The Apology
For the second time today, Rainbow Dash found herself pounding at a door, this time much more urgently than before. "Rarity! Open up!" Not waiting for a response, the pegasus pounded on the door again, rattling it in its frame. "I need help!"
A few seconds later the pegasus tumbled inside, falling in across the entryway as the door was pulled open by magic. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your date!"
"That's just it! Fluttershy—wait, what?"
Rarity trotted forward to fuss over her friend. "I thought I was being obvious enough. Rose even said you bought every acacia she had in the shop. How romantic!" The unicorn batted her eyes, before a serious expression stole over her face once more, seizing the pegasus with her magic to stand her back up on her feet. "You're late now, but if you fly over to Applejack's farm quickly, I'm sure the food will be waiting for you. I'll trot over to Fluttershy's cottage and—"
Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves into the floor of the shop, cutting Rarity off, the prim unicorn's words ending in a yelp as the desperate pegasus glared at her. "What do you mean, waiting for me? I totally just ruined her date! What happened to the mare who was supposed to go out with her?"
Rarity grimaced. "I thought I was obvious. I do hope you didn't do anything with those flowers; I'm not sure what else would do. Perhaps some honeysuckle and some br—"
"You're worried about flowers?"
"Why yes, darling, you're supposed to be... whatever is the matter, darling?" Rarity blinked, truly taking in her friend's disheveled appearance for the first time. "Have you been crying?"
"No!" Rainbow Dash's denial was automatic. A troubled look crossed Rarity's face as she trotted over to her friend, reaching up with a hoof to touch her damp cheek.
"What's wrong, dear?"
Rainbow Dash growled. "Alright, fine. Yes, I've been crying, because I took Fluttershy out on a fake date!"
Rarity looked at her in surprise. "But you have barely been gone an hour. A dinner date is supposed to be more than dinner you know."
"I know that! I don't need your advice on dating! Now, where is that mare that Fluttershy was supposed to go on the date with? Did she come back here? I've still got most of the food, we didn't eat it all." The pegasus was looking around in a panic now, her sides heaving with emotion.
"Darling, there was no other mare." Rarity's voice was worried now. "What happened?"
"What do you mean there's no other mare?" Rainbow Dash took a threatening step forward, the unicorn retreating from her aggressive advance.
"I knew that you would never go on a date willingly, but I thought that if you thought there might be another mare after Fluttershy, you—" Rarity's words were cut off as Rainbow Dash trembled with anger, tensing up before slamming her hind leg back against the wall behind her. "Rainbow Dash! I can't have you destroying my boutique!"
"What the hay were you thinking?"
"Well, I know how much you enjoy playing the hero. I knew that when you heard that your amour was being set up on a date with somepony else, that you would swoop in for the rescue. Of course, I knew you knew nothing about such things, so I arranged for Rose to have some flowers cut for the occasion." Rarity pouted at her friend. "It was going to be so romantic."
"Yeah, well, you were wrong."
Rarity's voice was low and threatening. "What did you do?"
"Fluttershy told me she likes me!"
The unicorn's concerns were immediately washed away, replaced with glee as she squealed in delight, clapping her hooves together. "And?"
Rainbow Dash panted raggedly. "I told her that I didn't."
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said sternly. "Now why would you say a hurtful thing like that?"
"Because it's true!"
Rarity's voice rose in surprise. "What?"
"I don't like her, Rarity! I don't have a crush on her! I never did! If I wanted to ask out Fluttershy, I would have done it myself!"
"But the kiss! Darling, you practically—"
Rainbow Dash exploded. "Yeah, I kissed her, alright? I didn't mean it like that! I was just letting her know it was me. She was scared, and it just kind of happened. You've kissed Spike I don't even know how many times, and I know you aren't planning on dating him!"
Rarity sputtered. "But that's different!"
Rainbow Dash snarled. "No, it isn't. Fluttershy is my best friend, and yeah, sometimes we're a little bit mushy. But that's none of your business!" She fell back on her haunches, looking tired. "Well, she was my best friend. She probably hates me now."
Rarity shook her head, taking a step forward. "You know that isn't true."
"I know." Her voice caught. "But that doesn't make it right. She trusted me because you told her I had a crush on her."
"Don't you?"
"No!" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of her, gritting her teeth in frustration. "That's what I've been trying to say."
Rarity sounded skeptical. "Surely you must have some feelings for her if you're willing to buy up every flower in Rose's shop and pretend to be her date."
The blue mare's head dropped. "I did it because I was worried about her, okay? I was worried you'd set her up with some creep." Tears began to flow down her cheeks, soon to be dabbed at by a lacy handkerchief wrapped in blue magic.
"I would never subject one of my friends to someone like that." Rarity walked over to take a seat next to the pegasus, reaching over to put a white hoof on her shoulder.
"Oh yeah? Well you did."
Sympathy entered Rarity's eyes as she leaned over to nuzzle at her friend. "Don't talk like that. You're a good friend."
Rainbow Dash's ears pressed tight against the back of her head. "No I'm not. I'm a jerk who decided that her best friend shouldn't go on a date and sabotaged it on purpose, after she called me out on it."
"It isn't your fault, darling. I was the one who made you jealous."
"I wasn't jealous. I was just mad."
