Scootaloo woke up with a yawn. She sat up, stretched, then hopped out of bed. She was used to waking up on her own; her foster parents were almost always on some business trip so she'd learned how to take care of herself. To an extent at least, despite constant reminders from her foster mother that brushing teeth in the morning was necessary Scootaloo could never seem to get around to it when she was on her own.
I don't snack at night so my teeth aren't dirty in the morning, what's the point?
Scootaloo trotted downstairs to the kitchen and opened the fridge. The first thing she saw was a plate of sliced apples and carrots with a folded note on top. She grabbed the plate in her mouth then walked to the dining room, placed the plate on the table and sat on a chair. She unfolded the note.
How's it going Scoot?
Sorry I can't be there to talk to you. I got back to the house around midnight and my train to Manehattan leaves at five in the morning. Don't worry though, I'm only going there for a few days and I'll drag Qualified Quill back with me if I have to. (Don't think I will, she needs a break and does miss you but, well, you know how she can be.) We should be back sometime on Wednesday and we'll definitely stick around until the weekend. That should give us plenty of time to catch up and maybe go do something together. I'm sure you and your friends have had some adventures since we've been gone and I can't wait to hear all about them.
Your friend,
Ace Contract
Scootaloo smiled. Ace was an awesome guy, she'd probably be comfortable with calling him Dad if he ever stayed home for more than a week at a time. But hey, she couldn't tell him what to do, and he hardly ever told her what to do, so it was cool. She ate her breakfast, put the plate back in the kitchen and started for the door. When she was about half way there somepony knocked. Scootaloo tilted her head, and sped up a bit to answer it.
Her eyes widened when she opened the door.
"Hey squirt, how's it goin'?"
"Rainbow Dash! Hey, uh, it's going great," said Scootaloo, "What're you doing here?"
"What I can't visit to my little sis's house?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"What? No! I didn't-"
"Relax squirt, I'm just teasing," said Rainbow Dash, "Anyway, I wanna talk to you, is it okay if I come in?"
"Sure!"
Scootaloo led Rainbow Dash to the living room and they sat next to each other on a couch.
"What do you wanna talk about?" asked Scootaloo.
"Well, you're coming to see the match between me and Brawler right?"
"Heck yeah! I can't wait to see you kick his flank!"
Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Huh? What's wrong?" asked Scootaloo.
"I'm not gonna lie to you squirt, he's the one who's probably gonna kick my flank," said Rainbow Dash.
"What! But you have a black belt in Karate!" protested Scootaloo.
"Yeah, and he beat up twenty Royal guards when he was thirteen. Now, I know guards aren't that tough but a single colt against twenty fully grown and armored stallions? Heh, I know I couldn't do something like that."
"Bu-but you're Rainbow Dash! You're the coolest pony in Equestria! You can't lose."
Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"You think I've never had a wipe out before? I've crashed plenty of times, especially when trying out a new stunt. I'm pretty awesome but," Rainbow Dash grimaced, then looked down "I've, failed before, and I'm going to fail at things in the future. There'll be success and victory, but there's gonna be plenty of failing too."
Scootaloo stared at Rainbow Dash with her mouth hanging open.
Th-that can't be right.
Rainbow Dash looked back up.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm a daredevil! This is what we do. We bite off more than we can chew, then chew it anyway. Sometimes we choke and spit it out, then we try again later," she explained.
"Eew!" cried Scootaloo.
"Heh, yeah that sounded a lot better in my head," said Rainbow Dash.
They chuckled for a bit, then were silent for a moment.
"I get what you're saying about daredevils and all, but have you really failed before?" asked Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Yeah, I have," she pointed at Scootaloo's chest, "You can't tell anypony about this, but for a long time I couldn't do the Sonic Rainboom. I did it when I earned my Cutie Mark, but then for a long time every time I tried to do it again the air would launch me backward and I'd crash. I only recently got it down."
"At the Young Fliers Competition right?" asked Scootaloo.
"Yep. But before then I just couldn't do it. I tried and I tried and I tried, it failed, but it got a little better each time. Then, one day, I did it. I have a feeling fighting Brawler is gonna be similar. He's gonna kick my flank for a long time, but one day-," Rainbow Dash jabbed her hoof out and stopped right in front of Scootaloo's face. "I'm gonna knock his lights out."
Rainbow Dash lowered her hoof and Scootaloo stared at her in awe.
