Never too Shy to Love

by True Blood

5 - A Changing Heart

Twilight sat at her writing desk, a sheet of parchment in front of her, quill still sitting untouched in the inkwell. Surrounding her were the scrunched up remains of countless failed friendship reports to the Princess. The mug of coffee that was the current object of her attentions had long gone cold while she stared at it, completely at a loss for something to write.

This shouldn’t have been such a problem. Everything had worked out: Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were now together, the rift in their friendship mended. They were both happy, the rest of the group was happy. Everyone was happy!

So why did Twilight not feel as if everything was fine? Could it have had something to with the distant, troubled expression on Rainbow’s face ever since she came back? Was it the fact that, despite their assurances that everything was fine, they were still awkward around each other in public?

Well, aside from their little display earlier with the feather and the rather passionate follow up, Twilight reminded herself with a blush. The scene still made her a little giddy inside. It had been so heartfelt and so adorable. She had read in several books that the giving of feathers held a lot of significance to pegasi, but she had never known just how emotional it would be to actually witness the exchange.

So why was Rainbow Dash so uncertain? Fluttershy had to have picked up on it, and knowing that mare, she’d be worrying non-stop, whether it meant something or not. It also can’t be good for Rainbow’s psyche, having such a commitment placed on her and, above all, it was making it very hard for Twilight to write this report.

Was it her place to intervene and try to sort things out? She didn’t think sitting around and doing nothing when she knew there was a problem was something a good friend would do, but then, it might be something that Rainbow and Fluttershy had to sort out for themselves. Maybe she would offer her assistance, but not take any direct action unless either Dash or Fluttershy – or both, she supposed – asked her to. But, no, that might be taking to the sidelines a little too much.

Maybe she would talk to Rainbow Dash, be firm, and demand to know what the matter was. Fluttershy’s heart was in the balance here, after all, she couldn’t afford to be taking things lightly. Yes, that seems like a good plan. Maybe she would get the other girls involved as well. It seemed the kind of thing that the entire group should be a part of. Several of the books she had read mentioned group therapy sessions helping out ponies who were having trouble with their relationships. One even mentioned all but kidnapping one of the ponies in question and tying them to a chair until they admitted their issues and sorted them out. An ‘intervention’ or something, she remembered it being called.

Maybe she would only use that one in a last-resort scenario. This relationship between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash was going to work, and nothing was going to get in the way.

Her mind made up, Twilight hopped off of her chair, leaving the barely-started letter lying on her desk and the mess of failures scattered over the floor. She’d need to be well rested if she was going to have a chance of helping tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of light breathing mingled with the chirping of woodland birds from elsewhere in the cottage as Rainbow Dash watched Fluttershy sleep from her intimate position on the bed. The loud bass of the snoring bear outside did little to disturb the quiet mare’s slumber, and Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle. Who would have thought that Fluttershy was such a heavy sleeper? Dash had only managed to get a few hours’ sleep in, sometime after midnight, thanks to the unsurprisingly loud cacophony of sleeping creatures in and around Fluttershy’s cottage. Dash was used to the almost absolute quiet of her cloud home, way up in the sky where few animals but birds even came close. How she had slept through the ruckus the night before last, Rainbow Dash had no idea.

Fluttershy stirred, mumbling inaudibly in her sleep, bringing a smile to Rainbow’s lips. Normally, she would be biting at the bit to get going, to move, or just do something after such a long period of inactivity, particularly since she had been conscious for the large majority of it. Normally. Normally, she wouldn’t be lying on a comfortable bed with a marefriend wrapped in her forelegs, simply enjoying the warmth of her coat and the constant rhythm of her heartbeat.

Dash would have laughed at how sappy that thought was, had she not suddenly been struck with a deep feeling of unrest. It was not Fluttershy so much that worried her. She cared for the mare deeply, but Dash was changing. She no longer constantly felt the need for speed whenever she flew, no longer got itchy hooves if she stayed still in one place for too long. She was becoming a sappy egghead poet in her own mind, without even meaning to.

All these changes were happening, and it seemed Dash had no control over it. She was the kind of mare that couldn’t be held back or controlled by anything or anyone. Yet, here she was, lying docilely in the embrace of the most timid mare in Ponyville, if not, all of Equestria.

Dash couldn’t hold back a flinch at this, which caused Fluttershy to stir again. It wasn’t that she valued her reputation as a brash, daring, fast-paced mare more than she did Fluttershy. Caring for her reputation was just so ingrained into who she was that she couldn’t help but worry about what everypony would think.

So many things were changing and there was so much to think about, all happening so quickly. It all made Dash’s head spin. She had to move, had to do something. At least that part of her had not gone away completely, it seemed.

Disentangling herself from Fluttershy’s embrace, Dash gingerly slipped off the bed and crept her way across the bedroom and out the door. Once out into the hallway, she breathed a deep breath and made her way to the front door. A quick fly would clear her mind, she was certain.

Trotting out of the cottage into the surrounding yard, Dash closed her eyes and breathed in deep, relishing in the fresh smell of early morning air, the feel of the grass beneath her hooves and the light breeze tugging playfully at her mane. With a surge, she pushed off from the ground, snapped open her wings and took off into the sky. The laugh that was forming in her throat was ripped out in a rush that ended up as a loud whoop.

Before she knew it, the ground was nothing but a patchwork quilt far below, stretching on as far as the eye could see. The day was almost spotlessly clear. Ponyville was a mass of tiny little odd-coloured buildings, bordered one side by the lush green hills of Sweet Apple Acres, and on another by a stretch of light bushy grassland which led into the Everfree Forest. Cities and towns like Baltimare and Appleloosa could be seen in the distance, while the hazy sheen that had to be Cloudsdale floated off to the North. The barren red scorch just visible on the southern horizon marked the Badlands, and Canterlot sat perched, regal and majestic on the side its mountain, gazing down upon the entirety of Equestria.

Dash chuckled. Twilight wasn’t the only pony around who could know things.

It was a sight that always took her breath away, but Dash would never admit just how beautiful the view was to anypony. After all, she had a reputation to keep.

The thought forced a sigh out of Dash’s lungs and marred the view significantly. Why couldn’t things like romance just be simple? Flying was simple. Even the most complex tricks and flight patterns were easier to figure out than what was going on with Fluttershy.

Going on with myself is more like it, she thought with no small amount of chagrin. Fluttershy wasn’t the problem, and Dash knew it. The issue was within her own head, and that’s what annoyed her most. Some Element of Loyalty I am.

Despite the downer on her mood, Dash felt her spirits soar as she did a quick loop and took off across the sky, heading towards Ponyville. Fluttershy would likely sleep for a while longer, so Dash hoped she could be back before the other mare woke.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy slowly drifted awake, the remnants of a very pleasant dream fading into distant memory. The faint recollection of something unpleasant in her dreams nagged at the back of her mind, but what possible reason could there be for a bad dream? She dismissed the notion without worry as she stretched her legs, feeling the slight stiffness of a good night’s sleep slowly work itself away.

Rainbow Dash’s absence didn’t faze her at all. Dash, despite what everypony thought, was actually a very early riser. The skies were always clearer very early in the morning, when everypony was still asleep. It was the ideal time to get some flying practice in. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noted that, normally, despite the knowledge that Dash woke up early, the other mare’s absence would have set off several alarm bells in her head, triggering a downward spiral of fears and worries that would only be assuaged by Rainbow’s return.

As it stood, she didn’t feel even the slightest flicker of worry.

Just as she was considering herself stretched out, Fluttershy simultaneously noticed the suddenly-conspicuous lack of light shining in her window, and the clock hanging on the wall above her dresser.

It was almost midday!

Frantically, she searched around for something to wear, before shaking her head and galloping out the door. She didn’t style herself as an early riser, but midday was ridiculous! All of her animals would be grumpy because they missed their breakfast, and there was so much work to be done to get ready for the coming spring. And ponies don’t even normally wear clothes!

Rushing out into the living room, she hurriedly filled the bird feeders with seed, dodged the projectiles being thrown at her from her squirrel friends as she lay nuts around for them, ignored the pounding of an aggravated rabbit’s kicks against her foreleg and rushed about doing the thousand-and-one other things that constituted the morning routine, which should have been done hours ago.

Finally, with all her animals contentedly munching on the inexcusably late breakfast, Fluttershy was left sprawled on the couch panting, sweat glistening on her forehead as she tried to listen to the sound of eating animals over the racing of her heart and breath.

A new sound was introduced as her stomach angrily proclaimed its own need for nutrition, attracting some glances from the surrounding animals. Hiding a giggle behind her foreleg, Fluttershy hopped to her hooves and made her way into the kitchen.

As she gathered the ingredients she needed for a tulip and poppy sandwich, on a spur-of-the-moment decision, she collected enough to make sandwiches for two ponies instead of just herself.

Fluttershy was just sitting down on the front porch to eat when the feeling turned out to be justified as a distinctive rainbow contrail passed over the sky before angling down into a lazy spiral. Before long, Rainbow Dash herself landed not ten pony-lengths from the front door, slightly out of breath but, strangely, not a drop of sweat on her.

Fluttershy waved from her position at the table on her porch as Dash trotted over and, as she got closer, both of their stomachs growled in unison. Grinning, Fluttershy motioned to the other seat opposite her, where the second sandwich sat untouched.

Taking a seat, Dash took a bite, and moaned. “Oh Celestia, I’m so hungry. This is so good.” Between the munching and the moaning, Fluttershy could barely make out a word Dash said, but couldn’t suppress a giggle which Dash either didn’t notice or didn’t care enough to comment.

