//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Not Every Mark is Cute // by tjcullinan326 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash stood up and held her head. Ow, it feels like I was hit by a train. "Heh, never taken a hit before Dashie?" Rainbow Dash turned. Brawler had lifted Pinkie onto his back, using his wings to make sure she didn't slide off. He was still grinning. "I've took them before, just never from a fight. And if you keep calling me Dashie I'll call you Brawly-boy," she said. Brawler chuckled. "I think we'll get along just fine Dashie," he said, "Just be ready for tomorrow." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. Tomorrow! He expects me to do this again tomorrow? "If you think you can handle it that is," said Brawler. "If I can handle it? Hah! Tomorrow I'll beat you in ten seconds flat!" proclaimed Rainbow Dash. Brawler's grin widened; Rainbow Dash mentally face hooved. Just had to open my mouth. "Looking forward to it Dashie," Brawler readjusted Pinkie, "So what now?" "W-well, now I suppose we head back to Ponyville. Unless of course, you want everypony to introduce themselves first," said Twilight. Brawler's grin faded and he sighed. "Alright then, what're your names?" he asked, turning toward the others. "There's no need to be rude about it," huffed Rarity. "And no need to be polite," said Brawler, "I never really saw the point in acting like I gave a damn about manners." "The point, good sir," Rarity growled, "Is to show that you're above acting like a ruffian." Brawler rolled his eyes. "You put up with that bitch?" he asked, turning his head to look at Rainbow Dash. Everypony froze. Rarity's eye twitched. "What, did you call me?" asked Rarity. "Bitch," said Brawler, still not facing her. Rarity's eye twitched again. "Well you are an unwashed, dimwitted, vulgar brute!" she shouted. Brawler finally turned his head to face her. Ah buck. Rainbow Dash sped forward and got between Brawler and Rarity, getting into her ready stance as she did. Brawler's eyes widened slightly when he first saw Rainbow Dash appear in front of him, but then he grunted. "What? You think I'll attack her over that lame insult? Come on, I'm not that desperate," he said. Rarity's face turned red and a vein bulged, she started to open her mouth but Twilight beat her to it. "Okay everypony let's all just, calm down," she said, "Take a few deep breaths, and we'll work through this calmly." Rarity grit her teeth, then sucked in a breath through her nose then out her mouth. Rainbow Dash got back on all fours and stepped back, not taking her eyes off Brawler. What's with this guy? He can't even meet new ponies without starting a fight. "Right, now that everypony's calm, Brawler, please apologize to her," said Twilight. "Only if she proves that she isn't one," said Brawler. "An' just how do ya expect her ta do that?" asked Applejack. "I don't know, and, don't really care," said Brawler, "Once I know she isn't a bitch I'll apologize, simple as that." "She is not a," Twilight scrunched up her face, "bitch." "And I should trust you because?" "I'm an alicorn princess!" Brawler rolled his eyes. "And you alicorns aren't capable of ever being wrong," said Brawler, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Twilight's eye started to twitch. But before anypony else could do anything Rainbow Dash was in Brawler's face again. "Look Brawly-boy," she said, jabbing a hoof into his chest, "These ponies are my friends. You wanna spar with Pinkie and me again? Then you'd better get used to them," she lowered her hoof, "I'm not asking you to get all buddy buddy with them, but just TRY not to insult them when all they want is to meet you." Brawler narrowed his eyes. "Alright," he said, "But no promises after they're done." Rainbow Dash sighed and stepped back. That's probably the best we're gonna get. "Very well," said Rarity, she trotted to Brawler and offered him her hoof, "My name is Rarity, I run a boutique in Ponyville, and I do hope that I can change your initial impression of me." Brawler stared at her, then smirked. "This is why I hate being polite," he said, taking her hoof, "I was never very good at lying." Rarity pursed her lips, but didn't say anything. They shook hooves, then Rarity stepped back. Applejack blew some air out the side of her mouth, then stepped forward to offer her hoof. "Name's Applejack, Ah work down on Sweet Apple Acres," she said. Brawler nodded and shook her hoof without saying a word. "And uh," Applejack scratched the back of her head, "If you were wonderin', the mare on yer back is Pinkie Pie." Brawler