Resolution
by matcha cheesecake
You were the fastest pony in Summer Flight Camp and everypony knew it, which was totally cool. Unfortunately, having too much speed to handle had caused you to crash more often than any pegasus should. The others started calling you Rainbow Crash, which was totally not cool, but you ignored them all the same. Haters gonna hate, and you had a plan to prove them all wrong.
You took to practicing under the moon, well after the camp advisors had finished patrolling the grounds. The odd hours made you sleepy during most of the day and many a pony caught you napping during breaks. You didn’t get a silly nickname for the habit, but your reputation as a slacker took off. That didn’t matter to you, though. You stopped crashing more than the next pony, and that was all that mattered.
One night, just as you sneaked out to practice doing sharp turns, you bumped into another pony out of bed. It was a lanky filly with long yellow legs and pink hair that covered her face. She squeaked and tried to gallop away, but you zoomed over her head and cut her off.
“I-I’m sorry!” She cowered to the cloud floor, her hooves over her head. Her voice shook as her words tumbled out. “I didn’t see anything! I’ll just go straight to bed and not talk to anypony about any sneaking, okay?”
You frowned. She wasn’t convincing at all. “No way, you totally saw! I say you come with me so I could keep an eye on you.”
She trembled under your gaze, but made a small nod. When you headed back to the hall leading to the grounds, she quietly followed your hoofsteps. As soon as you exited, you took to the air.
“Um, what are you doing?” she asked.
You tried to flap your wings so you could face her from midair, but failed and landed on the cloud on your plot. Not cool, not cool at all. You prepared to roll your eyes at the laughter that would surely come, but it didn’t. You looked at your companion and saw on her face how hard she tried not to giggle, which was sorta nice considering how everypony teased you all the time.
You dusted off some cloud fluff, puffed out your chest, and answered, “I’m practicing.”
“Are you, um, practicing how to fly?”
“Well, duh!” You flapped your wings enough to hover above her head. “What else would I be practicing in Summer Flight Camp?”
She looked up at you, her eyes widening in awe. “I, uh, I never thought of practicing outside of schedule.”
You couldn’t help grinning at that. Yep, you’re pretty awesome for thinking it up, but you didn’t tell her that. Instead, you started your practice turns around the grounds while she watched your every move.
Half an hour later, you landed right in front of her, ruffling your wings. “How was that?”
She merely gaped at you for the next two minutes, before bursting into the quietest cheers you’ve ever heard. “Ohmigosh, you were so amazing! I wish I could fly like you, um...”
“Thanks,” you mumbled, looking away as you fought the heat creeping up your face. “Name’s Rainbow Dash.”
“F-Fluttershy.”
“So, uh, Fluttershy...” You put on your widest grin because you’re just about to be brilliant, hot cheeks be damned. “You, uh, seem pretty cool. I might even let you join me here every night, if you like. You could practice, too, or, you know, be my lookout or something.”
She pondered for a moment, then straightened to her full height. “I’ll do it.”
The expression she wore then was something you never forgot, even when you had grown wrinkly and slow. In place of the earlier filly who gibbered and trembled before another much smaller than her, was a pony with lightning in her eyes as she stood ready to face anything the scary world would throw at her.
It was totally awesome.