It wasn’t long before the sandwich was gone, leaving Dash looking regretfully at the crumbs remaining on her plate.

“There’s always more inside.” Fluttershy pointed out, before suddenly having her hair flung back by the wake of Rainbow’s dash inside to the kitchen. After several minutes of various culinary-related noises emanating from the kitchen, Dash emerged carrying a plate with several more sandwiches. “I take it you didn’t have breakfast before you left?”

Dash shook her head, munching away at the rather plain daisy sandwiches she had returned with. “Nope. I went for an early morning fly and figured I’d be back before long, but when I came back, you were still asleep. I flew some errands for the weather team and stopped by my house. It’s a real mess by the way, so it’s probably good we’ve been staying here.”

Fluttershy nodded, knowing full well how untidy Rainbow could get. She was one of the few ponies ever to see her dorm room at flight school. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Ducking her head, she gave Dash an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry I slept so long Dash, I was just so tired. I didn’t sleep much over the Hearth’s Warming festival, and it must have caught up to me.”

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry. It was my fault after all.” Dash reassured, a frown suddenly on her face. It didn’t last long however and soon her attention was focused on Fluttershy’s now empty plate. “How did you know I’d be coming back now though? I didn’t leave a note or anything, but you made some for the both of us.”

Fluttershy smiled. “It was just a hunch. I don’t know, I just got a feeling that I should be making food for more than… more than…” she paused. There was a peculiar smell coming from Rainbow Dash. Was it… primrose and lavender? “Rainbow, are you… are you wearing perfume?”

The immediate and furious blush on Rainbow’s face was all the answer Fluttershy needed. “I just… you know, I was cleaning and… I just found a bottle of my mum’s old… and I thought it’d be nice… You know, if I didn’t come back smelling like-” Fluttershy cut her off with a hoof to her mouth, grinning a wide smiling and blushing a little herself.

“Oh, don’t worry Dash, your secret is safe with me.” This made Dash squirm, which only made Fluttershy giggle. “You smell great, by the way.” Punctuating this with a quick kiss on the muzzle, Fluttershy picked up the two very clean plates and trotted back inside.

Looking back, she saw Rainbow following, blushing redder than ever. It really was an adorable sight.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight bustled through town. It was a busy afternoon, and the streets were filled with ponies busy preparing for the coming New Year’s celebration. She was a mare on a mission and nopony was going to stop her from saving her friends’ relationship.

Soon, the target of her gallop came in sight: Carousel Boutique. The dress shop seemed liberally coated in snow, but as Twilight came closer, she saw that the covering was positioned and placed with precision, to accentuate the form of the building. There were also several snow-creatures arrayed around the front door, evidently Sweetie Bell’s work from their slight lop-sidedness.

The sign on the door declared that the shop was closed for the few days leading up to the New Year, however Twilight knew that Rarity always took in emergency cases, and this was far more important than some pony’s Hearth’s Warming fashion crisis.

A knock on the door elicited a quick “we’re closed until the new year, but if you have important business, come back in about an hour, I’ll have some time then.” Twilight flinched. She hated to bother her friends when they were busy, but this was important. Rainbow Dash was on the brink of doing something incredibly stupid, and Twilight just had to prevent it.

“Rarity, it’s me!” She called out.

“Twilight? Oh, come in dear, come in.” As Twilight pushed the door open, Rarity glanced up from her work at the sewing machine, where she was quickly but carefully sewing together some rather exotic materials, probably the ones for the dignitary from Saddle Arabia she had been working on for the last week or more. “So, what brings you here today Twilight?”

Taking a deep breath, Twilight replied: “I think something is the matter with Rainbow Dash.”

This made Rarity pause her work and lower the glasses Twilight never knew she wore. “Why, whatever do you mean my dear?” was her response.

Twilight then explained everything she had noticed about Rainbow Dash. The distant look in her eye whenever she and Fluttershy were around other ponies, the reluctance to be seen touching Fluttershy, and the strange feeling of foreboding that Twilight herself was experiencing. It all added up to one thing:

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t think it means anything’?” Twilight exclaimed when Rarity voiced her thoughts on the matter. “Can’t you see? Dash is having trouble accepting Fluttershy as her marefriend for whatever reason and we, as good friends, need to help!”

Rarity rolled her eyes slightly, and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight darling, you don’t suppose you might be overthinking this just a little? Rainbow Dash looked us in the eye and told us without hesitation that she and Fluttershy are an item, and I don’t think she’s the kind of mare to lie to her best friends. So, maybe she’s having difficulty coming to terms with her new relationship status, but even if she were worried, it would be something the two of them need to sort out for themselves.”

Twilight groaned in frustration. Why couldn’t Rarity see? This was a serious problem, and would only escalate if left to get out of hoof. Something needed to be done, and it needed to be done soon.

Rarity must have noticed the look in Twilight’s eyes, because her grip on Twilight’s shoulder tightened. “Now Twilight, I absolutely forbid you to go off and do something silly that might put their relationship in danger. If you must, simply let them know that they have your support, but nothing more. Anything else might put a wedge between them, maybe even us as a group. Relationships are a delicate thing, and can explode in everypony’s face if not handled correctly.”

Twilight thought for a moment. Rarity was right. She was absolutely right: Relationships were a delicate thing, and Rainbow Dash’s relationship with Fluttershy needed to be handled with the utmost care. She had been going about this all wrong! She had been trying to bludgeon her way through this issue when she needed to be more subtle, but just as helpful. Maybe the tie-to-a-chair intervention plan would go back into the closet for last-resort emergencies. Maybe.

Bidding Rarity farewell, Twilight headed back to the library. It was back to the drawing board it seemed, but she already had a few new ideas as to how she could help. Rainbow Dash and Applejack have always been long-term rivals, and the best of friends. Maybe the honest farmer would be a better pony to talk to in order to get into Rainbow Dash’s head.

She’d head out to Applejack’s farm first thing in the morning: there wasn’t enough daylight left to make new preparations, let alone make the trip out there and back as well. It would have to wait until tomorrow. It was going to be another long night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy used the small spade to clear the entrance to yet another animal den which had gotten blocked over by the recent snowfall. It was a long and tedious job, keeping all the warrens and burrows clear of snow and debris, but Fluttershy didn’t mind so much. If the holes were left plugged up, then the air underground would go stale and possibly interrupt the sleep of some of the hibernating animals.

She briefly considered what kind of effects the lack of hibernation was having on the animals that stayed with her in her house, but they had chosen not to hibernate, and stay under her direct care instead, so it couldn’t be all that bad. They did seem a little grumpier than usual, but that might just be the cold.

The sound of Rainbow Dash snoring on a low-hanging cloud overhead was like music to Fluttershy’s ears. Dash had earlier gone off to do some quick jobs for the weather team – keeping the clouds in line, making sure too much snow didn’t fall in the one place, things like that – but had finished up quickly, and returned to nap above the cottage before Fluttershy started her work.

The thought that Rainbow could be helping with the burrows only briefly crossed Fluttershy’s mind, but she ignored it in favour of the pleasure of just having Dash close to her at all. If Dash wanted to help, then she’d offer. Wouldn’t she?

Now that she thought about it, Fluttershy had been noticing Dash acting strangely. Being very distant when they were around other ponies, and sometimes seeming to argue with herself under her breath when she thought Fluttershy wasn’t paying attention.

Oh, come on Fluttershy, don’t worry. This is a big thing for Dash after all. She’s never had a fillyfriend before, or even a coltfriend for that matter. She probably just needs some time to get used to the idea, that’s all. The thought was somewhat reassuring, as Dash really never had any sort of romantic relationship before. She had always been too busy practicing her flying, striving for her dream. It was one of the things that Fluttershy admired most about her.

A large chunk of ice came free with a crack and Fluttershy felt a small pang of uncertainty and regret. Rainbow Dash is so incredible, how could Fluttershy possibly think she deserved a mare like-

Enough of that Fluttershy. Twilight and the others have been trying to tell you that everypony is brilliant in their own way, and you’re no exception. Dash accepted you, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Sure, she might have trouble adjusting, and feel really awkward around you, and have regrets about where her life could have gone, and think she might be able to do better and…” Fluttershy let the thoughts trail off into silence. Her subconscious could worry all it liked, she was going to pay it no mind.

With a ladylike ‘hmph’ that would have done Rarity proud, Fluttershy turned her back on the voice in her mind, and went back to work. There were so many dens and warrens to clear, it would likely take her the rest of the day.

As she worked, her thoughts didn’t stray far from the mare sleeping on the cloud above her, but it wasn’t much more than an hour before Dash woke up.

Fluttershy was alerted by a sleepy moan from above, and looked up to see Rainbow’s groggy head peering down at her, mane mussed and half hanging over her face.

“Hey Flutters, what’cha doing?”

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash, I’m just clearing away the snow and ice from the dens and burrows. The animals need the fresh air while they hibernate, and it would be terrible for one to get completely blocked up.”

Rainbow looked around at all the barely-visible warrens littering the woods surrounding Fluttershy’s cottage with a sceptical expression. “Wow, there’s a lot of them, do you want some help?”

“Oh, I don’t know Rainbow, this needs to be done slowly and carefully, so that no pieces of ice or snow fall back down into the holes. I’m not… I mean I just don’t…”

“You don’t think I can be slow and careful?” Dash finished as she opened her wings and glided down from the cloud. She didn’t seem to be angry, which Fluttershy had been worried about.

“Well, yes, I mean… I didn’t… Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I didn’t mean to-”

Dash cut her off with a light kiss, and nuzzled her neck. “It’s okay Flutters, I know I don’t come across as much of a slow mare, but I think I can manage it for you.”

