How We Met
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfic
By The Rated Ponystar
Chapter 2: How We Dreamed
Edited by: Fernin
Disclaimer: I do not own MLP. Now I can’t be sued.

Fluttershy could feel every inch of her body shaking as she looked down from the top of the main campus building. Right below her was her new friend, Rainbow Dash, eagerly watching. It had been a week since her new friend had started helping Fluttershy try to get airborne, but they had little success. They tried the usual routines used in flight school as well as some of Dash’s own creative schemes. They trained day and night, yet for all her effort Fluttershy still couldn’t soar into the air. Still, Rainbow Dash never gave up on something before and she wasn’t going to start now.

“You ready this time, Fluttershy?!” cried Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy looked down and started to feel lightheaded. “Um… I don’t know… What if I fall?”

“Fluttershy… we live on clouds,” answered a deadpan Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, right. Sorry."

“Come on, Fluttershy. Remember what I said! Close your eyes, relax, and keep flapping your wings together!” advised Rainbow Dash with an encouraging grin.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and closed her eyes just like Rainbow ordered. She backed up a bit, galloped towards the edge, and jumped off. She flapped her wings slowly with a steady beat and felt herself rising into the air.

‘Just a bit more… just a bit more…’ A feeling of anticipation slowly began to develop, but it soon ended as quickly as it came when one of Fluttershy’s eyes opened. Her heart froze upon seeing how high she was, her mind reeled and she started to feel dizzy. Her wings started to cramp up and instantly snapped themselves shut against her back. The terrified pegasus cried out in fear as she arched downwards, crashing head first into the clouds.

Rainbow Dash sighed as Fluttershy’s rear legs kicked frantically in the air. Grabbing her pink tail, Rainbow Dash pulled Fluttershy out of the cloud and shook her head. “You know it was funny seeing it the first five times. Fifteen? That’s kind of sad.”

Fluttershy whimpered and lowered her head. "Sorry..."

“Stop apologizing for everything, geez,” moaned Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have to do that all the time. Just relax.”

“Right, sorry."

Rainbow Dash facehoofed and suggested, “Let’s take a break. We’ve been at it for a while now.”

Fluttershy nodded as the two sat down and looked up at the sky. The half full moon shined above their heads, illuminating the school with a heavenly glow. Laying on her back, Rainbow Dash asked, “Do you think it’s possible to fly into space?”

The question went unanswered for a while until Fluttershy looked at the north star and said, "“Um, maybe. I know I wouldn’t go. It’s so dark in space. I think it would be very lonely.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Shy? Think of all the cool planets out there. All the stars and wonders of the universe. Maybe there might be alien animals you could enjoy looking at,” said Rainbow Dash.

It did sound intriguing to Fluttershy, but it didn’t matter anyway. After all, she wasn’t going to fly to begin with. Seeing the sad, disappointed look on her face Rainbow Dash gave her friend a smile, “Okay. What’s wrong now?”

“Maybe we should give up. I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me, but I don’t think I’ll ever learn to fly. All I’m doing is just being a burden on you. It’s hopeless." Fluttershy knew in her heart she was never going to fly. She was going to be made fun of for being the worst flyer forever.

“Oh come on. It’s not that bad. Besides, you’re okay to hang around with. Everypony else here is either a jerk or boring. And hey, I like teaching you," said Rainbow Dash.

“But, why? Why do so much for me?” asked Fluttershy. It was a question that had been on her mind for some time. Rainbow Dash was fast, cool, and always on the move. What qualities did Fluttershy have that made Rainbow Dash interested in her?

“Well, I guess you can say… you and me aren’t that different." Rainbow Dash got up and pointed to herself. “See, the reason I’m here is because I have control problems. You’ve seen that firsthoof yourself.”

Fluttershy rubbed the back of her head; she could still remember that impact a week ago.

“Anyway, you’ve never seen me in any of the classes due to our schedule differences, but trust me it’s bad.” Rainbow's tone turned sour as she stomped on the cloud they were on, sending out small puffs of vapor. “I get called ‘Rainbow Crash’ all the time and it just annoys me. Sure I lack grace, as the teachers say, but I got my own style and way of doing things. If they don’t like it then forget them.”

“How do you keep going? How do you not let what they say bother you?” asked Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Easy, I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to leave this place. Cloudsdale and flight school together. I’m going to head out into the world and see what it’s got. Find a place to stay that’s interesting and maybe do some adventuring along the way. I’ll train and work on all my moves so that one day I can travel with the Wonderbolts and perform in front of everypony. Then everypony back home will know the name, Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but admire Rainbow Dash’s goals. She smiled, wishing she had the same determination as her friend. Glancing at the cloud, Fluttershy opened up a small hole that showed the distant green surface of the world she dreamed about. “I… I think I’m the same way.” She closed her eyes and began to imagine what the earth below felt and smelled like. “I don’t like living here either. Everypony judges me because of my shyness and lack of flight talent. I want to live below on the ground. I want to see the strange plants and animals I read about all the time. To explore the beauty of the world that we live in so I can find a place that’s quiet and calm. A place nopony can judge me.”

“Then why don’t you use that to motivate yourself?” suggested Dash. “If you want your dreams to come true then keep trying until you can fly. Fly so you can get out of here, just like me!”

Feeling a rush of confidence, Fluttershy nodded and took Rainbow Dash by surprise with a hug. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You’re a really good friend.”

Dash struggled at first, but returned it nonetheless. “Let’s head on back to our dorms. We can talk tomorrow.”

The two bade each other goodnight, each dreaming of fulfilling their desires someday.

Keep going if your interested.