"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't."
- Jerry Rice
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“And with that ladies and gentlemen of Canterlot, CHS has now scored higher than Cloudstale, at a tense Four to Eight! One more and they’ll have won the first half!”
Wiping away the sweat pooling around her eyes, Rainbow Dash grinned maniacally as she watched Flash Sentry shoot the ball into Cloudstale’s net, earning him a combination of roaring cheers and approving pats on the back from his teammates.
To everyone’s surprise Canterlot’s Blitzball team, The GlitzyBlitzers, had completely turned the tables on Cloudstale’s winning streak from the very get-go. Despite their best efforts, no matter what move the Cloudstale team made CHS was always one step ahead to steal back the point and keep them in first place.
Rainbow wasn’t surprised though. Ever since she’d started her own team last year, Blitzball had been one of the most popular sports CHS practiced in upmost passion, and that wasn’t even accounting for the sheer amount of love Dash held for it.
The same apparently could not be said for the Cloudstale Washouts. Despite their near unnatural energy from the previous two events, it seemed their overall initial teamwork/strategy was severely lacking. Blitzball in itself was all about partnership and voiceless communication between teammates, even more so than soccer or Hoofball in many ways. So when Gilda, Sky Stinger, or anyone else on their team took control of the ball, they acted just like last time, running with animalistic fury and determination towards the goal.
But pure, raw energy can only do so much for a fully tactical game like Blitzball. While the enemy students could definitely take a hit, it didn’t take long for RD and her team to realize that they didn’t exactly have a sound strategy when playing.
They were too obvious with their shots and trajectory, too out in the open and away from fellow teammates to defend the ball, which practically made it a cake-walk for Dash, Sunset, or anyone else to swoop in and steal the ball for a win whilst being surrounded by CHS students to protect them.
What made it even better was the sheer look of primal fury growing on the faces of Dumbbell and Gilda with each score the GlitzyBlitzers made. Whether it was irritation, embarrassment, or a mixture of both, she didn’t care, Dash just couldn’t help but feel proud over her team. They’d all worked so hard to earn this.
Beside her, the yellow-haired girl from earlier glared daggers into the captain’s head, clearly just as upset as her own team at the sudden change of events. Dash barely paid her any mind though when seeing the others now jogging away from the goal, straightening her jersey before clapping her hands together for attention.
“Alright GlitzyBlitzers, huddle up!”
As all seven players bunched together in a tight circle Rainbow proudly pumped her fist up.
“Great teamwork everyone, that’s exactly how professionals like us get it done! But I wouldn’t start counting your checks yet, we’ve still got a whole ‘other round to go after this so listen carefully. I say we finish this first half off with a bang. Now, it’s the Washout’s turn to run with the ball so Soarin I need you to try and steal the ball this time, once you get a shot I want you to throw it towards Sunset. Flash, Forest Thunder, you two guard her while me and Twilight try and keep Cloudstale in the dust, cool?”
Met with affirming nods and woops, she was seconds from giving the go-ahead when Sunset quickly spoke up.
“What happens if they manage to get past Flash and Forest Thunder? I think it’d be better if one of us was ahead of me, just in case.”
Dash nodded enthusiastically.
“Good idea, then Twilight how about you take front while I keep Cloudstale busy. That sound like a plan to you guys? Great! Now let’s go finish this GlitzyBlitzers!”
Spreading out into the field, Dash watched as her team ever so slyly sneak themselves into position, with the Cloudstale team none the wiser through their frustrated state. That however didn’t stop them from expressing their emotions towards Dash and her friends, because no sooner had she placed herself when the yellow-haired girl from earlier stood beside her. Obviously wanting to defend her own team from RD as soon as the whistle blew apparently.
What the captain didn’t expect was for the newcomer to actually start speaking to her.
“You know, I never did introduce myself. Name’s Lightning Dust.”
Somewhere deep in Rainbow’s mind she felt a gear turn. “Lightning Dust”, why did that name sound familiar?
“I’m Rainbow-“
The other girl waved her hand in the air, cutting her off.
“Rainbow Dash, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know who you are. Now how about you zip it and listen…”
Before she knew it, Dash found Lightning Dust up in her personal space, a nasty scowl adorning the other girl’s face.
“We both know you and Gilda hate each other’s guts, and frankly, I don’t blame her for wanting to ram her fist down your throat. But for the sake of the game I’ll go ahead and play peacemaker, so here’s the deal…”
Pointing out towards her fellow players, Dust shifted her gaze to draw the other girl’s attention elsewhere.
“…If you switch yourself out with someone else on your team right here, right now, then I’ll make sure our captain switches out Gilda so you two can go for each other’s throats on the sidelines and quit messing up both team’s focus. It’s hard enough losing to you people, only then having to keep her from strangling Dumbbell.”
RD snorted while mumbling under her breath.
“Sounds like an improvement for him honestly.”
Lightning Dust rolled her eyes with a huff, crossing her arms impatiently. “So do we have a deal then or not?”
Clamping her mouth shut Dash took a second to scan around the area, drinking in the sight of the crowd, the irritable Cloudstale students, and finally her friends, who had all turned their heads towards the captain when noticing her distraction from the game. All it took was the cautious glance from Sunset to make up her mind.
“No deal.” She answered with a note of finality.
The hidden gleam of excitement behind Lightning Dust’s own glare could barely be seen as she smirked.
“That’s what I expected. Can’t say I at least didn’t try though.” She sighed before returning back to her position, waving her hand up over her shoulder. “Best of luck to ya, not that you’ll need it.”
Watching her retreating form, Rainbow Dash felt a mixture of emotions begin to stir as the referee signaled for the competitor’s attention. Once all eyes were on him, he brought up the whistle and blew, the noise echoing throughout the arena as both teams flew into action.
As expected, the person chosen to start off with the ball, one of Dumbbell’s old buddies named Hoops, didn’t bother to pass it over to one of his open teammates and instead charged headfirst towards the CHS goal fully exposed. Noticing an incoming Flash, he instantly jerked away in an attempt to lose him only to have the ball slip from underneath his arm in the blink of an eye as Soarin swooped in from behind for the steal. With Hoops stuck in his baffled state, it made it all the more easier for both students to leave the jock in the dust as they bolted towards the opposite goal.
Sunset waved her arms for the catch, thus RD took the opportunity to quickly get in-between her friend and one of the other Cloudstale team members, another familiar friend of Dumbell’s named Score, before he could snatch the ball midair. Brushing past Gilda, Soarin was able to dribble the ball three times (the common rule of Blitzball before a pass) and weaving by the desperate Washouts while passing it right by Dash into Sunset’s arms .
