childhood and wasn’t very good at connecting with others because of it.” Octavia rested her head on her hoof as she stared off into the distance with a gentle grin. “I almost gave up on trying to start a relationship with her, but luckily we were able to get through the fight that almost ruined everything for the two of us.”
Fluttershy perked up at the confession. She was curious about the couple that seemed so in love with one another in the short moments she had seen them. Leaning forward, she tried to stay polite as she sought to learn more.
“If, uhm, you don’t mind, could I ask what you mean by that…?” The two mares glanced up to find their tea had arrived and paused for a moment as they thanked their waiter.
“Hmm? Sure, I don’t mind.” Octavia smiled wider at the interest. “Well, we both went to the same college and started out as roommates. As you know, Vinyl went to that same orphanage as Scootaloo. There, she was heavily bullied.” Gray forehooves shifted in agitation before settling on top of one another. “When she came to college, she didn’t think it was possible to be loved or love another. But she still cared for me anyways.”
Fluttershy smiled demurely as she watched the far away yet caring gaze of the earth pony. She took a sip of the newly arrived drinks and continued to listen.
“Well, I soon cared for her especially but couldn’t gather my courage to tell her. Then there was a fight. Because of a large misunderstanding, she began to avoid everyone. I eventually managed to talk with her and convince her otherwise. And convince her that my feelings are real.” Octavia sighed dreamily, turning her eyes to the table. “We began dating soon after and have been together ever since. Just goes to show how perseverance and courage can make the difference.”
Fluttershy giggled breezily along with Octavia. They enjoyed their tea in silence for a moment before the ash-gray pony set her cup down and leaned towards the other mare.
“And you? When did you realize you cared for Rainbow Dash, more than just a friend?”
At the question, Fluttershy blushed heavily and stammered. “S-since… the… the uhm, since the beg-beginning. She, she was so brave… Always so…. brave… Much more than me…”
Octavia’s grinned at the flustered pegasus and tapped reassuringly on her hoof. “I’m sure, when the time is right, you will find yourself just as brave.” When she glanced up, the musician gave a start when she discovered how much time had passed. “Oh! I’m sorry, it seems we’ve been sitting here for a while. Why don’t we get started on that shopping?”
“O-oh, yes, I’m sorry.” The yellow mare stood as well, and fumbled for her change purse.
“No need for that Fluttershy, I’ll pay for our drinks. I had suggested it after all.” Octavia quickly dug out the needed bits and placed them onto the table. Waving her hoof towards the street, the earth pony lead the way back to the market place.
Together, the two mares enjoyed small talk as they walked towards the different stalls. With another friend next to her, Fluttershy didn’t have nearly as much trouble getting her shopping done.
Above the thatched rooftops, far in the sky, the weather patrol was clearing the last remaining clouds to top off another order of ‘clear open skies’. With their top worker on the case, it was not a tall order to clear off the clouds. Rainbow Dash flew in straight lines, zipping back and forth rapidly leaving straight lines of her namesake.
A pony would think she was trying to beat a record, except for the moments when the prismatic mare would stop and float in place for a few seconds, eyes unfocused towards the ground. The other team members didn’t really notice the odd behavior until the end of the shift. Once most of the clouds were gone, they couldn’t help but see the odd pauses. They silently argued among themselves, trying to decide who would approach the strong willed mare. In the end, Cloud Kicker, one of the older members of the team, was designated.
Wings flapping wearily, the pale lavender pegasus drew up to the cobalt mare. Her hooves hung limply while the older mare tried to gather her nerves. It was unsettling the whole crew how anxious and distracted their team leader was.
“Hey Boss, you doing ok?” Cloud Kicker tried to smile disarmingly. Rainbow jerked in place, pulling her sights up from the ground and town below.
“Huh? Oh, hey, everything good on your end?” The sky blue mare gave a short smile, eyes barely making contact before turning to the few clouds left.
“I’m doing just fine. But I’m wondering about you now. You doing ok?” Cloud Kicker drew closer, trying to find anything physically wrong. Seeing only more shifting and twitching than usual, the blond mare floated over the rest of the way and rested a comforting hoof on the twitching shoulder.
Rainbow zeroed in on the hoof and frowned. She gently pushed the hoof away, glancing to the ground before sighing. “I… might be getting sick.”
“What do you mean, ‘sick’?” The blonde frowned in confusion, never having heard the team leader to fall ill. Not in the entire time they had known one another at least.
“Well, I don’t really know what it’d be otherwise.” Dash ran both hooves through her mane.
“What’s the symptoms?” Cloud asked softly.
“Can’t think about much aside from uh, certain ponies. Chest gets really tight sometimes, and I can’t think straight when this happens…” Rainbow waved to her barrel before crossing her hooves in front of herself. “I’ve been.. I’ve been even more mushy than what someone so awesome should be.”
