//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Destinies // by shysage //------------------------------// It was Friday, and Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash's thirteenth birthday, and she was climbing into some sort of Jet thing. She would be in the back seat, of course. Still, it must have looked funny. Rainbow was wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt like she always did, but had to wear this huge helmet that had a long tube... Rainbow didn't know... Two weeks before school was out, Rainbow had entered a raffle at the Junior High she attended. It only cost two dollars, and she skipped lunch to pay for it. Skipping lunch wasn't a difficult decision for Rainbow; she spent the afternoon chasing a Soccer ball anyway, and less food in her stomach meant more speed on the ground. Rainbow still didn't remember what the raffle was even for. But she got a letter saying she had won. Her prize was a ride in this Jet. So on her birthday, her dad brought her to the base near their home (far east of the 'big city'), and she was soon standing there staring at the strangest looking airplane she had ever been this close to. And noone asked her if she even wanted to do this... It took two other army men to get her belted in and everything else connected. She hoped she didn't need to get out in a hurry, because she couldn't. After all this, she hoped it was at least fun. Well, the helmet made it so that Rainbow and the Pilot could talk anyway. The pilot introduced himself, and said that the ride 'should be' fun. "Well, for you, maybe" Rainbow said quietly. They were soon moving, and the Pilot said they were heading for the place they took off from. He mentioned they needed to wait a few minutes so ATC could clear the skys for he and Rainbow. Still, Rainbow noted she had to arch her back and lean forward a little, to even see the wings. She guessed this seat was made for taller people. When they took off, the acceleration pushed Rainbow back in her seat some, and she thought that was kind of cool. They were soon pretty high, and the Pilot was flying the Jet in large circles, with the left wing dipped down, so Rainbow could see the ground below. Everything looked very small. It was probably noisy in the jet, but the helmet made it pretty quiet. The Pilot flew the Jet slowly to the East, and they were soon over the desert. Everything looked the same, so the Pilot slowly turned the Jet around. It was quiet for maybe ten minutes, and Rainbow just looked blankly at the sea of buttons and gizmos in front of her. She really couldn't see much else. The Pilot said "Ok, Rainbow, I think you've waited long enough for some fun. Look until you find the large Green button that says "FHL" on it, and let me know when you find it. It didn't take long, most of the other buttons were Red. "Ok, I found it" Rainbow said. The Pilot picked up right away "Ok, sit back in your seat, and brace yourself. I am going to count down from 10. When I get to 0, push that button. And we need to time this fairly carefully." Rainbow was immediately both scared and excited at the same time. "10... 9... 8..." The Pilot began. Rainbow tried to relax, and hold her finger over the FHL button at the same time. She wanted to make sure she did this right... "2... 1... 0..." Rainbow pushed the FHL button... ... and Jet lurched forward, packing Rainbow tightly back into her seat... The Jet accelerated madly... Everything around Rainbow vibrated wildly, and it was almost too loud to hear, even with the helmet on... The noise slowly subsided, but Rainbow could feel they were going much faster. Whatever she had done... The Pilot broke in "Mach 2.1... Altitude 3000 feet... Heading due West... Rainbow only later found out that 'what she had done' kicked in the Afterburners, and rapidly propelled the Jet much faster than the speed of sound. At this speed, the Jet was dragging along behind it, all the way West to the Ocean, a compressional shock wave originating at the nose of the Jet... a 'Sonic Boom'... Rainbow didn't hear anything. Still, going this fast, this was fun! When they were over the Ocean, the Pilot climbed much higher and turned around. Rainbow could see the Ocean out the left side. He explained that climbing like that helped slow the Jet down. The Pilot chuckled, then said in passing that he hoped he didn't get in trouble. Rainbow couldn't see why that would happen. The Pilot guided the Jet back East, then dove steeply, and landed back on the same runway they took off from, maybe 30 minutes ago. When the two army men helped unstrap Rainbow and pulled her helmet off, she was still smiling. That WAS fun. Well, so was a Pizza party with her Soccer team later that afternoon, and the Jet ride soon faded into a memory... It was a normal summer day for Equestria Girls Rarity. It could have