//------------------------------// // Ch. 12 Courting Chaos // Story: Strange Yet Wonderful // by Bionic Slime //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Courting Chaos   The humid temperatures of Froggy bottom bog glazed over everything with a gleaming mist like shine. Insects buzzed, frogs croaked and lizards scurried under the pale yellow green sky. The armored unicorn known as Khan stood in the center of the bog, standing as still as stone. Not an ounce of emotion visible underneath his blood red armor. He appeared to be staring off into nothingness like he was lost in a trance, but that was only to those looking outside. Inside, his mind was racing with memories from times long since passed. Patience, it is a virtue that only the privileged minds of Equestria can possess. I’ve been here for hours; waiting, yet he has still not arrived. I can wait though, I can wait days if need be. He thought about the “good old days” when he walked side by side with Princess Celestia. The Alicorn princess had taught him many wonderful things, and he in turn offered her wisdom and knowledge that she relied on. It felt like a lifetime ago to Khan; a dream of happiness and peace that had been eroded by time and pain. The idea of time itself made him chuckle, the laugh soon faded. Time, it means nothing to the likes of you princess. Oh how I envied that about you…you and your sister. Millennia come and go but you remain, ageless, endless…always able to learn more. I could use every spell and potion in existence and STILL I would never live long enough to obtain all the knowledge this world has to offer. But you could…couldn’t you princess? The murky swamp waters began to ripple; thunderous footsteps were approaching Khan’s position. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The thunderous steps did not worry him; they were in fact the reason he had come to Froggy bottom bog. His thoughts intensified as the monstrous force approaching him stomped closer; Khan could feel his calm nature morphing into sorrow. You could have done more princess; you could have done SO much more. But instead you decided to sit on your precious perch and coddle your kingdom as if it were made of glass. The footsteps got louder as they got closer, tree branches started to snap and fall into the swamp water. Animals scurried away in fear. The demonic howl of the approaching beast crackled like storm clouds. Khan remained still, slowly charging his armor, black and red energies began to glow around the armored tyrant. I tried to tell you but you didn’t listen, and when I took it upon myself to do what you lacked the courage to do…you ABANDONED ME! You left me to die and erased me from your mind and your life; like a bad dream. I did everything for you and your kingdom, but you ignored all my warnings and continued to push your citizens towards the edge of oblivion. How dare you…how dare you turn your back on me and leave me to burn. The shadow of the beast consumed Khan; it lorded over his metallic frame like the lingering cloak of death. The monster’s body blanketed darkness everywhere, no critter or pony could escape the scope of the shadow. Khan opened his eyes, sparking wild with powerful orange colored energy. He stared directly at the monster and sneered. “This is your fault,” he spoke as if he was speaking to Celestia; caring little if this beast understood. “This is ALL YOUR FAULT! Everything I had, everything I did, it was all burned away and now there is nothing left inside me but darkness and suffering,” Khan began to levitate off the ground. “The day is coming princess, the day is coming very soon and I want you to remember it. I want you to remember why you needed me,” the beast roared and lunged at Khan with all its might. “I want you to remember the pain I went through, for all of your eternal life…WHEN I BURN EVERYTHING YOU LOVE TO THE GROUND!” At Sugar cube corner… Pinkie Pie dished out chocolate malt shakes with whipped cream down the counter. One had rainbow sprinkles and a red cherry on top, and the other had chocolate peanut butter cups. The drinks stopped perfectly in front of the two stallions sitting on the stools. The peanut butter cup malt belonged to a sulking red Pegasus with pink eyes and slicked black hair, the rainbow malt had been purchased by a frowning grey Earth pony with short white hair. “Awe come on guys, no pony can be sad while sipping Sugar cube corner’s finest super-duper-dreamy-creamy malt shakes,” Pinkie beamed, sprinkling confetti everywhere. Arrowhead sighed heavily, blowing a few rainbow sprinkles off his shake. He can’t help thinking what a stupid idea it was to order rainbow sprinkles on his malt. The colt was trying to feel better about his problem with Rainbow Dash; not feel worse about it. “Not even all this sugar and sweetness is gonna change my sour mood,” he slurped his drink through a red straw. “I just can’t believe she would do that, just up and hide me, like I’m some bad gift your friend got you and you don’t really want it but you have to be polite so you take it anyway.” He slurped some more of his drink, wiped his mouth with a napkin and shook his head, “And then get rid of it first chance you get.” “At least you got a chance to talk with the mare you’re interested in,” Hopeful replied. “Mine won’t even give me the time of day without coming up with some excuse or shooting me down before I can even talk.” The Pegasus didn’t know what was wrong with him or what he was doing to make Applejack so turned off from him; he used to be so good at talking to girls. “I just wish I knew where her head was at,” he swirled his straw slowly, watching with little care or interest. “Trust me, sometimes you’re better off not knowing what others really think of you”, Arrowhead replied. “Even the prettiest of mares can hide the ugliest of truths.” The pink party pony hated seeing the two colts have such sad faces, even if she didn’t know them that well. Smiling is a wonderful gift that she loves giving just as much as she loves receiving. “Hey now, no need to let those frowns bring you down,” she spritzed an extra layer of whipped cream onto both malts and then sprayed the cream over her face in the shape of a long beard. “Applejack and Rainbow Dash are two of my absolute bestest, most amazingly, wondertastic friends ever! I know them better than they know themselves and I think you guys would totally be just what they need.” Pinkie loudly slurped up her cream beard; giggling and squeaking. “How could you possibly know that?” Arrowhead asked, resting his elbow on the counter. “Because, I know all of the things that makes Rainbow happy and she’s got this super mega happy special smile that she only shows when she’s reeeeeeeeeeeally happy.” She pulled 3 muffins out of nowhere and laid them in front of Arrowhead; one with yellow frosting, one with green frosting and one with white frosting. “The first time was when she met the Wonderbolts and got to spend the day with them,” she chomped the yellow muffin down, “Second was when she met AK Yearling”, then the green muffin, “And the third time was when she first met you”, and down went the white muffin. Arrowhead looked confused, not to mention red in the cheeks, “Are you sure, I mean are you 100% positive you saw her smile like that when she met me?” Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded; bits of frosting dripping from her grinning lips. None of this made any sense to him. If Rainbow really did feel that way when she first met him, then why does she keep acting like she doesn’t want to be seen in public with him? “Maybe I’m just deluding myself about who she really is. I always admired and looked up to her, could be that she just isn’t the girl I was hoping she’d be.” “I always hoped I would be a pineapple, now THERE’S a fruit that knows how to party,” Pinkie placed a pineapple on the counter; decorated with licorice lips, grape eyes and bananas for dreadlocks. “Um…yeah”, the grey colt was too weirded out to say anything else. His teal colored eyes nervously darted left to right. “That’s nice…I think.” “If you ask me, it sounds like Rainbow just has a hard time expressing her emotions about things,” Hopeful said. “My dad always told me that true love is like a volcano: if you really do have that love, that true passionate fire for another pony, then you need to let it explode and melt down every obstacle that’s in your path like lava. Nothing and no pony should keep you from the pony you love, not even yourself.” “But right now, I feel like the only thing that fire is doing is burning me,” the Earth pony countered; pointing