Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy casually step out into the chilly afternoon air, both displaying a deep shiver as a gust of wind brushes past them.  Instinctively, the yellow pegasus fluffs her wings up to help keep her warm, glancing over at Twilight who apparently thinks the action is cute.  They begin their long walk back to Fluttershy's tree-home in silence, simply listening to nature as they pass it by.  The cold, clean air feels almost lighter than usual, carrying sounds from further away and prompting a stillness outside that would, on any other day, be a deafening barrage of noise.  The rustling of leaves from behind them gives a brief warning to the two ponies that another chilly gust of wind is about to hit them.  

Twilight jumps a little as the frigid air once again teases her thin coat, causing her to shiver and exclaim her discomfort for the cold.  "Wow!  I had no idea it was so chilly today...  The sun is out!"  She says, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her mane back and forth.  

Fluttershy simply smiles and walks up next to Twilight, reaching out her wing and resting it on her back.  Twilight seems to be getting used to this type of treatment as she tilts her head and nuzzles it against Fluttershy's shoulder, keeping a slow and steady pace along with the mare.  

"I had no clue how warm pegasus wings were..."  Twilight says, happy to be next to Fluttershy and looking up into her heavily blushing face.

"W-well... some ponies pay good money to have pegasus-down collected after we molt to stuff pillows and blankets with... b-but I'm just happy I can help,"  Fluttershy stutters a little bit, having to force herself to keep from shrinking away timidly.  

Twilight giggles at Fluttershy's reaction, nuzzling her head up against her neck and accidentally rubbing the tip of her horn against the mare's jawbone.  "Well...  I didn't mind having a pegasus stay with me last night... I don't know if you're always such a hot-pack or if it was just something special about the situation, but we barely needed the blankets,"  Twilight says with a gentile nudge into Fluttershy's ribs, teasing her and giggling.

Fluttershy blushes brick-red once more, instinctively hiding behind her mane from the embarrassment, "Yeah... well... you... You're a selfish kisser!"  Trying to think of anything she could use against the unicorn, but not quite having the effect she desires.  

"Bahahaha!  Maybe when I'm unconscious I am... did you need me to prove you wrong?"  She says with a wink, comfortable enough to display this affection in public since everypony's staying inside today, save the occasional Weather Patrol pegasus flying overhead.  

Fluttershy realizes that she's not up to the task to embarrass Twilight and submits.  Blushing heavily and shaking her head, "N-n-no that's okay... You've made your point... a-at least, not outside..."  She admits, secretly wishing that they could share another moment of intimacy like that soon but too embarrassed to say it.  

Gee Co-pilot... Twilight sure seems to have gotten comfortable with this whole situation pretty quickly... what's it been... 6 hours?  Almost as if on cue, the 'Voice of Courage' shatters the tranquility in Fluttershy's mind.

So?  I'm comfortable with it too... I like Twilight, She responds, using the opportune silence of a comfortable side-by-side trot home with the purple mare to have a minor 'argument' with herself.  

But you still don't want your friends to know, that doesn't sound like comfortable behavior to me,  

Just leave me alone...  This is the first time I've felt like I could actually be happy with someone, why are you trying to ruin it?

I'm not trying to ruin it Co-pilot, I'm just trying to pin down your motives... Keep in mind that without my pep-talk you would have just lied there in Twilight's bed, silently wishing to yourself that you told her.  You would have gone home disappointed in yourself and would have tried to make up for it by obsessively reorganizing your house, feeding your animals, and all that other junk that you do to keep yourself occupied in the absence of companionship.  You did the same thing with Morning Dew in Flight school, you passed up an opportunity with Big Macinosh when you helped during Applebuck season, and you even hid your interest from Rainbow Dash after finding out you both came to Ponyville...  I hate to see you lonely and depressed because I have to live with you and listen to every little thought and worry in your head, and frankly it gets dull... it gets dull fast...  The voice tells her off very matter-of-factly, and Fluttershy understands what the voice means.

