Earning Her Affection
After closing the door to her room Fluttershy unleashed an ear-piercing squeal; she dove into her bed pulling her white bunny rabbit plushie free from the others and flying in a circle above her bed. Angel bunny flapped violently from the speed Fluttershy flew with. When she began to feel dizzy she floated back down to her bed while her heart soared. Downstairs Mr. and Mrs. Shy smiled brightly as they listened to their daughters happiness while Zephyr rubbed his ears but even he could stop the small smile from forming on his face.
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"You don't have any endurance do you? Don't worry I'm not giving up on you; catch your breath and we'll do another lap" Fluttershy's heart no longer soared, instead It pumped weakly still trying to get use to the sudden speed Rainbow Dash wanted from her. Rainbow rolled her eyes and walked out of view. Fluttershy thought she would cry, she'd failed to impress her and now she wanted nothing to do with her. With her eyes squeezed shut and the blood pumping through her ears she failed to hear the footsteps heading towards her. A soothing cold touched her forehead and she opened her eyes to see Rainbow placing a towel to cool her down and handing her a bottle of water, condensation fogging the bottle. "I'm sorry I didn't take your current level into consideration. We should try wind sprints instead; flying full steam and then flying leisurely so you don't wear out too fast." Fluttershy nodded while hurriedly gulping down the cold liquid.
Fluttershy felt certain she had never flied as fast or tried as hard as she did when Rainbow Dash was the one egging her on. Rainbow flew just in front of her with a smile on her face; Fluttershy wasn't sure if she noticed that the tip of her tail was tickling her nostrils but she wasn't about to complain. Although her training to get past the speed of the two slowest foals in class took a long time when she did everyone was impressed, even the bullies. The bullies noticed Fluttershy's newfound speed and budding confidence with disgust, they'd have to put her back in her place as bottom of the herd.
However, Rainbow Dash was ecstatic, every time Fluttershy finished before another racer she cheered and hollered. "Go Flutters, you got this! With a teacher like me it was only a matter of time." Fluttershy always felt full of pride when Rainbow Dash hugged her after the race; knowing that Rainbow Dash was genuinely proud of her made her feel complete. Until those bullies decided that they should hurt Rainbow Dash; they knew the little filly with the large sense of loyalty wouldn't leave her friend so they simply included her.
When Derpy had ran to Rainbow Dash covered in scrapes and crying she was immediately concerned. "It's those three again they threw a basketball at me and I fell. They laughed and joked about my eyesight and said that I would always be a burden to those around me." Derpy's eyes watered as she told the story to Rainbow Dash. How dare they Fluttershy thought.
Under her breath she said "If they hurt those I care about again I might not be able to control myself." Unbeknownst to Fluttershy the first girl she had seen was staring at her, eyes locked on and body frozen in place.
"Kat are you okay you suddenly stopped walking, what are you looking at?"
"No need to worry, I was just confirming something." With that the girl's body once again moved turning to face the confused friend behind her. "Can I ask you a strange question, How do you run from what's inside your head?"
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The next few days the bullying only got worse Fluttershy and Derpy were bullied directly while people whispered about Rainbow Dash behind her back. Fluttershy wasn't bothered by the bullies; after all, their opinions mattered as much to her as a rabbit cared about the opinion of a carrot. However her patience was starting to run thin with their bullying of Derpy; however, the delicate thread snapped when they hurt Rainbow Dash. Both Spitfire and Lightning Dust avoided her and refused to race with her anymore. "I-I knew those bullies would try something when I befriended Flutters and Derpy but I never thought my friends would avoid me because of that choice. I still want to be friends with them but not if I have to abandon Fluttershy and Derpy to do that." When Fluttershy heard her sniffling in the counselor's office she knew she needed to do something.
Her first response was to do what any sane filly would do, politely ask them to stop. "You have to stop being mean to Rainbow and making others avoid her! O-or else." She only stuttered once.
For once Dumb-bell spoke up, he didn't laugh at her threat instead he towered over her "Or else what? If you go crying to a teacher I will make your insignificant yellow body turn black and blue. Go hide in a corner with your tail between your legs, Klutzershy." With that all his friends walked off leaving Fluttershy's legs feeling like jello during an earthquake. Fluttershy fell to her knees ears pressed to her head and tears flowing. Even with her currently weak body the flame inside her had only grown larger, burning brighter and hotter.
When Fluttershy returned to her home the flame had yet to cool in the slightest. She laid on her bed holding her plushie; she hugged it tight, then tighter and tighter until its eyes bulged then she stopped. How dare they hurt her friends, she went down stairs and took some of her mothers old magazines and went back upstairs. She stomped over to her desk where a single lamp stood and pulled the cord, shadows danced in the sudden light. She reached for a pair of scissors and began cutting. At the end of the pages she glued down the cut out letters N, G, A, L, and E. She spelled out ANGEL.
With her letters completed she took a black hoodie from her closet and tucked every hair in her mane inside to at least partially conceal her identity from any insomniacs who may have been wandering around at this time of night. She opened her window and flew out into the cold air. When she reached the last house she breathed a sigh of relief, nopony had spotted her late night flight.
However, Not ten minutes after she had left Hoop's house a different pair of hoof steps could be heard. They stopped in front of the mailbox and reached for the freshly placed letter. The figure's gray coat vanished in the dark night but her vibrant blue hair and matching striped socks made her form visible. She laughed quietly "Every adventure requires a first step" She said before placing the letter back inside.