"When my parents died, the government decided to send me to the orphanage in Cloudsdale. After all, it's a Pegasus city, and it had a nice orphanage, so it made sense. But while I was living with my parents we lived alone in a little house in the middle of a wide, empty stretch of sky. I was homeschooled, and we only occasionally went to a nearby cloud town to do some shopping, so I didn't meet other ponies very often. So of course when I was moved to Cloudsdale, I didn't make very many friends. I was too shy.
"But over time, I slowly got used to it and was able to settle into my new life. The other kids were pretty nice, and our supervisor Ms. Snowpeak was very kind, so I was able to be pretty okay.
"But then, I made a mistake. I've known I was gay my whole life, but didn't yet know about how other Pegasi felt about it. While I was in school I met another filly named Holly Wreath. She was really pretty; she had a strawberry-red mane and a beautiful white coat. Soon I began to get a huge crush on her. I didn't know what to do about it, so I went to Ms. Snowpeak and asked her.
"'Ms. Snowpeak,' I said, 'I have a question.'
"'Oh?' Ms. Snowpeak said. 'What is it, Fluttershy?'
"'Well, um,' I said, 'there's this pony I know, and I really like her. What should I do?'
"I don't think she understood the question. She thought I meant liking her as a friend, but I was so shy I don't think she could tell the difference. If she did, I think she would have told me that letting Holly know was a... bad idea. Instead, Ms. Snowpeak smiled at me and said, 'I think you should ask her to do something fun with you. You like ice cream; why don't you ask her if she'd like to get some with you?'
"I knew what a date was, and I thought she was suggesting I ask Holly on one. 'You really think I should?' I said.
"Ms. Snowpeak chuckled. 'Of course! I think you could really use a friend, Fluttershy.'
"I was too excited then to realize that she'd said 'friend,' not 'girlfriend.' I squealed happily and went to bed too excited to go to sleep.
"The next day, after school was over, I found Holly talking to some of her friends and went over to her. 'Hi, Holly,' I whispered, and she and her friends looked at me. 'Hi, Fluttershy,' she said. 'What's up?'
"I dug at the ground and hid behind my mane. 'Umm, I was wondering,' I said.
"'Yes?' Holly said.
"'I was wondering, um... if you'd like to... to get some ice cream with me.'
"Holly smiled. 'Yeah! That'd be awesome!'
"I blushed and squealed delightedly. When Holly saw that I was blushing, she stopped smiling. 'Wait, do you mean, like, on a date?'
"I was confused. 'Huh?'
"'Do you want to get ice cream with me for a date?'
"I was even more confused. 'Uh... yes,' I said.
"Holly and her friends looked scared and backed away from me. 'You... you mean you're a fillyfooler?" One of her friends asked.
"I was a little worried. 'Why are you walking away?' I asked.
"'Are you a fillyfooler?' Holly asked.
"'What is that?' I said.
"'IT MEANS THAT YOU LIKE GIRLS!' Holly's friend shouted at me.
"She scared me, and I stopped walking toward them. 'Umm... yes...?' I said, not knowing what was going on.
"The other fillies gasped, and they started to back away from me even faster. I started to walk towards them again, but Holly's other friend shouted at me, 'GET AWAY, FREAK!' and they all galloped away.
"I sat there, stunned. I was so scared, and I had no idea what was going on. I started crying and ran back to the orphanage.
"When I got there I ran to Ms. Snowpeak, who was busy cooking dinner for us then. She looked at me and said, 'Fluttershy, what's wro-'
"I buried my face in her legs before she could finish.
"She let me cry for a while, then she asked, 'What happened, Fluttershy?'
"I said in between my sobs, 'I asked Holly to get some ice cream with me, and she and her friends called me a freak and ran away from me...'
"Ms. Snowpeak was quiet for a while, then said, 'Why did they run away? What else did they say to you?'
"'They said I was a fillyfooler, and when I asked what that was they said it means I like girls.'
"She was quiet again, then she said, 'Do you like girls, Fluttershy?'
"'Yes,' I said. I got scared then. 'Do you think I'm a freak too?'
"'Oh, no,' Ms. Snowpeak said, stroking my mane. 'No, it's perfectly okay that you like girls. I just wish you clearly told me before you told Holly. A lot of the other kids... aren't going to like it.'
"I was even more scared and confused. 'Why not?'
"She had to think a bit before she said, 'Because most fillies aren't like that. There's nothing wrong with it, but there are a lot of ponies who think there is, I'm afraid. It's like if a filly or colt is from another country or they have two different-colored eyes. Other kids will bully and make fun of them because they're different, and that scares them.'
"I was terrified at that point. 'Other kids are going to bully me?!' I said.
"She looked very sad and she took a deep breath. 'Yes,' she said. 'Other kids are going to bully you.'
