“Okay but...I’m pretty sure there are no triangles in tic tac toe Pinkie.”
“Of course there is Dashie! It’s right on the paper!”
“That’s because you drew it.”
“Exactly!”
“I don’t understand...”
“And I just won our 73rd game in a row!”
“What? How?!”
A small girl named Rainbow Dash picked up the marked paper and began to examine it closely. After a minute, she groaned and slammed it onto the floor.
“Alright, you win! I’m done.” Rainbow Dash sighed and stood up.
“Aww, come on! One more game!” Another girl named Pinkie Pie whined.
Pinkie Pie was a very energetic and loud child. Over her Spring break, she had just celebrated her birthday on April Fools’. She was now nine years old. Pinkie Pie loved meeting new people and when she did, she always made sure that they would end up leaving with a smile on their face. With her curly pink hair and light blue eyes, Pinkie would do anything she could to make her friends laugh and brighten their day. She’d even try to make her sisters and parent’s smile, even if they weren’t the most cheerful people in the world. Pinkie was happy that her friends Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash accepted her crazy and goofy personality, and she wanted to always show her gratitude by making them happy in return.
“You said that seventy games ago,” Rainbow Dash deadpanned replying to Pinkie’s begging, “And I’m pretty sure Applejack and Rare would rather do something else than watching me lose for half an hour.”
“Fine! I’ll go ask my mom if we can order pizza...” Pinkie groaned and stomped out of her room dramatically.
The three remaining girls in the room giggled at Pinkie and turned towards each other. They were all sat in the middle of a pink and fuzzy rug that covered the floor of a light pink room with posters and pictures of various treats plastered on the wall. It was the final day of spring break, and Pinkie Pie had invited her friends over to have a sleepover.
“So...what do y’all wanna do?” a girl with a heavy southern accent asked.
Applejack was an eight-year-old farm girl with freckles across her nose and emerald green eyes. Her long blonde hair went well with her light skin-tone and was tied back with a red ribbon. She sat near the foot of Pinkie’s bed in her blue apple print pajamas. Overall, Applejack was mostly happy and healthy and had just recently learned to cope with her parent’s death. She had a small baby sister back home, who was almost a year old, and she is determined to be the best older sister anyone could have. Her family had lived in Sweet Apple Acres, where she helps to pick and wash apples to be sold. Applejack admires her older brother, Big Macintosh, who must look after both of his sisters and still go out into town daily. He is only eleven but Applejack wants to be just like him when she’s older.
Applejack loves her friends, and always wants to see them at their best. That means that if something is wrong, Applejack would be the first to tell. She seems to always know when someone is lying, and she hates it when people lie.
“Ooh! Can we braid each others’ hair?!” a purple haired girl squealed.
Her name was Rarity and she was also eight years old. She had long, curled, purple hair that complimented her deep blue eyes. Apart from working on her dream to become a famous fashion designer, Rarity was known for being extremely generous. She’d give up anything to make someone’s day brighter, even if what she was giving up was something that had meant a lot to her. She had recently welcomed a new younger sister into her family, and she was very excited to play and dress her up as she grew.
“Yeah...that’s totally not happening. The last time you suggested that Pinkie Pie accidentally put gum in my hair. How do you put gum in someone’s hair on accident?!” Rainbow Dash replied, giving her friend an unamused look.
“Well if that’s all you’re worried about, I’ll braid your hair!” Rarity stuck her bottom lip out and blinked at Rainbow Dash with the most innocent eyes she could give.
“No thanks. I’d rather have Pinkie put the gum in my hair than watching you turn me into a princess.” Rainbow rolled her eyes as Applejack chuckled.
It has been a few months since Rainbow Dash had met her now best friends, and she had grown to be very comfortable around them. Before meeting the girls, Rainbow Dash grew up in an entirely different city, Cloudsdale. She was growing up as a fairly happy child during her early years and was given a lot of attention from her parents, given that she was an only child. However, when she began school, many other problems began to unfold.
Things had started out okay throughout kindergarten. Towards the end of that first year, Rainbow had met a new friend. The pair of kindergarteners had become very close throughout that summer and went into first grade together. However, things weren’t always perfect for the two children, as they were both being picked on. In fact, Rainbow’s friend had a reputation of being very shy, and Rainbow ended up using that as a nickname for her friend. Throughout kindergarten, Shy was being picked on by other students in the class before meeting Dash. When Rainbow became her friend, she, unfortunately, had to deal with the bullies as well.
The children had always seemed to find something wrong with her and always made a joke out of it. At the time, Rainbow was too young to really think about it all too much, and continued hanging out with her friend; her only friend. By the time Rainbow was almost through second grade, she began to realize that almost everyone was against her, and always had more than one person sitting with them. She began to think something was wrong with her but didn’t tell Shy because she was afraid that if she did, she would begin to laugh at her too.
Her father had unfortunately passed away when third grade began and by this time, Rainbow Dash was miserable. They were older now, and the insults were brutal. The final straw was when a rumor about Rainbow began to spread, which caused Shy to leave her behind. Rainbow was heartbroken, and her mother did not let that go unnoticed. She hated seeing her daughter so broken. Her mother eventually had Dash pack up so that they would move to a new city called Canterlot, where Rainbow could have a fresh start.
