Fluttershy has been able to see colors for a very long time now. It's very rare for a pony to find theirs so young as she did, but that's what happened when she met Rainbow Dash. So what does she do when she later on finds the pony she loves too?
Years ago Fluttershy met Rainbow Dash when they were just filly's, coloring her world far earlier than most ponies. A few more years later Fluttershy met a pony she came to realize she loved, confusing her well beyond what she deserved. To add to this unpleasant surprise neither her nor Rainbow have ever spoken of their apparent connection, even after all these years. Now Fluttershy has to figure out just what "Soulmate" truly means and how it effects her long lived friendship and newly budding romance.
It was common knowledge that when a pony meets their soulmate that they will gain the ability to see in color, but otherwise would see the world in gray-scale until then. For most it took them up to their budding adulthood to find them, but some could very well be old and ageing before they find their soul mate. Some may never find their soul mate before life takes the ultimate toll. This doesn't mean they don't live fulfilling lives, many even marry happily without ever seeing, or caring to see, a single color. All though while it is known that a pony doesn't need to find their soulmate to have love or happiness, it is better known that when a pony does in fact find them that they spend the rest of their life with them, often marrying them or at least living happily as a couple for the rest of their lives.
So just imagine how terribly confused and scared poor Fluttershy was when on the day she met her soon to be good friend Rainbow Dash she could suddenly see in color.
At the time the filly hadn't even been given the "Talk" as it were regarding soulmates, leaving her with no explanation as to why she could see something that could hardly be explained with a few simple words. When she had gotten home and told as much to her parents they were extremely surprised to say the least. They could hardly believe their little butterfly found her soul mate at such a young age! With nothing else to do about it they sat her down and explained "Soulmates" and their relevance to color.
"A soul mate my dear is a pony that helps your life feel so much more complete than it was before. You'll find that your life will be so much fuller than it was before, that you feel just all that much better when you're around them. Some ponies have said that the reason you see in color when you find your soulmate is that the ponies are filling in a very special place in each others souls that wasn't there before."
This is how "Soulmates" had been first explained to her so long ago, and that was the explanation that would stick with her for many years to come. Having been told this (and being a bit of a pushover for cheesy romance) she felt that she was obligated to ask out her new soul buddy to a date, but being true to her namesake she was never able to muster the emotional strength necessary to do so. One might think that this would be the point in our story where Rainbow Dash takes the infinitive and asks Fluttershy instead now that she knew she was her soulmate.
But instead she had never made mention that she could see in color.It frustrated Fluttershy to no end, not being able to say anything herself and never being able to glen any kind of information subtly from the head strong peagus. If she could see in color than surely Rainbow had to too, right? This set the tone of their friendship for years to come. Fluttershy too scared to try to make any kind of move, and Rainbow Dash never doing anything to acknowledge their connection much to her friends silent anger.
Despite its tenseness it was still a strong friendship that held true against many hardships as the two grew together. Through laughter, crying, yelling, whispering that was meant to be yelling, and even their vastly different personalities the two remained powerful friends. Then in a quiet little town called Ponyville Fluttershy met a pony that after many strange and fantastic adventures she realized was doing something to her that she didn't think was possible for her anymore.
In the privacy of her little cottage home Fluttershy had called another meeting of the stuffed animal friends, and Angel Bunny, council of the large soft bed for a very serious matter.
"I think I've fallen in l...lo...I think I'm in lo..."
Angle was beginning to get very cross with the stuttering pegasus and started thumping his foot to show his impatience, knocking over a stuffed merpony by accident.
"Oh I’m sorry Angel, I know you're getting cranky because you haven’t eaten yet, it's just so hard to say out loud. I know I need to get it off my chest, I just wish it wasn’t so embarrassing."
Letting out a little sigh the bunny's face changed to one of understanding. Hopping close he patted her side to show his support. Fluttershy smiled down at the him.
"Thank you Angel."
Taking a breath she looked back at the stuffed animals to try to bare her heart to her many plush friends and pet bunny once again.
"I'm in l...lo..."
She bolted her eyes closed as she forced the words out of her mouth.
"I'm in love with Pinkie Pie."
Slowly opening her eyes Fluttershy was happy to find that the world hadn't shattered because of her admittance. Then she remembered that Pinkie was in fact NOT her soul mate, and everything seemed to swirl around her, vision getting blurry.
"But how can I be in love with Pinkie? I thought your soul mate was the pony you were suppose to love...but then again me and Rainbow Dash have never really talked about our connection. And what if Rainbow IS in love with me?! How could I possibly tell her that I don't feel the same way, her soul mate?! And again what if she does NOT see in color, maybe that's why she never talks about it because somehow I'm her soul mate but she's not mine?! Can that even happen?! AND-AND-AND-?!?!"
And she passed out, her own neuroses being too much for her. These made Angel very upset, now how much longer was he going to have to wait to get his dinner?
