AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry! It's been a while since I've updated. I started a new job a couple of weeks ago that is 6:30am-5:30pm Monday-Friday, so I haven't had a lot of time or energy to write :(

Anyways... excuses aside, here's the next chapter!

The days passed since Fluttershy's ultrasound, but the pregnant pony's head still spun at the though of what Rainbow Dash had said. "S-she's beautiful! Fluttershy and our foal! I want to be there for you and help you and just be a super cool mom!" Fluttershy clung to that memory. Rainbow Dash seemed sincere, but did she know what she was getting into? Once she realizes how hard it is to raise a foal will she just leave? Fluttershy tried not to think about that. Whatever happens, happens. No amount of fussing or worrying can change that. Logic was of little consolation to the distraught Pegasus.

Fluttershy was quite deep in thought when she heard a knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be?" She pondered aloud.

Walking over to the door, she cautiously opened it; the rainbow-maned object of her desire was standing on the other side. The little yellow Pegasus blushed slightly at the sight of her friend. She opened the door wider and said, "Oh, Rainbow Dash, please come in."

"Thanks Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said as she passed her friend walking into the cottage.

"So, what brings you here?" Fluttershy asked.

"I kinda wanna talk to you," answered Rainbow Dash.

"Oh?" Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat. "What about?"

"I meant what I said when we were at the princess's castle; I really do want to be here for you and our foal." Fluttershy could tell that the blue Pegasus standing before her had put a lot of thought into what she was saying. It was difficult for her to say because she wasn't all too proficient at vocalizing her emotions, but she managed.

"That's wonderful Rainbow Dash! I really appreciate it," Fluttershy smiled brightly.

An awkward silence passed between the two Pegasus mares. Then Rainbow Dash said, "Well, I uh... gottagetgoingbye!"

Fluttershy was taken off guard by the hasty retreat of her friend. She also couldn't help but think that there was something that remained unsaid between them. Rainbow Dash looked like she had a lot on her mind, but her visit was so brief that there was no way she could have unloaded even a fraction of what was on her mind.

...

Rainbow Dash flew as quickly as she could away from Fluttershy's cottage. She flew so fast that tears stung her eyes and ran down her cheeks as she hurried home. Panic coursed through her veins when she came close to spilling even more emotion out to Fluttershy. Eventually she slowed and stopped on a cloud. She could feel the residual adrenalin slowly fading, hormones returning to normal. And the blood was returning from her lower extremities and wings to a corporal equilibrium.

Panting hard on the cloud she had landed on, Rainbow Dash started to think. Why am I such a failure? If I really do feel this way about her, I should just tell her. No more chickening out! Rainbow Dash told herself. I can do this... But, maybe tomorrow. Maybe tonight I just need to sleep. So, off she flew, back to her cloud home to sleep away the embarrassing memory of her brief meeting with Fluttershy.

The rainbow pools and falls that surrounded her home shimmered brilliantly in the full moonlight. Each color was reflected in an effervescent shine that sent off a glow of variably colored light. The rainbow pools made a soft sound as the gentle night breeze skimmed over the surface. Rainbow Dash noticed none of this. She blew passed everything as fast as she could, completely lost in thought. Thinking of Fluttershy's innocence, her maternal glow, that cute little blush that crept up on her face whenever Rainbow Dash was around...

Why can't I stop thinking about her? I've never felt this way about anypony before. I know I like her, but this is just so much more. Rainbow Dash contemplated her feelings as she wandered blindly to her soft cloud bed. Flopping down to fall asleep, her mind was consumed with images of her shy Pegasus friend.

...

Fluttershy's night had gone similarly to Rainbow Dash's after her friend's speedy retreat, though much more moping was involved. She stood stunned, for nearly five minutes after Rainbow Dash took off. Her mind went through all of the possibilities of why she left: did I say something? Did I do something? Do I look fat? Am I ugly? Did I scare her away? Did she change her mind? Oh Fluttershy, why do you always have to mess things up?

After she got over the initial shock of her friend leaving, she started to cry. At first it the salty tears ran in smooth streams down her cheeks, but the more she cried, the less smooth it got. Her face and eyes were red, her cheeks raw and pink, nose running slightly. Fluttershy felt like a mess. Through the glare of tears she saw a fluffy white dot that she could only interpret as Angel.

"Oh Angel!" She wailed. "I d-don't know whyyyy I'm... cryyying so much," she sniffed, then cried some more.

Angel crossed his little bunny arms, then uncrossed them; today, his stubborn tough-love wasn't going to be any use at all. He jumped up on the couch where Fluttershy had plunked herself and cuddled up into her beautiful pink mane. It felt different, noted the little bunny; it was thicker and softer. He also noticed that her coat was starting to gleam more. And with the heightened emotional sensitivity, Angel guessed it had something to do with hormones. He ignored the fact that he didn't really want to deal with her crazy pregnancy hormones in order to comfort his dear friend. He wiped away the streams of tears on her cheeks with his tiny bunny paws and then hugged her closer to him.

Fluttershy sniffled, "Thanks Angel bunny. I feel much better now." Fluttershy smiled weakly, but Angel could tell it was a genuine smile.

"I-I just... want her to like me," Fluttershy said bashfully.

Angel made a heart shape with his small paws and flapped his arms like wings.

"Angel, we are not going through this again! I don't love flying and we already know that I love Rainbow Dash. Why do you keep bringing it up?" Fluttershy's quivering voice turned from melancholic to vexed.