In Canterlot, Rainbow wasn’t very thrilled to be going to a new school. The children at Cloudsdale had completely destroyed her confidence, and she didn’t believe that anyone would want to be friends with her if everything that she’d been told was true. However, when she met Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity in Canterlot Elementary, they vowed to stick by Rainbow and help her through anything. She learned to trust her new friends, and since meeting her new friends, she’s never been happier.
Over the past few months, Rainbow grew to like the way she was and gained a lot of confidence. She learned that she was actually very good at her favorite sport, soccer, and various other sports. She became well known throughout the entire third grade and she wasn’t used to so many positive comments while walking through the halls. She expected a few children to call her a name or two, or someone to try to trip her, but it never happened! Rainbow Dash was very grateful for her new friends and couldn’t ask for more. However, even though things were so much better than before, Rainbow wished that things between Shy hadn’t ended so terribly. She was her first friend, and they had so many great memories together! Dash wondered what could have happened if she had explained the situation with Shy more clearly if she had proved Shy that the rumor wasn’t true. That she wasn’t a bad-
“Dash! Come back to us, girl!”
“What? Huh?” Rainbow stared at Applejack. She must have started daydreaming after Rarity began whining.
“Is something the matter? You were out of it for quite a bit.” Rarity stared into her magenta eyes.
“Yeah, you’ve been doin’ that a lot lately. Are ya okay?” Applejack scooted a little closer to Dash, worried.
“No...I’m okay,” Rainbow pulled down the sleeves of her Wonderbolt print pajamas and looked at the concerned faces of her friends, “I promise.”
“Alright, just remember ya can always talk to us, ya hear?” Applejack crossed her arms.
“I know, Freckles. You’re starting sound like my Nana.” Rainbow smirked.
“Freckles? That’s a new one.”
“Just be glad I’m not calling you Applesmack anymore.” Dash winked.
“Hey!” Applejack punched the rainbow-haired girl in the shoulder as Rarity laughed.
As the girls settled down, Pinkie Pie burst into the room with excitement written all over her face.
“Guys! Turns out my mom already ordered the pizza! Come on!” She squealed before running out again, now having the others following her.
Spring Break was officially over and children began to head into Canterlot Elementary once again. Inside Mrs. Moon Blossom’s third grade classroom, Pinkie, Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were all sat with their desks forming a small group. They were all enjoying the donuts their teacher had brought in as a “Welcome Back” to class. As the girls were joking around, Mrs. Moon Blossom silenced the class with a few claps.
“Class,” she started, “I hope you all had a lovely Spring vacation! I assume that you all are ready for all of the exciting things we are going to do in class throughout the Spring!” As the students groaned, Mrs. Moon Blossom continued, “Well, I apologize for interrupting your breakfast, but I’d like you to introduce you to a new student that will be joining our class! I expect you all to treat her with much respect, she isn’t any different from the rest of you. Now, everyone please welcome your new classmate!”
The woman turned to look beside her, expecting for the new student to be there, but there was no one to be found.
“Hi, invisible student!” Pinkie screamed from the back of the class, earning a few giggles from the other students in the class.
“I could have sworn she was right here! Honey? Where are you?” Mrs. Moon Blossom began to panic and headed for the door, but stopped when she heard a small squeak.
At the sound of the small noise, Rainbow’s eyes widened. It wasn’t anything special, but she just knew she’s heard that sound before.
“Oh! There you are,” Mrs. Moon Blossom was smiling while looking behind her desk, “Sweetheart there is no need to be afraid. We are all friends here.” she said sweetly and grabbed someone’s hand.
From behind the desk, a girl with light yellow skin emerged. She had long, soft pink hair which she used to cover her beautiful, teal eyes. She seemed to be slightly taller than the other third graders in the class and she quietly shuffled to the front of the class, frowning behind her pink locks.
Applejack watched as Rainbow seemed to freeze at the sight of the new girl. She watched as Rainbow’s face changed from shock to confusion, and then back to shock. She didn’t move and her mouth hung open as her light blue face slowly began to lose its color. Her magenta eyes seemed unfocused.
“Dash? Dash? Are you okay? Speak to me!” she whispered fiercely and gave the other two a panicked look, who was now concerned for their friend as well. Just as she was about to grab Dash’s shoulders, Mrs. Moon Blossom began to speak again.
“Why don’t you tell the class your name, dear.” she gestured for the new student to speak.
“U-um...F-F-F-Fluttershy.” The sound coming from the girl was barely audible and the class of third graders gave a confused look.
“Oh...um well, Fluttershy, why don’t you take a seat next to Pinkie Pie’s group. Pinkie dear, raise your hand please.” Mrs. Moon Blossom instructed.
“OVER HERE!!!!” Pinkie screamed and waved her hand frantically. Rarity covered her ears in pain.
“She said to raise your hand, not scream as if you were miles away.” Rarity spat.
Fluttershy began to walk towards the seat she was told, but as she walked, she couldn’t help but look at the group of four girls. She sat down and set her eyes on Rainbow Dash. The girl let out a small gasp and hid behind her hair more. She turned from the group quickly and put her head down on the desk.
