Fluttershy was standing just outside the Ponyville schoolhouse. It was Saturday so no school children were in sight. This left Miss Cheerilee, the town’s school teacher, with work to catch up on and parents meetings on the weekends. Unfortunately for Fluttershy, she had not planned a meeting with her and just decided to wing it. Still she felt nervous, more so than usual. She knew this could mean a better future for her dragon and would let him have friends his age to play with.
Okay Fluttershy you can do this! Just be confident, and remember your (very mean) hypocrite story if she tries to say no. She sighed and opened the door to the school house and let herself in.
The school was very basic indoors, sixteen desks lined up four by four all pointing to one direction. There was one very large desk which sat Miss Cheerilee, who seemed to be too busy in some paperwork to even notice Fluttershy.
“Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee.” Despite her quiet voice, Miss Cheerilee almost jumped when she noticed Fluttershy standing at her desk.
“Oh, Fluttershy, you nearly scared me there! Sorry I didn't notice you, I was busy grading some papers.” She smiled to Fluttershy but then a frown appeared when she realized something. “Was there something you needed dear?”
“Oh, well, yes there is. I’m here to see about enrolling a student into your class.” Fluttershy spoke with confidence but knew Miss Cheerilee would be confused.
The teacher was silent for a moment. “Did… Did you adopt a foal Fluttershy?” She was taken aback; Cheerilee knew Fluttershy had no kids to speak of.
“No, not exactly, this is about the dragon who tried to help you in assisting your class.”
“Ahh the, er, nameless dragon. I’m sorry again for sending him back, but he was not much of a... helper.” Cheerilee had an apologetic look on her face but brought up a small smile for a few moments. Fluttershy fell silent. Miss Cheerilee wasn't sure where this was going but then it hit her like a ton of bricks. “You want to enroll that dragon into my school?” It was such a blunt statement that Fluttershy felt a bit tense.
“Yes I do, I think it would be good for him. He is quite uneducated in some regards, plus it would help him get some friends his age. Are non-ponies allowed to go to school?”
“Well, there's no law or rule against it, and schooling is quite cheap, to be honest. But this could present a few problems, Fluttershy.” The whole time Miss Cheerliee was talking she was hesitant to keep going but was trying to sound sincere.
“Well, you are the town’s only school teacher, what problems exactly?” Fluttershy knew of a few issues but needed to be sure.
“First off, he needs a name in order to go through the school systems paperwork. Not to mention the awkward situations we would be in if he went by 'Nameless'.”
“Yes, I have been thinking of a few names but it just seems so weird. I mean you name a new born, sure, or even a pet later on. But actually naming a person when they are past the infant stages just feels weird.”
“I understand, Fluttershy. It's quite the odd situation. But, if you are serious about raising him then it is your responsibility. If you feel lost in this regard might I suggest talking with a few friends to come up with a name?”
Fluttershy considered that and then nodded. “Well that’s not a bad idea; I can’t keep calling him Little One. The other ponies in class would probably make fun of him.”
“Yes, that brings me to my next point. All though we have some sweet ponies in this class, we also have some not so nice ones. It's a small class but your young dragon will have to deal with stares and awkward moments.” Again being as sincere as she could be, but Miss Cheerilee was being quite direct.
“I know he will have to, but plenty of ponies enjoy Spike’s company. So I’m sure, in time, they will warm up to him.” She smiled nervously hoping to get some good news back.
“If he can hold his temper and remain calm to teasing then, I’m sure, eventually, some ponies will. Of course.” Miss Cheerilee finally smiled back.
“Okay, where those the only problems you can think of?”
“No, in addition to the paperwork you will be filling out I will need to prepare some extra work for him, since he will be enrolling late in the semester. You will be expected to keep him up to date on his work.” Very direct this time.
Fluttershy smiled sadly at her. “Oh, well, yes. Thank you for being so understanding, Miss Cheerilee. And I’m sorry that this might cause more work for you.”
“It's no problem at all, the least I can do for a pony who saved our town! Well, more than once." She chuckled when she thought about it. "As for a set date for your dragon to show up in class,... next Monday at the latest. Assuming you get this paperwork done by tonight. Fluttershy, make sure that he is prepared.” She finished gathering up the rest of the required paperwork and hoofed it back to Fluttershy.
