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// 5. The Fight in the Dog 
// Story: The Good Fight 
// by CoyoteXray 
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Saturday afternoon passed without much drama in the large house in the quiet subdivision. The man of the house had passed the day quietly, working outside and coming in only around 1:30 for lunch. He then passed the next couple of hours working on a presentation he had to give on Tuesday. He was enjoying the solitude, something he hadn't experienced much recently.

It was only around 5:30 when the quiet was interrupted by the sound of the small gray hatchback pulling into the driveway, and the sight of his daughter emerging from the driver's side door. He was tempted to meet her at the door, but one look at her face told him that discretion was the better course. He went back to his work, pausing only briefly as he heard the door of her bedroom open. The dog who had been watching the action from the top of the stairs dutifully went down to investigate, which he made no effort to impede.

He went back to his work, and stayed at it till he decided he had had enough. It was only then that he made his way down stairs, the sound of music drawing him in as he went down the hall. He paused outside the door and peaked inside. The girl had changed out of her formal business like attire and instead reclined on her bed in shorts and a t-shirt, her dog lying beside her as the girl lazily stroked her fur. In the background, music filled the air, a well-loved instrumental piece at least 40 years older than she was. The father smiled at the scene, and slowly entered the room.

"Tough day at ze offize?" he asked.

Photo didn't respond at first, and when she did she only slowly turned her head and noted her father's presence. "It waz not zhat bad," she finally answered.

Her father pondered the scene for a second, and then continued. "You didn't have any problemz vith the children, did you?"

Photo shook her head and answered, "No Papa, ze children were fine; ze parentz though, zhey were a pain. But I did my bezt, and everyone seemed satisfied; and zhey all lived happily ever after."

She looked towards the door, and saw her father cross his arms and raise an eyebrow. "Are you zertain?" he asked, "The music doesn't zay so."

"Hmmm?" she queried.

"Come now little girl, I know your habitz," he continued, "A good day means your jamming to zome silly pop zong; a bad day meanz jazz."

Photo groaned and answered, "It waz really not a bad day. But zhat schtupid party did not have much real food. I ended up filling up on ze cake, which waz not bad, but ze frosting waz disgusting. Zhere waz so much sugar in it, I thought I waz going to have a heart attack." She paused and sighed, "I am tired and burnt, it haz been a bad veek, and now I have to go to zome schtupid dance, and be around all zhose rotten people, and all zheir rotten talk. I zhink I'd rather go before a firing schquad."

"Feeling a bit puot upon?" her father asked.

She raised her head and replied, "Vhy not? Everyone expecting me to handle zhat nazty person! I get in ze fight, I get in trouble! I stay out of ze fight, I schtill get in trouble!" She stopped and reclined once again on her bed, pausing only to calm the dog. "I really don't like to fight papa," she continued, "I just vant a bit of quiet in my life."

"Really," her father questioned, "Iz this the zame girl who made so much trouble last year in front of Suri Polomare?"

Photo groaned, and then turned her head and replied, "Oh please papa; you zaw how nazty she was being to Rarity. Rarity waz modeling zhat vonderful outfit she made, and zhat Suri person could do nothing but cut her down...ze 'tough love approach'...crapola! Vhich...vell,  vould have been fine by itzelf, but...but zhe was letting it get personal, vith all zhose schnarky comments. I had to zay something."

"Pozzibly," her father replied, "but you might have been a bit more careful. I remember that she said something like, 'can anyvone tell me vhat elze this young obviously amateur designer could have used to make this outfit better?' Do you remember your answer?"

Photo gave a frustrated sigh, and answered, "Of course. I said 'No! But I think I know vhat you could use... a cheeseburger! You get cranky vhen you are hungry!'"

"And zo," her father continued after stifling a laugh, "my ashpiring fashion photographer daughter gets kicked out of a fashion zhow, for defending a friend. Any regrets?"

"Of course not," Photo replied, "It waz wurth it."

"Zo, do you regret intervening on behalf of the Schparkle girl," her father continued, "even though she wazn't a friend?"

Photo thought about it for a moment or two, and then shook her head. "Oh papa," she replied, "Tvilight Schparkle is...a very nice girl. I like her. Zhe does not deserve to be treated like that by zhat...zhat rootten person! It joust...opened a can of vorms, and now I can't get zhe lid back on."

Her father nodded and answered, "Doing zhe right thing is never easy, much like going to thiz dance. You told your teacher zhat you would be there, az well as your teamatez; vhat would zhey say if you skipped out?"

Photo snorted. "I doubt zhat anyvone would notice," she replied, her disdain clearly evident.

Her father sighed and shook his head and was going to leave when he heard her phone ring. He walked over to her dresser and retrieved the phone and handed it her. She took one look at the screen and groaned before she finally answered.

"Good afternoon my friend," she said into the speaker, "Vhat can I do for you?"

"Oh well...actually it's a bit after afternoon, but no matter," came Pip's voice over the earpiece, "I was just wondering when you planned to get to the dance tonight?"