been, anyway. Instead, Rarity and her little sister were stuck in a HOT car on a HOT day while their mom went 'Garage Sale' hunting. What a waste of a perfectly good Friday. Rarity's mom explained that she was going to get a jump on shopping for clothes for the coming school year (still months away). She said she was going to save a lot of money too, and that was important. But for Rarity and her sister Sweetie, it went like this... Sit in a car that was so hot inside you could hardly breath, even with the windows down. At the next garage sale, get out, and find some shade, and hope for enough wind to cool you off a little. Also hope your mom actually bought something you would not be embarrassed to wear. (Rarity just sighed.) Get back in the car again... In the past, Rarity's mom actually did find some good deals. Rarity realized though, that people usually only got rid of clothing that didn't look good. Evidently, Rarity's mom had not made that connection yet. Rarity had found some pretty creative ways to 'make do' with fashion cast-offs. That was just not Rarity's idea of 'back to school shopping'. And to waste... er, spend a valuable summer day sweating like this... Rarity turned once to look at the growing pile of clothing in the back of the car... The colors... The styles... She didn't look again... "Why can't people see this kind of thing... What looks good, and what doesn't..." Rarity thought to herself, as they made what mom promised was their last stop... Get out of the car... Find some shade, and hope for wind... "Rarity, you can do this, last stop of the day..." she thought to herself. Get back in the car... Before Rarity's mom started the car, she reached back from the front seat, and gave Rarity... ...a large rock... It was fairly round, and seemed kind of light, for a rock. Whatever. Rarity tried to control herself. Rarity was worried about all the wrong 'fashion statements' she would risk making if she wore the clothes now in the back of the car. And her mom had bought her a ROCK? Maybe her mom wanted her to dress like the Flintstones? It was not correct to say that Rarity was seething inside. No, she was 'simmering', it was very hot in the car, thanks to the mid-afternoon Sun... Rarity just held the rock, and squeezed it, as hard as she could. She doubted she could break it anyway. It was a rock after all... Taking far longer than tolorable, Rarity's mom finally pulled the car into the driveway of their apartment. Rarity was tempted to try to move the pile of clothes in the back of the car, into the nearby 'yard waste' bin... Still, Rarity was dripping wet with sweat as she got out of the car. Rarity sighed, as she stood up, and still had the rock in her right hand... Out of nowhere, a loud 'BOOM' shook the sky, and echoed off the mountains to the South, and they heard it again. This startled everyone, and Rarity dropped her 'precious rock'... Even before it hit the driveway, Rarity started to bend over to pick it back up. Rocks dont break that easily. The 'rock' shattered immediately into maybe six smaller pieces, and a bunch of 'shards'... It was a 'geode', and was absolutely packed full of the most amazing, dazzling crystals... And it was a Rainbow Geode too, and so it was easy to discern every imaginable color in the crystals still attached to the shell of the Geode, as well as the shards spread on the driveway around it. And the afternoon Sun, blazing down brightly, danced a myriad of amazing colors from the crystals and shards... Equestria Girls Rarity stared off into the distance... Fashion Sense... THAT was her amazing gift. It was who she was. And she was not going to keep it to herself, she was going to share it with anyone that would listen... And hopefully, her mom too... Generosity was born... Equestria Girls Fluttershy was sad a lot in Junior High, her last year there, especially. She loved her older sister Summer, but Summer evidently loved Soccer more. The family tried to cater to their children's interests, and so made many trips, back and forth, to take Summer to Soccer practice... And Soccer Games too. Some of the games were pretty far away. Fluttershy went along, feeling increasingly alone. At this point, the family was living in a very small apartment near the High School. They had relocated to the 'big city' a few months ago, and finances were very tight. Fluttershy's dad had just accepted a job nearby, and so things were, maybe, hopefully, 'looking up'. Still, noone in the family liked the fact that Fluttershy was quiet and withdrawn while watching Summer practice, or play tournaments. Mom and dad realized what was going on, and tried to find ways they could occupy their younger daughter while they were on the road. Games in the car were the first thing they tried, but Summer usually stomped everyone no matter what game they played. She was pretty competitive, and smart too. Fluttershy was not a fighter by any means, and quickly just stopped playing. It seemed the next step was trying to find something that Fluttershy could do, by herself, in the car, or during practices or games. Fluttershy tried a few crafts, and these simply didn't work. 