> Butterflies Seek Rainbows > by FluttershyisMetal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Fluttershy's Hopes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy’s Hopes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy yawned, awoken by the sounds of her birds chirping happily in the young hours of the day. She looked sleepily to her clock across the room from her. She stared at it for a few moments before the position of the hands translated its meaning in her mind. “Oh no…” Fluttershy gasped, “I overslept, if I don’t hurry Angel Bunny will miss his breakfast, and he gets so cranky when that happens.” She jumped out of her bed, leaving the covers piled in a mess on top of her mattress, and hurried downstairs to prepare her beloved pet bunny’s favorite breakfast: a fruit salad with whipped cream and carrot juice. She set all of the ingredients on her counter top along with a glass and bowl for the respective parts of the meal. She poured carrot juice into the glass cup from the jug that she bought from the market the previous day. Fluttershy set the glass back down on the counter top and turned her attention to the actual food. 'Let's see,' she thought, 'Where did I put that recipe?' She opened and closed the cabinets along her kitchen, searching for the slip of paper that contained the precious information. She finally found it in the last cabinet, because nothing can be convenient, alongside her silverware. With recipe and ingredients in hand, she went to work on creating a masterpiece of a meal for Angel. She had grown quite good at making the fruit salad due to the fact that Angel would hardly eat anything else, unless given the stare, and she didn't like to use it too often. It doesn't feel quite natural for her. Which, an obscure and incomprehensible power such as the Stare isn't a normal thing among Ponyville by any means, regardless of the spotted moments of eminent destruction and danger. Many ponies, Twilight included, still couldn't understand how it works. Twilight has theorized that it is probably a gift that came with her special talent, which would make sense until you take into account that Fluttershy had this ability even as a small filly, before she fell from Cloudsdale and got her cutie mark. She won the 'Most Adorable Eyes' award in flight school every year that she was there. Really, who could say no to one of her puppy dog looks? Fluttershy began to prepare the fruit salad by layering the bottom of the bowl with lettuce, spreading it out in a four-leaf clover shape. She then placed slices of mango on top of the lettuce, putting three pieces per piece of lettuce. She took four apple slices and arrange them in a semi-cup in the middle of the bowl, then filling it with whipped cream. To finish off the recipe, Fluttershy placed a single cherry on top of the mound of whipped cream. She stepped away from the counter to admire her work. Once she adjusted the cherry so that its stem curved ever-so-slightly to the left, she let out a relieved sigh and placed it near Angel's bed, along with the glass of carrot juice. “Wake up, Angel, I made you some fruit salad and carrot juice,” Fluttershy whispered. Angel whimpered in defiance and turned away from the mare. Until he smelt the carrot juice, that is. Angel hopped out of his bed and almost literally jumped into the bowl. Fluttershy sighed as she watched her creation get completely destroyed by her beloved pet. She stopped staring at Angel and turned to go check on the other animals. She was in the middle of waking up her squirrels when she heard a loud crash come from what she perceived to be her bedroom. The small rodents that she had just woken up scurried away as fast as they could, presumably to find a hiding place in some dark and discreet corner of Fluttershy's cottage. Well, that is actually a certain thing, as Fluttershy was there with them. Once she worked up the courage to peak outside of her mane, she observed that there was no pony-eating intruder rampaging through her cottage after all. 'Well, I guess I'd better go check on things upstairs. That sound definitely wasn't my imagination,' Fluttershy thought. Fluttershy ushered the squirrels out of her—their—hiding spot, ensuring that they all got back to their food bowls. She then placed acorns in each of the bowls, allowing the squirrels to climb along her mane until she finished distributing the breakfast. She mimicked their clicks and they responded by jumping down and diving into the bowls, literally. Kind of like a swimming pool, except the divers are squirrels and the pool is filled with acorns. Satisfied that the small rodents were all happy, she went to go check on the damage that was presumably done upstairs. What she actually saw on her bedroom night table made her heart jump. No it wasn't the atrocious hoof-writing. Meet me at