After having prevented another episode of self induced hysteria Fluttershy had decided with a great deal of reluctance and an even greater deal of prodding from Angel that she needed to ask her friends for help. Her first visit of the day was with Rarity, who had become me her confidant when it came to most matters like these. After a brisk walk and the normal greetings Fluttershy was now seated with an freshly emptied cup of tea across from Rarity, who had just finished up some gossip regarding some silly rumors that Twilight was going to get rid of her wings just because she found them inconvenient.
Steeling her nerves as best as she could Fluttershy thought it was time to inquire about what she had come here for before she scared herself off from ever doing it.
"Um, Rarity? There's something I'd like to ask you about, if it's alright with you of course."
Taking the last sip of her own tea Rarity put on that smile of hers that she would never admit was a grin but very much was in fact a grin.
"You have need of my advice darling? How wonderful! Whatever is the matter I will be sure to give you my best help."
"Thank you Rarity. You see, I-"
"OH OH, do you need dating advice?!"
"Ex-excuse me?"
Rarity had a starry look in her eyes, her imagination starting to take over.
"I could just tell from the moment I opened the door that you were in need of romantic assistance. Is it Corn Hopper? I know he was more than willing to help with your animal rescue efforts more than a few times."
Fluttershy felt her blood siphoning it self all into her cheeks, but before she could even speak Rarity was gasping and holding her own face by the cheeks.
"Is it BIG MACINTOSH?! I should have seen it sooner really, unless-"
Another gasp and now she had reached across the table to take hold of Fluttershy's face this time, gleefully frantic look on her face.
"IS IT RAINBOW DASH?! Are you at admitting to having long hidden feelings for her?!"
Pushing Rarity back forcefully, which for the butter pegasus was something more akin to gentle nudging, Fluttershy slammed back into her seat gasping as she tried to fight off the darkness surrounding her vision. With a shameful smile Rarity poured her another glass of tea, a bit of steam rising from the cup.
"I am dreadfully sorry darling, I let my insatiable appetite for gossip get the better of me. Drink some tea, it should help you feel better."
Just nodding Fluttershy shakily took a long swig of the hot tea, the burning not bothering the seasoned tea sampler. The warmth helped to sooth all but her most persistent of anxieties away. After a few more breaths and a few more sips of fresh tea she was able to give Rarity a weak smile.
"Again I do apologize, I really shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that and have startled you."
"I-it's fine Rarity, I know how you can get sometimes. To be honest I was kind of expecting it, but wasn't quite...prepared."
Fluttershy scraped at the table with a hoof awkwardly, feeling less than comfortable about asking Rarity what she had been thinking about, but she had been the one to come to her in the first place. When Rarity gave her a supportive smile she knew it would be alright, she just had to get it out.
"What I wanted to ask you is...oh how do I put this?"
Looking Rarity in the eyes with one of her own covered by her hair Fluttershy just spat the words out as quickly as she could.
Scared by her own outburst Fluttershy hit the ground, hooves over her head and eyes closed. After a polite cough got her attention she slowly unwound herself and sat back up to find Rarity wearing a puzzled look on her muzzle.
"Would you mind repeating that just one more time dear, slowly please?"
"Oh, ye-yes. Um...What is your opinion on the wide held belief that a ponies soulmate is their destined lover...?"
Fluttershy was ready to dive again, nervousness nearly radiating off of her. As for Rarity, at first her expression was just all that more puzzled, than ever so slowly her little frown grew into that huge grin again.
"Why my dear, sweet Fluttershy, have you meet your soulmate?"
Leaning away from the unicorns hungry stare Fluttershy could hardly find her voice.
"Well yes, in fact I meet them...when I was a filly?"
She wasn't sure why it had come out as a question, but Fluttershy couldn't seem to find a better way to say it.
As if it were tied to a switch of two emotions Rarity's face went back to betraying puzzlement.
"When you were a filly? Are you telling me that you've known your soul mate since you were just a little filly, being able to see color for all these years?"
And with rush of realization the switch was flipped again, though a twinkle to her eyes was added to Rarity's ever returning grin this time.
"It is Rainbow Dash isn't it?! That's why you two were always so close. While I by no means hold nothing more than her grand disregard for proper self care and even basic fashion sense against her, I could never truly understand how the two of you being of such different personalities could have been friends for so long. It just seems so obvious now that I can see it!"
Fluttershy let off a nervous laugh.
"It's true, Rainbow Dash is my soul mate..."
Seeing her friends unsure expression...*FLIP*
"But you don't love her, do you?"
A squeak and a nod was all Rarity got for a response.
"Oh dear, I suppose I'm still getting ahead of myself."
Fluttershy shuffled quietly in her seat, waiting for Rarity to continue the conversation.
“Let me ask, Just exactly who is your soulmate dear?”
“Ra-Rainbow Dash...I think."
Fluttershy would have rather have Rarity mad at her than giving her the unreadable expression of neutrality that she was.
