//------------------------------// // Chp 11: Reunion // Story: Bully: Manticore Academy // by the silver-maned pony //------------------------------// Editors: Sandvich Brony, LavenderWallflower Manticore Academy has a lot of pride for its library. After all, there are only a couple of schools that have a library with countless shelves packed with books ranging from novels to theoretical physiology. The walls were dark green and there were large, wooden columns that supported the floors above. At the very top of the library was a large skylight that made up most of the ceiling. The ground level consisted of cubicles and tables for students to sit and read the books from the surrounding shelves. At the center was a counter where an elderly, vulture-like pegasus librarian was making marks on an ancient ledger. There were spiraling staircases that led to the upper levels of the library, where the more advanced books were kept. It was such a wondrous place. However, the library was nearly empty today as it was a Saturday and the students of the academy decided to have some fun. The only ponies that were spending their weekend in the library were sitting in a round table together on the ground floor. One of them was Twilight Sparkle, who took the liberty to stack the table with all sorts of books. She had a small smile on her face as she read a book about the theory of trans-dimensional travel. Across from her was a massively bored looking Rainbow Dash. The pegasus kept glancing around the vacant library as though hoping something exciting would happen. Alas, nothing exploded and nopony wanted to challenge her into a fight, so she went back to skimming a book she picked at random; ‘Famous Quotes Across History’. Dash sighed as she stretched, wondering how long she’s been sitting. She looked toward a giant wall clock. It read 12:05 am. Dash groaned; they have only been in the library for 5 minutes. She was beginning to wonder why she was even there, but the answer came quickly. It was because Twilight was her friend. Ever since Dash’s little heart to heart with Scootaloo, the rainbow-haired pegasus realized that she had also neglected her other friends when she was off on her crusade to find Lightning Dust. Feeling like a complete jerk, Dash decided to change that and actually hang out with the few friends she made. The first on her list was Pinkie Pie, who Dash hasn’t had much face time with since Nightmare Night. Of course, hanging out with the head cheerleader usually meant having some confrontations with the jocks. The ‘Rulers of the School’ weren’t fond of Rainbow as she was now buddy-buddy with the nerds, but they kept their distance as a sign of mutual respect to her athleticism. Pinkie Pie was thrilled when Dash started to hang out with her (from what Dash understood, she was one of the few friends Pinkie got a chance to hang out with besides the jocks). The girls’ definition of hanging out usually meant pranking the students, teachers, and citizens of towns. Their pranks consisted of sneezing powder, stink bombs, and tying bits to the end of a string of a fishing rod. Then there were the bullies, who weren’t exactly bullies anymore. Their definition of hanging out usually meant the bullies watching Gilda and Rainbow racing around the school or the town. Dash’s relationship with the clique recently improved when the pegasus saved Bon Bon and Lyra from getting busted by the prefects after spray painting the headmistress’s portrait. And by saving, it meant Dash sucker punching the prefect while the bullies ran away. After that, Dash was practically a member of the family. The last group of friends was the nerds. The intellectually buff ponies were easily the faction that was the friendliest with Rainbow. While Dash wasn’t interested when they were discussing statistics, she was interested when video games and comic books, the only literature and art she enjoyed, were brought up. Today, the nerds were talking about going to their own little club at the comic book shop at Manticore town. They invited Rainbow to join, and she asked who else was going. The nerds said everypony was going, except for Twilight, who was going to be busy studying for her upcoming tests, which wouldn’t be administered until the week before winter break. Not wanting for Twilight to be alone, Dash declined the nerds offer and joined the nerds’ leader at the library. Now, Dash was wondering whether being a good friend also meant having to suffer in her own personal Tartarus. Half an hour had passed and things were not getting better. Dash was trying to comprehend the words that famous, elderly ponies once said, but her eyes were slowly drooping. “Rainbow Dash, are you O.K?” Dash looked up to see a slightly concerned looking Twilight. Dash yawned, “I’m fine, Twi. I’m just trying to figure out why you like books so much?” Twilight smiled, “I find books fascinating because I see them as doorways. They’re doorways to information, the past, and the possible futures. And that’s just barely scratching the surface of non-fiction. There are also the fiction