'Creating' was just not something Fluttershy was good at. She had little artistic sense, and quickly decided the laughter she got from her attempts hurt more than any solace such activities might have supplied. Once Summer arrived (the season, not her sister), Soccer practice picked up, and Fluttershy frowned more... Out of desparation, Fluttershy's mom took Fluttershy to a local Library one morning. She wanted Fluttershy to wander around to see if any of the books there, just might surface an interest. Fluttershy's mom got busy looking through material on 'scrap-booking', and soon realized she had no clue where her daughter was. The search almost turned frantic, when she found Fluttershy sitting on the floor between two tall, long bookshelves, reading a book about animals. It was mostly pictures, but this didn't bother Fluttershy. A book about Horses was next to her, as was a book about Dogs. Fluttershy's mom wisely, and quietly backed slowly away, and let her daughter explore. Fluttershy really liked these books, and so the three she had pulled out, were checked out, and Fluttershy and her mom headed back to their tiny apartment with them. The next day, Fluttershy was allowed to take just one book with her in the car, it was the book about Horses today. While Summer left her behind, Fluttershy read and learned about animals. They fascinated her for some reason. It was clear that Fluttershy was hurt at losing her sister' attention. But it seemed that her interest in animals; this at least distracted her. The rest of the week, Fluttershy just took a different book with her. On longer trips, mom reminded Fluttershy to take a break, and look out the window every so often. Fluttershy got 'carsick' a few times in the past. Summer teased Fluttershy about reading 'baby books about animals', and this hurt, but Fluttershy just tried to ignore her. While walking to the Post Office recently, Fluttershy's mom noticed an Animal Shelter across the street. She talked to her husband, and on Friday, they decided to try something different. While dad took Summer to Soccer practice, mom took Fluttershy to the Animal Shelter. Fluttershy and her mom were soon inside, and both petting 'kitties' together. Fluttershy's mom knew this was much better than Fluttershy feeling abandoned by her sister. Still, it seemed like Fluttershy was not really 'involved' with this, and her mom didn't want to push it. The lady at the desk thanked them for coming, and Fluttershy and her mom headed out the front door. About to cross the street, a frightfully loud "BOOM" reverberated through the city, leaving rumbling echoes as it roared past. Fluttershy froze in her tracks, and it wasn't out of fear... The cats simply ignored something that was not a part of their concern. But the dogs in the back were hysterical... Not really sure why herself, Fluttershy tore back inside the Shelter, past the cats, out back into the yard where the dog kennels were. When Fluttershy's mom finally found her way out there, Fluttershy was surrounded by maybe ten trembling, scared dogs. Fluttershy had quickly opened ALL of the kennels, and the dogs ran to the only solace they could find, Fluttershy. Fluttershy was trying to hug all of them, and calm them down. In a few minutes, they were all laying down, as close to Fluttershy as they could get. She talked softly to all of them, and evidently they understood. As their whimpering finally calmed to quiet, Equestria Girls Fluttershy lifted her head and looked off into the distance... Her life seemed like a nightmare, but she found out she absolutely loved helping these animals, really caring for animals... And it wasn't just the animals part... It was the 'caring' part too... And Fluttershy realized people needed this just as much... even her sister... Kindness was born... Equestria Girls Applejack grew up on a small orchard in the foothills above the 'big city'. Sweet Apple farm was her home, and they grew a lot of apples. Many different harvests simply rotated in and out through the course of Spring, Summer and Fall. Living in the quiet, away from the city, had some advantages, even if Big Mac had to be her 'taxi' a lot lately. But life on this farm was just a lot of hard work. Everyone that could help, had to help. And this even included her younger sister Apple Bloom. Soon after she could even walk, she was picking up 'strays' that missed the bucket. Applejack accidentally hit Apple Bloom in the head once with an apple, because she missed the bucket. Apple Bloom was ok, but Applejack still felt terrible, and became