It was another beautiful early afternoon at Cloudsdale flight camp. All the little filly fliers were in their classrooms awaiting the last few minutes to pass before the onset of their first weekend away from home. One filly in particular, a rather small rainbow maned and sky blue filly, was a little more excited than most.

‘Aw yeah! Flight camp has just been sha-WEET! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the first week! I’m already the best flyer by far in camp, the classes are a breeze, Miss Firefly is an awesome teacher, and everypony loves me! Oh, OH! Class is about to be dismissed and I’ll be on my first camp weekend adventure! I’m so ex-CITED!’

Miss Firefly, a vibrant pink mare with a blue mane and a matching blue pair of lightning bolts for a cutie mark, eyed the trembling cyan filly sitting immediately in front of her. Not sure if the filly was in need to go to the little mare’s room or had just been sitting too long, she chose to end class either way since she was looking forward to the days off just as much as her class certainly was.

“Alright my little fillies, that’s it for class today! Please enjoy your first weekend here at camp, stay safe, don’t get yourselves in trouble, and I’ll see you all again Monday morning!” announced Firefly. The class of filly fliers let out a resounding cheer and in remarkable unison responded, “Goodbye Miss Firefly!”

The small cyan filly erupted from her desk, nearly knocking it over, as she made a dash to be first out the door. However, she barely got her hoof on the handle before Miss Firefly called out to her.

“Miss Dash, I almost forgot, but I need to speak with you for a moment,” called out Miss Firefly, who paused briefly before asking, “Um, you don’t need to head to the little mare’s room do you?”

Some of the fillies now making their exit giggled a bit at the question, resulting in Rainbow Dash sticking her tongue out at the offenders.

“No, Miss Firefly, I don’t need to go to the bathroom,” was Rainbow’s eventual response before she flew back to sit atop her desk.

“That’s good. Oh, and don’t worry Miss Dash, you aren’t in any trouble, I actually have some news for you and perhaps a favor to ask,” said the teacher now sitting behind her desk.

“What’s up teach!?” squeaked the excitable filly. Before Firefly could start, Rainbow Dash’s imagination took control of her yapper, “You’re promoting me to the Junior Speedster Academy already, aren’t ya!? Don’t worry, I can have my stuff packed and ready to go in a second! I must be the best flyer in flight camp history! At this rate I’ll be a Wonderbolt by the time I get a cutie mark! OHMYGOSH! I bet my cutie mark IS A WONDERBOLT!”

“Whoa, slow down there Miss Dash!” Firefly got up from her desk and moved next to the filly, her back to the class entrance, and placed a hoof upon Rainbow’s head, “Miss Dash, although I do admire your enthusiasm for your goals at such an early age, and I have no doubt you’ll be successful in your endeavors to get into the J.S.A. after camp completion… I don’t think there’s such a thing as a Wonderbolt cutie mark, as interesting as that would be.”

Rainbow Dash frowned a bit at this news, but Firefly simply chuckled to herself as she gave the disappointed filly a small ruffle of the mane, “Although that’s not what our talk is about, you did get one thing right. I will be asking for you to pack your things and make a move, but just to a new dorm room with a new roommate.”

At this time, all but two fillies had made their escape to a weekend’s freedom. The two that remained were Rainbow Dash and a rather lanky pink maned and cream coated filly that was halfway out the door. Firefly continued on, “The staff and I have decided that it would be best if we had you change things up a little and pair you with a new roommate. She’s actually one of your classmates, Miss Fluttershy. Of course, this is only if you are ok with it too.”

The cream colored filly that had just made her way around the corner of the door froze solid.

A surprised Rainbow Dash immediately asked, “My new roommate is Fluttershy? There’s a Fluttershy in our class?”

The lanky filly that was so recently rooted in place was now sprinting down the hallway, heading to her room as quickly as her hooves could take her.

Rainbow Dash continued on with her spree of questioning, “Who is she? What’s she look like? Is she nice and fun to play with!?”

Firefly raised her hoof to silence the seemingly jaw powered youngster. Taking a calming breath, Firefly began her attempt to answer the filly’s questions as well as enlighten the little one about her agenda. “Yes, Rainbow Dash, she is a very sweet and kind filly and I’m certain she can be very fun too if given the opportunity. She’s the tallest filly in class and has sat in the back every day keeping mostly to herself, thus I’m not terribly surprised you don’t remember her from introductions.” Taking another breath, Firefly pressed on with a softer tone, “I am concerned she hasn’t made many friends this entire week and the flight instructors feel she needs extra help with flying lessons.”

The change in Firefly’s tone caused Rainbow Dash to tilt her head in confusion. Firefly noticed the filly didn’t quite fully understand what she was implying and petted the filly’s head once more before finishing her request, “Can you do that for me, Rainbow Dash? Can you be her friend for me and help with her flying as a tutor?”

With a huge grin, Dash churned her wings bringing her to a hover. “Don’t worry teach! You can count on me!” the little filly squeaked out, “I’ll be the best friend she’s ever had and she’ll be the second best flyer at camp in no time or my name isn’t Rainbow,” Rainbow Dash struck a pose that threw her hover slightly off balance, “Mareweather,” the filly now tried jutting her chest out and brought her hoof to her forehead, “D-DASH!”

