Rainbow was glad to be out of her English lecture, a yawn escaping from her in a loud and expressive burst as she exited the Liberal Arts building.

Her mind was fuzzy. She hadn’t rested well, which was unusual for her. Very seldom did she have trouble falling asleep. But there were dark circles under her eyes and she could feel the weight of her limbs more keenly than she thought normal.

Stupid Sunset, she thought irritably back to their less than pleasant argument.

A classmate from her lecture waved cheerily as they passed. She had white hair and reddish eyes. Fleetfoot, maybe. Rainbow only just managed to hitch up a smile and wave back before the storm cloud reasserted itself over her head.

At least I have time to kill till practice this afternoon.

She sighed and rode her penny board to the quad. Once there, she found a peaceful spot out on the grass, laid down, and with her backpack as a pillow, used her arm to cover her eyes from the sun.

Rainbow Dash had just started to fall asleep when her phone buzzed in her front jeans pocket.

Scowling, the girl sat up and drowsily pulled the device out. She groaned when she saw what the notification had been about.

A text. From Sunset.

>SSh: R u 2 meeting again 2nite?

Rainbow tongued her cheek as she tapped out a reply:

>R: Duh.

The response was quick. Rainbow didn’t even get a chance to lie back down.

>SSh: Then plz remember how u would feel if sum1 took advantage of ur feelings

Rainbow Dash could feel herself turning red to the point that her ears burned. Angrily, she mashed her phone screen with her fingers as she replied, her teeth bared—

>R: Sure thing, Mom.

Then she turned off her text notifications and threw the phone into her backpack. As she resettled, she could hear someone walking toward her. Given her out-of-the-way spot and how close they were coming, she knew it was intentional.

“Oh give me a break!” she snarled, sitting up. “Can’t you see I’m tryin’ to—” she stopped short, her eyes widening. “Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy was already backpedaling away from her with eyes cast down. “S-Sorry. It’s just, I don’t normally see you on my way to class, so I thought I’d say hi.”

Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet, her hands hastily trying to shake the grass from her hair and clothes. “No, hey, don’t go! I should be the one to apologize.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I guess I’m just grumpy because I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Fluttershy immediately perked up and grinned. “You too, huh?”

Rainbow blinked at this, but when she looked at her friend again, she could see the girl’s eyes were also lined and shadowed.

“Man, really? What kept you up?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Fluttershy bit her lip and shrugged. “I was working on something important.”

My project, maybe? “What was it?” Rainbow asked instead.

She received a playful grin. “You’ll see.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow but smirked. Flutters playing coy? That was new...

“And you?” Fluttershy asked with a tilt of her head. “What kept you awake?”

“Oh, y’know. Soccer stuff.” Rainbow tapped her temple. “A winner never turns it off!”

“Sounds unhealthy,” Fluttershy remarked with a gentle frown.

Rainbow just shrugged. “So what class have you got next?”

“My chemistry lab.”

“Can I walk with you?”

The question seemed to surprise her friend. Shy blushed and toyed with a lock of her hair. “Sure!”

The soccer player grinned and stooped down to grab her backpack and penny board. “Sweet! Let’s go.”

Side by side, they returned to the broad concrete pathway that crisscrossed the quad. Rainbow Dash shouldered her backpack and held her penny board against her hip. Fluttershy clasped her hands in front of her, eyes focused forward as the duo walked for a time in silence.

“So, you working today?” Rainbow asked just as they took the first left turn leading out of the quad.

Shy glanced at her. “No. Not today.”

“Wanna come to my soccer practice?”

Fluttershy locked eyes with Rainbow and raised an eyebrow, the corners of her lips twitching. “Not particularly, no.”

Rainbow frowned, taken aback. “Why not?”

“Rainbow, I know you’re a terrific soccer player. I don’t need to see you showing this off to me when I could be studying instead.”

“Hold on.” The athlete held up a finger, her frown deepening. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I just heard you say that you think I’m so amazing, you’d actually get bored.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said with a little nod. Her lips were starting to curve upwards but still failed to reach the degree of an actual smile.

