> Polar opposites > by A Fox in Equestria > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Rainbow Dash: Ch. 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbows day had been nice, she had done some new tricks, played some hoof-ball, read a Daring-Do comic while laying on a cloud, and then she fell asleep in said cloud. Her mind drifted off thinking about nothing in particular. She lay there with a feeling of peace spreading through her body. It was an unshakable feeling of calmness that had enveloped her, spreading from head to hoof. She wished she could just lay there forever... Smoke Rainbows eyes snapped open revealing a dark, dreary, and familiar cave. She wondered how a cloud that was floating over Ponyville moments ago had dropped her off here. But while she was sitting in the cave contemplating what had happened, a gust of black wind shoved her face right into a rock. It surprisingly didn't hurt. So she rubbed her head and got into a standing position just as another gust of the putrid black wind threatened to topple her once more. She regained her balance and turned to face the source. "D...D...Dra..." she mumbled, as a enormous clawed hand reached at the trembling pegasus. "DRAGON!" Rainbow squealed as the claws surrounded her petrified frame The dragon picked her up and looked at her with his big yellow eyes. He wore an evil grin as he walked to the exit of the cave. A gust of air hit her as her eyes adjusted to the surprisingly low light outside of the cave. What she saw terrified her. As far as she could see, the sky was covered with a thick black cloud-cover. Ponyville was in flames and the cries could be heard from the peak of the mountain. The sun could not be seen, and all the trees in sight were bare and dry. Every cloud on the horizon looked dark and dangerous. She was in pony-hell The dragon let out a evil laugh, "You let them all down!" he told her through chuckles "They thought you could save them!" "No..." Rainbow whimpered "I don't understand..." "You won't need to understand soon..." The dragon said with a twisted smile "I'm almost ready for dinner!" "NO!" Rainbow screamed in terror. Rainbow Dash started hitting the hand and thrashing around. The dragon saw her struggling and started to laugh. But the dragons guffaw was cut off by a large explosion. It rippled through the air sending the dragon off balance. Rainbow careened her neck to locate the source of the noise, only to see a large canary and light pink circle flying through the sky. The blast blew away all of the smoke and fire, and gave a clear view of a something speeding straight towards them. Less than a second later, the dragon was on its back. Knocked over by the unidentified flying object. He got up fast, still clutching Rainbows entire body. His head swung to and fro searching for his assailant. He growled and tightened his grip on Rainbow. "What are you? Show yourself!" the dragon hollered His demand was met when the blur landed on the dragons snout with great force. Rainbow Dash instantly recognized the small figure. She had many cuts and scrapes covering her yellow coat. Her usually long lengthy mane was cut much shorter than normal and there was soot tainting the light pink hair. And although Rainbow couldn't see them from this angle she knew right under that dirty pink mane was a pair of searing blue eyes that could make a manticore turn tail and run. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow yelled The stone faced pegasus walked up the dragons snout and stared him in the eyes. "You will let her go." Fluttershy said in a calm yet commanding tone "You are already in a lot of trouble for covering Equestria in smoke, but if you have harmed a single hair on that mares body..." she continued "I. Will. End. You." The dragon was quick to respond. He dropped Rainbow, who flew to hide behind Fluttershy. The dragon backed away from them and high-tailed it out of sight. "Fluttershy thank y-" Rainbow started, but Fluttershy hushed her. Fluttershy grabbed Rainbow by her mane and slowly pulled their heads together until... Rainbow Dash woke up. She felt herself breathing heavily and sweating a little. With the heat of Fluttershys hooves still lingering on her mane she jerked up. "What was that?" she asked the wall. Thankfully, the wall did not respond. "Did I just dream about..." she couldn't finish her second question for the wall She took a moment to recap the dream. One: It was more of a nightmare Two: It was about the dragon incident Three: Fluttershy saved ME in the dream Four: Fluttershy was going to... Rainbow sat there for about ten minutes in complete silence. Her head was looking down at the sweat covered blankets. She either didn't know how to finish number four, or she was too scared. She decided to think about it later. Rainbow Dash, still in a bit of a trance, Got out of bed to start the day. She trotted down the stairs of her cloud house into the kitchen. She wanted to know just what that dream was trying to tell her. But at the moment, she had to go to work. She grabbed some dandelions and headed out the window. "Why would I dream about that?" she said between chews "The dragon I get..." Rainbow Dash had long since realized she was a little scared of dragons. "But what Fluttershy did..." Fluttershy didn't do anything... a voice in her mind told her You are the one who had the dream... This was true, but there had to be a reasonable explanation for what happened. "Well I am really really grateful Fluttershy saved us from that dragon." she told herself Maybe... "Yeah... Yeah that's totally it! 'Cuz that was just more scary than when it happened it real life," she exclaimed "I was just dreaming about Fluttershy saving me again but it was 20% cooler!" That still doesn't explain some things... She shoved the voice away, she had it all figured out. Besides, she was at town center now, it was time to get to work. > Fluttershy: Ch. 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- She had a crush on Pinkie Pie, and she accepted that. It wasn't just 'One day Fluttershy woke up with a feeling of clarity'. It had been building up for a while. At first it was barely noticeable -even to Fluttershy- she started not talking around pinkie as much, her mind went blank and her through tightened when the bubbly mare approached her. But then again, that always happened when someone was really loud around her. As the feeling grew Fluttershy regained her ability to speak to the eccentric mare, only to find that her words came out in a jumbled mess She would look into those widened blue eyes and words would just tumble out of her. An encounter with Pinkie would go something like this: "Oh! Hiya Fluttershy!" Pinkie would say Fluttrshy's eyes would widen and she would lose all train of thought. "U-um, h-h-hey Pinkie..." Fluttershy would get out "What are you getting?" Pinkie would ask Fluttershy's mind would reel. How does she know I am here to get stuff? Has she been watching me? Why does she wan't to know? Wait, were in Ponyville market. That's a perfectly reasonable question then. Pinkie pie is looking at you funny. You should pay attention. "ershy... Equestria to Fluttershy..." Pinkie said while examining the frozen pegasus "IwasjustgettingsomefoodfortheanimalsbecuasetheyneedfoodandItakecareofthemsoIgottofeedthemwhydoyouwanttoknow" Fluttershy rambled That combined with the fact she whispered it, no-one -not even Pinkie Pie, who has understood Dash's ramblings- could have had any idea what she just said.. "Wow Fluttershy! I had no Idea you could talk so fast!" Pinkie praised Fluttershy, not trusting her mouth, hid in her mane. "Well I gotta deliver these cupcakes!" Pinkie went on "Bye!" "bye..." she whispered back. As this feeling grew more in depth she started doing things she never thought she would do to a mare, let alone one of her best friends. When Pinkie would bounce past her she would glance at the pink ponies flank and admire how curvy it was. Then she would find herself staring and find a way out of the situation. She started wondering how Pinkies mane smelled, or what her coat would look like if it was wet, or what her mouth tasted like. As the realization hit her she opted to avoid Pinkie for a while and find a solution to to her problem. But was it really a problem? Ponyville was kind to fillyfoolers, and Fluttershy had been feeling lonely as of late. Her friends would probably be very happy if they got together, and she would get to spend more time with Pinkie... All of these thoughts were null and void if she couldn't tell Pinkie she liked her, But she just wasn't that forward! She was no Rainbow Dash or Applejack who would just come right out and say it. She was no Twilight or Rarity who could probably find a way to subtly mention it. She had no idea how she would tell her, but one thing was sure. She needed to change. If not for Pinkie then for herself, she needed to get out there more. She wouldn't become a crazy party pony, but she needed to stop hiding behind her mane. She needed to find a way to be courageous enough to speak her feelings, and she new