"Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy, can hardly fly!" The teasing voices shouted as the yellow pegasus ran away as fast as her legs could carry her. A rainbow maned pegasus just rolled her eyes as she watched everyone else ridicule Fluttershy.
What a weakling. She's as bad a flier as an earth pony. Rainbow thought to herself as she turned to walk back into the cloud building.
"Hey Rainbow Crash.", a young brown pegasus with a basketball cutie mark interrupted as he blocked her path, causing his lackey to laugh, "Don't think we've forgotten about you."
Rainbow just ignored him as she pushed past him, ignoring every instinct that wanted to fight him. She walked over to her cloud desk and layed her head down.
"Look! It's naptime for Rainbow Crash."
Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. That's it I'm going to go kick his flank! Having finally reached her breaking point, she flapped her wings and darted straight at him. She landed a powerful kick to his face causing him to collapse onto the cloud floor. She then turned to the dark brown pegasus as a sneer creeped across her face. His eyes shrank, but fortunately for him reinforcements came.
"Teacher! Rainbow Cra-Dash was bullying us!" The teacher looked at the damage, and sighed. "Rainbow, go to the principal's office." She stuck her tounge out causing the two filly pegasi to cringe, before walking toward's the principal's office.
Fluttershy was at home with her face buried in her pillow, crying her eyes out. There was a click as the front door unlocked and her mother walked in. She quickly glanced around their modest cloud house before hearing the quiet sobbing of her daughter.
"Fluttershy, come here." Her mother said sweetly causing Fluttershy to squeak in surprise. The shy pegasus wiped her eyes and slowly walked out of her room. "It's okay, you're not in trouble. Was it those bullies again?" Fluttershy slowly nodded, feeling the tears coming back she turned to face the ground.
"I'm sorry. Please don't be mad." Fluttershy repeatedly mumbled as the larger yellow pegasus walked over to her.
"It's okay, I'm not mad.", Her mother whispered as she wrapped her wings around her tearful daughter. This was too much for Fluttershy and she clung to her mother as her restraint was now gone. Fluttershy was crying loudly into her mother's coat, letting out all of her frustration and sadness in one giant burst.
"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head." Fluttershy's mother began to sing her favorite lullaby as Fluttershy began to calm down. by the end of the song Fluttershy had calmed down but refused to let go. "Do you feel better?" The filly gave a small nod but refused to look anywhere but her mother's coat. "I have a daffodil sandwich in the fridge, how about we split it?" Fluttershy's ears perked up at the mention of her favorite food and she finally met her mother's eyes. The warm smile was enough to finish comforting the filly as she scampered off to get the sandwich, a small sniff escaping as she did so.
"I'll try." Rainbow Dash grumbled as she waled out of the office. The principal had just finished giving her a long winded lecture about the importance of not getting into fights. The only bright side was that he'd kept her so long that the school day was now over. The cyan pegasus was hurrying over to the doors, only to be stopped inches from her goal by the teacher from earlier.
"Rainbow Dash, where do you think you're going?"
"Home, to take a nap. Now if you'll excuse me."
"I think you mean detention. Or have you forgotten?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The rainbow maned filly grumbled as she turned around and slowly walked towards the cafeteria.
Oh well, at least I can sleep in detention. Rainbow thought to herself as she hid a smirk.
Celestia's sun was beginning to set as Fluttershy ran through cloudsdale with a small bag of cookies hidden underneath her wings. She looked around and a look of panic started to creep over her face. Every building around her looked the same as her fear came to light, she was lost. The filly frantically looked around for any landmark, but there were none to be found.
"Hey look!" The famliarity of the voices were scary as she looked around the deserted cloud street. "It's Klutzershy!" Slowly Fluttershy looked up, and to her dismay she saw the two bullies that normally picked on her at school. She dashed off in a random direction, in a frantic attempt to escape but they relentlessly persued her until she was cornered in a one way alley.
