Rainbow Dash stood in front of six Pegasi in her Wonderbolts uniform on the runway of the Wonderbolts Academy. A yellow pegasus with a red mane and three strawberries for a cutie mark stood and rocked back and forth slightly as she glanced around nervously.
“You ok, Strawberry?” Rainbow asked, noticing her nervous look.
“No, not ok, Ms. Dash,” Strawberry answered, not making eye contact with Rainbow.
Rainbow Dash mentally kicked herself for thinking it was a good idea to take on six Pegasi.
“Alright then, let’s get back to training,” Rainbow hollered, as she walked around the recruits.
Fluttershy usually didn't come to training sessions but on this particular day, she sat on the sidelines and watched the recruits as they trained.
Rainbow stood on the ground encouraging Strawberry to push her limits as she raced alongside Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger. The wind whispered words of encouragement as the trio soared through the clouds with speed.
"Go faster, Strawberry! You've got this!" Rainbow's voice echoed through the sky filled with both excitement and support.
Fluttershy, her gentle nature contrasting the flight, cheered on Vapor Trail. "Come on, Vapor! Feel the breeze beneath your wings! You're doing amazing!"
Vapor Trail skillfully surpassed Sky Stinger with a glance, over her shoulder in this aerial race. As they gracefully descended for a landing Fluttershy's kind words lingered in the air. She smiled proudly, admiration gleaming in her eyes for Vapor's achievement.
"You did wonderfully, Vapor," Fluttershy exclaimed joyfully, unable to contain herself. She wrapped her hooves around Vapor Trail who seemed overwhelmed but expressed approval.
"Thank you very much, Fluttershy,” Vapor Trail responded gratefully; appreciation was evident in her voice.
Even though she didn't hug back, there was a lingering sense of achievement and connection, in the air. It felt like there were emotions between these ponies each with their own perspectives on the world.
They had formed bonds through their shared triumphs and mutual understanding.
“You did good, Strawberry,” Rainbow said, walking up to her with a smile on her face.
Strawberry didn’t look at her teacher. Instead she stared at the ground, slightly rocking back and forth, and quietly humming to herself, her wings folded at her sides.
Vapor Trail walked up with Fluttershy by her side, and sat on the ground next to Strawberry,
“You did good today, Strawberry, you should be really proud of yourself,” Vapor attempted to start a conversation with her friend.
“Did well today, yes,” Strawberry mumbled, looking briefly up at Vapor before looking back down at the ground.
Sky Stinger walked up to them with a look of determination on his face as he faced Rainbow.
“Let’s do that again, but this time I’ll be faster,” he bragged.
“Now Sky, remember what I told you about bragging: other ponies might not like it,” Rainbow gently reminded him.
“Fine, where is Derpy? Maybe she’ll want to race with me,” Sky replied.
“I don’t know.” Rainbow shrugged as she briefly scanned the runway for any sign of the gray pegasus.
Sky let out an exasperated sigh as he flew off to find the gray pegasus.
A short time later, Sky returned with Derpy in tow after they had finished their practice laps.
“Alright, recruits, lunchtime, then back to training,” Rainbow Dash called out to the six pegasi.
Sky and Vapor walked up to the picnic table that Rainbow had set up a few feet from the runway, Strawberry was already sitting at said table, eating her lunch.
“Mind if we join you?” Sky asked.
Strawberry briefly looked up from her lunch and nodded, not making eye contact with either of them.
“What have you got there, Strawberry?” Vapor attempted to ask, trying to make conversation.
“Have you got there?” Strawberry mumbled under her breath as she took another bite of her Daisy sandwich.
“I have peanut butter and apples, what about you, Sky?” Vapor asked.
“I’ve got a hayburger that I got from the restaurant in Ponyville,” Sky said, unpacking his lunch and setting it up on the table.
Derpy approached the table and stood the moment before sitting down to eat her lunch.
“Hey, Derpy,” Vapor greeted the gray pegasus, putting a hoof around her.
Derpy stopped eating, dropping her lunch on the table and opening her mouth to scream.
Strawberry covered her ears with her hooves, and started rocking back and forth and quietly mumbling to herself.
“What’s going on here?” Rainbow asked, coming over.
“Vapor tried to give Derpy a hug,” Sky explained.
“Hey, Derpy, it’s ok, shh.” Rainbow tried to calm her down, and after a moment of silence only permeated by Derpy’s crying, Rainbow motioned for Vapor to come with her.
Sky looked to where Rainbow had taken Vapor and then he looked back at Strawberry, who was still covering her ears and mumbling to herself.
“Hey, Strawberry, what’s wrong?” he attempted to ask.
Strawberry slowly removed her hooves from her ears and looked at Sky with blank eyes.
“Is… is ok?” she asked, looking at Derpy briefly before looking back down at the table.
Derpy, who had stopped crying by now, got up and walked over to Strawberry, putting her two front hooves on the table.
“She’s fine, no need to worry, Strawberry everything is ok,” Fluttershy, who had come to see what all the commotion was about, finally spoke up.
“No need to worry, ok?” Strawberry repeated briefly, looking up from the table to see the yellow pegasus standing there.
Fluttershy walked over to where Rainbow and Vapor were talking.
“Well, you need to be a little careful around ponies like Strawberry and Derpy, but especially around Derpy, it’s hard for her to express herself in the way you might.” Rainbow scolded.
“I know, but I had hoped she wanted a hug, she looked upset.” Vapor grumbled under her breath as she began to walk away but Rainbow caught up with her.
“We are not done here, Vapor.” Rainbow spoke, landing in front of her student.
Fluttershy's uneasiness was palpable as she approached Rainbow and Vapor, a gentle smile plastered on her face.
She interjected softly, hoping to diffuse the growing tension between the two.
"Excuse me," she began, trying to sound conciliatory. "Perhaps, if we took a moment to understand each other's perspectives, we could avoid any misunderstandings?" Rainbow sighed, her expression a mix of concern and sternness.
She turned to Vapor, trying to teach her an important lesson. "Vapor, showing kindness is crucial, but it's equally important to respect others' boundaries.
“Derpy, for instance, can be quite sensitive about her personal space.” Rainbow said.
Vapor nodded, absorbing the lesson with newfound understanding.
"I only wanted to help, I didn't mean to upset her," she admitted, sounding remorseful.
Fluttershy chimed in, offering helpful advice. "Sometimes, it's helpful to observe a pony's body language.
“I understand, Fluttershy.” Vapor whispered, going back to the picnic table where Sky was sitting and waiting.
“What happened?” Sky asked softly.
“I need to apologize to Derpy, I didn’t mean it.” Vapor replied, on the verge of tears.
Vapor walked over to Derpy, who had been sitting at the table.
“Derpy, I’m sorry, I understand you were upset.” Vapor apologized.
Derpy just looked at her with blank eyes before nodding.
“I’m glad that you understand.” Vapor nodded.
"So, let’s forget about it and get back to practice.” Rainbow moved forward towards the table.
Vapor looked at Rainbow; her face softened in gratitude.
"I concur,” she said with a faint smile on her lips.
We must be together and focused to achieve the success of our mission.” Rainbow flicked her head sharply downcast, her animated hair glowing with determination.
“Right away, Vapor! Now we will go to the training ground, and give them a show.”
They left the table and went over to the exercise area to engage themselves with challenges awaiting them.
Their friendship and a common goal helped them as they trained together.
Author's Note
I hope you like this story.
