Twilight Sparkle was lying on her bed in her dorm room. Her room was composed of the one bed and, right next to it, a large desk with a lamp and a number of notebooks. On the desk were also pictures of herself with her parents, a young man in a military uniform who was undoubtedly her older brother, and a young boy with spikey green hair who was her younger brother. There was a large T.V on the other side of the wall and a gaming console was connected to it. Twilight was casually reading a book with a cup of tea next to her. She tried to enjoy the book, but she had to make frequent stops due to two distractions in her room.
“Come on, Dash.” Scootaloo said. She was sitting by the unicorn’s bed with a video game controller in her hand, “You’re falling behind.”
“I can see that.” Dash growled. She was also sitting by the bed and had a controller in her hand. The only difference was that Dash was moving her entire arms frantically, as though it would assist her, and Scootaloo was holding her controller calmly. The pegasai were playing Equestrian Games: Summer Olympics. They were currently racing with their custom, Wonderbolt characters through a mountain terrain, and Scootaloo was making Dash eat her dust.
“Do you two mind?” Twilight said, “I’m trying to read here.”
“Why?” Dash asked, not taking her eyes of the game, “The exams finished yesterday, which means that we are now officially on winter break.” Rainbow blindly reached under the bed and pulled out another controller. She handed it to Twilight, “Take it. You should be playing too since it’s your game, Twi.”
“No, you two were the ones eager to play the game. Honestly, I haven’t used the system in months. Believe it or not, Dash, but I prefer books over video games.”
“That’s because she knows she would lose to me.” Scootaloo said, surprisingly arrogant. It seemed that video games were a thing that the small pegasus prided herself in.
“Come on, Twilight.” Rainbow exasperated, “You can’t deny a challenge like that.”
Twilight turned to the pegasus, “Watch me.” And then she turned back to her book.
Dash grinned, “Fine, I’ll play for you.”
Scootaloo smirked, “Even if you were playing for Faust herself, you would still lose.”
“Challenge accepted.” Dash proclaimed. She began to playfully make grabs for Scootaloo’s controller. Twilight turned to the two pegasai and she couldn’t help but giggle at their playful behavior.
There was a sudden knock at the door.
“It’s open.” Twilight said.
The door opened. Twilight saw who it was and raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing here?”
Scootaloo looked away from the game to see who was at the door. What she saw made her pause the game immediately and her jaw dropped. Dash blinked at the unmoving T.V screen,
“Why did you pause?” Rainbow said as she turned to Scootaloo. It was then that Dash noticed a drop of sweat run down the small pegasus’s face. The athlete finally turned to the door and was surprised by who she saw. It was a female earth pony with dark orange hair. The thing that made her distinctive was that she was wearing dirty jeans and a dirty, black, leather jacket.
“Look at that.” Dash said with a grin, “A wild greaser appears.”
The greaser sighed, “So I’m guessing your Rainbow Dash?”
“How can you tell? Was it my rainbow hair or my sheer awesomeness?”
“It was your loud mouth.” The greaser said stoically.
Twilight turned to Dash, “I believe that was what you would call a burn, right?”
“Not helping, Twi.” Dash said, now glaring at the newcomer.
“Can we skip this useless banter?” The greaser said impatiently, “I came here to talk to you, Dash"
“Why?”
“Because Applejack needs your help.” The greaser said, as though it would explain everything.
Rainbow scoffed, “First off, I have absolutely no idea who Applejack is. Secondly, I don’t even know who you are.”
“The names Golden Harvest, but my friends call me Carrot Top.” The greaser said, “Applejack is somepony who can either be your friend, or your enemy. Trust me; you do not want her as your enemy. Meet her under the overpass that separates Manticore Town and New Delphi. Don’t be late.” And with that, Golden Harvest walked away.
“She seemed friendly.” Dash said as she reached for Scootaloo’s controller to un-pause the game.
“So what are you going to do now?” Twilight asked Dash.
“I don’t know. I think I’ll finish this game, eat a bag of chips, travel around town for a bit, and then call it a day.”