Rarity squeezed her friend around the shoulders. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah I'm sure! Rarity, no matter what you think, I don't have a secret crush on Fluttershy. If I did, I wouldn't have told her that I didn't like her. I don't like lying, you know that."
The unicorn bit her lip. "Well, then, it seems I have two apologies to make."
"Two?" Rainbow Dash looked over at her friend, reaching a hoof up to rub at her cheeks quickly.
"Yes. I should never have gone behind your back like that. I am sorry."
Rainbow Dash sniffed. "Yeah, but it's still my fault."
Rarity pursed her lips. "No doubt. Now, I shall go speak to Fluttershy." The unicorn lifted her head, looking out the door before looking back to the pegasus. "Where is she?"
"I dunno. She kind of ran away after I told her that the whole date was fake."
Rarity sighed. "I will just have to go find her then." Rarity straightened up resolutely.
"I'll help."
"No," the unicorn said firmly.
"No?" Rainbow Dash was nonplussed.
"I don't think she wants to see you right now. I'll let her know that you're sorry, and that you'll see her in the morning."
Rainbow Dash frowned, then shook her head as she slumped back down.
"And Rainbow?"
"Yeah?"
Rarity looked away. "If you are speaking the truth, if you truly don't like her, you should tell her. But if there's even a chance you do... well, after this, I don't think you'll ever have another opportunity after tomorrow."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I don't."
Rarity turned back to face her friend. "I think you do." She raised a hoof as her friend opened her mouth to object. "I don't mean you're lying. But if you wished to ruin her date, you could have simply taken the flowers and the food and not shown up." She put her hoof on her friend's chest.
"I just didn't want to leave her hanging." The words, true as they were, sounded hollow even to her own ears.
Rarity sighed, her own ears lowering. "Just think about it, for me?" Rainbow Dash looked away, only to glance back when her friend patted her wordlessly on the shoulder before stepping towards the door. "For what it is worth, I am sorry."
"Me too."
***
Rainbow Dash couldn't sleep, though Luna had pulled the moon into the sky hours ago. The events of the day continued to plague her thoughts, making her roll over in her fluffy bed to stare out the window at the starry sky.
"This is dumb," she said out loud to the empty room, before huffing. Stupid Rarity. I'm not jealous. Am I?
She rolled over again to face away from the window with an unhappy sigh. Gah, what was I thinking? The pegasus grabbed her cloud pillow in her hooves, mashing it up around her head as if the cloudstuff could block out her thoughts. Fluttershy is right, I don't believe in her. Some friend I am.
Rainbow Dash growled at herself. But worse than that, I lied about it. She wasn't even being oversensitive for once; I was a jerk. She punched her pillow, smoothing it back down as she set her head down on the middle of it. Rarity was a jerk too, but that's Rarity. She didn't do it on purpose. No, she just thought that I had a crush on Fluttershy and that I totally would want to go out with her without even asking. Not that she would have believed me anyway.
Rainbow Dash's lips curved angrily as she dwelled in her bitter thoughts. She tricked me. And I did exactly what she thought I'd do. Am I really that predictable? She rolled over again, flopping on her bed, making her fluffy mattress oscillate for several seconds as she grumbled to herself.
If she hadn't done that, then Fluttershy wouldn't be crying right now. She bit her lip. And I wouldn't know she liked me. Crossing her hooves across her chest, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes.
What am I even supposed to do about that? What am I supposed to say? 'Sorry I went on a fake date with you and tricked you into liking me?' Rainbow Dash grimaced. It doesn't matter what I say, it's going to be weird either way. This would all be a lot easier if I actually liked her.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, rolling over further to bury her face in against her pillow, her tail swishing against her blanket as her mind drifted to her yellow friend, contemplating Rarity’s words. Do I like her? What's the best thing about Fluttershy?
Her mind flashed through her memories of the shy pegasus. Finding Fluttershy on the ground after the race, the pair celebrating their newly acquired cutie marks. Her grateful face after Rainbow Dash drove off yet another group of bullies picking on the shy pegasus. Watching the injured robin her friend had nursed back to health flying south before their first winter in Ponyville. Fluttershy's exuberant cheering at the Best Young Flier competition. Her glee when Rainbow Dash had finally asked her to help choose a pet. The ordinarily reclusive pegasus's jubilation when everypony acknowledged her contribution in raising the water to Cloudsdale.
Each of them had one thing in common - Fluttershy's smile, and the warmth it gave, even in memory. Really? Her smile? Is that the best I can do? The pegasus rolled over again, shifting her wings against her back. No, it's not that.
She's just... nice. The pegasus snorted, the surface of her pillow swirling. Well, I guess we all were chosen for a reason. Some loyalty I've turned out to be. I guess there's no element of being a bad friend, though. Rainbow Dash squeezed at her pillow with her hooves, adjusting herself on the bed.
Fine, so she's sweet. What else? She's tougher than she looks. She's loyal. She tries. Rainbow Dash frowned further. Is that really all I can think of?
The pegasus opened her eyes, gazing out the window once more. I guess she likes to take care of animals. Her eyes focused on the stars glittering in the dark fabric of the night sky. Ponies, too.
She wanted to help me. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes at the thought. That's why she said she liked me; because she thought I was too scared to, that she was doing me a favor. Her legs tightened across her chest. That just makes it worse. Though she didn't ask me either. At least she listened.