"Please, go away." She managed to squeak, only to recieve a punch to her face. The impact knocked her to the ground and the cookies flew out of their hiding place.
"What do we have here? Looks like Klutzershy brought us a snack." Hoops laughed as he inched towards the bag of treats. Much to their surprise Fluttershy jumped upon the treats, shielding them with her body. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Yeah, didn't your mother ever teach you to share?" Dumb-Bell growled as he kicked her. Fluttershy was too scared to move, too scared to scream, too scared to do anything but take their abuse. They began to hit her harder, pull her mane, even going as far as to make her bleed. Fluttershy wished for nothing more than for it to stop as tears began to streak down her face.
Rainbow Dash silently cursed the teacher who had watched over detention, the wicked old witch had refused to let her sleep which had only worsened her already foul mood.
"When I get my hooves on the little rat, I'm gonna--" Her sentence was cut short as she heard something from the alley she just passed. Returning to look, it was clear that the two boys were attacking somepony, not that she cared. It was probably just somepony that bumped itno them. It wasn't until she saw a flash of pink and yellow that she realized who they were beating up. And a flash of scarlet told her that she had to do something.
"Leave her alone!" Rainbow shouted without thinking.
"Oh look, it's Rainbow Crash. We'll deal with you in a second." The dark brown pegasus said without averting his gaze.
"I said, leave her alone!"
"What're you going to do if we don't?" Hoops challenged, turning away from his previous target.
Rainbow Dash didn't say another word as she charged towards the light brown pegasus who easily dodged the attack. Rainbow spun arond and flew towards Hoops trying to kick him in the face, but he avoided this attack too and even countered with a punch to her face. The cyan filly fell to the cloud street as her snout started to bleed. Much to her dismay Dumb-Bell grabbed her from behind as Hoops then proceeded to start hitting her. Pain swept through her body as the pegasi continued to hurt her. In a desperate attempt to free herself, Rainbow slammed the back of her head into the dark brown pegasus' face, effectively freeing herself, then punched Hoops in the face as hard as she could.
"Why you little--" Hoops Sentence got cut short as he spotted his unconscious friend. "We're not going to forget this." The brown pegasus shouted as he scooped up his friend and flew away.
Rainbow Dash walked over to where the injured filly lay, still curled up in her ball. Fluttershy was bruised and had a few patches of blood on her coat but she was otherwise fine.
"Get up." Rainbow Dash sighed as she offered Fluttershy her hoof. However, the beaten filly remained motionless. "They're gone. You're safe." Rainbow growled in annoyance.
"MOVE!" At the yelling Fluttershy curled up into an even tighter ball, making the cyan pegasus wish she could take it back.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just trying to see if you were okay." The rainbow maned filly said in her calmest voice. Much to her surprise the ball of fur in front of her mumbled something.
"What?"
Fluttershy mumbled again as she uncurled a bit.
"One more time."
"I-I'm fine." Fluttershy said in a barely audible voice as she slowly looked up and her rescuer.
"That's more like it, now where do you live? I'll walk you home so you don't get attacked again." Rainbow said looking at the sky which had gotten much darker.
"It's okay, I'll be fine." The yellow pegasus said as she slowly got to her feet.
"Your address! Now!" Rainbow barked.
"7222 Stardust Lane!" Fluttershy gasped in surprise.
"That's clear on the other side of Cloudsdale!" The cyan filly facehoofed, "My house is nearby. You're coming with me." She declared grabbing Fluttershy's hoof. The two ponies were copletely silent until they stopped in front of a large cloud house.
"This is where you live?" Fluttershy gasped in amazement.
"Yeah, now let's get inside before we freeze to death."
Fluttershy looked around the entryway in amazement. The spiral stairs that elegantly led to the upper floor, the fancy nimbus cloud floor, and the beautiful cirrus cloud walls. It was obvious to anypony that this family was well off.
"Dashie! Welcome home" A teal mare with a rainbow mane cheered as she pulled her daughter into a hug.
