• Published 5th Jan 2012
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Deeper Than Friendship - JustaninnocentPony



Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's friendship is slowly reaching a new level, but will it work?

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Aftershock

Chapter 13
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Rainbow Dash flew as quickly as her wings would let her through the thick summer air, her tears following behind her every inch and second of the way. She didn’t know where she was going, what direction it was, or when she would even get there; she just knew that she had to get away, fast. Running wasn’t her style, but how could she just stay there and watch Fluttershy cry and beg until she was crying herself. Well, crying more heavily than she already was, that is. If she had stayed behind any longer it would’ve have just been that much harder for the cream colored Pegasus (and herself) to let go. Her route unclear and her flying jaded, the tears fogged up her vision and made it nearly impossible to fly. This was for the best, for the best, for the best… She continued to repeat it to herself, to try and make it stick in her mind.

Somehow no matter how many times she said it, the words never stuck, her mind didn’t agree with them, no matter how hard she tried. In fear of asking herself a question she dreaded she turned her focus to her route. Surprisingly enough she had managed to fly to the outskirts of Ponyville, and wasn’t too far from her house. She still did have the day off, she could just sit home and maybe cry into her pillow for the rest of the day or until she had no more tears left to cry. Or…. She could go into Ponyville and kick some certain ponies’ flanks, hard. The mare sighed, stopping in the middle of the sky, the afternoon sun warming her back nicely, a bittersweet sensation at the current moment. What good would that do… she had already severed the bond connecting her and Fluttershy, she wouldn’t be surprised if the mare hated her right now and never wanted to see her again. Kicking some random homophobe’s butt would be self-satisfying, but would probably only worsen things in the long run. So then, was she just supposed to choose the former? Cry like a little filly until she couldn’t cry anymore and then curl up into a little ball for the rest of the night? The question caused her to sigh again, looking downward as tears fell from her cheeks, disappearing as they fell to the ground below. ‘It would be so easy’ the mare thought ‘to just disappear with them… Flying and flying until…’ she stopped, the sudden somber turn her thoughts had taken snapping her back to reality. What in Celestia’s name was she thinking?! Suicide should never be the way out, it’s for cowards!

Then why does it feel like the only way out…

“Shut up… Shut up!” Rainbow silently barked at the dark thoughts in her head. Deciding that she had to get home before anypony saw her like this, she flew towards the general direction of her cloud house with great speed. No suicide for this athlete… not going to happen. Besides, it was just a harmless break up; she could bounce back from this as soon as possible. Hay, when she’s famous in a year or two she can have all the mares and stallions she wanted, and if anypony threw stones at her then she wouldn’t have to hesitate before sending their flanks straight to the concrete floor.

But I love Fluttershy… No stallion or mare could even come close to he-

“Shut up! It’s for the best!” Dash shouted out at the empty sky around her as more tears fell from her face. Even though she was a few inches away from her house now the thoughts seemed to only grow stronger, clawing at the walls of her mind like a persistent foal. They didn’t even cease when she landed in a heap on the front step, or when she staggered inside and found the nearest area to fall upon for comfort. Clamping her hooves to her head, she began to let her mind wonder. But of course, much to her displeasure, her brain wanted to think of nothing but the one pony she had just left. All of the fond moments, that night she slept over and held her so close that seemed like such a long time ago, all those times in the past when they were still friends and she wanted to say those three words so bad, but never did, all of them now crippled by one most likely foolish decision.

“If I turn around, even if she takes me back things still won’t work. The town is too homophobic, we can’t do it all in secret, it won’t work,” She muttered silently to herself “It’s for her sake just as much as it is for mine,”
Suddenly her stomach grumbled loudly at her, causing her to call a ceasefire to the war taking place between the verbal and silent parts of her mind. She got up from her couch where she had fallen earlier, stumbling into the kitchen as best as she could manage in her dazed and depressed state. The shiny marble reflected her image, allowing her to see what she looked like now that she was home. And it was a mess…

