Two ponies walked into a building, a school to be exact. One blue, one yellow. One brave and bold, the other timid and shy. One with the cutie mark of a multi-coloured lightning bolt and a cloud, the other with a cutie mark of some butterflies...
Fluttershy & Rainbow Dash looked around them with big eyes and their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe their sights. The school was extremely fancy. All of the walls were clean and shining, the lockers for all of the ponies were brand-new, and there was the sweet smell of freshness around the school. Even better, all of the ponies that they saw seemed to be smiling and waving at them. Fluttershy kindly waved back and smiled, while Dash just nodded to them.
Although the two ponies weren't holding hooves, they were still stood rather close to each other. The two continued to walk around the school, trying to get their bearing around the place, so that they knew where everything was.
"Wow, this school is very fancy, isn't it, Dashie?" Fluttershy squeaked, as she stared in awe at everything she saw. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes as she saw Fluttershy taking admiration in everything.
"Well, if you say so..." Rainbow Dash responded with a yawn, which Fluttershy found a bit rude.
"Oh come on, Dash. You need to look around you!" Fluttershy explained, although Rainbow Dash preferred to be at home sleeping. In order to keep the peace, as well as to avoid being given 'the stare', Rainbow Dash decided to act interested.
"Hmmm, I will admit - it makes me feel like I'm in one of the poshest schools around," said Rainbow Dash, noticing a empty display on a wall to the right of her. There was some writing above the blank display. The writing read:
"Best Athletes/Talented Students of the Term."
Rainbow Dash stopped where she stood, looking like she was lost in space. Fluttershy looked back at the cyan Pegasus, who was still staring at the wall.
"Uhhh, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called out to her friend, to which no response was received. Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow Dash, and gently tapped her shoulder with one hoof. Rainbow Dash instantly spun around and looked at the yellow pony. Dash seemed slightly confused at the situation, until she took a quick glance back to the wall.
"Hmmm? Fluttershy?" said Rainbow Dash, in a drowsy voice. Fluttershy didn't say a word. Rainbow Dash shook her head, then looked back into the magenta eyes that were staring at her. "Ugh, oh. S-sorry Fluttershy. I was lost then..." Rainbow Dash managed, still feeling as if she daydreaming.
Fluttershy facehoofed herself, as she tried her best to not burst out into laughter. Rainbow didn't really understand what Fluttershy was finding so funny, but she figured it would be best not to ask. However, when she saw a smirk emerging on her face, Rainbow Dash couldn't resist it anymore.
"Ok, seriously, Shy? What is so funny?" asked Rainbow Dash, sounding slightly irritated. Fluttershy giggled to herself for a moment, before speaking.
"Oh, it's nothing, Dash..." lied Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash didn't look impressed. Fluttershy had another quick chuckle, then added, "It's just, it was like, you were daydreaming or something. I...I found it funny how you were just, stood there." Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders.
"Eeh, I was just looking at that board over there," said Rainbow Dash, pointing to the display she had been looking at. Fluttershy looked up at it, reading the sentence above it carefully.
"Best Athletes/Talented Students of the Term..." Fluttershy read aloud, thinking to herself. Suddenly, she had an idea of what Rainbow was probably thinking. "Sooo, you're... gonna try and get on that board? I, uh... assume?" Rainbow Dash nodded frantically, a big smile on her face.
"Heck yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, while thought about how she would get onto that board, "That would be SOOO awesome!" It was clear that Rainbow Dash only had one goal currently - getting onto that board.
"Come on, Dash, we got to get our keys," Fluttershy told Rainbow Dash, to which the cyan Pegasus seemed confused.
"Huh? Keys?" Rainbow Dash asked, unsure of what Fluttershy was saying. Fluttershy rolled her eyes, as her girlfriend still pondered on what she was talking about.
"You know, for... for our lockers?" said Fluttershy, to which Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, "So that we can, you know, put our bags in there?" Rainbow nodded, now understanding what Fluttershy was talking about.
"Oh yeah, of course. How silly of me," joked Rainbow Dash, laughing at herself, "Ugh, I can't believe I didn't think about that then." Fluttershy giggled again, as she brushed her body gently along Dash's. This made a big, bright red blush form onto Rainbow's face, as her wings opened up. Fluttershy was giving her a romantic face. It was pretty much the exact same face that Shy had given Rainbow Dash after she said that Shy could be a 'naughty filly'. Rainbow's heart began to melt as she remembered the moment.
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"Oh, but Dashie. I thought you said I was a naughty filly. Which is it?” Fluttershy had said in a coy voice, as she brushed her tail across Dash's face. Fluttershy's tail had actually tickled her face.
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"Oh, you are just so cute when you're daydreaming Dashie." Fluttershy spoke softly, snapping Rainbow Dash out of her daydreaming once again. Rainbow Dash shook her head, and looked at Fluttershy, who appeared to still be flirting with her. Luckily, no one was around in the area that they were in.
"Oh man, Shy, you're... you're a..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, trying to find her words. Fluttershy heard hooves walking towards them, so she decided to quickly end her teasing by brushing her tail along Rainbow's face. This made Rainbow Dash feel tingly inside. 'Oh god, she's doing it again.' Rainbow thought to herself, feeling her breathing pace quicken. 'She better stop this soon. This is really starting to turn me on now.'
Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash, who's face was as bright as a strawberry, or perhaps even a tomato. "I'm a what, Dash?" Fluttershy asked in a coy voice, still teasing her (to a certain extent). Rainbow Dash just looked at the yellow pony, a small evil grin beginning to form on her face.
"You are one naughty filly..." Rainbow Dash whispered into Fluttershy's ears, which made a bright pink blush begin to appear on her face. However, her 'romantic' eyes and smile were still present. Fluttershy bit her lip, trying her best to resist going up to the cyan Pegasus and kissing her full on the lips.
