It was a normal day for the main six and Coppermane. The gang lounged around Twilight's castle while Twilight and Coppermane had a study session.
"Okay, Coppermane, one last time. Make sure your mind is clear." Twilight said.
"Okay," Coppermane said. He closed his eyes, and his horn began to glow. His face scrunched in concentration, but his horn's aura soon faded, leaving him short of breath.
"Ugh… it's no use… I can't do it…" Coppermane said
"Are you okay, Coppermane?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Coppermane said, smiling at his marefriend.
"Don't worry, Coppermane. I know you'll get it," Fluttershy said, giving her coltfriend a nuzzle on the cheek.
Coppermane smiled, shuddering at the feeling of Fluttershy nuzzling him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks," he said, giving her a smile.
Twilight and her friends giggled at their exchange. Coppermane's been here for a couple months now, and everypony loved having him around. He's been a great friend, helping Twilight learn some new spells, helping Applejack around the orchard, visiting Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner every morning, and giving Rarity and Rainbow Dash some feedback on their work. Coppermane's even become somewhat of a celebrity since the Summer Sun Celebration. He always had ponies, mostly mares, coming up to him asking for either an autograph, a quick song, or both. He's even been asked to sing at some events, ranging from small gigs in Ponyville to being asked by Princess Cadence to come back to the Crystal Empire to sing for the whole city!
But Coppermane would consider all of these minute accolades compared to the biggest honor of all: being Fluttershy's special somepony. Twilight and her friends always knew the two ponies had crushes on each other, but also that they were both incredibly shy. It took a while, but when the news got out that they were finally an item, everypony was absolutely ecstatic. Twilight and her friends would be the first to notice that Fluttershy has been significantly happier since she started dating Coppermane, and they were so proud of her for finding her special somepony. Whenever all seven of them hung out together, they would always joke with the couple, usually about when they're going to get married. They would ask if they should start planning their wedding, Pinkie Pie would ask what flavor wedding cake they wanted, the five argued with each other about being Fluttershy's mare of honor; the list goes on.
Fluttershy and Coppermane knew their friends were just joking with them, but it did make the couple fantasize in their own heads about being married one day. Fluttershy has always entertained the idea of starting a family one day, and Coppermane always wanted be something that he never had in his life: a parent. It was a sensitive topic, and the couple didn't really discuss it with each other. At the time being, they liked the bubble they had, and didn't want to rush things. After all, both of them were still quite knew to love.
"You know, Twilight, maybe tomorrow we can start on the duplication spell. I think it's your turn to struggle," Coppermane said with a smirk. He could hear Fluttershy giggling behind him.
"I dunno," Rainbow Dash said, "She is the element of magic."
Twilight blushed, "Oh, I'm pretty sure I'll have trouble. It doesn't sound easy at all, but I've been anxious to start on it."
"Great! I can get some time to look over that materialization spell. That's one of the hardest spell I've ever tried to learn," Coppermane said. He looked over at Fluttershy, "Although, having you here helps."
Fluttershy blushed, "Oh, it's nothing, really. I just like watching you practice."
Now it was Coppermane's turn to blush. She was just the sweetest thing. He gave her a quick, yet tender kiss, eliticing a giggle from everypony else in the room.
"Oh, you two are just adorable!" Rarity said.
"When are you going to propose, Coppermane?" Pinkie Pie chimed in, "I already have your whole wedding planned!"
The couple blushed profusely.
"Pinkie… please…" Coppermane asked, blushing profusely.
"You never know!" Pinkie Pie said teasingly. The wave of embarrassment was subsided when Spike suddenly burped, and in his fire breath's wake, a letter materialized.
"A letter from the princess?" Applejack asked curiously.
