Fluttershy considers Rainbow Dash to be her very best friend. But something changes when Rainbow Dash begins to date Soarin.
Fluttershy considers Rainbow Dash to be her very best friend, knowing her much longer than the rest of the Mane 6, and the two consider themselves close as sisters. However, odd feelings begin to stir around in Fluttershy when she finds out her best friend has started dating Soarin from the Wonderbolts. She struggles to keep the feelings down as she's forced to watch the pony she loves love somepony else.
Credit to EnergyFrost, anarchemitis, and MusicFireWind on deviantART for the vectors used for the cover art
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had been friends for many years now. In fact, they’ve known each other longer than they’ve known the rest of their group of friends. Even back in Flight Camp when they weren’t as close, Fluttershy considered Rainbow Dash to be her closest- and then- only friend. She was the filly that would stick up for her whenever other foals picked on Fluttershy’s lack of flying skills. Rainbow was the one who would compete against Fluttershy’s bullies to protect her honor. The two of them drifted for some time after Fluttershy fell to the ground and discovered her love for animals, but the two found themselves growing closer after the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
As much as Fluttershy loved all of her friends equally and considered all of them her "sisters", she couldn't deny there was a special place in her heart for Rainbow Dash. There was a connection Fluttershy had with her that she couldn't explain. Rainbow had told her secrets only the two of them would know, like when Rainbow was secretly dating Thunderlane for a while. It started out great, Rainbow Dash was eager to tell her friends about her new coltfriend, but problems ensued and they ended up not working out. From then on, Fluttershy listened as Rainbow ranted and lamented about what went wrong and trying to get over him. How jealous she was when she found out Thunderlane had rebounded with Blossomforth shortly after their breakup and how much it tore her heart apart. After each rant session, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would go to the spa or the Clover Cafe to spend the rest of the day with one another, the day ending with giggles and smiles. Fluttershy always wanted the best for Rainbow, wanted her to be happy with someone who truly deserves her after what she went through.
But that's when she was struck with a curveball like no other.
Fluttershy had her suspicions when Rainbow started spending more time with her teammates in the Wonderbolts, when she started to spend time with a particular light blue pegasus from the team.
"Wait, so you and Soarin are... dating?" Fluttershy asked as Rainbow Dash fluttered back into her living room, one hoof holding a bowl of popcorn and the other holding two drinks. The blue pegasus looked at Fluttershy with a blush.
"Dating? What makes you say that?" Rainbow said, placing the snacks onto the coffee table. She fluttered back onto the couch to sit next to Fluttershy. "
"It's just a hunch. And Pinkie Pie keeps making jokes about 'when the wedding will be'." Fluttershy picked up one of the drinks, her favorite soda, and sipped from the straw.
Rainbow Dash, still blushing, picked up the other soda. "Yeah... I suppose you can say Soarin and I are... together. But we aren't 'official' yet."
Fluttershy paused in her drinking, looking down at her hooves. "Oh... "
Rainbow Dash scooped up a hoofful of popcorn. "We don't want to define ourselves just yet. First, we want to see where it'll go before we start telling everyone. So we don't have to 'undefine' it if it doesn't work out, you know?" She shrugged and shoved the popcorn into her mouth. "Not after what happened with Thunderlane. And I'll probably always have feelings for Thunderlane, but I should at least try to move on. Besides, Soarin is much more sensitive compared to Thunderlane."
Fluttershy sat there, awkwardly drinking her soda as she listened to Rainbow talk all about her new relationship. But then she started to get into the story of her and Soarin's first date, how soft and strong Soarin's hoof was, how much of a good kisser he was...
"Um, I'm sorry Rainbow, but I need to use the restroom." Fluttershy said, placing down her soda and fluttering off the couch.
Closing the bathroom door behind her, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her soft, teal eyes had started watering after she left the living room. She lifted her hoof to wipe the tears beading down her face before hiding her face into her hooves before letting out a soft, almost silent cry.
After a weekend of misery, Fluttershy flew down to Twilight's castle. Her emotions had been overly confusing, and she needed somepony she could talk to about it. She knocked on the front door of the castle and was greeted by Spike.
"Hey, Fluttershy!" He said gleefully, only for his face to fall into a frown, motioning for the yellow pegasus to come inside. "Fluttershy... what's the matter?" The poor pegasus's eyes were like waterfalls and she looked like she hadn't slept in days.
"Rainbow Dash and Soarin are dating?" Twilight Sparkle asked with surprise as she levitated a teapot over to Fluttershy and poured some tea inside of her teacup.
Fluttershy picked up the cup with her hooves before taking a slow sip. "I guess... but she says they aren't 'official' yet. I don't think they're ready to call themselves 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' yet."
"I see... they were pretty close at Rainbow's birthday party yesterday. " Twilight pondered. "And seeing them together... bothers you?"
Fluttershy looked down at her cup. "It seems so. I don't even know why. I never felt like this while she was dating Thunderlane--."
