Too Shy for a Rainbow Chap 4

Chapter 4


The crowd cheered as the final words were spoken. With a quick movement of the hooves a sea of hats flew into the air. Music played loudly through the entire auditorium as hugs and cheers were spread far and wide. Some were crying, some were laughing, and some could only just smile broadly.

Fluttershy's hat sat, still adorned to her head. She let out a soft sigh. It was graduation day from Flight School. She had barely passed, her flying skills were nothing impressive, but they were enough that the school deemed her ready to face the world. But despite that, she couldn't feel happy.

The one pony she had hoped would be there cheering her on, that would be in the stands praising her for how much she had accomplished wasn't there. She hadn't heard a single word from Rainbow in over a year and she had given up hope that she would hear from the hero that had saved her from failing a long time ago.

The crowd around her began to fan out, heading into the stands to meet with family and friends. Fluttershy looked around as she stood there, everypony seeming to walk away from her. She imagined all the celebrations most of them would be having, having 'Congratulation' parties, spending late nights playing games or enjoying food, looking forward to the futures they had coming.

There was none of that for her. Her marks had barely allowed her to pass; her flying ability was too weak to help out with most of the jobs Cloudsdale had to offer. She didn't want to return home and she hadn't really made any friends in the clouds. Instead of spending time with other ponies in the clouds, she had often spent any free time she had either on the ground tending to animals or practicing her flying ability by herself; though her motivation to practice flying had almost faded out completely with Rainbow leaving.

With another sigh she began to leave the auditorium. There wasn't anything more for her there; all the happy faces were only making her sadder.

"Hey, Fluttershy, hold on a moment." Came a voice from behind her. Fluttershy turned around, not having expected to be stopped. One of the graduating colts flew down before her with a light tan coat and a red mane; his green eyes looked like they tried to offer comfort, but for some reason they scared her.

"O-Oh…h-hello?" Fluttershy mumbled quietly as she backed up a little, she didn't know who this colt was, and she didn't want to look foolish before him.

"You're leaving already? You don't want to stay for any of the festivities?" He asked curiously.

"N-No…that's alright…t-thank you though…" Fluttershy was barely audible, even over the massive amount of talking happening all around them.

"Oh…well alright, I understand. You have things you need to do." The young colt tried to smile, though it looked forced. Fluttershy just turned her head away, trying to hide a wince on her face, "Well hey, I just wanted to talk to you before you left. And, I wanted to give you this." He reached into his graduation gown and pulled out a piece of paper, holding it out for her.

"W-What's this?" She asked quietly, taking it from his mouth and unfolding it. It was a map that showed a route from Cloudsdale to a small town called Ponyville that stood beneath the mountain city of Canterlot.

"I've been asking around for you, and what I heard from a very reliable source is that a certain blue rainbow-haired pegasus has been seen working a weather job at that town." He said casually.

"W-What?" Fluttershy's eyes went wide as she looked at the colt before her, then back down to the map.

"I figured you'd like to know where she was before we all left. I didn't think I'd get another chance to talk to you, so I figured I'd go for it now." He nodded with a small smile on his face.

"…B-But…h-how did you know…I was looking for her?" Fluttershy looked up at the colt with large, pleading eyes.

"Well…"The colt said turning away from Fluttershy, "Let's just say I gave you a letter once." He let out a quick chuckle, "Goodbye Fluttershy, I hope I see you again someday." And with that he flew off into the crowd of ponies, likely to join his friends and family.

Fluttershy blinked confused. She didn't understand what he meant by that. She looked at the map again, almost unable to believe what it meant.

'So…if I go to Ponyville…I'll be able to meet up with Rainbow Dash again? Will she really be there?' Fluttershy asked herself, not sure what to make of the map. She didn't know of any reason the colt had to lie to her, but in all her time at flight school only a few ponies had ever approached her, and most did it to make fun of her. She had been teased so much about her poor flying she had just given up on the idea that she'd make any good friends since Rainbow had left.