Twilight wasted no time in levitating the letter over to her with her magic to read it. All of her friends gathered around her to hear what Princess Celestia wrote her…
…
My Faithful Student Twilight,
I hope your studies are going well, and I hope Coppermane hasn't driven you and Spike too crazy! I have a request for you. I have been informed by an anonymous source that you possess a portal to Sunset Shimmer's world that it functional, and can be used at will. If you can, I want you to go back to her world and just check up on her. I know that you successfully curved her behavior, and I want to know how she's doing. I would do it myself, but I have royal duties. Besides, I'm sure your friends on the other side would love to see you again! You can stay there for as long as you want, but do make sure you come back. You are the princess of friendship, after all! Tell Coppermane I said hello, and I wish you safe travels!
Your proud teacher,
Princess Celestia
…
"She wants you to go Sunset's world?" Fluttershy asked.
"Are you leaving now?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I don't see why not, I mean, I've been wondering how Sunset's doing too," Twilight said, glancing over the portal behind her.
"You're just trying to get out of learning the duplication spell, aren't you?" Coppermane said jokingly.
Twilight chuckled, "I promise, that's what the letter said."
"How long will you be gone?" Rarity asked.
"I'm not sure. But it would be nice to visit there without any looming threats," Twilight said, recalling every other time she had visited Sunset's world. First time, Twilight's Crown. The second time, the Sirens. It would be nice to visit just for the sake of visiting, and without the fate of the entire world at stake.
"Can we come with ya this time?" Applejack asked, knowing in the back of her head what the answer was probably going to be. Twilight looked away from her nervously, implying that her assumptions were correct. "Guess not, huh?"
"It's probably best if you stay here," Twilight said. Her friends understood, but looked down with disappointment.
"I get to go, right?" Spike asked.
"Actually Spike, can you stay here?" Twilight said.
Spike's eyes widened. "Aww… why?"
"Just to make sure everything stays organized around here," Twilight said. "I might be gone for a while."
Spike sighed, obviously disappointed, but he obliged anyways. "Alright…"
"I should write a message to Sunset Shimmer first, just to let them all know I'll be coming over," Twilight said. She went into the library to fetch the message book, and began to write in it…
…
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I'm happy to inform you that I'll be coming over for another visit today! Princess Celestia is wondering how you're doing, and has asked me to come check up on you. Tell the girls that I'll be there soon. I can't wait to see you all again! And the best part: nothing is threatening the world this time! We can all just have fun together, and maybe I can get more familiar with how your world works. I'm still a bit flaky on some things. I'll see you soon!
Your best friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle
…
"Alright, now we just wait for her to respond!" Twilight said.
"So… does this mean I'll have the castle all to myself for a few days?" Coppermane asked.
"I guess so," Twilight said, "Promise you won't burn the place down okay?"
"You can count on me, Twilight. This is my home too, after all," Coppermane said with a smile.
"You've lived here long enough. I think I trust you to take care of it," Twilight said.
"And we'll all help too!" Rarity said, "We'll be waiting by the portal when you return, like always!"
"Y'all can let us know with the book, right?" Applejack said.
"I sure can! I'll try not to take too long. I know I have responsibilities," Twilight said. Speaking of the book, it started to buzz again.
"Wow, already? That was fast," Twilight said, opening the book…
…
Dear Princess Twilight,
You're coming over today?! This is such a great surprise! Princess Celestia is wondering how I'm doing, huh? Good to know that she still cares even after everything I've done. I'm writing this right next to the portal with all of the girls around me. They all said to say hi, that they miss you, and we can't wait to see you! It's almost time for the Fall Formal too, so maybe you can run for princess again? I will not be running this time around. It brings back too many memories. I'll leave that up to you, though. We're all ready for you, and we're so excited we can barely stand it! See you soon!
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer
…
"I guess you should be going then…" Fluttershy said, looking sad.
"It's okay, Fluttershy," Twilight said, going up to the mare and hugging her, "I'll be back, I promise."
Everypony came up and gave Twilight a hug, wishing her luck on her mission. The seven ponies walked to the currently inactive porta. She threw the switch, and the portal was activated.
