Fluttershy was crying on the bed, huddled under the thin blankets so that only a short tip of her long pink tail peeked out. She'd done it. She'd done what she'd felt she should have done a long time ago, when Rainbow's visits home started to seem more like chores for the brash pegasus than anything she actually wanted to do. It seemed like the right thing to do, the kind thing to do.

So why did it feel sowrong?

Being kind to others was one of the things that she enjoyed, that made her life feel worthwhile. Her kindness towards her animals had led her to her cutie mark and her wonderful life in Ponyville, and her kindness towards other ponies had led her to the five best friends she had ever had in her life. For the past ten years, her kindness had led her to her greatest joy, her wife and love, the pony that even now she was treating with as much kindness as she could.

Sometimes being kind hurts. It hurts beyond all measure.

She lay there, sobbing into Rainbow's pillow, the pillow that still smelled like her even after so many months of sleeping alone. It was the smell of warm sunshine on fur, the sharp tang of ozone from all her time spent in the clouds, even the soft scent of a cool breeze. It was Fluttershy's favorite scent, though if ever asked, she was much too shy to say it out loud. Right now, that scent was tainted with the salty smell of her tears as she hugged the pillow to her, doing her best not to pretend that it was Rainbow herself.

The faster she could forget and move on, the kinder it would be. Though to whom, she wasn't certain.

A knock at the door caused her to jump in alarm, and she burrowed even further into the blankets than before. She hid, heart pounding, hoping that whoever had decided to show up now, of all times, would just go away and leave her be in her blanket sanctuary. Rarity wasn't due to stop by with her weekly groceries for another hour, so it couldn't be her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. The knock came again, demanding for her attention, followed by a voice. Hervoice.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow called, her voice muffled by the door, but still very much her endearing rasp. "Fluttershy, we need to talk."

Talk. That word was anathema to Fluttershy. So many times she wished she was as confident and outspoken as Rainbow Dash, as eloquent as Rarity, or as openly honest as Applejack. She would even take as energetic and oblivious as Pinkie Pie or as technical as Twilight. To be anything other than her shy, anxious self, hard pressed to speak even in the simplest of social situations, let alone a private, emotional situation like the one she was in.

She heard a hollow thump come from the door, and Rainbow spoke again. "C'mon, Fluttershy," she said. "I gotta talk to you about that article. It's not what you think it is, really."

Fluttershy felt the first stirrings of confusion. What was she talking about? This had nothing to do with any article. She listened further, hoping to figure out what Rainbow was referring to.

"I'm not cheating on you, honest. You gotta believe me. It's all a big mistake." She paused for a moment before speaking in a softer, wry voice. "Well, and a lotta jealousy. But that's not the point! And I'm not jealous of you, it's somepony else that's jealous of me for something they didn't get. A-and it's not that I couldn't be jealous of you, there's plenty of things I could be jealous of, and..." She paused once more, and Fluttershy heard Rainbow groan in frustration. "Oh, ponyfeathers, I'm no good at this." Her voice changed into a pleading tone. "Please, Pinkie Pie believes me. Can you?"

Suddenly it clicked for Fluttershy. That article that had come out a few weeks ago about Rainbow's supposed affair with Spitfire. The article that had driven Fluttershy into more seclusion than normal, if only to avoid all of the well-wishers or mean-spirited ponies slandering Rainbow's name. She hadn't believed a word of the article, knowing Rainbow as well as she did, but no matter how much she tried to explain that to anypony else, including some of their friends, they had all just treated her like she was being too kind.

So she'd simply just stopped coming into town. Rarity had been generous enough to agree to do her shopping for her while understanding her need, which Fluttershy gladly reimbursed her for. Not many ponies made the trek out to her cottage anyway aside from her friends, so she was comfortably alone with her animals.

Well, alone, at least. Comfort was another story.

"Fluttershy, I'm not leaving until you answer me!" Rainbow spoke once more, the desperation plain in her tone. "Please..."

Finally, Fluttershy stirred from her sanctuary. She felt the blanket slowly slide down her back as she pushed herself up, crawling out of bed and plodding over to the door. She reached up, placing her hoof on the door with a soft click. She could feel the sudden tension on the other side of the door, could hear Rainbow's sudden gasp as she held her breath, waiting for Fluttershy to speak.

"Rainbow..." Fluttershy began softly, voice hoarse from crying. "It was never about the article."

A shocked silence from the other side. Then finally, Rainbow's outburst. "What?" she cried. "What was all that about, then? The whole town was ready to write me off the moment I landed! Pinkie Pie said Applejack and Rarity were gonna hunt me down! And then you come out and say I can leave! What does all that have to do with anything but the stupid bucking article?"

Fluttershy was silent for a long while, trying to build up the courage to say what needed to be said. She could feel Rainbow's frustration building the longer she said nothing, and she didn't want to anger her wife any more than she already had. "I-I never thought you were cheating on me. I knew you better than that." She took a deep breath. "B-Besides, I knew you h-had stopped w-wanting to b-be with m-me a long time ago..."

The silence continued, and Fluttershy plowed on, resting her forehead against the door. "I-I was just trying to make it easy for you. To make sure y-you would understand t-that I-I was..." She gulped, trying to master her voice once more as she closed her eyes. It wouldn't do to make Rainbow feel like she was suffering. That wouldn't be very kind of her. "...That I was ok. With whatever you wanted to do."

The silence on the other side of the door was deafening. The only thing that Fluttershy could hear was the thunderous pounding of her heart in her ears as she waited for Rainbow to do something, anything. Finally, Fluttershy heard the creak of the floorboards as Rainbow stepped away from the door, and she prepared herself for the heartbreaking sound of Rainbow's hoofsteps down the stairs. What she heard next caused her eyes to fly open in surprise, and a fluttering hope began to grow in her heart