I woke up with a start. Something wasn't right; I could feel it. I was supposed to be doing something. I stepped down from the window seat I was sleeping in and trotted over to the nightstand by my bed. I furrowed my brow and tired to make the tiny numbers on the clock face focus. It was about five in the evening, I always had a song session with the birds at five. I immediately started to painic.
"Oh no, I can't be late, not today!" I thought to myself as I hurried to the bathroom.
I nudged the door open and flicked the light switch up. I let the sink tap run for a while until the water was ice cold, then stuck my hooves under the flow and splashed my face. The chilly water refreshed my memory, and I scanned through my memories of school that day as I picked my brush up to untangle my mane. I cringed as I remembered the sight snd smell of my own throw-up.
When I looked decent enough, I exited the batroom and opened my large bedroom window. It was a long drop, but it would save me a good chunk of time. I closed my eyes and jumped out. The falling sensation was a familiar feeling. I felt the same way I did when I fell from the arena in Cloudsdale. Another pegasus had saved me from some colts that were messing around and was challenged to a race. I lost my footing as they whisked past me.
"What was her name? " I asked myself. "Rainbow Dash, yeah, that was it."
Rainbow Dash; that name was forever rooted into my head, she was a role model to me. How I wished I could be as daring as her and protect myself from Trixie. I think Rainbow Dash went to Ponyville High, but I wasn't sure. It probably didn't matter though, I would think she had forgotten me after all those years.
I opened my wings to soften my landing, and felt the soft grass of my yard flatten underneath my weight. It was dark; Princess Celestia had brought out the moon quite a while ago. I grabbed the lantern that was sitting on the porch in my mouth, and trotted over to the tree where the birds and I always had our sessions. I hung it on a low branch. Everything was quiet, and there wasn't a feather in sight. I inhaled deeply and began to sing.
Suddenly, birds of various colors and sizes came from all over and settled themselves all over the tree. They repeated the couple notes I had sung, and I began to greet them.
"Thank you for assembling so quickly, everyone. We need to get a lot of good practice in tonight, so lets get started!"
❀❀❀
The crow of a rooster and furry paws on my face pulled me out of sleep.I opened my eyes. Angel was sitting on my nose and tapping my cheeks with a very serious look on his face. I smiled.
"I'm up, I'm up, okay?" I told him.
I rolled over and sat up so that my back legs were hanging over the edge of the bed.
"You must be hungry, Angel. How about we go see whats in the kitchen?"
My little bunny perked up at once and hopped from the mattress in one great big leap. I pursued him down the stairs and into my living room where other critters were just waking up.
I looked up into the city of birdhouses hanging from my ceiling and waved at the families of birds that were poking their heads out. Rabbits and mice squeaked and scampered in circles around all four of my hooves, almost tripping me. For a moment, I was so overjoyed the I forgot all about Trixe; and school in general.
Angel and I made our way through all the other little animals to the kitchen. I opened my pantry and handed him a carrot before beginning to take out bags of seeds and dried vegetables. I opened the bags and set them on the floor in a single row. I glanced over at my fuzzy companion, and the little bunny nodded in return. He scampered into the living room and came back a second later with a procession of critters behind him. They all rushed toward different bags and began munching on whatever pleased them. I left the animals and their banquet behind to go back up to my room.
❀❀❀
After running a brush through my mane a couple times, I trotted over to the large window and stood up on the soft cushions beneath it. I undid the latch and gently pushed one of the panes out. A blast of cold air hit me in the face like the dodgeballs in gym class. I quickly pulled the glass back to its original position and brought the brass hook back over the knob. Still shivering, I stepped down from the window seat and walked to my dresser to look for a scarf.
❀❀❀
I knew I was near the Ponyville High when I heard loud laughter and talking. From where I was flying I could see other colts and mares with their saddlebags on walking in the same direction. I felt somepony else above me and looked up. A cyan pegasus with a multicolored mane was yawning and streching her forelegs up. I smiled; I knew I had seen that mane before. That pony over my head was Rainbow Dash.