"You think? As in, you don't fully know?" Rarity said in an overly calm manner.
"Well...yes."
Silence for a moment until Rarity spoke once again in that calm manner that was starting to really creep Fluttershy out.
"I do believe that you're going to have to explain to me dear what you mean, because how could you POSSIBLY not know who your-!"
Rarity cut herself short when she noticed her voice raising and starting to scare the butter pegasus.
"I'm sorry dear, I'm just having a great deal of difficulty understanding, so if you could?"
Nodding slightly Fluttershy tapped her front hooves together for a moment in thought before she began.
"Yo-you see, back in flight school when me and Rainbow dash met for the first time there was a rush of things all happening at once. Of course you know about how she defended me and went on to make the sonic rainboom, but what you don't know is that after she had won the race and she couldn't find me she went searching nearly all of Cloudsdale for me. When she didn't find me there she figured I must have been blown off by the rainboom and started looking for me on the ground. When she found me I was talking to some new squirrel friends."
Fluttershy's eyes started to drift as she recalled the memory, a light blush gracing her cheeks.
"It took a couple of minutes to get my attention, those little squirrlys were just so cute, but when she finally got me to look at her I couldn't figure out what I was seeing."
Rarity held up a hoof to stop her timid friend.
"Am I to venture that you were seeing her in color for the very first time?"
"Um, yes. I hadn't really noticed the change before, I was really distracted by all of the new things, and I kind of thought in the back of my mind that was just what the ground looked like. But when I looked at Rainbow Dash it began to sink in what actually happened."
Fluttershy partially hid her face with a hoof as she said the rest.
"And suddenly all the implications of Rainbow being my soul mate came rushing to my head and with the rush of getting my cutie mark still going it all became a little too much and I...passed out."
The blush that was burning Fluttershy's face softened a bit when Rarity patted her hoof with one of her own while giving her a reassuring smile.
"I can understand all the strange and new things getting to you when so much of it happens all at once, and fainting certainly not the worst thing that could have happened to you in that situation. Please do continue."
Fluttershy returned the smile and nodded happily.
"When I woke up I was back in my house with my mom and dad doting over me. They told me that Rainbow had freaked out and tried taking me Clouds Dale Hope General Hospital when she ran into them on the way. That took me and told her that it was a common problem I had, which...it was, and that she didn't have to worry. While they had told me that I remembered that I could see colors and told them about it. My poor dad nearly passed out himself while my mom was very excited, telling me how amazing I am to have gotten my cutie mark and find my soul mate all in one day. "
Fluttershy's eyes unfocused a bit, mind as accurately as it could recalling the talk.
"With there being no point in waiting now that I had already found my soul mate they gave the talk. It kind of lost some of it's importance with the bits about how I didn't to rush into finding my soul mate or that I could live a perfectly happy life without ever finding them so they made those parts brief, but the thing that always stuck with me was what my mom had told me."
Closing her eyes Fluttershy recited the words like they were old and sagely phrases passed through the generations, though they did hold the same weight for her.
"A soul mate my dear is a pony that helps your life feel so much more complete than it was before. You'll find that your life will be so much fuller than it was before, that you feel just all that much better when you're around them. Some ponies have said that the reason you see in color when you find your soulmate is that the ponies are filling in a very special place in each others souls that wasn't there before."
Letting out a sigh as if it had been a private burden she had been holding to herself for such a long time the peach butter pegasus looked at her friend with a cautious curiosity.
"I always kind of assumed that meant I was supposed to be in love with Rainbow Dash because of our connection, but I never had the will to ask her out or even ask about it, and she has never told me anything. Not once has she ever even seemed to acknowledge it in the slightest. My thinking was that maybe she just wasn't ready to be in a relationship yet and didn't want say anything until she was, but there has been something that's come up that has me worried."
Rarity nodded and took a long sip from her tea before putting a hoof to her chin furrowing her brow, a a few "hmm's" and "hum's" as she thought all this information over. After a moment Rarity had one simple question.
"And just what is it that has you worried?"
The question was almost enough to send Fluttershy flying through the front door as fast as her wings could carry her, but after a moment to imagine Rarity as Miss Ice the stuffed polar bear from the council of the big soft bed she tried to speak.
"-~-~."
Having learned long ago to be patient with her Rarity leaned in a smidgen.
"Could you repeat that dear?"
Gulping Fluttershy nodded slowly.
"I've fallen in love with Pinkie Pie."
Rarity leaned some more.
"I'm sorry dear but you'll have to speak up some more."
Pinching her eyes closed Fluttershy tried again to get it out.
"I've fallen in love with Pinkie Pie."
While quiet Rarity definitely heard her that time as indicated by her eyes going wide as dinner plates, a sparkle lighting them up while her mind tried to catch up to her in built love of romantic gossip and spat out the first thing that made it to her mouth.
"What?"
