A Love That I Can't Win

by super3rainbow1

A Start of Something

The morning was cool and dry. Fluttershy woke up and slowly turned around. She didn't cry last night but she hadn't been sleeping so well again. It seemed that Rainbow Dash had turned around in her sleep. Her eyes were still closed and she was snoring softly. Fluttershy sighed and carefully climbed out of the bed. She tried to not wake up Rainbow Dash.

'What did I do wrong? Could Rarity help?' she thought.

Fluttershy looked around for their room key. There it was on the dresser. She picked it up with her mouth and slowly pulled the door half open. She slid past and carefully closed it. She walked a door down to the room where Rarity and Applejack were staying. Fluttershy could barely hear them talking behind the door. After finding out they were awake, Fluttershy tapped softly on the door.

An eye passed over the peephole in the door. It opened to reveal a curious Rarity. Applejack was in the back of the room sitting in a chair. Their room was like an exact copy. It had the same furniture and layout.

"So, did everything go well," Rarity asked and sipped from a levitating cup of tea.

Fluttershy frowned and looked down. Rarity moved away the cup of tea and ushered her in. She motioned to Fluttershy to sit down on the bed and closed the door.

"Were you not able to ask her again?" Rarity inquired.

Fluttershy sighed. "I told her about my.. feelings and.." she stopped.

"She told you that she wasn't interested in mares?"

"No!" Fluttershy cried. "She told me she was but that she didn't have feelings for me!" she said and curled up on the soft bed.

"Wait, ahm confused right now! What's going on?" Applejack asked. She looked deeply concerned.

"Not now, Applejack! Can't you see what the poor dear has gone through?" Rarity said, glancing over at Applejack with a serious look.

"Ah don't even understand what happened!" she replied.

Fluttershy looked up for a minute. "She rejected me! Rainbow Dash said she couldn't go out with me!" she said and cried even more.

"Oh gosh!" Applejack said and got up. She stood next to Rarity.

"Fluttershy, darling, I am so sorry that she turned you down," Rarity said and tried to calm down Fluttershy by gently rubbing her shoulder.

"It's not fair!" she cried out. "We both are into mares but she refuses to date me! I waited so long just to find that out and ask her! Fluttershy said and hid her face under her mane.

"Fluttershy, you have to understand," Rarity said.

She was interrupted. "She won't even give me a chance, Rarity!"

Rarity silenced her with a hoof. "There's still a lot that you don't understand about love, dear," She said and patted Fluttershy on the back. "If Rainbow Dash can't return the feelings then it would be very wrong for her to accept your offer," she explained.

Fluttershy stopped crying but didn't talk. "Sugarcube, ah don't know a whole lot about love.. but, ah do know that there's a good chance a relationship would work out if both ponies have these feelings for each other," Applejack said.

"Fluttershy, you never told us how she felt. Was she even angry?" Rarity asked.

"No," she sighed. "She was pretty confused and worried.. I guess," Fluttershy said.

"So, she wasn't trying to be rude to you?"

"No, she was trying to be.. nice," Fluttershy said.

"How so?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy sat up and brushed her mane out of her face. Applejack and Rarity were sitting on each side of her and had a hoof resting on one of her shoulders.

"She said she was sorry and didn't have any feelings for me at the time. She said she would spend time with me so she could find out whether or not she does like me," Fluttershy explained.

"Is that why ya'll are all upset?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, I don't think she is going to end up liking me," Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, I think I understand what Rainbow Dash was trying to tell you," Rarity said.

"What is that?"

"She didn't want you to get hurt. Let's say that you two started dating. If you end up building stronger feelings and becoming emotionally attached and she did not.. you would be devastated!"

"Sugarcube, Rainbow Dash is a swell friend. She might not always like to display how much we mean to her. But, we all do mean a lot to her, especially you! She even told me once that you were her only true friend before we all had met!"

"Really? I didn't know.. but what am I supposed to do?" Fluttershy said.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Rarity asked.

"Yes.. even if this doesn't work out.. I'll still be her friend," Fluttershy said and nodded.

"Fluttershy, I do believe that you deserve a chance but.. you can't force love like this. However, I will help you try to win her heart some other way," Rarity said and nodded at Fluttershy.

"How?" Fluttershy asked.