A group of ponies were walking behind them, which Rainbow Dash's easily picked up. Even Flutters' ears flicked up, as the sounds of laughing ponies neared them. Fluttershy looked behind her, to see three mares, walking into the toilet. None of them as pretty as the pony next to her.
"Uhhh, how come there's like, hardly anyone around, Shy?" Rainbow Dash asked, feeling slightly awkward. Fluttershy's timid nature had now instantly returned again. She brushed her mane away from her face with one hoof, giving her a shy smile.
"Well, I... uh, I... don't know..." Fluttershy murmured, unsure of how to answer the question. Rainbow Dash wrapped one wing around Fluttershy, as she leaned in towards her ear.
"Why don't we get our keys and put our bags in our lockers out the way, eh?" Rainbow Dash reminded the timid mare, to which Fluttershy remembered that they had been so caught up in their 'private moment', that they forgot all about getting their bags put away. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment, before finally giving a slow nod.
"Umm, oh-ok..." said Fluttershy, while Rainbow Dash put her wing back by her side. Rainbow began to walk away, but Fluttershy quickly trotted after her, until they were stood right next to each other.
"Man, you don't wanna leave my side today, do ya?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, before quickly adding, "Not that I'm complaining, of course." Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth and laughed into it. Rainbow Dash was just glad that Fluttershy was in a good mood again, it was better than her being upset and in tears.
"Dashie, why wouldn't I want to be with you?" asked Fluttershy, as the Wonderbolt-wannabe rolled her eyes, while a smile creeped up onto her face. Rainbow turned to Fluttershy, while they still walked.
"Fluttershy, I know we're dating and all, but still! You've never been this clingy to me before, and that's putting it lightly!" joked Rainbow Dash, who also began to chuckle to herself about the situation. As the two ponies neared the 'Student Window', they quietened their voices, so that no one could hear their personal conversation...
"...You, you know I'm, uh...nervous about this..." Fluttershy murmured. Rainbow Dash wore a sad frown on her face, knowing how what she was being told was the truth. Fluttershy had been really panicking herself about returning to school these last few weeks. Having missed a year already meant she was behind, but it wasn't like she'd done it on purpose.
Fluttershy had gone through a lot this past year: she'd mutilated her wings, she'd been kept in hospital for some time while her wings healed up (and to also be given help on her mental state, thanks to her psychiatrist, Dr. Shrink Adink), she'd realized how mentally unstable she was, and most importantly, she'd gotten together with her longtime crush - Rainbow Dash. Together, they were stronger than they could ever be alone.
"Ugh. Relax Shy, it'll be fine." Rainbow Dash moaned, slightly annoyed by the fact that she had to keep repeating herself. She knew why Fluttershy was so nervous about this, and Dash didn't have a problem with that. It was just the fact that it seemed to the rainbow-mane pony that Fluttershy didn't believe her and have trust in her.
Fluttershy tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably. Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Shy's neck, while speaking softly. "I know you're worried, believe me, I can understand why. But, I'm here for you - I'm not gonna let anypony hurt you, alright?" Fluttershy listened to every word that came out of her special somepony's mouth, then nodded slowly.
"Y-yeah, you're...you're right. I'll be ok," Fluttershy agreed, to which brought a big smile to Rainbow Dash's face. Just before they were stood directly in front of the pony at the 'Student Window', Fluttershy quickly added "My big, strong Pegasus friend will help me..." Rainbow Dash felt her cheeks beginning to burn, as a pale-red blush began to form onto her face.
When they finally got to the end of the corridor that they had been walking down, they had noticed how many more ponies were around. This panicked Fluttershy a bit, so she stood as close as she could to Rainbow Dash, nuzzling her head into her neck. Rainbow Dash looked down, to notice that Fluttershy seemed to be 'cuddling' against her. Dash thought about saying something, but her thoughts were soon interrupted.
"May I help you?" asked a kind pony on the opposite side of the window. Rainbow Dash looked back up, to notice a mare with a yellow mane, bright green eyes and light blue fur looking at her. She stared at Rainbow Dash with a kind smile, while Rainbow herself wore a somewhat-confused expression on her face. The pony tilted her head slightly. "Ummm, you ok?"
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, as she took a quick peek back down to Fluttershy, who appeared to be acting like an unmoving object. Rainbow was confused, as she wondered what Fluttershy was thinking. The cyan Pegasus turned her gaze back to the pony that still waited by the window. She put on a smile, as she began to speak.
"Hey there, I'm Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow exclaimed, as she gave a small wave, "And this here is my friend, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash pointed down to the pale yellow Pegasus, who was stood right next to her. The light blue earth pony peered over the window, to notice the timid mare that was stood next to the rainbow-maned Pegasus. "We're here to collect our, locker keys... You have those, right?" The pony at the window nodded slowly, as her smile grew bigger.
"We sure do!" said the pony, as she began to walk off, "I'll just get them now." Rainbow Dash nodded in response, as she waited for the pony to return back. Dash felt something move on her, so she looked down again, to notice that Fluttershy had now moved her head from her neck. Shy looked up at Rainbow Dash with big eyes, as her cyan eyes glistened into the rainbow-maned pony's own.
"Hey, you're ok, right?" Rainbow Dash asked softly, to which Fluttershy nodded. She smiled lightly.
"Eeh, yeah. More or less," Fluttershy replied, as she shrugged her shoulders. She stood up as tall as she could, compared to her crouched position while Rainbow Dash spoke to the pony at the window. Rainbow lightly patted her friend on the back, as she returned a big smile of her own.