She beamed at the teacher. “Oh I will! I better get going and thanks again Miss Cheerilee!” She waved back and ran out the door.
I better get to the library. If anypony knows how to give this dragon a name and fill out this paperwork in enough time, it’s Twilight. Fluttershy flew as fast as she could with the paperwork in her saddlebag in the direction of Twilight’s library. It did not take her long to reach the place, she was about to burst into the front door but thought better of it. She pried opened the library door and ran in.
“Twilight, are you up there?” Fluttershy yelled to the second floor of the library.
“Be down in a minute, Fluttershy.” She heard her friend reply.
She was tapping her hooves impatiently waiting for Twilight to come down like she said. Fluttershy started to feel anxious and started pacing back and forth. She knew waiting for the dragon to attend school could wait a bit, but it was still quite important. She also considered that Miss Cheerilee was now working very hard to make sure that her dragon could start learning as soon as possible. So it was only good manners to not make her wait for the right paperwork.
Finally, after a couple minutes Twilight was heading downstairs. “So what did you need, Fluttershy?” Twilight was asking as calmly as she could.
“ThedragonneedsanamebytonightandIneedtofilloutthispaperworksohecangotoschool…” Fluttershy was talking so fast it all sounded like gibberish to Twilight. So she jammed her hoof into her mouth and gave Fluttershy a flat look to calm down.
The mare spit out the hoof and blushed. “Oh sorry, Twilight,. I just talked to Miss Cheerilee you see. She said that my dragon can attend school but he first needs a name and to fill out this paperwork." She gestured to her saddlebag. "She mentioned it would be best if we got it back to her by tonight. You’re the only pony I know that is organized and smart enough to do this all in one day. Oh please will you help?” Fluttershy was pleading with Twilight but Twilight just found it rather amusing.
“Fluttershy, of course I’ll help you! First let me take a look at that paperwork.” Twilight levitated all the papers into a neat pile on a desk using her magic. She started looking over most of them seeming deep in thought. “Okay, I can fill out most of this without the name. For now it should be fine and not take too long. Meanwhile, we can both sit here and think of one-- oh, but we also need his age for some of this.”
“Oh thank you Twilight, and by my best estimates I would wager that he is no older than five. A bit young for school, true, but the school system takes all ages.”
“Five sounds about right, he is certainly younger than Spike at any rate. Let me just start filling out some of this while we toss around a few name ideas. I trust you thought of some already?” Twilight was busy levitating a quill and was already filling out some of the work.
The cream colored mare sighed at this. “Oh, well, to be honest... no. I lied to Miss Cheerilee, I can’t think of one name for him other than something to do with maybe ice or frost.”
“Since we are not naming an infant here, we can go on his current traits and characteristics. So something to do with frost does sound very appropriate.” Twilight had stopped writing for a moment to tilt her head upwards and say that. Once her comment was out she went right back to working.
“Well let’s see, he has courage in the face of danger. However, he is quite shy around others. I- I guess like me. He looks kind of rough around the edges, but inside he is nothing like that; unless you count what he did to survive out in the forest. Still, he has a new life no. So, his survivor instincts, I don’t think =, should be taken into account. What do you think, Twi?”
Twilight blinked. “What? Oh yes, I don’t think calling him something rugged would be a good idea. You say he was shy around other ponies?” This time she stopped working and gave Fluttershy her full attention.
“Yes, I mean the way he acted around most of us, he looked pretty scared. Maybe we are not going about this the right way though. We are looking at it logically and this is a name. Perhaps we should just toss out ideas?” She suggested.
Twilight bit her lip. “You do have a good point; I guess we can take turns, you first.”
“Oh okay, how about Shydrake?”
“Nah, sounds a bit awkward. Maybe, Frost Swipe since he tried to swipe those apples?” Twilight was giggling a bit but Fluttershy did not find it very funny. “Oh sorry... probably not a good idea.”
“No, probably not. Maybe his name could be Shyfrost?”
Twilight smirked. “That actually sounds kind of neat; maybe going about it logically was a good idea after all. Do you like that name, Fluttershy?”
