Stopped

81

POV RAINBOW DASH

- Come on, Dash, get up the courage!

It was the third time I had argued with myself while walking from one side to the other. My cell phone rested on the coffee table in my living room, with Fluttershy's contact open. It was simple and straightforward, to call and ask if she was available to go out, right? The answer seemed to be "no" the more time passed. Tank, unlike me, was calmly watching the situation, chewing a piece of cabbage that was left on his plate.

- Either you call soon - I kept talking to myself - or you're going to miss the chance to go out with one of the most amazing girls you've ever met, aren't you Tank?

I didn't get an answer - fortunately, I suppose. I took a deep breath, gathering all my courage and held the cell phone in my hands. My finger went through the call button and I could hear the noise of the call starting. My hand started to shake, I sat on the couch so that, in case the cell phone fell, the fall wouldn't be so bad. The noise of the call was perpetuated for several seconds, until it suddenly stopped.

- Hello? - a soft voice replied, it was her, it could only be her - Rainbow Dash?

- How do you know it's me? - I asked genuinely.

- We have a group with the girls - he replied simply - remember?

- Oh, yeah, true - I scratched the back of my neck nervously, blaming myself for acting so stupidly - I've been a little flying these days, sorry.

- No problem - I heard your weak laugh on my cell phone - but you called me, do you need anything? Is everything okay?

- Everything great, I mean, not great, well, I mean... - I started stuttering, I hated it when I did that, I stopped talking and took a deep breath - I'm fine.

- If you say... - your voice seemed a little insecure - what did you want to talk to me?

- I was wondering if you wanted to go out today - I tried my best not to weaken my voice - as we said on the day of the party.

- Ah, the date, you're right - I had the impression of hearing her stutter - I don't know if I'll be available today.

- Wait, don't you know? - I raised an eyebrow, even if talking by phone.

- I'm helping at the animal center, an extra shift - he explained - there's a lot of work and I'm the only one available to work today, I'm not sure I'll finish everything so soon.

- All right, we can schedule another day - smiles crooked - see you later.

- See you later, and I'm sorry - he replied, before hanging up the call.

I sighed loudly. My free day would remain free, leaving me only the usual thoughts about Fluttershy. A part of me was completely insecure, with a huge fear of letting her go and losing any chance I had with her.

That call had demanded a lot from me, a dose of courage and adrenaline that I had never had before. I couldn't let everything go down the drain, or it didn't call me Rainbow Dash.

POV FLUTTERSHY

- Angel! Come back here - I complained alone while the white rabbit insisted on running with a huge piece of carrot - this is to share!

I hurried my step and managed to recover the tuber. I took a deep breath and, after returning the carrot to the proper container, I put Angel in an empty enclosure. Obviously taking the animal itself to the center was not a good idea, but my parents were doing a hike, so there was no one to take care of Angel.

While I finished organizing the bench where various rations and food for the animals were scattered, I heard the noise of a door bell and recognized it as from the center. I left the room where I was to see who had arrived. I could barely believe my eyes: Rainbow Dash was in the center.

I held a high-pitched scream and entered the room again. Luckily for me, the receptionist could serve her, saving me from embarrassing myself right away. I bit my thumb thinking about how to proceed with the situation. Why was she there? I wonder if you were sad with me and would ask you to stay away?

- Fluttershy?

- Present! - I answered immediately, scared and with no idea who was calling me. When I looked back, Rainbow watched me with a confused countenance - Rainbow? What are you doing here?

- You said you didn't have anyone to help voluntarily today - she scratched the back of her neck - so I thought I'd help you to spend some time together, is there a problem?

- No! Never! - I stuttered - I really need help.

- Well - Rainbow looked away from mine and watched the place - what do I have to do?

Trying my best to maintain my posture, I introduced the place to Rainbow Dash and showed her the tasks she could do. To my surprise, Rainbow was extremely fast and finished most of them in a matter of a few minutes, cutting the delay time in half. In the end, the last task was something that did not require speed, but patience.

- I finished cleaning that dog fence - Rainbow ran his hand through the colored hair - I didn't know that those little animals could make such a mess.

- They are puppies, they tend to make anarchy when it suits them - I laughed - but they are little angels most of the time.

- Speaking of the little angels - she ran her eyes through the enclosures - I didn't see any puppy, where are they?

- They are in the other room, come - I indicated the door with my head - they are our last task.

Rainbow and I stop at a door with a sign on which, written in bold red letters, it said: only authorized employees. I made sure that all the exits were locked and opened the door. Little by little, the puppies run around the room, passing through our legs and asking for affection.

- Do we have to put them in the enclosure? - Rainbow asked, raising his leg that one of the puppies scratched.

- In fact, our job is to check if they have fleas - I laughed weakly and picked up one of them from the floor - they are the children of a dog rescued from the street, so they may still have some.

I sat on the floor and started playing cuddling the little animal's ears. Rainbow sat next to me and tried to imitate what I was doing. Little by little she got the hang of it and already knew if they had fleas or not. One by one, it ended up missing only one puppy that I was examining.

- You're great at this job - Rainbow suddenly praised, making me blush.

- I just do what I can - I replied and left the puppy on the floor, letting him walk a little more around the room - they need someone to take care of them.

- I think they are in good hands - she smiled in the corner and turned her gaze. I felt the guilt weigh on my shoulders.

- I'm sorry I didn't go out with you as we had commented - I looked down - I didn't want to ruin your plans.

- It wasn't what I planned, I admit - she laughed weakly - but I think it was even better.

- Really? - I raised my vision a little, staring at your face.

- I like to see you work with animals, it's a part of you that I admire a lot - Rainbow smiled showing his teeth - there wasn't a moment in the afternoon that I would have erased.

I couldn't stop watching her as she spoke. It was the first time I felt so many butterflies in my stomach. She admired me, she didn't understand why, but she admired me. Rainbow Dash had just said that he would not erase an afternoon moment he had with me.

Rainbow started to look at me too, and, little by little, we sought to cut the distance that separated us. I changed the look between your eyes and your mouth, ready for what came next. Suddenly, something blurred my vision and, when I opened my eyes, the puppy that was loose tried to lick my face and Rainbow, alternating between one and the other.

I knew he had ended up with something that would probably be one of the best events of my life, but his needy face and tireless requests for affection did not let me shake.

- I think it's good for us to keep this little creature - laughs weakly caressing behind the puppy's ears.

- I think so too - Rainbow grumbled as he ran his hand over his mouth, where he had been licked - it's my limit of dogs for today.