Sugarcube Corner around 12:30. P.S. Sorry about your window. -Rainbow Dash Fluttershy let out a squeal of glee, completely ignoring the fact that her entire window was smashed. She had been trying to ask Rainbow Dash out for a date but could never find the courage or the right words to express her feelings. But now she did not have to; Rainbow Dash had seized the initiative and asked Fluttershy to meet her at Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy quickly ran downstairs to wake and feed the remainder of her pets so that she could prepare for her beloved Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy chided herself for thinking that way about her friend, but she simply could not help it. Ever since Flight Camp when Rainbow Dash had defended her honor, Fluttershy has wanted to be more than friends with her. Fluttershy let out a dreamy sigh and her wings sprung open. She blushed and shook her head to attempt to gain control over herself. Once Fluttershy finally recovered from her...thoughts, she saw that Angel Bunny and all of her other pets were enjoying their breakfast. Fluttershy smiled and went into the kitchen to begin cleaning up some of the plates and bowls left empty by them. 'I wonder who'll be able to watch my pets while I'm gone? Pinkie Pie? No, Pinkie would end up throwing a welcome back home party for me when I get back home.' Fluttershy thought. Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of all the other ponies paying so much attention to her. She composed herself and got back to deciding on which of her friends would be the best caretaker for her animals while she was gone. Hopefully one of them would be able to help her, as she only has five real friends. 'Rarity? No, she would never put up with such “uncouth” ruffians. Applejack? No, Applejack is too busy with the farm. Twilight Sparkle? Yes, Twilight is a reasonable and trustworthy pony. She will have no trouble in taking care of a few animals.' Her eyes brightened when the idea rooted itself in her mind. “Angel Bunny, I'm going to go out for a while. Make sure to be good for Twilight.” Angel gave Fluttershy an annoyed look. He finally let out a sigh of resignation and nodded towards her. Or what she thought was resignation. It was really a sigh of longing for the torment that he would be able to bring upon Twilight. Fluttershy let out a squeal of joy and began to trot over to Twilight’s tree house. Her stomach let out a gurgle of protest. 'Wow, it looks like I forgot to fix myself breakfast.' Fluttershy decided to stop by Applejack's stand to grab a couple of apples. Maybe pick up an apple fritter or two for Rainbow while she is there. She'll probably be hungry from all of the flying, and the destruction of certain windows, that morning. Fluttershy tried to make herself as small as possible in the large congregation that she found herself in. Oh how she loathed it; the marketplace. All of the ponies staring at her (or at least the ones that she thought were staring at her) made her skin crawl. It's terrible. She decided that it would be best to just tuck her head down and make a break for Applejack's stand. It sounded good on paper, at least. In reality, Fluttershy ended up slamming into the stand full-force. “Are ya okay sugar cube?” Applejack asked Fluttershy while helping her up. Fluttershy’s face matched the color of the apples that were now laying around her. It was only in part because of the fact that some of the apples had been smashed, allowing the juice and peel to rest on her face. She felt the juice start to make her coat sticky, a feeling that made her shudder. “Yeah, I should be fine. A bit... sticky though.” Fluttershy said, barely audibly. She pulled the apple peels off of her face and mane using her wingtips. Applejack busted out laughing as Fluttershy finished her sentence. Fluttershy looked at Applejack, quizzically, not understanding what was funny about the situation. All she did was destroy Applejack's entire apple stand, if anything she should be mad. "I don't doubt it, sugarcube. Why were ya in such a hurry anyways? Took out mah entire stand with that impact." Fluttershy cringed in guilt. Applejack noticed this and put on a cheery smile. "Not that it matters, of course. I'll just have Apple Bloom whip me up a new one." "Are you sure? I could help pay for it... if you want. Maybe I could help Apple Bloom build it?" Fluttershy inquired Applejack. Of course Applejack vehemently denied these inquiries, however. "Nonsense. You're a friend and I would never force a friend to do that for a simple mistake. Don't worry about it. Now, what'd ya need?" Applejack reassured her. Fluttershy appeared to loosen up a bit, actually looking at Applejack without her mane obscuring her vision, a major step-up from her previous state of pure guilt. "Okay... if you say so. I was just