“Huh?” Twilight said, “I’m surprised by you. I would have expected you to jump at the chance to get on Applejack’s good side.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s the leader of the greasers.” Scootaloo blurted out. She was still sweating nervously, “And she is one of the toughest ponies in this school and one of the most violent.”
“I think that’s a bit too extreme.” Twilight said, “I think the word you're looking for is protective.”
“If by 'protective' you mean throwing students down a couple of stairs, then yeah, Applejack is really protective.” Scootaloo retorted.
Twilight rolled her eyes, “Applejack never pushed Felix down a flight of stairs. He got scared when he saw Applejack approaching him, so he ran down the stairs and tripped.”
“So is this Applejack like a bully?” Dash asked, “Should I be thinking of a plan to stop her and her greasers?”
“The greasers are more like vigilantes than bullies.” Twilight said. She got off her bed and began to pace around the room as though giving a lecture, “They don’t care if other students get bullied, but if somepony threatens their own, then every single greaser will be after that pony.”
“They’re kind of like preppies, but they don’t care if somepony insults them.” Scootaloo said, “They only go after you if you threaten them, and it is scary how fast they learn about a threat. Everypony in the school knows to never threaten the greasers, not even as a joke.”
Dash nodded slowly, “So now I have some crazy, overprotective ponies to deal with? Wow, isn’t this school fantastic.”
“I still say you should try to get on Applejack's good side.” Twilight said, “She may be a bit extreme at times, but she has a good heart.”
“So what are you going to do?” Scootaloo asked.
Dash mused over her options for a second, “I think I’ll go see what this Applejack has to offer, but first,” Dash held up her game controller, “I’m gonna school Scootaloo in a video game.”
Scootaloo laughed and un-paused the game. As the pegasai laughed while they played the game, Twilight returned to her bed and began to read. It was five minutes before the unicorn gave up trying to reading with the noise in her room and decided to just watch the pegasai play.
________________________________________
After facing a humiliating defeat at the hands of Scootaloo, Dash was walking on the bridge that connected the Academy with Manticore Town. Thanks to the snow, a lot of ponies seemed to have stopped using carriages or vehicles and decided it would be much safer to walk, so it was a bit crowded on the sidewalk. Shops and buildings were decorated with lights, tinsels, and candles while there were pine trees and giant candy canes planted on the ground. These decorations would have seemed weird at any other time of the year if it wasn’t for the fact that Hearts Warming Eve was just around the corner.
Rainbow walked through Manticore Town and saw many ponies carrying large parcels and presents. The pegasus began to wonder what presents she should buy for her friends, but she decided to focus on more pressing matters. She walked for a couple more minutes until she reached the overpass.
Dash stopped and looked beyond the overpass, and then behind her. She couldn’t believe how different it looked; behind her was a bustling town with happy ponies, and beyond the overpass was a town with bums and buildings that were falling apart. New Delphi reminded Dash a lot of her home.
The pegasus walked under the overpass and she heard music. It sounded like a harmonica playing the blues. She continued to walk and eventually saw an earth pony leaning against a wall. Dash knew that this was Applejack since she was wearing the standard leather jacket all greasers wear. Dash also noted that she was wearing a stetson on her head. The pegasus stopped a couple of feet from the greaser and waited. The greaser kept playing her instrument until she looked up and saw the pegasus.
“Sorry about that.” Applejack said. She got off the wall and made her way to the pegasus, “I kinda lose myself when I play. Did I keep ya waitin’?”
“Um, I just got here.” Dash said, surprised by what she saw. When she thought of Applejack, Dash expected some outcast with dead eyes and prone to anger. However, she did not expect the leader of the greasers to be a stetson-wearing blonde girl with a southern accent and a friendly smile.
The greaser walked up to Dash and held up her hand, “Nice to meet ya. Allow me to formally introduce myself. The name’s Applejack.”
Dash took the hand, “Sup, I’m Rainbow Dash.”