That thought brought their last moments together back to her - the sobbing embrace, the tears on her chest. Rainbow Dash could feel her eyes watering, and shut them tight. Yeah, and then I ripped her heart out. Great job, Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash grunted, flipping herself over and pounding her bed a few times with her hooves in frustration before huffing loudly. This sucks. Why does she have to like me? Rolling over again, she could feel her blanket drawing in tighter around herself and flailed at it violently before tossing it across the room with one of her hind legs. Muttering to herself, the pegasus rolled out of bed to pace back and forth by her bed.
"I can't even really complain about that. I mean, I am pretty awesome. But I'm not really her type." Rainbow Dash sighed again, sitting back on her haunches and ruffling her mane with her hoof. "I guess that's the point." Shaking her head, she walked over to grab her blanket with her mouth and toss it back onto her bed before crawling underneath it once more, hiding her head beneath her pillow.
Is there even any reason I would want to do something with her? The pegasus closed her eyes and thought, relaxing against her mattress. Slowly, her thoughts flowed over the date, remembering the pegasus's soft touch, her lips on her cheek... Underneath the mattress, Rainbow Dash's cheeks flushed. Okay, so there’s that. But if all I wanted was that, I could have anypony. Why her?
Tucking her legs in close to her body, no answer came to her as the stress of the day finally began to catch up to her, darkness closing in around the edge of thought.
Tomorrow is going to suck.
***
Rainbow Dash had to get up early to move the clouds into place for a morning shower, the skies growing gray as more and more sunlight was blocked out, a slow drizzle starting to fall down over Ponyville and the surrounding area. "What great weather for today," the pegasus muttered to herself as she looked down from the cloud tops at Fluttershy's cottage.
Now or never, I guess. Spreading her wings, she slowly glided down towards her friend's house, letting the wind catch her feathers and slow her descent. It took her over a minute to coast down in front of her friend's house, landing on a small patch of dry earth outside the front door which she had deliberately avoided hitting with rain. Lifting a hoof, she hesitated for a moment before knocking. "Fluttershy?"
There was a quiet shuffling sound inside the house, followed by the sound of slow footsteps before the door swung open almost a minute later. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash," the downcast pegasus said, eyes not meeting those of her friend, her bed robe wrapped loosely around her.
"Hey Fluttershy. You doing alright?"
Fluttershy smiled listlessly. "Not really."
"Mind if I come in?"
The pegasus hesitated for a moment before nodding her head slowly, backing out of the way. "Can I get you some tea?"
"Nah, that's alright," Rainbow Dash said, looking around the inside of the living room awkwardly before glancing back to Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said, lowering her head, making Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her forehead.
"You don't have anything to apologize for."
"Oh, but I do. Rarity told me how she tricked you into taking me out on a date. It wasn't your fault."
"Oh yeah, because two of your friends setting you up on a fake date is way better than only one of them being a jerk." Rainbow Dash began to pace. "I already yelled at Rarity anyway."
Fluttershy took a step back, her ears falling as she cautiously watched Rainbow Dash pace from behind the wall of her mane.
"Ugh." Rainbow Dash swept her hoof through the air. "Look, I was a jerk, alright? I shouldn't have done what I did."
"Yes, you were."
Rainbow Dash flinched.
Fluttershy's expression took on a hint of worry, her voice quieting. "Oh, I didn't mean you're always a jerk. You just sometimes don't think about other ponies' feelings."
"You're right, I don't." Rainbow Dash pawed at the floor with her hoof, before lifting it to put it on her friend's shoulder. "But I promise I won't do it again."
Fluttershy shook her head a little. "Oh Rainbow, I'm sure you won't."
Silence hung in the air between the two ponies.
"You don't sound convinced."
Fluttershy sighed, her head falling forward, pink mane obscuring her eyes. "You said you were sorry yesterday too. Before..." Her words trailed off into inaudibility.
Rainbow Dash felt her stomach sink. "Yeah, I did," she said as she sat back on her rump. "So what do you want me to do? Pinkie promise?" She started making the gestures, only for a yellow hoof to interrupt her.
"No. I don't want you to promise something that you won't do." Fluttershy looked her in the eye, and Rainbow Dash could see the tears welling in them.
"So that's it. You don't trust me." Rainbow Dash turned her head away. "I don't blame you."
"I do trust you! I just..." Fluttershy swallowed. "You like saving ponies."
Rainbow Dash glanced back to her friend, then reached over to put one of her hoofs on Fluttershy's shoulder, the yellow mare cowering slightly at the touch before her friend noticed and removed the offending appendage. "You're right. I do like saving ponies. But I kind of get carried away sometimes."
Fluttershy smiled uncomfortably. "You do."
"So what am I supposed to do then? Stop saving ponies?"
"Uhm... you could ask."
"Yeah, I'm sure that will work out great when they're falling off a cliff." Rainbow Dash couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Fluttershy said firmly, only to recoil slightly when Rainbow Dash looked at her, before her ears fell back.
"Yeah, I know. But what if the pony doesn't want to be saved? Or doesn't know they need to be saved?"
"What if they don't need to be saved?" Fluttershy tried to meet her friend's gaze, but Rainbow Dash was looking away now.