"Now, you said that she wanted to spend with you, right? Well, I'm guessing she told you not to be so affectionate for the time being," she said and glanced at Fluttershy. "No? She probably will though. You are going to have to let her make the moves. Don't do something like nuzzling, cuddling, or even hugging unless she does it first. You don't want to do anything to make her feel uncomfortable. Is that clear, Fluttershy?" Rarity said with a serious look.

"Yes, Rarity. I understand," Fluttershy said, blushing for a minute.

"I can't promise this will work out, Fluttershy. If it really doesn't work out.. I do know other mares out there that are suitable for the likes of you," Rarity said.

"Thank you, Rarity. You too, Applejack," Fluttershy said and got off the bed.

"Hey, how bout ya have these nice vanilla muffins?" Applejack said, offering her a plastic container with four vanilla muffins in it.

"Really? I love vanilla so much!" Fluttershy exclaimed and raised her forelegs for a second.

She grabbed the container with her mouth and made her way to the door. Rarity used her magic to open the door for Fluttershy. She followed her down to her room and used her magic to levitate the key. She unlocked the door and turned around back to her room door.

Fluttershy thought she heard a click. She walked in to see that Rainbow Dash was starting to wake up. Suddenly, Rarity was yelling and hitting her own room door.

"Lemme in!" she yelled. "Applejack, I'm locked out!"

She ignored whatever was going on down the hall and closed their door. Rainbow Dash was stretching out her muscles and her wings. She didn't seem to have been bothered by the yelling.

'Just listen to what Rarity told you. You can do it!' Fluttershy thought.

Fluttershy picked up the plastic container of muffins and set it down on their little table. She had to admire almost everything in this hotel. She turned around to see that Rainbow Dash was right next to her.

"Morning, Fluttershy! Whatcha got you over there?" Rainbow Dash said and yawned.

"Good morning, Rainbow! I have breakfast for us!" Fluttershy said and nodded.

"Sweet!" Rainbow Dash said.

She eagerly sat down at the table. Fluttershy smiled and sat down on the other side. This was no dinning table at all. It was about the same size of a checker table. Fluttershy opened up the plastic container and pulled out two muffins for herself and Rainbow Dash. They licked their lips and looked down at their food.

"Wait," Rainbow Dash said and looked up at Fluttershy.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Fluttershy curiously asked.

"Don't you want something to drink with this?" Rainbow Dash asked?

"Uh.. it's fine," Fluttershy lied. She was pretty thirsty right now.

Rainbow Dash got up and looked through her duffel bag. She searched around until she pulled out some apple juice that was in clear plastic bottles. She came back and offered Fluttershy one.

"Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy said.

"Hey, it's no problem at all!" Rainbow Dash said and rubbed the back of her head.

Rainbow Dash sat down and started eating first. Fluttershy started eating too. The sweet taste of the vanilla muffins had her eating just as sloppy as Rainbow Dash sometimes was when she was so hungry. After she quickly finished her two muffins, she let out a little burp and quickly covered her mouth.

"Excuse me, Rainbow Dash! Sorry!" Fluttershy said and blushed a little.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Good one, Fluttershy!" she said and laughed. "Hey, it happens to me a lot. Don't worry about it!"

"Oh.. okay, Rainbow," she replied.

Rainbow Dash finished her last muffin and got up. "Hey, I need to do my daily exercises. You don't have to do anything. You can just hang out and talk," she said.

Fluttershy nodded and they left. She made sure to grab their key before they left. She walked alongside with Rainbow Dash down the hall. Rarity no longer was there, pounding on her door. They went down the stairs to the lobby and approached the same receptionist.

"Good morning. Is there something I can do for you?" she said.

"Um.. do you have a room for like.. exercising in here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes, just take the hall on this other side. It should be on the left," she replied and pointed.

"Thanks," Rainbow Dash said. "C'mon, Fluttershy," she said and they both went down the hall.

They found the exercising room in a matter of seconds. It was at the end of the hall. Fluttershy peeked through the window of a door that was at the end. Inside it was a decently sized swimming pool and a small hot tub. She followed Rainbow Dash inside the room.

