Act I: Friends of a Feather (Part 1/3)

Fluttershy peeked over the swirls of the cloud she was lying on. Beyond the cloud a flock of birds was flying across the sky. Fluttershy took her binoculars and birding book out of her saddle bags. This particular cloud was on the outskirts of Cloudsdale and a bit below the base layer of the city, it was connected only by a thin strip of cloud. Not many pegasi new about this place and fewer used it but it was the best place in Cloudsdale to go bird watching. Fluttershy managed to discern what species the birds were and checked her booklet; she hadn't seen these birds before.

This was turning out to be a pretty good day for Fluttershy; at school it had been too hot for the bullies to bother picking on her, she'd made a personal best in flight class, her father was away on business and now she'd seen a new breed of bird for the first time. Fluttershy smiled as she scanned the horizon, there was a warm breeze and she could see the silhouette of several flocks of birds; it was going to be a busy afternoon.

***

Fluttershy woke with a start and looked around hurriedly; she was lying on her favorite cloud, bathed in the golden light of the sun. She wondered what had woken her up and saw a scrunched up piece of paper lying on the cloud in front of her. Fluttershy looked back up the way to Cloudsdale but there was nopony there. She turned back to the paper and unfurled it.

You'd better get home soon.

Flutter shy’s head shot up and she looked at the setting sun; she was supposed to be home before sunset. She hot to her hooves and raced up the path stopping half way up to turn back and grab her book, binoculars and booklet and put them in her saddle bags before racing back up the path.

Fluttershy was flapping her wings as fast as she could, trying to take the city in leaps and bounds. Her heart was racing and her jaw was clenched. By the time Fluttershy reached her home the last rays of the sons light were dissipating as the light of the moon and floating lamps replaced it. She stood outside the door unable to move, partly from exhaustion and partly from fear. Eventually she mastered herself enough to knock on the door but felt her heart leap into her throat when she heard hurried hoof steps approaching the door. It swung open to reveal a pale yellow pegasus mare with a short brown curly mane wearing a look of relief.

"I'm sorry for being late" squeaked Fluttershy

"Oh, never mind that dear I'm just glad you’re alright" soothed Morning Shy

"I fell asleep and I didn't realize how long I was there and, and" whimpered Fluttershy as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes

"Its fine, you're home now so come inside, dinner's almost ready" said Morning as she ushered Fluttershy inside

The two pegasi went into the living room of the house where Fluttershy sat on a couch while her mother took her things to her room and returned with a blanket. Fluttershy sat still as the shivering she hadn't been aware of subsided and her mother went away to continue making dinner. After a few moments Morning returned and sat on the couch next to her daughter.

"Do you feel better now?" asked Morning

Fluttershy nodded slightly.

"I don't think we need to tell your father about this" said Morning

Fluttershy nodded a bit more energetically at this.

Morning Shy pulled her daughter into a hug and for a few moments they simply sat there. Eventually Morning pulled away and returned to the kitchen while Fluttershy curled up under the blanker and watched the flame in the lamp on the wall.

***

Dinner was finished (with little conversation) and Fluttershy was in her room doing wing exercises. Her father had gotten angry when her flying hadn't really improved over several months of flight school so they had gone to a doctor and she had recommended some exercises to strengthen her wing muscles. Fluttershy didn't like doing the exercises but she had been improving a bit recently so they must be working. As she stretched her wings she eyed the poster hanging on the wall opposite from her bed. The poster was for the Grand Galloping Gala that was hosted in Canterlot every year. This particular poster was for the Canterlot Gardens which were open to the public during the Gala, there were so many flowers and animals in the poster and it all looked so beautiful. Fluttershy had never seen a living plant before, nor any flightless animal and she doubted she ever would.

Fluttershy finished her exercises and lay back on her bed and gazed at the ceiling above her. After several minutes of lying motionless Fluttershy eventually rolled over and blew out the lamp on her bedside table plunging the room into darkness. She pulled her sheets over herself and tried to fall asleep though it would be a while before she would.

Fluttershy lay still with her legs, longer than was normal for such a young filly, curled against her stomach as her long mane fell around her head like a pool of pink water. She was a freak, her legs were long and gangly and she was far skinnier than any other pony her age, she had no friends and like all the other ponies in her class she had no cutie mark. As these thoughts ran through her head Fluttershy wished that her mane was a pool so she could turn her head and drown in it.

