About three months into pregnancy...
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were already missing the warm weather. Even though the Summer was hot, it seemed a whole lot better than shivering in the cold. The Fall was almost perfect weather. The days started out cool but the afternoons were nice and warm. It wasn't like they hated Winter but given the current conditions and situation, they had good reasons to spend most of it inside cuddled up in front of the fireplace.
The couple were laying down together on a soft fuzzy rug in front of a blazing fire. Rainbow Dash was resting her head comfortably on Fluttershy's back. They both had been outside not long ago, making sure the animals had left to their shelters to hibernate. A few of the animals were taken inside because they either had nowhere to go or they weren't meant for the cold weather.
Fluttershy gently nudged her wife's shoulder. "Rainbow? Are you getting hungry too?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh! Do you want something to eat?" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yes please. I mean, if you-" Fluttershy tried to say.
Rainbow Dash interrupted her by saying, "Hey, you have every right to do that. It's my job to do these things for you. I really don't mind doing this for you, Flutters," she said in a soft tone.
Fluttershy ran a hoof through her mane. "I just don't want to be too needy for you," she explained.
"You're not too needy. I don't want this to be a miserable experience for you," Rainbow Dash said as she gently brought a hoof to her face.
"It hasn't been. Not with you around here," Fluttershy stated.
Rainbow Dash gave her wife a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up to leave to the kitchen. She pondered over what to make for Fluttershy and herself. Over the short time which they had been married, she had cooked for her own wife a few times. Granted she wasn't a skilled cook but she managed to make decent meals or snacks. It was mostly the experience of trial and error when she lived by herself that taught her how to cook.
None of the leftovers looked appetizing for lunch. The wheatloaf had been there for too long and there was no way that she was going to have sauerkraut again. She checked through their fridge again for ideas. They did have a lot of slices of cheese and bags of salad. An idea came into her head. She could make grilled cheese sandwiches with a bowl of salad on the side.
She pulled out the necessary ingredients for a scrumptious lunch. To humor herself, she put on a white apron and an old chef hat that hadn't been worn for a long time. She looked like one of the chefs from the local family restaurant nearby in town. With her basic set of cooking skills, she went to work. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was petting one of her animals that lived inside their cottage during the winter.
"Hello, Mr. Jay. I'm sorry that you couldn't leave with your friends. Your wing needs more time to heal before you can fly again. Don't worry, they'll be back before you know it!" Fluttershy said in a sympathetic voice.
The little blue bird glanced at the white cast which was over his injuried wing. He clearly didn't look happy from his caretaker's point of view. With a hoof so gentle, she rubbed the top of his head carefully. After five minutes of consoling the poor bird, Fluttershy was surprised when Rainbow Dash came out from the kitchen holding a large tray with their food and drinks on it and was oddly dressed up as a chef.
"Rainbow, why are you wearing that?" Fluttershy asked as she started giggling.
"I dunno, 'cause I always dress in style?" Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk. She laid out the food and drinks next to the rug. "You're going to love this awesome lunch that I whipped up for us!" she said, puffing out her chest.
With a curious look on her face, Fluttershy examined the lunch that was so thoughtfully prepared. "Oh my goodness! What a tasty looking lunch!" she complimented.
"Yup, aren't I a pretty decent chef or what?" Rainbow Dash said as she took off the apron and hat.
Fluttershy picked up a grilled cheese sandwich. "There's only one way to find out!" she said and took a bite. "Mhmm..." was her immediate response.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "I knew you would like it," she chuckled.
The cyan pegasus laid down next to her beloved wife and sorted out the contents. There were grilled cheese sandwiches, bowls of salad, and containers of apple juice. She eagerly helped herself to a grilled cheese sandwich and took a large bite out of it.
"Thank you so much, Rainbow! It was so sweet of you to do this!" Fluttershy said, giving her life partner a grateful look in the eyes.
"Of course! I know you like it. A nice filling lunch to eat in front of the warm and toasty fireplace... and your number one sappiest pegasus!" Rainbow Dash replied with a hint of embarrassment for making fun of herself.
Fluttershy put down her sandwich. "What would I do without my sappy, beautiful, future Wonderbolt pegasus?" she playfully teased, batting her eyes in a silly manner.