"I'll be honest with you, I'd rather be at home right now," Rainbow Dash admitted, to which a giggle erupted from Fluttershy's mouth. Dash did not question Shy's sudden laughter. "But, I'm not at home right now - because I have school to attend, boring work to complete.... and a cute little pony to look after." Rainbow Dash moved her hoof from Shy's back to her mane. Fluttershy laughed at Rainbow's comment, as she allowed Rainbow Dash to stroke her mane.
"Heehee, well... if you say so..." Fluttershy whispered, as she stretched out her wings, while letting out a yawn. Rainbow Dash leaned her body to the right, as to avoid accidently being hit in the face by the yellow pony's wing. As her wings went back by her sides again, Fluttershy began to quietly hum to herself. Rainbow looked at her, as she could hear the faint sound of Fluttershy's gentle voice.
Within moments, the pony that had greeted Dash at the window returned, holding two keys in her mouth. She tried to speak, but it wasn't exactly easy.
"Here ya go!" The pony said, with a muffled voice. Rainbow Dash looked round to face the pony holding the keys. Opening up a wing, Dash picked up the keys.
"Hey, thanks! ....Uh, what's your name?" Rainbow Dash responded, trying her best not to sound rude at asking the question. The pony didn't say anything for a moment. She took a small breath of air, then spoke.
"Well, my name's Scarlet Rose. But you can just call me Scarlet, or Miss Rose, if you want to be formal," Scarlet replied with a smile. Rainbow Dash held out a hoof, as she offered to shake with Scarlet. She gladly accepted the response, and shook Dash's hoof.
"Nice to meet ya, Scarlet," Rainbow Dash said, as she looked back to Fluttershy, who slowly made her way to the window. Fluttershy hesitated a bit, but she kindly held out her own hoof, while she kept her head up.
"I'm uh, Fluttershy... Nice to meet you Miss Rose," said Fluttershy quietly, as Scarlet shook her hoof.
"Yes, your friend told me your name," Scarlet explained, moving her eyes to make Fluttershy look behind her at the future-Wonderbolt. This made Fluttershy smile. Scarlet continued to speak. "It's good to see you Fluttershy... and Rainbow Dash." The two of them both had their eyes on her, as their faces wore expressions of happiness.
Scarlet looked at her watch, to notice that the time was 8.42am. She decided to cut their conversation short. "Well, it's been nice speaking to you both. I hope we meet again sometime. But, I think it's best if you made a move..." Fluttershy seemed puzzled, but then she realised that the time must have been getting on.
"Oh, ok. We best be off," Fluttershy agreed, as she nudged Rainbow Dash with her flank. Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy for a moment, as she tried to get over the fact that Fluttershy had just pressed her flank against her own. Rainbow assumed that it was just a friendly gesture to say 'Come on, let's go,'. Rainbow nodded, and added her own comment.
"Yeah, we'll speak to you some other time!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. Scarlet waved to the ponies, as they began to walk away from the window.
"Bye Fluttershy! Bye Rainbow Dash!" Scarlet called out, as the two ponies looked back and gave their own waves to her.
"Bye Scarlet!" sang both Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy at the same time. Rainbow turned her head towards Shy, and said, "Jinx!" Fluttershy averted her gaze away from the cyan Pegasus, as she felt slightly embarrassed. She put a hoof over her mouth.
"Ok Rainbow Dash, you got me," Fluttershy commented, as she laughed into her hoof. Rainbow Dash just continued facing Fluttershy, as she waited for her to calm down, so that she could continue speaking.
"Too bad it ain't where I want you..." Rainbow Dash grumbled, putting on a frowny face. The yellow pony wore a face of confusion, to which Dash realized that this meant that she had to explain what she was trying to say. "I wish that we, you know... weren't here. Instead, I'd prefer to be somewhere more, private..." Fluttershy felt her cheeks burn slightly, as they began to turn pink. Rainbow squinted her eyes, as she knew that Fluttershy understood what she was saying now.
"...You, you can sleepover with me tonight, if that's what you, uhhh, want..." Fluttershy muttered, to which Rainbow Dash began to wiggle her eyebrows. Fluttershy couldn't look at her friend while she was doing that, she'd just burst into a laughing fit. Or pass from embarrassment, whatever happened first really. "Oh? .....OHHHHH. Oh my..." At this point, Rainbow's actions were beginning to make more sense in Shy's head. She felt her cheeks beginning to burn. Dash noticed a pink blush forming on her friend's face. Rainbow Dash decided to step in and calm Fluttershy down, before she fell unconscious.
"Relax Shy, it's fine. I'm only joking..." Rainbow Dash explained, making Fluttershy realize that the cyan Pegasus was only messing with her. "Besides, we're both only 16 anyway. Well, you're more or less." After she finished speaking, Rainbow Dash decided to drop the subject. Instead, when she opened her mouth again, she began to speak about something different.
"Sooo, what locker numbers are we?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy. The yellow pony was relieved at the sudden change of topic. Her blush began to fade.
"We're at lockers 223 and 224, Dashie," Fluttershy replied softly. Rainbow Dash loved hearing Fluttershy's soothing voice. It made her feel so calm and relaxed. Rainbow gave a small nod, as she looked around her. "It should be straight on... I think." Fluttershy was unsure of where their lockers would be, but she just went with her gut feeling.
"Ok, straight on it is," confirmed Rainbow Dash, as the two of them walked down the corridor in front of them. Rainbow Dash looked left, while Fluttershy looked left. They searched long and hard for their lockers. However, all of them seemed to be in the 300s or 400s, not 200s. "Darn, looks like they aren't down here..." Rainbow Dash commented, to which Fluttershy wasn't so happy about.
"Oh, oh well that's... no good," said Fluttershy quietly, as she turned her head down to face the floor. Looking over and seeing how sad the yellow pony was, Rainbow used her free wing and wrapped it around Fluttershy's delicate body.
