Chapter 7
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.
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 down again.
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 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 and dirt 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."
Her shy friend grinned. "You too, huh?"
Rainbow blinked at this, but when she looked at Fluttershy again, she could see the girl's eyes were also lined and shadowed.
"Man, really? What kept you up?" she asked.
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.
"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 criss-crossed 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. They walked in silence for a time.
"Do you work 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 her friend'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."
"I don't know…"
"Aw, come on!" Rainbow bumped shoulders with her companion. "Please?"
She knew she had succeeded when her friend blushed. "All right. 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? I love having an audience!"
"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. "What would I thank you for?"
"Duh! For giving you something to look forward to after your boring class!"
"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. She had never been crazy for academics, 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.
Rainbow Dash stared.
Did she 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. She felt her chance slip away when her friend turned at the top of the steps and give her a shy wave.
"I'll see you at practice," Fluttershy said with a little grin. "What time was it, again?"
"Six," Rainbow Dash said. For some reason, she could feel her ears burning.
"Okay. I'll see you then." Shy paused and tilted her head, making her 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." She started to backpedal, but felt herself bump into another student. After an apologetic nod at the stranger, she said to her friend, "See ya!" Her voice cracked.
Rainbow turned as Fluttershy entered the building, a horrified look on her face.
Note to self: Act less like a dork next time.
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 was a few other people there 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 horsing around and laughing. Their uniforms were of the school's colors: green and blue. 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 scan the stands. She waved, and Rainbow spotted her, waving enthusiastically with a huge smile before joining her fellow soccer players.
The team took time to do stretches and warm up before hydrating and splitting up.
It was in 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 on 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 said, much quieter.
"I figured today would be a good day for you. We don't have as many people come watch since it's early in the week. On Sundays lots of family and friends show up. It gets crazy."
"That sounds nice, actually!"
Rainbow Dash shrugged, looking down. "Yeah. You're the first person besides my dad to come, though."
Fluttershy gasped. "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. "Nope."
"Gosh, Rainbow. I… 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. Besides, I mentioned my dad comes out. Y'know, when he can, and stuff."
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 like 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.
"I'll come," Fluttershy said firmly.
Rainbow blinked at her. "Huh?"
"I'll come. This Sunday."
"But… Flutters, 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. That'd be cool. Sure," she said.
Fluttershy smiled, feeling her heart beat hard in her chest. "I look forward to it!"
Rainbow grinned. "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 here!"
"All right!"
"Awesome. 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.
Down below, Rainbow Dash was on her feet and 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 small laugh.
She's such a show off!
The soccer team began their work. The goal keepers split off to practice ball saves. 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, and 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. 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 went, 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. 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. You weren't—uh, that is—I was just trying to—"
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 loofa. "Besides, me and Fluttershy have been friends for years. It'd be weird, if we…y'know."
"Did the nasty?" Sass offered helpfully.
A grimace. "Yeah, that."
Sassaflash shrugged as she let the stream rinse the suds off her skin. "Okay, Dashie. Whatever you say." She leaned over and said out of the corner of her mouth. "By the by, I think you made a good impression on the girl you weren't trying to impress." She 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 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 gruffy 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 with her head turned a quarter of the way. "Really?"
Fluttershy smiled, her eyes lidded. "Yes." She skipped a little. "I can't wait to see more of it this Sunday!"
Rainbow grinned, her chest puffing. "Yeeeah… I don't blame you. I'm pretty amazing, after all."
Her friend giggled at her.
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 anxious.
"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?"
"But what does understanding the human mind 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."
"But we're the most advanced creatures! Our brains are like—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 examining body language. I had to do it all the time at the animal shelter. It's complex and always situational. Humans have their own form of unspoken language." She gestured at Rainbow. "Right now, I'm getting some signals from you. Do you want to know what you're telling me?"
"Sure." Rainbow smirked and crossed her arms. "This oughta be good."
Fluttershy's blue eyes softened as her eyes trailed from Rainbow's feet, toes 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.
When Fluttershy spoke, it was with a little frown. "You're uneasy."
Rainbow fought to keep her smirk from shrinking. "Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"
"Your arms. They're crossed like you're trying to shield yourself." Her frown deepened. "You were 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 changed how your body rested entirely."
"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 twirled it around her finger. "Changing position under scrutiny suggests an attempt to control another's perception."
"And why would I try and do that?"
Fluttershy shrugged again. "Maybe your back was just getting tired? Reading body language isn't exact. I can get base readings, but nothing of the reasons why." She brushed back the lock of hair she had been twirling and turned back to her work. "With animals it's easier to make that kind of guess because their needs 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 Sunset said she was, she could have tried to smoke out Rainbow Dash's ulterior motives for their working together. Her refraining from making assumptions had less to do with kindness and everything to do with classiness.
Rainbow Dash decided she appreciated this, immensely.
But Fluttershy was working again, and that was making her feel bad.
I have a friggin' month for this project. I don't need her to do it all in a day.
She 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.
They left the study room and fell into step next to each other.
"Rainbow, I was wondering…" Fluttershy started tentatively.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you a sociology major?"
Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh.
"It was the only choice I felt like I had," she admitted reluctantly.
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 as her body tensed. "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. 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. "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 had a choice?" Fluttershy asked.
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 stormchaser, 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!"
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 Sonic 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 the study room, Fluttershy sighed. "That was nice, Rainbow Dash. 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.
"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 messages real quick."
Her friend gave her one last fond look before turning and entering the room. Rainbow Dash waited 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.