Winter had finally come to Manticore Academy and its residents. The days were becoming shorter, the nights were as dark as Lighting Dust’s heart, and it was cold enough that wearing thick sweaters was the new trend. If things weren’t bad enough, Exam Week was quickly approaching. The halls were now filled with students, nerds and jocks alike, bumping into each other since they obscured their vision with textbooks. Even the party pony Pinkie Pie could be seen reading her bejeweled textbooks. It was a terrifying time for the students.
Over in Manticore Ville, the atmosphere was much brighter. It was just as cold, but there was a certain festive mood in the air. Now that is was December, the Manticore Ville Carnival was officially open. The residents of Manticore Ville enjoyed themselves with hazardous rides, foods, and performers. It was bliss.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were walking down the street that led to the tunnel that would lead them to the carnival.
“This is going to be awesome!” Dash said excitingly, “I heard that on some rides, you have to sign waivers that would not make the Carnival responsible for any damages. Nothing says fun like a little danger.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Scootaloo said, surprisingly out of character.
Dash looked at the young pegasus, “What do you mean? You’re the one that has been hyping this carnival since November.”
“I know. It’s just with the exams are coming up and-”
“Scoots, chill.” Dash said, “You know the old saying, ‘All work and no play something something something,’. We have to relax and have some fun so we can ace the tests. Besides, there’s nothing in school you can’t learn in a carnival. I mean, the rides have physic stuff like momentum, you learn social studies from the people at the carnival, and loads more.”
Scootaloo grinned, “You’re right! I don’t know why I was being such a-”
“Chicken?”
Scootaloo scoffed, “Nice try, Dash, but even you can’t bring me down.”
Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “Good to hear.”
Scootaloo smiled, but then thought of something, “What about Twilight? Wouldn’t she be mad that you skipped studying to come here?”
If there was one pony that seemed to be the most stressed about the upcoming exams, it was the leader of the nerds. Even though Twilight was a prodigy and the top academic student in M.A, it didn’t stop her from making the library her new home. Rainbow Dash thought it was kind of funny until Twilight, for some reason unknown to the pegasus, decided to make it her job to help Dash study for the exams. And by ‘study’, it meant Rainbow was now buried under a mountain of books while Twilight talked non-stop about every subject imaginable.
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Dash said shamelessly, “Plus, I told her I would be doing some independent studying by myself, so we have the whole day to have some fun.”
The two pegasai continued to walk until they made it to the tunnel. There were other ponies heading to the carnival, but most of them were citizens. There were some students taking a long break from studying. Dash and Scootaloo walked with the crowd, wondering about the fun they will have, when they noticed something that caught their eye. Near the entrance of the tunnel was a young unicorn with pale green eyes and grayish mulberry hair. She was wearing a white children’s dress and carrying a small purse.
“Look, a mini preppy.” Scootaloo said, pointing at the unicorn. She then cracked her knuckles, “You want me to take care of her?”
Dash raised an eyebrow, “Hold up there, I actually know this preppy. She’s okay, just a bit…innocent.” The athlete waved to the child prep, “Hey, Sweetie Belle!”
The preppy looked up and then beamed at the pegasus. She then made her way to where they were standing, “Hi, Rainbow Dash.” she then gave the pegasus a hug, “It’s so good to see you again.”
Sweetie Belle then turned to Scootaloo and extended her hand, “Hi, I’m Sweetie Belle.”
Scootaloo didn’t take the hand and instead crossed her arms, “Sup, I’m Scootaloo.” She said coolly.
Sweetie Belle didn’t look discouraged by Scootaloo’s behavior. She lowered her arm, “So, what are you two doing here?”
“We’re going to have some fun in the carnival.” Dash explained. It was then that Sweetie Belle hung her head in sadness.
“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle sighed, “It must be nice…”
“What?”
“To be able to have a day of fun with your sister.” Sweetie Belle said sadly.