"Hey, it's ok. We'll find them, I promise," Rainbow Dash told Fluttershy. Rainbow knew that her friend was panicking about the time, seeing as she knew Fluttershy didn't want to be late on the first day - she wanted to make herself look good to the teachers. Fluttershy raised her to head to face the rainbow-maned pony in front of her. A small sad smile was on her face. Unknowing to Rainbow Dash though, Fluttershy had been smirking the whole time.
"It's, it's fine. Really, I'm not, uhh... too bothered..." Fluttershy responded, "I get to spend this time looking for it, with you. ...So it's not all bad." Those words made Rainbow Dash feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Rainbow stopped walking, as she raised her wing underneath Fluttershy, back to her side. She did a pose, to show as if she was stood on top of the whole world.
"Well, let me say that's it an honour for me to make your day 20% more cooler!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, laughing to herself at the use of her own extremely over-used catchphrase. Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, as she giggled into it.
"I'm never bored with you around, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy told the cyan Pegasus, who continued to make a number of different poses, "You have a way of making everything more fun... and seem much more competitive." Rainbow Dash seemed to be pleased with herself at this moment.
"Eeh, that's just how I roll Shy," bragged Rainbow Dash, adding a quick laugh at the end, "I'm not called Rainbow 'Danger' Dash for nothing, am I right?" Putting a hoof to her forehead, Fluttershy shook her head, as a small chuckle erupted from her mouth.
"Heehee, can't argue with that!" Fluttershy concluded, while trying to calm down her laughing. She was pretty sure that she'd pass out from laughter if she continued much more. The two ponies walked left once they reached the end of the corridor. Then, at that moment, Rainbow Dash finally found their prize.
"There they are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed loudly, as she pointed to the lockers in front of them. They had finally found the 200-numbered lockers. Fluttershy looked over to where Rainbow was pointing her hoof to, to find that they had found the lockers they were looking for. A big smile began to grow on Fluttershy's face, as she began to quickly trot towards them.
"Come on, we haven't got much time!" Fluttershy noted, as Rainbow Dash began to quickly run after her.
"Ok, ok, we'll be fine! We'll get there in time!" Rainbow Dash assured the yellow Pegasus, who was searching frantically for their numbers. Rainbow Dash facehoofed herself, as she watched Fluttershy looking high and low at each number of every locker in front of her. Until.....
"Found them!" Fluttershy squeaked, as she excitedly hopped up and down. Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy, who was certainly eager to get her bag in the small storage box in front of her. Dash ran a hoof along both lockers. She smirked.
"Well, would ya look at that Shy, our lockers are right next to one another..." Rainbow Dash pointed out, to which Fluttershy blushed at. "You don't think they know about... 'us', do you?" Fluttershy resisted looking away from Rainbow Dash, as her timid nature was trying to kick in again.
'You don't need to be so shy around your best friend, Fluttershy...' Fluttershy told herself, as she took a deep breath. She put a hoof to her face, as she spoke softly.
"I, uh... think it's just a coincidence, Dash..." suggested Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash gave a slight smile, while the blushing in Fluttershy's cheeks began to disappear. Rainbow moved her right wing towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy picked up her key from Dash's wing in her mouth. "Thanks, Dashie." said Fluttershy, in a muffled voice. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"You are welcome, my pretty little filly..." said Rainbow Dash softly, which made Fluttershy feel like blushing again. It took a few moments for Dash to realize what she had just said. 'I just called her, a pretty little filly? ...Wow, I don't ever remember being sappy like this before.' thought Rainbow Dash, as she closed her eyes. 'Then again, it's Fluttershy. I'll be as sappy to her as I need to. After all, I kinda enjoy it... in a way.'
Fluttershy, although it was awkward, opened the door to her locker. She held the key in her mouth, as she tried to fit a hoof on it to fit it into the keyhole. Once the key was firmly in the lock, she took her mouth off of it. Fluttershy used her hoof to gently turn the key to the right. It made a click sound. She pulled the door open, to reveal an empty space, ready to be filled with stuff. Fluttershy took her bag off of her neck, and carefully placed it inside the locker. Rainbow Dash followed: she took her key off of her wing, placed it inside the lock, opened the locker, and then took her bag off from around her neck & placed it inside the small storage box. They both closed their lockers, turning their keys to the left to make sure that they remained shut.
"Wuh...where do we put our keys now then?" Fluttershy pondered, holding her key in her mouth again. Rainbow Dash poked a pocket that she had on the side of her trousers with one hoof, as the cyan Pegasus used her wing to place it inside.
"I have pockets on these trousers..." Rainbow Dash explained, while the timid yellow mare in front of her looked at her blankly. She pointed to the cardigan that Fluttershy was wearing. Fluttershy looked down to her right, to notice a small pocket. "Looks like you got one on your cardigan, Shy."
Fluttershy put a hoof to the pocket on the top right of her cardigan. Slowly, she opened her mouth and caught the key in her other hoof. She dropped the key into the pocket.
"I didn't notice that at first. Thanks, Dash," replied Fluttershy, as she closed her eyes happily. Rainbow Dash felt a feeling of warmth overtake her, though she was unsure why. Most likely, it was because she had helped Fluttershy stay in a good mood. She'd rather see her closest friend happy than sad.
Within that moment, the bell rang. Fluttershy made a small eep and jumped slightly at the sudden loud noise that echoed throughout the school. Fluttershy looked at the clock. It read 8:45am. She gulped hard. Rainbow Dash noticed Fluttershy's expression change instantly. She put a hoof around the shy pony's neck.