Applejack took note of the girl’s reaction and decided to do something to help Rainbow, who was now breathing heavily and gripping her desk tightly as if she were having a panic attack. Her first instinct was to tell the teacher, but that would only cause the attention to be put on Dash, which could make matters worse. Applejack had to think quick, and thought about ways to help the distressed girl.
“Pinkie, do you still have that juice box I gave you when we were walking to school?” She asked.
“Of course I do!” Pinkie pulled an apple juice box out of her hair and placed it in Applejack’s hands.
Applejack used the straw to open the juice box, but didn’t drink it. Instead, she squeezed the box in front of Rainbow’s face, and the liquid gushed out of the straw.
As the juice suddenly hit her face, Rainbow gasped and seemed to snap out of her trance. She glared at Applejack.
“What was that for?” she growled through clenched teeth, almost out of breath.
“You were breathin’ heavier than Big Mac after plowin’ the fields! We were worried for ya!”
“Yes, you gave us quite the scare!” Rarity stretched her hand out across the table to reach for Rainbow’s hand.
“I was fine. I had everything under-”
“No. I am sick and tired of ya saying that everything is fine! What happened to ya just now was not fine, and judging by how the new girl looked at ya, I think there’s somethin’ you aren’t tellin’ us.” Applejack glared at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow gulped. Applejack was right. Dash had never told her friends about everything that happened back in Cloudsdale. All they had known was that a friendship hadn’t worked out and that she was bullied. She never really specified any other details about her father, how severe the bullying had gotten, or who exactly she had been friends with previously.
“Mrs. Moon Blossom, may I use the bathroom?” Rainbow asked, her voice cracking more than usual.
“Of course, but be quick. Class starts in five minutes.”
“Got it.” As she stood, Rarity noticed that some of that juice had spilled onto her shirt.
“Oh, Dash! Do you want me to come? I can-”
“No!...It’s okay...I didn’t really like this shirt anyway.” Rainbow cut Rarity off and hurried out of the room.
Applejack watched the new girl’s eyes following Rainbow out of the door. She glanced back at Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who both had similar worried expressions on their faces.
Throughout the morning, Rainbow remained quiet and avoided any eye contact with her friends. She seemed to be very jumpy and short whenever her friends had tried to talk with her. When the lunch bell rang, Rainbow Dash didn’t wait for her friends and walked out of the classroom as fast as she could.
Of course, Rarity and Pinkie were curious as to what had caused their friend to act so strange all of a sudden. Applejack, on the other hand, had kept staring at Fluttershy. She noticed that throughout the morning that the shy girl kept glancing back at their table, and even made eye contact with her multiple times. As their eyes met, the girl squeaked and turned away quickly.
“Okay. Here’s the plan. First, I go talk to the new girl and sing my normal ‘Welcome to Canterlot Elementary’ song. Then, I’m going to need six balloons and a ladybug to help Dashie feel better.” Pinkie spoke as she walked through the halls.
“Um...may I ask what the ladybug is for?” Rarity raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“I have my reasons,” Pinkie smirked playfully, “Now, where is that Fluttershy!” She began to run into the cafeteria to search for the new student but was stopped when Applejack grabbed her wrist.
“Wait one second, Pinkie,” Applejack stated, “I don’t think you should go and talk to her just yet.”
“Aw, why not?”
“Because I think that she’s the reason RD is actin’ so strange.” Applejack pointed to where Rainbow was sitting. It was where the girls usually sat, the table next to the window. However, Rainbow was sitting alone looking outside. She couldn’t seem to keep her legs under the table still, and they kept bouncing and shaking. On top of the table, Rainbow was tapping her fingers frantically, and she bit her bottom lip.
“Applejack, dear, I don’t think that she is the reason. I mean, the new girl looks as if she wouldn’t hurt a fly! Why would Rainbow be so upset?” Rarity questioned.
“Y’all didn’t see the way her face changed when that girl stood up. Dash looked like she had seen a ghost! I’ve never seen her look like that, ever. It just has to be her. What else could it be? She was perfectly fine until that girl walked in.”
“So...no welcoming the new girl?” Pinkie put her kazoo, that somehow appeared out of nowhere, into her pocket with disappointment.
“Yes Pinkie, of course, you can welcome her,” Applejack began and saw Pinkie’s face light up once again, “After we find out what’s wrong with Dash. If this girl is the reason, I don’t think Dash would be too happy with us talking to her just yet.”
“Okie Dokie lokie!”
The girls finally began walking towards their lunch table, and Applejack took a seat next to Rainbow Dash.
“Dash, we need to talk to ya,” She said simply.
“W-what about?” Rainbow stiffened and looked at Applejack.
“Well...you see, you’ve been acting very weird since the new girl came into class. Did something happen between you two?” Rarity said cautiously, Pinkie tilted her head.
“Weird? Me?” Rainbow Dash forced out a laugh, “I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”
“Dashie, please. I know what you are like when you are sad and when you are happy! You are definitely not happy right now. Please tell us! Please!” Pinkie whined and that seemed to irritate Dash. Applejack saw this and smiled a bit.
“Pinkie Pie, I’m okay. I am happy, see?” Rainbow smiled as bright as she could.
“Okay, you are gonna make me do this the hard way,” Applejack sat up, “Pinkie, do ya think you can ask Dash to tell us just one more time?”