just the pony to model herself after. "Rainbow Dash." she said as a smile swept across her face. She was perfect. Her and Pinkie hang out all the time! They pull pranks, and party... "Once I get better at being like Rainbow I can go pranking or partying with them!" Fluttershy exclaimed. She flew over to the mirror and tried to strike a 'Dash-like' pose. She puffed out her chest and flared her wings. It just didn't work, her mane looked to dainty and she was too skinny. Dash was unkempt and athletic, the exact opposite. Staring at her reflection she knew what had to be done. "Angel! Get me some scissors." The bunny hopped over to her with a worried look on his face. Fluttershy grasped the scissors between her hoofs and looked in the mirror. She set the scissors down and brushed her mane around with her hoof, she got it to sit evenly on both sides. She looked quizzically at her reflection, she could let some of the mane stay over one eye and have it down to the top of her neck. And the side where her face would be uncovered it would be shorter and wilder. She pictured it and liked what she saw. "Rarity's not gonna like this..." Snip snip snip Fluttershy was no foreigner to fashion, She knew how to style a mane and change a look. So when she saw the mare in the mirror she grinned widely. Her mane fell over her right eye, but not enough to hide behind. She shook her head and let it get messy like Dash's, then she moved on to her tail. It was long and shiny with a cute little curve on the end. Not what she wanted. So with a few quick snips, and the shake of a tail her new look was almost complete. But the next change will take some time, she wanted to look more athletic. But that can't be done with scissors. Satisfied with her new look and after mapping out a exercise schedule for tomorrow she decided to go to her and Rarity's spa date. This was gonna be tough, the unicorn would question her about everything. She would try to make Fluttershy spill, but the new Fluttershy won't. She said goodbye to angel bunny who was now making her discarded mane into a bed, and flew out the door. 'No wonder rainbow Dash keeps her mane short!' Fluttershy thought 'I feel a pound lighter!' As she flew into Ponyville she got some stares, but she payed them no mind. She was happy, and nothing could change that. As she neared the boutique a giddish grin formed on her face. 'Rarity's gonna freak!' Fluttershy thought 'Is this how they feel when they pull a prank?' She opened the door and heard the fashonistas voice come from upstairs. "Fluttershy is that you?" Rarity asked "Eeyup" Fluttershy said in a normal voice. It was exciting for her, she felt great being heard like that! She didn't scream like she had at the dragon, but it wasn't her barely audible whisper either. Rarity didn't seem to notice "I will be down in a minute darling!" she cooed 'Just let me grab my things." There was hoofsteps and a little shuffling before the unicor started to descend. "I must say darling, I have been looking forward to our date," she started "First there were these ruffians who came to my shop, then a mare who was too picky for her own good walked in demanding-" She froze as she laid eyes on Fluttershy. > Rainbow Dash: Ch. 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash quietly flew home. Cloud Kicker said she needed a day off, told her she was distracted. The normal Rainbow would have argued with her, the normal Rainbow would have cleared the sky in ten seconds flat. She was not feeling like the normal Rainbow. So she glided home on a gentle breeze thinking about why she was distracted. Her original tactic of pushing the dream out of her mind worked for about five minutes. After that she would just flap from cloud to cloud giving each of them a half-hearted buck. She would ask herself the same questions over and over but never find an answer. Do I like mares? Am I attracted to Fluttershy? Could I tell her if I was? Rainbow Dash failed to notice the pegasus speeding right towards her. Seconds before impact Rainbow Dash looked up to see a familiar face. Umph! The two pegasi fell to the ground, it wasn't a long fall but the other pegasus landed on top of her. When she opened her eyes she recognized the pegasus. It was Fluttershy. Her mane was short and unkempt, her tail was shorter and laid over Dashs right hind leg. Her lips were on Rainbows. Fluttershy opened her big blue eyes and Rainbow Dash felt heat well up in her cheeks. They sat there still connected by their lips until Fluttershy got up. "Well hello to you too." Fluttershy said with a smirk. Don't say anything stupid. "I didn't know I was THAT irresistible." What happened to her? "Nice talk Rainbow." and she flew away leaving Rainbow Dash reeling. She sat in the same position for about ten minutes before she came up with the answers to her previous questions. 