Chapter Text
“Good morning students! This is Principal Celestia speaking! Just a few announcements this morning. First: I am delighted to announce that in celebration of our newest graduating classes, Canterlot High will be hosting its very first Grand Galloping Gala dance! The students chosen as the organizers for this event are Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity. If you would like to contribute to planning and organizing, please reach out to one of the organizers, or see Vice-Principal Luna. Each student will be given a ticket to the event to gain entry, so please make sure to keep them safe! The ticket also allows each student a plus one, so that students may bring a friend that does not attend Canterlot High for the event should they wish to.”
“In relation to this, the school has been offered outside help, to prepare for both the coming graduation and the gala. I hope you will all do your best in making them feel welcome and appreciated.”
“That is all for now but if there is anything you’d like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or Vice-Principal Luna".
“Have a wonderful day and Gooooo Wondercolts!”
Fluttershy fidgeted as she stood outside the door to Vice-Principal Luna's office, glancing down at the papers in her grasp. She bit her lower lip as she looked at the titles then heaved a sigh, closing her eyes as she lifted a hand and knocked on the door, wincing when she heard a muffled voice call out “come in".
Opening the door, Fluttershy peered around it nervously, spying Vice-Principal Luna sat behind her desk, bent low as she scribbled away. “Ms Luna? I’m sorry to bother you-".
“Please, have a seat, I’ll be with you momentarily” Luna replied ardently, Fluttershy moving into the room and closing the door behind her with a soft click. She quietly took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, watching as Luna finished her task and filed the paper away into a tray on her desk. She folded her hands then looked up at Fluttershy, a small hesitant smile on her face. “How can I help you Fluttershy?”
“Well, ahh-" Fluttershy looked down at the papers in her grasp then laid them on the desk in front of Luna. “Its about these" she said quietly, pulling a lock of hair over her shoulder and running her hands over it anxiously.
Luna blinked down at the leaflets in front of her. “Pamphlets?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes ma'am. I uh...I could use some advice?”
“To what end?” Luna asked, picking up one of the pamphlets and flicking through it idly.
“Well, I mean...I just-" she stopped and sighed, drooping slightly. “All my friends seem to know what they want to do after they graduate and I... I have no clue.” Fluttershy bit her lip, wrapping the end of her hair around her finger tightly. “I get so anxious I can barely think straight but the closer it gets to graduation, the more I panic and that makes me more anxious! What should I do?”
“Well, who else have you spoken to about this? If your friends are so certain about their own paths, maybe they have some advice to offer you about your own?” Luna asked gently, gathering the pamphlets together and pushing them back across the desk.
Fluttershy winced. “I did but...it...didn’t really help. None of them could really explain how they came to their decisions. Applejack has always known she would go into her family business, and Rainbow Dash has always wanted to be a Wonderbolt since we were kids!” Fluttershy let go of her hair and began to rub one thumb over the other as anxiety began to gnaw at her. “Pinkie's interning with the Cakes and they’re going to help her get her party planning business off the ground. Rarity’s already got her foot in the fashion industry, and Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are...well-". Fluttershy stopped herself, looking away awkwardly as Luna smiled knowingly.
“I suppose the two of them will be going into a profession that will enable them to look into the mysterious and mystical goings on in our fair town?” she asked, her tone indicating that she knew far more then Fluttershy was willing to let on, Fluttershy giving her an unsure smile.
“I suppose so. But I just...just don’t know. I know I’d love to work with animals but how? I’ve thought about being a vet and helping that way...but then I think about how I’d have to go to veterinary school and find a part-time job that would pay well enough for me to pay my student loans and rent....” The more Fluttershy spoke, the more anxious she became, her brow creasing deeply as her eyes widened in fright, reaching up to stroke her hair but tugging it instead. “...so, I thought maybe I could take up a fulltime job at the sanctuary, but they rely mostly on volunteer work and donations so then I thought maybe I could travel but I’ve never travelled by myself before and never so far from home-".
“Fluttershy". Luna cut in, keeping her voice firm but gentle as Fluttershy flinched in surprise. “I understand where you’re coming from. I too, struggled with my path when I was your age, but the future is not set in stone. You do not have to make a choice just yet; you are young, and the world is vast.” She sat back in her chair, folding her arms as she looked at Fluttershy with a cautious smile, Fluttershy playing with the hem of her skirt as she bit her lip.