“I gotta say, it’s nice to finally meet the famous Dash. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The pegasus grinned, “Really? What have you heard?”
“A lot of things; some good, most bad.” Applejack said bluntly, “You’ve caused quite a stir since you arrived. Ponies keep calling you loud, obnoxious, and just down right unpleasant.”
Dash scoffed, “Is that the best ponies can think of these days? I’m more insulted by the lack of creativity in the insults.”
Applejack stared uncertainly at Dash, as though wondering whether she was being sarcastic or not, “Anyways,” she said slowly, “besides all of the trash other ponies talk, there are still ponies who say you’re loyal, and always there to help somepony in danger.”
“How the hay do you know this stuff?”
“Any pony in Manticore Academy can learn anything about everything. All they gotta do is listen.” Applejack said.
“You know, you sound a lot like Twilight.” Dash said, remembering that the unicorn once said something similar about information gathering.
“So you do know Miss Sparkle.” Applejack said pleasantly, “I didn’ think ponies were right when they said you and Twilight were some sort of tag team. I mean, that unicorn is less sociable than hermit crab with trust issues.”
“That’s putting it mildly” Dash chuckled, “But that’s in the past. Now, she’s just an awkward hermit crab.”
Applejack giggled for a moment before sighing tiredly, “Anyways, let’s get down to business. I need your help.”
“What would somepony like you need my help for?”
Those words seemed to have damaged Applejack’s pride. The greaser cleared her throat, “I heard that you are friendly with the preppies. Don’t worry,” Applejack said quickly when Dash went into a fighting stance, “I’m not looking for a fight. You see, my little sister, Applebloom, has gotten into some trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Applejack sighed again and said somberly, “The preppy kind of trouble.”
Dash’s eyes widened, “Are you sure?”
“That’s the problem; I ain’t sure. But I got this feeling in my gut that tells me that some rich pony is messing with my kin. That’s why I need your help. Since you’re friendly with the preppies, I was wondering if you know something about it.”
“Listen, the preppies don’t talk to me about all of the ponies they trash. And besides, they don’t do that anymore.”
Applejack scoffed, “So they say.”
“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you handle the problem yourself?”
It was at that moment that Dash touched a nerve. After the words left the pegasus’s mouth, Applejack stared at her with a challenging stare.
“Easy there, cowgirl.” Dash said cautiously, resuming her stance.
Applejack again took a step back, “I’m sorry; this isn’t you fault.” She took a deep breath, “Listen, if I try starting random fights with any of the preppies, then it won’t end pretty for anypony. I need to have a reason, or else it would be like it was two years ago.”
“What happened two years ago?”
“Things that I am ashamed of.” Applejack said soberly, “But the past doesn’t matter; what matters is that my sister is probably being bullied by preppies, and I need to know which ones.”
“Are you sure you’re right? Have you asked your sister whether she really was being bullied?”
“Applebloom denies it, but I can tell when she’s lyin’.” Applejack said wearily, “I wish she could just be open with me so I can protect her.”
“And what will you do if you find out these bullies are actually preppies?”
“Then I’ll handle it.” Applejack said, not meeting Dash’s eyes. Rainbow Dash knew what Applejack meant by ‘handling’ it.
The pegasus sighed, “Alright, I’ll let you know what I find out.”
The greaser looked surprised, “Really? I’d thought you would try to defend the preppies. Aren't ya their friend?”
“First off, not every preppy is my friend. There’s only, like, two that are okay. Second, friend or no friend, I hate bullying, and I will stop it if I know about it.”
Applejack smiled, “You know, I’m starting to like you. It’s nice to finally meet somepony who listens to her conscious. If you find something, and I pray to Faust I’m wrong, then tell me immediately. I’ll be waiting here for an hour every morning, afternoon, and night. Thanks again, Dash.” With one finally smile and a tip of her hat, Applejack walked to New Delphi. Dash stood her ground for a couple of seconds, surprised by what just happened,
“D-Did a leader of a clique actually like me the first time she met me?!” Dash said, her eyes bulging, “Wow, this must really be an early Hearts Warming miracle.”
