The Yellow Streak in the Rainbow

by Major Awesome

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Fluttershy, Slice of Life, Rainbow Dash, Sad
Length: 9925

What was Fluttershy's time in Flight School like? She was probably pretty popular, right?

After being humiliated by Hoops, Fluttershy is met by the most popular pony in school. They become friends but their friendship goes through several bumps overtime. Will Fluttershy be able to keep her first friendship for long or will her new friend team up with the bullies and hurt Fluttershy even more?

Published 2013-09-17 00:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-21 06:18:25 UTC

Aww, Are You Gonna Cry?

Chapter I: Aww, Are You Gonna Cry?

"So, Fluttercry," Shouted a hostile voice, using a not-so-flattering, yet widely accepted nickname. "How's it feel to be the only pony in all of Cloudsdale who has no friends?"

A timid, yellow pegasus cowered in the corner, barely able to withstand the barrage of verbal attacks being unleashed upon her for about the twelfth time this week. The storm was being delivered by a stallion about her size, but from the angle she was looking at him from, he seemed to tower over her. "I have friends!" she countered.

"No no no. Your mother doesn't count, Flutttercry, because not even she likes you. She only pretends to like you because she feels sorry for you!"

"Why are you being so mean to me? I never did anything to you, Hoops" she asked through tears barely being kept at bay.

"Because I have friends and you don't." Hoops answered. "Plus it's fun to make you cry, it's so easy, I can do it in, like, a second!"

Fluttershy couldn't stand it anymore. She was doing good at keeping herself from crying but the pain just built up too much with every slow second. Suddenly she felt something cold and wet running down her cheek, leaving a wet streak down her face as a sign that her tear glands had betrayed her at the worst of times. "Just leave me alone!" she tried to say, but through her tears, there was no way anypony could confidently translate it into any form of language.

"Haha, you're crying already?" Hoops giggled to himself. "You didn't last nearly as long as yesterday! In fact, I think I just broke my record time." he concluded with pride. "Anyway, I don't have time to stay any longer, I have friends to hang out with right now!" The stallion opened his wings, ready to flee the scene. "It's been fun, Fluttercry! Wish I could stay longer but my friends are waiting for me and I'm late as it is. See, my friends have this thing planned out for all of us to do and they invited me because we enjoy each other's company- Oh I'm sure you understand." With that last sarcastic comment, he gave his wings a powerful flap and took to the skies, leaving Fluttershy to cry in her corner.

His words stung with an especially powerful venom, more powerful than any form of insult: truth. Because it was all true, Fluttershy didn't have any friends. She had been too shy to approach anypony she didn't know. She was afraid of their rejection, which was likely because nopony liked her enough to give her a chance. She did occasionally try to talk to other ponies, but every time she did, her shyness got the best of her and she became too afraid to be able to say anything loud enough for pegasus ears to pick up. A trait which was apparently extremely laughable throughout the whole school.

She wasn't the butt of the joke, like some would think, because she usually WAS the joke. When she wasn't busy having her shyness shot down during a failed attempt to make a friend, she was usually crying afterward. Few ponies took pity on her and the ones that showed it usually got themselves shunned by everypony else, making it extremely dangerous to make any form of a positive comment about her. In short, she was essentially an "untouchable."

There was one pony that seemed indifferent, however, and as far as Fluttershy was concerned, that was probably as good as it was going to get. This particular pony happened to be the captain of the school's flight team: Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be the only pony who didn't pick on Fluttershy. For whatever reason it was, Fluttershy decided it was a good reason. Rainbow Dash didn't particularly know Fluttershy and that was probably why she didn't hate her, but Fluttershy knew all about Rainbow Dash.

She admired Rainbow from afar. Rainbow Dash had tons of friends, Fluttershy envied that. Rainbow Dash also had tons of haters but didn't let them bother her. Fluttershy envied that, too. They had spoken only once before: They accidentally bumped into each other in the hall and Rainbow Dash apologized. It probably didn't mean much to Rainbow Dash, if she even remembered it happened at all, but that was everything to Fluttershy. It was because of that apology that Fluttershy decided Rainbow Dash was her favorite pony in all of Cloudsdale. Rainbow probably didn't remember Fluttershy even existed but she decided that may be for the best. No reason why she should make Rainbow Dash hate her as well, so she steered clear of Dash ever since then.

Fluttershy's tear ducts were tapped out again so she decided it was best to just start heading home. She sat there crying for what she estimated to be about 30 minutes after school ended, meaning that nopony was around to scold her any further, they were all at home enjoying themselves. She took a minute to compose herself and collect her books into her bag then stood up to head out the door.

**********

After about ten minutes of walking with the enthusiasm of a soldier marching to his inevitable end, Fluttershy heard somepony following her. Not too far to remain undetected, but not too close to seem suspicious. Probably just Hoops again, ready to laugh at me! Fluttershy thought, refusing to look behind herself. She knew it was Hoops, waiting for the right moment to make her cry a second time. Coming "back with a vengeance" he liked to call it. And she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction, not today! *ACHOO* The pony behind Fluttershy sneezed and even though Fluttershy knew what it was, she involuntarily turned her head to discover the source of the noise, much like in class when somepony showed up late and the sound of the door opening seized everypony's attention and curiosity. They all knew what it was but the sudden noise made them look, whether they wanted too or not. But when Fluttershy turned around, she saw that it wasn't Hoops. No, this pony had light blue fur, almost teal. Pretty magenta eyes in the center of a face with the whole "I Just Don't Give a Buck" attitude plastered on. Fluttershy almost flinched when she notices the multicolored streaks in this pony's mane. *EEP!* Fluttershy squealed, "I can't believe SHE'S following me!" she said silently to herself. "Maybe she wants to be my friend? No, Fluttershy! Nopony likes you! They don't wanna be your friend, don't be ridiculous!" She scolded herself for such inane thoughts.

"Hey, um, can I talk to you for a second?" the mare behind her asked.

Her tone of voiced seemed sincere but Fluttershy refused to believe that something so positive would be the end to such a negative day. "Look, whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it! I've had such a bad day today so just leave me alone!" Fluttershy lashed out, essentially shooting down any insult Rainbow Dash may have prepared.

