A Dash of Shyness

by TM2 Dinobot

Chapter II

Chapter II

“Alright, fillies. Today I’m going to take it easy on you.”

Coach McHard Cheese (No, really, that was his name) stood on a cloud dune, watching over his students like a griffon. He chawed his tobacco, not caring what the school said. He'd been here longer than most of those namby-pamby professors had been alive. He'd taught their daddies to fly, he'd taught them to fly, and now he was teaching the latest generation of flutter flyers how to be real Pegasi.

Flight training began before Celestia had even raised the sun. The half-mile run had done them good; or so they’d been told. No wings, just running. That's how they did it in the last border skirmish, and that's how these kids would do it.

Dash had sprinted ahead, not understanding everyone’s reluctance to hang back. This was her first day of Advanced Aerodynamic Techniques and they were going flying! She loved this school.

Fluttershy was there too, dead last as usual. She hadn’t spoken to Dash at all, even when they were alone in their room. She didn’t talk to anypony as far as Dash could tell. Now she hung at the back of the crowd, trying to not draw attention to herself.

Coach McHard Cheese was notorious for being one of the toughest instructors at the flight academy. In his mind, if you didn’t pass his tests, you didn’t deserve to be in his skies. His dropout rate was almost universal. There were also some things about his name scribbled in the fillies’ locker room by the older girls. Dash didn’t understand them, and she didn’t really care. She was going to fly!

“We’re going to start with something easy today.” Coach brought Dash back to reality.

“Oh! Are we going to do barrel rolls? How about a double back flip? Oooh! Ooh ooh! There’s this move I read about called the Cobra where you actually pull up, cut the flaps and drop in behind the pony that’s tailgating you!”

Dash’s words tended to run together when she got excited. She was ready to fly, her engine purring as fast as it could. She couldn’t even hear the laughter from her classmates through the grin on her face. Coach only stared at her, shaking his head.

“You must be Rainbow Dash. I heard about you. You think you're special, what with the registering late and that multi-colored mop you call a mane? This is your first day here, so I’ll make this very clear. Don’t interrupt me!” Coach shouted.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Dash blew him off with a wave of her hoof. “So are we going to fly or not?”

Coach spit, his chaw falling through the clouds. “No.” he said bluntly. “We’re going to hover.”

There was a murmur of excitement from the class. Here was something they knew how to do. It meant an easy A, and they were pleased. All except for Rainbow Dash.

“Hover?!”

“You heard me.” Coach smiled mercilessly. “I don't want to hear a single wing beat! You wait for a burst of wind, lean into it. Keep all hooves on the clouds and then just push off. Let the breeze take you. Ready class?”

They were certainly ready. When a stiff wind picked up, they cheered as the entire class took to the air. All but two.

“What’s the problem, hot shot? Up!” Coach commanded her, hovering two feet above Rainbow Dash’s head. She mumbled something, losing it in the breeze. “What was that?”

“I said I can’t hover!” Dash snapped.

“What do you mean you can’t hover? Everyone can hover.”

“Except for Klutzershy.” Hoops, one of the colts laughed. He was silenced with a glare from the Coach.

“I never learned, okay? I’m too light and the wind just blows me away. My wings aren't long enough.” Dash sighed. “I can do this though!”

She took off like an arrow, spinning around the entire class and pulling a respectable percentage of mach 1. She slammed on the brakes when McHard Cheese glided in front of her.

“Rainbow Dash, this is my class and I will not be disrespected. This is your second warning. I have not cleared you to fly, so you will not fly! Do you understand?”

“But--”

“Today we are learning hovering. If Advanced Aerodynamic Techniques are too difficult for you, might I suggest a remedial class back with the foals?”

“Maybe she and Klutzershy can’t hover because they don’t have their Marks!” Hoops popped off again.

“Hey!” His friend angrily retorted, bangs in his eyes.

“Oh, sorry Dumbbell.” Dumbbell didn’t have his Cutie Mark yet either. No one teased him about it though because he was lager than every pony else in school.

“You’re not even going to try today, Fluttershy?” Coach confirmed absentmindedly. There was no response from the catatonic filly. finally he sighed. Alright, class. We’re going to do laps around the school. Use the air currents and stick together. This is hovering and gliding. The first pony I see that flaps their wings will give me five extra laps. Dash, you can help Fluttershy smooth out the Airball field. She’ll show you where it is.”

“But--”

“Okay, Fillies! Let’s move it!”

There was a cacophony of jeers and laughter as the class glided away, following the Coach like trained pets. As the noise quieted down, the only sound that remained was the wind blowing harshly, and the snapping of two manes in it.

Dash turned, humiliated. This was not how she’d thought things would turn out. She had only wanted to show Coach her flying skills. Instead, she’d been shot down right out of the gate. She’d never get into the Wonderbolts at this rate. Her mother and father worked so hard to get her here, and now Dash was letting them down. She was a failure.

Fluttershy, in turn, still hadn’t moved. It was usual her custom to remain in place after the class left, and perhaps if it were a good day, shed only a few tears. Today though her eyes were focused and clear. There was something special about today. For the first time in a over two years she was not the only one left behind. She stared at Dash, making sure to avoid eye contact. It was so strange not being alone.

