> Bully: Manticore Academy
>  by the silver-maned pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chp 1: Welcome to M.A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A golden chariot was flying over Manticore Ville. The town was bustling with ponies as they readied for the day’s routine. The shops were opening and the sky was cloudless. A nice day to start a new life.

The chariot had a front and back seat. In the front, sat a pegasus and a unicorn. The pegasus was in her late 30’s, had a red and orange mane, and was wearing a flamboyant lavender dress and a little too much make-up. The unicorn was significantly older and heavier. He had a handle-bar mustache and a bald scalp. His blue suit was just as flamboyant as the pegasus’s next to him. 

In the back seat was a teenage pegasus with rainbow colored hair. She was lying on her back with a dirty brown jacket, faded blue jeans, and a bored expression.

The unicorn in front turned around with a fake smile and said, “You’re going to love M.A Rainbow Dash.”

“I doubt it.” The teenage pegasus flatly replied.

The pegasus in front, her mother, said in a steady voice, “Now Dashie, please be nice to your new stepfather.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Please, if I wasn’t nice to my other 4 stepfathers, why would I be nice to this one? Or the ones to come.” She added under her breath.

Sadly, her mother heard the last remark, “Now listen you little punk, be thankful that your stepfather managed to pull strings to get you into this school. If it was up to me, it would be military school.”

“Now look what you did,” the stepfather scowled, “you upset your mother. I have half a mind t-”

“Half a mind is right.” Rainbow Dash interjected.

The stepfather was about to start again when the chariot finally stopped. Dash grabbed her knapsack that help extra clothing and got out. She turned toward her parents, “Well, goodbye.”

“Here you go.” Dash’s mother handed her a small blue purse. Rainbow opened it and found the bag contained 50 bits.

“This will be your currency until your father and I return from our honeymoon… next year.” She added with a sly smile.

“How in the hay am I going to survive a whole year with just 50 bits?"

“Here is some advice: GET A JOB.” 

With one final laugh, the chariot flew off and was then gone, along with Rainbow Dash’s parents.

“Mom,” Dash said in an angry and sad voice, “why do you keep marrying these fakes? What’s wrong with you?”

She turned around and got the first glimpse of her new school. The gate in front of her was 12 feet tall, as well as the brick wall surrounding it. Beyond the gate, she could see two large square buildings. Beyond those was a cathedral of a building, no doubt the actual school.

The gate opened and out stepped out a somepony with a black dress and white blouse.

“You must be Ms. Rainbow Dash. I’m Ms. Damsire and I will give you a grand tour of Manticore Academy.”

She said all this in a droned voice. Ms. Damsire led a disgruntled Rainbow Dash through the school, pointing at important buildings.

“These two,” she pointed at the square and visibly archaic buildings, “will be the dorms. The left is the girls’ dorm and the right is the boys’ dorm.” Rainbow noted how the boys’ dorm was significantly smaller.

Ms. Damsire continues to show Dash around. She pointed out the library, which was surrounded by a lot of scrawny earth ponies and unicorns, the football field and gym, packed with oversized pegasai and earth ponies, some over-sized clubhouse in which was filled with mostly unicorn and only some pegasai, and finally the auto shop/parking lot which was filled with mostly earth ponies and some pegasi.

“And finally, the academy.” Ms. Damsire said as she opened the doors to the cathedral and the view made Dash’s mouth drop. They entered a square room so huge Rainbow thought it could easily fit her old apartment. There were white columns all around. To the left and right were hallways leading to rooms and lockers galore. On the other side of the room was a pair of wide doors and huge stairs leading to the floors above.

“Our academy holds not only high school students, but middle school students as well. The ground floor, which is where we are, holds the classrooms for the middle school. The 1st floor holds classes for the first years and the 2nd floor holds the classes for the 2nd years and so forth. The fifth floor is where the teachers' and headmistress’s office are located. We must now introduce you to the headmistress.”

“Then let’s get a move on.” Dash was preparing her wings for lift off when suddenly Ms. Damsire held her shoulder.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash, there is no flying or magic on campus without the permission of a teacher.”

“What?! Why not?”

“Because it would not be fair for the other ponies that can’t fly or use magic. Now come along, we got quite a number of stairs to climb.” 

Rainbow Dash looked up to see the barely visible ceiling and let out a groan. As the two climbed each floor, every step made Rainbow hate the school even more. Finally, they reached the top, with Ms. Damsire being composed as ever and Dash gasping for air.

“Now Ms. Dash, please enter the office and enjoy your stay at our wonderful academy.” And she walked off, leaving Dash alone. She opened the door and saw the headmistress sitting at her desk. She was a pegasus with purple tinted sunglasses and bright orange hair that made her whole head appear on fire. She was also wearing a blue military-like uniform. 

“Hello Rainbow Dash, please have a seat.” She gestured toward the chair in the middle of the room. As she entered, Rainbow saw that the walls were surrounded by books shelves and the headmistress’s desk took up half of the rooms, which was saying something. Once seated, she noticed that the chair was short, no doubt to make a student feel puny under the eyes of the headmistress.

“My name is Spitfire, but you may address me as professor Spitfire.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Excuse me?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, “Hello ma’am.”

“That’s better. Now let’s see here,” from under her desk, Spitfire took out a large folder, “I’ve been told that you have been expelled from 7 other schools for vandalism, foul language, disrespecting authority, and many violent conducts. This entire folder is proof that you have already broken many academy records for bad behavior, and you haven’t even had your first class yet.”

“Cut me some slack ma’am, life has been tough.”

“So what?” Spitfire stood up and walked around her desk, “We must deal with the cards that have been dealt to us, and it appears you have dealt poorly. So riddle me this, why should I waste my time on you?”

“I don’t know.” Dash exasperated

“Because it is what I do. I turn ponies like you to respectful citizens. Now enough with the banter, it is time to get you set for your first day of school. Classes start at 9:00 am and 1:30pm. Each day you will have to different classes. The school year only started 3 weeks ago, so there is no excuse that you should fall behind. Here,” Spitfire reached behind her desk and pulled out items that she handed to Dash one at a time.

“This is your schedule; it has all of your classes. This is a map of the academy in case you get lost. This is your student I.D; it gives you access to your room, which is A1 by the way, and the elevator.”

“There's an elevator?!” Dash cried, silently hating Ms. Damsire.

“Of course, those stairs are treacherous if somepony was to try to climb from bottom to top. Anyway, classes will start in about an hour. I suggest you go to your dorm and change. Your uniform and textbooks are already in your room. And Rainbow Dash,” she said as Dash was leaving, “keep your nose clean, or you will break the academy record for fastest expulsion.”

“Yes ma’am.” Dash said as she left, making sure to use the elevator this time.
________________________________________
As Rainbow Dash climbed down the steps leading to the cathedral, she thought of what Spitfire said. About the cards one is dealt with. It wasn’t like Dash wanted to have this reputation; she was just a pony who gave others what they deserved. Then again, she could have made some different decisions, like not punch the ponies that annoyed her. As she made her way to girls’ dorm, she made a silent promise to try to do better.

“Hey!”

Rainbow woke with a start from her thoughts and found herself in front of the dorm. She also saw another girl standing in front of the steps to the dorm. She had blue hair with pink highlights and was wearing a ruffled white collared shirt, khaki slacks, and an evil grin. Rainbow Dash then heard footsteps behind her and saw to other girls blocking her path.

“Guess what time it is? It’s time for the new kid beat down!” The girl in front said.

“Yeah,” the ones behind cheered, “beat down the new kid.”

Dash groaned as she set her knapsack aside, “You have got to be kidding me.”

“What’s the matter new kid? Scared?” the girl started to walk forward, “What are you gonna do about, huh? Gonna go fly off with those wings of yours.” 

Rainbow Dash knew that she couldn’t run away now. If she did, she would be branded as a coward and be forever hounded by these idiots. There was only one thing left to do. Even though she wasn’t completely enthusiastic about the idea, she didn’t hate it either.

“ So what now?" the bully continued, "Gonna take your beating, or go cry to a prefect like a baby-back-”

She couldn’t continue as Rainbow’s fist smashed into her mouth. The girl recoiled in pain while the girls behind stared in confusion. After the girl got over her pain, she howled in anger and rushed Dash. Rainbow Dash easily side-stepped and countered with a strong left-hook. This time, the girls staggered and almost fell to the floor.

“Come on Bon Bon, you can’t lose to this poser. You can do this!” her friends cheered her on.

The girl, Bon Bon, smiled and steadied herself. With a confident grin, she was ready for the next round. Her confidence was crushed when Rainbow Dash grabbed both of Bon Bon’s shoulders and did a vicious head-butt. This knocked Bon Bon flat on the floor, groaning in pain. This wasn’t Dash’s first fight. She had developed her own fighting style and it seems to always work. Because of the many fights, she also developed a resistant to pain

“Listen,” Rainbow said as she crouched down to Bon Bon’s level, “you should probably leave now. I don’t want to get in trouble on my first day, and you don’t want to get humiliated. Everypony wins.”

This didn’t have the desired effect as Bon Bon got up and screamed angrily. She then rushed, flailing her arms angrily. Rainbow Dash sighed and stepped sideways, leaving one foot out. Then Bon Bon tripped and fell face first to the ground, unconscious. There was no sound until,

“That’s right,” Rainbow Dash said loudly to Bon Bon’s friends, “tell all of your friends not to mess with me unless they want to get beaten and humiliated.”

Dash felt so good that she was smiling. She doubted anypony would be bothering her now.

“Is that so?”

Dash turned toward the dorm doors and saw another girls standing there. She had white spikey hair and was wearing brown jeans and a small brown jacket over a white shirt that was torn to show her stomach. The thing that startled Dash was the girl was taller than her, had a muscular build, and large brown wings. A griffon.

“Hey new kid, let me show you a real beat down.”

The griffon flew with surprising speed and unleashed a frightening gut punch, which made Dash kneel over instantly.

“HEY, STOP THAT AT ONCE!” somepony yelled and Rainbow heard the sound of scampering footsteps.

“See you around new kid.” The griffon said with cruel delight and she left as well.

“STOP!” the mysterious pony yelled, but no one did. The pony yelled and Dash felt somepony pick her up none too gently.

“Don’t you know fighting is prohibited,” the prefect scolded, “and why aren’t you in your uniform. Go change now or else its detention!”

“So unfair.” Dash muttered as she picked up her knapsack and walked to the dorm, clutching her gut.

As she entered the dorm, she noticed it wasn’t as old as the exterior. It was painted sunset red and had working electricity.

“Hey, you’re the new kid, right?”

Dash let out a frustrated groan as a pegasus stepped from around the corner. She had a green sweater vest, black slacks, light green wings, amber colored hair, and a cocky smile.

“Listen,” Rainbow said as she clenched her fist, “I really don’t want to have to deal with another damn-”

“Relax friend, I only want to help.”

“No thanks.”

Rainbow was about to walk away when the strange pegasus grabbed her shoulder, which she immediately shook off.

“Listen girl, you just arrived in the toughest school in Equestria and I’m offering to be your friend. In a place like this, you’ll need friends.”

They stared at each other for a while until the pegasus laughed,

“O.K, let’s start over,” she stuck out a hand, “The name’s Lightning Dust.”

Dash took the hand, “Rainbow Dash.”

“Well Dashie, allow me to show you this Tartarus-hole.”

Lightning Dust put an arm around Rainbow Dash and steered her through the dorm. Their first stop was the room in front of them,

“This is the rec room.” Lightning Dust pointed to a large room with two sofas in the middle of the room and a T.V in front of them. The left side had an arcade game and poker table. The left side had a pool table, bulletin board, and soda machine. Lightning Dust purchased two sodas and tossed one to Dash,

“Here, you probably need one after that pummeling you took from Gilda.”

“Who’s Gilda?” Dash asked as she drank from the soda; nothing picks her back up like carbonated sugar.

“That ape of a griffon that almost put you in a hospital. Anyway, you better put on the uniform or the teachers and prefects will bust you.”

Lightning Dust showed Rainbow Dash the hallways, where the showers and toilets were, the steps leading toward the next floor and finally her room, which happened to be the nearest to the exit, and left her to change. Dash’s room consisted of one bed, a filing cabinet, a chemistry set, bookshelves, a desk with notebooks and all of her textbooks, and a wardrobe. She tossed her knapsack on the bed and opened the wardrobe. She found one white collared shirt, khakis slacks, and a blue Manticore Academy sweater vest. She put them on and inspected herself in the mirror on the wardrobe door.

‘The new me.’ Dash thought.

There was a knock on the door,

“Come in.” Dash said, expecting to be Lightning Dust. Instead a little pegasus entered. She had violet hair and was wearing an orange sweater vest. She couldn’t be more than 11 or 12 years old.

“Hey there,” she said enthusiastically, “My name’s Scootaloo. You’re the new students, right?

Dash stared at the visitor, hoping that the little one didn’t want to pick a fight as well.

“I saw you fight the bullies. That was amazing!” Scootaloo said.

“The bullies?” Dash said confusedly.

“Yeah, the ones who look as if they just got out of bed. You stood up to one and fought like it was nothing! It was awesome. You’re awesome!”

“Well,” Dash said with a smug smile, she was beginning to like Scootaloo, “it wasn’t my first through down.”

“Really?” Scootaloo said, her eyes filled with admiration.

“Well look what we have here.” Lightning Dust had just entered and she put a hand on Scootaloo’s head and ruffled her hair, “Looks like you met the dorm’s mascot. I introduce you Scootaloo, the loneliest and most annoying pegasus in this school.”

Scootaloo shook Lightning Dust’s hand off her head, which only made her laugh, “Look who’s trying to act tough in front of Rainbow Dash.”

“Why don’t you just leave me alone?” Scootaloo exasperated.

Lightning Dust chuckled as she crouched down and pinched Scootaloo’s cheek, “Awww, isn’t it adorable? Just because you could finally fly a few feet of the ground, you think you’re important.”

Scootaloo was about to snap back, but was interrupted by Dash, “You girls mind leaving? I’m trying to unpack.”

“See what you did,” Lightning Dust told Scootaloo as they walked away, “you already annoyed Dashie.”

Scootaloo waved goodbye to Dash as she closed the door. While Rainbow Dash was hanging her clothes in the wardrobe, she could only think of one thing.

‘What a weird and messed up school this is.’
________________________________________
Dash was leaving her dorm with textbooks in hand when she saw Lightning at the bottom steps.

“Let me show you around the school Dashie.”

“I already saw the school.”

“Let me rephrase that; let me show you around the real school.”

The two walked across campus and toward the cathedral. As they walked, Rainbow Dash saw the bullies do what they do best: bully. All around her, there was one picking on some small and defenseless kid.

“Don’t worry,” Lightning saw what Dash was staring at, “we’re gonna deal with those eventually.”

“What do you mean?”

Lightning ignored the question and opened the door to the school. She led Dash to the pair of wide doors, which lead to the cafeteria. It was filled  long wooden tables, the kitchen at the other side of the room, and students devouring breakfast.

“Breakfast time for the prisoners. This is where all the cliques of the school hangout, except the bullies who are run by Gilda.”

She pointed to the table nearest, which was filled with scrawny ponies and unicorns.

“These are the nerds, the smartest targets you’ll ever meet. They hang out at the library.”

“They look harmless.”

“They’re actually cunning bastards. Whenever your I.D number changes or when you’re showering and the water turns to muck, you know it’s the nerds.” Two nerds were playing chess and one of them, the unicorn with long sapphire blue hair and red and violet highlights, seemed to garner the most attention.  ‘The leader?’ Rainbow Dash thought

Lightning then pointed to the next table with posh unicorns and their 100 bit haircuts.

“Those are the preppies, the richest ponies in the school. They have their own dorm on the campus. You might want to avoid them for now.”

“Why? I’m not afraid of a couple of silver spoon ponies.”

“These silver spoon ponies also happen to box.” Lightning said.  Rainbow looked at the table and saw a pony with a purple swooping haircut was leading the conversation.

“Next are the greasers over yonder.” Lightning Dust pointed to the back of the room, where ponies in leather jackets, and one with a stetson, were leaning on the wall.

“They act tough, and they are if they fight in a group. They hangout by the auto shop. Don’t mess with them… yet.

“And finally, the jocks. The rulers of the school.”

Rainbow saw the jocks sitting on the farthest table. Two of them were arm wrestling. Dash was shocked, and slightly disturbed, when she saw one of the arm wrestlers, a white pegasus who was overly muscular and had the smallest wings she ever saw, slam the other through the table, screaming victoriously.

“You might want to not piss them off.”  Lightning Dust warned, “Well, that’s it. Welcome to M.A, I’m sure you are going to hate every second of it.”


> Chp 2: Plans and a little help
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cafeteria was packed with students as the morning classes ended. As students were entering, Rainbow Dash, with her textbooks in hand, was leaving the cafeteria. She lost her appetite when she saw the lunch lady put rotten eggs in the mixing bowl.  

As Rainbow Dash was leaving the school to explore the campus, she thought of her first class, chemistry. The teacher, Dr. Whooves, was very pleasant. He gave Dash all of the notes from the first 3 weeks of school and even complimented her for not blowing up her lab station as the other students did on their first time.

Dash opened the door to leave, deciding to try to find Lightning Dust or Scootaloo, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her forehead.

“What the-”

There was another sharp pain and she looked around, wondering what was happening. The answer was a unicorn bully on the bottom steps of the school, with a slingshot in hand.

“Hey new kid, this is what we do with brats who don’t know their place.” The unicorn said as she readied her slingshot.

“You better not-” Rainbow Dash started to warn, but the bully fired anyways. Growling, Dash flapped her wings, ready to tackle the bully, when an angry voice from behind said,

“Young lady, what in Equestria are you doing?!”

Dash turned around and saw a peeved teacher. “Don’t you know there is no flying on campus, if I catch you again, its detention.” The teacher left, leaving Dash with her mouth agape. She could not believe the injustice; if a pegasus tries to fly, it’s detention. If somepony is bullying another, nothing happens.

Rainbow Dash was brought back to reality when another rock hit her head. She couldn’t take it any longer and began to chase the giggling bully. As the two ran, a part of her brain that was still reasonable noticed the bully was leading her to the parking lot. The bully then opened one of the garages that lead to the auto shop classes. She entered and closed it, but not before another bully exited the garage. The new one had green hair and smiled,

“If you want to get to Lyra, you’ll have to go through me.”

Dash sped up until she was sprinting. She then held her textbooks in both hands without slowing down. She lifted up her textbook, and when she was within range, slammed them into the bully’s face. The bully crumbled to the floor, shouting out words of pain and insults which were mumbled as she held her hands to her bruised face.

Dash quickly lifted up the garage door and entered. It was filled with tools and bins of spare parts. The back door was open and Dash rushed through it. She found herself in a small circular area that was fenced off. The only exit would be the door she just came through, which had suddenly closed.

She turned around and saw three bullies grinning wickedly. The bully with the slingshot, Lyra, was standing on a pile of cars. The other one was on the ground. She had dark plum hair. The final bully was the one who closed the door, Bon Bon. 

“Now,” Bon Bon said viciously as she cracked her knuckles, “we’re gonna show you a real new kid beat down. Ready Berry Punch?”

“Yep.” The plum haired bully replied.

Rainbow Dash, who had a calm expression, could no longer take it. She inhaled deeply and burst out laughing, which completely caught the bullies off guard.

“What’s so funny?” demanded Bon Bon

Through the laughter, Rainbow Dash managed to choke out,

“Your face!”

After the beating she took from Dash in the morning, Bon Bon obviously went to the nurse’s office to get bandaged. No one seemed to have told her that every part of her face was covered in so much gauze, her whole head looked bigger, Her nose got the worst part as it seemed to be three times its normal size.

“Have you even looked at a mirror?” Dash asked after she finished laughing.

Bon Bon, now positively fuming, said, “Should you really be laughing right now? Your outmatched 3 to 1!”

“You’re absolutely right, it is an unfair fight. I know, how about I put one hand behind my back. That should make it fair.” Dash joked as she set aside her books and cracked her knuckles. Rainbow Dash thought if the bullies fought exactly like Bon Bon did in the morning, then there was nothing to worry about.

Bon Bon finally snapped and charged, closely followed by Berry Punch. Rainbow Dash readied herself, a cocky grin on her face. As she was about to side-step, Lyra fired her slingshot. The rock it Dash’s forehead, which caused her to recoil slightly and left her open. 

Bon Bon started with a strong punch to the nose. As Dash’s head flung back, Berry Punch followed it up with punch to the gut and Bon Bon finished with a haymaker to Dash’s left cheek, causing her to crash to the floor.

“You see that?” Bon Bon told Berry Punch as both breathed heavily, “I told you the kid got lucky this morning.”

“Now what do you want to do?”

Bon Bon thought for a moment and grinned evilly, “Kick her while she’s down?”

The two laughed as they made their way to Dash’s body.

“Sorry, but I can’t let that happen.” 

The bullies stopped in their tracks as Dash’s wings flapped once, and she was back on her feet. Besides the slightly red patches on her cheek and nose, Rainbow Dash was unharmed and unfazed.

“B-but how?” Bon Bon stammered.

Dash grinned, “I’m not proud to say it… O.K, maybe a little, but I have been in a lot of fights. So it’s going to take a lot more to hurt me.”

“We’ll see about that!” Bon Bon cried as she rushed Rainbow Dash. Dash planted a quick right hook to Bon Bon’s bruised face, followed by a strong knee to the gut. Combined with the morning’s beating, Bon Bon got knocked out.

Dash started to make her way to Berry, who was looking nervous, when another rock hit her forehead.

“Oh for peat’s sake!” Rainbow Dash cried. She had had enough of getting hit by rocks. Berry tried to punch Dash, but Rainbow caught the fist in her hand. She then planted her knee twice in Berry’s gut and finished her with a head-butt.

Dash looked around and saw a couple of standing trash cans. She walked toward one and picked up the lid. She then hurled the trash lid with all her strength and it managed to hit Lyra squarely on her face. She immediately toppled of the pile of cars, groaning in pain.

Rainbow Dash walked toward her,

“I’ll be taking that.” she said as she took Lyra’s slingshot. She went to pick up her books when she noticed all of the scattered rocks. She picked one up and used her new slingshot to fire it at Lyra’s forehead, who moaned in pain.

“Not so nice, is it?” was Dash’s last comment as she picked up her textbooks and left just as the bell signaling for the next class rang.
________________________________________
English class had to be the dullest class Rainbow Dash ever experienced. For the entire class, the students had a bunch of letters in front of them and had to try to form words. The only interesting thing in the class was the teacher Ms. Luna, who was an alicorn. Dash had never seen an alicorn in real life and was shocked to discover one worked at M.A. One usually sees alicorns working in the government or starring in movies.

The school bell finally rang, signaling the end of Dash’s first day of school. She walked out of the classroom door, thinking about spending the rest of the day doing nothing. She walked to her locker and placed her textbooks in it. Her plans of doing nothing ended when she heard a familiar voice.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo was swerving past the mob of students exiting their classrooms, “Hey Rainbow Dash, you wanna hang o-” she stopped mid-sentence when she got close enough to see Dash more clearly, “Why do you have bandages on your face?”

Rainbow Dash quickly felt her face, momentarily forgetting why she had bandages. She got them when a prefect noticed the red marks on her face as she was walking to her class. Dash found it funny when the school nurse asked her the moment she entered her office if the injuries were fight-related. When Rainbow said yes, the nurse sighed and took out a large role of gauze. Dash left the office with a bandage over her left cheek and nose.

“I got into a fight.” Dash answered matter-of-factly.

“Already?”

“Yep, took out 3 bullies by myself.”

Scootaloo’s eyes then shined with admiration,

“Wow, that’s so cool!”

“Yeah Dashie,” Lightning Dust had appeared out of nowhere and joined the conversation, “that’s really impressive. You beat up 3 idiots who barely know how to throw a punch. Next, you’ll probably boast about stealing candy from children. Now, enough with the friendly banter,” Lightning Dust had started to steer Dash and Scootaloo out of the school, “I wanna see Dashie’s new slingshot in action.”

“How did you know I got a slingshot?”

“The same way I know that you have been expelled from 7 schools and you have had 5 stepdads.”

“What?!” Dash had stopped dead in her tracks, “how did you know about those things?”

Lightning Dust grinned impishly as she continued to steer Dash, “I know about the school part after I hacked into the school’s database.”

“You could do that?” Scootaloo asked

“Yep, that’s how I stay on top of things. As for the stepfather thing, I just took a shot at the dark and you confirmed it.”

Rainbow Dash groaned; she couldn’t believe she walked into that one.

“If it makes you feel better, my old man left too.” 

“Do you know where he went?”

“Prison.” Lightning Dust stated as though discussing the weather. Dash and Scootaloo exchanged uneasy glances.

After a while Dash realized where Lightning Dust was taking them.

“Why are we going to the football field?”

“Target practice. I want to see how you handle that slingshot.”

“Why is seeing me fire at jocks with my slingshot so important?”

“I’ll tell you later.” They had made it on the field. It was a standard size, 120 yards long and 54 yards wide. The other side had the scoreboard and it was also where the cheer squad was practicing. The football team, which was comprised of both mares and stallions, were practicing on the field, with no protective gear,

“You see that apple tree,” Lightning pointed toward the tree that was just a couple of feet from the jock’s practice spot, “climb it and take them out. The squirt,” she ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “and I will be sitting at the bleachers, so try and make it entertaining.”

Lightning Dust and Scootaloo were getting comfortable at the bleachers while Rainbow Dash stealthily made her way to the apple tree. She climbed and sat on one of its branches. She moved some of the leaves out of the way to have a better view. Picking an apple from a neighboring branch, she aimed her slingshot at a female jock that was jogging in place, and fired the apple. It struck her head and she instantly collapsed.

She quickly picked another apple and aimed it at a stallion that was performing jumping jacks. This time, it struck his groin. As the stallion rolled on the floor whimpering, and Lightning and Scootaloo roared with laughter, the coach was not so amused,

“Get back up you spineless jellyfish,” he roared, “how can I, Iron Will, turn you into lean, mean, brawling machines if you just laze around.”

Dash couldn’t contain her laughter as the coach performed ridicules poses with each word he said. As Dash knocked down each jock, she took guilty pleasure that her slingshot skills had not diminished. She hasn’t fired a slingshot since her 3rd stepfather confiscated her old one for breaking the framed picture of himself with it.

After a couple of more apples, Dash finally got the last jock, who realized his teammates were being taken out by some unseen force and tried to run away.

Dash ran past coach Iron Will, who was screaming himself hoarse, and joined her friends. They left the field, laughing.

“O.K,” Dash said finally managed to say, “Why was that all important? What was the point?”

Lightning Dust, finally done chuckling, said “It’s to send those jocks a message; a message that said that they can’t get away with their bullying. It’s also part of my master plan.”

“And what is this master plan?”

Lightning was now smiling, which contained some malice, “My plan for us to take over this school.”

There were some moments of silence after this proclamation until Dash finally said,

“Why?”

“Come on Dashie, you and Scootaloo of all people should know why. We’re gonna take over to stop the bullying in this school. The moment you entered this school Dash, you saw the bullies doing what they do. And it’s not just the bullies and jocks, but the preppies, greasers, and even nerds bully other students. You see that almost nothing being done to stop this. So it’s up to us. We’ll take over together, and all the bullying will stop. So, what do you say? Wanna take over this dump?”

Lightning stuck out her hand. Dash stared at it and thought over her words. She wasn’t interested in taking over the school; she just wanted to focus on not getting expel again. But she realized that her years here in M.A would be very tiresome if she had to deal with non-stop bullying. This might be her best chance to end it. 

She then smiled and took Dust’s hand, “You got yourself a partner.” Lightning returned her smile and Scootaloo spoke up,

“What about me? Can I help take over the school?”

“Don’t worry squirt,” Dash said, “let me and Lightning take care of the bullies. You just focus on not being a target.” 

Scootaloo looked slightly crestfallen,

“Oh come on, I can be tough!”

“Of course you can,” Lightning cooed, “Anyway, I want to show you two something.”

Lightning Dust lead them to the parking lot and then toward a broken down bus,

“I found this quiet little area about a week ago,” she said as the tree of them entered the bus and exited from the back door, “It’s the perfect place to discuss our plan since it’s so secluded.”

They found themselves in front a wooden gate that said KEEP OUT. They entered and Dash saw that it was a moderately sized, round area. She noted the strong smell of musky apple cider in the air, the empty bottles and bricks scattered on the floor, a wooden shack on the other side of the area, and next to the shack was a filthy bed with somepony sleeping on it. The girls kept starring at the pony until Scootaloo said the thing they were all thinking,

“Who is that pony?”

“Let’s find out.” Lightning Dust said as she picked up a nearby bottle and chucked it at the sleeping stranger.

The bottle smashed next to the bed and the sound woke the pony. He stood up so quickly that he almost fell. Now that he was standing, they noticed the bottle in his hand, his tattered grayish blue hair, bloodshot green eyes, and his pegasus wings.

“Who the buck are you ponies?” he slurred. His cheeks had a touch of red and his clothes were covered in dirt.

“Hey Dashie,” Lightning joked, “I didn’t know your real dad lived here.”

Dash was about to snap back when the homeless pony threw his bottle at Lightning, narrowly hitting her face.

“Get off my property!” he roared.

“This isn’t your property old man.” Lightning shouted back. This got her a brick thrown to her face. She quickly ducked down.

“Come on girls, let’s leave this guy to his ‘fulfilling’ life.” She said with a slight quiver in her voice. Scootaloo didn’t need to be told twice as she bolted out of there, followed by Lightning Dust. Rainbow Dash, however, stayed.

“Who are you?”

“The man who’ll kill you if you don’t get out!” the hobo said angrily.

Dash’s expression remained stoic. This, unfortunately, wasn’t the first time she was threatened by a drunk.

“Why are you here?” she asked curiously. Dash wanted to know whether to add the hobo to her already mounting list of problems.

“Because I simply love all of you annoying snot-nosed brats. Now I’ll say it again. Get-off-my-property.” He emphasized each word. When Dash didn’t leave, the hobo charged at her, roaring like an animal.

He kept charging and stopped when his face was mere inches from Dash’s face. He looked slightly crazed, but Dash’s calm expression didn’t falter. After a couple of intense moments, the hobo’s mouth formed a small smile.

“You’re alright kid.” He chuckled as he stepped back. Now his expression turned from insane to calm. His eyes became more focused and his speech became more coherent.

“You got a lot of guts,” he continued, “I could have used somepony like you as my wingpony.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “You were in the military?”

“Sure was. I was one of the best fliers and fighters in my platoon. Until my wingpony left me to fend for myself in enemy territory. By the time reinforcement arrived, my wings were shot to Tartarus. I was on leave until my wings recovered, but they never fully healed. Now, I’m jobless and live in this dump.”

The hobo looked at Dash and laughed.

“What it is?” Dash asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that you have a lot of guts, but that’s not enough if you don’t know how to fight.”

“I know how to fight.” Dash said indignantly.

The hobo barked a laugh, “If you knew how to really fight,” he pointed to Dash’s face, “you wouldn’t have those bandages.”

Dash quickly removed them, her pride now wounded,

“How about I show you I good I am old man.” She said, raising her fist.

He now laughed harder, “O.K kid, I’ll entertain you for a bit.”

He rushed Dash with surprising speed. Dash quickly put up her guard. She saw the hobo about to perform an uppercut. His arms were rather thin, so she didn’t try to dodge. This proved to be a huge mistake when the uppercut broke her guard easily and then connected with her chin. Dash was sent flying and crashed to the floor. In one brief moment, she finally understood what ponies meant when one gets hit hard enough, they see stars.

“What I tell you kid,” the hobo’s voice sounded disoriented that Dash quickly shook her head, “you don’t know the first thing to fight, let alone fight like a real pegasus.”

“Whatever old geezer,” Rainbow slowly got back to her feet, “ready for round 2?”

The hobo eyes grew with surprise. He couldn’t believe Dash was ready for another fight. Most students would have hightailed it out of there the moment he started shouting. But Rainbow Dash not only stayed around, she wanted to fight again after get knocked to the ground. The hobo started to laugh again,

“Alright kid, because you got guts, and remind me of somepony I knew, I got a proposition for you. I’ll teach you how to fight. And not just simple stuff, I’ll teach how us pegasi fight.”

“Something tells me you’re not doing this out of the kindness of your heart.”

“You’re also smart, I like that. For payment, I don’t want bits. I want radio parts.”

After seeing the confusion on Rainbow’s face, he elaborated,

“The only things I have left are my war stuff and radio. I could always buy a new one, but this radio has sentimental value. Anything you find that I could use for my radio, I’ll train you in something new. I would look for the parts myself, but the school prefects and teachers don’t take to kindly to me.”

“Alright old man, you got yourself a deal.” Dash held out her hand.

“The name isn’t old man. It’s Soarin.” He said as he took her hand.
________________________________________
Scootaloo was waiting for Rainbow Dash by the bus. It had been a couple of minutes since she and Lightning Dust left. Now she was by herself. She was beginning to consider getting a prefect to help when Dash emerged from the bus. Scootaloo’s face was beaming with relief,

“Where were you Rainbow?” she asked urgently, “you didn’t come after us and I was waiting for so long and I started to get worried-”

“Whoa squirt, calm down. I’m O.K. Where’s Lightning Dust.”