All of Twilight's friends called out goodbye to her, wishing her luck, saying that they'll miss her dearly. Twilight looked back at them, gave them a wink. And with a deep breath, Twilight ventured through the portal…
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Sunset Shimmer all sat around the Wondercolt statue, eagerly awaiting their best friend's arrival.
"I can hardly wait!" Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down with excitement.
"You sure she's coming?" Rainbow Dash asked, skeptical.
"She said she'd be coming soon," Sunset Shimmer said.
All of their skepticism immediately faded upon seeing waves form on the portal's surface, with a purple figure getting closer and closer. All of them gasped in anticipation, and soon, their best pony friend appeared through the portal.
"Woah!" Twilight said, trying to get her balance from having only two legs instead of four.
"Twilight!" the six girls cried out in excitement. They all swarmed Twilight in a big group hug.
"Oh, it's so wonderful to see you again!" Rarity said after the group released Twilight.
"We have so much catchin' up ta do!" Applejack said.
"We're so happy to have you back," Fluttershy said.
"Thanks for coming so quickly, Twilight," Sunset said.
"Oh, I was so excited to see you all again. And best of all, the world isn't in danger! Right?" Twilight asked, still skeptical.
"Not that we know of," Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh good," Twilight said, sighing in relief, "We can just hang out with no worries this time around. It's going to be so great!"
"Slumber party at my house tonight!" Pinkie Pie said with vigor, making the girls cheer in excitement.
"This is going to be wonderful! Now tell me, what's it like being a princess? What's it like living in a castle?" Rarity asked.
Suddenly the bell rang, much to the girls' disappointment.
"Shoot, lunch is over," Rainbow Dash said, letting out an annoyed sigh.
"Yeah, we gotta get ta class now," Applejack said, obviously wanting to stay where she was.
"Oh, okay, that's fine. I guess I can go the library or something," Twilight said.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Fluttershy said, "There's only two hours left in the day."
"How about we all meet at the library at the end of the day?" Sunset Shimmer suggested, to which all the girls agreed.
"We better get going, or we'll be late," Fluttershy said.
"Alright then. See you later, girls!" Twilight said.
"Bye Twilight!" said the girls before they all went their separate ways to their respective classes, except for Sunset.
"Twilight?" Sunset said.
"Yeah, Sunset?"
Sunset Shimmer walked up to her and gave her a big hug, "Thank you so much for visiting. It means a lot to all of us."
Twilight hugged her back, "The pleasure is mine, Sunset."
"Alright, I'll see you later then," Sunset said, releasing Twilight from the hug.
"See you later!" Twilight said. With that, Sunset Shimmer headed for class, leaving Twilight.
Twilight decided she would go to the library while she waited on her friends to finish their classes. She might as well make the most of her time alone. There was still a lot to learn about this strange world.
The final bell rang, and Twilight Sparkle instantly stood up and headed for the library entrance. Or at least… she tried to. She wobbled a little bit, having to hold onto some of the shelves to keep her balance. Having only two legs still felt weird to her.
Twilight waited outside the library for her friends, and eventually, everyone rendezvoused.
"So, are we going back to Pinkie Pie's house then?" Twilight asked.
"Actually, I need to go back and clean up a bit. Give me about an hour?" Pinkie Pie said, still full of energy.
"Applejack, Sunset and I have some homework to do anyways," Rarity said. "We can get it out of the way so we don't have to worry about it later."
"Um… I don't have anything to do," Fluttershy said, "Maybe I could show you around a little?"
"I'd love that! Thank you, Fluttershy!" Twilight said.
"Well, I guess we'll see you all later then," Sunset said.
"Yep! See you all later!" Pinkie Pie said, not before giving Twilight one more big hug, "I'm so happy you're here!"
And with that, all of the girls departed, except for Fluttershy and Twilight. The two smiled at each other, and began to walk towards the exit.
