Chapter 1: The Bet
(CHS) (Cafeteria)
“And… I win.” Applejack declared smugly as she put out all her cards on the table, the three kings of a kind staring at her friend with a judgmental stare. “Sorry Rainbow Dash. But lady luck ain’t on your side today.”
The cards spilled from her fingers as she groaned in defeat. “Dang it! What the heck!? How is that even possible? You won 15 times in a row! You’ve got to be cheating.”
“More like you don’t know how to play.” She countered.
“What are you talking about? I totally know how to play.”
“You said uno the last four matches.” She pointed out. “That ain’t poker.”
“Grr… fine!” Rainbow Dash pulled out a small notepad. “Combining our last match of air-hockey… horseshoe tossing, soccer, and poker. That ties us… 99 to 99.”
“So that means we’re back to zero.” Applejack groaned. “I don’t wanna sound like Granny, but I’m getting mighty tired from all this competing.”
“Afraid you’ll lose?”
The cowgirl scoffed. “We’ve been at this matching game for a whole semester now and we’ve always tied in the end. It’s obviously not much of a challenge if we just do the same games over and over again. We need a way to break this stalemate, once and for all. Something that there’s just no way the other person can match up.”
“So… a tie breaker?”
“Yeah. That’s what I said.”
It was true. Rainbow had to admit that, even though these games were fun, they were kind of becoming rather tedious. Heck, it hardly felt like a victory when she beat Applejack in a race around the school. Her powers gave her the edge and vice versa. They needed something else. Something that they could do where no one side had the clear advantage.
“Hey guys. What’s cracking?” Pinkie Pie arrived with her tray of food noting the cards on the table. “Ooooh~~. Did Applejack win again on Poker?”
“Yup. And not even a challenge too.”
“So why the long faces? I thought people become happy when they win.”
“Not this time Pinkie.” Applejack slumped on the table, poking her mashed potato with her fork. “It ain’t no fun if your opponent can’t even tell the difference between a full house and a +2 card.”
“Hey! You’re the one who scored your own goal in air-hockey!” Rainbow Dash complained.
“The field was slippery! How in tarnation are you supposed to play on that?”
“That’s the whole point!” She grumbled.
“Wow…” Pinkie nibbled her food. “Sounds like you two need a tie breaker.”
“That’s what I said.” Rainbow Dash waved her hand up. “But it’s hard to come up with a game where we’re both good at. AJ and I have completely different set of skills.”
“We’re two sides of the same coin.”
Pinkie gave it a thought before she put in a suggestion. One that will most likely lead them to disaster. “Well… how about you play a game that neither of you are good at?” They turned their heads in her direction as if they stumbled upon gold itself. “Well since you two are good at a lot of things, why not try something you’re not good at? Like me? I didn’t think I’d like a butter nuted cupcake, so I tried it and three new flavors and then boom! It explodes in my mouth like a parade of flavors! It’ll be a great experience for you to bond over too.”
It sounded dumb. Simple and dumb… but at the same time very intriguing. Why do something at what they’re both good when they can do the complete opposite?
“That’s not a bad idea.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin slyly. “Something none of us are good at. Whatdayasay Applejack?”
She shrugged boringly, though her face stated a different emotion. “Well… I could certainly use the challenge. Beating you and getting beaten by you is starting to get real boring.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll settle on a match. Winner takes all. No more ties. No more draws. The winner becomes the winner forever and gloating rights for an entire year. Deal?”
“Deal.” They spat on their hands and shook on it. “But what kind of game are we supposed to play? We practically played everything there is to play in school. Horse racing, bike racing, car racing…”
“You guys raced in cars?” Pinkie questioned but was left ignored.
“Well… how about something outside of school?” Rainbow Dash suggested. “Something that neither you nor I have ever done.” Her friends looked at her waiting for an explanation. “Well this is just something I thought of when I went to Rarity’s place. You know that show, High Strung Bachelor?”
Pinkie blinked. “That reality TV show where ten gorgeously handsome guys compete against one another and humiliate themselves for the entertainment of the crowd and the heart of a beautiful celebrity?”
“Yeah… that one. I was thinking we could do that.”