"Let's go going. The last thing we need is to be late, right?" Rainbow Dash said softly to Fluttershy. She replied with a small nod and a quiet "Uh hum." The two began to walk, as Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from around Fluttershy's neck. The yellow Pegasus started to quicken her pace a little bit, to which surprised Rainbow Dash slightly. Dash began to think to herself as they continued to make their way to their tutor room. 'Seems like Fluttershy wasn't kidding when she said she didn't want to be late on her first day. I think she might be panicking a little bit.' Rainbow Dash continued to think for a moment longer, until she decided that it was time to act now and think later. 'I'll cheer her up later if she still feels stressed about this I think,' thought Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, uh... Shy? What room we heading for anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly, as the timid mare next to her focused her gaze on what was in front of her. There was silence for a small moment, until Fluttershy spoke.
"We're in G32, Dashie..." replied Fluttershy quickly, as she tried hard to not freak out about the time. "I'm sorry Dash, but I really don't wanna be late right now. Not on my first day." Rainbow Dash wore an unapproving smile on her face. She knew that Fluttershy was worried about not being on time, but Dash just wanted the yellow Pegasus to relax.
"It'll be fine, Fluttershy. We'll get there," Rainbow Dash responded, as Fluttershy still continued to walk on. She was moving at a quick, but comfortable pace. She frantically turned her head from left to right, as she read the numbers of each room that they passed.
"G27, G28, G29... G30, G31..." muttered Fluttershy, as they got closer to their tutor room. Then, after what felt to Fluttershy like hours, they finally made it to their destination. "G-G32.... We made it." There was a small amount of surprise in Shy's voice as she spoke. She stopped dead in her tracks for a few moments, with Rainbow Dash stood right behind her. Rainbow looked at her, wearing a concerned expression on her face.
"Fluttershy, you ok?" Rainbow Dash asked. She received no answer. Then, the shy pony began to make little steps towards the frame of the door. Rainbow slowly crept behind her. Once she was close enough, Fluttershy peered her head into the room. There was four areas of three tables in the room, all which had ponies sat down by them. Fluttershy felt her legs begin to shake slightly. However, with all of the bravery that she could muster, she decided to speak.
"Ummm, hello?" Fluttershy called out quietly. She made a small eep as she noticed that all eyes were on her. Rainbow Dash walked to the other side and also looked into the room. Then, half of the ponies began to look at her too. It was at that moment, that the two of them both heard hoofsteps walking towards them. Both of their ears perked up. In front of them, stood a tall pony. She was a light-purple mare, with green eyes and a pastel-yellow mane, much similar to the colour of Fluttershy's fur, only it was much paler. She was also a unicorn.
"Why hello there. You must be Fluttershy & Rainbow Dash," the pony said to them. Fluttershy & Rainbow Dash looked up at the pony, who looked at them with a smile. Fluttershy smiled back, as she held out a hoof.
"Hi! I'm Fluttershy!" Fluttershy exclaimed, as the pony shook her hoof. The pony gave a small nod to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy," the pony replied. She turned her gaze to the cyan Pegasus. Rainbow Dash gave a small smile of her own, while holding out her hoof.
"Hey, name's Rainbow Dash," said Rainbow Dash, just wanting to sit down on a chair again. It didn't matter if it was hard or soft, any chair would suit her for now, "And... your name is?" Rainbow Dash tried her best to not sound rude when she asked the question of the teacher's name. Luckily, the light-purple unicorn remained in her cheery mood.
"My name is Caramel Drop, although you shall call me Miss Drop..." Caramel Drop explained to Rainbow Dash, shaking the blue pony's hoof, "I shall be your tutor for this school year." Rainbow Dash nodded in reply, as Miss Drop let go of her hoof. Fluttershy walked back towards Miss Drop, looking up at her with big eyes.
"Uhhh, umm... sorry if we're, uhh, late..." Fluttershy muttered, although Miss Drop could just about hear what the yellow pony was saying to her. A big smile remained on her face.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. You're not late - you're right on time actually!" declared Miss Drop, while she pointed a hoof at the clock above the door that Fluttershy & Dash had just walked through. Fluttershy looked up at the clock and was surprised to see that the clock had only just turned to 8:45am. She felt relief and joy warm up inside of her.
"Now then, let's see where you are on the seating plan..." said Miss Drop, as she grabbed a piece of paper from her desk in her mouth. She dropped it onto her hooves as the two ponies next to her came closer to have a look at the paper. On the paper, was the layout of the classroom. There was a group of three tables on the bottom right of the paper. On the very last table in that area of the classroom, was two names, right next to each other: Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
"There we are! You sit on the very back row of the table on the right-hand side," explained Miss Drop. The two ponies nodded to each other, then walked towards their destination. There was silence for a moment, until suddenly...
"OHMYGOSH!OHMYGOSH!OHMYGOSH! RAINBOW DASH AND FLUTTERSHY!!!" a certain pink party pony exclaimed loudly, as two ponies next to her tried to calm her down.
"Whoa there Pinkie, y'all don't need to get too excited there," said Applejack, as Pinkie Pie sat back down in her seat. Applejack was an earth pony with orangey fur,a pale yellowish/light grayish olive colour mane and green eyes. She lived on a farm called Sweet Apple Acres, with her older brother, Big Mac, her younger sister, Apple Bloom, and her gran, Granny Smith. Her cutie mark was three red apples. Pinkie Pie was also an earth pony, who lived in Sugarcube Corner with the Cake family. Sugarcube Corner was also the place where Pinkie worked. Pinkie Pie had pink fur, a dark-pinkish mane and light-blue eyes. Pinkie's cutie mark was three balloons: two blue balloons and a yellow balloon in-between.
"I know you may be over-joyed to see some of your closest friends, Pinkie dear, but try and keep the excitement in until later," concluded Rarity. Rarity was a unicorn pony with white fur, a luxurious indigo/purple mane and azure blue eyes, and spent most of her time in the Ponyville Day Spa, as she was always concerned about making her appearance look good. Ponyville Day Spa was a day spa/beauty salon, which was owned by two twins, Aloe and Lotus Blossom. Rarity, however, had now been given the role of assistant manager there - for times when the spa got extremely busy, and the Blossom twins were away. Rarity's cutie mark was three blue diamonds.