“But...I feel so left behind. How will I know what to do?”
“Not everyone knows exactly what they want out of life Fluttershy, some people don’t always settle into the job they want or love. Some people just find something that brings in money, so they can find and fulfil their passions elsewhere. But all this takes TIME; you need to learn to be patient with yourself", Luna said gently, sighing inwardly as she watched Fluttershy droop in disappointment. “Have you spoken to anyone else outside of your circle of friends about this, a different friend? Perhaps a fresh perspective will help: a person who isn’t involved in your daily life can sometimes offer a viewpoint we did not consider before.”
She stood up from behind her desk and walked around it as Fluttershy also stood, putting a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder comfortingly. “Whatever happens, it’s your choice Fluttershy. No one else can make this decision but you.”
Fluttershy nodded, offering a timid smile even as she wilted slightly. Gathering up her pamphlets, Fluttershy pulled her bag more securely onto her shoulder and walked with Luna to the door. “Thank you for taking the time to see me Ms Luna…I, ah, really appreciate your advice.”
“Not at all, Fluttershy. My door is always open, should you need it” Luna said, smiling genuinely at Fluttershy, who’s smile lifted somewhat before she turned to leave, joining the flow of students as they moved to their own classes, Luna watching as she disappeared into the crowd before closing the door softly behind her.
Fluttershy sifted through the pamphlets slowly in her hands as she walked idly towards the gymnasium, her brow furrowed with worry as she glanced at each one in turn. She had hoped that her visit to Vice-Principal Luna would have helped clear some of the anxiety clouding her mind but in truth, she felt more lost than ever.
Stepping to one side so that she did not slow the traffic of people walking around her, Fluttershy leaned against a nearby wall and closed her eyes, leaning her head back on the wall with a thud as she took a deep unsteady breath. She felt tears well up and scrubbed furiously at her eyes, annoyed with herself. There was just so many choices all laid out in front of her, so many different things she could pursue, and each unknown future terrified her.
Her throat felt tight and scratchy, and she put a hand on her chest, taking a deep shaky breath then slowly letting it out as Fluttershy opened her eyes, focusing on the ceiling above her and trying to quell the rising anxiety inside. She counted slowly under her breath as she inhaled deeply once, twice. After a moments pause Fluttershy straightened, taking off her backpack and stuffing the pamphlets into the front pocket before slinging it back onto her shoulder and heading inside the gymnasium, a small smile on her face as she spotted her group of friends.
Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were stood by a fold-out table, sheets of paper and pens scattered all over its surface, quietly chatting between themselves (although it looked like Pinkie was more interested in a deflated balloon she had found in one of the boxes of decorations). Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash were seated together on the edge of the stage, Twilight scribbling away in a small notebook with a small pile of books on one side of her, Sunset sat on her other side, looking back and forth between Twilight and the others with a small smile on her face. Rainbow Dash was sat strumming lightly on her guitar, playing some chords then tuning the strings before strumming away again. She looked up as Fluttershy entered the gym, grinning widely as she waved at Fluttershy. “Hey Fluttershy! How’d it go with Vice-Principal Luna? She totally helped you figure things out, right?”
Fluttershy flinched slightly as everyone’s attention suddenly turned to her, feeling put on the spot somewhat. She gulped thickly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear even as she lowered her head to hide her face. “N-not really” she replied quietly, wincing slightly when Rainbow Dash groaned loudly.
“What!? Really?!” Rainbow Dash griped, pretending to fall backwards in exasperation, Sunset Shimmer hitting her knee lightly. “Hey, cut that out! I’m sure Vice-Principal Luna had at least something to offer, right?” Sunset said, looking at Fluttershy expectantly as she wandered over, fidgeting on the spot when she stopped in front of them.