Fluttershy pressed her lips together. "Oh... yeah... they dated for some time a while back. They wanted to be sure they worked out before telling anyone but it ended up not. Poor Rainbow Dash, it tore her heart apart and it upset me when she told me Thunderlane had been ignoring her after they broke up and rebounded with somepony else."
Twilight noted the information. "Well, did you ever see Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane together?"
Fluttershy shook her head before gazing back up at Twilight. "No, never. I only heard what Rainbow told me. It's different now, though. Rainbow Dash told me the night I spent at her house before her Wonderbolts performance in Cloudsdale the next day. I hung out with them before and after the show, she was lightly affectionate with Soarin whenever they joked with each other..." Fluttershy paused, looking back down. "And then Rainbow's birthday party the next day... it only felt worse. It got so bad to where I... I..."
"You hurried to the bathroom?" Twilight finished. "Rarity said you were merely overwhelmed by the crowd. Were you crying in the bathroom because of what's been going on with Rainbow Dash?"
Fluttershy hung her head. "I... I don't know why it's been bothering me so much. I think I'm scared Soarin is going to steal her away from me."
Twilight reached out her hoof to place it over her friend's. "Look, Fluttershy. If there's one thing I know about Rainbow Dash, she'd never leave you behind. After all, she is the Element of Loyalty. There's nopony in Equestria that could replace you." She paused for a moment to think. "Have... have you ever thought if the problem lies in something else. I don't know, Fluttershy, but it doesn't make as much sense for you to be so upset by Rainbow Dash possibly gaining a new boyfriend."
"Twilight, what... are you trying to imply?" Fluttershy glanced back up at the unicorn.
"Well, what I'm trying to say is," Twilight said, biting her lip before continuing. "I'm wondering if you're upset because you want to become closer to Rainbow Dash like how Soarin has been. You know... romantically?"
“Romantically!?” Fluttershy gasped, eyes wide at Twilight. She shook her head. “Oh no, that can’t be it. I’ve never thought about Rainbow Dash as being anything other than my friend. She’s like my sister.”
Twilight wasn’t completely convinced. “Have you ever felt attracted to another mare before?”
Fluttershy hesitated a bit. “Oh, yes, I’ve had crushes on other mares in the past. And Rainbow Dash knows I’m attracted to both stallions and mares. I told her in the past I had a crush on a filly while I was in elementary school… and then I told her I liked Big Macintosh a long time ago… and then I told her I liked--.”
“Okay, I get the picture.” Twilight interrupted. “Do you know if she likes mares, too?”
The pegasus lowered her head onto the table, both her ears and eyes facing downwards. “She’s… she told me she doesn’t have any interest in mares, only stallions. So there's no way she'd ever feel the same way because she can't.”
Twilight nodded as she listened. “Well, one thing is for sure; you feel threatened by Soarin in a way, even if he doesn’t mean to. It’s normal to get jealous when you’re close with someone and they suddenly start spending more time with another pony.” At this time, Spike had arrived into the room with a tray of cookies. Upon setting them onto the table, Twilight levitated a couple from the tray onto the small plate in front of Fluttershy, causing her to glance back up. “But regardless, Rainbow Dash isn’t going to abandon you, Fluttershy. She cares deeply for you and wants nothing but for you to be happy like you do for her. All I can really say is to be careful with your jealous feelings. Like any other emotion, it's normal and can be expressed in healthy ways, but don't let it overpower you and cause you to do something you'd regret.”
Fluttershy? In love with Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy was still surprised at Twilight’s implication even after she left the alicorn’s castle. The yellow pegasus felt she couldn’t go back to her cottage. Not just yet. She opted to stroll around Ponyville for a while on her own to gather her thoughts.
The idea of Fluttershy having romantic feelings for her friend had never crossed her mind before. At least, she believed so. Come to think of it, it started to make sense the more Fluttershy thought of it. She could recall feeling butterflies in her tummy whenever Rainbow Dash would strike a confident pose, or the fact Fluttershy could listen to Rainbow Dash ramble on about her passion of flying and being apart of the Wonderbolts all day long, or how genuinely overjoyed she felt when Rainbow accomplished performing a Sonic Rainboom despite the pressure brought on by the taunting of others. She did wonder what it'd be like if the two dated a long time ago, but she shook off the thought when she learned Rainbow wasn't into mares.
Before she knew it, the sun had started to set, and the sky had turned a beautiful orange. She sat down at the edge of the riverbank.
“What if… I really am in love with Rainbow Dash?” She asked her own reflection, which mirrored her clueless expression. “Even if I am, she’ll never be able to love me back. But if I really loved her… shouldn’t I be happy for her?” She eyed a frog on a nearby patch of lily pads, which was joined by another frog.
“Oh my, what if she finds out how I feel about her? What if it makes her feel awkward, and she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore? What if I do something out of jealousy and she never forgives me? I don’t think I could ever bear to lose her.” A tear managed to fall from one of her watery eyes, she wiped it with her hoof. “Oh, why. Why do I have to feel this way?”
