Rainbow Dash chuckled as a short breeze pushed a few strands of her mane into her face. She just got off work a few minutes ago, and, even though she was still well above the horizon line, she could tell that the sun was already low in the sky. Well, that comes with volunteering to fight the humidity, she thought. Soon, though, her mind was back on track, imagining Fluttershy's face when she told her the news.

She ducked past a wispy nimbus, and laughed, the pure joy of being in the air coming back to her. After a short, cheerful loop-de-loop, she began her descent down to Fluttershy's doorstep.

She didn't bother knocking. "Hey, Fluttershy," she called through the door. "You home?"

There was a short, muffled squeak and a shuffling sound, before she heard her marefriend answer; "Of-of course! I'm sorry, give me a second - oh no."

Dash smiled. "You alright in there, Fluttershy?"

She was answered with a short kiss as the door swung open to welcome her in. "Hi, Rainbow," she said warmly, nuzzling her cheek a little before turning and stepping over to one of the various bird cages placed neatly around the den. "Oh, um, watch out for the birdseed," she added, motioning to the small cluster of three or four bags near the foot of the couch.

Rainbow grinned. That was her Fluttershy. "Oh, I wanted to tell you something I think you might like to hear," she said, following her as she stopped at each birdcage, refilling the birds' bowls with a little smile on her face.

"Hm?" she replied, turning to face her with the bag of seed still in her mouth.

"I..." Dash began, pausing for effect, "am taking you out to dinner."

Fluttershy set the bag down on the endtable, smiling. "Aw. Thank you. You don't have to, you know, you could just come over for dinner, I'm more than happy to-"

"Fluttershy!" Dash laughed. "I want to take you out. Remember? It's almost our first anniversary. Plus, I already have the reservations."

Fluttershy smiled. Almost a year together already. "Alright," she conceded. "To where?"

"Guess."

"Um... the Tapestry Grill?"

"Nope."

Fluttershy smiled. "I don't know any other restaurants where you need a reservation."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Of course you haven't heard of it," she said proudly, "because I got us a table at the Rising Sun - in Canterlot.

Fluttershy broke into a huge grin (well, huge for her). "No way!" she giggled, throwing her hooves around her marefriend. "We're going to Canterlot?!"

"Yeah," Dash replied, taken a bit aback by the very not-Fluttershy hug. "tonight at eight. It's couples' night."

Fluttershy squealed, and pulled away from Dash, but only just. Her eyes closed and she leaned in, pressing her lips against Dash's, moving her hoof down her neck. She pulled away blushing and giggling.

Dash was blushing a bit, too, and let out a nervous little laugh. "There'll be plenty of time for... well, general hotness later," she said, teasing Fluttershy's mane with her left hoof. "For now, we should get going. It's almost six already."

The couple boarded the train at six, talking and laughing, each imagining how the evening would go. They were planning on arriving at the Rising Sun right on time. It was just luck that the train departed and arrived on schedule. Fluttershy didn't really like trains; the noise and the speed and the clattering made it seem like they were about to fall off the mountain. But, she was still there with Rainbow Dash, and that comforted her.

Not a moment before eight, Dash and Fluttershy arrived at the splendorous gates of the Rising Sun. It was held in high esteem throughout Canterlot as one of the most luxurious restaurants in Equestria. Looking up at the beautifully sculpted cloud marble (silt-hardened cloud, very expensive) and glittering jewels speckled about the grand hall, she didn't see how Dash could afford dinner for two. Not in a five-star restaurant, at least.

She felt rather guilty as they were walking together to the concierge. "Um, I don't..." She paused. She had no idea how to continue, but Dash didn't appear to have heard her. She sighed lightly and smiled: although it would be difficult to enjoy herself while knowing it was at somepony else's expense, she would have to try. She would have to remember to thank her later. A lot.

The two mares were seated in a table by the window, where they could look out into the valley, as the sky was darkening and the town below was lit dimly with the street-lamps. Fluttershy sighed, content. She glanced over to Dash, who was still looking out the window, off the mountain. She smiled.

They had a really great night. The Rising Sun's popularity was not without reason; not only was it beautiful, but the food was delicious. They must have spent half an hour discussing the main course alone.

The bill came almost two hours after they started. Fluttershy caught a glimpse of it as it was passed to Dash, and she gasped. That was half her monthly salary.

Fluttershy looked worriedly at Rainbow Dash, who grinned confidently. "I got this. It's Couple's Night, isn't it? That's twenty percent off." Fluttershy looked relieved. That brought it down to a more manageable price. Dash marked the Couple's box on the side of the bill.

The waitress picked up the check soon afterwards, glancing over it with wide eyes. When she came back with the bill, though, she brought the manager, along with some confusing news. The manager spoke first.

"Hello, ladies. I noticed that you had checked the 'couples' box on the bill, and... well, I had to come investigate." He paused as neither of the pegusi spoke. "You do know that by 'couples', we mean, um, romantic couples, right? Like, coltfriend-marefriend."

They stared at the manager in obvious surprise, then to each other, then back to the manager. "Um... we are a romantic couple," Dash said.

The manager looked as though he was about to burst into laughter. He shook his head. "No, uh, I mean... like, would you two ever get married?"

This was definitely uncomfortable for all of those around the table (the waitress had even left). Dash looked at Fluttershy again. "Maybe." Fluttershy turned away, blushing deeply. She hadn't even considered that.

The manager muttered something - "...kids these days..." - and Dash scowled.

"What's the matter, sir?" Dash tried to keep her voice under control.

He snapped back to seriousness. "Seriously, though, I don't want the regional to be pissed that I let two mares get away with a couples' discount."

Dash's face flushed, and a look of total contempt crossed her features, before she accepted the situation for what it was and stared blankly at the table. She couldn't pay the bill straight... she was counting on the discount. That... that wasn't right. Fluttershy saw this, and began quickly counting out coins from her saddlebag. "Here," she said, trying desperately to get the manager to leave. "That's to the cent."

The entire way back, Dash was in a horrible slump. Fluttershy tried her best to cheer her marefriend up, but it was more difficult than she thought. She was right, though... that was the most unfair thing that had ever happened to them.

Fluttershy leaned lovingly against Rainbow Dash, who looked up at her. "We need to do something about this," Fluttershy said, determined. "That was... I kinda wanna say racist, but I know that's not the right word."

Dash burst out laughing. "That was fantastic, Fluttershy!" Dash shouted. "Racist... pfft. Anyways," Dash continued, "I think we should at least go Dutch." She reached into her own saddlebag, still looking disappointed. "It was supposed to be my treat, though." She leaned back against Fluttershy. "I'm sorry."

Fluttershy nuzzled the blue mare's neck. "It's okay. We'll talk to Twilight tomorrow."

Dash looked up at Fluttershy. "What should we do for the rest of the night?"

Fluttershy grinned.

---

   The pale dawn spread, like a river of gold, slowly over Fluttershy's closed eyes. As with every day, she awoke to the rising of the sun. Ooh, she just remembered... Rising Sun. Not a good topic right now.