“W-well…she did suggest, maybe talking to someone…different. Someone who…might have a unique perspective on things,” Fluttershy murmured, twirling her hair around her finger anxiously as Rainbow Dash sat back up, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Seriously? Who knows you better than your own friends? I don’t see how some rando could help where we can’t” she scoffed, yelping when Sunset Shimmer elbowed her in the side before getting down off the stage, standing beside Fluttershy and putting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
“I’m sure whatever the Vice-Principal had to say, it was good advice. She’s pretty level-headed; even with all the crazy stuff that’s been going with the school, I’ve never seen her lose her cool” Sunset said with a small, easy smile, trying to allay Fluttershy’s fears, Fluttershy smiling back at her with a small smile of her own.
A small light cough made Fluttershy and Sunset look up, Twilight flicking her ponytail over her shoulder as she clicked her pen, keeping her gaze on her notebook. “I don’t disagree that Vice-Principal Luna is…pragmatic, but I still think you should talk to someone with more…experience?” Twilight said, her tone conversational as she glanced at Fluttershy out of the corner of her eye. “I’m sure Principal Celestia could also impart some helpful knowledge to aid in your decision making?”.
Fluttershy and Sunset glanced at each other, Sunset pressing her lips together to stifle a smile as Fluttershy tried not to roll her eyes. Everyone knew that Twilight had gotten closer to Principal Celestia since transferring to their school and looked up to her as a sort of unofficial mentor. It was common knowledge that Twilight was currently speaking to her on an almost daily basis regarding her options after graduating. “Um, no offence Twilight but, it took all my nerve just to even speak to Vice-Principal Luna…just the thought of talking to Principal Celestia…alone…”. She bit her lower lip, reaching up to anxiously stroke a lock of her hair, the thought of being alone and face to face with her school Principal making her stomach roil and her armpits sweat.
Rainbow Dash scoffed and rolled her eyes, Twilight sighing quietly as Sunset smiled sympathetically. “Y’know, you don’t have to go alone? I’d be more than happy to tag along if you wanted some support?”.
“Sunset is right darling!”.
Fluttershy looked over to where Rarity was stood with Applejack, both looking over at Fluttershy with warm smiles. “Why, any one of us would be more than happy to accompany you with whatever you need! Ah, provided I can fit it into my schedule of course!” Rarity said, hurriedly grabbing her diary and flicking through the pages with a small frown as Applejack shook her head at her affectionately.
“The Apple family is on great terms with the local veterinarian, on account of our animals needing the best care there is…maybe I could ask Granny Smith to set up a meeting for you two? Way I see it, speaking to someone in the field might help you decide if its something you truly want to invest in” Applejack said, Pinkie Pie bouncing up behind Fluttershy with a squeak, hugging her from behind tightly.
“OR!! You could just do something else entirely and come bake cupcakes with me and the Cake family!! Eee! That would be so much fun!” she squealed, Fluttershy almost falling over as Pinkie latched onto her, gently removing herself from Pinkie’s grip and taking a few steps back. The group suddenly turned to her and Fluttershy felt a wave of nausea flow through her. She felt like she was on a stage, everybody’s eyes staring at her and her lungs began to hurt, putting a hand to her chest as her vision blurred for a moment. Her eyes stung and her throat felt tight again.
“Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy blinked and looked up, Sunset looking at her in concern. “Are you ok?”
She looked around, seeing her friends watching her with various expressions of concern on their faces and straightened, moving away from Sunset slightly, giving herself some space. “Ah! I uh, I-I’m fine! I uh…I think I’m just gonna go get some fresh air” she said, smiling tremulously as Sunset folded her arms, her brow creased.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind some company? We don’t have to talk about it, we can just hang out” she asked gently, worried for her friend but acknowledging that she needed her space.
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, thank you, I just…I don’t have any classes till after lunch so I think I’ just go and um…and I uh, promised Angel Bunny that we’d spend some time together and ah…” she stammered, desperately wishing she could just disappear but also not wanting to offend her friends.
Fortunately, Sunset caught onto how she was feeling and smiled gently. “Sure! Do you want me to text you when the assembly starts? Principal Celestia wants those of us working on the event to be there to welcome and introduce ourselves to the new guys that are coming.”
“I ah, if its ok with you, I’d rather just catch up with you at lunch?” she replied, the ache in her chest starting to melt away, her throat feeling less tight and painful as her anxiety began to clear.
“Sure! We’ll see you later then!” Sunset and the others waved as Fluttershy trotted out of the gymnasium with a grateful smile, waving back as she disappeared.