1. Yes, no doubt. 2. Hell yes, Fluttershy was one of the hottest mares in Equestria as far as Dash was concerned. 3. Hopefully. Rainbow Dash got up from her stunned position and a small smile made its way across her face. I like Fluttershy... She flew home with a feeling of lightness. She landed on her porch and walked inside. She walked over to a mirror and giddyness was replaced with dread. Why would Fluttershy like you? You're brash and arrogant and can't keep your mouth shut. Rainbow bowed her head from her minds verbal abuse. She would never fall for you the way you are. "Right." she said to her reflection You have to change. "Right," she said as she perked up to the idea "but how?" The helpful yet mocking voice was silent, so Rainbow Dash looked back to the mirror. She saw a cocky athlete who could never win the heart of a gentle animal keeper. Did she look like a gentle vet the last time you saw her? She thought back to the recent encounter with Fluttershy. Her mane was still that cute shade of pink, but combined with her new shorter mane it was past cute. It was downright sexy. Her tail wasn't long and elegant any more, it was shorter and was sloppy like her own. In fact, the more Rainbow Dash thought back. The more Fluttershy looked like a yellow and pink version of herself. She needed help, Rainbow Dash had never had a crush before. Let alone on a mare AND one of her best friends! She quickly went through a list of possible advisers. Rarity seemed to know about romances, but she was too close to Fluttershy. Twilight might help a little, but she probably has as much experience as I do. Pinkie Pie... no, just no. Applejack? Applejack would do her best to help, and she would be honest. "Applejack it is!" Rainbow said as she flew through an open window. "Now how will I tell her?" Applejack would probably catch on pretty quickly, might as well just come out and say it. As she neared the barn of sweet apple acres she suppressed an urge to do a stunt. She glided into the barn very quietly and walked up to an oblivious Applejack who was tossing haybales. "Ummm, hey Applejack..." Rainbow said without her usual cocky attitude. She could feel the nervousness growing stronger. "Hey Flutter-" Applejack started to say as she turned around "Rainbow Dash? Sorry, you were so quiet ah thought you were somepony else." Applejack threw another haybale onto a pile. "Did you wanna talk about something?" "I..." Rainbow Dash got out Speak foal! She is looking suspiciously at you! "You o'kay Rainbow? You lookin' a bit flustered." "I need help..." Rainbow whispered, barely audible Somehow the work pony heard her, "What's wrong?" she asked. She was genuinely concerned. Rainbow Dash looked at the ground "It has to do with, umm, feelings..." "What type of feelings sugarcube?" "....Liking somepony..." This seemed to catch the earth pony off guard. She never expected her boastful pegasus would find a specail somepony, but she recovered quickly. "So who's the lucky stallion?" With that comment, Rainbow Dash did something Applejack never would have expected. She let out a small 'eep' and drooped her head, so that her face was not visible through her mane. Applejack instantly recognized her mistake and tried to salvage the situation. "I'm sorry sugar! I didn't know you were into mares!" This only caused Rainbow to hide further behind her mane, but her hair was short enough to let Applejack slide over and look under it. "I won't judge ya Rainbow, no-one will." Applejack said in a soothing tone "Now who is it?" The cyan pegasus looked up out of her mane a little, but stayed quiet. "So she is a mare. Correct?" Rainbow nodded. "I have a feeling she's one of our friends. Correct?" She nodded a bit slower. Applejack leaned in and whispered "Fluttershy?" Applejack never expected it, and Rainbow Dash never planned on it. It just happened. Rainbow Dash let out a sob as she threw herself into Applejacks arms. The orange mare quickly embraced the quivering pegasus, stroking her mane. "Shhh shhh what are you crying about RD?" Rainbow Dash sniffled and buried herself into Applejacks shoulder, "I... just don't know... If i'm good enough for her..." "Don't you be sayin' that," Applejack said in a stronger tone "You are a wonderful