Dash turned around and headed back to Manticore Town. The pegasus knew that if she wanted to learn if the bullying was real, she would need help. Once Dash reached Manticore Academy, she crossed another bridge that led her to Manticore Ville.
________________________________________
Rarity was standing in front of a full-length mirror at Fleur De Lis Boutique in Manticore Ville. The unicorn liked to shop there for two reasons: one was that it always had the latest dresses from Prance, and the owner, Fleur Dis Lee, was a family friend, so Rarity usually got a discount on clothing and fabric.
As Rarity held two dresses in front of her, she heard a very distinctive voice,
“Rarity! Are you in here? If you’re buried under clothes, shout for help!”
Rarity rolled her eyes good naturedly, “I’m fine, Dash.”
Rainbow waded through racks of clothing until she was finally with the preppy leader, “There you are.” Dash said, sighing in relief, “This place is like a maze. How can you find what you’re looking for in here?”
“I’ve had years of experience.” Rarity said, smiling, “I’m glad you came. I was starting to think my text message didn’t send.”
Dash raised an eyebrow, “What text message?”
“The one that said to come here to help me. Now,” Rarity held the two dresses in front of Dash, “which one do you think looks better on me? The blue dress or the purple dress?”
Dash blinked and then sighed, “First off, I don’t even have a cell phone.”
Rarity turned her head in confusion, “Then what was that phone number you gave me?”
“That was for my home telephone number, which is basically useless here. And Rarity, why in Tartarus would you have me be the one to give you fashion advice?”
“Well, I have to agree with you that you have the fashion sense of a starfish.”
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”
Rarity smiled embarrassedly “Sorry, I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. I texted you because we haven’t really hanged out since our, um, little feud, so I thought this would be a perfect way to bond.”
“What do you mean we haven’t hanged out? We hung out with Twilight during exam week.”
“All we did was study, and whenever I tried to talk, Twilight would shush me. I just thought that we should try to become actual friends rather than just business partners against Lightning Dust.”
“Hey, I’m all for becoming friends, but couldn’t you have picked a better place? I mean, I’m not exactly a fashion freak.”
“I’ll admit that this place may be catering more to me, but I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.”
“I doubt it.” Dash said, looking at all of the formal dresses, “But I’d rather not be a jerk and just blow you off, so,” Dash looked at the two dresses Rarity was holding, “I guess you should go for the blue dress. I mean, isn’t it a rule to always go for the dress that matches your eyes, or something?”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Rarity said with a grin as she took the blue dress and walked into a nearby changing room.
“Are you going to be long?” Dash said.
“You can’t rush these things, Dash.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Rainbow groaned. She looked around for anywhere to sit, but there were no chairs in sight. The pegasus groaned; she has hated these situations ever since her mother took Dash to boutiques to try on dresses for Dash’s ‘future father’.
“Rainbow Dash.” Rarity called over the door, “If you didn’t get my text, then why are you here?"
“I need your help, and I guessed you would be buying clothes.”
“Then you guessed right. How can I help?”
Rainbow was thankful that Rarity could not see her, Dash's, shifting eyes and terrible poker face. She didn’t know how Rarity would react about her friends resuming their old ways. In the midst of all this, Dash found it funny that the preppies were more likely to start bullying than the actual bullies, who were becoming more and more docile.
“I just wanted to know how the rest of the senior members are doing.” Dash said finally, deciding it’s best to be as general as possible.
“They are doing a lot better thanks to you.” Rarity said cheerfully, “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for helping me see what was going on. While it was uncomfortable at first, we managed to get through that terrible ordeal.”
“So there hasn’t been any bullying?”
“Of course not. And if there is, then you’ll be the first pony I tell.” Rarity walked out of the changing room wearing a long, beautiful blue dress, “What do you think?” Rarity said, doing a little twirl to give Dash the full view.
“It’s, um, nice, I guess.” Dash said.
Rarity raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could get one that looks cooler?”
“And how would you make this cooler?”