Scootaloo blushed slightly, “Oh we’re not-I mean-we’re not actually sisters.”
“But we might as well be.” Rainbow said nonchalantly, “I mean, we always hang out.” Dash didn’t see it, but Scootaloo looked as though she was just told that she would be the next Wonderbolt. The rainbow-haired pegasus continued talking with the unicorn, “Is this about that stick-in-a-mud sister?”
Sweetie Belle giggled, “It’s funny that you called my sister a stick-in-a-mud because Rarity hates mud.”
The two pegasai’s eyes widened in shock. Rainbow was the first to say something, “Rarity is your sister?!”
“Are we talking about the same ‘preppy leader’ Rarity?” Scootaloo said in shock.
“I don’t know.” Sweetie Belle said, “What’s a preppy leader?”
“You know,” Scootaloo said, “your innocence is kind of getting annoying.”
The unicorn pouted, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it.” Dash said, “It’s not your fault you act cute. So, you’re waiting for Rarity?”
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for an hour.”
“Wow!” Scootaloo exclaimed, “That sucks. Oh well, have fun. Come on, Dash.”
“Hold on, Scoots.” Dash said as she turned to the preppy, “You wanna join us?”
Scootaloo looked scandalized while Sweetie looked thrilled, “Yes! Come on, let’s get going.” Without further ado, Sweetie Belle grabbed the two pegasai’s arms and hauled them through the tunnel.
The tunnel that led to the carnival was an interesting one. It was the place where young artist could paint, or defile, the walls. As Sweetie Belle dragged the two pegasai, chatting away about the rides at the carnival, Scootaloo turned to Dash, “I thought this was our day?”
Dash shrugged apologetically, “Sorry squirt, but could really say no to her?”
“Watch me.” Scootaloo said confidently. She turned to the unicorn, “Hey, Sweetie Belle.”
The prep turned to Scootaloo with a face filled with childhood wonder and happiness, “Yes?”
It was at that moment that Scootaloo lost her nerve, “Damn, never mind.” She sighed, “So, what kind of food do they sell here?”
Sweetie giggled, “Well, they mostly sell commoner food, which I’m sure you two will love. Rarity hates the food, but I really like it. Is that weird?”
As she continued to talk, Dash turned to Scootaloo, “So-”
“Zip it.” Scootaloo said while Dash laughed.
The three finally exited the tunnel. There was a ticket booth with gates on either side that blocked the way to the Carnival.
“Come on you two, I’m buying.” Rainbow told the two fillies, who were now looking excited. Dash walked up to the ticket booth, “Yo, buddy, three tickets.”
The ticket vendor, a pimply teenage unicorn, said, “That’ll be three bits please.” He said monotonously.
“Well aren’t you a pinnacle of excitement.” Dash said as she paid for the tickets. She got the tickets and handed them to the fillies, “To quote Pinkie Pie, ‘Let’s get this party started!’. They all cheered as they opened the gates and entered the carnival.
They were greeted with a wonderful sight. On either side of them were food stands that sold hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, kettle corn, caramel apples, cotton candy, and so much more. Past the stands were large booths that held different games and there was a large tent where somepony could trade in their tickets for a prize. Beyond that was a grand area that had more games and the rollercoasters.
“This is gonna be good.” Dash said as she and the little ones enjoyed themselves. They first went to the food stalls and bought enough food to cause a hungry manticore to hurl.
Next were the game booths. They were playing a classic one; try to knock down the three pyramids of milk bottles with only five baseballs. Scootaloo was the one who tried this game. She threw three baseballs, but only managed to get a couple of bottles to topple over.
“You know,” said the sleazy game vendor, “you’re supposed to know down all of the bottles, not just some.” He always had an insulting remark after each of the filly’s failure.
“I know that!” Scootaloo said angrily. She threw another ball and it completely missed everything. The vendor stood next to the remaining bottles, “Wow, you got quite an arm because you didn’t even managed to knock down one tower.”