   She was accustomed to giving the diurnal animals their morning meal and putting the nocturnal ones to bed. But then she remembered the night before. And what a night it was.

   She turned to her right, to face the back of a rainbow-maned head. She put a gentle hoof on Rainbow's mane before leaning forwards, feeling a good few snaps in her back and wings, and finally deciding to push herself out of bed.

   Grabbing a package of cat food, a block of alfalfa, and a bag of birdseed, she took her time in feeding each individual animal well, watching them to make sure they ate everything they needed to, and not a bit more or less. Then, she thought, smiling, it was time to feed the last diurnal creature.

   She opened the cottage door to a surprising smell of, um, 'cooking' pancakes. She left the animal food near the doorstep and floated into the cottage quietly. She turned the corner to the kitchen and found Rainbow Dash, up and alert, at the skillet flipping... what looked like... plasma?

   Fluttershy tried hard to suppress a laugh, and snuck up behind the blue mare, until she was in the perfect position. Then, she ran her hooves up and down Dash's back quickly, causing her to shudder and jump. She turned, her face flushed.

   "Fluttershy!" Dash exclaimed, lightheartedly. "D-Don't do that!"

   Fluttershy smiled her gentle smile, and floated up alongside Rainbow Dash, examining her cooking.

   "Is that a - heh - a pancake?" Fluttershy teased Dash.

   Dash tried (with difficulty) to flip the lump of half-black pancakes over. Fluttershy placed her hooves over Dash's and moved the spatula until it made the perfect flip, and landed neatly back into the skillet.

   Dash watched on incredulously. "How th- can you teach me how to do that?"

   Fluttershy kept her poker face well throughout this. "How about we just start over?" she said. It wasn't really a question, and Dash caught on.

   "Yeah, that'd probably be the best idea."

   It was a simple, uncomplicated Saturday morning, with general conversation and whatnot. Fluttershy eventually remembered something about the night before, though.

   "Weren't we gonna go talk to Twilight about last night?" Fluttershy asked Dash, who looked back up at her in a dawning realization.

   "Well, I mean, yeah, I guess we were kinda g -" She paused.

   Fluttershy looked concerned. "Is there something wrong?"

   The blue pegasus shook her head, as though clearing it. "No, no, let's just go. It was nothing."

   Twilight heard three sharp knocks on the thick wooden door of the library. "It's open," she said, distractedly. The article on the recent cross-pollination ideas between heterozygous and homozygous poppy-berry plants was enthralling.

   Dash and Fluttershy walked into the library, clearly on a mission. They looked at each other, then at Twilight (who was paying no attention to them at all) and then back at each other. Twilight finally turned her head, to find the two pegusi standing behind her.

   "Hi, girls!" she said, turning fully around in her spinny-chair. "Did you notice my spinny-chair?" Twilight asked, motioning to her spinny-chair. "Princess Celestia made this spinny-chair just for me!" she added, spinning in it to demonstrate.

   Dash opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed it again, and just cocked her head at Twilight.

   Twilight saved herself. "So, uh... what brings you two here today?"

   Dash scowled. "We wanted to ask you a serious question," Dash replied. Twilight began to feel slightly uncomfortable; after all, it wasn't every day that two of your friends announced themselves as l - urgh. Llllllesbians. She was still trying to get over the shock.

   Dash turned to Fluttershy. "You tell her."

   Fluttershy shook her head. "No, um, I don't want to participate in this at all... uh, where's the bathroom?" she asked, thinking up an excuse at the last minute.

   Twilight pointed down the hall. On the way, Fluttershy passed Spike, who was sitting at the base of the balcony stairs, reading. "Good morning, Spike," Fluttershy greeted him as she passed.

   Spike looked up from his book to see Fluttershy pass, and tried not to stare. Twilight told him all about the First Summer Moon Festival, and he found it strange... but rather amusing. Especially considering Twilight's reaction, he thought, grinning.

   Meanwhile, Dash was trying to start conversation with Twilight, but couldn't keep it light. She knew, to ask a question like this, she had to deepen the conversation. "Twilight, you're one of my best friends," she began stumblingly, "and I know that I can ask you this question. I know you'll answer truthfully, because I trust you."

   At this, Twilight began to recover from the awkwardness and suddenness of the situation, and she calmed down. "Of course, Rainbow Dash," she responded. "Ask away."

   Rainbow Dash inhaled deeply. Speeches, and tough questions like this, were never her forte. "Do you... think Fluttershy and I are considered a couple?"

   Twilight didn't even need to think. "Well, yeah, Dash. I mean if... two mares are in love, then, uh... yeah. It is."

   Dash sighed. "Thanks, Twilight."

   "Why?"

   Dash sighed once more, deeper this time. She began to recount the night before.

---

   "THEY WHAT?!"

   Twilight's rage, had it been milk, would have been three and a half gallons. Does that make sense? Anyways, the roof of the library almost burst off. It was pretty bad.

   Now, although she had never been a - well, a 'fan' of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, she sure as sausage wasn't gonna stand by while her best friends were discriminated against.

   "Spike!" she shouted, prompting Spike to jump from his reading spot and rush to Twilight's side.

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   "Take a letter!"

   "Yes, ma'am!"

   Twilight began to rant, in the most dignified and respectable form she could manage, the predicament on a letter pre-adressed to Princess Celestia. Much to Dash's chagrin, there would be a huge ruckus about this once Twilight was done with it. 'Cause when Twilight was pissed... hoo boy.

   "Okay..." Twilight was exhausted by now, nearly shouting half the letter. "Send it."

   In a flash of green, the hell-raising letter had vanished. Dash squirmed uncomfortably as Fluttershy returned form the bathroom.

Dash sighed. "You shouldn't have done that, Twi," she said.

Joining the other pegasus, Fluttershy asked, "Done what?"

"I can't believe you two would be so uncomfortable about that!" Twilight complained, fuming in her spinny-chair. "That's a total injustice! It's probably illegal! See, this is what friends do for each other."

"Wait a second..." Dash said, suspiciously. She groaned. "You're not doing this just for a friendship report, are you?"

Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash in stunned disbelief. "Oh, wow, Rainbow Dash. You really think I'd do that?"

"Well, you kinda did try driving three fillies to fight to finish a friendsh-"

"Yeah, I remember," Twilight interrupted. "But this is totally different!"

The two pegusi looked at each other, and Fluttershy began to back towards the door. "Um, so, yeah, we'll, uh - we'll just get back to you on -"

"No, wait!" Twilight interrupted, winking* to appear between the door and the pair. "Princess Celestia should be here any minute! I know she wouldn't stand for this either!"

Dash thought back. You know, she thought, Celestia kinda has a habit of 'letting us learn' on our own.

"Maybe we should just go up to the Rising Sun ourselves," Dash said.

Twilight brightened a little. "That's a great idea! Plus, I have the royal signet so we can get into Canterlot for free!" Fluttershy looked upset that she was basically lying to get 'revenge', but... she was right. The toll would've been too much to afford otherwise.