“She left a little while ago. She said something about a project she needed to finish. So,” she began as the two walked back to their dorm, “what happened with the hobo? Did you beat him up?”

“Not exactly.” Dash replied, thinking of how easily she was beaten by Soarin. The sun was finally beginning to descend, “Don’t suppose you know where to get radio parts?”

Scootaloo looked bewildered by this bizarre question,

“Um… no. You could ask the auto-shop teacher, he might have some parts.”

Dash then stopped in her tracks, her memory bringing up images from the morning.

“Hey squirt, I’ll catch up to you later. I got to go take care of business.”

Scootaloo hesitated for a moment before continuing her walk to the dorms. Rainbow Dash quickly made her way to the parking lot.  She then made a b-line to the garage she entered the very same morning. She lifted up the door and saw that all the mechanical parts were still untouched. She began to rummage through every bin, looking for her treasure. After many minutes of searching and swearing when bins showed nothing valuable, she finally pulled out a small, dented radio. She exited the garage and headed straight to Soarin. After entering through the bus, she saw him lying on his bed, looking aimlessly at the sky.

Rainbow Dash walked toward him and dropped the radio on his stomach,

“You work fast kid.” He stated as he sat up.

“I got your radio, now let’s train.”

Soarin ignored her and opened the back of the radio. Pleased with what he saw, he got up and spat at the ground,

“A deal’s a deal. First, I’m gonna give you information.”

“Can’t you just show me how to punch somepony?”

“Shut up and listen. First, you know that there are 3 types of ponies: Earth ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Each group had their own specific way of fighting. 

“Unicorns use the thing they were born with; magic. When fighting, they will use their magic to either distract, paralyze, of beat you. So hit them fast and hard.

“Earth ponies have neither magic nor wings, they got raw strength. They will always rush in and try to finish the fight quickly. I once got into a bar fight with an Earth pony when I was still a whelp. I got knocked out with one punch and when I woke up, I had a broken jaw. Try to drag on a fight with them. The more tired they are, the better chance you have.

“Finally, there are us pegasi. We use our natural speed that comes with our wings to get the upper hand. But I learned our wings can also increase our strength. First, I want you to give me your best uppercut.”

Soarin put up his guard as Rainbow Dash walked toward him. She bended her knees and tucked in her left arm. She unleashed her uppercut and caused Soarin to stagger, but only slightly.

“Not bad kid, but there is a way to put more power into that punch. Now, I want you to flap your wings with all of your might. But keep your feet planted on the ground.”

Dash was confused by this request, but did as she was told. Keeping her feet firmly on the ground, she flapped her wings as though she was about to burst into the air. She instantly lost balance and fell face first to the ground.

“See that?” Soarin exclaimed.

“What, the dirt in my eyes?” Rainbow said grudgingly as she got back to her feet.

“No. I’m talking about the force your wings exerted. Haven’t you noticed our wings are so strong that with one flap, we’re airborne? Now perform another uppercut, but this time, use the force from your wings.”

Dash did as she was told. Once ready, she flapped her wings with all of her might and launched her uppercut at the same time. The force was bigger than she expected and she spun around in place before toppling over.

“No kid,” Soarin barked as he lifted Dash up, “control that power.”

Dash breathed through her nose. This was getting annoying quick, but she wasn’t about to give up. Again, she was ready. Focusing on Soarin’s guard, she flapped her wings and let out her uppercut. This time she was ready and guided her arm. The uppercut connected and Soarin staggered more violently then before, his guard completely broken.

“Atta girl,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice, “now do it again, find a rhythm.”

They practiced until the sun had finally set. By the time they finished, Dash no longer lost control of her own power.

“Cool,” she said excitedly as she performed another perfect pegasus uppercut, “what’s next.”

“Next is you go find me more radio parts.” Soarin said as he retired to his mattress.

“Oh come on Soarin! You just told me about how other ponies fight and how to punch. Can’t you show me more fighting techniques?”

Soarin chuckled lightly, “I didn’t just tell you how other ponies fight; I told you their strategies when fighting so you can think of counter strategies. I didn’t just showed you how to punch; I guided you through the first steps of honing your skills. By the way, don’t flap your wings for every punch you throw, or else you’ll tire yourself out. Save the move for when you have an opening to deal the most damage. Remember that, kid.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Fine, you win. I’ll find more parts. See ya around.” 

She turned to leave, but not before saying,

“My name isn’t kid. It’s Rainbow Dash.”

She began to walk back to her dorm, leaving Soarin to stare aimlessly at the night sky. 







> Chp 3: Full plate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun’s rays shined on Manticore Academy. It was like any other day. Students were getting their textbooks, teachers were planning their lessons, the custodian pegasai were clearing the sky of clouds, and the lunch lady was making more bizarre, and slightly hazardous, food. And oh yeah, there was a nerd being bullied near the auto shop garages.

The nerd was being held up by her collar, her back to the chain-linked fence. She was being held by Berry Punch, with Bon Bon by her side.

“Now Sparkler,” Berry said menacingly, “why don’t you apologize, and maybe I will let you go.”

“Apologize for what?” Sparkler said, a slight quiver in her voice.

Berry smiled and turned her head to Bon Bon,

“Isn’t it cute when they play innocent?”

“Very.” Bon Bon giggled

Berry turned back to Sparkler,

“You didn’t stop when I told you to stop. So now,” she raised her fist, “you gotta pay the fine.”

“I’m not afraid of you!” Sparkler cried, but the quiver in her voice became even more prominent.

Berry laughed, “Look at you, thinking you’re so tough. Well guess what; you’re not. And since your friend isn’t here to help you…” her grin grew and Sparkler closed her eyes, preparing for the pain.

As though on cue, one of the garage doors opened with a bang. The 3 ponies turned and saw a disgruntled Rainbow Dash walking out of the garage. She was dusting her hands off and steadied her new blue satchel bag on her shoulder,

“Man does this blow.” she thought aloud, “Looks like there was only one radio in that whole garage. Now how am I supposed to get that crazy old pony to teach me?”

Dash finally saw the scene that was transpiring by the fence and sighed.

“Not again.” She exasperated. “Sparkler, are you O.K?”

“I’m currently being held against my will and about to get pummeled by these two brutes. I have never felt better in my life.” Sparkler sarcastically replied, “Do you mind helping me out?

There was no need as Berry had just let go of Sparkler. Berry and Bon Bon where now glaring at Dash, their eyes filled with malice and a hint of fear.

“O.K girls,” Rainbow said as she dropped her satchel bag, which contained her books and slingshot, on the floor, “there are only two ways this will end. Way No.1 is you just walk away. Way No.2,” She cracked her knuckles and got into her fighting stance, “is a lot more painful.”

The two bullies weighed their options; either walk away, or take their chances with a mare that has proven she could take them both. In the end, the mares chose the former.

Once they were out of sight, Dash picked up her bag and helped Sparkler to her feet,

“Are you O.K?” Dash repeated, “Any bruises?”

“Besides the one on my neck and to my sense of security, no.”

“So what happened?” Dash asked as the two made their way to morning classes, “This is like, what, the 2nd time this week?”

“3rd,” Sparkler corrected solemnly, “I’m beginning to think they have some tracer on me. As for what happened, I was talking to the auto-shop teacher about whether he has some spare parts for a project I’ve been working on. He said I should go check the garages. As I was going, I passed by the two bullies. I tried to ignore them, like you said to, but as you can see, that didn’t end well.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said uncomfortably, “I guess I should say I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway,” she and Dash had made it to the first floor of the academy, “Thanks for the help Rainbow Dash. See ya around.” And she went right while Dash went left.

Rainbow Dash had been in M.A for almost 2 weeks now.  She met Sparkler in the school bathroom after Dash ‘convinced’ the bully Lyra to stop from giving Sparkler a swirly. After that, it became more apparent on how much bullying was going on in the school. Dash had tried her best to stop it, but it wasn’t going well. She was pretty angry that Lightning Dust, with all of her talk of taking over the school and stop the bullying, had done nothing. Thinking about her seemingly futile effort to stop the bullying. She sighed and entered her morning class.
________________________________________
Art had to be Rainbow Dash’s 2nd favorite subject for 2 reasons. One was the teacher, Ms. Celestia, was a very kind and cool teacher. It also helped that she was an Alicorn, which caused Dash’s jaw to drop when she first found out. The other reason was her grading system.

“Art is a wondrous thing,” Celestia had said in their first class, “Art could be thought of as life. Just like life, art cannot just be a drawing of figures and logic. It needs emotions, love, and friendship.” 

‘Was this a philosophy class?’ Dash thought as Celestia continued,

“I will not grade you on how straight your lines. I will grade you on how well you bring your art to life. I will grade it on how well it expresses a subject. For example, your art could express you.”

For the next couple of classes, the students worked on their first piece of art.

Back to the present. Class was about to end and Celestia was walking around to see how her students were.

“Oh my.” Celestia had stopped and was staring at Rainbow Dash’s drawing. She had drawn a barren battlefield with two steel swords clashing together. Instead of sparks, little rainbows were showering the battlefield.

“This is most impressive.” Celestia admired, “I see how the battlefield represents your life and the hardships you had. The swords would then be an inner struggle you are feeling. The little rainbows, no doubt, represent you. Even though the struggle within you rages on, you still come out as yourself. Most impressive.” She repeated and even gave a small clap.

“Um… sure. I guess your right.” Dash said, craning her head to see what Celestia was seeing. Rainbow Dash just thought of the coolest thing she could think of and drew it.

The bell rang and the students poured out of the classroom. Rainbow Dash made her way through the crowd and exited the school. As part of her plan to do all she can to stop bullying, Dash had begun to patrol the school grounds during lunch. It was either that, or she would have to hang out by herself as she could never seem to find Lightning Dust or Scootaloo during lunch. 

As part of her regular patrol, she first headed to the parking lot and library. Those places were always hotspots for bullies. After that, she would go and check out if any of the other cliques of the school was bullying. 

The preppies were, as always, talking amongst themselves. Dash had caught parts of their speech,

“…and then I thought, ‘what the hell, I’ll buy them.’ It was an extra 150 bits, but it was father’s money…”

“… so I told her, ‘now Aloe, if you eat any more apple pie, you’re gonna turn into a greaseball’…”

Dash eventually decided that the preppies weren’t a threat. 

Were they snobs? Yes. 

Were they jerks? Of course. 

Were they bullies? Not so sure.

Dash made her way to the auto shops to inspect the greasers. Just like the preppies, she eavesdropped on their conversations.

“… So when the store clerk wasn’t looking, I swiped the goods. And that’s how I got my new boots.”

“… then she says, ‘What, are you afraid of some dirt? And then I say, ‘I ain’t any preppy.’…”

It was no wonder to Rainbow Dash why the preppies and greasers were enemies. 

Dash had decided to listen to Lighting Dust’s advice and avoid the jocks. After about an hour of patrolling, Dash walked around the school for the final time, thinking if she should suck up her pride and just ask were Dust or Scootaloo hang out, when she collided with somepony.

Recoiling slightly, Dash saw that she had bumped into Ms. Luna. Luna quickly shook her head and smiled when she saw Dash,

“Why hello Rainbow Dash,” she said loudly, “fair thee well, young maiden?”

Dash gave her a confused look and Luna sighed,

“How are you, young lady? Honestly, you kids must learn to appreciate language.”

“Oh, I’m O.K.” she paused for a bit but curiosity got the best of her, “Ms. Luna, are you O.K?”

Dash had noticed that Luna’s cheeks were a hint of a rosy color. It was very similar to Soarin’s.

“I’m O.K child. In fact, I’m more than O.K. I’m very excited about your book report.”

“Wait, what book report?”

“Why Rainbow Dash, don’t you remember?” Luna said in mock surprise, “I assigned it a couple of days ago.”

Luna began to recount the events from a couple of days ago.
________________________________________
 “Now class,” Luna said as the class was about to end, “For the next week, you’ll all be writing your first book report.”

The students let out a groan of misery.

“Now now little ones, do not look so wretched. For the report, you will read a classic novel and write not just a summary, but explain the writing style. Explain why the author chose a certain diction or described a scene a certain way. Please take your time and do your best-”

Luna was cut off when a loud snoring filled the room. Everypony turned and stared at Rainbow Dash, who was currently in an unabashed nap.

Luna cleared her throat, which somehow managed to magnify her voice,

"Rainbow Dash, thou will NOT slumber when I am talking!"

Rainbow woke up with a jolt, momentarily forgetting where she was.

“What?”

“Ms. Dash, did you hear anything I have just said?”

Sweating slightly, Dash said, “Um… of course I did.”

“Oh really,” Luna said in a slightly amused smile, “So you are prepared to turn in the homework next week?”

Dash looked down at her desk and saw today’s work. I was a 2 page vocabulary sheet. Luna always assigned the classwork as homework. Thinking this was it, Rainbow scoffed,

“Don’t worry Luna, I know the homework. I’m so sure I could finish it, I’ll turn it in tomorrow.”

“Really?” Luna said, now very amused by Dash’s cluelessness, “how about we make a deal? I’ll give you four days to finish the assignment. If you complete it, you are exempted from doing book reports for the rest of the semester.”

“Awesome!”

“However, if you fail,” her smile went from amused to instilling fear, “you must face the consequences.”

Shivering slightly from the smile, Dash said, “You got yourself a deal!”

________________________________________
“Wait a second,” Dash said after Luna finished, “you’re saying when I was sleeping- I mean, resting my eyes- you gave the class a book report assignment.”

“Yes.”

“A book report that I agree to do in four days.

“You’re correct.”

“A book report that is due tomorrow.”

“The very same.”

“And if I don’t turn it in, I’ll be facing…”

“Dire consequences.” Luna finished with a smile, “Well, I must be going. I can’t wait to read what you wrote.”

Stumbling slightly, Luna left Dash to her thoughts. As soon as the English teacher was out of sight. Dash ran with all her strength to the library.

Pulling the doors with tremendous force, she quickly made her way to the librarian. As she was passing the shelves of knowledge, she heard somepony,

“Excuse me, are you Rainbow Dash?”

Turning to the aisles, Dash saw an earth pony with green eyes and dark orange hair. One look from her and Dash knew she was part of the nerd’s clique.

“Hi, I’m Junebug.”

“Nice to meet you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get a book and calm my nerves.”

“Wait, I need your help. I have some books to turn in and I’m… well, scared. I know that if I go to my locker on my own, the bullies will get me. I swear, those girls are getting more aggressive every day. But I know that they’re afraid of you. If you just walk me to my locker, I’ll feel a lot safer.”

“I’m sorry, really. But I’ve got problems of my own.” Dash could not get the image of Luna’s evil smile out of her head. She began to walk away when Junebug said something that made Dash stop in her tracks,

“Wait! I’ll pay you.”

Dash turned to Junebug. Dash needed the money. Between the satchel bag she bought and the fact that she has been living off ramen noodles from the school store as she would not eat the cafeteria’s food, her bits bag had become extremely light. Her mom’s advice echoed in her mind,

"Get a job!"

“O.K Junebug, how many bits are we talking about.”

“5 bits.”

“15.” Dash bartered.

“Um… 7 bits.”

“Deal, 10 bits it is. Come Junebug, we better get going.”

Before Junebug could protest, Dash had wrapped her arm around Junebug’s shoulder and guided her out of the library and to the school. 

The trip was a surprisingly uneventful one. Dash didn’t really believe it when Junebug said the bullies were afraid of her, but the little trip proved otherwise. As she led Junebug, Dash noticed that the bullies glaring daggers at Junebug, but after seeing Dash was with her, the bullies didn’t make a move. Rainbow couldn’t help but smile; it seemed she was making an impact on the bullies.  After a couple of minutes Dash and Junebug arrived at Junebug’s locker,

“Thank you so much Rainbow Dash!” Junebug exclaimed as she pulled out 5 different books. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

“Don’t worry about me Rainbow, I can make it back to the library on my own. Here’s your payment.” Junebug handed Dash 10 bits.

“Thanks again Dash, see ya around.”

She and Dash then departed to their own classes. Rainbow now walked with a new spring in her step. She couldn’t tell if it was from helping another pony, the fact that bullies now think twice before messing with her, or that she may have found herself a new way to make money.
________________________________________
Gym class took place in the school gymnasium. It had to be the class Rainbow both loved and hated the most. She loved it as it focused on the one thing she excels in, sports and exercise. She hated it because the class was by coach Ironwill, who always picked on the physically impaired students. Then there was the fact that half of the class was made up of bullies and jocks.

“Alright you gutless tunas,” Ironwill said after the class finished their suicide runs. “I have a special treat for you. Today, we will be playing,” he reached behind his back and somehow produced three red balls, “Dodgeball.”

The bullies, jocks, and Dash cheered while the nerds in the class groaned.

“You will all be paired in teams of three. We will be playing in tournament form. What are you all waiting for?! Go to your teams!”

There was a scramble of students instantly going to their own little group. In the end the bullies were with bullies, the preppies with preppies, greasers with greasers, jocks with jocks, and nerds with the nerds. The only ponies left without a group were Dash, a male earth pony, and female unicorn. Both of whom were nerds.

“Wait a minute,” Ironwill checked his roster, “we’re missing some ponies. Let’s see… two of them are currently suspended. You!” he barked at the nerd stallion, who jumped violently, “where’s Drizzle?”

“D-Drizzle is sick with hay fever.” He said nervously

“Hmph, you kids get bed ridden with every little disease. Fine then, Rainbow Dash, you go with geek 1 and geek 2. Faust knows they could use all the help they can get.”

The nerds hung their head in shame while Dash shot Ironwill an annoyed look.

"Jeez," she thought, "there's no need to put them down like that."

“Alright,” Ironwill said once everypony was in their groups, “here are the rules. There will be 3 rounds in each dodgeball match. Once you get hit, you’re out. If you catch a dodgeball, the thrower is out. If you hit somepony in the face or below the belt, you’re out. Now, let’s make traumatic moments that will forever be in your minds.”

The first round was the jocks vs. bullies. To nopony’s surprise, the jocks trampled the bullies. It was such a beating; even Rainbow Dash had to look away sometimes.

Next round was the preppies vs. the greasers. This was one of the times that the two cliques were able to do damage to one another without getting in trouble. Their battle was a fierce and dirty one. The greasers, which comprised of earth ponies, used their raw strength to turn the plastic balls into cannon balls. The preppies, who were all unicorns, fought fire with fire by secretly using their magic to apply more force to their throws.  The match was so intense and long that by the third round, both sides had bruises all over their bodies. There was now only one player for both sides. Each player was exhausted and held a dodgeball. Starring daggers at each other, they threw their dodgeballs with all of their might. The balls passed each other and hit both players squarely at their noses. Ironwill blew his whistle,

“Alright, that’s enough. The match ends in a draw. We have time for one more match. I want your team,” he pointed at Rainbow Dash, “and your team,” he pointed at a bully, “on the court now!”

As Dash lead her team to the court, one of the bullies walked beside her,

“I’m really going to enjoy getting payback for what you did to me.” She told Dash.

“You mind reminding me what I did? Because you’re not the only bully I pissed off.”

“You slammed your textbooks in my face.” She said with malice.

Rainbow chuckled, “Oh yeah, that was you. Maybe next time you won’t get in my way.”

The bully growled, but Lyra put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, 

“Don’t worry Daisy; we’ll have our revenge shortly.”

“Yeah,” Bon Bon, the last member of their team, said “we’ll show everypony here we won’t be beaten by one wanna-be superstar.”

“I don’t have to pretend to be a superstar; I already am.” Dash said, her pride taking over. 

Both teams went to opposite sides of each court. Dash shook her legs, raring to go. In the middle of the court were the 3 dodgeballs they were supposed to get. Ironwill blew his whistle and Dash sped off. She was the first to the center. She quickly picked up one of the balls and threw it at Daisy. It seemed that bullies were better at dodgeball than fighting because Daisy side-stepped the speeding ball with ease.

Dash looked to her sides to see how her teammates were doing. She was surprised to see that she was completely alone. She turned around and saw that they were still at the far end of the court. They seemed to be trying to appear as small as possible. Dash then accepted the fact she would be facing the bullies on her own. She turned back to her opponents, only to have her sight obscured by red rubber. As her head was flung back, Rainbow heard the distinct sound of pain as her teammates were also hit.

“Alright,” Ironwill called, “the first round goes to Daisy, Lyra, and Bon Bon.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, “didn’t you say getting hit in the face was illegal.”

“Somepony got hit in the face?” he said with a sly smile, “I didn’t see it.”

Under Dash’s livid stare, Ironwill sighed, “Oh fine, both teams get a two minute intermission, but that’s it.”

Still unsatisfied, Dash walked toward her teammates,

“Thanks for the help.” She hissed

The male nerd sighed, “What’s the point? The outcome will always be the same.”

“Caramel is right.” The unicorn nerd added, “In academics, we’re the alpha dogs. In physical education, we’re the alpha dogs’ punching bag at best.”

“Well not today.” Dash stated vehemently, “Today you two, Caramel and…”

“Lemon Heart.”

“Caramel and Lemon Heart, you two are going to show those bullies a thing or two. I have a plan that will win us this thing.”

They huddled as Dash quickly explained her strategy. Ironwill blew his whistle, signaling the second round. This time Dash, Caramel, and Lemon Hearts, stayed at their end of the court as the bullies charged to the center. They each had a ball and threw them. Dash quickly dodged the one aimed for her and caught the one flying toward Lemon Heart. Caramel managed to fumble and dodge the ball.

“Lyra!” Iron will shouted, “Rainbow Dash caught your dodgeball. You’re out.” Lyra stomped off the court.

Dash signaled her teammates and they all began to walk toward the center. The bullies didn’t move as they confident they would be able to dodge the balls with ease. Dash’s team stopped at the center.

“Ready.” Dash told the nerds and they readied the balls.

“Aim.” They all aimed at one target.

“FIRE!” Dash shouted and they all threw the balls at one pony: Bon Bon.

She dodged the first one, but the other two connected with her gut. As she fell two her knees, one of the ball bounced back to Dash’s feet. She quickly picked it up and threw it at Daisy, who was confused of the nerds’ sudden willingness to fight back.

As the ball hit Daisy in the stomach, Ironwill blew his whistle,

“This round goes to Rainbow Dash, Caramel, and Lemon Heart. Quite an impressive and unlikely performance. I’m glad I saw it with my own eyes.”

The final round began. This time, the bullies stayed back as Dash’s team rushed toward the balls. They got the balls and repeated the action as before. This time, they aimed at Daisy. She was immediately disposed of and she stayed lying on the floor. Lyra and Bon Bon picked up the weapons and threw them. They tried to copy the technique and both balls were hurled toward Rainbow. Now that she was focusing, Dash easily dodged them both. The third ball drifted back to Dash and now her team was armed. 

“OPEN FIRE!” she yelled as she threw the ball at Lyra. She dodged it, but Lemon Heart took her chance and shot her ball at Lyra, hitting her in the ribs. Bon Bon scrambled toward one of the balls, but Caramel fired his at Bon Bon, hitting her in the face.

“Caramel!” Ironwill shouted. Caramel flinched, but Ironwill smiled, “Nice shot.”

The rest of the class clapped politely. They were pleasantly surprised that the new kid and nerds won a dodgeball game.

As the class went back to the locker room, Dash walked toward the 3 fallen bullies,

“You know,” she said, a sly smile on her face, “the strategy I used, I got it from you girls. I got the idea when you all tried to attack me at the same time. Except this time, it worked.”

Chuckling merrily, Rainbow made her way to the locker rooms.
________________________________________
After school was always filled with a strange quietness. However that quiet peace was destroyed when the library doors flew open with a bang as Rainbow Dash sprinted to her dorm to work on her book report. She had just gotten her new library card and pulled a random book of the classic section (The Great Galloway). She hastily placed it in her satchel and ran like the wind. 

Dash finally made it to the dorms and burst through the door. She quickly made her way to her room, but was stopped by a commotion in the rec room.

Since she arrived to the school, Rainbow has gotten used to a number of things. One of them was the constant bickering her two friends, Lightning Dust and Scootaloo, always go through. This time, the bickering seemed to have escalated.

Scootaloo was currently chasing Lightning around the sofa.

“Give it back!” Scootaloo yelled.

“Or what?” Lightning Dust countered, shaking what seemed to be the remote to the T.V in her hands, “Your gonna go cry to a teacher,”

“Just give it back! It’s about to start!” Scootaloo ran around the sofa to get to Lightning Dust, but Dust also ran around.

“If you want it so much, just take it.” Lightning wiggled the remote over the sofa. Scootaloo jumped for the remote, but Dust simply flew up and Scootaloo dived face first to the ground.

“Come on Scootaloo, all you have to do is fly up here.” Dust mocked.

Scootaloo flapped her wings and hovered in the air, but she still needed a couple of inches to reach Lightning Dust. As Scootaloo fell to the floor in defeat, Lightning Dust chuckled. Her merriment was cut short when Dash flew up to her.

“Stop being a bully and give her back the remote.” Dash said in a final tone.

“Oh come now Dashie, we were just having a bit of fun.”

“Didn’t exactly look like fun for Scootaloo.”

Seeing Dash’s annoyed look, Lightning rolled her eyes, “Dashie, why would I be bullying? Aren’t I the pony who is trying to stop bullies? All I was doing was… toughing up the squirt for when she grows up to real pegasus, or chicken, or whatever she is. After all, it’s survival of the fittest in the real world.”

The two drifted back down to the ground. Dust handed the remote to Scootaloo.

“Thanks Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo said as she turned on the T.V.

“Now apologize,” Dash told Lightning. Rolling her eyes, Dust muttered, “Sorry squirt.”

The squirt was no longer paying attention as she watched a broadcasting from Cloudsdale. The three pegasi were currently seeing a race track made out of clouds. The stands were filled and 5 pegasi were getting ready for the race.

“Are those the Wonderbolts racing?” Dash said excitedly, momentarily forgetting her book report. She quickly jumped over the sofa and sat next to Scootaloo.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied, equally excited, “they’re having a big race today. Are you a fan too?”

“Of course! I’ve been a fan since I was a little filly. I used to dream of being a Wonderbolt.”

“Dreams,” Lightning Dust interjected, “that have no doubt been crushed by reality. Now come on Dashie,” Lightning lifted up Rainbow by the arm, “we got work to do.”

“What work?”

“Remember the plans I told you of taking over the school to stop the bullying?”

“You mean the plans I have been doing by myself while you did nothing.”

“Ha. You think fighting those small fries will stop the bullies?”

“How did you kn-”

“I have ears everywhere. Now come one.”

“Later squirt.” Dash said as she and Lightning left.

“Bye Rainbow Dash. Later Lightning Dust.” Scootaloo said, in a slightly sad voice as she watched T.V, alone.
________________________________________
Dash followed Lightning to the school parking lot. She didn’t know why Dust insisted on being so stealthy. The two kept low and hid in the nearest bush at the slightest noise. They quickly entered the parking lot and hid behind a car.

“Lighting, what are w-“

“Shhh! Whisper you dolt.”

“Why are we whispering?” Dash hissed.

Lightning pointed and Dash saw Gilda, the leader of the bullies, leaning against a brick wall.

“What are we doing?” Dash whispered, “Are we going to fight her?” Rainbow absently rubbed her stomach, the punch Gilda delivered to her still fresh in Dash’s memory.

“Of course not. Even with the two of us, fighting a griffon with serious anger issues isn’t a great idea. My plan is to tail her around school.”

“Why?”

“What do you think?! If we find out her weakness, any kind of weakness, we could use it against her. Once she falls, the rest of the bullies will fall as well.”

The two stayed in their hiding spots for a couple of minutes until somepony, who Dash recognized was Daisy, walked up to Gilda. She couldn’t hear what the bullies were saying, but she could see their facial expression.

She saw Gilda’s face go from calm to joy. She was smiling at what Daisy, who had an expression of unease, was saying. The joy, however, immediately left when Daisy finished talking. Gilda’s new expression was livid and she starting yelling.

“YOU WHAT? HOW COULD YOU LOSE TO THOSE THREE?”

“What do you think those two are talking about?” Lightning said in mock curiosity.

“I think I have an idea.” Dash said, a pleased smile on her face.

The pegasi then spent the next couple of minutes listening to Gilda call Dash every insult that she could think of. Eventually, Daisy left and was soon followed by Gilda.

“So, now what?” Dash asked Lightning as the two left their hiding spots.

“We do this again. And we keep doing this until we find her weakness.”

On that motivated note, the pegasi made their way to the dorm.
________________________________________
In the library, Sparkler, Junebug, Caramel, Lemon Heart, and another nerd were sitting in a table. They were all discussing the same subject.

“We need to do something about the bullies.” Junebug stated.

“What do you want us to do? We can’t beat them in a fight, and those idiots are far beyond reasoning.” Sparkler countered.

“So do we just give up and let them continue to pick on us?”

“Of course not! We just have to think of something.”

“I have an idea.” Caramel spoke up, “During gym, Lemon Heart and I were paired up with a student. She must be new, since I have never seen her before. Usually, when somepony is paired with us, they just let us do whatever. But this pony, she helped us, and we beat the bullies. My plan is to fight back the bullies, and she seems to be our best shot in completing our goal.”

“Just wondering,” Junebug said, “was this student a pegasus?”

“And did she have rainbow-colored hair?” Sparkler added.

“Y-yes. How did you know?”

The two mares looked at each other and said at the same time, “Rainbow Dash.” The mares began to explain how they met the pegasus.

“So we all know Rainbow Dash?” Lemon Heart said, “This is pretty interesting. We all met her because she helped us.”

“Most intriguing.” said sompony else.

The nerds turned to the head of the table, where a unicorn nerd with midnight blue hair streaked with pink and purple, was reading a book. She put down the book and stared at everypony,

“So what you’re saying Caramel, is that we get Rainbow Dash to help us fight the bullies?”

“Yeah, pretty good idea. Right, Twilight?”

Twilight crossed her arms and pondered the idea. Eventually she said,

“I think we should refrain from asking Dash for any help. At least, for the time being.”

“What, why?” everypony questioned.

“I’ve thinking of not just what Rainbow Dash does, but also of who she keeps as company.”

“What, you mean that little pegasus? You think she’s a threat?” Sparkler joked.

“I’m talking about that egotistical, self-centered Lightning Dust.” 

Twilight’s words instantly caused some unease.

“I didn’t know Rainbow Dash was friends with…her.” Lemon Heart shivered.

“I have some doubts that Rainbow really knows what kind of pony Lightning Dust really is. While I try to decipher what kind of relationship those two have, I think it’s for the best we don’t involve Dash in our plans. Only time will tell if Rainbow Dash can be trusted.”

> Chp 4: Election and Nightmare Night pt1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manticore Ville was experiencing a lovely sunny day. The citizens were enjoying the sunshine and everypony else were decorating for tonight’s events. Over at Manticore Academy however, there was what seemed to be a giant storm looming over the school. The dark clouds hovered over the entire school, except there were no clouds over the football field. Above the storm cloud, an aging, custodian pegasus was hauling a wagon filled with the dark clouds. He stopped when he was over directly over the field, sweating profusely. He let go of the cart, which somehow did not go plummeting to the ground, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He flew higher, adjusting his hat, as he scanned the surrounding the clouds. His eyes finally stopped when he saw the pegasus that was supposed to be helping him. Grunting, he flew to her. As he got closer, the custodian heard his assistant snoring and realized she was taking a nap. He landed on the cloud next to her. Now completely annoyed, the custodian gave the cloud under the assistant a sharp kick. The cloud immediately produced a bolt of lightning and shocked the assistant awake.

Her eyes bolted wide open and she cried in pain. She quickly scanned her surroundings, and saw a very unpleased custodian.

“What’s the big deal Grey?!” she said as she stood up, patting all of the smoldering parts on her clothes and hair.

“Oh you know,” the custodian Grey said, “just trying to get a certain lazy pegasus to do the job she is paid to do.”

The assistant quickly looked around the sea of clouds,

“Aren’t we already done?”

“Darn it Rainbow Dash!” Grey quickly grabbed by the arm and flew her toward the clear football field,

“We still need to finish this whole section before lunch! Now,” Grey cracked his back, “I’ll start on the left and you start on the right. We’ll meet in the middle.”

He turned and realized Dash was preparing another nap on a nearby cloud.

“What are you doing?!” Grey demanded.

“Relax Grey,” Dash said as she plumped her cloud pillow, “We still got plenty of time and I could really catch on some sleep.”

The last part was completely true. Ever since their first spy mission on Gilda, Lightning Dust had insisted on spying on her 2-3 days a week. At first, Dash was eager of finding a way to stop Gilda, but as the days droned on, Dash was becoming less and less enthusiastic. The day before, Rainbow and Lightning Dust watched Gilda spray paint something on one of the parking lot walls. They kept watching until Gilda finished. The end result was a crude drawing of Prof. Spitfire in a vulgar pose. It was 2 am when they went back to their rooms. Dash only got 4 hours of sleep as she promised Grey to help with the covering the sky for some bits.

Grey pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, “I cannot believe I got help from the laziest and slowest pegasus in the school.”

Rainbow immediately got up, looking straight into Grey’s eyes. Besides her fighting and sheer awesomeness, her speed was one of the things Dash prided herself in.

“Now hold up! Did you just call me, the fastest flyer you’ll ever meet, slow?!”

“Yes! If you want to prove me wrong, then help get some clouds and start covering.”

“I’ll do you one better.” Rainbow quickly survived the field, “I can do this myself.”

