“What the hay?”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the envelope, then up at Fluttershy. The gangly filly blushed, and tried to hide behind her mane.

“Um, can I have that back?” she said, her voice almost lost amidst the hustle and bustle of the Flight Camp cafeteria.

“Maaabye.” Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. “If it's really yours. It’s rude to read other ponies’ mail, you know?”

Fluttershy kept her eyes low and head bowed. “They gave it to me,” she pointed out, in a whisper.

“Eh, councillors would probably just throw the mail in the air and let the wind sort it out.” Rainbow leaned forwards, upsetting half the crockery, and hissed. “I’m still waiting on the cookies dad promised me, you know. What’s the bet those just ended up passed around the staff room?”

“Um... my letter?” Fluttershy said, peering up through the haze of pink mane. “Please.”

Rainbow Dash squinted at the envelope. “Nope, first you’ve got to tell me who Hurricane Roar is.” Fluttershy went beet red, and Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Ah, it's a nickname, right?”

“Not really,” Fluttershy murmured. She began to roll her plate with the tip of her hoof. “It’s, um, my name.”

“Your name is Hurricane Roar,” Rainbow Dash said, taking her time over the words, as if tasting them. “Like, somepony took a look at you and said, ‘I know, here’s a pony that likes shouting’?”

Fluttershy swallowed, hunching her shoulders. “Please don’t be mad.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m not mad. Come on, Fluttershy, not everypony is attacking you all the time. It's just weird, you know? I mean, look at me.” She stood up on the low bench, flexing her forelegs. “I’m Rainbow Dash, speed and awesome are right there in my name. Everypony’s like that.”

Flicker her wings Dash shot into the air and cast her eyes over the mess hall. “Look, Bloosmforth is all about flowers,” she said, pointing towards the light pink filly separating her salad out into the individual component flowers. “She brought, like, half a greenhouse with her. And Hoops–” she jabbed a hoof towards the trio of bullies. “–yeah he’s a jerk, but he’s the best basketball player in the camp, ask anypony. So what’s wrong with you?”

Tears began to mist in Fluttershy’s eyes, and Rainbow brought her hoof to her face. “I didn’t mean it like that!” she exclaimed, dropping down next to Fluttershy and putting an arm around her shoulder. “It's just... I dash, Derpy derps along, Cloud Kicker has that nasty left hoof, Surprise—”

“SURPRISE!” There was an explosion of confetti from the other end of the hall.

“Well, Surprise does that,” Rainbow Dash continued, shaking her head. “I just want to know how you ended up Hurricane Roar?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “It was my dad,” she began. Rainbow leaned in close to hear the whispered words. “He was in the guard. And his dad. And his dad, it’s sort of a family thing. He wanted to make sure that I got a proper name for when I...” Her voice trailed away.

“Followed in his hoofsteps?” Rainbow competed. Fluttershy gave a shaky nod and Rainbow squeezed her friend a little tighter. She let out a long sigh. “So, where did Fluttershy come from?”

“My brother used to tease me with it,” Fluttershy murmured. “He... always said I didn’t deserve a cool name.”

“Pssh.” Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively. “Who says Fluttershy isn’t an awesome name? Sure I can’t see anypony called Fluttershy charging down a fearsome, fire breathing, pony eating, dragon, but you don’t need to do that stuff if you don’t want to. You’ve got the whole animal thing going.” She pointed at the butterflies on Fluttershy’s flank.

If anything Fluttershy’s head sunk lower, her wings rising to shield her from the world. A horrible thought struck Rainbow. “You have told them, right, about the cutie-mark?” There was no reply, and Rainbow glanced down at the envelope cradled in Fluttershy's hooves. “Do they even know you’re going by Fluttershy now?”

“No.” Fluttershy swallowed. “I put it down as my preferred name for Flight Camp. It’s been... nice.”

“Well, you should tell them,” Rainbow said, setting her jaw. “If you want to be Fluttershy, be her. Just tell your folks that you’re not going to be a guard.”

Fluttershy let out a long sigh. “That’s not so easy.”

Rainbow frowned. “No, I guess not.” She squeezed Fluttershy tighter. “But I’ll be with you whenever you’re ready.”