With all the attention now on her, Sunset turned heel and ran as fast as she could with the others tailing behind her while Twilight ran in the front. Forest Thunder and Flash jumped into action, forming a makeshift shield around the red head as RD and Soarin backed down to block their competition.
Feeling a sharp push from behind, Rainbow turned her head slightly to see Sky Stinger desperately trying to escape his newfound containment by attempting to weave through the gap between her and Soarin. Because her other teammate was already struggling to hold back his portion of the enemy team, RD decided to ever so subtly scooch herself over until she was directly in Stinger’s front, causing him to grunt in surprise before stumbling to the side.
Up ahead Sunset was already inches away from the goal with Twilight in front of her and Forest Thunder and Flash flanking her behind, their sheer numbers overwhelming Score, who was struggling to keep up. The plan was working!
Dash nearly toppled over as something train wrecked into her shoulder and rocketed past, looking up through her daze to see Gilda running as fast as she could to catch up with the other students in order to keep her team from losing the first round. Although even from in the far back RD could tell it was too late, even with her current speed Gilda wouldn’t be able to reach Sunset before the ex-unicorn spiked the ball in the net, and that wasn’t accounting for Twilight holding point. Still, did she have to be so brutal about it all, even the best Blitzball players knew when-
Suddenly Rainbow Dash felt something else ram into her, hard. She topples to the ground in an instant, clutching her right shin because she’s sure she’s been shot with a bullet. Sky Stinger just barely manages to mercifully jump over her crumpled form as the whistle blows out for everyone to stop. Rolling on her back Dash looks up to see none other than freaking Lightning Dust beside her, that same hidden glee behind her eyes as she speaks in that obnoxious faux voice.
“Oh crap! I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, it was an accident!”
The pained howl clawing up her throat halts her from retorting, so instead the sports captain settles for a death glare as she clamps her mouth shut while holding her leg.
Faust what did she get hit with, a sledgehammer!? Her nerves screamed in agony as both her coach, teammates, and the ref huddle up close to her, each of them spewing questions a mile-a-minute. She barely paid them any mind instead shifting her gaze back over to Lightning Dust who’d by now backed away from the huddle with a fake worried expression.
As she’s lifted off the grass with the help of Flash and Soarin, the heat growing on her face is nothing compared to the white-hot lava that pools in her chest when she sees Dumbell bump knuckles with Dust.
______
Half-time.
“Ouch! Not so rough okay!”
Holding Dash’s leg in place, Applejack sighed in agitation.
“Well, if you would sit still for half a second Ah just might be able to fix you without havin’ to hold you down.”
The seventeen-year-old girl groans loudly as she lays back down on the bench, crossing her arms with an indignant huff.
“This freaking sucks so hard. you guys know I’ve dealt with worse right?”
Propped up on the bench with Dash, Twilight rolled her eyes while wiping her brow with a sweat towel.
“Rainbow Dash, your shin just got slammed with a pair of cleats, you should be thankful all you received was a massive bruise.”
“Exactly!” Dash threw her arms up. “Which is why I should be out there returning the favor to that little priss!”
She felt a palm rest on her shoulder, causing her to look up at Fluttershy who wore that serious, yet undeniably pleading look which Dash had always hated.
“You’ll be doing no such thing. That won’t make this any better, besides the last thing you need is to hurt yourself more.”
Craning her head up to the sky, Dash fixated her displeased groan towards the clouds above, ideas of delicious revenge already swarming across her vision.
Pretty much the only thing that made this disaster better was the fact that they’d won the first round. While Lightning Dust had been screwing around with Rainbow’s shin, Sunset had passed the ball to Twilight and scored before the whistle blew, technicality help CHS win the round.
Of course, that didn’t mean as soon as she was able to walk Dash wasn’t ready to go over and pound Dust into a pile of, well, dust. Although in her injured state, and much to her embarrassment, it took way less effort for her teammates to hold her back from doing so, thus keeping her imprisoned on this stupid bench for half-time.
She felt her leg shift as AJ finished her inspection before gently placing it down, tilting her hat while humming.
“Oh, it’s definitely bruised no doubt, but not broken.” She concluded. “Ah would recommend staying outta the rest of today’s games however. Only because if ya don’t, you’ll just end up making this harder on yourself!”
Having been stopped before she could interject, Rainbow Dash drooped her hands back down and glared at the floor. The gnawing sensation of bitterness in her stomach further added salt to the wound nearly making her nauseous.
“I can’t just sit here for the rest of the day…” She spat. “…I’ve been ready for this event all month, and now we’re finally evening the score! This is our chance.”
“And you’ve done an astounding job so far darling.” Rarity pressed, looking both prideful as well as sympathetic. “But you won’t be doing anyone any favors putting yourself in harm’s way over something that’ll be next year’s bridle gossip.”
“Yeah, think about all the other cool stuff we’ve got planned for the rest of this month!” Dash nearly jumped as Pinkie Pie popped in from behind. “You can’t let a big meanie like Lightning Dust make you miss out on more than you have to.”
Hearing her name made RD felt her fists clench while turning her gaze outwards to the other side of the field, immediately locking onto the huddled form of the Cloudstale students and their captain. Only she paused once realizing the absence of a certain blue-skinned Washout. The field wasn’t that far apart so even from her end she could see the rival team perfectly, but no matter how hard she looked Dash couldn’t see Lightning Dust anywhere. Maybe she was behind someone out of view, gone to take a drink?
Actually, the longer she stared the more students she could see were missing. Dust, Gilda, Dumbell, Hoops, Sky Stinger, all five had completely vanished.
“-ash, RAINBOW DASH!”
“Ngah, what, what?!” She flinched when the shrill voice ripped her away from her thoughts.
“I was saying…” Twilight huffed. “…That as our team’s captain, it’d be best if you decide who’s going to replace you for the next half.”
RD felt her jaw touch the floor, giving her friend a look like she’d just been asked to glass a city. Shaking her head Rainbow Dash nearly pushed herself off the table while waving in defense.
“Are you kidding me right now?! No, no, nonononono, I am finishing this, and that’s final. I have to!”
AJ pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, before being elbowed in the stomach by Rarity while the fashionista brought her hands up in hopes of calming the newly growing tension.
“Now, now Rainbow Dash, I really think it’d be best if you thought about this a tad more-”
“NO!”
