Luna's night settled over Ponyville, silent and still. The chill night air brought with it a sense of peace and tranquillity to everypony and their families.
The alicorn herself appeared silently from far above; she relished her night with a slow glide over the town. Wind tickled her feathers and caressed her dark coat as she cruised along. A pair of mighty, deep blue wings carried their owner past the border of the town and on toward a small, majestic cloud house that floated in the sky. Despite the proximity to the Everfree Forest, it is clear that no creature had attempted to harm the dwelling or the family who lived inside. A small rainbow pool was embedded in a cloud attached to the side of the house where it twinkled merrily in the starlight. Tiny rainbow coloured hoof marks dotted the clouds nearby. Somepony small had obviously been playing there today. A smile broke out across Luna's regal features as she spotted it on her pass. She circled the house at a leisurely pace benefiting of royalty as she gazed down. Her eyes slowly drank the beautiful sights as a smile played across her lips. Yes, this could be nothing other than the home of her wife's dear friends.
The alicorn in question swooped into position at her side, purple mane whipping in the breeze as she fought to control the end of her slow dive. Luna noted the mane and tail of her good looking mare appeared to in a worse condition that they ought to be after a short flight from the local library. Both were frazzled as if they had been recently set alight by the magical fire of a powerful young filly. Luna knew all too well who the suspect would be and couldn't help but smile a playful smile. The two lovers shared a glance that made Luna wish time could be paused as they swung closer, drawn together by the bonds of love.
The sight of a cloud some distance off caught the royal alicorn's eye and she slowly glided to it, Twilight in tow. While the unicorn-turned-alicorn seated herself upon the soft puffy goodness of the cloud, Luna shunted it along slowly and placed it within line of sight of the bedroom window at the back of the house. Satisfied, she snuggled down next to her lover and placed a protective, night blue wing across the lighter mare's back. She smiled, delighted as a thankful nuzzle caused her neck to tingle and her tail to twitch with elation. She was glad Twilight had not been held up for long. After a moments more cuddling, the pair turned their attention toward the home of the two pegasi they had helped.
The two proud pegasi in question stood over their rainbow-maned daughter as she drifted off to sleep in her small cot next to her parents bed. Their scarf-like wedding bands hugged their necks while they nuzzled each other gently. Both bands were the colour of their lovers coat, adorned with an accompanying cute mark, showing the world to whom they belonged. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash watched for a few more moments as their small, deep, sunny yellow bundle of fluffy joy slipped off into Dreamland without a care in Equestria. Her parents smiled as she lightly played with the multicoloured strands of her mane and dived ever deeper into the fun realms where Pinkie Pie and Lil' Twi played each night.
All of a sudden, Fluttershy felt her mate drape a wing over her. Tingles raced up her feathers and zipped along her spine as blue met yellow and the two ponies wings brushed together. They shared a smile past their bed and to the window the two alicorns were gazing into. Once Fluttershy spotted Luna and Twilight, she smiled warmly, remembering the alicorns' kindness toward the young couple. The four ponies shared a knowing moment of silence before a satisfied Luna spread her wings and lifted off, floating away toward the Ponyville library. Twilight lingered a moment longer, her friendly smile lighting up the night sky before she too headed off after her mate.
The two pegasi remained for a few moments more, gazing out over Ponyville. Fluttershy felt a shiver run across her back as the chilly night air reminded them it was late. Dash noticed the discomfort and pulled her wife in closer under the embrace of her strong cyan wing. With a contented noise, Fluttershy nuzzled Rainbow Dash. Together they enjoyed their moment of peace and quiet. The nuzzle slowly turned into a passionate kiss. Fluttershy felt her heart rate pick up pace as time stood still; this was the perfect way to top the long day off for Fluttershy. Her wings fluttered excitedly under the cyan cover of love she was encased in. The nature-lover had everything she could ever dream of and more: her animals, friends, and most importantly, the young family she and Rainbow Dash had begun a few years ago. After a few moments, Rainbow Dash pulled away slightly and stared lovingly into Fluttershy's eyes. They held each other's gaze for a few moments before Rainbow drew in close to the buttery mare's ear. The normally shy pegasus felt like she was in heaven as her wife's muzzle brushed against her own.
"Do you remember what tomorrow is?" Dash asked and grinned slyly before she gave Fluttershy a playful nip to her ear. This elicited an adorable little squeak from the quiet pegasus who blushed slightly before nodding in response.
Rainbow turned toward the cot where their young filly was sleeping and Fluttershy followed her gaze.