“What are you staring at?” Dash snapped, fighting tears of her own.

Fluttershy looked away, startled that she had been noticed. Quietly the pastel pony stood and began walking towards the sports field. Rainbow Dash sighed and simply followed in silence.

~~~~~

The cafeteria was busy, as usual. Shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables were carted in daily, in addition to the usual fare of grasses. Sky grass, cultivated from the dew in clouds, was delicious, but impractical for feeding a large herd of Pegasi. Its high sugar dew content made it a perfect candidate for snacks, but the pegasi herd needed to eat more than other ponies to keep up their energy.

Dash wandered in, eyes automatically tracking to the sound of laughter. A group of Pegasi shared in a hearty chortle, the youngest of them a full grade ahead of Dash. This was the crew she was destined to be with. They were the star athletes of the school, the first draft for the Cloudsdale High Stormball team, and maybe even the Wonderbolts. There was an empty seat at their table! This must be a sign from Celestia.

Smiling, Dash rushed through the food line, eyes constantly on the empty spot. She skipped over the fresh Sweep Apple Acres apples, and accidentally chose thistle salad over alfalfa, her favorite. She was too excited to care, barely keeping her eyes on anything else. Finally through the line, she balanced the try on her wings, making a line straight for the popular table. That was when fate decided to rear its ugly head.

“Just where do you think you’re going?”

The din in the cafeteria stilled as all eyes turned to the front of the tray line. Fluttershy found herself surrounded by her three largest supporters, the trio of stallions who bullied the rest of the school into submission and constantly singled out Fluttershy above all others.

Fluttershy had just gotten her food when they cornered her. She may have tried to stutter out an excuse, but as soon as the harassment began, she began her usual routine of crying.

“This food is for hard working ponies. If you spill it, we’ll make you pay.” Hoops threatened.

“Aww, Hoops, let her pass.” Touchdown put in, coming to her defense.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Dash sighed, glad someone was helping. She continued her stride to the best table, once more setting out for the prize. Her destiny was almost within her grasp. Then it was snatched away by a tiny scream and a crash.

All eyes turned once more to the yellow mop on the floor. Fluttershy was all hooves and no traction, her lunch tray spilt all over herself. It was easy to see what had happened. One of Hoops’ buddies tripped her while he kicked from behind. Now there was a mess called Fluttershy struggling to right herself. Touchdown even had the nerve to keep her pinned to the floor.

“Well, looks like you spilled, Klutzershy. I told you there would be the moon to pay if you did.” Hoops laughed. His mirth only lasted for a moment.

A rainbow bolt slammed into him at full speed, a ball of spitfire half his size. He was screaming at the top of his lungs as Rainbow Dash trampled for all she was worth. If the cafeteria had been quiet before, it was a morgue now.

“Dumbbell! Touchdown! Get her off me!” Hoops screamed like a filly.

Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be told how to fight. She’d been in enough scraps back at her old school to know when to throw a kick and when to run. Unfortunately she never listened to her common sense and flew away. That was one of the reasons why her mother had sent her to the Cloudsdale School, because she had nowhere else to go. No other school would take the troublemaker.

If Hoops was large, then Dumbbell and Touchdown were enormous. Dash did her best to dislocate Touchdown’s jaw, zipping past to pin Dumbbell to the ground by his ears. Either they were slow, or Dash was faster than their nervous systems, because they didn’t start screaming till she was gone again. She was back on top of Hoops, trampling a message into his chest.

“You! Leave! Her! Alone!” Dash shouted, making sure the massage got through loud and clear. She would have continued, but the captain of the Airball team pinned her to he floor.

“Woah there, little filly.”

“Get off me!” Dash was still in fight or flight mode, and gave a black eye to the stallion she most wanted to admire her.

The Head Mare chose that particular time to make an appearance, standing in the doorway like Nightmare Moon herself. The bully trio ran her way as quickly as possible, heading for the safety of an adult. The Airball captain followed, ready to explain things.

Dash looked around for Fluttershy. Of course the skittish pony was nowhere to be seen. She had been there though, her spilt tray attested to that. With little else to do but wait for the wrath and eventual expulsion to blow her way, Rainbow began to pick up the filly's tray. Finishing and still awaiting her punishment, she went ahead and cleaned up the scattered food from her own tray. Maybe she'd get to eat lunch yet.

“Rainbow Dash!” the Head Mare called.

Walking out the long, fimiliar walk of shame, tail between her legs, Dash watched the occupants at the prime table shift to remove the excess spot. There was no room for her there; she’d ruined her future yet again. Sighing, she listened to the Head Mare rattle off a series of offences as they headed for the office, none the least of which were ‘excessive violence’ and ‘flying indoors’. Hilarious for what was supposed to be a flight school.

She knew the routine well enough. Firefly would be called, and her mother would arrive, unhappy to make the trip after Dash had been there less than a week. Her personal record was a day and a half. Dash wouldn't say anything, Firefly would throw a fit, and then maybe, maybe, she'd get to say in school. It's not like she had other options at this point.

Silently watching it all unfold from the corner, behind the safety of her pink security blanket that was her mane, Fluttershy watched her roommate take on the world in her honor. And this time she didn’t cry.