All six girls backed away in surprise at the sudden outburst as RD glared defiantly, though whether or not it was directed at them was still in question, that didn’t stop the normally haughty teen from looking rather scary with the amount of crazed determination bleeding through her eyes. Sitting ramrod straight, she refused every instinct to curl herself up into a ball when the geode around her neck had suddenly exploded into a flurry of emotions right as Rarity began her sentence. Aside from initial surprise, the one thing that caught her off guard the most was the sheer amount of pain radiating off the Equestrian artifact and stabbing invisible thickened needles through her muscles towards her very heart.
Regardless, she’d rather be caught dead then curling up like a meek, cornered animal in front of all her friends, especially considering the brewing anger she held for the current situation. So, being Rainbow Dash, she did the next best thing her instincts told her to do, to defend herself.
Except there wasn’t anything to be defended from, there were no enemies or potential threats. Just her very safe, very worried friends. Taking note of the pain subsiding, Rainbow felt her stomach drop ten feet at the surrounding sight of her friend’s initial intimidation before she cleared her throat and reshaped her chosen features to more of a stubborn look than one of anger.
“I. Can’t. Quit. Not now, not here.” She stressed, praying they’d get the gist. “CHS is counting on me to beat these guys, especially considering the Friendship Games…”
She internally slapped herself. One mere glance in Twilight’s direction was all it took for a wave of shame to wash over her as the bookworm visibly shrunk. Ignoring the scornful looks, RD continued in a more softer voice.
“…Considering there never was a clear winner since the Friendship Games, CHS is still waiting for a big victory. You know, where we can show everyone we can win things without the help of magic! How can I do that if I let some stupid bruise get in the way of everyone’s hopes, or have me leave you guys out there to do all the work?!”
“But you’re not, Rainbow.”
With the athlete finished with her tirade, all eyes turned away from RD to focus on the new speaker. That being Sunset Shimmer who stepped up from behind the group to meet the other’s gaze.
“We understand what you’re saying, but we can handle ourselves out there. And no one is looking down on you because of this.” Sunset indicated. “If you really want to keep playing, then we’re not going to force you, but please, please, trust me when I say the last thing we need or want is for you to get hurt trying to prove yourself for something we already know you’re best at.”
Head beginning to fill with thousands of backup mile-a-minute responses, Dash bit the inside of her cheek and looked around at her friend’s faces. Some sympathetic, some frustrated, but mostly overall hopeful. The pain in her chest was getting worse by the second, and if she was starting to question if her geode was the sole reason behind it.
“She’s right…” Fluttershy wrapped an arm around her old friend’s shoulders. “… we won’t force you, that’s not what friends do.”
Instinctively squeezing Shy’s offered hand, Dash tore her eyes away from the others and back towards her injured leg, desperately wishing the burning scowl she was giving it would somehow magically fix the broken skin and hammering pain in the shin bone. Alas, fate was once again not on her side today as she was forced to lift her head up to the six teens. This wasn’t how this day was supposed to go, this wasn’t how she was supposed to look in front of them!
Swallowing the bile scratching up her throat, Dash groaned on last time before finally giving in.
“Fine, I’ll stay out of this one halftime. But after that, I’m going back in for Hoofball.”
The sudden yet massive shift of ease that sprung through the air made her question whether or not they heard the last bit or not, however it did feel nice to see them all visibly relax. Sunset was the first to talk.
“Thank you Rainbow, I…I know this is unfair, and I know how much this means to you.” The look on Dash’s face made it clear that the ex-unicorn did, in fact, not know just how much it meant to her, but she let the older girl continue nonetheless. “I promise we’ll win this round and make you proud.”
Applejack seemed to catch something off the corner of her eye, because all of the sudden the farm girl balked before jumping back into the line of attention.
“Not to ruin this or anythin’…” she began. “…But it seems as though your coach is gatherin everyone up for a huddle.”
Everyone peered behind Dash, (who in turn had to twist around for her part), to indeed see the CHS coach whistling for all Blitzball players, probably ready to inform them on the new replacement for their captain. RD merely rolled her eyes, motioning her head towards him when Sunset and the others looked at her once more, as if inquiring clarification.
Watching them go, she tried her best to ignore the sympathy eyes and hugs, instead grinding her teeth together while tightly clutching the collar of her shirt. Taking a shaky breathe due to the growing strain in her chest she mumbled lowly.
“It’s not about you making me proud.”
“What was that?”
She froze. Crap, she’d forgotten Fluttershy was still here. She was sure she’d gotten whiplash with how fast she’d turned to face the caretaker, although she resisted the pain to flash an all too flashy grin.
“N-Nothing! Hey, what say we go get another drink huh?”
Despite her initial surprise at the quick response, Fluttershy composed herself and nodded eagerly.
“That sounds like a good idea, would you like some help standing?”
Waving her off Dash smirked and pushed away from the bench, hating how the increased weight on her sore leg caused her to nearly buckle over. “Nah, I’m good. It’s not that far anyway.”
Of course that didn’t stop the hands wrapping both her shoulders and one under her arm to steady herself as her leg buckled again. Flashing an awkward grin at her friend, Dash mumbled another “Thanks.” While trying to steady herself again, she managed to edge away from the yellow teen so she could stand alone without any help. Lifting her leg up as to not push any weight on it, she hissed before trudging towards her team’s nearest drink cooler, Fluttershy trailing close behind.
She was halfway there when suddenly she stopped, much to Shy’s confusion. It seemed as though the athlete had frozen in place, the only indication of movement coming from her being her labored breathing. Curious, and a bit intimidated, Fluttershy investigated.
“Rainbow, are you alright?” she called out, only to be interrupted when Dash swung a hand up and shushed her. Clasping a hand over her mouth, the caretaker stayed quiet.
Over the roaring sounds of the stadium beside them, there wasn’t much else to be heard. The streets next to CHS were always usually calm, even in rush hour, so there was no traffic.
Wait.
She strained her senses, hoping to find whatever RD was supposedly hearing. Was that, laughter?
She didn’t get a chance to question it because Rainbow had already taken off, hobbling without a word in the opposite direction from the stands and trailing down the long side of the CHS building towards the sound. Already caught off guard Fluttershy spluttered before following, the older teen continuing to ignore her frantic calls.
The further they walked alongside the building away from the crowd, the more eerie things seemed. As the loud chatting of fellow team players and excited fans faded away, both could hear the distinct laughter more clearly resulting in a heavy sense of awkwardness to hang in the air the closer they got. Rainbow furrowed her eyes when she suddenly stopped mid-step, holding out a hand to stop an anxious Fluttershy from tripping over her in surprise when Dash mutely pointed a finger towards the corner in front of them. It wasn’t just laughter, someone was having some kind of conversation, although with the sheer volume they were using she’d have guessed someone was having a separate party.