"I started crying again, but she knelt down and brushed my mane behind my ear. 'But I'm going to stop as much of it as I can. If anyone does or says something mean to you, come and tell me and I'll try and make sure whoever did it doesn't do it again.'
"I sniffed and nodded. It didn't help much, but it helped a little.
"I went to my room. Ms. Snowpeak said, 'Do you want to have some dinner, Fluttershy?'
"I said, 'No, thank you,' and went to bed.
"Word spread quickly. When I went to school the next day, all the other kids were whispering and staring at me. I sat at my desk and hid behind my mane, but one of the fillies next to me poked me and said, 'Hey, Fluttershy, it it true that you're a fillyfooler?'
"I only squeaked in fear and put my hooves over my head. She asked again, 'Well, are you?'
"I started crying as I whispered, "Yes."
"My entire classroom gasped, and the filly next to me yelled, 'Eww! Stay away from me!' and jumped from her desk and shied away from me. The other kids started running away from me, too, and they started shouting things like, 'Go away, freak!'
"I was bawling my eyes out until our teacher, Mrs. Sandstone entered and said, 'What's all this commotion about?!'
"One of the colts pointed at me and shouted, 'She's a fillyfooler! Fluttershy's a fillyfooler!'
"'What?' Mrs. Sandstone said. 'Why do you think that?'
"Another kid said, 'She asked Holly out yesterday, and she told us all just now!'
"'Yeah!' all the other kids said, and they all started talking over each other while Mrs. Sandstone just sat there, not knowing what to do. After a while she just said, 'Well, um... just... get back to your seats, everyone.'
"'What?!' one of the other fillies said. 'I don't wanna sit next to her!'
"Mrs. Sandstone said angrily to her, 'Go back to your seat right now, Top Spin.'
"All the other kids went back to their seats, but the ones next to me leaned away the whole time. I cried a little more.
"The other kids bullied me viciously. I was tripped, pushed to the ground, made fun of, run away from, and called a freak all the time. Of course the kids didn't do anything to me when the teachers were watching, and Ms. Snowpeak tried to talk to the principal and get him to put a stop to it, but the principal wasn't a good Stallion. He said that my being gay was 'unnatural' and 'disgusting,' and that he hoped the other kids would beat it out of me. When Ms. Snowpeak tried to report him to the school board, he played innocent and said that all kids teased each other, and that it would be good for me and would toughen me up. Since the members of the school board were also Pegasi, they agreed with him.
"Ms. Snowpeak tried to get me a tutor, but most refused and the rest were too expensive. She tried to convince the government to transfer me to a Unicorn or Earth pony orphanage, but they said I needed to be around other Pegasi. She tried to get me adopted by a nice couple who would love me, but the ones who wouldn't because I was gay wouldn't because I was too shy and frightened."
A few tears rolled down Fluttershy's cheeks at this point. Twilight patiently let her take a few moments to let it out and dry her eyes before she continued.
"Ms. Snowpeak was amazing. I'm so grateful I had her- she was the only pony who was nice to me. She was my only friend.
"But I was still so, so very lonely. I always played by myself. Ms. Snowpeak didn't let any of the other orphans be mean to me, but they always ignored me and avoided me. They would never talk to me. It was horrible. I would cry myself to sleep nearly every night.
"I was so relieved when my first summer vacation there began; I was out of school, and nopony was bullying me. They just ignored me. I was still lonely, but I was able to read and play by myself without anyone bothering me. I was absolutely terrified to go back to school, since I knew the bullying would start right back up again. I couldn't sleep the night before school started- when I went the next morning, I was very tired but so anxious that I was startled by the smallest noise. When I got there, I was ready for the worst.
"But nopony bothered me that day. I waited and waited for somepony to push me to the ground or say something horrible to me, but nothing happened.
"I wondered why, and I noticed that all the other kids were whispering to each other. I wondered what they were talking about, so I found a group who were whispering together and listened to what they were saying.
"'Hey,' a filly said to the others, 'Have you seen the new girl?'
"'What new girl?' a colt asked.
"'Rainbow Dash, you dummy,' said another colt.
"'That's her,' the filly said.
"'She's the daughter of Rainbow Blaze, isn't she? Didn't he just retire?' said the second colt.
"The first colt replied, 'The Rainbow Blaze?! Like, the Captain of the Wonderbolts Rainbow Blaze?!'
"'He's not the Captain anymore, Strike! You're such an idiot!' said the other colt. 'But yeah, she's his daughter.'
"'What's she like?' said Strike.
"The other colt smirked. 'She's actually kinda cute. And they say she was one of the best fliers at her old school in Canterlot, or even the best. She's way cool.'
"'Really?!' Strike said. 'I wanna meet her!'