'…What do I have to lose?' She thought to herself as she headed out of the auditorium. The fresh air hit her, giving her a sense of refreshment. The auditorium had gotten stuffy from how many ponies had been inside. She quickly began to walk her way across the clouds, looking around the buildings that sat atop the clouds, accentuating the sky.

She looked around at the school she had flown in for the past few years and what it had all meant to her. She had put the challenge out to herself to graduate from the flight school; she had done it because she wanted somepony to be proud of her, somepony like Rainbow Dash.

It didn't take her long to leave campus, continuing past the rest of the buildings in Cloudsdale and walking to the edge of the city. She looked out over the edge at the ground far below. She checked the map once more, figuring which direction she would have to fly to reach Ponyville.

"…I guess this is goodbye then Cloudsdale." She said turning to look at the cloud city that had been her home since she was born, "Thanks for everything." She bowed courtesly to the city, as if it was a living thing that had feelings. She gently placed her graduation hat on the cloud edge, before slipping out of the graduation gown and folding it gently and placing it next to the hat. She picked the map up before stretching her wings out.

She jumped, taking flight, heading for the pony she wanted to be closest to.






Fluttershy tapped her hooves awkwardly. She had been waiting outside of the restaurant for half an hour now waiting for Rainbow Dash. She had gotten there early because her nerves had gotten to her, even though Rarity's advice was to be fashionably late, she couldn't bear the thought of having to keep Rainbow waiting.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the quickly approaching blue pegasus. She tried to gulp down the tensions that had been building up, it was now or never to give Rainbow her best impression. She had to make tonight the night she found out if Rainbow would like her the same way she did, or if they were meant to be just friends.

"…Oh!" Rainbow Dash said stopping, almost having passed Fluttershy. She stopped and landed before her, "I…almost didn't recognize you…what's with the gettup?" Rainbow eyed Fluttershy curiously, pointing to her dress.

"Oh…Rarity made it for me. I-I wanted to show it off b-because of how well it looked." Fluttershy said her white-lie. The dress was rather elegant, the center piece was a red rose, elegantly wrapped around her neck and circling around her wings. Light pink cloth clung to her body yet flowed loosely over her legs, the skirt light in the air over her flank. The dress accentuated the pattern of petals and leaves, colors that blended with her hair and eyes while showing making her coat stand out. Her shoes complimented the dress with a mixture of red, with green wrapping up her legs. Her hair was adorned with red, pink and green flowers, a red rose hung from her ear. All the colors blended subtly, yet strikingly bold to view, Rarity had worked her heart out on making it work just right to accentuate her beauty.

"Huh…well it uh…it looks good on you." Rainbow Dash said trying to compliment her friends fashion.

"Really?" Fluttershy perked up hearing this.

"Yea, but uh, how about we get to eating? I'm starved from all the flying I've been doing." Rainbow said while looking at the restaurant they stood before, "Though I've never heard of this place before. How come we're eating here?"

"Oh, Rarity gave me a pass so we could eat here, apparently they owed her a favor and she gave it to me." It wasn't a complete lie.

"Now darling, you simply must start the night out right. Before you do anything else you must make sure you've set the atmosphere for the night. Here, this is a 5-star restaurant that is almost always booked but they gave me a free pass to eat there any night I wished. They'll make room for your date." Rarity's words echoed in Fluttershy's mind.

Fluttershy walked over to the doorcolt as she carefully pulled out a ticket and presenting it to him; he took it and read it over carefully.

"I see, follow me please." The doorcolt nodded at them as he walked inside the restaurant. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash quickly followed after him. The restaurant was very formal indeed, all of the patrons were dressed in their best, making Rainbow stand out being so informally undressed. The carpet was a beautiful deep velvet red; the tables were magnificently decorated with white clothes surrounded by red chairs. The silverware and plates were of the highest quality and the lights were dimmed above with candles alight on every table. Soft classical music played live throughout the restaurant from several ponies.