"I get it." The pegasus huffed, before shaking her head. "Not much of an apology, huh?"
Fluttershy smiled hesitantly, "Oh no. It's alright."
"No it isn't! We're supposed to be cool, and we're not." Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof on the floor, immediately regretting it as her friend jumped slightly.
"Uhm, well, I'm not sure that you can just say something and make everything better."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I know." she said morosely. "I just kind of hoped, you know?" She looked around absently. "What happened to the flowers, anyway?"
Fluttershy blushed. "Well, I was feeling pretty sad after I ran home, so I uhm... ate them."
"All of them?"
Fluttershy giggled quietly, turning her head away from her friend. "Yes."
"Hah!" Rainbow Dash prodded her friend playfully in the side, making her squeak and take a step back. "Did they taste good at least?"
"Oh yes, they were very good."
"Well, at least they didn't go to waste." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Oh ponyfeathers!" she swore.
"What?" Fluttershy fanned her wings slightly at her friend's curse.
"I forgot to clean up after the picnic! I just left all the food up there. And the saddlebags. And the blanket. It's all going to be totally soaked!"
"Oh no! I'll go get it; it's my fault for leaving."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Don't bother. It's been raining for half an hour already over there; it's all going to be ruined anyway." She laughed to herself.
"What's funny?"
"Oh, just me worrying about a wet blanket." She laughed again, making Fluttershy look at her curiously, only to be waved off before her laughter ended in a sigh. Silence filled the cottage, broken only by the light sound of rain falling outside.
"So what now?"
"I don't know."
Silence stretched out once more, both pegasi shifting uncomfortably. Fluttershy's hooves fidgeted with each other while Rainbow Dash looked everywhere but at her friend.
"This is dumb," Rainbow Dash said, finally meeting Fluttershy's eyes. "Look. I won't screw things up for you again without asking you first, alright?"
Fluttershy smiled softly. "Alright."
"Cool." The pegasus rubbed her mane, before stepping over next to her friend and tossing her leg around her friend's yellow shoulders. "Mind if I ask you something?"
"A-alright," Fluttershy replied uncertainly.
"Do you really like me, or were you just saying that to try and make me feel better?" Rainbow Dash's voice was softer than usual, almost plaintive.
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. "Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Well, if my best friend has a crush on me, I kinda wanna know so I don't hurt her feelings."
Fluttershy sighed. "Yes." She murmured.
"Why?"
It was Fluttershy's turn to blink. "Why?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know I'm awesome, but why do you like me? You kind of told me yesterday, but it didn't really make sense."
Fluttershy looked at her friend shyly. "Do you really want to know?"
"Of course! I always like hearing why I'm great." She grinned cockily, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, only to let it out as she lowered her head, her cheeks flushed. "It's... complicated."
Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. "Complicated?"
Fluttershy nodded her head. "Complicated."
"Thanks." Rainbow Dash's voice was flat, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"It's true." Fluttershy sighed. "You're strong. Like, really strong. And you're always trying to be strong for everypony. I like that."
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Didn't you just say you didn't want me to do that?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't mean like that. That was you trying to be strong instead of me."
"What do you mean then?"
Fluttershy leaned into her friend a bit more, making Rainbow Dash's cheeks color slightly as she shifted uncomfortably. "When you encourage me to be the best I can be."
"Oh." Rainbow Dash shifted in place. "Uh... is that it?"
The yellow pegasus blinked as the weight supporting her head moved, before squeaking and shifting away from her friend. "I'm sorry!"
Rainbow Dash laughed awkwardly. "No problem."
"Uhm... well, there's lots of other things." Fluttershy spoke softly, her friend smiling uncertainly at her words. "You're funny, you're honest..."
"Not that honest," Rainbow Dash admitted, making Fluttershy laugh quietly.
"Oh Rainbow, you're a terrible liar. And you did the right thing in the end."
"Yeah, but only because I had to!"
Fluttershy shook her head. "You tried to tell me nicely. You just aren't very good at it." Her words earned another uncomfortable chuckle from her companion. "And I don't mind that. You might hurt ponies sometimes, but your heart is in the right place, and you never do it on purpose."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head slightly, her cheeks rosy. "Alright."
"And you are very cute."
"Cute?"
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded her head. "You are very pretty. And your mane is lovely. It's too bad you won't brush it, but it still looks wonderful."
Rainbow Dash's cheeks brightened. "Alright, alright, that's enough." She laughed quietly, making Fluttershy giggle as well.
"So you like me, huh?"
"Yes," Fluttershy declared, before her eyes slid away from her friend. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, don't be sorry. You like me. It's no big deal." The smile vanished from Fluttershy's face, her eyes falling as Rainbow Dash realized her mistake. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I don't mind. I'm not going to stop being your friend or anything." Fluttershy pulled her wings in closer to her back, making Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her face before stepping over and draping a wing over her friend's back, eliciting a squeak of surprise.
"Fluttershy, I don't really know how to be... you know, mushy. But I really don't mind that you like me. It's actually kinda nice."
Fluttershy looked up at her friend from under her mane, smiling weakly. "Thanks," she said, in a weak, insincere tone of voice, making Rainbow Dash lift her hoof and ruffle her mane again.