Angel vehemently shook his head. He did the flapping motion first, then the heart, then pointed to Fluttershy. He couldn't get any clearer! RAINBOW DASH LOVES YOU! He wanted to scream.

"Angel, you're not saying that Rainbow Dash is in love with me are you?" Fluttershy didn't want to look at Angel, for fear that her interpretation was wrong. But her curiosity got the best of her. Slowly, very slowly she opened her eyes. One eye, now both eyes... open. Open to see Angel nodding a relieved 'yes'. "Really? A-are you sure Angel bunny?" Once again her nodded his head. "Oh! That makes me feel so much better. I sure hope you're right." Fluttershy yawned a graceful yawn and said, "Wow, all of this emotional stress really tired me out." Moments after she spoke those words, the sleepy little mare was fast asleep on her couch in the living room. Angel bunny was still curled up in her mane, happy to fall sleep knowing that he calmed his friend.

It was early then next morning. So early that it was surprising that Rainbow Dash was up and at'er. It was warm in Ponyville for only being February. They had already celebrated Winter Wrap-up for that year. The mayor decided to undergo the changing of the seasons earlier than they typically did since it had been such a brutal winter. Not that anypony was complaining about the early change in seasons. Rainbow Dash watched as the sky was lit up with Celestia's sun. The reds, yellows, oranges, purples, and pinks of the sky became more diluted the farther the sun rose. Rainbow Dash had never really taken the time to watch a sunrise.

The early morning light made the rainbow pools and falls sparkle and dance in the sun's glow. Unlike last night, Rainbow Dash actually took notice of the light's effects on the rainbow pools and falls. The colors were so bright and so vivid. It's so intense! Thought Rainbow Dash as she stared mesmerized by the array of color. She had never really had a great appreciation for the little things in life; the sunrises, the rainbow pools, even the great cloud city where she hailed from never seemed to cause her to blink. I'm going soft, thinks the brash little Pegasus with a soft smile, maybe that's not so bad if I'll be raising a little one... Wait! What is happening to me? It must be 'cause it's early out... yeah, let's go with that.

The day stretched on, but Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel that she wanted to share the special sight that she had witnessed that morning with somepony else. Somepony named Fluttershy. Yeah, that's what I'll do, I'll ask Fluttershy to come over and surprise her with that stellar view! Okay, I can do this. Oh wait... I don't wanna have to wake her up early in the morning; she needs her sleep. Sunset it pretty much the same thing anyways, she Dash inhaled slowly, held her breath at the top for a moment, then let it go. She took off through the sky towards Fluttershy's cottage.

Landing outside of Fluttershy's cottage, the rainbow-maned pony took another deep breath. , she chanted an encouraging mantra in her head. She took a few steps to close the gap between her and the door. Another deep breath. And... knock. Moments later Rainbow Dash heard hoofbeats coming from inside the cottage. The rhythmic sound stopped and the door opened to reveal Fluttershy. The pretty Pegasus blushed slightly at the sight of Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash," she greeted meekly.

"Hey there Fluttershy. I uh, was wondering if you might wanna come over and we could, you know, watch the sunset together," Rainbow Dash managed to keep her voice from fluctuating in tone, but it was still a bit shaky.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" Exclaimed the yellow Pegasus.

"Great! Great, uh, so do you wanna come over like, now?" Asked Rainbow Dash awkwardly.

"Oh yes, I would like that," smiled Fluttershy.

So, the two Pegasus friends took to the sky. Rainbow Dash sped off as usual, then noticed that Fluttershy was far behind her. The other Pegasus was already a weak flier and then with the added weight of being pregnant, her flying was significantly compromised. Rainbow Dash flew back to the slower pony. They flew side by side all the way back to Rainbow Dash's home. The trip there was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence.

As they reached Rainbow Dash's home, the sky was turning a bright fuchsia color. The sunset was beginning right on time. The two Pegasus ponies got comfortable next to each other on the soft clouds below them. There was about 13 inches between the two friends. I bet I can close that gap without her even noticing, Rainbow Dash smirked to herself; the thought of them being so close gave her heart a little jolt. So, carefully the blue Pegasus moved closer and closer to the yellow Pegasus.

"This is such a beautiful sight," commented Fluttershy quietly. The spot where they had made themselves comfortable overlooked all of Ponyville. It was a clear, calm night and the sky was lit with myriad shades of blues, reds, yellows, and everything in between.

"Yeah, sure is!" Agreed Rainbow Dash. "You're even more beautiful though," she added lamely.

Fluttershy blushed, not thinking that what she said was lame. "Th-thanks."

Rainbow Dash inched even closer to Fluttershy and stretched a wing out across the yellow Pegasus beside her. Fluttershy blushed an even darker shade of red and bravely snuggled in closer to Rainbow Dash. The gap had completely closed between the two bodies. There was a warm tingle of energy that passed between the closely touching body parts of the two mares. Together they bathed in the glow of the setting sun and each other's company.

The sun made it's final appearance before disappearing below the western sky. Fluttershy yawned and let her head fall gently to the ground. But instead of cloud greeting her chin, she felt Rainbow Dash's forelegs. She started to move, but felt Dash's head lay on top of her own. They were comfortably intertwined in the darkness, sharing ardor.

"Fluttershy," whispered Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah," answered Fluttershy.

"I think I love you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh! The cliffhanger! Hopefully it won't take me quite as long to get Chapter 8 up as it did to get this one up.

Also, I wanted to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. All your feedback is really helpful and greatly appreciated!