"I don't know," said Rainbow Dash as she rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't have an awesome pony to snuggle up with," she answered.
"That's true. I just hope that certain awesome pony would be interested in a snuggle session and perhaps a nap after our delicious lunch," Fluttershy suggested, rubbing her cheek against Rainbow Dash's.
Blushing, Rainbow Dash said, "Huh... a snuggle session you say? And a nap? Well, I was hoping that we could get some more fresh air but I guess we can go outside again tomorrow," she said and returned the gesture. "I really don't mind spending the rest of today getting all cozy in front of the fireplace."
"It really would feel nice to just spend the rest of this cold, chilly day inside today," She said and chomped on her sandwich.
"Sheesh! You really are hungry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash chuckled.
Both pegasi continued to eat their scrumptious meal. Only Rainbow Dash was aware at the moment that Fluttershy was just having one of her food cravings again. Though, it seemed to be unnecessary to bring it up. When they finished eating, Rainbow Dash simply moved the large messy tray onto their dinning table out of laziness and rejoined Fluttershy.
"Snuggle time?" Fluttershy asked, trying to put the cutest look on her face.
"You bet," Rainbow Dash replied and laid down on the rug.
Being wary of the slight bulge below her stomach, Fluttershy inched herself closer before wrapping her hooves around Rainbow Dash. A set of cyan closed around her and they were both snugly pressed against each other. She let out a little giggle as a gentle hoof reach out and brushed her mane. It always surprised her how the athlete turned into such a loving, caring, and determined pony when around her. Then again, Rarity had told her once that love sometimes does strange and wonderful things to some ponies.
As they both closed their eyes to try to drift asleep, there was a sudden knocking noise.
Rainbow Dash groaned, clearly annoyed that somepony would have the nerve to interrupt this intimate and peaceful moment with her wife.
"Who is it?" Fluttershy asked as her ears perked up.
"I don't know... why can't we ever get some peace?" Rainbow Dash said, drawing a hoof to her face.
Fluttershy lifted her head up. "Are you going to answer it?" she asked.
Disappointed, Rainbow Dash very reluctantly let go of her wife and helped herself up on her hooves. She mumbled something incoherent before approaching the door and cautiously opening it a peak. To her surprise, it was only Pinkie Pie standing out there with a simple solid pink scarf on that seemed to blend in with her coat a little.
"Rainbow Dash, wanna play?" she quickly asked with a huge grin.
"What?" was the only response from the cyan pegasus.
"Everypony is playing in the snow! Twilight, Applejack, and even Rarity are out there by the frozen pond. You and Fluttershy should totally join us!" Pinkie Pie said without taking a breath.
Scratching the back head, Rainbow Dash replied, "Uhh... yeah... well, we're a little busy right now. What if we all hang out some other time like tomorrow?"
"We can't hang out tomorrow," Pinkie Pie said, slightly less happy. "Why are you guys so busy? What are you doing?" she curiously asked.
Fluttershy had joined in the conversion and decided to answer for Rainbow Dash. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Pinkie! But Rainbow Dash and I had planned to have our little snuggle session today and we were very eager to spend the rest of today inside our cozy cottage," she quickly answered.
Without warning, Rainbow Dash turned a very bright red in embarrassment. She had expected Fluttershy to have some dignity but she was a little too honest about their intentions. Laughter escaped the mouth of Pinkie Pie and she was rendered only able to stutter as it became clear to her wife what she just caused.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Dashie! I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just thought it would be better if told the truth," Fluttershy apologized and placed a little kiss on her cheek.
With her cheeks still showing red, Rainbow Dash finally said, "Yeah... you didn't have to... whatever."
"Oh c'mon! You lovebirds can wait until later. We haven't seen you two that much anyway. Why would you want to spend the whole Winter cooped up in your little cottage?" Pinkie Pie asked as she let herself in.
"I didn't know that everypony missed us that much. Rainbow, maybe we should spend some time with our friends," Fluttershy said.
Shrugging, Rainbow Dash replied, "I suppose so."
Pinkie Pie jumped up in the air and yelled, "Alright!"
