It was a difficult time in P.E after everyone in Spitfire's class worked up a good sweat. But after a quick shower and changing back into their regular clothes, the students couldn't wait to go and grab some food for lunch, including Fluttershy and her newest friend. After they got back into their regular clothes, they walked over to the cafeteria together, striking up a friendly chat, enjoying each other's company. Mostly, they exchanged their info about what they liked to do in their spare time, what their hobbies were, their favorite places to go to during vacation and what food they liked to eat.
Fluttershy mentioned how much she loved baked potatoes and caesar salads. Israel wasn't surprised about the fact that his new friend, Fluttershy being a vegetarian, but he didn't mind it at all. His all-time favorite food was a tasty pepperoni pizza. He calls it "God's eternal gift from above," which made Fluttershy giggle.
She even learned that Israel liked Raging Waters as his favorite vacation spot. A theme park like that was quite a ways from Canterlot City, but Fluttershy considered going there next summer. Fluttershy mentioned how she liked going to Camp Everfree to pay a visit to all of the animals that lived there and tell them stories about what she'd been doing while she was in school. Israel hadn't been to Camp Everfree ever since Gloriosa was rescued from those out-of-control geodes that she used in order to try and save the whole camp with.
Just the thought of those piercing eyes staring directly at him gave him shivers down his spine. Just mentioning about that event that happened a few months ago before summer vacation made Fluttershy feel concerned for Yabuki and if it affected him in any way.
"Israel, I'm... really sorry you had to go through that event. Does it perhaps haunt you in your nightmares and wake you up at night, screaming?" she asks, but Yabuki shakes his head. Fluttershy breathes a sigh of relief, "Alright, sorry if I sound a little worried. It's just how I am sometimes."
"That's understandable. I'd be worried, too if you were in my boots," he says. Fluttershy felt her smile light up a little from her Yabuki's kind words.
Their conversation comes to a halt once they enter the cafeteria. Fluttershy and Yabuki both get themselves a tray and grab some food from the counter. Though it does look delicious, the food just doesn't feel the same as it did when Granny Smith was still preparing everyone's meals. Her cooking always brought a smile to everyone's faces, but with her gone, the food just feels empty.
Fluttershy sighs and takes her food with her. "You miss Granny Smith don't you?" Israel asks.
"Yes. No one likes to lose their loved ones, especially not someone as caring as Granny Smith. But the important thing is she doesn't have to suffer anymore and she'll remain in our hearts forever. Do you feel the same way about that too, Israel?"
"100%, Fluttershy," he nods.
Fluttershy and Israel then grab their lunches and walk over to a table with Fluttershy's group of friends. "Oh, here we are, want to come sit with us?" Fluttershy asks.
"Sure, I don't see why not," Israel agrees.
The two take their seats with the other girls. "Hi there, Fluttershy. Who's this guy you're talking to, is he like a new friend of yours you just made?" Sunset asks.
"Why yes. His name's Israel Yabuki," Fluttershy says.
"Strange, I don't quite recall him ever seeing him any other times. Is he a new student?" Rarity asks. Fluttershy shakes her head left and right. "No? How come?"
"He doesn't feel comfortable around big crowds. He spent 3 whole years blending in with the crowd, trying his best not to get noticed," Fluttershy said.
"But why would he want to stay hidden? He doesn't seem like a bad guy to me. And he certainly doesn't look like he would harm a fly," Rarity points out. "Israel, was it? Is there any particular reason you don't feel comfortable around big crowds? Maybe if it's bothering you, we can help you out."
"That's very kind of you and I do appreciate it. But there's no need to trouble yourselves. I've got some very good friends of my own during my time here in Canterlot High," Israel insists.
"Oh, that's nice. Who are your friends and how did you meet them?" Twilight asks.
"Yeah, tell us," Pinkie asks, feeling excited.