glanced back at Pinkie, grinned, then looked back at Applejack. "Thanks," he said. Applejack nodded and stepped back. Twilight stepped forward and offered her hoof. "Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship, pleased to make your acquaintance," she said. Brawler sighed, then shook her hoof. As Twilight stepped back Rainbow Dash noticed something. Where'd Fluttershy go? She took of and hovered about half way up to the ceiling. "Fluttershy! Where'd you go?" she called. Now noticing their friend's absence the rest of the mane six started looking as well. "Fluttershy?" "Fluttershy, darling where are you?!" After about thirty seconds Rainbow Dash found her, she was hiding behind one of the columns in the hallway. Rainbow Dash flew over and saw that she was still slightly shaking. "Come on Fluttershy you need to introduce yourself," said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy shook her head and mouthed no. "He's going to be living in Ponyville for awhile. You need to get used to him," said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy shook her head again. "Look Fluttershy if this is about the fight you don't need to worry. I've had sparring matches before and I've taken some bad hits from crashes so I'm used to it. Plus if you think you can't be friends with somepony who likes fighting, well, you're friends with me aren't you? I enjoy a match now and then and we've been friends since we were fillies," said Rainbow Dash, "I know he's intimidating but you don't have a reason to be terrified of him." "Yes I do," whispered Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, then it hit her. "You wanna know why I think fighting's fun?" Brawler clapped his hooves together menacingly, "Why don't I show you first hoof?" Oh, yeah, that. "This is about the threat, isn't it?" came Brawler's voice. Rainbow Dash turned and saw him standing behind her. Fluttershy meeped and started trying to back through the wall. Brawler looked at her, then closed his eyes and sighed. "Look miss, Fluttershy was it?" Brawler opened his eyes but didn't look up, "I love a good fight, there's nothing better in the world. I do NOT enjoy hurting ponies who can't fight back. The only reason I threatened you was to try and make Rainbow Dash fight harder. You have given me no reason to hurt you and I doubt that you will," he looked up and offered Fluttershy his hoof, "So can we put this little incident behind us?" Fluttershy stopped trying to pass through the wall behind her but she was still pressing herself hard against it. She didn't move other than that. Brawler sighed again and lowered his hoof, then he turned around and walked to the center of the hallway. "Teh, a snob, a princess, a coward, and a cowgirl," he shook his head, "If it weren't for the two fighters I'd be outta here." "Ya got somethin' against cowgirls?" asked Applejack, her eyes narrowed. "Not really. I mean the accent's kind of annoying but I got nothing against them," said Brawler. Applejack grunted. "So, to Ponyville?" asked Brawler, turning back to Rainbow Dash. She glanced at Pinkie, who was still snoring on his back. "Do you wanna wake her up first?" she asked. Brawler glanced back. "I hit her pretty hard, you think you can?" he asked. Rainbow Dash smirked. "Hey Pinkie, we're about to head back to Ponyville, you'd better get Brawly-boy's party ready," she called. Pinkie's eyes snapped open and she jumped ten feet in the air, then zoomed away. Brawler's eyes widened. "Is she always like that?" he asked. "Yes," answered everypony. Brawler chuckled. "Well what're we waiting for? Let's get going!" he trotted for the exit. Everypony else glanced at each other then followed. Pinkie said she wanted to try a food fight party for him. Rainbow Dash sighed, I might not get to wait until tomorrow to fight him again. As Brawler lead the ponies back along the path he couldn't help but think about them. Dashie and Pinks are fighters so no problems with them. Hell, Pinks looks like she could do a few matches a day. Makes her A-okay in my book. Their friends though... Brawler glanced back at them, they were all walking close together and occasionally whispering. I mean, AJ seems alright. But do they seriously expect me to play nice with a bitch and an alicorn? Brawler shook his head, then the image of the last pony appeared in his mind. Brawler grit his teeth and growled. Don't think about it, plan some strategies for your next fight. He did just that, planning ways to keep Rainbow Dash on the ground and ways to close distance with Pinkie quickly. He would have done this for the