//------------------------------// // 11 - Divulgence (The Return Of Harmony) // Story: A Slice of Flutterdash // by UnlicensedBrony //------------------------------// Six friends sat and laughed around a table in Twilight's library, where they'd set up for the afternoon to privately celebrate their victory. Compared to the massive party in their honour the day before, which the whole of Ponyville had attended, this was pleasantly tame and laid-back. As much as Rainbow Dash loved big parties, even she had to admit that it was nice to chill out and relax with just a few close friends. “...and how 'bout discorded Rainbow Dash, huh?” said Applejack, grinning from ear to ear. “Sittin' up there with her head in the clouds, sayin' she's too cool to get involved. Huh... thinkin' 'bout it, you weren't much different from normal, were ya, RD?” “Hey!” said Rainbow, as her friends all got a laugh at that. She couldn't help but smile too. “I'm not that bad. At least I wasn't walking into stuff because my eyes were shifting all over the place, Applejack.” “I couldn't help it! I felt like everyone was gonna accuse me of lyin'!” “Which you were,” Rarity pointed out. “Constantly. I wonder, now that you've regained your senses, can you actually tell a convincing lie?” “Well, uh, sure I can!” said Applejack, pursing her lips and shifting her eyes as soon as she'd finished. They all laughed again. It was good to joke around about this stuff, Rainbow thought. Sure, it'd been pretty messed up – even a little scary – at the time, and if you started thinking about it too much or too seriously, you'd give yourself nightmares. Laughing with your friends was a way to talk about it and get all those worries off your chest without getting too heavy. Thus, the jokes. As the laughter petered out and Rainbow wiped a tear from her eye, she realised that one voice had stopped long before the rest of them. In the seat next to Rainbow, Fluttershy was quietly looking down at the table, eyes unfocused. She had a smile on her face, but she was clearly distracted, lost in thought. Rainbow knew what she was thinking about. “You've gone quiet all of a sudden,” Applejack pointed out, as she was a master of subtlety. “Somethin' on your mind?” Fluttershy looked up at her, then glanced around at everypony else. They all met her with looks of friendly interest. “Oh, um...” Finally, she turned to look at Rainbow, smile twitching up as she did. She didn't say anything, but Rainbow heard the question. They'd talked about it earlier and decided that tonight was the night, but Rainbow had been so caught up in the conversation that she'd almost forgotten. Not quite though. With a smile, Rainbow nodded and sat up in her seat, looking around at the others with confidence. She had to admit to being a little nervous, but she wasn't going to let it show. “Actually, there is something,” Fluttershy said, taking her time. “I've been meaning to tell you all... That is, we've been meaning to tell you something for a while now.” Having noticed their exchange, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie glanced between the two of them with curious excitement. “Yes?” Rarity prompted. Fluttershy's nerves got the better of her. She gulped and turned to Rainbow for support, shaking a little. Rainbow gave her a knowing smile, then lifted a hoof and lay it on the table, offering it to her. Fluttershy glanced at it, then slowly lifted her own hoof and crossed it with Rainbow's. The gesture helped her swallow the lump in her throat. “Rainbow Dash and I,” she managed. So far so good. “We're, u-um...” She muttered the last word under her breath. Their friends all leaned in a little closer. “Sorry, what was that?” Twilight asked. “R-Rainbow Dash and I are... mmrph.” Everyone stared at her for a moment, then turned to Rainbow in question. Even Fluttershy spared her a sidelong glance, as if to say 'Help me.' Rainbow rolled her eyes, but squeezed Fluttershy's hoof to let her know it was okay. She smiled across at their friends and took over, figuring she might as well just come out and say it. “We're dating.” A collective gasp went up from Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Applejack didn't gasp, but her eyebrows slowly crept up her head. After that, everypony went eerily quiet. They probably didn't mean to stare, but they did – looking at Rainbow first, then to Fluttershy to confirm it, then back to Rainbow. Their expressions were unreadable, and they went on for a lot longer than was comfortable. 'Uh, okay,' Rainbow thought, feeling her heart speed up. 'This probably isn't a good sign. We knew they'd be surprised, but...' A glance at Fluttershy, who had her eyes completely hidden behind her mane, told that she was thinking the same as Rainbow. 