pretty protective of her little sister as a result. During Junior High, Applejack was increasingly teased for being a 'hick'. This was evidently bad in the eyes of the students in the city, even though Applejack knew she worked much harder than most of her peers, who usually went home, turned the TV on and watched their favorite shows while pretending to do their homework. There was simply no time for TV at Sweet Apple farm, and so Applejack was usually known for being 'behind the times' as a result. This inner turmoil seemed to come to a head towards the end of her last year at Junior High. Applejack spent a lot of time at the fence facing the North pasture, looking across the meadow, especially at night. Applejack really missed her parents. Both had died years ago, and Granny Smith had taken over care of all three kids as a result. The first day of Summer, Applejack told the rest of the family that she was going to go look for a job for the Summer. She was tempted to say 'real job', but that just seemed too harsh. Eyebrows raised, but this was Applejack's decision. Granny Smith wisely realized that Applejack was rapidly maturing, and increasingly too old to be 'told what to do'. This would just need to 'play out'... A week later, Applejack had taken a job advertised as an 'internship' for an electronics company at the bottom of the foothills. Big Mac had taken her in for an interview on Monday morning at 9 a.m., and they hired her on the spot. Forty-five minutes later she was learning how to 'solder'. An hour later, she was soldering the same eleven spots on the same circuit board. Applejack took a board out of a huge bin, soldered her eleven spots, then put the board into another huge bin. The workers on either side were doing the same thing. The supervisor watched her solder for maybe twenty minutes, complained a few times, then walked off when he was sure Applejack was doing ok. During her half hour lunch, Applejack looked around. There were maybe 300 other people in this big room, all doing the same thing... Well, there were different boards, but still... And in the afternoon, due to the heat of 300 soldering irons, and a ventilation system that was not working (Applejack thought), it was very hot in this large room. Applejack was paid cash for her work at the end of the day, and she was asked to return the next morning at eight. Granny Smith said nothing, but realized... Applejack was only thirteen... She had filled out no paperwork... They were paying her cash... This was just not the way it should be done... For Applejack, each day crawled by slowly... In fact, the entire week crawled by slowly... Applejack had a hard time convincing herself to go to work on Friday, but finally convinced herself this 'real job' was better. Applejack tried to focus and solder her eleven spots. Pick up a board from the first bin... Carefully solder eleven joints... Put the board in the other bin... Grab another board... Friday was a hot day in the valley, and Applejack was having a hard time even staying awake. Evidently she wasn't the only one either. The Supervisor noticed this. The Superviser walked quickly into the middle of the big room, and opened his mouth to say (maybe yell) something... A HUGE 'BOOM" out of nowhere shut him up immediately. This big room was on the third floor of a rickety old wood frame building, and something as simple as a Sonic Boom shook the top floor substantially. An apple on Applejacks 'station' rolled quickly off the desk-top. Applejack just as quickly caught that apple on the way down with her left hand, almost without looking... Applejack looked off into the dstance... Apples... The Sweet Apple farm... Applejack realized that she was simply NOT being honest... With herself... with her family... with her friends even... Her 'friends' may not like it, but the farm is where she belonged. Applejack finished that day, took her money, and never went back... Applejack decided she was never again going to lie to herself or to others about who she was; a hard working, chore loving farm girl. In fact, Applejack decided from that point on, she was just never again going to lie... Honesty was born... Just another terribly hot day at the 'Circle Pie'. Well, maybe just another terrible day at the Circle Pie. Most days were like that. Multipe days in a row that are 100 degrees in the shade does something to your outlook. Seriously, who in their right mind would pay to watch a bunch of cars careen madly around a small oval track made of DIRT, trying to be first... Well Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie and her sisters DID have to carefully clean all that DIRT out from under the cars the very next day. Well, Pinkie Pie and her sisters DID spend most of their time fixing up the cars after they had been driven by men who still thought they were playing a Video