"Heya everyone!" Rainbow Dash boldly stated, waving to the ponies which were her bestest friends of all time. Fluttershy decided to give a wave of her own, while she gave a light smile.
"Hi Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack!" squealed Fluttershy, as the three ponies waved back. The only pony who didn't wave back, was a certain book-worm/egghead - Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was a unicorn, with violet eyes, a darkish sapphire blue mane and light purple/pale light grayish mulberry fur. Her cutie mark was 5 white stars, with a bigger white star in the middle and a large pink star over the top of the big white star. She was obsessed with books, as her home, known to many by the name of Golden Oak Library, was completely filled with shelves of books. In fact, it was Twilight's collection of Daring Do books which got Rainbow Dash into reading to begin with. However, it was only Daring Do books which Rainbow Dash would read.
Rainbow Dash shot a dirty look at Twilight Sparkle, although she continued to face her book. Rarity noticed this, and decided to step in.
"Don't mind Twilight dear, she's just doing what she does best: reading books," explained Rarity, although Rainbow still felt anger inside of her, "I think she's reading something about trees actually." Within moments of Rarity finishing her sentence, Twilight closed her book and turned round to face Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus immediately softened her expression into a small smile as the purple unicorn stared at her.
"It is in fact, about trees and plants," continued Twilight Sparkle, as she expanded on what Rarity had said, "It's about how they grow and the way in which photosynthesis works." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at all the sciencey words which were being spoken. Twilight, didn't like that. "It's interesting Rainbow Dash! You may not like it, but I do!" Rainbow Dash was unamused at Twilight's remark, but decided to let it slide.
"It's good to meet you too, Twilight," joked Rainbow Dash, although she still wore a smile on her face. Twilight nodded, as Fluttershy came over and gave her a small hug.
"Nice to see you, Twilight!" said Fluttershy, as her forelegs gently wrapped around Twilight's neck. Twilight smiled back, as she patted the yellow pony's back.
"It's always a pleasure to see you too, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, as Fluttershy let go of her. She walked back to her space, while she looked at Rainbow Dash - who was still stood up and looking at the science-loving pony.
"Uhh, Dash? Aren't you going to sit down?" asked Fluttershy quietly. Rainbow Dash turned her head to face Fluttershy. She looked at her for a moment, before she spoke.
"...Yeah, yeah. Sure, I'll do that..." Rainbow Dash responded, sounding as if she was trying to snap out of a daydream. Rainbow Dash walked over to the chair which Fluttershy had kindly pulled out from under the table for her, then sat down on it. "Heh, thanks, Shy." Fluttershy closed her eyes, as her smile turned into a big toothy grin.
"You're welcome, Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy, while Rainbow Dash tried to make herself comfy on her chair/stool. It was a wooden top, while the legs were made of metal. There was silence from all of the Mane Six for a moment. None of them spoke a word, although the ponies on the other tables were all busy chatting. Miss Drop was busy looking through some paperwork.
Rainbow Dash tapped her hooves on the desk, while Fluttershy played with one of the curls in her mane with a single hoof. Twilight returned to reading her book. Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly, while she wore a huge grin on her face. Applejack adjusted her hat slightly, as she decided to break the silence.
"So uh, Rainbow, what have you an Shy been up to lately, eh?" Applejack asked, catching Rainbow Dash off-guard. Rainbow Dash stared at the cowgirl pony, with big eyes.
"Ummm, well, uh.... we've just been, you know.... hanging out..." stuttered Rainbow Dash, unsure of what to say. An evil smile began to grow onto Applejack's face.
"Uh hmm? You sure sugarcube?" Applejack asked, which irritated Rainbow Dash a bit. Applejack felt a small chuckle erupt from her mouth as she noticed the usually calm and cool expression to Rainbow Dash's blue face begin to turn red.
"What are you getting at, AJ?" Rainbow growled, to which Fluttershy's ears perked up. Applejack's smile began to get more evil looking after each passing second.
"Ah'm sayin, are ya sure that y'all haven't been doing some more.... personal stuff together?" Applejack questioned. Rainbow Dash's wings shot open, as a huge crimson-coloured blush filled her face. Fluttershy made a small eep, as her face too began to fill with a bright blush. She hid her face from everyone's view behind her large pink mane. Unfortunately, Rainbow's mane was not long enough to hide behind.
The sudden noise of wings opening drew the attention of some of the other ponies, who began to stare at the cyan Pegasus. Dash felt worry, panic, and most importantly anger, begin to fill her head. AJ continued to wear a smug expression on her face, while Rarity watched Dash's happy expression instantly change.
"Uhh, Applejack dear?" Rarity whispered to Applejack, who turned her head to face her, "I think you're taking this 'teasing' thing too far: Rainbow Dash looks like she's getting angry." Applejack focused her gaze back onto Rainbow Dash, who was trying really hard to get her wings to go back in. She really was desperate to get them back by her sides.
Rainbow Dash tried to think of something boring and dull. The first thought she got was flying into a tree, which didn't work because it involved flying - one of her favourite things to do. The next thought was fashion: this only made things worse. Images of Fluttershy posing in dresses made her wings become tingly, increasing her blush. 'Ugh, what was Twilight talking about earlier?' Rainbow Dash thought to herself. Then, she suddenly remembered something.
'Aha! Of course, photosynthesis and junk!' Rainbow Dash realized, as she tried as had as she could to make her thoughts to be about the life of plants growing. She scrunched her nose up and closed her eyes, as she forced her mind onto the new topic. It was at that moment, that the thoughts of her and Shy doing, what Applejack would say as 'personal stuff', began to fade. The odd feeling in her wings began to fade, as she felt her face begin to cool down.