Firefly couldn’t help but grin at the antics of her smallest pupil. Deciding it was time to get on with the day, Firefly chose to rile the excitable filly into action, “Oh, only the second best? Well THE best flyer better take this note and get a move on before she gets passed up!”

Rainbow Dash made an audible gasp at such a prospect of her spot as top flyer being usurped. Not one to deny a challenge, the cyan filly asserted, “Ain’t gonna happen!” and snatched the note in her mouth before speeding back to her dorm.

Firefly, with a heavy sigh, said to herself, “Oh Firefly, I hope this plan of yours works like you think it will.”

---

Fluttershy sprinted into her room, not even bothering to close the door behind her as she leaped muzzle first into the pillow on her bed. No pony had noticed the tears that fell as she ran nor did any of them bother to ask why she was running. And this was fine with her, she didn’t want to talk to any pony anyhow. No, she simply wanted to be alone, away from all the ponies that ridiculed her, picked on her, treated her as a second class pegasus, or worst of all… not even acknowledging her existence, as if she weren’t even there. And she was very alone, her room situated at the very end of the hallway, as far from other ponies as can be. The room itself was just as lonely, lacking any décor for she had not brought any with her to camp. It was also void of a roommate even though two beds were bunked together; as if the staff had decided beforehand not to burden somepony else with her pitiful existence. The only thing keeping her company now were the muffled sounds of her own sobs and thoughts.

‘It’s not fair! Flight camp is no better than before. Everypony picks on you, calls you Klutzershy and other mean things, or just ignores you! The instructors think you’re inept or mute and useless. Not a single pony even wanted to be your friend on the first day! They were all too enamored with that blue filly and her trick flying! I mean, she is really good at it, but still! It’s not fair! And to think, you almost believed you had a chance of being friends with her too. HA! As if, Fluttershy. Why would an awesome filly like her even bother remembering who you are? Oh, that’s right, she doesn’t! The only reason she hasn’t been mean to you yet is because she doesn’t even realize you exist! I bet if she did, she’d make fun of you too. And why not? You ARE a useless pegasus that can’t even fly! No pony wants that. No pony wants you. No pony has ever wanted you. That’s why the orphanage is where you belong!’

The sobbing and self-destructive thoughts continued on for quite some time before the cream colored filly decided she had had enough and punched her pillow as hard as she could in her shaky condition, shortly followed by screaming into her pillow.

“It’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“Everything! Haven’t you been paying attention?”

“Uh, no?”

“Oh great, now I’m ignoring me too!”

“What? You’ve lost me. Can we start over?”

“UGH!! FINE! EVERY PONY IS MEAN TO ME!”

“I was never mean to you.”

“Well, of course not! But also, no pony wants me around neither! That’s why I’m an orphan!”

“Hey, so was I!”

“Well, obviously… but worst of all, no pony here even tried to be my friend.”

“I can be your friend!”

“You can’t! I mean… I can’t be my own friend, can I?”

“See, you lost me again. I’m standing in the doorway you know. And what’s with you talking with your face in a pillow, are you that shy or something?”

“Huh, what!?” squeaked a stunned Fluttershy as sudden realization dawned on her that she was, in fact, no longer alone. She pulled her face out of the soaking mush that had been her pillow and looked towards the doorway. Seeing the Rainbow maned filly she was semi cursing in her mind just minutes before caused the grieving filly to give a look of sheer terror expressed across her tear stained face.

“That’s better! I, uh… think? Hey, are you ok? You look like you’ve been having a not so awesome time,” questioned the cyan filly hovering in the doorway.

‘She really came! She doesn’t even know who I am though! Why would she want to be roommates with somepony she doesn’t even know?’

Rainbow Dash waited for a response, but after waiting for a few moments with no movement from the pink maned filly, she decided to keep talking.

“Uh, ok then. You’re kinda creeping me out, but that’s ok I guess. Anyway, I was hoping you were Fluttershy cuz teach gave me this note, see?” Rainbow Dash held out the note as if Fluttershy could actually read what was written on it, “Anyway, even though it’s just a room number, I’m not sure if this is the right one cuz it’s a nineteen this way, but a sixty-one this way,” Rainbow rotated the note to demonstrate this to the other filly, “and yeah! This is room nineteen and I was hoping it’s the right one cuz I don’t want to drag my stuff over to room sixty-one.”

‘She’s talking to you, Fluttershy. She’s not being mean and she sees you and everything! She said she was an orphan too! Or was that me? No, it was her for sure! And she said she’d be your friend! She’s asking you questions. Come on Fluttershy, answer her!’

Fluttershy continued to stare in awkward terror at the blue filly trying to find out if she was at the right room. It didn’t take long for the silent stare to persuade Rainbow Dash that she was better off just leaving and looking for the room sixty-one.

“Alright, uh, whomever you are. This is getting kind of super awkward so I’m just going to go over to that other room and stuff. Nice meeting you I guess… um… bye?”

Rainbow Dash bent down to grab hold of her suitcase’s handle between clenched teeth, turned, and started to walk away.