going to pick up two apples and a couple of apple fritters to go. If... if you have— " Applejack cut Fluttershy off. "Of course we had some, well at least until you smashed them all. No problem though, we can swing by the farm and fix some up for you." Applejack didn't allow Fluttershy to get a word in before pulling her in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy wasn't opposed to it until she noticed the position of the sun. By her calculations, which are normally fairly accurate due to the fact that she spends so much of her time tending to the animals around her cottage with no clock tower in sight, it was around 12:05. That only left her twenty-five minutes to talk Twilight into watching Angel and then to go to Sugarcube Corner for her date with Rainbow Dash. She let out a gasp and stopped walking forward with Applejack. "As much as I'd love to go to Sweet Apple Acres with you, I really don't have the time. You understand, right?" Fluttershy sputtered out quickly, attempting to rival Pinkie Pie for the fastest speech in Equestrian history. Applejack faced Fluttershy and raised one eyebrow towards Fluttershy. She then let out a chuckle, thinking about how Fluttershy had gone from a nervous wreck to a near-bold pony just like that. "Sure, 'Shy, that's fine with me. I guess I'll be seeing ya around then." Fluttershy nodded and broke into a quick trot towards Twilight's library, rivaling even Rainbow Dash's speed. She nearly destroyed a few more carts as well, gaining more than a few odd stares from the ponies who ran them. After what seemed to her as an eternity, Fluttershy saw the library looming on the horizon. She quickened her pace and soon closed the distance between her and the front door. Unfortunately, she didn't compensate for the distance that she would need to slow down, causing her to slam into the door. The loud cracking sound that resonated from the crash was, fortunately, from the door and not Fluttershy. Fluttershy managed to hear Twilight yelling to Spike to 'open the door and see what the ruckus is all about.' Fluttershy looked at the impression that she had made on her friend's door; it had a dent in it the size of herself, hazardous splinters peeling off of the main wood, and was threatening to fall off of its hinges at any moment. 'Oh dear,' Fluttershy thought, 'Twilight will never help me now that I've broken her door...' Just then the door, or what's left of it, opened to reveal Spike holding a broom, apparently prepared to sweep up any mess caused outside of the library. "Oh, heya, Fluttershy. How's it going?" The remnants of the door finally gave, falling to the ground and splintering even more, leaving the library devoid of a door. Spike's mouth fell open, while Fluttershy adverted her gaze to the ground, attempting to hold back tears. "Spike, is something wrong?" Twilight called from within the library. Spike shook his head to knock himself out of his current state of shock. "Twilight, we may need to place an order for a door. Now." Spike said with a gulp. "What? Why?! We just bought a new one last week!" Twilight stated exasperatedly. She walked downstairs and to where Spike and Fluttershy were to see what he meant. She applied hoof to face. "Oh, boy. What happened?" Fluttershy spoke up, still repressing the tears that threatened to pour out of her eyes. "I accidentally ran into your door, Twilight. I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." She couldn't keep the tears contained as she finished her apology. She allowed them to pour out of her eyes. "Fluttershy... it's okay. I'll just request a new one be sent in from Canterlot, it's no big deal. Being Celestia's private student does come with its perks." Twilight comforted Fluttershy. Spike was busy moving the broken door into the library to make sure that it would not serve as a safety hazard for potential customers. "I'm sorry," Fluttershy said in between sniffles, "It's just I've messed up so much already today. Not to mention that I'm about to be late for a da—meeting with Rainbow Dash." Twilight nuzzled her and wiped the tears from her face. "It'll be okay, Fluttershy. Now, is there something that you needed?" Twilight helped Fluttershy up and ushered her into the main room of the library. "Yes, I was coming by to see if you could watch Angel for me today... if you have the time that is." Fluttershy averted her eyes from the broken door that Spike was attempting to fit into a small trash can. She made a mental note to repay Twilight for the damages later. 'I should also stop by Nurse Redheart's to make sure I don't have a concussion or anything,' she thought. "Hmm... I don't know. Spike, do you think you could handle the duties at the library today?" Twilight started chewing her lip in thought, deciding whether or not Spike was capable of handling all of the duties. 