Pinkie and Rarity immediately knew what this meant. Rarity pulled out some earplugs from her pencil case and put some in her ears, she gave a pair to Applejack as well.
“Dashie, please tell us! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please! Pleeeeasseee!” Pinkie stood up and began to jump around Rainbow, “Please, please, please, please, please, please, Please!!! Pretty pleas-”
“OKAY! Okay! Fine! I’ll tell you but just please stop that!” Rainbow threw her hands up to show that she had given up.
“Okie Dokie Dashie! See what happens when you say the magic word?” Pinkie sat down and pulled a lollipop out of her pocket.
Applejack and Rarity pulled out their earplugs and smiled. Applejack threw her arm around Rainbow.
“Sorry we had to do that to ya, there was no other way! Now, are ya gonna tell us or are ya gonna let this keep eatin’ you up on the inside?”
Rainbow looked down at the table.
“Alright, fine. Do you guys remember how I said that I didn’t have any friends when I met you?”
Pinkie nodded, “You said that the only friend you had was a big meanie and that they didn’t like you!”
“I never said anything about them being a meanie, Pinks,” Rainbow said quickly and looked right into Pinkie’s blue eyes as if she was defending her old friend.
Rarity was the first to connect the dots. She gasped and pointed in the direction in which Fluttershy was sitting. The quiet girl was sat a few tables away from the girls, her back turned away from them.
“Rainbow Dash! Was she-”
Rainbow answered with a nod. Applejack also understood and kept her hand around her shoulder. Pinkie Pie stood up in shock.
“Oh my goodness! You mean to tell me that that innocent, shy angel is the-” She began screaming loud, Rarity put a hand over her mouth.
“Pinkamena Diane, you know better than that!” Rarity scolded.
“Do ya want to continue?” Applejack asked.
“I might as well...” Rainbow started playing with her fingers. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “Here we go...”
Location: Cloudsdale Elementary
Event: First Day of School
“Daddy, don’t cry!” a small, cracking voice giggled.
“Oh, I’m not crying, sport. My eyes are just sweating!” A deep voice replied. A man with rainbow hair and purple skin looked back at his wife, who also had tears in her magenta eyes. He turned back to look at his five-year-old daughter. She stared at him with her large, pinkish eyes and moved her short and messy rainbow hair out of her face. This man’s name is Bow Hot Hoof, and he was sending his daughter into her first day of kindergarten.
“Yeah right, you said that last time!” the little girl scoffed.
“Are you sure you aren’t scared?”
“Of course I’m not! I’m Rainbow Dash! I can do anything, just like you told me!”
“Darn right I did. Come here, champ!” He drew his daughter in for a tight hug.
“I love you, dad,” she said, hugging her father tight.
“Love you too, Dash,” he ruffled her hair, “Now, go say goodbye to your mother.”
The small girl ran up to her mother and gave her a tight hug. The two were almost identical, with the only difference being that her mother, Windy Whistles, had light, orange hair.
After saying goodbye to her parents, Rainbow Dash headed inside her classroom and met her teacher and a few friends. Her first day of kindergarten was actually very great. She loved her teacher, she had twinkling brown eyes and bright fuchsia hair. She wore a large toothy grin as she greeted the small children into the class.
“Hello everyone! I’m Mrs. Star Shine and I will be your teacher this year! Why don’t you all take a spot on the rug and we can all get to know each other!” she smiled.
Rainbow took a seat and looked around at the class, beaming. The room was decorated with various posters of numbers, letters, and different seasons. Tables were set up, and each one had a different colored cup in the center of it. Some kids were already beginning to talk with each other and make friends, but Rainbow was too excited to do anything. She couldn’t figure out what to do first.
Her parents had told her about all of the great things that would happen in kindergarten, and Rainbow was positive that she would be able to make it through the year without any problems. She bounced on the blue carpet, eager for the day to start.
This is going to be the best year ever.
Location: Cloudsdale Elementary
Event: A Few Days After Spring Break (Year: Kindergarten)
Rainbow Dash was bored.
Kindergarten had been going amazing! Her teacher was nice, she was doing great in all of her classes, and she seemed to have a great relationship with most of the students in the class. Usually, at recess, she would grab a ball and pass it around with a few of her friends, but today they all decided to play hide and go seek, and Rainbow thought that game was boring. They all left her on her own and told her that she wasn’t allowed to play with them if she didn’t like the games they played. Rainbow didn’t care about those kids anyway, she never really considered them friends in the first place.
The young girl walked around the playground, not knowing what to do until she heard small whimpers coming from behind the blue slide. Curious, Rainbow Dash quietly crept up to find out the source of the sound, and found a small, yellow-skinned girl with her head in her knees, quietly sobbing.
The girl had the longest hair Rainbow had ever seen, and its color was baby pink. Dash didn’t hesitate to find out why this girl was crying. She was surprised to see that this girl had been in her class, Rainbow had never seen her before.
“Um, why are you crying?” Rainbow asked simply as she crawled under the slide, taking a seat next to the girl.
The girl gasped sharply and looked up. Seeing Rainbow Dash next to her, she quickly wiped at her eyes and offered her a small smile. Rainbow got a closer look at her face. Her eyes were a dark teal color, yet they were all red and puffy from all of the crying she had been doing.
