It all started at summer flight camp....
"Go on, honey, you'll be fine. It's only for a few months."
"But Mommy, I don't have any friends here...."
"I'm sure you'll have no problem making some, Fluttershy. Now go on, dear, you'll be late for orientation!"
I wanna go home....
Fluttershy had never been great at flying. In fact, she had never even been okay at flying. Her parents worried about her, so the summer before she started school, Fluttershy's parents sent her to summer flight camp. Of course, Fluttershy would much rather have stayed home to spend summer finishing the sweater she was going to wear on the first day of school, but she didn't want to make Mommy and Daddy sad, so she went.
Walking into the main hall at camp, Fluttershy kept her head down, not drawing attention to herself. It wasn't hard for her; she hated attention and was used to avoiding it. Okay, she thought. I.... I can do this. Three months. Just three months, and then I can go ho--
CRASSSHH.
Fluttershy barely had time to comprehend what had happened before she hit the wall. The sound of the impact had made her eyes snap shut, and when she opened them, she saw two bright fuschia ones smiling back at her.
"Hey, you all right? Sorry about that!" The filly giggled and shook her mane out of her face before extending a hoof. "I haven't seen you before. Are you new here? I'm Rainbow Dash! What's your name?"
Fluttershy didn't respond. She just blinked and wondered what her mother had gotten her into.
School and writer's block are probably two of the worst things to have at the same time.
"Hellooooo? Are you all right? Here, lemme help you up."
Fluttershy felt two hooves wrap around her back and pull her to her feet. She blinked a few more times before noticing the magenta eyes still staring into hers.
"Oh, um, thank you.... I'm fine, really...."
"That's good! Are you new here? Follow me!" The blue filly, Was it Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy asked herself, grinned excitedly and gestured for Fluttershy to follow her.
"You never did tell me your name, y'know," Rainbow Dash said as the two walked towards the mess hall.
"Um, I'm.... Fluttershy...."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Fluttershy!" Rainbow smiled brightly at her new companion, and Fluttershy smiled back, slightly embarrassed.
"So, um... how long have you..."
THUDD.
And with that, Fluttershy found herself flat on the floor once again. This time, however, she heard laughing, followed by Rainbow's yelling.
"Hey! What was that for, Hoops?"
"Don't need a reason, dweeb!"
Fluttershy rubbed her eyes and looked up to see her new friend glaring knives at three laughing colts as they flew away.
"Dumb jocks...." Rainbow growled under her breath as she helped Fluttershy to her hooves. "Don't mind them, they're just stupid."
"Th-thank you...." Fluttershy whispered and hid under her mane. Being knocked to the ground by Rainbow hadn't hurt much, since she was similar in size and only one pony, but three bigger ponies crashing into her had been incredibly painful, and she didn't want Rainbow to see her cry. She might think she was weak, overly sensitive, not worth hanging around....
"Hey, it's okay. Like I said, they're just stupid. C'mon, it's almost dinner time!" Rainbow smiled at her and trotted into the mess hall.
Fluttershy sniffled and followed, her pain temporarily subdued by the fact that Rainbow hadn't rejected her. She was starting to feel that maybe, just maybe, spending three months at camp wouldn't be quite as bad as she thought.