With a now a scared Fluttershy clinging behind her back, the athlete could only suck in a breath before tiptoeing towards the corner and peeking out to see what the fuss was all about.
Sitting in a circle next to what she assumed was some kind of CHS power conduit was all the Cloudstale students she’d noticed missing from earlier.
Sky Stinger, Gilda, Dumbbell, Lightning Dust, and another girl she doesn’t recognize are too busy laughing their butts about something Dumbbell said, to which she didn’t hear or care, as Hoops digs his hand into a school bag off to the side.
“You’re not serious?!” Lightning Dust gasped between breathes while setting down her water bottle.
“No I swear it’s the truth!” Dumbbell chuckled beside her. “Wish I could’ve seen that punks face when he figured out what was really in the package.”
“That’s sick man.” Sky Stinger balked, leaning against the wall. Sitting across from him Dumbbell merely shrugged.
“Hey, I told the idiot what would happen if he tried anything funny. He practically asked for it.”
A crinkling sound was heard before a crushed soda can flew in the air, banging into the side of Dumbbell’s head and earning a quick “Hey!” As Gilda spoke up.
“Speaking of which…” She groused. “…Just so we’re clear, your little girlfriend wouldn’t happen to know about this would she?”
All sense of ease dropped when the bigger female fixated a stern glare on Sky Stinger, with a closer look Dash could also see the hidden aggression behind some of the other kid’s features too as all eyes turned on the dark blue male. Shifting nervously as if he were on trial, Stinger cleared his throat and glared back at Gilda.
“I already told you Gilda, Vapor Trail doesn’t know. And she never will, so why don’t you lay off her for once?!”
The burly teen huffed at her friend, rolling her eyes and putting her hands up defensively.
“Chillax Romeo, nothing wrong with being cautious. I just don’t trust doormats that’s all.”
Her “apology” barely seemed to faze Stinger, who growled under his breath. Still hiding behind the corner, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Vapor Trail doesn’t know.” Know what? What were these guys even talking about? Fluttershy’s tightening grip agreed with her, she had a very bad feeling about this.
“Yeah, whatever. Hey Hoops, you gonna bring the stuff out or not?” Sky Stinger turned to his head towards the right, Dumbbell’s old school buddy head deep in his bag while waving Sky off nonchalantly.
“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying, jeez.”
That said, it took half a minute until Dash heard Hoops audibly exclaim something, although it was largely muffled, and he dragged his upper lanky body out from the zipper. As Hoops turned around both girls could clearly see two small hand-sized boxes clutched in his hands, but the label was too tiny and far away for either to see.
That’s when Hoops ripped open one of the boxes to reveal a set array of thin, ghastly needles which he plopped down next to Lightning Dust with little care. Then he opened the second box. Dumping into his free hand were two miniature containers filled to the brim with a yellowish-blue substance.
“Psst, Shy.” Rainbow whispered behind her back. Fluttershy, frozen in a state of either fear or repulsion, failed to answer. Rolling her eyes, Dash whipped her head around with a hiss. “SHY!”
“Y-yes?”
“You still have my phone?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Give it to me!”
Reaching into her pocket Fluttershy pulled out the device and quickly handed it over, her friend nabbing it without hesitation. Once in position she instantly pointed the device towards the group of teens as Hoops took one of the stray needles and jammed its tip into the container’s thin lid, resulting in a loud crack. Thumbing the plastic plunger up, Dash felt sick to her stomach as the needle sucked up the container’s gross substance until the liquid was practically pooling over its cylinder top.
Seemingly satisfied, Hoops yanked the needle out to show the rest of the group, chemical formula still leaking out of the metal tube.
A whistle was heard when the unnamed girl saw the object. Gilda groaned impatiently.
“Yeah ooh, aaah, looks just as dazzling as the last hundred times you’ve shown us. I’m swooning over here. Hand me it already.”
Hoops turned to her with a glare, snarling.
“You know how much this stuff costs? I had to sneak off with my old man’s favorite watch just to get the last dosage! For that, you’re getting’ last.”
He then sat down in the group while rolling up his sleeves. Beside him Gilda snorted.
“Dick.”
Then to RD’s disgust she watched as Hoops dug the sharp metal into a vein in his lower arm while pressing down on the pump, releasing the agent into his body. Behind her dash could hear Fluttershy cover her mouth to hide a gag.
“Are you sure this is still legal?” The unnamed girl piped up.
“Meh, still legal, just not for this type of use I guess.” Hoops shrugged, stopping once the syringe was empty and passing the container over to her. She grabbed her own syringe in turn while Hoops wagged a finger. “Remember, the rush only acts for about an hour, and this is the last bottle left. So you better make this count Rolling Thunder.”
The unnamed girl, now classified as Rolling Thunder, waved him off while injecting herself.
“Okay mom. Can’t believe how hard CHS kicked our butts earlier, you think they’d give up by now.”
“Don’t worry it’ll be short lived.” Gilda crossed her arms with a smirk. “Speaking of which, what the hell Dust? You know I was the one who was supposed to take down Dash, we discussed this a thousand times earlier.”
Attention on her, Lightning Dust looked to her friend and chuckled.
“You snooze you lose Gil. Don’t you remember you were too busy sittin’ all the way in the back to do anything? Relax, you’ll get plenty more chances today.”
Clenching her fists until she could feel the nails digging into her palm, Rainbow held her phone steady while trying not to burst from out of cover to nail both Dust and Gilda over the head to avenge the pile of mush that was her ego. So they’d actually planned to hurt her?! Sure, she’d guessed it might’ve been a spur of the moment thing where they were angry from their new loss, but this had been planned before the games? Man that was a new low.
I really had crappy taste back then.
“You guys were right though, that Rainbow girl really knows how to hit back.” Sky Stinger hummed in thought, a small mix of admiration caught in his gaze while recalling the last few hours. “I had a hard time keeping her in the back from the track race, and we nearly lost with soccer. Gotta admit it’s pretty cool she’s been able to catch up with us at all today, even with this adrenaline on our side.”
“She’s not catching up.” Gilda sat up straight, narrowing her eyes into slits. “Dash has always been too stubborn for her own good, just doesn’t know when to quit. But that doesn’t mean she’s about to win over us.”
