Seventh and eighth period flew by pretty quickly which was quite strange. You would think that school here would last an eternity, but time seems to speed up when you’re having fun. The school bell rung, and I was finally off to ninth period – the final class of the day! Unfortunately for me, ninth period was also the worst period by far: Phys Ed.

I slipped on my messenger bag and walked out of my Art class to the gym, which was on the sixth floor of the building – otherwise known as the “Sky Floor”, due to the fact that it was at the highest floor of the school. Spike had mentioned that the gym had a large basketball court and some bleachers that ran across the walls of the gym, and a “ginormous” window that allowed the students to have a perfect view of the city.

The moment I stepped foot into the hallway, it was as if I were being sucked into a black hole. The amount of students at this school unnerved me greatly, but I was determined to do my best to pass all my classes and make my parents proud – well, at least my mom.

After endless running up the stairs, I had finally arrived at doors of the gym. Taking a large breath, I pushed open the wooden doors and found myself staring at a large room. On the left side of the room was a huge basketball court, while the other side of the gym was for tennis and volleyball. Just like Spike had said, both sides of the walls were covered with blue bleachers – and a massive glass window that extended from the floor to the ceiling was set in the middle of the north side wall, giving us all a perfect view of the outside.

The interior was painted white, and the roof looked steel grey. As I set my gaze upon the center of the gym, I finally noticed the school logo etched into the floor – a white shield with six pink stars inside of it. The sounds of basketballs hitting the wooden floor pierced through my train of thought, and it took me at least ten seconds to finally realize that there was quite a lot of students in this period.

“Hey! Pink hair!” A male voice shouted out causing me to squeak out in fright. I spun around and noticed a tall, burly man walking towards me with a clipboard in one hand while the other was balled into a fist. The man had a deep blue buzz cut with a silver nose ring. He wore a blue and white polo shirt with black shorts and Nikes. “You, right there! What brings you to my class?”

By now he only stood a few feet away from me with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He eyed me with an angry expression on his face.

“I-I a-actually b-belong… Here…” I whimpered out and looked down at the floor, trembling like mad. The man remained in his position, but he soon began to bark out in laughter, catching me off guard. He held one of his heavily muscular arms around my shoulders and continued to laugh.

“Yeah, yeah I know. You’re the new girl everyone has been talking about. Don’t stress out – Principal Celestia informed me about you being in my class,” I finally looked up at the man with misty eyes and I saw that his once furious expression changed into a rather friendly one. “I’m your new coach – Iron Will. By the looks of it, I can already tell that you’re not really into sports, am I right?”

I only nodded, still trembling with fear. Coach Iron Will laughed and patted my back reassuringly, “It’s okay, I’m sorry for the huge scare. I should have taken it easy on you. No hard feelings... Okay, now I do expect a lot from you in this class.

“You are required to bring gym clothing for this period, a combination lock for your new locker, and any other things you might need for this class. You are expected to participate in everything we do as a daily grade, along with your change of clothing. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are our track and field days which means we go outside to run a mile, and afterwards play some sports – or if you want, you can just walk during that time. And that’s basically it!” Coach Iron finished up with a smile, and explained to me that he would get me own locker tomorrow as soon as I arrived to the gym.

I smiled at his friendliness, and walked over to take a seat on the bleachers. While on the way, I had almost gotten hit with a volleyball, and a basketball. The guys and girls both apologized to me, and began to carry on with their game, while I only sat and watched. I sighed. Why couldn’t I have gotten a different class?

Just then, someone cleared their throat behind me and tapped my shoulder. I squeaked in fright, and spun around only to find myself staring at a mint green with white haired girl with amber eyes. Her hair was messy, and she wore a white t-shirt with black shorts that reached a little above her thighs. The girl apologized then began to laugh.

“You okay, there? I didn’t mean to scare you or anything like that.” I only nodded. “I’m Lyra Heartstrings. You must be… Fluttershy? Right?” 

“Y-Yes…” My voice came out in a hush but luckily Lyra managed to hear me.

“Wow, you don’t talk much, do you?” I replied to her by shaking my head. Again, Lyra smiled and giggled a little. “Yeah, I can tell… Basically, the only reason I know who you are is because you’re in the same chemistry class as me.” Lyra laughed nervously, and it was then I realized that the “guy” whose experiment blew up in their face was actually her.