“Scoots, hand me the last ball.” Dash said and Scootaloo did as she was told. Rainbow took the ball, flapped her wings as hard as she could, and then threw it. It smashed into the vendors head and he fell back, knocking down all of the bottles.
“Look at that.” Dash told the unconscious vendor smugly, “I knocked down the three pyramids and an asshole with one ball. I say that deserves extra tickets.” She hopped into the game booth and took a roll of tickets before leaving with the star-struck fillies.
They entered the grand area, which was a lot bigger and more fun than they originally thought. As they talked about where to go first, their attention was drawn to a test-your-strength game, where an earth pony was playing to impress his date. He swung the mallet down onto the lever, and the piston soared before stopping just an inch below the bell.
“Not bad, sport.” The female vendor said as she handed the earth pony some tickets, “That is the best score I’ve seen today.”
“That was amazing.” The date said, batting her eyelashes. The earth pony grinned, “It was, wasn’t it? I bet nopony could beat my score.”
“Challenge accepted.” Dash said loudly. She took the mallet from the surprised boy and held it over her head, “This is for all of the little ponies that believed in me.” She brought the mallet down as she gave her wings a hard flap. The piston was sent rocketing to the bell, making a loud *ding*.
“Hallelujah!” the vendor said, handing Dash a stack of tickets, “Finally, we got a pony with some balls, and a mare no less.” Rainbow took the tickets, winked at the shocked couple, and walked back to the Sweetie and Scootaloo.
Their next destination was the one they have been waiting for: the rollercoaster. Unfortunately, everypony else at the carnival seemed to have the same idea. After a wait in line, the two pegasai and unicorn were finally in front, but there was a problem: there were only two seats left.
“You two go ahead.” Dash said, letting the fillies go in front of her.
“No, you go.” Sweetie Belle said, “I’ll go-”
“Too late.” Dash said quickly as she stepped away, “I’m out of the line, so I can’t go next.”
Scootaloo smiled, “Thanks, Dash.” Sweetie also smiled, “You know, you and Rarity would really get along. She likes generous ponies.”
Dash only smiled and waved as the fillies got onto the ride. She watched them as they raised their arms in anticipation when the rollercoaster started moving.
“Me and Rarity as friends?” Dash thought aloud once the coaster was out of the station, “The day that happens is the day my mom stops looking for new guys.”
“Which will be never, I guess.”
Dash quickly turned around and saw who spoke. It was Aloe, who was standing with her sister Lotus.
“Damn, you ponies don’t give up.” Dash said irritably. She wasn’t keen on fighting with the fillies nearby.
Lotus took a white glove from her pocket and then slapped Dash with it.
“Ow!” Dash said, mostly in surprise, “What was that for?”
“An official declaration of war.” Lotus said as she stored the glove.
“You have been a nuisance for far too long.” Aloe said, “We’ve decided that enough is enough. After today, every single preppy will be after you and your associates.”
Dash crossed her arms, “And who are my ‘associates’?”
“That would be Gilda and her little group.”
Rainbow scoffed, “You’re just going to get your flanks kicked if you go after them.”
Lotus grinned, “Let’s not forget your other associate: Twilight Sparkle and her little group.”
Dash’s pupils constricted almost instantly. She grabbed Lotus by her collar, “Stay away from the nerds.” She growled, “Twi and her friends have nothing to do with us.”
“Let me go, or things will get messy.” Lotus said calmly. She then jerked her head to the carnival entrance and Dash saw Colgate, Vinyl, and Dumb-Bell standing menacingly. Dash pushed Lotus away, but the earth pony didn’t seem fazed, “Let it be known that any friends of yours are enemies of ours. Have a nice day, Rainbow, because it will be your last.” With that, the sisters rejoined their group and they left.
Dash stood there, fuming, “Buck!” she cried as she thought about her next course of action. She wasn’t worried about Gilda or the ex-bullies because they knew how to fight, but Twilight and the nerds were so fragile and weak.
