"Thank you, Rainbow..."

Rainbow thought about her life up until that point.

What made it so awesome? Why did she always push herself to go further, to work harder? What were her motivations? Questions that she needed answers to, but always dismissed them as useless and time-consuming to try and answer. But seriously, why?

She zoomed faster, pouring speed into her posture, flapping her wings harder. The wind felt good, ripping past her mane and almost causing her eyes to tear up from sheer force. She always went up here to think. Just above Ponyville, and above the edge of the Everfree. Sometimes, she would just linger at the edge to watch Fluttershy, to make sure she was safe.

The thought of Fluttershy made her heart flutter and she didn’t know why. She shook her head and burst through a cloud, causing it to dissipate in an explosive fashion. She couldn’t have these weird fluttery-buttery feelings in her stomach. She was the Rainbow Dash! Fastest mare alive, coolest pony around! She wasn’t a cheesy idiot who wrote secret love letters nopony would ever read…

And yet, she couldn’t displace the thought of Fluttershy now that she was in her mind. She had been her friend for ages. Since Flight School, she had known the timid and gentle pegasus. She had to protect her from all those idiots who thought they could pick on her.

She punched another cloud as she shouted. Stupid cloud for getting in her way. Didn’t they know she was better than all of these weak white puffs?

She then gradually slowed down as she circled around the edge of the forest to where Fluttershy’s cottage resided. She saw it come into view and smiled at the thought of surprising Fluttershy. Maybe they could go watch her do some stunts, and she could continue to teach Fluttershy how to cheer properly. What a bummer, that last part. Seriously, couldn’t Fluttershy raise her voice higher than a whisper? She’d heard her shout before. Why couldn’t she do it on command?

As she neared the humble home of her yellow friend, she frowned as she saw the door slightly ajar. She flapped her wings only a little faster so she neared the door and knocked her hoof on it a few times. Creaking it open, she found a perfectly pristine home, with the only sign of disturbence being the door itself.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow called out. Where was she? She found a few critters running about in the house but apart from that there was no evidence of Fluttershy being there. She exited the house in haste, biting her lip as she rotated in the air to see where she might’ve gone. “Fluttershy! Where are you!?”

She heard a small squeak and found the annoying little form of Angel the bunny. She frowned at him, and he smirked back before pointing in the direction of the Everfree forest. “Did Fluttershy go inside the Everfree?” Rainbow asked, and Angel dubiously nodded. Knowing she wouldn’t get any more from the rabbit, she nodded before zooming to the edge of the forest. She then landed and began to canter as she looked for any signs of where the timid pegasus might’ve went. “Fluttershy? Please tell me you’re in here!”

She continued to trot along the edge of the main path, analyzing the underbrush for any possible disturbance, when she heard the sound of faint crying. She whirled around and allowed her ears to swivel and pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Quickly, she brushed past the wildlife and rushed to the source of the noise. She soon came upon the sobbing form of Fluttershy beside what looked to be a freshly planted tree.

“Fluttershy…?” Rainbow asked as she came to a gentle stop. She looked over the trembling mare to see if she might’ve been injured or hurt, and frowned at the sight. Resting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, she whispered, “Fluttershy, are you okay?”

“Oh, Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried as she looked at Rainbow, and then proceeded to hug her. Rainbow could only accept the hug as Fluttershy clung onto her as if for dear life.

“F-Fluttershy?” Rainbow mumbled as she looked for a way out of this. Not that she didn’t like the contact, but it just wasn’t her kind of situation. “What happened? Why are you like this?”

“Rainbow, it’s horrible!” Fluttershy sobbed. “Fuzzy Legs had finally found his parents and they were having the best time until something came and killed them! Now I’m all that Fuzzy Leg’s has got as family,” she continued to cry. Rainbow could feel her coat getting wet from the amount of tears Fluttershy was shedding. She silently looked around and found the tarantula-ic form of Fuzzy Legs, who was sniffling with a microscopic napkin. The sad arachnid looked over at Rainbow and Rainbow could swear she saw the spider’s eyes glisten before it scuttled towards Fluttershy for her own hug.

“Uh, Fluttershy?” Rainbow said, “Maybe we could go back to the cottage. There, you can pour out your heart to your, uh, heart’s content and we don’t have to sit prone in the Everfree.”

Fluttershy sniffled, gently patting the droopy form of Fuzzy Legs on her shoulder before she nodded with red eyes. “O-okay.”

Rainbow unwittingly but dutifully carried the unable form of Fluttershy, who’s own inability to fly or walk was that she was so tired from crying her eyes out. The occasional sniffle split the air as Rainbow made the journey back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

In no time, they reached the house and Rainbow quietly creaked the door open before walking in and gingerly sitting Fluttershy down. Her back suddenly felt uncomfortably cold as the heat of Fluttershy’s body left her. She then sat beside Fluttershy, watching her stroke Fuzzy Legs, more for herself than for the spider.

“Are you, uh, better now?” Rainbow asked awkwardly. She wasn’t very good at this sappy stuff, but Fluttershy needed her and she was ready to answer the call.

Fluttershy nodded with her eyes closed. A small tear would still make it’s way down her face as her breath hitched every few seconds. “I- I think I’m b-better now, thank you Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, anything for my best friend, right?” Rainbow muttered softly, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but begin to cry again. Fuzzy Legs crawled up Fluttershy’s shaking form and on top of her head, spreading himself in a fashion that Rainbow took as a hug. She then hugged Fluttershy herself and relished the closeness between the two. She didn’t have a word for it, but she definitely liked this quality time she and Fluttershy were sharing.

After another while, Fluttershy began to stop crying and slowly calmed down. Her breathing began to come and go at a slow, steady rate, and it seemed as if she were asleep. She awkwardly and unnaturally began to stroke Fluttershy’s mane in her own attempt to calm her more, and soon the action seemed second nature to her. Rainbow looked outside, and was surprised to see it was nearly sunset and she had basically spent all of her time with Fluttershy. She watched as Fuzzy Legs slowly rose from Fluttershy. She could swear she saw him nod and he saluted before slowly crawling away to leave the two be.

“Thank you for being here, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy finally whispered after Rainbow swore she was asleep.

“You’re my oldest friend Fluttershy, both literally and whatever the other word is,” Rainbow remarked, eliciting a small giggle from Fluttershy, which warmed Rainbow’s heart.

“You really shouldn't be going around telling me I’m old, Rainbow,” Fluttershy muttered, and Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh herself.

“Well, that’s what friends are for, right?” Rainbow asked rhetorically, “To embarrass each other to the highest degree?” And they both laughed.

“You’re the best friend anyone could ask for, Rainbow,” Fluttershy mumbled before Rainbow felt her un-tense and heard the unmistakeable sound of gentle snoring.

“I would really hope to be, Fluttershy,” Rainbow smiled as she nuzzled into Fluttershy mane and they fell asleep in each other’s warm embrace. Before she truly slipped into a warm dream, one last thought crossed Rainbow’s mind.

You are lovely, Fluttershy...

Author's Note:

Hey there!

Tell me how I did This is my first shot at romance and stuff so I don't know whether it's... How to say this; appropriate? Valid? Good?

Anyways, two one-shots in a row, Doc? What?! Yep, here ya go. Written in about two hours last night. ~~This might replace the Star Bound chapter of the week so yeah.~~

So yeah, please comment on how I did, any feedback is much appreciated!

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