“You think this dog hasn’t got any new tricks?”

“I’m sorry, did you just refer to yourself as a dog?”

Rainbow Dash snickered at the riposte. She nudged Fluttershy and asked with a jaunty half-grin, “What would I have to do to get you interested in my glory again?”

The smile that had only been a concept became fully realized on Fluttershy’s lips. “Rainbow, the burden of awesomeness does not rest with me. It rests with you.”

“Oh ho!” Rainbow raised both eyebrows and rolled her shoulders. “Okay. You’re on! Come to my soccer practice today, and I’ll promise to treat you to something special.”

Fluttershy ran her bright teeth over her plump pink lip, causing Rainbow’s attention to lapse at the sight for a conspicuous moment.

“I don’t know…” the shy girl eventually mused.

“Aw, come on!” Rainbow bumped shoulders with her companion, her heart thrumming as she tried to rally her focus from her friend’s pretty mouth. “Please?”

She knew she had succeeded when her friend blushed.

“All right,” Fluttershy said. Her smile was slanted like she was giving in to a child’s request for candy before dinner. “If it means so much to you, I’ll go.”

Rainbow Dash whooped with genuine happiness and pumped a fist in the air. “Heck yeah!”

“Gosh!” Fluttershy exclaimed with a small giggle. “If I’d known it would have brought you that much joy, I would have come to a practice ages ago!”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow winked and flexed a bicep. “I love having an audience!”

Fluttershy’s eyes turned up in playful mockery. “Ah. Of course.”

Rainbow let a swagger creep into her gait. “You can thank me after your lab is through.”

Her friend looked at her blankly. “Why would I thank you after my lab?”

“Duh! For giving you something to look forward to after your boring class!”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, but I like my chemistry lab!”

Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

Fluttershy smiled pleasantly. “Yes! I like my teacher. Professor Zecora has a great sense of humor, and she’s very patient.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, feeling a flare of envy that surprised her. She couldn’t talk that way about her own classes. True she'd never been crazy for academics before, but she could still remember once feeling in high school a kind of pride whenever she succeeded at her work. Some of the teachers had even been nice to get to know. Ms. Cheerilee, for instance.

“Must be nice to enjoy your classes,” Rainbow said with a muted smile.

They were now approaching the Chemistry Building, the tall brick structure casting a cool shadow over them. A few students loitered on the steps leading up to the double glass doors.

“Yes, it can be fun,” Fluttershy said. She fanned her eyelashes and let her bangs fall forward a little as she tucked in her chin. “Though, they are missing something.”

“What?”

“The same thing I’ve been missing in Psychology,” she said, just loud enough for her companion to catch. Her eyes slid sideways meaningfully.

Picking up the subtext, Rainbow Dash just stared.

Did Fluttershy just…flirt with me?

They came to the steps and Fluttershy hurried forward. Rainbow stopped to watch her go, her expression blank as she tried to work up something worthwhile to say. Her eyes, damn traitors that they were, filled her mind with the sight of Flutters' long creamy legs ascending up the stairs, her skirt swaying with her curvy hips...

Just like that, Rainbow’s chance to say something smooth slipped away when her friend turned at the top of the steps and gave her a shy wave.

“I’ll see you at practice,” Fluttershy said with a little grin. “What time was it, again?”

“Six,” Rainbow Dash heard herself say. For some reason, she could feel her ears burning.

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” Shy paused and tilted her head, making her glossy pink hair spill over her shoulder. Rainbow felt arrested by the sincere concern burning in her friend’s big blue eyes. “Get some rest, okay? For me?”

“S-sure.” Rainbow started to backpedal but felt herself bump into another student. After an apologetic nod at the stranger, she tried to say, “See ya!” to her friend in the coolest way possible.

Instead, her voice cracked. Actually cracked. It was as though the weight of her astonishment and...whatever the heck she was feeling split her words in half. Years of being taunted for her scratchy voice didn’t compare to the utter fail of that moment.