Game... Well, Pinkie and her sisters DID have to re-grade the 'oval sandbox' after each race night, too. "Easy girl... Ma and Pa love these cars, and at least running the Circle Pie pays the bills. Well, most of them, anyway" Pinkie tried to remind herself. The most shady spot on the property quickly became the place where the repair shops were located -- under the stands. This large garage area hosted 8 stalls, and after each race most were occupied. It had just enough wall and ceiling to keep the rain out, barely. Breezes were usually welcomed though. Tool boxes taller than Pinkie (well, up until recently) along the back wall were bursting with every tool imaginable. Well, they did not have any tools they didn't use. The only car they had with 'metric' was Pa's 1971 VW Beetle. Those tools were all in their own special tool-box down at the end, and only Pa worked on that thing. They used a lot of 'air tools' too, and these helped, well when the air compressor was working. Usually it was just easier to save yourself the trip, grab a ratchet, and do it the hard way. Pinkie loved her sisters, but she hated them too. She usually had to raid other tool-boxes to find her favorite 1/2" stubby wrench. And there was usually a big squabble before the race was even over, as the Pie sisters argued over who would have to take care of what damage the drivers that night, caused. "Locked up gearbox on the Riviera, I claim that" "Yellow Camero is overheating again... Maude, you said you fixed that last time..." Everyone would then all say together "come back." "Rear Wheel Cylinder on the Maroon Mustang... Brake Fluid... Eww, nasty... Pinkie, that's yours." Frowning was a way of life on the Circle Pie. Pinkie decided it was sort of unavoidable. Just a bunch of sisters, fighting like cats to get the least painful jobs. They helped each other when they needed too, but still. It was Friday afternoon, maybe a little over 24 hours before 'Armageddon'; Pinkie heard one of her older sisters say this one day. It sounded right. Pa Pie tested the 'Public Address' system earlier and said it wasn't working. ANY electrical problems were automatically given to Pinkie; she was usually very good at this. Pinkie didn't mind, it was easier than doing the clutch job on the Jeep waiting in her stall... The Circle Pie had 7 huge outdoor 'audio drivers' (speakers) connected to a single, huge amplifier located in a 'cool' room under the stands, next to the shop. Six of the drivers were mounted on poles above the stands. The seventh driver blared across the shop, and from the 'calling of the race' alone, the Pie girls divided the next week's tasks. Well, chores... Well, torture... Nevermind... The amplifier got hot along with everything else, and so a large fan was propped up in a window next to the amplifier to send some slightly cooler air across the heat sinks. This time it wasn't the main fuse though. It would be one of the fuses in-line with each driver. Pinkie guessed -- it was usually the fuse for the Shop driver, and Pa probably tested it out from down here. He heard nothing, so assumed everything was broken. Pinkie took her time, and carefully checked all the fuses. Sure enough, the fuse for the Shop driver was blown. This didn't happen often, just when the Air Compressor kicked on sometimes. If the Air Compressor was working, this fuse soon blew. Just another reason the Compressor was usually left alone when it quit. Pinkie connected her new MP3 player to the amplifier AUX input with a special cable she had made. She had also made a short audio track using the built-in mic on her MP3. It played back, over and over, Pinkie Pies' voice saying "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" She could go out and check all 6 outside drivers this way. She called this file 'BTest'. It should have been 'ATest' for Audio Test, but it was a hot day when she made it, and Pinkie didn't feel like fixing the mistake. This happened a lot. Pinkie made sure the Amp was on, and her MP3 patch cable was on the Aux inputs, then she turned her MP3 player on. Pinkie went to cue up 'BTest', and was almost there. A HUGE 'Boom' rolled across the city, and shook the stands. The Circle Pie was near an Air Force base, and some of the airmen came to watch the show. Maybe the Air Base was one of the reasons the Circle Pie was still here... Still, the Sonic Boom... The Pie sisters working in the shop, all stopped briefly, looked up at each other, said in unison "amateur", and went back to work. But the BOOM startled Pinkie, and she selected a track named 'Bouncy' instead of the track right after it, named 'BTest'. The 'Bouncy' track was quickly blaring loudly across the shop... Across the Circle Pie... The tune really was 'bouncy', with a nice melody, and tons of base, very up-beat. Pinkie had recorded it from a VHS player; it was the