She is SO, COOL!
"Wow, so, why are you telling me this?" asked Scootaloo.
"I figured it'd be easier to have this talk while I wasn't shaking off a concussion," said Rainbow Dash. They both laughed.
"But I also wanted to make sure you weren't, like, mad at Brawler for beating me. He's a cool guy, I think he's gonna be an awesome friend. It'd be a bit of a downer if my little sis didn't like him," said Rainbow Dash.
Scootaloo nodded.
"Okay. I'll try not to be THAT mad at him."
"That's all I wanted to hear squirt. Now we got a lot of time to kill before the match, you wanna show me what you can do on that scooter?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Heck yeah!" Scootaloo jumped up from the couch, rushed to the door, grabbed her scooter from the closet, then jumped outside with Rainbow Dash on her heels.
Today's gonna be AWESOME!
Across town, another pony woke up with a yawn. Brawler rolled off his couch and stretched his wings. He looked down at the bag of carrots near his bed. He grabbed a couple and sighed.
I'm gonna need some meat soon.
He bit off the end of one carrot and started munching on it.
Hell, I need carbs, nuts, and some fruits too, buck.
He swallowed and took another bite.
Well I got five more bits. That should be enough to buy me some bread and maybe some nuts. But I don't earn anymore bits until tomorrow. And I doubt anypony in this town sells meat, let alone lean meat.
Brawler sighed, then took another bite of his carrot.
I need to get into contact with Garry. Hopefully he'll still give me a discount. Until then I guess a bag of nuts will have to do. They haven't got as much protein as meat but it's better than nothing.
His first carrot was now finished. He tossed away the stem but as he reached for the second one he froze.
Aw crap. How the buck am I gonna tell them that I eat meat?
A pony eating meat wasn't unheard of, the taste of it usually took a bit to get used to but their bodies could handle it fine. The problem was most ponies preferred to befriend animals, not cook them.
Even the one pony that tried to stick with me after I got my mark got scared off when I started eating meat.
Brawler sighed again and grabbed the carrot.
Well, I'm probably not gonna be able to get any meat for awhile, so I guess I can keep it a secret for now.
He took a bite.
Focus on the problems you can handle, then worry about the others.
He finished the carrot then stood up and stretched. While he was stretching he glanced at the cart.
Okay, first order of business: Return the cart.
He grabbed his saddle bags from next to the couch, then walked over the the cart and grabbed it with his teeth. He wheeled it around then headed out the door.
Which way was that Quills and Sofas place again? Oh right.
Brawler walked down the street on his left and got to the store in about five minutes. It was closed. Brawler shrugged his shoulders and left the cart at the door. With that done he took off and flew over to the market. After wandering around for a bit he bought a loaf of bread for three bits and a bag of nuts for his last two bits.
Welp, I'm broke again.
He opened the bag and munched on a few nuts, then took off and flew back to the dojo. He walked back to the storage room, took out his food, took off his saddle bags, then sat down. He looked at his food, then sighed.
Well, it'll definitely last until tomorrow.
He tore off a small chunk of bread and tossed it in his mouth.
But it's not enough if I want to have a serious workout.
Brawler sighed and laid down on the couch.
"What to do, what to do," he whispered. He glanced at the library.
"Eh," he stood up, "Might as well."
He trotted into the library and pulled out Magic 101. Then he took a few steps back, sat down, and placed the book on the ground in front of him. He opened it and flipped to chapter 4.
Chapter 4
Meditation
Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way fitness is an approach to training the body. A skilled mage needs to have a well trained mind in order to have full control of their magic. Many different meditation techniques exist but we'll begin with the basics.
In general, the easiest way to begin meditating is to focus on a single point, like breathing or the flame of a candle. This is called Concentration Meditation. A beginner will have difficulty focusing the mind at first so they should start with short sessions and work up to longer durations. As a general rule it usually takes at least a full minute of meditation before a pony starts to feel their inner magic.
Brawler tapped his hoof.
A full minute of focusing on nothing but breathing? Ugh, that's gonna take awhile.
He closed his eyes, leaned back, and started taking long breaths, trying to focus.
This is stupid.
Shut up I'm trying to focus.
On breathing, really? You think breathing will help you break out of telekinesis?
Got any better ideas jackass?
You could be training.
I haven't got enough food for that. Now shut the buck up and let me focus!
We're the same pony dumbass. And do you really want to stop thinking? It's the only thing holding the memories back.
