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// Chapter 8: Standing Up 
// Story: The Center of Her World 
// by SaintChoc 
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Flutters stood in front of the statue, breathing deep, Spike sitting at her side. The school day had been out for half an hour now, just long enough for the student body to have completely cleared out. Two others were there with them. 

Flutters turned to her companion. "Ready to go through?" she said. "It feels a little strange, but I promise you'll be alright."

Pinkie Pie turned to her with a wide grin. "Of course! I'm a Pinkie Pie, not a scaredy-pie."

Shy gulped. "Be careful, okay? I heard there were, um, dragons, and evil creatures, and, and, and…"

Pinkie whirled around and gave Shy a big bear hug. "It can't be all bad over there, silly! That's where the other Flutter came from!" She pulled back and looked into Shy's eyes. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back, 'kay?" She leaned in and kissed her lightly.

Shy smiled. "'Kay."

"Time's a-wastin'!" Spike said, leaping through the portal. Flutters steeled herself and walked through as well, hearing a faint 'Bye Shy!' before the roaring wind muted everything around her. 

Once again feeling her four legs, she walked forward, emerging from the swirling colored light. Her eyes adjusted to the library's light levels, and she saw Rainbow Dash lifting her head up from the floor.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow leapt to her hooves. "Are you okay? I wanted to go back, but—I should have—" She shook her head. "What were you doing over there for so long?"

"Hi, Rainbow." Fluttershy smiled softly. "I wanted to help, so… I did some talking."

"With the other Fluttershy? Good. That's—That's good. I realized too late I should have done that in the first place. All I was thinking about was what my other self was doing." 

"With—Well, first I should mention that I thought I'd bring someone along to help me—"

With another flash, a four-legged Pinkie Pie hopped out of the portal. "Ooh, this place is shiny! Hello, pony-types!"

Rainbow stepped back, her eyebrows furrowing. Her jaw tightened.

"Rainbow, this is Pinkie… the Pinkie that's with the other me," Fluttershy said. "It's not her fault that it happened, and it's not the other Rainbow's fault, either. Just listen to us."

Twilight emerged from another room. "Fluttershy! Spike! You're back!" She quickly took the journal off of the mirror device to allow it to cool down. She paused as she spotted the third newcomer. "Pinkie? Did you—" She looked out the window at Sugarcube Corner, then at the mirror. "Did you come from there, or there…?"

"Ohmigosh, there's another Twilight here, too!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "Hi, other Twilight!"

"Pinkie, you—you know me. We've met."

"Oh, right. I didn't recognize you with the, uh…" Pinkie rotated her hoof around the entirety of Twilight's body for several seconds. Rainbow looked sidelong at Fluttershy and coughed.

"So, um…" Fluttershy began, "I know you think it just proves that something could go wrong if the other Fluttershy isn't with the other Rainbow Dash, but—but that other Fluttershy isn't me. You don't need to worry, Rainbow. You're good enough. I promise you."

Rainbow looked away. "I… I don't know, Fluttershy. I just don't know how that can be true if we can see that there's a you that didn't want me."

"It's not about y—" Fluttershy stopped herself and sighed deeply. "In this world, there's… monsters, and evil, and danger, and… I've been scared of that all my life. I've been scared of so many things. I can handle it, but you… You make it so much easier to handle. Because I know you can protect me." Rainbow looked at her, wary.

Pinkie stepped forward. "But over there? We don't have stuff like monsters, and evil, and evil monsters. Yeah, it's been weird the last few months, but pretty much all of that was from this side. Not pointing fingers! Especially since I don't have those right now." Spike snickered. 

"Point is, my Shy doesn't have to deal with that! Since she didn't grow up with a general feeling of… not-safeness, what she needed was something different. And that's okay!"

Rainbow's gaze bounced between the two ponies in front of her. She was silent. Fluttershy's hopes began to grow. 

"So… that's it? Because this world is scarier, I'm a better catch?" Rainbow answered. Fluttershy swallowed bitterly, deflated. "There's supposed to be more to this than—If both Fluttershys are the same being, then it shouldn't—"

"They're not," came Twilight's voice from behind her.

Rainbow's head whipped around. "You told me—"

"I was wrong," Twilight said flatly. "I was wrong, Rainbow. There's more to who you are than just your 'soul,' or whatever you want to call it. Decades of life will change any pony—if you're not the same pony you were ten years ago as a teenager, how can you say Fluttershy is the same pony as the one who spent her whole life in a different reality?"