Photo covered the speaker and gave a long frustrated sigh before continuing, "I have not decided yet. Is zhere a problem?" The sound of her father's phone ringing caught her ear, and she covered the speaker until he answered.

"Well...yes. It's a...well...clothing issue," Pip answered, "You're going to think it's totally daft actually."

"Vell," Photo answered, "You have piqued my curiosity. Vhat is your issue my friend?"

"Well actually," Pip responded, "I wasn't fully aware that my mum didn't quite understand the...well...subtle differences between the prom and the morp, and she...rented a tux."

Photo sat up quickly as her dog jumped off the bed. "Oh, you poor boy, you are going to be the mozt overdressed person in zhe entire place," she said with obvious concern, "I mean...zhere are people that are coming to zhis dressed as zuperheros and others coming in zheir nightclothes even."

"And what's worse, the tux came with a real tie," Pip continued.

Photo had to pause for a second as the sound of her dad's voice distracted her. She tried to mentally tune out her dad's conversation, and asked,"Real tie? Do you mean a bow tie?"

"Indeed, and I don't have damn clue what to do with it," Pip replied before adding, "Umm...wait a minute...oh my, did I just hear something about hummers?"

Photo scowled and quickly covered the speaker and listened for a minute.

"I'm telling you, the whole things zounds silly. 'Let's Hummer away so the kids can play.' Vhat is that suppuzed to mean? No one talks like zhat", her father said to whoever was on the other end of his conversation.

"Papa, who are you talking to?" Photo implored, "And who is talking about little kids and hummers, zhat's juzt nasty."

It seemed like a reasonable question to Photo, at least when she said it. But watching her father almost double over in laughter made it clear that she had just stepped in it. Once he regained control, he turned towards his daughter and said, "Itz from an arcade game...and anyvay zhat's the wrong kind of hummer Kitten. Nice girlz should not know such nazty terms," before he finally excused himself from the room.

"Oh...pfffttbbbbb," Photo shot back before she gave a frustrated sigh, wiped a bit of spit off her chin, and finally uncovered the speaker and said, "Do not ask my friend. And do not vorry Pip, Photo Finish schall endeavor to meet you zhere and save your day. Just give me an hour."

"Sorry to put you on the spot like that," Pip replied sheepishly.

Photo sighed. "Do not vorry my friend, it is the perfect week for such things. I vill see you there," she replied, and then excused herself and disconnected.

She took a deep breath, and then stood up and walked out into the adjoining hallway, heading in the general direction of the closest bathroom. He father watched, and then asked as she entered the room, "Zo, what is the verdict?"

She appeared at the door and answered with very little enthusiasm, "It appears zhat I am going to a dance. Unfortunately, zomeone noticed." 







The evening weather was comfortably warm as students began to converge once more upon their school. Of course, for this night at least, it was far less formal and controlled than average, as students unloaded in the drive just opposite the auditorium. Younger students excused themselves quickly from the gaze of their waiting parents as they were dropped off, while older students struggled to extricate themselves from their personal vehicles without damaging their clothes. The whole theme of dress seemed to range from sublime to ridiculous, at least that is what Photo was thinking as she exited her car and began walking up the sidewalk towards the door.

She had intended to be helpful by dressing up, at least to a certain degree, though granted it was just a high styled variation on the black and white dress that for so many had become her trademark. But looking around, she could only feel that she was truly an army of one compared to those around her.

A familiar sound caught her ear, and she turned around to see Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer exiting a large minivan, driven by Twilight's mom no doubt. Photo paused and watched the pair as they got their costumes sorted out. At first she couldn't quite decide what she was seeing, as they were wearing tight spandex body suits, one red and one green, with odd stiff skirts which stood straight out, and tennis shoes and odd Roman like helmets. As she watched, she saw that Sunset was helping Twilight make minor adjustments to her sharply pointed tail. It was an interesting sight to see, especially the easy familiarity between two people who had never even met three weeks ago.

That lasted until Sunset looked her way. There was nothing said, but the uncertainty in Sunset's eyes was painfully evident. In an instant, Photo's curiosity turned into voyeurism in her mind, and she recoiled back, gave a timid wave, and quickly exited. She moved quickly towards the door and ducked inside.

Looking around, she noticed couples and groups, friends and lovers. It was the same old crowd, but she had to have her guard up as these halls now felt like enemy territory. She straightened up and marched down the hall, moving straight and true towards the gym door. As she entered, she had to pause and take in the scene. It was clear that for a supposedly less prestigious event, Vinyl and her team had pulled out all the stops, with what seemed to Photo to be all the sound and show that one would ever need. Photo took a deep breath, and then waded into the crowd, slowly working her way towards the stage. When she finally reached her goal, she flagged down Vinyl and got her permission to leave her purse and camera bag tucked in between the d.j.'s extensive equipment. She then moved as quickly as she could towards the vestibule, her head already throbbing from the pulse of the music.

It was only on exiting that she felt that she could take a break and get a look around. She moved through the crowd slowly, working her way over to the concession stand as her need for real food took precedent. But when she caught sight of it, she paused as there behind the counter with two other girls was Rarity, dressed like she had just come straight from work at the boutique, with her tan blazer over a crisp white dress shirt and black pencil skirt clearly evident from behind the counter. Photo approached cautiously as her friend adjusted stock on the back shelves, and then she asked, "Were you not zick yesterday?"