to the bandage on his head. “I want to get to know her better, but not if she’s going to shove me into closets or behind walls every time one of her friends comes by while were talking.” “Well, has she tried to make it up to you?” the Pegasus asked. He shook his head and frowned, “I’ve been avoiding her since I hit my head; I just didn’t want to hear any more excuses.” Arrowhead hated resorting to running away from his problems, it’s something he’s always done when things got rough. Remembering all the years he spent running from his problems; nagging at him to take the easy way out once again. Even though he feels he has a legit reason for avoiding Rainbow, between the pain in his head and the aching in his heart; he can’t tell which emotion is stronger: anger or fear. “Hey, you don’t need to make a decision right away,” the pink party pony chimed in. She leaned in and lifted Arrowhead’s chin upwards; her sky blue eyes desperately seeking a smile from him. “Rainbow’s not going anywhere and I’m betting you’re not either, which means if you’re sticking to Ponyville, then Rainbow is going to be sticking pretty close to you!” Pinkie squirted globs of syrup onto two waffles; she voraciously ate both within seconds, right before Arrowhead and Hopeful’s slightly alarmed eyes. “Every pony in Ponyville knows each other, but that didn’t happen overnight silly. It takes time to really get to know ponies that well and you’re still new here, and still new to Rainbow Dash, you both got plenty of time and chances to make each other smile.” Arrowhead hadn’t thought of that. He was so worried about instantly solving his problems that he hadn’t thought about giving it some time to really mull it over. After all, he didn’t HAVE to make a decision about Rainbow this instant, right? “Heh, I guess you’re right,” he smiled softly. The urge to turn and run quickly dissipated, he really did feel better about his crush on the cyan Pegasus. “YAY! Pinkie-solves-every-pony’s-problem-party”, streamers and confetti shot out of her hooves like magic. Arrowhead inched away from his seat and stared blankly at the crazed party pony. “Now as for you,” Hopeful looked up from his malt; his straw sticking out of his mouth. “Applejack is a tough nut to crack, did you know she only cries on the inside?” she pulled out a jelly donut and pulled it apart into two pieces. “But once you get past the sweet, crunchy outside, you’ll find a whole lot of gooey good stuff on the inside,” she stuffed both pieces into Hopeful’s mouth before he could speak. “But she wants nothing to do with me” he said, munching the donuts halves and then swallowing them. “Everything I say and do just pushes her further away from me,” Pinkie Pie nodded and leaned closer. “My brain keeps telling me that I should just give up and move on, but my heart is telling me something else.” “What’s your heart telling you?” the pink Earth pony asked. Hopeful’s lips formed the sweetest smile Pinkie had ever seen on his face, he sighed heavily and placed both hooves on his cheeks. “It’s telling me that every time I hear her sweet voice; my heart melts like butter, I feel tingly all over when she looks at me,” his cheeks blushed brighter and brighter with each passing moment. Pinkie noticed how content and peaceful Hopeful was when he talked about her apple bucking friend, as if all of his troubles and pain disappeared just by thinking about her. “I think she’s the most beautiful pony in existence. She has a natural glow that is so rich, so captivating, like all the forces of nature came together to craft a beauty that no dream of mine ever could.” “Soooooooo, why don’t you tell her already you big goof?” Hopeful came out of his daydream, Pinkie smiled and nudged him with her elbow. “Because she’s totally out of my league AND we have nothing in common. She’s into plowing fields, picking apples and doing all kinds of farm work with her family,” Hopeful said; gloomily. “Everything I have to offer her is the exact opposite of the kind of stuff she looks for in a boyfriend.” “But you don’t know that for sure” she poked his nose with her hoof. “The only way you could know that is if you ask her or if you’re psychic, you’re not psychic are you?” The Earth pony jammed her cheek against Hopeful’s; he was clearly uncomfortable with the party pony invading his personal space. She looked over the red colt’s face, waiting for any kind of sign of psychic powers. “Nope, guess not, too bad too because I was going to ask if you could tell what I was thinking.” Hopeful shook his head, “Sorry but I don’t know what-” “OH MY GOSH! You ARE psychic, I totally was thinking about exploding donut cakes,” Pinkie gasped in shock. “That’s what you were going to say right, right?!?” “Um…sure?” he answered; nervously. “Nailed it,” Pinkie beamed loudly. She picked up Hopeful’s hoof and hoof bumped with him, unphased by the bewildered expression on the colt’s face. Pinkie blinked as she suddenly spotted a familiar blond mane trotting past the window. “What do ya know? There’s Applejack right now,” Hopeful suddenly spat out his straw, “I’ll just call her in to say hi.” “No, no, no, no, no, no, not now, I’m not ready for more rejection,” he rubbed the sides of his head; sweat starting drip down his shaking eyebrows. “I can’t keep doing this to myself; it’s just too much to take.” The Pegasus bolted from his seat and flew right past Pinkie, over the counter, into the kitchen and out the backdoor. He knew it was rude to run through the bakeries backdoor without asking, but the fear of seeing Applejack seeing him looking this sad and pathetic was too terrifying to comprehend. “Sorry about this, there’s another girl I gotta see about something important, like right now!” he called out. Pinkie tilted her head curiously and looked back to Hopeful’s seat; noticing he left a few bits behind. “I’m gonna take off as well,” Arrowhead said; slowly standing up. “My exit’s less dramatic though, thanks for the malt and the advice.” He tossed Pinkie some bits and exited the bakery, she smiled and waved bye to the beefy grey colt. Outside Sugar Cube corner, Applejack noticed a grey colt with white hair trotting by. He smiled and nodded to her, to which she kindly did the same. She was just about to pick up some treats for her Moonstruck shift with Rainbow. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! “Now what in the world is that?” she looked around. Applejack spotted Spike, pounding his head against a wall; over and over again. “Idiot, stupid, blabbermouth, what is wrong with you?” he asked himself. The young dragon had been berating himself for spilling the beans about the dark unicorn to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He stopped banging his head and started to rub his eyes, a bruise was forming on his forehead. “Twilight trusted me and I totally blew it, how can I expect my friends to take me seriously if I keep doing stupid stuff like this?” he sighed and hung his head; tail drooping limply. “I just wish she was back from her trip so I can get my punishment over with.” “Punishment over what Spike?” the orange mare asked. Spike nearly jumped out of his scales, he was too busy wallowing in his own problems to even notice AJ had been standing right next to him. The young dragon was nervous; a feeling he never thought he’d feel around his friends, but AJ is another story. He knew she didn’t approve of his romantic feelings for Rarity, every fantasy and dream he had of the white unicorn earned him nothing but judgmental looks from the apple bucker. “Oh h-h-hey there Applejack,” he said nervously. “Hey there partner, any particular reason you were talkin’ to yerself just now and, you know,” she pointed to the dragon’s forehead, “Givin’ yerself a lump there?” “I don’t really want to talk about it,” the young dragon said. He looked down at his feet, trying to avoid answering the question, but he knew his friend wouldn’t stop asking until she found out the truth. “It’s so weird,” he thought to himself, “The only time some pony notices me is when I have a problem that I know they won’t help me with. Every other time I want to help out, I’m just in the way.” “Come on now, why don’t you tell old AJ what’s buggin’ ya?” she put her hoof around Spike’s shoulder, “Ahm sure we can work this out together.” “The only way you can help is by not telling Rarity or Twilight what I did, I need to tell them myself.” “Yer not makin’ a lick of sense partner, what exactly did ya do?” “I may have, kind of, sort of…told your sister and her friends about Moonstruck.” “You did WHAT?!?!” “I know it was a stupid thing to do, I