remainder of the walk to Ponyville but: "Excuse me Brawler?" He looked to his left and saw that Twilight was now trotting beside him. "Yeah?" "Do you want me to remove the shackle?" Brawler's eyes widened. "Yes!" he held out his hoof for her. Twilight was surprised at his sudden response, but then caused the shackle to grow until it was loose. Brawler quickly shook it off, then kicked it into the forest with all his strength. He let out a few heavy breaths. "Thanks," he said. Twilight's eyes had widened slightly during his outburst. "What was that about?" she asked, gesturing in the direction the shackle had flown. "Heh, spend some time in prison, then you'd understand," said Brawler, "But why'd you do that?" "If you had walked into Ponyville with the shackle on your leg you might be mistaken for a fugitive and cause a panic," said Twilight, "Plus, I want to help you learn about friendship, the easiest way for me to do that is to be your friend." "Heh, it'll take more than that Sparky," said Brawler. Twilight's eyebrow twitched but she didn't otherwise react to her new nickname. "Well I have to start somewhere," she said. "Says who? Sunshine? For buck's sake, am I the only pony with the guts to say no to that bitch?" asked Brawler. "I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my mentor," snarled Twilight. Brawler froze. "Are, are you alright?" asked Twilight. You can't take Celestia right now, so send a message. You're coming for her. Brawler growled. Twilight took a small step back. "Brawler?" Go on, do it! If you move fast enough you can take her by surprise and finish before the other unicorn can grab you. Brawler growled again, then glared at Twilight. "Get out of range," he snarled. "W-what?" Brawler shot forward and lashed his hoof out. It grazed Twilight's left ear and sent a few strands of hair flying; he was now face to face with her, breathing heavily. "Unless you back off the next one shatters your jaw, got it?" he snarled. There was a flash of light as she teleported away. With his target gone he lunged forward with a roar of frustration. He felt his hoof strike something solid, not caring what it was he hit it again, and again, and again. One moment he was hitting Twilight, the next blow, Celestia, then that stupid guard, then his bastard Father, then that damn mark on his flank. Twilight, Celestia, guard, Father, mark. After about two minutes he was out of rage. He looked up and saw a tree, it had a large dent in it with bark missing, there were also a few drops of blood. He looked at his hooves and saw that his right one had a small splinter in it's side. He puled it out with his teeth and spat it out. He didn't bother looking at the mares, he knew how they were looking at him. With a grunt he continued along the path, trying to get as far away from them as he could. Twilight had teleported back to her friends, she was at the head of the group so she had had a full view of Brawler's rage. It terrified her. She had faced powerful foes before but they weren't like this. Brawler's anger was what made him scary; villains like Tirek or Sombra may have gotten angry, but it was their power that made them intimidating, not rage. Just how much hatred does that stallion have? Nopony moved for ten seconds. "What the hell was THAT about?" asked Rainbow Dash, her eyes still wide. "I-I don't know! One moment we were just talking and the next he's threatening to break my jaw!" said Twilight. What little color that remained in Fluttershy's faced drained when she heard Brawler's threat. "H-how c-can a pony g-get that mad because of something somepony said?" she asked. "Well," Rarity rubbed her chin, "What exactly did you say to him Twilight?" "I told him not to insult Princess Celestia." "What were your exact words?" "Um. I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my mentor. But why would that make him angry?" Rarity sighed. "Twilight, darling, Brawler likely HATES Celestia. A part of him was planning on hurting you in order to hurt her," she explained, "You're lucky he gave you a warning." "Well I'm glad he did but why would anypony hate Celestia?" "Sugarcube, Ah'd probably hold a mean grudge against her too if she tossed me in a cell fer eight years," said Applejack. "Oh." Twilight felt like an idiot. She considered herself to be an expert on friendship, but there were some parts of pony interaction that she failed to comprehend. Holding grudges for an extended period of time was near the top of that list. She started thinking over how she could learn about it when a realization hit her. "Sweet Celestia, he's still