Rainbow turned as Fluttershy entered the building, a horrified look on her face.

Note to self: Suck. Less.

Fluttershy arrived at the soccer field at exactly six o’clock. She had spent most of the afternoon at Freenote Library studying and was actually quite glad for the break.

The evening air was cool and pleasant. There were a few other people in the stands; an older woman with a scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face; two giggling girls that looked far too young for college; and a young man with green hair who kept bouncing his knees as he sat hunched in a dark windbreaker.

Fluttershy sat apart from them in the upper seats, and no one paid her any attention. She touched the place where, concealed under her sweater, Rainbow’s pendant rested, and smiled to herself.

When the soccer players emerged from the locker rooms onto the field, it was without much fanfare. Some carried the equipment they would be using for that session; nets of soccer balls, neon cones, and ice coolers. Others were simply horsing around and laughing. They all wore the same cyan and raspberry-colored uniforms.

Fluttershy could spot Rainbow Dash easily thanks to her friend’s colorful hair. She came out last and appeared in deep conversation with the team’s coach, as well as someone who looked to be the assistant coach. They nodded heads as they reached some kind of understanding, and she jogged out to join her teammates, who were forming a circle close to the stands.

On her way there, Fluttershy could see the soccer player scanning the stands. She quickly waved to signal her, and Rainbow spotted her, waving enthusiastically with a huge smile before joining her fellow players.

The team took time to hydrate and do warm-ups before splitting up.

It was at this moment that Rainbow Dash ran toward the stands.

The stands were elevated on a concrete foundation a little over seven feet, but the girl did a vertical wall run and grabbed the ledge, pulling herself up as if it were the easiest thing in the world. She stood on the edge and leaned against the rail, a cocky grin on her face.

“Fluttershy!” she called. “Hey, come over here a sec!”

Fluttershy blushed and hunched her shoulders as she felt the other people in the stands look her way.

Standing, she hurried down the steps to meet her boisterous friend.

“You came!” Rainbow said as she neared.

“I told you I would,” Fluttershy replied, much quieter as she still felt the many eyes of the audience on her.

“I figured today would be a good day for you. We don’t have as many people come to watch since it’s early in the week.”

Rainbow held her arms out, making Fluttershy worry she’d fall. “On Sundays, lots of family and friends show up.” She chuckled and gripped the rail again, allowing Shy to sigh with relief. “It gets crazy.”

“That sounds nice, actually!” Fluttershy said, hugging herself a little. Somehow the thought of a rowdy crowd made her antsy. She meant it, though. At least all those people were there out of love and support.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, looking down. “Yeah. You’re the first person besides my dad to come, though.”

Fluttershy pulled back with a gasp. “You mean none of the other girls have—” She broke off when her companion did a small headshake. “N-not even Pinkie Pie? She always used to love seeing you play!”

Rainbow shrugged, her face going stoic. “Nope.”

“Gosh, Rainbow. I…” Fluttershy clasped her hands and pressed them to her bosom. “I guess I always just assumed you had someone to come cheer for you.”

“I mean look, I’m not complaining,” her friend said evasively. “The team is like family. We really look out for each other.” Rainbow crossed her arms, making Fluttershy’s eyes flash with worry again. “Besides, I mentioned my dad comes out. Y’know, when he can, and stuff. The man runs his own biz, after all.”

Fluttershy frowned. It was true that her friend could get by for a long time on the steam of her own ego, but she still wanted to feel supported as any other person would. It wasn’t enough that her high school friends showed up for big games. She needed to feel like someone believed in her when she was training too.

“I’ll come,” Fluttershy said firmly.

Rainbow blinked at her. “Huh?”

“I’ll come. This Sunday.”

“But… Flutters,” Rainbow leaned on the railing, her brow creasing. “I just told you. That’s the day it’s the craziest. Everyone comes out to cheer for the team on Sunday! Besides, don’t you work that afternoon?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath to quell the anxiety that threatened to tense up her throat at the thought of work.