know that, I just….wasn’t…thinking straight at the time.” “How the hey did this even happen?” “Well they were all curious about why we’ve been so busy at the library lately. I wasn’t going to tell them about it but then Sweetie Bell offered to put in a good word for me with Rarity and-” Applejack frowned and pulled back from Spike, he knew this was going to happen the minute she asked him what was wrong. “Not this again Spike. How many times have Ah told ya that this puppy dog crush of yers was goin’ to cause trouble? Now Ah gotta make sure Apple Bloom doesn’t tell any pony and that Rarity and Rainbow do the same for Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.” “NO, please! I told you that you can’t tell Rarity. I know I screwed up and I want to apologize to her and to Twilight in person,” Spike pleaded. He hated being treated this way. It was bad enough being seen as too young to do anything important, now he has to have his feelings about Rarity judged…again. “And would you please stop calling it a crush? My feelings for Rarity are totally legit; I’ve gone over this a million times in my head and in my heart”, he placed his arms at his sides; huffing. “No sweetie, you just think you’re in love, you don’t know any better,” Applejack tenderly said. “YES. I. DO”, Spike stomped his foot angrily. “Why is it every time I mess up, every pony gets on my case and lectures me, but when you guys make a mistake, everyone’s okay with it and treats it more like a big misunderstanding?” “But this isn’t yer run of the mill goof up Spike. Tellin’ the Crusaders about Moonstruck could put every pony in sorchin’ hot water; this is some seriously dangerous info yer slippin’ out,” she insisted. Spike turned his back to Applejack, his tail twitched from irritation. This was a song he’s heard many times before, and every time some pony tries to talk to him about something he did wrong, he knew it wasn’t the real issue; the Rarity issue was always the true source of conflict. “This is about Rarity more than Moonstruck, isn’t it? You know, I wouldn’t have to ask Sweetie Bell if I got a little support from you guys once in a while,” Spike griped. “Yer darn tootin’ this is about Rarity, we’ve got traditions for a reason Spike,” Applejack said; her voice fraught with frustration. “If you try courtin’ Rarity, it’s just gonna cause a whole heap of trouble for everyone involved. It’s best to just leave it be and-” “Ugh! I can’t take this anymore,” he cut her off; Spike turned around and looked at the orange mare’s shocked face. “I’m going to the train station to wait for my mom to come back, at least when she lectures me she actually listens to what I have to say,” he said sternly. He walked off without saying another word or giving Applejack a second glance, she tried to call him back but he just kept on walking and ignored her. The blond farmer was one of the few ponies in Ponyville who had difficulty understanding or accepting Spike’s feelings for Rarity. She knew she was more vocal about her position than Twilight was, but still, she felt the sooner Spike gave up these feelings; the better. “This is just like that life debt fiasco all over again,” she rubbed her head and adjusted her hat, “He goes about everythin’ the wrong way and won’t listen to a single thing Ah say.” “I know, some ponies just can’t see eye to eye on certain things; can they?” “You said it partner,” she replied to the mysterious voice beside her. Applejack turned to the pony that spoke to her; it was a grey Earth pony with a camera for a head and face, her emerald eyes practically jumped out of their sockets. “AHHHH!” she screamed; dropping to the ground and shuffling backwards. FLASH! The camera headed creature snapped a photo of the orange mare’s horrified face; it popped out of the creature’s “mouth” and landed in front of AJ’s hooves. The strange camera pony suddenly morphed into Discord. He was laughing and rolling around in the air in circles. “Oh sweet Celestia, THAT was absolutely brilliant! I haven’t seen a pony look that scared in centuries,” he landed on the ground and picked up the photo. “Normally I’d say you should have seen the look on your face, but now, I don’t have to!” Applejack frowned bitterly as Discord pointed at the photo. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? Ya’ll scared me half to death”, she shouted; standing back on her hooves. “Only half? Hmm, I must be losing my touch”, Discord said disappointingly. He turned his attention back to the photo and snickered. “Oooooh yes, this one is definitely a keeper, I’m framing it and putting it right up above my bed so I can see it every morning,” the chaos spirit snapped his eagle talon claws and caused the photo to vanish. The orange mare dusted off her hat and started to head towards the library. “Ah’d be lyin’ if Ah said it was fun chattin’ with ya…so Ah won’t and Ah’ll just be on my way”, she said. “Oh come now”, Discord hovered behind Applejack; following every hoof print like a lost puppy. “At least rent a sense of humor, I was only kidding of course. Why not rest your rump and have a little chat with me?” he materialized Applejack onto a brown therapist couch and a black chair for himself. “We never sit and talk; just the two us” the chaos spirit said, magically dressing himself in a green and brown sweater and glasses, holding a pen and notebook. “There’s a reason for that,” she grumbled. Discord raised a disapproving eyebrow towards his patient; he idly tapped his chin hair with the pen before sticking it into his ears and making it vanish. “I know you’re the stubborn Sally of our little social circle, but you can at least try to be a bit more patient with your friends,” Applejack was visibly insulted by that jab. “Or does this pathological sense of stubborn resistance have something to do with your compulsion to watch over a certain tall, dark stranger living in Twilight’s basement?” Discord asked in an all-knowing tone, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Did Spike blab that to you too?” she asked dryly. The furniture and therapist attire suddenly disappeared, Applejack gasped at the sudden fall. Discord stared down at her; glaring yellow daggers at her frowning face. “You know, you should really give Spike a break. All this boring talk about traditions and following rules,” he said using air quotes, “I’m getting just as bummed out about it as Spike is.” Applejack looked at the twisted creature in confusion, since when did he care about Spike enough to defend him? “Ah didn’t realize you two were that close,” she said. “Wellllllllll not close per say, but we actually do have a LOT in common,” Applejack was visibly unconvinced by that statement. Discord gasped, “What? It’s the truth! We both like to have fun; we both like to be involved in our friends business, and were both one of kind guys.” He snapped his claws and was now dressed in a Prom tuxedo suit, holding a bouquet of weeds. “Which, as you know, makes finding suitable dates quite the challenge for charming chaps such as ourselves,” he said. “Now wait a cotton pickin’ minute, since when are you interested in datin?” Applejack asked. “And for that matter, who would you even want to date if ya were? The only ponies in your age range would be Princess Celes-” “OH UM well yes, you see, I j-j-just remembered what I wanted to talk to you about,” Discord said; coughing loudly and nervously. His cheeks were turning red with blushes; Applejack had never seen the spirit of chaos turn red like this; not even a little bit! It’s like almost saying Princess Celestia’s name triggered something. The chaotic trickster quickly composed himself and brushed off that momentary sign of weakness. “Yeah, and what might that be?” Applejack asked. “I wanted to congratulate you on officially becoming the only pony crazier than me”, he magically conjured up a straitjacket and placed it on Applejack. The Earth pony stood there; flabbergasted as Discord shook her hoof vigorously. “Congratulations! You really took the fruit cake this time”, he said proudly. The orange mare stared silently at Discord for a few moments, she didn’t even try to get out of the strait jacket; she just stared at him while he wore that ridiculously weird smile of his. “Ah know this is real hard for ya to do, but Ahm gonna ask ya anyway,” she slowly made her way out of the straitjacket, “Can you please just TRY makin’ sense for once?” “Not too long ago you met an absolutely delightful red Pegasus by the name of Hopeful Romantic, ring any bells?” he nudged Applejack with his elbow, her face quickly turning red. “Thought so, imagine my