headed for Ponyville!" she exclaimed. They all gasped. Picturing just how much damage Brawler could do to the quiet town when he was angry. Rainbow Dash sped off after him with the rest of them sprinting close behind. Please let it not be too late, please let it not be too late, Please- oh no! Rainbow Dash had stopped at the forest entrance, frozen in place. "Rainbow Dash what are you doing!? Where's Brawler?!" asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash gestured forward. Twilight saw that between Ponyville and the Everfree forest a banquet of sweets had been set up. Pies, cakes, cupcakes, every throwable pastry you could think lined that table. About thirty ponies had gathered near the table, some were hiding behind nearby rocks or bushes for cover. At first Twilight wondered what it was all about, then she saw the banner over the table. 'Welcome to Ponyville, Brawler!' But where IS he-.. Oh. She spotted him. He was about halfway from where they were to the table, standing perfectly still. A blueberry pie stuck to his face. If she hadn't known about his temper she would have found the scene comical. Instead, she had to stop herself from flinching when Brawler finally moved. He reached up, and slid the pie off his face. His face was still blue from the berries. He wiped it off his eyes, then licked his lips. Twilight didn't know for sure, but something told her he was grinning again. "Well? What are you waiting for? Bring it on!" he shouted. At that moment total pandemonium broke out. All of the ponies that had gathered had apparently grabbed something before Brawler had arrived, and once they heard his challenge they started throwing said things at each other. Baked goods flew through the air, hitting everything in sight, pony or not. Yet somehow Brawler managed to slip through without taking anymore hits. He reached the table, grabbed a pie, then lunged at a nearby orange colt and slapped it into his face. He's attacking ponies! Twilight's horn lit up and she prepared to catch Brawler in telekinesis once again. But before she could focus on him something slapped into her face, something bright red. Wh-wha? Cherry pie?!? Twilight removed the pie with magic and looked for the pony who had thrown it at her. "PINKIE?!?" Pinkie was hanging upside down in front of her, her left hind leg attached to a bungie cord tied to the tree above them. "Twilight! Using telekinesis directly on a pony is against the rules! If you wanna play too then use magic to throw food, that's it," said Pinkie. "Pinkie! Brawler is one of the most dangerous ponies in all Equestria and you tell him to go and fight ponies!?" exclaimed Twilight. "No, I invited him to a food fight," said Pinkie, "Everypony knows not to hurt others in a food fight." "Wh-what about th-that orange colt?" asked Fluttershy. "Fanta Fizz? He's fine, look!" The colt had indeed recovered from Brawler's attack and was now lobbing cupcakes up at dive bombing pegasi. Brawler was among that group, although rather than dive bomb the ponies below, he had grabbed a punch bowl and was splashing the pegasi, forcing them to land and dry off. *SPLASH!* "Haha! Better luck next time slow- GAK!" Brawler's taunt was interrupted when a brown unicorn hit him with a telekinetically lifted cake. Brawler crashed to the ground, covered in frosting. He jumped right back on his hooves, bunched some cake debris into a ball then threw it back at the unicorn. "So you girls gonna join in?" Pinkie's voice snapped Twilight out of her dazed observations. Pinkie had dropped from the bungie cord and was now holding a weird cylinder with the label 'cupcake cannon' over her shoulder. "Pinkie, look, normally I'd say yes but in the forest we saw Brawler go bucking berserk. I'm not sure if-" Rainbow Dash began. "What's the matter Dashie? Chicken?" shouted Brawler, he had spotted them on the edge of the battlefield and was evidently wondering why Rainbow Dash hadn't joined in. "Oh you're gonna get it now Brawly-boy!