‘NO!!! Fluttershy! She’s leaving you! This was, IS, your only chance to have a friend here and you’re too shy to say anything or even move! Come on, for once in your life, be brave and say hello to somepony.’

‘But she said I creep her out and she’s already leaving, there’s no point. She’s already given up on me like every pony else.’

‘Is that it, are you just giving up on making a friend? Are you just going to give up on yourself like that?’

‘Yes.’

‘No! I won’t allow it! You don’t want to be alone anymore, right?’

‘Yes?’

‘You want somepony to see you and care about you, right?’

‘Yes!’

‘You want a friend, RIGHT!?’

“YES!”

“Yes, what?” said the cyan filly a few steps removed from the door.

“Yes! This is room 19. Yes! I’m Fluttershy! Yes! I want a friend!” Fluttershy leapt out of her bed and tackle hugged Rainbow Dash, sending them both tumbling into the wall opposite her door, “Oh please be my friend, Rainbow Dash!”

“Alright, alright already!” choked out a gasping Rainbow Dash, “Just one thing!”

“Anything! Anything at all!” squealed the happiest awkward filly in existence.

“Dibs on the top bunk!” shouted the little flyer.

“You got it, Rainbow Dash,” happily agreed Fluttershy.

“Also, can you stop with the hugging?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy responded, “You said one thing!”

“But, but it feels so uncool and… I can hardly… breath!” panted the suffocating filly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” said an alarmed and embarrassed Fluttershy. The larger filly released her hold on her new friend, “So, um… I guess we should move you in?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” agreed Rainbow Dash, “and remember, I get top bunk!”

Fluttershy returned with the sweetest of smiles, “Yes!”



It didn’t take long for Rainbow Dash to move herself in. Her suitcase wasn’t very big and contained just the essential bathroom supplies, a set of pajamas, a few snacks, some toys, and a Wonderbolts poster; which she immediately tacked to the ceiling above her bed. Fluttershy watched in admiration as her new roommate whizzed around the room with her wings, checking the place out and putting her items away.

“Pretty bland place you got here, Fluttershy. It’s a good thing I brought the Wonderbolts and myself to liven things up!” announced the little filly to her new roommate that was idling on the floor. Fluttershy simply nodded in agreement as she continued to watch her very first friend intently.

‘Oh, you did it Fluttershy! You actually did it! You made a friend and she’s amazing! Rainbow Dash is an adorable little pony and she’s an awesome flyer! Now that you’ve got a friend as cool as her camp will be better now!’

“Uh, hey, Cloudsdale to Fluttershy? You’re doing that staring thing again and it’s kind of wigging me out.”

“Oh, um… sorry!” blushed the cream coated filly, “It’s just, I’ve never had a friend before and I never could have hoped my first one would be the coolest and most adorable filly at flight camp!”

Rainbow Dash choked up a bit at the sudden compliments, “Coolest? Yes! But adorable? I think you mean awesomazing! I’m not going to be the best camper being adorable.”

Fluttershy protested, “Oh but you are! With your rainbow mane and being so small and cuddly!”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow squeaked, “I am NOT cuddly. Do I look like a teddy bear?”

Fluttershy covered her now blushing face as she nodded in affirmation.

“Oh, that’s it. I’ll show you who the cuddly one around here is!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she leapt from her perch atop her bed in an attempt to tackle the offending filly. Fluttershy was an easy target to hit as she simply squeaked in shock as the little blue ball of a filly made contact with her. The pair tumbled around the floor a good bit before coming to a rest against the far wall, Fluttershy somehow managing to finish the roll on top.

“Hey, no fair!” cried out Rainbow Dash, “You’re like twice my size!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Are you ok?” asked a worried Fluttershy.

“What? Of course I’m ok!” asserted Rainbow Dash as she wiggled free from her pinned position, “You sure are sorry a lot, aren’t ya?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane at this accusation and whispered, “Sorry.”

“Figures. Anyway, nothing to be sorry about Fluttershy. I just don’t like to lose is all,” said Rainbow Dash reassuringly, “and I guess it’s not really much of a loss since you’re way bigger than me! How much older are you anyway?”

Fluttershy re-emerged from behind her mane, “Um, actually, you’re a month older than I am. We lined up by age on the first day and you were ahead of me in line.”

“WHAT!?” yelled Rainbow Dash, “Now that’s unfair!”

Fluttershy squeaked in response and returned to her hiding place behind her mane.

Rainbow stared just a bit at her new friend’s odd reaction, “Eh, it’s whatever. I just have to eat more and catch up! When’s dinner anyway, I’m starving!”

“Dinner ended five minutes ago,” responded Fluttershy in a hushed tone.

“WHAT!?” groaned the rainbow maned filly as she flung her forehooves over her head and toppled over onto her back in dismay.

“I’m sorry!” whispered Fluttershy yet again as she somehow retreated even further behind her own mane.