“O-oh, I’m not crying. I just have something in my eye,” the girl explained softly, not convincing Rainbow in the slightest.
Rainbow was only five, but she knew what was up.
“Is it sadness?” Rainbow inquired innocently.
The girl’s eyes seemed to well up with tears again as she responded.
“Yeah...I guess it is.”
“Why are you sad? It’s recess! We’re supposed to have fun!”
“You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Rainbow studied the girl for a moment, trying desperately to see if she could find the girl familiar. When she failed, she shook her head, telling the girl that she had no idea who she was.
“Well, don’t waste your time talking to me. Like you said, recess is supposed to be fun. You are sitting here watching me, that’s not fun at all.” The girl said coldly.
“Well, what if I said that making you feel better is fun to me?” Rainbow smiled a bit, not knowing what could have this girl so upset.
“You want to help me?” the teary-eyed girl looked at Rainbow, surprised.
“Yeah, my daddy always helps me when I’m sad. I want to help you.”
“O-oh, um, okay then.” the girl smiled for the first time, and her eyes widened when Rainbow suddenly wrapped her arms around her.
“W-what are you doing?” the girl asked, confused.
“I’m giving you a hug, what does it look like I’m doing?”
After sitting there for a few minutes, the girl seemed to calm down a bit.
“I’m Rainbow Dash by the way, what’s your name?” Rainbow tilted her head and let go of the girl.
“F-Fluttershy..” she said, her voice not much louder than just a whisper.
“Well, Fluttershy, why were you crying?”
“People always make fun of me for being so scared and quiet all the time. I can’t help it! It’s not my fault.” Fluttershy explained, feeling as if she were going to cry again.
“I’m not making fun of you!” Rainbow quickly said, not wanting to make Fluttershy upset again, “I think you’re nice.”
“Y-you do?”
“Heck yeah I do,” Rainbow smirked a little, “Do you want to be my friend? You can tell me whenever someone makes fun of you, I’ll take care of it.”
Fluttershy was speechless, she stared at the prismatic haired girl waiting for her to realize the mistake she’s making. However, Rainbow continued to stare right back.
“Um, hello?” her raspy voice pulled Fluttershy out of her thoughts.
“O-oh..” Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash. This was the first time anyone had offered her to be their friend. This was the first time that anyone had seemed concerned for her. This was the longest conversation that Fluttershy had held with someone other than her parents. Rainbow Dash seemed genuine, something about her was different, and Fluttershy didn’t want to let that go.
“I would love to be your friend, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy smiled widely.
Rainbow smiled back. To be honest, Rainbow had always felt as if the other kids on the playground weren’t her real friends, as she only ever talked with them during recess, but with Fluttershy, Rainbow could feel that things would be different. Sure, the two seemed to be complete opposites, but Rainbow saw how Fluttershy looked at her. She didn’t seem like a terrible person. She looked as if she didn’t deserve to be made fun of.
The two kindergarteners sat behind the slide for the remainder of the recess, and when they were called to head back to class, one of Rainbow’s classmates shot a weird look at her.
“So, you’re hanging out with Fluttercry now?” the girl sneered, still looking Rainbow up and down.
“Yeah, I am. And her name is Fluttershy thank you very much.” Rainbow shot back.
“Whatever,” the small girl said and walked into class, whispering to her friends.
Rainbow decided to ignore it for now but little did she know, this was just the beginning of her problems.
Location: Cloudsdale Elementary
Event: Halfway Through Second Grade
Rainbow sighed as she read the note that was left in her desk.
Rainbow Crash
She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, trying to block out some of the laughter coming from behind her.
The now seven-year-old girl would have thought that she had gotten used to the constant teasing and taunting by now, but it was hard.
Ever since they had met in kindergarten, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had become closer than ever. They went over to each other's house daily, they had sleepovers as often as they could, Rainbow would always be there to protect or comfort Fluttershy from bullies, and it was safe to say that the girls were almost always together.
They were lucky to share the same class for the past three years, but Fluttershy was still being picked on and teased, making her self esteem decline more and more each passing year. Rainbow promised from day one to always be there for Fluttershy, but how could she do that if she was being teased as well?
Not long after Rainbow had become friends with Fluttershy, kids began to make fun of every little thing about her. They even found a way to pick on her hair! Rainbow tried her best to ignore their words, but she couldn’t help but let them bother her a bit.
Was she really that clumsy?
Did she really look that funny?
Was she really that bad at soccer?
She never brought this to her parents, because she thought that all they would tell her to do was ignore them. Rainbow also knew that she could never talk about this with Fluttershy either. Over the past three years, Fluttershy seemed to look up to Rainbow and knew that nothing would ever get to her. How would Fluttershy look at her if she was struggling to handle the same exact thing?
Rainbow shook her head and quickly left the classroom, looking to find her shy friend. She finally saw the timid girl leaning against the gate, holding the straps of her green book bag tightly.
“Hey Shy,” Rainbow smiled as best as she could and held her best friend’s hand.