Brawler's eyes snapped open. He held his head in his hoof and groaned.
"Luna almighty I hate my head."
Pinkie Pie was having a funerific day. She had spent her whole morning baking cupcakes. Some to sell in the store, some for her emergency stashes and some for snacks later today. Cupcakes were her favorite thing to bake, you could bake them plain, you could bake them with strawberry jelly filling, you could bake them with mini whipped cream bombs.
And no matter what they bring a smile to somepony's face!
All of a sudden one of the whipped cream bomb cupcakes started beeping.
"Oops!" Pinkie rushed over and stuffed the cupcake in her mouth. She chewed it for a few seconds then her cheeks explosively inflated to the size of basketballs.
Guess that one had a teensy weeny glitch.
Pinkie swallowed the delicious whipped cream, then closely scrutinized the other bomb cupcakes.
"Does anycake else want to explode?"
She gave each cupcake a shake to be sure. When none of them started beeping she smiled.
"Good! Because if more of you started going off I'd have to eat... you... all... up."
Realization dawned on Pinkie's face.
"Actually are you sure you don't want to blow up? The last guy who did made it look fun!"
The cupcakes remained silent.
"Oh come on, pllleeeaassseee? Just one more?"
The cupcakes ignored Pinkie's puppy dog eyes. Her mane drooped a bit.
"Party poopers."
The oven gave a 'DING', and Pinkie's mane reinflated. She bounced over to the oven, grabbed her oven mitts from her mane, opened the oven and grabbed the new and improved peanut butter chocolate cupcakes. Pinkie breathed in their delicious aroma.
"Ahh. Brawly's gonna love these!"
She set the cupcakes down to cool and looked at the clock. It was eleven thirty, she had just enough time to gather up the perfect selection of cupcakes then head over to the dojo for her match with Brawler.
Ooo, I can't wait! Who knew fighting could be so much fun?
Pinkie had technically fought others before; her status as the Element of Laughter meant that she had to face monsters and other threats to Equestria from time to time. But there was always something on the line then, not quite as much time for fun. It was occasionally fun, but not as fun as her fight with Brawler.
When she fought, or 'sparred' with Brawler there wasn't anything at stake. Without a sense of urgency weighing on her she could focus on just how exciting it was. Ducking beneath Brawler's right hook was a hell of a thrill, topped only by double kicking him in the face. Yeah, she lost and it hurt a bit, but Brawler wasn't some cackling evil doer so it didn't matter who won.
And today I get to have that same fun again and help a pony smile at the same time! What could be better?
Pinkie turned back to the cupcakes and examined them closely.
Now what's the perfect cupcake to enjoy while watching two ponies beat each other silly? Hmm.
Pinkie arrived at the dojo at exactly twelve o'clock. She was balancing a tray with six cupcakes on her back, one for each of them. The door was open so she bounced inside.
"Hellloooo? Anypony home?" she called. She heard some shuffling in a nearby room.
"Pinks? Is that you?" called Brawler. He walked in from a door on the left.
"Shit, is it noon already?" he asked.
"Yep!" Pinkie bounced her tray from her back to her right hoof, "I brought cupcakes! The peanut butter chocolate one is for you!"
Brawler's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then he sighed. Pinkie cocked her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Well," Brawler rubbed the back of his head, "It looks delicious but I can't eat it."
"Why not? You love chocolate and peanut butter don't you?" asked Pinkie.
"Yes, but I've already had more than enough sweets for the next month."
Pinkie's eyes bulged.
"WHAT!?!"
"Look Pinks, I need to eat a certain way to stay in fighting shape. It was hard enough to stay in shape when all I got to eat was prison slop, if I start eating sweets all the time I'd lose my muscle," said Brawler.
"Oh. When's the next time you can have a cupcake?" asked Pinkie.
"Uh, well, lemme think. Sunshine's lunch, the stuff at the food fight, and that peanut butter bar. I try to only eat dessert once every fifteen days, so, not for two months if I stick to the schedule," said Brawler, he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "But that's a pretty big if."
"Oh, okay," said Pinkie. She pulled her special cupcake safe out of her hair and placed Brawler's cupcake in it, then she put the safe back in her hair, "I'll hold onto it for you until you want it."
Brawler stared at her hair for a moment, then shook himself.
"You're not, mad or upset or anything?"