"So, how's everything in Equestria?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, life is great. Being a princess is a lot of work, but it's a huge honor," Twilight said, "Um, sorry to change the subject, but Sunset mentioned that the Fall Formal is coming up?"
"It sure is!" Fluttershy said, "And this year, she's not running for princess. She still feels awful for what she did last year."
"I can't blame her. How has she been lately?" Twilight asked.
"She's a lot better now. She's becoming a great friend, and the other students are starting to forgive her for her mistakes," Fluttershy said, "Sunset's been a great addition to the Rainbooms too. She's a fantastic guitarist."
"How are things going with the band?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, it's great! I love playing with my friends," Fluttershy said. "Actually, they're having another musical showcase happening a couple days before the Formal. We're performing, and I'm pretty sure Flash Sentry might be performing too."
"Flash Sentry's performing?" Twilight said quickly, "Um… how… how nice…" she said, blushing. Fluttershy giggled at her outburst.
"You should sing with us again!" Fluttershy said.
"You know, I think I will. It'd be nice to sing without having to worry about a counter-spell or anything," Twilight said, giggling. Fluttershy laughed too.
The two girls walked around for a little while, but Twilight stopped when noticed a boy getting stuff out of his locker. She couldn't figure out why, but he looked familiar. He wore a black graphic hoodie, the graphic being a white music staff with a treble clef, along with sparkles in the background; black sweatpants, and white shoes. He had messy, reddish-brown hair, pale white skin, and seemed to have brown eyes, though it was hard to tell from a distance. His physique was rather slim, and at first glance appeared rather scrawny. He appeared to be emptying his locker, and he carried tons of textbooks and folders in his arms, with a black backpack on the floor next to him. He looked around nervously, and sifted through his locker quickly as if he was in a hurry to leave.
"Twilight? Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked, curious as to why she stopped walking.
"Hey, Fluttershy, do you know who that is?" Twilight asked, gesturing towards the guy.
"Oh, him?" Fluttershy said, "I think he's a new student. I don't know his name, but I think he has calculus with me. He seems really shy."
"Hmm. Have you talked to him at all?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy shook her head, and was about to respond, but stopped when she noticed something. Twilight looked behind her to see what Fluttershy was looking at, and saw two jocks turning the corner. One of them had blonde hair and the other had brown hair, and were bigger than the average guy. They appeared to be headed for… the boy?
"Hey, look who it is!" the blonde-haired one said. The boy seemed to flinch upon hearing his voice, and froze in place.
"Hey, new guy. How's it going?" the brown-haired one said in a rather condescending tone.
"Um… h-h-hi guys…" the boy said, sounding scared.
"Lots of books you got there. You going to study all weekend?" the brown-haired one said.
"W-W-Well… um… I…" he said stammering over his words.
"You're seriously wasting your weekend studying? Wow, what a loser!" the blonde one said, and then the two jocks began to laugh at the boy, who looked ashamed.
"I mean… I… I… I ju—" he was interrupted by the blonde-haired jock slapping his books and folders out of his hand, spilling the folders' contents all over the floor. He sighed in frustration, and bent over to pick them up, only to have the brown-haired one "accidentally" bump into him, rather roughly, sending him toppling over onto the ground. He landed on his stomach with an audible smack on the ground.
"Ha! I barely bumped him! What a wimp!" the brown-haired one said, high-fiving his friend as they laughed at the guy.
The boy got up to his knees, but looked down at the ground, trembling and breathing shakily.
"Wait… hold up…" the blonde-haired bully said, leaning down and examining the boy's face, "Are you about to cry?"
The boy refused to make eye contact with the jock, but his shaky breathing and sniffling indicated very clearly that he was on the verge of tears.
"Oh my gosh! He's crying!" the blonde-haired jock said, who started to laugh, along with his friend.
"Hey everyone! The new student's a nerdy, wimpy, crybaby! HA!" the brown-haired jock announced to the few students walking past them in the hall. The boy looked up briefly to see the jocks laughing hysterically at his expense. He looked down at the ground in shame as a tear escaped his eye.