“You know what? I think I do, Twilight. From now on my little dragon will be named, Shyfrost!” Fluttershy exclaimed in a tone mimicking a certain pink mare.
“Okay good, this paperwork will be much easier to do now. Oh, but you better let the little guy know that he has a name now.”
“Oh dear, Rainbow Dash said she was going to take him into town. So she could introduce him to other ponies and make some friends. I better go find them fast; it’s kind of hard to introduce yourself when you have no name.” Fluttershy was blushing in embarrassment for her little drake.
“Well, you go out and find them and let him know. I’ll just stay here and I should have most of the paperwork done by the time you both get back.”
“Right, I will just be back soon and thanks again, Twilight!” Fluttershy flew out the door leaving it open, Twilight shook her head in annoyance and slammed it shut using her magic.
“Kid, I just realized something; this is gonna be kind of tough introducing you to other ponies when you haven’t got a name.” Rainbow Dash had landed with the dragon in the middle of town, but they stopped when they realized that sad truth.
“Yeah, that’s kind of why I was nervous. I can’t just say, hi I’m Little...One.” The orange dragon looked down annoyed.
“Well I just thought by now that Fluttershy would have picked one out for ya. You know what? We’re gonna go find her and demand that she thinks of one!” Rainbow Dash had this crazy look in her eyes but with a hint of anger.
“Dash are you okay? You’re scaring me a bit.” The dragon was acting a bit sarcastically but it was still the truth.
“Oh I’m great, now get on and let’s go find Fluttershy.” It was far more of a command than a statement, so the dragon gulped back some cold spit and waited for the whip lash ride that was Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow Dash don’t take off!” Dash went frozen to the spot and recognized that voice as Fluttershy, they both turned around to notice that she had landed right behind them.
“Sorry for scaring you guys, but I have something important to say to… Shyfrost here.” Fluttershy was smirking while she pointed her hoof at the newly dubbed Shyfrost.
“Who’s Shyfrost?” Rainbow Dash was looking pretty confused; meanwhile Shyfrost was simply staring at Fluttershy, frozen to the spot. Dash looked back at the dragon and then back to the other pegasus back and forth until it dawned on her.
“That’s his name?!” Rainbow Dash had yelled so loudly that it broke the dragon out of his trance and startled some other ponies nearby.
“Yes, from now on your name is Shyfrost. My little dragon.” Fluttershy smiled quite brightly at this point.
“So my name is Shyfrost now?” He did not know what to think of the name, at first he tried to think about it logically. Sure he was shy around other ponies, but he could warm up to them. He was a ‘Frost Dragon’ at least that’s what Twilight dubbed his species. However, logical thinking just made him feel bad about the name so he tried another tactic.
I have a name! He thought to himself, and giggled a bit which caused both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to stare back.
“My name is Shyfrost.” It felt good stating a simple fact and this caused both of them to giggle as well.
“You like the name, right?” Fluttershy spoke up breaking his trance.
“Yeah I like it, Fluttershy.” He smiled back to her then closed his eyes. He was attempting to imagine himself walking around town, introducing himself with his new name. It felt awkward even inside his head. Still, he knew he would have to deal with more and more awkward situations in this town, so he opened his eyes and just kept on smiling.
“Excellent, now I need to get back to Twilight. Oh and Shyfrost, you will be going to school within a week or so. We can talk about that later, though.” Fluttershy turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash who had finally snapped out her daze.
“Oh right, well now that you have a name we can finally start introducing you around Ponyville. You still want to right?”
“Sure Dash, but please can we take it slow?” He pleaded.
“I hate being slow, but for you, sure.” Dash giggled and watched Fluttershy fly back to the library in a hurry.
“Right then...who do we start with first…” Rainbow Dash trailed off while she looked around the crowd of other ponies.
As it turned out, for now at least, not too many ponies were interested in meeting another dragon. Most ponies on a Saturday were too busy to be bothered. It also didn't help that Rainbow Dash only knew a few other ponies outside her own best friends. After a couple hours of awkward conversations they decided to call it a day. Dash was not happy with her town.
“I’m sorry Shyfrost I guess I just don’t personally know that many ponies. You know normally Pinkie Pie would have thrown a party for you by now.”