'As long as he doesn't accidentally burn my books, it should be fine. Assuming he wants to, of course,' she thought. "Yeah, I guess so. Shouldn't be too hard for me, I'm your number one assistant for a reason y'know!" Spike boasted. He made a pose by raising one eyebrow higher than the other and curling one arm up to his chin. Fluttershy giggled at his antics while Twilight just shook her head. "Alright, just be sure and have all of today's returns shelved properly when I get back from Fluttershy's." Spike waved her off and went back to trying to dispose of the broken door. "Oh and don't forget to write a letter to Princess Celestia requesting a door be sent down as soon as possible." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got it, Twilight." Spike rolled his eyes and kicked the broken door out of frustration. "Thank you, Twilight. I really appreciate your help. I shouldn't be out too long, feel free to make yourself comfortable in my cottage." Fluttershy pulled Twilight into a hug. "Anytime, Fluttershy. That's what friends are for." Twilight returned the hug. Fluttershy's eyes grew wide due to the realization that she was probably about to be late. She searched for Twilight's clock and nearly fainted when she saw that it was 12:29. "Fluttershy? Are you okay? You look a little pale..." "Sorry, Twilight, but I really have to go. Now. My door should be unlocked so you can head up there when you are ready." Fluttershy dashed out the door before giving Twilight a chance to respond. Spike turned to see Twilight standing at the doorway with her jaw askew. "Uhh, Twilight? You do know that you need to go to Fluttershy's, right?" Spike said starting to pull out the splinters stuck in his arms. "Huh, did you say something Spike?" Twilight replied, still recovering from the shock of seeing Fluttershy move so fast. Spike rolled his eyes and decided to go with sarcasm for the reply. "Nope, not at all. That voice that sounded just like me was imaginary." Spike said. "Don't use that tone of voice with me! I WILL ground you Spike, don't try me. Now, what did you say?" Twilight said, subconsciously asserting her maternal dominance over Spike. "Alright, alright. No need to get so testy, Twilight. I was just reminding you that you needed to get going over to Fluttershy's cottage." Spike held up his claws to try and calm her down. "And what makes you think that I forgot?" Twilight stated, her pride stinging. "Well, ya kind of zoned out..." Spike said, backing away from Twilight with his claws still raised. "I didn't zone out... I was just practicing my focusing skills. Anyways, I need to go to Fluttershy's. Don't forget to write that letter to Princess Celestia." Twilight started blushing slightly and left without letting the conversation drag on for too much longer. *** 'Oh no, oh no, oh no! I can't believe I'm going to be late for our date. Rainbow is going to be so upset.' Fluttershy thought. 'What if she never talks to me again? What if I'm never going to get another chance? What if—' "Hiya, Fluttershy!" The rash and confident voice that broke Fluttershy's train, or rather train-wreck, of thoughts also caused her to let out a scream and disappear into the nearest bush. "Uhmm, Fluttershy? You okay?" This time the voice registered in her brain as somepony that she knew. A very special somepony. "Rai... Rainbow Dash?" > Fluttershy's Reality > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy's Reality "The one and only!" Rainbow Dash emphasized her words with a few flips in the air, and finished it off with a pose. "So, why're ya still in that bush, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy looked around and decided that it was safe enough for her to step out of her foliage fortress. Unfortunately, she forgot that her face was turning deep red from embarrassment. "Y'okay, Fluttershy? You look like you've seen a ghost or somethin'." Rainbow said, raising one eyebrow higher than the other. "Oh... yeah, I-I'm fine. I just have a cold, that's all." Fluttershy turned her head to the side and coughed a couple of times. "See?" "Yeah... Whatever. Anyways, are you ready to see the most amazing trick ever?!" Rainbow asked with great enthusiasm. "Oh... uhmm, trick?" Fluttershy asked tentatively, not really sure what to think. "Of course! Why else would I ask you to meet me here?" "O-oh, I see." She let her pink mane droop over one eye, and averted her gaze to the ground. "Gee, Fluttershy, are you sure nothing's wrong? You've been acting weird ever since you got here!" Rainbow said, finally landing next to her companion. "I mean, it's like you don't want to see my new trick! And that's ridiculous. I mean, what pony in their right mind wouldn't wanna see a personal performance from someone as awesome as me?!" "I'd like to see a personal performance..." Fluttershy whispered under her