Grey scoffed, “Yeah right. If you do it by yourself, it will take 10 hours at the earliest.”

“Not 10 hours,” Dash flew over to the still floating wagon in the middle of the field, “10 seconds.”

Grey laughed, “And I’ll be the next president of Equestria.”

“Care to put your bits where your mouth is. If I cover the field in 10 seconds flat, you double my pay. If I can’t, then I don’t get a single bit.”

“Deal!”

Grey changed the settings on his wristwatch and now had 10 seconds on the screen. Rainbow Dash stretched her arms, wings, and necked. She had one hand on the wagon.

“On your mark,” Grey looked up to make sure there was no cheating, “get set,” Dash’s whole body tensed, “Go!”

Grey blinked and saw Rainbow Dash and half of the clouds on the wagon had disappeared. He turned his head and saw dark clouds forming at the far end of the field at break-neck speed. After closer inspection, Grey saw a rainbow trail under the clouds. He quickly looked at his stopwatch and saw 4 seconds had passed. He looked back up and saw over half of the once open sky was now covered. He now focused on his stopwatch.

5…4…3…2…1

Grey looked up the moment the watch beeped. He recoiled when he saw Rainbow Dash standing in front of him, panting.

“Like I said *huff* 10 *huff* seconds *huff* FLAT! *huff*”

Grey’s expression was stoic.

“So,” Dash wiped her forehead and she regained her composure, “about our little deal.” She smiled and held out her hands.

Grey stared at the hand for a couple of seconds, his expression unchanged. He then took two small bags from his pocket.

“You know,” he said as he tossed the bags of bits to Dash, “I don’t know whether I should be impressed by your speed, or angry that you didn’t use it earlier.”

“All I need is the right motivation.”

“Whatever. Now get to class, you’re late.”

Dash pushed some clouds aside and slipped inside. Once she was under the clouds, she closed the hole and the world grew considerably darker. No sun light entered the school and the only source of light was from the hundreds of floating lanterns and jack-o-lanterns surrounding the school. Dash grinned when she saw the scenery and quickly made her way to her dorm to retrieve her satchel bag.

It has been a month since Dash started school. Since then she has grown to like the academy. Most of the teachers care about the students and there are always new and interesting ponies to meet. The only gripe she had were the bullies that keep pestering her. With good reason, as Rainbow Dash always showed them she can’t be so easily intimidated.

Dash left her dormitory with her bag and began to walk leisurely to the academy. It was very serene as everypony was already in class. She smiled as she walked down a path of jack-o-lanterns and live bats flew overhead. It was one of her favorite times of the year: Nightmare Night. 

Ever since she was a kid, Rainbow has loved the holiday. The prospect of getting free candy had always intrigued her. However, as she got older, her motives had changed. Instead of getting candy, she spent the night pranking any and every pony. This year, it won’t be any different. To make things even better, M.A holds a huge Nightmare Night festival at the football field every year. The fun will begin at 7’o clock and keep going until midnight.

She began to walk the steps to the academy, a big grin on her face.

‘Nothing,’ she thought, ‘is going to ruin this day!’

“Hey Rainbow Dash.” Said an all too familiar voice. Rainbow ignored it.

‘Nothing can ruin this day.’ She thought again. 

“Don’t ignore me!” said the same, impatient voice.

‘Nothing. Can. Ruin. This. Day.’

“Hey Rainbow Prick. I know you’re mentally challenged, but even you have to understand Basic English.”

Dash’s calm mind was shattered with the last remark and she finally turned around. She saw Berry Punch at the entrance of the courtyard that lead to the academy building and adjacent routes. She was hiding something behind her back. Dash walked back down the steps.

“What do you want Berry?”

“What do you think? I want payback!”

“You’ve got to be more specific because I can’t keep track of every single time I teach you ponies a lesson. I got Lyra mad at me for punching her into the fountain and I ticked off Daisy for ‘accidently’ dumping a bucket of paint on her head. What did I do to you again?”

“A better question would be what didn’t you do?” Berry snapped.

“Well I try to do as much as I can.” Dash said modestly

Berry smiled and revealed what she was hiding; a baseball bat.

“I have been waiting a long time for this.” Berry gave the bat a couple of swings.

“If you wanted to play baseball with me, all you had to do was ask. Although to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of baseball. Now if it was soccer, it would be a completely different story.”

Berry merely stared. 

“I’m going to enjoy this a lot more than I should.” She deadpanned.

Holding the bat with one hand, Berry ran toward Dash and Dash ran toward Berry. When they were a couple of feet from each other, Berry raised the bat overhead and brought it down. Dash quickly grabbed the arm holding the weapon and gave it a sharp twist. Berry cried out in pain and dropped the bat. She tried to punch Dash, but was stopped when Rainbow’s knee connected with her stomach. Rainbow Dash then twisted the arm to Berry’s back and began to walk her to the steps.

“What the Tartarus are you doing?” Berry asked.

“I’m just trying something out.” Dash replied casually. “You see, the other day I was watching an old sitcom with Scootaloo. In it, the son was having a huge tantrum so the mother put him in a time-out. When it was over, the boy was no longer angry. So that got me thinking; why don’t I try that?” 

Dash had lead Berry to the right side of the stairs, where a large waste basket was idly sitting. Dash grabbed Berry’s shoulders and turned her around so they were both looking at each other.

“Remember Berry, this is for your own good.” A small smile began to form on Dash’s face. “And this is gonna hurt you more than it hurts me.”

Rainbow shoved Berry flank first into the waste basket. Her arms now stuck to her sides.

“Let me out!” Berry growled.

“Not until you learn your lesson.”

“You little bi-”

Dash clamped her hands over Berry’s mouth.

“There is no need for that language.” Dash scolded as a parent would do to their child, “Now, you’re going to stay here until lunch. That should be enough time for you to learn your lesson.”

Dash began to walk up the steps to the school as Berry yelled out a string of insults. Rainbow’s spirits began to dwindle at the thought of more attacks from the bullies. But as she opened the door to the academy and saw all of the Nightmare Night decorations, her spirits sky rocketed.
________________________________________
Lunch time was nearing its end. The students were either finishing their meal or trying to score one more point in whatever game they were playing. On the second floor of the academy, a certain unicorn nerd was hanging a poster on a wall. The poster had an image of the unicorn holding a book across her chest and giving a thumbs up and wink to whoever was seeing the poster. Below the image was:


VOTE TWILIGHT SPARKLE
FOR
STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT


“Nothing wrong with some last minute propaganda.” Twilight told herself. “Now, I better go re-check my speech in case I missed something in the last 10 proofreads.”

Before she could turn to leave, Twilight heard two ponies chuckling and felt somepony put an arm around her. She turned around and sighed when she saw who it was,

“What do you want Lily Valley?”

“Oh, nothing much. We just wanted to see how our favorite punching bag was doing. Isn’t that right Score?

“Exactly” Score replied. 

Score was a pegasus. He was a head taller than Lily, had budging muscles, had dark hair that always seemed to cover his eyes, and was part of the varsity football team. Lily valley was an earth pony. She had pale amber hair that always had a lily on her head and was also part of the football team. Both were jocks and they simply loved feeling superior, so they harass weaker students. Mainly the nerds.

“Well as much as I love to stay and chat,” Twilight said as she took Lily’s arm off her shoulder, “I have some preparations to review.”

“Hey Lily,” Score said as he looked at the poster, “What’s this all about? I thought no one else was running for president.”

“You’re right Score.” Lily glared at Twilight, “I thought we told you not to run.”

“Well I’m sorry but that was an impossible request. I’m clearly the obvious choice for president as I know this school like the back of my hand. I’ll know what to do to improve this school ten-fold.”

“And I thought we told you not to run.” Lily repeated, “Now it looks like we’ll have to resort to a more persuasive approach.  Maybe some time in a locker will change your mind.”

“Ha! Is that the best you guys got? What’s next: Swirly, tossing my books, putting a kick-me sign on my back?  I know this is hard for you two, but please use your brains and be more creative.”

“O.K then,” Lily grabbed Twilight by her arms, “How about we tie you by your feet and leave you hanging from the chandelier on the fifth floor.”

“See, now you’re being creative. But, I cannot allow that.” Twilight’s horn began to glow, “So I’m gonna ask you one time; Let-me-go.” She emphasized the last words.

There was silence between the 3 of them. Neither one was sure if they should make the first move. Time slowly ticked by as they all stared daggers at each other. As Lily began to scoop Twilight off the floor, they heard footsteps from the end of the hallway. Everypony turned and saw Rainbow Dash walking toward them. She was whistling joyfully to herself and didn’t realize what was happening until she was mere feet from the little commotion. As her eyes scanned each of the ponies and what they were doing, her whistling slowly stopped and all that was left was a bemused look on her face.

“Huh, looks like I should start coming early to English class more often.”

“And you are?” Lily said, still not letting go of Twilight.

Rainbow smiled and pointed her thumb to her chest, “The names Rainbow Dash: the fastest flyer, best fighter, and most awesomeness pegasus in this school. I’m pretty sure you all heard of me.”

“No.” Lily said.

“Nope.” Score agreed.

“Yes.” Twilight said with a frown.

Dash shrugged, “I guess 1/3 isn’t so bad. Anyway, I’m gonna have to ask you to let go of the nerd.”

“Excuse me,” Twilight interjected, “but we ‘nerds’ prefer to be called academic buffs.”

“Are you sure? It doesn’t really roll of the tongue. How about eggheads?” Dash added helpfully.

Twilight sighed, “Just stick with nerds.”

“Perfect. Now, let her go.” Dash warned the jock.

“Or what?” Score said as he stepped forward.

“Or else this isn’t going to end pretty.” Rainbow Dash turned sideways and put her fist up. Lily pushed Twilight aside and began to crack her knuckles.

“Come on Score,” she said, “let’s show this wannabe what it means to miss with the rulers of the school.”

Dash wasn’t the least bit scared of fighting opponents that were taller and more muscular then her. This was noted by the jocks, who weren’t pleased they their prey wasn’t intimidated. As the 3 ponies got closer, there was the sound of somepony else approaching. They turned and saw it was the chemistry teacher Dr. Whooves.

“Hello everypony, enjoying another day of your minds being molded?”

“Yes Doctor.” Lily said, putting on an innocent appearance, “Score and I were just having a little chat with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.”

“Splendid. I would let you get on with your discussion if I didn’t need your help. Lily, Score, would you mind helping me lift some equipment to my classroom? I need it for my next class.”

Lily shot a quick look at the girls before telling Dr. Whooves, “No, we don’t mind at all.”

“Fantastic,” the doctor grabbed both Score’s and Hoop’s shoulders, “let’s not dilly-dally.”

He led the two ponies around the corner, but not before giving Rainbow Dash a knowing wink.

“Huh,” Dash thought aloud after the 3 ponies left, “looks like the Doctor is a pretty cool teacher. Anypony else would have given us all detention.”

Dash turned around and saw Twilight was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“You O.K?” Dash asked.

“I’m fine.” Twilight replied, her eyes trained on Rainbow.

Dash noticed Twilight’s calculating eyes on her and she started to feel unnerved. It was as if she was being judged on everything she did, even her breathing. Rainbow began to search around the empty hallway, trying hard to get Twilight’s attention on something else. She noticed the poster and pointed at it,

“What’s that?” 

Twilight looked and saw the poster,

“That’s one of my campaign posters.”

“Campaign for what?”

“It’s on the poster. It’s for student body president.”

“Really? I didn’t know there was an election coming on.”

“How? There have been announcements for the election for the past 2 weeks during afternoon classes.”

Rainbow Dash quickly thought about her afternoon classes. She was either dozing off during English or was too busy focusing on Gym class to pay attention to announcements.

“Must have slipped my mind. So, when can I cast my vote?”

“Tomorrow. Today is the day for the runners to give their speeches.”

Twilight looked at her poster for a few seconds. She then put her left arm across her chest, inhaled, extended  the arm, and exhaled. Seeing Dash’s confused look, she explained,

“The thing I just did was a stress-relieving exercise.”

“Why are you so stressed?”

Twilight didn’t respond. Rainbow thought she didn’t hear so she was about to ask again when Twilight spoke up,

“Somepony is going to sabotage my speech. So forgive me if I’m not in the most peaceful of moods.”

“How do you know?”

“The jocks have been relentless in trying to stop anypony else run for office. They will no doubt do anything to discredit me during my speech.”

“Can’t you have some of the other nerds keep a look out.”

“That’s not possible. They’re going to be in the actual audience. They’re job is to discreetly encourage the audience to pay attention to the speech. If somepony sees them nodding their heads at something I say, they will follow suit. Eventually, everypony will be listening and will no doubt be won by my speech. But, that won’t happen if the jocks intervene.”

Twilight did the stress-relieving exercise again and was silent. Even though Twilight tried to hide it, Dash saw the unease in her eyes. Smiling, Dash patted one of Twilight’s shoulders,

“Don’t worry Twilight, I’ll keep the jocks off your back.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow,

“Why?”

“Why not? I’m not about to let some meat heads terrorize one of my friends.”

“Who said we were friends?”

“I did.”

There was a moment of silence that followed this proclamation. Then Twilight said, “I have an idea on how you can be of use to me. Meet me on the third floor as soon as your afternoon class ends.” Twilight began to walk away, but not before turning around,

“Thanks, I appreciate the help.” She smiled, “You know Rainbow Dash, I might have been wrong about you.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Twilight either didn’t hear or ignored the question. She then walked around a corner and left.
________________________________________
The school bell rang, announcing the end of school. As Rainbow Dash and her classmates packed up their supplies, Luna stood up for an announcement,

“Remember young ones, today is the day that the candidates for student body president will be giving their speeches in the auditorium. Extra credit will be given to those who attend and write a page about the positives and negatives of each representative’s speeches. Let me not remind that some of you are in desperate need of a boost in your grades.” Luna glared at a couple of students at the back. All of them gulped and sprinted out of the classroom and to the auditorium. Dash exited the classroom and instead of following the stream of ponies going downstairs, she made her way to the 3rd floor.

The 3rd floor wasn’t anything special. It was almost identical to the floors blow it. The only difference was that there were more doors and the classes were different. As she searched for Twilight, she noted that some of the classrooms doors read Equestrian History, Physics, and Introduction to Arithmancy.

Rainbow Dash made her way through the hallways until she found Twilight leaning against a pair of double doors. Hanging on the doors was a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign. Twilight turned her head toward the sound of Dash’s approaching footsteps.

“Where have you been?” Twilight demanded in an annoyed voice.

“What do you mean?”

“The candidates are supposed to be giving their speeches in a couple of minutes! You were supposed to meet me here immediately after classes ended. So much for being the ‘fastest pegasus in the school’.”

“You know,” Rainbow Dash said, not appreciating Twilight’s use of air quotes, “most ponies are generally nicer to those helping them.”

“I don’t have time to be nice right now.” Twilight did a quick stress-exercise, “Now just listen. Before the afternoon classes started I put this on the door.” She pointed to the sign, “The doors lead to the highest balcony in the auditorium. You should have a perfect vantage point to keep an eye on things. Most importantly; be discreet. If you cause a commotion, then the speeches will be postponed and that will give the jocks more time to think of a plan to win.”

“Don’t worry your nerdy little head.” Dash patted Twilights head and was met with fierce animosity, “I’ve got your back.”

“One more thing,” Twilight said, still mad at being patted, “Do you have something that will help you keep the jocks at bay.”

“Oh yeah.” Dash grinned and rooted through her saddlebag. She then pulled out her wooden slingshot and a bag of marbles and spherical rocks. She gave the slingshot a little shake, “As long as I got this baby, nopony is going near you.”

“Mind if I see that?” Twilight stuck out her hand.

Dash passed her weapon to Twilight. As Twilight was inspecting it in her hands, Dash reminisced on the times she used it. She couldn’t help but grin when she thought of all the times she fired rocks at bullies in passing. She actually grew somewhat attached to the thing.

After a couple of seconds of reviewing the slingshot, Twilight levitated it with her magic. It was airborne for a second before being snapped in two.

Dash’s mouth was agape as she saw Twilight toss the now useless slingshot to a nearby trashcan.

“Why?” that was all Dash could muster.

“That slingshot was in terrible condition; it was already practically broken. You must have been used for a long to get in that condition.”

“So?” Dash spat, “Now how am I supposed to take down the jocks quietly?”

“With this.” Twilight rummaged through her purple satchel and tossed something metal into Dash’s hands. Dash was confused. She was holding what seemed to be the handlebars of a bike still connected to the neck. She saw that it had a rubber band, which didn’t feel like any rubber band Dash knew, tied to the handles. Giving it a stretched she noticed that it didn’t wobble or shake like her old slingshot, As she aimed, she saw a small device on the left handle. Peeking through it, she realized it was a scope.

“O.K, what the Tartarus is this?”

“That is your new slingshot.” Twilight said proudly, “I made it during auto-shop. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that you would need some help with protecting me so I said, ‘Why not?’. Now,” Twilight pushed Rainbow through the doors, “do your thing and please be discreet.”

Twilight closed the door behind Dash and she was now in partial darkness. Rainbow made her way through the small corridor until she found another door. She opened it and entered the 3rd floor balcony. It was filled with rows of velvet red seats. She made her way to the edge of the balcony and saw the entire auditorium. Slightly below her were other balconies, but not as big as the one she was on. On the ground floor were countless rows of seats filled with ponies. Dash couldn’t make out their faces as the only source of light was coming from the stage. The red curtains started to part which revealed a single podium.  There was the sound of footsteps echoing in the silent auditorium. Twilight appeared from the right side of the stage and she was greeted by polite applause. Once Twilight was at the podium, she pulled out a stack of flash cards, used both her hands and magic to arrange them neatly, and began to read off them,

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I want you to help me, help you.”

From the corner of her eyes, Dash saw movement. Turning her head, she saw a pegasus jock on one of the lower balconies. He pulled out a slingshot from his pocket and aimed it at Twilight. Thinking fast, Rainbow aimed her new and improved slingshot and fired at the jock’s forehead. She expected him to recoil, as most ponies did when hit by a slingshot. She, however, didn’t expect the pegasus to drop to the floor the moment the rock connected.

‘Wow,' Rainbow Dash thought, ‘This thing is amazing! It’s almost as if he’s… he’s…’

Dash suddenly felt cold. She quickly flew over to the balcony to check on the pegasus. She was relived to find him in pain.

“Phew,” Dash said softly, “I thought you were a goner. Leave it to a nerd to create something so devastating.”

Dash then looked down at the audience below, looking for other miscreants. At first, all she could see were the faces of half-asleep ponies. It seemed that this wasn’t how they wanted to spend their Nightmare Night.

Suddenly one of the ponies got up. She began walking toward the stage and pulled out a carton of eggs from under her sweater. Luckily, she was directly below Rainbow. Dash quickly grabbed the suspect and flew back to the balcony. Once they landed, the suspect began to struggle so much that Dash hit her over the head with the butt of the slingshot. When the suspect fell to the floor, Rainbow saw that it was Lyra.

‘Great,' Dash thought sarcastically, 'not only do I have to feel with jocks, but also bullies.'

All in all, this wasn’t how Rainbow Dash expected her day to go. In the morning, she never thought she’d find herself sneaking around a dark auditorium; silently taking down bullies and jocks. Although, Dash couldn’t help but feel awesome while doing her little covert mission. It was as if she was part of the secret service and was protecting the president (which wasn’t too far from the truth.) The downside was that nopony was watching her being awesome.

As Dash continued her little escapade, her eyes kept wandering back to the audience. In the beginning, the students looked bored and half-asleep. Now, however, all the students were attentive. Dash saw that the students that were the most interested in the speech were the ones nearest to the nerds. It seems that Twilight’s plan actually worked.

After a couple of minutes, there was no sign of anypony trying to humiliate Twilight. Dash decided that the bullies and jocks realized that some invisible force was stopping them. Feeling pleased with herself, Dash flew to one of the balconies nearest to the stage, which was filled with unconscious ponies, and made her way down the stairs. After a couple of turns, she found herself backstage. She walked as close to the stage without being seen. From there, Dash was able to see Twilight, looking more calm then she did before. 

Everything seemed O.K, until Dash heard a snicker. Looking up, she saw something that made her heart stop.

Above Twilight was a small, unseen, platform where the stage lights were hanging from. Standing on the platform was a pegasus with hair covering his eyes, wearing a football jersey, and carrying a bucket of unknown content.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew up to the platform. As she got closer, the pegasus, who she recognized as Score, saw her and raised the bucket threateningly,

“Any closer and your nerd friend gets doused in red paint.” Score said.

“It’s over Score. Twilight has the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand. Nothing you do can change that.”

“Oh really?” Score smirked and dumped the paint over Twilight. 

Time seemed to slow down as the paint fell. Rainbow had to act quick, but couldn’t think of anything. Deciding that desperate times called for desperate measures, Dash soared below the paint. Turning her body over and spreading her arms, she waited for the impact. Red paint splashed all over Dash’s face and torso, but not on Twilight.

“What did you do that for?” Score spat.

Dash didn’t reply. She slowly wiped paint of her eyes and mouth. She flew to Score and yanked the bucket from his hands. She then proceeded to beat the living Tartarus out of Score with the bucket. 

Dash didn’t know whether the red she saw was from the paint, or her blinding fury. She was surprised but pleased that nopony heard the sound of Score’s cries of pain and the sound of a metal bucket colliding with a skull. 

With all of her strength, Rainbow brought the bucket down on Scores head, causing the jock to slump to the platform floor. Taking some deep breaths, Dash picked up Score and flew to the left side of the stage. As she dropped Score to the floor, not to gently, Dash heard the ending of Twilight’s speech.

“Remember comrades; a vote for T is a vote for victory!”

Dash poked her head from the side of the stage to see the cheering crowds. Most of the students were standing as they applauded in approval. Twilight gave a small bow and walked to the left of the stage, the place were Dash was. As she walked toward Rainbow, Twilight gave the unconscious, bucket wearing, pegasus a look over before saying to Dash,

“Great job Rainbow Dash; looks like you are trustable.” Twilight saw the paint and gave Dash a small smile, “Trying a new look? I like it; it really brings out your inner angst.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “W-was that a joke?”

“Yep. Now that I’m no longer stressing over the speech, I can joke again. By the way, I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.”

“It’s cool; it happens to the best of us. Well, except for me.”

“Right.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes good naturedly.

“I suppose you’ll want this back.” Dash took out the super slingshot from her pocket.

“Nah, you keep it. Think of it as payment.”

“Sweet.”

Twilight looked at the other side of the stage and did the stress relieving exercise.

“Now what’s wrong?” Dash asked curiously, “I thought you weren’t stressed anymore.”

“I’m just wondering if my opponent will top my speech.”

Dash blew a raspberry, “Don’t worry Twi. The audience loves you. You’ll be fine.” She gave Twilight a reassuring pat on the head. Dash took it as a good sign that Twilight didn’t give her a look of malice as she did with the previous pat on the head. 

“It’s not that simple Dash. The thing is I have no idea who my opponent is. Actually, nopony knows who else was running.”

“Wait, how is that possible? How is the other pony supposed to get support if nopony knows who it is?”

“They no doubt are extremely confident they will get a lot of support from this presentation. That confidence is what worries me.”

After about a minute of waiting, two ponies walked from the right side of the stage, wheeling something. As they got closer, Dash noticed the ponies were cheerleaders and the thing they wheeled was a brightly colored cannon.

“Oh no.” Twilight groaned.

“What is it?” Dash asked.

“It’s… It’s…” All Twilight could do was close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose.

The cheerleaders set the cannon at a 90 degree angle. After putting it in front of the podium, one of the ponies pressed a button from the back of the cannon. There was the sound of a cartoonish explosion and confetti, steamers, and a pink blur flew out of the cannon. The pink blur did a couple of flips in the air before landing perfectly in front of the podium. It turns out the blur was an earth pony in a cheerleader outfit and very bouncy pink hair.

“SURPRISE!” The pony yelled and the audience erupted in a deafening cheer. Dash and Twilight covered their ears as the audience was practically foaming at the mouth.

“Who the Tartarus is that?” Dash demanded.

“Pinkie Pie.” Twilight moaned.

“Is that bad?”

“You have no idea. Pinkie Pie is the most peppy, cheery, charismatic pony you will meet. Normally this would be a good thing, except that Pinkie has a scatter brain. That isn’t something a president should have.”

“If that’s the case, then I doubt Pinkie will be able to top your speech.”

“We’ll see.” Twilight said mournfully.

Twilight was right when she said Pinkie Pie was charismatic. After the first part of the speech, in which Pinkie talked about how she would do her best as president, Dash was inclined to vote for her. Pinkie just gave off this sense that everything will be great and wonderful. She continues her speech with promises of raising school spirit and making every day fun.

“Well,” Pinkie said after a couple of minutes of talking, “that’s enough from this little old filly. I hope you all vote for me and I’ll see you all tonight.”

Dash found herself clapping with the rest of the audience.

“Told you,” Twilight said as Dash continued to clap, “Pinkie will probably win now.”

The two cheerleaders wheeled the cannon to the left side of the stage. As they passed Twilight and Rainbow Dash, the cheerleaders gave them smug smirks.

Pinkie Pie, who was skipping behind them, stopped in front of Twilight.

“Hi Twilight!” she said cheerfully, giving Twilight a big hug, “Your speech was super-duper awesomely terrific. I know who I’m voting for.” She finished in a sing song voice, giving Twilight a small wink. Pinkie Pie then noticed Dash,

“Hi there, I’ve never seen you before, I’m Pinkie Pie.”

“Hey, I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“Your face is all red. Are you mad?”

It took a while for Dash to realize that she was still covered in red paint.

“Oh no, it’s just-”

“I know what will make you feel better.” Pinkie grinned while Twilight sighed, “A PARTY! And since it’s Nightmare Night, we can have a themed party. Speaking of which, I should get back to the Nightmare Night committee. I still need to approve of a couple of things. See you guys later.” 

Pinkie Pie skipped merrily away, leaving Dash slightly dumbfounded by Pinkie.

“Wow,” Dash said, “She’s pretty-”

“Random” Twilight said helpfully.

“Yeah that. Well, I should probably get this paint off before tonight. Later Twilight.”

“Wait Dash. I need to tell you something.”

Dash turned to face Twilight and was surprised to see a grave expression on her face.

“What’s wrong Twi?”

“You hang out a lot with Lightning Dust, right?”

Dash thought about how the only time she and Lightning Dust hang out is when they spy on the Gilda.

“Yeah. You can call it hanging out. Why do you want to know?”

“Be careful Rainbow Dash. Be careful when you’re around Lightning Dust.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Twilight didn’t reply immediately. When she did, her voice was still grave,

“A lot of the student here have been in Manticore Academy since we were in middle school. Myself and Lightning Dust included. My point is that I know more about Lightning Dust than you do. So I’m warning you; be careful around Lightning Dust.”

On that dark note, Twilight gave Dash a pat on the shoulder and left.




> Chp 5: Election and Nightmare Night pt2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the girls dorm, at the very end of the hallway on each floor, there is a door that leads to a corridor. The corridor is packed with doors that lead to a student’s own personal bathroom. Why separate the bathroom from the student’s room is something nopony questioned or bothered to ask. Rainbow Dash was currently in her bathroom. She decided to take a shower right after the speeches to wash away the red paint. Now Dash stood in her shower, the red paint completely gone, and as the warm water cleared her mind, she thought of Twilight’s words.

‘Be careful around Lightning Dust.’

“What could that mean?” she asked herself.

‘Well,’ said an inner voice,‘it could mean to be careful around Lightning Dust.’

Rainbow scowled, “Yeah, but why? Why would hanging out with Lightning Dust be so dangerous?”

‘I don’t know. Probably because she acts like a bully and-’

“Now hold up; Lightning Dust is not a bully. Yeah she’s full of herself, but so what, that doesn’t mean she picks on other kids.”

‘Oh really. Why don’t you ask Scootaloo what she thinks?’ The voice shot back.

Dash could not ignore how Lightning Dust always belittles the young pegasus every chance she got.

“O.K, you got a point. But Scootaloo’s tough; she can take it.”

‘Why do you keep protecting Lightning Dust?’

“Because she’s my friend.”

‘Right, because she’s our friend. We sure know how to pick them. I mean, our friends were the very reason we got kicked out of 5 other schools.’

Rainbow’s mind suddenly flashbacked to the times where her ‘friends’ pinned the blame on her just to save their own skin. The sudden recollection of betrayals filled her with anger and sadness that she slammed her fist into the tiled wall. The pain brought her back to reality.

“Faust dammit.” She muttered as she shook her throbbing hand and turned off the shower. She stepped out of the shower, shook herself dry, and reached for her clothes. The only problem was that there were no clothes to grab.

Rainbow Dash quickly looked around the bathroom, as though expecting her clothes to magically appear. Thinking that she must have forgotten to grab a fresh set, Dash went to grab her paint-covered clothing she left near the shower. Those clothes have also disappeared.

“What the buck?” she said slowly.

Just as Dash was beginning to think she was going insane, she saw a slip of parchment under the bathroom door. She picked it up and read:

Dear Dashie,

If you’re reading this, then you must be done with your bath. You’re probably thinking where your clothes went. Don’t worry; I took the liberty of taking your clothes back to your room. So get your flank over to your room pronto; I got a surprise that will blow your mind!

XOXO
Lightning Dust

“Son of a…”

Dash crumpled the paper in her hands and grabbed her towel. Making sure the towel hid most of her; Dash exited her bathroom and made her way out of the corridor. Slowly opening the door leading to the hallway, Dash peeked through the small opening to see if there were any ponies around. Unfortunately, there were 7 ponies idly standing in the hallway; no doubt waiting for some friends so they could go to the Nightmare Night festival. Taking a deep breath, Dash spread her wings. She then hurled herself into the hallway with blinding speed. Ignoring the gasp of ponies, all of whom only saw was a rainbow blur, Dash slammed her bedroom door open, which was somehow unlocked, and closed it as quickly as possible. Exhaling, she turned to face her room only to find somepony else lying on her bed; a certain green-winged and amber colored hair pegasus.

“Hey Dashie,” Lightning Dust said casually, “you enjoyed your bath?” For some reason, Lightning Dust covered her whole body with the bed sheets.

“Oh it was nice,” Dash said as she walked over to her wardrobe, “except for the part where a pompous pegasus stole my clothes.”

“Nice alliteration,” Lightning complimented

Dash threw the letter she was holding in her hand to Lightning, who was chuckling merrily. Rainbow opened her wardrobe and stared at the interior for a couple of seconds.

“Lightning Dust.” Dash said slowly.

“Yeah?”

“Where are my clothes?”

“Around.” Lightning said simply.

Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash locked eyes. Both of them glared at each other for a couple of seconds before they broke out in a fit of laughter.

“O.K,” Dash said in between breathes, “you got me. That was a pretty sweet prank.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Lightning Dust said as continued to chuckle, perhaps a little too villainously, “This is why Nightmare Night is one of the best holidays ever.”

“Yep,” Dash sighed, “but seriously; where are my clothes?”

“Like I said, around.”

“Seriously Dust; not only did you take my clothes, but also my Nightmare Night costume.”

“If you’re talking about that skeleton costume, I chucked it. That costume is too played out. What you need is,” Lightning’s hand moved from under the sheets. She then pulled out a small briefcase, “something new.”

Dash was about to argue about the difference between taking somepony’s clothes for a prank and throwing away the taken clothes when a cold breeze came over her. All she had on was that one towel. Resigning to defeat, she took the briefcase,

“You mind leaving while I change?”

“Not my problem you have no confidence in your appearance.” Lightning Dust didn’t get up, but she did place a pillow over her face to obscure her vision.

“Don’t suffocate me.” Dust said, slightly muffled from the pillow.

“No promises.” Dash replied. Rainbow went to her cabinet again and this time checked the bottom drawers. It seemed that Lightning Dust was decent enough to leave some clothes. Quickly putting on a bra and boxer shorts, she opened the briefcase. She only registered that it seemed to be some sort of jumpsuit as she put it on.  She saw that there was also a pair of black boots and gloves in the briefcase. After put everything on, she opened the wardrobe again to inspect herself in the mirror and let out a gasp.

For a split second, she thought she was wearing a Wonderbolts uniform. But that quickly ended when she saw that the uniform was dark purple. It had a streak of lightning were the gloves and boots met the costume and had a black collar that was also surrounded by a lightning bolt.

“I heard a gasp.” Lightning threw the pillow and bed sheets off of her and got off the bed to reveal she was wearing an identical costume.

“What do you think? Pretty cool, right?”

“Um… Lightning Dust.”

“Yeah?”

“What the buck?”

“Oops, I forgot, you’re a little slow-minded. Let me explain; these are replicas of a Shadowbolt’s uniform.”

“I didn’t mean what they are. I meant how, and more importantly why, did you get these?”

“I know people with connections. As for why I picked these for our costumes, isn’t it obvious? The Shadowbolts were some of the best flyers Equestria has ever seen during the second Great War. Fast, fearless, and ruthless, they only allowed the best of the best to join their ranks. They represented survival of the fittest.” She added in an admiring tone.

“You forgot one little detail; they were responsible for bombing countless cities and towns, killing thousands of innocent ponies.”

“Hey, your precious Wonderbolts weren’t so innocent either. They also destroyed their fair share of cities.”

“At least they didn’t bomb non-military cities and take pleasure in killing ‘the weak’.” Dash said the last two words in air quotes.