Fluttershy blushed, and returned Rainbow’s kiss in kind, then pointed with a hoof to an area she had yet to clear. “You can start over there, I mean, if you want to. There are some small spades in the toolbox over hear the house if you need one. I find it’s sometimes easier to use my hooves, but I’ve been doing this for years.”

“Alright, sure thing, thanks for letting me help.” Dash trotted over to the spot Fluttershy had indicated, and began gently clearing away the snow and ice from around the dens there.

Fluttershy realised she was staring, and quickly went back to work herself, but she couldn’t help but marvel over how gentle Dash was being. She carefully snapped off the icicles hanging over the burrows before slowly scooping the snow from in and around the holes. She double-checked each one when she finished, to make sure nothing had fallen inside, before moving on to the next.

Again she had to stop herself from staring and get back to work, but she found it hard to concentrate on the work with Dash to close.

It took them the better part of the afternoon to finish, and it wasn’t until the sun was nearing the horizon that they finally brushed the half-frozen sweat from their foreheads and went inside.

Fluttershy trotted straight to the kitchen and poured two glasses of cool water. Offering one to Dash, she sat down next to the table to give her hooves some much-needed rest. “Thank you so much for the help Rainbow, I would have had to work into the night to get it all done otherwise.”

Dash smiled broadly, and bumped Fluttershy’s shoulder lightly with a hoof. “Hey, don’t mention it, I’m always happy to help out a friend in need.”

Gladly returning the sign of coltish affection with no small measure of awkwardness, Fluttershy took a deep drink from her glass before replying. “You were so gentle too, the way you carefully handled the burrows and dens. I could hardly keep my eyes off of you and… and…” What Fluttershy had just said took some time to sink in, but once it did, she blushed furiously. She certainly had not meant to reveal that much!

Rainbow’s own blush was just as brilliant as her own must be, but there seemed to be a worried expression buried within the embarrassment. Fluttershy decided to change the subject, so she started looking in her cupboards for something to make for dinner.

“What did you feel like eating tonight Rainbow?”

The mare in question suddenly shook her head, as if being broken from some sort of inner monologue, and the unease rose to the surface of her expression. Putting a hoof awkwardly behind her head, she looked at the ground at Fluttershy’s hooves. “Well, you know, we’ve spent pretty much all of the last few days with each other, and I haven’t spent a night at home since I got back to Ponyville, so I was thinking I might just head home now, have dinner with Tank, get the place cleaned up a little. I’ll be back here before midday tomorrow alright? I promise.”

Dash seemed worried that she would take offense, or maybe be upset, but Fluttershy had known that they couldn’t spend every minute of every day with each other. They’d need some space. Many of the books she had read with Twilight had said as much, and she had been fully expecting this at some point or another. Maybe her little study session with Twilight hadn’t been a complete waste after all. Besides, Rainbow really did need to spend more time with Tank. There hadn’t been any pony pet play-dates recently, with all the fuss over Hearth’s Warming and the whole Rainbow ordeal, and Fluttershy hadn’t seen them about together in quite a while. She wasn’t upset or offended or worried in the slightest.

“Okay Rainbow, would you at least like a snack for the trip home? I’ve got some carrots here that are really tasty.”

Dash seemed completely distracted, more-so than usual, and with a quick but passionate – not to mention slightly awkward – kiss on the lips, she grabbed a carrot, thanked her for it, and trotted out the door.

It was so quick, so sudden, and very worrying. Something had been seriously troubling her, something more than just worries over a relationship, but if Rainbow needed to sort it out herself, Fluttershy would leave her to it. That wouldn’t stop her worrying about it, but she didn’t even have to try to block out the voice in her head that whispered all of the worst-case scenarios. All her worrying was all rational and thought-out. She was going to keep calm about this and not panic, even if her insides did feel like a turmoil of butter in the churner.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Ugh, what do you think you’re doing you stupid, stupid mare!” Rainbow gave her head another very unsatisfactory bang on the soft surface of the wall of her cloud home. It was dark, seeing as she had flown some laps around Ponyville to work off some energy until it was too dark to see and she had yet to light any of the candles around her home.Tank dozed in his bed, occasionally opening his eyes to glance in Rainbow’s direction.

Another unsatisfying thump of her head hitting the wall. “Now Fluttershy knows there’s something wrong, but you can’t just go back and apologise, because then you’ll have to explain the whole thing and she’ll be even more worried.”

Tank gazed up from his bed soundlessly, seemingly staring, before his eyelids slowly closed and opened again in a slow blink. Rainbow had come home in an utter fury at herself, thrown an un-eaten carrot down onto one of the solid cloud tables and had been banging her head against the fluffy cloud wall ever since.

“You’ve got to work this out Rainbow Dash, come on! You’ve overcome bigger obstacles with your eyes closed, this shouldn’t be a problem for you!” With a sigh, she collapsed onto the floor. That was the exact issue here. The problem wasn’t one she could fly over or around, or even through. The problem was within herself, and she just didn’t know how to deal with that.

Just the fact that she had been able to stay with her hooves on the ground doing something so menial as clearing snow by hoof for so long was troubling enough, but Fluttershy had even complimented her on her gentleness. Rainbow Dash was not a gentle mare! She was fast, quick, agile, speedy. She knew most of those words meant the same thing, but she didn’t even care.

“Oh, who am I kidding? I’m a changed mare. I’m a slow, earth-bound pegasus who moves slow and… can’t move fast, just like Fluttershy.” But Fluttershy had moved quickly. Dash had flown with her several times over the last few days where the timid mare had flown faster than Dash had ever seen her fly before. Fluttershy could actually fly better than most of the ponies in Ponyville, she just needed the right mindset for it.

Mindset… mindset… of course! It was all in the mindset! “Dash you idiot, you’ve forgotten the basic rules of flight camp. Rule number three: keep your head in the game!” She vaguely remembered that rules one and two had something to do with not talking about flight school, but the thought passed quickly.

“All I need to do is prove to myself that I’m still the action-packed, fast-paced pegasus I’ve always been, then my mindset will be put straight… or something, I’ll work the math out later. Now, what could possibly...” She trailed off and sat in silence, thinking for a solid two minutes before she came up with a solution.

“That’s it! I’ll fly ghastly gorge! If I can do that, I’m just as incredible and amazing as I always was. No changes thanks to timid marefriends. I can keep up my reputation and still be with Fluttershy, you’ll see.” She addressed this last to Tank, who rolled himself out of his bed before slowly walking over, making full use of the permanent cloud-walking spell Twilight had cast on him, and giving Dash a nudge on the foreleg with his head.

Taking this strange gesture as a confirmation that her plan was a brilliant one, she set about making the necessary preparations. She would get a good night’s sleep, and be up fresh and early for a break-neck fly through ghastly gorge. If everything went to plan – and honestly, why wouldn’t things go to plan? – She could be back well before the deadline she gave Fluttershy. It would be cold, so she’d need a flight suit, one of her senior flight camp ones should do. She might need a bit of food, a light snack for the flight back, and probably some rope, just in case.

Rope? Why would you need rope, it’ll only slow you down. Besides, we’re trying to prove we have guts and awesomeness here, rope is for amateurs and scaredy-cats.

Tank gave a croak of warning that was ignored as Dash, her mind made up, whisked around her house cleaning up the mess that had accumulated over the past week. Several dirty flight suits scattered her bedroom, along with the majority of her sparse collection of ‘normal’ clothes. She had gone through almost her entire stock of one-minute-meals, and the empty packets lay scattered around the kitchen, discarded in uncaring haste.

Worst of all, the bookshelf containing her own personal collection of Daring Do novels had fallen over completely, but she had never been able to bring herself to care. Dash heaved the bookcase back up into a standing position and grimaced at the array of squashed books left on the floor. Pages were bent, a few of the covers were hanging off at odd angles and the shape of the shelf edges was left imprinted in more than one of her precious books.

It was a good thing she kept her good set locked in a secure cupboard under the stairs. She had made sure those couldn’t move at all, so they should be perfectly fine. That was where she kept her signed copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, the first book in the series. She would have to get this set repaired by Twilight at some point, but for now, she placed them back on the shelves where they belonged.

You were careless Dash. You rushed off without thinking things through and this is where it got you. Well, you won’t make that mistake again, will you? Her thoughts turning back to Ghastly Gorge, Dash continued about cleaning up, making sure everything was either in its proper place, or in the bin if it was broken.

The sun finally sunk fully below the horizon as Dash gazed out her bedroom window and the cold but soothing embrace of the night settled over the land below. This was her favourite spot to put her house, as it gave her a perfect view of Ponyville at night. Despite being such a small town, there were quite a lot of lights shimmering in the night, and a large number of ponies with very active night lives.

In the distance on the far side of the town she could see the sparse lights of Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack and her family would probably be eating dinner. She couldn’t make out many specifics in the town itself, but she thought she could pinpoint the location of Sugarcube Corner, which stayed open late into the night over the Hearth’s Warming period, selling sweets and hot drinks to cold ponies on the move after dark. The shadowy mass that was the library loomed over the edge of the town proper and was split only by a light in the upper window, indicating Twilight was hard at work reading or studying or… something.

And finally, over at the south-eastern edge of town near the Everfree Forest, the single glistening light that was Fluttershy’s Cottage broke the darkness. Why such a timid mare had decided to live so close to the Everfree still baffled Rainbow Dash.