Her mane was untamed and scattered, the fur around her eyes were blotched and stained from tears, and her eyes red from crying. She looked like some filly that had been beaten up and left on a stray cloud for half the day. The image caused her knees to buckle, what was happening to her? She had only left Fluttershy an hour ago and already she looked like she had just witnessed a horrible ordeal. ‘I can’t let this destroy me that quickly’ she thought in silent determination as she softly brushed a few of her loose hairs back into place with her hoof. She had to pull through this, if she couldn’t do that then, what would happen to her? She could spiral down and down into a deep pit of depression until she wasn’t recognizable to her friends or even herself, and that was the last thing that she wanted to have happen. Remembering her original goal, she began rummaging the cabinets for food of any kind to satisfy her impatient stomach. Finding nothing she returned to the couch, disappointed and hungry with a plethora of emotions still running rampant through her head. Sniffling, she felt a tear at the edge of her eye, which she hastily wiped away.

“Come on Dash, you’re a star athlete, you’re the best, you don’t cry, you remain strong” She quietly muttered to herself in a desperate attempt to quell the rivers now brewing in her eyes. It was going to be hard, and she was going to cry; but that didn’t stop the mare from convincing herself that she would pull through. And maybe… maybe she could have Fluttershy back one day…

She broke and her eyes began to water greatly with the last saddening thought. She brought her hooves up to her face, weeping softly into them.

***

“Oh my,” Twilight said, suddenly short of breath as Fluttershy finished her retelling of the recent events. She held the pony closer as the silence was drained with more sobbing. She didn’t know what to make of it, how to act, what to say, or what she could even do. It was horrible, just down right cruel and horrible; and she didn’t do anything to prevent it… She knew something like this would happen, she knew that a good majority of Ponyville wouldn’t quite accept a homosexual pair with open arms like that.

“If only we lived in Canterlot,” the purple mare complained under her breath. Though things like same-sex marriage were still illegal in the capital city, most of the unicorns and ponies living there (apart from the stuck up wealthy ones) were very acceptant and tolerant of ponies of all kinds. She thought Ponyville would be the same, she thought the rest of Equestria would be the same, but she was wrong. ’It could always be that section of the town, not the whole place…’ the mare tried to convince herself. Regardless, something needed to be done, and it needed to be done now.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight called out softly to the mare she was holding. Fluttershy, her eyes red and blotchy, looked up in return “We’re going to fix this, alright?” Twilight looked to the mare with a serious expression. Rising from the ground she offered a hoof to the cream colored Pegasus. Fluttershy stared at her for a moment, as if she were having some sort of memory. The shy pony shook her head, gently lowering the hoof.

“It’s over Twilight… We can’t fix it…” Fluttershy replied in melancholic depression as she slowly got off of the ground “No one will ever accept it… and Dash is already gone who knows where”

Twilight stared in utter disbelief at the mare; she thought the answer would be an instantaneous yes. Sighing, she chose her next words carefully “Don’t you see Fluttershy? You and Dash need each other! At first I thought you guys dating would rip our group apart, but it’s actually going to stop that from happening!”

“I’m confused Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she cocked her head in curiosity “How will it save our group? None of the other girls even know that we’ve broken up yet,”

“Because, if you two are apart, then we all are; you see, I was originally coming here to apologize for what I did, you guys love each other, and you’re happy together!” Twilight emphasized, as if it should be obvious. Fluttershy merely shook her head, staring to the ground as more tears escaped her eyes. Twilight, in realization that she had said something to upset the mare, moved forward in an attempt to comfort her. Fluttershy took a step back, looking at Twilight with teary eyes.

“Twilight… she left me, she said it was best that way… she won’t take me back” The shy pony said in between soft sobs. Twilight lowered her ears in disappointment, turning away and beginning to make an exit. Before stepping beyond the very same threshold of trees she had passed not a moment ago, she turned back to the mare and whispered ‘I’m sorry’.

***

“What?!” Applejack nearly yelled as she stared at her purple messenger in disbelief as the sun set behind them at The Leafy Salad “What do yah mean they broke up?”