This was more stunned what rather than an actual request of information, but the self named ball of shyness didn't know between her embarrassed fear and iron shut eyes the difference and in a burst of a need get this done with she blurted out nearly right into the unicorns ear.
"I'VEFALLENINLOVEWITHPINKIEPIE! Eeep!"
With it out there loud and embarrassed Fluttershy quickly covered mouth in surprise at her own outburst as Rarity tried getting the hearing back in the ear that had been assaulted.
"I think I heard you that time dear."
"I'm sorry..."
Flicking the hoof she had used to try and clear her her with Rarity waved off her friend's concern.
"Nothing to be sorry for, but now that is out of the way."
A Discord worthy grin spread upon the white mare's face.
"You've been smitten by a particular party planner?"
Fluttershy smiled sheepishly, no offense to sheep of course.
"Ye-yes. That's why I came to talk to you today."
"You're worried that just because Pinkie Pie isn't your soulmate that you two can' be together right?"
Fluttershy nodded at first, but tried to speak.
"That, and I-"
"Darling~ we both love our melodramatic romance stories and I certainly would love to see one unfold before my own eyes, but Just because she is your soulmate does not mean Rainbow Dash absolutely must be the one you have to love."
The rest of Fluttershy's old sentence died in her throat.
"Really?"
Rarity put her nose to the air to pronounce her words a bit more.
"Of course not, why I've know a great deal of ponies that have met their soulmates well past starting a healthy relationship with another, and not one of them went gallivanting off with them and left their loved ones behind because of it. Not only then it would be a rather sad sight if ponies had to wait until finding them that they could begin to date, could you imagine having to hold out for your entire life and never finding love just because you never found one random pony that gave you something you very well could live without and not lose a single thing any other pony else could have? It would just be dreadful!"
Fluttershy was a bit taken back by surprise.
"Is that really how you think about it?"
It's all she could say at the moment, her mind mulling over what Rarity had said.
"Would I say it if it weren't? Fluttershy-"
Reaching over the magic dressmaker put a hoof on the timid animal carer.
"-soulmates are a special thing by all means, don't for a moment think otherwise, but you can be with somepony your entire life and not once have even the slightest romantic feeling for them. You and Rainbow Dash will always have something special together, but so will you and Pinkie Pie, both just as meaningful in all their own ways."
Putting a hoof on top of her friends Fluttershy could not help but smile.
"Thank you Rarity, that was beautiful."
"As the next best expert to romance to only Cadence herself I have an obligation to use my vast knowledge to help any friend in need of romantic help. Those romance novels are great study material." Rarity said with a smirk having sat back in her seat, making Fluttershy giggle.
"That did help clear up some of my problem Rarity, I really appreciate it, buuuut..."
"Buuuut-?"
"I still don't even know what Rainbow Dash thinks. I honestly have no idea what she even thinks about the whole concept of soulmates in general. I don't want to start seeing Pinkie without even knowing if Rainbow might actually be interested in me. I mean, I'm not sure if I would want to go out with her, but I would like to know, you know?"
"Well than there's only one thing you can do, ask her."
"I know, but-"
"Ah ah, no more "buts". It was unhealthy of you and her to have never said anything and it would only be more so if you were to try and ask Pinkie out too. I know it's a scary proposition that you might have to break her heart dear, no one wants to do that to their friend, but that's the key word here. "Friend" is what you think of her. One of if not your closest friend, but tell me with absolute honesty-"
Rarity leveled her gaze with Fluttershy's.
"-do you LOVE her? Have you ever felt the same way about her as you do with Pinkie now?"
Unconsciously Fluttershy began to go through all of her shy tendencies, such as not making eye contact, playing with her hooves, blushing, and wiggling in her seat.
"...No..."
"Then this is what you need to do. You go find Rainbow, ask her about you two being soulmates once and for all, and if she has a romantic interest in you, well I'm sorry to say dear but you will have to tell her you're not interested. But I know you can do it, just as when you helped her confront her separation issues with tank."
As ever patient as she could be Rarity let her friend shuffle around in her seat quietly, Fluttershy not saying a word for a good few seconds before letting out a deflating sigh.
"Your right Rarity, it's what I have to do."
Completely leaving her seat the element holder of generosity wrapped the element holder of kindness in a soft hug.
"And don't forget dear, Rainbow is above everything else your friend. I'm sure that no matter how she feels she will be supportive of just as me or any then rest of us would be."
And then with a sudden shove and a bit of magic Fluttershy found herself standing outside the boutique dazed from the sudden rush of magic, Rarity in the doorway with grin and look of determination on her face.
"Now get out there and get it done! I'm absolutely am DYING to hear about how you fell in love with Pinkie and how your confession is going to go, so hurry along do what must be done before I explode with anticipation!"
With that Fluttershy was turned around to be facing in the general direction of Rainbow Dash's house and given a slight push.
"Good luck!"
