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Sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees, warming Fluttershy's skin as she tended to her garden. She knelt on her knees, not mind that it dirtied her pink khakis, yanking out intruding weeds. She mumbled a quiet sorry with each successful yank. So invested in her work, she hadn't noticed the footsteps behind her until a loud:
"Hiya Shy! Need any help?"
Rainbow Dash's voice quickly pulled the Fluttershy out of her work. The startled young woman looked up at one of her dear friends. Her friend sported the usual jean shorts and light blue tank top that complimented her warm brown skin, but something felt new.
"I see that you, uh, touched up your hair."
With a wide grin at her friend noticing, Rainbow Dash proudly raked her fingers through her colorful hair. "Yeah, it was fading some. Thought it might look good with some orange in there, too."
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, adoring the vibrancy of her friend's hair.
"Anyways," Rainbow Dash continued, "need any help?"
For a moment, Fluttershy fumbled with her words. Instead, she scooted over for her friend to sit down next to her.
Rainbow Dash joined, giving her friend a wide. toothy grin. She started chatting as they tended to the garden. Fluttershy simply listened with a few well placed monosyllables. She didn't feel the need to speak, finding the sound of her friend's voice soothing. From the corner of her eye, she'd watch Rainbow Dash meticulously pull the weeds out. She didn't mention her surprise seeing the usually reckless Dash take care in her actions.
A blush quickly spread across her cheeks when Rainbow Dash caught her looking. She didn't tease the young woman in the way that Fluttershy expected. Instead Dash commented on how cute she looked right then, and then carried on talking as if the small exchange never happened.
Fluttershy shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it. Instead, she reached into the twine basket next to her, pulling out a packet of seeds. They were carrots, one of the favorite snacks of their friend group. While she was no farmer like Applejack, Fluttershy enjoyed growing food for her friends and animals.
"W-we'll be planting these, next," she explained to Rainbow Dash. She grabbed a handheld shovel, but was startled when Rainbow Dash put her hand over hers. "I, uh," she trailed off.
"Let me," Dash offered.
Fluttershy quietly nodded, but didn't want to move away her hand away from her friend's.
The next several months carried on in a similar manner. From helping foresting for herbs to building homes for her critter friends, the pair remained busy. Truth be told, while Dash and her were always good friends, but they never spent time like this together before. She started to treasure these moment of just her and her Rainbow Dash.
One night, as Fluttershy rested in bed, she couldn't help but think of her best friend. She paused for a moment. Did Fluttershy think of Rainbow asonly a friend? Yes, she truly cherished the time spent together, listening to Dash's wild stories, and even sometimes playing along with her antics. But that was mere friendship, right?
Even in the dark, alone, a faint blush graced her cheeks. She thought of all the times that she'd catch herself looking longingly at her friend. She imagined herself embraced and protected by Dash's lean arms. She imagined those lips dotting her body with playful kisses. But more than that, she imagined the small possibility of having a life with Dash.
Her heart began to flutter, her body quivered. She tried willing it to stop, tried telling herself it was of no use, that Rainbow Dash couldn't possibly be interested in her. Fluttershy knew that she had a fun side, but, surely Dash wouldn't be interested in her idea of fun? Of course not. This moment of longing proved pointless.
She sighed wistfully to herself before falling back asleep.
The next morning, she woke up to a text. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she picked up her cell next to her bed. It was Rainbow Dash wanting to know if she had any plans today.
Fluttershy fidgeted. Today, she was going to go into town to restock on groceries and check out Rarity's new displays. Would Dash want to tag along as always? She flopped back down onto the bed, ignoring the heat radiating off her. Could she really just act casually around Rainbow after realizing her feelings?
Nope.
She texted back. Without going into too many details, she mentioned that she was sick and was staying home.
She smothered her face into a pillow, feeling positively dreadful for lying to her friend like that. How in Equestria did others handle their feelings? After careful contemplation, she rolled back over and reached for her phone.
This time, she texted Twilight Sparkle, the smartest and most well read person in Ponyville. She also appreciated that Twilight, too, preferred texting to speaking on the phone. After texting her all the information, Fluttershy finally received a text back after waiting three, long, antagonizing minutes.
Sounds like you got a crush.
She nearly screamed into her pillow. What do I do about it, she texted back.
You could tell her about it.
This time, Fluttershy screamed into her pillow.
No, no, no, that's not what she wanted to hear. She couldn't just admit her feelings aloud. What if Rainbow Dash rejected her? She sighed and texted Twilight back, thanking her for the advice. The advice she wasn't going to follow.
With another great big sigh, she finally left the comfort of her bed. She knew she couldn't go out into town today, because what if Dash saw her? Instead, Fluttershy opted to complete any home chores and tasks she's been meaning to do.
She carried about her day, thinking herself safe in her home. The cleaning and upkeep went by rather quickly. Then, she finished baking cupcakes with fresh lavender, she started mixing a fresh batch of homemade birdseed, and even finished reading the latest comics of Daring Do that Dash lent her.
She just finished putting away the issues on her wooden bookshelf when she heard knocking. She froze at the voice that followed.
"Hey, Shy, you in there? I brought some soup!"
Fluttershy's feet remained glued to the floor and her lips stitched shut. This wasn't supposed to happen! Why couldn't Rainbow Dash just go have a normal day?
"C'mon, Applejack helped me make it, so it's not bad or nothin'."
Slowly, she forced herself to the door. She rested her head against it, still listening to Rainbow talk. Why did she have to feel this way? Why did she have to ruin everything? She tentatively reached for the door handle, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
She focused on the ground, her face pink, unable to look her friend in the eyes. "H-hey Rainbow Dash."
Dash's face lit up at the sight of her friend. "Oh good, you're up. For a second I thought I'd have to come in an' feed you myself."
"I, um, that w-won't be n-necessary," Fluttershy said. "I, uh, am feeling better."
"That's great," Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she moved passed Fluttershy. She adjusted her sunglasses as she entered her home. "I'll just put this in the fridge so it doesn't go bad."
She whistled to herself as she strolled into the kitchen area. She eyed the cupcakes that Fluttershy left out to cool off and the fresh bird seed mix. "Looks like you've been busy today," she said as she put the soup container in the fridge.
Fluttershy, now behind her, nodded. "Y-yep, that's me, k-keeping busy."
Rainbow turned to face her, skin nearly touching. "Anything I can help you with today?"
"I, um, well, you see..."
"'Sup, Shy?"
"Well, the thing is, I was wondering..." She took a deep breath. "I know we're friends, but we've been spending a lot of time together, and I... I was wondering why you wanted to do that when you could be practicing with the track team or... or doing fun stuff."
Rainbow Dash snorted. "I am having fun, you goose."
"R-really?"
"Duh." Fluttershy's heartbeat sped as Rainbow Dash gently held her hand. "Look, Shy, I'm no good with this sorta stuff, but I really like you, okay?"
Surprisingly, for both, Fluttershy responded with a courageous kiss. Rainbow Dash pulled her in closer, not wanting to leave the tingling sensation of her lips. For one long moment, it was everything that Fluttershy dreamed of.
Once their lips parted, Dash brought her into a warm embrace. She rested her head in the nook of Fluttershy's neck. "Damn," she mumbled, almost to herself, "Twi was right."
"Pardon?"
"I asked her for advice months ago," Rainbow Dash explained, her lips tickling Fluttershy's skin. "She said just to tell you. Don't tell her she was right, though."
Fluttershy snorted. Of course Twilight Sparkle was right.
She light brushed her fingers through Dash's colorful hair and smiled contently.