It was then that Dash noticed the ride ended and the two fillies were running towards her. The athlete hid her frustration; she didn’t want the kids to worry, “How was the ride?”
“Incredible!” Scootaloo said excitingly, “I almost threw up!”
“Sweet. How about you, Sweetie?”
The little unicorn didn’t respond. She looked at Dash worriedly, “Do you want me to tell Rarity?”
Dash raised an eyebrow, “Tell her what?”
Sweetie pointed to where the preps were standing, “That her friends were being mean.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened in shock, “The preps were here?!”
Sweetie nodded, “When we were at the peak, I looked down and saw Aloe and Lotus talking to Rainbow Dash.” the unicorn turned back to the older pegasus, “Rarity told me to tell her whenever they were acting mean.”
“Don’t worry, they weren’t.” Dash said. She knew that Rarity agreed with the prep’s decision. The whole ‘official declaration’ just reeked of the preppy leader.
“Okay then.” Sweetie said, “But let me know if they are mean. Rarity doesn’t want it to happen again.”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, “Let what happen again?”
Sweetie Belle clapped her hands over her mouth, as though she let out a secret.
Dash got down to one knee to be on eye-level with the unicorn, “What is it, Sweetie Belle? You can tell us.”
Sweetie shifted her eyes between the two pegasus, “You promise not to tell anypony?”
The pegasai nodded.
The unicorn hesitated for a moment longer before talking, “It happened a couple of years ago when Rarity was in the middle school of Manticore Academy. She was the boxing champion at the time.”
“Wait a minute.” Dash said, “Rarity was the boxing champion?!”
Sweetie nodded, “For three years. She was boxing even before she entered Manticore Academy. Anyways, during middle school, she would always hang out with her friends and older students. I remember how they would always fight with greasy ponies.”
Dash nodded in comprehension. In middle school, Rarity and her friends joined older preppies in their fight against the greasers.
“She was scary back then.” Sweetie said shakingly, “She would always carry this metal thing that she would put onto her fist when she fought. The older students even had a name for her, ‘main de fer’.”
“If Rarity was such a great fighter,” Scootaloo said, “then why did she stop?”
“I don’t really know.” Sweetie Belle said uncertainly, “But I remember when it happened. It was two years ago when she came home late. She came into my room, and I was scared. She asked me what was I afraid of, and I said…” she paused as though ashamed, “I told her was afraid of her.”
“What did she do?” Dash said tensely.
“Well, I thought she was going to start yelling at me, but she didn’t. Instead, she started crying. She hugged me and she wouldn’t stop apologizing. After that,” Sweetie Belle smiled, “she was my sister again. She was caring, played with me, and she acted more ladylike. She stopped fighting, she stopped boxing, and she started to sew again; something she hadn’t done since she was a filly.”
Dash was silent after the story; she was somewhat confused of what she thought of Rarity now. The prep leader seemed to be a caring sister, but one good thing doesn’t make her a hero.
Dash then thought about the war that was sure to come, but decided she would deal with that later. She’d rather not ruin the fillies’ day, “Come on you two, let’s go to the funhouse next.”
________________________________________
It was past sunset when the three girls finally left the carnival, holding there prizes. Dash had won a lot of tickets, so she gladly paid for the prizes.
“Thank you so much, Dash!” Scootaloo said, holding her new RC car.
“Yeah, thank you!” Sweetie said cheerfully as she held her new teddy bear that was bigger than she was, “I’m sorry that all you could get for yourself was that old radio.”
Dash looked down at the radio she got with her tickets, “Actually, I really wanted this radio.” She then turned to the unicorn. “You gonna need help taking the bear home?”
Sweetie shook her head, “I’m getting a ride home. The limo should be here any minute.”
The moment she said that, a stretched limo rounded the corner and stopped in front of the unicorn. After a quick struggle to get the teddy bear to fit into the limo, Sweetie turned back to the pegasai, “Thank you so much for today!” she then gave a hug to Scootaloo and then one to Dash before entering the limo and leaving.