"Spike, look after the library," Twilight called back to her assistant, not looking back to make sure he got the message. She led the small group out of Ponyville and into retribution.

Throughout the entire trip, Fluttershy remained generally uncomfortable. Twilight was fuming (worse, now that she didn't have her spinny-chair), and she essentially cheated the toll-keepers. Not to mention, the train and its unsettling noises. But being next to Rainbow Dash seemed to give her a clearer head, and help her balance out the fright.

Dash loved comforting Fluttershy. It felt like... like she should. Like she should have her entire life. And now that she started, she sure as hell wasn't going to stop. It was obvious that this wasn't a big deal, but it was still a reason to be near Fluttershy. That was a great thing for Dash.

The small group finally arrived at the still-splendorous Rising Sun. Without more than a second to consider what she was doing, Twilight marched right into the marble-bedecked, sparkling restaurant.

Dash and Fluttershy were left outside. Turning to Fluttershy, Dash asked,'"You wanna stay out here?"

Fluttershy nodded quickly. There was no way she was going to get too caught up in this.

Meanwhile, Twilight had already gotten through to speak to the manager. The manager was indeed intimidating, if only a little. He was at least an inch taller than Twilight. Nonetheless, Twilight was filled to the brim with a righteous rage.

"Sir, I need you to come out into the lobby for five minutes," Twilight struggled, trying to remain professional. "There are some things we need to discuss."

"Hey, what gives you the right to -"

"I happen to be a student of Princess Celestia," Twilight said pridefully, showing the manager her royal signet.

"Oh, well then of course, miss," the manager replied, following Twilight down the grand hall. Twilight was still trying with difficulty to calm herself down

Fluttershy looked up from the bench as she saw Twilight come quickly out the large double doors, followed closely by the manager that they met the night before. Fluttershy flushed, remembering in great detail the near-insult that that stallion had thrown their way.

Twilight turned and approached the bench. By this point, Rainbow Dash had already stood, facing the manager, who then sighed. "This isn't about those two, isn't it? Look, I already -"

Twilight turned in supersede anger to the tall stallion behind her. "An injustice was committed last night, to these two, by you," Twilight said in a forced calm voice. "All I would like for my friends is an apology."

The stallion snorted in disdain. Twilight's mouth opened in an absolute contempt. "I don't need to apologize. I didn't do anything wrong," the stallion replied. "I was only offering discounts to romantic couples, which these two are clearly not."

Twilight continued to stand, mouth open, in shocked silence. Rainbow Dash sighed again, and hit her hoof quietly against her face.

"You know what?" Dash said. "I'm tired of this. Look." She pulled Fluttershy into an embrace and kissed her, for longer than normal. At least twelve seconds. After they broke off, they looked at the stallion; Dash defiantly, Fluttershy worriedly.

The manager was standing in an awkward position, his usual fancy, polished demeanor totally ruined. His irises had contracted to the size of bits. "I - I - I -"

Twilight had also not really come to expect this; she, too, was gaping at the... recent events.

The stallion was able to stutter out, "I - I'm sorry, I - I didn't really r-realize that..." he trailed off.

Twilight shook her head and regained her composure. "Yeah. Uh - okay. Do you get it now?" she asked the manager beside her.

The manager blinked twice, and turned around to walk dazedly back inside. Why would he get that confused? Fluttershy thought. What, is this really so shocking to the community?

None of the small group, as they walked away (with Twilight bragging lightly), realized that a few pairs of 'dignified' guests from the Rising Sun were watching the spectacle through the window.

See, this is how rumors get started.

---

Dash sighed as she sat down on the soft linen bed, next to Fluttershy. It was already dark, and Fluttershy's head was drooping as though she was trying not to fall asleep. Dash leaned over her, cuddling up next to her. Getting herself comfortable, she reflected on the... different events of the day.

Although she knew Twilight was trying to help them, Dash couldn't help but think disappointedly at the manager's reaction. She didn't expect such confusion, but realization. Had he not heard of ponies like them before? Were they so different that other ponies wouldn't accept them?

Dash laid her head across Fluttershy's slowly rising and falling side. She sat up. Wait a second. She looked around at the dim furniture of the room. Why was she still at Fluttershy's?

She shook her head, her rainbow mane bobbing a bit. Ah, whatever. She fell back to the soft, fluffy pillows and resumed her comfortable position.

Fluttershy wasn't just the first one up, she was also the first one to eat. And the first one to shower. And the first one to leave. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash remained in bed.

Fluttershy went about her business before deciding finally to 'hit the town' at about noon. She visited Rarity, and helped unattach Opal from the ceiling. She had lunch with Pinkie, which was mainly sweets. It wasn't the most healthy (or most filling) lunch, so she decided at about one-thirty to return home.

Of course, she expected Dash to be gone. She does have her duties, she thought. However, after she finally began making her favorite version of raisin-bread (it had little sesame seeds and cinnamon in it), she heard a huge, hacking cough coming from her bedroom.

She flew straight to the room, half-hoping that it was just a sick animal. Of course, she knew who it was, and she was right. Rainbow Dash was lying in Fluttershy's bed, in an uncomfortable position. She had bags under her eyes, not to mention a runny nose. She was looking rather pale, and her feathers were all ruffled in unnatural, awkward directions.

Fluttershy gasped, and floated over to the bed, forelegs outstretched. Dash shook her head, coughing. "No, no, no, wait, Fluttershy. I could be contagious. Just, uh, c-" She was interrupted by a series of hoarse coughs.

Fluttershy gasped, and grabbed Rainbow Dash. She didn't care whether it was contagious. Dash needed her help. She lifted the pale blue Pegasus out of the bed, and took her under the wing, coercing her out the door.

"Wait, Fluttershy, I -" Another fit of coughing.

"No, Dash. This can't wait. Illnesses get bad if you don't get them treated right away." Fluttershy knew what she was talking about. Dash smiled with her cracked, dry lips. She walked slowly alongside Fluttershy out into the blinding sun.

They arrived shortly at the clinic. It was the only medical institution in Ponyville that didn't require an appointment, but it was among the worst-funded. The waiting room was dry and beige, with a lot of cheap plastic chairs arranged in a long line around the walls.

Fluttershy leaned up reassuringly against Dash, who smiled lightly. Fluttershy tried to look confident, but couldn't manage much more than a slightly nervous smile. After all, somepony she loved could be severely ill.

Dash's name was called shortly afterwards from behind the counter, and she left Fluttershy in the waiting room. 'Just in case I really am contagious,' Dash explained to her before disappearing behind the doctor's heavy wooden door.

Fluttershy sat in total silence, among only two other ponies in the room. Every so often, she shook her head and closed her eyes, contemplating everything that had - and could - happen.

It had been almost a half-hour before Rainbow Dash walked out of the small doctor's office, thanking the pony behind her profusely. Fluttershy stood as Dash approached her, looking worried.

"What? What happened? Is everything okay?" Fluttershy's voice continued raising in pitch.

"Calm down, seriously."

"But I just -"

"No - wait. Stop."

