Friends
Starting a new school was a big moment for anyone. And for Fluttershy, it was the worst moment of her entire life. Or so it seemed to her. Her old school was nice, and she liked it because it was familiar to her.
Fluttershy, as it was made obvious in her name, was a shy child. While the others would play tag and other games, she would be off by herself doing her own thing. Reading a book or possibly playing with some toys in a corner.
Her teacher, her mother, even a few other kids tried to get her to come out of her shell and play with others. She wouldn't budge. And today, things were no different.
"So Shy, are you ready for your first day of your new school?" Her mother asked, momentarily looking at her in the rear view mirror as she drove.
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, Mommy. I'm not." It came out barely above a whisper. But it was stern. Unwavering. She made it clear she would rather be at home, watching tv, or out in the backyard watching nature.
"I know this is hard for you, Fluttershy," Her mother told her in a soft tone. "But trust me, it'll get better after today. Who knows. Maybe you'll make a friend."
A friend. The concept of making friends wasn't lost on Fluttershy, but it was severely hard for her to do. Her mother always said it was because she was "special" and "different" from other kids. She didn't exactly know what that meant.
Fluttershy bit her lip as the school came into view. Her stomach started to churn when her mother pulled into the parking lot, and she felt dizzy when her mother opened the door.
Canterlot Elementary School was not exactly a big school. It was a modern brick building that had two main floors, with a giant horse statue in front of the building. The windows on the first floor, Fluttershy assumed, were most likely in the first grade, second grade, and kindergarten classrooms because of all the crayon drawings hanging up in them.
She squeezed her mother's hand.
Fluttershy's mother lead her inside and she was immediately greeted with the smell of paper and bleach. Her nose wrinkled, but she said nothing.
They walked down a long hallway and Fluttershy saw all kinds of things displayed on the walls. There were green and brown construction paper leaves with students' names on them, stating how old they were and what grade they were in, drawings on a poster board that said "My First Day of School", and a couple of arts and crafts done by the bigger kids.
They passed all sorts of classrooms. The faint sound of teachers talking to students wafted out into the quiet hallway. Fluttershy's sneakers squeaked against the floor as they turned a corner, the buzz of the overhead flurecent lights making her feel uneasy.
Finally, they had stopped in front of a room that said "Ms. Cheerilee" on it in big, bright purple letters. Fluttershy jumped when her mother knocked lightly on the door.
It opened, and Fluttershy found herself staring at the legs of a woman she assumed was her teacher. She craned her neck up, and furrowed her eyebrows at the smile the woman gave her.
"Oh! This must be our new student!" Ms. Cheerilee gushed.
"Indeed," Fluttershy's mother said proudly. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"
"My....self?" Fluttershy asked quietly. She looked from her mother to Ms. Cheerilee, fright written all over her features.
"I'm sorry, she's really nervous," Fluttershy's mother apologized.
Ms. Cheerilee gave her a warm smile. "It's alright. Definitely understandable. She'll be out of her shell by the end of the day."
Fluttershy seriously doubted that.
Her mother kissed the top of her head. "Have fun, Sweetie." She told her. "I'll be back to pick you up after school, okay?"
"Okay," Fluttershy repeated.
And then her mother was gone. Back down the long hallway, out the school front entrance and into her car on her way to work. Which meant Fluttershy was stuck here, in this unfamiliar place.
Alone.
"C'mon. I've got a seat waiting for you," Cheerilee told her softly, ushering her into the classroom. She then instructed Fluttershy to stand in front of the class so that she could introduce her.
"Good morning! We have a student who just moved. Her name is Fluttershy," Ms. Cheerilee told the class. "She's a very special student and I hope you all can get a long very well with her."
A monotone chant of "Hi, Fluttershy" pierced the air and then died down.
"Why don't you go sit next to Gilda?" Ms. Cheerilee said, pointing to an empty seat.
Fluttershy looked over at the empty seat next to the girl and she was pretty sure that Gilda shouldn't be in second grade. Sighing, she went over to it, and sat down.
"Why'd she call you special? Are you retarded or somethin'?" Gilda asked, poking her with her pencil.
Fluttershy didn't respond.
She flinched when she felt a piece of paper bounce off her head.
"Hey. What kind of name is Fluttershy anyway?" Gilda asked. "That's a dumb name."
"No it's not," Fluttershy responded. "My mommy gave it to me."
"Doesn't make it less dumb. Just means you got a dumb mom." Gilda said, throwing another piece of paper at her.
"My mom is not dumb!" Fluttershy shouted, standing up. Her face turned red when she realized just how loud she was.
Ms. Cheerilee turned and walked over to her. "Is there a problem, Fluttershy?" She asked softly.
Fluttershy looked over at Gilda, who glared at her warningly. She knew that if she said anything about what just happened, it would be a problem later. "No, Ms. Cheerilee. I'm fine," She slumped back in her seat as Cheerilee returned to the front of the room.
"Good move, Buttershy," Gilda snickered.