"What? No! I'm not gonna make fun of you or anything, I just wanna talk!" Rainbow replied.

"Well, what ever it is, forget it!" she snapped. "I am in no mood!"

Rainbow Dash's ears folded back in shock and disappointment at Fluttershy's sudden hostility. "Oh, OK." she said, sorrowfully, "Sorry to bother you." she finished as she turned around and walked to her own home in the opposite direction.

The reality of Rainbow's disappointment was lost on Fluttershy. She was sure it was all a ruse so all she felt was pride that she finally stood up to somepony. Her victorious feeling was short-lived, however, once she thought back on it. This was one of her few "victories" against somepony's vicious verbal attacks so she replayed it over and over again so she could keep reliving the confrontation.

But was it really a confrontation? When Fluttershy played it in her head, the truth became clearer and clearer with every view: Rainbow Dash was being genuine and sincere. Fluttershy felt awful! Maybe Rainbow really did want to just talk but got shut down for no reason. The feeling of victory was wiped clean from Fluttershy and quickly replaced with guilt and shame.

She turned around again in hopes of seeing Rainbow Dash so she could try again but nopony was there. Fluttershy had just shot down Rainbow Dash so she couldn't make her cry but because of that she ended up making herself cry and the irony of the situation did not go unnoticed. Tears ran down her cheeks as she galloped home, her mane in front of her face to hide her pain from any passersby.

**********

When she got home, the first thing she did was run to her room, drop her bags, lay on her bed, and sob. Loneliness felt awful enough but guilt felt even worse. "Rainbow Dash must hate me now!" she yelled. "There's no way she doesn't hate me. She absolutely despises me!" she kept yelling to nopony in particular, not caring who heard. Hearing her problems voiced aloud just made matters worse, their vocalization acted like punctuation and every time she said something, it hurt worse, causing her sobs to intensify. Eventually, she latched onto one phrase that she just repeated over and over again. "I did my best! I did my best! I did my best!"

A few hours later, she had calmed down. Though voicing her problems hurt more, at the same time, it also helped her cope with them. And now that she was calm, she was able to think more clearly and more rationally. "Maybe Rainbow Dash doesn't hate me." she said, suddenly full of hope. "I did mention I was having a bad day, maybe she could tell I wasn't upset with her particularly. I was just lashing out at anypony who tried to talk to me. Unfortunately, she just happened to be that anypony." She still felt terrible for yelling at her so Fluttershy made it a point to find her tomorrow and apologize for her behavior.

**********

Fluttershy was having trouble sleeping that night. Her mind decided it would have been a fun idea to perpetually replay the whole conversation in her head. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. Physically, her bed was comfortable enough, the problem was that she wasn't emotionally comfortable: she had potentially slain her chances of making her first friend and that was eating her alive. "I'm going to apologize tomorrow and set things right. Rainbow Dash will understand." She repeated these two sentences over and over, trying to calm herself but she still had her doubts.

What if Rainbow Dash didn't understand? She had a perfect life, she had lots of friends, she was the most popular pony in school. She would never have anything to be upset about so she might not know what a bad day is like!

Fluttershy went through this cycle of hope and despair for about three hours until her body finally shut down as she drifted into unconsciousness, not to be confused with sleep.

Sleep is when you lie down and relax deep enough and let your body rest. Unconsciousness is what Fluttershy did; she simply passed out from exhaustion and her body's need to sleep. She would have collapsed onto the floor, had she not already been lying down. She got the sleep her body needed to function, but not the relaxation her spirit needed to want to function.

**********

Fluttershy had woken up at 6:00 in the morning and took about an hour to get a shower, eat breakfast, get her bags together, and walk to school. Only this time she was on a mission: Find Rainbow Dash and apologize to her.

As far as Fluttershy knew, Rainbow usually hung out with the flight team at the football field, so that's the first place she looked. She wasn't there. Instead of giving up, she decided to keep looking for her elsewhere. She didn't know Rainbow Dash's schedule, aside from P.E. in third period, so she had no idea where to even start. Feeling defeated, she decided to go to the library. Maybe some peace and quiet would help clear her mind.

At the library, she started contemplating her next plan of attack. She would ask the school counselor for a copy of Rainbow's schedule in hopes of knowing where she could look. Suddenly she heard a voice saying exactly what she was thinking, though the voice wasn't hers.

"Man, where the hay could she possibly be? I've looked everywhere?" the voice was female, obviously, but it was strangely deep for a mare. The voice sounded familiar but Fluttershy couldn't place a name. It couldn't be Hoops, he's a stallion. It wasn't any of her teachers, the voice sounded young, like its owner was a preteen, it had a level of spunk in it, with a dash of feminism. Wait, Dash! Fluttershy had no doubt the voice belonged to Rainbow Dash. Excitedly she trotted over to confirm her suspicion.

"Rainbow Dash! I finally found you! I've been looking for you!" Fluttershy screamed with delight, completely forgetting the defeat she felt just moments before.

"Heh, it's funny; I could say the same about you!" Rainbow replied.

"Wha- YOU were looking for ME?" Fluttershy was shocked.

"Yeah, I figured that sense you were having a bad day yesterday, that that would be why you lashed out at me. So I decided to find you today and try again." Fluttershy couldn't believe her ears, Rainbow would and did understand.

"That's exactly why I was looking for you! I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I thought you were going to pick on me like Hoops did and I wanted a preemptive strike. I didn't realize until after that you could've been sincere!" She didn't to mean bring Hoops up, for fear of Hoops possibly being a good friend of Rainbow's, encouraging her to agree with him and attack Fluttershy as well.

"Yeah, I saw Hoops giving you a hard time. He can be a real jerk."

"Oh, you saw that?" Fluttershy was relieved to hear that Rainbow didn't like Hoops either but at the same time, she was also embarrassed that she saw it all. Her embarrassment showed up on her face in the form of a nervous blush.

"Yeah, I did. I hate that guy! Anyway, I saw him giving you a hard time and thought maybe you needed a friend."

Again, Fluttershy couldn't believe her ears. Did Rainbow Dash say what she thought she said? "I'm sorry, but did you just say 'friend?'"

"Yeah, I did! So, do you wanna be friends?"