Fluttershy smiled a little and gripped onto Rainbow’s hand tightly and they began to walk down to the small corner store where Fluttershy’s mother works. It wasn’t that far away, and Fluttershy's mother didn't mind the children walking on their own for about five minutes
“Hi, Rainbow,”
“So what’s up?” Rainbow asked, “You usually wait for me in class,”
“Dumb-Bell and Hoops were standing by the door and I didn’t feel like being teased again.” Fluttershy looked down.
“They didn’t say anything to you, did they? If they did I’ll-”
“No Rainbow, I walked away as fast as I could…”
“Okay..”
The girls walked together in silence, hand in hand until Fluttershy spoke up.
“Rainbow, I’m glad you’re my friend. You are so much stronger than I am..”
Rainbow looked a way for a moment, not wanting Fluttershy to see the pain in her eyes.
“Heh, yep…” Rainbow replied shakily, gripping onto Fluttershy’s hand tighter.
“Is everything okay, Rainbow?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, her teal eyes filled with concern as she noticed her best friend’s actions.
You can’t tell her Dash, she might leave you. If you aren’t strong, she won’t like you anymore.
“Yeah, everything’s awesome like always.” Rainbow beamed, not wanting to tell Fluttershy a thing.
Not being able to take a few words was not worth losing her friend. Rainbow knew that she would never leave Fluttershy hanging, but she wasn’t sure if Fluttershy would stick with her. Rainbow trusted Fluttershy with everything she had, but she didn’t want to take any risks. However, she didn’t know how much longer she could put up with this.
Location: Cloudsdale Elementary
Event: One Month into Third Grade.
It happened again.
Rainbow stood in the bathroom mirror with scratches and bruises all over her right arm.
She had just gotten into a small fight with one of the girl’s in her class who tried to push her against the lockers. Rainbow ignored the shove, but as the girl continued to bother Rainbow, she decided to fight back. She didn’t know how they managed to fight without getting noticed by teachers, but eventually Rainbow was able to chase the other girl off.
Rainbow looked at herself with tears threatening to fall. The violence had begun toward the end of her second-grade year, and she had hoped it would end when third grade began, but unfortunately, she was wrong. After the teasing increased, kids began to try and make her fall, so they would have even more of an excuse to call her “Rainbow Crash”. They would try to humiliate her in front of Fluttershy and tried to humiliate Fluttershy in front of Rainbow. Rainbow had begun to defend both herself and Fluttershy, causing herself to get into more and more fights in school. Her mom had been called multiple times, but Rainbow explained that it had been her fault and accepted all punishments given to her. She really didn’t want anyone to find out about the torture she had been going through.
On top of this, her father had just passed away just two weeks prior. Her whole world was gone in an instant. The two had been very close and he gave Rainbow all of the hope that she needed. She didn’t even get to say goodbye to him.
Suck it up Rainbow, you can’t cry. Not here. You’re gonna prove them all right, that you’re weak, worthless, useless-
“Rainbow?” a soft voice suddenly came into the school restroom. Rainbow immediately knew that it was Fluttershy. They were supposed to be at recess, but after what happened with that girl, Rainbow had to take a few minutes to gather herself. She was relieved to see her friend, she knew that just seeing Fluttershy would make her feel better instantly.
Turning around and wiping her eyes, Rainbow smiled a little at her friend, the only one that was there for her. She quickly pulled down her sleeves so that Fluttershy wouldn’t see her injuries, and began to immediately speak to her friend.
“Hey Shy, I-”
“Did you really do that to Scarlet?” Fluttershy said once she was able to look Rainbow in the eyes. She was referring to the girl that Rainbow had just got into a small fight with.
“W-What?” Rainbow stepped back a bit, seeing that Fluttershy seemed to look...angry.
“Scarlet just came out to the yard crying. She had a huge red mark on her cheek and she looked terrible everywhere else! She screamed that you did that to her.”
Rainbow was confused. When she had gotten done with Scarlet, Rainbow knew that she had never touched her face. She only had to scratch and pull a few times to get the girl away from her.
“F-Fluttershy no...I didn’t-”
“Rainbow did you touch her?” Fluttershy asked, looking down at her shoes.
Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It sounded like Fluttershy was angry at her. It sounded like she was believing Scarlet over her. She felt like she would break down any second now.
“Shy please let me explain,” Rainbow said, her voice cracking.
“I just need to know if you hit her or not..”
Rainbow’s vision became blurred, and she sniffed before she continued.
“Yeah, Fluttershy...I did.” the small girl admitted, trying to keep her voice from breaking.
She saw Fluttershy tear up as well, and looked at Rainbow with disappointment and heartbreak in her eyes.
“Rainbow,” she started, her voice trembling, “You know that I became friends with you because you were the only one who didn’t make fun of me. You were my first real friend.”
Rainbow bit her lip as she listened to Fluttershy’s words, “You were my first real friend.”
“But you know that I don’t like bullies.” Fluttershy whimpered.
Rainbow’s eyes widened as she realized where Fluttershy was going with this.
“Fluttershy no! Listen to me I wasn’t-”
“Rainbow, I heard about all of the times you got in trouble with the principal. I know about everything,” Fluttershy couldn’t look Rainbow in the eyes, “And I know sometimes you fought for me, and I’m grateful for that, but at this point, you’re just as bad as them..”
Rainbow didn’t want to think or hear any of it anymore..she knew what was happening. Fluttershy finally said it, she was a bad person.
