Everyone stood there in shock. No one had known that was going to happen. Pinkie Pie was the first to call out.

"Fluttershy!"

Sunset and Applejack stood back looking stunned. Gilda herself was looking surprised as well as very angry. Fluttershy had her head in her hands and her hair fell over her face. The shy girl stood where she was and didn't reply.

***

She waited for the impact. But it didn't come. Fluttershy would've lifted her head to see why that was, but she was too scared. She'd be staring straight at Gilda and there was no doubt she was fuming with rage. She swallowed and kept her hands over her face, shaking in fear. Fluttershy felt something brush her forehead and she stiffened up. She instinctively tried to flee but found that she couldn't. Something was holding her, keeping the girl from moving.

Opening her eyes and looking up, her eyes widened. In front of her was a boy. He was taller than her by about half a foot. Fluttershy's hands rested on his chest and her forehead touched his chin. That's what had brushed her. The boy's chin was a bit rough with stubble. His head was lowered so that his nose was in her hair. Fluttershy felt his hand holding her head and an arm having been wrapped around her waist. His glasses were slipping off his face.

"...Oooowwwww..." he muttered, and released his hold of her.

Everybody stared at him. The boy rubbed the back of his head, the side of his face, and his shoulder. From a distance, three people came running out to them.

"Caesar! Oh my god!" Casper yelled.

Cherry and Riff followed close behind. They all paused before continuing. Before them were the cheerleaders they had watched perform during halftime. They also saw the girl that got slammed in the face by a soccer ball and the people that sat next to her. With one of the cheerleaders stood the rainbow-haired girl that hurt her ankle during the game. Caesar stood between them all and was rubbing his face. The three employees had seen the whole thing.

They were back a ways carrying the pizza stand table to the van that was parked out front when they noticed things weren't going well with the girls. Shouting and angry expressions were telltale signs of something bad happening. It was when Gilda raised a hand and Fluttershy ran to stop them that Caesar reacted. He dropped his end of the table and ran as fast as he could to protect her from any of the blows. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head against his chest right before he got punched in the back of the head by Gilda, hit in the face by Sunset, and slammed in the shoulder by Applejack.

"What the hell?! Caesar?!?!" Gilda exclaimed.

She gritted her teeth and stomped her foot in disbelief. The boy glared at her and nodded. Twilight supported rainbow and stood where she was, hoping more violence wouldn't break out. Pinkie Pie held onto Rarity's arm and they watched from a distance with fear.

"That's my name...Didn't expect you to remember it."

Gilda glared at him.

"Get out of the way, nerd. This isn't your fight!"

"I'm still not going to let you hurt them," he said quietly.

The girl grabbed him by the shirt and stared at him.

"Oh, so you think you're a tough guy, huh. You think you can just walk in and save the day? Well, that's not what's going to happen. Instigators get their butts kicked. Do you not remember the last time you got involved in something that didn't concern you?"

Caesar didn't even blink.

"I remember."

"Well then, you better take that experience and stay out of this, you understand me? Because if you don't, it ain't going to be pleasent for you."

Caesar didn't reply. He just kept staring at her. Cherry's face reddened with anger. She wasn't going to let Gilda push around her friend. Now had it been Casper, that would be different. But this was Caesar and she didn't want her buddy to get beat by Gilda. In a swift motion she smacked the girl's hands away and yanked her hair. The bully yelped and tried to swat at her, but instead had gotten her wrist twisted by Cherry. Gilda cried out and her cronies advanced on the employee. But Riff Raff stepped in front of them. Him being much bigger intimidated Black Racer and Fleet Foot.

"Leave these girls alone! Or else!" Cherry shouted and pulled at her hair once more.

Gilda grimaced and tried to break free unsuccessfully.

"Don't you ever threaten him again, you got that?!" the red-haired chick screeched.

"O-Ok! I'll leave them be! And the nerd!" Gilda cried.

Cherry let her go and the bully backed away. She eyed Rainbow before turning to leave without a word. Caesar knew he was going to get a beating the next day when he went back to school. He was grateful to Cherry for helping him out, but in the end his butt was toast. The Main 6 sighed and Sunset Shimmer harrumphed. She was a bit mad that her blow hadn't hit its intended target. Applejack offered
Caesar her hand to shake and introduced herself. She then apologized for slugging him in the shoulder.