Maybe she has more guts than you give her credit for, Dash’s mind put forth. Suddenly, images of Fluttershy began flashing in her mind: Fluttershy staring down a dragon, Fluttershy cheering for her at the Best Young Flyers Competition, stories of Fluttershy looking a cockatrice in the eye and walking away, Fluttershy fighting off Diamond Dogs, Discord, Changelings and Iron Will. Fluttershy using her wing power to put them over the mark needed to create the tornado to shoot water to Cloudsdale. Fluttershy looking Dash in the eye and saying ‘I like you’.

Fluttershy plucking a feather from her wing and gently offering it, along with the promise of love and companionship.

It suddenly occurred to Dash that Fluttershy was the bravest pony she knew, even moreso than herself. Yes, the mare was frightened of almost everything she saw or heard, but what makes her courageous is that, when she needed to, she could overcome those fears in order to help her friends.

And here I am afraid to be seen with her in public. The thought hit Dash like a hammer, and filled her with shame, which only fuelled her determination. No, I won’t be defeated by a thought like that. I’ll prove to myself, to everypony, that I’m brave and not afraid of anything! Turning her back on the window, she flicked her tail indignantly before moving to the kitchen to get some dinner. She’d need an early night if she was going to be up tomorrow for a flight like the one through Ghastly Gorge.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight yawned and lost focus on the parchment in front of her. Blinking, with a good shake of her head for good measure, she returned to reading her notes on relationship counselling she had compiled. She had stayed up almost all night thinking and researching about what Rarity had told her the day before, and now she thought she was almost ready. She had even read up on advanced knot-tying techniques, but she was doubtful things would need to be taken that far.

Placing the last item, a long length of rope, into her intervention supply bag, she checked the clock and saw that it was nearing four in the afternoon. Good, she was seven minutes ahead of schedule. That would give her seven extra minutes to eat her breakfast-lunch. She had been so busy double and triple-checking her notes that she had forgotten to eat more than a small breakfast, and she had been so close to finishing her final draft when Spike came asking her if she wanted lunch that she had skipped that meal completely.

At the thought of food, her stomach growled in complaint, making her chuckle with a slight blush. She really could go for a late lunch right now. Maybe she could shave some time off travel if she teleported to Rarity’s rather than walk, which would give her some extra time to eat.

Opening her mouth to call out for Spike to prepare something, she paused as she noticed a plate sitting on one of her other writing desks. On it was a mouth-watering assortment of apples, carrots and other fruits, with a small bowl of hay for a side. Making a mental note to give Spike a gem or two, Twilight was just about to levitate a particularly juicy looking apple off the plate and into her mouth, when her horn buzzed slightly, and a worried voice whispered quietly in her ear.

Help.

“That was Fluttershy!” Twilight immediately tossed the contents of her fruit platter into her intervention bag and, all thoughts of teleportation gone from her mind, bolted through the library and out the front door, following the spell that caused a nudge in her mind that indicated the direction Fluttershy was in.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy lay crying on the front porch of her cottage when Twilight and the rest showed up. She had been lying there for all of half an hour – the time it took for everypony to arrive – and when all her friends came into sight, she leapt up and rushed out to them.

“Fluttershy, what’s wrong? Why did you need our help?” Twilight blurted when they reached each other.

Fluttershy was breathless and the tears tickled her cheeks while her muscles ached from sudden extensive use, but it all might as well have been flies buzzing around somepony else’s head after the significance of what she was about to say.

“Rainbow Dash is missing. She told me she’d be back by midday, but she never came.”

Everypony’s expressions immediately became more serious. They knew better than to assume she was overreacting. They had learned that lesson during Twilight’s friendship report incident. Rarity was the first to speak.

“I assume you’ve checked her house?”

“Yes” Fluttershy replied. “Well, I flew up and shouted her name, and took a quick look inside, but when I saw she wasn’t there, I left to check her usual hang-outs in town, the places she usually naps both in the sky and trees. I’ve flown all over Ponyville so many times since this morning that I’ve lost count and I just can’t find her anywhere.” With the last of her breath gone, she slumped back down onto the ground panting as more tears ran down her face.

“Oh, so that’s why you came rushing into Sugarcube Corner, called Dashie’s name and then ran out again. I thought you were playing hide and seek!”

Pinkie’s hyperactive take on the situation made everypony present except Fluttershy smack their faces with their hooves.

Twilight was all business, however and before the red mark faded from her muzzle she was asking questions. “That aside, when did you last see her Fluttershy?”

“Last night. She helped me clear the snow from all the dens and warrens in the fields here, but when I asked what she wanted to eat for dinner, she said she wanted to head back to her own place and spend the night there. I just thought she needed some space to get this clear in her head.”

Twilight blinked, appearing taken slightly aback. “That’s… actually a very rational conclusion Fluttershy. You weren’t worried at all?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. This whole thing has had me on edge so much lately that I just couldn’t bring myself to worry. Either that or being with Dash has given me more confidence in myself.”

Everypony opened their mouths, probably with assurances that it was the latter option and that they were all proud of her, but all paused on seeing the others about to speak. It was eventually Twilight that broke the silence.

“You know exactly what we would all say on that subject Fluttershy, but we’re wasting time here. We need to do a thorough check of Rainbow’s house. It was the last place she was supposed to be and we might be able to find some clue as to where she’s gone.” Before anypony could speak, several things happened at once.

Twilight’s horn began to glow, and purple auras appeared around everypony’s feet. Then a much larger aura appeared around the entire group and before Fluttershy knew what was happening, it felt she was being pushed through a pool or slightly cold water, before being plopped out onto a soft, cloudy surface.

They were in Rainbow Dash’s house, Fluttershy realised. Twilight must have cast a cloud walking spell on everypony – except her, she realised, which made sense, seeing as she was a pegasus – and then teleported them all here.

The unicorn in question was only slightly out of breath when she spoke. “Okay, search around for clues as to what might have happened to Dash.”

It took everypony several moments to recover from the dizziness of teleportation, Fluttershy included, but once her head stopped spinning she gave it a good shake and ran upstairs to the bedrooms.

Rainbow Dash’s house, despite only holding the one mare, had three large bedrooms on the top floor as well as spacious study which Fluttershy very much doubted saw much use. Everything was impeccably clean, much to her surprise as she looked around. The basket for dirty laundry in Dash’s bedroom was full of flight suits and a small, form-fitting dress Fluttershy had never seen Dash wear and the cloud bed had been fluffed to an orderly flat surface. All the other bedrooms were completely bare except for a bed and a wardrobe, all of which were empty and didn’t seem as though they saw much traffic.

The study was a different matter, though still held no clues to Rainbow’s whereabouts. There was a writing desk with some orderly stacks of blank parchment, an inkwell and several quills in an ink-stained cup. Tank slept in a basket in the corner to the right of the entrance, the small techno-magic rig Twilight had made to allow him to fly hanging from a hook on the back of the door. A bookshelf on the wall beside the desk surprisingly contained several informational books on complex flight techniques and tricks, as well as some books about the history of the Wonderbolts and a signed biography of Spitfire. They all looked worn and well-used, so Dash must have found joy in reading books other than Daring Do.

The small burst of happiness that this brought Fluttershy was lost in a wave of disappointment and depression. She still had no idea where Dash had gone or why, or even if she was still okay. Maybe something horrible had happened to her. Maybe she had been pony-napped. Or maybe she had run away, unable to stand the thought of being with Fluttershy any-

No. Again, Fluttershy had to shut down the worried thoughts before they could spiral out of control. This entire holiday had gone from one fiasco to the next and it was becoming very overwhelming. Throwing herself to the floor, Fluttershy cried.

“Oh Dash, where did you go? You didn’t leave me again did you? You can’t have, you promised me. You promised! Oh, but what if something bad happened to you? Oh Dash, you have to be okay, you just have to!”

Suddenly, she felt a nudge push slowly on her hind hoof. Her wailing had woken Tank and the tortoise was giving affectionate nuzzles to his former owner. If Fluttershy was not so attuned to animals, however, she would have missed the urgency in the tortoise’s actions. As it was, she only noticed because he slowly rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“What is it Tank?” she questioned.

In reply, Tank opened his mouth and gave a croak, before slowly turning around and inching his way to the door.

“Do you know where Dash went?” Fluttershy could barely keep the excitement from her voice.

Tank turned his head to face back towards Fluttershy and nodded before turning back around to keep on his way, but instead of moving through the door, he pushed it closed. Then, stretching his neck to its full extent, he reached up and grabbed his flight rig, which he presented to Fluttershy.

“Oh, of course, it would take too long for you to lead us there on hoof.” Fluttershy quickly strapped the strange apparatus to the tortoise’s back, then stood back and watched as the reptile became airborne. She then galloped out of the study, shouting to her friends who were at the foot of the stairs before she even reached the top.

Once she explained the situation, it didn’t take long for them to get organised. Fluttershy would follow tank to wherever Dash was, then Fluttershy would call for them again the same way she had before.

“It’s the only way, seeing as you’re the only one who can fly, and Tank can’t exactly tell us where Dash is.” Twilight explained unnecessarily for the third time. “If you keep an image of your location in your head alongside us when you call for help, we’ll see that too, so we’ll know where you are.”

Fluttershy only just heard, as she was already out the door and flying away, Tank leading at an impressive speed for an airborne tortoise. She just hoped she was not too late. The sun was already nearing the horizon, and Dash had been gone for almost a whole day.

Oh, please be alright Rainbow Dash, please, you have to be alright!