"…This place seems kind of…high class." Rainbow said feeling a little awkward about the atmosphere.

"Well, it is a restaurant recommended by Rarity…" Fluttershy smiled softly, "She wouldn't recommend any place that didn't have a certain amount of class to it."

The two of them were lead to a balcony just outside the restaurant; it faced the setting sun that lit the sky a glorious orange. Most of it was already filled with properly dressed ponies dining, but there was a recently set up table as if made special for them. The idea made Fluttershy happy, a table made specifically for the two of them.

"Here is your table." The doorcolt placed two menus on the table as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat down, "Your waiter will be with you momentarily." With that he walked off.

"…I can't read what's on this menu." Rainbow Dash said looking through the list, practically flipping it upside down. Fluttershy looked at the menu herself and instantly understood Dash's problem. Most of the names of the food were in a different language, the descriptions described them in no clear detail. Even the pricing of the food wasn't made perfectly clear.

"Ugh…they can't have something simple like vegetable buns or hay fries?" Rainbow dropped the menu onto the table and looked at it dully.

"I-It's alright Rainbow…I can order for the both of us." Fluttershy said quietly, "I'm sure you'll like the food."

"Yea yea, I'm sure it'll taste better than it sounds." Rainbow sighed as she closed the menu, "How come we had to come here to eat anyway? I don't really like all this atmosphere." She groaned.

"…I'm sorry; I choose this place because of Rarity." Fluttershy blushed turning her head away.

"Well, I guess I can't blame you for that." Rainbow played with her spoon bored, "Though I would have just preferred another meal like you had cooked. That dessert you made was amazing, I've been meaning to ask you to make me some more."

"You really like them that much?" A big smile came to Fluttershy's face, "Of course I'll make you some more, anything for you."

"Hey, what're ya'll doin here?" Fluttershy and Rainbow turned their heads, seeing Applejack with an empty cart standing next to the balcony looking at them.

'Oh no' Fluttershy thought seeing their earth pony friend there.

"Hey Applejack, apparently Rarity suggested we should have dinner here, but it's too upscale for my taste. What about you? Why're you here?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"I was just finishin' mah delivery of apples to this place. They order twelve barrels of our finest apples." Applejack explained.

"Well hey, how'd you like to have dinner with us? This place is a bit of a drag anyway." Rainbow invited.

"Well shucks, that sounds mighty fine. Don't mind if ah do." Applejack slipped the cart off and hopped onto the balcony.

'…B-But!' Fluttershy felt her heart sink as Applejack sat down next to them, 'M-My d-date with…Rainbow Dash…'

"Hey Fluttershy, how come you're all gussied up?" Applejack asked tilting her head at Fluttershy. Fluttershy's hoof met her face.






"-And then Big Macintosh said 'Well that ain't no barn that ah've ever seen.'" Applejack's story erupted a chorus of laughter from her and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy didn't feel much like laughing though. She slowly ate the meal that had been brought out for her, mostly playing with tidbits of her food. She was grateful it was free thanks to Rarity; otherwise she would feel like she was wasting her money.

"Ah, we laughed for a long time once they left." Applejack chuckled before turning to look at the sky. The sun had set a while ago; the night was beginning to wrap the town. "Oh shoot, ah've stayed a bit too long, ah still got some work left to do before the night is over." Applejack lowered her head and quickly finished her food in her usual manner.

"Mmm, that is some good eats." Applejack licked her lips, before looking at Fluttershy, "You said this was on the house right?"

"Y-Yea…" Fluttershy meekly answered.

"Well alright then, I'll see you girls later then." Applejack nodded before hopping off of the balcony. She quickly reattached her cart and headed off.

"Well, that certainly was fun." Rainbow chuckled as she finished her own food. Fluttershy didn't respond to this, just letting out a sigh.

"Something wrong Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked as she quickly wiped her mouth with the cloth that had wrapped her utensils.