"I still remember my first day at school. You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." The bold pegasus grinned. The cheeky, look on her blue face made it clear there was more to it, yet Fluttershy was sure she already knew all the important details.
Fluttershy darted past the cot and straight into their bed, fleeing under the covers to cover her cheeks as they rapidly heated. She also did so to cut Dash's flattery short before her companion could to take it further. After a few quiet moments, she felt the cloud they slept on bounce as the ever boisterous Wonderbolt slid in to join her from the opposite end of the bed.
They snuggled down to sleep within each other's embrace. Neither mare had the energy to continue their little moment of fun as their shared warmth reminded their bodies of the rest they required. They nuzzled each other gently as they let the call of sleep slowly take hold. A cute little squeak of joy emanated from the cot at the side of their bed, followed by the sound of a filly sucking on her hair in her sleep. Both mares broke out in delighted grins as they attempted to picture the dream that managed to cause such a reaction. They rolled over to face their daughter, in doing so Fluttershy's neck quickly became a pillow for her spouse as they gazed down on their little miracle. The sight of the adorable filly's smile caused the couple to relax into each other. They rolled back over and their tired bodies once again reminded them of how much energy they had expended in the task of a day's parenthood.
'I remember…' Fluttershy thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. Memories of the first time she was crashed into the mare of her dreams drifted, unbidden into her tired mind and continued to entertain her, even in her dreams as she held her dearly beloved close.
The sun was shining, the rainbows were flowing, and the clouds were nice and poofy underhoof. Cloudsadle and all its inhabitants went about their day, their city bathed in its splendour. The white of the clouds around caught the light blue of the morning sky. Even the well trodden on roads bore little in the way of wear after the previous nights cleansing rain. However, all this was lost on a gangly yellow filly with a flowing pink mane who was shyly walking alongside her mother, a mare with a deep yellow coat and flowing red mane. Fluttershy was terribly nervous about her first day at school. This wasn't the usual kind of nerves that would simply cause her whole body to clam up while her brain fought for control of shaking limbs and butterflies assaulted her tummy. No, this was bad enough that she really, really, really wanted to run off and hide in her room at home and not come out for a week. She would be spending time in a strange place, surrounded by strange ponies who would hate her and she would even have to sleep in a strange bed during the week in the room with somepony she didn't know. Nothing about school appealed to her. It wasn't even as if she had any daycare friends to look forward to. Everypony had made fun of her and she was not looking forward to the prospect of subjecting herself to that again.
"Honey, relax. It's going to be okay." The soft, rich voice of the introverted mare interrupted her filly's thoughts.
"B-but, mum…" Pleading filly orbs of cyan gazed upwards into the sky blue eyes of her mother.
"You know that when a pegasus filly or colt turns six, they make you go to school." Scarlet Sunset flicked her long, blood red mane to the side as she tore her gaze off her nervous youngster.
Fluttershy let out a sigh and nuzzled her mother's deep sunset yellow leg. "But I don't want to go to school."
"I know, dear. But your father has paid for the best school for foals in all of Cloudsdale. You wouldn't want to disappoint your father do you?"
The very thought of attending such a big school made Fluttershy want to run home and hide under her blankets. But on the other hoof, her daddy would get really angry if she did that again. With a fear filled sigh, the little filly inched closer to her mum, attempting to make herself invisible to the pegasi who flew gracefully overhead. She allowed herself to briefly glance up at the spectacle. A smile graced her muzzle as she observed the winged ponies in flight. Oh how amazing it would be to join them one day. Her wings quivered against her sides in wistful anticipation. Suddenly she froze as voices echoed through her head: the voices of the foals who teased her and caused great pain. Unlike everypony else in Cloudsdale, the call of the open skies was accompanied by the threat of failure. She jumped at the soft touch of her mother, the one pegasus who always understood her.
"Honey, are you alright?" Love and care shone through the eyes of the soft spoken mare as she gazed down into her daughters eyes.
Fluttershy nodded briskly before she scurried back to her mother's side.
The middle-aged mare nodded slowly, displeased by her daughter's actions, yet understanding. She chose to hold her tongue and continue their walk to school. It was best if her daughter was not pressed too hard in times like this. After all, in a school so large there was hope that her little filly would find a friend who was as quiet and sweet as she was.