breath. "Huh? What was that, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "Oh, I just said that I'd love to see your new trick! Heheh..." Fluttershy played off, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, and blushing even more. "Alright! Let's do this!" Rainbow took off into the air, and started to climb into the sky. Fluttershy watched her rainbow-maned friend prepare to do her brand new trick, but she wasn't really paying much attention to it. She watched but she didn’t see. Fluttershy’s mind had other plans than just simply watching Rainbow Dash’s new trick. Her subconscious had made the decision to torment her, with various self-deprecating thoughts. Of course she just wanted to show you a trick, you’re nothing to her. What would a mare like her see in you anyways? You’re pitiful, and she’s amazing. You really are worthless, no pony could ever fall in love with you, especially not a mare as perfect as Rainbow Dash. What’s the point in trying? You’re much too frail for Rainbow Dash, she’d surely only date another athletic mare, and you’re as far away from that as it can get. Fluttershy was fighting to keep the tears that were beginning to build up in her eyes from breaking free. She didn’t want to make Rainbow Dash feel bad, especially when she was so excited about her new creation. A creation that Fluttershy was given the privilege of watching, but wasn’t. That stung her, a lot. If Rainbow Dash had known that she wasn’t paying any attention to what was surely an awe-inspiring feat of aerial performance, she’d never forgive her. Fluttershy shook her head vigorously, her pink mane covering and uncovering her eyes as she did so. She was trying so hard to clear her mind, so that she could focus on that beautiful mare who was no longer in the air, but was in front of her. “Uhh, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash inquired, turning her head slightly to the side. “Y’know that I’m done, right? I’m glad that you liked it s’much, but I don’t really think it’s necessary to continue head-banging after the trick is over. But I guess I do just have that effect on ponies.” She struck another ‘I’m awesome and I know it’ pose. And Fluttershy knew it too. It was practically the only thing that she knew. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. The only thing that even competed with it in her mind was her telling herself that she had no hope. And the fact that she had just embarrassed herself in front of Rainbow didn’t help her very much. Fluttershy’s cheeks turned a rosy red, and she took a small step back. She averted her eyes to the ground once again, allowing her flowing pink mane to drape over them like curtains. “Y-yeah. I-I’m sorry, it’s just that...” She struggled to find words. She had no idea what to say, and she knew that she looked like a complete foal in front of her love. The tears that she had been fighting so hard to keep suppressed finally broke free, and they were accompanied by sobbing. “Woah, Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, taking a step towards her broken friend. Fluttershy responded by running. She didn’t really know where she was going—because she couldn’t think of anything but how much of a foal she was—but she ran. She was partially blinded by her tears, she couldn’t see anything that wasn’t directly in front of her. But she kept running. And running. And running. And then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, she ran into one of the many carts that populated the area near Sugarcube Corner. She moaned, and brought a hoof to her throbbing head. She looked around her, and saw a multitude of ponies who were just there to buy some groceries for their families, because they weren’t meant to be alone, unlike herself. They were laughing. Not with her, but at her. She was very familiar with that. It happened to her so much as she was growing up, it was so regular that she could predict her day the night before. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to school. Get laughed at. Eat lunch. Go to recess. Mess up at recess and get laughed at. Try to fly home, but wings aren’t strong enough so she only gets a few feet away from where she had started. Get laughed at. Eat dinner. Go to sleep. Rinse, wash, and repeat. But that was her younger days. It had been a while since something like that had happened to her. Quite a while, in fact. She was almost able to go entire weeks without having an experience like that. But not then. Nope. They were in hysterics. Except for the ruined tomato-cart’s owner. He wasn’t very amused, and sure as hay not pleased. He was somewhat short, but well-built. He was a tan earth pony with a tomato as a cutie mark. And on his face he wore a scowl that could put full-grown manticores in tears. Needless to say, it didn’t have a good effect on Fluttershy. She was crying even harder now, and a tomato that was stuck on her cheek was starting to slide down her face, leaving a blood-red trail. The tomato fell off of her face, landing at the stallion’s hooves. He looked down at it, and his scowl became even more fearsome. He picked it up in one hoof and stared at it some more. “Do you have any idea what you just did?