“Ugh… it’s fine Fluttershy. I’ve got some snacks,” moaned the cyan filly, “Come on, let’s eat!” Rainbow flipped onto her hooves and dashed over to her suitcase where she left her snacks. “Alright, I think a bar of oats and honey and some applesauce will do it for me. Whatcha having, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy pawed at the floor as she shook her head from side to side, “I don’t have any snacks. I usually just skip dinner so it’s ok.”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to hold an expression of mock terror. It was only a short lived moment though, as the little filly sprang into action. “Nope, that’s just not gonna cut it, Fluttershy. As my first awesome act as bestest friend ever, I’m giving you my applesauce,” proclaimed the little filly as she presented her friend with the container and a spoon, “Mom always says it’s important to share and that it’s uncool to eat in front of those without food!”

Fluttershy was astounded by her new friend’s generosity and accepted the applesauce graciously, “Oh thank you Rainbow Dash! You didn’t have to you know. And your mom sounds really nice.”

“She’s the awesomest mom ever!” agreed the little filly, “But anyway, time to eat!”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement and the two ate their dinner in happy silence. Although it was a paltry meal, the two appeared satisfied enough with what they had managed. It had already become fairly late and it didn’t take long for the two to realize this as they both yawned after the completion of their snacks.

“Fluttershy, I think it’s t-aaaaaime for bed,” Rainbow yawned to her friend as she got up and headed to the washroom to brush her teeth.

“Uh-huh,” agreed Fluttershy through her own yawn as she got up to follow the cyan filly.

Rainbow Dash brushed her teeth in a hurry, threw on her blue and lightning bolt covered pajamas, and jumped into her top bunk before Fluttershy had time to spit out her rinsing water. Fluttershy didn’t mind at all at her friend’s habit to rush around and took her time to turn out the light and climb into bed. The two fillies said good night to each other and each made their way to dreamland. Or, that would be the case, but now that Fluttershy was actually lying in bed, her thoughts seemed to flood to the forefront of her mind.

‘I have a friend. I have a friend! This is the best day ever! And she’s the coolest pony and so adorable and so nice too! I can’t believe she gave me her applesauce! I have to remember to do something nice in return tomorrow! Her mom sounds real sweet too! Her mom… wait! I thought she said she was an orphan too? How can she have a mom and be an orphan? I should ask her! Oh! But, what if she’s already asleep? She was so nice to you already and the first thing you’re going to do in return is wake her up? Fluttershy how can you be so mean to your only friend? But… I really want to know! Maybe… maybe I’ll just check really quietly if she’s awake and if she answers, then it’ll be ok! OK…’

“Um… Rainbow Dash?” quietly asked the timid filly.

“Mmm… yesh, Fwuttashy?” responded the half asleep Rainbow Dash.

“Can, can I ask you a question? If that’s alright with you?” said Fluttershy with a hint of excitement knowing that she didn’t completely disturb her friend’s rest.

“Umph, wut is it?” said the rainbow maned filly.

“Well, um… I remember you said you were an orphan when you arrived, but when we ate, you mentioned having a mom. How can you have a mom and be an orphan?” inquired the curious Fluttershy.

“Oh, that’s easy. I was adopted the day I was born,” Rainbow declared as she now fully re-awakened to the conversation.

Fluttershy was confused by this. She knew what adoption was, but she knew you couldn’t be adopted at birth. Puzzled, she asked, “How, how can you be adopted the day you were born?”

“Dad said a pony lost me at our home one day. He was concerned and had our doctor examine me. Doc told him I had to be a newborn and needed immediate care or something. Mom and dad were overjoyed, I guess cuz mom says she can’t have foals but really wanted one and they agreed to adopt me,” explained Rainbow Dash.

“How… how do you know all that?” asked Fluttershy.

“That’s an easy one too! Mom and dad told me the day before flight camp! They said that before I started school stuff they wanted me to know the truth and told me all about it! They started crying and stuff though, said they were worried I might think and feel different about them or something and they got super mushy,” explained the cyan filly.

“Oh, how troubling! Did it? Did it change anything?” asked a concerned Fluttershy.

“Hay no! My parents are awesome! Even if they get sappy sometimes! Besides, the way I see it, if somepony is dumb enough to lose an awesome filly like me then it’s their loss! Oh, and dad has the same rainbow colored hair like me too! That’s got to be way cooler than some pony I never knew!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, well, I’m so happy for you and your family!” answered Fluttershy, “Maybe one day somepony will adopt me too!”

“I bet! I mean, you’re not as cool as me, but you’re not half bad,” assured Rainbow Dash, “But anyway, I’m real tired Fluttershy. How about we go to sleep and ta… talk,” Rainbow let out a hefty yawn, “awn towarro’s vencha?”

Fluttershy returned the yawn, “OK, good night Rainbow Dash!”

“Good night, Fwuttashy.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Mmm… welkom”

‘Best. Day. Ever.’

---

It was still dark out when Rainbow Dash awoke from her slumber. The little filly yawned as she stretched out her limbs while still under her covers. Rubbing her eyes open, she stared at the ceiling until her sight adjusted to the dimness of the room. With a big grin on her face she said good morning to her stationary idols pinned above her. Not one to stay still for longer than needed, the cyan ball of pony rolled out of her bunk and hovered gently to the floor. She headed for her stash of snacks, it was too early for breakfast to be open and there was no way she was going to wait however long she would need to with what little she had eaten last night. Shifting through the snack pile, she settled on consuming a fruit and grain bar to tide her over. Having satisfied her appetite for now, Rainbow looked about the room, eventually settling her gaze upon her new roommate and friend still fast asleep in her bed.