"Did you, I mean, had -"

"Seriously." Dash placed her hoof gently on Fluttershy's shoulder. Fluttershy blinked twice, before sighing and looking into Dash's eyes. "It's not, like deadly or anything," Dash said.

"Well, then, what is it?" Fluttershy asked quietly, being led out the door by the still-pale Rainbow Dash.

"It's just, like, a cold or something. He told me to -" She coughed. "- to get some antibiotics from the pharmacy. It'll go away in a week or so."

Fluttershy kissed Dash gently on the cheek. "Well, I insist that you stay at the cottage until you get better."

Neither pegasus heard the short surprised gasp from two mares to their right.

"No, come on Fluttershy, I have to get back to my house, not to mention catch up on my weather duties, and -"

"Not until you get better," Fluttershy said gently, reaching her wing over Dash in a soft hug. "You can take sick days, right?"

Neither of them noticed the small snort from a stallion sitting at a café.

"But I mean, I can't just leave the house unattended for a week," Dash said, as convincingly as she could. In actuality, she really did want to stay at Fluttershy's just a little while longer.

"No, Dash; I feel like I need to take care of you." Fluttershy nuzzled Dash's neck, bringing a bit of color back into the blue pegasus' cheeks. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Both of them heard a small, singsong-y voice sound from somewhere in a large, bustling crowd to their right.

"Fags."

Dash shook her head, leaning it to the right, trying to pick up on the soft, terrible comment, and the chorus of short chuckles that followed. She opened her mouth, as though to speak, but she couldn't produce any sound but a few loud coughs.

Fluttershy looked into the crowd at the right, where a few ponies were avoiding the yellow mare's gaze intentionally. She looked absolutely distraught. Her mind had been working feverishly ever since the couple had told the rest of the group about their relationship, and many fears had come across her mind, one of which she felt had just been realized.

Rejection.

Fluttershy couldn't deal with the staring, or averting of eyes in most cases, and she definitely couldn't bring herself to confrontation. She turned tail and took flight, off into the direction of her cottage.

Dash would have done anything right there to confront the commenter, and beat the living hell out of him. But she had no idea who said it, and she definitely wasn't going to make a scene. She, too, took off clumsily, trailing Fluttershy.

---

Rainbow Dash sped through the sky, occasionally rolling to the left or right. It was hard to control herself; she was in a horrible condition.

"Dammit, Fluttershy," she muttered as she whipped past cloud banks and a group of other pegusi. Fluttershy shouldn't be overreacting, and it kind of confused Dash. Fluttershy was usually rather calm; maybe it was because of her... current situation.

Oh crap! Dash thought, remembering back to an important event. After the past few weeks, the problem had been totally put out of her mind: Fluttershy was diagnosed with depression.* Dash sped up as much as she possibly could, although by now her left wing had become sore. She pressed on, sheer competitive adrenaline returning to her body from the time she used to race.

The baby-blue mare flew cleanly through three clouds before she finally found what she was looking for on the horizon: a small yellow dot flying erratically ahead of her. Suddenly, Dash's pulse dropped frighteningly, leaving the pegasus struggling to support herself in midair.

Fluttershy was again lost in her sights. Dash heaved dryly, and collapsed onto the nearest cumulus she could find. "Haah... haah... haah..." She tried desperately to regain her breath before Fluttershy was -- urgh. It was a bit late for that; the small yellow dot had disappeared.

Fluttershy was flushed red, from windburn and from embarrassment, when she finally touched down quickly near her cottage. She rushed inside and threw herself onto her bed, panting heavily. Her head was filling slowly with thoughts, reactions from the comment, and the staring, and the retreat.

She felt like she had done the right thing, removed herself from the situation, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel empty inside. Everything she felt at that moment was about Rainbow Dash, and with one little word, a stranger ruined her whole mindset. Nopony else had any idea what that was like.

The yellow pegasus rolled over to her side, feeling a burning in her eyes. But she didn't - feel like crying... she felt angry. At herself and at the commenter, whoever he was.

She buried her head into her pillow. But what did it matter? All that mattered was that somepony... hated them. Somepony hated her, and that was too much for her to handle. Tears, angry tears, made their way out of her eyes slowly, and she laid in her bed for almost half an hour.

Eventually, though, she put her head up and rolled back onto her side, surprised. Tears were still fresh on either cheek. She looked down, and saw that Angel had joined her. She sighed, smiled, and laid a gentle foreleg across her bunny friend. He was small, and soft, and more helpless than her. Angel wouldn't disapprove of her and Dash, or ever be insensitive.

Suddenly, she felt overwhelmingly sad once more, and turned to cover her head with her pillow. She couldn't bear the fact that any other pony hated her, especially when they didn't know her. She'd stopped asking why she felt sad quite a while ago.

Dash pulled herself together as she opened the cottage door. She had to remain strong, for both her sake and Fluttershy's. Entering the small welcome hall, she couldn't hear much except for the sound she knew she would encounter. She could hear a faint sobbing coming from up the stairs.

Only two things would work now: soft love and tough love. She didn't know how to do the first one, and she couldn't stand using the second one on Fluttershy, so she settled in the middle at normal love.

She floated quietly up the steps and opened the fret door on her right, the one that led into Fluttershy's room. She couldn't think of much to say, as she moved in closer to Fluttershy. The small body of the yellow pegasus was turned from the door, towards the window, which, with the curtains and the afternoon sun, cast a pair of long shadows over the small room.

Dash inhaled deeply, smelling nothing except an average summer day and the perfume Fluttershy used every once in a while, on special occasions. Like... vanilla... or hazelnut... pine needles? Coconut?

Dash walked calmly over to Fluttershy's bed and slowly crawled into it, maneuvering under the cover and pulling herself closely to the other mare. Fluttershy didn't respond, or move, for that matter. Dash lightly stroked Fluttershy's glittering pink mane, and placed a hoof over her midsection.

"You alright?"

No response.

Dash couldn't really think of much else to say. She wasn't really good with motivational speeches: that's why she liked Fluttershy and their relationship. She didn't really have to talk much. Dash sighed and brushed her other hoof through her rainbow mane.

"Turn around."

Fluttershy shivered, and turned her head slowly towards Dash.

Dash smiled. "More. Seriously? Come on."

Fluttershy remained still for a few seconds, before finally rolling onto her other side, facing Rainbow Dash. The room was dead silent, except for the songbirds singing prettily outside, totally ignorant to the scene taking place inside one of the cottage's second-story rooms.

Dash blushed a little bit. She still didn't know what to say. She stared silently into Fluttershy's lightly red eyes, unsure of her next action.

She stuttered a bit before opening her mouth. "Fluttershy, I -"

Fluttershy placed a hoof over Dash's open mouth. She could feel the other mare's soft lips touch her hoof, and she could feel her body pressing almost entirely against hers. She barely needed to lean over to kiss her.

Dash accepted the kiss for all that it was: romance, passion, fear, dependance, reliance... and pain. A misunderstood pain could be felt in that kiss... the pain of loneliness, the pain of rejection, the pain of... well, pain. Dash broke off. She finally knew what to say.