After taking a minute to get their scarves and hats on, they followed Pinkie Pie to meet up with their friends. Rainbow Dash had chosen her light green wool hat and her lucky red scarf. Fluttershy was wearing her favorite pink hat that was almost the same shade as her mane. The soft and comfortable scarf around her neck was also pink but it was made by Rarity as a sweet little gift.
"Uhh... so what are we even doing?" Rainbow Dash asked as they were walking.
"We're going to have a snowball fight!" Pinkie Pie quickly replied.
Rainbow Dash grinned while a look of panic overcame her wife. "Really? That's awesome! We never did something like this last year. I almost thought you guys wanted us to just hang out and make some dumb snow pony," she said in excited voice.
"A snowball fight?" Fluttershy nervously asked.
Unaware of her wife's feelings, Rainbow Dash put a hoof around her and replied, "Heck yeah, pal! We'll team up against everypony and take them all down!"
"I don't think that's such a good idea," Fluttershy stated.
"Why not?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well... since I'm pregnant... wouldn't it be a bad idea to do this kind of stuff?" Fluttershy replied, wording it like a question.
Rainbow Dash hesitated and paused to think for a minute. "It's only your first trimester and it's just a snowball fight. No pony has ever gotten hurt from soft snow being thrown at them," she explained.
Sighing, Fluttershy softly answered, "Okay," and kept walking with her eyes fixed on the ground.
The frozen pond was right up ahead and all their friends could be seen in the distance. The icy surface was covered in circular lines that were probably from their friends ice-skating. There was a trail in the deep layers of snow that seemed to lead right to them.
"Look, I don't know if you're scared of this or just worried but if you really don't want to... you don't have to play on my side. You can just build a snow pony off to side and cheer me on, I guess," Rainbow Dash said as she tried comfort her wife by lightly rubbing their cheeks.
Fluttershy tried to give an answer but she only found herself sighing again. Only she seemed to remember the times when they did something similar to this in Flight School. When she was a filly, Dodge ball was the scariest thing in her life. All the rude colts liked to aim for her first and get her out within the first minute of a round. Sometimes when nopony was looking, she would just simply sit out to avoid having to be hit.
Pinkie Pie turned her head to look back. "There's nothing to worried about, you silly filly! We're only throwing snow at each other!" she added.
Finally, they approached their other friends who were also dressed for the season. All of them had their scarves and hats on too. It seemed that Pinkie Pie was the only one who didn't want to wear a hat. Rarity and Applejack were standing under a tree-probably flirting with each other like usual. Twilight Sparkle was busy drawing lines in the snow for no reason in particular it looked like.
"Hey, Twilight, whatcha doing over there in the snow?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight looked up as if she were dazed. "What? Oh nothing really. I was just bored waiting for Pinkie Pie to come back," she explained.
"Hello, Twilight," Fluttershy softly greeted.
"Oh hello there, Fluttershy! How are you?" Twilight asked.
"I'm just fine but um... I wanted to ask you something about this snowball fight. Are you sure that nopony will get hurt in this?" she replied.
Twilight shook her head. "Of course not!" she answered with a cheerful laugh and smile.
Rainbow Dash griped her wife's shoulder with a hoof. "Hey, If you don't want to do this, it's fine. You know I won't hold anything against you," she whispered in her ear.
Fluttershy jerked her head and spoke softly, "I can't just leave you. I'll... do this then. We'll be a team," she replied back and gave a little warm smile.
"Aww... how cute!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Applejack! Rarity! Stop making out under the tree and come over here. I think we're all ready!" she shouted with little concern for manners.
"Do you mind?" Rarity asked as she approached them along with Applejack at her side.
Twilight cleared her throat. "Okay, let me go over the rules quick," she said and waited for everypony's attention. "Okay, no magic or flying, we all have thirty minutes to build our forts, and we're playing in teams of two. So, what are teams?"
"Uhm... you do know that it's pretty obvious, do ya?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"I'm with Fluttershy and I'm pretty sure Applejack is going to want to be with Rarity," Rainbow Dash swiftly answered. "That's means you're stuck with Pinkie Pie," she added.
"Hooray!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed and jumped up in the air.
The only word that left Twilight's mouth was, "Oh."