“Alright enough; do you want to stand around and talk about historical controversies, or do you want to hear my plan about taking down the bullies.”

That last part made Dash forget about her morality,

”What do you mean?”

“Come on Dashie,” Dust exasperated, “Remember the things we learned when spying on the bullies.”

“What things? The only thing I learned was that the bullies are bigger jerks than I thought and that they get annoyed really easily.”

Lightning Dust grinned and waited.

“Ohhhh.” The gears in Dash’s mind began to turn, “They get annoyed really easily.”

“Exactly. So tonight, the greatest nights for pranks, we’re going to make their lives a living Tartarus. And have some fun along the way.”

“I’m in.” Dash said excitedly. She ducked and reached under her bed, “I have some pranking supplies ready for… wait a second.” Dash searched under her bed with increase vigor, “Where’s my knapsack with my pranking stuff?”

“Don’t worry Dashie,” Lightning reached under Dash’s bed and pulled out a bulging duffel bag, “I already put your stuff with mine.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the bag of pranks,

“This is going to be the best Nightmare Night ever!”

“You know it.” Lightning said as she lifted the bag to her shoulders and walked out the room with Dash, “But first, we’re going to get Scootaloo.”

“Scootaloo’s coming with us?” Dash asked, ignoring all the stares the ponies in the hallway were giving them for their choice of costume.

“Yeah. She kept pestering about wanting to come along with us when she heard about my plan. So I finally gave in and decided to let her tag along.”

“It’s nice to see you two are finally getting along.” Dash said, now feeling even better about tonight.

The two of them walked up the stairs leading to the second floor. Dash followed Lightning as she led them to 3rd door on the right from the staircase.

“Yo squirt,” Dust knocked on the door, “you ready yet?”

“No,” Scootaloo said breathlessly. It sounded as though she was struggling with something, “Just give me a minute.”

“Hey Scootaloo,” Dash said, “Is everything alright?”

The struggling noises stopped.

“R-Rainbow Dash! You’re here too?” Scootaloo said in a slightly panicky voice.

“Um, yeah.”

There was the sound of intensified grunting and struggling. This went on for a full minute with Dash giving Lightning Dust a raised eyebrow. Lightning Dust returned it with a knowing grin on her face.

After a while, Scootaloo said,

“You girls just go on ahead.”

“What’s wrong squirt,” Lightning said innocently, but her face was anything but, “I though you wanted to come along with us?”

“You should know Lightning Dust.” Scootaloo growled, “You’re the one that gave me this stupid costume.”

“What did you expect? It was last notice and it was the only thing left in the student store that was your size. Besides, it’s not my fault your werewolf costume was stolen.”

“My werewolf costume wasn’t stolen; I lost it. And how did you know it was a werewolf costume? I never told you what it was.”

…

“LIGHTNING DUST!” Scootaloo shouted as she slammed her door open. “Did you steal my costume!”

The moment Scootaloo opened the door, Dash had to shove her fist into her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Scootaloo was wearing a bright pink, fluffy, one-piece bunny costume.

“Now why would I steal your costume?” Lightning giggled.

“So I would be forced to wear this. Why did I believe you when you said you got me the coolest costume ever.” As she gestured to her costume, her bunny ears began to droop down as though they were linked to her emotions. This broke Dash’s resistance and she burst out laughing.

“Rainbow Dash, not you too.” Scootaloo complained.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Dash wheezed in between breathes, “If you don’t like it, why not just take it off?”

“I can’t because the zipper is stuck.” She pointed to the grey zipper on her chest that was partially hidden amongst the pink fur. Dash reached down and pulled on the zipper, but to no avail.

“This thing really is stuck. Hey Dust, wanna give it a try.”

“Nah, she looks too adorable.” This got her a vicious glare from Scootaloo, “Anyway, we should get going. The festival is about to start and I don’t want to miss a single chance to mess with the bullies. So, are you coming squirt?”

“I don’t know.” Scootaloo said slowly, looking at her costume. 

“Come on Scootaloo,” Dash said, “it’s gonna be fun. Tell you what, you’ll be the first one to throw an egg at the bullies.”

“Sweet.” Scootaloo now looked a lot more pumped.

“Oh, before I forget,” Lightning Dust reached into her costume and pulled out a pair of masks and goggles. She tossed one of each to Dash, “put those one.”

“Why?”

“Two reasons. One, it wouldn’t be a Shadowbolt’s outfit without these.” Dust put on the black mask, her hair popping out from the top of the mask, and she adjusted the yellow-tinted goggles, “Two, it will help disguise us. We don’t need the bullies to know who’s messing with them just yet.”

“Yeah, we might have a slight problem with the last part.” Dash pointed to the top of her mask where her rainbow colored hair was sticking out like a beacon amongst the black and dark purple, “I’m pretty sure I’m the only student in this school with this type of hair.”

“Not my problem you have weird genetics. Alright then,” Lightning Dust clapped her hands, “let Operation Blitzkrieg begin.”
________________________________________
A couple of minutes later, the 3 pegasai left the dormitory and joined the mob of ponies that were heading toward the football field. They would have left earlier, but Rainbow Dash had to retrieve a couple of items; mainly her super slingshot, in case of emergencies, and her pouch of bits as the festival also acted as a fundraiser for the school.

As Dash walked with her friends, her eyes were drawn to the surrounding students. It has been a long time since she had seen so many costume ponies in one place. Something even more amazing was the lack of bickering between the factions. She saw nerds walking near jocks and greasers walking near preppies with only minimal animosity. That’s the magic of Nightmare Night for you.

Then Lightning Dust elbowed Dash, “Bully at six o’clock.” 

Rainbow looked ahead and recognized the plum hair of Berry Punch; she was wearing a ghost costume with her hood off.

“So what are we going to do?”

“I say,” Lightning Dust reached into her duffle bag and pulled out a ‘KICK-ME’ sign, “we start with a classic.”

“Allow me.” Dash took the sign. As stealthy as possible, Dash stuck the sign on Berry’s back and retreated back to her friends. As soon as she left, a nerd, who Dash realized was Sparkler in a witch’s costume, gave Berry a swift kick in the shin.

“Ouch!” Berry cried as Sparkler ran off, “You better come back and-”

Next a preppy came by and kicked Berry’s other shin. Before she could react, a greaser came by and planted her boot to Berry’s throbbing shin. As Berry glowered, a jock came by and kicked her right off her feet. Dash and her friends chuckled merrily as Berry fell face first on the ground.

“Well that was amusing.” Lightning Dust said as she led Dash and Scootaloo towards the festival. 

They continued to walk until they reached a group of large ponies gathered together. Dash flew above the crowd and saw that there was a large gate blocking the way to the football field.

“What’s going on Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo called from below. “Why can’t we go in?”

“It looks like the festival isn’t ready just yet.” Dash said as she descended back to the ground, “Looks like we’ll have to wait a while.”

“No problem,” Lightning said as she nodded to something a little ways ahead of them, “I just found us something to make the time fly.”

They turned their heads and saw Cherry Berry, in a bee outfit, and Daisy, who’s costume consisted of a school uniform and cowgirls hat.

“Let’s have some fun.” Lightning said simply as she took a carton of eggs from her satchel bag. She popped the lid open and pulled out her white-shelled grenade and prepared to toss. That’s when Dash quickly snatched the egg from Lightning’s grasp and held it in front of Scootaloo.

“Here you go Scootaloo, the first throw.”

The small pegasus’s eyes widened, “Really?”

“Well duh; I did say you get the first throw.”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo cried as she held the egg as though it was a priceless artifact.

“No problem.” Dash said slightly embarrassed by Scootaloo’s show of gratitude.

“Just hurry up and throw the thing.” Lightning said sourly, she was slightly sore that she didn’t get the first shot.

Scootaloo aimed and threw the egg. It wasn’t the best of throws as it only got Daisy’s shoulder. Suddenly, a barrage of eggs pelted Daisy from all angles, covering her in yolk.

“The Tartarus just happened?” Dash asked as Daisy searched for the pony who threw the eggs, pure rage in her eyes.

“I don’t know,” Lightning Dust said as she aimed another egg, a big smile on her face, “but I like it. Hey Cherry!” she called. Cherry turned around and was met with a face full of yolk. Just like before, a flurry of eggs pelted the earth pony. This time Dash was looking around the crowd. She saw that the surrounding students all had a carton of egg with them, which they stuffed back into their costumes after they were done with them. It seemed like Dash wasn’t the only pony who was packing pranks.

“Let’s try that one more time.” Dust said as she passed an egg to Dash and Scootaloo. “Ready… and go!” They all threw their eggs at the two bullies, and so did everypony else. Soon Cherry Berry and Daisy were caked in yolk. Somepony took it a step further and threw a bag of marbles at them, causing them to slip and the other students laughed. Everypony then went back to their business and the three pegasai walked past the downed bullies, giving them mischievous smiles.

“Hey,” Scootaloo elbowed Dash as the three of them walked toward the front of the gate, “it seems that the yolks on them. Ha!”

Lightning Dust groaned painfully, pinching the bridge of her nose, while Dash rolled her eyes good-naturedly and patted Scootaloo on the head.

They were approaching the gate when they saw a pair of bullies they knew too well; Lyra, in a mummy outfit, and Bon Bon in a pharaoh costume.

“Egg me.” Dash said as she extended out her hand. 

“Come now Dashie,” Dust said as she pulled out something else from the bag, “we can’t be doing the same thing over and over. If we do, we’ll never get better.” Dust pulled out something that was large and wrapped in construction paper.

“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked.

“Something that will ruin any bully’s day. Now Dashie, cause a distraction while I get things started.”

“Why would we need a distraction?”

“Just do it.” Lightning ordered before merging within the crows of ponies and disappearing completely.

“What do we do now Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment of using the eggs as a distraction, but that would only distract the ponies with actual eggs. Her eyes drifted amongst the crowd, trying to think of a plan. Then her eyes fell on Scootaloo, her bunny ears falling to the back of her head. Then, it hit her.

“I have a plan. Scootaloo, I’m going to need your help.”

The bunny ears immediately straightened, “Sure Dash, anything!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

Rainbow turned Scootaloo around so she was facing the crowd and put her hands under the small pegasus’s arms.

“What are you do-” Scootaloo began, but was quickly lifted up in the air.

“Hey everypony!” Dash shouted. Everypony turned, “Check out little Scootaloo; isn’t she the cutest bunny anypony has ever seen?!”

That did it. All of the students began to laugh once they’ve seen the small pegasus bunny. The mocking jokes were led by Lyra and Bon Bon while some of the other mares merely aww’d.

“Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said as she hid her face in embarrassment, “why?!”

“I’m sorry squirt,” Dash said sincerely as the crowd continued to laugh, “but we needed a distraction. I’ll make it up to you later.”

Eventually, everypony got tired of poking fun at Scootaloo’s expense and went back to their business of idly standing around. Dash let go of Scootaloo, who was still covering her face.

Then there was a fizzing sound. Everypony turned their heads and saw a large model volcano in front of the gate. It was sending out a variety of different colored sparks. The students step forward to get a closer look, with Lyra and Bon Bon the ones nearest of the volcano. Then the volcano stopped operating for a split second before it suddenly exploded. Dash quickly stepped in front of Scootaloo and used her wing to block the substance. Dash then took a finger and scraped the substance from her wings and, surprisingly, tasted.

“It’s cake batter.” She said aloud.

Everypony that was near the volcano was covered in it, but they laughed it off as they can always appreciate a good prank. Everypony except for Lyra and Bon Bon, who were the ones completely covered in it.

“Wow that was an awesome prank!”

Everypony turned and saw somepony standing on the gates. Soon they all realized it was Pinkie Pie in a chicken costume.

“Alright everypony,” she said with a microphone in hand, “are you all ready for the best night of the year?!”

She was answered with roars of approval.

“Then as the leader of the festival committee, I’m proud to present…” She jumped off the gate as they were opening. Once they were gone, Pinkie gestured to the large courtyard overseeing the football field, “The Nightmare Night Festival!”

Pinkie quickly got out of the way as the crowd of ponies turned into a stampede.

“Have fun!” She shouted to everypony as she bounced away.

The courtyard was divided into two sections. Front of the courtyard was filled with concession stands. Committee members were selling things like cupcakes, funnel cakes, pies, apple cider, sodas, and so much more. The back of the courtyard was where they had the games like spider toss and there were stairs descending to the football field, where the larger games were being held and the band was playing.

“So squirt,” Dash asked as she and Scootaloo walked down the stands, “what do you want to do?”

Scootaloo, who was now peeved at Dash’s little distraction, merely shrugged.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?” Suddenly, an idea suddenly popped into Dash’s head.

Scootaloo sighed, “It’s not that. It’s just that when you lifted me up, you reminded me of what the bullies did. And… what Lightning sometimes does.” Scootaloo turned around, “Listen Rainbow, I should tell you about-”

She stopped when she realized that Rainbow Dash was nowhere nearby.

Just as a sense of loneliness began to settle in Scootaloo, she felt a tap on her shoulders and saw that it was Rainbow Dash holding two funnel cakes.

“This probably won’t make up for the distraction thing,” she said as she handed Scootaloo the cake, “but it’s a start.”

The small pegasus stared at the cake for a moment before giving Dash a hug.

“Thanks Rainbow.” She said as she took a big bite from the cake. Dash also took a bite from her funnel cake.

“Well isn’t that touching?”

Dash and Scootaloo turned and saw Lightning Dust walking toward them,

“Don’t mind me.” She said, “I insist; please continue your little ‘sister’ bonding.”

Dash walked over and gave Dust a high-five,

“That was a nice prank you pulled.” Dash complemented.

“Did you expect anything differently?”

“Where were you?” Scootaloo asked.

“I was looking for a certain griffon.” Lightning pointed to the gaming section of the courtyard, “And I found her.”

They craned their necks and saw the leader of the bullies, Gilda, wearing her usual short brown jacket, was playing the ‘test your strength’ game and talking with Lyra and Bon Bon, who managed to get off most of the cake batter. Gilda raised the giant hammer over her head and then slammed it down to the lever which sent the small piston rocket to the bell overhead. The sound of a ‘ding’ was audible from where the pegasai were standing.

“So do you want to go first?” Dust asked.

Dash tossed her funnel cake and held out her hand, “Give me the bag.”

Dust grinned and handed over the duffle bag. 

“You said that you put all of my prank stuff in here too, right?” Dash said as she searched the very bottom of the bag.

“Yeah.”

Dash smiled as she pulled out two joy buzzers

Lightning snorted, “Really Dashie, joy buzzer?!”

“These aren’t your regular buzzers.” Dash said as she put each one on her hand. She made her way to Gilda and her little cronies. 

Gilda was lifting up the giant hammer again when Dash was almost next to her. Slamming down the hammer, the piston soared and hit the bell. Gilda turned to receive a victorious high five from Lyra, only to get a high five from Dash.

Normal joy buzzers would only give somepony a jolt and cause them to flinch. Dash’s joy buzzer, which she got online from a rather shady website, sent electricity through Gilda’s entire body, actually showing her skeleton for a brief second.

“What…the…buck?” she said as she stumbled backwards.

“Sup Gilda.” Dash said, a pleased smile on her face.

Gilda shook herself awake, “Who the Tartarus are you?”

“Why don’t you ask your friends?” Dash said as she pointed her thumb at Lyra and Bon Bon, who were glaring at the rainbow haired girl.

Dash extended out her arm, the buzzer on her hand now obvious, “The name’s Rainbow Dash.”

Gilda glared at Dash, “So, you’re the one who’s been causing us so much trouble.”

“Well I try.”

Gilda ignored Dash’s hand and went to shake her other hand, intending to break her fingers. She didn’t realize that Dash had another joy buzzer in that hand and once again felt a jolt through her whole body. 

Dash chuckled, “That never gets old.”

Gilda quickly balanced herself, “You’re so gonna get it.”

She took a menacing step forward.

“Everything alright here?”

They turned and saw a school prefect standing near them, his eyes filled with suspicion.

“Everything is absolutely peachy.” Dash told the prefect, giving Gilda a pat on the shoulder every two words, “We’re just here talking about how much we enjoy each other’s company. Right Gilda?”
Gilda was too busy being electrocuted to answer. The prefect eyed them a little longer, giving Dash a disgusted glare for her choice of costume, and left.

Once the prefect was gone, Gilda grabbed Dash by the shoulders,

“You better watch your back kid!” she threatened, slightly breathlessly from all of the electricity that passed through her.

“I always do.” Dash said before patting both of Gilda’s shoulders at the same time, causing her to fall to her knees. Dash gave Gilda an arrogant smile before walking away.

Dash walked back to where she left Lightning and Scootaloo. As she got closer, she saw that the two of them were having hushed conversation. Lightning’s face was gleeful and Scootaloo was looking nervous.

“What are you to talking about?” Dash asked once she was near them.

“Oh nothing much.” Lightning said, “And it looks like it’s my turn.” She tossed the duffle bag to Dash and made her way to Gilda.

“So, what were you and Lightning talking about?” Dash asked Scootaloo.

“W-what do you mean?” Scootaloo asked nervously.

If Dash wasn’t suspicious before, she was now,

“What were you and Lightning talking about.” She repeated.

“Oh that,” Scootaloo was now looking everywhere except at Rainbow Dash, “we were talking about… talking about… cartoons!”

“Cartoons.” Rainbow sighed, “Lightning…was talking to you…about cartoons?”

“Y-yeah.” She said, realizing how pitiful her lie was.

Dash decided to not pry into the discussion. She trusted Scootaloo to tell her the truth if it was important.

“Do you see Lightning around?” Dash asked, noticing that the ‘test your strength’ was void of Gilda.

Scootaloo, eager to change the subject, quickly scanned the concession stands. 

“There she is.” Scootaloo said, pointing to a stand that was selling cupcakes. Dust was casually leaning on the stand and was having a conversation with Gilda, who was looking suspiciously at Dust.

Lightning then left with a goodbye and made her way to Dash.

“What was that all about?” Dash asked as she tossed the bag back to Lightning Dust, “And where’s the prank?”

“Give it a sec.” Dust said calmly. 

At the stand, Gilda shrugged and took a bite from a cupcake. Her face immediately turned red and she started to sweat profusely. She opened her mouth to shout, but all that came out was a column of fire.

“Whoa!” Dash said as the fire continued and stopped as quickly as it came, “What did you do Lightning?”

“Oh, you know,” Lightning took out a small bag she hid in her sleeves, “just a little home-made hot sauce.”

Dash laughed, “Nice. So what do we do now?”

“I say we-”

Suddenly there was a sound of a small explosion and the pegasai were showered in confetti. Before Dash could react, somepony grabbed her by the arm and with surprising strength whisked her away, leaving behind a very confused Lightning Dust and Scootaloo.

Dash’s vision was all a blur until whatever had her came to a complete stop. As her senses came back, she realized somepony was talking.

“…and then I dyed her hair pink so nopony would notice the bubblegum.”

Dash looked up and thought for a wild moment she was ponynapped by a giant chicken. As her mind slowly calmed down, she realized the giant chicken was Pinkie Pie and that they were both on the football. There was a giant stage in the center of the field where the band was playing and the ponies that were dancing to the music took up the entire left field. The right side of the field, where Dash and Pinkie were located, was where the games like pumpkin toss and ‘bobbing for apples’ took place. As Dash looked, she saw her teacher Luna jumping joyfully as her catapulted pumpkin soared through the air and hit the ring of red circles at the dead center.

“Um…Pinkie Pie, why are we here?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Pinkie said joyfully, “Remember earlier today when we met. I saw that your face was red and I realized that you were mad. And if you’re mad, then you’re upset. And if you’re upset, then I will do all I can to make you smile. So now I’m going to give you the best Nightmare Night you’ll ever have!”

She said all of this in less than 10 seconds.

“Then,” Dash said, remembering what Pinkie was talking about a couple of seconds ago, “ what was up whole the whole hair dyeing… thing? You know what, it doesn’t matter.”

“So Dash, you ready for fun?!”

As Pinkie rambled on of all the activities she had plan, Dash kept smiling. Never had she ever met as somepony as eccentric and cheerful as Pinkie Pie. She could see why so many ponies liked her. Although, she could also see some ponies that might find her annoying. Especially ponies that have a short temper and low tolerance for crazy antics…

“Hey Pinkie,” Dash cut Pinkie off from her listing, “don’t worry about me. I feel a lot better now.”

“Really?! I’m so glad.” She really sounded glad.

“But,” a mischievous smile formed on Dash’s face, “one of my friends is not so happy.”

“Really? Well then we’ll have to fix that!”

“My thoughts exactly. Now, her name is Gilda and she’s a griffon. The last time I saw her was by the cupcake stand at the courtyard-”

Without a further ado, Pinkie Pie sped off, leaving behind dust that strangely took the form of the chicken costumed earth pony.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” 

Dash turned and saw Scootaloo and Lightning Dust running towards her.

“Hey Dashie,” Lightning said once she reached Dash, “where did you go?”

“Well, Pinkie Pie-”

“Ah,” Lightning nodded understandingly, “so what did the pink menace do?”

“She thought I was upset and tried to cheer me up. Now, she’s off to try and cheer up Gilda.”

“Oh my Faust.” Lightning Dust looked mildly surprised and pleased, “So this is what it feels like to be a parent that’s not disappointed by their child.”

“So where’ Gilda now?” Scootaloo asked.

Dash looked up and pointed at the stairs leading to the courtyard. The other two looked and saw Pinkie dragging a very annoyed looking Gilda.

“I think we just ruined Gilda’s night.” Dash said as Pinkie and Gilda entered the crowd of dancing ponies.

“No, not yet.” Lightning said with a smile, a slightly malicious look in her eyes, “We can still do more. Come on ponies, think.”

And so they did. The three pegasai pondered of what else they could do. Rainbow was watching Pinkie and Gilda from a break in the crowd. She could see Pinkie’s mouth moving nonstop and Gilda’s fingers twitch, as though wanting to wrap them around Pinkie’s throat. Dash looked to her left and saw an unoccupied catapult with a pumpkin lying next to it, ready to be launched.

“Yo Dash, what are you doing?” Lightning asked as Dash walked toward the catapult and turned it 180 degrees.

“My prank. Hey Scootaloo, mind helping me out?”

“Sure.” Scootaloo said excitedly, “What do you need?”

Dash pulled the arm of the catapult all the way back, “Put the pumpkin here.”

Scootaloo picked the pumpkin up and put it on the catapult.

“Now hold it there.” Dash said as she aimed right at Gilda. Once she locked on, she gave Scootaloo a thumbs up, “Ready when you are.”

Scootaloo grinned and let go.
________________________________________
“So Gilda what do you think? Chimmycherry or Cherrychunga. Chimmycherry or Cherrychunga. Chimmycherry or Cherrychunga.” 

“Do you have an off switch?!” Gilda said, exasperated as the band neared its finale.

“Of course not silly; I’m not a robot. Or am I.” Pinkie Pie proceeded to dance the robot.

Gilda groaned loudly in frustration.

“Hey Gilda,” Pinkie said, still dancing, “do you hear something?”

“No because I think my ears are bleeding!”

“Are you sure you don’t hear anything? It sounds like an orange, 15 pound object flying directly towards us.”

“What the buck do you smoke?! There is nothing falling-”

*SPLAT*
________________________________________
Dash could see Gilda covered in Pumpkin. She could also hear Pinkie shouting,

“Gilda, are you O.K?!” 

Pinkie looked toward where the pumpkin came from and saw Dash waving merrily with one hand, and pointing at the recently fired catapult with the other.

“Oh. Nice one Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie shouted her compliment. She turned to Gilda, “That was a pretty cool prank, right Gilda?”

The band finished their song and the crowd clapped vigorously. There was a moment of silence as the band got ready for another song when Gilda let out a animalistic roar. She soared to the air, absolute hate in her eyes.

“Rainbow Dash!” Gilda shouted, “When I find you, I’m going to rip out your spine and feed it to you!”

Complete silence followed this threat. Ponies were either confused or scared of what just happened. Scootaloo was one of the fearful ones while Lightning Dust merely looked amused. Dash, however, shouted, “Cool story bra!”

The ponies in the field began to snort at Dash’s comment, which eventually led everypony to think this was some Nightmare Night activity and laughed. Gilda roared in anger as her ability to provoke fear in the ponies was now gone. Gilda searched the crowd until her eyes locked with Rainbow Dash. Dash smiled and waved, much to Gilda’s chagrin. 

“You might want to get out of here.” Lightning told Dash.

“Why?”

Lightning pointed to the stairs where prefects were running to investigate the loud threat. Lightning then pointed to the sky where Gilda was hurling herself at Rainbow Dash.

“Right.” Dash said before spreading her wings and taking flight. She decided it was better to get out before the prefects or Gilda got a hold of her. So she sped off, out of the football field and towards the parking lot.
________________________________________
“Get the buck out of here you damn kids!” Soarin the hobo shouted as he threw a bottle of cider at to greasers who tried to tag up his fence. Soarin turned to reenter the bus that lead to his ‘home’ when her heard fast flapping wings.

“I thought I told you kids-” Soarin began but stopped when a rainbow blur zoomed past him, over the run-down bus, and into the fenced off area. He was momentarily confused until he heard a shriek of a griffon. He turned and saw Gilda, covered in pumpkin, screaming Rainbow Dash’s name. Soarin entered the bus and then entered his home, where he found Rainbow Dash sitting with her back to the fence.

“Sup Soarin.” Dash said causally.

Soarin stared at Dash before shaking his head disapprovingly, “I can’t believe you kid.”

“What?”

“Running away from a fight.” He chuckled as he laid down on his bed, “And here I thought you actually had some guts.”

“Hey, I’m not running away from Gilda.”

“Then why are you here?”

There was the sound of hurried footsteps and prefects shouting as they chased Gilda.

“I’d rather not get busted.” 

Soarin grumbled, “Excuses.”

They stayed there in silence until the shouting of ponies subsided.

“So,” Dash began

“No.” Soarin stated flatly.

“You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”

“You were gonna say if I could train you like you have been saying for the past 3 weeks. And then I would say I will train you when you bring me parts for my radio.”

Dash kicked the ground in frustration. For the past couple of weeks, Rainbow had made routine visits to Soarin in order to try and coax from him some free lessons. It had not worked. So she had spent her time just enjoying the silence and tried to learn more about the hobo. All she knew was that he was once in the military, but suffered a wing injury and was never the same again.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Dash got up to leave,

“Hey kid,” Soarin said suddenly, “do you know a green-winged pegasus that has an over inflated head.”

“You mean Lightning Dust?”

“So you do know her?”

“Yeah, she’s my friend.”

Soarin was silent for a while. He then got up in a sitting position and patted the space next to him,

“Take a seat kid, I have something to tell you.”

Confused, Dash walked over and sat next to Soarin. He was quite for a while, thinking over what he was going to say.

“O.K, you know I was in the military, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, when I first joined the military, I was singled out. Being a Wonderbolt-”

“Whoa slow down! You were a Wonderbolt?”

“Yeah, why is that so hard to believe?”

“Well the Wonderbolts are famous. Their shows are always sold out. If you’re a Wonderbolt, then what are you doing here?”

“Do you really think I would be allowed back in the Wonderbolts with a messed up wing. Now shut up and listen. Being a Wonderbolt, I was singled out; ponies were either intimidated by me or didn’t respect me for being a ‘show pony’ as they called it. After a while, I found my first friend. He didn’t treat me differently from any other ponies, so we became fast friends.

“My friend, however, was no saint. He would just about disrespect anypony. He had little patience for ponies that were weaker than others. Of course, being the loyal fool that I was, I ignored it as he was the few ponies I could talk to. One day, we were tasked to retrieve Intel from enemy territory. At first it was simple. We got in easily, but than a two random guards popped right in front of us. We took care of the first one easily, but the second one sounded the alarm before he was taken out. Me and my friend, my wing-pony, took to the air and flew as fast as we could.”

Dash didn’t say anything. She knew what happened next as Soarin once told her before about an incident with his wing-pony. The same incident that cost him his wing.

“So there we were, my friend holding the Intel and both of us dodging bullets. We thought we were in the clear, until a stray bullet hit my right wing. I looked at my friends and he looked back. He looked me straight in the eye and shrugged. I will never forget what he told me; ‘Sorry Soarin, you weren’t strong enough.’ He then picked up speed and left me behind.”

There was silence. Finally, Dash couldn’t take it,

“How did you survive?”

“Like I said before, reinforcement.”

“So your friend didn’t abandon you?”

Soarin laughed humorlessly, “Thankfully, he wasn’t my only friend. I found out that my wing-pony said I was killed when we were escaping. My other friend, she didn’t believe that. She kept urging that I might still be alive. Eventually, it was decided to send a small rescue team to search for me. They found me in a day at a makeshift camp I made near where I crashed.”

“So what happened to your friend, your wing-pony?”

“He wasn’t penalized. He managed to convince everypony that he thought I was dead.”

“But didn’t you try to tell anypony he left you behind?!” 

“I did, but everypony thought I was just going through mental trauma. The fact that I tried to strangle him in broad daylight the moment I got back didn’t really help my case.”

“Soarin, why are you telling me all this?”

“Because,” Soarin paused, “your friend Lightning Dust is exactly the same way as my old wing-pony was. And I want you to learn from my mistake and know the difference between being loyal to somepony, and blindly following somepony.”

Dash was silent and got up. 

“See ya later Soarin.”

“Remember Rainbow Dash, tread cautiously when around Lightning Dust.”
________________________________________
Dash was in the girl’s dormitory and she barely registered that she was walking to her room. She had been told by two different ponies to be wary of Lightning Dust. She opened the door and walked in her room, jumping violently when she heard her name being shouted. She turned to her bed and saw Scootaloo sitting on her bed, still wearing the bunny outfit.

“Scootaloo, how did you get in here?”

“Through the window.” Scootaloo pointed to one of the windows in the room that had a gaping hole in it, “I guessed that Gilda had something to do with it.”

“Great.” Dash said as she kicked the shattered glass to the nearest corner of the room, “So what’s up Scootaloo? Why are you in my room?”

Scootaloo hesitated for a second before opening the bedroom door and looking down the halls. Seeing nopony around, she close the door and turned to Rainbow Dash,

“Listen, back at the festival, I lied. Lightning Dust and I weren’t talking about cartoons.”

“Oh really? I never would have guessed!” Dash said in mock shock.

“Please listen,” Scootaloo said urgently. Dash noticed that Scootaloo looked really nervous, “I need to tell you something.”

“What’s the matter Scootaloo, everything alright?”

“When me and Lightning were talking, she said how she has a surprise for you.”

“…And?”

“Lightning’s surprises aren’t…nice.” Scootaloo finished lamely.

“Don’t worry Scootaloo, I doubt Lightning Dust has anything evil in store for me.” Dash said as Soarin’s and Twilight’s voice rang in her head.

“It’s just that…” Scootaloo couldn’t seem to find the words so she just sighed, “Please be careful around Lightning Dust. Please.”

Dash sighed; 3 ponies are now warning her. She crouched down and placed a soothing hand on each of Scootaloo’s shoulders, “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, anything Lightning Dust throws at me, which I really doubt she would, I can take it. Come on Scootaloo, you’re talking to Rainbow Dash here, the coolest pegasus in this school.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Scootaloo said with a smile. She turned to leave but stopped, “Oh one more thing,” she turned to Rainbow Dash and pointed toward the zipper on her chest, “Do you mind?”

Dash laughed and tugged on the zipper for a full minute before it finally zipped down and Scootaloo was free. Saying her thanks, Scootaloo went back to her room, leaving Dash alone. Dash decided to change out of her costume and she opened her wardrobe to reveal all of her clothes and satchel there. (Dash found all of her stuff under her bed in a loose floorboard where Lightning Dust had hid them.) She took off her mask and goggles and was about to throw them on the bed when she stopped and simply stared at them.

She remembered an old history video about the Shadowbolts she saw during middle school. It talked about how they were the most ruthless flyers ever know and Dash recalled their motto; ‘The strong will live while the weak will not’

Dash shivered as Lightning spoke in the very same manner that the Shadowbolts did. Sighing, she took off her costume and tossed it into her wardrobe. She put on her pajamas and flopped to her bed. It took a couple of hours to sleep as her mind would not stop processing the day’s events.



> Chp 6: Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash’s haymaker connected with a bullies face, resulting in a satisfying cry of pain as the bully fell to the floor. Dash looked down and saw it was another bully that Dash could not put a name on. Then another bully came from behind and put Rainbow in a full-nelson. Thinking fast, Dash stomped her feet on the bully’s toes and rammed the back of her head to the bully’s nose. After the grip was loosened, Dash turned around, tucked in her left arm, flapped her wings, and unleashed a pegasus-uppercut. The bully went flying and landed with a *thud*. Panting, Dash turned and saw the bullies she had just defeated. A total of 4 generic bullies circled her in front of the courtyard that led to the academy.

“Is that all you got?!” Dash cried, slightly breathless, “I thought you all were gonna make me regret what I did to your ‘leader’. Well I got a news flash for you; nopony can simply think they can best me!”

The sound of somepony clearing their throat broke Rainbow Dash from her rant. Turning around, she was sent falling to the ground as something connected with the side of her face. Through dazed eyes, Dash looked up and saw a familiar, chuckling silhouette.

“You have no idea how much I enjoyed that.” Berry Punch giggled, patting a 2X4 in her hands.