~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was well below the horizon and the stars glittered in the sky while the moon hid behind some partial clouds as Fluttershy frantically flew around the many edges of ghastly gorge. A bright purple light hovered over her head, illuminating the land below. A conjuration of Twilight’s to help with the darkness and Fluttershy could see similar lights roving in and around the gorge, indicating the location of her friends.

Tank had led her straight to the huge rift in the ground and she had immediately assumed the worst, but she didn’t have time for tears. She called her friends and got searching immediately and had been at it for the last several hours now at least.

She was beginning to lose hope. They hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Rainbow Dash, but Tank seemed adamant that the gorge had been her destination, so they searched. Ghastly Gorge was unstable, and rock slides fall from the walls every day. What Rainbow Dash had been thinking coming here, Fluttershy had no idea.

The gorge stretched off into the horizon and Fluttershy, nor Twilight and the others girls, knew how long it would take them to search the whole thing. Dash could be anywhere and Tank didn’t seem to know which part of the gorge she was in. She had investigated countless rockslides, caves, bramble walls and anywhere she could think that Dash might be, but to no avail. She met regularly with the girls to share what they had – or more accurately, had not – found. Nopony had seen anything so far, but the idea of giving up and going home was never brought up, never even seen as an option. Despite this, Fluttershy was beginning to lose hope.

Desperately, she flew faster and faster, searching every nook and cranny, ignoring the fiery burn in her wings from such extended use, until the lights from her friends were only specks in the distance and the moon was well into its trek across the sky. She passed at least four rockslides and investigated countless caves, one of which contained a pack of sleeping timberwolves, which didn’t frighten her, but only served as a reminder that this place was still dangerous.

It was getting close to the time they would meet up together again. Fluttershy was in the middle of doing one last flyover of the area then head back to the lights in the distance, when she felt a sudden urge to descend back down into the gorge itself. This part of the gorge was darker than the rest, due to the concentration of trees lining the edges up the top whose branches stretched out and over the gap, blocking the sparse moonlight from entering.

Avoiding the holes in the walls that signified the hiding place of the countless quarray eels in the area, Fluttershy carefully lowered herself into the darkness. She took notice of the large cracks and gouges taken out of the walls of the quarry opposite the holes. Somepony had flown through here recently and disturbed the eels. A spark of hope formed in Fluttershy’s heart.

The darkness felt like it was closing in around her as the light from the magical orb hovering above her head seemed to fade. The shadows moved and shifted with her expectations: part of her hoped for the best whilst another part feared the worst. Her descent slowed as she began to dread what she would find, but her drive to find Dash kept her going. Her vision slowly narrowed into a tunnel focusing on the base of an avalanche a little way further down the gorge, and the tiny glint of something colourful reflecting the little light left from Twilight’s spell.

The only thing that prevented Fluttershy from immediately flying as fast as she could over to the pile of rocks was the fear that she might find Rainbow Dash’s remains, instead of the mare herself. With her mind on the verge of locking up entirely, she managed to force her wings into a forward flap and move slowly over to the object of her greatest hopes, and her worst fears.

As she edged closer and closer, the glint of colour turned into several stripes, and eventually into a dirty rainbow-coloured mane. All rational thought left Fluttershy’s head and she bolted over as fast as she could, not caring about timberwolves or quarray eels or moving shadows. All she could think about was the mare lying motionless not twenty pony-lengths away.

Time seemed to slow as she approached and her vision narrowed further so that all she could see was Rainbow Dash. The mare’s eyes were closed and she had several cuts and bruises over her legs and back. Fluttershy’s heart stopped for a moment as she thought the worst had happened, until she saw the slight movement of Rainbow’s chest moving. She was breathing. She was alive!

At that moment, Fluttershy was never more glad that she had tended wounded animals in the past, because Rainbow was still hurt. Closing the remaining distance slowly and carefully, she saw that one of Rainbow’s wings was completely covered by a huge boulder, and that boulder seemed to be supporting the weight of the rest of the rock-fall too.

The thought that such a huge weight would have surely crushed Dash’s wing completely, and that the mare was likely never going to fly again, registered only as a side-note in her head, far overshadowed by relief that her marefriend was alive and… okay, maybe not well, but she was alive at least.

She gingerly lay down facing the sleeping mare – she had to be sleeping, she’d probably been here for a while judging by the dried blood around the cuts and the lack of dust floating in the air – and gave her a gentle nuzzle, ignoring the tears that were streaming down her face and the wracking sobs that threatened to make her chest heave.

Slowly, Rainbow’s eyes opened and she hazily gazed up at Fluttershy. She released a few dry cackles of humourless laughter. “Well, that settles it then.”

Fluttershy was puzzled, and her worry for Dash went at war with her curiosity over what she was talking about. Eventually, her curiosity won. “Settles what Rainbow?”

Dash laughed again, displaying some small dregs of mirth this time, before shaking her head and turning down her eyes. “That I love you more than anything else. Here I am, about to die, and I’m seeing a vision of you lying here in front of me. I’m even talking to you, and you’re not even really here. What I wouldn’t give to see you again; to hold you, to touch you, to smell you. To feel your warmth next to me and the soft feathers of your wing over my back.”

Such a declaration of love sent furious blushes burning on Fluttershy’s cheeks, but was somewhat diminished by the completely delirious state of the mare it came from. “Rainbow Dash, I’m real. I’m here for you now, I’m going to help you.”

Dash answered with another laugh, this one with somewhat more humour. “Exactly what a perfect vision of you would say. You’re here to help me pass on quietly, aren’t you? Well, I suppose seeing an illusion of you is better than not seeing you at all, even if it’s not as good as seeing the real you.”

Despair welled up inside Fluttershy’s heart. “Please Rainbow Dash, I’m really here.” The tears were flowing harder than ever as she pleaded, though Dash’s eyes were becoming glazed over again. “Please Dash, stay with me, please, you have to stay with me.” Fluttershy shook her head, sending her tears flying off in all directions and helping regain control of herself. Rainbow was in a fragile state, both in body and in mind, and she needed help.

Envisioning her friends in her mind, as well as an image of her location down in the gorge, she whispered, “help.” She then reached forward and put a hoof on one of Dash’s own. Leaning in, she put forth all of her passion, all of her worry and joy and tears, all into one short kiss. “I’m real Rainbow. Please, you have to believe me, I’m real, I’m going to help you get out of here alive, no matter what.”

Dash stared at the yellow hoof lying on her own and brought her other fore-hoof up to lightly touch her lips where Fluttershy had kissed her. Her gaze then turned to Fluttershy herself and her eyes began to clear. “Fluttershy you’re… you’re actually here? This is real?”

“Yes Rainbow, I’m here, I’m really here.” Tears began to stream down Fluttershy’s cheeks harder than ever, and Rainbow reciprocated with tears of her own. Fluttershy moved forward and embraced the injured mare, and they lay in each other hooves crying into their coats.

Once the tears subsided, Fluttershy moved back a little to study Rainbow. She looked even worse for wear than before, her mane even more messy and her face covered in mud from the dirt mixed with her tears. For her part, Dash gazed back, seemingly oblivious to the horrible state she was in before trying to jump to her hooves.

She immediately let out a horribly pained shriek and fell back to the ground, her face scrunched up and tears of pain streaming down her face while her hoof gingerly reached for her crushed wing.

Fluttershy felt a stab of fear as she remembered the exact direness of her marefriend’s situation. “Oh my gosh Rainbow, are you okay?” The ridiculousness of this question escaped her as she ever-so-carefully moved forward and inspected Rainbow’s wing.

The boulder was almost completely covering it, pinning Dash to the ground and all the rocks and rubble that had fallen were resting on top of it. Her previous assessment had been right: Dash would likely lose the use of her wing, if they could even get her out from underneath the rocks while keeping it intact. If the rock was moved, even a little bit, then the rocks above would likely fall and crush her completely, and anyone else nearby too in all probability. It was a delicate situation and she needed help.

As if on cue, she began to hear voices overhead and, looking up, she saw a purple glow indicating her friends had arrived.

“Down here!” she called up to them, careful not to make her voice too loud so as to not disrupt any more rocks. The last thing they needed was another avalanche.

With a bright flash of light and magic, Twilight and the rest teleported down and, upon seeing Rainbow Dash’s prone form, carefully rushed over to see what they could do. Everypony agreed that the situation was dire. Twilight began breathing heavily and her pupils shrunk to tiny pricks. Fluttershy could tell she was panicking, but didn’t have the time nor sense to try and calm her down.

Rarity made her own examination of the rock-fall. “Oh my, darling, this is bad. Rainbow Dash, can you talk? Are you alright?”

Rainbow managed to open her eyes and even roll them at Rarity before speaking in a dry, pain-wracked voice. “I can’t get up. It doesn’t hurt much, unless I move. I can feel a… I dunno, a heaviness where my wing normally is.” She tried to shift her weight, but winced with a muffled cry of pain. “Am I gonna be okay?” Her eyes grew even more pleading, more tears falling freely down her face. “Please, I don’t want to die here.”

Fluttershy was crying again now too, and was on the verge of falling to the ground and breaking down, but she heard a deep breath from beside her. Looking, she saw Twilight making a strange motion with her foreleg while taking deep breaths. At least she was starting to calm down. If the nerdish mare had panicked for much longer, Fluttershy wasn’t sure how long she could have kept her own composure.

Twilight sat down and rubbed her muzzle in thought for a moment, glancing from Rainbow Dash to the rockslide to the rest of the girls and back to Rainbow Dash. Eventually, a look of grim determination mixed with sadness overcame her features. “The easiest, not to mention safest, way to do this…” She hesitated with a grimace, giving a look of unhappy consolation to Fluttershy before continuing. “The safest way would be to just remove her wing. We could then get her out of here and to a hospital. She would lose her ability to fly, but at least she’d be alive.”