surprise to learn that a fetching mare, such as yourself, catches the eye of such a thoughtful, devoted and loving stallion; practically throwing himself at you…and you turn him down? Only a pony who is truly crazy would do such a thing” Discord said; disapprovingly. “That is none of yer buckin’ business, and while we’re on the subject, Ah’d like to know how ya’ll found out about this,” Applejack said. “What? Don’t all good friends use transmogrification spells to disguise themselves as house flies and buzz around; eavesdropping over personal conversations?” Discord asked innocently. “OF COURSE NOT” she snapped back. “Oh…you know, sometimes I think you girls just change the rules so I’ll never understand how friendship really works”, he examined his nails casually. “Look, Ah have mah reasons for handlin’ things the way Ah did and Ah don’t really feel like explainin’ em now, so if you’ll excuse me”, she moved past Discord. Of all the creatures in the world, Discord is the absolute last one she’d want to talk about her relationship problems with. She couldn’t help but wonder why everyone thought she needed a man so badly. She’s strong, focused, hardworking and honest, is that what Hopeful is drawn to? The orange mare shook her head and tried to focus on getting to the library. Rarity and Fluttershy’s shift was just about done, Rainbow Dash would be there shortly to help. “Fine, be that way if you must. I just wanted to see if you had an actual reason for stubbornly staying single,” he turned his nose up snootily; crossing his arms over his chest. “Just don’t be surprised when Hopeful starts showering another mare with flowers and chocolate goodies,” Discord said. Those words “another mare” caused the stubborn Earth pony to suddenly stop, her hooves seemed frozen; locked to the ground like metal to magnets. Even though he couldn’t see it, Discord could tell AJ was looking just a tad unsettled by his words, his lips curving into a mischievous smirk. “Another…m-m-m-mare?” she asked uneasily. Slowly she turned around to face Discord; hoping this was just another trick or lie to ruffle her feathers, but as always, the orange mare had no way of knowing for sure. “You d-d-don’t really think he would, d-d-do you?” she asked, sounding more desperate. Discord rolled his eyes, “You think any pony actually LIKES being rejected on a regular basis? You’re hardly the only fish in the sea.” Discord snapped his fingers and materialized a fishing vest, hat and rod in his paws; the lure sank into a small puddle and reeled in a red fish with small wings and slick black hair. “And sooner or later, some pony is going to realize what a great catch he is, maybe some pony already has” Discord netted the red fish and tipped his hat. “N-n-n-n-not that Ah care but, you wouldn’t happen to know who that pony might be?” she asked, anxiously. “Why I believe it was that adorable local mail mare of yours, you know, the one with those striking eyes,” he replied. “D-d-d-d-derpy? Hopeful is pining for DERPY?!?” she shouted. Applejack always thought of herself as a pillar of emotional strength, always able to work hard and avoid distractions, but her mind was racing with all kinds of frightful thoughts right now. She knows Discord is right, it was only a matter of time before Hopeful got fed up and started romancing a girl that would actually romance him back. The farm pony just thought she had a bit more time to figure things out before the sweet colt moved on. Applejack started to pace back and forth; she rubbed her head with her fore hoof and tried to calm herself down. “Come now Applejack, sour apples aren’t very becoming of you,” the draconequus said as he was now dressed in a card dealer outfit; flipping cards along his tail like dominoes. “Besides, I figured you’d be happy to hear this.” “Why would you ever think a thing like that?” Applejack asked. Six cards were suddenly tossed at Applejack’s hooves: two had Earth ponies on them, another pair featured Pegasai and the last two had unicorns. Each card had one half of a pink heart looming high above them, like two halves of a heart shaped rising sun. She looked down at them and sighed sadly; guess she should have expected this. “Derpy and Hopeful are both Pegasai, and since you’re such a star supporter on upholding traditions, I figured nothing would make you happier than to see two ponies who are supposed to be together hit it off.” “But Ah never…Ah mean…that was just”, she fumbled her words nervously. Applejack’s babbling slowly ended in silence. She blinked as something happened to the cards, all but the Pegasai cards had vanished, and now they were sporting pictures of Derpy and Hopeful. Her mind raced with images of the two ponies cuddling and laughing together. Could she really be jealous, jealous of a relationship that never even happened because she turned him away? She felt empty, fractured; like a piece of her had been cleaved away and she was just now discovering the scar. “Ah know what Ah said about traditions, and Ah still strongly believe in them.” “Buuuuuuut?” Discord leaned in, raising an eyebrow. “But it isn’t enough. Ah know how I feel about my traditions, and Ah know how Ah felt whenever Hopeful called me-” she started to choke a little, “Whenever he called me…fair maiden.” Discord couldn’t believe he was seeing a tough pony like Applejack tear up a little, her cheeks growing redder as her voice grew more distraught. “Ah felt this surge of warmth in mah heart every time he called me that. Ah never thought of myself as bein’ especially beautiful, Ahm a hard workin’ Earth pony and proud of it, so Ah never worried too much about mah looks. But every time he was with me, talkin’ to me, kissing mah hoof; Ah felt like Ah was the prettiest mare in all of Equestria.” Applejack wiped her nose and tilted her hat down; hiding shamefully from her outburst. “Well standing around here weeping all day long isn’t going to help”, he snapped off his white tail tip and offered it to AJ as a tissue. She stared at it, momentarily showing signs of disgust at the “tissue” offering, but she was too upset to care and used it anyway. “If you really do have these feeling things for him, even the tiniest one, then I wouldn’t waste a single moment longer.” Discord’s horns formed into arrows, they both pointed in the opposite direction of the library. Applejack took a moment to think about this. She knows all too well that anything Discord says or does is reason to be suspicious, this could be a trick or some magical means of keeping her cut off from her friends. Heck, Discord could have made the whole Derpy thing up just for kicks. “But what if he’s really telling the truth? Ah would always be worried and wonderin’ if Ah missed out on someone amazin’ just cause it’s comin’ from Discord,” she thought to herself. A few minutes passed as AJ finally made up her mind; she left Discord without saying another word and rushed in the direction the horns were pointing. The chaos creature snickered and rubbed his claws together mischievously, “One down, one to go.” He snapped his fingers and turned his entire body into a collection of bubbles; vanishing completely once they popped. Rainbow Dash sped through the sky; slicing through clouds and clearing up the skies without breaking a sweat. Her pink eyes kept a look out for a certain hunky, grey colored Earth pony. Now there’s a word she never thought she’d use to describe someone: hunky. She hated how she left things with Arrowhead; she hated it even more because she still hasn’t been able to find him so she could apologize. Finished with her weather management, Rainbow landed and bought herself a bottle of water. “Ah now THAT hit the spot”, she said after guzzling half of it down, “Didn’t realize how badly I needed a tall drink of water.” The bottle’s contents suddenly turned grey, Discord’s head popped out of the bottle. “Oh you don’t know the half of it sister,” he said; winking to the Pegasus. “GAH!” she screamed and dropped the bottle. The chaotic trickster oozed out of the bottle and wiggled his winding body, adjusting and popping his bones. “Dude, that is so gross! I was drinking out of that. Why can’t you just say hi normally like every pony else?” Discord looked at her with a blank face; as if he didn’t understand the question. “Right, right, master of chaos and all that other junk,” she rolled her eyes and stood back up, “What do you want? I’ve got ponies to find so let’s get this over with.” “Well talk about rude! Is that anyway to treat a friend who was willing to go out of his way to help you find your elusive Earth pony stud?” “Wait, how did-” “That’s