"Nah, I have plenty of friends who diet a lot. Rarity's always trying to lose a few pounds for some reason."
Brawler rolled his eyes.
"Teh, of course. Anyway do you know when Dashie and the CMC are gonna show up?"
"Already here Brawly-boy," called Rainbow Dash as she trotted in. Scootaloo followed close behind on her scooter. She got off and looked around.
"Is this it?" she asked.
"It's not much but it's better than nothing," said Brawler, "Are your friends almost here?"
"Yeah, we passed them on the way here. They should be here pretty soon," said Scootaloo.
"Alright, there's some carpeting on that side of the room which should be a little more comfortable to sit on, and Pinks made everypony cupcakes," said Brawler.
"Awesome! Can I have mine now?" asked Scootaloo.
"Go ahead squirt," said Rainbow Dash.
"One double chocolate cupcake coming up!" said Pinkie, she tossed the treat to Scootaloo, who jumped up and caught it.
"Yes! Thanks Pinkie!" she said as she walked over to the sitting area.
"Do you want your whipped cream bomb cupcake Rainbow Dash?" asked Pinkie.
"I think I'll wait till after the fight," said Rainbow Dash.
"Okie dokie lokie! I'll just have my strawberry cupcake while we wait!" Pinkie tossed the treat in the air and caught it in her mouth. Rainbow Dash and Brawler chuckled.
"Hey do we get cupcakes too?"
Everypony turned and saw Sweetie Belle and Applebloom at the entrance.
"Yeporuni! I have a caramel apple cupcake for Applebloom and a chocolate chip cupcake for Sweetie Belle."
The fillies took their cupcakes from Pinkie then joined Scootaloo at the sitting area. Brawler looked back and forth between Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.
"Alright, who's first?"
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie looked at each other, then Rainbow Dash walked into the sparring area and took a ready stance in the nearest corner.
"You okay with that Pinks?" asked Brawler.
"Yep! She looks like she really wants to kick your flank," said Pinkie. She turned and bounced over to the sitting area.
"Alright then," said Brawler, he trotted over to the corner opposite Rainbow Dash and got in his boxing stance.
"Ready for this Dashie?" he asked.
"You have no idea Brawly-boy," said Rainbow Dash.
They stared at each other for a moment, then took a few steps forward, paused, then started circling each other.
Without warning Rainbow Dash sped forward and threw a left jab at Brawler's face. Brawler raised his hooves and blocked it, then lashed out his right hoof. Rainbow Dash back stepped, Brawler lunged. With a powerful flap of her wings Rainbow Dash jumped over him and she landed with her back to his. They quickly turned to face each other but Rainbow Dash was slightly faster.
Spinning quickly, Rainbow Dash raised her right hind leg and slammed a roundhouse kick into Brawler's gut. Brawler started to double over but Rainbow Dash lashed out her left hoof and hit his head. Brawler stumbled back and was only just able to raise his guard in time to block another jab.
"WOO HOO! Go Rainbow Dash!" cheered Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash threw a few more jabs, but Brawler forced her to back up when he threw an uppercut. They stared each other down, Brawler staying still, Rainbow Dash hoping from hoof to hoof. Both of them were breathing slightly harder than before.
Pinkie took a slurp of her soda through her crazy straw.
Well Rainbow Dash is doing a lot better than last time. Should I throw a party for her?
Before Pinkie could decide Brawler lunged forward and threw a wicked left hook at Rainbow Dash's face. She ducked beneath it, extended her hooves to either side of her and spread her wings.
Then Brawler's right hoof smashed into her face.
Rainbow Dash stumbled backward, hooves still by her side. Brawler lunged. His left hook to her head knocked her farther back, his right jab to her stomach doubled her over, and his right uppercut to her jaw knocked her down.
Rainbow Dash landed on her back with a loud 'THUD'. All the members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped. Scootaloo shook herself.
"Come on Rainbow Dash, get up!" she cried.
Rainbow Dash rolled onto her stomach and groaned.
"Come on Dashie, is that all you got?" taunted Brawler.
Rainbow Dash snarled and slammed her right hoof on the floor then leapt back to her hooves. She quick got in her stance then lunged at Brawler. He quickly raised his guard and blocked her punch, but before he could counter she threw another jab, then a left hook into the side of his foreleg. Rainbow Dash's hooves became a blur as she peppered Brawler's guard with jabs and hooks. Then without warning she threw an uppercut right between Brawler's forelegs, and knocked them aside.