Everypony gasped in shock and Fluttershy closed her eyes, imagining Rainbow Dash’s life without her wings. She couldn’t picture it. Rainbow Dash without wings was like Twilight without her horn or Applejack without her legs. She wouldn’t allow it.

“No.” Everypony’s heads turned in her direction. “No, we can’t do that. Rainbow Dash would rather die than lose one of her wings and you all know it. If there’s even a chance that we can get her out of here in one piece, we’re taking it.”

Twilight looked at her askance, but studied the pile of rock again. “I might be able to lift this with my magic, but if I disturb one of the boulders I’m not holding, the whole thing will likely come down around our heads. We can’t risk that”

“Please Twilight, girls, please.” Fluttershy was crying again – if she had ever even stopped – and she was getting desperate. “Please, help me save her. Please…” Everypony stopped and thought, and Rainbow Dash glanced up with pained, pleading eyes dripping with tears of her own.

Everypony was thinking, everypony was glancing from Rainbow Dash to the avalanche to Fluttershy and back to Rainbow Dash again, but it didn’t seem as if anypony was getting anywhere.

Everybody jumped when Twilight suddenly shouted “I’ve got it!” before throwing her saddlebags to the ground and rifling around inside them. Out of the bags came several pieces of fresh, if slightly bruised, fruit, some books on romantic psychology, several scrolls of paper with quills and ink and finally, a length of rope.

Nobody questioned why Twilight had all this packed in her saddlebag, but Rainbow Dash had her eyes locked on the food that was being further squashed by the books unceremoniously thrown on top of it. Fluttershy picked up one of the less-squashed apples that had avoided the worst of the falling books and, dusting it off with a wing, handed it to the hungry mare.

“When was the last time you ate Dash?”

Dash replied by noisily devouring the fruit, slopping juice all over her muzzle, but not a single morsel was wasted. It took two more apples and a carrot before Rainbow would talk and all she seemed to be able to manage was “last night” before she returned to drooling over even the pieces of fruit that had been completely squashed and were mixing with the dirt on the ground.

Fluttershy turned her attention back to Twilight who was busy scrawling on one of the long sheets of parchment she had brought with her. She was mostly drawing rough sketches of the rockslide with calculations of what looked like mass and force, along with a variable that Fluttershy didn’t recognise.

After several minutes of intense concentration, Twilight put the quill down and rubbed her temples. “Alright, this might work, but everypony needs to do their part perfectly, or we could all… we could all lose our lives here.” She seemed to struggle to say those last words and Fluttershy could barely stand to hear them. It wasn’t something she wanted to contemplate, so she focused on Twilight as directions were given out.

It was a complicated plan and everypony would have to give everything they had for it to work out. Once the plan was finalised and everyone knew what they had to do, they got to work.

Rarity begun by taking the rope and using her precision with levitation to worm it underneath one corner of the boulder directly on top of Rainbow Dash’s wing. She used an adaptation of her gem location spell to detect weaknesses in the dirt and rock, and guided the rope to follow. She wrapped it around several times before passing the ends to Pinkie Pie, who was standing on a low ledge up the wall of the canyon.

Twilight then conjured a wall of magic encasing the front edge of the rockslide. If she couldn’t lift the entire thing by herself, she could at least keep them in place. Rarity added her magic to Twilight’s to further reinforce the barrier. Applejack then moved up and put her rear hooves on the main boulder. She then pushed while Pinkie Pie pulled on the rope from the ledge.

Applejack’s strength from apple farming, combined with Pinkie’s surprising leg strength from all her pronking was just enough to slowly lift the boulder, along with everything on top of it, off Rainbow’s wing just a fraction. Twilight devoted a portion of her magic to lifting as well, whilst the majority of her attention, combined with Rarity’s, was focused on keeping the main body of rocks from falling down on top of them. As the pile of stones rose, Fluttershy braced herself for the bloody mess that must be all that remained of Rainbow’s wing, but the sight she was granted with surprised her.

The wing was mostly intact, with only one obvious break near the middle, but no bones were protruding from the skin and there was no blood at all. Fluttershy saw why when she gently pulled Rainbow out and away from the rubble: Dash’s wing had fallen in a slight hollow in the ground just deep enough to fit the wing, but narrow enough that the boulder rested upon its raised edges. Enough pressure was on the wing to prevent Dash from moving, but not enough to cause severe, crippling damage.

With Rainbow out of harm’s way, Applejack and Pinkie Pie lowered the pile slowly back down again. This was the most delicate part: if anypony slipped and the rubble was lowered too quickly, everything could come down around their heads.

As the rockslide settled back to the ground with a resounding crunch, Twilight and Rarity began slowly lowering the barrier as carefully as they could to prevent any rocks falling forward. Everypony waited with baited breath as the last of the magical aura disappeared from the sloping wall of stone and all released a sigh of relief.

A noise prickled at Fluttershy’s ears. Turning around, she saw a small stone clattering along the ground. Another noise: another stone, this one rolling down the opposite slope. Yet another joined the second, and another, and more until a look of horrified realisation dawned on everyone’s faces.

The ground rumbled and rocks fell from above growing larger and larger, some getting to be as big as a pony. Rarity began running around screaming first, but was followed quickly by everypony else.

Fluttershy quickly hoisted Dash onto her back, ignoring the scream of pain from the injured mare, as well as the shrieking complaints from her own body, and began running. She couldn’t suppress a scream as a huge rock three times her height landed right in front of her, or when Twilight ran headlong into her side, knocking all three mares sprawling across the ground.

Twilight was the first on her hooves, but seemed to have regained some sanity, because she looked up thoughtfully for a split second, before shouting out over the crashing of rocks and screams of terrified ponies.

“Everypony, to me!”

Fluttershy immediately picked Rainbow back up again, much more carefully this time, and began dodging falling rocks to get to Twilight, who was struggling to avoid all the debris while still staying in one general spot. It didn’t take long for everypony to gather around despite, or maybe because of, the imminent danger, and as soon as Fluttershy would open her mouth to ask what the plan was, she was being sucked through the cold water again.

Her hooves made contact with solid ground and she blinked until the world was stationary again. A loud crash from below startled her, and she looked down to find herself standing on the very edge of the chasm they had just vacated. The entire area they had been standing mere moments ago was now buried under several pony-lengths of stone and rock.

They all stood and stared down into the rift below them, contemplating how close they had come to being buried alive. It was an unpleasant thought and it left Fluttershy’s heart pounding and her breath short. She managed to keep from fully hyperventilating thanks to the warm weight of Rainbow Dash lying on her back. She was safe and that was all that mattered.

Twilight turned away from the gorge and her horn began to glow with magic. “Come on everypony, let’s go home.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy lay curled up on the floor next to the bed, eyes closed but far from asleep. Her nerves were tight, and worry wracked her brain leaving no room for anything but concern for the unconscious mare above her.

Rainbow had been out for almost a whole day now and despite the fact that the doctors had said she was going to be alright, Fluttershy couldn’t help but fret. It was in her nature, it was who she was. The fact that she was in love with Rainbow probably didn’t help her anxiety, but she managed to keep up at least a somewhat calm façade as she waited.

Her friends were there, arrayed around the room in calm patience as they waited too. Rarity had taken up a chair by the door, and sat knitting a scarf in Rainbow’s colours. Applejack lay at the foot of Rarity’s chair, whittling away at a piece of wood into what looked to be a lightning bolt over the top of a cloud. Twilight sat at the desk near the window reading a book with an obscure title that Fluttershy managed to discern was about pegasus anatomy while Spike lay sleeping on the floor beside her.

Even Pinkie Pie had managed to keep still, though by the way her mane was losing its characteristic puffiness, she was deep in thought, probably blaming herself for what had happened. She always did take it upon herself to keep her friends, not to mention everyone else, happy and smiling, but when somepony ended up badly hurt, she had a bad habit of taking the blame onto herself.

Fluttershy heard a rustle from the bed above her, followed by a groan, and she bolted upright. Spinning around to face the bed, she saw Rainbow stirring.

Dash slowly opened her eyes, squinting in the mid-afternoon light shining through the window. “Ugh what, what’s going on?” She looked around for a bit, before seeming to notice Fluttershy for the first time. “Fluttershy, is that you? What are you…” trailing off, her eyes grew distant, as if memories were flashing across her vision, and she suddenly let out a wordless shout.

“Fluttershy, the avalanche! Did you, did we make it out, are you okay?” She went to jump out of bed, but let out a pained yelp as she jostled her injured wing.

The rest of the group, having given Fluttershy and Dash a moment alone, now gathered around the bed wearing worried expressions. Twilight put a hoof on Dash’s shoulder to stop her trying to leap up again. “Now Rainbow Dash, you’ve got to stay in bed for a while.”

Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration, threw her forelegs into the air and let them flop back down onto the bed. She seemed to be ignoring the exasperated stare Twilight was giving her, but Fluttershy could understand her frustration.

Aside from the main break, her wing had been fractured in two places and she had moderate muscle strain and bruising throughout most of her wing. It wasn’t deadly, or even overly serious considering what had happened, but it was enough to ground her for a week or more, which meant it was enough for Dash to complain about.

Her wing was in a cast and sling this time though, which restricted her movement, meaning she wasn’t about to run around having any midnight adventures like last time. The doctors said she was lucky to be alive, much less complaining about being stuck in bed for a week or so. They all knew how close she had come – how close they had all come – to their deaths, but it wasn’t something Fluttershy liked to think about, so she ignored it and focused on the fact that Rainbow was alive and on the mend.