"Leggo mom!"
"But you were in a fight again and I have to--"
"MOM!" At her daughter's shout the teal mare looked down at her daughter's blushing face before noticing the yellow filly that had taken to cowering in a corner.
"Awww. You brought a friend home." Mrs. Dash said before looking closer, "Honey, Can you bring the first aid kit?"
"Already got it." A cyan pegasus stallon sighed as he walked into the room, immediately spotting Fluttershy. "I see you brought home a friend."
"And she's injured, so if you could tend to her." Mrs. Dash said as she continued to smother her daughter in hugs.
"I'll do it! You two go into the living room!" A blushing Rainbow Dash snapped as she broke free from her mother.
"As you wish." Her parents said happily as they walked into the next room.
"My parents are so embarrassing." The cyan filly said, as she picked up the first aid kit and walked over to Fluttershy. As Rainbow started to bandage up her friend, she tried to hide how flushed her face was. "My parents are the worst, they're so embarrassing." Rainbow's rant continued the entire time she was bandaging Fluttershy. The job wasn't first rate, but it was good enough.
"Thanks." The yellow pegasus said in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper.
"It was nothin. I'll be right back." The cyan filly replied as she dashed off towards the restroom, "Don't go anywhere!"
"Psst" Fluttershy looked over and saw Mrs. Dash beckoning her over. The filly looked over to where Rainbow had gone before timidly walking over. Fluttershy gasped as the teal pegasus began to take off the bandages.
"Don't worry. Rainbow's just not good at patching up ponies." Mrs. Dash said when she saw the filly's expression. "I just wanted to say thank you for being friends with our daughter. She's headstrong and a bit of a tomboy, so I can't help but worry about her. I know we tease her, probably a little too much, but she's just sooo cute when she blushes," She gasped when she realized that she'd been subconsiously squeezing Fluttershy, and immediately released her, "Anyway, I've finished patching you up."
"Rainbow Dash, is a really good friend." Fluttershy said using all of her determination.
"Really?" Mrs. Dash happily gasped.
"Yes, she's helped me out of tough situations before." It wasn't technically a lie, but one glance at the bandages and both ponies knew what Fluttershy meant.
"Thanks. Please take care of our little filly."
"Yes ma'am." As fluttershy turned back to the entryway a multicolored flash disappeared from the doorway.
"Does your mother know you're here?" Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks as she realized her situation. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned back to Mrs. Dash. "Where do you live? We can walk you home if you like."
"7222 Stardust Lane." Fluttershy sniffed, "But mom won't be home. She has to work tonight at the cloud factory."
"Those are both clear across Cloudsdale!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of things." Mr. Dash said as he walked into the room.
"What are you going to do?" The sobbing filly asked.
"I can fly over there and be back in half an hour." He replied as he stretched his wings. "I'll be right back."
"You don't mind sharing your room with her right Rainbow?" Mrs. Dash said towards the entryway.
Cover blown, Rainbow Dash sighed as she walked in, "Do I have to? . . . Fine, I'll share."
Mr. Dash was about to leave for the cloud factory when he noticed a flash of yellow heading towards him, "What can I do for you, Fluttershy was it?"
"If you see my mom could you please give her these?" Fluttershy whispered as she removed the bag of treats from their hiding place.
"What are these?"
"Oatmeal raisin cookies, they're her favorite. I was on my way to give them to her and I got lost."
"Sure, I'll deliver them for a cute filly like you." He replied as he ruffled her mane.
"Hey!" Rainbow objected from the doorway, making him laugh.
"I'll pick up a pizza for you two on my way back." Mr. Dash said as the took off towards the cloud factory.
"You better!" His daughter shouted after him, "Anyway, you want to head to my room?"
The two fillies walked into Rainbow's room which had wonderbolts memorabilia everywhere. Posters on the wall, wonderbolts bed sheets, even a wonderbolts plushie.
"So whatcha think?"