The voice isn't a separate entity, they share feelings, thoughts, emotions, pain, pleasure... They share everything, whether they want to or not.  But she acts as an analogue for something that's never truly been there: a close friend.  Someone to tell her the things she needs to hear, and someone to fight with when they're too stuck in their routines to move on.

B-B-But... But you... you make fun of me and...  Fluttershy stutters even in her mind when she's processing, trying to reason with the voice and put up some kind of resistance as opposed to to simply giving in and letting her win.

B-B-But nuthin', Fluttershy... You're timid and nice and sweet and kind, and I understand that, I respect it even... but there's one thing I will never respect about you...  'Voice of Courage' is starting to get a little testy; Fluttershy enacts these emotions physically as well, grinding her teeth and stiffening up a little as she and Twilight slowly approach Fluttershy's tree-home in blissful silence.  You're afraid to let yourself be happy,

Fluttershy knows the voice is right, and she even feels her body unravel from the absolute dissipation of all anger that she was holding against herself.  She loosens up and stops grinding her teeth, sluggishly plodding on toward her home which is now in full view of the unlikely pair.  Twilight, however, catches on to the changes in Fluttershy's body language, having been worried about her for some by now.

"Fluttershy, are you alright?"  Just four simple words illicit the pegasus to really think about her answer.  She was angry with herself, mostly because the voice was right.  Fluttershy doesn't answer right away, instead stopping and turning to face Twilight eye to eye.  She decides to do what she feels for once: no debate, no worry about the consequences, just taking something that she wants for the first time in her life.  

The pegasus moves forward, wrapping her forelegs around twilight's shoulders and standing up with her, flapping her wings out briefly, only to wrap them around the pair.  Fluttershy, lost in a blind affection for the unicorn cocks her head and presses her muzzle to Twilight's.  The deep kiss, accompanied by a warm embrace feels to both ponies like it's actually generating its own heat source; they wouldn't be surprised if they looked around to see all of the snow around them completely melted.  Fluttershy holds the mare tight against her, not letting the kiss break, falling deep into euphoria at the moment and letting tears well up in her eyes.  

I have to say Co-pilot, I'm impressed... Guess I'll go for a little while then.  I'm sure you want to be alone.  The voice remarks, leaving Fluttershy's mind open to wander without interruption.  The pegasus stays calm and tranquil through the whole ordeal however; lost in the moment and dedicating her entire conscious mind to an almost meditative state of sensation.  She breaks the kiss after what feels to her like an eternity, opening her eyes and looking deep into Twilight's beautiful purple irises.  Smiling big and blushing as she realizes what she just did.  

"I'll... I'll take that as a yes,"  Twilight says, pleasantly surprised at the reaction and blushing intensely.  The only thoughts present in both of their minds was a feeble attempt to relive the feelings and emotions; to experience the euphoria of a surprise kiss once again if they could.  Fluttershy smiles and begins to lean in again, still blushing, but this time accompanied by the conscious and willing Twilight Sparkle to meet her.

"Now that's something I never thought I'd see!"  Says a mysterious voice from somewhere above the pair.  Fluttershy thinks it's her Id coming back to haunt her, but soon realizes that Twilight heard it too and is looking up.  Fluttershy follows her gaze with a grimace, seeing none other than the legendary Rainbow Dash hovering above the two of them with the most wicked grin they had ever seen.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The unlikely pair enter the door to Fluttershy's tree, Rainbow Dash following suit, never having landed while following them.  She goads them constantly, asking embarrassing questions to both of the already timid ponies and prodding into their private life.  Poor Fluttershy hides behind her mane, not making eye contact with the cyan mare or Twilight; the only time she really stood up for herself and her desires ended in the most embarrassing situation of her life.

"So, guys, how long have you been an item?" Rainbow Dash asks, seeming to be genuinely interested but still holding onto that mocking tone of voice that she's known for.  

