Ace Flier

by nixf

Chapter 10

Rainbow Dash trotted angrily through Ponyville, wishing that she had waited until after she had eaten before trying a dramatic exit. Still, what was done was done and now she had a hunger to sate. So with a growling stomach, she headed to the town centre. It was lucky that she had slept in late enough for the market to already be open.

There were a lot of ponies mulling around the marketplace, and Rainbow Dash could already feel a migraine making itself known from the crowd of voices. Ponyville didn’t used to be busy, but it had been a holiday destination ever since Twilight’s ascension. To be fair it did mean that the council had a larger budget to look after the region, but Rainbow Dash still sometimes felt herself missing the more quiet past.

“Where is she?” Rainbow Dash muttered as she scanned around. Normally she would have just flown over everypony, but she knew it was going to be a week before that was an option. Through the mass of ponies she finally spotted Applejack’s stall and quickly shoved her way over.

“Heya sugarcube!” Applejack called out, before turning back to the pony in front of her as they negotiated on the price of a bushell or three of apples. Rainbow Dash mostly tuned it out, trotting behind the stall’s counter and swiping an apple fritter.

Applejack shot her a playful glare before she continued bartering with the long line of customers who all desperately wanted some of the highly coveted goods, but not for the full price. Rainbow Dash just leant on the counter as she slowly ate her way through the fritter, enjoying every mouthful.

“What’s up with the bandaged wing?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash as she hoofed over another bag of apples to a customer, though another quickly took their place.

“I sprained it, I’m going to need some pegasi to fly my house down until I can put weight on it again.” Rainbow Dash responded between mouthfuls, eyeing up a baked apple pie that would certainly make a good second course.

“I doubt you’re going to be able to do that. The mayor has been a bit strict with having cloud homes groundside after that mess with Thunderlane’s storm cloud.” Applejack pointed out, though her attention was quickly drawn away by another customer.

“Is she still bitter about that?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe that the mayor would hold a grudge for so long, it had been nearly a month.

“It charred half of town hall, so I’d say she is going to deny any applications until they at least finish the repairs.” Applejack laughed, another bag of produce handed over.

“I could just not apply at all. You know, better to ask forgiveness than permission and all that.” Rainbow Dash suggested, before sighing. She knew that there was little hope that she would be able to convince any of the weather team to risk their necks on it. “Or maybe I’ll just stay groundside for another few days.”

Applejack didn’t respond, distracted by yet another customer. Rainbow Dash took the distraction as excuse enough to grab the apple pie. It tasted even better than it looked.

“You could’ve helped.” Applejack pointed out as she finally settled on a deal with the last pony in the line, giving her a short break before the next rush arrived.

“I could,” Rainbow Dash admitted as she finished the last mouthful. Applejack’s homemade food was great, though the forced apple theme did somewhat limit her. One of these days Dash was going to force her to eat an orange, or at least a banana.

“And yet we both know that you probably won’t.” Applejack chuckled, throwing a hoof around Rainbow Dash’s shoulders and pulling her into a quick hug before releasing her again.

“Probably? No. I definitely won’t help.” Rainbow Dash clarified with a laugh.

“I hope that attitude doesn’t mean that you won’t help with the wedding.”

“Wait, you know about that as well?” Rainbow Dash asked, wondering if she was the only one who had been left in the dark. “Twilight only told me last night, did you all already know?”

“Nah, I got the same panicking alicorn at my door at midnight that you got,” Applejack sighed. “I love her to bits, but that mare really needs to learn to not sweat the small stuff. She kept on muttering things about newspapers and other nonsense.”

“Oh, so you only just found out as well,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“I would have preferred to find out after a good night's rest, but at least it was good news.” Applejack shrugged, smiling as she saw a few ponies heading over her way. Business was strong these last few days.

“Is it good news? Twilight didn’t seem to entirely think so.” Rainbow Dash frowned.

“Of course it is.” Applejack turned back and shot her a curious look. “Sure, the media stuff might be a little annoying. However it has given Twilight the drive to finally make this herd official. I’d say that the offer of getting to be officially together with those I deeply care about could only ever be seen as a good thing.”

“I guess, the news stuff didn’t sound so good.”