Rolling Thunder coughed into her fist. “You know I never asked, what your deal with her anyway?”
Letting out a dry laugh Gilda shrugged while being handed the chemical container.
“Oh you know, basically what you’d expect. We met all the way back in the 4th grade, she’d gotten me out of a rough spot, and I was one of the only people who could match her crazy. We were pretty much glued to the hip as kids. You couldn’t go a mile down our town without seeing some kind of public misdemeanor or tagged property me and her left behind.”
The wistful look on her face fell. “Then all of that changed when her folks had to move. Didn’t see her for another two whole years, and other than calls and emails I had no way of communication. That’s when Grandpa Gruff needed to fetch some supplies over here and offered to take me with him, he never offers much of anything so I took it without hesitation. As you can guess, I couldn’t really care less about whatever it was he wanted to show me, I was just too hyped to see my friend again.”
“Once we found each over, it was like nothing ever changed. Racing, picking fights with the neighborhood jerks, the usual. There hadn’t been a happier time in my life that week.”
As the rest of the group leaned forward in interest, Gilda’s expression suddenly darkened.
“Of course Dash had made some more friends while she was away, although her taste apparently seemed to have taken a nosedive. I needed to bend over backwards to set a schedule with her because she was so booked with those freaking dweebs. Jeez you guys should see them, they’re like, the most cheesy, weirdest group of spineless morons you’d expect from a little kid’s show. And when I knew it was time for me to go and for her to decide…”
The burly Washout trailed off, her dour expression shifting into multiple kinds of anger, contempt, and grief. But most of all, almost everyone could see the clear sadness eventually win against all fighting emotions.
Holding back her breath, Dash felt her mind buzz with past memories racing across her vision. Gilda wasn’t being fair. Yes, Rainbow had made her decision back then and still could admit she made the right choice, but her ex-friend was leaving out more than she was letting on.
How she bullied Fluttershy out of jealousy behind Rainbow’s back. Or when she tried to cut out Pinkie from Dash’s schedule while stealing RD’s phone in the process. And she’d never forgive the other teen for straight up getting Applejack into a near fatal accident landing the famer in the emergency room.
Gilda may have been a good friend in those earlier days, and maybe they both weren’t the best role models for each other, but if anything it was her who’s taste in human decency dropped a few miles back home.
“It’s not your fault Gilda…” Lightning Dust put a hand on her friend’s shoulder in sympathy. “…It was hers. She pushed you aside in favor of people she just met, people who didn’t know her as well as you do. I mean come on, looking back it’s no wonder she didn’t have many friends back then!”
“Crash has always been a klutz, never mattered if it were about friendships or overall not sucking at the things she claims she’s good at.” Dumbbell sneered as he watched Dust finish injecting herself and eventually the last remaining measurement over the Gilda.
“Most of the time it takes a couple bruises and a bloody nose for her to gain a general sense of what she’s doing. Find it hard to believe a drop out like her made it this far without a handful of cheats along the way.”
Everyone nodded in unison, an awkward silence beginning to grow. Rolling Thunder put on an optimistic grin.
“Well, at least you have us now! A-and we promise not to leave you.”
In response the older girl chuckled humorlessly under her breath as she watched the liquid drug drain from its cylinder enclosure, through the syringe, and into her bloodstream.
“Charmed.” She deadpanned, flicking the medical device away carelessly with her thumb. With the adrenaline now gone she tossed the bottle overhead to Hoops, giving the yellow-haired girl beside her a very heated glare.
“Anyway, half time’s ‘bout over. Since she’s injured Dash won’t be able to join the last round, but that doesn’t mean she won’t force her way into Hoofball. So the plan hasn’t changed. We smoke CHS in Blitzball this time, that’ll officially win us the event; Hoofball will just be us spitting on the wound. That’s when I end this, I’m going to make damn sure that backstabbing bitch won’t be able to stand on her leg more than 10 seconds for the rest of her life. Any of you try anything without my permission, then I’ll find you after the games.”
Dash was sure she’d split her tongue with how hard she was biting it to keep herself from saying anything. Fluttershy’s firm grip on her shoulders to keep her still also might’ve played a part in her forced silence. Some unknown voice whispered tempting solutions through her head like a riled earworm, granting her visions on how to get back at the bullies. Smacking that constant forsaken smirk off Dumbbell’s face, wrap her hands around Gilda’s throat, but most of all sticking one of those syringes up Lightning Dust’s…
Suddenly The camera disappeared as Fluttershy’s phone flashed to life with a mixture of lights and sounds, a picture of Sunset Shimmer on screen with the traitorous message of an incoming call. Her internals turning to ice, Rainbow nearly chucked the phone to hyperspace while futilely attempting to shut the thing up. However the damage had already been done.
In an instant Gilda shot her head up, perking like an alert predator when she noticed the noise coming from the corner. Ignoring the questioning gazes from her group she brushed past them to barrel towards the side wall, whipping around to catch her supposed eavesdroppers.
What she saw instead were Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, mad dashing back towards the field with their phone in hand. Stomach boiling in hate at the sight of her two hated nemesis, her hackles raised as she prepared to give chase, only for lightning Dust to stop her.
Whipping her head around, Gilda seethed at the person who dared touch her.
“What the hell are you doing!? They’re getting away!”
Poker-faced, Lightning Dust only rolled her eyes in response.
“Calm down juggernaut. We can’t be spotted yet, besides, with that leg how far can she get. We’ll catch up.”
“But..” Gilda began to protest, to which Dust quickly cut her off.
“I said don’t worry, I’ve got a plan. But first…” Waving a commanding gesture to Hoops Lightning Dust addressed the rest of the teens. “…We need to hide the evidence, now let’s go people!”
As the rest of them scrambled, Gilda instead stayed put, her violet gaze never leaving the far-off stands were the two CHS students disappeared. Her frown slowly lifted into a sinister smirk.
I’m gonna make this right, I have to. You hear me Dash? No one strikes me without paying.
________________
“Rainbow, wait up!”
She could barely hear her friend’s frantic calls over the steam blowing through her ears, the words from Gilda and the others replaying in her mind like a broken record. How could they do this? How could they hurt her like this and blame her for things they weren’t even there to see? She didn’t do anything wrong!
Fists clenched tight by her waist, Rainbow fought back the bitter tears threating to spill as she roughly shoved past anyone who stood in her way. Each step she took caused another spike of pain to soar up her leg, which only allowed her face to redden more, although from what specifically she didn’t know or care really. It did nothing to quell the utter betrayal that was ultimately burning in her soul.