Rainbow Dash's wings began to drop down back by their sides, while her blush began to fade. She wrapped her forelegs around her body, giving herself a self-hug. After a few seconds, she put her forelegs back onto the table. She shot a dirty look towards Applejack, with a fiery look in her eyes. A small amount of steam came from her nostrils.
"How dare you do that!" snarled Rainbow Dash, resisting the urge to punch Applejack in her smug little face. All the cockiness that was once in the cowgirl pony's face, had now faded. Her ears drooped, as she realised how embarrassed she made her friend feel. "You are to never mention anything like that again, you hear me!?" With each passing second, the anger that Rainbow felt increased. Fluttershy began to panic, thinking back to the thoughts where Rainbow Dash had shouted at her... the day where the cyan Pegasus had been kicked out from the Wonderbolts... again.
Fluttershy gently tapped Rainbow's shoulder. The enraged blue mare swung her head round violently to face the timid pony. Fluttershy cowered in fear behind her mane. Then, almost instantly, Rainbow Dash's expression began to soften. Knowing that she had frightened her best friend, she tried her best at giving a sad smile, while stopping the steam from emerging out of her nostrils.
"Hey, hey... it's alright Flutters, seriously..." Rainbow Dash murmured, brushing the large pink mane away from Fluttershy's face. She put her hooves on the yellow pony's shoulders, as she looked at her with big dog eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry for losing it there, ok? Honest... it was just, Applejack irritated me then." Fluttershy looked into the deep pools in front of her: the deep pools which were Rainbow's magenta-coloured eyes.
Applejack began to feel guilty. Knowing she had really made Rainbow Dash mad, she wanted to go over there and just apologise. However, it was best to let the rainbow-maned pony talk with her special somepony for a bit.
"Like you said... I think I need, anger-management classes... or something....." Rainbow Dash continued. Fluttershy slowly took her hooves away from her face, as she saw the regret in Dash's eyes. The other ponies in the class stopped staring at Rainbow Dash, as they continued with their own conversations.
"Eeh, it's ok Dash," Fluttershy lied, knowing deep-down that her best friend's outburst really had frightened her. Although that was mainly because of 'that' day. "We all get angry sometimes. ...But, you're right. Some classes, could be useful to you." Deep inside of her, Rainbow Dash felt like crying. Fluttershy was just so nice, kind, charming, innocent... and so much more to her. In fact, she was like that to every pony. Just to have her as a friend, meant a lot to Rainbow Dash. To have her as more than a friend - it meant more to Rainbow than her own life.
"Awww, thanks a bunch Flutters," Rainbow Dash said, giving her shy friend a small hug. Fluttershy was happy at Dash's action, as she gladly embraced the hug. Applejack watched on, the urge to just interrupt and apologize starting to get to her. "It's a good thing I've got a pony like you in my life." Rainbow Dash knew that she could count on Fluttershy to make her feel better. After all, the two of them had always been there for one another when they had to put up with the bullies which constantly harassed them in Flight School.
"It's my pleasure to make you happy, Dashi-I mean, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy responded, almost blurting out her nickname for her very special, future-Wonderbolt, rainbow-maned pony. Rainbow Dash knew what Fluttershy was going to say - it wasn't like she hadn't be called 'Dashie' over a 100 times before. As the two ponies began to pull away, Applejack decided to just get the apology over and done with.
"Listen, ah'm real sorry about that, sugarcube..." Applejack explained, pulling her hat down slightly. Rainbow Dash looked over, to notice a sad looking pony with orange fur and a cowgirl hat. "Ah shouldn't have said what ah did - it's your personal business... Don't think that ah'm saying that y'all have actually went that far with her, ah'm just trying to say that-" Rainbow Dash leaned over and put a hoof over Applejack's mouth, cutting her speaking off. Applejack was starting to speak as fast as Pinkie as she got to closer to ending her sentence.
"Shh, shh... I know, Applejack. It's fine," Rainbow Dash reassured Applejack, the orange earth pony beginning to feel relief take her over, "It's just as much my fault for getting like that, as it was you saying what you did to begin with." Applejack adjusted her hat, so that it wasn't blocking her eyesight. Rainbow Dash gave a reassuring smile, which managed to bring a small, albeit sad smile to Applejack's face.
"Well, ah'm glad that ya don't hate me, Dash. Don't know what ah'd do if y'all never wanted to look at ma face ever again," Applejack admitted. Rainbow looked surprised at Applejack's response.
"Now why would I hate you, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked, brining a tiny chuckle to Applejack's mouth.
"I dunno, we have a tendency to argue a lot, don't we?" Applejack pondered, making Rainbow Dash have a giggle of her own.
"Heh, can't argue with that..." Rainbow Dash replied, while the two laughed for a while longer. After both of them calmed down, the silence returned again.
A few more minutes passed, as each of the six ponies did their own thing: Twilight was still reading her book, Pinkie continued to jump up and down on her seat, Rarity played with her mane, Applejack just sat there and did nothing, Fluttershy tapped her hooves together and Rainbow Dash patted her hooves on the table. Then, Miss Drop rose from her chair.
"Alright then class, off to assembly!" Miss Drop announced, as every pony rose from their chair and began to follow their tutor out of the door. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Twilight were already at the door, but being the kind & loyal friends that they were, they waited for Fluttershy & Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy hesitated to get out of her chair, which brought a small amount of concern to Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, Shy. You ok?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly. Fluttershy responded with a slow nod. The cyan Pegasus was about to continue talking, until...
"Soo... I guess this is it huh?" Fluttershy suddenly commented, surprising Rainbow Dash.
"W-what do you mean, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked another question, unsure of what the timid mare was trying to say.
