Knock On The Door
Fluttershy thanked the pony who drove the hot air balloon and gave him five bits. He snatched it away from her without a word. Fluttershy sighed and started dragging her luggage up the hill to her new home: a secluded cottage in Ponyville. The bridge creaked under her weight, threatening to dump her into the stream at any moment. Fluttershy trotted toward the half-rotted door. She brushed away the tangled vines and poked her head in. She instantly flew out again: a giant spider was crawling up the hinges, dragging a thick, ripped web behind him. "I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy squeaked. The spider took no notice and settled itself in the top of the doorframe. Fluttershy gulped and stepped into the cottage once more. The chipped floorboards screeched at her weight. "Oh... oh my..." Fluttershy inspected the old room, with its horrid, torn wallpaper and broken stair railings. A single window was on the opposite wall, casting an eerie glow on the walls. Fluttershy's eyes welled up with tears. She collapsed crying on her suitcase, the events of the past 48 hours finally sinking in.(Begin Flashback)
"WHOO-HOO!!! COME ON FLUTTERSHY, YOU GOT THIS!" Rainbow Dash's cry echoed around the silent room as everyone stared at her. She looked around. "What? What's wrong with cheering for your friend?" She looked genuinely surprised no one was joining in, but continued anyway. "LETS GO!!! KNOWN 'EM DOWN!!!" Fluttershy shrank back against the wall, mortified by her friend's cries. The flight instructor glared at Rainbow, and she had the sense to shut up. The instructor turned back to Fluttershy. "Now, do i need to repeat the rules of the exam? Its really not that hard. Finish the obstacle course with maximum 2 mistakes. Passing time is a minute or less. Got it? Now, ready... set..." Suddenly the doors flew open with a crackle of lightning. The cloud underhoof trembled as Spitfire settled down beside the flight instructor. She gaped at Spitfire. Spitfire looked at her with a solemn expression. "What are you staring at? I'm here to watch the final exams of possible future students at the Wonderbolt's Academy. I wanna know what I'm working with." The instructor shook her head vigorously and managed a weak smile. She turned around. "GET ON WITH IT!!!" she barked at a startled Fluttershy. Fluttershy jumped. "What what... um now..?" she mumbled. "GO!!!" the instructor yelled. Fluttershy gulped and started flapping her wings. The flight instructor looked at her stopwatch impatiently. Fluttershy slowly passed through the five rings, nudging the third with her tail. "That's one mistake!" the instructor called. "Oh no..." Fluttershy whispered as she started towards the four huge fans. they turned on and off at random times, but there was no way to go around them. She flew over one, but got immediately gusted by a second one and got tossed all the way to the roof. She recovered after a few seconds and started down again, spitting cloud out of her mouth. "TWO MISTAKES!!!" Fluttershy trembled, but passed over the last two fans safely. The objective of the last obstacle was create a rainbow over the bleachers using a basin of water and a ray of sunlight coming from a hole in the roof. Fluttershy's teeth chattered at the cool water as she dunked her tail and mane, hoping to absorb as much water as possible. She flew toward the roof, shaking her hair as she went, and soaking the flight instructor and Spitfire. Fluttershy managed a weak smile at the audience and turned around, hoping for a magnificent rainbow, but all she saw was wet and angry ponies. She covered her muzzle with her hooves and hid behind her tail. "Three mistakes," the instructor grumbled as she wrung out her mane. Spitfire started at Fluttershy with a shocked expression. "That... was... HORRIBLE!" She was in Fluttershy's face within a split second. "HORRIBLE!" she repeated, the turned to the flight instructor. "What does this say about how you teach?! YOU'RE FIRED! And you!" She turned back to Fluttershy. "YOU ARE PERMANENTLY KICKED OUT OF FLIGHT SCHOOL!" Fluttershy welled up with tears. "What..?" Suddenly Rainbow Dash was between her and Spitfire. "Ma'am please!" she begged. "There must be a mistake!" the ex-flight instructor chimed in. "No mistakes!" Spitfire roared. "Out! ALL OF YOU, OUT!"
(End of Flashback)
Fluttershy sobbed. She had lost everything that day, including her best friend. She wiped her tears and stood up, reaching for her suit case to start unpacking. Knock knock. Fluttershy stood up, quite surprised. 'W-Who's there?" she called.
There was no answer.
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