Rarity turned to look at her marefriend. "Applejack, I do hope that Rainbow Dash is right. We are a team right?" she asked for reasurrence.
"Does this answer yer question, Rarity?" Applejack said and kissed her on the cheek.
Before Rarity could respond, Pinkie Pie decided to speak up. "Aww... you kissed her like Dashie does sometimes to Fluttershy. Speaking of which... I heard that they were going to snug-"
"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash shouted, drawing everypony's attention. With her cheeks a little red from embarrassment, she added, "Okay, egghead already said the rules and the teams are decided. What are we waiting for?"
As Rainbow Dash stood in the stood in snow, Fluttershy tried to nuzzle the anger out of her. Rarity rolled her eyes and strode off with Applejack. Twilight and Pinkie left with smug grins as they went off to claim a territory. A yellow hoof reached over Rainbow Dash's back.
"It's okay, Rainbow. There's no need to get upset. She was just being silly. You know she only means well and can't help it," Fluttershy whispered.
The cyan pegasus let out a sigh. "I just wish that she had some respect for privacy," she explained.
Fluttershy nodded and without another word they trudged over to their own area away from the others. The spot they choose was close to the frozen pond. They immediately noticed that their friends had made a sort of even triangle. Rarity and Applejack were on their left. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were on the right. It seemed like everypony was a equal distance away from each other.
Now in their own little territory, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy set out to build their fort. Rainbow Dash tried to spread her wings out and use them like a shovel but they were too sensitive to the cold and quickly started to sting and numb with the contact. It seemed that they would have to use their hooves like everypony else.
Fluttershy gently nudged Rainbow Dash. "Um.. Rainbow Dash?" she asked.
"What is it, pal?" Rainbow Dash asked back as she started pushing the snow.
"It's just that… I don't know if I can do this. I want to do this. I want to have fun with you… but I just wish I wasn't such a scaredy pony," Fluttershy tried to explain.
Rainbow Dash stopped herself to rest a warm area of her foreleg on her wife's back. "Hey, I don't think you're a scaredy pony. You just need somepony to help you out a little," she said trying to comfort her.
"But how?" Fluttershy simply asked.
Rainbow Dash sat and pondered it over. "Hey, I got a great idea! What if you just play pretend like we used to when we were fillies?" she suggested.
"Pretend?" Fluttershy said, feeling confused.
"Yeah! You know like… when we acted as if we were soldiers from the founding of Equestria," she said with some embarrassment behind her voice.
Fluttershy couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Are you trying to suggest that we role play?" she asked with a silly little smile.
Trying to hide her obvious embarrassment, Rainbow Dash replied, "Maybeee..."
"Well, how does it go?" Fluttershy questioned her.
Rainbow Dash gave a sly smile. "Oh you know... we're both two soldiers fighting. Both of us are secretly in love with each other..." she explained.
Fluttershy giggled."Oh, I see! Are you the commanding officer then?" she asked with a wink.
"Yup and you're a Private First Class. Now to get work soldier!" Rainbow Dash half-shouted.
"Yes, ma'm! What do you want me to do?" Fluttershy asked, saluting her officer.
Taking a minute to mentally plan out the fort, Rainbow Dash carefully thought it over. "Make the walls facing our adversaries, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle high and thick," she ordered.
"Right away!" Fluttershy replied, getting to work.
Rainbow Dash smirked. Now if only I could get her to be this calm and willful during the battle, she thought as she watched Fluttershy push the snow.
As Fluttershy built up the walls on the right side, Rainbow Dash set to work on the other side, making sure there it would be good enough to defend attacks from Rarity and Applejack. The weather started to wear them down a bit as Fluttershy started to shiver with each chilling wind. Everypony else around seemed to be doing just fine except for Rarity who sounded like she was complaining about something.
"Fifteen minutes left!" Twilight called out.
Rainbow Dash started to panic. "Hurry up, Private Fluttershy! Smoothen out the outside of the walls!" she ordered.
"Um.. right away ma'm!" Fluttershy nervously responded.
Fluttershy looked around at her other friends who were also rushing to get their forts done. Twilight and Pinkie Pie had managed to make a very sloppy looking fort with a space in between the walls facing outward. Yet, it looked like they weren't bothered at all by its quality. Rarity and Applejack on the other hand had a very smooth and even looking snow fort.