"We're... we're off to assembly, aren't we?" Fluttershy responded, although this didn't make Rainbow's confusion disappear, "We're going to see everyone: all the teachers, the other students, everypony else..." It was at that moment, that Rainbow had a sense of realization hit her in the back of the head.
"Fluttershy, it's going to be FINE. Trust me..." Rainbow Dash whined, feeling fed up of having to repeat herself over and over again. Fluttershy looked down to the ground, covering her face with her mane. Rainbow Dash put a hoof under Fluttershy's chin, and raised her head up so that she could look at her in the eyes. She brushed her mane away with her spare hoof. "Please, Shy. Listen to me. No one, apart from us and our friends, know about our relationship. ...Sure, I understand why you're scared. Believe me, I'm a little concerned too. But, don't let your fear eat you away. If you do, your mental state could drop again... and I really don't want that again."
It was hard for Fluttershy to believe that everything would be alright, but she knew that Rainbow Dash only wanted her to be happy. Fluttershy had already gone through dark times once, she didn't need a repeat of last year. She'd already missed one year of school as it was - two years would be just terrible for her.
"I...I, umm, I guess that... y-you're right..." Fluttershy replied, looking deeply into Rainbow Dash's eyes, "I... I need to s-stay strong. ...I don't wanna h-hurt myself like I did, never again. It was p-p-painful, and horrible... I would never wish that on another pony." Rainbow Dash desperately wanted Fluttershy to be able to forget about the whole situation, but the problem was, Dash had her own reasons why she couldn't forget that fateful event.....
"I... I should have never made myself b-believe, that trying to, rip off my wings... was the right thing to do..." Fluttershy stuttered, feeling herself begin to shake slightly. Rainbow wrapped her wings around the upset pony, as Fluttershy fought back tears.
"Don't beat yourself up about it, Fluttershy. It's not your fault," Rainbow Dash explained, trying her best to comfort her friend, "It hurts me too - to know that you would do such a thing, and because of something which I did, which I wish that I never did - it hurts me so bad... SOOOO bad." Fluttershy felt her body begin to relax, while a few stray tears dripped out of her eyes. Rainbow wiped them away with a hoof.
"We're in this together, Shy. We need to be there for one another, to help each other through our problems - big or small. ...We can get through this. I know we can. I believe you in, Fluttershy. I believe in you even more than I ever have before." Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around the rainbow-maned pony's neck, just wanting to be home.
"I wanna be at home, D-D-Dashie..." Fluttershy muttered, while Rainbow Dash continued to hug her.
"I know you do, I know you do," was all Rainbow Dash could say. Miss Drop suddenly walked back to the room, as she noticed that 6 of her students were missing. She was about to complain, when she saw that Rainbow Dash appeared to be trying to comfort some pony. That pony, was Fluttershy.
"Rainbow Dash? What's wrong with Fluttershy?" Miss Drop asked politely, worried that something bad had happened. Rainbow looked over, with a sad smile.
"Eeh, she's ok, Miss Drop," replied Rainbow Dash, although Fluttershy didn't feel ok, "Fluttershy's just panicking a little bit that she's gonna be picked on by the other students... It's fine, we'll meet you to the main hall ASAP. Promise." Miss Drop was about to respond, until she decided that it would be best to not. She could test Rainbow Dash's honesty.
"Ok, Rainbow Dash. But make sure that you do turn up," said Miss Drop, as she walked out of the room again. Rainbow Dash turned back to Fluttershy.
"Look, just calm down, ok? I promise you that everything will be fine," Rainbow Dash told Fluttershy. Fluttershy went to say something, but all that came out was a breath of air. "Come on, Shy. You can trust me, right? You can trust your... 'big strong Pegasus' friend, right?" Rainbow Dash whispered the last few lines of that sentence. By now, Fluttershy's tears had stopped, and she was no longer shaking. She started to nod frantically.
"Yes, yes... I can..." Fluttershy agreed, as she took her forelegs off of Rainbow Dash. She went to stand up from her chair, so Rainbow did the exact same, "I..... I believe you... Rainbow Dash..." A big grin began to creep onto Rainbow's face.
"Good, because that's the only answer I'm taking," Rainbow Dash responded, patting Fluttershy on the back. Fluttershy gave a smile of her own back to her. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds.
"I... I love you, Dashie..." whispered Fluttershy, as her smile became bigger. Rainbow Dash continued to smile back.
"And I love you too, Flutters," muttered Rainbow Dash, giving her special somepony a quick peck on her forehead. She took her wings away from Fluttershy, and folded them neatly back by her sides. "Come on then, let's go!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, as Fluttershy gave a weak laugh.
The two ponies tucked their chairs under the table, as they walked to their friends, who still waited by the door.
"We're all ready!" cheered Rainbow Dash, as the others just gave a quick smile. They were happy to see two of their friends in a good mood again.
"That's great news, sugarcube," said Applejack, giving a wink to Rainbow Dash. Dash felt herself blush a little bit at that sentence. She looked over to Fluttershy, who although she wasn't holding her hoof, she still remained very close to her side.
"Okie dokie lokie! Let's a go!" shrieked Pinkie Pie, while Rainbow and everyone else put their hooves to their ears. Twilight rolled her eyes, as she closed her book and held it in the air using her horn.
"No need to shout so loudly, Pinkie," said Twilight, although it seemed like the information hardly went into the pink party pony's ears.
"If you say so, Twilight!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly, still continuing to hop up and down. The six ponies all walked out of their tutor room and made their way to the main hall. Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy still remained close to one another. Rainbow put a hoof around Fluttershy's neck.
"Let's just enjoy ourselves, ok?" Rainbow Dash told the timid mare next to her, who gave a nod to reply "Yes." Rainbow looked at Fluttershy's face for a moment longer, before removing her hoof from her neck. The two looked away from each other and looked straight in front of them, as they entered the dimly lit main hall.