opening credits tune from an old movie ('Flight of the Navigator' c2004 by Disney). Pinkie really liked the tune, so she left it on, and then walked out the door into the shop on her way out to check the other six speakers. Pinkie's... sisters... were... all... SMILING!!! Before too long, Ma and Pa Pie ran into the shop, also SMILING!!! "Pinkie!!!" her dad yelled... Then he HUGGED her... Before too long, Pinkie's sisters were dancing, or tossing wrenches back and forth, or hugging each other... Most were crying... Pa busted out some Ice Cream Sandwiches from the cooler... ...it was a PARTY!!!!! Pinkie Pie stopped, and looked off into the distance... Party... Smiles... Laughter was born... With a divorced mom who was deeply into 'new age', Equestria Girls Twilight Sparkle's 'upbringing' was anything but normal. Living off Alimony, Twilight's mom was far more interested in her 'classes' and an endless stream of so-called 'eastern masters', some of whom cost the family a lot of money. Twilight quickly became pretty self-sufficient, and tried to do a decent job raising herself. She had to. Well, with no offence to her mom, Twilight charted her own course. All philosophies aside, Twilight quickly learned that what really mattered, was how life worked out around you. No philosophy she had found could bend that. Still, Twilight allowed for the unconventional in her life. Twilight's mom was extremely 'mystical', but Twilight considered herself a 'rational mystic'. Twilight knew there had to be more than what was seen and felt. But this still had to be tempered by the needs of everyday living. Twilight began spending some time at a local Library, and was soon a voracious reader. Twilight learned a lot from her reading. Twilight fell in love with books. Soon after Twilight's twelfth birthday (celebrated alone), Twilight began to 'see things'. At the encouragement of one of her 'teachers', Twilight's mom had dipped into drugs, and the drugs were supplied by the same teacher, of course, and were very expensive. It was NOT a pleasant nirvana, for Twilight's mom anyway, and she experienced hallucinations a few times then, and later. Twilight knew her visions weren't that. Twilight realized that the subject matter of her first visions was generally similar, and the beings she saw were talking ponies. This seemed certainly wierd to Twilight, but after the fourth 'vision', she noted clear progression, and repeated names (her own name included), and began to write this stuff down. Twilight suspected that her own psyche was just creating the friends she never had. But she admitted to herself frequently that she just didn't really know what was going on. But Twilight never tried to stop or deny what she was seeing. She just accepted that as a part of her life, even though she realized anyone would laugh hysterically and walk away if she tried to explain this to them. Twilight would show noone her careful records. But she found in the anonymity of the Internet and the 'Blog' phenomenon, a very convenient means to air her visions, even though she was pretty sure noone would ever see them. And if they did get read, tracking them back to Twilight would not be too easy. At least, she hoped it wouldn't. Well, not that it really even mattered... Seriously, who would want to read stories about talking pon--- ...never mind. One Friday afternoon, early in the Summer, Twilight was 'having a vision', and trying to write the details down at the same time. Twilight had learned previously that all ponies got a mark on their upper leg that was somehow related to what they were good at, or something. The only such mark Twilight had clearly seen was the one carried by her name-sake. It was very intricate, and beautiful too. If only... Anyway, the subject matter of this vision seemed to be focused on these marks. Oh, and by the way, Twilight had already noted that some of these ponies could fly. This seemed to be important for today's vision. At one point, one of the ponies ('Rainbow', Twilight thought) was flying very fast. Holding her breath, Twilight waited to see the crash at the end of her dive. Instead this pony pulled quickly up and a loud -- A huge BOOM shook the upstairs apartment Twilight and her mom lived in. It was very loud, and shook the apartment building violently. Twilight had already learned to stay focused on visions that never repeated themselves, no matter what. Twilight tried to ignore the 'sonic boom', but also heard a loud 'boom' generated by Rainbow's rapid up-turn. Twilight also saw the amazingly beautiful shock wave that rapidly radiated out from that point, and also contributed to a 'rainbow' trail now left behind by Rainbow. Today's vision was soon done. The last words Twilight entered on her Blog for that day: "I think I saw a new thing today. I think it is called a 'Sonic Rainboom'... Two weeks