"I don't care what anypony else thinks, Fluttershy." Dash's eyes softened. "I love you."

Fluttershy's eyes filled slightly with tears, and she placed her forelegs around the blue mare's neck in a hug. Without stopping the embrace, Fluttershy began to speak. "I don't want anypony thinking we're... different, though. I just - I want us to remain us."

Dash understood. "Yeah, but don't you think you were overreacting a little bit?"

"To what?"

Dash groaned.

It turns out that the word gets around quite quickly in Ponyville. It wasn't really a small town... it had, maybe, three or four thousand ponies living in it. But apparently, rumors can spread fast as wildfire.

Most of the ponies who caught tell couldn't care less, and net about their business as usual. A few were even delighted to hear of a newfound love in the town. But, of course, everything and everypony has just a small group of intolerant bastards that can really make their life a living hell.

Before Fluttershy and Dash knew it, ponies from all four corners of Ponyville knew who and what they were. That day, walking home from the clinic, it was simple enough to tell that more attention was being paid to them. But when somepony is straight-up hypercritical... that was it. Violence could happen, drama could happen, and memories could be solidified in ponies' minds for their lives.

Dash was walking quickly through a long grove of yew trees. They didn't provide much shade, but the sky was overcast nicely today anyways. It was a great temperature, birds were singing, there was a light breeze, all that jazz. But it didn't help Rainbow Dash's mood.

She and Fluttershy had taken care of each other for the past two weeks. Friends dropped by and they all had dinner together, and by the time Dash had gotten better, Fluttershy's cottage was almost totally filled with balloons.

But of course, by then, Dash couldn't think about too many 'uplifting' things: her mind was deadset on that one group of ponies that she couldn't stand anymore. It's not like an alliance was formed against her and Fluttershy, but a bunch of ponies had been so bigoted towards the pair that Dash had to physically calm herself down before she grew too angry.

For example, last Tuesday the couple went to the grocery store (no particular reason, just because it was time to), and an old earth-pony left the store hurriedly as soon as they entered. They may not have thought much of this (they didn't know so many ponies knew something about them yet), until they began noticing a few fillies stare at them, or a few well-dressed mares scoff and move away from them.

It's not like they were even... outright about it! Not often. There was next to no promiscuity between the two... so somepony had to know. Somepony must have spread a rumor.

Dash was absolutely infuriated when she discovered this last night. It may have been an assumption, but it was one of the only possible ones. She was pacing, frustrated, between the grove of yew, and when she reached the end, she turned promptly and went about pacing herself to the other side again.

She wished with all her heart to be flying through the clear, light blue sky: her power, her freedom, even her colors were all above her... but she was stuck at the moment by gravity and a side effect of antibiotics.

Agh... she shouldn't have thought that. She felt woozy, and walks slowly to the side of the path, lying down with a small *thump* beside the thin trunk of a young yew tree. Stupid thoughts. They always tripped her up.

Fluttershy had been meeting with Rarity every month for almost two years now for a spa day. It was their personal 'friendship-boosting', 'catch-up-with-each-other' 'girlfriends' thing. And today was the day.

The yellow pegasus floated ramblingly over to the spa, taking her time because she left early and didn't really have much else to do. She sighed deeply, smiled, and walked in through the double doors. Rarity was waiting patiently in the lobby.

Rarity stood when she saw her friend approach. "Hello, darling!" she greeted Fluttershy with a smiling face and excited eyes.

They were led into the first stage of the all-over: the steam room. They usually conversed the entire time, barely stopping to change rooms.

"So, Fluttershy, dear, did you happen to see Twilight today? I've heard she's been feeling ill," Rarity asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I haven't seen anypony today. In fact, Rainbow Dash left for a walk before I even got up."

"Really?" Rarity asked, unfeignedly surprised. "I thought you rose at the crack of dawn. That's more than early for Rainbow Dash."

"Actually, I... heard her leave. It was about when I woke up; just before dawn."

"Oh really? Is Rainbow Dash staying in your house?"

"Yeah, she has the flu. Or something. She's on antibiotics."

"I wonder whether that's what Twilight has."

Their conversation quickly changed from subject to subject. They were just relaxing together, glad they were having a good time. It was easy to talk about almost anything with Rarity... Rarity probably knew more of her secrets than Dash did. This bothered her a bit when she thought it; it bothered her that it entered her head, and it bothered her that it was probably true.

The spa 'day' was over in about three hours. It was the same every month, but... this time it felt rushed. Fluttershy wanted more time to relax with her friend, and not have to take into account her troubles and problems. It was over far too soon.

As the pair of friends left, one voice from behind the counter spoke up. "Hey, are you Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy turned. She hadn't seen the mare before; probably just started working there. "Y-yeah," Fluttershy said softly. She never did well with meeting new people.

"You're one of that pair of mares, right?"

Fluttershy blushed a deep red.

"You know, back in Saddlesburg, we had two pairs like that. One couple even tried to get married." She paused. "Neither worked out."

Fluttershy whimpered. Who was this mare? How did she know who she was? Why was she talking about her like this?

"Ah, well. I just hope it works out for you and the... other one," the cyan mare finished, leaning onto the counter. "Nopony likes it when a romance fails."

Fluttershy was actually relieved; the stranger didn't insult her or anything like that. She even basically said, 'good luck'. The yellow pegasus knew that some ponies would love it if her romance failed, though. Fluttershy turned to leave, and, facing away from the employee, replied, "Thanks."

Rarity followed Fluttershy out the double doors without a word.

---

"Well."

"Well what?"

Rainbow Dash glared boldly at the stallion, who was directly at her eye level. He obviously wasn't impressed. He didn't move a muscle.

"I've heard of you two. You're that weird pair of fillyfoolers from Ponyville."

"Hey! That's..." She glanced at Fluttershy, who was standing back submissively. "I... you know what? Piss off." She shook her head and brushed for forcefully past him. Fluttershy followed, taking a wide arc as to avoid coming too close to the stallion.

He chuckled condescendingly and his friends came up alongside him. They began walking away from the pair when one of the friends asked, "Dude, why'd you talk to them?"

"Yeah," the other added, "why would you confront them?"

"I dunno."

The first smacked his friend on the side of the head. "Idiot. You make me look stupid by association."

"I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yeah," the second one replied, "never seen anypony like that before. Weird, dude."

The first remained silent. He'd given up on trying to change Taproot and Buck before, but by now he knew they would pretty much remain total idiots. Why was he still friends with them?

I may not be for much longer, he thought, looking back at the pair, who were now again walking side-by-side. That last supremacist comment may have been the last straw. He wasn't sure whether Buck was trying to get a reaction, or what; but that was something he just found too hard to tolerate.

He'd heard about them, too; as far as he remembered, he'd only ever met another pair of lesbians. He didn't find anything wrong with it at the time, and he didn't now. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy: he never expected to see them, much less expected Buck to go over and start up his classic 'friendly conversation'.

The other two had already started talking and laughing about something else, but Oakridge seemed to be totally stuck on what just happened. He felt like he needed to make things right...