books that tell us tales of adventure, romance, and tragedies. All of these, and more, are what books have to show us.” Dash only blankly stared at the unicorn. The pegasus doubted that she would ever find somepony else who loved books as much as Twilight. After a moment of silence, Twilight cleared her throat, “Although, I can understand that there are ponies who aren’t as infatuated with books as I am. So,” She closed her book, “why don’t we take a break?” Dash’s ears perked up at the sound of “break”, “Are you serious?” “Yes, I believe if we take one now, we should have,” Twilight did some quick calculations in her head, “seventeen minutes and thirty nine seconds. That way, we can still squeeze in some re-review.” “I’ll take it!” Dash said happily as she slammed her book shut. This earned her a ‘shush’ from Twilight and the librarian. Dash smiled an apology as she stretched her arms and wings. “Excuse me, darlings. Do you have a moment?” Twilight and Dash looked up and the sight wiped the grins off their faces. Standing in front of them, with an air of authority, was the preppies’ manager and leader. “Rarity,” Dash said suspiciously. She didn’t exactly trust Rarity after she gave her the beach clubhouse, which was more of a punishment than a reward, “what brings you here?” “I’m actually looking for you.” Rarity said with a smile, “Although I must say, this is the last place I would think to find you.” “Well, I guess I’m full of surprises.” “I’m sure you are.” Rarity said. She then observed Dash’s clothing, which was a regular shirt and jeans. The prep giggled slightly before turning to Twilight. She extended her hand to the nerd, “Hello, I do believe we have never been properly introduced. I’m Rarity, and I do believe you are Twilight Sparkle.” “Um, yes I am.” Twilight said suspiciously as she took the preppy’s hand. Like Dash, Twilight was also weary of Rarity, “How did you know?” “Well, from all the books you have on your table and the fact that you are indoors studying on a beautiful day, I can deduce that you are Twilight: the highest ranking student in our fair academy. I must say that it is an honor to meet you.” “Oh, um, thanks.” The intellectual unicorn said with a smile. “And I’m sure you have a wonderful personality.” Rarity added. Twilight’s smile vanished at the last remark and she rolled her eyes before returning to her book. “Rarity, why are you here?” Dash said impatiently. “Like I said before, I was looking for you. You see, a couple of us senior members in our club are having a little get-together at my home and, after your victory in our tournament, we decided to invite you. Our soiree starts in half an hour, but if you want to get there early, there is a limousine waiting for you in front of the school. We’ll see you there.” Without waiting for a response, Rarity walked past the two ponies and exited the library. “You’re not thinking about going there, are you?” Twilight asked the pegasus. “Not really. I’m not much of a ‘soiree’ girl.” “That’s not what I’m talking about.” Twilight leaned closer, “You do know about the increase in preppy violence, right?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?” “For the past couple of days, a lot of the preppies have stepped up their ‘secret’ campaign of fear. It used to be just once or twice a month that they would harass somepony, but now it’s almost three times a day. Something tells me that this invitation is a trap for you.” “Well I’m not a pony who would deny another pony a challenge. But how do you know all about there 'secret' campaign', Twi?” The unicorn shrugged, “It’s not that difficult to get information in this school. The only thing a pony needs is to be observant.” “Thanks for the tip.” Rainbow said before standing up from her chair, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to a soiree.” “What?!” Twilight cried in shock, earning herself a menacing glare from the librarian, “You’re still going?” “Well, duh.” Dash said as she walked to the door, “Like you said, the preppies are bullying a lot of ponies. Since nopony has confronted them yet, I’ll do it.” “But-but-but.” Twilight stammered. She was flabbergasted that anypony would willingly go into a trap. Dash had walked out of the library when Twilight leaped from her chair and followed the athletic pegasus. “Do you really think it is wise to go by yourself?” Twilight asked as the two walked the pathway that lead to the front of the school. “Chill out, Twilight. I’ve already beaten those snobby chuckleheads before. The only difference this time is that there is no ring and I have more freedom to fight.” “But wouldn’t it be better to have some backup?” “I doubt it. Besides, there isn’t enough time. If I don’t go now, then the preppies will probably change their plan. You see, I have the advantage. I know that it is a trap, so they just lost the element of surprise. That means that now I have the element of surprise because they don’t know that I know.” “I still say this is the most illogical approach. But, I can see that you are set on going. So,” Twilight and Dash stopped between