When the courtyard of the school came into view I slowly began a descent onto the stone that surrounded the large building. The jumble of conversation was now almost deafening. One voice in particular made my heart bounce inside of my chest. I glanced around, trying to locate the source of the familiar sound. Somehow, I saw her through the enormous crowd of excited teenagers. She stood out from the ring of ponies surrounding her. The mare's bright blue coat and snowy mane were distincive traits. Trixie was very close; ten feet and a sea of ponies were the only thing that stood between us.
Being me, my first reaction was to try to hide somewhere. I turned around to scout for a hiding place, but the mob around me had thickened and I could see nothing. I took to the air in hopes of getting a better view. I saw something metallic catch the sunlight, and half-fell, half-flew down to see what it actually was. As I neared the ground I could see it was just the bronze statue of the school's founder. I sighed in relief and sat down, leaning against the side of the marble base that was farthest away from the haughty unicorn. I stayed there for a while, thinking things through and waiting for the bell while surrounded by obsecne graffiti.
My relief came soon after, the first bell rang loud and clear and all the rowdy ponies obeyed it's orders. They continued their chatting as they filed through the large doors into the drama-filled halls of Ponyville High to begin their day.
❀❀❀
It felt like two hours had passed by in mere minutes when my biology teacher dismissed her third period class. I seriously considered skipping out on Equestrian history, but realized I had no reason to after all. The instructor would surely steer clear from mentioning what happened yesterday, and I knew Trixie wouldn't mention it during class, either. Something in my brain clicked, and I realized that I was only safe in a classroom. Lunch was at fith period, and the cafeteria was on the other side of the school; a ten minute walk, if there wasn't too much traffic. I often ran into Trixie along that path, and I already knew she would be waiting for me.
My thoughts went by almost too quickly for me to hear.
"Should I fly the whole way to lunch?" I asked myself
"No, some of Trixie's friends are pegasi, and they could easily catch up to me if I tried to fly away." I hung my head in defeat.
I planned a couple worst-case scenario escapes, but I knew Trixie was smart, and that she would find some way to unravel them.
The door to the history classroom was right in front of me. I slowly pushed it open and walked inside. The room was quieter than usual, and I saw that only four of my classmates were there already, along with the teacher. I looked around for Trixie, but I didn't see her anywhere. I calmly walked over to the desk next to a purple earth pony that was enveloped in her homework. I put my saddlebags down and sat without speaking. The pony paused to look over at me and smiled.
"Hey, are you feeling better?" she asked me quietly.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks for asking." I replied, letting my mane hang down to hide my face.
"That's good."
The mare returned her attention to the paper and textbook on her desk. I heard the door sqeak again as it was opened by a colt for Trixie to enter. She walked with her head high and her eyes closed, without even uttering a simple "thank you" to her drooling fanboy holding the door.
The purple pony beside me immediately turned to glance over her shoulder and, when she saw Trixie, began waving her hooves and gesturing at the desk where I was sitting.
"Over here, Trixie, I saved you a seat!"
The mare no longer spoke with the soft, mellow tone she had used earlier. She was sqeaking with joy as the unicorn started heading over in her direction. Trixie shot a very nasty glare at me when she saw that I was occuping the desk. Without making any eye contact with either of them, I gathered my things up and moved to a spot in the very back of the room, leaving the purple pony and unicorn behind.
❀❀❀
I cantered down the maze of hallways and classrooms, trying to avoid Trixie and her entourage on the way to lunch. I was two-thirds of the way there when I heard conversation and hoofbeats behind me. A group of ponies was slowly rounding a corner as the talked. I knew the voices all too well; sarcastic, high-pitched, and very annoying. The popular clique was coming towards me.
I opened one of my saddlebags and took out the largest book I could find. I flipped to a random page and used it to cover my face while leaning against one of the stark-white pillars. The loud gossip coming from the ponies suddenly fell silent, and I heard quick whispers that were accompanied by giggles.