Fluttershy nuzzled Dash's neck a bit as they walked, making their way back to Ponyville after a brief sojourn in a nearby town, Assateague. They'd heard the ponies there were wild; it was true, the town was fantastic after dark. They'd spent the whole weekend there; they'd even met a few other couples like themselves.

"Dash?" Fluttershy asked slowly, thinking carefully.

"Yeah?"

"...Do you think we should've told everypony?"

It didn't take long for her to answer. "I thought it was a good idea. I mean, I felt that it needed to be out there, for our sake. I didn't want it to be awkward if one of our friends just, like, asked." She paused. "I can deal with these ponies. Just... let me handle it."

Fluttershy smiled and continued leaning her head on Dash's neck. "That's sweet."

Dash smiled back. A little question was troubling her... perhaps because she didn't often have questions, or perhaps simply because if the nature of the question. Why do I love her?

It wasn't a strong thought; it was easy to push out of her head. But it just kept coming back; it would need to be answered eventually. There was something about her... just... something. Maybe it was her hidden pride in appearance, always keeping her mane combed perfectly and always smelling great. Maybe it was the way she tended to look up to Dash as a role model; it certainly boosted her ego. But there was still... something. Something she hadn't caught into yet.

Ah, well, live in the moment, she thought, nuzzling back. Their relationship didn't seem like it could do anything but improve.

They arrived at the Ponyville west gates in silence, enjoying each other's company. "I'm glad we did this," Fluttershy said, turning to Dash.

Dash nodded and replied, "We should do that more often. It was... really great. Thanks."

She kissed Fluttershy goodbye and flew into the clouds; it would be another ten minutes before she hit Cloudsdale. Meanwhile, though, she had enough time to think a bit.

Back on the ground, Fluttershy also wouldn't arrive at her cottage for about ten minutes; the west gate was when they usually parted ways. She'd been having thoughts too, but not about Dash. It was focused more on the other ponies around them. There seemed to be something different about them... Dash had essentially taught her to deal with ponies who were just mean, but there was something about them that just seemed so... off. So strangely cruel.

When did this happen? Dash thought, flying calmly and unhurriedly though the clouds.

Why do they seem to hate us? Fluttershy thought, listening contently to the sound of nature as she walked.

Should I talk to her about it? Dash thought, touching down on the sidewalk near her home.

Should I try to confront them like Dash does? Fluttershy thought, taking the key from under the mat to unlock the door.

I think I will.

---

Fluttershy almost hit the ceiling when there was a knocking at the door. She'd been reading for the past half hour, and she was about to finish up her mystery novel, The Mare in Green. At an exciting part in her favorite book plus Angel curled up nicely next to her equals a very inopportune time for a visitor.

She heard another knock, and bookmarked her page quickly, putting it on the couch beside her. Looking through the peephole showed her a strange visitor: a stallion she'd never met.

Beforehand, she'd decided to try to be more forceful in this area; ponies like this had come to her door before, and she'd always done the some thing: closed the door and ran away. Today it would be different.

She swung open the door and prepared herself. To her surprise, the strange stallion held out a hoof for her to shake and introduced himself. "Evening, ma'am, my name's Oakridge."

The outgoing friendliness of this colt put her rather at ease, and she took his hoof gratefully. "Hello, m-my name's Fluttershy."

"Well, um, ma'am, all I'm here to do today is apologize."

"Apologize?"

"Yes, ma'am, for my friend, Buck."

"You can call me Fluttershy," she said softly. Always nervous in meeting new ponies.

"Thank you, Fluttershy," he said. He smiled and continued. "Well, you may remember earlier today a stallion stopping you and your... ahem." He paused for a second, gathering himself. "Well, one of my friends said something awfully rude to you. I felt terrible about it afterwards, and I decided to visit you."

Fluttershy was rather surprised. This wasn't like the manager's apology; this colt hadn't even said anything wrong, but still looks genuinely remorseful about something his friend had said. Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you, Oakridge. Would you like to come in?"

Oakridge glanced to his right and left. "No, I'm sorry, I don't want to be a burden."

What manners! "But... no. I insist. I'm glad you came to apologize for your friend... that is the epitome of chivalry."

"Epitome? Chivalry? Quite a vocabulary you have there."

"Well, I'm nearing the end of The Mare in Green..."

"The Mare in Green? Charlotte Birdseye? I thought I was the only one that read those!"

Oakridge stepped inside the cottage, already having struck up a conversation with Fluttershy. They continued talking and laughing far into the night.

---

"Oh, I've been there!" Fluttershy had loosened up quite a bit since she'd met Oakridge; it was so easy to do around him - he was just so charming. "I think it'd be a nice place to live; they say in some places it's an absolute alpine paradise." She sober, staring past Oakridge and into her own imagination. "It's so beautiful there."

"Well, I, for one, think you're much prettier than Germaney." Oakridge commented offhandedly.

Fluttershy had picked up on these little comments; he'd been sprinkling them into the conversation since they began talking. "Are... are you coming onto me?" Fluttershy asked him, catching him off guard.

He flushed red, and began to shake his head. "No, no, no, no, no! I - I would never! I - I wouldn't allow myself!" He smiled nervously. "If anything, I'm jealous."

Fluttershy blushed, "N-no, I don't... uh th-thanks," she replied, before sighing. "The way you've been talking all night, I - I just assumed..." She shook her head. "Sorry. Forgive me?"

He smiled. "Of course."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Oakridge broke it. "Um, Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I - can I tell you something?"

"Sure!"

Oakridge blushed a little. "I haven't ever told anypony this, but ever since I met you, I've felt like I could trust you. Can you keep my secret?"

"Of course," Fluttershy replied. "I'd never spread a secret."

"Okay... here we go," he said, preparing himself. "Fluttershy, I'm gay."

Fluttershy tried with all her energy not to smile. "What, do you think it's that bad? That doesn't need to be a secret." She grinned. "I mean, everypony knows who and what I am now, ever since Rainbow Dash and I told our friends. Being... you know, like us isn't a bad thing, but there are some really mean ponies out there that'll hate you just for who you are."

Oakridge hadn't stopped blushing. "That's another reason to be jealous. I mean, I haven't told anypony yet because, you know, one of my friends is Buck, and you can tell by what he said to you today that he... doesn't like ponies like me. I'm afraid to say it." He sighed. "Meanwhile, you've got your life ahead of you with Rainbow Dash, and I'm stuck in a rut. Sucks, doesn't it?" he chuckled.

"Well, my friend Applejack has always been a bit against it, but she's one of my best friends. She accepted me for who I am, and I'm sure that if Buck's your friend, he'll accept you for who you are."

Oakridge pondered for a second about this before reaching over and hugging Fluttershy. "Thanks," he said softly.

"You live in Assateague, right?"

"Yeah."

"I might visit sometime, and you can meet Rainbow Dash. Really, though, I can't wait to go back to Assateauge."

"Speaking of, can you tell her what I said? I mean, I can't exactly go and apologize myself," Oakridge asked, bearing his accessory-less back.