mare." "No i'm not!" Rainbow let out between sobs "I'm self-centered, arrogant, noisy and a wreck, just look at me now!" Applejack tried to speak but Rainbow cut her off "Even when that dragon was threatening Equestria I tried to convince Twilight to leave Fluttershy behind!" The two mares were quiet for a while aside from Rainbow Dashs muffled sobs. "Why did you want her to stay behind?" "She was slowing us down." "That's cute, now the real reason." Rainbow sniffled "I guess I wanted her to be safe in Ponyville." "There you go, now those other things you called yourself." Applejack said "Even if they may be true, you can change them." Rainbow Dash perked up a little at this "You're right!" "And never think you're not good enough, I don't wanna listen to that shit." "Right." Applejack sighed with relief "So now that we got that bit of drama out of the way," she leaned in "What spiked your intrest in our petite little friend?" Rainbow Dash blushed a little "I guess I owe you an explanation..." > Fluttershy: Ch. 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hi Rarity!" Fluttershy chimed "Flu... Flu..." the dumbfounded unicorn mumbled "Do you like it?" Fluttershy continued in her upbeat tone, she shook her head to keep it looking unkempt "Fluttershy your beautiful mane, WHYYYYYYY!?" the fashonista squealed Fluttershy savored the next moment, "Dunno, just felt like it." she snickered The unicorn could barely keep the shock off her face. "Well... I have never been one to criticize ones fashion," she said evenly "But I know there is more to it than that." She's onto me. Just stay calm, the old Fluttershy would spill her guts. You are the new Fluttershy, you are better than that. "So are we gonna go to the spa or what?" Fluttershy redirected the conversation "Yes of course, but I invited Pinkie Pie." Rarity told her "Dash was too busy to prank with her so she needed something to do." Fluttershy's head spun. She tried to calm herself Maybe this isn't bad! You get to spend time with Pinkie, even though you need some more personality practice. You can make this work Fluttershy. She used those thoughts and recuperated. "Great!" she said a little louder than needed "She never went with us before!" her voice cracked on the last word, luckily Rarity paid it no mind "I know! Isn't it wonderful," she went on completely forgetting her shock at Fluttershy's new look "she's going to meet us there." "Great." Fluttershy responded as they walked out the door. As they walked through Ponyville more stares were earned, but Fluttershy took them in stride and used 'the stare' back at them. Rarity caught onto this and was shocked. "My goodness!" she wailed "I will find out why you are acting so... Brash." In response, Fluttershy gave her a wicked grin. Not if I have anything to say about it... As the neared the salon Fluttershy kept up her facade, but felt nervousness creep up her back. She wondered what Pinkie would think of her new look. Then she remembered who she was thinking about. Pinkie Pie likes everything. Of course she will like your look. She took comfort in that but it brought up a second question. If she 'liked' everything and everypony, how do you know if she will like you in particular? She pushed the thought away as she readied herself for a nerve racking salon experience. Rarity opened the salon door with her magic and the two walked in. As soon as the door closed Rarity was pounced on by a pink blur. "Pinkie Pie would you be ever so kind as to get off me?" Rarity squeaked "Okey doki loki!" the party pony responded as she faced Fluttershy "Hi Flutt..." she stopped She doesn't like it! just run! Abort! Abort! Fluttershy was about to carry out her plan, but before she could run Pinkie Pie was on top of her. "OH MY GOSH FLUTTERSHY!" she squeed "Your mane is all -like- smaller!" After dealing with the sudden blushing that came from the compliments and the pink mare on top of her, Fluttershy spoke. "Hey Pinks!" she said in a tone almost mirroring Rainbow Dash's "Whats up?" "You look like Rainbow Dash!" She squealed again "Only you're pink!" Mission accomplished, now I just have to act the part so I can tell her later... Pinkie Pie climbed off of Fluttershy and bounced until she was on hr hooves again. "Why did you make your mane like that?" she inquired "wait I can figure it out!" "Go ahead," Fluttershy challenged "You'll never figure it out." "Maybe your mane got to long to handle! Or your animals started to nest in it! Or you tripped over it! Or..." The mare was firing off random reasons Fluttershy