//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 – Tortoise vs. Hare! 
// Story: The Amazingly Awesome Adventures of Tank the Tortoise (by R. Dash) 
// by Bradel 
//------------------------------//

     "Tank! Where are you?"

Her shout was swallowed by the storm.  How did she expect Tank to hear her in this?  Dash's head still throbbed with pain, and now she felt wet and miserable too.  Her face, especially, was wet – but that was just the rain, right?  Of course it was.  Rainbow Dash didn't cry.

"C'mon, Tank! I'm sorry!" Even if he couldn't hear her, she felt compelled to say the words. Rainbow Dash flew lower, weaving between the buildings of Ponyville, looking for her tortoise. It was hard to see – it was hard to think – with this storm raging around her.

Where would he go? Dash had checked her own house first, hoping that Tank might have just gone home to sulk. He hadn't, of course. Rainbow Dash scrubbed at her eyes with one hoof. Why did this stupid storm have to make her face so wet?

Normally, she'd have checked with Spike: Tank always liked playing with Spike and Owlowiscious. But that was pointless, of course: she had just come from there. She'd tried at Rarity's home – Tank and Opal got along surprisingly well – but she'd had no luck there, either. Gummy? No. Dash knew, somehow, that her story was at the heart of this. Gummy was Pinkie Pie's pet, and Pinkie Pie meant writing. Tank wouldn't have gone there. What about Ange—

Fluttershy.

Of course Tank would go back to Fluttershy if he was upset.­ Fluttershy had probably taken care of the tortoise for years before Rainbow Dash adopted him. Probably? You don't even know how long Fluttershy had him before you came along. You never cared enough to find out, did you? With a grunt, Dash tried to suppress the voice in her head. Becoming even more upset with herself wasn't going to get Tank back any sooner.

Fluttershy's cottage was well past the edge of town, near the perimeter of the Everfree Forest. The sky seemed to darken as Dash flew in that direction, as if whatever controlled the forest's weather thought it needed to show the town of Ponyville how a proper storm ought to be conducted. By the time she rapped her hoof against Fluttershy's door, Rainbow Dash was a sodden mess.

The door cracked open, revealing a pink mane and a blue-irised eye. "Oh, it's you Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy's voice didn't sound very inviting.

Dash gave a nervous chuckle. "Aah, heya Fluttershy. I was wondering if Tank was here, and if I could come in."

"Tank is here..." Fluttershy drew a deep breath and looked like she was trying to gather her courage. "But no, Rainbow, you can't come in."

"Aww, c'mon Fluttershy. I wanna see Tank."

"Well..." Fluttershy cast a quick glance over her shoulder and pulled the door wide enough for Dash to get a look inside. "Well, he doesn't want to see you. He's going to stay here tonight, okay? And... maybe tomorrow you can come see him."

Dash flew up a few centimeters to look over Fluttershy. She could see Tank, sitting in the back of the cabin next to Angel. The tortoise wasn't wearing his propeller or his goggles anymore, and it looked like Angel was trying to make him feel better. The little white rabbit turned for a moment and gave Rainbow Dash an angry look.

The blue pegasus dropped back to the ground, her own dejection painting her face. "Please, Fluttershy? I just want to tell him I'm... I'm sorry. I mean, I wasn't talking about him anyway, but... Oh, ponyfeathers!"

"No. Whatever you said, he's very upset right now. Maybe he'll let you see him tomorrow."  There was a finality in Fluttershy's pronouncement, but she leaned forward and her face softened a little. "If I were you, I'd spend some time thinking about how to apologize. I've never seen him this upset, Rainbow. I don't know what to do... But I know he really, really, really doesn't want to see you right now."

Rainbow Dash sighed, scrubbing a hoof across her face again. When was that stupid storm going to stop? "Okay... Okay, I'll see what I can do. And thanks, for taking care of Tank."  She scratched the ground with one hoof. "...I'm sorry, Fluttershy."

"It's oka—" Fluttershy cut herself off, shaking her head. "No. It's not okay, Rainbow. But... just try to figure this out, please? I don't like seeing either of my friends upset."

Dash nodded silently and turned her back on the cottage. How was she supposed to fix this?

The flight home was a lonely one, though the storm was finally abating. Rainbow Dash tried to think about ways to make up with Tank, but her mind kept drifting back to her story. She knew that was at the heart of her problem. When had Story Tank gotten so important? And when did she decide that Story Tank had to be cooler than Regular Tank? Wasn't the story supposed to be about showing how awesome Tank, her loyal little tortoise, already was?

She scrubbed a hoof across her eyes again, and she noticed that the rain had stopped. The clouds were only light gray now. Okay, fine. Yes, Rainbow Dash, you've been crying. Now stop acting like a sad little filly and figure out how to clean up the mess you made.