He was now wide open.
Before he could recover she ducked down, extended her hooves to either side of her and spread her wings. Then she shot upward and smashed her hooves up into his jaw. Brawler became airborne but Rainbow Dash wasn't done with him yet.
She quickly backflipped to correct herself, then tackled Brawler in mid-air and slammed him into the ground. Laying on top of him, Rainbow Dash raised her hoof then smashed it into Brawler's face. She raised it again and brought it down, but Brawler moved his head and she missed.
Before she could try again Brawler slammed his hoof into her side. Rainbow Dash cried out, Brawler slammed his hoof into her side again, and again, and again.
The fifth punch knocked her off and she rolled onto her back with a groan. Brawler stood up, panting.
"Had... enough?" he asked.
Rainbow Dash groaned again.
"Yeah... I think I'm done," she said.
Brawler chuckled and offered her his hoof. She took it and he pulled her to her hooves. She held her side.
"Those really hurt," she said.
"So did your double uppercut takeoff," said Brawler, rubbing his chin and grinning, "You come up with that yourself?"
"You told me to mix in some flying," said Rainbow Dash, starting to grin as well.
"I was thinking dive bombs, not uppercuts. Heh, heh. Damn Dashie, you keep this up and you just might beat me some day."
They chuckled, but before they could say anything else Pinkie sped over to them.
"That was AMAZING guys! You were all like 'Grr', and then Rainbow was like 'Whoosh', then Brawly was all like 'RAAR', and then- Hey what's wrong Brawly?"
Brawler was staring past Pinkie with narrowed eyes. Pinkie turned and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders staring at them wide eyed.
Why's he mad at that?
"Nothing," grunted Brawler. Pinkie turned back to him with her head cocked. Brawler gave her a half hearted attempt at a chuckle.
"Well Pinks," he clapped his hooves, "Your turn."
He turned at started walking to the far corner.
"Wha-? Already? You don't want to rest?" asked Pinkie.
"Not while I can still stand," said Brawler, he reached the far corner, turned around and got into his stance, "Better get out of the ring Dashie, it's gonna get pretty hectic."
"Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute," said Rainbow Dash. She started walking over to the sitting area, still clutching her side.
"Your cupcake's on the tray Rainbow," said Pinkie.
"Thanks."
Still wondering what made Brawler mad, Pinkie walked over to the corner opposite Brawler.
Maybe he was mad they didn't cheer? No, that's not really his thing.
Her eyes widened.
Maybe he's mad they got to eat cupcakes and he didn't!
She reached the corner and turned to face him.
But he said he had a dessert schedule.
It's a cupcake! Who wouldn't be a sourpuss if somepony got one and they didn't.
Okay so what do we do?
Maybe use cupcakes in the fight? That way he can have one if he really wants it.
"Great idea brain!" said Pinkie. Everypony stared at her. She put a hoof over her mouth and giggled.
"Oops. Heh, heh, thinking out loud again."
"Heh. Don't worry Pinks I sometimes do it too," said Brawler, "Anyway since you're a long range fighter I'll let you pull out one weapon before we start. But as soon as it's out, I'm coming for you."
"Thanks Brawly!" Pinkie stood up then reached into her mane and started sorting through her options.
Hmm, Cupcake cannon? Nah, save it. Party cannon? Nah, he's already seen it. Hmm. Ahh! Here we go.
Pinkie whipped out a high-powered two slotted toaster and strapped it to her right hoof. Brawler started charging forward and Pinkie tossed bread into the slots.
"FLAMING TOAST CANNON!"
Brawler stopped dead and started waving his forelegs.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Pinks this is a wood building!" he shouted.
"Oops," Pinkie adjusted the toaster's heat, "Sorry, forgot. BURNT TOAST CANNON!"
Two black pieces of toast shot out of the toaster and straight for Brawler. He raised his guard and they shattered against his forelegs.
"Gaaah! That bucking stings!"
He started walking forward. Pinkie reloaded and shot again Brawler dodged to the left but before both his back hooves were even on the ground Pinkie fired again. The toast smashed against his chest and he stumbled back.
"Okay then," he mumbled.
Brawler sped to Pinkie's left, when she fired he dodged right then sped that way. He repeated the process several times, occasionally not changing direction after a dodge to throw Pinkie off.
Not good, he's getting pretty close!
One more dodge and he would be right on top of her. She needed to think of something and fast.