"Oh uh…n-no, nothing's wrong." Fluttershy quickly thought about the situation, "H-Hey…I uhm…would you like to go for a walk? It's a beautiful night out after all." Fluttershy said, wanting to move on from the wrecked dinner, hoping the rest of the night she had planned would fare better.

"…A walk? Are you sure?" Rainbow looked curiously at Fluttershy, "That doesn't sound like it'd be all that fun."

"Uh…w-well…I have a surprise waiting at the end of it. It won't be ready till a little later, so I figured it'd help pass the time."

"A surprise?" Rainbow said thinking about it, "Well alright, I don't have anything else to do." Rainbow said getting up from the table, "Lead the way Fluttershy."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and brought a smile to her face. She hoped her surprise would impress Rainbow.






The park was lit up by torches and the moonlight. All the flowers seemed to glow in the gentle light they bathed in, the trees and the shrubbery gave off a gentle glow. Fluttershy loved the look of nature in the night lights, the gentle coolness of the night air, and the subtle chirpings of a summer's night. It all seemed so beautiful to her.

"So what's my surprise anyway? Is it some rad gift? Or perhaps its plans for a new trick? Oh! Maybe you've set up a party." Rainbow Dash flew around in the air as she was trying to figure out what Fluttershy had planned.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Fluttershy explained with a smile as she continued to walk. She kind of wished Rainbow would just enjoy the scenery like she was, but she already knew that wasn't Rainbow Dash's style.

"If you ever need to just spend some quality time with your date, a romantic gesture is always a simple walk through the park. It's beautiful, romantic and sure to inspire awe in their eyes." Rarity's words echoed in her mind once more.

'I don't know if the dating advice Rarity gave me is work for Rainbow Dash…' Fluttershy thought, looking at the pegasus doing loops in the sky out of anticipation and boredom. However, the antics still made her smile, 'But…it's still that about her that makes me like her.'

PWANG. Fluttershy felt something soft, yet hard hit her head, sending her crashing to the ground. She coughed at the dust that flew into her face, as she turned her head, seeing a red bouncing rubber ball bouncing away from her.

As she tried to stand up a can fell in front of her face that proceeded to burst open, spewing snakes at her.

"KYAAAAA" she screamed rushing backwards, ending up crashing into something that proceeded to collapse on top of her.

"Whoa, you alright Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, swooping down to the pile of stuff that had fallen on top of her.

Fluttershy groaned as she sat up, looking at everything that had fallen on top of her. There were toys, decorations, pranks and games all within the pile. She turned her head and saw the wagon she had run into.

"Oh my gosh, you're not hurt are you?" Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared in front of Fluttershy's vision, "I couldn't see anything in front of me so I was hoping I wouldn't run into any pony."

"Y-Yea…I'm okay Pinkie Pie…" Fluttershy said as Pinkie Pie helped Fluttershy stand up. Fluttershy felt something tug on her dress, as if caught by something in the pile. She pulled a little trying to get it loose, when she heard it rip. She looked over and saw the rather long rip down the skirt of her dress, showing more of her back leg through the fabric. Fluttershy let out a sigh as she looked at it.

"Hey Pinkie Pie, what's with all the stuff?" Rainbow asked picking up a jack-in-the-box from the pile and looking at it curiously.

"Oh! I'm setting up this park for a super-big party tomorrow! I was gone for a while so I'm trying to catch up on all the partying opportunities I missed." Pinkie bounced in explanation, "What're you girls doing out here though?"

"Oh, well Fluttershy said she has a surprise for me." Rainbow explained proudly as jack burst from his box before putting him back in the pile.

"Ooooh! A surprise? I love surprises! Is it candy? Or some kind of gift? Oh! Maybe its some kind of midnight party!" Pinkie said excitedly, "Can I come? Can I can I?"

"Sure, I don't see why no-" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a blur of wind as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie seemed to disappear.

"Pinkie Pie! Y-You can't come with us." Fluttershy said in a hurriedly quiet breath behind a tree she had drug Pinkie behind.