Rarity also jumped forward, giving an even more shocked look at the purple mare. The third guest present, Pinkie Pie, just sat there, a sad look on her face as she stared at the table in front of her. Her mane was flat…

“After… After what happened here at this restaurant Rainbow followed Fluttershy home, and there she decided it would be best for both of them if they broke up. That’s when I got there, Fluttershy told me what happened but she didn’t seem to want to fix it, she seemed to have it set in her mind that there was nothing we could do,” Twilight explained with a somber tone of voice as she looked from pony to pony.

“Ah say we go and show those ponies what’s for!” Applejack exclaimed, fiery passion burning in her voice.

“Being a lady of fine elegance, such ruffian behavior is usually out of my derestriction. But… I. WILL. KILL. THEM,” Rarity finished, the anger in her tone making no attempt to hide itself as she pounded a hoof on the table in rage. All the while, Pinkie Pie just sat there, still staring at the table as if she were too deep in thought to notice anything but it.

“No, as much as I agree, oh and I agree, we need to go about this a different way. Fluttershy and Dash need each other; we all know that, we can take care of the other ponies later,” Twilight explained. Rarity and Applejack simultaneously gave the mare puzzled looks.

“And how are we supposed to get them back together with the way they are?” Rarity asked curiously. Both mares were leaning in so closely to Twilight now the unicorn could swear she could smell their breath. Twilight leaned back with a smile of determination creeping upon her face that thoroughly confused her two friends.
“I have a plan,”

***

Twilight cautiously approached the outside of the home resting on top of the massive cloud above her head; she turned around, making sure her slow-moving companion had caught up with her before she enacted the next part of her plan. She only had one shot with this, and if she played her cards right just maybe she could fix things after all. But of course, she had no idea how Dash was going to be; for all the purple mare knows Dash could be faking happiness, crying her eyes out, punching holes in her walls, or the flier may not even be home at the moment. Regardless, anything helpful at this point was worth a try…right?

Staring up at the massive structure, Twilight contemplated how she was going to herself and a melancholic, barely-moving Pinkie Pie up onto a cloud home without hurting anything. Her answer came the next moment when the mare they were looking for came out onto her front steps, and stared down below soullessly. When the flier’s eyes locked upon Twilight’s, she instantly shook her head, trying frantically to improve the mess that had become her face before greeting company.

“Dash,” Twilight called out in a semi-concerned tone. The blue Pegasus stared down, looking at her as if she had just notice her existence.

“Oh, h-hi Twilight and… Pinkie Pie, W-what’s up with you guys?” Rainbow asked in her usual care-free voice as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, the visible sweat and tears coming down her face betrayed her non-chalant façade. This behavior only served to increase the unicorn’s worry for her friend. Pinkie Pie, still staring sadly at the ground had no reaction, no movement, nothing.

“Can you come down to talk?” Twilight asked as she looked up at her friend with sincere concern. Rainbow Dash, becoming more frantic as she rushed to make herself look as normal as she could be before leaning back over the edge and jumping off, coming to a slop-ish landing on the ground below.

“Uh, sure Twi, what do you need,” The blue mare said in between sniffles. Twilight, glancing over at a still unaltered Pinkie Pie took a step forward, and pulled the Dash into a tight hug. Being caught by surprise, Dash hugged back softly, almost wanting to ball her eyes out and confess everything to the mare. She held her tongue though, and waited for what was going to happen next. After a moment, the two ponies parted, and Dash was meant with a look of deep sympathy from Twilight as she began to speak.

“We know what happened… The break-up and all, and we want to help fix it,” Twilight said in earnest. Dash’s eyes widened in fear, her friends already knew, and what was worse was they wanted to try and undo it? What good what that do?! They’d just end up in the same scenario again, but worse!

“Dash…?” Twilight’s voice brought the Pegasus back to reality, and her mind quickly jumped into what to do next to avoid the subject and what could come from it at all costs. Looking straight into the unicorn’s eyes, she straightened out her look and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry Twi’… but it’s over, there’s no fixing it and you shouldn’t waste your time trying,” The blue mare answered with a serious tone, not moving her gaze from the Twilight’s for a second. Twilight stared at her with the same amount of confusion she did at Fluttershy. Why not fix it?! They love each other!