the two archways that lead to the boys’ and girls’ dorm, “I’m coming with you.” There was a moment of silence before Dash tilted her head in confusion, “What?” “You heard me.” Twilight said confidently, “Since you want to act so foolhardy, I’ll come along and improve your chances of success.” Dash smiled appreciatively and sympathetically, “No offense, Twilight, but you’re not exactly a force to be reckon with. You’re more like the force’s smaller, scrawnier little sister. But,” Dash added as Twilight’s brow became more furrowed, “you’re the more intelligent one. You’re great with thinking, but not so much fighting. So, I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to tag along” “While I accept your hypothesis, I reject your conclusion.” The unicorn grinned. Her horn began to glow with a dark pink aurora. Then, above her right jean pocket, the same pink aurora glowed and a leather pouch suddenly appeared. Twilight unzipped the pouch and pulled out a small firecracker. “So, you’re a pyro?” Dash asked confusedly as she stared at the fire cracker. “No, but I am well read.” Twilight said with a hint of pride, “This is a firecracker I designed. Watch.” Twilight pulled off the fuse on the fire cracker and she then tossed it into the air. After about 5 seconds, it exploded. “Nice.” Dash complemented as she saw the remains fall back to the ground. “Thank you.” Twilight said graciously, “I designed them to exert the same force baseball players would exert when swinging their bats. These are safer than regular firecrackers as they don’t blow off your fingers. However, they can still break your fingers if you’re not careful. Now, wait here while I go to my room and get more. I’ll be back in 10 seconds flat.” “Hey, that’s copyrighted by me.” Dash joked as Twilight ran past her and toward the dorm. As soon as the doors of the dorm closed behind the unicorn, Rainbow turned and continued to walk toward the front of the school. “Sorry, Twilight, but you’re not getting into trouble if I can stop it.” Dash thought aloud. Rainbow reached the gates of the school and saw a long, black limousine on the curb. The pegasus stared at the vehicle wondrously for a few seconds. Dash had never actually seen a car in real life. The vehicles were some new inventions that were to replace the usual chariot, much to the dismay of all chariot pullers who would no doubt lose their jobs to the machines. Rainbow didn’t really comprehend how they worked. All she knew was that they were powered by science and magic, and that only the rich ponies are actually able to afford one. After a moment or so, the front door of the limo opened and an elderly unicorn in a suit came out. He walked toward the pegasus, “Excuse me,” he said in a formal tone that was alien to the rainbow-haired pegasus, “but may you happen to be Madam Rainbow Dash?” “Um, yeah.” Dash said, slightly confused by the ‘Madam’ part. The driver bowed, “Then allow me to escort you to the house of Lady Rarity for this afternoon’s event.” He walked to the back of the limo and held the door open. Dash shrugged, deciding to roll with this strange treatment, and she nodded thanks to the driver as she entered the car. The inside of the limo reminded of Dash of the ones she’d seen on T.V. The back of the compartment was a regular, 3 pony seat while there was a long row of seats that took up a side of the car. The seats were a velvet cover and Dash could only guess they were made of some foreign material. On the other side was a mini fridge and next to it was a large set up of speakers. The thing that caught Dash by surprised wasn’t the material, but the other pony already sitting inside. The pony was no doubt a preppy, but the only clue to that was the fact that she could afford to be inside a limousine. She was a unicorn whose cyan and cobalt blue hair was spiked and wild, completely opposite of other prep’s hair style. She had large, violet opaque goggles covering her eyes and white headphones around her neck. Unlike the aquaberry vest that the preppies always wore, this pony wore a sleeveless, white hoodie with cut jeans. The pony was bobbing her head to unheard music when she turned her head to see Rainbow at the door. She grinned, “Well if it isn’t the girl of the hour. Take a seat.” She said, patting the seat next to her. Rainbow eyed the preppy suspiciously before taking her seat. “Yo, James,” The preppy told her driver, “let’s get this party rolling.” “Of course, Madam Smith.” The preppy winced, “Please don’t call me that.” “I’m sorry, Madam Smith,” The chauffer bowed apologetically, “but your parents have explicitly stated that I am to call you by your birth name.” With that, he closed the door. The preppy, Smith, sighed exasperatedly, “Ignore what James said,” she said as the vehicle began to move, “Call me Vinyl, Vinyl Scratch. Or you can call me by my stage name, DJ-PON3. Want a drink?” Before Rainbow could answer, Vinyl reached over to her mini fridge and pulled out two bottles. Dash was expecting some high-class beverage with a funny name, but instead she got regular cans of flat apple