"It hasn't been long, Dash... we actually just recently made the decision to try it out and didn't want to let anybody in on it until some more time had passed,"  Twilight responds, not afraid to make her displeasure known to the pegasus.  Dash promptly hovers above Fluttershy, dropping right out of the sky and landing next to her on the floor with a loud thud, glancing back and forth between the two bashful ponies.

"So, just what do I get for keepin' my mouth shut?"  She asks, hugging up to Fluttershy and making her shrink away just a little; she hasn't made eye contact with anypony since that wonderful moment.  

"Rainbow, I can't believe you'd try to use this as blackmail!  You know how sensitive Fluttershy is..."  Twilight snaps in response.  Growling a little at the laughing pegasus while taking very little self-interest in her example.

"Aww c'mon! I don't mean anything by it.  It's just that sweet little Fluttershy and brainy Twilight Sparkle being fillyfoolers... and a couple no less!  That would be worth an awful lot to some of those paparazzo ponies as a story.  You might have to sweeten the deal a little to keep me from cashin' in on this,"  Neither of the ponies really wanted to believe that the element of loyalty would play with a secret so delicate, but Fluttershy knew something that Twilight evidently didn't.  

"Twilight, she's just acting this way because she made me promise not to tell anybody that she liked mares back when I found out in flight school..."  Fluttershy speaks up, blatantly disregarding Rainbow's 'secret' in hopes that it'll help show her how she's acting.  

"Wait... Rainbow... You?  I never would have guessed..."  Twilight says, taken aback by the revelation.  Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash can only look at each other confused.  

"Heck even I thought everypony knew,"  The rainbow-maned pegasus says, standing up and walking around the pair.  Twilight stands up to keep at eye-level with Rainbow, pacing around in a circle and taking her place beside Fluttershy.  The yellow pony looks up at the protective unicorn, unable to fight a small smile from sneaking across her face.  

"No offense, Twilight... But it is kind of obvious..."  Fluttershy says, standing up and keeping her side pressed against Twilight, hugging one wing around her back and bringing her in close.  

"Hey now I wouldn't say obvious..." Rainbow Dash says, starting to sweat a little now from her own secret being publicly discussed,  "B-but it's certainly not as much of a shocker as you two together...  I'm sure Pinkie would just love the idea of throwing you a party!"  She immediately takes control of the situation, expertly snapping the spotlight back onto the two lovers.  

Fluttershy bites her lower lip and looks at Twilight, who seems equally horrified at the prospect, "Alright Dash, you win... I don't think we're quite ready for that kind of attention yet... what do you want?"  Twilight asks, lowering her head in submission to the devious mare.  

"Hmmm... Well, considering this is you two that we're talking about here... And you did say that it hasn't been long right?"  Dash asks, waiting for an answer before she continues.

"I... I spoke up about it y-yesterday..."  Fluttershy admits, knowing it wouldn't be prudent to lie at this point.  

"Right then, your first time together, you gotta let me watch!"  Rainbow replies, immediately taking a stance, stoic as always.  

"W-watch what?"  Twilight asks, ignorant of the hidden meaning behind Dash's words.

Fluttershy, already so red she could put Big Macintosh to shame, leans over and whispers in Twilight's ear, explaining in the tamest way she knows just what Dash meant by 'watch'.  

Twilight's eyes widen until they look like they're about to burst from her head, and what appears to be all of the blood in her body rushes to her cheeks.  The unicorn seems to be paralyzed just by the thought of such an invasion of privacy.  Rainbow Dash had given up standing long ago by this point though; she's currently on her back, laughing so hard that she's crying and flailing around.  

Ohhhh she's dirty... you should have asked her out Co-pilot!  Of course she'd chime in now.  Part of the 'Voice of Courage' really makes Fluttershy feel like she has a very tiny Rainbow Dash lodged into her mind.  

"Y-y-you know neither of us are going to agree to that!"  Twilight, moving from paralyzing embarrassment into a defensive rage, yells to the giggling mare.  