"The filly's face reddened and she said, 'Yeah, I hate to burst your bubble, you two, but Rainbow Dash is a fillyfooler.'
"The boys' jaws dropped. 'She's a fillyfooler?' Strike said. 'Like Fluttershy?'
"'Yeah,' the filly said. 'And they say she's a really big flirt, too. I heard that she's said that she's made out with all the prettiest girls in her old school, even the STRAIGHT ones.'
"The other colt smirked again. 'I hope she's not just all talk. That would be SO hot if she could really do that.'
"The filly gagged. 'Eww, you're gross!' she said.
"'Hey,' Strike said. He pointed at me. 'Fluttershy's there!'
"The filly gasped and jumped back. 'Eww, get away from me, you freak!' she cried.
"The other colt made a creepy smile at me and said, 'So you heard there's another freak here. It's a waste you two babes are queers, but you should at least make out and let us watch.'
"He laughed, Strike laughed with him, the filly huffed at me, and they all left.
"I was honestly too stunned to be hurt by what they said then. There was another fillyfooler at our school? A cute one who other kids liked? I really wanted to meet her. I was even a little excited at the idea of her being so charming she could kiss any girl she wanted, but then I realized that she seemed to only like the prettiest, most popular girls, and... decided she wouldn't be interested in me. I didn't think anypony would be interested in me. I was too shy, and too nervous. But I still wanted to meet her; maybe she would be my friend.
"I looked for this new girl for the rest of the day, but I never saw her. When school ended and we all went outside, I started walking to the orphanage, thinking I'd try to find her again the next day. But then I felt somepony touch my shoulder, and I squeaked and looked to see who it was. It was Rainbow Dash.
"For some reason I thought she'd be my age, but she was actually two years younger than me. But the other kids were right; she was really pretty. I could sit and stare into those big magenta eyes all day. I didn't realize I was staring at her then, and she said, 'Hey? Hey!'
"'Huh?' I said.
"'You're Fluttershy, right?' she said.
"'Oh,' I said, and I hid behind my mane. 'Y... yes...' I said.
"Rainbow grinned. 'Hey, you're cute, Fluttershy,' she said. She held up her hoof. 'I'm Rainbow Dash,' she said.
"I only squeaked back.
"Rainbow Dash looked a little worried. 'What's wrong?' she said.
"Some of the other kids noticed that Rainbow Dash was talking to me then. Some boys whistled at us. 'Oh, look, Fluttershy's blushing!' one of them said. Then they started chanting, 'Hey, freaks! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!'
"Rainbow walked towards them. 'I just might,' she said. 'She's pretty cute.' Then she got up in their faces and held up a fist. 'But if you call us "freaks" again, I'm gonna feed you your teeth!'
"Most of the colts were older than me, and they were all bigger than Rainbow. But when she threatened them, they all looked like she scared them. Only one boy wasn't, and he stepped forward. 'Yeah, right, ya little shrimp,' he said.
"The other boys backed away, saying, 'Dude, don't,' but Rainbow smiled and said, 'Oh, so you want a taste of this, do you?'
"The colt started laughing, then Rainbow gave him a mean right hook that sent him flat on his side. When he got up, he had a bloody nose. Rainbow said to the others, 'Anypony else?'
"They all ran away, and Rainbow smirked and said, 'Thought so.'
"I was gaping at her, and when she turned to me she said, 'Don't listen to them. They're idiots.'
"'You...' I said. 'You just...'
"'What?'
"'You just... made them all run away!'
"Rainbow scoffed. 'Those guys were wusses. I could've taken any of 'em, easy.'
"I was still stunned. 'You... oh no, you're gonna get in trouble! He's going to tell his parents!'
"Rainbow smirked again. 'Yeah, he's gonna tell his folks he got beat up by a filly who's way younger than him. Nah, he's not gonna bother me again.' She looked out after the other colts. 'None of 'em are.'
"I gasped. 'You mean... they're really not going to call you a "freak" anymore?!'
"Rainbow laughed. 'Are you kidding? In my last school, other Pegasi called me a freak all the time. My dad told me to pound 'em, then they wouldn't ever call me a freak again. He was right. I did, and they didn't.'
"She grinned at me. 'So, you really are a fillyfooler too, huh?'
"I blushed again. 'Um... yes,' I said.
"'You're really hot when you blush,' Rainbow said. She got close to my face. 'So, do you wanna make out?'
"I was so surprised I looked right into her eyes. She was giving me a seductive look, and I could tell she really had kissed a lot of other girls. I had no idea what to do. 'Umm... I...' I said.
"Rainbow chuckled. 'You haven't been kissed before, huh?' She leaned in closer. 'You're lucky then. I'm really good.'
"Before I could say anything, Rainbow pressed her lips against mine. I squealed in protest at first, but it was so wonderful I just started to kiss her back.