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she leapt into the fray. The rest of mane six gave each other a look. Really Rainbow Dash? ONE insult is all it took? Applejack cleared her throat. "Look Pinkie, the party looks mighty fun an' all, but Ah ain't sure if fightin' with-" "HEY SIS!" a young filly shouted. Applejack looked over on the right side of the battlefield and saw Applebloom running towards her. "Applebloom! What the hay are ya doin' out here?!" asked Applejack. Applebloom skidded to a halt in front of her, Twilight only now noticed the remains of a banana cream pie on the young filly's side. "I'm enjoyin' the party a'course whataya think?" asked Applebloom, "Anyway, Sis could ya help us out? Big Mac an' I teamed up but we could use yer kickin' power ta launch pies up at 'em pegasi." "Applebloom, I ain't sure that's a great idea." "Pllleeeaaase Sis?" Applebloom made puppy dog eyes. "Agh, alright," said Applejack. "Yes! Come on! Big Mac's waitin'." Applebloom sped away. Applejack smiled, shook her head, then followed close behind. "U-um, Pinkie?" whispered Fluttershy, "I'm not really comfortable doing this. Can I go somewhere else? If that's okay with you?" "Sure Fluttershy! Just over that hill is another party table for ponies who don't want play food fight," said Pinkie, she inserted a cupcake into one end of her cannon, took aim, then the cupcake shot out. H-how? There isn't any means of propulsion in that tube how did- "Twilight darling," said Rarity, "You're getting that look in your eye again." "O-oh, ah, heh-heh," Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "Anyway Pinkie would you mind if I went as well? I don't want to get my mane-" a stray fudge pie flew threw the air and connected to Rarity's face. It slowly slid off with a squelching sound, leaving her face and mane covered in fudge. "IT. IS. ON!" she shouted before leaping into the fray as well. "Um, I think I'll just go to the quiet part of the party now," said Fluttershy as she trotted away. "I think I'll join you," said Twilight, following. "Suit yourselves, hope you still have fun!" said Pinkie, she fired another cupcake into the crowd, "Oh shot! That was my favorite cupcake! Could you send it back? Or just, don't lose it! I'm coming over!" Pinkie leapt into the fight as well. Twilight chuckled. Typical Pinkie. She turned to follow Fluttershy again when: "Hey everypony!" Twilight turned back to the battlefield and saw that Brawler had flown to the center, "Target the unicorns! Their horns give them an advantage!" Instantly the battle changed. When it had started it had been total anarchy, now there were clearly two sides. Unicorns on one and Earth ponies and Pegasi on the other. The fight was even despite the Unicorn's disadvantage of numbers. They still had their magic, so the skilled users of telekinesis focused on slowing down the barrage of pastries to give their allies a chance to attack. It wasn't perfect, due to the sheer number of projectiles coming their way it was impossible to stop them all, but they weren't giving up anytime soon. Twilight looked on the scene in horror. Did, did he just make everypony turn on unicorns with one sentence?!? She was so occupied with the disturbing information that she didn't notice the shadow forming around her. "Hey Sparky!" Twilight looked up and saw Brawler hovering above her, holding a cake. "Catch!" He threw it toward her with all his strength. Twilight barely managed to catch it with her magic, it had been going so fast that it was now only an inch above her head. Brawler wasn't done though. While Twilight was distracted with the cake he had dropped down and grabbed a discarded pie, then he lunged forward and slammed it into her face. Twilight stumbled back. The blow was too soft to do any real damage, but it was still very surprising. Though, not quite as surprising as the now unsupported cake falling down on the top of her head. "Heh, you wanna be my friend Sparky? Then work on your reaction time." She heard him fly away after he made that remark. She groaned as she cleaned herself off. I'm covered in dessert and I'm starting to hate the pony I'm supposed to be FRIENDS with.... Augh, this is NOT how I envisioned today to be going. The food fight lasted for another hour. At that point they ran out of pastries to throw at each other. Brawler was the least scathed out of all the participants and he had been hit with three different kinds of pies and three cakes. He was still covered in frosting and berries when he walked up to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Hey Dashie, hey AJ. Where are the others?" he asked. Rainbow Dash wiped some whipping cream and strawberries out of her mane before answering. "Well Fluttershy went home at about the halfway mark. Twilight and Rarity went to the Spa to get fully cleaned off. And... I actually don't know where Pinkie went." At that moment Pinkie jumped out of a nearby half-empty punch bowl. "Hey Brawly! Did you enjoy the party?" she asked. Pinkie had apparently already cleaned herself off, there wasn't a speck of food on her. Except for a little dab of frosting on her front nose. When she noticed that they were staring at it she licked it up with her