“You want us to jump through hoops for some random shmuck?” Applejack retorted.
“No no no! I mean we both pick one guy and try to… how do I say this…?”
“Seduce?” Pinkie suggested.
“Not really seduce… but yeah. Seduce. We seduce him.”
“That’s silly.”
“Come on! It’s the perfect tie breaker! No way can we tie that ever again. Back me up here Pinkie.”
Surprisingly enough the cotton candy girl was skeptic. “I dunno Rainbow. This sounds a bit… daring, even for you.”
“Hey, you said that we should do something that none of us are good at. I’ll admit I’m not exactly the best when it came to asking guys out, and Applejack isn’t the most alluring sight around here.”
“Excuse me!?”
“No no. She’s right.” Pinkie nodded in agreement much to her friend’s horror. “Sorry Applejack. But out of everyone in the group, you have the least appeal out of all of us.”
Applejack’s face turned redder than her apples back home. “Wha…! That’s hootenanny hogwash! I’ll show you two that I got plenty of charms!” She smacked her hat down on the table. “That’s it. You’re on Rainbow Dash!” The sports gal pumped her fist in triumph.
“Alright then. Let’s set some ground rules. We both have to pick the guy. It can’t be someone one of us is already close with. And we both get to have one chance.”
“So how do we know who wins?” Their eyes then shot up recalling something earlier. “The Spring Dance!” They said in unison.
“That’s right! The Spring Dance.” Rainbow Dash agreed. “It’s two weeks’ away. The one who he brings to the dance, wins. Deal?”
“Deal.” They shook hands once more and then turned over to the cafeteria. “But who to pick?” There was a cafeteria filled with prime candidates. All for the taking.
“Ooooh! I know!” Pinkie spoke up. “How about Bulk Bicep? He’s available.” They turned over to the said muscle boy who cracked opened a pinecone between his pecks. The veins throbbing under his skin was… frightening to say the least.
“Ugh… maybe next time.” Rainbow Dash motioned which her partner readily agreed on. “How about Rover?”
“Ain’t he doing community service after he, Spot and Fido broke the bleachers last week?”
“Ok fine… how about…”
“Oh! What about Zephyr Breeze?” Pinkie pointed over to the said boy who for some reason turned his head their way and gave a suggestive wink.
“Gahhh!” The blood in Rainbow Dash’s body chilled at the thought. “Pass, pass, hard pass, double pass!”
“Big Mac?”
“Pinkie!” Applejack scolded. “Ugh… this is a lot harder than I thought.”
“Yeah. Most of the guys here are either sub-par or taken. We need someone we can sink our teeth on. Someone cool, and not remotely creepy. Someone like…”
And by the will of the galaxy her answer came in the form of guitar strings strumming nearby. The trio turned to the source finding the blue haired boy, sitting by the corner, smiling sweetly as he hummed a tune to himself.
“Oh. No.” Pinkie hastily protested on this. “No no no no no no no no. Rainbow Dash. That is not a good idea.”
“He’s perfect!”
“NO!” Pinkie screamed earning the attention of the cafeteria. “Aheh… ahehehe.” She quickly pulled the multi-hair-colored gal close. “Rainbow Dash. You cannot be seriously thinking about making HIM of all people, a target!?”
“Why not?” She blurted. “He’s cool, he’s hip and he’s not seeing anybody right now. He’s perfect!”
“No no no no! That is Sunset’s ex-boyfriend! That’s danger zone right there! There is a rule against this action! The bro code denounces this! Pick anyone! Anyone other than him! There are like… a hundred other fishes in the cafeteria!”
“Hmm… I don’t mind.”
“Applejack!?” Pinkie’s head cranked in the cowgirl’s direction, shocked to actually see her agreeing to this ridiculous nonsense.
“We’re just taking him to a dance, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash reminded. “It’s just one date. It’s not like we’re gonna be his girlfriend or anything.”
“Yeah. Besides, he is quite easy on the eyes.”
Rainbow push the bubbly gal away and stared at her friend. “So… we agree? First one to get Flash to the dance, wins?”
“Agreed.” Once more they shook hands and smiled while Pinkie remained horrified in her corner of the table.
Yup… this isn’t going to end well…