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A Strange New World2,000 words
A Friend for Life1,497 words

A Friend for Life

Fluttershy didn't even raise her head from the crook of her elbow when she heard the sound of high heeled boots and caught a whiff of lavender perfume. As Rarity stood behind her, she braced herself for a helping of empty words people told you during freshmen orientation about making new friends by paying the school lots of money to join in after school clubs.

Much was her surprise then, when the first thing out of Rarity's mouth was, "Oh dear, it looks like a terrible cloudburst has ruined your lovely makeup. Come, I'll fix you up; my house is just down the street."

Feeling too drained to object, Fluttershy let herself be helped up off the curb. Together the two girls walked in silence, with Fluttershy keeping her face behind a curtain of hair to hide her tears. She only looked up when the grey sidewalk was replaced by the soft pastels of Rarity's home.

"I'll be but a moment, dear; my makeup kit is upstairs." When Rarity's boots could no longer be heard, Fluttershy sniffled and rubbed her eyes a few times until the tear streaks would be all but invisible to the untrained eye.

Unfortunately for Fluttershy, both of Rarity's trained eyes flickered on her face before quickly averting their gaze. She hastily cleared off a space on the low bench next to the dressing room and gestured for Fluttershy to sit as she selected the proper mascara with the focus and precision of a surgeon.

"I'm terribly sorry I can't invite you upstairs," Rarity said. "I think there's too much 'organized chaos' there for any sane person to handle."

"No, that's fine," said Fluttershy as she twirled her hair around her finger. "This is very nice of you, Rarity."

"Think nothing of it, dear. Cloudbursts are nasty surprises, but luckily I've been prepared for many a makeup emergency at my old school."

"Where did you used to go?"

"A little Mountassori school in my neighborhood. It was very little, mind you. There were only eight of us in the entire class."

"Really? My graduating class at Cloudsdale Elementary had forty, and I thought that was small," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, now please widen your eyes a bit more, dear, and do try not to blink. Yes, very good. You're not at all like my friend Fleur, always worried I would poke her in the eye. She is lovely though, just as the rest were, and we all got along well."

"High school must have been really different for you then."

"Oh yes, I can't even begin to tell you how hard it was, trying to navigate through those hundreds of students without my friends. But at the same time, I found it thrilling. At Mountassori, I couldn't really choose my friends. Not to say I hated them, but when you put a small group of children together, they have to learn how to get along one way or the other. But CHS gave me the great opportunity to meet new people, like my good friends Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Sure, they're quite different from my old classmates, but they're some of the most wonderful people I know."

"But what about Fleur?" Fluttershy asked. "What happened to her?"

"Her parents enrolled her in a Prench boarding school. But we always text each other, and we're together like sisters when she comes home for the holidays."

"But can you two still best friends like that?"

Rarity set the makeup kit down. "I won't lie, our friendship has changed. She's had experiences that have shifted her interests to becoming a model, while I've gone more into fashion design. I wouldn't say we're best friends anymore, but it's a bit harder to choose with more than one friend, isn't it?"

"I suppose..."

"Fluttershy darling, you've spent all your time with Rainbow in the past, haven't you? Both at school and on weekends?"

She nodded.

"But you won't be able to do that anymore, will you?"

"I know, and that's what bothers me," Fluttershy admitted. "I mean, just this morning, there was this lab accident that Cloudchaser and Spitfire will be talking about for weeks, and I wasn't there. Even if Rainbow tells me about it, that doesn't mean I can experience it with her, laugh about it with her. What... What if more of that happens? What if I end up missing some of the most important events of her life?"

Rarity placed a hand to her chin in thought. "You behave differently in different situations, right? You're quiet in class, nervous around me, and secure around Rainbow Dash. It's almost like you're a slightly different person. That's how we all are, even Rainbow Dash."

She placed a gentle hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "You may not be able to be best friends with Rainbow Dash the soccer star or Rainbow Dash from the chemical explosion, but you'll always be best friends with Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale Elementary. There, you've already shared with her some of the best memories of her life. No friend in her future will ever be able to compare to that. If the two of you can still look back on those times and laugh, then Fluttershy, you have a true friend for life."

Fluttershy's eyes lit up. "And you really think she'll feel the same?"

Rarity smiled. "Of course..."

"...she will, Rainbow," said Spitfire, handing Rainbow a coffee. "I've been down this road before, and I've always had friends who've helped me when the pressure gets to my head. They're the ones who remind me who I was and wanted to be. They were the reason why I picked up the soccer ball in the first place. Friends like that you just can't replace or forget about."

"But I don't want to feel like I'm neglecting her," Rainbow said, staring gloomily at the floor.

"There's always the weekends. And even then, you've gotta give her breathing space, even if she doesn't want you to. There needs to be a day when she's not just Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash's best friend, but Fluttershy... Amazing butterfly catcher or something."

"Maybe, but..." In a rare moment of weakness, Rainbow could hear her voice tremble. "Am I a bad person? For moving on and making friends too quickly?"

"Nah, you've got nothing to worry about. First day at CHS is exciting, but it's definitely a game-changer from before. You just handle change differently is all. It doesn't mean she's done anything wrong either, you know?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I guess so."

"Look, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about," Spitfire said, "and I'm definitely not good at giving advice. But I can tell you two are good friends, and the best way you can fix this is by talking, plain and simple." Then she looked out the window. "Which is why I'm going to leave this chair open for a bit..."

But as it turned out, the other chair was neglected as Rainbow got up and ran to meet Fluttershy and Rarity at the door. "Fluttershy! I'm so, so sorry for how I acted! I never wanted to leave you behind or-"

Fluttershy pressed a pair of fingers in front of Rainbow's mouth. "Apology accepted," she said with a giggle. "And I'm sorry too for overreacting. True friendship is a lot more than an after school sport."

"'True friends are those who help shape you into the person you're destined to be,'" quoted Spitfire. "Isn't that what Principal Celestia always says during freshman orientation?"

"Yup," said Rainbow. "Looks like we'll be the best-shaped group of dungeon inmates this fortress as ever seen!"

"Lovely, then Fluttershy can help me decipher the ancient fortress's tomes of knowledge," said Rarity, looking back to a thoroughly disgruntled Applejack now working on Pinkie Pie's essay. "There's still one seat open."

Fluttershy carefully examined the seat in question. After spending all day alone, here was finally a space for her to fit in.

Then she left and returned with two extra chairs.

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Shumiry

Shumiry #1 · Sep 6th, 2014 · · ·

Very cute! Brought back memories of when I started high school and didn't know anybody in my classes. You captured that feeling really well.

IsabellaAmoreSirenix

IsabellaAmoreSirenix #2 · Sep 29th, 2014 · 2 · ·

5068001 Thanks a bunch! As for ratings, those are usually hits or misses. You can never tell what will be well-recieved, so sometimes you've got to write just because it's fun. After watching Rainbow Rocks, I'm thinking of doing another story like this about Twilight and Sunset Shimmer, so follow me if that interests you. Thanks again!

GameQubb

GameQubb #3 · Sep 30th, 2014 · · ·

these two act as if they were sisters

AkemiTheSunbro

AkemiTheSunbro #4 · Sep 30th, 2014 · · ·

WHAAA-?

Story with two main characters that's not a shipfic?

Audible gasp!

IsabellaAmoreSirenix

IsabellaAmoreSirenix #5 · Sep 30th, 2014 · · ·

5075916 I'll forever hold to the belief that my best friend and I were sisters separated at birth.

5076045 It's almost like it was written about a show whose central theme is friendship! Don't worry shippers, there's an intense make-out scene after the ending, I swear.