tongue. "Uh, wha? How did-? In the bowl? Did, she lick?" stammered Brawler. "It's Pinkie Pie sugarcube, don't question it," said Applejack, wiping chocolate sauce off her hat. Brawler grunted and shook himself. "It was awesome Pinks, thanks," he said with a smile, "Where'd you disappear to anyway?" "Oh! I had to go back to Sugarcube corner. I borrowed a lot more cakes and pies than I usually do for parties and I had to make up for it," Pinkie explained, "In fact, I need to be getting back right about now. Glad you liked the party Brawly!" She dove into a nearby bush, it shook for a moment, then was still. "She's somehow back at that Sugarcube corner place right?" asked Brawler. "Yep," answered both mares. Brawler chuckled. "That is one crazy mare," he said. "Yeah," Applejack sighed, "Look sugarcube we need ta talk." Brawler's smile faded. "Look, what happened in the forest won't happen again, alright?" "How do we know we can trust you?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I kept my cool during the food fight didn't I?" Discounting my attack on Sparky. Both mares stared at him hard. "Fair point," said Applejack, "But we'll be watchin' ya." "If that's it can I go now?" asked Brawler. "Not quite yet," said Rainbow Dash, "We figured you wouldn't want a full tour of Ponyville so we thought we'd just show you two places you'd definitely want to know about." "And those places would be?" asked Brawler. "The town's dojo and Sweet Apple Acres," said Rainbow Dash. "The dojo definitely, but why would I wanna know about a place called Sweet Apple Acres?" asked Brawler. "It's mah family's farm," said Applejack, "We could always use an extra pair of hooves fer apple buckin' and uh, after seein' ya in there Ah figured it'd be perfect job for ya." Brawler thought a moment. "Sure, as long as I get paid," he said. Applejack's eye twitched. "Ah'da never asked ya ta help out if I couldn't pay ya back in some way," she said. "Okay, okay. Just checking," said Brawler, "So when do we go?" "Soon as you're ready," said Rainbow Dash. "Okay then, just let me clean up," said Brawler, he walked over to a bush and used the leafy branches to brush himself off. He then returned to the two mares. "Alright, let's go." First Applejack and Rainbow Dash showed him to the dojo. Rainbow Dash took the lead as Applejack didn't know exactly where it was, and when they got there she wasn't exactly impressed. The one story building had clearly seen better days. It wasn't collapsing in on itself or anything like that, but it was pretty obvious that it had been awhile since anypony did a maintenance check on the place. Some parts of the walls were slightly crumbling and a few windows were cracked. Sheesh, she expects 'im ta train here? Brawler also looked doubtful. "Look, I know the outside's not pretty, and a few rooms look like they haven't been used in years but the main rooms are in good condition," said Rainbow Dash, "It has a big training room with weights and punching bags, and it also has a sparring hall we can use for tomorrow. There's even a few books on Karate in there." "Wait you learned from books?" Brawler scoffed, "No wonder you're so predictable." "Hey! I earned my black belt in a tournament!" protested Rainbow Dash. "By fighting other ponies who learned from books," said Brawler, "Don't worry about it too much Dashie, after a few spars with me you'll start to do your own thing and last longer." Rainbow Dash grunted. The three of them stared at the building for a few moments. "So uh, are ya goin' in?" asked Applejack. "Only if I can't earn some bits on the farm today," said Brawler. "Never took ya fer a money grubber," said Applejack. "I'm not! I'd just like to have some bits is all. It'd make me feel less like a bum," said Brawler. Applejack nodded. Okay, that's a fair point. "Ah suppose we could go down an' Ah could show ya the ropes," said Applejack, "We ain't doin' a full harvest today but you'd earn a few bits." "Sounds good. Let's go," said Brawler. "Uh, actually I gotta get back on weather patrol. I'm supposed to clear the clouds before noon," said Rainbow Dash. "Okay then, see ya Dashie," said Brawler. "Later Rainbow," said Applejack. "'Kay, see ya!" said Rainbow Dash as she took off. Brawler's and Applejack's eyes followed the rainbow streak she left behind for a moment then looked back at each other. "Right then, follow me," said Applejack. She turned and headed for the farm with Brawler following. As they were walking a single worry passed through Applejack's mind. Ah sure hope Applebloom doesn't try ta ask fer Cutie Mark advice from this guy.