He scratched his head. “You mean that super crazy pink pony?”
“Yep, every time a new pony, or in this case, dragon comes to Ponyville, she introduces herself and then throws them a party so they can make friends. But I haven’t seen her lately.” Dash was scratching her head looking around in hopes of spotting her pink friend.
“Maybe she doesn't like me, I tried to be her assistant chef and it went terribly.”
“Pinkie would never hate somepony for something like that; I don’t even think she is capable of hate to be honest.” She giggled a bit.
“Well okay, let’s just get back to the library. But thank you for trying Rainbow Dash,” he said letting out a long sigh.
“You can just call me Dash.”
“Okay.”
They slowly walked back to the library in defeat. In truth Rainbow Dash felt terrible for not being able to help, she hated feeling useless. Shyfrost just felt more awkward being around town, if this was how adult ponies acted then he doubted that school would be any more fun. He didn't feel terrible or depressed, but it certainly wasn't a great feeling. He earned a name, he should have been really excited, but the lack of friends made him feel somewhat empty in a place full of ponies.
“Fluttershy, Twilight, we're back!” They walked into the library just as the school paperwork was being completed.
“Oh good, how did the friend hunt go?” Fluttershy asked.
“Not so good, most ponies didn’t seem too interested, it was my fault,” Dash said while scratching the back of her head again.
“This town just needs to warm up to the idea of more dragons. It took Spike a while to make friends outside us six after all. So don’t go blaming yourself, Dash.” Twilight gave her a reassuring smile.
“So I’m all done with the paperwork, would you like to come with me to greet Miss Cheerilee again, Shyfrost?”
“I guess so.” He was at least glad to be back with Fluttershy, not that he hated Dash. He climbed on top of her while she got the paperwork into her saddlebags.
“Thanks again Twilight, I owe you one!” Shyfrost could be seen on top of Fluttershy while she ran out towards the classroom.
The walk to the school was very uneventful. Sure Shyfrost had met the school teacher but she was very short with him, though, not in anger. He could tell his presence was disrupting the classroom and some of the students felt uneasy. She tried to be patient with him but it was clear that he was causing her more work in the end. He felt great that she was willing to teach him, but realized something. This is going to be the same class that did not like me. Why would that change now that I’m attending class? His train of thought was interrupted when he realized they were now standing in front of the teacher.
“Okay Miss Cheerilee, we finished all of the paperwork, and may I present to you your new student, Shyfrost!”
“Shyfrost is an interesting name.” She eyed him curiously, as if seeing him for the first time.
“Well, Twilight named my species a frost dragon since I don’t breathe fire.”
“Well that’s a plus; we won’t have any accidents while at school.” Miss Cheerilee giggled and seemed to be more relaxed by that fact.
“Oh no, not at all! He can control ice with his breathe it seems. I find it quite lovely but no fire sneezes like our Spikey.” Fluttershy giggled back.
“I’ll just turn in this paperwork tonight. I look forward to being your teacher, Shyfrost. Oh and here is the required work to catch him up to speed with the class.” She grabbed Fluttershy’s paperwork and replaced it with a stack of more papers handing it back to the pegasus pony.
“Oh my, well this shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll work with him.” She looked to her back winking at the dragon.
Work with me?
“Oh and the payment Fluttershy, do you have that?”
“Oh yes, I have it right here.” Fluttershy started rummaging through her saddle bag until she brought out a rather small sack of bits.
“Right then, like I said make sure he is ready by next Monday. He will need to bring in his own lunch every day and his own school supplies. Class starts at eight and... I think that’s it. Any questions dear?”
“Oh no, that all sounds fine. Do you have any questions for Miss Cheerilee, Shyfrost?”
“...No.”
“Right then, good bye Miss Cheerilee. I will have him ready by next Monday.” They both waved with Shyfrost just eyeing the teacher curiously.
The walk back to the cottage was again very quiet. Fluttershy was humming a bit to herself but Shyfrost was simply lost in thought on school. He remembered being the helper for that day, each time she wanted something he was expected to do it. But it wasn’t the tasks that were too demanding it was the attention he was getting. Each time he was required to do anything that made noise some of the students would look up; their gaze lasted for quite a while. None of the students seemed too happy to see him there. Or was that all in his head?