Cloud Kicker deadpanned the pegasus for the boastful ending. Though she kept silent, waiting to see if Dash would add anything else.
“... I don’t know what it could be aside from becoming sick…”
The pale-lavender pegasus fought against a bemused smirk. She lifted a hoof to her muzzle, having quickly lost the fight.
“Does it all happen when you think about these ponies?” Kicker watched with an open smile now as Rainbow nodded slowly, the red spreading even further across her face.“I see. It is a kind of sickness. But I would have thought you already caught this kind of sickness. Was there anypony else that made you feel ‘sick’ like this before?”
Rainbow Dash sight, her wings drooping while hovering in place. “Y-yeah…. around the same pony…”
Cloud Kicker’s brows rose at this news though her gleeful smile remained the same. “Really? That’s a good sign.”
“Wha-?” Rainbow snapped around to face the other mare full on at the short statement.
“Yep. Means you’ve got it baaaad.” Cloud barely held back a chuckle at the open mouthed shock the blue mare had on. “How long have you felt this way?”
“Well, uh, for a while but I left… But… but that didn’t help any…” Ashamed cerise orbs dropped away before shooting back up again. “How long do I have?!”
“I’m surprised you lasted this long actually. I was sick like this before too. Didn’t last nearly as long.” It was Cloud’s turn to be sheepish. Her hoof went to her long mane and scuffed it lightly.
“Wait, what? If, if you were sick like me before, how are you still ok? Is there a chance I’ll make it too?” Dash lunged forward and grabbed Kicker’s shoulders. She stared imploringly at the other pegasus.
“Heh heh, got it pretty bad Dash. There’s two possible cures. One’s pretty chancy. The other? Really painful and might not work anyways.” The blonde mare took off the desperate hooves and patted the blue shoulder gruffly.
“What are- what are the cures?” Rainbow rung hooves, watching the lavender mare closerly.
“Well, you can hold it in, hide it, pretend it isn’t there. This could work, but it would hurt and it might not fix this anyways. Might make it worse actually.” The lavender pegasus shrugged and grimaced at the thought of the pain. Checking on the prismatic mare, Cloud found Dash still hanging on her every word. Chuckling, she continued her proposed cures. “The other one, that one takes a lot of courage. And it might not work. But if it does work, it will help your symptoms greatly.”
Rainbow leaned forward, hope shining finally in her eyes once more. “What? What is it?”
“Tell that pony about it. Confess.” Cloud Kicker smirked at the confused expression on the other mare’s face. When there was no further reaction, only a blank stare, Cloud frown briefly. “You know, find that special pony, the one you’re always thinking about? And tell them about how you have been feeling.”
Rainbow’s brow furrowed slowly before turning into a stern glare to the other pegasus.
“Confess? You mean, like when you’re in ‘love’ with somepony?” Tense hooves crossed over a suddenly warm blue barrel. Rainbow scrunched her muzzle in annoyance and embarrassment, unsure how this related to her. Cloud rolled her eyes at the short tone.
“You know, caring about somepony else in a romantic manner can be a good thing.”
“Mushy stuff! No way, I’m still in my prime!” Dash swept a hoof to the horizon, a light pink hue still on her muzzle. “Still miles to go before I start even thinking about finding a special somepony.” The sky blue mare placed both forehooves onto her waist and tried to appear like her usual boastful self.
There was a few seconds of complete silence as Kicker deadpanned the other mare. As the silence continued, Rainbow Dash slowly lost more of her boastful pose to one of uncertainty. Her muzzle scrunched as her hooves gradually came up from her hips to cross back over her chest. Cloud’s deadpan had grown into a self-assured smirk. It was a smirk of confidence. Of knowledge. Of victory.
“Alright Boss. Well, glad you’re so awesome you don’t care about special ponies.” Cloud Kicker shrugged, tossing her head side to side as she started to turn in place. “Sure hope they haven’t been ‘sick’ for you in the meantime. Seems they have a long wait ahead of them.”
The pale lavender pegasus finished her turning and flew off. She was happy to learn their captain wasn’t seriously ill, though how dense she truly was was another matter. Dash stayed where she was for a moment before flying up and grabbing the last cloud in the sky. Pulling it off to the side, the blue mare landed down on top, her now weighty head resting on listless hooves.
Long wait huh…? Yeah, I’ve made her wait a long time anyways… Guess I should start making up for it. Best way to start would be just hanging out with good ol’ Shy more often… Even if I do get more mushy in the meantime… Rainbow sighed as she stood back up, firm gaze focused on the market place below her. “The things I do for these guys.”