cider. “Just because it isn’t expensive, doesn’t mean it isn’t great.” Vinyl said to answer Dash’s unspoken question. The prep opened her can and the pegasus watched in amazement as Vinyl drained the can in one go. She then tossed aside her empty can and pulled out a remote from her pocket, “You like tunes?” Rainbow shrugged, “Depends, what kind of tunes?” Vinyl grinned, “The best kind.” She hit play on her remote and the back part of the limo exploded with music. “Huh, Dubstep.” Dash said as she bobbed her head to the music, “I didn’t think you preps were into the stuff.” “Yeah, everypony else doesn’t think Dubstep is ‘couth’ enough. Even if it isn’t, it still kicks large amounts of flank. You know, I actually created this song.” “Really?” “I don’t call myself DJ-PON3 just for kicks.” “Pretty impressive. All I have to say your music does kick flank.” Vinyl smiled, “You know what; you’re alright.” Dash reached into the mini fridge and pulled out another apple cider, “You’re still taking me to the trap, right?” “Sorry, but yeah. We’re gonna have to knock you down a peg.” Dash grinned, “Good luck with that.” The two continued to listen to the music as the limousine turned a corner and was met with large gates. After a pause, the gates opened and the limousine entered Manticore Hills. Dash stared out of the windows of the vehicle and caught glimpses of cobblestone walls, Beyond the walls were large, white houses that looked like mid-sized mansions. There were a couple of rich ponies out on the curb either talking with each other or jogging. Dash found it interesting that there were no sign of graffiti, the houses were in tip top shape, and all of the ponies, even the joggers, wore expensive looking clothes. The limousine pulled up in front of one of the houses in Manticore Hill. Through the window, Dash saw the house pass the brick wall with a black, metal gate. It was the same design as the other houses, but at a much grander scale. The front yard had a road that was decorated with small statues of what appeared to be the gnomes. The freshly mowed lawn was split by the small road and the lawn was decorated with a number of plants, both planted and potted. “We have arrived.” The chauffeur said. “Thanks,” Vinyl said as she and Dash exited the limo, “you can pick me up in about an hour or so.” “Of course, Madam Smith. Please enjoy yourself responsibly.” The chauffer drove off, leaving the two girls by themselves. After the limo was out of sight, Vinyl led Rainbow to the gates. The unicorn banged on the gate three times, “Lucy, I’m home.” Vinyl announced. The gates opened and she walked in with Dash at her heel. The athlete was impressed with how much more grand the property looked from inside the gate. However, she only got a second of peaceful sightseeing before Aloe and Lotus, who were hiding behind the brick wall, ambushed her. The earth ponies came from opposite directions; Aloe grabbed Dash’s left arm while Lotus grabbed the right arm. “Well, that was easier than I thought.” Aloe commented as she tightened her grip on the pegasus. “Indeed,” Lotus said, “I did not figure Rainbow would be this dense.” Dash scoffed, “Alright girls, you had your fun, but I have to warn you; you must at least be an awesome level of eight to be this close to me. You two are around negative two, so…” Rainbow swung her head back and head-butted Aloe. As the earth pony’s grip loosened slightly, Dash slipped her left arm from the hold and smashed her elbow into the preppy’s chin. As she began to turn around and punch Lotus, the preppy had already smashed her fist into the pegasus’s gut. “Give me a hand!” Lotus ordered Vinyl as she tried to hold onto the fighting athlete. Vinyl clapped her hands and chanted moral support. Lotus raised an eyebrow and the DJ shrugged, “Sorry, but I can’t.” “Why not?!” Lotus cried. Aloe had managed to recover from her daze and began to help her sister. “Because she has good taste in music.” Vinyl replied, “What kind of douche artist would I be if I beat up a fan?” Lotus rolled her eyes as she and Aloe finally managed to get a hold on Rainbow. Just as they were catching their breath, Dash flapped her wings and began to ascend. The prep sisters were now using all of their strength to keep their grip on Rainbow and their feet on the ground. “Let me go!” Rainbow demanded as she flapped her wings vigorously, “You two are really heavy!” The sisters stared at Dash indignantly. They opened their mouths when an angry voice cried, “What is going on here?!” Everypony turned to see Colgate entering the premise. Her arms were crossed and she wore a disapproving look. “Aloe, Lotus, you two had only one job!” she cried exasperatedly. “Then why don’t you help us with that one job!” Lotus said as her feet briefly left the ground. Colgate sighed and pulled down on Dash’s legs. The pegasus tried to wiggle her way out of the hold. As she was doing this, a shadow began to form above Dash. Rainbow soon noticed the shadow and looked up, only to have a shoe plant itself on her face. Rainbow went crashing back to the driveway. As soon as she was