"Huh? Why not?" Pinkie pouted.

"It's just…its…" Fluttershy stumbled on her words, "This is…it's a very important surprise for me, a-and its supposed to be only for Rainbow Dash."

"Awww…you couldn't make a surprise that fits in more of your friends?" Pinkie asked tilting her head.

"I-I could…b-but…t-tonight's special to me…" Fluttershy turned her head blushing, "I-I want things to be…perfect…but they don't seem to be going that way…" she shook her head lightly, "I-It's not that I don't want to hang with you…j-just tonight I want it to be just…m-me and Rainbow Dash."

Pinkie Pie looked at Fluttershy carefully. Fluttershy felt herself wanting to back up and curl away from Pinkie Pie's stare, as if she was seeing through her.

"W-Well I-" Fluttershy started, but was stopped when Pinkie raised her hoof.

"Look me in the eyes Fluttershy." Pinkie said with a smile. Fluttershy blinked in confusion as she did as Pinkie asked. Pinkie seemed to be staring at her intently, as if trying to look into her mind. Fluttershy felt uncomfortable by the staring.

"…I see." Pinkie closed her eyes smiling.

"Y-You do?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I understand." Pinkie said walking next to Fluttershy and wrapping her hoof around her shoulder, "I can see how important this is to you. So I'll make sure to stay out of your way, just make sure you make it special. After all, your Auntie Pinkie Pie has your back!" Pinkie chuckled before bouncing out of the trees.

"I-I'm still a year older then you…" Fluttershy mumbled as she slowly followed after Pinkie.

"Sorry Dashie, I'd love to come and see the surprise but I just realized I'm too busy setting up for the party. Enjoy it though!" Pinkie told Rainbow as she started picking up the fallen objects and putting them back in the wagon.

"Oh, well that's alright then." Rainbow smiled, "Looking forward to your party though. You know I'll be there."

"Oh it'll be a great party!" Pinkie cheered once she had everything stacked back up. She began to pull the cart deeper into the park.

"Pinkie Pie is always so random." Rainbow chuckled looking at Fluttershy.

"Y-Yea she is." Fluttershy awkwardly smiled back, "B-But come on…the surprise isn't too much farther." Fluttershy said waving at Dash to continue walking with her.

"Awesome, I can't wait." Rainbow grinned.






The park gave way to a large, open grassy field. There was a small hill raised towards the center that was often used for star gazing and picnics, though tonight the field was mostly empty. There were a few random ponies enjoying the night, but what seemed the most unusual was a small gathering of uniformed unicorns near the hill.

"This is the place." Fluttershy smiled.

"…Here? This is my surprise?" Rainbow asked confused.

"Well, no, THIS isn't the surprise. But it'll happen here." Fluttershy smiled, "I promise you won't be disappointed." Fluttershy said as she trotted towards the hill. Rainbow Dash shrugged as she followed behind Fluttershy.

"Excuse me sirs, but we're here now, will you be ready to begin soon?" Fluttershy asked the uniformed group of unicorns. They quickly turned to each other; spoke quickly amongst each other, before their leader turned to her.

"Give us five minutes and we can start the show." He nodded.

"Excellent." Fluttershy smiled before heading up the hill.

"So what exactly is this?" Rainbow asked, floating over the hill.

"You'll see." Fluttershy smiled, "But it'll be about five minutes before it starts."

"Five minutes? Alright, I'll practice one of my tricks then to pass the time." Rainbow said quickly dashing high into the sky. Fluttershy watched her fly in amazement. She always enjoyed watching Rainbow Dash practice, though she rarely had the opportunity to, since she often practiced during the day.

Rainbow was flying fast through the sky, looping around and barrel rolling her way through the night sky. Fluttershy sat in awe as Dash went into a barreling backflip, before racing straight for the ground. She sped at the ground, before the last moment turning sharply, her hooves skidding against the ground as she came to a sudden stop before the unicorns.