“Shyfrost are you okay? You look worried again.”
“Yeah I’m fine just thinking about school is all.”
“Are you nervous? I mean it’s understandable I was absolutely petrified of school when I first went.” She shuddered at the thought.
“Really?” The thought that Fluttershy would be scared of something was a new concept to Shyfrost; in the short time he had known her she had always seemed courageous.
“Oh yes, my first couple weeks of flight school were the most frightening weeks of my life. But then I met Rainbow Dash, she was always there to cheer me up and get me to try new things. Friends can do that Shyfrost, a good friend will always stick by your side.”
“I guess I really need to make friends…” Shyfrost trailed off thinking about his encounter with Rainbow Dash. She was a good friend but not one his age.
“I’m sure you will, once we get back to the cottage we can start on your new school work. We need to get you up to the level of the other students.”
“Uhh okay, whatever that means.”
They got back to the cottage to an exhausting looking Angel bunny who was taking up Fluttershy’s chores. She apologized to him and set to work on dinner, this time with no gemstones. It didn't take long for the dragon to find out what school meant, in this case a ton of schoolwork. However, oddly enough, he was enjoying himself. Fluttershy seemed a bit shocked, but figured children enjoyed learning things at some point in their lives. He was enjoying himself learning about everything that the teacher required of him. Unbeknownst to her, it was the other ponies in the class that made him nervous, which had made him fail at his duties from before.
“Wow, Shyfrost, we got through quite a bit of work, you should be ready for school next week with no problems.” She smiled at her little dragon and put away his work.
“There could be some problems…” He trailed off in a manner befitting Fluttershy when she conversed with strangers.
“You mean making friends in class?” She nuzzled his cheek trying to calm Shyfrost down.
“Yeah that, the other ponies in that class just made me nervous the day I helped. And if a bunch of bigger ponies in town don’t want anything to do with me then why would some smaller ones?”
“Yes, I heard introducing yourself around town did not go so well. A pinkie party would have helped but she’s been busy. Anyway Shyfrost, if you just be yourself, then I promise you will eventually make a friend in class.” Her smile made him feel so warm; he didn't’t even care that his amulet was back on his bed. Fluttershy’s warmth was all he needed. So he just nodded and smiled back.
It was getting late with the moon already up. They both decided to get some rest early with Fluttershy wishing him a good night’s rest and to not worry about school. He nodded giving her one last smile while she got ready for bed. Shyfrost would literally do anything for her, even brave going to school. Still, he wasn’t about to go without his amulet, no way in Tartarus. He was clutching it in his claw hoping that it would be enough to get over his nerves.
The heat that flowed through him would always calm him down. Shyfrost always assumed it just gave him courage and the stone had some type of magic, but it sounded a bit silly. He knew magic existed and even dragons had a little magic but why would a rock have some? Still, all he had to do was touch it to his heart and it seemed to unlock the courage inside him.
You better work at school. He told the rock.
Sighing to himself Shyfrost snuggled into his blanket and gazed up at the stars. He really wanted to sleep, but Ponyville still did not feel like home. So far the other ponies had not welcomed him with open hooves. He was hoping that school children were far more open, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind was telling him a simple…no. His amulet was directly sitting over his heart, the warmth radiating from it as usual. Lately it was getting warmer, not a bad thing he decided but he kept wondering why.
Out in the forest it would get warm randomly but ever since I came to Ponyville its always warm.
He had given up trying to figure out the rock a long time ago, it worked and that was enough. Still, it wouldn't hurt to know why it helped him so. He wondered if any of Fluttershy’s friends could help. He still did not consider most of them his friend, Rainbow Dash was now at least. Maybe Twilight could help; she sure knew a lot about… everything. He thought, though, he wasn't sure if it was her personality or the fact that she was constantly surrounded by books. He then shrugged. She is a librarian I guess.
I have a week until school; I guess I could ask her. I guess she's not so bad.
He finally decided to call it a night; he was too tired to think. With one loud yawn he yelled up to his new pony mom.
“Goodnight, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, Goodnight Shyfrost!”