A-Alright, but it's hard to find out where to start," Israel says, thinking to himself. "Umm... back when I was at my Junior High School graduation, I met this guy who went to the same school I did back then. but we didn't see each other until minutes before the ceremony begun. We were chilling in the computer room, watching YouTube videos and talking amongst each other, having a blast. To this day, he and I are still buddies and I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. His name's Soarin and he's a really good guy."
"Awesome, what's he like?" Rainbow asks.
"He's an athletic knucklehead and a bit of a pig, but he's reliable when you're in a tight jam. There was this one time when I got confronted by Flash Sentry, trying to force me into getting back Sunset, otherwise he'd... uh... maybe it's best I don't describe it. But anyways, just as I was about to refuse, Soarin showed up and scared him off when he pinned him against the locker, telling him the following: "You lay a hand on my buddy and you'll be seeing stars for a week!"
"Wow, I guess friendship is expressed in many ways," Twilight says.
"I guess Flash hasn't accepted the fact that I'm dating Twilight now. Sooner or later, he's gonna have to move on with his life and find some other girl," Sunset says. Just then, Sunset realizes something. "Wait, I think I remember you from my junior year back when..."
"When you were still recognized as a bully?" Israel asks
"Y-Yeah, that brings back a painful memory. I said the most awful thing to you," Sunset hides her face in her hands before saying what she had said back then. "I still remember it plain as day: You're smart to avoid being noticed, because no one would care if you exist or not." Her body starts trembling with every word that comes out of her mouth.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But look at you now, you've changed. You're a much better person and because of how you showed remorse for your misdeeds, I can't hold a grudge against you," Israel says with an understanding smile.
Sunset slowly peeks out from her hands and looks at Israel. "R-Really?" she asks. He nods and leans over to pat Sunset on her back gently. "Fluttershy, you've made a really interesting friend. So, Israel, was it, who are these other friends you've made in your life?"
"Care to tell us?" Applejack asks.
"Sure. My other friend is like the Class Card. His name's Cheese Sandwich. I met him during my freshmam year right here in Canterlot High. He threw a "Welcome to Canterlot" party for me and some other students. He could clearly tell I was a little bit lonely and wanted to be friend. Soarin took a liking to him as well. Anytime I wasn't hanging out with Soarin outside of school, Cheese and I would hang out at my house. Our neighbors see us as the "Friendly Neighborhood Trolls," Israel says.
"Aww, that's so sweet," Pinkie says.
"You'll be even more surprised when you get to meet 'em soon," Yabuki replies.
"Where are they right now?" Fluttershy asks.
"Soarin's probably getting in a good jogging exercise before coming to lunch. Cheese Sandwich is probably in the hallway, rummaging through his locker to find his friend, Boneless," Yabuki says.
"Boneless, who's that?" Rainbow asks.
"A rubber chicken," Israel says. The girls all stare at each other, confused. "I don't know why, but he talks to it like it's alive or something, so I try not to question him... or his "Cheesy" senses."
"What are his "Cheesy" senses like?" Pinkie asks.
"I'm not sure how they work, but sometimes, certain parts of his body shake, like he's having a spasm attack and the cheese sandwich sticker on his shirt starts making these accordian noises. And every time that happens he gets all like "Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo, that was a doozy!" Why do you ask?" Israel asks.
"That sounds similar to Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie" senses," Sunset says.
"Wow, I had no idea. I'm both impressed and a bit disturbed," Israel says. He and the girls laugh it up as a joke and continue having their friendly chat while eating their lunch. It carries on for a few more minutes until eventually, everyone notices two guys coming up to them. One of the guys had a Canterlot Wondercolt jacket over his black shirt and wore blue jeans. His skin was pale blue while his hair was dark blue and slicked back and had green eyes similar to Israel's hazel green eyes.
The other guy had dark brown, curly hair and green eyes just like the other two. His skin was slightly tanned and wore a yellow t-shirt with a cheese sandwich sticker on the front. He, too, wore blue jeans and gave off a more goofy vibe to them.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Israel asks. The girls assume the two other boys are his best friends Cheese Sandwich and Soarin. "You didn't strain yourself, did ya Soarin?" he asks. Soarin shakes his head and waves his hand, gesturing he wasn't hurt in the least.