If Fluttershy was dreaming, nopony better wake her up! "Yes! Yes, sure! I would love a friend!" Fluttershy was probably the happiest filly alive right now. She couldn't contain her excitement and didn't know what to do, so without even thinking, she wrapped her forelegs around her new friend in a huge, appreciative hug.

Now it was Rainbow Dash's turn to blush; she didn't generally hug her friends often but if it was what Fluttershy wanted, then she shan't object. Instead, she wrapped her own forelegs around Fluttershy and returned the embrace. Fluttershy's smile couldn't possibly get any bigger, she had stretched the muscles in her face to their limit.

"I am so happy to have you as a friend. I love you, Rainbow Dash!"

"Uh, I love you too, Fluttercry!"

Fluttershy froze at hearing her nickname Hoops used so much. "What did you just call me?" she asked, on the verge of tears.

"Fluttercry, isn't that your name? I heard Hoops calling you that."

"But... but that's a nickname he uses to tease me! Because I- I cry a lot." Rainbow felt awful.

"I'm sorry, I thought that was your actual name."

Fluttershy wiped a tear away, "Oh, ok!" Fluttershy was still crushed at hearing Hoops's nickname for her.

"How about I just call you... Flutters! I like that! It's cute, just like you!" Rainbow suggested, poking a hoof at her new friend.

My first nickname. And this one isn't an insult! "Flutters" thought. "I love it!" Fluttershy hugged her new friend again and enjoyed the embrace better than the last time. She thought about what Dash said about her nickname and it made her happy.

"I like that! It's cute, just like you!" Fluttershy smiled as she got lost in the friendly embrace. She thinks I'm cute.

Author's Note

There's a Dane Cook reference in here somewhere. (I don't give a buck what anyone says, Dane Cook is hilarious!) I'm gonna try to have at least one reference in every chapter. See if you can find them! Whoever finds the reference first will make a cameo appearance in the next chapter. I will message you if you won and ask for a brief description of your OC (I got the idea from whoever wrote "Vinyl Scratch and Octavia: University Days") Keep in mind, though, that despite you OC's actual species, I will make them a pegasus. (Just because only pegasus ponies can walk on clouds, so earth ponies and unicorns wouldn't make sense in a story like this.)

Lunch

Chapter II: Lunch

Three days had passed since Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had become friends. These were possibly the best days of Fluttershy's life. Before, Fluttershy constantly paid attention in class; it was the only thing she had to keep her mind off of Hoops. Since she met Rainbow, it became nearly impossible to pay attention in class; right now she would be listening to a lesson about how preening your feathers regularly can make you more aerodynamic. Instead, she mentally played a highlight reel of her favorite moments with her new friend.

When they first met and Rainbow confessed her hatred for Hoops. When Rainbow stood up to Hoops for her and then taught Fluttershy to stand up on her own. She wanted so badly to get the opportunity to try out her newly learned technique but oddly, she hasn't heard from Hoops since then.

"Fluttershy." said an annoyed adult voice. Fluttershy didn't notice it. "Fluttershy." the voice sounded more annoyed this time. Fluttershy was still deep in her thoughts. "FLUTTERSHY!" she snapped back to reality and finally acknowledged the voice.

"Wha- huh?" she reacted in confusion, having just mentally returned to the class. "Yes, Mr. Awesome?" Major Awesome was Fluttershy's favorite teacher; he was usually pretty laid back in his lessons. Some would use the words "chill" or "cool" to describe him.

"Would you mind joining us in today's lesson, Fluttershy?" he asked, his entire relaxed vibe lost and replaced with annoyance. He didn't have much of a bad side but if there was one way to get on it, it would be to ignore him.

"Oh, sorry. I'm paying attention now."

"I would hope so, Fluttershy. Anyway by preening your feathers regularly..."

Fluttershy stopped listening again, once more lost in her own thoughts. Luckily, she at least looked like she was paying attention so there were no more interruptions for the rest of the class. Dash is so sweet. She is the best friend a pony could ask for. I can't wait till lunch to meet up with her.

**********

Her next few classes went by uneventfully. She learned from her mistake of making it obvious that her mind was elsewhere in first period so she was able to space out more inconspicuously. She looked up, then down and pretended to write something. If you paid close attention, you would be able to call her bluff, but from a distance, it was impossible to tell.

Lunch came by eventually and Fluttershy yelped in joy as she heard the bell ring. She jumped up, gathered her books in one quick swipe, and bolted out the door, badly wanting to see Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy had forgotten to pack her lunch today. It was hard to get back into the habit. Having her lunch or lunch bits stolen by Hoops everyday, she just stopped bringing it so she couldn't give Hoops the satisfaction of taking it. That's all it was: satisfaction, Hoops hated salad, which is what Fluttershy always had. Every time he took it, he would immediately throw it away, right in front of her. A move so vicious, it nearly brought tears to Fluttershy's eyes just thinking about it. But Hoops hadn't so much as talked to Fluttershy, let alone steal from her in the last few days. She didn't mind not having lunch today, however, she just loved hanging out with Rainbow. She would gladly give up food forever if it somehow meant hanging out with Dash more.

If somepony walked up to her and said, "Hay, you can hang out with Rainbow Dash forever if you want, but you can't ever eat again."

Fluttershy would've responded with, "That's a weird deal, but I'll take it!"

Fluttershy was approaching her best friend sitting at their favorite spot, eating her favorite sandwich: a meatball sub with lettuce, pepper jack cheese, chipotle sauce, and jalapenos. Fluttershy didn't usually eat meat like anypony else: for some reason, the idea of eating meat revolted her. She sat next to Rainbow Dash and hugged her. That was he her favorite thing to do, Fluttershy decided, was hugging Rainbow. "What'cha eating?" she asked.

"The best meatball sandwich ever! Got it from Sub-Hay!" Rainbow answered, noticing Fluttershy didn't have anything to eat. "What do you have?"

"Oh, I forgot my lunch today." Fluttershy responded. She then proceeded to explain her entire lunch situation with Hoops to Rainbow Dash.

To which Dash responded, "WHAT?! I'll KILL him!" as she opened her wings, ready to go on a search-and-destroy mission. She still had her sandwich in her hoof, indicating that she loved it a bit more than Fluttershy assumed.