“But Dash,”

“No buts Twilight, my mind’s made up,” Dash restated seriously, trying her best not to let the emotional part of her mind scream out a ‘yes’ for help “Now, I need to go back home, I’m busy right now,”

“Busy doing what?” Twilight asked in deep worry. Dash looked away towards her cloud home; her emotional escape just a burst of wing power and a few feet of flight away. As she was about to take off, she heard another voice, a more quiet and sad voice that almost resembled Fluttershy’s. She whirled around to see the owner of the voice, only to be met with a horrible-looking Pinkie Pie.

“Dash… This is all my fault, you have to let us help,” the pink mare pleaded with her watery eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. In any other circumstance the answer would have been a resounding yes to the pink pony, but…

I have to let them help

“No I don’t!” Dash hissed to herself under her breath, earning her a weird stare from her two visitors.

“Please?” Pinkie’s sad and quiet voiced chimed into her ears again, making the flier more and more anxious by the second. Sweat beaded more ferociously down her brow as her eyes welled up with hot tears again. She had to get out of there; she had to go where they couldn’t see her cry, where they couldn’t see her break down. Her eyes darting from pony to pony in front of her, she began to back away.

“I’m sorry… I just can’t…” Dash stammered out before taking to the sky, flying as quickly as she could into her home and
slamming the door behind her.

“Rainbow!” Twilight frantically called out, already feeling disappointed with herself for failing. That was one pony failed, and
she was pretty sure the other one wouldn’t be a resounding success either. But they couldn’t just give up! Her ears down and failure weighing heavily on her shoulders, Twilight turned around solemnly and headed back towards town, Pinkie
following slowly behind.

***

The whole cottage was pitch black, and only a few lights remained on for necessary sight. Fluttershy had seen to it, she ran around one last time checking that every blind, drape, window, and possible peak hole was covered and locked. No one could see in, and she couldn’t see out; just what she needed. Now alone and hidden from the world apart from the animals fast asleep inside their homes, the mare quickly retreated to her couch, and without bothering to even properly sit on it, began to cry. Hot tears ran down her eyes as soon as she allowed them to, and within seconds the area around her became a soaking mess. She continued to cry, pounding on her couch with her hoof in distraught, disturbing some of the nearby animals from their slumber. Why did it have to happen to her? She lets her heart open to somepony close to her, and within less than a week it’s crushed and destroyed. The mare didn’t even know who to blame anymore; should she blame Rainbow Dash for leaving her so suddenly, should she blame the terrible, terrible ponies at the restaurant that scorned and shunned them, or was it her own fault, for even luring Dash for a day out in the first place? Regardless of all three options being viable, it wasn’t in her nature to hold a grudge on anypony, she just couldn’t bear to. And if there was no one to blame and no one to go to…

“What do I do?” Fluttershy questioned aloud. She had never felt love before, at least not love as pure as what she had felt; nothing could compare to it, not even the magic of friendship held a candle to the heart-racing, mind fogging, breath taking sensation that she shared with Dash. But she had also never experienced the soul shattering emptiness of losing that very feeling, and the pony she shared it with. Was crying her only solution now? Her only escape? The emotions that raced into her mind and heart the moment that sentence filled with so much pain came out of Dash’s mouth still hadn’t ceased, and were only growing stronger as time went on. Maybe she should just live out her days in almost absolute solitude; away from the ponies she thought acceptant who now judge her. She wouldn’t be surprised if the news that she was a “Filly Fooler” had spread over all of Equestria by now. In every newspaper, every headline: ‘Extra, Extra! The Element of Kindness likes Mares?!’. The very idea made the Pegasus shudder violently, what if that had already happened? Then she could never leave her house again! She began to cry more into the couch cushion, wishing for someone to help her, somepony to come along and tell her it’s alright. Sighing, the mare silently admitted to herself that only one pony could do that for her; and that pony had already flown away followed by a mess of tears and a bright rainbow streak.