"What do you mean that I'm going to have to throw them? Why would I want to get hit? I don't need my mane or my coat getting all ruined," Rarity argued from behind their fort.
"Gosh darn it, Rarity! It's all just for good fun. Why do ya have to care so much about it? If you really do get messy, you can just always fix yerself up after it's all over," Applejack argued back.
The creamy pegasus let a few giggles escape her muzzle as the two marefriends continued to bicker. They argued with each other like a couple might, not unlike they used to before they had gotten together. Though, it always seemed like in the end of an arguement, they would make up for it and move on as if nothing happened.
Fluttershy placed both hoofs on the uneven surface of the fort. With a circular motion, she moved her hoofs around like sandpaper on wood, smoothening out the rough bumps. Thoughts about her own relationship started to fill her mind as she went to work. They never had fought much or argued. On rare occasion, she had to raise her voice or get physical but it was only for the better. There was definitely a strong feeling of love between them but sometimes she felt like it was so strong, she herself was made stronger.
"Only five minutes left!" Twilight yelled out.
Rainbow Dash came around the corner and nudged Fluttershy on the shoulder. "C'mon, get to cover soldier!" she barked, causing the timid pegasus to let out a meep.
"Uhh... yes ma'm," Fluttershy replied as she hurried behind the walls.
Upon seeing her wife still clearly nervous, Rainbow Dash groaned. "Look, I don't think this working out for you. You're not supposed to be getting all stressed out. For pony's sake, why are you even doing this?" she demanded.
Taken aback, Fluttershy could only murmur, "I just wanted to help... or just be with you... I'm sorry, Rainbow"
Hesitating, Rainbow Dash put her hooves around her in a light hug. "I didn't mean to raise my voice to you. After all, you are the pony who means the most in my life," she said in quiet voice.
"It's okay, Rainbow Dash. I'll just stay out of the way," Fluttershy said back, trying to squirm out of the hooves which gently gripped her.
"Wait, you don't have to leave me. How 'bout you just lie low and make snowballs for me? We can still be a team," Rainbow Dash suggested.
"Times up!" Twilight called out.
Fluttershy squeaked and ducked down even lower. "Okay," she simply answered.
Rainbow Dash leaned down and gently nuzzled her nose against Fluttershy's. "C'mon, Private. Are you going to help me out here?" she asked with sly grin.
Looking into the magenta eyes, Fluttershy could see the passion behind them. "Yes... um ma'm! Snowballs coming up!" she replied in a much more eager voice.
Grinning, Rainbow Dash peered up from the wall to see what her enemies up to. A snowball flew over her head, missing her by an inch. She quickly glanced at Fluttershy who was already holding up a completed snowball in her hoof. She took it and threw it as hard she could only to just miss Pinkie Pie. Suddenly, a snowball from the left hit her directly in the face.
"Thanks for standing still, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack teased from the safety of her fort.
Rainbow Dash ducked down and wiped her face. "Private, I've just taken a hit! Double-time with those snowballs!" she ordered in a playful voice.
"Yes, Ma'm!" Fluttershy said and hurried her pacing. She quickly gathered some snow between her hooves and only put in a few seconds to try to shape it before giving it to her comrade. "Here you go," she offered.
The bold pegasus grabbed the snowball and stood up to see over the wall. Waiting for somepony to foolishly stick her head out, she kept her hoof at the ready. Right as Rarity's mane came into view, she hurled the snowball at the unicorn. It hit her face and split between her horn. Not only did it do that but it also knocked her hat off and messed up her mane.
Chuckling, Rainbow Dash teased, "Hah, it looks your flag took a hit there, Rarity!"
"You did not!" Rarity yelled and tried to rapidly throw snowballs back in revenge.
Rainbow Dash ducked down with a grin before anything could hit her.
"Nice hit, Ma'm! Um... you didn't hurt her did you?" Fluttershy commented.
Shaking her head, Rainbow Dash replied, "No, I just kind of took her hat off and her mane got all frizzy."
"Oh, okay then," Fluttershy said as she let out a little sigh of relief. "I made some more for you over here," she said and pointed at a small pile of snowballs.