The floor was covered with green rubber flooring. It was faded and very light. Oddly enough though, the smell of sweat was not present here. A rack of barbells stood out against one of the walls. On the other side was treadmills. Fluttershy only had used one of those once. Flight School at their time had neglected to require a running activity as part of the warm ups. She was only forced to do it once. Rainbow Dash was one of the ponies who loved to use the new treadmills that they were given.

Rainbow Dash began to do her push ups. Fluttershy couldn't help but notice how tone her friend's muscle were. She wasn't all buffed out like some other ponies she had seen. Rainbow Dash looked sleek and in shape. Fluttershy used to be a very scrawny foal until she became friends with Rainbow Dash. She had been given help learning to fly and exercise a bit. It didn't do wonders but Fluttershy was left in a much healthier state.

"Hey, you there?" Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting her thoughts,

"Huh? What?" Fluttershy said and blushed.

"Just wanted to small talk. I didn't want to force you here and then have you not talk," Rainbow Dash said and stopped the push ups.

"Oh.. would you um mind if I did some.. exercises with you? I'll just do a little," Fluttershy said.

"Well, no but I had only planned to do push ups and some running," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can I do that with you?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the treadmills.

"Of course but uh.. don't push yourself, Flutters," Rainbow Dash replied.

Fluttershy nodded and got on a treadmill. Rainbow Dash got on one next to her. She saw that it was pretty basic and only had a speed dial and an emergency stop button. She looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was trotting. Fluttershy adjusted her speed and started walking.

"So, how are you liking this vacation so far, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ehh.. it's okay, I guess. We still didn't really do anything here yet," Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy glanced at her. "Well, we could plan something out," she suggested.

"I don't know what this place is and what is around," Rainbow Dash complained.

"Why don't we ask, Twilight?" Fluttershy said.

Rainbow Dash nodded at her and turned her dial up. Fluttershy stared at her for a minute and then turned her dial up too. She was forced trot at a fast pace now. Rainbow Dash glanced over with an odd look. After a few minutes, Fluttershy was sweating and tiring out. Suddenly, a cyan hoof reached over and hit the stop button.

Fluttershy almost gave out. The machine came to quick stop and she was leaning over, trying to catch her breath. She stepped off and tried to walk. Rainbow Dash caught her before she could fall over. She didn't seem to be out of breath at all.

"Don't do that, Fluttershy! I don't want you to get hurt," she said, holding the timid mare.

Fluttershy looked up and blushed a little. "I-I.. I'm..s-sorry," she apologized.

For a second, it looked like Rainbow Dash had blushed. Fluttershy didn't think anything of it and just kept trying to catch her breath. She was in no shape to be running like that. Rainbow Dash patted her on the back for a minute.

"Can you get up now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes, I think," Fluttershy replied. She held onto Rainbow Dash and slowly got up.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof around her so she could lean on her for support. They walked out, sweating a little and feeling warm. Fluttershy stopped and Rainbow Dash gave her a glance.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"There's a pool at the end of this hall. I was just thinking that swimming would feel so nice," Fluttershy explained, pointing a hoof at the door.

"Really? Ok, we can do that!" Rainbow Dash said and they turned around.

To their surprise, the door was unlocked and the pool looked cleaned pretty clean. Rainbow Dash jumped in the water with a cannonball. Fluttershy tried to avoid the water that splashed. She gingerly walked down a set of steps. The cool water was refreshing and she went deeper. She went under for a second to clear off the rest of the sweat.

Rainbow Dash was doing laps back and forth. "Hey, it's pretty awesome, Fluttershy!" she said and swam up to her. "Tag!" she yelled and swam away.

Fluttershy tried to out swim her athletic friend but it was no use. Rainbow Dash was too good of a swimmer and she had little practice swimming. Finally, Rainbow Dash must have felt a little guilty because she decided to slow down so Fluttershy could catch up.

"Tag!" Fluttershy said and tried to swim away.

Rainbow Dash was obviously going real easy on her. She kept letting Fluttershy get away from her. Both of them were laughing as Rainbow Dash made fake attempts to tag her. Fluttershy was actually having fun. They kept at this for a long time.

Eventually, the water started to feel uncomfortably cold. Fluttershy was shaking and her teeth chattering. She got out and stood shivering. The exposure to air only made it feel worse.