“You don’t act that way towards me, but that doesn’t change anything Rainbow,” Fluttershy said, beginning to sob a bit. Rainbow could tell that she didn’t want to do this.
“Fluttershy,” Rainbow begged for the final time.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow. I don’t think I-I can hang out with you anymore. I can’t hang out with bullies.” Fluttershy whimpered before quickly leaving the restroom, leaving a broken Rainbow Dash behind.
Rainbow felt as if a weight had fallen on top of her chest. Her mouth hung open and she wanted to try and follow Fluttershy to tell her the truth, but it was too late. Rainbow had backed herself into a corner and slid down the wall, too shocked to stand anymore.
She had just lost the only person she had left. She had lost her dad, she had lost her best friend, and now if this incident spreads, her mother would be extremely angry with her. Maybe everyone was right about her. She wasn’t going to go anywhere in life with the way she acted. They all hated her for a reason, right?
Rainbow didn’t even realize that she was sobbing until she came back to reality. She was on the bathroom floor, her heart pounding. She felt her cheeks, they were wet. She looked around and suddenly felt different. If no one else cared about her now, why should she?
The small eight-year-old girl stood up and looked at herself in the mirror once again. She looked into her magenta eyes, which were lined with red from crying. Honestly, Rainbow didn’t know how exactly things would change without Fluttershy, but Rainbow would have to adjust. She couldn’t care less about anything anymore.
Location: Canterlot Elementary
Event: PRESENT! (end of flashbacks)
Rainbow bit the inside of her cheek to keep tears from springing to her eyes. It wasn’t that long ago and the memories were still very fresh. She couldn’t believe how much she had changed over the course of the last few months, and she was very grateful for her friends’ help to put her back together again.
“So, yeah...I do know her.” Rainbow finally admitted, looking down at her lunch, “She really meant a lot to me, I guess. I didn’t realize it until she was gone…”
Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all looked at Rainbow with worry and concern written on their face. They had known that her past friend had something to do with how she felt, but they didn’t realize exactly how big of an impact that the girl had made on Rainbow’s life.
“I’m so sorry that had to happen to you, Rainbow.” Rarity reached over and took Rainbow’s hand.
“Yeah, sugarcube, we didn’t know. We’re mighty sorry.” Applejack removed her hat from her head and threw an arm around her friend.
“It’s fine guys, I have you guys now remember? Everything’s all good.” Rainbow managed to smile a bit.
“But it sounds like you still miss her, Dashie.” Pinkie said sadly.
“Of course I do, Pinks. We went from doing everything together to not seeing each other at all. I really, truly had fun with her. She really made me happy, you know? It’s weird not seeing her every day. I guess I do miss our little talks and...everything.” Rainbow put her fork down as she gave up.
“When I saw her today, I froze up because the minute I saw her, everything came back at me so fast. It was like I was right back where I started.”
“Oh, Dashie!” Pinkie ran over and wrapped Rainbow in a tight hug.
“Here, you can have my cookie. You need it way more than I do.” Pinkie said, grabbing a cookie and handing it to Rainbow Dash, making the girl laugh slightly.
“Thanks, Pinks,” Rainbow smiled.
“Trust me sugarcube, you are nowhere near close to how you were back when we first met ya. You trust us all, you smile more, and you think you’re awesome,” Applejack beamed.
“That’s because I am,” Rainbow responded proudly.
“Exactly,” Applejack winked, earning a small giggle from Rarity.
“Um, Rainbow,” Rarity started.
“Yeah Rare?”
“You said you miss this...Fluttershy girl, right?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah..” Rainbow answered again.
“Maybe you should try and talk with her! I’m sure you can explain everything.”
“Rare, I don’t think I can do that...she probably doesn’t even want to talk to me.”
“I’m not sure about that one, Dashie.” Pinkie started.
“What are you talking about, Pinkie?” Rainbow inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“Well...while you were telling your story she came over to the table like five times and then walked away and sat down. Then she did it all over again!” Pinkie giggled.
“Well, Pinkie! Maybe you should have said somethin’ sooner.” Applejack scolded.
“Sorry! I didn’t want to interrupt Dashie!”
“You see Rainbow. She does want to talk to you.” Rarity pushed.
Rainbow looked over at Fluttershy. The small girl had her head down on the table, and her legs swung underneath it.
“Should I?” Rainbow asked her new friends, almost scared.
“Ah think you should. It seems like ya both wanna see each other again.” Applejack smirked.
“Oh! And if you two make up, she can sit with us and we can all be friends together! Can you imagine?” Pinkie was practically jumping off of the walls.
Rainbow hesitated a bit before finally speaking.
“I’ll be back, okay?” she smiled weakly before standing up. Before she left, however, she felt a hand stop her.
“You got this,” Rarity smiled sweetly.
Rainbow smiled back and headed for the table that Fluttershy was seated in. She gulped before gathering the courage to speak to her old friend for the first time in months.
“Hey…” Rainbow said quickly and stuck her hands in her pockets. She watched as Fluttershy immediately sat up and looked at Rainbow in shock. Her teal eyes were filled with many emotions that Rainbow couldn’t catch all at once.