"NO! It's ok, I just forgot this time, that's all He didn't have anything to do with it this time!" Fluttershy desperately yelled, hoping to calm Dash down. As much as she hated Hoops, she couldn't stand the idea of bringing harm to him if he was innocent.

"Doesn't matter: I need to remain loyal to my friends! This jerk's not getting away with this!"

"RAINBOW! I haven't seen Hoops in days!" Something about that clicked in Rainbow Dash's head and she immediately called her attack off.

"What?" She asked, completely caught off guard.

"I haven't seen or even heard about Hoops in days." Fluttershy repeated.

"Well, when was the last time you've seen him?"

"Remember the day you stood up to him for me?"

"Yeah,"

"It was the day after that: I saw him in the hallway and he had a black eye and a cast on his wing! He looked scared." Fluttershy said in confusion. "What do you think happened to him?" Rainbow chuckled nervously. "Rainbow, did you do something to him?" Fluttershy asked suspiciously.

"What? No! I wish I did, though! I would love to teach him not to mess with you. I wish I could take credit but that wasn't me!" she denied. "Anyway, if he hasn't been giving you a hard time for the past few days, for whatever reason, I guess there's nothing just that I can do to him." Rainbow stopped flying and slowly floated back to the ground, next to where Fluttershy sat. "So, since you don't have a lunch, do you want the rest of my sandwich?" she offered, as she held the sandwich in question in Fluttershy's vicinity.

"Oh, no thank you." Fluttershy answered. "I don't like meat, I prefer salads."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so?" Rainbow replied as she pulled the lettuce out of her sandwich and put it on the wrapper she bought the sub in. "You can have the lettuce. It's not exactly a salad but it's pretty darn close."

Fluttershy was overcome with joy. The offer itself wasn't much: a little bit of lettuce from somepony's sandwich. It's what the offer meant: Rainbow Dash truly cared for her friend, she made a very thoughtful gesture, Fluttershy realized how stupid it must seem to get this excited over lettuce but she didn't care. These leftover vegetables covered in chipotle sauce meant the world to Fluttershy, she was too happy to care, she loved Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash loved her. Fluttershy's love for her may go further than simple friendliness. She thinks she might be developing a crush. A crush on Dashie...

Author's Note

Well, nopony noticed the reference in the last chapter and I needed a cameo so I used my own OC. This chapter's reference is one of Aziz Ansari's acts (don't worry, they won't ALL be comedians.) My offer stills stands: find the reference and your OC makes an appearance in the next chapter. And I'm sorry this chapter was so short, there was only so much I could write to get the point across in this one. I'll try to make the other chapters longer: around 3000 words, at least. Anyway, that's all for now.

The Upcoming Dance

Chapter III: The Upcoming Dance

Fluttershy had just come back from lunch with Dashie. All she had was lettuce but she was ok with it. Her stomach protested otherwise but she didn't listen, she was happy and that was all that mattered to her. With her newfound crush, she walked more lively and happily than usual.

As she approached her locker, she noticed a poster on the wall: an advertisement, if you will, for the winter dance. She didn't usually pay attention to those things; she never had any friends to hang out with, let alone dates for dances. This time, she inspected the poster thoroughly. It had bright and colorful letters, which read:

Come to the '95 Winter Snowflake Dance! Grab a date and dance your flank off! Or just hang out with friends! It doesn't matter! Fluttershy didn't appreciate the excess exclamation points. It seemed a bit too intense for her but she couldn't, and therefore didn't, complain.

In the middle there were several graphics of ponies' silhouettes doing what Fluttershy imagined to be dancing. She wasn't sure, however, as the silhouettes were vague, poorly drawn, and covered in graffiti, mostly sticky notes of insults directing towards nopony in particular, as well as mustaches drawn in marker on the ponies' muzzles. These vandals were a "clever" group. Dancing was all she could assume they were doing, though, considering it was a poster to a dance. At the bottom it had the date of the dance: December 4th, 1995. 8:00-11:30. Fluttershy looked at her calender and saw she had about a week before the dance.

"Well," Fluttershy started to herself, taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna ask Rainbow Dash to the dance by the end of the week!" she concluded, filling herself with confidence.

**********

The next day in class, Fluttershy was once again mentally lost. Oh, Dashie! I love you so much. I love everything about you: your Rainbow mane, your sweet magenta eyes, your flight skills. Your such a sweet pony! I would literally kill to have a friend as good as you! She was drawing tons of pictures of who she hoped to be her fillyfriend soon. Drawings that did not go unnoticed by a certain somepony sitting next to her.

"Hey, who you drawin' their, Fluttercry? Your little marefriend?" The voice was all too familiar. Fluttershy didn't dare look, in case she just imagined this. "Come on, let me see!" Suddenly Fluttershy saw her notebook get swiped away by somepony's hoof. Oh, I hope I'm imagining this! She snuck a look and when she saw the owner of the voice and hoof, Fluttershy's heart sank.

"Hoops?!" she exclaimed in a tone, half-surprise, half-fear.

"Yeah, the one and only! I got switched to this dumb class and now I'm sitting next to your sorry flank! Now let me see those drawings!" He yelled as he opened Fluttershy's notebook and saw several drawings of, "Rainbow Dash? You mean that mare you're paying to pretend she's your friend?"

"I'm not paying her, Hoops! She just understands that making friends is better than making enemies. Maybe she could give you a few pointers on how to be a good friend." she countered, reciting what Rainbow told her.

"Just like she gave you pointers on how to stand up to me? Yeah, don't think I didn't hear that, Fluttercry! you really are pathetic if you need a bodyguard to protect you!"

Fluttershy once again felt tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash wasn't a bodyguard; she was just a good friend who happened to also provide protection. How dare he insult her like that! "Just... just..." Was all she could muster while keeping her tears at bay. "Just leave me alone!" She yelled as she got up from get seat so fast it fell down and ran out of the class, who didn't notice them until this point.

Fluttershy ran back to her old retreating point: the biggest stall in the filly's bathroom. She sat there crying and crying. She couldn't believe Hoops was sitting next to her in first period now. Class was the only time during school hours that Fluttershy had to escape Hoops. And now that was gone too.