"Definitely."

He stood along with Fluttershy and thanked her again before leaving. Fluttershy warned him go from the window and went to bed with only one thought.

What's up with Assateague?

---

Rainbow Dash wrapped her front legs around the yellow mare. The moonlight shone in lightly through the window, covering the bed with the shadow of its four panes. She buried her nose into the back of Fluttershy's neck, making her gasp a little.

"Oh, jeez, Fluttershy, you smell like strawberries."

She giggled and turned around to face Dash, unintentionally leaving herself open for a long, passionate kiss. Eventually, Dash cuddled up next to Fluttershy and broke off, moving her head down to Fluttershy's neck. She began to nuzzle, every once in a while kissing or biting her gently.

She glanced up to see Fluttershy flushed a deep red. "Still blushing, Fluttershy?" This only made Fluttershy blush all the more furiously. She chuckled. "How long have we been together?"

"I don't know... maybe three months...?"

"Three months..." Dash murmured, before returning to her neck.

There was a long silence, in which the only sounds they could hear were their heartbeats, almost perfectly synced.

"You know, this doesn't happen often."

"Hm?"

"This. Us getting together and just... this." Dash paused. "I dunno... I like it."

"Why do you keep going back to my neck?"

"I dunno... I like it."

She smiled, looking up into Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy smiled back, and placed her forelegs around Dash in a hug that lasted longer than either would have thought. Before long, both mares fell asleep in each other's arms.

---

"See if you can catch up with me!" Dash shouted back to Fluttershy, flying relatively quickly through the lower stratosphere. Fluttershy was laughing, although the wind was tearing her voice away from her. Her bright pink mane was flowing back freely, as was Dash's short rainbow mane. Dash was thirty feet ahead, but Fluttershy was gaining slowly.

She hadn't had that much fun in years. "I know you're going slow, Dash!" she tried her best to raise her voice above the air whipping past. "I know I can't fly that fast!"

Dash looked back and laughed. "Who said I didn't want you to catch me?"

Fluttershy smiled, and beat her wings just a little faster, playing on Dash's comment. If she wanted to be caught, she'd be caught.

The baby-blue Pegasus turned back to Fluttershy about five feet from a cloud, and spread her forelegs wide, inviting her marefriend in for a hug.

Fluttershy couldn't possibly stop as quickly as Dash could; that was exactly what Dash intended. Fluttershy slammed into her with a small squeak of surprise and fear, and they both rolled backwards together across the cloud. The pair of pegusi finally stopped against a small cloud bank, Fluttershy atop Dash and clutching her shoulder as well as she could.

"You alright, Fluttershy?" Dash asked, looking down at Fluttershy who was pressing her head tightly against Dash's chest.

"D-don't do that," Fluttershy said, shivering a little bit.

"Come on. We're on a cloud. It couldn't have hurt."

"Yeah, b-but..." She trailed off, leaving the two in a tight, silent embrace thousands of feet above the Earth. Dash slowly placed her forelegs around Fluttershy, pulling her closer.

---

Two ponies stared at the sky above them, absolutely transfixed by the clouds drifting by slowly. They'd been lying on the cloud without speaking for almost an hour, just enjoying each other's company.

Dash decided to speak up first. "So, we're not the type of couple with pet names?"

Fluttershy didn't respond for a few seconds. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, like, we don't have cutesy nicknames."

Fluttershy turned her head to Dash. "Why not?"

"That's what I'm asking."

"Well, I mean... you know, I don't see why not."

Dash looked back at Fluttershy. "Well, what would you call me, then?"

Fluttershy took a second to think and replied, "What was that one name that Pinkie gave you that one time?"

"One time?" Dash snorted. "She's been calling me Dashie for ages."

"Oh. Well, I think it's kinda cute."

"Really?" Dash grinned. "And what would I call you? Flutters?"

Fluttershy looked down and smiled a bit. Dash broke into a wide grin, and sat up. "Wait... you're kidding, right? 'Flutters'?"

Fluttershy sat up after the baby-blue pegasus. "I dunno..." She smiled broadly. "I like it."

"Ha!" Dash shook her head. "Jeez, Fluttershy! I mean... I don't know. 'Flutters'?"

"What's wrong with it?" Fluttershy asked shyly.

Rainbow Dash looked across at her marefriend. How on earth did she manage to end up with somepony like her? A speedster and a nature-lover... a bold mare paired so easily with one so demure... oh, the irrelevant thoughts. "If you really want me to, I will."

"Thanks, Dashie."

"No problem, Flutters."

Dash giggled to herself, quietly, as they laid back down again. Slowly, Dash leaned in closer to Fluttershy; they stared again into each other's eyes - a pair of light maroon eyes focused intently on a pair of sky-blue ones - and they came closer and closer together until they could feel one another's warm breath on their cheeks. Dash initiated a long, romantic kiss, which lasted for what seemed like hours.

Fluttershy was still flushed a light pink, and by this point, there had been so much passion today that her heart felt like bursting with pure pleasure. She could feel Dash bite her bottom lip gently, and smiled. She leaned in more and more to the kiss, and, feeling Dash's tongue pressing gently against her teeth, opened her jaw ever so slightly.

Boom.

A whole new experience was opened up to her, one that she hadn't ever before attempted. It's not like the pair hadn't done more... heh... dirty things together, but there was just so much total passion in this... whatever this was that she began to blush furiously, her heart pounding as she grasped her marefrend tighter.

When they finally broke off, Fluttershy leaned her head into Dash's neck, and only spoke up after almost five minutes of blissful silence. "What... what was that?"

Dash smiled. "Well, it's our day, right? Just for us. Were not supposed to think about anything else... we took the day off from work, I cancelled training, you hired a stand-in to take care of the animals... and for all that work, I just - well, I just wanted to surprise you." She looked down at Fluttershy. "Surprise, Flutters," she chuckled.

Fluttershy smiled back, and cuddled up further next to Dash.

"Dashie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"... I love you too."

---

There had always been something magical about being almost a mile above Earth. You could nearly see the stars through the thinned layer of altosphere above you, and there was a feeling of lightheadedness when you stayed up there long enough. The dizziness was only enhanced by the fact that Fluttershy was at total peace in Dash's embrace. As she held Fluttershy from behind, those thoughts began to creep back into her mind.

Dash had contemplating a few things in her life, her and Fluttershy's life, actually, and in almost shocked her how deep and rhetorical she could be. There were tons of odd questions that she'd tried multiple times to shrug off, but couldn't.

The first and most obvious was why. She'd recently been confused as to why she loved Fluttershy so much. There were tons of reasons that came to mind following the question, but she still felt curious. It had come to the point where she became frightened of the future; worried about how their relationship would hold if these stupid, useless thoughts kept filling up her brain.

"Fluttershy?" she began cautiously.

Fluttershy didn't respond, but instead looked up at her, smiling her soft smile. Dash began to wonder how she would phrase it; it was hard to ask anything much of Fluttershy.

Maybe this would work. "Can I ask you a kinda uncomfortable question?"