would cut her mane. But then she suddenly stopped and looked at Fluttershy with the widest grin she has ever seen. She started bouncing around in little circles and chanted "I know why! I know why! I know why!" "Enlighten me." Fluttershy grinned Pinkie Pie landed mere inches from Fluttershy's face and with her eyes as big as dinner plates yelled... "YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON RAINBOW DASH!" Fluttershy was frozen stiff by this statement. But as the cogs in her head grinded together she realized what was happening. "NO!" Fluttershy squealed "Not even close!" "You're blushing dear," Rarity chimed "I had my suspicions." "That's not it at all!" Fluttershy squeaked again, this time feeling the burning in her cheeks "It's OK Flutters!" Pinkie beamed "We don't care if you like mares!" "Yes darling, we won't treat you any differently." Rarity added in Fluttershy backed away from the two approaching mares. She quickly reverted to her previous plan and flew out the door at speeds that would make The Wonderbolts jealous. She flew from the salon trying to escape the situation. She looked behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed, she heard about how even Rainbow Dash herself couldn't outrun Pinkie. She saw no sign of the party pony so she turned to face forward. What she wasn't expecting to see was Rainbow Dash. They collided with a small umph and fell to the ground, luckily they had been flying low so it wasn't a long drop. As their bodies hit the ground she felt the cyan pegasus under her. And on her lips. Fluttershy opened her eyes to a deeply blushing cyan pegasus, her eyes wide, their mouths still connected. After about three seconds she pulled away completely silent. Fluttershy, still keeping up her act spoke first "Well hello to you too." She said with a smirk Rainbow Dash was silent. Fluttershy sensed the awkward-ness building up and decided to make a joke "I didn't know I was THAT irresistible." Rainbow Dash was silent. "Nice talk Rainbow." Fluttershy said as she flew away. As she neared her cottage she allowed herself some time to think. Well the salon date could have gone better. Now I have to convince them I don't like Rainbow Dash... "Rainbow Dash..." She said out loud Now THAT was awkward. Rainbow acted kinda weird. "Well we did liplock, but i'm sure she was just stunned by my new look." But something about the way she acted bugged Fluttershy a little. She normally would have jumped up and made the exact joke Fluttershy made, but instead she just sat there... She pushed all trivial thoughts out of her mind. Not going to the spa lets her get to exercising early! And with that she started her work out routine, but Rainbow Dashs reaction still lingered... > Rarity: Intermission > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been weeks since either pegasus had been seen. Neither of them were missing per-say. Fluttershy refused to leave her cottage because she insists she is 'training'. And Rainbow Dash took all of her sick days and left Ponyville for some reason, the last pony to talk to her was Applejack who resists telling them what they spoke about. Rarity was putting the pieces together. Not the right ones, but she didn't know better. "Hey there Rarity! Wanted to see me for something?" Applejack inquired as she walked through the door "Yes indeed darling!" Rarity said as she locked the boutique door behind the earth pony "It's about our two absent friends." Applejack froze "...what about 'em?" she asked cautiously "You were the last one to have a conversation with our dear Rainbow Dash. Her boss only spoke with her long enough to give her time off." Rarity said with a devilish grin "I want to know what she said." Applejack turned to face the fashionista "I can't tell ya, and I won't tell ya." "Your loyalty to Dash rivals her own, but you will talk." "No." The windows flew shut with magic. "No." The back door slammed and the blinds slid down. "No." Rarity stepped forward as ribbons started to float around her. "You can't hurt me Rarity." Applejack said nervously "Darling, who ever said I was going to hurt you?" It all happened in a flash. A chair flew up behind Applejack as a magic aura pushed her into it. The floating ribbons surged forward and wrapped around the pony and the chair immobilizing her. When Applejack was successfully bound Rarity waltzed towards her, "You will speak my dear Applejack." Applejack thrashed around as much as the ribbons would let her, but to no avail. "I. Won't. Tell." Rarity was inches from Applejack