“Is that how you get your kicks Berry, by attacking somepony from behind? Though, I suppose it is the only way you can actually land a hit on somepony.” Dash said as she felt the bleeding cut on her left cheek.

“Still being a smartflank to the very end; I almost respect that.” Berry raised her 2X4, “Almost.” 

She brought it down as Dash lifted up her arms to block the attack. Then a figured soared through the air and collided with Berry, knocking both of them to the floor. As Dash got up to thank the stranger, her heart dropped like a stone when she saw what the figure was wearing. She was wearing a navy blue jacket with the Manticore Academy crest, a red tie, and dark brown jeans; the uniform of a school prefect.

The prefect got up and walked toward Dash,

“Shouldn’t you be in morning class?” the prefect asked sternly.

“Shouldn’t you be doing your job of stopping all of the bullying in the school?” Rainbow Dash coolly, trying to stop the bleeding with the sleeves of her shirt.

“Clever. Let’s see how far that mouth of yours takes you Rainbow.”

Dash grimaced over the fact that prefects in the school now knew her by her first name. The prefect took a walkie-talkie from her belt and began to talk into it,

“Anypony that isn’t busy, please bring the nurse to the front of the school. I got 4 ponies in need of some assistance. I’m gonna be taking the two ponies who were fighting to the principal.”

“Hey, they were looking for a fight so I gave it to them.” Dash said.

“And that makes it so much better.” The prefect said sarcastically.

“Oh, by the way,” Dash pointed to her left, “you might want to deal with that.”

The prefect turned and saw Berry Punch running away.

“Wait here.” The prefect ordered Dash before flying after Berry. The prefect swiftly swooped past Berry Punch and planted her elbow to Berry’s nose. As Berry rolled on the floor in pain the prefect picked up her walkie-talkie again,

“Better make that 5 ponies that need the nurse.”  The prefect looked up and saw Dash preparing to make a run for it. Thinking fast, the prefect picked up the dropped 2X4 and threw it with all of her might. The wooden plank hit Dash in the back of her head and she fell to the floor. Dash tried to get up and fly away, but she felt a strong grip on her arm,

“Alright enough!” the prefect snarled, “Now are you gonna come with me quietly, or are you going to make things worse for you?”

Rainbow contemplated of whether to stomp on the prefect’s foot and run for it, but she realized that the prefect was right; it would only make Dash look worse. Resigning to defeat, she let the prefect drag her up the stairs and into the school. Once inside, Dash made her way to the elevator, but the prefect pushed her to the staircase.

“Walk.” The prefect ordered, pointing toward the stairs leading to the next floor. Dash looked at her as though she grew a second head.

“Oh hay no!”

“Do it or else.” The prefect threatened. Dash would have loved to shown the prefect a thing or two, but she knew that giving a prefect a broken jaw would not go by unnoticed. Dash began to climb the steps; her only comfort was that the prefect would suffer the same fate she would. The only problem with that plan was that the prefect used her wings to easily fly to the second floor.

“Isn’t flying against the rules?” Dash noted.

“I won’t tell if you don’t.” The prefect said smugly as she sat perched on the railing. Mumbling darkly, Dash trudged on.

It has been a rough week for Rainbow Dash after the Nightmare Night festival (which, coincidently, was her most memorable Nightmare Night, but not for the reasons she hoped for.) Gilda was absolutely livid when she couldn’t get her hands on Rainbow Dash that she ordered the bullies to hunt her down. The only problem with that plan was that Dash was not as submissive as Gilda thought. Rainbow soon found out that there were a lot more bullies than just Berry Punch, Cherry Berry, Bon Bon, Lyra, and Daisy. Every morning, Dash fought 2-4 bullies at the same time. On the plus side, the school nurse got a raise for all the extra work she has been doing. 

Rainbow Dash waited outside of the headmistress’s office until the she was summoned. Entering, Dash saw Spitfire wearing the same blue, military-style uniform and a pair of purple-tinted sunglasses. She was sitting behind her desk with her fingers crossed and a stern look on her face,

“Sit.” She commanded.

Rainbow Dash calmly walked to the small chair in the middle of the room and sat down.

“Let me start off with a question.” Spitfire said, “Do you even want to be in this school?”

“I suppose so.” Dash said casually, “It’s either this or military school.  But at least military school has a better hold on their students.”

Normally, Dash would try to hold her tongue when speaking to an authority figure, but after a week of fighting after fighting, her patience was growing thin.

“Are you criticizing the way I run my school?” Spitfire asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not criticizing, just pointing out the obvious. Ever since I entered this school, all I saw was bullying after bullying. Why don’t you try doing something about it, ma’am?” Dash added the last part with a tone of contempt.

“Do you really think I don’t try to stop the bullying?” Spitfire said dangerously, “I have done all I can, but that doesn’t mean a thing if I the students don’t do anything to help stop the bullying.”

“That’s what I been doing since I got here!”

“Oh really,” Spitfire said in mock surprise, “is that what you were doing during Nightmare Night?”

“What are you ta-” 

“Don’t play innocent. I know for a fact that you were bullying the griffon named Gilda.”

“I am not a bully!” Dash cried indignantly, “I was just teaching Gilda a lesson.”

“By being a bully.” Spitfire countered, “If you really want to stop bullying, then report it for to a prefect or teacher.”

“That might work in an after-school special, but this is real life. And in real life, the student gets the living crap beaten out of them once the teacher it out of sight.”

“Two wrongs do not make a right.” Spitfire said loudly, as she stood up, “if you fight bullying with bullying, then it will be an endless cycle. You must be the one to break that cycle. If not by reporting it, than try any other means except bullying. Do I make myself clear?”

Dash sighed, “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good, now get to class. And if I hear any more of your fighting, then there will be dire consequences.”
________________________________________
The academy bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Dash, now sporting a bandage over her left cheek, joined the mob of students as they exited the academy. She made her way to the dorm without a confrontation with the bullies, which confused Dash as they were usually waiting for by the girl’s dorm. She entered the dorm and saw that nopony was around. She made her way to her room when she heard static. Following the noise, she entered the rec room, which was deserted except for one pony, and saw that the T.V was on. Dash made her way to the T.V to turn it off, but stopped when she saw Lightning Dust sitting on the couch, watching the static.

Dash has not seen or heard from Lightning Dust since Nightmare Night. As Dash got a closer look, she saw Lightning’s hair was not as sleek as it normally was and that there were some bags under her eyes as though she hasn’t slept in days. Lightning was completely focused on the T.V. Her hands were tapping her lap irritably, as though she was waiting for something.

“Lightning Dust, what are you doing?” Dash asked.

Lightning’s head shot up from the T.V,

“Well, well, well,” Lightning said as she got up to turn off the T.V, “the prodigal son returns.”

“Lightning, what the hay were you doing?”

“Nothing much; the static from the T.V always soothes me. Now come one,” Lightning said excitedly as she walked out of the rec room, “we got work to do.”

“Hold up Dust, where have you been? I haven’t seen you all week.”

“Oh, I’ve been around.” Lightning said dismissively, “Now hurry up, we can’t waste any time.”

“Fine, let me just put my bag in my-”

“No time!” Lightning said rather loudly as she pulled Rainbow out of the rec room, “We are going to deal with the bullies once and for all.”

“Hold up.” Dash stopped in her tracks, “Listen Lightning, I like messing with the bullies as much as the next pegasus, but I can’t get into any more trouble. I can’t get expelled again.”

“Oh boo hoo!” Lightning said rather angrily, “You know, it isn’t always about you Rainbow Dash. Don’t you remember our plan so I- I mean we- can rule this school. After that, the bullying will stop. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Well yeah, but…” Dash was torn. It was either risk expulsion, or stop bullying.

“Think about Scootaloo,” Lightning urged, “and those nerds you help. They’re always being bullied. Don’t you want to help them?”

Dash thought of all the times she saw them suffer from bullying. And with that, she turned to Lightning Dust with a resolved smile, “You’re right. So what’s the plan?”

“Oh,” A smile slowly formed on Lightning’s face. “It’s a surprise.”

Alarm bells began to ring in Dash’s head. The voices of Twilight, Soarin, and Scootaloo began to shout warnings. They were telling Dash to turn the other way and get as far away from Lightning Dust. Dash ignored the voices and followed Lightning Dust.

They stepped out of the dorm and began to walk to the side of the academy. As they passed the parking lot, Dash saw Lyra and Bon Bon standing idly. The bullies glared straight at Dash, but did not charge at her.

“What’s wrong now?” Lightning Dust asked when Dash stopped moving. She saw what Dash was glaring at and sighed annoyingly, “Don’t worry about those two. They won’t pick a fight with you like the ones in the morning.”

“Wait a minute, how did you know I fought this morning?”`

“I’ll tell you later!” Lightning Dust snapped. At this point, Dash was beginning to get suspicious, but she still followed Lightning Dust. 

They continued until they were in front of a set of stairs that led down to a blue door.

“Now can you tell me where we’re going?” Dash asked.

“The school basement.”

“Why?”

“It’s a surprise.” Lightning said excitedly, but Dash also noted a hint of grim in her voice.

They opened the door and entered into a large grey room. Dash saw that there were cleaning supplies scattered across the floor and she heard a hissing noise, no doubt steam coming from the countless pipes overhead.

“This way.” Lightning said as she pushed open a pair of double doors.

The two pegasai walked for what seemed a good five minutes. They kept entering room after room as Lightning led Dash to whatever it was she had planned. Eventually, they entered a room with a large furnace and, strangely, pumpkins that littered the floor.

“Just a little further.” Lightning said as she walked through a narrow hallway. She stopped when she heard an excited, “ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.”  Turning around, Dust saw Dash, looking excited as a young school filly getting a new doll, holding an old radio that she found beside one of the many pumpkins.

“What are you doing?” Lightning said completely dumbfounded, “Chuck that thing and follow me.”

“I’ll be right back Lightning,” Dash said quickly as she put the old radio in her bag, “I just have to have a quick chat with somepony.”

“Do that later!” Lightning barked, “We’re almost there!”

Dash sighed and followed Lightning.  They walked for another minute or so until they were in one of the largest room Rainbow Dash has ever seen. The room was completely round and had a set of steel doors surrounding it. In the very center of the gargantuan room was an exceptionally large bird-like cage. Lightning Dust entered the cage via an open door and she motioned Dash to follow her. Dash walked up to the cage entrance and was able to see inside.

About 8 feet below was a large, circular, concrete area. It reminded Dash of miniature Roman coliseum. Dash flew down and stood on the concrete floor. She looked up and saw that the cage was another 25 feet high from where she stood. There were also 4 caged doors on each side of the cage.

“Welcome to The Hole, Dashie” Lightning smiled as she presented the vast arena, “Back in the old days of M.A, students would challenge each other in a one-on-one fight in front of a roaring crowd.”

“O.K,” Dash said, slightly confused, “so what does this have to do with stopping bullying.”

“A lot of fights took place here.” Lightning said reminiscently, completely ignoring Dash. She wasn’t even looking at Rainbow, “but all of that was put to an end when the prefects found out about the fights. They thought they put an end to The Hole, but students kept sneaking back in to settle scores.

“However, there was one more thing The Hole did.” Lightning finally turned to Dash, who recoiled slightly. Lightning’s arrogant expression changed to one completely void of emotion, “The Hole weeded out the weak from the strong.”

There was a moment of silence until Dash said cautiously,

“What’s that supposed mean?”

“Don’t you get it Dash?” Lightning said in a cold voice, “You’re weak.”

“You want to come over here and say that to my face?!” Dash said as she got into her fighting stance. 

This only made Lightning chuckle humorlessly,

“Come now Dash, we both know you won’t hit me.” To prove it, Lightning walked in front of Dash and placed her face in front of Dash’s fist. She held it there for a couple of seconds and Dash did not throw the punch.

“Like I said, you’re weak.” Lightning said as she pulled back her face, “That’s one of the things that makes you weak Dashie; your loyalty. I was your first ‘friend’ in this school, so now you can’t hit me. When your strong, you don’t need anypony else.

“But that’s not the only thing that makes you weak. You’re weak because you show compassion for the other weaklings in this school. Like those nerds you help out. At first, I thought you were just helping them just so you can use them. For a split second, I thought you were finally becoming strong. But then I realized you were helping them just because you wanted to help them. Compassion makes the heart weak.”

Lightning suddenly lifted up her leg and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of Dash’s face. Lightning quickly took Dash’s satchel and flew to the cage door. Rainbow got up and flew toward Lightning, only to see Lightning grab the super slingshot from Dash’s bag and fire it. Rainbow recoiled in pain as the fast-moving marble connected with her forehead and Lightning took this chance to close the cage door.

“Just as I thought,” Lightning said in disgust as she put the slingshot back in the bag, “only the weak need weapons.”

“Now what?!” Dash said as she flew up until she was at eye level with Lightning, “Are you just gonna leave me here?”

“No, that won’t solve my problem.” Dust said as she circled the cage.

“What problem?!”

“Don’t you get it? I’m going to take over this school! The bullies, nerds, preppies, greasers, jocks, in this school are weak. I’m the only strong pony here. It is my right to take over this school.”

“You’re insane! I thought we were friends!”

“Please don’t insult me. We were nothing more than acquaintances at best.” Lightning began to walk to the edge of the room where a large lever was placed. 

“My plan to take over the school is perfect. There is only one snag. You see, in this world, there are the strong and the weak. However, there are some ponies that are weak who think they can challenge the strong.” Lightning Dust turned to Dash and glared at her with the coldest eyes Dash has ever seen, “You, Rainbow Dash, are one of those ponies. You are no doubt going to be a thorn in my side, so it’s time to break you.”

Lightning Dust pulled the lever and all of the steel doors surrounding the room opened. From the doors poured in ponies from every clique of the school. Dash didn’t recognize any of the greasers or preppies, but she did recognize Score, Lily Valley, Pinkie Pie, Caramel, Junebug, Sparkler, Lemon Heart, and Twilight Sparkle. Dash did not see any of the bullies.

“Rainbow Dash!” Somepony cried. Dash looked and saw Scootaloo standing near Lightning Dust. The young pegasus looked like she was about to have an anxiety attack.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” Lightning Dust announced, her coldness replaced with the usual arrogance, “welcome to The Hole: Manticore Academy’s very own Roman Coliseum. Let me introduce to you our first challenger. The new kid in the school, she has been expelled from 7 other schools, has a more dysfunctional family than all of you here, you know her, you hate her, Rainbow Dash!”

There were cheers, boos, and polite clapping from the crowd.

“And now the challenger; She is the meanest student in this school, she loves to beat up just about anypony, the nerds hate her with a passion, the leader of the bullies,-”

“Oh no.” Dash sighed as she descended to the ground floor.

“I present you,” Lightning walked toward the cage and opened the door. A brown blur flew past Lightning, through the door, and landed right in front of Dash. “GILDA!”

The crowd cheered as the two combatants were now in the arena.

“Didn’t I say you were gonna get it?” Gilda said with a livid smile as she glared at Dash. Gilda was a good 4 inches taller than Rainbow.

“Any other time you want to fight, I would be only too happy to do so. But not right now.” Dash said as she walked past Gilda and pointed at Lightning Dust,

“If you’re so strong, why don’t you come down her and fight me?!”

“Because Gilda is the one that has beef with you. After all,” Lightning said loudly, “you’re the one who kept saying that Gilda’s dad is a drunk and her mom is really ‘friendly’ with the neighbors.”

“I never said that!”

“Don’t go lying now Dashie. And you were also the one who played all of those nasty pranks on Gilda.” 

“You pulled pranks on Gilda too!”

“No I didn’t.” Lightning said with a mischievous smile, “All I did was tell her about all the things you did and were going to do. Oh, by the way Dashie, you might want to turn around.”

Dash turned only to have Gilda’s right hook connect with Dash’s left cheek, reopening the wound from she got in the morning.

(This is the author speaking. If you want something to listen to while you read this, I would suggest this or this. Enjoy. P.S, it is not mandatory to listen to the music. All credit for the music goes to whoever made them.)

“And there is blood already!” Lightning shouted gleefully as most of the crowd roared for more. 

“Get up.” Gilda snarled. Dash got to her feet, wiping the blood from her cheek. Gilda charged and went for a left hook. Dash quickly ducked down, flapped her wings, and performed a pegasus-uppercut. The crowd cheered as Gilda nearly fell backwards.

Rainbow didn’t let up and charged at Gilda. She proceeded with a series of jabs to Gilda’s face. After the 6th jab, Gilda grabbed both of Dash’s arms and performed a judo throw. Dash groaned in pain as Gilda grabbed both of Dash’s legs and threw to the concrete wall with a loud *thud*. Even though griffons aren’t as fast as pegasai, their strength can sometimes rival an earth pony’s strength.

The crowd continued their cheers. Now they were chanting things like,

“Finish it!”

“I got 50 bits on the griffon.”

“Put that pegasus in a body bag!”

The nerds and Scootaloo were the only ones who were shouting support for Rainbow Dash.

In the arena, Dash scrambled to her feet as Gilda flew toward her. Instead of dodging right away, Dash waited until the last moment and ducked down. Gilda didn’t stop and her fist connected with the concrete wall and there was the sound of a nasty crack.

“Buck!” Gilda shouted as she massaged her right fist, which left a small crack on the wall. Dash quickly did another pegasus-uppercut and Gilda slammed to the wall. Thinking fast, Rainbow Dash used her right arm to keep Gilda pinned to the wall and she used her left arm to deliver body blow after body blow.

“Yeah, you can do it Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted as the crowd cheered and booed.

Dash continued her assault, but she failed to see Gilda’s knee rising up. Dash stumbled backwards and Gilda delivered a vicious stomach punch, causing Dash to double over in pain. Gilda then performed a double axe hammer on Dash’s head and she fell to the floor face first. Dash turned her head to the side to see Gilda grinning victoriously, 

“What’s wrong Rainbow Dash?” Gilda shouted as she kicked Dash’s face with her boot, “Don’t you have some smartflank remark to say.”

“You better hope you didn’t break my nose.” Dash grinned as she wiped blood from her bleeding nose.

“There it is.” Gilda said as she began to kick Dash’s stomach repeatedly. The crowd continued to cheer and this time, the nerds and Scootaloo who were the ones leading the booing,

“What’s the matter Gilda,” Scootaloo shouted as a groan of pain managed to get out of Dash’s mouth with every kick, “afraid of fighting Dash in a fair fight?!”

Gilda planted one more strong kick before turning around and facing Scootaloo,

“You think I’m afraid of her?!” Gilda shouted, “I’m not afraid of anypony. If they want to fight, then I’ll give them a fight. It isn’t my fault if they can’t keep up with me!”

Gilda turned back to Dash, only to be sent to the floor by a vicious clothesline. This received a couple of painful groans from the viewing audience.

“Hey Gilda,” Dash panted as she looked down at the griffon, “here’s some advice; don’t start gloating when the fight is still going.”

“Then let’s end this!” Gilda said with an eager grin as she massaged her throat. She got up and did a simple punch, which Dash easily side-stepped. Gilda smiled and immediately got behind Dash and grabbed her by her midsection.

“What the-” Dash began to say, but stopped when she felt herself being lifted off the ground as Gilda performed a German Suplex. The crowd groaned as they saw Dash’s head smash to the concrete floor. But it wasn’t over as Gilda, who still didn’t let Dash go, got up and did another German suplex. Dash felt like she was about to pass out as Gilda got up again and did one final German suplex. This time, Gilda let go of Dash mid-suplex and she flew to the middle of the arena and fell like a rag doll.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo shouted, “GET UP!”

It was no use as Dash continued to lay motionless.

“I’m not done with you yet!” Gilda snarled as she picked Dash up by her head, ignoring the small amount of blood that tainted the rainbow hair, “I have to show everypony here what happens when they mess with me.”

Gilda proceeded to punch Dash’s motionless body repeatedly. The only sign that Rainbow Dash was still alive were the sharp sounds of pain that escaped Dash’s mouth with each punch. It wasn’t a pleasant sight for anypony. The nerds were staring in horror as the assault continued and Scootaloo was on a verge of tears. Even the ponies that weren’t very fond of Rainbow Dash watched with disgust. Except for Lightning Dust, who merely saw the fight with a curious look, as though wondering how much longer Dash would survive. Finally, it was Twilight who walked up to the nearest cage door and tried to shake it open.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lightning Dust asked as she walked toward Twilight.

“Putting a stop to this.” Twilight said simply as she shook the door more vigorously. 

“You’re probably going to need these.” Lightning twirled a ring of keys around her fingers. Twilight made a grab for them but Lightning chuckled as she pocketed them.

“Give me those keys Dust.” Twilight commanded.

“Sorry, but you know the rules of The Hole: The cage doors won’t open until the fight is over.”

“The fight is over!” Twilight practically shouted, “Rainbow Dash has had enough!”

“Please, if even half the stuff that Dashie boast about is true, then this is nothing to her.”

“Then take a second look because this fight is over!”

“Twilight, relax. See,” Lightning pointed to the arena, “this is fight is almost over, but not quite.”

Twilight turned and saw Gilda holding Dash from behind by the midsection again. Gilda took to the air and began to circle the entire area, slowly gaining speed. After a couple of cycles, Gilda flew straight to the top of the arena  and dropped like a stone, ready to slam Dash to the ground.

Time seemed to slow down as the ponies watched Gilda and Dash get closer and closer to the ground. 30ft from the ground…25ft from the ground…20ft from the ground.

At 15ft from the ground, something miraculous happened. Dash’s eyes suddenly burst wide open; her cerise eyes were now completely alert. Dash proceeded to spread her wings and Gilda, completely shocked by her sudden vitality, loosened her grip. Rainbow then turned around and grabbed Gilda by her midsection, trapping Gilda’s arms in the process. With their roles reversed, Dash began to flap her wings rapidly, causing the two to fall to the floor even faster than before. At the last second, Dash positioned herself until she was on top of Gilda and Gilda crashed to the floor, the sound of the impact echoed throughout the entire room.

Dash slowly got up and was greeted by the dumbfounded crowd.

“Um, what’s going on?” Dash asked the crowd, “You all look like you seen a ghost.”

“Rainbow Dash, but…how?!” Twilight exclaimed, completely flabbergasted.

“What, did you all really think Gilda beat me?” Dash shook her head, an arrogant smile plastered on her face, “it’s going to take a lot more to do me in.”

Even as she said this to the confused and impressed crowd, Twilight could see that Dash was in pain. Any other pony that went through the same abuse would have been unconscious a long time ago. It was thanks to Dash’s endurance for pain she developed over the years and sheer willpower that she was able to stand up.

Dash turned back to Gilda, who was still lying on the floor. Dash knew Gilda would be back for more, so Rainbow had to end it here and now. She began to run around the arena before taking to the air. Just like Gilda, Dash began to circle the around the cage. The only difference was that Dash was faster and eventually, she became a rainbow blur. She went to the very top of the cage before speeding down toward the Gilda. Everypony waited with baited breath as Dash got closer and closer to the downed griffon. With only a couple of feet left, Dash lifted up her elbow and aimed it at Gilda’s stomach. Then there was the sound of Gilda’s anguish cry of pain. It lasted for a few seconds before the griffon fell into unconsciousness. 

After getting beaten repeatedly and flying as fast as she can in her state, the exhaustion that Dash tried to ignore was now too much for her. Too tired to get up, Dash flopped on her back and laid next to Gilda. Rainbow then thrust her fist in the air victoriously,

“The name’s Rainbow Dash!” she shouted with a cocky, and slightly pained, grin, “The toughest pegasus in this school! Remember that!”

The crowd, led by the nerds, cheered for Rainbow Dash; the winner. Then there was the sound of a cannon and confetti filled the room,

“Woo-hoo, that was the coolest thing ever!” Dash recognized the voice as Pinkie Pie, “It was so awesome when Dashie was all hurt and unconscious, but then she got all better and threw Gilda to the floor. And then she went to the air and was all swoosh, whoosh, swoosh and then she went down and BOOM. We should have a party! It’ll be called ‘Dashie beats bully Gilda’. *GASP* I need to start planning.”

And with that, Pinkie dragged her jock friends out of the basement. Eventually, other ponies began to leave, some richer than others thanks to their bet winnings. Soon the only ponies left were the nerds, Scootaloo, and Lightning Dust.

“Well that was entertaining I guess.” Lightning Dust said as she tossed the keys to the cage to Twilight, who began to open the door, “Well, I best be on my way. I have a lot of planning to do.” And with that, Lighting began to walk away, but turned toward Dash, who was still lying down,

“Looks like you’re a harder nut to crack, but you’re still weak. I’ll give you fair warning; if you try to get in my way, you will regret it.” And with that, she left.

The cage door opened and the nerds entered The Hole via ladder while Scootaloo glided down toward Dash.

“You were so awesome Dash!” Scootaloo exclaimed when she was next to the rainbow-haired pegasus.

“Did you expect anything differently?” Rainbow joked as she wearily got to her feet.

“That was amazing Rainbow!” the nerd Dash recognized as Sparkler said.

“It was pretty impressive.” Twilight nodded, “except for the part where you were unconscious.”

“I wasn’t unconscious!” Rainbow said, her pride slightly wounded, “I was just…resting my eyes.”

Everypony shared in a laugh, which abruptly ended by the moans of Gilda waking up,

“We should probably get out of here, like now.” The nerd Caramel said.

They began to walk away, but they soon stopped when they realized Dash was staring intently at Gilda.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow ignored her and walked toward Gilda. The griffon finally opened her eyes and lifted up her head groggily, only to find Dash standing in front of her.

“What do you want now?” Gilda said venomously as she massaged her stomach. Dash glared at Gilda for a couple of seconds as words from a certain pegasus principal rang in her head. Then Dash extended her hand toward Gilda.

“What the-” Gilda began but Rainbow cut in,

“Listen, I never said anything about your family. Lightning made all that up. And I’m sorry about what happened at Nightmare Night, I mainly did it because Lightning told me, but I won’t lie; I did enjoy it.”

Gilda stared at Dash and her hand and with a confused expression. Then, to the surprise of everypony, Gilda took the hand and Dash pulled her to the feet. Once up, Gilda held Dash’s hand for a second before pulling her closer and delivering a head-butt, knocking Rainbow to the floor.

“That’s for Nightmare Night.” Gilda said.

Dash clutched her now bruised forehead,

“Son of a b-” Dash began, but stopped when she looked up and saw Gilda had extended her hand, which Rainbow took.

“What just happened?” Caramel asked nopony in particular. He got no response as everypony else was just as confused.

“I got a say Dash,” Gilda said as she help Dash to her feet, “you sure know how to throw I punch. I kind of have to respect that.”

“And you sure know how to beat somepony senseless when they’re down.” Dash replied with a smile.

“Well I get a lot of practice.” Gilda chuckled.

Everypony else could only stare in amazement as Dash and Gilda exchanged complements of fighting skills. Twilight’s only reasonable explanation for this was that Dash’s and Gilda’s personality paralleled each other so much, that it was only natural that the two could get along.

“So,” Scootaloo asked after a moment of silence, “are you to, like, friends now?”

“I don’t know.” Gilda said, “I still think Rainbow’s a prat.”

“And I still think Gilda is a bitch.” Dash added.

Everypony expected the Gilda and Dash to go at each other’s throat after this, but they merely looked each other like old friends.

“Let’s try this again.” Dash held out her hand, “The name’s Rainbow Dash.”

Gilda shook the hand, “The name’s Gilda.”

“O.K it’s official,” Sparkler said, “I’ve entered another universe where Gilda is not a complete brute.”

Gilda turned toward Sparkler threatenly, “Did somepony just say they wanted to get a swirly?”

Sparkler eeped and stayed silent.

“Hey Gilda,” Rainbow said, “I’m gonna have to ask you to stop bullying.”

Gilda’s eyes widened in surprise,

“Give me one good reason why?”

“Let me rephrase it; Stop bullying the nerds and Scootaloo. They’re so weak that you can knock them down with one finger,”

“You know we can hear you, right?” Caramel said indignantly, but Rainbow ignored him and continued,

“They don’t need to be bullied. However, that doesn’t mean you have to stop completely. There are a lot of students in this school, like the jocks, that need a good beating. They have to learn that they can’t do everything they wanted. And, you and your bullies get to prove to everypony that you can take anypony.”

“I do like the sound of a tougher challenge.” Gilda grinned at the thought, “Faust knows how boring it got when the nerds barely put up a fight.”

“We’re still here!” Caramel shouted, “Are we invisible or something?”

“Great.” Dash said, completely disregarding the nerd, “So we got a deal.”

“You know it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to find Lightning Dust and make her regret ever tricking me.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.”

Gilda and Dash high-fived and got ready to fly, only to have Twilight grabbed both of them by their shoulder.

“Oh no you won’t.” Twilight scolded, “both of you are going straight to the nurse’s office.”

“Do you really think you can tell me what to do egghead?” Gilda said.

“Don’t worry Twilight, we’re fine.” Dash assured.

Twilight stared at the two of them before she delivered a right-hook to Gilda and a left-hook to Dash, both of whom fell to the floor and were moaning in pain.

“You see that; your fight has taken more out if you then you thought. If I can knock you two down with one punch, then you stand no chance against Lightning Dust. Now get your flanks to the nurse’s office.”

“Yes ma’am.” Rainbow and Gilda both groaned.

> Chp 7: New ponies to meet and punch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Author's Notes: If you didn't read the description, then you should know that some future chapter will have a somewhat Slice of Life theme (i.e. chapters that are mainly about talking and character interaction). I do this in order to make a deeper story than just characters punching each other for vague reasons. And it could also be entertaining. Hopefully y'all will like it and that this won't blow up in my face.




“Didn’t I tell you to be careful around Lightning Dust?” Soarin scolded, “Because I specifically remember telling you to tread cautiously, or was I just talking to myself?”

“Enough, I get it,” Rainbow Dash replied, exasperated as she got back up her feet, “I’d rather not be reminded that I was played.”

“Remembering one’s shortcomings makes them stronger.” Soarin said as he got in his fighting position again.

“Where did you get that from, a fortune cookie?” Dash asked as she too got into her stance.

“Bumper sticker,” Soarin corrected, “Now you try.”

It has been a couple of days since Rainbow Dash’s battle with Gilda. It was currently another sunny day in M.A with a mid-autumn wind. Normally, Rainbow would have been in her morning class right now, but her art teacher Celestia canceled class for the day and nopony knew why. Having some extra time, Dash decided to finally give Soarin the old radio she found in the school basement. She would have done it sooner, but she was too focused on other, Lightning Dust-related, activities.

Dash faced Soarin in his circular ‘home’. Dash stepped forward with her left leg and crouched. She swung her entire body to the left with her right leg extended out. Soarin quickly jumped over Dash’s sweeping leg.

“Alright not bad; again,” Soarin said as he got into his stance again, “So, what have you been up to since you got backstabbed?”

“Oh you know,” Dash replied as she repeated her new technique, “I’ve been looking for Lightning Dust. It’s weird, but I can’t find her anywhere. No one in the girl’s dorm even knows what her room number is. I tried looking for her in the hallways immediately after class ends, but I can’t find her. It’s almost like she doesn’t even go to this school.”

“So what specifically happened? The only thing I know is that she double-crossed you. You mind telling me why?”

“She said that I was weak, and that I would be in the way of her plan.”

“What plan?” Soarin said as he regained his balance from Dash’s move.

“To take over the school because she is able to.” Dash said matter-of-factly.

Soarin let out a long whistle, “Wow, talk about a god complex. Now, use the move I just showed you, but flap your wings in the direction your turning.” He instructed, “So what you gonna do Dash? Are you going to be the noble hero who saves us all from the evil fiend?”

“Honestly, I’d rather punch Lightning’s face repeatedly.”

“Careful Dash; vengeance blinds a pony from what’s really important.”

“Another bumper sticker quote?”

“Nope; horoscope.”

Rainbow chuckled as she stepped forward and swung out her right leg, but this time she flapped her wings once with all of her strength. Dash’s speed and power increased and she managed to sweep Soarin off his feet. Right before he crashed to the ground, Soarin flapped his wings once, did a back flip in mid-air, and landed on his feet.

“Alright, looks like you got the leg sweep down.” Soarin said

“Awesome. I can’t wait to try it on Lightning Dust”

“You might want to hold off that for now. You may know how to do the leg sweep, but you can still perfect it.”

“Oh please,” Rainbow grinned, her arrogant nature getting the best of her, “my leg sweep is no doubt better than even yours, Soarin.”

“Oh ho, you might want to reconsider your words.” Soarin said with a grin.

“I could knock you down with my leg sweep in 10 sec-”

Soarin stepped forward with his left leg and crouched down in surprising speed. He flapped his wings as he turned and extended his right leg completely outward. His leg swept both of Dash’s legs and she flopped to the floor. The rainbow-haired pegasus could only stare up in confusion at what just happened.

“Now that is a leg sweep. Keep practicing kid.” Soarin said as he helped Dash to her feet. Once Dash was back on her feet, there was a loud *ding* that rang through the school; signaling an announcement,

“Rainbow Dash,” said a monotonous voice, “please report to the headmistress’s office. Rainbow Dash, please report to the headmistress’s office.”

“Looks like Spitfire wants to see me.” Rainbow said casually as she began to walk away, “Later Soarin.”

“Hold up Dash.” Soarin said

“What is it?” Rainbow asked as she turned to face him. She saw Soarin walking toward an old shack at the edge of his living quarters. He entered and then exited the shack with a large bag.