"Nah, I'm used to it," Soarin replies.
"And I had to go and get Boneless," Cheese says, patting the rubber chicken on his shoulder. "The poor little guy was getting lonely from being in my locker all day. So, I assume these lovely ladies are your... girlfriends?" Cheese puts on a smirk and quirks an eyebrow teasingly.
"What?!" Israel asks, a little loud.
"Hah! You always said you had high standards for choosing a girlfriend, but I didn't know all of these girls met all of your expectations, little buddy," Soarin laughs.
"Guys, knock it off! They're my friends!" Israel shuts his eyes tightly, unable to hide his blush.
"I'm sure they're just playing," Sunset replies. "But sadly, I'm already dating someone." Sunset grabs a hold of Twilight and gently pulls her to her side. "And she's the best girlfriend I could ever ask for. The same can also be said for Rarity going out with Applejack." she gestures to the happy couple on the other side of the table, whom began holding hands.
"Wow, I did not know that," Israel says. "Well, as they always say, love knows no boundaries. So now what, you guys want me to sit with you at another table or..."
"Actually, we want to know if you're alright with having two more people. Plus, all of the other seats are full and this is the only one that we could find that's available," Soarin says, chuckling nervously.
"Well, we got plenty of room here, grab a seat!" Rainbow says, patting a spot on the table. Soarin and Cheese happily take their seats with their buddy and the girls afterwards.
"Your friend here told us a lot of good things about you two. Tell me, is it true you saved him from getting a beating from Flash that one time?" Rainbow asks. "I want to know if you actually made him pee his pants when you confronted him!"
"I could definitely smell it on him before he bolted out of there," Soarin confirms.
"Oh-ho wow! I wish I could've seen that! That would've been hilarious!" Rainbow laughs. The other girls either rolled their eyes or gave a small chuckle.
"So, Cheese, was there anything you three did that was funny?" Pinkie asks.
"That's right. Gather around everyone and listen closely," Cheese says. When the girls all gave him their attention, Cheese clears his throat and begins to tell his story. "It all began a couple of days before summer vacation was about to come to an end that Soarin, Israel and I wanted to do something fun! We went to go have a party and sing a little karaoke at the mall. When we were eating, Israel and I had a little competition to see who can launch their food the farthest and we had to use spoons do it."
"Ooh, what happened?"
"Cheese won, hands down. I launched one of my swedish meatballs onto Soarin's head by accident. But Cheese launched his WHOLE ORANGE halfway across the restaurant and it landed in someone's plate of mashed potatoes, splattering it all over their shirt and face!" Israel finishes.
"Y'all didn't get into too much trouble, did ya?" Applejack asks.
"Actually, we only got off with a warning. But only because that very same guy with the potatoes tried to pick a fight with us and boy was he mad," Cheese says. "The guy kept rambling on about how he's had enough of a rough life as it was after his girlfriend dumped him before summer vacation even began."
Twilight blinks in surprise. "Did he happen to have forest green hair and tan skin?" she asks.
"Yeah, he sort of gave off this "over-bearing," "over-confident" vibe. Why do you ask?" Cheese asks.
"That... was probably my ex, Timber Spruce," Twilight says.
"Yikes, sounds like you two didn't get along too well, huh?" Israel adds.
"At first glance they had chemistry between each other, but Twilight learned he was only interested in showing her off and making others feel bad," Sunset says.
"Well, boys, it sounds like we can only describe this guy with two simple words, am I right or am I right?" Israel asks Soarin and Cheese. Both of them put on confident smiles and quirk their eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asks.
"Altogether now," Israel says.
"One... two... three... WAIFU STEALER!!!" the boys shout in unison before laughing out loud.
Fluttershy and they other girls couldn't help themselves but laugh up a storm when they said that. Sunset and Twilight have been having trouble describing Timber, but their new friends knew exactly what to say. Perhaps Fluttershy was right, Israel and his friends are really something.