Tall and skinny, I stand alone

Weak and helpless, I cry alone

I cannot fly, my wings stir no breeze

I am trapped in my life and search for release

I watch the birds and how they fly

So small so far away

Why must I be here high in the sky

Trapped and forced to be this way

There is a world below, I want to see

Where the ground is near and I can be me

Down there is beauty and life abundant

Up here there are ponies who find me repugnant

My life is as dark as the night

The world so cruel to leave me without a friend

I dread every day when they make me take flight

I am unable to escape, unable to find an end

Her eyes closed and consciousness slipped away as she entered the land of dreams.

***

A ray of sunshine fell across her face through a break in the curtain and she began to stir, there was a new day dawning but Fluttershy just wanted to go back to sleep. Her quest for a return to the land of dreams however was interrupted as the intoxicating aroma of melted grass on toast wafted through her room. Fluttershy rolled off her bed and made her way out into the hall. She trotted down the hall and into the dining room where she took a seat and waited for her breakfast. It was only a few moments before Morning Shy walked in from the kitchen and jumped a little at seeing Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy dear I was about to come wake you" said Morning as she put Flutter shy’s breakfast on the table "what woke you up?"

"Nothing" said Fluttershy

Morning sighed "Your father will be here when you get home so please be on time"

Fluttershy nodded as she ate her breakfast. Morning left Fluttershy to eat her breakfast alone and so for a few minutes the dining room was silent but for the sound of crunching toast. A few minutes later and Fluttershy was back in her room packing her saddlebags for the day ahead.

Morning sat in the living room with needle in hoof, quilting a new blanket for Fluttershy as she was getting too big for her current one. She heard the soft sounds of hooves walking on clouds from behind her and a goodbye from her daughter. Morning turned to return the farewell and was surprised when a pair of small forelegs wrapped themselves around her.

Morning put down her quilting and returned the hug adding a kiss on the forehead before letting Fluttershy go and calling out to her "Stay Safe"

"I will" Fluttershy called back as she began to make her way to school

***

A bell rang to signal the end of class and Fluttershy packed away her books. The rest of the class had already packed up and the moment the bell had begun to ring a cyan filly with a rainbow mane named Rainbow Dash had been out the door followed quickly by the rest of the class. Fluttershy was the last to leave but she didn't mind; she didn't have anywhere to be.

The crowd of small pegasi dispersed across the fields of clouds, some took out food and began to have lunch, and others raced each other or played tag. Apart from the crowd a lone yellow figure found a secluded cloud bank and settled down to her packed lunch. Fluttershy looked across the school yard to where a small crowd a school foals were gathering. They were all jostling to get a good look at the figure who sat alone, to cool for company; Rainbow Dash. She was the fastest filly in school, everypony wanted to be like her, everypony knew that she was going to be the first to get her cutie mark. Fluttershy wished she was half as cool as Rainbow Dash; it must be nice to have everypony doting on you.

'But you do have adoring fans' said a voice in the back of Flutter shy’s head

Fluttershy looked around herself and sure enough there were three colts from the year above her trotting over to where she was. It would be a cold day in Tartarus before these three were late for a lunchtime session.

"Hey! Falling Sky" called Hoops

"It's Fluttershy" mumbled Fluttershy

"What's that Mutter Shy" asked Dumb-Bell

Fluttershy moved her mane so it covered her face almost completely and continued to eat her lunch.

"Aww, not talking to us?" moaned Hoops

"That's cold" said Score

"We just want to talk to our old pal" pleaded Dumb-Bell as he nudged her

Fluttershy continued to eat her lunch silently and the three colts continued to nudge and jeer her.

"Are you looking forward to flight class next period?" asked Dumb-Bell

"The Teacher's going to put us on the big-pony course" added Score

Fluttershy froze and shakily asked "Us?"

"We're leading your class on a real track" answered Dumb-Bell

"That means no safety clouds to catch you when your chicken wings give out" said Score

"So when you fall you'll go all the way" whispered Hoops

Flutter shy’s brain stopped and her jaw hung loose. She remained still until she felt her fore hoof being moved and the sandwich she was holding forced into her open mouth.

"Better enjoy your lunch while you can" snarled Hoops "It'll be your last"

The three began to walk away laughing.

"Count the seconds Falling Sky" Dumb-Bell called back "You only have so many"

That statement was met with more laughter from the other two colts. The sound of their laughter became fainter as they moved further away but Fluttershy could still hear it. She had grown used to their jeering and mocking and they had had little effect over the past few months, but they had taken it to a new level. Her stomach was turning so she lowered her sandwich back into her lunchbox. Fluttershy looked around the school yard still shaken but was even more shocked when for a second it seemed that Rainbow Dash had been looking at her. Then again she was on the other side of the field so it was sort of hard to see which way she was looking. Fluttershy shook her head, that was impossible; why would Rainbow Dash care what happened in her life? Despite her attempt to clear her head one thought lingered; she had flight class next and it might be her last class ever.