After a second to get her bearings Fluttershy found that Rarity was waving her off. With a gulp Fluttershy began walking, mind churning with possibilities.
("Okay Fluttershy, you've got this! It's just talking with Rainbow Dash, your best friend. Talking about how you two have never talked about the fact that your soulmates, and about how you're in love with Pinkie Pie, and that even if she's in love with you you're not interested in her. Which would break her heart. But she wouldn't tell you that because that's how she is. That would make everything awkward between us and-")
Stopping on shaky legs looked back to Rarity who still standing at the door. She gave her a smile and a hoof gesture to keep going. A fake smile and a turn around a corner later Fluttershy had her back up against a wall and breathing like she had just ran a three part marathon.
("Maybe a detour to help me...think about what I'm going to say to Rainbow when I see her.")
Weakly she nodded to herself, walking unsteadily in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, the opposite direction of Rainbow Dash's house, making sure to side step Rarity's house.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres from Carousel Boutique was a long one, just as Fluttershy wanted it to be at the moment. It gave her all the time she wanted to avoid talking with Rainbow Dash about the complex feelings that had been built up over the course of their friendship. Truly it was a rather taxing mess of emotions to bare and even with Rarity's help on the whole matter it still wasn't a talk the butter mare was looking towards. The possibility of having to reject her closest friend's romantic interest, possibly being Rainbow telling her that she wasn't her soulmate and she couldn't see in color which would explain why she never mentioned it, or even the possibility that Rainbow-
"FLUTTERSHY!!!"
"Wha-GUH!"
Fluttershy's train of thought was completely broken when the pony she had fallen in love with hug tackled her, having snuck up on her while she had been thinking. They rolled head over hooves before stopping, Pinkie being on top of Fluttershy as she hugged and nuzzled her, Fluttershy too dazed to respond. Before she could recover Pinkie was already off of her and offering a hoof, a giant classic Pinkie grin on her face. Mind catching up with the current situation Fluttershy's face blossomed like a rose as she tentatively took the proffered hoof in her own and dragged herself up.
"Hia Flutters, whatcha doing heading to Applejack's?"
Fluttershy had made great strides in gaining bravery and confidence over her life, but all that work was always washed away by the radiant glow of the party mare's smile. Head behind a veil of hair, one singular eye poking out staring at a very interesting caterpillar on the road (Seriously, this is Fluttershy after all), and hooves kicking lightly at the dirt Fluttershy tried to squeeze out a reply through her suddenly very constricted throat.
"H-hi Pinkie, I was ju-just going to talk to Appl-Applejack about something..."
Hearing her friend's quiet demeanor shine through strong as ever Pinkie's smile became more subtle and she lowered herself just a bit to catch the pegasus's eye.
"Going to talk to her about what? Helping watch over your animals while the cutie map sends you somewhere?"
Fluttershy was faced with a terrible dilemma as she looked into the crystal blue eyes of the exuberant mare, their beauty encapturing yet the nervous tingles running through her spine wanted her to look away. Eyes never leaving Pinkie's Fluttershy nodded ever so slightly.
"No? So what were you going to talk to Applejack about?"
Nerves winning out Fluttershy broke eye contact before she spoke.
"About stuff."
Now laying completely flat on the ground Pinkie scooted a little closer towards Fluttershy the way a dog would on their stomach, never losing her smile all the while.
"What stuff?"
Fluttershy leaned back a little.
"Stuff about things."
Pinkie scooted even closer, her chin right in Fluttershy's chest fluff as she looked up at her, smile betraying her innocence as she pressed Fluttershy more for answers.
"What things?"
Fluttershy positioned her head away from Pinkie, fighting the urge to lay her head on top of hers, while enjoying the contact.
"Things about...soulmates."
Pinkie now was crouching off the ground, her face having pierced the wall of pink threads that separated it from Fluttershy's. The smell of confections and light sweat from a good day's work around ovens was turning the head of the meek yellow mare rather red.
"I didn't catch that, one more time if you don't mind."
Not being able to take much more Fluttershy pushed Pinkie away gently to an arms length. Breathing slowly to try and get her blood flowing away from just her head Fluttershy felt the tiniest, littlest, most minuscule bit of braveness return to her.
"I said I was going to talk to her about so...sou...soulmates. *EEP*
Head at an angle Pinkie looked perplexed at the supposed reason to her friend's shyness. Or reason for being more shy than normal at least.
"You were gonna talk to AJ about soulmates? Don't take these as me calling you a silly pony, you're more a pretty kind of pony than a silly kind, but what you just said was very silly!"
A sentence that might have gone without scrutinization under better conditions left the light hoofed mare practically floating off without the need of her wings with how light headed it made her feel.
("Oh no she's onto me and now she thinks I'm a big old liar and she smells really nice today and she's going to never want to go out with a liar and I still need to talk to Rainbow AND DID SHE JUST CALL ME PRETTY?!")
Unaware of her friend's mental breakdown Pinkie went on as perusal.