"Did they recognize me?" I wondered. I flipped the book to the next page. My heart was hammering now and my knees felt weak. I was trying to decide what to do. If I put the book down and ran, the ponies were sure to see my face, and any one of them could outrun or outfly me. If I just stood there, it would be much easier for them to approach me. I had no choice, I would have to endure what was coming.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that the group was coming closer and closer. I maintained my position and hoped they couldn't hear how hard my heart was beating. Somepony put a hoof on my book, and tore it out of my grasp with a single swift movement. The heavy textbook hit the tiled floor with an explosive 'thud'. The pony who had thrown it stepped back to let Trixie stand in front of me. She waved a hoof, and the rest of the ponies formed a semi-circle around us.
"Oh, Fluttershy, your report yesterday was amazing! BLEEH!!!!" Trixe bent over and clutched her stomch as if she was vomiting. Her followers began laughing on cue.
"Anyway, Barfy-Hooves I-" Trixie was interrupted by a snicker that seemed to come from the celing. Everypony's heads turned to look at the sky-blue pegasus hovering above them.
"Fluttershy, what are you doing hanging out with these freaks?"
The entire popular group gasped. Trixie's jaw fell. I wasn't sure what offened her more; being called a freak, or somepony proposing that we were "hanging out" together. She stood there speechless, staring at Rainbow Dash. I seized my chance and hoisted my saddlebaags onto my back. I didn't bother to retrieve the book; it had my name in it, and if somepony found it, it would be returned to me. I spread my wings to join Rainbow in the air. To my surprise, none of Trixie's pegasus friends followed.
Being next to the brave pony gave me some courage, so I spoke to her.
"Well, actually, I was just leaving." I made sure to use the signature popular tone, and to talk loudly enough so that everypony within a six-foot radius could hear. With that, I continued on my path to the cafeteria with Rainbow Dash by my side.
❀❀❀
"You know, I never really got to thank you."
I turned to look at Rainbow Dash. Cocking my head slightly, I asked,
"For what? I should be the one thanking you!"
The pegasus looked at me in disbelief.
"Don't you remember? You're the reason I have my cutie mark! If you weren't so weak and helpless, I wouldn't have had to stand up to those colts,and they wouldn't have challenged me to that race, and I wouldn't have done the Sonic Rainboom!"
Rainbow and I had stopped in mid-air. She was now in front of me with her hooves on her hips, like she was trying to prove a point.
"But I didn't-" I started to reply. Dash cut me off. The look on her face was serious.
"No excuses, Fluttershy! Thanks."
Only a couple seconds of scilence passed before we both doubled over in laughter. We both started floating ourselves down before our wings failed and we fell. Both of us stood there, alone in the hall, giggling hystericaly. Rainbow wiped a tear from her eye.
"Geez, I never knew that pointless arguments actually exsisted." Her breathing was heavy.
I grinned at her.
"And I thank you for coming to my rescue, twice now." I said, nudging her in the shoulder. I took to the air again. The other pegasus bolted up beside me. She scratched the back of her head in deep thought.
"Hey, Fluttershy, are you....doing anything after school?" Rainbow Dash asked sheepishly.
I turned to face her.
"No, why do you ask?"
"Um, my friend Applejack has a clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, and we have two other mares that we meet there with. Do you wanna come today?"
No pony had ever invited me over, and this pegasus was inviting me to somepony else's home! I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't know how to get to Applejack's farm, but I was afraid that I would offend Dash if I turned the offer down.
"I would love to come, Rainbow, but I have no idea where Sweet Apple Acres is." I looked down at my hooves, waiting for the cyan pony to speak. Her voice was confident.
"It's okay, I'll fly you over there. Meet me after school, alright? By the statue of that one important guy."
"I will! See you later!" I replied, waving goodbye to her as we both went our separate ways.