And then it came to her. These problems had started because of that stupid story. Maybe she could end them the same way.


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The Amazingly Awesome Adventures of Tank the Tortoise


By R. Dash


Chapter 8 - Tortoise vs. Hare!


A heavy two-legged kick slammed against Tank's shell, nearly rolling him onto his back. The tortoise pulled his legs facing Angelbunny back into his shell for a moment to correct his balance.

"Come now, is this really the best you can do, Tank?" The rabbit's voice was filled with derision. "And to think, you're supposed to be the best the League has to offer."

Tank didn't respond. This fight was not going well, and it took all his concentration and all his training just to defend himself from Angelbunny's attacks. The rabbit was just so fast! For all his training, Tank was just too slow to keep up. He'd hoped, early on, that Angelbunny might wear himself out attacking, but the rabbit seemed to have boundless energy.

Another kick rocked Tank sideways. He tried to retaliate with a kick of his own, but the rabbit was already gone. Angelbunny was hopping off Tank's shell as much as he was kicking, keeping him far beyond the tortoise's reach.

Hopping. Hopping. Tank scanned the room quickly. The fight had already led the two opponents all around the lab, and now he found himself near one of the vats of green goo that Tank had seen when he first entered. An idea began to form in Tank's mind. He pulled back from Angelbunny, retreating toward the glass vat.

The rabbit laughed. "Ah, so the great Tank the Tortoise is on the retreat. What would the Keepers of the Elements of Harmony say if they could see you now?" When Tank didn't reply, Angelbunny gave another laugh and advanced. "Still speechless, tortoise? Fine. I tire of this... distraction. It's time to end this."

Angelbunny launched a mighty kick, hitting Tank with a hammer of force. For once, Tank took the blow squarely on the shell. It rolled him over onto his back and sent him crashing against the wall of the vat hard enough to break it. Viscous, slimy goo washed over him as he tried to adjust his weight inside the shell. Tank's momentum shifted, and he rolled over again to land on his feet, standing in the remains of the now-empty vat. He strained his limbs, trying to hurry back to the fight and away from the puddle of green fluid on the floor of the lab. Moving through the goo was difficult, but Tank's weight and his thick feet helped him find traction.

"Surrender already, tortoise. You know you can't win this fight. When has one of your kind ever defeated one of mine?"

"I feel sorry for you, Angelbunny." Tank hadn't spoken since the beginning of the fight, but even as the words left him, he realized that they were true. "You've never understood, have you? It's not about winning. It's about fighting for what's right, fighting for a better tomorrow. You may be fast, and smart, and talented. But you don't know the first thing about guts. About persevering when everything is darkest. Surrender? I've already won."

The rabbit gave him an irritated glare. "Delusional to the end, tortoise." Angelbunny leapt forward, straight at Tank's head, and a metal spike glinted in his paw.

Tank had been waiting for this. He lurched forward with all his might, tucking his head and his front legs into his shell and standing tall with his back legs.

Angelbunny turned his attack into a kick, but as the rabbit's feet struck Tank's goo-coated shell, they slipped askew and Angelbunny himself slammed forward. Tank's shell acted as a ramp, launching the rabbit back a meter into the wreckage of the vat and the puddle of goo surrounding it.

As Tank turned laboriously, he heard the rabbit cursing, struggling to rise. But Angelbunny was too light to get traction in the slippery green slime. He tried to rise and fell back, only succeeding at further coating himself in goo.

With a thunderous crash, the doors to the lab slammed open and Spike and Winona rushed in. Both looked injured: Winona was limping heavily and scorch marks marred many of the scales on Spike's left side. Tank gave a deep sigh of relief. "Quick, I've stopped him for a few minutes, but we need to restrain Angelbunny before he can get away again."

Winona nodded wordlessly, pulling a length of rope from her battered purse and fashioning it into a lasso. She threw it around the struggling rabbit with an uncanny precision, pulling it tight and binding his limbs in place.  Spike took the other end of the rope and tied it to his forearm to make sure Angelbunny wouldn't escape.

Behind Spike and Winona, Owlowiscious, Opal, and Gummy all burst into the room.  They rushed forward, exclaiming over the scene of destruction in the lab.

Opal tried to throw her paws around Tank in a hug, but the goo had as much effect on her as the rabbit, and her limbs slid right off. "Oh, Tank! We were so worried!"

"Yeah, Tank! I know you're awesome and all, but Dr. Angelbunny? How'd you beat him!?" Gummy's eyes rolled wildly as he spoke.

Tank turned away from Commander Spike, Winona, and Owlowiscious. They could handle the rest here. He gave Gummy a grin and rubbed his head with one heavy, goo-laden foot. "The same way as always, Gummy: with persistence, spirit, and guts." He paused a moment, looking back at the other members of the league, wrestling Angelbunny into restraints. "And with a little help from my friends."