"Good work, Private! I really use some these for the next attack," Rainbow Dash praised her.
Fluttershy nodded her head and giggled at the fact which they were still role playing a little. She had been hoping that Rainbow Dash would have made it a bit more romantic instead of just plain silly. An idea of being somewhat suggestive came over her mind and tempted her. Not only did the barrier of snow made her feel well protected but having Rainbow Dash act pretty much as her own little personal guard made her feel even safer. In fact, it helped ease her mind a little.
"Uh... Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked as she tapped the other pegasus on the shoulder.
A little surprised that her wife had dropped the act, Rainbow Dash turned with a curious look. "Huh? What is it," she asked.
"Well, I was under the impression this whole thing of role playing would be a little more... um... romantic. I don't mean that I don't like-"
Cutting Fluttershy off, Rainbow Dash said, "Before you even try to apologize, it's fine. I meant to be pretty sappy but I kind of got caught up in the fun, I guess."
Fluttershy giggled and with a deft movement, she placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's side. "Maybe you should be sappy now," she suggested as she batted her eyes in a silly manner.
No longer concerned with the battle going on between her friends, Rainbow Dash brought her own hoof up to carefully brush her lover's cheek. "You know I always am around you..." she whispered.
Leaning her face closer in, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up. Rather than acting on impulse, she waited for the cyan pegasus to meet her lips-and that's what happened. Rainbow Dash closed in the space between them and kissed her right there. She let her hoof slowly slide over to side of Fluttershy's head.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash stumbled from leaning too much on her left side and reached at the wall of snow for support. She clumsily knocked over a large section of the wall, leaving them exposed to their enemies. A few seconds later, a hail of snowballs flew at them, causing Fluttershy to squeak in terror before being grabbed. Wiling to take a few hits, Rainbow Dash swiftly moved her over to the section of wall that was still standing up and then rolled over to cover.
"Wow! You sure made a boo-boo to your fort there, Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie commented.
"I say this would be the perfect time to get revenge. I call for a very brief truce with you, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash has made the mistake of ruining my mane and I see fit to do the same." Rarity said, from the protection of her own fort.
Rainbow Dash glanced out from the wall. "Are you kidding? Don't tell me you're gonna team up with them, egghead," she called out, addressing Twilight.
"Considering that you call me egghead again, yes, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied in an annoyed voice.
A snowball flew by and took a bit of the wall with it.
Rainbow Dash ducked down again. "I can't believe this! I knew we tried too hard to smooth out the walls. We probably made the walls too thin, Flutters," she complained.
"I'm sorry," Fluttershy apologized as she leaned against her lover.
"You did nothing wrong. It's just bad luck, I suppose," Rainbow Dash explained. She rested her head a little on Fluttershy's as more snowballs whizzed by, making soft sounds as they damaged the only cover they had left. Sighing in defeat, she said, "Well, I suppose we should prepare to get really cold and raise the white flag."
Taken aback by the sudden lack of confidence in the very pony she believed in the most, Fluttershy felt helpless. "How can you just give up like that?" she asked.
"Do you think we stand a chance against four ponies?" Rainbow Dash asked back.
"Well... yes, I think you could do it. No, we can do it!" a more confident Fluttershy answered.
Seeing this sudden change in attitude, Rainbow Dash acted on her impulses and passionately kissed the timid pegasus. It was quickly returned with the same passion. Their muzzles locked and their hearts beat rapidly. After what seemed like a minute but really lasted only a few seconds, Rainbow Dash pulled her lips away and hugged the other pegasus.
"How are we going to do this?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well... what if one of us runs out and distracts them while the other takes them out," Fluttershy suggested.
Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head. "But that would leave you to be the one throwing the snowballs. You can't really do much physical activity with that belly there," she pointed out.
Fluttershy pulled away from the hug and looked deep into her lover's eyes. As she stared, she saw that passion behind her eyes. She longer feared getting hit from a harmless snowball or that she would fail her very special somepony. Finally, she answered, "I can do the throwing if I concentrate enough. You're the most agile pony I know. You can easily distract them and avoid getting hit."
After taking a second to consider Fluttershy's plan, Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "Okay, just tell me when to run out. I'm ready," she told her.