After days of not having to deal with Hoops, she had a surplus of tears. Her body was used to crying literally everyday so it stocked up on tears. And now Fluttershy gave them an escape route. This was the first time she's cried in days and she almost forgot what crying felt like. Almost. "Why does Hoops have to be so mean? He follows me everywhere and now he's gonna pick on Dashie!" she wailed. "And she's gonna hate me now for bringing this on her. I tried so hard and got so far!" she continued. "But in the end it doesn't even matter!"

Fluttershy sat there crying for at least ten minutes until the bell rang, indicating that first period was over. Her first instinct was to get up and go to second period but after some thought, she remembered that Hoops was probably her so she waited another five minutes for the tardy bell. It was worth being late to class if it meant not seeing Hoops.

The tardy bell rang and Fluttershy got up and walked to the office to get a late pass. Since nopony else was in the hallway with her, it was quiet. The silence allowed Fluttershy some time to clearly think. She thought about Rainbow Dash, but more specifically, she pondered the question: How would she ask Dashie to the dance? Remembering her crush helped to refill Fluttershy's confidence. Dashie is my friend! She'll say yes! I love her and she loves me! Oh, she's such a good friend! she thought. That's it! I'm gonna ask her out at lunch! I can She was determined to ask Rainbow Dash to the dance, not just to be Rainbow's fillyfriend, but also to show Hoops that this is a legitimate friendship.

Fluttershy got to second period and realized there were two things she could find relief in: the fact that Hoops isn't this class too, and that her tears were erased. Her sadness washed away and her confidence boosted tenfold.

She lifted her head high and casually strolled to give the teacher her pass, completely forgetting that she was upset, not ten minutes ago. She walked to her seat, took out her books and started taking notes, all remaining nonchalant.

**********

Second period went by uneventfully and so did third and fourth. It was when she got to lunch that it just got real. She confidently strolled to her usual spot next to Dashie, remembering her lunch this time, and noticed the cyan pegasus had a few friends with her today. One of them was Spitfire but Fluttershy didn't recognize the other one.

She had blonde hair, almost the same shade as Fluttershy's coat. This mare's coat color was medium grey, not too light, not too dark. She had the same manestyle as Rainbow Dash, almost as if she was a recolor of some sort. Her eyes are mostly what caught Fluttershy's attention: they were yellow-orange, leaning toward orange, and they were crossed, one facing one way, one facing the other. Fluttershy found this very odd, not laughable, but odd. She didn't know if she was doing it intentionally for comedic effect, or if they were just like that. She decided it was better not to ask, Fluttershy wouldn't want to make this mare feel as hated as herself, Celestia forbid she get a huge reputation for something as small and insignificant as her eyes. So she left it at that.

"Don't worry, Spitfire." Flittershy overheard Rainbow Dash say. "You can start that flying team if you believe in yourself! Who cares if you got kicked out of the school team? When you start your own flight team, you'll make the school sorry they kicked you out." Her words were touching and sincere, all the more driving Fluttershy to want to accomplish her mission: Ask Dashie to the Dance.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy finally said.

"Hi, Flutters!" Rainbow replied. "Hey Spitfire, Derpy, this is the mare I was telling you about!"

"Wow, you were right, Dash! She is adorable!" Spitfire commented. Fluttershy blushed at the compliment.

"She has such pretty eyes!" Derpy added.

"Hey Flutters, get over here!" Rainbow beckoned. Fluttershy complied and sat next to Rainbow. "Ok, so this is Spitfire." she introduced. "She's the second fastest flyer in the whole school, she's even gonna start her own flight team some day! What were you gonna call it again? Supercolts? Shadowbolts?"

"Superbolts. I'm still working on the name but for now, it's Superbolts." the spunky yellow pegasus answered.

"Superbolts, that's it! Anyway, this is Derpy! She's not a very good flyer but she's an awesome friend!"

"Hi, Flutters!" Derpy called with a noticeable, yet lovable speech impediment.

"Hi guys!" Fluttershy greeted. Although she looked confident on the outside, on the inside she was a nervous mess. Oh, how am I going to ask her out now? Her friends are here! I was nervous enough as it was when it was just her but she has friends here too! Oh, what am I gonna do?

"Anyway, thanks for the pep talk, Rainbow Dash! I'm tellin' ya: I was upset about being kicked off the flight team but after talking to you, I realized it doesn't matter." Spitfire chimed in.

"No problem, Spitfire. You keep workin' on that team, you'll get there some day! I'll talk to Fleetfoot tomorrow and see if he's interested." Rainbow responded.

"Thanks, Dash, you're the best!" Spitfire said as she gave Rainbow Dash a high-five with her wing. "Well anyway, I gotta bail. Got a lot of catchin' up to do on my grades if I wanna get to that dance! See ya!"

"Later!" with that, Spitfire flapped her wings powerfully and took the skies, her image becoming a small dot in the sky that eventually faded away.

"She seems nice!" Fluttershy commented, feeling relieved she had one less obstacle between her and her objective.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool! So what's up, Flutters?" Rainbow responded.

"Oh, um... nothing! Nothing at all!" Fluttershy retorted, not wanting to reveal her plan. She was getting more and more nervous by the second: her hooves shaking, the back of her neck sweating, her wings twitching, her tail feeling numb, her stutter slowly approaching. Her nervousness was probably visibly obvious but she still wanted to try and keep as much hidden as possible. After what seemed like eternity to Fluttershy but was most likely only a few short seconds in realtime, Derpy finally broke the silence.

"So, Fluttershy, you going to the Snowflake Dance?" Fluttershy had preferred the silence.

"Oh, um, I... I d-don't know! M-maybe... I... uh... I don't have a... a date?" Fluttershy responded. Her train-wreck of a response clued Rainbow Dash in on the fact that Fluttershy wanted a date but didn't have one.

"So, you got your eye on anypony?" Rainbow asked nonchalantly, having no idea she just painted a target on herself.

"Oh, u-um... I don't-"

"You do, don't you! You have a crush on somepony? Who is it? Who's the lucky mare?"

Fluttershy felt that if she going to ask Rainbow at all, it better be now. She had no idea if she could do it. She cleared her throat. Fluttershy opened her mouth, completely losing faith in her ability to ask this simple question. She had no idea what she was going to say next, but she started talking.

