//------------------------------// // Chapter 30: Pets // Story: The Cassandra Chronicles // by CassandraMyOCisBestpony //------------------------------// The ponies went to the park for a Pony Pet playdate, although each owner just played with their own pet, which kind of defeated the purpose. Rainbow Dash's very pleasurable dream about Cassandra was cut short by all the pets' noise. "Sorry for waking you" said Twilight. "Say Cassandra, why don't you have a pet?" asked Rarity. "What you mean an unintelligent companion that requires constant attention? I have six of those already." "Hey, y'all wanna hear th' story of how ah met Winona?" asked Applejack "Not particularly" said Cassandra. ***** A slightly younger Applejack was walking by a pet shop when she spotted a cute looking border collie in a window display. She decided she had to have it, so she went into the pet store and flagged down the manager, the cherry salesman from Putting Your Hoof Down. "'scuse me mister?" She broke into song, ♪ ♫How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the waggety tail? Ah know that that doggie has a pricetag. And ah tried to read it but failed.♪ ♫ "It's five thousand bits." said the manager "That seems awful steep for a dog" "Well dat's what it says on da pricetag." "Alrighty then. Ah'll take yer word for it." ***** "And ah was so moved by his honesty that ah decided to become th' Element of Honesty." finished Applejack. "I have decided that I want to get a pet" said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy perked up, "I knew you would Rainbow Dash! I'm so excited!" They flew to Fluttershy's place where she showed Rainbow Dash all of the critters. Cassandra came too to help Rainbow make her decision. Rainbow Dash picked out a dozen suitable candidates, and informed them that they would have to go through a gauntlet of tests to be her pet. "I'm surprised they're putting up with her BS" remarked Twilight, forgetting that coarse language shouldn't be used in polite company. "It's elementary, really" said Cassandra, "they're disappointed that they don't get to be my pet, but being Rainbow Dash's personal companion is just one degree of separation from me." "Your knowledge is like a vast and endless ocean" gushed Twilight, stars in her eyes. "I know" said Cassandra. "What a guy" said Twilight. "Alright listen up!" said Rainbow Dash to the pets, "only one of you can be my pet, so I need to find out who. Speed! Agility! Style! Coolness! Awesomeness! And radicalness! None of you are Cassandra, but if you have those qualities, then you might just come close!" "Aren't those all the same words?" said Twilight "You'd think so" said Dash, "and that's why you could never be my pet. Cassandra though...." she gave a mischievous smile. "Not gonna happen." said Cassandra. "Worth a try." They moved on to the first challenge, which was laps around a track. The flamingo tripped and fell and got a small scrape. "Eep!" squeaked Fluttershy, "I hate blood!" Luckily for her, Cassandra was there to bandage the bird and make him all better. "You are the best animal doctor in Ponyville, and probably all of Equestria." "Oh it's just one of my few talents" said Cassandra modestly. "What a guy" said Fluttershy. "Next is the radicalness contest. Show me as much radicalness as you can." said Dash. All the pets pointed at Cassandra. "Come on guys, this won't work if you all tie. Ok, show me the second-most radicalness you can" So reluctantly, they demonstrated radicalness in different ways. ***** After a series of contests, Rainbow had it narrowed it down to a few finalists. "And now for the last challenge" she said, "A race through Ghastly Gorge. Dramatic Music Sting." The pets lined up at the starting line, along with the tortoise, at Fluttershy's insistence. "Ready, set go!" cried Rainbow Dash, and she took off, giving herself a head start. The pets took off as fast as they could, but they struggled to keep up. They flew through the thorns, past the dangerous eels, and into the avalanche zone. Rainbow went through brazenly, but a falling rock pinned her in place, unbeknownst to the rest of the pets. Cassandra, who had a feeling that Dash's recklessness would endanger someone's life, was watching from afar. She spotted Rainbow Dash's distress, and hurried to rescue her. As she neared the rock slide, something caught her eye "Oh, what's this?" she ducked behind a rock. The tortoise was approaching, and it was looking at Rainbow Dash concernedly. It spotted Cassandra and gave her a curious look. "Don't worry little guy, I won't steal your thunder" whispered Cassandra. She felt bad about prolonging Rainbow Dash's suffering by letting the less-than-expedient animal do the work, but sacrifices had to be made so that ponies didn't get jealous of Cassandra's heroism. After 3 hours, the tortoise made it to Rainbow Dash and lifted the boulder, freeing her, He carried her to the finish line. The ponies cheered when they saw she was safe. "The falcon won the race, Rainbow Dash" said Fluttershy, "so he's your new pet." "Awesome!" said Dash, "I've always wanted a falcon!" "Now hold on just a second" said Cassandra, "this tortoise has gone out of his way to earn your affection, even saving your life after you treated him so cruelly. Don't you think he's the more deserving?" "By Celestia, you're right Cassandra!" said Dash, "tortoise, I want you to be my loving companion. Now what should I call you? You're green, slow, but powerful like a military vehicle... I got nothing." "How about Tank?" suggested Cassandra. "Yeah, Tank, that's it! Tank, I hereby declare you, Rainbow Dash's (that's me) awesome new pet." Tank looked at Cassandra, and Cassandra looked at Tank. The tortoise could not speak, but from his expression, it was plain to see what he would say if he could... "What a guy."