“I live right next to the parking lot and the auto-shop.” Soarin said as he walked up to Dash and dumped the bag next to him, “And since the students in this school always pass nearby and never shut up, I know just about everything that goes on. The other day, I heard a scrawny looking unicorn, I think her name was Twilight, telling her friend of a massive beating you took from the griffon named Gilda.”

Dash said in exasperation, “I keep telling Twilight I had everything in control!”

“Really? Because it sounded like you were knocked out.”

“No, I was just…dazed! Did Twilight even talk about how I won the fight?” Dash said, her voice filled with pride.

“Oh yeah, she did talk about how you were barely able to get the upper hand at the last second.” Soarin chuckled as he crouched and began to root around the bag, “From all that boasting that you do, I expected you to be in complete control of the fight the entire time. You have to learn Dash that if you boast, you better be ready to back it up. And that’s where I come in; my job is to make you stronger.”

Soarin stood up with 4 pieces of rope. Each rope was roughly 1ft long and had what appeared to be small bags attached to each rope.

“Here,” Soarin passed the pieces of rope to Dash, “tie one to each wrist and ankle.”

“…O.K?” Dash said questionably as she attached each piece of rope to her left wrist, right wrist, left ankle, and right ankle, “So why am I doing this?”

“So far, I’ve just been teaching you how to fight. But that doesn’t matter if you don’t have the body to deal and receive as much damage as possible. These are homemade weights; the bags are filled with sand and each weighs about a pound. I want you to wear these at all times. Whether you’re walking, running, eating, or studying, you wear them.”

“And let me guess,” Dash’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “I’m gonna have to give you radio parts for more weights?”

“Nope, these weights are absolutely free. Just come over when you don’t even feel the weights anymore and I’ll add another pound to each one. After a couple of weeks, your strength and speed should increase.”

“More speed huh?” Dash grinned as she stared down at the weights, “I like the sound of that. But what’s with the sudden generosity?”

Soarin smiled, “I can’t have my star pupil be somepony’s punching bag.”

Dash ignored the jab and took the compliment. She walked toward her satchel, which she hung on one of the wooden planks that blocked off the whole area from the school, and then walked toward the gate. As she was opening the door, she paused for a couple of seconds. Then she turned back to Soarin, who was taken aback by the sudden sheepish expression.

“Um, Soarin, remember the other day when you told me that you were a Wonderbolt?”

“Yeah…” Soarin said. He was beginning to worry that his prideful, and arrogant, student was suddenly timid. 

“Well, you see, I didn’t believe. So I went online to prove you wrong. And…well…” Dash walked up to Soarin and pulled a picture from her satchel. Soarin took it and grinned as when he saw what it was. The picture was of a pegasus in a Wonderbolt outfit. His gray blue hair was the very definition of sleek. His clean-shaven face was brimming with confidence and arrogance. He was smiling while giving a thumbs-up to the photographer.

“Where did you get this?” Soarin chuckled as he compared what he looked like in his Wonderbolt days to what he looked like now.

“I just looked through archives of past Wonderbolts and I found your picture. So,” Dash thrust her hand into her satchel and pulled out a pen, sheepishness now replaced by excitement, “can I have your autograph?!”

Soarin neatly folded the picture and placed it in his back pocket, “I’ll make you a deal; if you can punch me in the face, I’ll give you my autograph.”

No sooner as he finished his sentenced that Rainbow lunged, her fist aimed straight at Soarin’s nose. Soarin grinned and caught her fist with ease. Rainbow may have been fast, but Soarin was faster. He then shoved Dash’s fist straight to her nose. Recoiling slightly, Dash flapped her wings and did a pegasus-uppercut. Soarin leaned backwards as Dash’s uppercut whizzed harmlessly past Soarin’s chin. He then grabbed Dash’s arm and performed a judo throw, slamming her to the ground.

“Best two out of three!” Dash cried as she scrambled to her feet.

“Isn’t it now best three out of five?” Soarin said innocently.

“Whatever!”

Dash charged, but stopped when the *ding* sound reverberated across the school.

“Rainbow Dash,” announced a dangerous voice Dash recognized as Spitfire’s, “you have exactly 120 seconds to come my office. If not, you will be suspended. 120 seconds…119 seconds…118 seconds…”

“You better not keep her waiting.” Soarin advised as Dash got her satchel, waved good-bye to Soarin, and flew across the parking lot and toward the academy, completely ignoring the ‘no flying’ rule.
________________________________________
“113 seconds… 112 seconds…” Spitfire said into the microphone, “111 seconds…110seco-”

Her office doors slammed open as a Dash ran in and took her seat.

“Ah, Rainbow Dash, how nice if you to honor me with your company.” Spitfire said sarcastically.

“What is it?” Rainbow panted. Spitfire raised a stern eyebrow and Dash sighed. “Why did you summon me ma’am?”

“I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“Bad news; I always like to start off with bad news to get it out of the way.”

“Then we’ll start off with the good news.” Spitfire said, “Since you started school late this year, let me be the first to tell you after the first 2 months of school, students are allowed to leave school campus after class and weekends. You can go to Manticore Town and see the town hall, or go to old Manticore Ville; I hear they have a great shopping district. You may also explore New Coventry, but I’d advise you to be careful around the locals there.

“With that aside, let’s get down to business. It seems that there are these outlandish rumors that you have been fighting Gilda the griffon. Tell me Dash, are they true?”

“Of course not, ma’am.” Dash said with a forced smile.

“Are you sure? You see, I have recently received information that reinforces these rumors.”

“Then why don’t you tell me who gave you this information, which isn’t true, and I will ‘politely’ ask them to stop spreading them.” Dash said, her mind immediately thinking of Lightning Dust.

Spitfire opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a flyer. She held it toward Dash, who got up and took the flyer. She groaned as she saw what is was.

The flyer was covered in streamers and glitter. The top half of the flyer was mostly filled with Rainbow’s own face, beaming with pride. Below the picture was flamboyant writing that she knew was Pinkie Pie’s hand writing. She read it to herself in the party pony’s voice,

“Hey there! If you’re reading this, then that means you are invited to the BIG PARTY happening in the school basement. This is to celebrate my new best friend Rainbow Dash’s victory over the mean meanie Gilda (who isn’t such a mean meanie anymore.) It’s going to be so much Fun! We have music, cakes, sodas, pony poky, reenactments, autograph signing, bowling, rock climbing…”

Dash couldn’t read the rest as Pinkie’s handwriting became miniscule as the earth pony tried to fit every activity on the flyer.

“So,” Spitfire said coolly, “why wasn’t I invited?” 

“Oh, you know,” Dash said, no longer putting on the charade, “inconvenience. You missed a great party; I got a sugar rush every hour.”

“I hope they were worth it. Now about your punishment-”

“Why am I the only one getting punished?”

“Oh don’t worry, you aren’t. Gilda is currently in charge of cleaning the academy restrooms for the next week. I can’t very well punish Pinkie Pie for planning an ill-advised party. You, however, I can. You will be helping the lunch lady serve food for the next 3 weeks.”

Dash groaned, “Are you serious?”

“You’re absolutely right; better make it 4 weeks.” Spitfire opened her desk drawer again and pulled out of index cards that looked like time sheets, “Take these; after every lunch period, the lunch lady will sign one. After all of them are signed, you’re done.” 

Dash opened her mouth to argue, but thought against it. She looked down at the flyer and asked, “So where did you get it? I thought Pinkie threw them all away.”

“A student found one of the flyers and she decided it was best for me to know about it.”

“Let me guess; it was a pegasus named Lightning Dust?”

“Yes, yes it was.”

“That bitch.” Dash said under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Spitfire said sternly.

“I said Matt Mitch.”

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. Goodbye.” And with that Dash left Spitfire’s office. The school bell rang, signaling the end of morning classes and the start of lunch. Sighing, Dash made her way to the elevator.

“Hey, you’re Rainbow Dash, right?” said a voice behind Dash. Rainbow turned around and saw a unicorn student. One look at her and Dash new she was a preppy; her smug face simply yelled ‘I’m better than you because I have money.’ 

“Yeah, who are you?”

“My name’s Minuette, but my friends call me Colgate.” She said, flipping her blue and white hair back as though to give her more superiority.

“Like the toothpaste brand?” Dash asked.

“Yes. You see, my father is the CEO of the company. Now, enough about me and my vast wealth, I want to talk about you. A couple of us lasses-”

“What?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. As you would probably say, ‘Me and my homegirls’ were in the audience when you fought Gilda. We watched and you impressed us. So allow me to give you an invitation to our little boxing club. It’s in Old Manticore Ville; just take an immediate right after you cross the bridge leaving the school and you should see our gym. We hope to see you soon.”

And with that Colgate left. Dash merely shrugged off the whole experience; she knew she would be too busy looking for Lightning Dust to join some snobby boxing club. Dash entered the elevator and after 5 flights of elevator music, she reached the ground floor. Rainbow walked to her left and opened the double-doors that led to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was packed as usual, something that always confused Dash. One look at the food made caused Dash to run for the hills. As she walked pass the rows of tables, she caught sight of Berry Punch and Cherry Berry, who waved at Dash. Dash waved back.

Gilda was true to her word and she managed to convince the bullies to stop picking on the weaker students; although Dash occasionally caught them teasing the nerds. Even though that was taken care of, there was still a lot of tension and hostility between Dash and the bullies. After some convincing and threatening from Gilda, Dash met with Berry, Cherry, Daisy, Lyra, and Bon Bon. At first they sat together in silence, but that ended when Gilda gave a lyre to Lyra, who started to play it expertly to a surprised Dash. Then Berry and Cherry shared their hobby of making juices from every kind of berry, Daisy talked about how she would tend to her mother’s flower shop, and Bon Bon shared some toffee that she made herself. Soon they were all talking and Dash learned that the bullies weren’t so bad. A little brutish, but all around O.K mares.  After that, they went from hated enemies to close acquaintances. 

Dash walked to the edge of the cafeteria and opened the door that led into the kitchen. The kitchen was a moderately spacious room with clean, grey walls. To her right were rows of windows placed in front of a large counter holding food. On this side of the cafeteria, the students would insert some bits into a slot, which would cause the windows to slide open and students would grab their meal and then it would slide back down. To Dash, the only edible looking food was the salad; everything else was either gray or burned. The middle of the room was comprised of 2 long wooden tables; one table held vegetables, fruits, and grains while the other held meats and spices. The far side of the kitchen was lined with cabinets that held every kind cooking utensils, two high-tech looking ovens, and a stove. 

As Dash walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to see only one pony working the kitchen. The lunch lady was currently stirring a large pot on the stove. She was a thin pegasus with blonde hair and was wearing a grey chief outfit, which partially camouflaged her grey wings.

“Excuse me.” Dash said as she walked up to the lunch lady

“Hello there,” The lunch lady said in a happy voice, not taking her eyes of the pot, “do you need help with something?”

“No, Spitfire sent me. She said I…I…” Dash lost her train as the lunch lady finally turned toward her. Dash saw that she had a kind face, but Rainbow was distracted by the fact the lunch lady was wall eyed. She couldn’t stop staring; the right eye was looking at Dash while the left eye drifted off.

“Are you alright?” the lunch lady asked, her voice was filled with concern for the gaping pegasus.

“Uh…I mean, yeah I’m fine.” Dash shook herself awake from the trance as she scolded herself for staring, “I was just saying that Spitfire sent me here to help you in the kitchen.” Dash took out  the stack of time cards.

“Oh, well it looks like we’ll be working together.” The lunch lady smiled as she took the time cards and pocketed them. She then stuck out her hand, “My name is Debra Hooves, but most ponies just call me Derpy.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Dash said with a shaky laugh as she shook Derpy’s hand. Derpy then used a ladle to scoop some soup from the pot into a bowl and passed it to Dash, “Here, I wouldn’t want you to work on an empty stomach.  I also have some spare aprons in one of the cabinets.”

Dash stared at the bowl of gray liquid and then to Derpy’s smiling face. Sighing, she drank the whole thing in one go. It burned her throat and the taste reminded her of boiled gym socks, which she knew thanks to a botched Nightmare Night prank. 

After choking out a quick thanks, Dash washed her hands, put on an apron, and started to work. For the next couple of minutes, Dash chopped vegetables in silence as Derpy hummed to herself. Then Dash heard a slurping sound and turned to see Derpy tasting the soup. Almost instantaneously, Derpy’s mouth puckered up in distaste. Dash stared in surprise as Derpy poured the soup into bowls and then served it to the students.

“What was that?” Dash said as Derpy returned to her pot and began to stir again.

“What was what?” Derpy asked.

“That! You tasted the soup right?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t like it, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you still served it?”

“Yes.”

…

“Why?!” Dash cried out, “If you know it tasted bad, why would you serve it? And do you smell smoke?”

They both turned to one of the ovens, where smoke was slowly rising.

“Oh, the casserole is done!” Derpy said in a chipper voice. She picked up a broom that was conveniently leaning on the stove, and opened the oven with it. She quickly pulled away the broom as fire burst out of the oven. Dash jumped back in shock by the fire while Derpy calmly walked toward the fire with a fire extinguisher. After the fire was extinguish, Derpy picked up oven mitts and pulled out something completely burnt from the oven. She proceeded to layer it with the vegetables Dash sliced as though nothing happened.

“Derpy.” Dash said, her mouth agape.

“Yes?”

“What the buck?! Why did you cook the food at such a high temperature?!”

“The cook book said to cook the casserole at 735 degrees,” Derpy said matter-of-factly as she pointed to a large open book to her right. Rainbow walked over to the book and began reading it. She was shocked to see that the book actually called for the casserole to be cooked at 735 degrees. As she continued, Dash saw even more bizarre cooking steps and ingredients. Just when she was beginning to think that the countless blows to the head were finally beginning to affect her, she noticed something.

“Hey Derpy, check this out.”

The lunch lady walked over to Dash as she began to peel of something from the cook book.

“What are you doing?” Derpy asked curiously. 

Rainbow grinned as she solved the mystery of the awful cafeteria food,

“Somepony has been pulling a prank on you Derpy.” Dash said as she waved the strand of tape in front of the wall eyed pegasus; the tape covered the actual information from the cook book and instead showed something obscene. As Dash combed over page after page, she found even more and more tape. Dash couldn’t help but grin; even though this prank caused her to survive off the student store ever since she arrived to the school, she had to appreciate the dedication.

“I have to know something Derpy,” Dash said after a couple of minutes of pulling out tape, “Didn’t you ever question some of these steps? I mean, look at this one; tenderize meat with a rotting wooden plank.”

“Well, I thought it was strange at first, but every cook book I got all had strange steps.” Derpy went to one of the cabinets and pulled out a stack of cook books, “Every one of the books had weird material, so I just thought it was a new trend.”

Dash looked at the books and sure enough, they were covered in tape.

“Alright then Derpy,” Dash said, “looks like you’re gonna have to get a new cook book; hopefully one that makes sense.”

“Are you sure we should get a new one? I mean, what if the students like this food?”

Dash laughed. She continued to laugh as she walked to the food counter. Holding one of the windows so it wouldn’t slide, She poked her head out,

“HEY EVERYPONY!” Rainbow shouted. The entire cafeteria went silent and everypony turned to face Dash, “I’m taking a quick survey! Here’s the question; how many of you like the food here?!”

A single jock in the back row raised his hand. Dash then moved aside as Derpy poked her head out of the window,

“I’m sorry everypony! Don’t worry, there will be new and better food tomorrow!”

The entire cafeteria erupted in cheers. Students stood up and danced on tables in celebration. In the heat of euphoria, somepony threw their food and it hit somepony else. In a matter of seconds, the cafeteria became a war zone as everypony began to throw their food to just about anything that moved.

Dash quickly pulled Derpy back into the cafeteria just as something grey went soaring to her face.

“Well that was fun.” Dash smiled as she looked at the mayhem, “You O.K Derpy?”

Dash turned to Derpy, only to be trapped in Derpy’s monster bear hug,

“I’m better than O.K.” Derpy said happily as she constricted Dash’s lungs, “Thank you so much Rainbow! You probably saved me from being fired as the worst lunch lady ever! How can I ever repay you?”

“You can start by letting me go!” Dash wheezed as her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. Derpy let go and Rainbow took many grateful gulps of air.

“Anything else I can do?” Derpy asked

“No, I’m fine.” Dash said quickly as she held up her hands protectively, “The only thing I need right now is information on Lightning Dust.”

“Lightning Dust…Oh! I know her!” Derpy exclaimed. 

“Really?” Dash said, both surprised and excitedly, “Do you know where she is?”

“Well, I don’t know her personally,” Derpy admitted, which made Dash’s spirits sink, “but I do know somepony who does.” Dash’s spirits rose.

“Who?!” Rainbow practically shouted.

“Ms. Luna, the English teacher. We talk whenever we’re in the faculty room. Whenever I ask her about her students, she always praises Lightning Dust; she says that Lightning is an intelligent student who is very humble.”

Dash snorted; Lightning Dust, humble?!

“If you want to know more about Lightning Dust,” Derpy continued, “you should go talk to Luna.”

“Alright, thanks for the help. I’ll go talk to her after lunch.”

“Or you can go right now. After your big help, you deserve to leave early. As a matter of fact,” Derpy smiled as she took out Dash’s timecards out of her pocket. She then searched her other pocket and pulled out a muffin, a live baby chicken, a microphone, a completed rubik cube, until finally she pulled out a pen. She began to sign most of the timecards and she passed it back to Dash, “you have helped me so much, you now only need to help me for one week.”

Dash grinned as she took her timecards, “Wouldn’t you get in trouble if Spitfire found out?”

Derpy gave Dash a wink, “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Rainbow winked back and pocketed the timecards. She took off her apron, grabbed her satchel, exited the kitchen, and ran out of the cafeteria as she dodged the flying food plates. Dash then ran up the staircase, to the second floor, and down the hall to the corridor that led to the English class.

As Dash got closer to her destinations, she heard two ponies talking. As she got closer, she could hear anger in both of the voices. Rainbow began to tiptoe toward the English class and saw that the door was ajar. Peeking inside, she saw two ponies in the class. One was Luna, sitting on her desk. She was starring daggers at a unicorn standing in front of her desk. One look at the standing pony’s clothing told Rainbow that she was a prefect, except that she had a star on her shoulder and was wearing a fedora on top of her pale blue hair.

“Don’t make me repeat myself Ms. Luna.” the unicorn said as she leaned forward, “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?!” Luna cried, her words slurring slightly.

“The bottles! I know you’ve been drinking again.”

“How dare you insult me with lies?!” Luna shouted back.

“Oh please; your breath reeks of alcohol.”

“It’s not alcohol. It’s…a new brand of toothpaste I’ve been trying. You should try it Trixie; Faust knows it could only improve your breath.”

The unicorn Trixie chuckled lightly, “Have you fallen so low that you are reduced to petty insults?”

“And is your head so swollen that you think you’re better than everypony?” Luna tried to make it sound insulting, but Trixie merely smiled,

“I don’t think; I know.” Trixie said confidently. Dash was immediately reminded of Lightning Dust and she clenched her fist of frustration. Trixie continued, “After all, they don’t just make anypony Head Prefect. They chose me for my amazing leadership and superior intellect.”

This time, it was Luna’s turn to laugh,

“Your ‘superior intellect’ is just a sham. If memory serves, Twilight Sparkle trounced you in every exam you two took and will ever take.”

Trixie’s calm demeanor was replaced by anger, “Twilight Sparkle is nothing more than a unicorn with some intelligence and slightly above average skill in magic who thinks she’s great. Let me tell you that Sparkle is nothing compared to me. The only redeeming quality about her is that she secludes herself from others so she won’t spread her incompetence!”

Trixie breathed heavily after her outburst as Luna watched with a satisfied smile. After a couple of breaths, Trixie smiled arrogantly, “Alright, I digressed enough. Let’s get back to the matter at hand; I know you’ve been drinking and when I find the evidence, you’re out of here.”

“That’s how you get your entertainment, isn’t it; you just like to bully others to make yourself feel superior.”

“Of course not.” Trixie said, pretending to be scandalized, “I’m only doing it to get somepony like you sacked. After all, what kind of monster drinks in front of the young?”

Luna stood up and pointed at Trixie, 

“Your mother!” she yelled. 

Rainbow Dash had to shove her fist in her mouth to stop her from laughing; the look on Trixie’s face was priceless.

“Well.” Trixie now looked flustered. After a while, she began to walk out, but turned around and pointed at Luna, “Watch yourself Luna, this is not over.”

Dash quickly hid behind a corner just as Trixie slammed the door open and stomped out. After Trixie was out of sight, Rainbow walked into Luna’s class.

The class was a standard 25 by 32 feet. Most of the room was taken up by desks and chairs all lined up in a row. The walls held posters of authors and bookshelves filled with, well, books. Luna sat behind her desk as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Ms. Luna?” Dash asked as she walked closer to the alicorn.

Luna turned to her left and saw Dash. She smiled, “Why hello Rainbow Dash. Please come in, take a seat.” Luna gestured to a chair in front of her desk, which Rainbow took.

“What brings you here?” Luna said. Dash noticed that the teacher’s cheek were slightly rosy red. Rainbow opened her mouth, but closed it. After some thinking, she asked “Who was that girl and why were you two arguing.”

Luna’s smile was replaced by a frown, “You saw that?”

Dash nodded.

Luna sighed, “That was Trixie Lulamoon; head prefect of the school and self-proclaimed genius. She feels she so much better just because of her position, but she only got it because she was the only applicant with decent grades. Lulamoon is just another corrupt figure who enjoys making herself feel superior.”

“She didn’t look so superior when you talked about Twi showing her up.” Dash grinned.

Luna chuckled, “It’s no secret that Trixie becomes practically livid when Ms. Sparkle is mentioned; although, nopony really knows why that is. Anyways, it appears I am Trixie’s latest victim in her crusade to make everypony else feel miserable.”

“So what is she doing to you?”

“She has been slandering my name! She keeps telling everypony that I’m a drunk!” Luna cried indignantly.

Rainbow was about to point out that Luna could report Trixie for slander just as Luna reached into her right desk drawer, and pulled out a bottle in a paper bag.

Dash could only watch with a deadpan expression as Luna took long draughts from the bottle. After the 4th of 5th one, Luna stopped and smacked her lips. With a satisfied smile, Luna turned to Dash, who merely raised an eyebrow. It took a while for Luna to realize what she had done.

Luna’s eyes widened in panic as she stammered, “Th-this isn’t what you think! This is…um…umm…” As Luna tried to think of a good lie, Dash quickly reached out and tore the bottle from Luna’s hand. Luna stared in horror as Rainbow pulled out the bottle; revealing a transparent bottle with pale gold liquid. Dash took a whiff of the bottle and reeled her head back.

“O.K, so I do, on occasion, indulge myself with a drink or two.” Luna admitted with a sigh, “But, it is merely apple cider. Not the strong one mind you, the weaker, less alcoholic, kind.”

“Yeah right, and I’m slower than a turtle with a broken leg.” Dash snorted as she read the label of the bottle, “E.F, that’s the brand. I’m pretty sure apple cider does not start with E.F. No, this is Everfree Forest whiskey. Whiskey made from the rye from the Everfree forest, and if I remember correctly, it’s 50% alcohol.”

It was Luna’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “Since when were you an expert on beverages?”

“My 2nd stepfather was an avid drinker.” Dash stated with a shrug. She walked over to one of the windows on the left side of the room. Rainbow opened it and looked outside; she was one story above the ground and there was no pony in sight. She then proceeded to dump the whiskey out of the window and onto a rose bush below.

“Is that really necessary?” Luna complained as she watched the bottle being emptied.

“Yes; mainly because we can’t let Trixie find any alcohol near you or else she’ll probably go to the head and get you sacked. She doesn’t have any proof of you drinking, right?”

“None that I’m aware of.” Luna said.

“Good; I’m gonna get rid of the bottle so she won’t get any evidence. Ms. Luna, you should know that a drunken teacher, while funny, isn’t the best teacher.” Dash proceeded to put the empty whiskey bottle in her satchel and walked of her to Luna’s desk. She held out her hand.

“What?” Luna asked. Dash glared at Luna until the teacher sighed and reached into her desk drawer and pulled out two more bottles.

“You really do have a problem.” Dash stated bluntly as she put stored the bottles in her satchel. 

Luna sighed sadly, “Let me just start off by saying that I love to teach and I love my students. But…English is so finicky; it’s always changing. It’s difficult to teach the students something as complex as this, it’s stressful. I get so frustrated that I need something, and whiskey is that something. And with this added pressure of being found out and fired…” Luna sighed again deeply, “I need another drink.”

“I would suggest flying; it’s a lot healthier.” Dash said, remembering the times when she was angry or stressed and she couldn’t find anypony to punch; she would simply take to the air and just fly.

Luna smiled, “Maybe I’ll try that.”

Dash began to walk away when she stopped and stared at Luna, who stared back innocently. Rainbow then walked back to the teacher’s desk, opened the left desk drawer, and pulled out two more bottles.

“Whoops,” Luna smiled guiltily, “I must have forgotten about those.”

“Riiiight.” Dash said.

“If it helps,” Luna said as Dash walked to the door, “I was a lot worse before.”

“How worse?” Dash asked.

“I used to have secret stashes of whiskey all over the school. You name it: in the cafeteria, the auto shop, in trash bins, even in the mare’s bathroom.”

The two shared a laugh at this confession. After a while, Rainbow said the obvious,

“You still have a secret stash, don’t you?” She chuckled.

“Yep.” Luna admitted.

“O.K, where is it?” 

“In the trophy case.”

…

“Please don’t tell me it’s the same trophy case that’s right next to the headmistress’s office.” Dash urged. Luna could only grin sheepishly.

Rainbow sighed and then grinned, “Buck my life. Alright, I’ll grab the stash and then find a place to dump all the whiskey.”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash.” Luna said as Dash opened the door, “May I ask why you are helping me so much?”

Standing in the door way, Rainbow flashed her trademark, heroically arrogant smile. Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind Dash and a sudden wind cause Dash’s hair to flow majestically as she said, “I’ve have had a lot of teachers, but you’re one of the first that really shows she cares for her students. I can’t let somepony like you get fired just because you have a problem.” 

After a couple of seconds, there was the sound of clanking metal. Dash turned around to see a custodian hitting a cart filled with spotlights and fans.

“Sorry about that.” the custodian grunted as the appliances powered down after the thrashing they took, “These darn things are on the fritz.”

The custodian walked off and Dash shrugged off that little encounter.
________________________________________
After a quick elevator trip, Dash stood in front of the trophy case on the 5th floor, right next to Spitfire’s office. The case was 6ft tall and 5ft wide. It had handles on the center that were locked with a chain, so there was no way of opening it. Rainbow peered in through the glass panels, looking at trophies, medals, plaques, pictures and for the incriminating evidence. Eventually, Dash saw the outlines of two bottles; they were behind a picture of Luna holding a trophy.

‘Real sneaky Ms. Luna,’ Dash thought sarcastically as she took a couple steps back from the case, ‘hide your whiskey behind a picture of yourself.’

Dash ran forward and rammed her elbow into the glass panel and the sounds of breaking glass echoed through the deserted floor.

“What was that?!” somepony said in the headmistress’s office. Dash quickly grabbed the bottles and prepared to fly over the railing and down the floors when she saw prefects running up the stairs toward the 5th floor. Dash then began to process her situation: she was trapped in the 5th floor with prefect closing in and she was holding two bottles of whiskey in her hand.

Not exactly the best time to be Rainbow Dash.

Thinking fast, she flapped her wings and flew down the corridor to her right. She sped through until she saw a door. Dash tried to open it, but it was locked. The second door she tried was the same; she could hear prefects shouting out commands. Third door was also close; sounds of footsteps began to get closer. Faust must have been hearing Dash’s prayers as the 4th door she tried was unlocked and she entered the room. Leaning against the door, she allowed herself a sigh of relief.

After a while, Dash walked to the center of the room and looked around. Even though it was dark (she didn’t dare turn on the lights), she knew it must have been a teacher’s office. There was the standard desk facing the entrance, there were shelves that were packed with paint containers and paint brushes, portraits hung on the higher parts of the walls, and an easel stood in the middle of the room. As Rainbow began to realize whose office this must be, the door opened and the lights turned on. Turning around, she saw Ms. Celestia standing in the doorway, holding two large bags, and wearing a very confused expression.

“Rainbow Dash, what do I owe for this pleasant surprise?” She asked bemusedly. 

Dash turned to face the art teacher, “Oh, you know, I just came by to visit.” She tried to put on a calm and cool expression, but it looked more like a frightful smile. 

“Um, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia asked as she stared at the pegasus’s right hand, “what are you holding?”

Dash looked down and felt her heart stop; she forgot that she was still holding the bottles she retrieved from the trophy case. At this point, Rainbow could do one of two things; she could either tell the truth and rat out Luna, or she could lie, protect somepony she barely knew, and risk expulsion.

“You mean these?” Dash said, her voice border lining coolness and nervousness, “These are just bottle of non-alcoholic apple cider.” Rainbow really didn’t know why she was being chivalrous, but she didn’t question it.

Celestia walked to her desk and placed her bags on it. She then walked up to Rainbow Dash and raised a stern eyebrow,

“The thing I find interesting is that those ‘non-alcoholic apple cider’ look very similar to Everfree Whiskey.”

“Whaaaat?” Dash tried her best to sound confused and innocent, “Come on Ms. Celestia, why would I be carrying whiskey?”

“Then why are you carrying apple cider in my room?”

There was a knock on the door and the two mares turned to face it. Celestia walked over to the door to open it while Rainbow hid behind the desk.

“Yes?” Celestia said as she opened the door. Dash peeked around the desk and saw that it was a prefect,

“Ms. Celestia, have you seen anypony suspicious around? Somepony broke into the trophy case, but it looked like nothing was taken. However, we still want to punish the student for this blatant crime.”

“Wait a second,” Celestia said slowly as she comprehended the prefect’s words, “somepony broke into the trophy case, but didn’t take anything?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Then yes, I did see somepony suspicious.” Celestia said, causing Dash swear silently, “I saw somepony running down the halls and then going down to the 3rd floor. If you go now, you might just be able to catch him.”

“Thank you.” The prefect said as he sprinted down the corridor and toward the stairs. Celestia turned back to her desk and was greeted by a gaping Dash.

“You shouldn’t leave your mouth open, you might swallow a fly.” Celestia joked as she walked to her desk and began to unload the contents of her bags on her desk.

“Why didn’t you rat me out?” Dash questioned.

“Did you want me to turn you in?” Celestia asked as she unloaded on her desk cartons of fruit juice, water bottles, and boxes of crackers.

“Hay no! I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”

“Then I don’t see a problem.” Celestia smiled as she unloaded her second bag. Dash continued to stare a Celestia in confusion until the alicorn gave the pegasus a smile and said, “If I turned you in, that would just cause bring trouble to Luna. After all, teachers aren’t supposed to be drinking on school grounds.”

“Luna doesn’t drink.” Dash said quickly. Celestia chuckled,

“It’s O.K, I know about Luna’s fondness of whiskey. And it’s obvious that you broke into the trophy case to get Luna’s alcohol. I’m just glad it was you since you seem to be defending her. For that, I thank you.”

“How did you know about Luna’s little problem? Are you two friends, or do you also, you know,” Dash pretended to take a drink from the whiskey she was holding.

“The only think I drink is tea. I know because Luna and I are close. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to Luna and confiscate her liquor.”

“I already got that covered.” Dash said as she put all of the whiskey bottles in her satchel on Celestia’s desk, “I had a chat with Ms. Luna and I convinced her to get rid of her booze. I was gonna dump these after I got Luna’s stash from the trophy case. But, well, you know what happened after that.”

“You actually got Luna to part with her, as she calls them, drinks from the gods?”

“Yep.” Dash said, leaning back on the desk and looking very pleased with her work.

“Well I must say I’m very impressed. I thought I was going to have to do this all on my own.”

“Is that why you cancelled class this morning; to prepare yourself?” Dash asked as she nodded to the bags and its contents.

“Yes; I have had my suspicions that Luna would have a relapse again, so I spent the morning going to every store to get supplies in case my suspensions where true. And it seems that they were. But I must know; why are you helping Luna? Did something happen while I was away?”

“Yeah; Trixie happened.” Dash scoffed, “She threatened Luna that she’ll get her sacked. Normally this would be a good, you know; the alcoholic teacher gets what they deserve. But Ms. Luna isn’t your regular alcoholic teacher, she’s a teacher that cares for her student. And she’s one of the first teachers I actually like and respect, so I can’t let Trixie get her sacked.” 

“I thank you for helping Luna through her ordeals.” Celestia said, bowing her head slightly. She then got all of the bottles of whiskey and placed them inside the bag, “Don’t worry about these; I’ll dispose of them.”

“Thanks. Well, I off. I better warn Luna that your gonna give her an earful.”

“Please do.” Celestia smiled as Rainbow walked out of the art teacher’s office. Dash walked back to the elevator and went down to the 2nd floor. She stepped out of the elevator, did a quick check for prefects, and ran to Luna’s classroom. The alicorn was still sitting in front of her desk, and she was currently chugging what looked like a gallon of water.

“Wow you must be thirsty.” Dash noted as she took a seat across from Luna. After the container of water was empty, Luna tossed it behind her,

“The water keeps me hydrated, which is a good thing when you’re in my state. So were you able to dispose of the alcohol.”