Bouncing on her cloud surface, she dove off the side with a kick to the cloud to disperse it. She dove neatly, keeping her slim body in a straight line to reduce air drag. When she deemed it close enough to be impressive, she pulled up sharply from her dive and landed with a single flap of her wings in front of Fluttershy. The sudden appearance of the rainbow maned pegasus had given her a large shock and caused the timid mare to cower in place.
“Hey Fluttershy, how’s the shopping going?” Dash stayed in place, waiting for the yellow mare to recover from her surprise.
“Hmm, I suppose you now have another escort. Perhaps I’ll see you later Fluttershy.” Octavia smiled to the shy pegasus, nudging her upright with a hoof before dipping her head towards the latest arrival. “Good day Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh, uhm, thank you Octavia for the, uh, talk and tea, and help. G-good-bye!” Fluttershy stood up with the encouragement. Giving the pale-gray earth pony a tiny wave, she turned to the sky blue mare. “H-hello Rainbow… Uhm, were you here for, uhm, something in particular?”
“Well, I did say I’d learn the proper food kinds for growing girls.” Dash smirked half teasingly as she checked what the animal caretaker had in her bags.
“Oh, yes, that’s right! If you’d like to follow me, I can explain as we buy the rest of the groceries.” Fluttershy picked up her pace with a smile as the two set out. With the bolder pegasus there, the pale-yellow mare was able to have more luck in buying the supplies. Once she had finished explaining the majority of dietary needs of growing ponies, Fluttershy found that Rainbow still had some questions.
“Alright, so I’ll need all that in a note, uh, just in case I’m so awesome that I can’t remember it all, but why were you hanging out with that Octavia mare? Thought she and that DJ were from Manehatten.” The brash pegasus peeked at the mare beside her before focusing on the crowd around them once again.
“Oh, well, they actually live here in Ponyville. They just happened to be visiting Manehatten at the same time we were.” Fluttershy answered the question without looking at the pegasus. She continued to shop, finally able to do so normally with encouraging presence of the bolder mare beside her.
“Huh. Small world. Anyways, you’re coming over when Scootaloo gets off right? I don’t really know how to cook much more than sandwiches. Too, uh, awesome, for it.” Rainbow turned her gaze to the skies briefly, worried about admitting that she couldn’t do something.
“Of course.” Fluttershy replied with a laughing tilt. “I’ll leave a book about ingredients and recipes for you and Scootaloo to use when I can’t.”
“Thanks Fluttershy, you’re the best.” The blue mare smiled with relief, nudging the other and taking the lead once more. Together, they returned to the small house on the edge of town and prepared for when the orange pegasus would come home from school.
Rainbow found she was able and willing to stand nearby as Fluttershy made an after school snack. Letting the caramel and apple treat cool in the fridge, Fluttershy began to work on a recipe book for the other pegasi to use. She kept the directions as simple as she could, knowing the two ‘awesome’ mares had little skill or patience for the art. The timid mare was uncertain about the silence, but they did learn a lot about one another the previous day as well as things about the young filly in their charge.
Minutes later, Scootaloo arrived to find both mares waiting for her. Pausing in the doorway, the girl tried to relax her anxious stance.
“H-hey Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy… What are you doing…?” The moderate-cerise maned filly slowly walked forward, eyes searching the room before looking back to the adults.
“Nothing kid, just checking up on you. Do you have more work you’ve got to do?” Rainbow walked over and ruffled the windblown moderate-cerise mane.
“Oh, well, yeah. I mean, we do have work everyday, but… well, you sure you can help?” Scootaloo went to the couch and pulled her homework from her saddlebags.
“Er- what do you mean?” Dash paused midway to the seating, blue ears tipping backwards to the soft giggle that came from the kitchen.
“Well, uh, you just seem too awesome for homework…” Purple eyes avoided meeting curious cerise ones.
“Oh, well, that doesn’t mean that they should be ignored. Still have to be done. Come on, let’s uh, get started.” Rainbow tried to sound enthusiastic while fighting a yawn from the mere thought of doing school work.
Fluttershy smiled from her place in the kitchen doorway as she watched the two similar pegasi trying to work on the various problems. Dash often had to question every step of the way and Scootaloo showed her ability by slowly working her way through the homework. Fluttershy giggled to herself while covering her muzzle with a hoof as she observed the two working pegasi.
Perhaps Dashie might even learn some actual schoolwork. I better cut in and offer some refreshments before she loses all patience.
Fluttershy walked out with the tray of snacks on her back. Calling out, she joined the others on the couch as they took a moment to recover their strength before getting back to the grindstone of homework. The canary pegasus gave both a nuzzle before exiting for her own home.
I think it would be ok to leave them for now. Oh, I hope Angel isn’t too upset that I was gone all day. I have so much to tell him though!