“I don’t know.” Dash repeated, “Maybe make it twenty percent cooler?”
Rarity blinked, “What does that even mean?”
Dash shrugged, “I’m just not a pro on dresses.”
“That could change quickly.” Rarity said, “If you give me an hour or so, I can teach you about the ins and outs of the fashion world.”
“Maybe someday,” Dash said, “but not today. I’ll see you around, Rarity.”
“Wait! Before you go, I want you to have this.” Rarity said. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and her horn began to glow light blue. After a moment, a card appeared in Rarity’s hands. She handed it to Dash, “Here you go. This is your invitation to my Heart’s Warming Day party.”
“You’re gonna have a party?” Dash said. Her mind immediately thought of images of overly dressed ponies making boring small talk that they wouldn’t remember the next day.
“Yes, and I promise that you’ll find it enjoyable.” Rarity added as though she could read the pegasus’s mind, “After all, I had Pinkie Pie help me with the planning.”
“Really?!” Dash said, surprised, “Since when were you and Pinkie friends?”
“Apparently to Pinkie, we’ve been friends for years, but I don’t really remember seeing much of her. Anyways, it’s a semi-formal event and everypony is invited, which is a big deal. This is the first time I’ve hosted a party that was opened for the whole school. I usually just invited friends and family.”
“It’s probably going to be a small party.” Dash said thoughtfully, “I mean, a lot of students are going to leave school and spend their holiday break with their family. And also, you preps still have kind of a bad reputation because of the bullying a couple of weeks back.”
“That is why I’m having Pinkie Pie send out the invitations.”
“You really think that’s a good idea? I mean, Pinkie doesn’t exactly scream ‘semi-formal’.”
Rarity blinked, finally realizing what she’s done, “Oh, my.” She said quietly, “I really hope Pinkie doesn’t do anything brash.”
________________________________________
Students were hanging around the Manticore Academy’s courtyard that led to the stairs of the actual school. It was packed with groups of cliques and non-clique students. Suddenly, somber music filled the air. Everypony looked around for the source, but they couldn’t find anything. As they were becoming more and more confused, Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared in the center of the courtyard, catching everypony’s attention. All of the students gawked as they saw the party pony. She was wearing a gaudy dark pink dress with a large feathers producing from her back side. She had large amounts of black eyeliner and blue eye shadow plastered on her face. Her hair was unnaturally tamed and a much darker shading of pink.
“Hello everypony.” Pinkie said in a scarily pompous voice, “You are all invited to the Hearts Warming Day ball hosted by Lady Rarity. Please carry yourself with the same dignity the lady herself expresses every day.”
Nopony said anything or moved a muscle. Most of the unfortunate bystanders were to terrified to say anything about this strange Pinkie. One of the middle school students was close to tears.
“Well that wasn’t fun at all.” Pinkie said, back to her lovable tone, “How about I do a real invitation?!”
Pinkie tore off her gaudy clothing and was now wearing a sparkling, hot pink dress. Her make-up was gone, her hair was back to normal, and she was holding an electric guitar.
“Party at Rarity’s house on Hearts Warming Day.” Pinkie shouted, “Be there to get your pants rocked off!”
She then played her guitar and let out an awesome rock ballad, much to the approval of her now relieved audience.
_______________________________________
“You unicorns worry too much.” Dash said, patting Rarity on her back, “I can’t tell whether you or Twilight will have a panic attack first.”
“Something tells me it will be me.” Rarity said with a nervous laugh, “I usually pride myself in being able to make friends quickly, but I guess the same methods I used for us preps won’t apply to everypony.”
“You’ll be fine.” Dash said, “Before you know it, you’re going to be popular and narcissistic in no time.”
“Thanks for the vote of confident.” Rarity said sarcastically.
“Anytime.” Dash said with a grin, “Now, do you know where the rest of the senior members are? I kind of want to ask them something.”
“If you want, you can tell me the message.” Rarity said, taking out her phone, “I can easily text them the information.”
“I’d rather just ask them personally.” Dash said.
