Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Rainbow flew through the doors of a restaurant, weaving around the tables and setting down lightly at a table along with Big Macintosh. "Am I late?" she said hastily.

"Nope."

"Okay, well," she said, picking up the menu and glancing at it only for a second, "I know what I want. You?"

"Eeyup."

"Good, good," Rainbow said casually, tapping the table. "So we both know what we want."

He nodded.

"That's… good," said Rainbow.

He shot her a small smile before raising his head and scanning the restaurant, looking for the waiter.

"Yeah," Rainbow muttered.

Rainbow waited, but Big Macintosh continued simply looking around, never turning back to her. Rainbow slowly unwrapped the napkin that was folded around the silverware, examining her reflection in the spoon, and continued waiting from him to say something, but the silence went on.

She slid the fork across the table to touch the spoon, trying to make the gentlest and quietest clinking sound she could manage, then increasing the force and the volume steadily every few seconds.

Her eyes darted upward at the sight of Big Macintosh moving, but he was simply taking a drink from his water glass. She watched as he took a few slow gulps and gently set the glass back on the table. He glanced at her, and her lips thinned when he remained completely silent.

With gritted teeth, she leaned back to stare at the ceiling. After a bit of contemplation, she leaned forward again to glare at him and said, "So why'd you break up with Fluttershy, dick?"

He started and did a double-take. "Excuse me?"

"Is this how you act on a date?" Rainbow demanded. "You really think that's gonna fly? I hope you realize that nopony is ever gonna love you. You get that, right? 'Cause you're weird, and you're boring, and you used to be cute but now you're just creepy and old! But against all odds, Fluttershy saw into your heart, from the first time you met, and she liked what she saw. 'Cause, I don't know, maybe she's crazy! But she's the best thing that ever happened to you, and what are you doing now, exactly? You're moving on? Yeah, good luck with that, you idiot." She raised a hoof and bonked him on the head.

"Ow," he exclaimed dully. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

"You get out of here and you BEG HER TO TAKE YOU BACK!" Rainbow snarled, beating him over the head repeatedly.

He raised his own hooves to protect himself. "This was supposed to be a date," he complained.

Rainbow stopped herself in mid-strike and backed away calmly. "Yeah, well, that was a mistake," she said. "My mistake. How could I believe I loved you? I don't love you. You're thoroughly unlovable. Except for when you're with Fluttershy."

She glared. "I'm outta here. Have a nice life, if you can call it that."

She flew away, leaving him bewildered.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Big Mac slowly pushed open the doors to Sugarcube Corner. "Um… Fluttershy?" he called.

She was alone in the store, at a table, looking around in confusion. "Where did…?" she wondered, before shrugging and looking over at him. "Um, hi Big Mac. What… can I do for you?"

He approached her shyly. "I been thinkin'," he said. "I might've made a really huge mistake today. Wasn't the first one I've made, in the long run. I… went out with Rainbow Dash, I don't know if you heard. But we went out, and… well, she verbally and physically abused me and told me nopony would ever love me, and you know what, she's right, 'cause I'm a huge idiot."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm deeply sorry for how I've acted and what I've done. I think we should get back together, you and me. I want that. Would you like that? Whaddya say; will you take me back?"

Fluttershy looked around the store again, puzzled. "Um… no," she said.

"Wha… what?" he said blankly.

"No, thank you," she reiterated. "I'm… I'm good."

"You're 'good'?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh…" he said, backing away. "Okay then."

"Sorry," said Fluttershy, wincing.

"No, it's okay," he said softly, exiting the shop.

Rainbow dropped down from the ceiling. "Ah?" she said smugly. "Didn't that go exactly like I said it would?"

"Yes, and I did what you asked me to do, but… why did I do that?" Fluttershy said. "I do want to get back together with him."

"I know," Rainbow said hastily. "Don't worry, you will."

"I really wanted to say yes to him," she said, looking at the door. "But I was so nervous, you put me under a lot of pressure, all I could think of to say was exactly what you told me to say."

"That was the plan," said Rainbow.

From out the door, they heard the sound of a deep voice suddenly breaking out in hysterical sobs.

"He's crying!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I made him cry."

"Again, all part of the plan," said Rainbow.

Fluttershy gaped at her. "What?"

"He left you," Rainbow said darkly. "He left you confused and alone and drunk. He made you cry. So we gave him a little taste of the same. Let him sweat and bleed a little before you take him back."

Fluttershy scraped her chair across the floor and stood up, staring at Rainbow in disbelief. "So, this was all some kind of petty tit-for-tat? Damn it, Rainbow, I don't DO that!" she snarled, stomping her hoof.

Rainbow flinched away. "Not to nitpick, but you don't normally yell at me or swear, either," she said dryly.

Fluttershy sighed. "I appreciate what you were trying to do. I guess now I have to find him and apologize and tell him I do want him back. That is what your plan was, right?"

"Yeah, except for the apologizing part," said Rainbow. "Don't apologize. He had it coming."

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy snapped. "I hurt his feelings, and I am sorry, so I'm going to apologize. That's what I do. That's how I was raised. That's… my style."

"I know, I know…" Rainbow muttered.

Fluttershy tilted her head curiously. "So, was this your plan all along? Go out with him, then 'abuse' him, as he put it, and send him back to me?"

Rainbow flinched. "I would love to tell you that the whole thing was part of some master plan to get you guys back together while also getting your revenge on him, but… no. It's just not true. I dated him because I really, seriously, desperately wanted to be with him."

"I thought so," said Fluttershy, nodding. "The way you begged me… that was so sincere. It just didn't add up with… what you did after. So what in Equestria happened, Rainbow?"