"Hey, Fluttershy. I was thinking..."
"Yes?"
"I know that you're probably burned out on blind dates right now, but there's this mare I know that was thinking that it might be nice to take you out. Now, I'm not going to lie like Rarity did; she doesn't think she's in love with you or anything. She doesn't really know how she's feeling. But she kinda wants to give it a shot."
Fluttershy's eyes welled with tears. "Oh, that's very sweet of you, but I don't need a pity date."
Rainbow Dash reached down to lift her friend's chin with her hoof, looking her in the eye. "It's not a pity date. I don't know if I like you, and last night, I kinda decided that I didn't. But... well, I got to thinking." Fluttershy tilted her head curiously, sniffing quietly as her friend spoke. "I realized when I woke up this morning that I was thinking about it all wrong. You're my best friend. You've been my best friend for years. And I realized this morning when I was thinking about you, I was being dumb. It wasn't your smile, or that you were nice. Or I guess it was, but, it was what it meant."
"I don't understand," Fluttershy murmured quietly, making Rainbow Dash reach up with a hoof to brush back her own mane.
"Argh. Look, I'm not very good at explaining this stuff. I just mean... thinking about you, we help each other out a lot. And you know, I always like to think of myself as the hero, but you know, you've done a lot for me too. You're pretty awesome when you think about it. I mean, you chased me down when Discord messed me up. And when that dragon was pummeling us you made him go away just by looking at him! Sure, we had to drag you up the mountain, but you saved all our tails."
Fluttershy giggled quietly, a smile slowly forming on her face.
"So yeah, you're pretty cool. I mean, you're not cool like me, but not everyone can be me, ya know?" Rainbow Dash ruffled her friend's mane fondly.
"Plus, I mean, I kinda realized I was being an idiot." Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I've got a hot mare who is really nice and pretty awesome who likes me, and I was going to say no because she's my friend. I mean, if you were some mare I didn't know, would I really have said no?"
Fluttershy looked away at the rhetorical question, making Rainbow Dash chuckle nervously.
"Actually, I probably would have said no anyway. But look, that's not the point. The point is that I never even gave you a chance."
"Oh, Rainbow, you don't have to do anything."
"But I want to. I gotta admit, if things hadn't been super awkward yesterday, it might have been kinda nice. Maybe we can try again, except, you know, without the whole me being a jerk thing."
Fluttershy giggled quietly, looking back up into her friend's eyes before leaning forward to gently touch noses.
"I think I would like that."
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Atosen · 8.5k words · 134 3 · 4k views
- bats · 9.1k words · 261 7 · 4.1k views
- Flutterguy89 · 3.1k words · 186 7 · 5.5k views
- stoopidity · 8.9k words · 138 2 · 4.1k views
- Flint Sparks · 5k words · 181 7 · 3.8k views
- True Blood · 55k words · 178 8 · 5.2k views
- flutterdashforever · 2.2k words · 100 8 · 4.2k views
- NintendoGal55 · 4.8k words · 223 10 · 10k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.378 seconds
Total duration
1,011 users online
389,486 hits today, 2,151,698 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This is nice. :] I like how you let Fluttershy have a spine throughout the story, and I'll admit I didn't actually see the "twist" coming even though I probably should have, looking back I'm not really sure how I didn't. But anyway, there's a lot of good stuff here; Especially in chapter two, I think Fluttershy's deflating satisfaction with Dash's attempts to play the date 'cool' were masterfully done, and probably my favorite part of the fic. The resolution was natural and believable, too, which is good, even if there is that gnawing want for it to have gone further. Which is not to say that it feels like, incomplete, or something, but the romantic in me wants to see Rainbow be in love love.
I blame the shipping goggles. They are never satisfied.
Seriously, though, I love jealous Dash being a bonehead. Not even entirely sure why, but I can't read enough of it.
In conclusion, this reminds me a lot of why I liked Flutterdash when I started getting into shipping in the first place, which is great, because I'd completely lost faith in the ship. Good work. I look forward to whatever you write next.
3259278
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I think the date was the strongest part of the story, and it was also the part which most "wrote itself"; I didn't actually plan the date turning out the way it did, it just kind of felt like it was the natural flow of things, with things growing increasingly awkward between them as Rainbow Dash tried to backpedal while Fluttershy was making advances towards her, and Rainbow Dash's growing realization of what the date meant for Fluttershy.
The conclusion, I felt, was the way it had to end; while a lot of people end their stories with the characters falling in love, I felt like this was a more natural way for things to go. Had Rainbow Dash actually been in love love with Fluttershy, she would have been much happier on the date; but there was a certain amount of attraction there that Rainbow Dash was certainly noticing, but was avoiding actually dealing with. She was trying to protect Fluttershy, and here Fluttershy was being friendly and attractive. How dare she.
OH MY GOD! TALKING HORSES!
This one was my favorite story of the contest
As a mostly TwiDash fan I have a few biases against ships like FlutterDash. I think this story does a scarily accurate job of displaying a lot of why I prefer another pairing for RD. Even without giving her another love interest to focus on, RD and Shy give strong friend/sister vibes to me, and RD getting weirded out by Shy's compliments, flirting, affection, and confession were totally perfect.
That you managed to turn it around at the end was excellent work. I feel a stronger relationship would be difficult to believe, so RD's offer to try felt much more natural.