“Oh… N-Now I remember,” We both began to laugh, and she joked about the fact that some of her hair had burned off from the ‘explosion’. It took me awhile, but soon I had finally found the black burn marks in her hair. Throughout the rest of the period, it was just me and Lyra having a random conversation, and afterwards asked me if I could be her lab partner since she didn’t even have one to begin with. I gladly accepted, and we both exchanged phone numbers just like I had done with Twilight and her gang.

Coach Iron Will blew his whistle loudly, capturing our attention immediately. “Get dressed! Bell’s about to ring!” Lyra quickly stood up from her seat and began to walk down the bleachers. We both waved goodbye to each other and soon I found that I was the only one remaining in the large gym, while all of the other students were in the locker rooms getting dressed.

I twirled my pastel pink hair in my fingers and looked down at the shiny wooden floorboards. I sighed, and my mind began to wander all around about going home. My dad won’t be there today for sure since he’s taking the nightshift tonight, which means he’d be home by midnight. I began to tremble in fear of what my father might have done to my mom while I was waiting for the bus to arrive this morning… I hope the injuries aren’t as bad.

By the time I knew it, the bleachers were flooding with students. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t even noticed them piling up one by one. Most of them were chattering away with friends, and I noticed that Lyra must have left already, judging by the fact that she was nowhere to be seen – unless she was still getting changed, which I highly doubt.

The final school bell of the day rung, and every student dashed toward the doors, eager to finally leave the school. Instead of getting into the crowd, I simply waited until it died down. A few moments later, the area was clear, and I began to descend the bleachers to the gym exit. As I was about to push it open, someone had roughly opened it from the opposite side, nearly scaring me to death.

I didn’t have enough time to react, and we wound up crashing into each other. Seriously, what is it with me bumping into people all day today? We both fell to the floor, and I heard the girl in front of me curse under her breath. My heart froze the moment I witnessed who it was – the rainbow girl!

Her face was twisted with anger as if she were about to beat someone up, but once she saw me, her face flushed completely red, and she looked embarrassed. She was the first to stand up, and quickly outstretched her hand for me. I was completely in a daze, and for a few seconds I didn’t respond which began to confuse the girl.

I shook my head vigorously, and took her hand for the second time today. Once I had brushed myself off, the girl cleared her throat, composing herself. “Heh… Um, sorry about that. I would have apologized earlier, but I kinda had somewhere to be.” She laughed awkwardly, “I’m Rainbow Dash – captain of all the sports teams here at CHS.” She bowed down a little, and I giggled.

“I-I’m Fluttershy. N-Nice to finally m-meet you.” I stammered out, and shyly began to play with the sleeves of my shirt. Say something! You’re losing her, Fluttershy! “Um… I should probably get going.” What? What the heck are you doing, Fluttershy?!

Rainbow Dash’s expression dropped and she muttered out a sad “Oh” and looked down. I immediately felt bad, but I doubt an athlete like her would actually want to talk to someone like me. “Well, that’s all right, I guess. I was just gonna head out to do my daily running on the roof.” She regained her cool attitude, but I could still hear the hurt in her voice.

Rainbow Dash stretched, and began to walk past me, “I’ll see you around, hopefully – I mean, yeah! I-I’ll see you later!” She flashed me a side smile, and began to run the opposite direction, leaving me in a puzzled state. What just happened?

Instead of just standing there thinking about the past three minutes, I pushed open the door and walked right out with thoughts of those beautiful magenta eyes running through my mind.

Rainbow Dash’s POV

“I-I’m Fluttershy. N-Nice to finally m-meet you.” She stuttered out nervously and began to play with the ends of her white and yellow baseball tee. My god, her shyness was something! First, it’s the beautiful pastel pink hair, then her adorable shyness. This girl was absolutely gorgeous. For a few seconds neither of us spoke until she quietly said, “Um… I should probably get going.”

My heart practically shattered and I felt my face drop. “Oh…” My gaze fell onto the floor, but then again… Why would someone as beautiful as her want to hang out with a show-off like me?  I quickly regained my composure to hide the sadness. “Well, that’s all right, I guess. I was just gonna head out to do my daily running on the roof.”