“I’ll figure it out. I’m still going to be there, cheering for you, Rainbow.” She bit her lip, her eyes lowering. “I-I mean… If you’re okay with it.”

When her friend’s silence stretched on, Fluttershy dared to peek up. Rainbow Dash was blushing hard, her hand rubbing the back of her neck as she gripped the railing with her other hand and leaned back.

“Uh, yeah. Whatever. That’d be cool, I guess,” she said, not meeting Fluttershy’s eyes.

Fluttershy smiled knowingly. Years of friendship with Rainbow saw through the aloofness. The tomboy was pleased. And Fluttershy felt joyful she could do this for her friend.

“I look forward to it!”

Rainbow finally allowed herself to grin. “Me too.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “Hey, I gotta get back, but just stay down here for a while. I promised to show you something special, and you’ll see it best from the lower seats!”

Fluttershy batted her eyes curiously, but nodded. “All right!”

“Awesome.” Rainbow’s lips curled to one side. “Mind stepping back for a sec?”

“Um, okay?”

Fluttershy stepped away from the railing. Rainbow Dash winked as she gripped the top rail with both hands. Then in a quick movement, she jumped, planted both feet on the second rail, and backflipped off.

Shy gasped, her heart leaping into her throat as she ran to the railing, her body colliding with it as she looked frantically over the edge.

Down below, Rainbow Dash was on her feet laughing, her hair tousled from her daring jump. She waved and ran back to her teammates out on the field.

From the sidelines, her coach barked at her to, “Knock that monkey shit off and get the drills started!”

Fluttershy, now that she knew her friend was all right, let out a weak laugh.

She’s such a show-off!

The team began their work. The goalkeepers split off to practice ball saves, while the remaining team members, at Rainbow’s say-so, began a drill practicing one-touch passes. She herself did not join, however. A blonde girl was also staying out of the drill.

That must be Sassaflash, the vice-captain, Fluttershy noted. Rainbow had mentioned the other girl in passing, and of course, they were constantly seen together on campus.

Sassaflash stood at Rainbow’s side and cracked a joke, making her teammate laugh.

A nasty feeling squirmed in Fluttershy’s gut, but she willfully ignored it.

After securing a soccer ball from the sidelines, the two captains separated from the rest of the group. They bantered for a moment before Rainbow began to juggle the ball with her foot. It started off rather mundane, until she swung her foot in a circle over the airborne ball before catching it just before it hit the ground.

She did this again and again, elaborating each time, even switching feet now and again. Quickly, she built up a rhythm, manipulating the ball in an impressive series of agile movements that started to feel not unlike a dance.

At one point, Rainbow held the ball against the top of her foot and her shin, and to Fluttershy’s astonishment, did a handstand with legs apart, the ball still in place.

Sassaflash rolled her eyes and waved off her friend’s antics, but she was smiling. When Rainbow Dash came out of her handstand, she still had tight control of the ball against her lower leg. She even did a few circle kicks with it before letting it go up into the air in a high arc and headbutting it toward her teammate.

Sassaflash caught the ball with her shoulder, and when it fell to the ground, she proceeded to freestyle with it in much the same fashion.

Fluttershy clapped, her face aching from how hard she was smiling. Rainbow turned to her and bowed, her smile equally as broad.

As far as surprises go, it was one of the nicest Shy had received in a while.

In the locker room, Sassaflash sprang a question while she and Rainbow Dash showered.

“Wasn’t that one of your high school friends?” she asked from her stall.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said with a distracted glance as she rinsed her hair. She was trying to hurry. Fluttershy was outside waiting to walk to the library. “Her name’s Fluttershy.”

Sassaflash grinned slyly as she scrubbed at her arm with a soapy bath sponge. “Was I a good wingwoman?”

“Wingwoman?” Rainbow paused to scrunch her nose at her vice-captain before her eyes widened. “Oh! Yeah! That.”