not important, what IS important is that we get to the heart of the matter; YOUR heart as matter of fact. And it’s got Arrowhead’s name written all over it.” Rainbow shifted her eyes nervously, that unwanted blush rapidly coloring her cheeks, she hated when ponies could see through her tough side so transparently. “Ah ha, touched a nerve didn’t it?” “Will you keep it DOWN!?!? All I’m trying to do is find him so I can apologize for what I did, I don’t need any of your crazy chaos magic making things worse.” Discord groaned and hovered in midair; completely unconvinced that Rainbow didn’t need his help. “So you say my dear Dash; so you say, but I’ve got the perfect game plan to put you back in Arrowhead’s good graces. Of course, after hearing such distasteful things about the quality of my help, I’m not so sure I want to share it with you,” he spat a raspberry at Rainbow and then vanished. The tongue lingered a bit longer after Discord left before it ultimately disappeared as well. “That’s just fine with me. I can take care of this myself, I’ll show you, I don’t need your help to fix this,” she snapped back; despite the fact Discord was no longer there. “Is there any particular reason your yelling at the air?” a voice from behind asked. The Cyan mare flinched, “I know that voice,” she turned around and found Arrowhead standing right behind her. She’d recognize that husky, sexy voice anywhere. Even when he looked at her with disdain, like he was now; she couldn’t stop admiring those immaculate muscles, his dashing white hair, and a body that just made heart surge like someone just ran 10,000 volts through it. “H-h-h-h-hey Arrowhead, I’ve uh actually been kind of looking all over for you,” she rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah I know, that’s exactly why I was avoiding you,” he pointed to the small bandage still on his head. “Yeeeeeeeah, I’m guessing you’re still pretty mad about that.” “Wouldn’t you?” “Point taken, but that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you.” “I know, you wanted to apologize for hurting me…again,” Rainbow bit her lip and gulped; this was not going how she thought it’d go at all. “I accept your apology, we have a few laughs and then some pony you know is going to come by and you’re gonna freak and try to hide me or lie about who I am because of your pride or because I don’t have wings; does any of this sound painfully familiar to you?” “I’ve been a sucky friend to you, I get that, and I’m really sorry for all the things I’ve said and done. I know it feels like the same thing is happening all over again, but it’s not I swear,” she insisted. “But I don’t know that’s true, I don’t even know who you’re trying to be,” he said. “What if you’re just apologizing because you don’t want to look bad in front of others, what if you’re the kind of pony who lies about who she is or who she hangs out with?” Everything he was saying was true, painful and damaging but true. Rainbow hasn’t given him much reason to think she’s anything more than a two faced, two timing flip flopper. “You don’t understand. When I’m talking to you, I feel like I don’t know what to say or think. It’s like when I met Daring Do: I end up doing the wrong thing every time I try to do the right thing, I mean well but I still end up hurting ponies and causing problems, but I would never intentionally do something so uncool to a pony I-” “Just STOP, okay? Please stop, I can’t keep buying these apologies when I don’t even know who I’m really buying them from,” he rubbed his head; frustrated. “I can’t believe this is happening again.” “Wait, what do you mean again?” “Years ago when I was in school, there was a unicorn named Sketch Pad. Every pony knew him. He was an incredible artist, he could turn anything into a canvas: desks, chalkboards, sidewalks, napkins; that kid created the most beautiful works of art with using nothing but everyday objects and a backpack full of markers and paint brushes,” Arrowhead said. Rainbow sat down and listened closely. “He got in trouble lots of times for painting on things he wasn’t allowed to paint on. Some ponies bullied him because they saw his talent as too weird or freaky to understand, but Sketch didn’t care about any of that noise; he just kept on drawing and got better as he got older. I always admired his passion and creativity, he wasn’t afraid of being who he was because he found a calling that he loved, and he would have become one of the greatest artists Equestria has ever seen.” “Would have? Oh my gosh! He didn’t die did he?” Rainbow frantically asked. He sighed and shook his head, “No…but I think the most beautiful part of him did. You see, the one thing Sketch was afraid of more than anything else in the world was…being alone. Sketch always wanted a special some pony to share his imagination and heart with, but no pony really understood him or took the time to understand him. Eventually all that loneliness wears you down; like a knife being worn down to a dull nub. Not too long after I went to college, I actually ran into Sketch, he was with a unicorn named Jade Locket. Sketch didn’t get a chance to say much other than the fact he and Jade were dating, mostly because she acted like she owned his ass and told him to ‘shut up’ constantly. He was quiet, hair was hanging over his face and he never smiled once, he looked like Hell and definitely not like the guy I remembered. It was like all the spark and life had been drained out of him. Jade demanded that Sketch take her somewhere nice immediately and she stormed off. But before Sketch left, I grabbed him by the hoof and I asked him: Why are you with this awful pony, and what happened to you? I’ll never forget what he told me next.” “What did he say?” “He said: sorry, but no girl was ever going to touch me by being myself. Sketch gave up everything that made him who he was just so he didn’t have to be alone. Jade didn’t accept him so she forced him to change; she turned his fear of being alone into a whip that she could use on him anytime she wanted. Sketch felt embarrassed about being himself because of Jade, so much so, that he would rather live miserably ever after with her then to be left alone again.” Rainbow held her mouth in horror. That was one of the saddest things she’s ever heard. “Oh man Arrowhead, that’s terrible, I-” “I’m NOT finished Dash” he cut her off firmly, “That was the day I earned my cutie mark and learned my special talent was always being true to myself and encouraging others to do the same. I swore that I would never abandon my true identity for anyone under any circumstances, there’s nothing worse than seeing some pony you care about kick you to the curb because you don’t fit their ideal image. I asked you what was more important: being yourself or being Rainbow Dash. Now either you tell me your answer, right here right now, or I walk away.” But she didn’t have an answer! Her brain felt like scrambled eggs; everything was melting and mixed up and she didn’t have the time to sort it all out. Rainbow cares deeply what Arrowhead thinks of her, but if she doesn’t do something fast, he’s going to think she’s just as horrible as Jade Locket. “I’m not uh…wait no…I haven’t really…I mean…what I really care about is…no wait; that’s now how I wanted-” “I can’t take this anymore!” Arrowhead stormed off and left Rainbow; stunned and speechless. The daring speedster had faced mystical villains, kicked dragons in the face and pulled off the sonic rainboom twice successfully, but she just can’t stand the thought of Arrowhead hating her. “Being 20% cooler than every pony is great and all, but it’s not worth it…not if it hurts one of the most awesome colts I’ve ever met,” she thought to herself. The cyan mare didn’t know what to do next. She could easily catch up to Arrowhead and talk to him, but what would be the point? He’s too angry and tired of being hurt to listen. Anything Rainbow says will be seen as nothing more than a phony apology that she never intends to keep. She needs a game plan, a strategy; something big and grand that will prove to Arrowhead how serious she feels about him. “I don’t want to say I told you so but…awe who am I kidding, I LOVE to say I told you so”, a voice said from behind. Rainbow groaned at the familiar sound of Discord laughing, she turned around and confronted the trickster as he was eating an ice cream cone upside down. “Okay fine, let’s hear this so-called perfect game plan of yours.” “Are you absolutely, positively, 100%, unquestionably sure you want to hear it? It’s a bit on the grandiose scale and you’re probably-” “Just hurry up and tell