I fucking love Rarity's scheme. I had my suspicions during the scene with AJ, but you had me pretty convinced those suspicions were wrong during the breakdown of the date. As the pieces fell I was mentally scrambling to guess who the poor, shy mare was (my best guess at that moment was Twi or some minor/background pony). Evil genius Rarity is best Rarity.
Thoroughly enjoyable tale.
3259720
Talking ponies. Talking horses is just silly.
3260177
Heh, well, you were one of the folk who propelled me to a second place finish. I'm glad you appreciated it! In the end, the stories are written so that others may enjoy them, and it is always good to know that I have succeeded in that capacity.
3260514
Full disclosure:
I don't actually ship FlutterDash. This didn't stop me from coming up with the idea or writing the story; indeed, the idea had nothing to do with the contest, though the contest made me write it next. It may have influenced my choice of having Fluttershy be the "chaser," though. While I agree that they have a much more best friends vibe than romantic partners vibe (and I feel that the show reinforces this pretty heavily, though, let's face it, canonically there is no shipping - the closest thing to flirting is the "Good things are better if they're a Rarity" bit from TCE, though obviously Fall-Weather Friends and Look Before You Sleep provided fodder for the shippers), if either of them was to have a crush on the other, it would be Fluttershy on Rainbow Dash rather than the other way around, I think. Rainbow Dash having a crush on Fluttershy seems less likely; while she is certainly attractive, she lacks many qualities that Rainbow Dash values. Fluttershy IS pretty special in her own ways, but they aren't really Dash's ways. Her lack of ambition, I think, may be the largest killer though; Fluttershy is happy with what she has, while Rainbow Dash is always grasping for more. I actually have a blog post on plausible pony pairings, which are the ones that I feel are most plausible. I guess you could call them my OTPs, though I'm not really devoted to them; I simply feel that Flarity, AppleDash, TwiDash, and RariJack are the four that make the most sense. I do read other shipfics (I did read every one submitted to this contest, and periodically read recommended fics from various pairings), and am welcome to being convinced otherwise.
Of course, goodness knows that emotions are far from a rational thing, so you know, maybe she could. Goodness knows people have liked stranger things, and Fluttershy IS pretty nice. I just feel like I need to be convinced of characters' emotions for each other, and you'd better come up with a good reason for whatever ship pair you do. This is why I feel that Twilight's List did such a good job of things; it wasn't that it was especially well-written, but that it actually made sense. I don't think I really even thought about TwiDash before reading that story, but that one told me why they could like each other. This is also part of why I think elucidating Rainbow Dash's feelings more improved the story; it made it clearer exactly what it was that Rainbow Dash saw in Fluttershy, and gave her a good reason to give it a shot.
All that being said, I have no particular issue with writing whatever ship; it is simply that some I feel make more sense to me than others. FlutterDash is something I could definitely see happening as a dating sort of thing, but I have a hard time thinking it would actually last, at least with Fluttershy in the state she is presently in show canon. That being said, don't read this as me saying "They break up later on down the line after the fic is over." This is one of those Death of the Author things; everyone is free to decide how it turns out in the long run based on what was presented. I don't have a particular headcanon for it, so even though I don't actively ship FlutterDash, it doesn't mean I think their relationship here is doomed, either. I wrote this story because I felt it fit the characters. If I just don't feel a story, I probably wouldn't write it. I might try my hand at other ships I don't ship at some point; we shall see. All it requires is a germ of an idea that I consider strong, and good, in-character motivations...
I am glad that you liked Rarity's scheme and that you felt the whole thing worked and felt natural. I liked Rarity's scheme too.
3259278
Incidentally, regarding Flutterspine:
Getting Fluttershy right was one of the later things to really get done in the fic. Fluttershy actually gets some real steel in her in late season 2 and season 3; while she has always had some, she herself comes to realize it a lot more. However, even when she's being assertive, she has a fundamental niceness to her, so you have to balance out the fact that she is being assertive and standing up for herself with the fact that ultimately she is a very nice, kind pony and doesn't want to hurt anyone. She was originally not nice enough at a couple points in the earlier versions of the story (particularly the initial confrontation), something I eventually managed to fix after getting the input of several people and figuring out how to change things so that she kept her spine but was still showing her characteristic trait of kindness and care for others.
It is actually very interesting how characters have changed over time; all of the characters have shown some growth, but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash especially have changed a great deal since season 1. Rainbow Dash was very brash and arrogant in season 1, and slowly mellowed out over seasons 2 and 3, as well as showing a lot better leadership ability; she is still brash and arrogant, but she has tempered her negative qualities more. Likewise, early season 1 Fluttershy really was weak, and while she cowed the dragon, she could only really do things like that under extreme circumstances. Season 2 and 3 developed her more, so while she is still shy and nice, she isn't as much of a doormat and is much more able to stand up for herself and be her own pony. If this happened back in season 1, I doubt that Fluttershy would have even been willing to go on a blind date, let alone able stand up to Rainbow Dash about it, while Rainbow Dash would have been even worse about things.
3260616
Sounds like we're on the same wavelength. I too am neutral toward any pairing. The bias I have is from my research on the show and the characters. It stems from apparently a similar conclusion as you have.