They had taken Dash to the spare bedroom in Fluttershy’s cottage once the hospital had finished putting the cast on, not needing to keep her any longer than that. All the injured pegasus needed was rest and she’d be right as rain. They all agreed Fluttershy’s cottage was best, seeing as though in order to get to her own home, she would have to fly, coupled with the fact that Fluttershy was an expert in taking care of injured ponies by this point. There were other reasons too, such as the fact that Fluttershy was Rainbow’s marefriend, but nopony saw the need to voice those details.

Everypony questioned Dash on whether she was alright or if there was anything they could do to help, to which she replied that she was fine, that they didn’t need to worry and that there was nothing they could do.

Fluttershy was silent, however, hardly even paying attention. She was lost in her thoughts, thinking about something that she finally voiced out loud after Twilight asked the same questions everypony else had.

“Dash, what were you doing in Ghastly Gorge?”

Everypony fell silent and turned to face her, and from their stares Fluttershy could tell they had all been thinking the same thing, but none had been willing to breach the subject. Dash herself stared for only a moment before her ears drooped, her eyes fell and she sighed.

In detail, she confessed how she had been feeling lately, how she was worried about how being together with Fluttershy was changing her. She explained that she was scared of Fluttershy’s peaceful nature taking away her brash and daring, never-say-die personality and that she couldn’t stand the idea of not being the reckless, headstrong mare she had always been.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I had to prove to myself that I hadn’t changed. It didn’t take me long to come up with the idea that if I could fly Ghastly Gorge, then I hadn’t changed at all, that I was still the same awesome pegasus from before. I dodged three rockfalls before the one that you found me under got me. I guess I have changed. I’ve gone soft.”

Everypony leaned in offering consolatory nuzzles and Fluttershy left a quick kiss as well. Dash looked up with her eyes on the verge of tears, making Fluttershy’s heart nearly break in two.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you Fluttershy. I should have told you how I was feeling right from the start, but I was... ugh, I was afraid.” The words sounded bitter, and Dash’s face certainly reflected a foul taste she got in her mouth from saying them. “I was afraid you might not think I was taking our relationship seriously enough so I wanted to sort it out myself. I should have known you girls would be here to help me. I’m so sorry I put you all in danger, I hope you can forgive me.”

Fluttershy leaned in and gave Dash another kiss, this one lingering and passionate enough to make her friends behind her blush and avert their eyes. “It’s okay Rainbow, I forgive you. I knew something was troubling you from the moment you came back, like you hadn’t completely sorted it out. I thought that if you wanted to, you’d come out and talk to me, but I know what you’re like. You’re brash and reckless and headstrong, but that’s what I love about you. If I could be half as confident – even a tenth as confident – as you, I’d be as confident as I could ever hope to be.”

“But Fluttershy,” Dash protested. “You’re the bravest mare I know. You’ve faced down dragons and cockatrices, you fought off changelings and diamond dogs and who knows what else? You were the only thing that got us enough wing power to get the cloud-water to Cloudsdale and you… you were able to do something I never would have been able to, if you hadn’t have given me the confidence.”

Fluttershy was confused. She was brave? She shivered whenever anything dangerous was close and she even jumped at her own shadow sometimes! “But Rainbow Dash I-” Dash cut her off.

“You were able to confess your love to someone. I’d never have been able to do that, if you hadn’t done it first. I just wouldn’t have been brave enough.”

“Yes, but all that other stuff, you and the girls were there too, I-” again, Dash cut her off.

“Do you know why you being there with us all makes you braver and we are?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest that it didn’t, that she had been scared the whole time, but Rainbow never gave her the chance.

“Because you were scared the whole time.”

Fluttershy blanched, almost choking on the breath she was taking. “What?”

“You were scared. You were more frightened than any of us, but you were right there, facing your fears, just so you could be there to help. So really, you were always braver than I’ve ever been, and now that I’m getting soft, you’re just making me look bad.”

Fluttershy could tell she was putting on a game face, that she was really quite upset, so she moved in for another nuzzle and found all her friends there as well. There were many consolations, encouragements and well-wishes, but Fluttershy was struck with a sudden thought.

“Rainbow Dash, you said earlier that you thought that if you could fly Ghastly Gorge, you’d prove that you hadn’t changed?”

Dash’s face fell, but Fluttershy continued.

“Dash, you’ve never been able to fly Ghastly Gorge at all. I’ve seen you fly over it or around it, and even once you tried, you got halfway through it before you had to fly up and out, but you’ve never flown the whole thing from end to end before. The path you flew in the pet competition wasn’t even the main branch of the gorge either.”

A collective gasp, followed by a torrent of exclamations and questions from her friends almost deafened Fluttershy’s ears, but her eyes were focused on Rainbow Dash, whose expression had gone blank.

Once the noise quietened down, she muttered a quiet “oh yeah” before flopping her head back on her pillow with a wince for the twinge it must have sent through her wing.

Fluttershy wasn’t finished though. “In fact, where we found you was further than I’ve ever seen you fly. You made it further than you ever have before.”

Another “oh yeah” was all the reaction she gave for a few moments, which she spent otherwise in a state of stunned silence. Suddenly, her eyes brightened. “So I am still the awesome, daring, dashing pegasus I’ve always been?” At the encouraging smiles and nods from Fluttershy and the rest, she let out an excited whoop and leaped up out of bed.

Or at least, she tried to. As soon as her hoof stretched above her head, she let out another pained cry and fell back onto the downy covers, reaching back to hold her wing.

“Remember what I said Rainbow? You need to stay in bed and get rest. Your wing isn’t going to get better otherwise” Twilight admonished, though her expression was amused.

Once she recovered from the burst of pain, Dash put on a grumpy face that Fluttershy found quite adorable. “Ugh, this is gonna kill me, I have absolutely nothing to do. I’ve already read all the Daring Do books like, seven times, and the new one doesn’t come out for another month!”

Everypony let out exasperated sighs, but Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel for her new marefriend. She gave the distraught mare yet another warm nuzzle, saying “don’t worry Dash, I’ll be here the whole time to keep you entertained.” In a sudden burst of courage, she gave Rainbow the most sultry wink she could manage, hidden from her friends by her mane.

They both immediately blushed furiously and Dash tried to cough incongruously but choked, ending up in a fit of coughing and gagging that drew everyone’s eyes, not to mention their curiosity.

Eventually, Dash managed to regain control of her voice. “Okay, maybe it won’t be that bad” she muttered, still glowing bright red under the eyes of her friends.

Everypony eventually caught on, and made knowing nods and an excited giggle in Pinkie Pie’s case before moving quickly out of the room. Everypony except Twilight anyway, who was still standing around in complete befuddlement and ignorance and had to be ushered out of the room by an embarrassed and apologetic Rarity. As they walked through the cottage, Fluttershy could hear Rarity speaking hastily in hushed tones before Twilight gasped.

“Really? I had no idea they… that is, I mean…” The voices dropped back into a quiet murmur out of hearing range.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend’s cluelessness, but Twilight never was one much for picking up on things not written in books.

Rainbow Dash, who had kept quiet the entire time, gave Fluttershy a worried look. “Um, Flutters, when you said-”

Fluttershy cut her off with a hoof before climbing onto the bed, careful not to disturb Dash’s injured wing, and curled up at her marefriend’s side. Dash appeared to relax a little until she stiffened completely with her good wing unfurling with a snap when Fluttershy, without opening her eyes, said: “at least let them get out of earshot Rainbow Dash.”

She chuckled internally this time, knowing that she would never have said anything so bold, or behaved in such a brave manner, a few weeks ago, but she was just so happy to have Rainbow Dash back and in her hooves that she felt as if there was nothing she couldn’t do.

She also knew that she probably shouldn’t tease Dash like that in her current state, and her friends were probably going to be gossiping over what they thought was happening right then, but she didn’t care. Let them think what they wanted, she just wanted to be alone with Rainbow for a while.

Dash wrapped her hooves around her, and Fluttershy snuggled closer into the embrace with a satisfied sigh.

She was home. Here in Rainbow’s embrace, she felt completely at ease, with no worries or cares about anything at all. Everything had worked out. She had Dash back and that was all that mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight sat at her writing desk, a fresh roll of parchment in front of her, swilling her quill in her inkpot as she thought. The light from the candles was the only illumination other than the glow of the midnight moon and stars out the window. She could hear spike snoring upstairs, tucked into his basket under his treasured blue blanket.

She had almost finished composing her letter to the Princess in her head, and was just about ready to start writing. She had put a lot more effort into this report than she had any other, but it was going to be an extra-special report.

Dear Princess Celestia.

I’ve learned a valuable lesson over the course of the last few weeks. My close friend and fellow element bearer Fluttershy has been struggling with her feelings over Rainbow Dash, as I mentioned in the detailed report I sent some days ago.

Rainbow Dash returned of her own accord, as I predicted she would, but that wasn’t the end of it, as most of us suspected. Rainbow Dash was still struggling with her own feelings, and how she was changing as a pony because of Fluttershy’s calm and peaceful influence. You have probably already heard reports of an incident at Ghastly Gorge, as Spike has been around with all my friends sending letters to you for them, but Rainbow Dash, in an attempt to prove to herself that she hadn’t changed, attempted to race through the gorge, but became stuck in an avalanche. We freed her, and she is recovering well and should be better within a week or two, but it taught me something very important.