me what I have to do!” He smirked and snapped his fingers; materializing a parchment scroll into his hands, he then removed his tooth and used it as a quill. “First, you’ll need your DJ pony friend to bring a few things; I’m writing down the specifics as we speak. Secondly, assuming you don’t already have one of these from your school days, you’re going to need to a particular outfit that I know you’ll look absolutely adorable in,” he giggled thinking about her in the outfit. “Whoa, whoa, hold up there! Music, outfits, adorable, what exactly am I going to be doing here?” Discord leaned in and whispered his plan to Rainbow. She nodded along; listening to everything he said, and then something he said caused her eyes to bulge and cheeks to turn bright pink. “You want me to do WHAT!?!” she gasped, backing away from the chaotic prankster. “Keep it down! You want him to be surprised, don’t you?” “I c-c-c-can’t do t-t-t-hat, I don’t do things like that; like ever, ever, ever, EVER!” “Well if you’d rather just let him slip through your hooves…” “Of course I don’t want that to happen. But this-this is just like way, way too much, I’ll be the laughing stock of Ponyville if I do this! Every pony knows I would never do anything like this.” “That’s exactly why it’s going to work. You are being presented with a unique opportunity to tell him just how important he is to you, presentation is the key! Your mission; should you choose to accept it, will successfully prove that you are willing to risk damaging your reputation in the pursuit of something, or in this case, some pony greater and more rewarding.” The Pegasus was still unsure about all of this. Discord was the last person she’d voluntarily put her trust in, and all of the stuff he’s suggesting is way out of her comfort zone. However, maybe that was the whole idea behind the stunt: doing something she would never do because she feared ruining her awesome streak. “This is what he was trying to tell me before,” she looked where she saw Arrowhead last; staring longingly, “Is being cool more important than being with him?” She turned to Discord and nodded, her face was stern and serious, “All right, I’ll do it.” “Excellent!” Discord handed the list to Rainbow and watched gleefully as she flew off to get started. “Now that both of his jailers are off on a wild boyfriend chase, I think it’s time Moonstruck and I get better…acquainted,” he said with a villainous chuckle. He snapped his fingers and disappeared completely. AJ ran across Ponyville; her legs were starting to ache but she refused to slow down. Her emerald eyes desperately searching for any signs of the red and grey Pegasai. For all she knew, this could be a giant waste of time chasing one of Discord’s red herrings, but she had to know for sure. The orange mare finally spotted Hopeful Romantic and Derpy Hooves. The ponies were standing next to each other; staring into each other’s eyes. Derpy reached into her mail bag and pulled something out to give to Hopeful, from what Applejack could see, it was a rose red envelope with a glittery heart embroidered on it. “Jumpin’ June bugs, is that a love letter for Hopeful? Oh mah stars, Ah think it is! How long have they been together, are they serious, is Hopeful just goin’ out with her because of what Ah did, have they even kissed yet, what am Ah gonna do?!?” She shook her head to stop all the frantic questions from popping up. AJ wasn’t getting anywhere standing around and stressing herself to death, if she wants to know the truth about this whole Hopeful/Derpy situation, then she better act right now! “Thank you for doing this Derpy, you don’t know how much this means to me,” Hopeful said. “WAAAAAAAAIT,” Applejack screamed as she ran over to stop the ‘romantic’ gesture. “Applejack?” the Pegsai said in unison, they turned to the screaming mare as she rushed towards them. Applejack panted heavily, all the running around had left her thoroughly drained and out of breath. Hopeful offered to help but AJ raised her hoof and motioned for him to step back. “Ahm all right, Ah just need a moment to catch mah breath,” she calmed herself down and wiped her brow. “Applejack, why were you running and screaming like that?” Derpy asked, scratching her blond hair. “Yeah, is there a family emergency at Sweet Apple acres you need help with?” Hopeful said. “Naw, it’s nothin’ like that, Ah just had to get to you guys before it was too late,” her answer caused the Pegasai’s faces to twist in confusion. “Hopeful, there’s somethin’ Ah have to tell ya and Ah don’t care how bad it sounds or even if Ahm too late.” The red Pegasus didn’t understand what AJ was talking about. The last time they spoke she said she didn’t have time to even walk to the library with him; now she’s running herself ragged just so she could talk to him? Whatever was going on, the look on her freckled face indicated it was extremely important to her. Hopeful looked to AJ and nodded, “All right, you got my attention.” She opened her mouth to speak but was quickly cut off, “Oh wait, hold that thought for just a sec.” Hopeful flew over to a stand and bought a bottle of water; he returned and quickly handed it to Applejack. She thanked him kindly and gulped the bottle’s contents down. “Shucks partner, you really do have a heart of gold don’t ya?” the colt blushed furiously at the compliment. “So what’s this big important thing that you needed to tell me?” “Actually, Ah should have told you this a while ago, but Ah was bein’ more yellow bellied than a bumblebee in a honey bath. And if ya still want to date Derpy after Ah’ve got this off mah chest, Ah completely understand and respect yer decision.” “Date Miss Hooves? Wait a minute…Ooooooooh, you saw us-” “Please sugar cube, this is tearin’ me up inside and Ah can’t take it anymore. Just let me talk and Ah promise it’ll all make sense.” “Well um, all right…if you insist.” The orange mare felt so relieved that Hopeful was willing to listen. Derpy was about to leave as it looked like these two were having a ‘special moment’, but Applejack said it was important that she hear this too and insisted that she stayed. The cross eyed mare shrugged and decided to stick around. “There was a colt named Trenderhoof that came to Ponyville a few months back, he writes for magazines and was here to write a story about mah friend Rarity’s design for the Ponyville day’s festival. She had a massive crush on him to boot. Trouble is; he didn’t give two bits about her and spent most of his time droolin’ over me. He was hoverin’ over me so much he was practically mah shadow. He even started likin’ farm work and apple buckin’ just because those were things that Ah did. Ah tried to tell him and mah friend that Ah wasn’t interested, but it didn’t work and a rift started growin’ between me and Rarity. Everythin’ ended well enough, but ever since then, Ah have been real suspicious about guys that show interest in me.” “W-w-wait, I came off as suspicious to you?” “No, not you personally, but when you were bein’ all friendly and flirty with me; it reminded me a lot of Trenderhoof. Ah was worried you were just like him: just crushin’ on me because of how Ah looked and not interested in gettin’ to know the real me. Ah know now that it was wrong of me to assume you were like him. You were treated unfairly because Ah made assumptions bout you and Ahm truly sorry for that.” The orange mare removed her hat, placed it over her chest and bowed her head in apology. Derpy’s eyes started to water as she sniffled loudly, she picked up her mail bag and blew her nose into it with a loud honk. Hopeful and AJ both looked at each other awkwardly after seeing that. “Thanks for telling me all that, I can tell that it took a lot of heart to say that fair maiden,” AJ’s heart melted upon hearing her nickname again, “Your apology is most definitely appreciated AND accepted.” “Oh thank you, thank you, THANK YOU,” she rushed in and hugged Hopeful tightly. He cringed as he felt his bones crunch under her hooves, the red fur on his face started to turn blue. “Oops, sorry about that partner,” she said as she quickly released him. “Ahm just glad you took the time to listen to me. Now Ah don’t know for sure if she asked ya yet, but if you haven’t already made plans with Derpy, Ah’d be honored to have dinner with ya Hopeful.” Hopeful’s eyes exploded like a pair of pink supernovas. His face made the most adorable looking smile; he looked like a foal looking at a mountain of presents on Hearth’s Warming Day. The colt launched himself into the sky and shouted from the top of his lungs, “YEEEEEEEEESSSS-wait, plans with Derpy?” Hopeful