“It’s all good news to us, Dash. Besides, when have you ever worried about a few newspaper reporters?” Applejack pulled her into another quick hug, before releasing her and turning to the queue of ponies that had slowly gathered while they had been talking. “I’d love to talk more, but I’ve got customers.”

“All good, I’m probably going to see how Fluttershy is going with the news.” Rainbow Dash barely waited for a farewell nod from Applejack before heading out of the busy marketplace.

---

The journey to Fluttershy’s would have normally been only a few seconds for Rainbow Dash by wing, but by hoof it was a lot longer. Sure, she was no slouch on the hoof, but with the crowds in Ponyville that day it was unlikely that she was going to make a good pace. So it was a frustrated Rainbow Dash that finally made it to Fluttershy’s cottage.

However just before she knocked on Fluttershy’s door it was shoved open. Rainbow Dash barely managed to let out a yelp before Pinkie Pie dove at her, tackling her into a tight hug. The two of them collapsed onto the ground in a tangle of pony limbs. Somehow, her injured wing wasn’t jostled in the process. She looked up to see Pinkie Pie’s muzzle a hoof width away from her own, a wide smile plastered over it.

“Hey, watch the wing!” Rainbow Dash complained as she tried to wiggle out of the awkward cuddle.

“I would never hurt your little boo-boo,” Pinkie Pie chuckled, before leaning close and giving Rainbow Dash a quick nuzzle.

“Oh dear, what happened to your wing,” Flutershy quickly trotted out and leant down close to look over the injury. “Pinkie, could you please get off of her so I can have a look?”

“It’s just a sprain,” Rainbow Dash explained as she got back onto her hooves, thankful for Fluttershy providing a good excuse for Pinkie Pie to release her. Normally she didn’t mind hugs, but she just wasn’t in the mood today. Also Pinkie Pie had already managed to accidentally nudge it twice while nuzzling her. “It’s not that serious, the Wonderbolts doc said that I would be back in the air in a week.”

“You should still avoid any more roughhousing with Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy sighed.

“Have fun looking at Dashie’s ouchy. My shift with the cakes starts soon so I gotta gallop,” Pinkie Pie cheered, giving Fluttershy a quick hug before turning to the town. “See you tonight, cuties.”

“Tonight?” Rainbow asked absently to herself as she watched Pinkie Pie scamper off. She turned back to Fluttershy and gestured towards the disappearing Pinkie Pie, but all she got was a shrug in response.

“I guess she thinks that you’re staying the night.” Fluttershy shrugged. “Now about that wing, can I have a quick look?”

Rainbow Dash wordlessly stepped closer and let her inspect it. Fluttershy gently moved the bandaged wing up, pulling back the material slightly to check how it was wrapped. Frowning slightly, she adjusted it as best she could before tenderly lowering the limb back down.

“So, are you happy? The Wonderbolts medic said it should heal within a week and I’ll be back in the air.” Rainbow Dash told her with an eye roll.

“It looks like you have not changed it today” Fluttershy pointed out with a frown.

“Wait, I’m meant to change it?”

“At least every day.” Fluttershy let out a long suffering sigh. “I’d love to help re-wrap it, but I’ve got a few chores to do. You’re welcome to join me and we can switch out your bandages afterwards. So long as you don’t strain yourself, of course.”

Helping Fluttershy feed a billion or so animals was normally something that Rainbow Dash would find any excuse to avoid. However with her cloud home still entirely inaccessible and nothing else to distract her, she decided that she may as well try and enjoy it. Also, she did not want to try and rewrap the bandages herself.

“Thank you for helping me carry this down. With Dr Fauna busy handling the recent influx of pets, it would’ve taken me at least a second trip.” Fluttershy cheerfully thanked Rainbow Dash as they walked to the new expansion of Fluttershy’s rehabilitation clinic. Recent changes in zoning laws had required the facility to be much closer to the woods, hence the considerable walk.

“These saddlebags feel like they weigh a tonne. What do you even have in here?” Rainbow Dash strained under the weight of a fully loaded pair of saddlebags that Fluttershy had given her.

“It’s just food for the animals,” Fluttershy sighed, an equally large pair of saddlebags on her back. “We’re here now.”

“Finally,” Rainbow Dash flopped onto the ground dramatically, letting herself rest in the soft grass.