“Ooh wee! That girls’ more frazzled than a chicken’s egg on a hot day” Applejack sighed, blinking when Pinkie Pie pulled out a lollipop from her hair and handed it to her before skipping off, shrugging before pocketing it.
“She does seem rather frayed…” Rarity said worriedly, flinching when Pinkie Pie laughed and jostled her with her elbow knowingly. “Hah! ‘Frayed’! Good one Rarity!” she laughed, bouncing away as Rarity looked at her perplexed then blinked in realisation and chuckled quietly.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine if we give her some space” Sunset said, walking back over to Twilight and Rainbow Dash and leaning up against the stage. “She’ll just get more stressed if she keeps going over and over it.”
“Very true. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting involved in a creative project, but it can also become overwhelming if I don’t take enough breaks…I learnt that the hard way” Rarity said, looking over the plans scattered in front of her and making a note here and there.
“She should just throw a dart at a dartboard and go with whatever it hits. Boom, job done” Rainbow Dash said, carefully putting away her guitar in its case as Twilight rolled her eyes at her.
“Not everyone knows what they want to do with their life Rainbow Dash…even I struggled with coming to a decision, and that’s why I reached out to Principal Celestia. Fluttershy just needs some guidance, that’s all.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort back when Sunset quickly cut in, recognising an argument in the making. “THE POINT IS…. that no matter what, lets all just be as supportive as we can…Fluttershy’s always had our backs when we needed her, now it’s our turn.”
The others smiled back at her and each nodded in agreement before all gathered around Rarity and Applejack at the table, excitedly discussing the plans that lay ahead.
As they talked about the upcoming events and the rest of the school settled into its normal routine, a silver, battered looking bus appeared and drove slowly up the street before it came to a stop in front of the school, its engine almost thunderous, sounding more like a truck then a bus. The driver seemed to rev the engine a couple of times before shutting it off completely, the bus sitting motionless for a few moments, the only sound the plink of the engine as it cooled down before the bus doors swung open with an ear-splitting squeak.
A tall man with long black hair wearing a silvery-grey suit disembarked from the bus first, his black polished lace up dress boots clicking on the metal steps as he descended the stairs and walked several steps away from the bus, eyeing the building in front of him with a keen look before turning to watch his fellow passengers follow him.
A pair of clunky black biker boots clumped down the bus steps, the bus dipping slightly from the weight of the occupant leaving then almost jumping back up, seemingly lighter than before. A pair of black Mary-janes followed, almost dancing down the stairs and doing a small twirl as they jumped from the bottom step, trotting to catch up with the biker boots as they clumped away to the side.
A pair of white and black converse sneakers shuffled to the doorway and began to cautiously make their way down the steps as a pair of black sneakers came up behind them, the converse owner flailing madly as they were shoved without warning down the steps and landing with a hard thud on the floor, the sneakers owner laughing at them, the hiss like sound promptly cut off as they were smacked around the back of their head.
They quickly descended the stairs, the converse stumbling up and out of the way with the sneakers following close behind as a pair of knee high, stiletto heeled boots clacked loudly down the steps, full of their own self-importance as their green and blue oil slick pattern glistened in the bright morning sun.
The last pair to disembark paused slightly at the top of the stairs, taking a moment to scratch the back of one foot with the other before they hopped down two of the steps, ultimately disregarding the steps altogether and floating off the end, hovering above the ground for a few seconds before gently lowering themselves down. A bright green converse on one foot while the other sported a large brown lace up boot, both tattered and torn and in desperate need of repair or replacement. They hopped and skipped up to join the others, hanging behind them just a little before hovering up about a foot off the floor, as if they couldn’t quite help themselves.
The group took a moment to look around, absorbing the sights and sounds around them before the tall, grey suited man turned back to them, a smirk on his chiselled features. “Well then…guess its time to introduce ourselves.”
The others smiled back at him wickedly before they all trudged towards the school doors, the owner of the odd shoes taking a moment to hover around the statue at the entrance, feeling drawn to it. They examined it curiously before following their companions, oblivious as the magic within the statue shimmered slightly, seemingly reacting to their presence before quietening and settling once more.