“Hey, Fluttershy, are you okay?” Fluttershy jumped as she heard a familiar voice nearby.
“Rainbow Dash!” She exclaimed in surprise, lifting her hooves to her face to wipe her teary eyes. How much did Rainbow Dash hear? “Yes.. I’m okay.” The usual response she gave even when she gave even when she was obviously not okay. The sound of hoofprints in the grass came closer and Rainbow sat herself down next to Fluttershy, who kept her gaze on the river.
“Still a bit overwhelmed from what happened at the party?” The cyan pegasus asked sympathetically.
“Oh...!” Fluttershy said, feeling relieved. Rainbow must have not heard much. “… I suppose I still am a little bit.”
Her heart started pounding when Rainbow Dash suddenly wrapped her wing around her and pulled her close. "I understand. I'm sorry about that. I didn't think Pinkie Pie was going to get as wound up as she did." Rainbow Dash chuckled, pulling her friend closer to her. Fluttershy hoped Rainbow Dash wouldn't notice her light blush. "I guess it wasn't such a great idea to have a party with so much cider, cake, and candy, huh?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess it wasn't," Fluttershy muttered, trying to crack a simple smile.
"I'll admit, it was kinda funny when she started dancing on one of the tables and slipped on a pie, sent it into the air, and it fell on her face while she was flat on the table. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt. In fact, she was the first one to laugh at that!"
"Oh, I think I missed that." Fluttershy couldn't deny that the thought brought a bit of a smile to her face. She probably would've been laughing with everyone else if she wasn't crying her eyes out in the bathroom.
Rainbow Dash stood and helped her friend back up. "Anyway, how about we go grab a bite to eat at the Cafe? Soarin and I were heading over there anyway and we'd love for you to join us!"
"Soarin?" Fluttershy didn't even notice he was standing nearby at first. He gave her a friendly smile and a wave, she gave him a meek smile back but she felt a rock drop in her stomach. "Oh, no thanks. I'm not hungry." She said, just right before her stomach growled loudly.
Inside the Clover Cafe, Fluttershy quietly munched on her daisy sandwich while Rainbow Dash and Soarin were laughing and chatting it up. Of course, the two weren't leaving her out of the conversation completely, but they were mainly talking about their misadventures within the Wonderbolts. Something Fluttershy had no participation in thus nothing to really say about. Even if they didn't mean it, she couldn't help but feel... ignored.
"And get this," Soarin took a munch out of his covered hay fries before continuing with a full mouth. "Spitfire still teases me about the whole 'apple pie' thing from the Grand Galloping Gala long ago. When I told her you and I were seeing each other, she joked about me bringing an apple pie to the first date."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and playfully nudged Soarin with a chuckle. "Imagine instead of a wedding cake, a wedding apple pie!"
"And all the guests must bring other apple desserts as wedding gifts!" Rainbow Dash said as she and Soarin went into another roar of laughter.
"Good thing I know the just pony that can hook everyone else up for that!" She said, lightly stroking the stallion's foreleg with her hoof.
Fluttershy let out a soft huff through her nose. What's this talk about weddings? Didn't Rainbow Dash say they weren't even officially dating yet? And why did she have to be so touchy towards him around Fluttershy?
Eventually, the waiter came back to their table with desserts, setting down an ice cream sundae for Fluttershy and a root beer float for Rainbow Dash and Soarin. The couple sipped on their float through their straws, giving each other lovey dovey eyes while Fluttershy took small bites of her ice cream.
"Hey, Fluttershy, think fast!" Before Fluttershy could blink, Rainbow Dash had taken a bit of whipped cream from her sundae with the tip of her hoof and poked her nose, leaving a bit on her nose. An old joke they liked to play with each other for the longest time now. With a smile now on Fluttershy's face, she dabbed a bit of whipped cream onto her friend's nose back with a laugh. The blue pegasus attempted to reach her nose with tongue before laughing and turning back to Soarin, who kissed the whipped cream off her nose and planted a kiss onto Rainbow Dash's lips.
Fluttershy immediately averted from the sight, teeth clenched and tears forming in her eyes once again.
"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, but her friend kept her gaze away from her.
"Yes. I'm okay," Fluttershy tried to hide the anger in her voice. "I just remembered, I need to go home and feed Angel." She left some bits on the table for her portion of the bill before walking out of the Cafe without another word.
"Is everything okay with her?" Soarin asked, clearly concerned.
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah. She was overwhelmed last night at the party. Because of the very large crowd and Pinkie Pie's wild antics, y'know? It's probably just still a bit rough for her to be in public places after that."
"Are you sure, Dashie?"
"I'm fairly sure," Rainbow Dash gave him a reassuring smile. "Trust me, she’s my best friend. If something else was going on with her, she'd tell me."