“It was only a two minute walk,” Fluttershy chuckled as she set her own saddlebags on the ground and searched for her list of chores. List making was an invaluable tool, and one that she was thankful to have picked up on from Twilight. Sometimes she wondered how she ever managed to look after all of the animals before she learnt how to plan out her day.

The two soon fell into a quiet silence as they worked, Fluttershy only breaking the silence to give Rainbow Dash a small amount of guidance. However Rainbow Dash didn’t really say much in return apart from a muted nod or a half spoken word of agreement. It was somewhat like talking to a tree, it had a presence but there wasn’t really any communication.

Fluttershy tipped a bag of carrots out in front of Sandra the wolf. Naturally the wolf didn’t look all that happy to see that vegetables were still on the menu, but one glare from Fluttershy was enough to make Sandra eat her carrots. However it wasn’t Sandra’s picky diet that was distracting Fluttershy, instead it was the frowning on Dash’s face that caught her attention.

“So, how did you take the news from Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, hoping to pull Rainbow Dash back to talking, closing the carrot bag with her wing and pushing it back into her saddlebag. “It was a bit of a surprise to me that our union needed to happen so soon.”

“It was definitely a thing,” Rainbow Dash muttered as noncommitable as possible.

“I’m personally looking forward to us all being properly close together.” Fluttershy again tried to prod some sort of response out of Rainbow Dash, but all she got was a huff.

“Dash, is everything okay with us?” Fluttershy asked carefully, as she opened up a jar of cookies and offered it to some of the smaller reptiles.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Rainbow Dash was quick on the defensive.

“Well, you just don’t seem to want to spend that much time with us. We barely got to spend time with you before you had to dash off for the Wonderbolt tour. You didn’t even ask if one of us wanted to join you.”

“The Wonderbolts take a lot of time, but I totally spend time with you and the others. I’m here now aren’t i? Hay, I spent all of last night at Rarity’s.”

“You spent the night at Rarity’s?” Fluttershy repeated with a shallow frown.

“Yeah...” Rainbow Dash paused, wondering why Fluttershy seemed so put out at such a minor revelation. “With my sprained wing I wasn’t able to get to my place, so I went to Rarity’s.”

“Why Raritys?”

“You mean, why there and not here?” Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy’s embarrassed expression. Fluttershy looked away, refusing to meet Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

“Look, I figured that you and Pinkie were probably having a night together so I decided to bug Rarity instead. I didn’t want to intrude or anything.” Rainbow Dash tried to explain, but she could tell that Fluttershy wasn’t happy with her answer.

“Pinkie Pie and I love you, Dashie.” Fluttershy turned, the hurt on her face so visible that even Rainbow Dash couldn’t miss it. “Why would you ever think that we wouldn’t want you to join us? Have we done something that makes you think that you aren’t welcome?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that Pinkie can be a bit much at times.” Rainbow Dash tried to explain, sitting down beside Fluttershy on the grass, watching the animals eat their lunch.

"Just Pinkie? I'm not too much, am I?" Fluttershy moved herself closer, her hoof resting right beside Rainbow Dash's own.

"You're never too much." Rainbow Dash responded in a panic, wanting to avoid Fluttershy getting into a mopey mood.

"So is it just Pinkie Pie that is stopping you from spending the night here? Or is there something else?" Fluttershy was now leaning right up against Rainbow Dash, their muzzles barely a shoulder width apart.

"It's not just Pinkie Pie being a bit overly energetic." Rainbow Dash admitted with a weak smile. “Sometimes things just put me off, so I stayed at Rarity’s instead.”

"Can I try something to make you feel a bit more at ease around us?" Fluttershy asked gently, resting her hoof against Dash's own and giving it a soft squeeze.

“Here?” Rainbow Dash gestured towards the nearby animals, not that willing to have an audience to something so private.

“We’re not going to go that far, silly.” Fluttershy smiled gently.

"Sure?" Rainbow Dash had no idea what Fluttershy meant, but she didn't want to just deny her. She would do anything to make her happy.

"Thank you." Fluttershy softly whispered before leaning into Rainbow Dash, her soft hooves wrapping around Rainbow Dash and pulling her into the immense softness of a Fluttershy cuddle. Dash leant in as well, letting Fluttershy bury her muzzle into her throat as they sat together, a comfortable warmth building between them.