‘She sure does look happy. A lot happier than when I first saw her yesterday. Teach was right though, she is a nice pony and she seems like she could be a lot of fun. I still can’t believe I’m older than her though! She’s so much bigger than I am! But that doesn’t matter as long as I’m still the best flyer!’

Rainbow grinned as she moved closer to her sleeping filly friend.

‘Ya know? I’m surprised I’m her first friend. Ha! I guess that means I’m already her best friend! VICTORY!’

Instead of whooping in joy, however, Rainbow Dash began to frown.

‘That doesn’t seem right though. How can such a nice pony not have any friends? I mean, I guess she IS an orphan so she probably didn’t get out much, but don’t orphanages have other fillies in them? She said everypony picked on her and stuff. Did they all really be that mean to her? I wonder if that’s true, she did seem to sweat the small stuff a lot and said sorry a ton. Well, what does it matter? I’ll be her friend, her best friend now. We’ll go on all sorts of adventures and have tons of fun! And no pony would dare be mean to a friend of the coolest filly in camp, Rainbow Mareweather DASH!’

Rainbow Dash jutted out her chest at the thought of announcing her last name.

‘Speaking of adventures. It’s about time we get this weekend started! Geez, she sleeps forever! I think I gotta speed things up a little.’

Rainbow Dash reached out with a hoof and poked Fluttershy on the muzzle. The sleeping filly’s nose twitched in response, but she continued to sleep away. Rainbow giggled at the reaction and decided to poke Fluttershy on the muzzle again. The result was the same, much to Rainbow’s pleasure and she decided to step the fun up a notch. Rainbow hovered over the sleeping filly and gently landed herself so that she was standing over her friend and able to reach her target with the feathered tips of her right wing. Gently swaying her wing back and forth over Fluttershy’s nose, Rainbow began her feathered tickle assault. Fluttershy twitched quite a bit and after a few moments her whole body startled wriggling around. Rainbow Dash could no longer contain her fit of giggles, but she didn’t stop the onslaught on her friend’s resting state. Distracted by her own amusement, Rainbow Dash failed to notice Fluttershy’s forehooves suddenly folding upwards in an attempt to scratch her own muzzle; but because of the way Dash had situated herself, Fluttershy ended up pulling the entire filly straight into her own face.

“Ah! Lemme go!” yelped Rainbow Dash in surprise.

Fluttershy gave no response as she continued to hold her friend captive in her sleep.

“Fluttershy, wake up! How can you even sleep like this!” cried out the cyan filly.

Fluttershy finally began to stir as her friend attempted to wriggle herself loose on her head.

“Huh? Vwunbuh Das? Vut’s apening. Uh ken’t see!”

“Well, duh! You won’t let me off your face!” answered Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy let go of her friend with this sudden clarity, frantically apologizing, “Oh my! I’m so sorry Rainbow Dash! I didn’t mean to! Oh… how did this happen!? You’ll still be my friend won’t you! I’m so sorry!”

Rainbow Dash stuck her hoof out in front of her, “Whoa, Fluttershy! Of course I’ll still be your friend. And stop being sorry, it wasn’t even your fault!” Rainbow Dash took a gulp as she thought about what she just did, “Eh, it was kind of my fault actually. I kinda sorta got bored waiting for you to wake up so I thought I’d, you know, have some fun waking you up with a little prank,” now scratching the back of her head, “Heh, guess it kinda backfired with you getting me. You’re a lot stronger than you seem, you know that?”

Fluttershy blushed at this compliment, “Oh no, I’m not very strong at all. I’m sure I just caught you off guard. I’ve seen you fly, you’re much stronger than I am for sure.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true,” puffed Rainbow Dash, “But speaking of flying, let’s get this weekend adventure started already!”

“A-adventure?” questioned Fluttershy.

“Yeah! We agreed to it right before sleeping, remember? Come on! Let’s get going!” commanded Rainbow Dash as she sped off towards the bath.

Fluttershy trembled at the idea.

‘Adventure? I don’t want to go on an adventure! That sounds scary!’

‘You did agree to it though!’

‘But we were half asleep!’

‘But Rainbow Dash really wants to go on one and she invited you! What about when you said you were going to return her kindness for sharing her snacks with you? Going back on your word and into hiding already?’

‘N-no… I won’t do that… I’ll go. I’ll be a good friend to Rainbow Dash too!’

‘Good! Now get going before you get left behind!’

“Wa-wait for me!” called out Fluttershy as she hastily scampered after her only friend.



The morning routine for the two fillies was uneventful. The pair brushed their teeth, Rainbow got out of her pajamas, and the two had breakfast as the dining hall opened. In fact, due to Rainbow’s eagerness to get the day started, the pair were already out in the practice fields before most of the other fillies had even awoken or left their rooms.

Rainbow Dash grabbed ahold of her friend as she gave out orders to her, “Alright Fluttershy! Let’s get these wings warmed up! We’re gonna have to do a lot of flying for our adventure!”