“Rainbow please slow down!”
When the voice got far too close for comfort, Dash instantly found herself whipping around to face a very anxious Fluttershy.
“What!? Why did you stop me, didn’t you hear what they were planning on doing?”
She hated how obvious the crack in her own voice was. Momentarily taken aback, Fluttershy desperately tried to regain her composure while nervously brushing aside frazzled locks to actually see.
“W-we need to s-show Principal Celestia the footage fast, if they play the next round with that…that…Stuff inside them someone else might get hurt!”
RD snorted. “You bet we’re gonna show Principal Celestia this. Oh this is rich, some supposed hardcore players they are. Bet they wouldn’t have been able to win a single one of these games without cheating. When I get my hands on them- ”
“Hey captain!”
Cringing at the new intruding voice, Rainbow turned around to see a boy her age jog up to both girls. Recognizing him on the spot, only half due to the GlitzyBlitzer outfit he sported, she forced a half grin at him.
“What’s up Forest Thunder? Little busy here.”
Fixating his shirt’s collar the boy jutted his thumb back towards his team group.
“Coach wanted me to ask you if you’re up for competing in the rest of Blitzball instead of having Fleetfoot take over for you. Although with how you looked with your injury, I guess he just wanted to get your confirmation on the switch.”
Fluttershy really shouldn’t have not expected Dash to go stock still at the question, her face indescribably poker yet obviously inwardly arguing between reasoning and a vengeful ego.
Fluttershy also really should have expected Dash to tilt in her direction, making it seem as though she was honestly asking for her friend’s permission.
Fluttershy really, really should have expected Dash to ignore her shaking head and any other clear sign the caretaker could possibly make to say NO.
“Actually, tell the coach to hold off on that replacement. I’m still in.”
“Sweet!” Forest exclaimed. “Then you need to follow me, coach is calling a huddle.”
With him taking off, Rainbow whipped around to face her childhood friend, trying to ignore both the distraught look on Shy’s face and the sinking feeling of betrayal ebbing through Dash’s body.
“Here.” She placed the phone in Shy’s palm. “I need you to hand this over to the principle while the game is going.”
“….”
Rainbow swallowed then placed a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Hey, think of it this way. With me playing in-game, they’ll too distracted to notice you actually have the evidence.”
“It’s not the evidence I’m worried about.” Although it was barely a whisper, Dash could hear it clearly, resulting in her pulling Fluttershy in a tight hug.
“I’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash breathed, noting how the slimmer arms wrapped around her body grew tighter. “But I need you to do this for me okay? Please Shy?”
They eventually pulled away as the younger girl thumbed her phone, hesitation still evident.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
A broadened grin etched across the captain’s face.
“I knew I could count on you. I’ll make sure to get most of their attention while you try to keep out of sight, now let’s make CHS proud.”
Dash gave another quick hug before hurrying to the huddled team, her limp seemingly less apparent. Pocketing the phone, Fluttershy settled her nerves and put on a brave face. Dash was right, the Washouts were hurting people and they needed to stop them, no matter how much the mere sight of Gilda still sent a wave of nausea crashing down on her stomach.
A bright light beaming from the bottom of her vision made her look down to her geode necklace sparkling brighter than she’d ever seen before. Her distracted confusion grinded to a stop when a loud bell rang throughout the air, signifying the game’s second round.
_______________
The blaring airhorn coupled with screaming cheers from fans when the game began did nothing to cool her jumbled nerves as she trudged through the massive crowd. Pushing into whatever gap she could make between fellow students, parents, or teachers, Fluttershy urgently scanned the area for any sign of the principal. A task proving to be much more difficult than she’d originally prayed, evidence by the fact she could hardly see through two feet in this anthill of an event.
Deep breaths, calm down. The announcement stand should be close by now.
Aside from the anxiousness of the situation biting at her heels, she still couldn’t shake the lingering feeling of disappointment after Rainbow’s quick change in the plan. Was returning to the games really going to help their state of affairs? If anything her going back into Blitzball only furthered the Washout’s chances in getting what they wanted: Hurting Rainbow more.
Ugh, Fluttershy held her stomach and felt herself gag. That was an image she’d rather not focus on. ever.
Worse yet, due to the hastiness of it all she hadn’t been able to contact the rest of the girls and inform them on what was going on. With half of them busy competing and the other half too far to meet, almost no one besides Rainbow and her knew what was really going on.
“WOOO! GO CANTERLOT!”
Fluttershy gasped when a particularly enthusiastic adult fan flailed frantically causing their backside to barrel straight into the highschooler right behind them, sending her sprawling to the side. Next thing she knew she was flat on the ground as the loudspeaker announced what she guessed was another win for CHS’ GlitzyBlitzers.
“Oh…” Fluttershy sucked in a retort as she hoisted herself back to her feet, the excited parent too oblivious to the game to notice her. That’s when she noticed the area surrounding her was clear, she had been pushed out of the crowd and into a portion of the field strictly reserved for school faculty!
And that meant…
She never thought the sight of the announcement stand could ever bring her such joy, yet here she was ready to burst with joy. Even though it was still a ways away, just the mere sight of her principal was enough to add a great spring to her step. Hopefully the evidence on her phone was enough to stop this whole nonsense.
Her beeline was cut short however when she nearly slammed into the body that’d come out of seemingly nowhere to block her path. Skidding to a halt, Fluttershy’s initial confusion melted into terror when realizing who was standing in her way.
“Hello, Klutzershy.” Dumbbell sneered nastily, the fiery hate in his eyes melding perfectly with his maniac grin. “Long time no see huh?”
Gulping, she instinctively backed away from the boy, who responded in kind by edging closer to her, grin still crystal clear. Unwanted past memories began flooding her mind like a plague, washing away any confidence she previously had.
“H-hello Dumbbell.” She hoped her bluntness hid the panic threatening to seep out. Unfortunately, her childhood bully could see through her attempts as always.
“Quite a day huh? After a whole afternoon of losing who would’ve thought a school like yours could actually start to pull through? Strange world indeed.”
“Well, w-we Wondercolts do make an impression.” She half-heartedly laughed while attempting to stomach her fears and move. “Anyway, it w-was nice to see you again, but I’ve got to… do something… uh… over there.”
Not waiting for him to say anything else, Fluttershy weaved around him and continued to walk faster towards the stands. Please don’t follow, please don’t follow, please don’t follow, please don’t follow.
Her trajectory was once again stalled when he sprung back into her view, his sinister look not unlike a doped-up feral cat ready to pounce.