I stretched both of my arms, and slowly started to walk away towards the girls’ locker rooms. “I’ll see you around, hopefully.” Oh crap! “I mean, yeah! I-I’ll see you later!” I blurted out. I immediately felt ridiculous and mentally facepalmed myself. I flashed her a smile and quickly ran to my destination.

The sound of the door opening then closing filled the gym, and I finally let out a long, disappointing sigh. Damn…

“You okay, Dash?” The sudden voice startled me, and I looked up only to see my ex-girlfriend/best friend Spitfire, leaning against the wall looking genuinely concerned. Her orange and yellow hair was perfectly tousled, and reached a little above her shoulders. She wore her usual black leather jacket with a grey Wondercolts muscle shirt underneath with ripped black skinny jeans and grey with black laced Converse.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff… You still up for that race right now?” I questioned her with a smirk. Spitfire didn’t look convinced, but she knew better than to interrogate me. Instead she nodded, and we both walked into the locker rooms, until we reached the end of the locker room, where an open door was.

Beyond the white door was a set of stairs that would lead us to the roof. Without a moment’s hesitation we both ascended the stairs and finally made it outside into the fresh air. I looked at the massive roof of the school, and was immediately met with the sight of the track field that looked like an oval racecar track. Various plants were growing all around, and at the center of the track was fresh cut grass that was a brilliant green color.

Spitfire removed her jacket and tossed it onto the grass as we both took our starting positions at the white line of the track. She cleared her throat, and began to shout out the countdown.

“In 3… 2… 1!” As soon as she said the last number, we both took off running. We both started off strong and fast, and we both didn’t find ourselves tiring out any time soon. I breathed in the fresh air as I continued to run faster than ever before. Spitfire was still in the lead by only a meter, but that all changed when I saw her begin to slow down just a tad.

I took the lead this time around, and we both raced to the finish. My heart jack hammered against my chest, and still, I didn’t feel myself wearing out. Hell, I could run for miles and I still wouldn’t be tired! My feet were beginning to ache from the amount of pressure I had been putting on them, but I refused to stop. This was my chance to win.

From the distance, I could already see the starting and finish line up ahead. I narrowed my eyes in concentration and smiled widely. I was only just a few feet away until the inevitable happened. Out of nowhere, Spitfire practically zoomed right past me – faster than a bullet, it seemed. What the Hell.

She finally reached the finish line and she began to jump up and down whilst cheering herself on. I only stood there with a shocked expression on my face. “Bam! Guess who just beat the rainbow for the fifth time in a row!” Spitfire laughed, and I could feel the steam rising from my head.

“Shut up! I want a rematch!” I yelled out angrily, and Spitfire only laughed harder. I groaned in frustration and kicked at the ground. Spitfire chuckled and walked back to the grass to retrieve her jacket. She slung half of it over her left shoulder, and reached into her front pocket to grab her cell phone that appeared to be ringing.

“Hold up for a sec… Soarin’ is calling me,” Spitfire blushed a little and walked down the stairs, back into the locker room. I smirked, and began to descend the stairs to drink some water, passing by Spitfire on the way.

“Yeah… Uh huh… No, no – I just came to the roof to have a race with Dash… I totally kicked her ass again!” Spitfire broke out into a fit of giggles and as a response, I flipped her off in a playful manner. “Aw, she just flipped me off. How cute!”

My face reddened slightly, and I decided to leave the locker room before her conversation with her boyfriend got… Interesting – yeah, let’s put it that way. Not even five minutes later, Spitfire ran out of the locker room with an excited expression on her face.

“DASH! Soarin’ and Fleetfoot are gonna throw a huge party at Soarin’s house tonight. You coming or what? Half the school is probably going to show up!” Spitfire squealed a little, which was normal for her since she hardly ever had time for parties – especially if the party was going to be held at her boyfriend’s house.

Hell… Soarin’ basically owns this mansion that he shares with his parents – just like me. In addition to that, our parents worked at a sporting company which explains why we were so wealthy. Our parents have known each other for a long time, and honestly, Soarin’ was the very first friend I had as a kid. It’s amazing how close me and him still are, despite the fact that he’s dating my ex.

“Heck yeah, I’m going!” Spitfire fangirled once more and began to jump up and down in excitement. We both walked out of the gym side by side. “Just saying – the party will get twenty percent more cooler once I get there.” Spitfire nudged my arm.

“Suuuurree, it will.”