after her thirteenth birthday, Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash's dad (a Dentist) joined a practice in the 'big city'. The family quickly moved closer to his new work. This meant a dfferent High School than Rainbow was expecting, but they had a Soccer team there, and that was enough for Rainbow. Still, leaving her friends would prove difficult. On the very next day after the move was done, Rainbow walked to the High School to check it out. Well, Rainbow knew she needed to check out the Soccer field. Secretly, she was hoping to meet another Soccer player. Rainbow quickly found the Soccer Field at 'Canterlot High School', but noone else was there. Well, there was a girl high up in the bleachers, but she looked kind of upset. Rainbow decided to try to make a new friend. Maybe fifteen minutes later, Rainbow and Fluttershy were just kicking the Soccer ball back and forth (gently) while talking. Fluttershy's hair had a very distinct Pink hue, and her skin seemed pale, almost Yellow, maybe. Fluttershy talked quietly. Her family had recently moved into town from a large farm somewhere else. Fluttershy seemed withdrawn, and Rainbow decided they both needed a friend. They decided to meet here at the field every afternoon as they could, and just hang out together. That's what they did, the rest of that week. The next Monday, they found a new face in the bleachers. This new face seemed sad, too. Straight, crazy Pink hair, though. Rainbow and Fluttershy decided together they both needed another friend. Pretty soon, Pinkie Pie was out on the field with them, just kicking the Soccer Ball around and talking. Pinkie's family had recently lost their race-track or something. Pinkie was living in a rented room above the 'Cake's Diner', wherever that was. Rainbow and Fluttershy told Pinkie to come join them every afternoon she could. The next afternoon, Pinkie joined Rainbow and Fluttershy again. Her hair was now wildly curly, and Rainbow thought about asking her what she did to it, but decided not to. Still, Pinkie was smiling, and this was a huge improvement over yesterday. Rainbow still had not found a 'Soccer buddy', but decided these friends... Well, the three of them, needed each other. Friends met and played and talked the rest of the week. Well, on Friday, they all hugged in a tight circle before they went their separate ways. Two things happened the next week. Soccer Practice started, and these three friends found the Soccer field full of Soccer buddies. Rainbow was quickly signed up, and on the field playing Soccer for the High School team. But first, she told Pinkie and Fluttershy to hang out there, and she would come chill with them as she could. Rainbow kept her word, and friendships grew. Also, Fluttershy and Pinkie found Twilight Sparkle all by herself at one end of the bleachers that Tuesday. Pinkie was (now) always very 'bubbly' (polar opposite of Fluttershy), and Pinkie and Fluttershy were quickly sitting next to Twilight, listening to her story. Twilight was also looking forward to High School here in the fall. Still, both Fluttershy and Pinkie noted that Twilight looked at them both very strangely when each told Twilight what their names were. Neither could come up with any reason why... It didn't matter. These four Freshmen girls enjoyed growing friendships together for four weeks. The following Monday, Twilight walked up to Pinkie and Fluttershy, crying... Rainbow ran over quickly, and cried with her friends. Twilight's mom was pulling Twilight out of 'Public School' to home school her. Twilight knew this meant a heavy emphasis on what she had already rejected, but... oh, well. In addition, Twilight needed to get a job to support she an her mom. Evidently 'the dad' had disappeared, and the Alimony was gone. Twilight's mom didn't even entertain she getting a job... Twilight said she would come when she could. They all hugged and cried a while, then Twilight walked off sniffling, and headed to her new job... The rest of the Summer streamed past, quicker by the week. Rainbow had the girls meet at the bleachers maybe an hour before Soccer practice started, so they could all spend time together before Rainbow was running around after the Soccer ball. And Rainbow met both Rarity and Applejack, through totally different means, and both were quickly welcomed into the circle of friends. By the end of the Summer, deep relationships were clearly growing. Since the beginning of the Summer, Rainbow had just reached out to a few girls she met. Rainbow really did her best to try to help keep her growing circle of close friends going. Rainbow would often ditch her team during practice, sometimes for fifteen minutes at a time, just to cry or celebrate with her new friends... Loyalty was born... It would still be some time... But all this group needed was a Princess named Twilight...