Fluttershy knew this was going to happen eventually, she just hoped it wasn’t going to be so soon. “Rainbow Dash, I… I can’t fly,” tears started to form in the now sad filly’s eyes, “I, I’m sorry. I wanted to go with you, I really did. But I guess I can’t,” Fluttershy’s tears were trickling down her face now, “I… it’s ok if you go without me. You don’t have to be my friend if you don’t want to.”

“Ohhhh, that’s right! Teach did say you needed help with that,” answered Rainbow Dash as she pondered what to do about her crying friend. “Hey, chin up there Fluttershy. Mom always says you should never leave a friend hanging and you’re my friend.” Rainbow Dash re-gripped her friend around the neck and continued her consoling, “Don’t worry Fluttershy! I’ll teach you how to fly like me in no time! It’s still early so we’ve got plenty of time for our adventure! And besides, there are good non-flying adventures out there too, not that we’ll need to worry about that anyway!”

Fluttershy’s sniffling came to a halt, “R-really? You’ll do that for me? You’ll give up on your adventure and help me learn to fly?”

“Sure thing pal!” answered the confident filly, “But we’re not giving up on the adventure yet!”

And thus the two new filly friends set out to practice their flying. Rainbow Dash was astonished by Fluttershy’s wingspan when she saw them unfurl for the first time. It was impressive for a filly her age to have such filled out wings, which made it even more shocking that she couldn’t use them. Starting out with the basics, Rainbow Dash instructed Fluttershy to jump up and down while trying to unfurl her wings at the height of her jump and holding them open. With any luck, the inexperienced flyer would start to glide naturally on her own, albeit after and with plenty of crashes.

To Fluttershy’s surprise, it didn’t take very long at all to do short glides successfully. Learning to fly seemed almost easy when everypony wasn’t staring at you, ready to laugh and bully you at every mistake. With just Rainbow Dash at her side cheering her on, she would even say it was pleasant.

After gliding successfully for close to half an hour, Rainbow Dash decided Fluttershy was plenty ready to get those wings flapping and learn to hover. And that she did, for the next half hour until her wings tired out and she needed a rest. By this time, the other fillies had headed out into the morning air above the camp grounds ready to play.



“Hey, hey Hoops?” asked a brown colt to his bud.

“Yeah, Dumb-Bell? What’s up?” responded the orange colt with three basketballs for a cutie mark.

“Isn’t that the really good flyer from Miss Firefly’s class?” Dumb-Bell pointed out with an extended forehoof.

“Yeah, what of it? You gotta a crush on her now or something?” snickered Hoops in mockery of his best friend.

Taken aback by his friend’s jab, Dumb-Bell struggled to change the topic, “Wha- what? No! Cooties, Hoops! Anyway, it’s like she’s hanging out with that loser dweeb Klutzershy!”

Hoops looked again to confirm his friend’s claim. “Hey, would you look at that! Do you think Klutzershy actually made a friend?” jeered Hoops. “How about we do every pony a favor and save your rainbow princess from that lame excuse of a pegasus?”

Dumb-Bell stammered and failed to respond to his friend’s sarcasm.

“Geez Dumb-Bell, I’m just messing with ya. Come on, let’s go have some fun with our dear pal Klutzershy,” commanded the only filly in camp to already have his cutie mark.

The two colts flew down from their perch by the dorms and landed close to where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were currently taking a break from their flying practice.

“Hey there, friends!” Hoops called out to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Yeah, hey friends!” echoed Dumb-Bell.

Rainbow Dash turned to face the newcomers, not noticing that Fluttershy snuck behind her as she did so. Hoops continued on, “So, there really is a rainbow maned filly in the other class. I hear your name is Rainbow Dash and I hear you’re a pretty good flier. And by the way, the name’s Hoops.”

Rainbow Dash beamed at the prospect of her skills already spreading throughout the other classes after only a week and proudly responded, “Yup, that’s me! Best flyer in all of flight camp, the one, the only, THE Rainbow Dash!”

“The best huh? I bet that means you’ve already got your cutie mark, right? Well let’s see it!” responded Hoops. He then turned to his side to show off his flank, boasting, “I’m the best flyer in my class and I’ve already got mine. Three awesome basketballs!”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by this. She didn’t have her cutie mark, but no pony in her class did yet either. Not as boastful as before, she responded, “Uh, no, not yet. No pony in our class has theirs yet. But I’m sure to be the first!”

“Would you look at that, claiming to be a better flyer than me and she doesn’t even have her cutie mark yet! Can you believe it Dumb-Bell?” jeered Hoops. Dumb-Bell laughed in response.

“Hey, I said I’d have it soon! Besides, you look way older than me anyway!” defensively remarked the cyan filly.

Hoops and Dumb-Bell laughed at Rainbow Dash’s defensive nature, but Hoops decided to not antagonize the new acquaintance any further. “Hey, don’t take it so seriously, Dash. I just want you to know that I’M the best flyer in camp until proven otherwise.” Hoops now looked around for his usual victim, Fluttershy, whom he quickly spotted attempting to hide behind the smaller filly.

“Hey Dumb-Bell, get a load of this! Our dear friend Klutzershy is hiding behind our new pal Dash!” jabbed a laughing Hoops.