Deciding against taking a moment, Fluttershy gave the word. "Go" was all that she had to whisper before Rainbow Dash rolled out and darted through the cold snow. Her friends mistakenly stood up, not knowing that the shy pegasus was prepared to fight them. They threw their snowballs at the speed demon who was doing her best to distract them and avoid getting hit.
With six well shaped snowballs, Fluttershy was ready for the first throw. She peered over and focused on Applejack and Rarity. With a snowball in her hoof and another ready to be quickly grabbed, she flung the current one in her hoof at Applejack. Upon seeing it hit her target, she grinned and threw another one, this time aimed at Rarity. It was another direct hit.
The duo turned their attention to Fluttershy in surprise as she chucked another one at Applejack. This time it was dodged but she managed to get Pinkie Pie and Twilight's attention as well. Without sparing a moment, she hurled a large snowball that nailed Pinkie Pie right in the face, knocking her over. Before Twilight could counter with her own snowball, Rainbow Dash had stopped and thrown one at her.
More snowballs flew back and forth but eventually it came to an end. Rarity, Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie were in defeat. Their coats were wet and cold from the bits of snow that hung on. Rainbow Dash was panting and trying to recover from all the running and rolling around. Fluttershy on the other hoof, was calm but now she was worried about her friends who seemed to have given up.
"Oh my goodness! I sure hope we didn't hurt anypony, Rainbow Dash," she said, hurrying to the pegasus's side.
"Fluttershy, they're all fine," Rainbow Dash reassured her. "But... what was that? I've never seen you like this before. I mean, sure we were taking this a little too serious but for a minute it seemed like winning was the only thing that mattered to you. I know I care about winning sometimes but seeing you like was something different," she explained.
Stuttering a bit, Fluttershy answered, "I really don't know. I-I probably just saw something in you but I really don't know. You just really made me feel so much better about myself and so much more confident... and brave."
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I think somepony is falling in love all over again," she joked.
Fluttershy giggled as she nuzzled her wife. "I've always been in love with you," she cooed.
"Well, I'm very proud of my little soldier here," Rainbow Dash said as she returned the gesture.
Not knowing that their friends already recovered and were quietly watching them, they continued to enjoy the other's close company.
"Twilight, how did they manage to beat us?" Pinkie Pie complained.
Shaking her head, Twilight replied, "I don't know, Pinkie, but all I do know is I would be down for some hot chocolate right now.
"I think Fluttershy and I could go for some too," Rainbow Dash commented after overhearing her friends.
"Hey, that gives me a great idea. What if you guys stop by my place for a while to warm up for bit and just... you know just hang out with each other," Twilight suggested.
"Boy, ah sure would be down for that," Applejack said, "Ah bet Rarity sure would like to also."
Rarity didn't look like she agreed at all. However, her friends didn't seem to notice and probably were too eager to get themselves warmed up. They all had nodded in agreement and were already leaving to get some nice hot chocolate. She stopped Applejack to have a few words with her marefriend.
Draping her wing over Fluttershy in a loving and caring manner, Rainbow Dash proudly walked off with the timid pegasus at her side. She could feel her shaking from the cold and she herself was shivering too. The prospect of getting hot chocolate and something to eat with their good friends was just too tempting to pass up on. Even though she originally intended to go back home to spend quality time in peace with Fluttershy, she had to admit that snuggling was better when the day was winding down to an end.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash could swear that she saw Rarity striding off in anger. Daring to take a quick glance behind, she saw Applejack standing still in the snow and looking away at her marefriend's direction. She wanted to stop to say something but it seemed better to just wait until they got to their destination. Assuming that Applejack would follow them, she returned her gaze to the creamy mare who walked besides her.
Upon arriving at Twilight's house, everypony hurried inside to get themselves warmed up. Their manes and coats were wet from the snowball fight. After everypony piled in, Twilight Sparkle quickly closed the door. Spike, who had been tending to the warm fireplace, looked up in surprise at the ponies who took off their wet scarves and hats. As the hats came off, the tangles of hair that are a mess of mane were exposed. They proceeded to crowd the area in front of the fireplace and make themselves comfortable.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat close together while Pinkie Pie did her best to invade Spike's personal space. Applejack however, sat by herself with a frown on her face. As Twilight approached them to offer them with making something tasty to eat, she suddenly realized that somepony was missing.