came down from his initial buzz and looked at AJ curiously, Derpy did the same. “What do you mean plans with Derpy?” “Yeah and what did you think I was going to ask Hopeful?” the ditzy Pegasus asked. “Aren’t ya’ll talkin’ bout goin’ out on a date?” the Earth pony pointed at the red letter in Derpy’s hoof. “And isn’t that a love letter holdin’ all yer feelings that you wanted to confess to Hopeful?” The Pegsai looked at each other before simultaneously bursting with laughter. Needless to say, Applejack didn’t have a clue what was going on or what was so funny. “Applejack, this isn’t a love letter, this is a letter Hopeful wanted me to deliver to his family. He ran over here to stop me because he said he had to change something on it before I mailed it out,” Derpy explained. Applejack was starting to feel awfully foolish. “But-but then what’s with the romantic red coloring and the big honkin’ heart on it?” Hopeful giggled, “That’s the kind of stationary everyone in my family uses. I’m from the Heart family; all my letters and packages are red with big hearts on them.” The colt turned to Derpy and waved his hoof, “That reminds me, forget I said anything Miss Hooves and just deliver the letter as is.” “You sure?” she asked, slowly stuffing the letter back into her mailbag. “Absolutely, I thought I made a mistake while writing the letter but it turns out I had everything right the first time.” The red Pegasus laughed and rubbed the back of his head, “Sorry to have wasted your time Miss Hooves.” “Awe, don’t sweat it Mr. Rom-” she started to say. “Please, call me Hopeful” he insisted. The grey mare giggled, “Okay…Hopeful, and it was no trouble at all. I make goofs like that all the time.” Applejack felt like the biggest fool in all of Equestria, her freckled cheeks turned beat red with embarrassment. All of this running around and panicking over a great, big, fat misunderstanding. A frown formed as she thought of the twisted trickster that fed her this load of manure. “Ah can’t believe Ah let that lyin’ snake trick me into thinkin’ you two were courtin,” the orange mare said through gritted teeth. Derpy couldn’t help but laugh at AJ’s words. “Now that was a real big goof Miss Applejack. Hopeful is a great stallion and all, but truth be told, there’s only one pony I’ve got eyes for,” she turned her crossed eyes towards a farm stand where a brown Earth pony stood. He had dark brown hair, a white collar with a green tie and a cutie mark resembling an hour glass. “See now, this is what I love about life; it can be so wonderfully baffling to me!” Dr. Whooves said to the vegetable vendor. The time pony was running over an eggplant with a slender, glowing, electronic device. “You say it’s an eggplant, but it looks like neither. It’s purple though, I LOVE PURPLE. How many folks just stop and say: hey, that thing is so purple? It’s like the Queen’s cloak stretched out like a big, floppy, wibbly-wobbly sword toy. Ever meet the queen? No wait; you guys have princesses not queens, why is that? No, wait, better question: Do you have any of those wobbly toy swords?!? Fascinating little toys, makes any army no matter how vicious they are; look unimpeachably adorable!” “Are you going to buy the eggplant or what?” the vendor griped. Doctor Whooves continued to ponder over the purple vegetable, much to the vendor’s extreme irritation. The mail mare was giggling loudly and biting the bottom of her lip; staring endlessly at the peculiar speaking stallion. Hopeful and AJ noticed Derpy’s cheeks were blushing immeasurably bright. Applejack understood now why the idea of Derpy dating Hopeful was so farfetched. “Isn’t he just the dreamiest pony ever? He means more to me than all the muffins in the world,” Derpy sighed happily. “I just wish he’d look at me the same way he looks at that eggplant.” “Well…there’s a sentence I thought I’d never hear”, Hopeful said. The bubbly Pegasus was so fixated on her Doctor watching, she didn’t watch out for the house in front of her as she flew back onto her route. WHAM! Hopeful and AJ cringed as Derpy planted face first into the house. She dropped to the ground and wobbled, little blue phone boxes hovered above her spinning eyes. “Oops, my bad, sorry about that” she said; calling up to the pony whose house she hit. “Heh…I guess I just got a little distracted,” Derpy turned to her friends and waved. “It was good seeing you guys, have fun on your date!” She flew off but kept her gaze on the Doctor, not surprisingly she crashed a few more times as a result. “Sooooooo” Hopeful trailed off as he turned back to the southern mare, “Sorry about all that confusion between me and Derpy. I want you to know it means a lot to me what you said and I promise I’ll be a total gentlecolt on our date, how does tomorrow night sound?” “Sounds just dandy sugar cube, 7:30 work?” “Perfect! Until tomorrow night; fair maiden.” The colt bowed and flexed his wings. He gently picked up AJ’s hoof and planted a delicate kiss on it; she blushed at the sweet gesture. Hopeful took the skies and started heading home. Applejack waved goodbye until the red colt was out of sight, her expression instantly turned sour as she growled with frustration. “Wait until Ah get mah hooves on that no-good Discord. Ah swear, Ah don’t know how Fluttershy puts up with that-that HORNSWAGGLER!” Rainbow spotted Arrowhead; he was at Vinyl’s shop trying to look inside through the windows. There was a sign on the door that read “Sorry, Temporarily closed, will be rocking on back in 20 minutes.” This wasn’t a stroke of luck in Rainbow’s favor, she knew Vinyl closed up shop so she could help out; she was waiting behind her music shop for Rainbow to give her the signal to start. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, I can’t believe I’m doing this, I REALLY can’t believe I’m doing this” she thought to herself. Everything inside her brain told her this was a ridiculous idea; destined to fail and leave her glorious reputation in shambles. But as absurd as this idea sounded, a large part of her really wanted it to work. Even if she gets him to laugh or smile and he never wants to see her again, it’ll totally be worth it. She never thought looking at another pony could stir such wild feelings in her; maybe this is what ponies meant when they talk about feeling all “warm and fuzzy” inside. Is this what Derpy feels when she looks at the Doctor? She couldn’t help but think she needed a checkup from her own doctor for even considering Discord’s plan. The Cyan speedster never saw herself in predicaments like this. Kicking dragons in the face? Sure, totally her thing, but this was dangerous on a whole new level. She was almost scared how powerful these feelings were; like a virus that kept on spreading and growing stronger inside of her.  Well, if this is how love actually feels, she hopes she stays sick forever. “Oh pony feathers, he’s leaving! I gotta do it now”, she mentally screamed. Arrowhead blinked as he heard Rainbow calling out to him, he couldn’t see where she was hiding but he could definitely hear her. “Where are you Rainbow? I’m seriously not in the mood for this so just come out and say whatever it is you want to say so we can get this over with,” he said bitterly. The colt looked around his immediate area but still saw no sign of her rainbow mane or cerulean wings. “All right I’m out of here,” he started to rev up his speed. “WAIT, just wait, please. This isn’t another excuse or weak apology, I swear. You don’t have to do anything else other than watch…that’s all I ask,” Rainbow said; hidden somewhere in the shadows. “Watch what?” the Earth pony asked. Slowly Rainbow stepped into view. Arrowhead couldn’t believe his eyes, he felt like his jaw was going to drop right off his mouth. Rainbow Dash was wearing a cheerleader outfit! The top was cream yellow, the skirt was dark purple layered with various neon hues of colors and the pom poms were rainbow colored. The collar of the top had 3 fluffy pom-pom like balls around it, one was white, one was crystal blue and the other was grey: the exact same colors as Arrowhead. Completing the outfit was 2 faded neon green ribbons in Rainbow’s hair by her ears. “What in the-” “Don’t say it okay, I already know” she interrupted. The Pegasus felt like a total clown. Her cheeks couldn’t have gotten any redder; she tried to hide behind her pom poms. “T-t-t-this is for you, okay? This all f-f-for you…I uh…hope you like it.” Rainbow whistled loudly, Vinyl suddenly appeared with her DJ gear and a record in her hooves. Arrowhead looked at the two mares in confusion. He briefly thought of running before this stunt