However, as wonderful as it was to have a proper cuddle, Rainbow Dash couldn't stop a small frown from flickering on her face whenever Fluttershy's forelegs strayed too close to her wings. Sure she trusted Fluttershy entirely, but touching a pegasi's wings was a big deal and Rainbow Dash was struggling to be okay with it. Fluttershy was being gentle and soft, but it still wasn't enough.

The second she felt the soft frog of Fluttershy's hoof make contact with a primary feather, she couldn't stop herself from flicking her wing. Fluttershy yelped and pulled away, giving Rainbow Dash a rather curious look.

“Sorry, did I hurt your wing?” Fluttershy asked, a horrified expression on her face.

“You just caught me off guard,” Rainbow Dash tried to explain away her reaction.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Fluttershy asked, rubbing her hoof where Rainbow Dash’s wing had hit her. Feathers were soft, but a hit from the metacarpus could still definitely sting.

"Sorry about the hit, I didn’t mean to do that." Rainbow Dash promised, not actually answering the question. "My wings are just a little frosty at times."

"Okay, I'll be very gentle. Is that okay?" Fluttershy promised, slowly sliding her forehooves back towards Rainbow Dash's wings.

This time Rainbow Dash focused on her wings, willing the feathered limbs to stay immobile. It was difficult, but she managed to stop them from flapping even as she felt the edge of one of Fluttershy's hooves gently rested on them. However it did little to make the weird feeling of unpleasantness that also settled over Rainbow Dash in a thick fog of distaste. Her wing was tense as she struggled to stop herself from shoving Fluttershy away again.

“You’re too tense for this.” Fluttershy sighed as she pulled away, a frown on her face. “Dash, you need to tell me what you are okay with. I want to make you feel good, but you look as if you are very uncomfortable. I can stop if you want.”

“Don’t stop,” Dash blurted out, annoyed with herself for being once again unable to handle even the smallest part of dating. It was just a pit of petting, she knew that she should be able to take it.

“Dash, you’re clearly not liking this.” Fluttershy tried to pull away, but Rainbow Dash tightened her forelegs around her.

“Look, I’ve got to get used to this stuff. You’re the only one I really trust with this stuff.” Rainbow Dash explained, pulling Fluttershy back into a tight hug.

“Dash!” Fluttershy looked ready to shove her way out of Rainbow Dash’s hooves.

“At least a hug?” Dash pleaded.

“Sure, a hug.” Fluttershy relented, wrapping her forehooves back around Rainbow Dash, the two of them returning to their quiet cuddle. This time Fluttershy kept her hooves away from Rainbow Dash’s wings to her relief. “You don’t have to push yourself. You can take your time, particularly with things like this.”

“Rarity said the same thing, but with this whole wedding thing...” Rainbow Dash trailed off.

“It’s just a ceremony. Anything more than that can wait.” Fluttershy reminded her, reaching up to give Rainbow Dash’s nose a gentle boop. “So just relax.”

“I’m trying,” Rainbow Dash complained.

“I know you are.” Fluttershy pulled herself up to look Rainbow Dash in the face, raising an eyebrow.

“I am trying! Look, it’s this marriage thing that is throwing me for a loop,” Rainbow Dash told her, only partially lying. The marriage thing was definitely a part of the reason she was so unsure of herself, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was more.

“You’re not the only one nervous about this marriage and what it means for us.” Fluttershy pointed out.

“You’re nervous as well?”

“Of course I am. To find out that I need to marry in front of so many other ponies is not something that I am looking forward to,” Fluttershy faltered, “Well, I am looking forward to being with you, but not with all of the other ponies there as well. It’s too much.”

“It’s not the crowd that worries me,” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“It’s all very sudden, and I am a bit unsure about us rushing into it.” Fluttershy agreed before smiling, “though if I needed to rush into a union with five other mares, you would all be the ones that I would want to do it with.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, realising that she couldn’t deny Fluttershy’s view. “It’s the same for me. You five are the only ponies I could ever go through this with.”

With that quiet promise, the two fell into silence and enjoyed the chance to have a peaceful cuddle.

Comments

[CleanSweep]

Well...at least if Rainbow has to go through with all this, she's going through it all with the right ponies. But that might not be enough...

Great chapter! I'm stuck between rooting for Rainbow to explore what she's comfortable with and feeling bad she's clearly forcing herself into it, and I love that difficult feeling.