“What’s the rush Klutzershy? Too excited on blabbing to the teacher instead of settling things yourself for once?”
Shifting her hand down towards her pocket, she glared at Dumbbell in defiance. There was always something about him specifically that made her lose confidence like water in a colander.
“N-no. I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In half a second his expression shifted.
“Give me the phone klutz.”
That was all the confirmation she needed to widen her eyes in horror before sprinting by him at full speed. Her head-start was short lived when an offending arm latched out at unnatural speed to tightly grab Fluttershy’s wrist. Trying to yank her captive arm free, she turned to face a very angry Dumbbell.
“I know you saw what happened. Give me the phone before you regret it.”
“Let go, you’re hurting me!”
“Then stop fighting!”
She pulled away again, resulting in him gripping on tighter. Meanwhile he watched apathetically as she struggled against him. Sighing in annoyance he bent down to her level, making her pause while he spoke in a syrupy sweet voice.
“Listen, how about we make a deal then? We both know how much of an embarrassing pacifist you always were and as much as I’d normally love to, I actually have better things to do than deal with you right now. So, here’s how this is going to play: You give me the phone, and I leave you off scot-free this time for old time’s sake.”
Seeing his free hand droop down towards her, gesturing hastily for the device set off something harsh inside Fluttershy. Clenching her teeth at the pain ebbing through her captive wrist, she inhaled deeply to soothe the rapid heartbeat hamming against her ribs and narrowed her eyes at the bully.
“No Dumbbell. I can’t let you hurt her.”
The inner nerves inside her screamed when the bully’s previous grin became skin-splitting.
“Oh, I was hoping you’d say that.”
_______________
“OOF!” Rainbow huffed when her body toppled to the soggy ground before instinctively covering her head and neck as a horde of oncoming cleats ran past her. Luckily most of them took mercy on her and either stepped to the side or were forced to jump over her body, however that didn’t stop a select few from actually managing to getting in some hits.
Wincing at the feeling of harsh kicks delivered into her stomach and shoulder, Rainbow groaned in pain as the crowd of players finally dispersed once the whistle was blown. Pulling herself to her feet, she sighed contently when the familiar spike of pain from her leg protested against her. If it was bad before, it definitely was worse now.
After returning back to the GlitzyBlitzer group and informing the coach she could still take another round in the game, Dash didn’t need to see it to know what kind of looks her friends were giving her. That was fine, she’d deal with their frustration later, every decision had its consequences after all, no matter how much her heart ached at their disappointment.
But this was more important, Cloudstale needed to be stopped, and magic or no magic Rainbow Dash was going to make sure she’d put them in their place. She was the one they were after, everyone was counting on her to win the day.
What she didn’t expect was how hard her stupid leg was gonna make every possible achievement. She wasn’t sure what she despised more, the fact that running was kept limited at a set pace, nabbing the ball away made her trip over her own feet, or…
A wall of burly muscle slammed into Dash’s side causing her to fly back and stumble. Struggling to keep herself from falling back down she glared ahead to see Gilda smirking at her from over her shoulder. Seconds later a new form rammed into her right shoulder as Sky Stinger flew by, pain ebbing down her back from the hit.
Oh yeah, considering she’d caught them with their pants down the Washouts had made extra sure to put in their two cents all game with each chance they got. Right under the ref’s nose too it seemed, cause none of them had been called out. It also really didn’t help that her body was currently in the process of shutting down on itself, after so much straining and beatings throughout the past hours it was apparent her muscles had quit, like she was working with melted rubber.
A loud ping sound came from the field’s score holder as the Washouts plummeted the ball into the goal. She felt her stomach plummet as they all high-five, Gilda and the others slyly giving Dash a knowing look from their group before positions were once again placed for the next round.
Pain from her leg wasn’t the only thing keeping her out of the game, her geode was also traitorously playing a major part in this sucky half. It glowed obnoxiously and somehow magically scratched into her chest violently to the point where there were times she checked to see if it’d drawn any blood. About that time she had begun to notice those very same effects on her friends.
Each of them seemed just as much in distress as she was, whether from their plainly distracted expressions or forced concentrated façade that they weren’t in pain.
How could this day get any worse?!
Dash was barely able to keep back a cry of pain when Rolling Thunder managed to bring her cleat over and heel the lower section of her shin. Shoving the offending girl to the side, RD backed off as her enemy rushed to aid her teammates with Sunset who’d now grabbed the ball and was high tailing it to the enemy goal.
What kind of help are you? Letting yourself get beaten while they do all the hard work. With or without magic, all you are good for is making a mess in which others will have to clean. The voice was back. That same voice which plagued her mind ever since her accident on the way to the hospital. In a snap that dark cloud resurfaced to snuff any and all confidence she held in herself.
NO! She mentally berated herself. She was good enough, she’d show them, cloudstale, CHS, her friends. She’d show them all!
Lightning Dust finally managed to steal the ball away from Sunset, the rest of the bully’s fellow cronies already overwhelming the redhead and was currently taking off down the field. Watching her intently, she let out a huff and forced her body to move, taking off after the offending rival as a multitude of other students followed in hot pursuit.
Despite the pleading pain protesting throughout her whole entire being, Dash used those very sensations to add fuel to the raging fire and pressed on much faster than she’d expected. Having still not noticed her, Lightning Dust could only stare in pure bewilderment as a rainbow-colored blur swooped around and nabbed the ball right from her palms.
She got it, she actually stole it! RD smiled at the twinge of happiness weaving through the pain when she maneuvered by very stunned/pleased students and made her way towards the finish. Only now the trouble was that the other team’s goal was way too far for her to handle alone.
Overhead she could hear the crowd chanting her name while footsteps followed dangerously close behind. Gilda, Lightning Dust, Sky Stinger, and Rolling Thunder, all four closing in on her. Gilda in particular was shoving aside her partners until she and RD were side-by-side.
It was payback time.
Even with the increased adrenaline, Dash’s body was far too weak to move any faster. Oh, where was Fluttershy already?! The game should’ve been called out minutes ago by the principal and the cheaters caught, had she gotten lost or something?
Frantically she altered her attention away from the oncoming bully towards the stands beyond the field, hoping to catch some sort of glimpse of her friend. The surrounding area was empty, save for the two school’s heads sitting in their special bunk, and they didn’t appear to be halting anything anytime soon. Maybe she was caught in the crowd?
Wait… THERE!