Thankfully, Rarity was not suspicious, “Very well. I know Vinyl is at home working on her music, Dumb-bell is at the gym, and Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus are at Manticore Town.”
“Alright then, I’ll see you around, Rarity.” Dash said.
“Wait!” Rarity said loudly, startling the pegasus, “I have to give you one more thing.” Rarity walked past the racks of dresses and disappeared for a couple of minutes before returning with a long, thin package, “Take this.”
Dash took the package from Rarity’s grip, “Thanks. What is it?”
“A dress.” Rarity said happily. Dash immediately pushed the package back to Rarity, but the unicorn didn’t take it, “Come now, Dash. What’s wrong with looking a little feminine once in a while?”
Dash raised an eyebrow and whispered, “Have you even met me?”
“Would it help if I said I made the dress myself and that this is a token of my apology for the troubled I caused you?”
Dash groaned, “See, now I’ll feel like a jerk if I give it back to you.” The pegasus took back the present, “Thanks for the dress, I guess.”
“Don’t mention it.” Rarity said sweetly, “I’m sure you’ll look dazzling wearing it.”
‘The day I wear this is the day I admit that I love my mother’ Dash thought loudly as she walked back into the clothes maze.
________________________________________
Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus were standing in an alleyway in Manticore Town. They were smiling wickedly at a young, red head girl, who was wearing a hoodie and a large red bow on her head. The young girl was staring hatefully at the three preps, who seemed to be enjoying the girl’s torment.
“What shall we have her do now?” Aloe said giggly as she turned to her sister.
Lotus, looking equally happy, said, “Well, she already wrote a sonnet for you, Aloe, and she did give me a wonderful foot rub. How about you, Colgate? What should this little grease stain do?”
Colgate looked at the young girl, “Alright Applebloom, since you have been such a good sport, you deserve a gift.”
The prep reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a large bag of bits, “This is a hundred bits for your efforts. It will no doubt be the most money you will obtain legally.” Colgate held out the bag and Applebloom eagerly went to grab it only for the prep to take it out of reach, “But first, you will need to beg for it.” The prep said evilly.
“What?!” Applebloom said, outraged.
“You heard me.” Colgate said while the other preps looked gleefully, “Balance this bag of bits on your nose like the good little dog you are.”
Applebloom clenched her fist as her irises shrunk. The little greaser rushed Colgate and brought her leg up, intending to kick the prep, but Colgate easily caught the leg and picked up Applebloom effortlessly.
“Now Applebloom, is that anyway to treat other ponies?” Colgate scorned playfully, “Hasn’t that redneck sister of yours taught you any manners?”
Applebloom made frantic grabs for Colgate but her little arms couldn’t reach the prep. Colgate then tossed Applebloom aside and began to walk away.
“Wait!” Applebloom cried, “I need that money!”
“I don’t know if you deserve the money.” Colgate mused, “I mean you did try to attack me.”
“I’m sorry!”
“How sorry are you?”
Applebloom paused for a moment. Taking a minute to think about it, she took a deep breath and slowly, very slowly, went down on her knees. She then brought her forehead to the ground, “Please, can I have the money?” She said in a strained voice, as though the words were literally causing her pain.
“Isn’t that sweet?” Colgate said. She walked up to Applebloom and patted her head, “Who’s a good doggie? You are! Yes you are!”
The greaser clenched her teeth until she could have sworn that her mouth was bleeding. Still, she didn’t say anything.
“Alright my little puppy, sit up.” Colgate said as the preps behind her chuckled uncontrollably.
Applebloom got up to her knees and Colgate balanced the bag of bits on the greaser’s nose.
“Now that is adorable.” Lotus said.
“Stay still.” Colgate ordered as Applebloom balanced the bag. The prep then crouched down next to the greaser. Colgate turned to her friends, “Take a picture of me and my new pet.”
Aloe and Lotus grinned as they took out their camera phones and took a number of pictures of the scene in front of them. Colgate smiled at every one of them while Applebloom looked mortified, but she refused to move.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Colgate said as she got up, “Run along little greaser.”