grounded, Lotus, Aloe, and Colgate started to kick and stomp the rainbow-haired girl. Much to her chagrin, Dash was only able to curl up in a ball and cover her face. After about a minute, the preps stopped and picked up Dash by her arms. Dash raised her head and saw the pony that the shoe belonged to. “Hello there,” Lightning Dust said sincerely, “You must be Rainbow Dash. My name is Lightning Dust” Dash’s pupils constricted and she was filled with new energy and rage. “Let me go!” Dash struggled again, “Let me go right now, and I promise to leave you preps alone forever!” “Sorry Dash,” Aloe said, “but it’s too late for forgiveness.” “I don’t care about your forgiveness!” Dash shouted, “Just let me go!” “Hey,” Lightning said as she looked around, completely ignoring Dash, “where’s Rarity?” “She is out shopping in town.” Colgate answered, “She did not like our plan for Dash, so she decided to take her mind off it by buying new fabric.” Lightning nodded in acknowledgement and then stared at Dash. Their eyes met and Lightning had a brief sneer before it returned to a humble smile. “Can I ask you three a favor?” Lightning ask the preps. “What is it?” Lotus asked. Lightning began to retreat further into the yard, “Do you mind letting Rainbow Dash go?” Everypony in the vicinity raised an eyebrow. “Um, why?” Vinyl asked. “Well, look at her.” Lightning gestured to Dash, “It seems pretty obvious that she wants to fight me.” The preps turned their heads to Dash and they finally realized that the athlete was furious. “Okay, I have a follow up question.” Vinyl said, “Why the buck does she look so pissed to see you?” Lightning shrugged, “I have no idea. But, she’s mad, and she wants to fight me. So do you mind if I get a chance to fight her? After all, an enemy of yours is an enemy of mine.” Colgate turned to Aloe and Lotus for confirmation. They all nodded and Colgate said, “Alright, we’ll give you five minutes, but then she’s ours.” “Great.” Lightning said loudly, she was now quite a distance away from the other ponies, “Oh, and do you mind not interrupting the fight. No matter what, don’t intervene in the next five minutes.” If the preppies looked confused, they didn’t let on. They just shrugged and released Rainbow. As soon as their grip loosened, Dash went torpedoing toward Lightning Dust. She brought her fist back and then launched it forward. Before Dash’s move hit, Lightning Dust turned around, flapped her wings, and brought up her leg. The pegasus roundhouse kick got a clean shot on Dash’s cheek and it sent her sprawling to the ground. “You fall for that move every time.” Lightning chuckled lightly. Now that the two were out of ear shot from the preps, the amber-haired pegasus’s old persona returned. Rainbow quickly got on her feet, “Why are you here?” She threw a jab. Lightning dodged, “Isn’t it obvious? I came to see my favorite pegasus.” She countered with a left straight and Dash blocked it. Lightning blinked, “Huh, it looks like you got a little better. But still,” Lightning followed up with a combination of left and right hooks, “you don’t have anything on me. You never had, and you never-” Rainbow ducked the left hook and punched Dust in her gut. She then followed up with an uppercut and Lightning Dust stumbled backward from the force. Lightning had a look of absolute shock. “I’m sorry; did I break your concentration?” Dash grinned. She was currently in a state of ecstasy. After so many years of holding back the feelings of anger and betrayal, this was the perfect moment to let it all out. Lightning Dust, however, wasn’t paying any attention to Dash. She kept massaging her chin, wondering how Dash managed to hit her. Dust was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the haymaker until it collided with her face. Lightning regained her balance and locked eyes with Dash. The amber-haired pegasus took a running start toward the other. Rainbow stood her ground and waited for the expected punch. However, instead of punching, Dust flapped her wings jumped in the air, and did a spinning kick, knocking down the athlete. “And the universe is restored to its proper order.” Lightning grinned. She sauntered to Dash and got ready to stomp on her, but Rainbow quickly got to her knees and performed a pegasus leg sweep. Dust was caught off guard and she fell to the ground. Dash hurriedly climbed on top of Lightning and trapped her arms under her, Dash’s, legs. She grabbed Lightning’s collar, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” Dash grinned. With her free hand, the rainbow-haired pegasus punched Lightning in the face repeatedly. After the fifth hit, Lightning Dust lips quivered. After the sixth hit, she began to giggle uncontrollably. Dash stopped punching and she raised an eyebrow, “What’s so funny?” “I’m sorry.” Lightning Dust giggled. Her face was now bruised from the hits, “It’s just that you are the cutest pony I have ever met! I mean, it’s just so adorable how this is probably the highest point of your life! It’s so sad that it’s funny and cute.” “You want to talk about sad?” Dash snarled as she