When Rainbow saw that Fluttershy was struggling to form words, she knew exactly what was gonna happen. She sat across from her, not losing eye contact.
“Don’t freak out please, I’m...not going to hurt you,” Rainbow muttered the last part quietly.
“I just wanted to talk to you, about a few things actually,” Rainbow said, seeing that the situation was getting awkward.
Fluttershy still had yet to respond to Rainbow Dash, and the rainbow-haired girl began to feel all hope she had slipping away. Looking down, Rainbow stood up and was about to walk away.
“You know what? Nevermind, I’m sorry-”
“Wait, no.” Fluttershy finally spoke, swiftly grabbing onto Rainbow’s arm, “Don’t go. Please.”
Rainbow took a deep breath before sitting down across from Fluttershy again.
“What’s up?” Rainbow asked cooly.
She watched as Fluttershy played with her fingers, trying to figure out what to say. She felt as if she were wasting Rainbow’s time, and felt pressured to say something.
“Take your time...I’m not going anywhere.” Rainbow gave a small smile, knowing how fast it took for Fluttershy to get worked up.
“If you want, I’ll start.” Rainbow offered, and Fluttershy was relieved. She nodded.
“First, do you mind if I ask why you came here?”
Fluttershy bit her lip and gathered her words before speaking.
“Bullying got too bad. This was the town closest to my mom’s job, so we moved here. I just didn’t know you’d be here.” Fluttershy explained slowly.
“Oh,” Rainbow responded.
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow and thought about everything she had seen since she had come in. She decided to finally speak up again.
“You seem...happy. I mean, of course, you’re happy, I’m not around to bother you-”
“Fluttershy don’t say that. Yeah, I’m happy but…” Rainbow trailed off, not wanting to go into too much detail.
“Flutters, I know you think that I’m just like everyone else in Cloudsdale but I just want to tell you that I’m not. I admit I did get into a few fights, but that’s only because if I didn’t do anything they could have hurt me, or even worse, they could have hurt you.”
“That day, Scarlet pushed me into the lockers and tried to do worse. The only thing I did was grab her arm a few times and we got a little scratched up. I don’t know how she managed to make it look like I did worse, but I promise you, I didn’t hurt her in the way you think. I’m not a bully.”
“And, after you left...I was a wreck. I was so messed up, my mom noticed and I had to move here. I’m so sorry I kept things from you, I just didn’t want you to leave me behind, but that obviously didn’t work out.” Rainbow finished her rant by looking down at the table.
“But Dash, you looked so happy here. When I walked in, you were laughing and talking with your friends, until you saw me. But just a few minutes ago, they seemed to be making you so happy. You seem to be just doing fine without me.” Fluttershy stated.
“Shy, no.” Rainbow started, not realizing that she had used an old nickname, “I mean, yes. I am way happier than before, and I have them to thank for that. Without them, I can’t even imagine how I’d survive this school. But, every once in a while, I feel like there is something missing. You have something they don’t, Shy. I miss seeing you smile whenever you saw butterflies in the park. I miss talking to you for hours on end at our sleepovers. I miss when you’d try to tell jokes and fail terribly. I miss seeing you all the time...I miss-”
Rainbow had to stop for a moment as she realized she was choking up. Her throat tightened and her eyes pricked with tears.
“I miss you…”
Suddenly, Rainbow was tackled in a tight hug. She heard soft sobs coming from her shoulders and realized Fluttershy was the one hugging her. Rainbow wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Fluttershy and hugging her back.
She knew that Fluttershy had made a mistake but she couldn’t be mad at her any longer. Rainbow had truly missed Fluttershy, and she wasn’t going to just let her go again.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash I’m so sorry!’ Fluttershy sobbed, “I-I was just so scared and surprised when Scarlet ran out screaming. Everyone believed her, and I thought that it just had to be true. I thought that since you hit her, you just had to be a bully. But after you moved away, I realized that I made a mistake. You weren’t there to make me feel better after a bad day. You weren’t there to tell me that they were wrong about me. You weren’t there for anything anymore!”
Fluttershy continued to cry on Rainbow’s shoulders until Rainbow pushed her in front.
“Hey,” Rainbow smiled, “It’s okay. I’m here now and I won’t ever leave you again.”
The girls hugged again and Rainbow helped dry Fluttershy’s tears.
“So, are we friends again?” Rainbow asked the timid girl.
“I’d like that.” Fluttershy smiled.
Rainbow stood up and took Fluttershy’s hand.
“Come on, I want you to meet my friends.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow when she found that Fluttershy pulled back a bit.
“A-Are you sure, Rainbow?”
“I’m positive. They’ll love you just as much as I do.”
Fluttershy instantly smiled.
“O-Okay then,” Fluttershy said, gripping onto Rainbow’s hand as they made their way over to Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie’s smiling faces.
“Guys,” Rainbow beamed, “I want you to meet someone
“This is my best friend, Fluttershy.”
Author's Note
After a few months away from this series, I’m back with Forgive and Forget, the sequel to Learning to Trust! I’m sorry it had taken so long for this to come out, I got stuck and didn’t want to ruin anything.
Please don’t forget to leave your thoughts! And I think I might add one more story or two to this series, would you all like to see another one happen? Or should this be the final one?
Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I’ll see you all in the next one! 