A sudden knock on the door derailed her train of thought, and sent her mind into immediate panic. What if those cruel ponies had tracked her down and found where she lived?! Or, what if it was the press, wanting to squeeze every morsel of her once private sexuality out of her to release to the world? Slowly rising from her couch, the mare hastily rubbed the visible tears out of her eyes and took a deep breath, cautiously approaching the door. She had already covered the peep hole, rendering any way of finding out who was at the door useless. She coughed, and rubbed the last few tears out of her eyes before softly answering.

“Hello? W-who is it?” She spoke in a forced voice that barely contained her pain and emotions.

“It’s us Fluttershy, we mean no harm,” A kind and familiar voice answered. Fluttershy shakily raised a hoof to the latch and
unhitched it, opening the door just enough to peak through. Sure enough, her suspicions were correct; standing outside on her doorstep was Applejack and Rarity, both sharing the same expression of deep worry and anxiety. “Please let us in Sugarcube,” Her orange coated friend pleaded, gently resting a hoof on the door as to not push, but to gently prod the grasp Fluttershy held on it. Very cautiously, the Pegasus slowly opened the rest of the door, and took a step forward to face her two friends.

“Darling, we’re ever so sorry about the terrible fate that has befallen you and our Dash,” Rarity apologized sympathetically. At the mention of her ex-mate’s name, Fluttershy could feel her heart sting a little. Rarity took a step forward into the home, but Fluttershy counter stepped her, blocking the white unicorn’s path. She couldn’t let them in; they would only make things worse. She regretted ever even answering the door in the first place. But she had, and she was under pressure now to let them help as she was sure they’d offer to. She hated denying her friends, but the mare just couldn’t handle seeing or talking about Dash right now, not after what happened.

“Please let us help,” Applejack pleaded once more, causing Fluttershy to become more nervous and pressured than she already had been, her heart racing at a mile a minute. It was so tempting, just to break down and admit everything, admit that she still did want Dash back, that she wanted help. It was for the best though, and that alone was the only reason she held back. Dash may have been right, it was apparent that barely anypony would accept their love after what happened earlier. She welled up at the thought, and tears once again began to stream down her eyes. Applejack reached forward to comfort the mare, but Fluttershy took a step back swiftly.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” She uttered softly in the middle of her tears. She backed away further, shutting the door quickly and collapsing against it.

“But Fluttershy!” Applejack called out, banging on the door desperately, only causing more tears to stream down the Pegasus’s face. Rarity gently laid a hoof on the farmpony’s shoulder, signaling for them to leave. Reluctant to accept such a quick defeat, Applejack tried again to knock, calling out louder for the mare. A moment passed and she sighed in defeat; she pulled herself away from the door, and turned around with Rarity in a dreadful stride away from the cottage, leaving a crying and broken Fluttershy leaning against the door.

***

Twilight nearly broke her door as she opened it in a fit of defeated anger and frustration towards so many things. She knew it would happen, she just knew it; but it was too late now, unless Applejack and Rarity had managed to get through to
Fluttershy nothing would change, and the whole group could very well collapse over the entire situation in due time. Her worst fear would be coming true and she couldn’t do anything to stop it!

Stomping around the library while a still distraught Pinkie Pie sat solemnly in a corner, the mare looked around for anything in her home that could help. Even something as simple as a cup of tea to calm her nerves would be substantial at the moment. Alas, nothing of use was found, there was nothing she could do! Sighing, she fell against bark wall of the tree and stared at the opposite side. Why in the name of Celestia did those dumb bigot ponies have to be so rude and mean!? They had no right treading on Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash like they had! It was none of their business and yet they had the gall to call names and throw stones like… like… like they were a couple of freaks! Twilight’s disappointment faded quickly, and was soon replaced by a boiling anger as more vicious thoughts clouded her mind. It was their fault, all of those ponies in Ponyville with nothing better to do than hate! She was so angry she just wanted to hit something, hard; punch a hole in the wall, kick a window out, rip a doll apart. Fluttershy and Rainbow had done nothing wrong! Yet, they were treated like they were from the bucking moon!