Applebloom quickly grabbed the bag of bits and ran away from the laughing preppies.
________________________________________
After depositing her new dress, Rainbow Dash was patrolling Manticore Town. She knew that if the preps were bullying anyone, they would be doing it very secretly, so she checked every alleyway she could find. Sadly, all she found was trash, hobos, and a lot of tagging that was mostly anti-Manticore Academy.
Dash was beginning to give up her search when suddenly, as she turned to another alleyway, somepony crashed into her. The oncoming pony was sent flying backwards while Dash just stood her ground, slightly startled.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” the pony said.
Dash heard the familiar country accent and saw that the pony she bumped into was a small girl. Dash eyed her for a moment, “Hey, are you Applebloom?”
“Yea.” The girl said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stick around. I gotta go.” Clenching something in her hand, the young greaser ran off as though she was being chased by wolves.
Dash turned to the alleyway and saw the wolves laughing heartedly.
“Really? You’re picking on kids now?” Dash said as she walked to the three preps, “I know you girls are trash, but this is just sad.”
“Hush now, Dash.” Aloe said, “Even you can’t ruin our mood.”
“So why don’t you run along and go back to your empty life.” Lotus said with a big grin on her face.
Dash smiled, “Listen, just because me and Rarity are kind of tight doesn’t mean I’ll pass up a chance of beating some sense into you.”
“And just because Rarity forgives your misdeeds, doesn’t mean we do.” Colgate countered, “You may have fooled her and Vinyl, but we see you for who you are; a self-centered pegasus who would gladly sell-out her friends for her own sake.”
“Sticks and stones may break my bones,” Dash said, and then yawned, “but your words will always bore me.”
“Same old Dash.” Colgate said, “Well, don’t let us keep you. We’ll just be on our way.”
“Not before you tell Rarity that you three were bullying again.”
“We weren’t bullying.”
“Then what were you doing to that kid? Braiding each other's hair?”
“We were doing to her the same thing she does to us.” Aloe interjected, “That brat Applebloom is always insulting us every chance she gets.”
“She thinks she’s the queen of the school.” Lotus said, “All because her sister is Applejack.” She added with disgust.
“Imagine our surprise when she came up to us and asked us for money.” Colgate said gleefully, “I mean she has a lot of guts for coming to us for help. Of course, being the kind ponies we are, we decided to help her out in exchange for some favors.”
“And let me guess.” Dash said, “These ‘favors’ involved a lot of kicking and punching.”
“Come on, Dash, even we know that kids are off limits. We did, however, have some fun with her.” Colgate then gestured to Aloe, who held up her phone to show Dash the pictures.
“See” Colgate said, “No harm came to the little pony.”
“Either way,” Rainbow said, “I’m still going to have to tell Applejack-”
The preps eyes immediately widened. Colgate quickly grabbed Dash by her collar shirt, “You will do no such thing!”
“Why the buck not?” Dash said, looking more bored than worried, “She has the right to know if her little sister is being bullied.”
“We’re just doing what you always do, Dash.” the unicorn prep said, “You know, teaching ponies lessons. Because of us, Applebloom will learn some humility.”
“You do not want Applejack to find out about this.” Lotus said with a hint of worry in her voice, “That pony is unstable.”
“Trust us, Dash.” Aloe said, “If you tell Applejack, then this won’t end pretty.”
“Come on, girls.” Dash said, “Enough with the abstract warnings. Just tell me what’s gonna happen.”
“Imagine the worst fight you can, and multiply it by ten.” Colgate said, “So you keep your mouth shut.” She then pushed Dash aside and walked away with Aloe and Colgate.
Dash stood staring at the preppies and thought about their warnings. She then weighed her choices. If she told Applejack, then some unforeseen horror will happen. If she didn’t tell Applejack, then the three preppies will feel they could get away with bullying because Dash won’t say a thing.
Rainbow Dash sighed, “I swear this school is becoming more and more convoluted everyday. Military school probably has a lot less drama than this.”