when she plucked off the earth ponies stetson and put her hoof on Applejacks chest. "Then I will make you." Rarity hissed as she popped the hat on her head. The ribbons slowly got tighter, removing any movement Applejack had. Rarity walked behind Applejack. "Tell me." Rarity whispered in Applejacks ear "No." Applejack could feel Rarities warm breath on her neck, then she felt her muzzle. "Rarity! What in tarnation are you-" Applejack was cut off with a squeal when Rarity bit down lightly on her neck. "Tell me." Rarity whispered again from her spot on AJ's neck "N-No!" Applejack yelled, flustered Rarity kept silent as she slowly made her way up to Applejacks ear, leaving tiny bites on the way. She then put her lips on Applejacks ear and started to play with it in her mouth. Rarity pulled away and whispered "Tell me." Applejack was silent except for her panting, she had broken into a cold sweat. Rarity went back to work, licking from Applejacks ear to down below her jawline stopping right before her lips. "One last time." Rarity said as her lips became level with Applejacks "Tell me." Applejack was panicking. If she waited any longer Rarity would do something very stupid. Applejack needed help, and she knew there was only one way to get it. "PINKIE!" Applejack bellowed with all the air she had left, "SHE'S TRYING TA MAKE ME BREAK A PROMISE!" The door to the boutique explode. As the dust cleared they saw Pinkie Pie. Her mane was twirling and flowing like Celestias, but it seemed to resemble fire instead. Her usually sky-blue eyes were light-red with a satanic glow that her entire coat mimicked. She spoke in a cool tone, but her voice seemed distorted. "Breaking a promise is bad." She started as she took a few steps toward Rarity "But making somepony break a promise is blasphemous." With a sudden flash Pinkie vanished and reappeared behind them. "EXTERMINATE! EXTEMINATE!" The ribbons binding Applejack burned in a pink fire, leaving an unharmed earth pony. Rarity flew out the door while flinging random items at the crazy bouncing devil. They faded down the road and out of sight. Applejack simply sat there in the chair thinking one thing over and over. Rainbow Dash owes me, Rainbow Dash owes me, Rainbow Dash owes me... > Rainbow Dash: Ch. 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash stepped out of the cloud mansion and turned to face her aunt. "Thank you." "No no Miss Dash, it was my pleasure." her aunt told her "I just hope you have luck with that pretty mare of yours." Rainbow Dash blushed "Me too, but you have no idea what this means to me." she said with misty eyes Her aunt noticed this and used a mock-serious tone "I will hear none of it. You asked me to turn you into a proper mare and that is what I did, and you were by far one of my best students." Rainbow Dash smiled gently. It was true, her aunt was an actress and took her in as her personal acting student. She would never get over owing her. Then her aunt gently pecked Rainbows forehead and ushered her off towards the cloud street. She trotted along the sidewalk giddy with excitement. This is great! Now I can act like a nice mare that Fluttershy will fall for! She let her face split with a goofy smile. Whoah there Dash, get a hold of yourself. Her lessons kicked in and her smile was reduced to a small grin she directed at the ground. "Hey! Rainbow Cra-... whoah." A stallions voice said from behind her Saddened by the turn of events, she turned to face the source of the voice she has come so well to know. Prepared for ridicule and harassment she looked into the eyes of her long-time bully. "Hello Dumbell." she said with her acting lessons holding strong He stood there staring at me for a second, his mouth moving but not making any words. she tilted head head and waved a hoof in front of him "Hello?" He shook his head and spoke "I mean, ummm, hey Rainbow Dash!" she pulled her head back and looked at him quizzically "You called me by my real name. Why?" His eyes widened and he stuttered "I- uh- well you- and I..." he exhaled and his put his head down "You... look nice." Rainbow Dah was taken by surprise by his complement "Thanks, I guess..." He suddenly snapped back to reality "Sorry for bothering you Rainbow, do you think maybe we could talk more later?" "You want to be my friend all of a sudden." "Yeah, if that's OK with you..." He has never been nice to you. Granted, he hasn't bullied you in a while and when he did it was just a little name-calling... ... "Yeah, I would like that." Rainbow said with her small smile returning "Great! So uh... see you around I guess." he said "Bye." she said as he flew away He thought I was cute. Plain and simple. I wasn't good looking before but now I am. And now I have a stallion fan! She giggled and started flying towards Ponyville. I feel a breeze... Maybe I could do a few stunts... "No. Do what she taught you." Rainbow told herself Rainbow Dash reached into her saddlebag to find the one thing that could distract her from potentially harming stunts. She pulled out a small magic music device. It held all of Dashs favorite songs and let her listen to them whenever she wanted. "No stunts. Just music." She put the small earbuds in and chose her favorite song. As the chorus started she lost all thoughts about flying through the air and possibly crashing. While listening to her songs the flight to Ponyville felt much shorter. She reached the town while idly bobbing her head to the fast paced rap. She was so entranced with her song that she didn't feel the multiple sets of eyes on her. She made her way to the library still seemingly unaware that almost the whole town had seen her and wondered 'What happened to Rainbow Dash?' 'Burn it down from dusk till dawn, rise from the ash and then i'm gone...' Her song finished and she put the mp3 back in her saddlebag. Knock, knock, knock "Who is it?" came the muffled response from a lavender unicorn "Rainbow Dash!" There was a small silence until the shuffling of hooves could be heard through the door. Then Twilight opened the door "Not that i'm complaining or anything, but why didn't you fly through the wind... oh." Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash with that same dumbfounded look that Dumbell had on. Rainbow Dash was prepared to wave her hoof in her face like she had with the stallion, but Twilight managed to recover somewhat. "Rainbow, what happened?" Rainbow smiled sweetly at her "What do you mean?" "You look... Different." She stated slowly Rainbow was having fun with this "What type of different?" she asked with a slight pout Twilight narrowed her eyes "Don't make me say it." She puffed out my lower lip "Say what?" Damn those were good lessons Twilight gave an exasperated sigh "You look like you spent three weeks at stylists house and didn't fight them at all." she said "In short; Sexy." This was just the reaction Rainbow wanted. First she got a stallion to fall for her, then she got a shut-in to call her sexy. "So who's your motivation?" Rainbow Dash froze, her eyes as big as dinner plates and her facade faltering she asked Twilight "How.. did..." Twilight smirked "Being a bookworm has advantages." she started "I can see a romantic sub-plot a mile away, and your sudden disappearance followed by a... metamorphosis... was a dead giveaway." Rainbow Dash mumbled incoherently. "So I will repeat my question." she said "Who are you doing this for?" Rainbow Dash jumped inside and slammed the door. "Whoah, you're really on edge!" she said with a smirk "Now I really want to know." Rainbow Dash looked around to make sure Spike wasn't around, then she turned to the unicorn "First, do you have a problem with fillyfoolers?" "I hate them with a burning passion." Rainbow let out a sigh of relief "Good, cuz' i'm o- WHAT!?." Twilight burst into a fit of laughter "I'm kidding! But you should have seen the look on your face!" Rainbow Dash shook off the sudden dread "Never do that again." she said "But yeah, i'm a fillyfooler." She got back up and wiped a tear "That's great Rainbow, but my question is who you're doing this for?" Twilight move face to face with Rainbow "Is it somepony I know?" Rainbow Dash had expected it to turn into a guessing game "Yeah." Twilight squeed with delight "What's she like?" Rainbow thought for am moment "Well she's kinda timid and doesn't have a lot of friends, she's also kinda isolated-" Twilight interrupted "Whoah there! I'm flattered and all Rainbow but-" "NO!" Rainbow panicked "Sweet Celestia no! I mean you're nice and all. But not you!" Twilight let out a sigh of releif "OK, so who?" she asked, genuinely puzzled Rainbow was thrown back by this "Well isn't it obvious? I'm talking about Fluttershy." Twilight thought a moment then spoke "Rainbow, you've been gone two months." Twilight leaned closer "A lot can happen in two months." Rainbow Dash turned to look into the eyes of her not-so-shut-in friend. "Are you gonna tell me what happened since I left?" Twilight popped up and promptly threw Dash out the door with her telekinesis "Nope!" she chirped with an evil grin And the door slammed in her face.