“Oh, come on Klutzershy, won’t you come out to play with us?” taunted Dumb-Bell.

Fluttershy managed to shrink herself even further behind her make-shift shield comprised entirely of puffed up Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, why are you calling her names!? What she ever do to you!?” barked the riled up filly protector at the now verbal assailants.

“Oh, come now my little Rainbow. Don’t tell me you’re actually friends with her? And here I thought we could be pals, the three best fliers in all of camp, but here you are being so uncool,” came the mocking response of Hoops.

“I ain’t your little anything! Especially not your pal! I’m not friends with any pony that acts like a jerk and makes other ponies upset!” came the half snarling, half squeaking response of a now furious filly.
The two colt bullies were now laughing openly at the two fillies. Rainbow Dash snarled, “What are you two laughing at! Don’t you two have moms that taught you not to pick on others!?”

The two bullies couldn’t take it anymore, at the mention of moms they collapsed in hysterics.

Hoops was the first to recover and addressed the growling pegasus, “Yeah, Dash, we have moms. Something an unwantable filly like Klutzershy over there wouldn’t know anything about.”

Fluttershy could hold back the tears no longer and she began to sob as bad as she had the day before. That was also the last straw for Rainbow Dash, it’s one thing to mock her, but no pony makes one of her friends cry on her watch and gets away with it. Rainbow Dash lunged at the two bullies and shouted, “YOU BETTER LEAVE HER ALONE RIGHT NOW YOU JERKS OR I’M GONNA KICK YOUR FLANKS SO HARD PONIES’LL THINK YOUR BRUISES ARE YOUR CUTIE MARKS!”

The two bullies jumped back, not actually wanting to get into a physical scuffle with a filly. That wouldn’t look so good for their reputation, especially if they somehow managed to lose the two on one. For once, Dumb-Bell took charge of the conversation, “Don’t worry Rainbow DASH, we’re leaving! We’ve had our fun, but don’t say we didn’t warn you! Hang around with that pathetic excuse of an earth pony any longer and pretty soon we’re gonna have to start calling you Rainbow CRASH!”

And with that, the two bullies took flight before Rainbow Dash had the chance to cream one with a quick hoof to the muzzle. Rainbow Dash could barely make out Hoops giving praise to Dumb-Bell for coming up with her new nickname, ‘Rainbow Crash’ as they headed for the playgrounds. Steam practically billowing from her flared nostrils, Rainbow Dash turned towards her quivering friend while yelling, “Can you believe those jerks! SO not cool! As if I would ever be friends with them! And I could totally kick that Hoops’ flank in a flying competition any day!”

Realizing Fluttershy had been reduced to a messy heap of sobs and matted hair, her anger vaporized and condensed into sympathy as she laid down next to the poor filly. “Hey, hey there Fluttershy. It’s ok now,” consoled the little filly as she gave her friend a gentle nuzzle, “I scared off the stinkbrains and it’s just me now. It’s safe to come out from hiding.”

Fluttershy’s sobbing and rapid breathing slowed down to a more natural pace with the presence of her only friend lying next to her. Managing to hold onto one of her gulps of air, Fluttershy blubbered out, “Th-thank you, Ra-Rainba-bow.”

“Shhh, Fluttershy, just relax a bit, alright?” consoled the worried filly. Adjusting her position a bit, Rainbow Dash reached around her larger friend and gave her the tightest hug she could manage, “Mom always told me if I ever saw somepony cry, that it was because they needed a hug and that it takes an awesome and brave filly to give one out.”

Fluttershy gave a hearty giggle at her friend’s claim, “Hee, and an awesome filly like can’t not be awesome and brave, huh?”

Happy that she managed to get through to her friend, she gave Fluttershy one more quick squeeze before standing up, boasting with her usual demeanor, “That’s right I can’t! Now come on Fluttershy! Mom also says everypony crashes or falls or gets sad, but it takes an awesome and brave pony to get back up and wipe away the tears!”

And with that, Rainbow Dash dug her way underneath Fluttershy’s belly and with all the strength her little body had, pushed Fluttershy up onto her feet. Fluttershy wobbled a bit as she regained her balance. She looked back at the friend beneath her, both fillies now with big grins on their faces. It was then that Fluttershy finally felt brave, that everything really would be ok.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah, Fluttershy?” answered Rainbow Dash.

“I don’t think it counts if you stand me up for me,” said Fluttershy with a cheeky grin.

“Naw, I’m sure it’s o-OOOF,” was Rainbow’s response as the filly standing over her collapsed on top of her, pulling the cyan filly into a new embrace.

“Oh, thank you so much Rainbow Dash! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had!” cried out Fluttershy as tears of joy now flowed from her eyes.

“Aw geez, you’re too much Fluttershy,” replied the blushing captured filly, “no seriously, you’re crushing me again,” she wheezed.

“Oh, sorry my Dashie!” cooed the happy cream colored captor.

“Dashie!? Ew…” protested Rainbow Dash, “Don’t call me that in public! It’s, uh, not awesome sounding.”

“O-Ok, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy agreed, “By the way, Dashie, your mom really does sound very nice. Could I meet her someday?”