"No need to say sorry. You never intended to hit me in the first place."

Applejack grinned.

"We appreciate you stepping in. Fluttershy could've gotten hurt."

Rarity turned to Fluttershy, who looked at her feet.

"What exactly, darling, were you thinking?! Running in between them like that!"

The shy girl stuttered and kept looking down at the ground.

"I just...didn't want Rainbow to get hurt. She already has a swollen ankle and besides, the fight wasn't fair...N-Not that I'm...f-for fighting anyway..."

Twilight shook her head and pulled her into a hug with Rainbow, who hobbled a bit. The other girls joined in. Sunset Shimmer sighed. Well, whatever happened was over and done with. She just wanted to get home and sleep. She stuck her hand out and said," Sorry for that blow, nerd. Didn't mean to."

Caesar shook it and she paused. She was looking at a certain hippie who stood behind him. He smiled and waved.

"Hey...I remember you. You're that creep this here nerd talked to me about. Asked if I was bothered by you and if I saw you stalking around my seat..."

Casper's smile vanished and he shifted his weight as everyone's gaze came upon him. He shot Caesar a deadly glare and the boy shrugged. Cherry narrowed her eyes. She looked as though she were going to beat him up. Casper chuckled nervously.

"You harassed her during the game? How many times do I have to tell you that you just aren't boyfriend material. It's not going to work, this fantasy relationship you had in mind."

Casper's face was red with embarrassment.

"Hey! I-It wouldn't have hurt to ask. I j-just didn't get my chance because Caesar stopped me!"

Sunset cringed at the thought of her and Casper being together. It really would not have been that great. Having a hippie clinging to her was not her idea of a relationship. Applejack jabbed her in the arm with her elbow. Sunset stopped cringing and cleared her throat. She rubbed her arm. As much as she would have liked to tell the loser "It ain't going to happen in a million years", she had to refrain from it. She feared the cowgirl would chew her out big time for it.

As Cherry and Casper bickered and Riff watched with amusement, the girls focused their attention back on Fluttershy. Caesar was glad he stopped her from getting hurt. It was his good deed for the day. He yawned. It was getting late and he really wanted to get home. He turned to look at the sky. The sun had set, but glimmering light still remained in the space above them. A breeze rushed through and whisked by him. Leaves fluttered by and danced their autumn dance.

Fluttershy was bombarded with "Oh you poor darling's" and "That was a brave thing to do's". Her eyes met Caesar's for a brief moment, before memories of the past came flooding back. He had comforted her so many years ago when she was feeling down, holding her close. She remembered the smell of flour, his red 'Rudolph' nose, how close they were...And now, after such a long time, he protected her from harm's way. And he did it without any known reason. She wanted to know why. Why had he stayed by her side as she sobbed those years before? They hadn't been friends or really acquaintances...

Could it have been...attraction?

Fluttershy found herself blushing at the thought. It didn't seem very likely to her that that was the reason why he helped her. He was just being kind. That's all. There was nothing to it, no deeper meaning. He just went on automatic and helped her out...Fluttershy had drowned out all her friends' chit chat while thinking. When she looked up, she found that Caesar was gone. She pushed past the girls and looked around. In the distance, she could see him walking back to where he dropped the table.

Without thinking, she ran to him. She reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Wait..."

Caesar paused. He turned around and saw Fluttershy looking up at him with big blue eyes. Something in his mind clicked. A forgotten memory flashed in his head. He remembered a girl with pink hair, blue eyes, and pale skin slumped against a building wall crying. He remembered her sobbing into his shirt with her head tucked under his chin. He recalled her soft voice, the scent of flowers that came from her, the years he had known her to be a classmate of his at Cloudsdale elementary and middle school...

"...Thank you..." Fluttershy whispered.

The boy stood there without replying and felt a smile come across his lips.

"You're welcome...Fluttershy."

Author's Note

Fluttershy's question of why never got answered. Oops.