***

Flutter shy’s nerves had not improved very much over the course of the rest of lunch and had, in fact, worsened when the bell had rung to signal the beginning of final period. Now she stood in line with the rest of the class waiting for her name to be called and she felt like she was standing on death row, and her turn was soon. Fluttershy looked down at her hooves and tried to ignore the world around her. It started to work somewhat, until the filly behind her nudged her forward after the next foal moved to begin their turn. Once she was in her new position Fluttershy tried to return to staring contest with her hooves but found it hard to focus when the rest of the class was chanting so loudly. Finally giving up Fluttershy looked up to hear what they were chanting.

"Rain-bow-Dash, Rain-bow-Dash" chanted the class and sure enough at the starting point stood proudly; Rainbow Dash

The teacher called ready and Rainbow Dash assumed the ready position. The called start and she was off in a flash of rainbows. Rainbow Dash zoomed around the course, faster than any other foal in the class had been able to so far. She became so cocky that she began to pull tricks in the air; loops and barrel rolls, twists and overly sharp turns she even spelled the cities initials in rainbows in the sky. After a mere few seconds in the air Rainbow Dash was back on solid cloud.

"That's a school record Rainbow Dash and you managed to not crash into anything this time" smiled the teacher "You keep this up and you could become the best flier in Cloudsdale"

Rainbow Dash accepted the praise with her head held high before trotting over to where the foals that had already finished were standing. As she approached them all the other foals reverently gave Rainbow Dash her own space. Fluttershy watched, transfixed, at the respect and admiration that Rainbow Dash could command. She continued to stare until the filly behind her pushed her forward again. The lesson continued as more foals made their way at varying paces around the course, every now and then one of the older colts would have to help a foal who was straying too far from the course however they seemed very reluctant when doing so (they had failed to mention earlier that their supervision of the younger class was a punishment). After what seemed like and impossibly short period of time it came to be Flutter shy’s turn. After some healthy shoving from the filly behind her Fluttershy took her place at the starting line.

"You can sit this test out if you want Fluttershy" offered the teacher

The offer from the teacher caused some severe snickering from the line of foals yet to take the test.

"I, I can do it" said Fluttershy as she peaked over the edge

She continued to mumble something about being able to complete the course as she looked down at the distant patchwork countryside that lay so far below. As she looked a warm sensation began to spread through her followed by a weakness in her knees and squirming in her stomach and before she knew it Fluttershy had fainted.

***

Flutter shy’s eyes opened slowly and were closed quickly as the sun invaded her eyes. After a moment she once again slowly opened her eyes and looked around to find that she was back in the classroom and that, according to the clock, school was almost over. She got up, although a bit too quickly and almost stumbled back to the floor. Fluttershy finally managed to regain her composure and shortly after she did the door opened and the teacher stepped into the room.

"Ah, Fluttershy, you're awake" said the teacher

"What happened?" asked Fluttershy

"You fainted at the starting line" said the teacher

"What?" gasped Fluttershy?

"You looked over the edge and fainted" explained the teacher as he put a sympathetic fore hoof over Flutter shy’s shoulder

Flutter shy’s face fell and her breathing became ragged and erratic as tears began to run down her face, She was never going to live this down, ponies would be laughing at her for the rest of her life. The teacher tried to comfort Fluttershy but before he could get more than a few words out of his mouth the bell rang and Fluttershy bolted out the door. The rest of the class was beginning to make their way home but Fluttershy was already galloping across the city.

She moved as fast as her long legs would take her, leaving a trail of tears behind her, even though her brain had neglected to give them any direction. After a few minutes of galloping Fluttershy finally composed herself enough to stop and look to see where she was. She looked around herself and saw that she was on the outskirts of Cloudsdale; her legs had carried her to her favorite bird watching spot. It took a moment for Fluttershy to finish composing herself but eventually she was capable of taking strong steps without running or collapsing. Fluttershy walked down the cloud path to the small bank at the end.

She smiled a bit as the peace of the spot reminded her of all her calm afternoons spent here and took a step deeper into the bank but was surprised when there was something under her hoof. She looked down to see the note that had woken her up yesterday and realized she'd never found out who threw it. Fluttershy had never had a friend but for a moment it seemed like there might actually be somepony out there who cared about her. Maybe this day wasn't so bad after all. The slight smile that had formed on Flutter shy’s lips when she had walked onto the bank grew into a full smile and then she heard something that seemed too good to be true; a hoof step behind her. Fluttershy spun around but what she saw sent her world crashing down around her.