Various characters have "sticking points" about them. If particular writer ignore those points, the character is rendered unbelievable. Applejack and her ties to her family and farm are one such sticking point. Any story that completely removes Applejack from that setting without any explanation is going to be awkward. These sticking points form basically a list of items that a story must address either by adhering to the canon as closely as possible or by creating a believable reason for breaking away. Again with the Applejack example, completely ignoring her ties to her family and farm by placing her in a Canterlot political struggle would be impossible to immerse the reader into. The story would have to at least provide some token reason why she's out of her element.
I think we both agree on the concepts that make up the FlutterDash dynamic, and I think your story hits the sticking points and remains very believable through to the end.
It is my belief that it isn't the ship that makes the story, but the skill of the author. I may prefer another ship, say TwiDash, but a well written story is always enjoyable. Maybe some ships do "work better" and are therefore easier to write well. It could also be that the outcome of a ship like FlutterDash may be doomed to the fairly chill dating when a reader really wants some heat and passion.
3260648
Aside from Applejack, I think all of the characters managed to grow to some degree through S2 and 3. I disagree that Fluttershy grew "a lot" though.
Fluttershy, alongside Pinkie, to me feel like social cripples. Pinkie is another discussion entirely, but there are parallels. I'll expand on her if you ask. Fluttershy though is presented as being so over the top shy that it outright cripples her ability to interact with others. From her introduction in S1E1 and onward, the majority of episode plots centered around her focus on her timidness. The episode with Iron WIll in particular stands out to illustrate her issues. She can't be moderate between the extremes of passive and aggressive. Even in situations where she is helped by her friends rather than the terrible Minotaur she still reacts to conflict by clamming up, hiding, and with avoidance. The problem boils over out of control, until drastic measures are needed, as with the conflict with Photo Finish and Rarity.
In each of those episodes, her issue of being timid is displayed, but rather than be assertive she loses control and has to be reigned in. In the end, she doesn't really grow much as we see her back to her old ways soon after for another episode. I don't feel she really grew much over time, just displayed a sort of roller coaster personality.
By contrast, Dash I feel actually grew from her various conflicts. While her image and reputation seem to remain important to her always, she is willing to set them aside and admit mistakes genuinely. Where Fluttershy constantly relapses into essentially the same problem, Dash faces different sorts of challenges in various episodes ranging from reeling in arrogance (Mare Do Well) to opening her mind to different ways of being cool (reading, Tank).
Some growth happened for Fluttershy, but her central issues still remain dominant I feel. I expect S4 to still have Fluttershy being afraid of things and having to overcome that fear. I expect she'll still have random outbursts of anger rather than actually learn what assertiveness is. RD on the other hand, I am eager to see how she develops further. I am curious if she'll face split loyalty conflicts between Ponyville/her friends and the Wonderbolts? Will she be given tasks by the princesses and have to lead her friends through danger? So many opportunities to see her array of talents develop even further.
Sticking points for Fluttershy pretty much have to deal with her stagnant character. While she isn't one-dimensional, she has fewer dimensions that most of the other characters to work with. She provides a challenge to write for in that she's basically a limited and fairly boring character, which means when an author pulls her off well it stands out more as with the case of your store.
Unless of course of course it's the famous Mr. Ed.
this was a lovely story, though the ending seemed a little..."cut"? i guess would be a word? sorta lead to there being more but, i suppose that just leaves the readers with their imagination to see what is next right?
3267954
I'm glad it worked for you.
3281877
Yes and no. While their actual further dating is left up to the reader's imagination, the reason that the story ends there is... that the story ends there. The central conflict of the story had been resolved, and Rainbow Dash decided to give dating Fluttershy a shot for real. Beyond that point would be them actually dating, but that would be a different story, with different questions to be answered and different conflicts to be dealt with.
3285590
that is what i mean, it eludes to the possibility of a continued story, if not the same. what i was implying is that you left room for another story to be written.
What a lovely story.
3285590 So.... Sequel?
you should really write a bit more for this story. I usually like RD +AJ but this has definitely caught my attention and I really like it.
Sequel, NOW!! :3
Now you get a Derpy!
~Lizzy
Im sad that the story has to end now, just as things start to get really nice.
awesomeeee *----*
I have no idea how you savd it that well, and what i mean is, i thought it was going to turn into a very depressing story and i hate those kind of stories!
But some how, you were able to pull up and turn it into a great "love" story that didn't make me a sad brony! I was a little dissapointed that it ended right as it got to the good part but i do understand why you had to end it! All and all, i really liked this story! 
The ending was a cliff-hanger punch to the face but I loved the story overall!
4508347
Yeah, had to leave it until the very last moment. I'm evil like that.
I'm glad you liked it!
Cute.
Flutterdash is love.
I have not laughed this hard in a long time. Never change, Rarity. Never change. Brilliant is all I am going to say on the matter.
Apart from that, the character interaction was top notch. I could actually see the characters figuring out how they felt about the situation. Excellent attention to detail from flight school to flowers. Very well done. Have a like, a fav, and a ribbon:
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
(This would be a feature recommendation as well, but I am informed that TL featuring is allegedly for fics below 1,000 views, and we are trying to be more consistent about it
I can give you a user page spot at least.)