“Yeah, Ms. Celestia said she’ll take care of it.”

Luna gulped nervously, “Celestia knows?”

“Yep.”

Luna sighed, “Looks like it’s another round of ‘rehab’. But, I’m very grateful for her support. And I’m also grateful for your help Rainbow Dash, so if there’s anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Well, there is something.” Now that Dash finished her little heroic quest, it was back to business, “I was wondering if you could tell me something about Lightning Dust.”

“Oh Lightning Dust,” Luna said in a loving tone that irked Rainbow, “she is one of the best students I ever had the pleasure of teaching and I’m not alone in when I say that; just tell any other teacher and they’ll tell you the same. Lightning Dust is intelligent, hard-working, and very caring.”

Dash snorted; she couldn’t believe that Lightning Dust actually managed to get the  teachers eating out of the palm of her hand.

“So,” Luna continued, “what do you want to know about Lightning?”

“Oh, you know,” Dash tried to act casually, “I was just wondering if you’ve seen her around lately? I’ve wanted to ask Lightning Dust something.”

Luna began to think, “Hmm…I don’t know too much about her social life; she hardly talks about it. However, I have seen her talking a lot with the wealthy students recently.”

“The preppies?” Dash asked. 

“Is that what they call themselves? If so, then yes.”

Dash was confused; why was Lightning Dust talking with the preppies? Dash decided she would go talk to the preppies about Dust. And she knew the perfect place, their boxing gym. After all, she’s already got an invitation. Might as well use it.

“Alright, thanks for the help Luna.” Dash said as she got up and began to walk out.

“Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, “if you want, you can tell me your message to Lightning Dust. I’ll make sure to pass it on to her when I see her.”

Dash grinned, “Just tell Lightning that I’m looking for her.”

> Chp 8: Making Impressions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon and Old Manticore Ville was bustling with life. Students and residents alike were leisurely walking about, enjoying all of the shopping. Almost every building in the town was a store or some sort of business. In the center of town was a large fountain pool with benches and cafes surrounding it, where shoppers were lazing around. Laying on the edge of the fountain pool was a relaxing Rainbow Dash. The pegasus inhaled deeply through her nose and closed her eyes. Her plan was to go to the preppy’s boxing club right after school, but that plan failed as Dash became distracted by the new scenery and sudden sense of freedom.

“Now this is what I’m talking about.” Dash said to no one in particular, still not opening her eyes, “No prefects to worry about, nopony trying to bash my face in, just me and some R and R.” 

“Well this isn’t surprising in the least.” Dash’s eyes shot open and her blood boiled as she recognized the voice, “It’s always the weak ones who do nothing but laze around.”

Rainbow quickly got up and scoped out the area, but Lightning Dust was nowhere to be found.

“Lightning Dust!” Dash yelled, startling some shoppers, “Come out you coward!” 

There was no response. Rainbow clenched her fist in anger as she continued to search the area, but there was no sign of the amber-haired pegasus. Rainbow took a calming breath and tried to relax, but to no avail. She began to pace around the fountain as she thought of what just happened. 

‘Was that really Lightning Dust?’ Dash thought, ‘Or did I finally lose my mind?’

Whether the voice was real or not, it broke her serene mindset and replaced it with fierce determination. Dash was on a mission and she couldn’t afford to get distracted. Making up her mind, Rainbow ran toward her destination; the preppy’s boxing club.

After a couple minutes of walking, Dash was in front of a large and weathered gym. It didn’t look like a place where preppies would box. Wondering whether she was in the right place, Dash turned around and saw the bridge that linked the town to the small island where Manticore Academy resided. Why somepony would build a school there was unknown to Dash. Dismissing the thought, Rainbow opened the doors to the gym and entered.

The first thing that Dash noticed was that the interior of the gym looked a lot fancier than the exterior. The floor and surrounding walls were made of what appeared to be marble. To her left, Dash saw punching bags, double end bags, dumbbells, jump ropes, and practice dummies. All of them looked like they were in mint condition. In front of Rainbow were 3 boxing rings. To her right were vending machines and stairs that led to a balcony, which led to a large VIP box. There were half a dozen ponies in the gym; Dash guessed that all of them were preppies. Most of them were exercising, except for two who were currently in the ring nearest to Rainbow. The pegasus recognized Colgate as one of the fighters in the ring. Dash walked toward the ring.

Colgate was fighting another unicorn preppy that Dash didn’t recognize. The preppy was panting heavily while Colgate looked calm and collective. The tired unicorn charged and went for a right hook. Colgate ducked down and delivered a strong uppercut. The preppy fell to the floor and the referee, an elderly earth pony, began to count. Dash began to clap lightly, which caught the attention of Colgate, who grinned and walked toward her,

“Hello Rainbow, glad to see you accepted the invitation.” Colgate said as she leaned on the ropes of the ring.

“No problem,” Dash said, her mind on Lightning Dust, “but shouldn’t you be focused on the match?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Colgate said as the referee reached five in his count, “She’s not coming back up after that. Then again, I didn’t expect anything better from a new recruit.”

“Are these all of the ponies that are in the boxing club?” Dash asked as she looked around vacant the gym looked with just 6 ponies.

“Oh no, there are a lot more of us. They’re just enjoying their new freedom after being stuck in that school for so much.”

Translation: The rest of the preppies were out in the shopping district, giving their credit cards a good workout. 

“So is this like the preppy’s exclusive gym?”

“Wrong again Dash; the gym is open for everypony, but ponies usually just come in here when they get invitations.”

Translation: This was the preppy’s territory, and nopony comes into their territory without their O.K.

The referee reached ten and a bell rang from an undisclosed location. He then helped the preppy to her feet and walked her out of the ring.

“Looks like my match is over.” Colgate grinned as she took of her gloves with her magic, “You should get ready Rainbow Dash.”

“Ready for what?”

“Why, your match of course.” Colgate said, “You didn’t expect anypony to join with just an invitation, right? You have to prove that you’re good enough in the ring.”

“I’m all for proving myself, but I need to ask-”

“That’s alright,” Colgate jumped over the ropes and out of the ring, “we know.”

“Know what?”

“That you’re poorer than a rock farmer without rocks.”

…

“Excuse me?” Dash said indignantly, “I’m not rolling in bits, but who said I was ‘poorer than a rock farmer without rocks’?

“One of the newer recruits brought it to our attention. But we would have figured it out. I mean, look at your clothes.”

Dash looked down at her M.A uniform. The two months of fighting has left the vest, shirt, and pants torn in numerous places, along with dirt marks and specks of blood (although not all of it was hers). She had other pieces of clothing, but they were in no better condition.

“Don’t worry, we won’t charge you the admission cost.” Colgate continued, “Faust knows that you’re mother had to do countless…services just to scrape by.” Colgate said with a sly smile

“Say one more crack about my mother; see what happens.” Dash threatened through gritted teeth.

“Alright, simmer down.” Colgate held up her hands defensively, but she looked highly amused, “I’ll go get your opponent while you change. The locker rooms are at the end of the gym.”

“Fine,” Dash said, “but after the fight, I want to ask you some questions.”

“Of course, but I usually talk more openly to fellow members, so do try to win.”

Rainbow turned and walked to the end of the gym and then entered the locker room. The room had rows of spotless blue lockers, racks with monogrammed towels, and polished wood benches. Dash searched the room until she found a locker that was labeled ‘R. Dash’ at the very end of the room. She opened it and found a cerulean boxing vest with black boxing shorts and cerulean boxing shoes. She placed her clothes and the weights from Soarin in the locker and quickly dressed into the boxing gear.  She stepped outside of locker room and was greeted by Colgate, who was holding boxing gloves, a blue headgear, and a mouth guard.

“How do you like your new clothes?” Colgate asked as she motioned Dash to lift up her hands.

“It alright, I guess. But I didn’t expect the vest to be so soft.” 

“Well, your vest was specially crafted by Rarity.” Colgate said with a smile as she tied the gloves to Dash’s hands with her magic.

“Who’s Rarity?”

“You could call her our manager.” Colgate replied as she placed the head gear on Dash’s head, “She’s about a year older than you, but she’s still in her first year. Rarity used to be a boxer like us, until she traded in her gloves for a sewing machine. Now she’s in charge of not only creating new boxing vest, but she also plans our events like tournaments. You’ll probably meet her later.”

After making sure the boxing gloves and helmet were secured, Colgate lead dash to the middle ring, where the rest of the preppies have gathered to see the fight. Dash looked at the ring and saw two earth ponies; both of them looked identical, except that one had pale blue hair while the other pale pink hair.

“For your initiation fight,” Colgate said as she led the pegasus into the ring, “you’ll be fighting one of our senior members, Aloe.” Colgate pointed the blue haired pony that was being prepped by the other preppy who was undoubtedly her sister, “Normally, you would have fought one of the junior members, but after seeing how well you can handle yourself, we decided to give you a challenge.” Colgate handed Dash her mouth guard and exited the ring just as Aloe’s sister exited as well. Dash and Aloe walked to the center of the ring and faced each other,

“I must say,” Aloe said in an accent Dash didn’t recognize, “this is a real privilege. After all, ponies always say that the poor make the best boxers.”

“Really?” Dash said, not sure whether to be complimented or insulted.

“Why yes. The poor are known to fight often to get anything that would make life any less miserable.” Dash now knew that she was being insulted, “Add to the fact that the poor go through a lot of family problems which only hardens their resolve to continue fighting. And from what I hear, who have a lot of family problems due to your mother.”

Dash stayed silent as she put on her mouth guard. Even though she wasn’t close to her, Rainbow would not let anypony insult her mother. Aloe put in her mouth guard and held out her gloved hands. Dash stared at it until she realized she was supposed to tap them with her own. After that, there was the sound of a bell ringing and the fight began.

The two ponies circled each other as the crowd watched in mild curiosity. Aloe threw a quick jab, but Dash dodged it by simply moving her head,

“Not bad.” Aloe complimented. She threw two more jabs and Dash dodged those with ease. 

“Come on Aloe, stop teasing her and finish it.” Aloe’s sister said. 

Aloe made the fatal mistake of turning her head to reply, “Don’t worry Lotus, this match will be over soon.”

Aloe returned to the fight, only to have Dash’s fast and powerful right hook collide with her face. The preppies stared, their mouths agape, as Aloe crashed to the floor and the referee began to count.

“First rule when fighting me,” Dash grinned at a dumbfounded Aloe, “never take your eyes off me.” 

Aloe snarled; she could not believe she was dropped by somepony so quickly. A poor pony no less.

Aloe got up and let loosed a barrage of jabs that were much quicker than the ones before. But Dash was too quick and dodged the attacks. 

“Why don’t you just throw in the towel?” Aloe panted angrily. The fighters have been going around in circles and Aloe was getting exhausted, “We both know you can’t beat me.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Rainbow grinned as she bobbed and weaved the oncoming jabs, “are we fighting now? I thought you were still warming up.” 

Aloe growled and threw a left hook.

“You almost got me there.” Dash said as she side-stepped the attack.

The earth pony then threw a right hook.

“You’re getting closer.”

Then she threw an uppercut.

“That would have probably hurt if it hit me.”

Out of desperation, Aloe threw a wild straight and it miraculously hit Rainbow right in the nose. The preppies cheered as the pegasus was finally silence, but that didn’t last for long. Rainbow Dash did not fall to the floor; she only had her head tilted back from the impact. Slowly, she faced Aloe with a cocky grin and a somewhat red nose,

“Thank you ma’am, may I have another?”

Aloe was so shocked by the fact that Rainbow didn’t go down that she didn’t register the oncoming pegasus until it was too late. It was Dash’s turn for the assault and Aloe, who was already exhausted, didn’t have a chance. Dash’s jabs landed perfectly and the preppies could only watch as one of their senior members was being trounced by somepony who wasn’t even in the club. In desperation, Aloe threw a right hook and Dash ducked down to dodge it. From her position, Rainbow delivered to punches to Aloe’s stomach, flapped her wings once, and finished the earth pony off with a pegasus uppercut. The preps were barely able to comprehend what just happened.

The referee walked up to Dash, “Foul.”

“What?” Dash asked, confused, “Why?”

“Pegasai can’t use their wings in boxing.” Colgate said, “The same thing goes to unicorns and their magic.”

“But what about the earth ponies and their strength?” Dash inquired.

“The boxing gloves are specially designed to repress the earth pony’s raw, superior strength. But since this is your first match, we’ll ignore your use of wings. While we’re discussing rules, you should know that there is no head-butting, kneeing, grabbing, kicking, or hitting below the belt in boxing.”

“Well that’s boring.” Rainbow said casually, ignoring all the glares she was receiving from the preps. The referee then began to count. Even though Dash didn’t think much of boxing for being limited, her grin grew as the referee’s count got closer to ten.

“Eight…nine…ten…” The referee waved his arms and a bell rang, signaling the end of the match. The preppies all clapped politely,

“Not bad Rainbow Dash.” Colgate said, “Allow me to be the first to welcome you-”

“AWWW YEAAAHHH!” Dash shouted as she ran a victory lap in the ring, “They’re a new kid in town and she is cleaning house!”

“Yes, your match was impressive, but don’t get carried aw-”

“Alright, who’s next?!” Dash shouted. She began to point at the preppies, “You’re going down, then you, then you, then you, then everypony else!”

“Calm down Dash.” Colgate said, now annoyed. But Rainbow wouldn’t listen as she was too drunk from her victory and cocky personality,

“All right everypony,” Dash exclaimed, “when I say Rainbow, you say Dash! You ready?! Rainbow!”

*Silence*

“Rainbow!”

*Silence*

Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry, “You preppies are no fun.” With that, she stepped out of the ring, patted a couple of preppies on the back, and she walked to the locker room. All the while, she was still chanting her name.

After Dash was gone, Lotus walked up to Colgate, who had her eyes closed and was pinching the bridge of her nose,

“Why did we want her in our club again?” The earth pony asked. 

“I can’t remember.” Colgate replied in a tired and annoyed tone.
________________________________________
Rainbow Dash and Colgate stood outside of the gym’s double doors. The pegasus was dressed in her original attire and she was carrying her boxing attire in a duffel bag, courtesy of the preps.

“I assume that you are done with boxing for today?” Colgate asked.

“Yep, I can’t show you all of my stuff on the first day. I have to leave you preps wanting more.”

Colgate rolled her eyes, “Of course you do. Now, you said that you had some questions?”

“Yes.” Dash said in a more serious tone, “I was wondering if a pegasus named Lightning Dust is also in your boxing club.”

“Ah, Lightning Dust.” Colgate said with a smile that was similar to Luna’s when she said the pegasus’s name, “Yes, she is one of our newer recruits. She joined our club a little over two weeks ago. Of course, her initiation was in our clubhouse at school as we were unable to leave the academy at the time. Lightning Dust is a really prized fighter; she passed her initiation with flying colors and she accepted victory with grace.” Colgate emphasized the last part as she leaned closer to Rainbow. However, all of the subliminal messages flew over the pegasus’s head. Colgate continued, “If you need to talk to her, just keep on coming to the gym. I’m sure you’ll run into her sooner or later.”

“You can count on me returning. Anyway, thanks for the invitation and see ya later.” Dash held out a fist and Colgate pounded it half-heartedly. Dash turned around and began to walk away. Unbeknownst to her, Colgate breathed a sigh of relief.

Rainbow walked down the road when she suddenly stopped. The bridge to M.A was directly to her left, but she was focused on what was across the street from her and past a steel railing; the beach. On impulse, Dash walked across the street, jumped over the railing, and landed on the empty, sandy shores. Her left side was where the sand ended, so she walked leisurely to her right, no goal in mind.

Dash lost track of time as she walked down the beach. Eventually, she saw a pier. She flew up until she landed on it and she began to walk down the pier. She stopped when she reached the end of the pier, which ended with a rectangular platform and benches to her left and right. She flopped down on one of them, and stared at the sunset.

‘What am I doing?’ Rainbow thought. She stared at the sunset as she pondered her decision to come to the beach. Even though she wasn’t a big fan of the ‘natural beauty’ of the world, Rainbow had to admit that the sunset was very pretty. Suddenly, her mind was flooded with memories of somepony she didn’t expect; her mother.

Dash remembered the last time she went to the beach was one she was a little filly. After weeks of working non-stop, Dash’s mother decided to take the young pegasus to the beach for some family time. Of course, this was before Dash’s string of expulsions and her mother’s string of marriages. This was a time where the two of them had a close relationship. Dash and her mom arrived at the beach with nothing more than some towels, and an old basket filled with home-made lemonade pops. They spent the day building sand castles, collecting sea shells, and drawing images on the sand. Dash even chased and ran from the oncoming waves, just for her mother’s amusement. The day ended with Dash’s head resting on her mother’s lap as the two of them watched the sunset.

Such fond memories.

Back in the present, Dash shook her head and laughed lightly, “Geez, when did I become so sappy?”

Rainbow has tried to adopt the philosophy of just focusing on the here and now, but that proved to be difficult as her past, the good and the bad, was never far from her thoughts.

Dash stared back at the sunset and saw something interesting. Out in the water, there was a small, wooden boat that was being paddled by a pony. However, the boat kept going around in circles. In a fit of frustration, the pony began to jump on the boat.

“‘To rock the boat, don’t rock the boat baby, rock the boat, don’t tip the boat over’.” Dash sang under her breath. After a couple more angry hops, the boat finally tipped over and the pony fell into the water.

Dash continued to stare, waiting patiently for the pony to resurface. However, there was no sign of a head breaking the surface of the water.

“Oh crap!” Dash cried as she immediately took to the air and flew to the overturned boat. Once there, Rainbow saw a shadow under the water. Plunging her hand in, Dash managed to grab a hold of something and she pulled it out. Miraculously, she got hold of the pony’s backpack with the pony still attached to it. Dash was relieved to see the pony was alive and coughing up water. She quickly flew the two of them to the shore and they both flopped to the ground.

“Hey,” Dash said slightly out of breath, “you O.K?”

The pony replied with nods and coughs. Dash got a closer look at the pony as the two of them got to their feet. She was a young unicorn, roughly the same age of Scootaloo. Her eyes were pale green and her hair was a grayish mulberry color with pale rose streaks. The thing that caught Dash’s attention was what the unicorn was wearing over her baby doll dress, an aquaberry vest. The same type of vest the preppies wore.

The unicorn did not reply immediately, she was too busy staring at the upside down boat.

“Hey kid,” Dash tapped the pony’s head, “did ya get a couple screws loose?”

The pony finally turned to Dash with a confused expression, “No, why?”

“Well, usually, ponies thank other ponies after they saved them from drowning.”

The unicorn blushed lightly before smiling and bowing her head, “I’m sorry. Thank you for saving my life. My name’s Sweetie Belle.”

“That’s better. The name’s Rainbow Dash by the way. Do you want me to go get your boat?”

“No.” Sweetie said, frustrated, “I was barely able to get that dumb boat onto the water and when I finally did it, I couldn’t stop going in circles.” She sighed, “I guess my dream of being a captain of a ship is over.”

“Wow that sucks. How long have you wanted to be a captain?”

“Since Sunday.”

…

“But today’s Monday.” Dash said, slightly bemused.

“Yeah, you see, I saw a documentary about ship captains and I wanted to be like one of them. And like my sister always says, ‘You should always follow your passion’.”

“I think you misunderstood your sister. Your passions should be something that means the world to you, something that you love and don’t ever want to let go. Tell me, what do you want to be or do more than anything?”

Sweetie thought it over until she smiled, “I want to be like my big sister!”

“O…K. So, why do you want to be like your big sister?”

“Because she’s generous, kind, and always devotes herself to her passion.”

“Then, why don’t you talk to your sister about your passion?”

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle looked crestfallen. She hung her head as she said, “She’s too busy for me. Like I said, she devotes herself to her passion.”

“Well that’s stupid.” Rainbow said bluntly, causing Sweetie to look up at the pegasus, “I don’t have an older sister, but even I know that the older sister should always make time for their siblings. If your sister really is busy, then you should help her so you two can hang out more.”

“You really think that would work?” Sweetie said hopefully.

“I know it.” Rainbow said confidently. 

Sweetie smiled and gave Dash a hug as a show of gratitude for her comforting words. The pegasus was caught off guard, so she just awkwardly patted the unicorn’s head. As Sweetie pulled away, she got a better look at Dash’s disheveled clothes. Sweetie Belle patted her chin in thought before she took of her backpack and began rooting in it.

“What are you doing?” Dash asked.

“My sister said to always be generous whenever possible. And by the look of your clothes, you need all of the generosity you can get.”

‘Was I just insulted by a filly?’ Dash thought.

Sweetie placed the backpack on the ground and she held a small sack in front of Dash, “Take it, it’s my allowance. You should go get new clothing.”

“Sweetie Belle, I’m not gonna take money from a kid.”

The unicorn stood there before throwing the small sack at Dash’s face and ran away. The pegasus instinctively caught the bag just as Sweetie Belle reached the 10 stone steps that led back to the sidewalks of Old Manticore Ville.

“Thanks for everything Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie smiled as she shouted. She then climbed the steps and disappeared into the town.

“Sweetie, come back here!” Dash called out, but the unicorn was gone. Rainbow knew she could catch up to her, but she decided to let the filly have her fun. Dash looked down at the small bag in her hand and chuckled. She began to undo the string that tied the bag, expecting to find 10 bits at the most. However, as soon as she undid the last knot, the bag expanded to the point where it was bigger than the palm of her hand. Dash’s mouth was agape as she found the bag was bulging with shiny bits.

“Oh my Faust.” Dash said as she held more money than she ever held. In the back of her mind, she was slightly annoyed that a preppy’s allowance was a hundred times greater than Dash’s allowance. She knew that she would have to return it, but that didn’t stop Dash from grinning, thinking that she didn’t have to return all of it.
________________________________________
It was 8’o clock at night. The students have all returned back to school. All except one. 

Rainbow Dash was making her way to the bridge that would lead her back to the academy. Since she got the money from Sweetie Belle, Dash had been to nearly every clothing store in town. Even though she was never into fashion, she knew it would be bad for her reputation if all she wore was her school uniform. Rainbow had only one bag that was filled with different kinds of clothing from the different shops in town. But clothes weren’t the only thing she bought. Rainbow was now riding over the bridge on her new skateboard. It had been years since she rode on a skateboard, but as soon as she got on, it felt as though she’s been riding for years. 

Rainbow popped an Ollie as she finally crossed the bridge back to Manticore Academy. To her right was the school. To her left, on the other side of the rode, was a small meadow with a tree line. As she observed the tree line, Dash was startled to see Twilight Sparkle under one of the trees. Dash stopped and picked up her skateboard,

“Hey Twilight,” Dash called as she made her way to the unicorn, “what are you doing.” 

Twilight, who was currently holding a long branch, turned to see Rainbow before turning her head back to the tree in front of her,

“Oh, nothing much.”

The pegasus was now next to Twilight. Rainbow looked up to the tree and saw a large number of books on the branches.

“Oh my Faust. Twi, you actually made a tree that grows books!” Dash joked, receiving a dirty look from Twilight.

“First off,” The unicorn said as she used her branch to try and push off one of the books on the tree, “while a book tree would be amazing, it is impossible to create. Somepony decided to pull this ‘humorous’ prank by placing my textbooks on this tree, which isn’t as funny as it is frustrating.” Twilight gritted her teeth as she tried to push off one of her books on a tree branch with her own branch. After a couple of hits, the branch Twilight was holding became stuck on the tree’s branches.

“Damn.” Twilight grunted while Dash giggled. The unicorn then began to jump up to try and reach her books.

“Why don’t you just use your magic?” Dash chuckled.

“I am not about to break school rules just because of a dumb prank.” Twilight said stubbornly as she continued her fruitless jumping.

“Alright,” Dash said after a minute of watching Twilight jump, “this became painful to watch. Move aside Twilight.” Dash then dropped her belongings on the grass.

“Oh no Rainbow,” Twilight said as she saw the Pegasus beginning to stretch, “you are not breaking the rules just to get my books.”

“Who said I’m gonna break the rules?” Dash said. She then sprinted toward the tree and then began to sprint on it. After the 4th step on the tree trunk, Dash jumped to a low branch and hung on. She then pulled herself up and began to collect the books.

“Wow Dash,” Twilight said, her eyes slightly widened, “I knew you were athletic, but I didn’t know by how much; impressive.”

“Come on Twi,” Dash said as she grabbed a heavy textbook, “I thought by now you would know that I am awesome.” After two minutes of searching, Dash jumped down with all eight of the books.

“Thank you, Rainbow.” Twilight said as the pegasus returned the books to their owner, “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of organizing your shopping bag while you were up there.”

“Thanks.” Dash said. As she looked into her bag, she was surprised to see that all of the crumbled clothing were now neatly folded and organized by shape and color.

Once the two ponies got all of their belongings, they walked side by side toward the school.

“So,” Dash said, “you have any idea who pranked you?”

“I have a solid guess.” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

“Alright then, why don’t you and I go pay this prankster a visit?” Dash said eagerly.

“Don’t worry Dash; this little matter doesn’t concern you.”

“Of course it does, I mean, we’re friends, right?”

“Probably.” 

The two were in front of the gates of the school when Dash held her arm in front of Twilight, stopping her in her tracks.

“Whoa, what do you mean ‘probably’?”

“By probably, I mean probably.” Twilight said stoically, “Let’s face it Dash, we are polar opposite. I know friendships that ended with two ponies that were practically identical. One day, one of us is going to do something that the other will not tolerate, and the friendship we had will end. Clean and simple.”

Twilight moved Dash’s outstretched arm out of the way and continued toward the school. Rainbow was dumbfounded by this revelation and she would have continued to let Twilight walk away if it wasn’t for a memory that suddenly appeared in her head.

“Hey Twilight,” Dash called out, “I’m not Trixie.”

Those three words stopped the unicorn in her track and she turned around to face Dash.

“Listen,” Rainbow said, “I don’t know what happened between you two, but I won’t betray you. I mean, how can I? We have had each other’s backs since we first met. I had your back when you were giving your speech and Scootaloo told me that when I was being pummeled by Gilda, you tried to save my flank. To me, that’s what friends do for each other. You hear me Twi, friends!”

Twilight stood her ground for a couple of seconds before turned around and walking toward Dash. She sighed,

“Listen, Dash, I don’t want you to think that I’m ungrateful for all that you’ve done for me, But let’s face it, we know little to nothing about each other.”

“Then let’s fix that.” Dash said as she walked to the curb and sat down. She then turned to Twilight and patted the spot next to her. The unicorn smiled and rolled her eyes as she sat next to Rainbow.

“So what now?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not really sure.” Dash admitted, “I’m kind of making this up as I go along,”

Twilight sighed, though not annoyingly. She then picked a book from her pile and began to read it.

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“Comparison of Magic Before and After Harmony. It’s a book that talks a lot about the old and new theories of magic. It also has a biography about Star Swirl the Bearded”

“Oh, I know about him.”

“Really?” Twilight said, surprised.

“Yeah, he was the one some famous conjurer, right?”

“He wasn’t just some conjurer. He was one of the most important figures in magical history.”

“O.K then smarty pants, educate me on Star Swirl.”

“Nah, I don’t think you would understand most of it.”

Dash leaned forward, “Try me.” 

Twilight smiled and began to give the pegasus a crash course on magical history and theories. Of course, Rainbow did not understand most of it, much like Twilight predicted, but she didn’t stop the unicorn. As she continued to talk, Twilight’s voice became more animated and full of emotion. She even started to show Dash images from her variety of books. Rainbow soon got into the discussion, but it wasn’t just because she found it interesting. The pegasus became more involved because for the first time since the two ponies met, Twilight had a genuinely, friendly smile.

> Chp 9: Bonding and Boxing pt1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This chapter was proofread by Sandvich Brony and LavenderWallFlower (A.K.A. my sister).


“My turn,” Rainbow Dash told Soarin as the two sat side by side on Soarin’s beaten up mattress, “when you were in the Wonderbolts, did you ever take performance enhancers?”

The older pegasus barked a laugh, “Oh please, I was so good that performance enhancers only slowed me down.” Dash laughed at the comment, “To actually answer your question; no, I never took them. However, I was offered at times. Now, Dash, when was the first time you were ever trounced in a fight?”

Rainbow grinned as she sighed, “It was my first fight in the first grade. Some earth pony took my lunch and I tried to take it back. I was flat on my back with a bloodied nose in the first minute. But, that was the only time anypony ever got the best of me in a fight.”

“Besides Gilda.” Soarin added, earning him a playful punch from Rainbow. The two continued to ask questions about their past. What had originally been a plan for Dash to coax free lessons from Soarin has turned into a strange form of bonding. Every week or so, the two pegasai would meet up and talk, mostly about each other’s life.

Eventually, it was Soarin’s turn to ask, “So, I’ve been hearing that you’ve joined some boxing club in town. Is it true? Have I been replaced?” he added playfully.

Dash grinned, “Come on Soarin, I could never replace you, no matter how hard I try. Anyways, I did join the preps’ boxing club last week. I mainly did it because I heard Lightning Dust was getting cozy with the rich ponies. Now I’m just waiting to run into Dust, but I haven’t seen her yet. But the boxing club isn’t a complete waste.” Dash patted her right bicep, “With all of the waiting I do, I manage to get some training in the gym.”

“Good to hear you’re actually training without me.”

“Yep. So, how did you know I joined the boxing club?”

“Two days ago, I overheard two preppies talking about their club. Then I heard your name and I put two and two together. I also heard a nickname that the preppies seem to have given you: Le prétentieux cancre”

“Le prétentieux cancre,” Dash mused, “I have no idea what it means, but it sounds cool. I think I’ll keep it.”

“Suit yourself.” Soarin said. He didn’t tell Dash, but thanks to all of his time touring Prance during his Wonderbolt days, he knew that the nickname translated to The Pretentious Dunce. 

Rainbow stood up and began to stretch, “Alright, I think that’s it for today. Same time next week?”

“Sure. But, Rainbow, be careful when your with the preppies.”

Dash looked at Soarin curiously, “Why? The preps seem alright. They’re snobby to the point I want to smash their faces, but they’re generally O.K.”

“Just…don’t act like a prat when you’re near them.” Soarin didn’t tell Dash the meaning behind the nickname mainly because he knew she would do something stupid and rash if she found out. However, he also wanted the teenage pegasus to be alert, “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

Dash chuckled at the request, but under Soarin’s stern sight, she sighed. Rainbow then stood in a mock scout’s honor stance, “O.K Mr. Paranoid, I promise I won’t do anything stupid.”

“Thank you.” The homeless pegasus than settled down on his bed and sighed, “But knowing you, you probably will do something stupid anyways.” Dash rolled her eyes at the little quip. She made sure that her new, two pound weights were perfectly secured before exiting the fenced off area.

Dash made her way back to the girl’s dorm. It was a Monday afternoon and the pegasus didn’t really have any plans for the rest of the day. The preppies have told her that there was no meeting today, so she thought she would get her skateboard and ride around town. As she walked toward the dorm, she thought of what had happened since she joined the boxing club.

Whenever Dash wasn’t in class, she was at the gym, waiting. She waited until night, but Lightning Dust never showed up. But Rainbow didn’t waste her time in those hours at the club. She would use the boxing equipment to train herself and she participated in sparring matches with some of the junior members; the pegasus was currently with 4 wins and 0 losses. Rainbow also noticed that her punches were slowly getting stronger and faster, which only increased her arrogance in the ring. All of these achievements, however, came at a price. Unbeknownst to Dash, the preppies were beginning to resent her for her victories and how she carried herself afterwards. To the preppies, it was there right to be and act superior, not some poor, blundering pegasus.

Dash opened the door to the dorm and walked in. She walked down the small hallway and was about to turn right when she saw the rec room ahead. The T.V was on and was showing a highlight reel of the Wonderbolt’s Derby from the previous year. One thing that was always constant with Dash was her love for the fastest fliers in Equestria. She quickly made her way to the rec room and jumped over the sofa and sat down. As soon as she sat down, she was startled to see Scootaloo slumping right next to her.

“Whoa squirt, didn’t see you there.” Dash said casually.

The small pegasus didn’t respond. After a while, Dash noticed that Scootaloo looked down in the dumps.

“Yo, Scootaloo, what’s wrong?” Dash asked. Scootaloo still didn’t respond. Dash got fed it and gave a hard tap on Scootaloo’s head.

“Ow!” Scootaloo cried. She turned her head and saw Rainbow Dash with a suspicious look, “Rainbow, what’s wrong?” 

“I should be asking the same question. Why do you look so gloomy? Did somepony take your bits? Because if they did, just tell me, and I’ll have a chat with the prick.”

“No, it’s not that.” Scootaloo said, a sad frown forming on her face.

“Then what is it?”

Scootaloo was silent. Dash was about to repeat herself when the small pegasus sighed and said, “It’s just like the old days.”

Dash blinked, “Huh? What do you mean?”

“The old days,” Scootaloo repeated as she sighed deeply, “the days where I’m by myself, as always. Nopony wants to hang out with a pegasus who can’t even fly. The closest thing to a friend I had was Lightning Dust, and she only hung out with to make herself feel superior. But…at least I wasn’t left out anymore.”

Rainbow was at a complete loss of words. She had been so used to seeing Scootaloo as this energetic pegasus who was always looking for ways to prove her worth. But this Scootaloo, who was alone and sad, was completely alien to the rainbow-haired pegasus.