"It's just plain funny that the first pony you'd talk to about soulmates of all things would be Applejack, not that she's not super duper smart about a lot of stuff, but we all know that as over the top she can be about that Rarity is the number one when it comes to stuff like that! SO it's just silly that you'd skip over her to go talk to Applejack. Unless-"
*GASP*
"It's because Rarity's been your super secret soulmate this whole time and you're just now talking about it! Perhaps because you've found another pony that isn't your soulmate but you reallyreallyREALLY like and you don't know how to feel about it or tell either of them about it!"
Fluttershy nearly missed it during Pinkie's tirade as she tried to calm her own mental crisis, but she managed to catch her voice losing some of its gusto as she spoke.
"Who is it? Is it BigMac? I bet it's Big Mac! The two of you are like peas in a pod. If peas were really quiet and didn't say a lot, which they don't actually, so that makes more sense than I thought!"
Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy shaking here in her frenzy for answers, though she did have the mind not to shake her too hard.
"Is BigMac your pea pod pal?!"
Giving her head a good few firm shakes to stop the world from spinning Fluttershy detangled herself from Pinkie.
"N-no, Big Mac isn't my pea pod pal. But I did talk to Rarity first when I decided to go see Applejack too."
Fluttershy gauged Pinkie again, this time, hard as it was, not concentrating on the mares looks but instead her overall attitude. If it had been any other pony then it would be impossible for them to notice anything about Pinkie that was different from the way she normally acted, but Fluttershy especially of all their friends was able to easily see the slightly downtrodden mood she was in.
Her smile was ever so less grand than was normal, her movements not quite as exuberant, and her voice was near undetectably less happy as opposed to the near bursting joy it would without previous fail to contain.
It made Fluttershy worry, forcing her to shove personal troubles aside for a moment. Going in easy Fluttershy started with a simple question.
"What about you Pinkie, why are you out here?"
Pinkie flinched, looking to be somewhat nervous struck by the question for whatever reason Fluttershy was trying to ascertain.
"Me? I was...talking to Applejack about something just like you were."
"Oh? About what?"
It was very disconcerting to see Pinkie so withdrawn from talking. Fluttershy had seen her friend on more than one occasion have her speech contained due to nervousness, but this seemed different, like she was embarrassed to say anything. Eyes creased and darting to and fro, one foreleg withdrawn, and a tense stance were all stacked atop her previous uncharacteristic attributes. It was honestly worrying Fluttershy to the point of uncomfortableness, but just before she could skip the small talk and ask Pinkie what was wrong the mare in question spoke first.
"Well, if I'm being honest I was talking to her about something kinda sorta similar to what you were gonna talk to her about. It's something that's been on my mind for a while and every time I think about it my tummy gets all fluttery and I feel like I could just start floating around like a pegasus, but also at the exact same time my tummy feels like it has the really big weight dropped into it and I'll get dragged right back of the air and have to start dragging it around wherever I walk!"
Pinkie looked up to Fluttershy with sheepish eyes.
"You know what I mean?"
Memories flash through Fluttershy's mind of all the times she has ever thought of Pinkie.
"Actually, yes I do."
Pinkie perked up a bit.
"Really?! Is it because of the whole soulmate business?"
"We-well, yes."
"Soooo~ mind telling me exactly who it is your soulmate is then?"
Fluttershy almost completely relapsed into her shell of hair but persevered over her emotions to give Pinkie an answer, confident that it wouldn't tip off her off to the romantic feelings Fluttershy held closely guarded from her.
"It's um...Rainbow Dash actually. When I first meet her back when she did the Sonic Rainboom is when I started seeing in color. I thought it was because I was on the ground for the first time, but later on I found out from my parents that it was because I met my soulmate. It was all really confusing and a bit scary for me, it's very rare that a pony of my age at the time would meet their soulmate, and if I'm being honest it hasn't really gotten any better. It's always made me so nervous trying to bring the subject up with Rainbow, and frustratingly she has never brought up the topic herself."
Fluttershy might have gone on, of course avoiding bringing up her infatuation, but Pinkie unintentionally cut her off with a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh..."
Just as soon as it left her mouth did Pinkie look like she had just been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar, which was silly considering her occupation, and quickly removed her hoof from the metaphorical silly jar and instead placed it in her mouth. These actions that would normally just be labeled as "Pinkie does stuff" and left in a mental folder captured Fluttershy's interest. Picking her words carefully she began to prod her celebration centric friend.
"Pinkie, would you mind telling me what it is you talked with Applejack about, you never really told me."
A light layer of sweat breaking over her Pinkie was very hesitant to answer but after a moment of nervous hoof chewing she removed the gnawed hoof and spoke.
"I was talking to her about love."
Fluttershy's heart jumped into overdrive to pump enough blood into her brain to power yet another freakout over the simple spoken yet endless complex in its possible meanings sentence. Pinkie went on like before, unaware.