For the duration of the Hearth’s Warming break when this entire ordeal started, I’ve been trying to compose a report to you on the subject of love, but no matter how resolved events seemed to be at the time, I always thought there was something missing, as if I didn’t have the entire picture, and now I know why.

Love isn’t just one pony’s attraction to another as I originally thought. Love is the dedication of one’s whole heart and soul to another pony, the complete and utter devotion and commitment to the other’s happiness and wellbeing as I learned on the day of Hearth’s Warming when Fluttershy gave Rainbow Dash one of her feathers. While I understood all this from that event, what I didn’t understand is that love is also the ability of two ponies to change completely for each other, but still stay the same; the joining of two ponies into one whole, while they stay separate beings. It is completely confusing and entirely indefinable, but that’s just what love is. It makes perfect sense, by not making any sense at all. Love is two completely different ponies coming together to share good times and happiness, curled up together on a winter’s night. You can’t put a single, definite description to love, because it is constantly changing, and you can’t properly define it because it is different for every pony.

Love is so many things all at once and I don’t think I’ll ever truly appreciate it until I experience it myself, but watching my friends come together in this wonderfully befuddling emotion makes me truly appreciate the friendship that we have, that it can endure such hardships and come out stronger than ever. We are truly lucky to be blessed with such good friends.

Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight put her quill down with a yawn and blew the candles out. It was late and she was tired, so she would read over the report again in the morning and get spike to send it then. It had been a long and eventful, not to mention stressful, Hearth’s Warming, but she felt things had finally come to a head, and it was a better outcome than any had dared to hope for.

It seemed as if she wouldn’t need to hold an intervention for Rainbow Dash after all, though she was certainly thankful nopony had questioned why she had had rope and books on psychology in her bag.

Blowing out the candles, she made her way through the dark by memory, trudging up the stairs to her bedroom, wondering when some stallion or mare would come to sweep her off her hooves. She rather looked forward to it too. What could be more exciting in her future than meeting somepony and falling in love?

Opening the door to her bedroom, she trotted inside and crawled under the covers of her bed, satisfied that everything with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been resolved.

It looked like everything was going to be just fine.

Author's Note:

Feh. Just... Feh... The story behind this chapter is a long and annoying one, and I'll post the long version of it in my blog. Basically, I took a break after chapter 4 and lost inspiration, got major writer's block, but eventually got around to writing it again.

But anyway, here it is. The long-awaited Chapter 5 of Never too Shy to Love. Let me know what you all think, I'm a little worried that I'd lost my touch over the huge break I took. The part I'm most uncertain about is the very last part, namely, Twilight's letter to Celestia. I have no idea if I managed to pull that off, so let me know what you think.

Yes, this is the final chapter, so yes, this story is now complete. I'm so glad you've all stuck around with me this far, and again I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to get this to you, but I promise, I'll get a huge backlog of finished chapters for my next story so I can upload them consistently for you.

I hope you've all enjoyed this journey with me, and I really hope you'll come with me on my next one, which I'll post updates for in my blog, so (shameless self-advertisement warning) follow me if you wanna catch that when it comes out.

Thank you all so much!
~ True Blood

Comments

[TheVirtuousOne]

2934248 Will be reading this later, let's see what we got Edit: Eh why not I'll follow you too :D

[Mr Ignorable]

It isn't even Thanksgiving

[lillytheomegawolf]

please note, the story is still listed as incomplete.

It looked like everything was going to be just fine.

Famous last words Twilight... that makes me think something rather bad will happen soon.

I don't think you lost your touch at all anywhere in the story. The whole thing held up really well. The ending was cute too

I'm kinda sad its all over, but it was a really good tale. Good enough for a follow for the author too.
But that depends, will your next one be Flutterdash too? Because I would be interested in seeing it when it comes out.

[True Blood]

3515064 Thanks so much! I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it.

3516078 Er... not entirely sure what significance that has, but cool, thanks for the comment

3516248 Thanks for letting me know. I uploaded this chapter late last night and was in a bit of a rush to get to bed As for the next story, the one I'm writing will have elements of FlutterDash in it, but only in the sense that this story features elements of RariJack, Featured, possibly quite heavily, due to them being in the same "universe", but not the main theme of the story. This was my first pure romance story, and I really just did it to see if I could. The next one is more of an adventure story centered around Twilight. I'll post a synopsis about it in my blog at some point. Sorry if you're dissapointed I honestly don't know where I'd go with another pure FlutterDash story.

Oh also, that line right at the end there was more of a reference to the Season 3 finale, since this story is set before season 3. My idea of a little pun, haha

[lillytheomegawolf]

3516392 your story still sounds like Id check it out, even though the Flutterdash is not the feature of the story. Just let me know when its out and i'll give it a read

[NikitaKitten]

Very cute. The reveal that, "Dash, you've never flown that far through Ghastly Gorge before!" was pretty cliche, but that's okay. As for Twilight's letter at the end, that stuck out to me as being unnecessary and felt tacked on. It's obviously been awhile since I read the previous chapters, so maybe it would seem more fitting if those were taken into context, but for this chapter, I don't think it worked. Sure, you had that bit of foreshadowing regarding the letter earlier in the chapter, but I think a story where Dash and Fluttershy are the focus should end with Dash and Fluttershy.

That said, I liked the story as a whole. Have an upwards-pointing thumb.

[True Blood]

3517643 Yeah, I was worried about that, but I wanted to sort of sum up the sub-plot of Twilight's perspective of the whole ordeal. Probably completely unnecessary, as you've pointed out, but I also wanted to have a show-esque feel to the ending, and what better a way to do that than a letter to the princess?

And yeah... I facepalmed pretty hard at that cliche too.

Thanks so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it You've got a really good point and I'll keep it in mind.

~ True Blood

[migzie]

3516078>>3516392

**the story started out last december... 12/8/12

**good story. it was wonderful =)

[Ficta_Scriptor]

Well it took me a while to get around to actually reading the last chapter, but I'm glad I did. The scene at Ghastly Gorge was so tense, and I just loved Dash's first reaction to Fluttershy being there. For a pairing that I was never really a fan of, I liked this fic a lot. The way your writing flows always makes me feel involved in the story. And Twilight's obliviousness? So adorable. You deserve way more views and comments. Keep up the good work!

[True Blood]

3791101 Haha, I'm glad you're enjoying it. The best part about being a writer is seeing the reactions of my readers

Also yes, hay bacon. I can't remember where I saw it, whether in the show or in a story I read, but I liked the idea

[BronyLance57]

Just gonna say I really loved this story! Okay that's all

[Lily Gingertail]

This was really sweet, heartwarming, and just really great.
From the start to the confession to the depression to the mini adventure plot to the sweet ending it was all great.
A 9.5/10 (Not that my rating means anything )

[True Blood]

3850461 Hey, I'm really glad you enjoyed it, I love knowing you guys are enjoying my writing.

3858632 Your rating and opinion mean everything to me! I couldn't be happier that you enjoyed reading what I've written. It helps give me motivation to keep on writing and bringing you all more stuff to read

[Wolfie 03]

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading this, it was a very good story. Have a like and fav.

Though this last chapter feels like it really should be two or something, the ideas and flow makes it feel like it could have been. But either way, it was good and interesting ending; curious to see if you write about Twilight finding love as well (or more about Rarity and Applejack's relationship)

[True Blood]

3912833 Yeah, I probably could have split the last chapter into two, but I originally only wanted it to be a 5-6k word chapter in the first place. Obviously, that didn't end up happening; I just kept on finding things I wanted to write into it. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it, thanks so much for the fave and like

3913374 Yes. Yes that did happen. And everything else besides

[True Blood]

3973908 Haha, wow, I'm so glad you've enjoyed it this much, after just Chapter One. Feedback like this makes me so happy and inspires me to keep on writing and bringing more stuff for everybody to read. I'm working on a new story at the moment that probably won't be published for a while, coz I wanna get a bunch of chapters done before I start posting, but when I start releasing it, I hope it gets as good a reception as this story has.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support

[ZeroSpawn]

Fluttershy blushed, and returned Rainbow’s kiss in kind, then pointed with a hoof to an area she had yet to clear. “You can start over there, I mean, if you want to. There are some small spades in the toolbox over hear the house if you need one.

near?

[There At The Close]

YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FLIGHT SCHOOL.

This was (and is) a good read. I like the characterizations, the story works, and overall, it seems... polished. Moreso than a lot of stuff I've seen here.
~Wywint

[True Blood]

5817235
Thank you so much It's always good to know that people are enjoying my work.

Also yes. I would take quite a bit of pleasure from the suffering of the devil-rabbit, but alas that's not along the lines of the theme I was going for, so no bunny-kicking. Sorry!

[True Blood]

7100898
Hey there! I'm so glad you enjoyed this, and that I could help you bring yourself back to something you love. I always love hearing from readers, especially when they enjoy what I've written. FlutterDash always seemed like a good pairing to me too, moreso than most other ships I've seen, particularly the way I saw it in my head, which I then forged into this fic.

Thank you so much for enjoying my work, and for sharing your story. Readers like you are the reason I write, even though I tend to do it slowly and sporadically. It's always great knowing that what I do is appreciated

[True Blood]

7185003
Really? Come to think of it, I haven't read any (that I remember) that have mentioned Pinkie sense either... That's weird, because it's a lot of fun to play with and can give you a lot of hilarious opportunities as a writer. Funny how the strangest things give you the weirdest inspiration, because now I wanna write a backstory about Pinkie Sense and the Mane 6's various introductions to it. Could make for an interesting write/read, haha.

Anyway, I'm glad you like this story. It was great to write and I love hearing feedback, especially positive stuff.