//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Rainbow Dash's Night Classes // by garatheauthor //------------------------------// The small café was usually crammed full of Canterlot University students caffeinating themselves before and after class. However, this late in the evening, it was dead. This made it the perfect locale for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, and Twilight to just sit around, chat, and enjoy a warm drink. Sunset sipped at her chai tea, looking towards Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “So, what did you girls do today?” “Well rainbow had classes in the morning. Afterwards we hung out at the mall, got some dinner, and watched a movie,” Fluttershy said. Twilight perked up. “Oh, what did you see?” “A nature documentary about the artic,” Fluttershy said. “Huh, that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Rainbow would be into.” “She seemed-,” Fluttershy began. “Are you kidding?” Rainbow interrupted. “It was awesome. Like at first, I thought it was going to be super lame. But there was this part where a polar bear broke through the ice and ate a seal. It was insane.” “You didn’t let me-” “And then there was this scene with some eskimo hunters-” Rainbow continued. “Inuit,” Fluttershy said. “Yeah sorry, inuit hunters and they were hunting this whale-” Fluttershy cleared her throat, stopping Rainbow Dash’s narrative dead. Rainbow instantly tensed up and stared vacantly ahead. For a moment, she looked like a kid who’d just got caught breaking the rules at school. “Excuse me, but I was speaking.” Fluttershy scolded. Rainbow Dash swallowed. “I didn’t mean to…” “I understand but that was still very rude of you.” “I’m sorry.” Fluttershy nodded. “Apology accepted. Now, can you grab me another drink?” Rainbow Dash got up. “Yeah, sure. Right away, Shy.” Fluttershy smiled, turning back to Sunset and Twilight. The two girls looked rather confused about what had just happened. “As I was saying. She’s not usually into nature documentaries but it wasn’t her pick tonight,” Fluttershy said. Her hand instinctively reached over and grabbed Dash’s drink. After all, they had ordered the same thing. Fluttershy walked into her apartment, with Rainbow following right behind. They had just returned home from getting drinks with Twilight and Sunset. On the walk back Fluttershy had been silent, even by her standards. Rainbow felt a knot of guilt tightening and tightening in her stomach. Rainbow Dash locked the door behind herself. Holy shit, even though Shy accepted her apology she still seemed super pissed, didn’t she? Maybe if she owned up to her mistake she could blunt whatever payback Shy had in mind. “Look, Shy,” she said, “I’m sorry about what happened. I, uh, didn’t mean to interrupt you. I wasn’t thinking,” Fluttershy took off her coat and handed it to Dash, who hung it up in the closet along with her own. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” Fluttershy said. “Interrupting you?” Rainbow asked “Not thinking.” Rainbow winced, that hurt. “Hey, that’s not fair.” “I thought we talked about how much I hate get interrupted, rainbow?” “We…did.” Fluttershy nodded. “And yet, you interrupt me all the time. Do you have any idea how disrespectful that is?” “Look, I didn’t mean for it to happen.” “You still did it.” Fluttershy motioned toward the door. For a moment Dash was confused what she was getting at. Then it hit her, she had forgotten to place her and Shy’s shoes on the little mat next to the door. She hurriedly did so, smiling awkwardly at Shy. Shy did not look even remotely impressed. “It was an accident,” Dash said, returning to the previous topic. “Just because it’s an accident doesn’t make it right.” “Shy-” Rainbow began. “Don’t call me that,” Fluttershy interrupted. “What?” Her voice was soft but firm. “You’ve lost the right to call me that. Obviously, I was wrong to treat you like an adult. You’re a child, rainbow, and you need to learn how to be a functional adult. So, we’ll just take a step back and I will become your teacher. As such I expect you to address me as Miss Fluttershy. Do you understand?” Rainbow swallowed, this wasn’t good. Shy was seriously furious with her. Dash could easily spot all the little things that a less intimate partner wouldn’t catch. The twitch of her lip, the angle of her eyebrows, the way that Shy’s eyes just drilled right into her. “Of course,” Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Of course?” “Of course, Miss Fluttershy.” There was a silence between them as Rainbow Dash was unable to meet that piercing gaze. “Sit down,” Fluttershy said Rainbow walked over and sunk into a seat at the dining room table, not making a sound as she looked to the side in shame. Maybe it was about time that something like this happened? She hadn’t been the easiest girlfriend to deal with after all. Oh god, Shy could probably tell just how guilty she felt. She was blushing so hard that her face felt like it was on fire. Fluttershy walked over to a nearby cabinet and opened it, pulling out a band of soft pink felt. At each end was half of a yellow butterfly emblem. She walked over and carefully wrapped it around