Rainbow could feel her cheeks heat up. “No. N-no see, you weren’t…” She huffed, then tried again. “I mean—I was just trying to—uh—”

Sassaflash giggled. “Chill, dude! I was just teasing!”

Rainbow Dash let out a nervous laugh. “Chill? Pfft, I’m like ice!” She squeezed some body wash onto a loofah. “Besides, me and Fluttershy have been friends since we were kids. It’d be weird if we…y’know.”

“Did the nasty?” Sass offered helpfully, though with an equally smug smile.

Rainbow grimaced. “Yeah, that.”

Sassaflash shrugged as she let the stream rinse the suds off her skin. “Okay, Dashie. Whatever you say.”

She leaned over her stall partition and said out of the corner of her mouth. “By the way, I think you made a good impression on the girl you weren’t trying to impress.”

Sassaflash held up a hand with an innocent expression. “Can a non-wingwoman get some love?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, her lips puckering in an attempt to hide her smile.

She still gave Sassaflash a high five.

Once through in the shower, Rainbow Dash hastily blow-dried her hair, got dressed, and rushed to meet her friend outside. It was half past eight and the sky was dark. They cut across the field toward the forest, just as Rainbow had done Sunday.

Along the way, the ordinarily shy girl was buzzing with praise.

“Oh Rainbow, that was wonderful! Thank you so much for inviting me! I loved seeing you and your friend do those tricks!”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, a smirk on her lips. “I like to freestyle with the ball. My dad thinks it’s dumb, but I like it. It’s fun.”

“How could he think that? Rainbow, you’re so good at it!”

“I dunno. I guess he thinks it’s just flashy nonsense.” She put on a serious face and said in a deep gruff voice, “‘Rainbow Dash, you aren’t going to score by acting like you belong in a circus!’”

Fluttershy frowned. “With all due respect to your father, I disagree! It takes great skill to control the ball that way. I see it every time you play.”

Rainbow Dash shoved her hands into her pockets as she regarded her companion from the corners of her eyes. “Really?”

Fluttershy smiled, her eyes lidded. “Yes,” She said as she skipped a little. “I can’t wait to see more of it this Sunday!”

Rainbow grinned, her chest puffing out. “Yeeeah… I don’t blame you. I’m pretty amazing, after all.”

Her friend giggled at her, and Rainbow felt her heart do a little drum roll.

This is nice… She thought with a happy sigh.

One hour later, at the library.

Rainbow Dash was sitting on the floor, her phone propped up against her backpack with one of Dr. Axon’s lectures playing. A baseball cap sat between her legs as she tossed folded paper triangles into it.

Fluttershy was flipping through her journal of notes, a loose sheet of paper next to it that she occasionally wrote on. She claimed she was expanding on the outline they had started yesterday. Rainbow Dash knew she should be happy about this, but all she felt was anxiety.

“Fluttershy,” she said as she aimed another paper triangle.

Her friend finished writing something before turning to her. “Yes, Rainbow?”

“Why does a pre-vet student have to take psychology?” She threw her triangle and missed.

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side as she thought. “I think maybe because it’s a precursor to animal behavioralism? It’s been a while since I looked at my education plan.”

“Animal behavioralism? What the heck is that?” Rainbow took aim again.

“Have you ever seen those dog whisperer shows?”

“Yeah, okay. But what does understanding the human brain have to do with animals?”

Fluttershy grinned and resumed writing.

Rainbow Dash scowled at this. “What?” she asked.

The other girl glanced at her, her smile widening. “Humans are animals, Rainbow. By scientific definition anyway.”

“But we’re the most advanced creatures!” Rainbow placed her hands on either side of her head, then pulled them away explosively. “Our brains are like—really big.”

“So big that we can rise above basic instincts?”

“Duh. Of course!”

Fluttershy sighed a little as she set down her pen and turned in her seat to look at Rainbow Dash full-on.