"Um, Rainbow Dash...?"

Author's Note

Well here's the third chapter! Sorry it took so long, I'm moving at my own pace so there won't be a steady pattern of time in between chapters. I prefer it this way so I don't feel like I'm posting too soon or too early. Also, I noticed a lot of people are confused and asking questions about Fluttershy's crush... good! I wanted this kind of response but don't worry, it'll be explained soon. There's no cameo in this chapter because nopony found my reference, this chapter's reference isn't a comedian this time (thank Celestia!) This time it's a song. There's a Linkin Park reference somewhere. Also, is it odd that I'm getting this pissed off at Hoops even though he's only doing what I'm making him do?

Where'd She Go?

Chapter IV: Where'd She Go?

"Um, R-Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy weakly said, suddenly very nervous.

"Yeah Flutters? What's up?" Rainbow answered.

"Um, are you- are you going to... that... um, Winter Snowflake dance thing?" she asked, her nervous stutter starting to show itself.

"What? Oh that? Nah, probably not! Dances are lame!"

"What? Dashie!" Derpy interjected. "The dance is gonna be so much fun! I heard Surprise is going with Cerulean Voice! Oh, they make such a cute couple! And Surprise told me there's gonna be a chocolate fountain!"

"It's just not my bag, baby!" Rainbow Dash replied, with a shrug.

Fluttershy chose to speak again. "But Dashie, w-would you go if... um, you... you had, a-a date?"

"Hmm..." she thought. "Yeah, if I had a date, then maybe, but nopony likes me like that."

Fluttershy was shocked. She looked over to Derpy and, judging from her expression, she didn't share that feeling. "What do you mean, Dashie? Everypony likes you! You have tons of friends, you're the most popular pony in school!" She looked to Derpy again to see if she was as surprised now, after hearing that information. Still no. In fact, if anything, she looked less surprised this time.

"Listen, Flutters. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: they're not my real friends. In fact, I hate just about every single one of them."

"But, Dashie, you're always hanging out with them though. Heck, you even dated half the HoofBall team and the other half all have admitted having a huge crush on you!"

"They're all jerks, though. I just suddenly got popular after I did that Sonic Rainboom and nopony's left me alone since. You, Derpy, Spitfire, and Surprise are my only real friends!"

Fluttershy was completely bewildered right now. She even forgot about her mission for a minute. She shook her head and instantly remembered it, as if it somehow jogged her memory. Suddenly full of confidence, Fluttershy thought, Buck it! I'm goin' for it! "Rainbow Dash, would you like to go to the dance with me?" She immediately regretted asking and felt like she was shrinking under embarrassment. But the words were out there and there was nothing she could do about it. Aside from watching in horror as Rainbow was sure to shoot her down.

Rainbow suddenly looked nervous herself, perhaps even more so than Fluttershy. It was a different kind of nervousness, though. Fluttershy knew the difference was there but she just couldn't put her hoof on exactly what was different about it. "Oh, um, I, I might need some time to think about it."

It wasn't a no, so Fluttershy was left at least a little relieved. "Oh, ok! Take all the time you need." It wasn't a yes either so Fluttershy was still worried that it would never be. Regardless, it still went a little better than Fluttershy had planned, she thought.

**********

The next day, Fluttershy was a nervous wreck: She wasn't sure what Rainbow Dash would say at lunch, would she say yes? Would it get awkward between them? Would she stop being her friend? Fluttershy had no idea what was going to happen. The poster to the dance hung right beside her locker so it served as a constant reminder in between classes, she suddenly hated that poster now. Those stupid letters, those badly drawn ponies dancing that dumb dance that probably doesn't even exist in reality, those idiots with their less than clever graffiti. Mustaches? Really? The excess amount of exclamation points. She hated every detail in that stupid poster.

Fluttershy snapped back to her senses and immediately abandoned those thoughts once she realized she was starting to sound like Hoops. That was the last thing she wanted so she just ignored the poster.

Lunch time finally came and she felt her heart skip a beat. It was time: the moment of truth. She walked to their usual spot, not even bothering to open the salad she brought. She was feeling queasy with anticipation and wasn't entirely confident in her ability to keep it down. When she finally arrived, she saw Rainbow Dash wasn't there. Only Derpy and Spitfire. They appeared to be talking about something important. Derpy looked over and saw Fluttershy, then called her name. "Hey, Fluttershy!" It wasn't a greeting, the tone of voice indicated that it was more of a message: Come here. Fluttershy abided to the implied command and quickened her pace. When she finally got there, Derpy asked the one question Fluttershy didn't want to hear: "Do you know where Rainbow Dash is?"

"She's not with you guys?"

"We haven't seen her since yesterday, when you asked her to the dance." Spitfire answered. "Do you like her, Fluttershy?"

"Why would she leave like that?" Derpy asked, obviously saving Fluttershy the trouble of having to dodge the question herself. Spitfire took the hint and dropped the matter.

"I don't know, it's not like her to cut class without talking about it beforehoof, let alone skipping school entirely! Though she's like a scout at times, moving quickly and erratically, you never know what she's gonna do, all you know is you're about to miss it. She's a Force A Nature!"

Could she have left because of... m-me? Fluttershy pondered. I hope not, I would hate to lose the one... friend... I've... had! She couldn't finish the thought without crying, as it was too painful to even think about. She started crying out loud and fell into Derpy's and Spitfire's arms.

"What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Derpy asked, genuinely worried.

"Yeah, why are you crying?" Spitfire questioned.

"Because..." Fluttershy started. She sniffled and continued. "Because it's my fault!" she yelled. "Rainbow Dash hates me now! I asked her to the dance and I embarrassed her and she doesn't like me anymore and she left to get away from me and-"

"Fluttershy." Spitfire interrupted. "I'm sure it's fine, Rainbow Dash doesn't hate you, she loves you! In fact, when you're not around, you're a she talks about. She really cares for you and wouldn't leave like this without a good reason, she's always loyal to her friends. She'll probably be back tomorrow and we can figure out why she was gone. Who knows? Maybe she's just sick or something! She is more prone to feather flu around this time of year and hates needles so she never got a vaccination!" Fluttershy hadn't thought of that, therefore it made her feel a little better. "Come on, we'll go talk to Surprise, she's really good at cheering ponies up." Spitfire wiped a tear from Fluttershy's eye and gave her a welcoming, reassuring hug.