"Have fun with your books, loser!" the blonde-haired jock said, delivering a swift kick to the boy’s stomach. And with that, the jocks walked away, laughing hysterically, leaving the boy alone on the ground, holding his stomach and coughing, with his books and folder contents scattered across the floor. He got up and sat against the locker, holding his legs close to him. He looked around, and made eye contact with Twilight and Fluttershy. He immediately darted his head away, and began to cry shameful tears. He put his hood up, and buried his face in his knees, and could be heard crying his eyes out.
Twilight and Fluttershy were appalled. Did that really just happen? Fluttershy was on the verge of tears while Twilight was just in shock.
"Fluttershy… did you see that?" asked Twilight.
"Mmmhmm," Fluttershy said, her hands over her mouth in disbelief.
"C'mon, let's go help him," Twilight said, gesturing Fluttershy to follow her. The two slowly approached the crying boy.
"Stupid… worthless… pathetic…" the boy mumbled to himself with obvious hurt in his words.
"Um, excuse me," Twilight said, trying to get his attention.
The boy lifted his head to see who spoke to him, but darted his tear-stained face away upon making eye contact, covering his face with his hood. Twilight bit her lip. Was he really that scared?
"Um… my friend and I just saw what happened. Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
The boy recoiled more, further hiding his face with his hood. After a second, he looked to see if the girl had left, and unfortunately, they hadn't. He darted his head away, looking completely ashamed, "D-Don't look at me…" he said in a pained voice.
"Huh?" Twilight said.
"Wh-Whatever you're gonna do to me, just do it. Get it over with. Please," he said, practically pleading, still covering his face with his hood.
"What? Why would we want to do that?" Twilight said.
"Everyone here's been nothing but mean to me," the guy said, sounding completely broken, "Why should you two be any different?" He turned his head further from the girls and continued to cry.
Twilight looked back up at Fluttershy, who looked completely hurt at what she saw. She looked back down at the boy, and put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. The boy flinched when Twilight touched him, and looked at her with wide eyes, as if he was waiting for something to happen.
"I promise, we're not going to hurt you. We want to help you," Twilight said.
"H-Huh? H-Help me?" His voice was soft and filled with pain.
"We saw you get jumped by those bullies," Twilight said. "We wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Wait… So… y-you're not going to hurt me?" His eyes were completely bloodshot.
Twilight shook her head, "Why would we hurt you?"
The boy was silent for a second. He looked down trying to pull himself together. Trying to stop his tears. Eventually, he looked back up, "C-Cause I'm… I'm… I'm a loser."
"Oh, come on," Twilight said with a smirk, "Don't believe everything those bullies tell you." She stood up and offered her hand, "Let's get you up."
The boy seemed really reluctant, recoiling away in fear.
"I promise. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me," Twilight said in a reassuring tone. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the boy took her hand, and Twilight helped him stand up. He actually threw her off balance a bit when he was getting up. Apparently he was stronger than he looked. He stood up, but had his back hunched over slightly and his hood still up. He held himself protectively with his arms.
"There we go. Can you maybe… put your hood down too?" Twilight coaxed. He was reluctant, but eventually agreed. He put his hood down, revealing his reddened face, indicating that he had been crying a lot.
"Alright. Are we okay now?" Twilight asked. He was silent for a second, but eventually he nodded.
"Great! Now, how about my friend and I help you gather your things."
He looked a bit shocked, as if nobody had ever offered him any help before, "Um… okay… th-thanks…" he said nervously, but offering a small smile.
Twilight and Fluttershy began to help the boy pick all his papers and books off the ground. They were a little mangled up, due to some students accidentally stepping on them, but it was nothing unsalvageable. There was just a lot of stuff, almost like he was trying to bring his entire locker home.