"There this pony see, and not just any pony. She's the prettiest and most nicest and just all around SWEETEST pony I've ever met!"
Almost all of Pinkie's ill feeling vanished as she spoke of the apparent pony of her dreams.
"She always listens to me no matter what and tries all of my new recipes and-!"
Fluttershy came back to reality from performing mental maintenance just as Pinkie's face fell a tad.
"And...I guess I was really scared when she wasn't my soulmate. I really like, and I really didn't want something as silly as soulmates to make it so I couldn't be with her. So I went to talk to the most straightforward pony I knew! I was sure that while rarity could tell me all day long about mushy-gushyness of love, that Applejack would be able to tell me all serious important stuff I needed to know about soulmates and love. I never thought the whole soulmates thing was all that important, you shouldn't have to have something tell you who you like! But I guess I needed somepony to tell that to me after I made my mind up about y-THE pony I love."
Shifty-eyed, Pinkie didn't say anymore inviting Fluttershy to respond.
"So you don't think soulmates really matter when it come to the pony you love?"
While Fluttershy was still working on gently coaxing out of Pinkie who the mare was and why she seemed so nervous to speak her name, Fluttershy also felt there was no better time than right now while they were on the topic to get a full picture of Pinkie's feelings on the whole soulmate/love dynamic.
"Well YEAH, that is what I just said and got back from talking with AJ about. Why do you ask?"
"Because I..."
Fluttershy hesitated a moment, thinking about what she going to say first.
"-I wanted to talk to Applejack about essentially the same thing. And I suppose you got most of what I'm going through right. Rainbow Dash is my soulmate, yes, but I'm not in love with her."
Fluttershy took note of Pinkie's slight lift in mood at that last part.
"There is a pony I love though, and again it's not Big Macintosh, though he is a fine gentlecolt and I do hope he finds a nice mare to settle down with. It was just today in fact that I was able to work up the courage to fully admit that I was in love with her, but with it came a lot of concerns regarding my kinship with Rainbow Dash, so I went to talk with Rarity."
Face redding a bit Fluttershy brought a hoof to the back of her head in a nervous gesture normally not within her repertoire yet felt right in this particular situation.
"I got a pretty clear answer that I was happy with after a somewhat awkward talk with her. She had sent me off to talk to Rainbow Dash about it too, just make sure that there were absolutely no misunderstandings, but..."
Her eyes sank to the ground with a small note of defeat entering her voice.
"I chickened out before I even made it half-way there. My mind just started filling with all these terrible scenarios. I sorta haggled with myself that a second opinion wouldn't hurt and that's why I'm here."
Fluttershy kept her head down for but only a second before she was wrapped in a soft hug.
"It's okay Flutter-butter, I know talks like that can be mega scary.I'm just super duper happy you were at least brave enough to tell me."
Instinctively Fluttershy nuzzled into Pinkie.
"Thank you Pinkie, for understanding."
A light laugh left Pinkie's lips.
"Of COURSE I understand, we're practically in the same boat! I mean come on, we both have ponies we're in love with and go around talking to our friends about all our worries about silly soulmates and stuff on the exact same day?! We might as well be on the S.S. Problem Buddies!"
"I guess you're right Pinkie, but that does bring up an interesting question."
Letting go slowly of Fluttershy backed up and gave her a look of intrigue.
"If you wo-would be willing, cou-"
Fluttershy's voice cracked a bit, the question one of the hardest she ever had to ask.
"You is the pony yo-you've fa-fa-fallen in l-l-l-*GULP*...in love with?"
Pinkie looked as nerve-wracked as Fluttershy was feeling the millisecond the last syllable of the question came out.
"OH THAT! WELL OF COURSE I WOULDN'T MIND TELLING YOU, THAT IS IF YOU REALLY ARE INTERESTED TO KNOW! ARE YOU REALLY INTERESTED TO KNOW?!"
"Ye-yes, I a-am very i-i-interested to kn-know."
"WELL DUH, OBVIOUSLY YOU WANT TO KNOW, WHY ELSE WOULD YOU ASK?! WHAT A SILLY QUESTION OF ME TO ASK! YUP, SILLY OLD PINKIE!"
"A bi-bit silly y-yes."
"YUP!"
"Ye-yeah."
"MMMM HHMM!"
"Hmm..."
Fluttershy could pass for a cyclops tilting its head to the right with how far behind her mane she was hiding while Pinkie might as well have found the caps lock on the keyboard of life. The two stared at each other for a few minutes before Pinkie's forced smile became a bit genuine, a small giggle escaping the prison of her tight lips. The giggle rolled right along into a weak laugh that quickly built up into a full on chortle, Pinkie falling over on her back from just how hard she was laughing now. Fluttershy was confused at first but started to get the joke when she realized the way the two must of looked talking the way they were and had a hardy little laugh of her own.