Fluttershy sniffled again and started to calm down. "Ok! Let's go!" And with that, the trio set off in the direction toward Surprise's usual hangout.

Author's Note

well heres the fourth chapter (finally! :/ )) Cerulean Voice (i think thats how you spell it, im using my memory and im not good with names)), dont worry, this isnt the only cameo youre getting, you appear later on, several times in fact, mostly at the dance! and speaking of cameos, i have two references you can find for a dual cameo, possibly show up as a couple at the dance! how cool is that, huh? :P theres an Austin Powers reference and a Team Fortress 2 reference. and please, if you find one, let somepony else find the other?

The Letter

Chapter V: The Letter

"...And then she asked me what kind of cookies I wanted and I said Oatmeal. And she looked at me and said 'Oatmeal? Are you-' Oh, hi Derpy! Hi Spitfire!" Surprise said, she was apparently just about to finish a story but then noticed Derpy, Spitfire and a third mare she didn't recognize. The latter looked upset, which almost broke Surprise's heart.

"Hi, Surprise." Derpy said. "Can you help us with something?"

"Of course, what do you need?"

"This is our friend, Fluttershy." Spitfire started. "She asked Rainbow Dash out to the Winter Dance yesterday and now she's not here today. We don't know where she is and Fluttershy is certain it has something to do with her. You think you could cheer her up?"

"Sure, I love making ponies smile! That's probably why me and my Half-Sister, Pinkie Pie, get along so well!" Surprise exclaimed with much enthusiasm. "Let's see what I can do!" she concluded as she leaned closer to Fluttershy's sad eyes. Surprise thought she'd try a simple joke first. "Ok, so this foal is tryong to sell fish at the docks but can't get anypony to buy so he starts calling them 'dam fish'.

"'Get your dam fish here, anypony wanna buy some dam fish?' he said just as a wealthy stallion walked over and noticed. 'Young foal,' he said 'Do you have to use such language?' he said in shock. 'No, I call them dam fish because I caught them over by the dam.' the foal explained. 'Oh well in that case, I'll take a few.' he said as he bought them and took them home for his wife to cook.

"'Honey, Princess Celestia is visiting for dinner, is that dam fish done yet?' his wife gasped and said, "We shouldn't use that language around royalty!' 'No, I've already explained to the kids that they were caught at a dam and that's why they're called that.'" Surprise stopped to take a breath, then continued with the punchline.

"'Mom, is that dam fish done yet?' their son asked and Princess Celestia said 'That's the spirit, kid, now pass me the buckin' potatoes!'" Everypony fell down and laughed. Everypony except Fluttershy. "What's wrong, Fluttershy? Do you not like the joke?" Surprise asked.

No, I liked it, it was really funny but I'm just too upset to laugh right now." Fluttershy explained as a tear fell from her eye.

That was the best joke Surprise knew and it didn't work. It was time to pull out the big guns. An old move Pinkie Pie once taught her: tickling. Surprise wondered if she remembered how to do it, but she tried anyway.

She extended her front hooves and her wings and closed in on Fluttershy. Surprise used Tickle. It's not very effective. Fluttershy just squirmed and didn't even smile, let alone laugh. "Well, I'm out of ideas!" she said with a frown.

"Well, thanks anyway. We'll let you two get back to each other." Spitfire said, feeling really concerned for her friend.

"Wait!" Cerulean Voice yelled, right before the trio was about to turn and walk away. Spitfire turned around and listened with a curious look on her face. "I know what happened to Rainbow Dash. I just didn't wanna say anything for fear of making you upset but it's obvious that that's making you even more upset." he swallowed, then produced a wrinkled up paper from his backpack. "She told me to give you this." Fluttershy took the paper with a shaking hoof and read it:

"Fluttershy, I've been thinking a lot about your question yesterday and I've finally decided that I have to say no. I'm so sorry and I hate to do this to you. I'm sure you're certain that you have a crush on me..."

Fluttershy took minute to wipe her tears, then continued reading.

"...I'm sure you're certain you have a crush on me but I think you're just misinterpreting your first friendship. And I realize how heartbroken you probably are and how much worse it would be for you to see me again and, I know this is painful but for your sake, I've decided to drop out of Flight School so that you-

Fluttershy's heart stopped, along with her reading, but her tears were flowing freely as she dropped the paper and rushed home, not bothering to give an explanation to the ponies she had left behind.

Spitfire picked up the paper and quickly skimmed. "Oh, dear Celestia!" she exclaimed, trying to fight back a tear of her own.

Author's Note

sorry this chapter took so long, ive been a bit distracted by hanging out with my fillyfriend <3 i love her so much, anyway, the other reason is that a friend of mine got a gameboy advance emmulator on my phone and so ive been playing a lot of pokemon, sue me! but thats also the reason i have a very blunt pokemon reference in here and the dual reference is still up for grabs, somepony found the tf2 reference (i forgot his name but you know who you are) but the austin powers reference from the last chapter is still hiding somewhere so go find it! :D

Is She Gonna Be Alright, Nurse?

Fluttershy had been trotting away from the school for what she estimated to be about a half an hour, toward Rainbow Dash's house. Having no idea that a certain yellow pegasus with a fiery orange mane was gaining on her, she got complacent and slowed her pace, slightly, to allow herself a chance to breathe easier. She had no idea she was slowing down, because if it was up to her, she would run as fast as she can for as long as she needed to, but her lungs had other plan. Little by little, Fluttershy had slowed from a dead sprint to a slow jog, borderline limping. Chest tightening, she had to stop running all together, hating herself for stopping. Coughing and wheezing, she tried to carry on, but only made it a few more feet before she eventually collapsed and blacked out.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Spitfire screamed, concerned for her friend. She leapt forward to try to catch Fluttershy but was a little bit too late. Fluttershy's unconcious body slipped in between Spitfire's hooves and her head smacked the pavement with a loud, cringeworthy THUD! Spitfire's heart stopped for a minute, tears threatening to spill out. Worried, she held a shaking hoof against the unconscious pegasus's neck. Spitfire let an audible sigh of relief as she felt a pulse. A dangerously rapid pulse. But still a pulse.

