//------------------------------// // Enter the Speed Demon // Story: Ponies One Half // by Emma Iveli //------------------------------// Chapter 11: Enter the Speed Demon Outdoors in the field at Furinkan High… It was track practice today and the girls track team were getting ready for a practice race. They were lined up on the track, ready to run on the assistant coach's signal. And then… BANG! The starting pistol was shot and they were off. Each of the girls gave it their all, but one of them sped past them all; Ran. Outrunning all of them, she made it to the finish line first. Ten seconds ahead of the eventual second-placer. All of the other girls were tired; no matter how they tried, Ran ALWAYS won. “Issanni,” called the assistant coach. “Yeah?” asked Ran. The assistant coach gave a smile. “Another record smashed.” “Really? All right!” Ran pumped a fist into the air in triumph. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> That night, Rainbow Dash was—for lack of a better word—bragging about her recent record while lazing about on a cloud while the other five ponies, Akane, Ranma, and Shampoo were in the nearby living room. “That was the 4th school record I broke since joining the team,” bragged Rainbow. “It’s a good thing that I didn’t use the Rainburst! Because with that, I'd instantly win!” “The Rainburst?” asked Akane. “She channels ki into her feet that causes her to run so fast it leaves a rainbow trail,” explained Pinkie. “Oh yeah, that thing.” Akane then recalled how Ran saved Ranma from being caught 'changing' in the rain. “Calm down, sugar cube," said Applejack. "Remember what happened last time you got a big head?” Rainbow Dash sweat dropped at that memory. “I don’t think you guys can don a disguise this time.” Akane looked at Ranma, hoping he could explain to her what they meant. Unfortunately, he said, “Hey, just because I’ve known them longer doesn’t mean I know everything.” Akane sighed, turned to Rainbow Dash, then asked, “If you’re able to do that, why don’t you channel ki to make yourself fly?” Akane had heard of stories of those who mastered enough in ki being able to do so such feats. “About that…” said Rainbow. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> -Flashback- Cologne was surprised how fast Rainbow Dash excelled in learning about chi (or ki as it was in known in Japan) whenever she wasn’t training against someone else. That was why she suggested Rainbow (in human form) should channel chi in such a way that she could fly. Their aliases haven't been devised until after they left for Japan. While Rainbow was good at channeling chi, she wasn’t that good; every time she tried to fly by chi, she kept crashing. All of her friends couldn’t help but watch as she crashed each time. “This isn’t working…” complained Rainbow. “Of course it’s not working,” said one of the village natives. Her name was Fructis, who had light blue hair put into twin buns and braids, “You need wings! That will work!” And so Fructis went to go get her wings of some kind. The type wings cartoon characters attempt to flap with using their arms. What happened next was something that everyone agreed never to bring up ever again. -End Flashback- <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Everyone but Akane were sweat dropping at the question the youngest Tendo gave. “So… what happened?”, she asked, who was very confused. “Don’t ask…” was all that Shampoo said. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Elsewhere… There was a girl checking on her computer, reading the things about Furinkan High’s new star athlete. “Rainbow Dash is what they call her… it fits,” said the girl as she gave a smirk. “I’ll have to pay a visit to Furinkan High on the next day they practice.” <><><><><><><><><><><><><> The next day, at Furinkan High… It was just insane! Ran's shoe locker was stuffed with love letters. And not all of them were from boys, strangely enough. Also, several of their classmates wanted to eat lunch with her. “This is getting ridiculous,” muttered Akane. “This is almost as bad when she started acting like a superhero,” muttered Belle. Akane, Ranma and Shampoo all turned to them in confusion. “Don’t ask.” mumbled Hikaru. That was when they heard a couple of girls gossiping. “I’m getting sick of Ran already,” said one of them. “I know," agreed another. "Breaking the school’s records and haven’t even been here a month.” “I heard that the Speed Demon has gotten word about her.” “Really? That should take her down a peg.” “She may be speedy… but there’s no way she can handle that.” They then glared at the girls who noticed before walking away. “I wonder what’s that about…” said Akane. “I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about it,” grumbled Hikaru. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Ran was telling the people surrounding her about the second time she broke a record when Kuno sneaked in from behind. Although those around didn’t see him. “That is so amazing,” said one boy. “I know, right!” bragged Ran. “Oh Ran!", said Kuno as he glomped her. "You are amazing!” “Get out of here!” Ran yelled, kicking him out of a window, causing everyone in the room to sweat drop. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Later that afternoon… The Furinkan High track team was going for a run around the city when… “Hey! Hey! Rainbow Dash!”, said a boy on the team, “Can you please show that Rainburst when we get back?” “Sure…” agreed Ran with a sweat drop. “The Rainburst, that sounds interesting,” came another voice. The team stopped as none of them has spoken. They then looked around to see who spoke. They found a girl in a tracksuit with short tan hair and sunglasses concealing her eyes. “So, you’re the one they call Rainbow Dash.” she said as she took her sunglasses, revealing her orange eyes. “Is it true that you’re good at martial arts?” “So what of it?” asked Ran as she stared back at the girl. “Oh my god!" yelled the boy who asked Ran earlier. "You’re Ryoko Hirano! The one they call “Speed Demon”!“ “Who?” asked Ran. “Not only is she the fastest girl in all of Tokyo, but she’s the reigning champ of Anything Goes Martial Arts Running,” said one of the girls in the track team. “No one has beaten her yet,” said another girl. “Ran Issanni, I challenge you to a Anything Goes Marital Arts Marathon!” declared Ryoko. “What?” asked Ran. “An Anything Goes Martial arts Marathon. Oh, I see you don’t get it. Simply put, we have a marathon…and we'll be fighting each other while doing it. Get it?” “Yeah, I get it! And I accept.” “Very good, Issanni.” Ryoko put her sunglasses back on. “I’ll be back in a few days to give you the details of the course I had in mind.” With that, she ran off, leaving behind a trail of dust as she was gone in seconds. “Wow, Ran. I know you’re new, but you’ve bitten off more than you can chew,” said the girl who first recognized Ryoko. “By the way, I didn’t mean to rhyme there…that… was just weird…” <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Later that day, Rainbow Dash was looking up Ryoko on the internet. Well, actually, it was Twilight looking it up for her. “Has yet to lose a track meet or lose to someone in martial arts running,” said her bookish unicorn friend as she looked up the information. “In Martial Arts Running, she has won 20 times in both the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash, 10 times in the…” “Okay, stop, stop…” cut in Rainbow; she'd heard enough. “What about the Marathon?” “She won 5 times in that…” “That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s going to be one on one.” “Why is she reassuring herself like that?” Akane asked with a sweat drop. “It’s a long story,” answered Twilight. “One I don’t want to know.” “No… something you might be interested in.” Twilight then looked at the clock. “But I have to tell you another time… I have to do something else.” “Homework?” “No, I’m saving that for later.” In a way, Twilight's answer made Akane sweat drop. Apparently, Twilight seems to be happy doing homework. While they were talking, Rainbow started looking up Ryoko's stats. “There’s one thing I have to do.” she said. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> The next day… At the Furinkan High track, Ran was doing stretches and warm-ups. Hikaru, Ranma, Akane, Momo, and Alex were there to help her in any way she needed. Shampoo had work in the café, Belle was busy in her shop, and Chiyo knew she wouldn't be of much support with her soft "yay"s. “I brought the weights,” called out Momo as she took out several gigantic weights from…somewhere. “Where did you get those things?” asked Akane. Momo shrugged; even she didn’t know. “Why did you give me the weights?” asked Ran. “I don’t need them.” “So then, what kind of training are you going to do?” asked Akane. “I’m going to perfect the Rainburst!” “What do you mean perfect?” “She gets exhausted whenever she uses it,” explained Hikaru. “Shouldn't you perfect your fighting skills so that you can do so while in a race?” asked Alex. “I already know how to do that," said Ran. "In fact, you know how to do that too.” “Oh, snap!” gasped Momo and everyone stared at her with sweat drops. “We should start asking about these things,” said Ranma. “Yeah…" agreed Akane. “Pinkie… please don’t say “Oh, snap!” again,” complained Ran with a sweat drop. “I’ll try.” “What exactly are you going to do?” Alex asked Ran. “You’ll see.” She began to run, going so fast a rainbow trail followed her. Everyone watched her go around the track in a mere matter of seconds and reach the finish line. Upon stopping, it was apparent that she was wiped and had to catch her breath. “Are you okay?” asked Hikaru. “I’m fine,” Ran assured her dismissively. She continued to do this for the next half-hour. And that was how long it took for her to become completely exhausted. “You okay?” asked Ranma for, what was probably, over the 9000th time. “I’m fine…” assured Ran as she lay on the ground. “Though I can’t move.” “Then you’re not fine!” yelled Akane and Hikaru as Alex and Ranma sweat dropped. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> After practice… Ranma picked up Ran and carried her back to the Dojo. “How about tomorrow you practice running while fighting,” he suggested. “He’s got a point, I’ll help ya’ll,” offered Alex, “It will just like the Running of the Leaves... 'cept this time, we won’t tie for last.” I’m seriously lost, thought Ranma with a sweat drop. Note to self: Remember to ask what these girls get into... <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Upon returning to the dojo, Ran had a long bath, and in the process returned to her Pegasus form. All of a sudden, something pulled her under the water. It was Pinkie Pie, who had somehow gotten into the bath with her. “What did you do that for?!” yelled Rainbow. “You looked like you were going to quit,” said Pinkie. “What?” Rainbow didn’t know how to respond to this. “You took this challenge! And you should continue it!” “I don’t need a speech… I wasn’t planning on quitting.” “Oh… I have the perfect idea to help in your training tomorrow!” “What? It doesn’t have anything to do with some sort of inner training to face off an enemy within me, does it?” Pinkie sweat dropped. “How did you know?” “Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow gave a sigh. “You read too much manga.” “But it’s so fun!” Pinkie cheered happily. “Fairy Tail is so awesome!” Rainbow sighed again and sweat dropped. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> The next day… At the school's track, Alex stood next to Ran, and both of them were ready to race. Hikaru was just at the track's edge, holding a stopwatch. Ranma, Momo, and Akane stood next to her. “On your mark, get set, go!” she called out. The two took off as they started to run laps around the track, settling for two laps. Ran delivered a kick against Alex, and that was when the spar in Martial Arts Running truly began. Since this was a spar, Ran didn't go all out. Still, the scene looked like something from a Shonen manga. “Maybe I should have done this,” said Ranma. “Applejack's still a beginner,” explained Hikaru. All of a sudden, Momo yelled, “That’s it! I’ll be the announcer for the real fight!” “What does that have to do with anything?” asked Akane. “Just ignore her,” told Hikaru with a sweat drop. As they watched the spar, a different voice spoke up. “That’s interesting, but I was hoping to see her practice the Rainburst I heard so much about.” Ran and Alex paused in their spar and everybody turned to see Ryoko…and Ran began to laugh. The reason why was because Ryoko was wearing her school uniform. Ryoko attended Seisyun High School, which had one of the girliest uniforms in the area. And the tough tomboy didn’t look too happy with having to be dressed like that. Ryoko predicted their thoughts and said, “I know! I hate this uniform, but I enrolled because its sports teams were undefeatable.” She then began to mumble under her breath, “Now I know they cheated…” “What are you doing here anyway?” asked Ran. Ryoko answered by holding up a map. “I have managed to get everything done with. Got the permits, got the schedule, got the layout, a remote control helicopter camera, and even threatened the cheerleaders that if they show up they will pay.” “What's that last one?” asked Ran as everyone else heard that little ramble and sweat dropped. “Don’t ask. The race will happen a week from Sunday! So you better prepare, because I will trounce you!” “I will prepare all right! You're going DOWN!” “So you’re going to prefect this Rainburst I keep hearing about? Because you better use it! It’s the reason why I challenged you after all!" With that, Ryoko walked away. “Why aren’t you running?” asked Momo. “You expect me to run in this?" retorted Ryoko as she gestured at the skirt. "This thing's restrictive! Plus, my mom takes away my allowance if I rip these and I'll have to replace them. She thinks I rip them up on purpose.” She then began to sweat drop after realizing—“Why am I even talking to you?!” With that, she picked up the pace without so much as breaking into a jog. As Ranma watched her leave, Ran came and cut him off, seemingly knowing what he was thinking. “Ranma… don’t.” “What?” asked Ranma. “I wasn’t thinking of challenging her.” “Do you know what an “Atomic Rainboom” is?” Ranma sweat dropped, “No…” “If you don’t steal my opponent, then you won’t know. What I need to do is to perfect the Rainburst… not this.” Alex sighed and walked over to where the others were watching. “Looks like there’s no conniving her,” she said. “It’s going to be worse than you with the last Applebuck Season,” said Momo. Alex groaned. “Please don’t put it that way…” They all sighed. It was a good thing the race was more than a week away because Ran was going to need all that time to perfect it. This wasn’t going to end well…