restarted her assault, “Then let’s talk about how you had to get friendly with the preps to get to me because you’re too scared to face me alone.” Lightning Dust roared with laughter. Dash growled and stopped again, “What’s so funny now?!” “You!” Lightning laughed, “It’s so funny how you think you’re actually important. Do you really think I would go through this much trouble just for you?! I was getting close to the preps before I sent Gilda after you. The only reason I’m here right now is because of the message you told Luna to pass on to me. I figured that you would be a thorn in my side, so I decided to get rid of you. And it wasn’t hard to get the preps angry at you, considering your personality.” She paused for a moment, “You know, if it wasn’t for the message, I probably would have forgotten all about you since you weren’t really anything special to begin with. It’s funny how life works like that.” “You bucken ass!” Dash snapped. Her pride had taken a low blow from Lightning Dust’s words. The amber-haired pegasus’s eyes widened slightly, “Whoa, Dash, no need to be racist. Oh, and by the way, the five minutes are up.” “Screw the five minutes.” Dash’s punch nearly connected, but Lightning, who had finally wiggled her arms free, caught the punch and bent the fist backwards. Rainbow cried in pain and Dust punched the side of the athlete’s face, knocking her off. Dash was on all fours, but Dust was already on her feet. Rainbow only had enough time to turn her head and feel Lightning’s foot connecting with her face. Rainbow was knocked onto her back, her right cheek burning with pain. She looked up and saw Lightning Dust with her smug grin, “It’s been fun, but unlike you, I have things to do.” Lightning then smashed her foot on Dash’s nose. As Dash cried in pain, Lightning walk toward the preppies, “She’s all yours.” Lightning said pleasantly. Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus grinned and smacked Lightning on the back as she walked past them. Vinyl, however, had her arms crossed and looked at Lightning reproachfully. Dash slowly got to her feet as she tried to slow down the flow of blood coming from her nose. She saw Dust turn around, wink, and prepared to take flight. “No you don’t, bitch.” Dash growled. She ran toward the other pegasus, but she was blocked by Aloe, Lotus, and Colgate. “Where do you think you’re going?” Aloe grinned. Dash, who was currently in a bad mood, said nothing and simply punched the preppy. She then followed up with a pegasus leg sweep and Aloe was down. Colgate went next and threw a haymaker. It connected and Rainbow fell down onto the lawn. The pegasus then dug her fingers into the lawn, pulled out a large chunk of dirt and mud, and she slammed it into Colgate’s face. “Oh Faust!” the unicorn shouted, “It’s in my eyes!” Dash then shoved her out of the way and proceeded to Lotus. The preppy had her guard up and was ready for anything. Dash then noticed that she was standing next to a line of garden gnomes. She picked up the closest one and held it in front of her. “Move or else I bash this thing against your head.” Dash threatened. Lotus’s eyes widened in fear, “Put that down now!” She cried, “Rarity will kill us if anything happened to it!” Dash raised an eyebrow and curiously looked at the gnome. For a second, she wondered whether it was a gnome at all. Compared to all of the other, perfectly crafted gnomes, the thing in her hand looked more like an oval with strange markings on it. She couldn’t even tell whether she was holding it right-side up. “Okay, I gotta know; why does Rarity care so much about this thing?” “It was a present.” Lotus answered panicky, “It was a present from her sister.” “Well then, if you don’t want Rarity on your flank,” Dash turned around, “then you better go catch it.” And she chucked the gnome as hard as she could. Lotus screamed and tore after the flying object. Dash made her way to the gate, only to have Vinyl stand in her way. “Sorry Dash, but I can’t let you pass.” She raised her fist. Dash scoffed, “Try and stop me.” She then flapped her wings and flew above Vinyl and passed the gates. “Son of a bitch!” Vinyl shouted as Dash soared through the sky. Rainbow then picked up her speed and was soon high above the middle of Manticore Ville. She scanned the sky for a couple of minutes for any sign of Lightning Dust, but there were none. “Damn it.” Dash said to herself, “You had her, and you just let her go. Damn it!” she repeated. Deciding that it was useless to continue searching for Dust at the moment, Dash glumly flew back to Manticore Academy. Before long, Dash landed in front of the academy with her head held down. She walked to the gates and heard somepony clear their throat. She looked up and saw a very stern looking Twilight. Dash then realized how bad she must have looked with her bruised face and bloody nose, but she was not in a mood for a lecture. So she returned Twilight’s look with a nonchalant look of her own. They both continued to stare at one another until Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I’ll go and get the nurse.”