"Bahaaaahahaha! The... The look on your face Twi... P-Priceless! ahahahaaaaa!"  Rainbow can barely speak through her fit.  "Awwhh... You guys are adorable when you're embarrassed... I'm sorry, I couldn't really ask you to do that.  I was just messin' with you both,"  She pauses to take a few breaths, standing up and flapping her wings a few times.  "Listen, all kidding aside I'm happy for you, and I hope you stick together and have tons of fun.  I won't tell anypony, that's up to you, I am the element of loyalty after all,"  She says, stifling a laugh at the end of it.

"Sometimes I wonder..." Twilight quips, still angry but very, very relieved.

"Oh take a chill pill Twi... Just keep your marefriend happy and you won't need to worry about anything else.  Although I do wanna say this: our friends are super-cool, they wouldn't think any differently of you two no matter what, so don't take too long in deciding when you wanna tell them, I'm sure they'll be totally psyched for ya!"  

Fluttershy, forgiving as usual, unwraps her wing from Twilight and walks up to the other pegasus, giving her a hug around the shoulders as thanks for taking back that mean-spirited prank.  "Thank you, Dashie, please just promise us that you won't tell anyone, please?"  Fluttershy begs, knowing that the pegaus can't resist her charms.

"Alright, alright I promise you I won't tell anypony whatsoever... Just go back to Twilight and have yourselves a good day.  I gotta get back to work anyhow, we're planning a light snow tomorrow so you might wanna stock up on hot cocoa and such.  Twenty bits says you two will be snuggling up nice and cozy in this place during the whole thing!"  She winks and grins at the ponies as she approaches the exit, stretching her wings and opening the beautifully carved door,  "Take care gals!  Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" and with that final word she leaves; the draft created by her speedy escape shuts the door for them, rather slams it, and leaves the pair in a slightly uncomfortable silence.  

"So...  I'm uhm, I'm glad she didn't really mean that she wanted to watch us..."  Twilight says, breaking the silence but only adding to the discomfort.  "I mean... I don't even know how that would work... Sure a stallion and a mare makes sense but..."

Fluttershy blushes and giggles, reaching her hoof up to cut Twilight off in the middle of her sentence, looking her in the eyes and smiling, "You said it yourself Twilight... No pressure... we don't have to think about that right now,"  She lowers her hoof and punctuates her statement with another sweet kiss on Twilight's lips.  

"Well...  Fluttershy, to be honest I want everything we do together to be special...  I don't quite know why but being with you feels unique."  Twilight responds, taking a few seconds to collect herself after the kiss.  

"Twilight, I understand... and if Rainbow is any testament, two mares don't seem to have much trouble doing... well... that...  So I wouldn't worry too much about how it works, just focus on being comfortable,"  Fluttershy responds, feeling like a weight has been lifted from her.  She's actually able to openly speak to Twilight about anything, and she loves every single second of it.

"Aww, well I promise I'll think about it, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable either...  We'll talk later about it okay?  I'm kind of in the mood to just sit and chat and maybe snuggle for a while... I really enjoyed doing that with you last night,"  Twilight says, deciding to change the subject before the rise in blood pressure makes her lightheaded.  

Fluttershy blushes again, surprised that it's actually her exhibiting more knowledge about this than Twilight,  "Deal... But could you make me a promise?"  She asks, smiling at the lavender mare of her dreams.

"Of course, Fluttershy!  What is it?  I'd be happy to,"  She eagerly responds, clinging onto that moment of feeling confided in.  

"Promise me that when the time comes for us to fool around, you won't try to take any notes,"

The girls both giggle and Twilight shoves Fluttershy away playfully.  They can't help but feel happy together, especially given the sublime beauty of the pale, overcast sky casting its light on the tree home.  They sit down together, wrapping each other up in a warm hug, melting in each others arms as they kiss.  This time no surprises, just two loving mares as they share a moment; cherishing every single second of bliss and wishing it could last forever.