Rarity turned quickly, and then seeing Photo smiled and answered, "Well, unfortunately my particular brand of imbecility doesn't count, at least as far as Principal Celestia and my mother were concerned. So that being the case, my penance starts with working here, and continues next week with detention."

"Vhy do I get zhe impression that a zertain someone, who shall remain nameless, inschpired you," Photo replied, with a raised eyebrow, "It just zeems to myself that this person haz been bringing out the...how shall I say it..."

"...idiot in so many of us?" Rarity answered, finishing the statement. She then raised her hand and said, "Guilty." Rarity closed her eyes and sighed before she said, "Sometimes you are almost too perceptive. But, before we get any further, I have something to say to you first." She came up in front of Photo and took her hands in hers, and said, "I am so very sorry Photo. I guess I was caught up in his charm; or his looks; or my obsession with getting to prom; or I may have just gone totally dense. I really can't explain just what in the world I was thinking, but whatever it was it caused me to throw both you and Twilight to the wolves...or wolf as it were. We have indeed had our differences, but you're creative and smart, and I truly do honor you, or at least I damn well should."

Photo smiled and answered, "Honoring is not mandatory," and then she paused and said, "but if you truly vish to kiss my ring, who am I to argue?"

This brought on a shared chuckle, "I may yet take you up on that. But first...," Rarity paused and surveyed her surroundings, "I have to finish this assignment. And I can't really complain either way, at least I got out tonight, unlike Rainbow Dash, though I gather she got more than a bit of satisfaction out of taking Bold Venture down a notch." She paused, and looked down. "I should have been there, instead of hiding at home like a scared rabbit," she said in a quiet voice. 

Photo had no idea how to respond, but she didn't have to as Rarity continued, "So darling, has our dear friend Pip tracked you down yet? He has been looking."

Photo tossed her head back, "Ah no, not yet. I am zure he is around here somewhere. Actually I probably vould not even be here if he had not called. A 'wardrobe emergency' az it vere. Schtrange though, I have not heard of rental tuxez that come with actual bow ties."

"Oh my," Rarity answered with a laugh, "it is an option, but it's a bit more expensive. It certainly wouldn't be a default choice. Is that what this is all about? That is so sweet."

"Vhat?" Photo questioned.

"Oh well, I can't say for sure darling," Rarity replied, "but I wouldn't be surprised if our young friend created this problem himself just to get you here."

"Oh please," Photo responded, "Zhat is craziness; vhy would he do such a thing?"

"Oh darling, please don't take it wrong. I am only guessing," Rarity responded, her concern evident, "I'm sure if I'm right that he only wants an excuse to be around you. I mean, he truly does worship the ground you walk on."

Photo recoiled back a bit, obviously surprised. "Really?" she started, "well...he has always been an ally and a good friend...but I have never thought of him as more zhan that. I mean...vell...I have noticed zhat he pays a lot of attention; and he alvays does things for me...which I do appreciate mind you. But, it iz another thing to...vell you know."

"Oh darling," Rarity answered with obvious concern, "What on earth is the issue? You can't tell me that you wouldn't at least consider the possibility. I mean I'll grant you that I myself have never dated an underclassman; but he's polite and kind and loyal and very sweet." Rarity reached over and put her hand on Photo's shoulder and asked, "Darling, what exactly is the issue?"

"Rarity...vell," Photo replied, not sure how to phrase it, "itz just, well...he's the only boy in the entire school who iz shorter than I am."

Rarity could barely suppress a laugh at hearing this. "Oh Photo, you do obsess over the strangest things. And truly at worst it's only an inch. It's barely noticeable you know..." Rarity's voice trailed off, and Photo looked up and saw her friend looking off in another direction. She turned to look and saw a tall figure disappear through one of the adjoining double doors into the auditorium.

"Who vas zatt?" Photo asked.

"I'm not sure," Rarity replied, "Whoever it was was looking this way. I think... it might have been...him."

"Who?" Photo asked, and then it dawned on her and she added, "It iz not THAT him, is it."

"Well darling, I'm not entirely certain," Rarity answered, still scanning the crowd, "You don't think that Bold Venture would have temerity enough to come onto the campus with all the trouble he's been in, and with both Copper and Celestia here, do you?" She gave a hopeful glance Photo's way, but the expression she got in response was not at all reassuring.

Photo gave the perimeter a quick scan, and then said, "I should go."

"Oh darling," Rarity asked earnestly, "I never had a chance to get you anything. Are you sure?"

Photo took a deep breath and answered, "Yes, I'm afraid. I do not think I can eat right now. Vatch your back my friend, and let your friendz know. They can help you." She then came back to the counter and took Rarity's hands in hers.

"Photo, the same applies to you. You're not alone here, o.k.?" Rarity answered The pair just looked at each other for a moment before Photo closed her eyes and nodded. She then let go and walked away, her eyes methodically panning the crowd.