The boy walked around picking up his mangled papers, and couldn't help but be shocked. There were people actually… helping him? Since his first day at Canterlot High everyone has either been apathetic or mean towards him. Nobody had ever been nice to him until now. And from girls who just saw him cry like a baby after getting jumped? This had to be a trick. Were these girls the jocks' girlfriends? Even if they were, he tried to accept the help. This is the nicest anyone's ever been to him since he's been here, and even if they were about to trick him, he could at least enjoy these few minutes of kindness.
Fluttershy bent down to pick one paper up, and almost simultaneously, the boy reached for the same sheet. Fluttershy froze in place as she looked up, and was met with the boy's tear-stained face. Fluttershy hadn't gotten a good look at the boy until now, and felt a slight tug at her heartstrings when she saw how red and bloodshot his eyes were. Studying him further, he actually wasn't that bad looking. His hair was nicely windswept to the side, and his eyes were a lovely shade of chocolate brown…
The boy had only seen this girl out of the corner of his eyes when the other girl came up to help him, so this was the first close up encounter he's had. And wow… She had the most beautiful face he's ever seen. The way her long, full pink hair wrapped around her, and the biggest, most gorgeous pair of teal eyes…
The two of them only stared for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to them. Both of them let go of the paper, and stood up, blushing majorly.
"Um… s-sorry… I-I'll get that one…" the boy said in a quiet, shy voice.
What just happened?
"O-Okay…" Fluttershy said, blushing majorly.
Did that just happen?
Twilight saw their whole exchange and rose an eyebrow. This boy… the coppery brown hair… the pale skin… the brown eyes… his shyness… and that little moment he just had with Fluttershy… could this be Coppermane's counterpart?
Even if he wasn't, she couldn't deny that their little exchange was rather cute.
After a while, everything was cleaned up. Twilight and Fluttershy stood next to the boy as he put his things in his backpack. He slung it over his back, and he was thrown off balance a bit, but regained his stability. That backpack must weigh a hundred pounds with all of those books. He looked up at the girls.
"Um… can I… can I ask you two something?" he asked timidly.
"Of course!" Twilight said, listening intently.
The guy held himself in his arms nervously. "I… I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything but… wh-why are you girls being so nice to me?"
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, looking at him quizzically.
The boy let out a sigh. "I mean… you two just saw me crying like a baby. N-Normally people just laugh at me and call me names." He looked down with a depressed look on his face. "It's just… why are you being so kind to me?"
"You looked like you needed it," Fluttershy said, offering him a warm smile, her face bright red.
The guy just found himself staring at this girl for a moment. Her face was so pretty, and she spoke in the sweetest voice he's ever heard.
He realized what he was doing and darted his gaze away, feeling his face heat up. "Hehe… well… um… th-thanks. I… I really appreciate it," he said, giving the girls a soft smile. He saw that the pink-haired girl was blushing too. He looked back over at the other purple-haired girl, trying not to stare.
"It's no problem at all. We were happy to help," Twilight said, smiling. "Alright, now that we're all calmed down, why don't we start over? Hi, my name's Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you," she said, holding her hand out.
The boy looked at her hand for a second, and looked up at Twilight and gave her a small smile, "Um… I'm… C-Coppermane. N-Nice to meet you too," he said, shaking her hand.
I knew it was you, Coppermane.
She looked behind her to see that Fluttershy was standing rather nervously, looking down at the ground and holding her hands. She gave Fluttershy a little nudge, gesturing for her to introduce herself.
Fluttershy walked up to the boy, feeling her face heat up, and hiding behind her hair. "I-I'm Fl-Fluttershy."
Coppermane blushed, and held his hand out, "N-Nice to meet you. I'm C-Coppermane."
Fluttershy slowly reached for his hand, shuddering when she touched it. It felt cold, but she didn't mind.
"I… I think I've seen you before…" Coppermane said nervously, hoping he didn't sound like a creep.
"Oh? Y-You have?" Fluttershy said, looking up at him with a blush.
"D-Do we have a class together?" Coppermane asked, rubbing his neck.