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of that ruined tomato. “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! I c-couldn’t see it. I-I’ll pay you for the damages if—” “You’ll pay, alright,” the stallion said, dropping the tomato and fixating his glare back onto the broken mare in front of him. Fluttershy’s eyes dilated, and her mouth dropped open. The tears stopped momentarily, though drops still rested at the corners of her eyes. She tried to back away, but then realized that her leg was trapped under a wooden portion of the broken cart. “You just cost me my entire livelihood. It’s only fair that I do the same, right?” the stallion said with a wicked grin. He advanced a step. And then another. And another. Until he was directly in front of her. His grin widened as he stood on his back legs and prepared for a strike. The ponies in the crowd were no longer laughing, but watching in horror. It wasn’t very often that anypony had gotten so confrontational in public, but most were familiar with that stallion. He certainly didn’t have a clean track record, and had been in the sparsely-used Ponyville Jail twice for battery. He was insane. Fluttershy was crying again, but with her eyes closed. She was gritting her teeth and preparing for the strike. She heard him laughing. That horrible, deep, laughter. It wasn’t quite maniacal, but it wasn’t heartwarming either. It was somehow emotionless. It frightened her. Then he started to come down onto the crying mare in front of him with his forehooves. “GET THE BUCK AWAY FROM HER!” shouted a rash and brave voice. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash crash into the stallion at full speed. A sickening crack was heard upon impact, but Rainbow kept flying, until they crashed into a store wall. Rainbow gave him no rest; she immediately started pounding on him with quick but powerful strikes with her forehooves. “DON’T. EVER. TRY. TO. HURT. ONE. OF. MY. FRIENDS!” Rainbow punctuated each word with a powerful strike. After she said ‘friends’ she landed one final blow; a buck to the stallion’s ribs. She was still steaming. Hay, if it was possible, there would be steam coming out of her nose like a bull. But she didn’t go back at the stallion; she didn’t want to seriously injure him. He probably already had several broken ribs, a broken jaw, and a snapped forelimb. Even Rainbow Dash knew when enough was enough. She motioned for one of the bystanders to go get help from one of the nearby hospitals. A lavender-coated pegasus, somepony Rainbow knew as Cloud Kicker, nodded and took off for the nearest hospital. Then Rainbow Dash flew over to her friend, who was staring at her in awe. The first thing that Rainbow did was lift that piece of wood off of Fluttershy’s leg, restoring the circulation and allowing her to move once again.          “There ya go, ya should be able to move now. Are you hurt?” Rainbow asked as she helped her pink-maned friend up onto her hooves.          “N-no, I’m fine. Thank you, Rainbow. I don’t know what would’ve—”          “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. Of course I was going to save you, so you don’t have to worry about what could’ve happened. I am the Element of Loyalty, for Celestia’s sake.” Rainbow said, wearing a reassuring smile the entire time.          Her eyes had that spark in them again, the one that Fluttershy loved so much. They really were beautiful, just like their owner. She was perfect to Fluttershy.          Fluttershy then looked over to the broken stallion, feeling a little bit of sorrow for him. Rainbow followed Fluttershy’s eyes, and then let a small smirk appear on her face.          “Don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine. Just a few broken bones.” Rainbow Dash said, letting out a small chuckle at her friend.          Fluttershy sighed out of relief; she really didn’t want anypony to be hurt too badly, no matter who they were or what they were about to do to her.          “Well, I have to run now, I’m kinda late for my afternoon training. You’re sure that you’re fine, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy simply nodded. “Alright then, later!” Rainbow Dash said with a quick wink, and then she was gone, as fast as she had come.          “B-bye, Rainbow Dash...” Fluttershy said as she watched her friend fly off towards her training grounds. She then just let out a sigh, knowing that Rainbow couldn’t hear her. I wish I could be like you, so brave. So... perfect.