When Pinkie had control of her breathing again Fluttershy helped her up to her hooves, both of them with huge dopey grins on their faces. Pinkie was the first to say something.
"We were acting super silly just now, you were all stuttery like you were super cold and I was talking all loud like we were in a super awesome rave party!"
"Yes, we were acting rather funnily, weren't we? It was my fault though, it was rude of me to ask you about your special somepony when it was obvious you aren't comfortable talking about it."
Pinkie quickly started to wave her hooves frantically back and forth.
"Nonono, it's fine! It's my fault because I get so duper super nervous and jittery and all that when I think about yo-THEM!!!"
Again Pinkie was getting familiar with the taste of her hoof as she clamped it over her mouth, leaving Fluttershy to wonder it they did in fact taste sweet if she keeps shoving her own hooves in her mouth. Possibly delicious appendages aside the meek mare thought is was about time she dissected Pinkie's odd behavior. Well, oddER than normal.
She thought over their conversation and tried to pick apart the things that were just normal Pinkie mannerisms and what were the interesting details that might give her insight to her friend's dilemma. Fluttershy knew all too well about being nervous talking to others about personal romance, but this was Pinkie we are talking about. The mare almost never has trouble talking about what's on her mind no matter how personal. So Fluttershy made it her new goal in the few moments while Pinkie was looking more wound up than a spring to figure out what was-
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"
"EEEEK!"
Fluttershy was almost literally blown back by the force of Pinkie's exclamation, the offender looking to have every drop of blood in her body in her face right now and a crazed look in her eyes. Before the poor pegasus could even start to grasp what was going on she found herself being crushed in a hug.
And then Pinkie gave Fluttershy a quick messy kiss on the lips before flopping on her back with exasperated relief, breathing heavily. Fluttershy followed quickly to the ground on her side, her legs having given out on her.
Pinkie felt like the world was both falling apart and being put back together all at the same time. She had just admitted her feeling to the pony she cared the most for and even kissed her! Before she even knew if she felt the same way! Pinkie was super scared as she let Fluttershy take her time to answer, pensive about if she was about to get rejected or not. The silence stretched on for a good long time, making Pinkie more paranoid and hollow feeling, yet she dared not move until she heard Fluttershy speak.
*Sob*
("Oh Celestia please no.")
Very slowly with jerky movements Pinkie made to get to a sitting position. When she was upright what she saw made her want to just run home and lock herself away for the rest of eternity and beyond. Fluttershy was sitting up as well and crying, head down. Pinkie felt tears of her own starting to seep through her eyes.
"I'm-"*HIC*"...I'm sorry Fluttershy. I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I understand if...if...um?"
Pinkie was now thoroughly confused as Fluttershy got up and walked over to her. She was still crying, but she was also...smiling? Pinkie just sat there and waited as Fluttershy sat directly in front of her and stared her right in the eyes. And then with a gentle hug to bring her head closer Fluttershy kissed Pinkie, slowly and lovingly. Pinkie didn't care at the moment for her confusion or previous dread, she just melted into the kiss, wrapping her hooves around her partner. They stayed like this for who knows how long until they at last detached to breath. Both their tears had stopped now, Pinkie having a huge love sick smile and Fluttershy with a content satisfied one.
"Sorry I scared you Pinkie, but I was just so glad to hear you say you loved me. It's obvious now, but you were the pony I was talking about when I mentioned I figured out I was in love today."
Pinkie hummed happily and nuzzled into Fluttershy.
"I'ma gonna snuggle you foreveeeeer~."
Fluttershy was happy to let her do just that when said snuggler jumped into the air from her sitting state.
"BUT if I do that we'll never get to go on our first-" *GASP* "-REAL DATE! I've got so much to get ready!"
Quickly Pinkie had Fluttershy on her hooves and nudged back down the path heading back towards Ponyville.
"I've gotta go get our date set up, while I'm doing that you can go have that talk with Dashy!"
Then in a puff of dust Pinkie was blazing a trail to town, then made a sharp u-turn and skidded to halt in front of Fluttershy.
"I almost forgot!"
She leaned in and gave Fluttershy a peck on the lips before she was off again calling behind her.
"Meet me at Sugar Cube Corner what you're done talking with Dashy, LOVE YOU!"
And then she was but only a speck on the horizon as she bounded away.
After minutes of sitting there blank faced Fluttershy at last made to move, getting up and walking at a leisurely pace the way Pinkie had gone.
"I suppose I don't have any more excuses now."
With feelings of love fueled bliss colliding with anxiety over her upcoming talk Fluttershy step by step made her way to Rainbow Dash's house.
*1 "Fluttershy I'm in love with you and I know I have been for the last week and I've been trying to tell you so we could go on dates and snuggle and have kissies and other super duper mega ultra amazing fun couple things but I'd always get that fluttery weighted feeling and it would make me nervous and scared and then I started thinking about soulmates and it made me more scared even though I think it's really weird AND-!"