A sudden knock on the door took the mare’s attention away from her growing temper for a moment. Getting up, she hurried to the door and looked through the peep hole. She then ripped threw it open as if her life depended on it.

“How did it go?” Twilight question impatiently as Rarity and Applejack stood sadly in the door way. Her heart sank; she could tell what they were going to say even before their mouths moved. Sighing, the unicorn relaxed her grip on the door and half-heartedly invited them in. Once they were all gathered in the library, an intense and sad silence heavily weighed upon their shoulders. It failed, the two ponies though obviously still in loved seemed determined to stay apart for the better.

“This is your fault Twilight,” Rarity spat viciously, earning a surprised stare from the lavender unicorn.

“How is it my fault?!”

“You and your stupid want to rip them apart in the first place. But, you didn’t stop there. You ran away from apologizing, and by the time you feel your guilty conscious telling you what’s right it was too late. And your stupid plan! What was talking to them supposed to do! Now they’re even more sure than before about staying separated!” Rarity’s voice went from calm anger to boiling fury within a blink of an eye as the rest of the ponies watched in stunned silence.

“At least I was trying to do something about the situation!” Twilight retorted, anger brewing in her own tone.

“Oh and we weren’t?! In fact, if I remember correctly you barely gave us a chance to react before you sprang your flawed idea!” Rarity moved from her position by the fire, stepping closer to the mare. Twilight stepped forward in return, putting herself in closer proximity with her target.

“What else was there to do?!It wasn’t like we could’ve just forced them out of their homes and locked them in a room together until something happened!” Twilight screamed.

“Yes we could have! In fact, it would have been better than what you had us do!” Rarity raged back, now barely inches away from the purple mare’s muzzle.

“Girls!” Applejack broke in, splitting the two ponies apart forcefully “Arguing ain’t going to fix any of our problems,”
Twilight and Rarity backed down, letting go of their grudge match almost as quickly as it started with a ‘sorry’ from each. Now with the library calm again, another awkward silence enveloped all the inhabitants. All of them in deep thought over what to do next, but none coming up with a single coherent idea. A minute passed, and then an hour. Occasionally one would rise quietly to grab a glass of water or to use the rest room, but no one spoke. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity Pinkie Pie broke the ice.

“What do we do? We can’t possibly let them stay like this,” The pink mare said sorrowfully “You saw how Dashie was acting, right Twi?”

The whole room’s attention turned to focus on Twilight, who was sitting against the bark wall of the house again and staring at the floor gloomily.

“What can we do Pinkie? They obviously don’t want our help,”

“Throw them a party?” The baker suggested hopefully. A shake of the head from Twilight quickly gave her the answer.

“We’ll just have to wait it out,” Applejack stated calmly, averting her eyes from anypony else in the room.

“But what if it never gets fixed?” Rarity dreadfully speculated “What if they don’t even become friends again? What shall we do then?”

“Don’t say that Rarity. That will never happen, we’re all going to be friends for life,” Twilight tried to sound reassuring, but a tear in the corner of her eye betrayed the act.

“Don’t worry Twilight, I’m sure within due time those two silly fillies will be kissing like nopony’s business,” Applejack said with a smile as she sniffled lightly.

“But… what about Spike? He won’t understand any of this, how do we tell him what’s going on?” Twilight questioned, her voice full of worry. All the ponies in the room turned their head to the upstairs area, where a still asleep Spike lay peacefully cuddled up in his blanket, oblivious to the situation.

“We don’t,” Rarity stated stoically.

“But…” Twilight started before being cut off again.

“Listen Twilight, Spike rarely spends much time around Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash; He’s mainly infatuated with me or around you. As long as we keep him away from the heat of it all, it’ll be alright,”

“What if he finds out though?”

“He won’t find out, don’t worry” Rarity reassured kindly. Twilight returned a smile, and gazed from pony to pony in the room. Even during the most horrid situation that could befall them, the majority of her friends had managed to stick together, and have yet to rip apart. Though uncertain whether they will or not, the fact makes Twilight happier about the current circumstances. Wiping the tears from her eyes, the mare looks to all her friends, mouthing a grateful ‘Thank You’

END