She shrugged in response. "I spent about fifteen seconds with him and realized… I'm just not attracted to him. I'm attracted to the version of him that comes out when he's with you. He just doesn't 'work' without you, and you, you kinda stopped working when you lost him. I don't belong anywhere near him. But you do. You two need each other." She grinned. "Fifteen seconds, and I figured all that out. So I improvised that whole little… thing. Little scheme to get him crawling back to where he belongs. So… yeah."

Rainbow hovered in place for a moment, smiling, then sighed and hung her head. "You know, what else was I gonna do? What choice did I have? I'm not perfect, for damn's sake, but I'm decent. I had to do the decent thing."

Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew over to Rainbow, hugging her tightly and warmly. After holding their mid-air hug for a few seconds, Fluttershy backed away, her hooves still on Rainbow's shoulders, and gave her a gentle kiss on the nose.

Rainbow chuckled. "What's that about?'

"I'm just… really glad you're my friend," said Fluttershy, giving her another kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, but what are you kissing me for?" Rainbow demanded, amused.

Fluttershy blushed. "I don't know. You seem sad. I want to comfort you, one friend to another, and… I felt like kissing you." She kissed Rainbow's neck and beneath her ear.

"Mm," Rainbow remarked. "You're the best kisser in the whole world, but shouldn't you be kissing somepony else?"

Fluttershy nodded eagerly. "Yes. I'll go find him now… I hope he takes me back after what I just did to him."

"You didn't do anything to him," said Rainbow, rolling her eyes. "He'll accept your apology, and he'll apologize to you, and you'll get back together. 'Cause he's a good guy, and he knows you're a good mare, and… you belong together."

Fluttershy leaned in for another kiss, this one on Rainbow's lips. "I love you," she whispered.

They pressed their foreheads together. "I love you too," said Rainbow. She took one of Fluttershy's hooves between both of hers. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Fluttershy flew out of the shop, taking to the air at her top speed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Big Macintosh gazed up at a snow-covered apple tree through tear-soaked eyes. He turned his back to it, and bucked it with all his might, roaring with anguish. All of the snow fell off the tree's branches, as did the snow on every tree in a fifty-foot radius.

"Big Macintosh?" Fluttershy called from somewhere in the orchards. "Big Macintosh?"

She was flying among the trees, and spotted him, swooping down. "Hi, Macky," she said softly, floating gently to the ground. He nodded to her, and she nervously scratched an itch on one of her front legs for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I hurt you. That wasn't right." She ruffled her feathers anxiously. "It, um, was Rainbow's idea. She wanted to teach you a lesson, and I went along with it, of course, but… that's not what I want. All I want is for you to take me back. Can you forgive me? Can we be a couple again? Can I be yours?"

He looked her over and sighed deeply. "Eeyup," he whispered.

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, Macky!" she exclaimed breathily. She pounced on him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I've missed being with you so much, honey. I love you."

"I love you too," he said, lifting a hoof to pat her on the back. "I'm sorry I left. I'll make it up to you."

"Shhh… all is forgiven," she said, pulling back to look at his face. "We're back together now. Nothing else matters."

He let out a sobbing gasp from his broadly grinning mouth. An idea occurred to him, and his smile became even wider. "Stay," he whispered. "I been lovin' you for quite some time. Nopony else is gonna love me when I get mad, so I think that it's best if we both stay."

She giggled and caressed his face. "Forgetting you was like trying to know somepony I've never met," she cooed.

"Everything will be all right if you keep me next to you," he said, stroking her mane.

"I knew you were trouble when you walked in," she whispered in his ear. "Shame on me."

"Why you gotta be so mean?"

"GAH! Make it stop!"

Big Mac and Fluttershy jumped in surprise and looked around wildly, at the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice coming from somewhere in the orchard.

"I mean, not the mushiness and fluffiness, I like that, don't stop that," Rainbow went on, still unseen. "It's just… those lyrics! Damn! Why would you decide to quote those? Those lyrics lack a single iota of subtlety or creativity or… or, you know, thought."

"If you don't like Swift Tailor's lyrics, just don't listen to her songs," Fluttershy called back, gazing directly at Big Mac. "And stop stalking me!"

"…No," Rainbow's voice said indignantly.

Big Mac laughed softly. "Seriously, honey, I wanna make up for all the time we missed. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, Macky, I'm fine."

"Ya gotta let me do somethin'," he pleaded. "Can I give you a massage? Draw you a bath?"

"Now, wait a minute, those are things I was going to do for you," said Fluttershy. "Opportunities for me to make you happy. Are you gonna take them away from me again?"

"Oh, no, wouldn't dream of it," he said hastily. "But I owe you so much. Let yourself relax. Let me make you happy."

"That sounds nice," she said sweetly. "And thank you. But… do you even know how to give a massage or make a nice bath?"

"Probably not."

She giggled. "Look, we can compromise. I want to take care of you, and you want me to relax. We'll get Aloe and Lotus to give us a couple's massage. I'm buying. I have a coupon. All we have to do is lie there and stare at each other. Then we'll go to my house. I will make the bath. We'll bathe… together."

"Aww," he said, grinning.

"And then…" she whispered, "I will make love to you until your brain sizzles and starts oozing out of your ears."

He looked alarmed, but simply said, "Okay."

She kissed him softly on the lips, then on the cheek, and then began passionately kissing his jaw line, ear, and neck. "Let's go ask the spa girls when they can fit us in," she whispered. "If it'll be a while, then we can run around town telling everypony we're together and in love again."

"That sounds great," he said sincerely.

"Well, I've been thinking about…" she began, before realizing what she was saying and blushing red. After a deep breath, she finished, "…what we'd do when we got back together… for a while."

"I'm sorry," he said in a pained whisper.

"It's okay," she assured him. "It's really and truly okay now."