“She sure was strange.” Scootaloo said as she and Dash walked back to school.
“Yeah, a bit dense, but generally nice. She has a better attitude than most preppies.”
“Speaking of them, what were they talking to you about?”
“Oh, you know, the usual threat. Listen, we’ve better hurry up or else Twilight will have my head if she figures out we spent the day having fun and not studying.”
________________________________________
Rarity’s room was as large as her father’s conference room. One side was filled with mannequins, a sewing machine, countless threads, and the dresses she made. The other side was composed of her mementos from her boxing days; such as trophies and medals.
The preppy leader was currently hard at work creating a new design. Whenever she was in her ‘idea state’, the only thing she thought of was the dress she was working on. It was because of this that she didn’t hear the knocks on the door until the knocker spoke,
“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle said as she knocked, “Are you in there?”
Rarity immediately stopped working, “Yes Sweetie, I’m here.” She said fondly, “Come in, darling.”
Sweetie walked in and stared at the dress in progress, “Wow Rarity, that’s really pretty.”
“Thank you. Now, just give me a couple more minutes and we’ll go to the carnival.”
“Um, Rarity, the carnival closed already.”
Rarity chuckled lightly, “Come now, Sweetie, the carnival doesn’t close until night, and you can see that it's only-”
Rarity turned to her window and was surprised that all she saw was darkness.
“I am so sorry” Rarity said sincerely, “I promise I will make it up to you.”
“That’s okay, Rarity.” Sweetie said cheerfully, “I still went to the carnival.”
“Oh, did Vinyl take you? I know she had wanted to go for a while now.”
“Nope.”
“Please tell me you didn’t go by yourself. You know how I feel when you are unsupervised.”
“Don’t worry, Rarity. I went with my new sister, Rainbow Dash.”
As soon as Sweetie said ‘my new sister’, it was like somepony plunged an icy dagger into Rarity’s heart. And when the little unicorn said’ Rainbow Dash’ was her new sister, the icy dagger was twisted.
“Are you okay?!” Rarity said hurriedly as she grabbed her sister and started looking for bruises.
“I’m okay.” the filly said, slightly confused by her sister’s reaction.
“Why would you hang out with someone like Rainbow Dash?!”
“Well, I was waiting for you at the entrance tunnel for a while. I didn’t think you would come and I was about to leave when Dash offered to take me. I thought that you would probably be too busy for me-”
Rarity placed a finger over her sister’s mouth, silencing her, “Sweetie, don’t ever think that I would ever chose anything over you. I know that I can get distracted, and I’m sorry, but I love you and I will always be your sister.” She then hugged Sweetie Belle, who looked close to happy tears.
Rarity picked up Sweetie Belle, “How about I read you a bedtime story?”
“Yay!” Sweetie cheered as she was carried to her room by her sister.
________________________________________
One hour later
Rarity returned to her room after Sweetie Belle fell to sleep. The preppy leader ignored her dress and walked over to a desk on the boxing side of the room. Rarity reached for the back of her neck and unhooked a necklace. On the necklace was a key, which she used to unlock the desk, revealing brass knuckles.
She picked up the weapon and stared at it. She then thought of how she was hesitant about declaring war on Dash, but that now changed. She then remembered what Lightning Dust told her about Dash,
“She will try to steal your fame, your money, and everything you own. Trust me, Rainbow Dash needs to be stomped out.”
Rarity thought Lightning Dust was being dramatic, at least until now, when Dash had just tried steal Sweetie Belle from her. Rarity was about to put on the brass knuckles when she remembered Sweetie’s crying face from a long time ago. The prep leader then placed the weapon back into the desk and locked it once more. She proceeded to walk over to the corner of her room, which had a punching bag. Rarity took a deep breath,
“Laissez-ciel Dash sentir ma colère.”
She then proceeded to beat the punching bag viciously, and expertly.