Rainbow Dash’s throat. It fit like a glove, tenderly caressing her soft blue skin. The two halves of the emblem met together under Dash’s chin, snapping together to form a whole butterfly. Rainbow Dash’s collar was now firmly in place. It may have looked incredibly dorky, but it was comforting. It meant that Shy wasn’t just about to bail on her for this little mistake. Dash may have been a troublemaker but at least she was Shy’s troublemaker. Fluttershy sat down across the table from Rainbow, reaching out to place her hand atop Dash’s. “Now rainbow, I hate doing this but you’ll have to follow some new rules.” Oh shit, here it comes. “Like what?” “Rule number one. You are not to speak unless I direct a question towards you or you raise your hand and wait for me to give you permission to speak. Your words are what got you into trouble and you need to learn to value them. Maybe that way you’ll think twice before interrupting someone else when they’re trying to exercise the same privilege.” Rainbow kept her mouth shut. The surprise in Shy’s eyes, when Dash was actually able to follow through with an order, sent a painful and deep shame rocketing through her. She tried her best. Why couldn’t Shy see that? “Rule number two. Until you learn your lesson, I expect you to write the phrase, ‘I will not interrupt Miss Fluttershy’, 200 times a day.” Lines?! Shy was playing dirty, she knew how much Dash hated lines. For a second her mind went back to high school and the endless lines of text that Cheerilee made her scribble on that stupid blackboard. Her wrist ached just thinking about it. “Rule number three. You’ll write this on recycled paper certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Which will be provided for you. Though the cost will be subtracted from your allowance.” Rainbow Dash groaned. She hated having an allowance. She made that money. Why did Shy get to say how she spent it? Like, sure the first couple of months they’d nearly missed rent but Dash had learned her lesson. At this rate, she’d hardly be able to afford the fees for her soccer club. Didn’t Shy realize how important that was to her? Maybe she should say something? Dash opened her mouth but a sharp look from Fluttershy stopped her cold. "Rule number four. From six to eight in the evening on weekdays, you will attend class. In these classes, you will be provided with readings and worksheets that cover topics appropriate to your punishment. During class hours, you will follow a formal dress code and have to ask for permission in order to use the washroom or get a drink of water. If you are late for class then you’ll need to finish another 100 lines for that day. Lines may not be completed in class unless I say so.” Holy shit, she was already trapped within class for like twenty hours a day. Now Shy wanted her to sit through another two hours of talking? Even if her girlfriend was going to be the one lecturing, she couldn’t imagine staying awake through that. Though maybe Shy would dress up in…NO. Of course, she wouldn’t do that. It’d kinda ruin the whole part about this being a punishment. Though what was she supposed to do if she had work? Shy couldn’t honestly expect her to quit. Could she? She raised her hand to voice this concern. Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, rainbow?” “What if I have work?” “Then classes will be rescheduled to the weekend.” WEEKENDS! She had shit to do on the weekends. Rainbow didn’t have anything else to ask, so Fluttershy continued. “Finally, rule number five. Because I’m your teacher now, it would be immoral for us to continue sleeping together. So, until this punishment is complete, we will not be having sex nor sharing a bed. You’ll just have sleep in the living room until further notice.” Rainbow Dash went slack jawed. NO SEX! Fluttershy couldn’t be even remotely serious with that. For all she knew this punishment could go on for weeks! Sure, she wasn’t exactly some sex crazed fiend, but still, a girl had needs. Her hand shot up. “Yes?” Fluttershy asked. “You can’t be serious!” “I am, rainbow. I’ve tried to be reasonable with you and handle this problem as adults. But you’ve proven to me that you’re not an adult. So, I’m forced me to take such drastic steps in order to help you. I hope you can see that.” There was a moment of silence as Rainbow processed this. She’d be sleeping on the couch for a good long while if she didn’t get her shit together. A rancid thought tugged at the back of her mind. “Are… you mad at me?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy looked wounded. “I’m not mad, rainbow.” Rainbow Dash began to smile. Maybe there was still some hope left. “Just deeply disappointed in you.” This smile was crushed. Fluttershy stood up and went over to a desk, pulling out a few pieces of paper and a pen. She laid these out in front of Dash. “Your punishment starts tonight.” Rainbow picked up the pen and looked at the pages. Without question she began to write the first of her 200 lines. Fluttershy smiled and kissed Dash on the cheek. “Good night, rainbow.” She drew back. “I love you.” With that Fluttershy left, leaving Rainbow behind for the first of many lonely nights.