Fluttershy wanted nothing more than to go back home.
The rest of the day went by without much conflict, Fluttershy ignoring Gilda whenever she could. That of course didn't stop the bigger girl from picking on her, but it did make her bored of it after a while and leave her alone briefly.
Fluttershy, for the most part, was relieved when Ms. Cheerilee released the class outside for recess after lunch. It meant she'd be yards away from Gilda, and she could finally be by herself in peace.
But that of course, was not likely.
Fluttershy was maybe four or five pages into her book when a shadow blocked out the sun. She didn't have to look up to see who it was. She sighed.
"I didn't know you could read," Gilda sneered. "I wonder how long it must have taken them to teach you." She snatched the book out of Fluttershy's hands and turned it around. Flipping through it, she smiled. "Just what I thought. A stupid baby book for a stupid baby."
"You're a stupid baby!" Fluttershy shouted in defiance, the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she stood up for herself. She shrieked in fear when Gilda angrily picked her up by her collar.
"Hey!"
Both girls turned around to look for the source of the voice.
Gilda's eyes settled on a rainbow haired girl standing a few feet away from them and snarled, "Stay out of this, Rainbow Dash."
"You should leave her alone!" Rainbow shouted, working her jaw.
"Oh yeah? And why's that?" Gilda asked, throwing Fluttershy on the ground before stomping over to Rainbow Dash.
They stood about the same height, though Gilda was slightly taller. She pushed Rainbow, making her stumble to the ground.
By now, the other kids on the playground had stopped what they were doing and were watching the scene unfold before them.
Gilda pushed Rainbow again. "Is it because you're retarded too?" She sneered.
Rainbow Dash angrily reared her fist back and slammed it against Gilda's face, effectively punching her in the nose.
The other kids ran over chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as Fluttershy stared in awe of the girl in front of her.
Luckily, Ms. Cheerilee broke it up before anything else could happen, and both girls were dragged off to the principal's office, leaving Fluttershy to wonder what the heck just happened.
Recess ended early, and everyone returned inside. Fluttershy looked over at the desk beside her to see that Gilda was still gone. She also noticed that the seat diagonal from her was also empty. She assumed that was Rainbow Dash's.
They both didn't return for the rest of the class.
Fluttershy packed up her things and followed the other kids outside to wait for her mother in the school yard.
While all the other kids laughed and talked with each other, Fluttershy walked down to the corner of the street and stood, waiting in silence.
She jumped when she felt a hand snake around hers, but relaxed when she saw who it was.
"Sorry," Rainbow apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed nervously.
Fluttershy just stared at her.
"Uh..." Dash started, trying to make conversation. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Fluttershy continued to stare at her. She sighed. "Why did you help me?" She asked after a moment.
"Huh?" Dash asked, confused.
"Why did you get yourself in trouble for me? You don't even know me," Fluttershy told her, but didn't remove her hand from Rainbow's.
"Because you seem like a really awesome girl." Rainbow answered. "And you're not retarded. You're like me."
"Like you?" Fluttershy asked, eyebrows furrowing.
Rainbow nodded. "You're "special" as Ms. Cheerilee called it. But in real terms you have ADHD. Like me. She says special to be nice about it. I don't see how having that is a bad thing. I think it's pretty cool to be able to not be so one track minded as everyone else,"
"How did you-"
"That book you were reading. It wasn't a baby book, was it?" She turned to Fluttershy with a knowing smile.
Blushing, Fluttershy shook her head.
"Me and you, we gotta stick together. People don't see the world like we do. It's hard, ya know? Making friends, being on task. It's kinda why I got this soccer ball." Dash kicked up the soccer ball by her foot and started bouncing it. "It helps me think. It keeps me focused on one thing, but doesn't make it boring." She let the ball hit the sidewalk.
Fluttershy tilted her head. "That doesn't exactly answer my question."
"Gilda picks on everyone. If it's not you, it's some other kid the next day. I just...I couldn't let her go around picking on anyone. Not anymore." Rainbow looked down at the ground.
Fluttershy squeezed her hand, making Rainbow look up at her. "Thank you," She said. "No one's ever done something that nice for me."
"No prob," Rainbow responded, puffing out her chest proudly. "Just think of me as your personal protector."
"Or..." Fluttershy started. "How about a friend?"
"You wanna be friends?!" Rainbow shouted excitedly, her voice squeaking. "I-I mean, ahem, yeah bro, we can be buds." She corrected herself, deepening her voice.
Fluttershy let out a small laugh as her mother pulled up. "Oh, my mommy's here," She said, blinking when her mother blew the horn. "I better go." She gave Rainbow a giant hug. "Thanks again! Bye!"
"Yeah, bye..." Rainbow said, waving at her.
Fluttershy got in the backseat in higher spirits than when she got out that morning.
Her mother noticed. She smiled at her through the rear view mirror. "So, who was that?" She asked as she drove away.
Fluttershy turned to watch Rainbow bounce the soccer ball on her head and smiled to herself.
"A friend."