"Hello Falling Sky" said Hoops

Fluttershy froze; the bullies had found her secret hideout and were blocking the only way in or out, she was trapped.

"Nice little place you got here" commented Score

"It's got a real nice view" added Dumb-Bell

"Sort of like the one you were looking at back at the course" noticed Hoops "Maybe you came here to take another shot at flying"

"Yeah, you wimped out on the last one, why don't you try again?" suggested Dumb-Bell

"No, no, please no" begged Fluttershy

"Oh, you’re doing it" said Hoops "It was our job to help foals finish the course, so now you're going to"

"Come on Falling Sky, turn around and fly" demanded Dumb-Bell

"Fly-fly-fly-fly-fly" the three bullies began to chant

Fluttershy turned around and looked over the edge; the ground was so far away. She looked out at the sky in front of her; not a cloud for miles. She was going to die if she tried to fly, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing; they couldn't pick on her anymore if she was dead. She stood at the edge and was about to take wing.

"HEY! SHE SAID NO" yelled a voice from behind the bullies

The four ponies on the cloud turned to see Rainbow Dash standing defiantly at the entrance to the lookout.

"What are you doing here Rainbow Crash?" managed Dumb-Bell after a moment of being flustered by this sudden appearance

"Kicking your flanks if you don't scram" threatened Rainbow Dash

"You talk big, Crash" said Hoops

"And you know that if you lay one hoof on me then my dad will have you thrown out of flight school faster than I did the track" said Rainbow Dash

The three bullies looked back at Fluttershy.

"Or her" added Rainbow Dash

"Why are you defending this loser?" asked Hoops

"Do I need to explain myself to you?" countered Rainbow Dash

The three bullies looked at each other and seemed to way up their options for a moment before flying over Rainbow Dash and back up the path.

"This isn't over" Hoops called back as they disappeared back into the city.

After the three had gone the lookout returned to silence as Fluttershy stared, mouth agape, at the filly standing in front of her. Rainbow Dash had just saved her life; this made no sense to Fluttershy. The next few moments were taken up by awkward pawing of the cloud and furtive glances.

"H-Hi" said Rainbow Dash tentatively finally breaking the silence

"Hi" squeaked Fluttershy at a volume so low and a pitch so high that it wasn't physically audible

"I'm Rainbow Dash" introduced Rainbow Dash "your name's Fluttershy right?"

"Yes" mumbled Fluttershy in a now barely audible tone

"Okay" said Rainbow having run out of conversation

A few more moments of silence passed between the two.

"So why are you?" asked Fluttershy surprised that she had asked that at an audible volume but burning to know the answer

"Why am I what?" asked a confused Rainbow Dash

"Defending Me" finished Fluttershy

"Oh, um" said Rainbow Dash unsure of how to respond to this until she saw something beside Flutter shy’s hoof "I see you still have my note"

"What?" said a confused Fluttershy before following Rainbow Dash's line of sight to the note that she had received the previous day "You've been watching me?"

"I don't mean to" said Rainbow Dash "I... I just haven't been able to work up the nerve to talk to you"

"Why would you want to talk to me?" asked Fluttershy

"Because I thought that maybe we could be friends" confessed Rainbow Dash

"Why would you want to be friends with me" asked Fluttershy incredulously

"You're not the only one who gets lonely and I really think your special" said Rainbow taking a seat at the edge of the cloud bank

"How could you get lonely? Everyone loves you" said Fluttershy as she sat down near Rainbow

"I'm not so different from you; everypony stays away from me because of my reputation; they all say ‘there goes the girl who's just as bold as her mane And boy oh boy can she fly, puts everypony to shame" explained Rainbow "So they love to watch me but not to know me"

"I don't think hanging out with me will help ponies want to talk to you more" said Fluttershy

"I just couldn't pass you by, the way those three torture you every day, I couldn't live with myself if I did" said Dash "So you want to be friends?"

"How do I know you're not just pulling a trick on me?" asked Fluttershy not daring to hope

"Fluttershy I would give up my wings before I left you alone, if you'll let me stand by you" promised Dash

"Then so would I" promised Fluttershy for the first time taking a leap of faith that seemed like it wouldn't land her in a heap on the safety clouds

After they made their pact Rainbow asked about what Fluttershy did here every day and she explained about bird watching. It took a while before Dash would stop laughing about how boring it was but after a few minutes she was enjoying the different colours of the birds returning home before sunset. By the time the two of them were walking home Fluttershy was talking as much as Rainbow and Dash had grown an interest in twitching.

The Rainbow and the Butterfly.