"Oh, heh, sorry." She apologized for kicking dirt around them. They just huffed at her, but seemed to be ready to start their show. The leader turned to his group and instructed them, as the horns on their heads began to glow.

"Oh! Rainbow Dash, it's starting!" Fluttershy called over to her, patting the ground next to her.

"Excellent." Rainbow Dash said sitting down next to Fluttershy, "Let's see what this is all about."

The horns of the unicorns flared up, before one of them launched an orb of light quickly into the sky. It went high up before exploding in an eruption of lights, spewing the multi-colored embers into multiple directions. Another bolt of light quickly fired into the sky as well, erupting into another burst of colored light.

"Whoa! Fireworks!" Rainbow said amazed at the site. Fluttershy couldn't help but grin at Rainbow's reaction. It had cost her quite a few bits to get the firework ponies to do a special show for her, but seeing Rainbow Dash enthralled by the spectacle made every bit worth it.

The fireworks continued to burst in the sky, enthralling all the ponies that had just happened to be visiting the park that night. The fireworks lit up the night sky and the ground bellow in a beautiful flash of color, the booms of the exploding magic echoed throughout their bodies giving a majestic feel.

"How do you like it?" Fluttershy asked, looking over at Rainbow quickly.

"…Incredible." Rainbow said with a grin on her face, completely enthralled by the fireworks.

'Success!' Fluttershy thought while grinning as she pumped her hooves a little to herself. This night was going to end well, despite all the screw ups till that point; this was going to make up for it!

"LOOK OUT." Came a frantic yell.

"Huh?" Fluttershy was knocked out of her thoughts as she saw a bright orb of magic appear right in front of her face. A bright flash of light filled her vision as the firework exploded merely a foot away from her, the hill becoming the center of a bright star-like object for just a moment. The entire park was lit up by the beautiful light for a moment, before it faded away.

"What was that!?" The leader unicorn yelled at the unicorn that had stumbled, sending a stray firework into the crowd.

"S-Sorry sir, my hoof slipped on this." He pointed down to the tracks in the ground that had been dug up when Rainbow Dash had landed before them.

"Ugh, what have I told you about stepping forward when you're working?" The lead unicorn groaned putting a hoof to his face.

"Hey, Fluttershy, you alright?" Rainbow Dash asked flying back  to the top of the scorched hill, having been able to dodge the firework, thinking Fluttershy was going to do the same.

Fluttershy sat there, her face black and her dress a charred mess. Her hair was frizzled and the flowers in her hair had disappeared. She certainly looked like she'd been hit with a firework.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow stepped closer to her pegasus friend.

Fluttershy's eye twitched, before she suddenly stood up. She lowered her head as her teeth began to clench. She took a deep breath, before screaming into her mane.

"Whoa, Fluttershy, are you hurt?" Rainbow asked, trying to get close to her friend.

Rainbow didn't get a response though. Fluttershy turned on her heels and began to run in no particular direction.

"H-Hey! Fluttershy! Wait up!" Rainbow said opening her wings and going after her. Fluttershy made it to the edge of the field before Rainbow stopped in front of her, "Hold up there, why are you running away?"

Rainbow finally got to see Fluttershy's face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"This…This whole night was ruined!" Fluttershy shook her head as she cried.

"Ruined?" Rainbow asked confused.

"What was the point of getting dressed up? It didn't make a difference!" Fluttershy threw her head up, "Dinner was a fiasco, the walk was nothing special, the show was supposed to go off without a hitch!" Fluttershy didn't care anymore; she just had to say everything on her mind.

"But no! At every turn the whole night something had to step in and make my plans go wrong! Nothing can ever go right!" Fluttershy collapsed to a sitting position on the ground as she sobbed.

"…Whoa…I think I missed something." Rainbow said looking at her friend in confusion, "Fluttershy, what's going on here? Why was all of this so important?"

Fluttershy grit her teeth as the tears kept flowing. 'I guess it's now or never…' her mind told her.

"Because…because I…I-I…I…lobgh…" her words were quiet and muffled.