4912610
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much; it is always nice to hear that someone enjoyed something so much that they recommended it to others.
I really need to get back to my roots and actually finish some of my outstanding shipfics that I've got half-written, because people really enjoyed these stories.
Glad I could brighten your day with a good story.
4913276
4913606
Incidentally, if you're looking for another good story about Rainbow Dash being a bonehead about love (though in a rather different respect), you might enjoy Spring is Dumb by HoofBitingActionOverload. It is quite good, and very funny.
4913613
I might have to check that out, thank you.
Cute story.
The ending wasn't really what I wanted. I mean, I didn't suddenly expect Rainbow Dash to realize she was in love with Fluttershy and I didn't want Fluttershy to forgive her immediately, but this ended up somewhere in the middle and I don't like it. It seems too... depressing. I don't feel hopeful. I feel like they're going to have another awkward date and then call the whole thing off. Nothing seems certain enough. In fact, I feel as though there's now an even bigger rift between them and that, maybe, Fluttershy is hurt worse than she's letting on. Even if this wasn't intended, I feel like this didn't end on a positive note, but instead left me feeling like the ending wasn't worth the journey.
5120648
I would love to say that you're wrong, but I deliberately left the ending of the story open, because I don't know the answer. Do they get together? Do they stay together?
That's not something I hold the answer to. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. It is hard to say. Death of the author and all that. Maybe things do work out. Maybe they can't. Maybe Fluttershy really is hurting, and this only twists the knife in deeper.
I am sorry that you felt like the journey was negated by the destination, though. My other shipfics have been much less open-ended; if you liked this, other than its ambiguous ending, you might enjoy Crepes or Temptation, or maybe even The Wraith of Ponyville.
5120733 I did enjoy this story, so I will probably check those out.
Mhpf. I don't really know what to think about this story. Or to be more specific, I have very contradicting feelings towards this story, and I'm not sure if I like it overall. I saw the twist coming as soon as I read the synopsis, before I even read a single word of the story. Rainbow is being an idiot and comes up with a crazy plan to protect Fluttershy that will inevitably end up with her being hurt and mad at her, but then again, that's kind of the point, and I can buy that Rainbow makes this kind of decision. Rarity banking on Rainbow to make said plan however is kind of a stretch. The characters feel stupid for what they do, but they feel intelligent for how they're doing it. You have a predictable twist that feels like it's their for the sole purpose of having a twist, but then Rarity has a legitimate reason for why she thinks Rainbow likes Flutters. It all leads up to a contrived relationship, but then it doesn't, and has this totally reasonable ending instead. The only thing that's clearly positive is the writing.
So... I think it's slightly more love than hate overall. But I'd definitely like this more if it didn't have the twist.
3259035 What does the writing in your avatar say?
4912610 What does the writing in your avatar say?
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
5517141
FP: "I find fezzes to be charmingly rustic"
DH: "Oi!"
This. I'm a sucker for stories where things don't go right in romance stories. The whole time I was reading this story (the first time) I kept waiting for the obligatory sappy path that would take us to the obligatory sappy, happy ending. In the back of my head I kept re-writing the story to have things go dark and go completely wrong between RD and FS just to give it some real spice. When you actually went and gave me the 'everything goes wrong' part I was stunned. That made this story go on my favorites list right then and there.The way the ending went was perfect; it was a wonderful balance to the heartbreak earlier; there was no solid happy ending, just the promise of an attempt of one based upon very good reasons.
Thanks.
6041886
I'm glad you liked it!
Far too many stories fail to have any real conflict in them, and indeed, that was the impetus behind the contest that this story was originally written for - writing a FlutterDash story with real conflict in it. So I went with something that I felt was true to the characters as I perceive them.
Thank you for reading and commenting, I always appreciate it.
Finally! This is the romance story I've been searching for! I can't stand it when they feel so contrived in putting two character together and then dump even more contrivance on it to create conflict. I may or may not be sending a PM to knighty asking for more thumb-uping power for this story.
6309154
Thank you! It is really easy to fall into a trap while writing a shipfic of the two characters getting together because the author demands it, and this was definitely a story where I wanted to write something that felt natural. I'm glad it worked so well for you.
I am pleased that the fact that Rarity had planned for Dash to 'steal' Fluttershy's date wasn't an "unexpected plot twist" in the end.
In a purely technical sense, it seems alright, but far from perfect. As for the idea and execution thereof... it seems by the story's stats and my experience reading it that those are what make and break one's story.
Again, see my first line; I'm glad you took the story in this direction, where the character interactions are much more meaningful.
8109699
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I like writing stuff like this, and I'm glad it has been generally successful with folks. Trying to get people to act natural - and trying to avoid standard melodramatic plot twists - is interesting to me, and I think makes for better stories. I'm glad you approved of the course the story took.
This was only the second story I ever wrote, so I'm glad that the technical stuff wasn't too much of an issue for you.
Yup. It's still as awesome to read now as it was years ago.
9753672
Aw, thanks! It's tremendously flattering to hear someone likes one of my stories enough to read it multiple times. I'm glad it's been fun for you every time.
Thank you.
I was legit confused but then I remembered... They're Ponies
11878871
I have to admit, my favorite gag in pony ship fics is for someone to eat the flowers.
I'm glad it got a laugh out of you!