Rainbow Dash stopped swimming and held on the edge of the pool. "Are you okay there, Fluttershy?" she asked. "Let me get you something to dry off with," she said and got out.

There was a white shelf leaning agaisnt one of the walls. On it was stacks of clean toweles. Rainbow Dash threw one over her back and held one in her mouth. She came to Fluttershy's side and started to dry her off. Her mane was dripping with water.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said and gave look of grattitude.

"No problem, pal!" Rainbow Dash said, smiling at her.

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash. She was shaking a little and still dripping with water. Fluttershy took off the towell on her and started to dry her off.

"Whoa, there's no need to-," Rainbow Dash began but was cut off by a towel rubbing over her face.

She moved the towel around trying to get most of her dry. After a minute, Rainbow Dash was no longer dripping with water and her mane was only slightly damp.

"Heh, uhh.. thanks, pal," she said, blushing a little.

"Sorry, Rainbow Dash! I just wanted-" Fluttershy said but was cut off.

"It's cool, Fluttershy. You just wanted to return the favor," Rainbow Dash said and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Can we go back to the room now?" Fluttershy asked after a minute of awkward silence.

'I just want a nap now. Going under my blankets would feel so nice,' Fluttershy thought.

"Sure, thing! Heck, it's probably time for one of my usual naps anyway," Rainbow Dash replied.

Fluttershy picked up their key and they made their way back to the room. They left the used towells behind in a pile. As they made their way back, Fluttershy took some time to reflect. Exercising might have been better if she didn't turn up her speed to try to impress Rainbow Dash. It had been quite a nice bit of fun swimming though.

'Is there something special between us or are we just really good friends?' Fluttershy asked herself.

They got back to the room to take their little nap. Fluttershy pushed out all her doubts about the possible relationship with Rainbow Dash. All that mattered now was taking a quick nap with her crush. Fluttershy slid under her blankets while Rainbow Dash just curled up on her own side of the bed. She wished that she could be snuggling with Rainbow Dash during this peaceful nap.

Maybe there was a good chance that Rainbow Dash would finally fall for her. It seemed possible to Fluttershy. She thought nothing more of it. After this nap, she will have more time to spend with Rainbow Dash. Perhaps Rainbow Dash will think of her as more than just a 'best pal', but as her marefriend.

Comments

[super3rainbow1]

After completing this chapter, I can't help but notice how awkward the story is getting. If I can't get this story to flow in a smooth pace in the next chapter, I probably will either put this on hiatus or just scrap it.

Forget the scrapping. I might just end up leaving this to sit for a while before I continue.

[NintendoGal55]

If you DARE give up now....
I'm going to cry...you don't want me to cry, do you?

And really, it doesn't seem all that awkward to me. If anything, it actually kind of works since it sets the tone of how mildly awkward things are. Fluttershy is obviously very nervous about coming off too strong, and trying to go along with Rarity's idea. It makes sense, because of the uncertainty and how hard it can be to hold back when she's around her crush. She just needs to relax, spend more time together and get into the flow of things, because it may have an awkward start, but it can get better.

Just like the story. Don't quit now! You're just starting! All you have to do is keep going, keep trying, and see where it all takes off. It's pretty good still, so don't worry.

[super3rainbow1]

1984718
You're too kind

Giving up on a Flutterdash? Hmmm... that's a no can do

Thank you for your kindness Looks like I will have to keep on trying
It's all about learning from mistakes, I guess

[NintendoGal55]

1984733 Exactly! And this happens a lot! Sometimes a story can start off a little iffy, but if you just keep trying and learn from your mistakes, you can still make it along and make it good!

So you're welcome!

[Slate the Pegasus]

I love it

[super3rainbow1]

1985047
Thanks

[Fernesh]

This is actually pretty damn good (well it's flutterdash, of course it's good). I really like this story, it's well written. Don't you dare stop now

[super3rainbow1]

1997774
Thank you

I don't plan on stopping anytime soon

[Duh Red Baer]

This FIC is so good! See recently I've been going through rejection for a girl I've known for seven years, and when I finally confessed she rejected me, and the next day didn't even so much as loom at me. We've been becoming better and better like it never happened but the wounds are still fresh. This FIC sings songs of hope to those wounds and just warms my heart! I WUV IT IZ SO GUD!