"Because what? You went quiet." Rainbow said, turning an ear towards Fluttershy.

"…I…I luhb…hyu" Fluttershy was barely understandable.

"Speak up, I can't hear you." Rainbow demanded.

"I LOVE YOU, OKAY!?" Fluttershy threw her head up as she finally said it. Rainbow's head instinctively snapped backwards a little, not having expected that. "Tonight was supposed to be the night I figured out where we stood, if we'd just stay friends or if we could have something deeper, but no, I can't be granted that."

"…You…love me?" Rainbow repeated the first words as if lost in thought. Fluttershy wiped her face with her hoof, trying to get rid of some of the tears as she sniffed.

"I-I'm sorry…" Fluttershy hiccupped, "I s-shouldn't have said that…y-you probably don't feel that way about me…" she said as she turned her head away from Rainbow Dash. "I-I even understand…i-if you don't want to be friends anymore…" She closed her eyes, as she already jumped to the worst conclusion.

There was a soft silence between the two of them. It was Rainbow Dash that eventually broke the silence.

"…Fluttershy…I'm going to have to be honest with you…" Rainbow spoke, hesitation in her voice, as if unsure of what she was about to say.

'Oh no…here comes the rejection.' Fluttershy squeezed her eyes close as she tried to brace for the emotional impact.

"…I don't know how to feel about this."

"…Huh?" The words escaped Fluttershy's mouth as she felt herself stumble out of bracing for impact, looking up at Rainbow Dash.

"I've…never thought about ANYPONY romantically. Not a filly or a colt, not a mare or a stallion." Rainbow explained, as she seemed to be looking into her own past.

"Huh?" Fluttershy repeated.

"But…you're also a very close, dear friend of mine Fluttershy; one that forgave me for running away, who is always willing to help me when I need it and even will feed me when I can't feed myself. You put up with a lot of my selfishness without a word of complaint…And I can't just turn you down if I don't know for sure how I feel about this."

"…Huh?" Fluttershy's brain was stuck on loop.

"Stop saying 'Huh' for a moment and hear me out." Rainbow said putting a hoof to Fluttershy's mouth. Fluttershy simply nodded, looking dumbfounded. Rainbow removed her hoof and continued talking.

"I care about you, like a friend. Right now I don't have any feelings for you beyond that." Rainbow explained as Fluttershy clung to her every word.

"But…for you Fluttershy, after everything we've been through together…I'm willing to give being with together a shot."

Fluttershy's mouth opened to say something, but proceeded to be filled with a blue hoof again.

"However, this is still new to me. I don't know if I'll ever feel the same way, or even if I'll be head over hooves for you. Now…if you can accept that, then I'll give dating you a try. Deal?" Rainbow lowered her hoof from Fluttershy's mouth.

Fluttershy stood there staring at Rainbow Dash, not sure what to think. This was a situation she never thought she'd be in. She desperately tried to gather herself and speak back up.

"…W-Well…" Fluttershy said, after taking a deep breath and trying to calm her beating heart, "…If this…doesn't work out…w-will we still be…friends?" Fluttershy asked meekly.

"Of course, I could never lose you as a friend." Rainbow grinned at her.

"…T-Then…" Fluttershy turned her head away from Rainbow, before looking at her from behind her mane, "W-will…Will you take my feelings…seriously…in t-this experiment?"

Rainbow let out a soft chuckle and stepped closer to Fluttershy. Fluttershy wasn't sure what to expect, but Rainbow put a hoof to her cheek and made her turn to put them face to face. Fluttershy's eyes went wide as she felt Rainbow's lips press against her own, her face flushing a bright red.

"What do you think?" Rainbow asked with a grin after separating. Fluttershy's lips quivered for a moment, before she showed a small smile, small, but one that was so very big in her heart.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried happily as she hugged Rainbow.

"Hey, it's the least I could do." Rainbow hugged her dear friend…no, she hugged her marefriend in return.




-The End-