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Rainbow Dash knocked on the door of Fluttershy's cottage.

After a moment, the yellow pegasus peeked out. "Rainbow, I'm still not sure if he's willing to—"

"Too bad." Rainbow shoved the door open, eliciting a squeak from Fluttershy and a number of angry chitters from the animals in her home. She spotted Tank, sans propeller and sitting by one of the windows, looking outside dejectedly. "Tank! I wanna talk to you!"

The tortoise turned, shooting an annoyed look at Fluttershy. He gave Rainbow Dash a deep frown and began to walk away.

"Wait..." Dash's voice was quieter than she might have wanted, but... she had things to say, and they weren't easy. "Please, Tank. I said I wanna talk to you."

Tank slowed, turning back to Rainbow Dash, but the frown never left his face.

Dash sat down in front of the tortoise, pulling a thick stack of pages out from under her wing and setting it on the ground. "Tank... I'm sorry. You know what I said last night, I wasn't talking about you..."

If anything, the frown on Tank's face deepened.  He shook his head at her.

"Well, I wasn't!  I mean... I just... I let the Tank in the story become more important than the real Tank. I only wanted to write the story because I think you're awesome, and cool, and..." Her voice trailed off weakly, and she ground her hoof against the wooden floorboards of Fluttershy's cottage. "And I guess at some point, me trying to show how awesome you were turned into me trying to make you more awesome. Or... no, not that. Awesome in different ways. Because you're already as awesome as a pet can be, to me.

"But then I got so caught up in the story, and in making Story Tank more awesome, that I started to get frustrated that I couldn't make him awesome enough. And..." She gave a heavy sigh. "And that I couldn't make you awesome enough either."

Rainbow Dash was still staring at her hoof and the floorboards, but something in Tank's expression must have changed. Fluttershy was speaking in her ear now, very quietly. "Umm, Rainbow, I don't think you're helping."

Rainbow looked up at Tank, but her eyes were starting to get watery and she couldn't see him well. "I know I screwed up, okay! Just... just let me read you the end of the story. The ending I wrote for you." She sniffled, looking down at the pages beside her.

Fluttershy's voice cut through the stillness of the cottage. "I didn't know you wrote sto—" Some of the other animals started chittering, cutting her off. "Oh. Oh, yes. Okay, Rainbow Dash, he'll listen. But we all want to listen with him, too."

Dash looked up, and saw the animals of the cottage gathering around. Angel had appeared from somewhere, and he was standing beside Tank now. Rainbow Dash scrubbed a hoof across her eyes, feeling a spike of irritation with herself, and nodded. And she read the story: the whole story, starting right at the beginning, with Tank and Angel and Fluttershy, and a gaggle of squirrels and songbirds all assembled to listen.

It took a little while, and the reading wasn't without its interruptions. Fluttershy was horrified when she found out Rainbow Dash had cast her precious bunny in the role of the story's arch-villain, and she spent a couple minutes vacillating between yelling at Dash and quietly sulking. Angel himself seemed quite pleased with the choice.  By the end of the reading, he and Tank were play-fighting along with the story, to the excited tweets and chitters of Fluttershy's woodland friends.

After she finished, Rainbow Dash laid the pages aside and turned to Tank. "So that's it. I'm done. No more writing about you. My tortoise is awesome just the way he is. He doesn't need propellers, or special fighting lessons, or stories, or anything to make him cooler. And I wouldn't want to change him, not even one little bit, because my tortoise is the one that saved me from Ghastly Gorge, and that sat up helping me write and listening to my stories, and he even went to get Pinkie when he knew I'd done something dumb by trying to read her story without asking."

"Pinkie writes stories too?" Fluttershy's voice was full of wonder.

"Shh. You don't want to read them." Rainbow Dash turned back to Tank. "So whadda ya say? Will you forgive me? Please? ...I really miss you, Tank."

The tortoise gave her that serious frown again, but he could only hold it for a few seconds. After a moment, his mouth broke into a smile and he bobbed his head up and down.

"Yes!" Dash shot a look at the cottage's other occupants. "I mean... Awesome. Thank you, Tank."

Fluttershy was starting to tear up now. After a moment of not-very-cool sniffling, she gave up and threw her hooves around Rainbow Dash's neck. She burbled something into Dash's mane, but Dash couldn't really understand her. Not sure what to do, she gave the yellow pegasus's head a couple gentle pats.

After a moment, Fluttershy pulled her head away. "B-but... You're not going to write any more? But I liked that story so much!"

Rainbow Dash blinked. She what? "Umm... Well, I said I wouldn't write about Tank any more. I guess that doesn't mean I have to stop writing all together. In fact..." An idea came to her, like a firework exploding in her head. "...I've got a pretty sweet idea for a new novel, about a pegasus who's a really great flyer and who wants to join the Wonderbolts..."