Fluttershy blushed profusely, "Um… I think we have calculus together…" she said timidly.
"Th-That's what I thought. I-I knew you looked familiar…" Coppermane said, rubbing his neck nervously.
Twilight couldn't help herself from becoming extremely giddy inside at watching the two of them act nervous around each other, but her thoughts were interrupted when she looked at the clock.
"Hey, Fluttershy, maybe we should start heading over to Pinkie Pie's now?" Twilight said, giving her friend a nudge.
"Huh?" Fluttershy said, looking over at the clock, "Oh my, is it that time already? Yeah, we probably should."
"Coppermane I'm sorry, but we need to be going," Twilight said, looking apologetic.
"Oh, okay," Coppermane said, looking a little down, "Um… th-thanks again."
"Anytime, Coppermane!" Twilight said, "And remember, don't let those bullies get to your head, okay?"
"I… I'll try…" he said, "I… I'll see you later then…"
"See you later!" Twilight said. With that, Twilight and Fluttershy began to walk towards the exit, but Fluttershy decided to sneak one more glance at Coppermane. Unfortunately, he had the same idea, and the two locked eyes again. She felt her heart rate rising, and felt her face heat up, but instead of darting her head away, she gave him a little wave and a smile. Her heart fluttered when he smiled and waved back.
"Fluttershy! You coming?" Twilight called out. Fluttershy turned around, glanced one more time at Coppermane, and ran to catch up with Twilight.
Coppermane just stood there to collect his thoughts on what had just happened. Those girls… those girls are the first students in the entire school to offer him kindness instead of apathy or cruelty since he started here. As much as he wanted to believe that it was a random act of kindness, years of being bullied in school made him skeptical. The only time anyone ever showed him "kindness" in the past was to get him to let them copy off his answers, especially in math. He knew it was dishonest, but it meant people were actually interacting with him without trying to hurt him, so he would always reluctantly oblige. All other times, people would always pick on him for being a nerd, being a wimp, or just because they saw him as an easy target. As a result, he had always closed himself off, and has never had any friends. He spent so much of his time studying mostly because he had nothing better to do. The only other thing he did was play video games, but he didn't even fit into that community since he wasn't much of a first-person shooter fan. He had always been an outcast, and as a result, has been quite lonely his entire life. Being closed off and insecure, being bullied his entire life, and mostly just by nature, he couldn't help himself from being skeptical.
He didn't want to seem unappreciative for Twilight and Fluttershy's help, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel pessimistic. Though… they didn't do anything else after they helped him. They just left… without being mean to him in any way, shape, or form…
Putting the negative thoughts aside, Coppermane thought about that little moment he had with Fluttershy. Wow, if that girl wasn't drop-dead gorgeous. Those captivating teal eyes, her long, flowing pink hair, and that small white butterfly in her hair that adorned her beautiful face. And did he just catch her sneaking a glance at him? And she gave him a smile and a wave. She stood in such a cute manner. Holding her hands behind her back, her head slightly recoiled behind her flowing hair, her knees pressed together, the way she played with her hair, brushing strands out of her gorgeous eyes before bringing her hand behind her again, and she gave him that cute, shy smile again. It had to be the most adorable thing Coppermane has ever seen. To him, there wasn’t a prettier sight in the world.
Coppermane… don't read into this. C'mon, do you think a girl that beautiful could ever have a crush on someone like you? Especially after witnessing you crying like the pathetic loser you are? Besides, a girl that gorgeous probably has a boyfriend already, and chances are, it's one of those jocks. Get your head together, dude.
Coppermane's conscience never failed to be his own worst bully. He knew it was true, though. There's no way a girl that beautiful isn’t in a relationship already.
In any case, he couldn't deny his appreciation for their kindness today, even if it really was just a façade.
But… Fluttershy…
A guy could dream, right?
Coppermane double-checked his backpack, and with that, began his trek home. The whole way, his mind was dominated with thoughts of a certain pink-haired girl…