She arched a sleek eyebrow and said, “Understanding animal behavior includes picking out what’s done, when it’s done, and why. I had to do it all the time at the animal shelter.”

Opting to give an example, Fluttershy pretended her hands were perked-up ears on her head. “Stiff ears and still bodies? That means alertness.” She let her hands curl. “Relaxed ears? That means trust and calmness.”

She gestured between herself and Rainbow. “Humans have their own form of unspoken language, too. Modern society just made it more complicated.”

Shifting to more personal territory, Fluttershy’s gaze ducked and her hands toyed with the ends of her skirt. Then she said a little more quietly, “Even now, I’m getting some signals from you. I could try interpreting them, if you’re okay with that?”

“Sure.” Rainbow smirked and crossed her arms. “This oughta be good.”

Fluttershy’s blue eyes softened as her eyes trailed from Rainbow’s shoes, tips pointed outward; up her skinny-jeaned legs, spread apart; to her slouched spine, curving at the middle as her shoulders dug into the wall; to her lifting chin and broadening smirk.

The seconds ticked by. Rainbow scooted up the wall to better sit on her bottom. She reasoned that the choice to move was because her back was protesting her poor posture, not because she was nervous that her companion might somehow see something undesirable.

No. Of course not. What could be undesirable about her? She was freaking amazing.

When Fluttershy spoke, it was with a little frown. “It seems that you’re uneasy.”

Rainbow fought to keep her smirk from shrinking. “Oh yeah? What makes you say that?”

“Your arms.” Fluttershy mirrored how Rainbow’s arms were held tight across her chest. “They’re crossed like you’re trying to shield yourself.”

Her frown deepened. “You were also slouching a moment ago. Like you’re resigned. Or bored. Or both?” Her eyes met Rainbow’s. “And you changed your position. Not just fidgeted, you entirely changed how your body rested.”

“And what do you think that means?” Rainbow asked. She wasn’t smirking anymore.

Fluttershy shrugged, her chin dipping a little. “It could mean a lot of things…”

“Humor me.”

“All right,” Shy took a lock of her pink hair and slowly wrapped it around her finger. “Changing position under scrutiny suggests an attempt to control another’s perception.”

Rainbow could feel the sweat forming on the nape of her neck with each accurate analysis. “And why would I try and do that?”

Fluttershy shrugged again. “Maybe your back was just getting tired? Reading human body language isn’t exact, Rainbow. I can get base readings, but intuition only tells me so much.”

She brushed back the lock of hair she had been twirling and turned back to her work.

“With animals, it’s easier to guess because their needs and concerns tend to be simple. I won’t insult you by suggesting you’re the same.”

Rainbow blinked, uncertain if she should feel annoyed at the dodge or grateful for the respect her friend was bestowing her. Fluttershy could have easily suggested that the reason was insecurity, and it would have been completely without malice.

Worse, if she was anything like the smartypants Sunset said she was, Fluttershy could have tried to smoke out Dash’s ulterior motives for their working together. Her refraining from making assumptions had less to do with kindness and everything to do with trust.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash felt a little ill.

Seeing her friend, her sweet and gullible friend, just sitting there and doing all the heavy lifting for her project...

I have a friggin’ month for this. I don’t need her to do it all in a day.

Rainbow stood to her feet and held out her hand. “Come on, Shy. Let’s take a walk. Just around here on the third floor.”

The girl looked up at her. Her gaze was questioning, but instead of voicing her thoughts, she took Rainbow’s hand and stood. The contact quickly sent a jolt through Dash’s entire arm.

Her touch was soft. Warm.

They left the study room and Rainbow still didn’t let go.

“Rainbow, I was wondering…” Fluttershy started tentatively, her eyes on their joined hands. There was a light dusting of pink to her cheeks.

Rainbow glanced at her, trying to look nonchalant. “Yeah?”

“Why are you a sociology major?”

Oh. That wasn’t the question she’d been expecting. Still, Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh.

“It was the only choice I felt like I had,” she admitted reluctantly, any prior mood now effectively gone.

