Pinfeathers original draft

From the very first day of school, Rainbow Dash was as constant and impossible to miss as the sun over Cloudsdale.  Stupid and disruptive, she annoyed Fluttershy to no end.  Even when she came to school wearing a fetlock brace — no doubt the result of some foalish misadventure —  she refused to tone down her non-stop attention-seeking.

Then, one day she wasn't there.  One day became two, then three.  By the end of the week, Fluttershy should have been celebrating the peace and the chance to actually learn something without being interrupted.

Instead, she found herself sick with worry, and when she asked her teacher, Miss Morningsky gave her an address and a knowing smile, and that was how Fluttershy ended up facing Rainbow Dash's door.

She hesitated with a raised hoof, nervous to arrive uninvited.  Fortunately, Rainbow's mother was happy to have a visitor, happier than the filly in fact.  After a short argument ending with, “Spend some time outside with your friend!  Because I'm your mother!” Rainbow was tossed through the door and shut out.  At once, the truant filly reared and pawed at the latch, only to find it locked.  She snorted and wheeled, glaring at Fluttershy.  “So what do [i]you[/i] want?”

Fluttershy shrank back.  “I- I just —”

“Well, fine.  Go ahead and laugh.”  Rainbow flared her wings.  “See if I care.”

Fluttershy gasped.  Thick steel-blue spikes grew from the trailing edges of Rainbow's wings, giving them spooky, skeletal silhouettes.  Shocking as it was, it was perfectly natural: those were pin-feathers.  Old feathers fell out, and new ones grew in their place, and Fluttershy beat down her surprise before it became rude.  “Y- you weren't in school, so I came to see if you were okay.”

Rainbow folded her wings and circled around Fluttershy.  “Yeah, nice story, Buttersky.  Who put you up to this?  Where are they hiding?”  She scanned the back doors of the other apartments.

It was a typical Cloudsdale apartment building.  An open, oval courtyard in the middle was ringed by a railed walkway at each level supported by Ionic columns.  Pegasi normally came and left via a porch facing out from the building, a literal “front landing.”  The back, fitted with ramps and safety rails, provided access for heavy deliveries and those, like Fluttershy, who couldn't fly.

In any case, the back doors stood silent and deserted.

“Nopony put me up to anything,” said Fluttershy.  “I just thought you might be lonely.”

“Yeah, sure.”  Rainbow turned to her door, still closed, sighed, and shook her head.  She started walking down the row of apartments.

Fluttershy followed.  “I'm glad you're not hurt, Rainbow.  Or sick.  I was so worried.”

Rainbow trotted with purpose, stopping in front of a maintenance door secured with a push-button lock.  “Stop following me, okay?  You're creeping me out.”

Fluttershy couldn't, not now.  Rainbow was lonely, she could tell, and she wouldn't feel right walking away.  A few minutes ago she almost didn't knock on that door — that would have been just awful of her.

After a moment, Rainbow said, “You're not gonna go, are you?”  She sighed.  “Look, is anypony watching us?”

Fluttershy once again looked across the quiet, empty space.  As she had her head turned, a series of oily clicks slicked from the door.  She turned back to see Rainbow open it and sneak inside.

“Um, Rainbow, we're not supposed to be in here,” she said, peeking her head and shoulders through the door-frame.  It was a maintenance closet, lit with red fae-light and packed with brooms, shovels, and other miscellanea for keeping the place going.

Dash crouched against one of the shelvesDash crouched against one of the shelves.  When she saw Fluttershy, she drew herself to her full height and turned to face her.  “So, yeah, c'mon in.  Welcome to my secret little clubhouse.”

Fluttershy stepped the rest of the way through the door, repeating, “We shouldn't be here —”

Dash tackled her, knocking her into a corner half sitting in a bucket.  One forehoof landed next to Fluttershy's ear, the other pinned her chest, and Dash's face stopped inches from hers.  The door clicked shut, sealing both fillies in the ghoulish light.  “What the hay is your problem, Buttersky?  Was it Dumb-Bell?  Did he send you to bother me?  Huh?!”  Rainbow's eyes glowed demoniacally in the fae-light.

Other colts and fillies didn't hit Fluttershy often, and she was shocked at the violence more than anything.  Her head, back, and chest hurt, and she felt tears filling her eyes.  Anger swelled in her chest.  “Dumb-Bell?  That meanie?!  He's almost as much a bully as you!  And, also, my name is Fluttershy.”

She sniffed and blinked hard and swallowed and glared back at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow's eyes seemed to break.  Her face fell.  Her hooves lifted, and she stepped back.  “I- I'm not a bully.”

“We're not supposed to be in here,” repeated Fluttershy once more.  She got back to her hooves.

“Am I really a bully?” asked Rainbow, softly.

Fluttershy was sorry to say that.  She just wanted to make sure that Rainbow was okay, not barge into her life and say awful things.  “I'm sorry.  I should just go.”