Rainbow Dash glared at Fluttershy for her immediate slip-up, but consented to just giving an answer, “Heck yeah! My parents are visiting next weekend so every pony can meet them!”

“Oh, how wonderful! That’s exciting!” happily said Fluttershy.

“Hey Fluttershy! Enough of this talking stuff. Let’s go get lunch, I’m starving!” ordered Rainbow Dash, who rolled out from under her friend and got up on her hooves.

“Tee-hee, Dashie, you’re always hungry, aren’t you?” replied Fluttershy as the two headed back to the main hall.

“I said stop calling me that!” shouted Dash.

“Oh, I’m sorry Dashie!”

---

It was now Monday afternoon and all the filly fliers were in their seats awaiting for class to let out once again for afternoon flight lessons. Firefly was pleased to see that Rainbow Dash was seated next to her new roommate, Fluttershy. However, she wasn’t nearly as pleased at the fact that her smallest pupil was sound asleep with her muzzle buried in her desk. Firefly dismissed the class at the toll of the bell and promptly made her way to the two fillies still seated in the back of the room, one because she was too timid to not leave until she was the last out, the other because she was too zonked out to not be aware of what was about to happen.

*SNAP*

Down came the ruler upon Rainbow’s desk, causing the two fillies to jump in fright. Rainbow in particular shot like a rocket straight into the ceiling before crashing back down onto her desk.

“Alright, Miss Rainbow Dash, this is the THIRD time I caught you passing out during class and I want an explanation,” Firefly was glaring at the now dazed and terrified filly, “Fluttershy, you may go. This does not concern you and I don’t want you to get into trouble for being late to flight lessons on somepony else’s behalf.”

Fluttershy let out a small ‘eep’ as Firefly continued with her lecturing of the cyan filly, “So Miss Dash, what is it? Did you stay up too late last night? Or do you no longer appreciate my instruction and think you’re too good for it now? Come on filly, speak up!”

Rainbow Dash took a large gulp of air, not having been in trouble like this before and not sure what to say. Luckily for her, somepony else found the words for her.

“Um, Miss Firefly. It’s not Dashie’s fault she’s really tired. You see, Miss Firefly, after we became roommates she’s been helping me practice flying. But, I’m really shy, you see, and don’t do well with others around. So she’s been staying up late and getting up really early to help me practice and today she accidentally slept through breakfast too so she’s been extra tired. She loves your class, she really does! She even told me you’re her favorite of all the instructors by far!”

Firefly slammed her ruler on Fluttershy’s desk this time, “Miss Fluttershy, I am shocked. We do not speak for others when we are not addressed and flattery will get you nowhere. Now if I am not mistaken I asked for you to head on out to your lessons.”

Fluttershy let out another audible ‘eep’ as she scurried out of the classroom, hoping with all her heart that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be in too much trouble.

Rainbow Dash took another large gulp as Miss Firefly’s stern gaze returned to her. “So, Miss Dash, is what Miss Fluttershy said all true? Have you really taken my task of helping her to fly and being her friend to heart? So much so that you now miss out on sleep, meal times, and classroom instruction?”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t finding the atmosphere to be very palatable at this point, yet she gulped down another mouthful.

“Miss Dash, answer me or you may very well be in real trouble very soon,” scolded Firefly.

“Ye-yesh, Miss Firefly,” Rainbow Dash finally answered. Gulping down one last mouthful of tension, she continued on with tears flowing, “Everything Fluttershy said is true! I’m sorry I fell asleep in class! It won’t happen again, I promise! And please don’t be mad at Fluttershy, she didn’t do anything wrong either! It was my idea and my fault this happened!”

Firefly chuckled to herself at Rainbow Dash’s terrified demeanor. She hadn’t really meant to put the filly into a state of tears, but she wasn’t going to lie and admit that she didn’t enjoy acting strict from time to time. Rainbow Dash was again left very confused by her teacher’s laughter and didn’t know whether to be more terrified than before or if it was safe to relax. Either way, Firefly began to speak, “Oh, Miss Dash, this is good news indeed. Don’t worry my little filly, you are not in any trouble, not today anyway.”

Rainbow Dash let loose a heavy sigh of relief at the good news.

“Now Miss Dash, though I do not approve of your falling asleep in class and I do not expect to see it happen often from here on out, I very much appreciate the friendship and kindness you have clearly shown to Miss Fluttershy in the past few days. You probably don’t realize this, but this is the first time she’s spoken to me all camp! And it was to defend somepony else no less! Now, you can’t tell any of the other fillies about this, but I will have a word with the other instructors. Let’s just say that as long as you continue to help your new friend with flying lessons, I’ll do what I can to let the occasional nap go unnoticed.”

Rainbow Dash beamed at the idea! A nap at any time of day if she needed it! And all because of her new friend, Fluttershy! Without realizing it, Rainbow Dash was buzzing happily in the air and nodding in agreement. With another hearty chuckle, Firefly shooed the excited filly off to attend the afternoon flight lessons, to which Rainbow Dash obediently obliged.

“Oh Firefly, you old dog you. It’s good to see you’ve still got a knack for helping the little ones grow. The road might be long for the little one and a little rougher for the lanky one, but with each other’s help they ought to turn out just fine I think!”