The brightly coloured pair fell into an uneasy silence as the wide open streets narrowed. The cloud buildings become smaller and more condensed as ponies filled the streets as well as the skies above. They rounded a corner, heading toward a pair of large cloud gates with the words 'Cloudsdale Central School' embellished upon the archway. A blue and rainbow streak appeared out of nowhere, blindsiding Fluttershy who yelped in surprise. The yellow filly's mother turned at the sound to find two fillies tangled in a mess of rainbow and pink manes. The smaller blue coated stranger immediately disentangled herself from Fluttershy, cutting off her whispered apologies with a big confident voice.
"Hey there, sorry about that. I need to look where I'm going sometimes." The stranger paused for a moment to take in the cute mess in front of her, cocking her head to the side inquisitively.
"What's your name by the way?"
Fluttershy immediately hid behind her mane, still sprawled upon the ground, too nervous to get up. After a moments awkward silence, the cyan speedster realised the filly she smacked into is not as bold as she expected and offered her a hoof to help her up.
The unexpected offer caused Fluttershy to slowly unfreeze. A gentle nudge from behind caused her to glance backwards. Her mum motioned toward the strange blue filly, an encouraging smile in residence upon her soft features. It gave courage to the shy pegasus who smiled meekly back. Fluttershy swallowed nervously as she turned back to the strange filly and allowed herself to be hoisted up.
"So… your name?" the blue and rainbow stranger prompted once more. Fluttershy felt almost ready to faint as those big angelic pink eyes gazed up into her own.
In a final bid for more confidence, Fluttershy glanced nervously up at her mum, who smiled warmly down at the pair. The quiet mare took off to stretch her wings, leaving the fillies for a moment. Fluttershy turned toward the friendly stranger and took a deep breath in readiness.
"Flutter.." Her quiet voice faltered and the rest of the word escaped in silence, along with the deep breath she had summoned. This left the blue filly with a questioning look upon her face. The stranger leaned in toward Fluttershy, filled her vision with spiky rainbow hair and her friendly, expectant face. Those amazing, pink eyes shone vibrantly in the sun as she waited impatiently.
"Fluttershy…" a nervous squeak followed the single word that may as well have come from a mouse.
The cyan filly burst into a brief fit of giggles before a huge grin invaded her muzzle, "Cool! My name's Rainbow Dash, and I'm going to grow up big and strong and I'll be the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!"
The smile on the face of the speed talking filly turned out to be contagious, as Fluttershy quickly found herself aglow with a matching grin. Suddenly the day appeared brighter and more colourful, just like Dash's shining rainbow mane. The bold filly powered up her wings for dramatic effect, showing off as if she were a mighty Wonderbolt at a show.
"I can't fly yet. But I'm still practicing. How about you, Fluttershy, can you fly yet?"
Fluttershy shook her head sadly, her gaze suddenly glued to the soft clouds underhoof. Rainbow Dash gently lifted Fluttershy's head with her hoof to gaze into her shy aqua eyes.
"Hey, it's ok… I'm sure we'll both learn soon enough. So where are you off to anyway?"
Fluttershy's mother chose the moment to rejoin the pair. "She's off to her first day at school. Are you going too?"
Rainbow vigorously shook her head. "No way. I'm not quite old enough yet. But school sounds boring anyway." Fluttershy felt sadness well up inside her once more. She had almost made her first friend, but as usual, she was out of luck. Rainbow noticed the change and piped up.
"I'll be a big filly soon. In a few months time I'll see you at school. Okay?"
Fluttershy nodded, her face slowly brightening up as she processed the meaning behind the strangers words. "Yay…" She quickly hid behind her mane again, followed by her signature squeak, blushing slightly.
The brash youngster in front of Fluttershy failed to contain herself from rolling on the clouds in a fit of giggles brought on from the cute yet hilarious display in front of her. Fluttershy felt her mother give a nudge from behind.
Rainbow noticed the hint too. "Well you have fun, I'm off to go play some cool pranks at my dad's work."
A mischievous grin overtook Rainbow's face as she talked. The prankster trotted off before the shy filly could answer her again out loud. The bright blue filly waved goodbye and with a mighty flap of her wings, she sprinted off.
"Ready now?" Scarlet Sunset asked, a warm smile plastered all over her kind face.
Fluttershy nodded nervously and resumed following her mum to school. She glanced over her shoulder in an attempt to spot the rainbow moving in the crowd. She quickly turned from her fruitless task as she felt her mother's tail brush along her side. Dash had disappeared and was not coming back. She could not help but look forward to seeing the cyan filly again in a few months' time.
Then she realised, she had not even asked if they were to be attending the same school together. With a sigh, the lonesome filly forced herself onwards.