began, but when he saw the desperation and sweetness in Rainbow’s pleading eyes, he decided to stay and humor her for a little bit. “Okay, crank it Vinyl!” The DJ unicorn smirked and cranked the volume to its max capacity; she inserted the record and eagerly hit the play button. Rainbow’s hips began bouncing along to the music; she moved her pom poms from side to side and started dancing to the groove of the music. Arrowhead felt indifferent about this, he appeared to be forcing himself not to enjoy this, but his eyes were irresistibly glued to Rainbow’s shaking hips. When I had you to myself, I didn't want you around Those pretty faces always made you stand out in a crowd But someone picked you from the bunch, one glance was all it took Now it's much too late for me to take a second look. Rainbow approached Arrowhead. She hovered in the air, shaking her pom poms and looking at him with shimmering pink eyes. Oh baby, give me one more chance (To show you that I love you) Won't you please let me back in your heart Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby) But now since I see you in his arms (I want you back) Yes I do now (I want you back) Ooh ooh baby (I want you back) Yeah yeah yeah yeah (I want you back) Na na na na Arrowhead tried to move back and avoid eye contact, but the singing mare followed his gaze and refused to let him leave. Her persistence forced the colt to keep on watching her, listening to her, noticing her in all her wild, enchanting glory. He could feel his heart thumping faster and louder. Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right Every street you walk on, I leave tear stains on the ground Following the girl I didn't even want around Let me tell ya now Oh baby, all I need is one more chance (To show you that I love you) Won't you please let me back in your heart Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go (Let you go, baby) But now since I see you in his arms The Pegasus flew into the sky and wrote out Arrowhead’s name in the clouds. More and more ponies were noticing Rainbow’s stunt, they started to gather around Arrowhead and Vinyl. Rainbow slowly descended down to the grey colt as she shook her skirted rump like a Hula dancer. Arrowhead gulped loudly as the warmth in his cheeks and heart grew exponentially. All I want... All I need... All I want! All I need! Oh, just one more chance To show you that I love you Baby baby baby baby baby baby! (I want you back) Forget what happened then (I want you back) And let me live again! Oh baby, I was blind to let you go But now since I see you in his arms (I want you back) Spare me of this cause (I want you back) Give me back what I lost! Oh baby, I need one more chance, hah I tell you that I love you Baby, oh! Baby, oh! Baby, oh! I want you back! Vinyl killed the sound and flashed a smile to Rainbow. The Cyan Pegasus landed and set her pom poms on the ground, she looked around uneasily at all the ponies staring at her. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop from a mile away. “This is totally what I was worried about happening! Now every pony is going to think I’m the biggest joke in Equestria” she thought to herself. But she had to remember that wasn’t what mattered, what mattered was whether or not he thought she was a colossal joke. This was all about him and how he saw her. “Oh please don’t hate me for this”, she bit her lip nervously and waited for him to say something; anything. The Earth pony’s steps rustled loudly in Rainbow’s ears. He walked up to her, leaned in close and looked her right in the eyes. Her heart raced like crazy as sweat started to build up on her brow. “Rainbow Dash…you have pulled off some of the most unbelievably shocking stunts imaginable. I don’t know what I’m supposed to think or how I’m supposed to feel, but there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty.” Rainbow closed her eyes and braced herself for impact; she knew this was a terrible idea! “That was the most bucking awesome thing I have ever seen!” Rainbow’s eyes bulged; did he just say he LIKED her dance? “You were amazing, you were on fire, I can’t believe you just did all of that in that outfit…all for me,” he said; smiling widely. “R-r-r-really, you really-actually-no-fooling-seriously liked it?” she asked, incredulously. “Liked it? I LOVED IT” he shouted. The other ponies burst into cheer, a rowdy round of hooves clapping together surrounded the awestruck Pegasus. Rainbow sighed with relief and felt loads better about her public image staying intact. “I’m totally stoked to hear you say that, and I was also wondering,” she looked down and sheepishly rubbed her hooves into the ground. Even after all that public dancing, Rainbow still got butterflies when she spoke to the handsome colt. “If that offer for dinner was still…available?” “You bet your fine ass it is!” he exclaimed. The crowd of ponies chuckled at Arrowhead’s enthusiasm; several of them elbowed each other and whistled. “HEY, dude seriously,” she protested; her cheeks blushing furiously. “Save that kind of stuff for the date okay? I’m still new to all this…mushy…flirting…stuff.” “No can do true blue. I told you before, you’re hot and you’re definitely going to hear about it”, he said; flashing his most seductive smile to her. “Welllllll…if you insist” she said with a growing smirk. Guess she was getting used to it faster than she thought. “So, I’ve been hearing really good things about this outdoor restaurant called Endless Illusion. How about we grab some chow there, say tomorrow; 7ish?” Arrowhead asked. “Oh, I’ve actually been wanting to eat there! I hear they got good grub,” she flapped her wings with excitement. “Perfect, I’ll meet you there then. Now I’ve got some shopping to do at your friend’s store,” he motioned to Vinyl as she was reopening her shop. “Should go a lot more smoothly since she’s not too busy helping you pull any more crazy stunts,” he said with a laugh. “Yeah and I’ve got to go home and get out of this ridiculous get up,” she laughed along with him. “Speaking of the outfit, I don’t suppose you could be convinced to wear that on our date, could you?” he flirted, raising his eyebrows. “Not happening,” she said defiantly as she turned her back to him, “Perv.” “Eh was worth a shot. Just do me a favor then,” he leaned towards her ear and whispered seductively. “Don’t mothball that suit you saucy little minx you.” “Um…okay” she squeaked nervously, those cheeks flared up like crazy. Damn is she adorable when she’s nervous. The pony crowd dispersed, Arrowhead waved bye to Rainbow and headed towards Vinyl’s shop. The cyan mare returned the wave and flew on home to change out of the cheerleader outfit. She originally was going to return it to Pinkie, but now she’s thinking she might want to hang onto it for a while longer. She giggled to herself at this sudden wave of excitement and warmth inside of her. Rainbow had never felt a rush quite like that before, all that awkward dancing and singing paid off big time! Now she’s cleared the air with Arrowhead, salvaged her reputation and has a date lined up…with some new ideas for fun after dinner, if it came up of course. “I can’t believe that actually worked! I thought Discord was nuts when he suggested this, well, I still think he’s nuts but he was right about this at least,” she smiled cheerfully as she reached her front door. She tossed the outfit into her closet and moved to her bookshelf to read “Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny” for the hundredth time. “Hey wait a minute,” she suddenly stopped before she could reach the book, “Where is Discord? I thought for sure he’d want to see me make a fool of myself. Also, I could have sworn I forgot to do something…important.” The basement door suddenly unlocked and opened. Moonstruck curiously poked his head out the door; he looked around and was confused to find no pony was there. No Rainbow Dash, no Applejack, no Spike…no one. His purple hooves cautiously moved forward. Moonstruck knew something was wrong, he knew he shouldn’t be out of the basement per Twilight’s rules, but he couldn’t deny how good it felt to be out of that dark basement. “Twilight, Spike, is any pony here?” he asked nervously. Discord suddenly materialized into the room. He was wearing a red smoking jacket, carrying a martini glass and had a tiny black moustache on his face. Moonstruck cried out and jumped back from the creature’s sudden appearance. “Greetings mister-Moonstruck I believe it is? I’m Discord, the master of chaos and I think it’s time you and I had a Nice. Little. Talk,” he chuckled sinisterly. To be continued…