Spitfire scooped up Fluttershy's body, debating whether she should take her back to the school so she could get her to the nurse, or to Rainbow Dash's house. Rainbow Dash only lived a couple miles away and Spitfire knew she had some medical supplies somewhere in her house, but ultimately decided to take Fluttershy to the school, being as how the nurse was actually a trained professional with a medical license and everything. It was just as much, that reason, as it was that Spitfire was now furious at Rainbow for putting Fluttershy through this and couldn't trust herself not to start a fight. She looked back at Fluttershy, who had a nasty bruise already forming on the side of her face. Spitfire flinched a little, and decided that had made it all the more urgent that she hurry to the school nurse. She composed herself and collected as much breath as she could, then took the skies.

**********

Spitfire had arrived to the nurse and explained, to the best of her memory, what had happened to Nurse Angel, who looked more and more worried with every detail. "...and for some reason, she just stopped and fell, Nurse! She fell and hit her head hard and she got a bad bruise and she's been unconscious since and she-" Spitfire tried to go on but she burst into tears. It was bad enough seeing something so terrible happen right in front of her, but to have to relive it in front of others? A teenage mare's heart could only take so much, The nurse understood exactly what was going on and pulled Spitfire in close for a friendly embrace. Nurse Angel had a friendly face, that went well with his turquoise eyes, and electric blue mane and tail. His cutie mark composed of a book and quill, with a globe as a background. Spitfire assumed it represented his experience in the medical field around the world. Though she could be wrong.

"Shh, shh, shh! It's ok, Spitfire! Your friend's going to be fine, don't worry!" he said in a soft, comforting voice,

"I know!" Spitfire said as she sniffled. "I know!"

The nurse broke the embrace so he could place Fluttershy up on the bed. He quickly checked her vitals, as was standard procedure, asking Spitfire questions about Fluttershy. Not the "incident" but Fluttershy herself. "Can you tell me this pony's name again?"

"Fluttershy!"

"Ok, Fluttershy!" the nurse mumbled to himself as he looked through a file cabinet of what Spitfire assumed to be the school's student medical files. "Let's see... f... Fleetfoot... Flitter... Fluttershy! Here we are!" The nurse exclaimed as he lifted a file out of the cabinet. He opened it and quickly skimmed, only to come to a chilling realization. He quickly went through Fluttershy's vitals again, hoping his suspicion was wrong. Only to find it was 100% accurate. Wheezing, shortness of breath, incessant coughing, and chest tightness. These were all symptoms of a serious asthma attack! The nurse wanted to tell Spitfire this, for she had a right to know, but at the same time, it was probably smarter to withhold that information, as she was worried enough as it was. Thinking quick on his hooves, he decided to give Spitfire a vague explanation, then send her to class. "Spitfire, honey! I think it's time you get back to class! Don't worry about your friend, she's in good hooves. Thank Celestia you brought her when you did, so we need to get started treating her immediately. I'll write you a pass."

Spitfire let her breath out in another relived sigh, unaware that she was holding her breath in the first place. "You sure she's gonna be ok?" Spitfire asked in a shaky voice.

The nurse nodded, "Yes, we're certain! She just needs to rest for the remainder of the day. If you want, you can come check on her after school." He concluded as he ripped a late pass out of his notepad and gave it to Spitfire.

Confident in the nurse's abilities, Spitfire calmed down enough to take the note and return to class. As she left, the nurse got to work immediately.

Nurse Angel had worked at the school for many years and had seen few asthma attacks, but nevertheless, he knew exaclty what to do. When a pony had asthma as bad as Fluttershy's her parents get a special breathing machine from the hospital called a nebulizer and medicine to go with it, since asthma posed a constant risk, a second nebulizer had to be delivered to every school that had students with asthma. It had been years since the nurse had used one of those machines, but that didn't hinder his ability to. He quickly got the nebulizer from atop a shelf and attached the mask to the tube on it. He tore open a pouch of the medicine and poured it into the correct receptacle, then secured the mask around Fluttershy's head. He flipped the switch to power the machine, which made a loud, constant buzzing noise as it worked to allow Fluttershy to inhale the medictaion, which then went to work in Fluttershy's lungs. As the nebulizer did its thing, the nurse put an ice pack over Fluttershy's eye, the one with the bruise, to help the swelling go down. He then monitored the machine to make sure Fluttershy got all the medicine into her system.

**********

Spitfire had returned to class, gave the teacher her note, then took her seat, in between Derpy and what would be Rainbow Dash's seat, had she been in school that day. "What happened? Is Fluttershy okay?" Derpy whispered.

"There's too many details to explain right now. New stuff has come to light, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man. I'll explain after class." She whispered back.

There wasn't actually that much to explain and Spitfire knew that. Fluttershy had an asthma attack and fell and smacked her head. But she's fine now. Saying it was too much to explain at once was just a copout so she wouldn't have to worry about crying in the middle of class. Though, considering it was Derpy, if Spitfire spelled it out enough, it would at least seem complicated. That's not to say Derpy was dumb, however, quite the opposite in fact. Derpy had a higher IQ than most ponies at the school, including a few teachers, but being as smart as she was, she sometimes overthought, even the simplest tasks and messes it up somehow, giving the illusion of dumb.

Satisfied with Spitfire's copout, Derpy nodded and waited until after class to receive the details. "I've got something to tel you, too!" She whispered. "It's about the letter!" Then Derpy continued her work.

Spitfire froze as she remembered the letter. She hated that thing. Hasn't that damned piece of paper caused enough trouble? Spitfire swallowed her anger, so as to not seem aloof, but it still dominated the back of her mind, making it hard to concentrate, but she soldiered on. This had better be good! She thought to herself.

Author's Note

sorry this chapter took so long erryponeh! got caught up with all this new stuff i got for my birthday, which was a couple weeks after the day the last chapter was published, anyway this chapter has a big lebowski reference (which btw, is one of my favorite movies) if youve seen it as often as i have, it would be fairly obvious and also, Angel_Bunny found the tf2 reference from the last chapter! :D so now that ive finally got this chapter up, maybe ill have the rest up faster than this one!