'They're gonna freak out. Oh, feathers. Maybe I should try to play it off as a joke.' That idea got shot down pretty quickly, though she gave it more thought than she would've liked to admit. This wasn't a joke, it was for real. She didn't know how Fluttershy would feel about backing out and covering it up again. It was a short-term solution, sure. But if there was a problem here, pretending it wasn't there wouldn't make it go away. They had to face it. Rainbow squared up and forced herself to wait. Whatever came, she knew how she felt about Fluttershy, and that wasn't going to change. “Well,” said Applejack, finally breaking the silence. Rainbow met her eyes, and Applejack stared back, though she looked a little unfocused. Still processing it, maybe. She let the word hang in the air for an entirely too long awkward moment... And then she smiled. “You rascals,” she drawled. “I don't believe it. How long've you been keepin' this under your hats?” “W-we weren't really 'keeping' it,” Fluttershy mumbled, quivering. “Keeping it from you, that is. We were just waiting for the right time.” “Right,” said Rainbow, her own lips curling up as she stared at Applejack's smile. It was for real – pretty much always was with Applejack – and it took some of the edge off. She cleared her throat, which had gone dry, and answered the question. “As for how long it's been going on... Uh. You guys remember that thing with the dragon last year?” “Whaaat?!” Rarity squealed, making Rainbow cringe. “You've been together all this time and you never once mentioned it? How could you do this to me?” She put a hoof to her forehead and swooned. “All the details I've missed, the romantic firsts that have long since passed. I could understand you not telling Twilight or Pinkie of course, but to keep it from me?” “We're just going to ignore that comment,” said Twilight, deadpan. She found a smile and turned it on Rainbow and Fluttershy. “I can't believe you've been seeing one another all this time. Congratulations! Or... wait.” She put a hoof to her chin. “That doesn't sound right. But I am very happy for you both. This is wonderful news!” Rainbow beamed as the butterflies in her stomach exploded into relief. “Thanks,” she said, though it didn't at all sum up how she really felt. She didn't have a chance to figure out what exactly 'how she really felt' was, because Applejack – in her infinite tact – broke right in and said, “So when's the wedding?” The pit dropped out of Rainbow's stomach. Fluttershy's face drained of colour. “U-um,” Rainbow said, intelligently. “Applejack!” Rarity scolded. “You can't joke about things like that!” “Hehe, sorry,” said Applejack. She leant over the table and punched Rainbow on the shoulder. “Gotta expect some teasin' though, right, RD? But, uh, on a serious note--” She leant closer and lowered her voice. “--have you two... you know...” “Applejack, honestly!” Rarity all but screamed, going red as Applejack laughed. She was obviously pleased with herself at making the two of them extremely uncomfortable. Twilight looked between them, cluelessly, while Pinkie... Pinkie actually hadn't moved, at all – she was still covering her mouth with a hoof where she'd gasped, and she'd pretty much frozen there. The announcement had broken her. Rainbow finally managed to regain her senses, realising that Applejack was just joking around. That only made it slightly less embarrassing. She shook her head and decided not to dwell on it. “Well, I don't know about all that,” she said, hoping to gloss over both questions. “We're still in kind of an, er, exploratory phase, I guess you'd call it. That's a word, right, Twilight?” Twilight nodded automatically. Then her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned pink. “Explora... Oh, my.” Rainbow facehoofed. “Not like that.” “Well,” said Fluttershy, choosing then, of all moments, to pitch in. “We are kind of--” “Anyway!” said Rainbow. “I meant that we're still getting used to being... together. We're not thinking ahead or anything, we're just taking it a day at a time. To see if it works, you know?” She looked across at Fluttershy and smiled. “But we're pretty serious now, right?” Fluttershy beamed at her. “Right.” Rainbow felt a rush of pride at that, and barely managed to keep herself from leaning in to kiss her. They both already knew that they were serious about each other, but admitting that to their friends, together, was a bit of a rush and a reality-check. It made her grin, at the very least, as her eyes wandered over their smiling faces. “So we just wanted you guys to know,” she finished. “Well, we're glad that you trusted us with it,” said Twilight. “Eventually,” said Rarity, crossing her hooves in a pout. Applejack shook her head and finally gave Rainbow an honest smile. “Jokin' aside, I'm real happy for the two of you. 'Specially you, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy managed to meet her eyes. “Thank you.” “Yes, I, of course, am happy for you as well,” said Rarity, with a little sigh. “But I hope you realise that I am going to need a great number of details, to make up for lost time.” “If you'd like, I could tell you about it on our spa dates,” Fluttershy offered. “That is, if you don't mind, Rainbow.” Rainbow shrugged. “Cool with me,” she said, smiling beside herself at the support of her friends. Well, most of her friends. Quirking a brow, she turned to look at the one pony who, very strangely, had yet to say anything. “What're you saying, Pinkie Pie? You usually--” She broke off, staring. Everyone joined her. Pinkie Pie's face had gone very red, and she was shivering in place. It looked like she was trying to hold her breath, or maybe to keep herself from exploding. Knowing Pinkie, it was probably the second one. Rainbow spoke very carefully, for fear of setting her off. “Pinkie, are you okay?” And then, in a trademark burst of confetti, the dam broke. “I knew it!” Before anyone could react, Pinkie was across the table and tackling Rainbow and Fluttershy into a crushing hug. Rainbow had the wind knocked out of her when she hit the ground, then squeezed out of her again by Pinkie's hooves. When, after a long moment of struggling, she finally managed to get a breath, Rainbow burst out laughing, and the others joined her. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!” The evening drew on, and once the excitement had died down, the topic of conversation turned to other matters. They talked about Rarity's upcoming fashion line, costume plans for Nightmare Night... the same kind of stuff they'd always talk about. If knowing about Rainbow and Fluttershy's relationship had changed anything for the others, it didn't show. They accepted it, smiled about it, took it in stride and carried on as if they'd known all along. Rainbow praised herself on her choice of friends. As night began to fall, Fluttershy had to leave to feed her animals, so she and Rainbow said their goodbyes and left their friends to clean up what little mess there was. “I don't believe it,” said Fluttershy, smiling wide. “We told them. They understood.” “Well, they are our friends,” said Rainbow, as if she'd known it'd go that way all along. She had to keep up her image of coolness, after all. “They are,” said Fluttershy. She let out a sigh. “I'm so glad to finally have that off my chest. I didn't realise just how much it was bothering me.” Rainbow nodded. “You and me, both. You do realise that Rarity's not gonna stop bugging you about it now, right?” Fluttershy giggled. “I suppose not, but I can't really blame her. It is quite exciting.” “Glad you think so,” said Rainbow. “Just don't go telling her all my secrets or anything.” “I won't,” said Fluttershy. “I'd like to keep some of those to myself.” “Good. 'Cause I'd be ruined if anypony found out about my stamp collection.” That made Fluttershy laugh, so loudly that she covered her mouth with a wing in embarrassment. Rainbow grinned at her. 'Still got it.' She let that hang in the air for a bit, just watching the clear sky above, and the stars. An image of the chocolate rain and marshmallow clouds from earlier flashed into her mind, followed by the memory of the rest of the town in chaos. She shook her head to get rid of the thought. Fluttershy picked up on it, of course. “Is something wrong?” “Ah, it's nothing,” said Rainbow. “Just been a pretty weird day, is all. I can't wait to get home to bed.” “Mm,” Fluttershy agreed. “I know how you feel. I'm glad everything's back to normal after what happened. I felt just awful about how I treated our friends when Discord got ahold of me.” “Hey, don't blame yourself for it,” said Rainbow. “All of us did stupid stuff, but it wasn't really us doing it, y'know?” “I know,” Fluttershy agreed. “But I'm still happy I don't have to act like that anymore.” Rainbow smiled, glad she wasn't making a big deal about it. See? The jokes worked. “You were pretty awesome back there, by the way,” said Rainbow, remembering what she'd been meaning to tell Fluttershy all evening. “Catching up to me when I was under that mind-whammy thing. I mean, sure, I had Pinkie and Rarity slowing me down, but you were pulling a balloon and all so that pretty much put us on even ground. I'm impressed, Fluttershy.” And she was. There weren't many ponies who could've pulled that off, and Fluttershy was the last one she would've expected such a burst of speed from. Befriending monsters, staring down dragons, and now racing alongside the Best Young Flier... Fluttershy was full of surprises. “I have to admit, I surprised myself,” said Fluttershy, smile turning proud. “I wasn't sure I could do it. I just couldn't stand the thought of Discord winning, after all he made us do to one another.” Rainbow nodded. She knew that feeling. After she'd gotten free, she'd been more than a little mad at Discord herself. No-one ran Rainbow Dash's life but Rainbow Dash, and no-one made her treat her friends like that either. She counted her blessings that she hadn't done anything to hurt Fluttershy, because it could easily have gone that way. That was one of those things she did not want to be thinking about, so she rolled her neck and tried to force her mind onto something more pleasant. “Rainbow,” said Fluttershy, looking thoughtfully at the path in front of her. “There's something I've been meaning to ask you. When Twilight cast her memory spell to break Discord's hold on us, did you happen to see-- Um.” “You?” Rainbow finished for her, because she'd wondered the same thing herself. When Fluttershy nodded, Rainbow mimicked her expression and looked ahead. “Yeah. Lots of you, actually. Our first kiss on that stupid picnic. The night of the Gala. When you signed that photo for me--” A creeping smile made its way onto Rainbow's face. “--It sounds weird, I know, but somehow it all felt like it was happening all over again. Like I'd gone back in time or something, and saw those memories like I was right there.” Fluttershy's face lit up. “I felt the same thing! Every sound and touch and--” She did her signature smile-and-blush. “--Everything. I think that's part of why I could fight so hard to get you back. All those thoughts and feelings came flooding back.” “It was powerful stuff,” Rainbow agreed. She'd have to remember to thank Twilight for that spell of hers. Not that she needed reminding of how much she cared about Fluttershy, but to relive those moments that meant so much to them both was just plain incredible. She flashed her partner a more subdued smile. “'My best memories are here', huh?” Fluttershy drifted across the trail to brush up against her, and stayed there. “Here's to many more.” ... “Oh, and by the way... 'Is it okay if I hold you down against your will for a little bit'? What was up with that?” “Um... I'll tell you when we get home.” * * *