1 - The New Mare in School
Fluttershy galloped down the hall in a panic, not daring to look back. Behind her she heard cruel laughter. "What's wrong?" sneered the pony chasing her. "Too SHY to face me?" Fluttershy kept running, the laughter following her.
She turned around the corner and darted into her homeroom class. She raced to her seat at the back of the classroom and sat down so quickly her rump hurt. The bell rang signaling the start of homeroom. At that moment, the pony who had been chasing Fluttershy trotted through the door.
"Sorry I'm late!" Trixie said sweetly. "I had to get my purse from my locker." Trixie trotted confidently to her seat at the front of the room. She pulled out a pink brush and smoothed out her already perfect mane. Her horn glowed light pink and her sparkly pink notebook floated out of her sequined pink saddle bag and onto her desk. She quickly put away her brush and got out her rhinestone covered pink pen.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes and pulled out her simple black notebook and wooden #2 pencil. She copied down everything she thought she was supposed to know as the teacher went through the day's lesson. After what only seemed like a few minutes, the bell rang again. Ponies stood up, packing away their pencils and notebooks, then picking up their saddlebags and trotting out the door.
Fluttershy followed after the last pony into the hallway and quickly flapped into the air, flying toward her locker. Suddenly, she felt a sharp yank on her tail. "Ouch!" she yelped. She hovered and turned around to see the end of her tail glowing pink. "Trixie..." she growled.
"Ugh, Fluttershy. Didn't your mommy ever teach you not to dash through the hallways?" Trixie scoffed. From behind Fluttershy came another pony's voice.
"Please, tell us, Trixie. What exactly is wrong with dashing?"
Fluttershy turned around to see a blue pegasus mare with a rainbow mane. Rainbow Dash, her only friend. "Oh, um, thanks, Dash..." she said quietly.
Trixie merely laughed at Rainbow. "What's wrong with dashing? Really, what ISN'T wrong with dashing? It's much too reckless, and it gets your mane all tangled and messed up. I think you're living proof, Rainbow."
Dash rolled her eyes at the snobby unicorn. "Let's go, Fluttershy." Trixie rolled her eyes back at Dash and released Fluttershy's tail. Fluttershy flew after her friend, determined not to be left behind.
"Thanks for helping me out, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said quietly.
Rainbow Dash smiled. "Hey, what are friends for?"
***
Fluttershy glided into the cafeteria slowly. She wondered what was for lunch today. Well, it didn't matter anyway. She only had enough bits each day for a sandwich and a water bottle. She floated into the lunch line behind all the other fillies and colts.
"Ugh.. this stupid lunch line takes forEVER. I shouldn't have to wait through THIS. It's terrible!" whined a familiar pony behind Flutters. She turned around for a second and caught a glimpse of Trixie waiting impatiently behind her, glaring at the lunch lady ponies.
Fluttershy ducked her head down and shuffled her hooves nervously. "Please don't notice me... please don't notice me..." she whispered.
"Fluttershy, I really need to, like, get to the front of the line. So move. NOW." demanded Trixie.
Fluttershy turned around and looked at Trixie, nervously but angrily. "Trixie, this is my spot in line, not yours." Flutters said quietly.
Trixie leaned close to Fluttershy. "What was that? I can get in front of you? Why, THANK you! You really are the kindest pony in Equestria," scoffed Trixie.
"Um, no, I said-" began Fluttershy, but she was cut off as Trixie shoved past her. Fluttershy looked at Trixie with hatred and extreme sadness, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned around, away from Trixie, and galloped out of the cafeteria. She ran into the mares' bathroom and locked herself into one of the stalls. She sat there in the bathroom, crying until she couldn't cry any more.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Fluttershy left the bathroom and slowly flew to her next class, dreading the next time she would encounter Trixie.
***
Fluttershy trotted happily into her last class of the day. She had successfully managed to avoid Trixie for the rest of the day. That's when she remembered the one flaw in her brilliant plan - Trixie was her Equestria History partner, and Equestria History was her last class.
"Oh no... I hope Trixie isn't mean to me... oh, who am I kidding? Of course she's going to be mean to me!" Fluttershy whispered to herself. She quickly took her seat and retrieved her notebook from her saddle bag. She waited for Trixie to walk in. She waited one minute. Two minutes. Three.
The bell rang, and there was still no sign of Trixie. Her teacher came into the classroom, closing the door behind her. Everypony looked at the empty seat beside Fluttershy, Trixie's seat, and another seat across the room. Fluttershy realized that the seat was Rainbow Dash's.
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no! Rainbow Dash..." she said quietly.
At the front of the class, her teacher clapped her hooves to gather everypony's attention. "Everypony, I'm sure you've all heard about what happened today during lunch. Trixie Lunamoon and Rainbow Dash were yelling at each other and causing a commotion," her teacher said calmly, as if it were no big deal.
"Both Miss Lunamoon and Miss Dash have been sent home early, and they will be back tomorrow. Now everypony, let's get on to today's lesson, shall we?"
Fluttershy clamped her hooves over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. She was certain it was all her fault. No doubt, Rainbow Dash had seen her run away from Trixie, bawling like a newborn filly, and she had definitely picked a fight with Trixie.
Fluttershy felt sick with guilt. She raised one of her hooves in the air shakily.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" her teacher asked impatiently.
"Miss teacher, I think I'm gonna... be.. sick!" Fluttershy turned her head just in time to barf on the floor and not all over her notebook.
***
Fluttershy took a deep breath of fresh air outside before stepping into the school building the next day. She headed to her locker as usual, and as usual Trixie stood beside it, waiting for Fluttershy to show up. "Oh hello there, Fluttershy," she said, smirking. "Are you still too flutterSHY to face me on your own? Is that why you have your silly rainbow-maned friends stand up for you?"
Fluttershy glared at Trixie with all the hatred she had built up over the years. She took a deep breath. When she spoke, she spoke louder and more confidently than ever. "Trixie, I have had enough of you bullying me. You're always so mean to me, and then you take it out on my friends when they stand up for me! What did I ever do to you? The only reason you bully me and not somepony else is because you know it won't take much to bring me down! But guess what! I've had just about enough. I'm not going to be your punching bag anymore. I have a life to live, and I'm not going to let you keep me from enjoying it." Fluttershy slammed her locker shut and walked away, head held high, before quickly running back and re-closing her locker gently. She then trotted away again, leaving a look of pure shock on Trixie's face.
When Fluttershy walked into her first class, there was a bright pink mare sitting in what used to be the empty seat beside Fluttershy. She had bright blue eyes and a poofy, curly dark pink mane and tail that reflected her bouncy personality. Fluttershy walked to her seat beside the new pony. As soon as she sat down, the pink pony held out one of her hooves to Fluttershy.
"Hi there!" the pony said excitedly. "I'm Pinkie Pie. I'm new here and this is my first day! I saw you stand up to that bully in the hallway earlier. I was so impressed! Sometimes, even I can't stand up to bullies. But you were amazing!"
Fluttershy blushed and ducked her head before shaking Pinkie Pie's hoof and weakly saying, "Oh, hi, I'm Fluttershy."
Pinkie Pie smiled. "Fluttershy, I think we're gonna be great friends."
Fluttershy lifted her head and smiled almost as wide as Pinkie. "Yeah, I think so, too. I would like that."