Twilight walked closer to Rainbow. "A lot of things make each of us who we are. Life is one of them. If this life has made Fluttershy the perfect pony for you to be with, then don't look at other lives. Focus on this one. Focus on yours, and hers." Twilight laid a hoof across Rainbow's shoulders.

Rainbow's expression had softened. She looked into Twilight's eyes a moment longer, then looked at Fluttershy; a soft smile worked its way onto  her face. "Yeah. Yeah, alright."

Fluttershy looked back at Rainbow, her eyes glistening. "I don't know a lot about how all of this works, I—I was just trying to help." She looked at the floor. "All I know for sure is that when you're holding me, everything is perfect. I don't want to lose that. I’ve never slept more peacefully than when your hooves are wrapped around me…"

Rainbow's gaze was far away, her smile growing. She leapt in the air, using her wings to keep herself aloft. "You're right. All of you! I don't need to worry about this stuff! She's the only Fluttershy I need to worry about, and I know she—"

"...And this morning was the first time you weren't there when I woke up," Fluttershy finished.

Time stood still. Pinkie and Twilight said nothing, frozen together, not even wanting to move a muscle. Rainbow slowly lowered herself to the ground and stood in front of Fluttershy.

"Why did you leave me behind?" Fluttershy said, looking at Rainbow through the part in her own hair. "Why didn't you ask me to help when it was something that involved us both?"

"...I don't know," Rainbow answered. "I guess I just thought—" 

"We could have worked this out together, but instead it—it felt like you abandoned me. In another world, even."

"I guess I just thought it was my own weird hang-ups, so it wasn't on you to—"

Fluttershy ground her teeth together. She raised her hoof and slammed it on the ground. "NO!" she screamed. 

Pinkie and Twilight both took a step back in shock. Rainbow retracted a hoof and looked at Fluttershy wide-eyed.

Fluttershy stared at Rainbow dead in the eye, nostrils flaring. "This was never just about you! This was about you and me and you should have let me help!" Her voice cracked, but stayed strong. "I spent all that time in the other world talking to the other Fluttershy because I knew that it wouldn't be enough for you to hear that it only matters what I would do, and that I would never think you weren't good enough. But you know what?" She took a step forward. "It should have been enough, Rainbow! It should have been enough coming from me! It should have been enough to hear that I think you're wonderful the way you are, and that I don't care what any other Fluttershy thinks, and that—and that I—"

"I love you," Rainbow said quietly.

Fluttershy stuttered, her eyes flickering. A million emotions crossed her face.

"I—I'm not just saying that to get you to stop, or anything. I—This was a bad time. I'm sorry." Rainbow stepped towards Fluttershy gently. "It's just… thank you for saying this. You're right. All of it. And I..." 

Rainbow grit her teeth. "I don't want you to ever let me get away with that. With being stupid and selfish and—" She swallowed. "Please don't let me get away with that. Because I want to be good enough. And if you tell me when I'm not, I'll believe that I can be." She took another step. "...Okay?"

They were a breath apart now, looking into each other's eyes. Fluttershy was breathing heavily, adrenaline escaping her system. "Okay," she said quietly. "Okay."

Rainbow moved closer, and Fluttershy shot forward, wrapping a hoof around her head and kissing her—a long and deep kiss. They both set their flanks down on the floor, and Rainbow extended her front legs and pulled Fluttershy towards her, holding her tight and nuzzling into her neck.

Pinkie sidled over to Twilight. "Yeah… that's not my Shy." She looked at Twilight and shook her head. "Dunno who that is, but it's not my Shy." She grinned. "She's pretty cool though." She did a quiet happy dance in place, humming.

Twilight watched Pinkie's hooves. "Didn't you just become a pony like five minutes ago? Doesn't it feel weird?"

"Nah. Feels pretty natural." Pinkie continued dancing. Twilight stared at her.

Fluttershy and Rainbow pulled back from each other. Fluttershy blinked back tears. "You know that I—"

"Yeah, I know," Rainbow said. "But… you can say it if you want."

Fluttershy grinned. "I love you too," she said quietly.

Rainbow embraced Fluttershy again. Time slowed for the pair.

"Thank you for what you did," Rainbow said. "I know you shouldn't have had to. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Rainbow," Fluttershy replied. She buried her muzzle in Rainbow's mane.

The two pegasi shut out the world. For a moment, all that existed was each other.