She nodded, unsure of what to expect.

"I've been thinking a lot, and I don't like thinking a lot. Why do you think I love you?"

Fluttershy blushed a bit. "I have no idea... I know that I'd had a crush on you for years before that one night, 'cause... I don't know, you're just so nice and confident and strong... I guess I just admired you." She paused. "But I don't know why anything happened the way it did. I don't know how you feel."

Dash pulled her closer. "I really do love you. But I don't know why. It could be anything, really. It could be that you're so calm, or so collected, or that you have such a talent with things I don't." She looked off into the low horizon. "It could just be that I feel like I have to rely on you, and you on me. I dunno."

Fluttershy stared up at Dash in surprise. She never thought Dash could ever be so profound, or at least tell her about it. Seriously, this was... it was really, really weird. By this point, she had questions forming in her mind, too.

She continued. "I mean... whenever I see you broken up, I... want to love you. I can't help it. It's just a feeling." She leaned over and kissed Fluttershy on the forehead, holding her tightly, romantically. "I don't ever want you to leave me."

Fluttershy smiled, and blushed deeper. It was so sweet - so romantic. It was like she just knew what to say. It felt right. She nuzzled back into Dash's chest and whispered, "I never will."

---

Dash touched down in the sprawling green fields before Fluttershy, and looked up at her, smiling. "You know, our day's barely half over. What's next?"

"Well," Fluttershy replied, landing next to her, "I thought we could go eat lunch somewhere. I didn't plan this far ahead... I thought that this was supposed to be spur-of-the-moment."

"That's what I like to hear!" Dash said excitedly, and cantered off rather quickly towards town.

Fluttershy laughed. "Wait up!" she cried, as loudly as she could.

"Slowpoke!" Dash called back, laughing along with her, and cantering a bit slower.

Fluttershy giggled, and ran through the field, feeling the wind against her face and the grass whipping against her legs. When she finally caught up to Dash, she slowed down and spread a wing over her. Unfortunately, Dash was planning the same thing and both their wings spread over one another, bringing the bases of their wings together.

Fluttershy gasped, and Dash flushed a light red, quickly looking around the pair to make sure nopony was nearby. She slowly retracted her wing from Fluttershy, who lowered hers in response, blushing and looking at her hooves.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... well, I mean, you know, we're in public, and I don't think it would be such a g-"

"It's okay," Fluttershy said, rubbing her cheek against Dash's. "You know I love you. It was an accident." She walked with Dash in silence for a few more seconds, before adding, "It... it felt nice."

Dash said nothing, but turned her head away and grinned. Score one for accidents.

They walked into town, and back into the same type of thing they'd been forced to deal with (or at least ignore) for the part few weeks. Some ponies stared and whispered, some ponies avoided their gaze, and some ponies just didn't care at all. The only time they'd ever had anything particularly positive happen to them while in a crowd was when one colt neither of them recognized walked past them and said, 'Hey! Rainbow Dash!' and they high-hoofed. Then he just walked away.

Not that that would ever happen again, Dash thought bitterly as she looked around at the group of ponies they were walking through. At least not everypony pointed them out to their neighbors whenever they walked by.

They walked past and thought about multiple restaurants before determining them 'too fancy', or 'too run-down', or, once,
'too colorful'.

"Ooh! What about there?"

Fluttershy stopped and pointed with her hoof to a nice-looking diner painted a retro-ish red. She turned back to Dash, smiling. Seeing the look on Dash's face, though, her voice dropped. "'Cause... I mean... it looks nice..."

Dash stood there for a few more seconds, bringing a hoof to her chin and tapping it comically. "Well... I dunno..."

"Oh, come on, Dashie, we've been walking for fifteen minutes!"

Dash blinked when she heard her recently-acquired nickname, and looked at Fluttershy. "Call me that again."

"Dashie?"

"Now do that face you do."

"Oh, come on, Dashie, not here, we're in public -"

"C'mon."

Fluttershy shook her head and sighed, before gathering herself and concentrating. And then she

She sighed and stopped, and amidst Dash's laughter, said quietly, "Please don't make me do that again. It kinda hurts."

"Alright, I'm sorry. But you should see yourself. It's just so awesome."

"...We're eating here, right?"

"Yup, we'll eat here."

---

"What are you getting?" Dash asked and lowered the slightly-sticky to look across at Fluttershy.

"I... well... I don't know... this grilled cheese over here looks good. I mean, you know how much I like grilled cheese."

"...But?"

"But I'm torn between that and the clover salad." She put her menu down again. "I don't know. What do you think?"

Dash turned the menu around and pointed to a mixed noodle... type... thing. Fluttershy blinked a few times. "What... um..."

"I have no idea. But it's got noodles. I'm good."

Fluttershy giggled and Dash smiled, staring across the table at her marefriend. They remained quiet for a few minutes, just thinking and enjoying each other's company. Nopony needed to talk. After they placed their orders, though, Dash began speaking. "You know, I don't deserve you."

A touch of red appeared of Fluttershy's cheeks as she shook her head. "No, I-"

"I'm not kidding," Dash continued, reaching her hoof out on the table. Fluttershy accepted it, the blush not fading from her face. "Even though I'm awesome and all that -" she stifled a laugh "- well, I just think you're awesomer. Seriously."

Fluttershy smiled and released Dash's hoof as the food arrived. It didn't take them long to eat, and it definitely didn't take them long to leave. If anything, the arrival of the bill seemed to have induced a hurry for the couple. Maybe it was the looks they were attracting, from those who'd caught wind of the odd relationship and those who hadn't.

Dash turned to Fluttershy as they were walking back to Fluttershy's cottage for their 'special day' to continue. "You know, I'm a little tired of ponies always acting so weird when we're around. It's really kinda insulting."

Fluttershy nodded. "Well, we're not alone, we're just public."

Dash stopped walking for a second. "Wait. Say that again. Did you say we're not alone?"

"Well, yeah, remember last night when I told you about that one guy who dropped by the other night? And we both went to Assateague. Plus, I'm not sure about this, but I kinda have suspicions about Lyra and Bon-Bon-"

"Fluttershy!" Dash spluttered. "I was a little busy with... well, you know, with other stuff last night! You remember! I can't believe we're not alone!"

"It's not that unbelievably rare-"

"Don't you see, though?" Dash had been pacing around the empty dirt path. "We could form support groups! We could - we could make a club, or - or, like, have a bowling team or-"

"A bowling team?" Fluttershy giggled.

"You know what I mean! This is all kinds of awesome, Flutters!"

Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat. She didn't think Dash was being playful that t-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden pressure on her lips. Dash was kissing her, one front hoof cradling her left cheek and her other laid across her shoulder. She accepted the kiss, and returned it gratefully, throwing both of her front legs around the baby-blue pegasus and blushing lightly.

Dash pulled away after a minute or two, and smiled, brushing part of Fluttershy's mane out of her eyes. "This should be good for us. It should. I promise."

With this, the two walked side-by-side down the loose dirt road, Fluttershy skipping from time to time. The rest of the day would be fantastic.