Fluttershy’s brow furrowed. “You mean you’re majoring in something you don’t even care about?”

“I didn’t want to, okay?” Rainbow snapped. She finally let her hand slip from Fluttershy’s. Then she flinched and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Fluttershy flashed her a forgiving smile. She always seemed to know when Rainbow’s outbursts, no matter how they seemed, were about something other than herself, even when they were little kids. Still, the tomboy felt like a heel for continuing to lash out at her kind friend after so many years.

After a long moment, Rainbow continued in a sullen tone. “I told my counselor I wanted to do other things. But he explained that I’d be putting in over thirty hours a week just toward training for soccer, and he was right.”

She shoved her hands in her pockets and let her spine curve. “Soccer is what I’m here for, not sociology. It’s kind of lame…but it’s what I’m good at.” She shrugged one shoulder in a vain attempt to distract herself. “And you never know. I might go pro. If that happens, then who cares what I majored in college?”

“What would you have majored in if you felt you’d had a choice?” Fluttershy asked gently.

They went down an aisle marked ‘Agricultural Science: D-F’.

Rainbow smiled and winced. “Music.” She scratched her cheek and added, “I also thought it would be cool to be a storm-chaser, but you have to get into meteorology for that, and it’s too brainy for me.”

Fluttershy smirked. “You always did seem to know what the weather would be like…”

“Because I had an app and I wanted to know if it would affect my games. Duh. But believe me—if there was a way to deal with the weather in a non-egghead way, I’d totally be down for it!”

They exited the aisle and started walking along the wall, where the windows showed the dark world outside. The sky had become overcast, hiding the moon from sight.

It was when they turned down the X-Y aisle, that Fluttershy said, “I think you’d be a great music major. You were always the most enthusiastic about The Rainbooms.” She met and held Rainbow’s eyes. “Your passion was inspiring.”

Rainbow Dash could feel her skin heat up at her friend’s earnestness. She rubbed at the back of her neck.

“You already had your own passion, Shy. Long before we ever started The Rainbooms. You were writing all those cool song lyrics, and you were really good with a tambourine. That’s a hard instrument to play, and it added a lot to our sound!”

Fluttershy smiled wryly. “I wish Hoops, Dumb-Bell, and Score thought so. They made fun of my tambourine every chance they got.”

Rainbow scowled upon remembering the three bullies. “Screw them! Those idiots don’t know the first thing about music.”

They left the aisle and started walking back toward the study room. It had been a circuitous walk, but they had finally gone all around the third floor.

As they neared their study room, Fluttershy sighed. “That was nice, Rainbow. But we should probably get back to work.”

Rainbow stopped and touched her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, wait up.”

Fluttershy paused to look back at her, her eyes blinking at the sudden contact.

“I just wanna say…thank you. Again. Y’know, for helping me.” Rainbow Dash stubbed the tip of her sneaker into the floor and dropped her gaze. “I know you’re busy, so it means a lot.” Without raising her head, she peeked at her friend.

Fluttershy was smiling from ear to ear. “Rainbow, nothing makes me happier than helping my friends.”

That statement hit right in the gut.

Rainbow bobbed her head with a pursed smile, trying to hide it. She gestured ahead and said, “You go on. I need to check my phone real quick.”

Her friend gave her one last fond look before turning and entering the room. Rainbow Dash waited for a beat to make sure Fluttershy wouldn’t come back out for any reason, then she put her face in her hands and tried to squash the self-loathing in her chest through sheer will alone.

It wasn’t working.

I'm adding this loooong after I originally posted this chapter (9/20/19) but I thought it'd be neat to share the YouTube video that inspired me to write the scene where Rainbow and Sass do ball tricks.

If the video is taken down, please let me know, and I'll remove it.

I also (today) found this video of this awesome teenage girl doing ball tricks too. It's pretty amusing when she kicks the ball through unsuspecting passerby's legs. At the 0:44 and 1:25 marks you see her do more intricate stuff. Click here to see it!