Just a few feet away from a group of people near the stand she saw a blink of yellow and pink flash move. There she was, but what was she still doing over there and not…
The question answered itself when she saw Fluttershy was accompanied by none other than Dumbbell, who had his hand gripped around her friend’s arm while she was trying to break away. Looking behind, Dash panicked, how could she have not noticed sooner that Dumbbell wasn’t in the game!
She could tell the two of them were in the middle of a heated argument with how close he was getting to Shy’s face. No doubt demanding what she witnessed. Despite her best efforts it was clear the younger girl wasn’t getting away anytime soon, his determined hold on her preventing any available means of escape.
Time slowed down as she watched in pure horror when Dumbbell, deciding enough was enough, brought his free hand above his shoulder and swung it down, slamming it straight into Fluttershy’s face. Within an instant her friend dropped to the ground in pain helpless to handle the larger boy kneeling down to straddle for the phone hidden inside her pocket.
A new sensation began to flood inside Rainbow Dash, horror quickly burning away, replaced by nothing but unadulterated anger.
She had no control, it was like a rubber band snapping. One minute she was still on the grassy field beside her school’s rivals, the next she was ramming her shoulder into Dumbbell’s side with otherworldly force, sending him rocketing into a nearby concession stand splitting it in half.
Not a word was spoken throughout the entire court field, the crowd instantly shutting up and the announcers going quiet. The only sound being the slight wind and far off traffic.
Dash didn’t care about them, because immediately after pushing him off she’d brought her attention down towards Fluttershy who was gawking in surprise. Without missing a beat RD kneeled and latched both hands around her friend’s shoulders, gently lifting the other girl’s torso up until they were eye level.
“Fluttershy?” Her words were far shakier than she’d expected. “Are you okay?”
Despite the glaze covering her eyes, the caregiver thankfully seemed to shake herself out of her stupor.
“Y-yeah, I think so?”
That was plenty confirmation enough for RD to wrap her best friend into a tight hug as tears threatened to spill out. The feeling of the other following in suit only furthered the heaping pile of guilt and self-betrayal building in Rainbow’s gut more.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “ I’m so, so sorry Fluttershy. I’m such an idiot, I-I should’ve expected this and listened to you when I had the chance.”
“It’s not your fault. I was the one who agreed to help you follow through with this. If it’s anyone’s fault it should be mine."
Gently pushing away from each other, Dash extended a hand to lift the fallen teen back to her feet when the noticeable feeling of watching eyes caused them both to turn towards the paused audience behind them.
“Oh, right, oops.” Dash could feel her cheeks burn at the awkward attention.
Sky Stinger, Hoops, and a couple more students rushed towards their fallen comrade, all the while maintaining a wide girth from the two girls, as Dumbbell groaned in agony from his defeated stature. Realization hung over Fluttershy’s head, and she gasped.
“Wait, Rainbow, what about the game? They for sure won’t let you play now.”
Rainbow’s jaw slacked and flailed her arms in frustration.
“Who cares about the game, you just got punched!”
“Argh, get off me you bunch of bozos!”
Dumbbell’s angry voice cut through the conversation as he roughly shoved his worried teammates off him before stomping towards both girls, popcorn and cotton candy dangling from his hair and jersey. Anger resurfacing tenfold, Rainbow swiftly maneuvered her hand protectively around her friend while her old rival closed in on her personal space.
“What the absolute hell, Rainbow Crash?!” He seethed with his face turning bright red. “Are you trying to kill me or something!?”
She scoffed. “So does that make you the pot or the kettle? I should knock your teeth out for so much as touching her, you cheating jerk!”
“What’s that supposed to mean, freak!?”
Now merely centimeters apart, both students were forcibly yanked away as teammates from either side rushed over to pull them back. Dash barely registered Sunset rushing in-between to separate the two as Dumbbell continued screaming profanities and insults even with Sky Stinger desperately trying to quiet him down.
“ALRIGHT, THAT’S ENOUGH!” Applejack’s voice boomed over the noise, silencing everyone. Keeping her glare on Dumbbell, Rainbow Dash loosened her straining against the people holding her back, prompting them to in turn relax their grip. Taking the silence as an opportunity, Sunset glowered at the captive Washout while speaking with all the venom she could muster.
“Now I’m only going to ask this once, why did you hit Fluttershy?”
“Because we caught evidence of them cheating!” RD blurted out, earning another stern glare from Sunset before the redhead turned back towards him.
“Is this true?”
Dumbbell for his part snorted in exasperation while gesturing to the forming crowd.
“Are you all seriously not going to acknowledge the fact that she has powers?! Her friends too, this whole school is a minefield!”
“He’s right!”
It was Lightning Dust’s turn to step up, crossing her arms while glaring in disapproval at the oncoming CHS coach.
“How is it fair for us to compete against someone like her, we had no choice but to ‘cheat’.”
RD thrusted her arms out with a growl.
“I never even used my powers this whole time, you would’ve seen it otherwise. Besides that doesn’t disqualify the fact that your buddy punched my friend!”
Weaving through the students, Gilda sneered with contempt.
“Maybe she needs to learn how to pick better friends then.”
Red was beyond the things clouding Rainbow’s mind as more students began to push Gilda back into her side of the crowd. Foaming at the mouth, the blue-skinned athlete spat.
“Oh get over yourself Gilda! You really wanna know why I left you, it’s because you’re a selfish, whiny, possessive jerk who’s not afraid to seriously hurt people over something as stupid as my attention span!”
The smirk on her ex-friend’s face snuffed out like a light, before quickly being replaced with a death defining snarl, her golden eyes increasing the feral look as she screamed.
“ SCREW THIS, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”
Multiple things happened at once. Dozens of students frantically kept Gilda from lunging at Dash while AJ and Sunset stood protectively in front of the rainbow-haired athlete before an explosion unlike anything rocked them all off their feet. Once they’d regained their bearings though, screaming filled the air followed by an unearthly howl which sent chills down everyone’s spine. Picking herself off the ground, Rainbow Dash blinked away the blurriness in her eyes before witnessing a sight she was sure would haunt her forever.
Half the gate surrounding the school’s makeshift stadium was gone, reduced to nothing but destroyed concrete and dusted wood. A grilled food truck had toppled over, gas leaking out like crazy into the bright green grass ruining its texture. She could see people frantically trampling over each other while making their way off the bleachers as the speakers urged them to find safety.
And above it all, standing square in the middle of the Blitzball field was what looked to be some cross between a goat and a gorilla. Easily six stories in height, shaggy hair, but most notable was the single solitary eyeball adorning its massive face.
It was looking straight at her.