Come on, come on.... Got it!
Pinkie fired her toast cannon, Brawler ducked to the left then lunged forward. Pinkie quickly pulled her Party cannon out, jumped on top of it, then fired a shot into Brawler's face.
Unfortunately she had forgotten to reload the presents, so the only thing that came out was confetti. Brawler barely even slowed down.
He jumped up, smashed his hoof into Pinkie's face and she flew off the cannon. Brawler landed on his hooves, Pinkie landed on her back. Brawler took a deep breath.
"No offense Pinks but I think you rely a little too much on weapons," he said.
Pinkie sat up.
"Like this one?"
She pulled out her Cupcake cannon, loaded three cupcakes in it, and rapidly shot them into Brawler's face. While he was wiping it off she pulled out her frying pan.
Wah-cong time!
She leapt forward and smashed the pan down on Brawler's head.
'CONG'
Brawler's head was forced down and he started stumbling back. Right when he was standing up Pinkie hit him again.
'CONG'
Brawler stumbled further back and tripped against the Party cannon. He tried to wipe his eyes off but Pinkie swung at the left side of his face.
'CONG'
Brawler fell down to the right but managed to land on all fours. He snarled and wiped the frosting from his eyes. Pinkie was coming at him again with her frying pan raised. Brawler stood up and got in his stance. Pinkie swung at his left side, Brawler raised his left foreleg over the frying pan then pinned it to his side. Then before Pinkie could let go he slammed his hoof into her stomach, then up into her head.
Pinkie let go of her frying pan and fell to the ground. Brawler stood panting, then he let the frying pan fall to the floor with a 'clang'.
"Oww," he held his head with his right foreleg, "We done Pinks?"
Pinkie sat up, her eyes were spinning.
"Ooo, Brawly! When did you become triplets?" she asked. Brawler laughed, got back on all fours, and trotted over to her. He tapped the side of her head a few times and her eyes corrected themselves.
"Yeah, I think we're done," he said as he helped her up.
"Oh, okay. But that was a lot of fun Brawly!" said Pinkie.
Brawler smiled.
"Sure was Pinks."
Pinkie smiled back at him.
I really, really, really like it when he smiles. He's not scary at all when he does it.
"That was AWESOME!" yelled Scootaloo.
Pinkie turned and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders rush over to Brawler. They started bouncing up and down in front of him, asking excited questions.
"How the hay are ya still standin' after takin' a beatin' like that?" asked Applebloom.
"How did you dodge Rainbow Dash's punch?" asked Scootaloo.
"How did you catch that frying pan so easily?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Brawler started glancing between them and trying to push them away but they were persistent.
"How much did that toast shooter thingamajig hurt?" asked Applebloom.
"Does it hurt your hoof when you punch something?" asked Scootaloo.
"Can you teach me to fight like that?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Brawler froze.
Pinkie's back started itching.
Wah? Danger? But what could be-?
"Get out," growled Brawler.
"Huh?" asked Scootaloo.
"Get out... Get out! GET OUT!!" Brawler shoved the fillies away, "GET THE BUCK OUT OF HERE!"
"Wha- but all I asked was-" Sweetie Belle stopped protesting when Brawler raised his hoof. Applebloom quickly shoved her friends behind her.
"I said GET OUT!" yelled Brawler.
Rainbow Dash sped forward and shoved herself between Brawler and the fillies.
"Brawler calm down," she said shakily, she turned to the kids, "Look, just leave, okay? You're not in trouble but just go, okay?"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at her, then at Brawler, then each other. After a moments hesitation they trotted out of the dojo.
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief then turned on Brawler.
"What the BUCK was that about? They were just asking questions!" she said. Brawler sucked in a few deep breaths, then lowered his hoof.
"That's the bucking problem," he said. He walked over to the wall of the sitting area and started beating his head against it.
'THUMP' "Damnit." 'THUMP' "Damnit." 'THUMP' "Damnit."
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie stared at each other, then at Brawler.
"Um, what's wrong with them asking questions?" asked Pinkie.
"Think about it. How would the average school filly react to those fights?" asked Brawler.
"W-well, um," stammered Rainbow Dash.
"They'd be scared," said Brawler, "They might want to see the fight, but if I approached them afterwards they would scream and piss themselves."
Brawler turned to face them.
"Only one kind of pony would ever even approach me after matches like that. A fighter."