"Uhh... Applejack?" Twilight asked. "I thought Rarity was walking with you the whole time on our way here."
Everypony diverted their attention to the downtrodden cowpony.
"Yeah, I thought I saw her walking away with this really angry look on her face. What's going on, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash pressed.
Applejack sighed loudly and rubbed her forehead. "It's not important. She's just mad at me again," she said.
"Why is she mad at you? I thought we all had a good time," Fluttershy curiously asked.
"Yeah, we all had a good time getting clobbered by Fluttershy. What's there to be mad about?" Pinkie Pie agreed in an unusually cheerful voice.
"Look, we just had a little disagreement over coming here. Rarity wanted to come back to her boutique 'an fix herself up. Ah told her it didn't matter but she just kept refusing," she sadly explained.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "So, why did you just leave her?" she demanded.
Trying to fight back tears, Applejack replied, "Because she told me to leave her alone! Of course ah wanted to comfort her and try to talk sense into her but she refused to let me!"
"I'm so sorry, Applejack," Twilight said in sympathetic voice. She sat next to the earth pony and patted her on back. "But it seems like for now you should just let her calm down on her own."
"Yeah, just forget about it for now. You know she'll simmer down and things will work out," Rainbow Dash suggested, trying to comfort her friend.
Twilight stood up and rested a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Hey, why don't I make the hot chocolate and fix something for everypony to eat?" she offered.
"That sounds wonderful, Twilight! I really could use a nice, warm drink and a little snack," Fluttershy commented.
Nodding her head, Twilight disappeared into the kitchen while she left her friends to get themselves cozy in the heat of the fire. Pinkie Pie moved over to sit with Applejack to try to cheer her up while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy tried to talk to her about other things to forget about what recently happened. Nopony had expected such a turn of events for the day.
By the time Twilight came back with the beverages and some chocolate chip cookies, her friends were just eager to get back home and let the rest of the day wind down. Still, they stayed to have their drinks and snack but nopony wanted to stay after. They had a nice little chat but it consisted only of small talk about the weather and the coming Spring.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy felt exhausted and just wanted to relax in the comfort and privacy of their home. Applejack was just eager to see marefriend and make things between them. It had been almost a hour since they've seen each other and she was convinced that Rarity had cooled down and was ready to talk. No long able to wait, everypony thanked Twilight for the drinks and food before making their way back home.
As they left back to the cold world outside, they said their own goodbyes to each other before splitting off. Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only one who wasn't as tired. As it turned out, she had a bunch of baking to do with the Cake's today. Applejack ran off in the direction of Carousal Boutique and it was just Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy left to wander back home.
Rainbow Dash draped her wing again over Fluttershy and nuzzled her cheek. "So... how 'bout we have that snuggle session now that nopony is going to bother us," she whispered into her ear.
Yawning, Fluttershy said, "I think it's more like nap time."
"Yeah, I hear you, pal," Rainbow Dash said as they got close to the other side of town.
When they got back home, they couldn't have felt any more tired than they already were. After a hastily made dinner and a quick shower, they were more than ready to call it a day. It was starting to get dark out and Rainbow Dash was surprised that so much time had gone by during the day. They dragged themselves up the stairs and into their bedroom to slide under the thick, warm blankets of their bed.
Fluttershy laid sideways and gazed into the eyes that were looking back. "So much for a little nap," she teased in a drained voice.
"Heh, I guess so. Good night, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied and leaned over to kiss Fluttershy on the head.
Too tired to reciprocate the gesture, Fluttershy merely whispered, "I love you too," before letting her eyes close and mind drift away.
Now left to her thoughts, Rainbow Dash wondered about their future. She didn't even have a name in mind for their filly yet. However, most couples wait until the foal is born before they try to name it together. With the way things were going, she was going to have to spend even more time and effort caring for Fluttershy until her pregnancy was finally over. Sometimes she wished she knew how much of a commitment this was before making such a big decision with her lover.
A/N: I apologize for the long time it took for this chapter to come out but I had writer's block for quite a while and couldn't get much done for a while