"It's . . . nice." Fluttershy mumbled.
"Nice? It's a little bit more than nice, it's awesome!" The cyan filly snapped, causing Fluttershy to cower. "Fine, it's fine. You're not a fan of the wonderbolts huh?"
"I'm sorry but I don't know who the wonderbolts are."
"How can you not know who the wonderbolts are? They are the best fliers in all of Equestria! I've got a lot to teach you about being a pegasus." The cyan filly started grinning as she finally had someone to talk to about her interests.
About an hour passed as the two continued talking to each other, by the time Mr. Dash returned with the pizza nobody would've ever guessed that the two fillies had only become friends earlier that day.
There was a knock at the door as Rainbow's father walked into the room with a pizza and a bag of things.
"Dad! You're late!" Rainbow smirked as she darted over and snatched the pizza out of his hooves.
"Fluttershy, your mom told me to give these to you." The adult pegasus said as he handed the bag over. She unpacked the contents of the sack smiling a bit more at each item. Rainbow Dash watched as she pulled out a sleeping bag, a pair of bunny pajamas, and finally a stuffed rabbit.
"Angel!" She exclaimed as she gave the stuffed rabbit a big hug, "Thank you sooo much!"
"Also, she wanted me to tell you thanks for the cookies, and goodnight." Mr. Dash said before he closed the door.
"You wear that to bed?" The cyan filly said as she tried to hold in her laughter. Fluttershy sniffed as she finished crawling into her pajamas. Her gaze immediately shifted to the floor as tears began to streak down her face.
"Calm down, it's not that bad." Rainbow said as she tried to calm down her friend, "I'll show you something if you promise not to tell anypony." Fluttershy quieted down as Rainbow Dash walked over to her closet and pulled something off of a hanger, "They're my wonderbolt pajamas," She admitted as she crawled into them. "Now do a friend a favor and zip me up."
Fluttershy did so without complaint, or laughter, or any kind of reaction but obedience.
"Um, since I zipped you up, would you possibly mind, if it's okay with you," Fluttershy didn't need to say another word as her friend zipped the back of her pajamas.
"Now we're even." Rainbow smirked as she gobbled up a piece of pizza, "Try a piece, this is really good."
Fluttershy grabbed a piece and took a bite as she immediately brightened up.
"Good isn't it?" Rainbow asked with a mouth full of food which went everywhere as Fluttershy nodded.
"What's so funny?"
"Your ears, and the way they flop around." The cyan pegasus laughed as she mimicked the action. Fluttershy began to giggle at how silly her friend looked as she finished her slice of pizza.
The laughing and joking around continued late into the night as the ponies ended up collapsing onto the bed.
"Hey Rainbow?"
"What?"
"I was wondering why you decided to save me back there."
Rainbow was stumped, there had been no rhyme or reason to her actions, after thinking about it for a minute she decided on her answer, "I don't know, you just seemed so helpless. You didn't have any friends to help you. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that everyone needs a friend."
"Even tough ponies like you?" Fluttershy asked as she rolled over to face her friend.
"I guess so." Rainbow yawned as a few seconds later the two of them were fast asleep.
Mrs. Dash chuckled as she tucked in the sleeping ponies, she grabbed the pizza box on the way out and made her way to the living room.
"How are they?" Mr. Dash asked as his wife placed the pizza box down on the table.
"They're sleeping peacefully." She replied as she opened the box revealing two slices of pizza.
"Sweet, pizza."
"Was Fluttershy's mom really that surprised?"
"Yeah, Fluttershy never mentioned Rainbow at all." Mr. Dash replied as she took a bite out of one of the slices.
"Still, I'd say that those two are going to be friends for life." The teal mare sighed happily as she relaxed on the couch.
"What makes you say that?"
"Call it, mother's intuition." She said with a wink.
"You know what? I think you're right."
"To their life long friendship?" Mrs. Dash said holding up a slice of pizza.
"Cheers."