“But then,” Scootaloo said as a sad smile formed on her face, “all of that changed when you came along.” She turned to Dash, “I saw you taking on the bullies without any fear and I thought that was the most awesome thing ever. But what was even more awesome was that you let me hang out with you. You even managed to stop Lightning Dust from picking on me so often. And for a moment, I thought I had a real friend. But, then Lightning betrayed you and you became obsessed with finding her. I guess I wasn’t as important as Lightning Dust to be remembered.”

“You know what, enough!” Dash said angrily, “Stop right there. Who said that we weren’t friends anymore?”

“If we were still friends,” Scootaloo said, taking the offensive, “then when was the last time we hung out, or so much as talked to each other.”

Dash thought about it for a moment, something that infuriated her, until she snapped her fingers, “It was about two weeks ago, remember?”

“Oh, I remember, but do you remember?” Scootaloo asked sadly.

Dash began to recollect what happened two weeks ago.
________________________________________
The Girl’s Dorm
“So Dash,” Scootaloo asked, “what do you want to do after we are do-”

“Hold that thought squirt.” Dash said as she pounded a door on the 3rd floor. A startled unicorn opened,

“Y-yes, can I help you?”

“Yeah, do you know a pegasus named Lightning Dust? And if you do, do you know what her room number is?”

“Sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Dash stared suspiciously at the unicorn until the unicorn became frightened and closed the door.

“Damn, another dead end.” Rainbow said angrily as she walked toward the next door and began to knock, “I’m sorry Scootaloo, you wanted to say something?”

“Yeah, I wanted to know where-“

Rainbow shushed the small pegasus, “Do you hear that squirt? Laughter.” Dash began to knock louder, “Lightning Dust! You in there?!”

There came the sound of more laughing behind the door.

“So she is in there, laughing at me!” Dash said angrily. She began to pound the door even harder, “Lightning Dust! Get your sorry flank out here so I can kick it!” The laughing continued and Dash had had it. She took a couple steps back and prepared herself to knock the door down. As soon as she charged, the door open, there was the sound of an explosion, and Dash was thrown to the opposite wall. The pegasus was covered in streamers, confetti, and what looked like chocolate cake.

“What the hay?” She said as she got to her feet. From the opened door, Pinkie Pie came out, wearing pink overalls, a bandana, and grease marks on her face.

“Whoops,” the earth pony giggled as she walked over to Dash and helped her to her feet, “sorry about that Dashie.”

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Dash asked as she saw Pinkie’s clothing. The earth pony pointed inside her room and the two pegasai saw a large cannon inside.

“I was just working on my party cannon Mark 2. I designed it to fire food, but I’m still working out some of the kinks.” Pinkie added as she saw the destroyed cake that covered Rainbow.

Dash got up, wiping most of the party stuff off, and asked, “Pinkie, have you seen Lightning Dust?”

Pinkie mused for a moment, “Hmm, nope, I haven’t seen her since your big fight with Gilda. Why are you looking for her? Do you need to ask her something?”

“Yeah, something like that. Well, see ya around Pinks.”

Pinkie waved goodbye two the pegasai and closed the door to her room. As soon as the doors closed, there was the sound of heavy machinery working.

“Wow,” Scootaloo said as Dash knocked on the next door, “Pinkie Pie sure is random, right Dash?”

Rainbow grunted in response. After another fruitless interrogation, Dash walked over to the next door.

“Hey Dash,” Scootaloo started again, but was caught off by Rainbow,

“Listen squirt, I’m sorry, but I can’t hang out today. Maybe some other time.”

“Oh,” Scootaloo said, looking crestfallen, “alright. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, sure.” Dash said absently as she continued her crusade. 

“Well, see ya.” Scootaloo sighed and left. Dash didn’t bother to reply or look away from the door in front of her.
________________________________________
Back in the present, Dash pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance to her tactlessness.

“Oh crap.” She sighed.

“So you finally remembered.” Scootaloo said hollowly, “Well, I guess I can’t blame you. I’m mean, why would anypony bother to hang out with a worthless pegasus like me?”

“SHUT UP!” Rainbow shouted, frightening the small pegasus, “Shut up right now! First off, I’m sorry that I’ve been ignoring you, and trying to find Lightning Dust is no excuse for what I did. But don’t ever call yourself worthless.”

“Why not?!” Scootaloo said angrily, close to tears, “If I’m not, then why am I always alone?”

“Because you don’t show other ponies the real you! But you showed me the real you. Sure, you can be a bit of a pushover,” Scootaloo hung her head in shame, “but you are a true friend. Remember that time in Nightmare Night when you warned me about Lightning Dust. Sure, I didn’t listen, but you tried to help me. You risked getting the living Tartarus beaten out of you by Lightning, but you didn’t care; you just wanted to help me. To me, you’re one of the best friends I ever had.”

Swept up in the sappiness of her little speech, Rainbow hugged Scootaloo, much to the surprise of the small pegasus. Slowly, the small pegasus returned the hug,

“Do you mean it Dash?” Scootaloo asked.

“Every word of it.” Dash replied, still hugging the pegasus. Scootaloo sniffed as she wiped her eyes, still not letting go of the rainbow-haired pegasus.

“Scootaloo,” Dash said softly, “please don’t cry. If you do, then this whole thing would get too sappy for me to handle.”

“O.K.” Scootaloo said. Dash was glad to hear a smile in Scootaloo’s voice. The two continued to hold each other.

“Um, squirt?” Dash asked.

“Yeah?”

“I should tell you that this is the first emotional hug I ever gave, so I have no idea when to stop. So, can you just give me the heads up when to let go?”

“Sure.”

…

“O.K Dash, I think that’s enough.”

The two immediately pulled apart. Scootaloo tried to regain her exposure, “So, what do we do now?”

Dash stood up, “What we do now is what we should have done a long time ago: hang out. Wanna go and check out the town?”

“Sure,” Scootaloo said excitedly, “let me go get my things first.” And she sprinted out of the rec room and toward her room. Dash, now feeling considerably better, went to her room, picked up her skateboard, and waited outside of the dorm. She brought along her skateboard in case Scootaloo wanted to ride it, but that proved unnecessary as Scootaloo burst through the dorm’s door on an old scooter. She jumped over the steps and skidded to a halt in front of Dash. The small pegasus was wearing a purple helmet and she had a small, orange satchel over her shoulder.

“Nice,” Dash said as she eyed the blue scooter, “since when did you know how to ride a scooter?”

“Since forever.” Scootaloo eyed the skateboard in Dash’s arm and grinned, “Hey, I’ll race you to town.”

“You’re so on.’ Dash said eagerly, “Why don’t we make the finish line at the center of town, where the fountain pool is at?”

“Sure.” Scootaloo said excitedly as she readied herself.

With one foot on the skateboard, Rainbow said, “Ready…set…GO!” 

As soon as Dash finished, Scootaloo, vigorously flapping her wings, shot off like a rocket. Dash was momentarily stunned by Scootaloo’s speed. She shook herself awake and grinned,

“Alright, now we’ve got a race.” 

Rainbow followed Scootaloo’s example and flapped her own wings. Thanks to all of Soarin’s training with flapping her wings, Dash wasn’t unbalanced with her new speed. She was out of the school and riding on the bridge when she caught up with Scootaloo,

“Not bad squirt.” Dash said as the two reached Old Manticore Ville, “You got any more tricks?”

Scootaloo smiled as the two past the railing that led to the beach. That’s when Scootaloo rode toward the railings, jumped on them, and began to grind without losing speed. She then hopped out and performed a bar spin before landing gracefully next to Dash.

“Can you top that?” Scootaloo said with a cocky smile, much to Dash’s surprise and pleasure.

“Let me see…” Rainbow said as they made a sharp right turn. As the two rode on the street, they saw up ahead two ponies crossing the street while carrying a large glass window,

“Alright Scootaloo, watch and learn.” Dash said as she raced toward the two ponies. She flapped her wings more vigorously. The two ponies saw the oncoming pegasus and they began to panic. One wanted to go one way while the other wanted to go the other way, but neither wanted to let go of the window. Instead, they just closed their eyes and braced for impact. 

But the impact never came.

As Dash closed in on the window, she jumped. Her skateboard went under the window while Dash did a couple of flips over the window. After her 5th flip, Dash cleared the window, landed on her skateboard with her hands and she continued to ride.

“That was awesome!” Scootaloo smiled as Dash flipped and began to ride with her feet again.

“Did you expect anything less?” Dash gloated as they rounded another corner. Then, far ahead, they saw the fountain pool.

“Hey Dash,” Scootaloo said as the two began two pick up speed, “why don’t we say that the loser buys the winner lunch?”

“You’ve got a deal. Oh, by the way,” Dash turned to Scootaloo and grinned, “I like chili dogs.” With that, Dash rapidly flapped her wings and left Scootaloo in the dust. The small pegasus began to flap her wings with vigor, but she was not able to catch up with Dash.

They were nearing the fountain and Scootaloo was still a couple of feet behind Dash. Scootaloo was becoming more and more exhausted with each flap while Dash was cool and collective. Just when the small pegasus was beginning to lose hope of winning, she saw the nerds Sparkler and Junebug up ahead. The nerds were on the sidewalk with a large ramp and miniature chariot models beside them. It appeared they were doing a science experiment, but Scootaloo had other plans for the ramp. Gaining a second wind, Scootaloo charged toward the nerds. Sparkler and Junebug saw the torpedoing pegasus, cried in shock and fear, and they jumped out the way as Scootaloo jumped the ramp. 

“WOOOHOO!” Scootaloo shouted as she soared through the air. It was a moment of bliss for the small pegasus as she felt as though she was actually flying. From above, Scootaloo over took Dash and the small pegasus was within range of the fountain. Unfortunately, Scootaloo misjudged the distance to the fountain.

*SPLASH!*

Rainbow skidded to a stop in front of the fountain and picked up her skateboard. She walked over to the fountain and saw Scootaloo’s head burst from the surface of the water. The small pegasus spewed out a spout of water as Rainbow giggled,

“Hey, I thought penguins only lived in the arctic?”

Scootaloo sighed sullenly. There it was; the jab at her subpar flying abilities. Of course, she was used to it from all the time spent with Lightning Dust, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t sting a little. Scootaloo then waited for the same wicked snicker that Lightning Dust always did after every insult, but it never came. Instead, she got a friendly smile from Dash.

“That was some pretty sweet moves squirt.” Rainbow complimented as she pulled Scootaloo and her scooter out of the fountain.

“Really, you think so?” Scootaloo asked, slightly surprised from the friendly conversation after an insult.

“Hay yeah! How did you even manage to get up to the air?”

“Oh, you know, I saw a ramp and I kinda winged it.”

“Nice! I wish I thought of that. So,” Dash smiled, “where do you want to eat for lunch?”

Scootaloo blinked before remembering the bet, “Oh no, it’s O.K Dash, you don’t have to be buy me lunch.”

“Sorry Scootaloo, but I’m not going to wuss out on a bet. You beat me and now I owe you lunch. So, we can either go to your favorite food place, or do I have to go to a random restaurant and force feed you?”

“I like the first choice.”

Dash grinned, “So do I.”

The two laughed at their little transaction. Things were finally looking up, at least until there was the sound of a throat being cleared. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo turned to see two very peeved looking nerds, each holding broken chariot models.

“So,” Sparkler said in a dangerously calmed voice, “who’s paying for these?”
________________________________________
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were strolling down the streets of Old Manticore Ville. Scootaloo was on her scooter, drinking the last of her shake, while Dash was rolling beside her on her skateboard, counting the bits in her now considerably lighter pouch,

“Was my lunch that expensive?” Scootaloo asked worriedly as she watched Dash furrow her brow as she re-counted her bits.

“Nah.” Dash said as she pocketed her pouch, thinking up plans for odd jobs she could do, “It was the materials Sparkler and Junebug made me buy. Those things either must have been imported stuff for their project, or I was just ripped off. Anyways, what do you want to do now?”

“Well, there’s the carnival outside of town, but that place doesn’t open until December. You know anyplace that’s cool?”

“Around the corner is the boxing gym, but there’s no meeting today, so it might be empty.”

They walked around the corner and gaped as they saw a large crowd in front of the gym. The ponies in the crowd ranged from Dash’s age to the elderly, and they all wore fancy suits and dresses. Dash even saw a stereotypical rich pony with a top hat, cane, and monocle.

“I thought you said it would be empty.” Scootaloo asked as the doors to the gym’s doors opened and the crowd began to walk in.

“I thought so to.” Dash said curiously. She walked over to the gym with Scootaloo on her heel. As the crowd dissapeared into the gym, Dash saw Colgate sitting behind a table in front of the gym. The preppy was writing in a ledger and did not notice the two approaching pegasai.

Dash reached the table, “Yo, Colgate, what’s going on in the gym? I thought there was no meeting today.”

Colgate looked up to see who it was before going back to writing, “You are correct, Rainbow Dash, there is no meeting today. The reason is that there is a tournament held today for all members and our parents and their associates are going to watch.”

“There’s a boxing tournament today? Why didn’t anypony tell me?”

“You didn’t know?” Colgate said innocently, “That’s so strange. I personally sent all of the invitations. It seems that your invitation was lost in the mail.” Colgate sighed sympathetically, “Oh well, we already filled your place.”

“Oh man.” Dash sighed. She did not see the small grin on Colgate’s face, “This sucks, wish I can enter. So, what does the winner get?”

“The winner is awarded the deed to a house in Manticore Hills.” Colgate stated casually.

…

“W-what?!” Dash exclaimed, “A real house?!”

“In Manticore Hills?!” Scootaloo added, equally shocked, “Don’t you have to be really, really rich to even set foot there?!”

“Well, that part is a bit exaggerated.” Colgate said, amused by their reactions, “But the rest is true. You see, our parents simply love to brag and it seems their newest debate is who raised the stronger fighter. So, after some arrangements, they agreed to wager one of the vacant houses for our upcoming tournament, which is today. The fighter who wins will receive the deed, but the deed will be under the parent's name.”

“Damn it!” Dash yelled as she fell to her knees and slammed her head on the table, “You’re saying that I could have won a house?”

“Well, you would have to have defeated the rest of us-”

“I could have gotten a house.” Dash said sullenly. She didn’t notice a small vein in Colgate’s forehead begin to throb.

As Scootaloo patted Dash’s back sympathetically, the doors to the gym burst open and Lotus rushed outside and toward Colgate.

“We have a problem.” Lotus told the unicorn.

“What kind of problem?” Colgate asked.

Lotus opened her mouth, but closed it when she saw the two pegasai listening intently. The preppies turned their backs to the pegasai and place their heads together.

“So what’s the problem?” Colgate whispered.

Lotus sighed, “Vivian…is not going to participate in the tournament.”

“WHAT?!” Colgate shouted. She quickly glanced at Dash and Scootaloo, who were both very confused, before turning back to Lotus and whispering frantically, “What do you mean Vivian isn’t coming?”

“Well, she texted me half an hour ago that there is some famous DJ that’s going to be signing autographs and that she simply cannot miss it. I sent some of the newer members to try and bring her back.”

“And?” Colgate said urgently.

“They just returned with a lot of bruises.” Lotus said in a defeated tone.

Colgate sighed, her throbbing vein intensifying. She took a calming breath before asking the question that she dreaded more than anything.

“Does Rarity know about this?”

Lotus laughed humorlessly, “Well, she keeps going from blinding fury and threatening to drag Vivian here with broken legs, to an absolute wreck. Not five minutes ago, she was in the corner, crying and calling herself a failure for allowing this to happen. But, that’s Rarity for you; everything must be the very best it could be.”

The unicorn pinched the bridge of her nose, “O.K, so do you have any ideas on how to get another boxer in the next 7 minutes?”

“Well…” Lotus said uneasily. She nudged toward the rainbow haired pegasus by the table.

“No.” Colgate said flatly, “There has to be somepony else.”

“No there isn’t. Trust me, I have tried to get somepony else, but the rest of the members who aren’t participating are too busy with their own endeavors.”

“Then we’ll get somepony else. I don’t care who it is as long as it’s not her. I would rather have a greaser fight in our tournament.”

Lotus gasped, “You don’t really mean that, do you?”

“Of course not,” Colgate sighed, “I just lost myself for a moment.”

Lotus placed a comforting hand on Colgate’s shoulders, “I know how you feel about her. Actually, I’m fairly sure everypony in the club can’t even stand her at this point. The fact that Rainbow Dash is still in the club is still a complete mystery to everypony, but that’s beside the point. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or would you rather have me tell Rarity that you kept her tournament from being the best it can be?”

“O.K, fine, you win.” Colgate exasperated.

“If it makes you feel better, just imagine how Dash would be when we beat her. She might actually shut up.”

With that happy thought, Colgate walked toward Dash with a big grin,

“Well Dash, you’re in luck. It seems that one of the participants is unable to compete. So, would you like to fill in?”

“Hay yeah.” Dash said excitedly, “Let me guess, I was your first choice, right?”

Colgate nodded and made a sound similar to an annoyed cat. Rainbow was getting excited, but then she remembered about Scootaloo and how the tournament would cut into their hang out time short. However, instead of looking upset, Scootaloo look just as eager as Dash.

“Oh this is so cool!” Scootaloo said as she turned toward Dash, “I’m going to get front row seats. I’ll be rooting for you Dash!” And with that, she ran toward the gym.

Dash laughed, “Alright then, that worked itself out.” She turned to the two preppies, “So, when do we start this party?”

Colgate held a pen and the ledger in front of Dash, “First you have to sign in. After that, you get dressed and we’ll fill you in on the rules.”

“Then let’s go.” Dash said eagerly as she half walked, half ran to the gym. Lotus and Colgate were following the pegasus at a distance. The unicorn leaned toward her friend and whispered,

“I hope this plan of yours is a good idea.”

“Me too.” Lotus whispered back, "But if I'm being completely honest, I'm glad Dash is gonna be participating."

Colgate recoiled at this statement, "Are you serious?!"

"Yes, yes I am." A small, wicked grin formed on Lotus's lips and she cracked her knuckles, "Ever since the first day she stepped in our gym, I have been itching to punch her in her smug face. And now, I have a chance to beat her in front of an audience. It all seems like a wonderful dream."

"Well, when you put it like that," Colgate also grinned as she cracked her neck, "I'm absolutely ecstatic that she is here."
________________________________________

“There are 16 participants in the tournaments, but we are going to be divided into two groups: Block A and Block B. The winner of Block A will face off the winner of Block B in the final match. Each match will be four rounds and each round will be two minutes. There will be a one minute break between each round. To win the match, you must knockout your opponent. If you and your opponent finish all four rounds without either one of you being knocked out, then the three judges will decide who wins on how well the boxers fought. Do you understand?”

“I understand and I’m ready.” Dash eagerly told Colgate as the two stepped out of the locker rooms.

“Good.” Colgate said as she checked if her own gloves were secured, “Now, Aloe should be back soon with the pony you requested, and I hope you don’t lose to early as I would like to fight you.” Without another word, she walked toward the other direction.

Dash, now in her boxing uniform, began to walk through the sea of rich ponies, looking for two in particular. She eventually found one of the ponies talking to one of the rich ponies.

“So,” Scootaloo asked, “why do you wear a monocle? Is it half the price of regular glasses, or does it make that one eye twice as better?”

“Sup squirt.” Dash said as she walked toward the two. Scootaloo turned around, saw Rainbow Dash, and rushed toward her,

“Hey Dash, you ready to kick some flank?”

“Always! But first, I have to wait for somepony.”

“Who?”

As soon as Scootaloo said that, the doors to the gym burst opened and the rich ponies began to make way for something.

“Him.” Dash said as the rich ponies got out of the way for Aloe, who was closely followed by Soarin.

“Well, Dash,” Aloe said as she stood in front of Rainbow, “I brought your…um…I brought you the pony you requested. Anyways, I better change into my attire.” And she left.

“Hey Soarin, long time no see.” Dash said. She then turned toward Scootaloo, who was looking at Soarin with a mix of surprise and fear. Evidently, the small pegasus still remembered her first encounter with the homeless pegasus.

"Calm down, Scootaloo." Dash said, trying to calm Scootaloo's nerves, "Soarin is a pretty cool guy. He won't hurt you...unless you piss him off."

"O.K." Scootaloo said in a slightly squeaky voice.

“Rainbow, why did you get some preppy to bring me here?” Soarin asked, looking at all of the ponies around, who immediately looked away.

“Because you’re my Corner.”

“Your what?” Soarin and Scootaloo asked confusedly.

“My Corner. It’s the pony that gives boxers advise and treats any injuries. The preppies asked if I needed one, but I didn’t want somepony I don’t know having my back in a fight.”

“So instead of getting assistance from a professional, you want my help?” Soarin summarize. Dash nodded and the homeless pegasus snorted, “Well I’m touched, but I know little to nothing about boxing. My only knowledge is from one boxing match I saw.”

“Don’t worry; I’m sure that’ll be enough.” Dash said nonchalantly. 

Soarin laughed, “O.K then, I guess you’re stuck with me. But, Dash,” Soarin looked serious, “please tell me you didn’t do anything stupid to enter the tournament.”

Dash rolled her eyes, “Are you still on that?  These preppies aren’t as crazy as Lightning Dust so relax, Soarin. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?”

There was the sudden sound of feedback and everypony turned toward the middle ring to see an earth pony in a tuxedo.

“Good Evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Old Manticore Ville gym for tonight’s tournament. As you all know, the fighters were split up into two groups: Block A, where the matches will take place on the ring to my right, and Block B, where the matches will take place on the ring to my left. Now, the first match of Block A will be…,” He took out an index card from the inside of his tuxedo and read, “Rainbow Dash and Sapphire. The first match of Block B will be Colgate and Pearl Rose. Will the fighters that were called please make their way to their respective rings.”

“You’re up, Dash.” Soarin patted Rainbow’s shoulder and lead her to the ring. Dash then entered the ring and she saw her opponent on the other side. Dash turned and saw that on the other ring Colgate and her opponent were getting ready to fight. Dash then walked toward the center to meet her opponent.

“Hello Dash,” Sapphire said, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this rematch.”

Dash raised an eyebrow as they two touched gloves, “We fought before?”

Of all the things she could have said, Dash said the worst thing she could possibly say to a preppy.

“Never mind.” Sapphire said, holding back her resent for the insulting pegasus.

“Now,” the announcer said as he took a big breath, “let’s get ready to RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!

> Chp 10: Bonding and Boxing pt2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang and the fight was on; Rainbow Dash and Sapphire circled each other as they both looked for an opening to strike.

“Well, this is off to a bad start.” Soarin thought aloud.

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked. She decided that the best place to watch the match would be right next to the homeless pegasus.

“Rainbow is being her usual, arrogant self.” Soarin sighed. Seeing Scootaloo’s confused expression, Soarin pointed to the faces of the competitors.

Sapphire’s face was filled with fierce determination. After all, she was fighting Rainbow Dash, a pony who was so insultingly arrogant that she has garnered the dislike of every preppy. Dash’s face, however, was relaxed. Since she already defeated Sapphire before, the pegasus was confident she would win again.

With that in mind, Dash went for a strong right hook. However, instead of backing away from the hit as Dash expected, Sapphire ducked and quickly moved forward. The preppy landed two hard hits on Dash’s stomach and then followed it up with an uppercut. Dash stepped back from the attack as she massaged her chin.

“What’s wrong Rainbow?” Sapphire grinned as she threw a jab, “I thought you were going to clean house?”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Dash said as she dodged the jab and then threw her own.

“Well, you’re gonna have a tough time with that.” Sapphire said in her preppy, superior tone, “Since you came along, everypony here stepped up their training regime. We all became tougher just for you.”

“I’m honored.” Dash’s left hook managed to connect to the side of Sapphire’s face just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the first round. The two fighters stopped fighting and they walked toward their respective corners.

“Are you O.K, Dash?” Scootaloo asked as the rainbow-haired pegasus stood at her ring corner.

“Yeah, I never felt better.” Dash said as she took a deep breath.

“That’s great.” Soarin said dismissively as he held a bucket filled with water.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What’s with the bucket?”

*SPLASH*

“W-what was that for?!” Dash sputtered as she tried to warm herself after being doused with ice-cold water.

“Oh, you know, I’m just trying to reduce the swelling of your ego.” Soarin said coolly as he set the now empty bucket aside, “Now, are you going to fight seriously, or are you going to be an idiot and get your flank kicked?”

“Chill Soarin, I’m not taking it easy. Turns out that all of the preps started working out more often to fight me, so I’m not going to let all of their exercise go to waste.”

“Good to hear. As for your fight, I suggest going for body blows to tire her out. If you see your opponent lower her guard, or try to hit your stomach, aim for the head.”

The bell rang and the second round began. With her newfound determination, and advice from Soarin, Dash was able to tire out Sapphire. However, Sapphire did get a couple of good hits on the pegasus. As the second round was drawing to a close, Dash landed a body blow on a weary Sapphire, but the prep wouldn’t go down without a fight. Sapphire unleashed a vicious haymaker, which managed to connect with Rainbow’s right eye.

“Damn.” Dash said softly, trying not to let Sapphire know the pain she caused. The bell rang and Rainbow rushed to her corner.

“Quick, Soarin, I need some ice.” Dash said as soon as she was at the turnbuckle. Soarin quickly pulled out an ice pack from the first aid kit, courtesy of the preps, and placed it on Dash’s eye.

“Nice work, Dash.” Soarin said as he continued to hold the ice pack to Dash’s eye, “You just to get in a couple of strong punches and the preppy should be knocked out.”

“Roger that.” Dash then turned toward Scootaloo, who was looking in awe and worry at the ice pack, “So, you enjoying yourself?”

“Of course!” Scootaloo replied excitedly, “It’s so cool to see you showing the preppies a thing or two. I mean, besides the jocks, the preps are the jerkiest ponies in school.”

“Tell me about it; they won’t be winning any popularity contest at school, unless they bribe the judges, but they’re generally harmless.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call the preppies ‘harmless’.” Scootaloo said as she gave a cautious glance to all of the surrounding preps.

This peaked Dash’s attention, “What do you mean?”

“It’s obvious that they love to make fun of other ponies, but the preppies also bully them. And by bully, I mean the type of bullying that Gilda and her gang used to do.”

“Are you serious?” Dash said, although she wasn’t really surprised considering the way the preppies act.

“Yep; the preps don’t exactly broadcast there bullying, they usually do it in secret, but they make a subtle effort to let everypony know they are the self-proclaimed better. Besides the greasers, not many ponies stand up to the preps.”

“Then it looks like I’ll have to stand up for them.”

The bell rang once again and Dash and Sapphire were resumed their fight. Both fighters were tired, but Dash, thanks to her enhanced endurance, was able to ignore it. Halfway into the round, Dash let loosed two jabs and an uppercut, causing Sapphire to drop to the floor. The referee was almost done with his countdown when Sapphire managed to get back up. The preppy was on wobbly feet when Dash’s straight punch smashed into Sapphire’s nose. She didn’t get back up.

“Winner: Rainbow Dash!” the referee called out as the bell rang for the final time. The referee held up Dash’s arm while the pegasus was doing her usual thing after every victory: trying to get the crowd to chant her name. Instead of that, the crowd merely clapped politely. Rainbow turned to the other side of the room where Block B was having there fight. She saw that the first match had just ended and Colgate had won.

In what felt like no time at all, Dash was preparing for her next fight. As she received a prep talk from Soarin and encouragement from Scootaloo, Dash softly touched her right eye with her glove. Soarin had said that the eye was not bruised, but he wouldn’t recommend taking another blow to the eye.

The 2nd match started off well enough for Dash; she managed to deliver more damage to her opponent than she received. However, she was panting by the end of the second round as the exhaustion from the first match was combined with the tiredness of the second match. None the less, Rainbow was able to pull off a victory by the beginning of the fourth round after her haymaker collided with the side of her opponent’s head.

And so it was that the semifinalists were revealed: In Block A, it will be Rainbow Dash vs. Lotus. In Block B, it will be Colgate vs. Aloe.






After a 5 minute break, the final four fighters entered their respective rings. As soon as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the match, Rainbow and Lotus began to trade blow after blow.

“You know, Dash,” Lotus said as she guarded from Rainbow’s jabs, “I am quite surprise to see you come this far.”

“Is that so?” Dash said as she bobbed past the prep’s left hook, “You shouldn’t be surprised, I mean, I’m not one of the ponies that you preps love to pick on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lotus said innocently, but she couldn’t hide the small grin that her lips formed.

“Drop the act, I know. I could have tolerated your snobby attitudes, but when you bully other ponies, well, that’s when we have a problem.”

“Look at you,” Lotus said amusingly as she threw a cross punch, which Dash blocked, “thinking that you’re some big league fighter. Well let me tell you something, Dash, you’re not. You are just a pompous ingrate who has a dangerously swollen head.”

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” Dash’s left hook managed to graze Lotus’s chin.

“Wrong again, Dash. For you see, we actually are skilled fighters. And for some unfathomable reason, you are here. Let’s face it Rainbow, you don’t belong here.”

“O.K then, but tell me,” Dash quickly punched Lotus in her stomach. The prep momentarily lowered her guard and Dash quickly struck with an uppercut, then a right hook, and finished it with a left hook, causing Lotus to drop to her knees.

“If all you said is true,” Dash said as she looked down at the earth pony, “then why am I the one standing up and you’re the one on the ground?”

Lotus quickly got up and glared daggers at Dash and the pegasus returned the look with challenging defiance. After hearing how Scootaloo described the preppies, Rainbow was reminded of Lighting Dust and that only lowered Dash’s view on the rich ponies. After a couple more blows, the round ended and the fighters took their short break before starting the second round.

Things started off as usual in the next round, until Lotus began to slowly back away from Rainbow. Dash followed Lotus and the prep only guarded from the pegasus’s assault. Lotus finally stopped moving when she reached the ropes and leaned back against them. Dash had no idea why Lotus placed herself in this position. A small voice in the back of Rainbow’s head told her that this could be some sort of trap, but she didn’t care. To Dash, this was a golden opportunity and the pegasus was not about to waste it. Stepping up her assault, Dash punched every bit of Lotus that she could reach. Dash grinned as Lotus only resisted minimally with a couple of counter-punches that only grazed Dash.

Eventually, Dash tired herself out and took a step back to observe her work. Lotus rose from the ropes and she had a victorious grin on her face, which only confused the pegasus. The prep rushed forward and attacked. Dash tried to bob and weave, but after the amount the energy she put on her own attack, she was too exhausted to move as fast as she normally would. Lotus’s right hook struck the side of Dash’s head and the pegasus went down on one knee. Rainbow shook her head and got back up, only to be jabbed in the stomach three times before the side of her head was struck again by a vicious haymaker. Dash stood for a second before dropping like a sack of potatoes.

“Get up, kid!” Soarin shouted as the surrounding preppies and parents cheered.

“What’s wrong, Dashie?” Lotus cooed, “Whatever happened to all of that boasting of yours?”

“Buck off.” Dash growled as she gingerly got back to her feet. Through her life, Rainbow had felt tired, and she had felt bruised. But this very moment, Dash felt both at the same time. To Dash’s relief and annoyance, the bell rang and she slowly made her way to her spot.

“You still with us, Dash?” Soarin asked as soon as Rainbow was stationed. He then held up three fingers, “Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Rainbow saw the fingers and grinned, “You’re not holding any fingers, but you are lifting up three of them.”

“Well, you’re still a smartflank, so I guess you’re O.K. Do you feel any severe pain anywhere?” Soarin asked as he placed an ice pack on Dash’s right eye.

“Just in my pride.” Dash answered back with what seemed to be a brave smile.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Rainbow.” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah, you already have the preps for that.” Soarin interjected.

Scootaloo threw Soarin a dirty look before continuing, “Even if you did get a couple of scrapes, Lotus is a lot worse for wear.”

“What are you talking about, squirt?” Dash asked curiously. Scootaloo grinned and pointed toward the opposite corner. Dash and Soarin turned to see and the rainbow-haired pegasus was pleased with what she saw.

Lotus was standing at her corner, her arms draped over the ropes as she panted heavily. She tried to massage parts of her stomach, the parts where Dash assaulted, but it seemed to cause her some pain. Her Corner was angry and appeared to be scolding her, no doubt for the huge gamble she did with her move with the ropes. Lotus began to argue with her Corner, but stopped when she saw the three pegasai looking at her with grins on their faces. With a wave of her hand, Lotus’s Corner closed his mouth and the preppy stared back at the pegasai with absolute contempt.

“Well, that cheered me up a bit.” Dash said as the bell rang, signaling the third round.

Rainbow and Lotus immediately started the match with a barrage of jabs, both sides forgetting the fatigue they felt moments ago. 20 seconds into the fight and the two fighters began throwing heavier punches. Most of the punches missed their mark or merely grazed the fighters, but some hit home. Lotus was able to land a hard hit on the side of Dash’s stomach, but the pegasus returned the favor with a cross punch to the earth pony’s face.

The fight dragged on with neither side slowing down. In the midst of the punches, Lotus started to put up her guard and she began to back towards the ropes. Her Corner began shouting at Lotus, ordering her to not try the move again. Dash, who already new of Lotus’s plan, did not follow her lead. This, however, only happened for a second as Dash’s eyes suddenly became focused and she continued to jab at Lotus as she followed her toward the ropes.

“Oh my Faust,” Soarin said in awe, “I can’t believe it.”

“I know,” Scootaloo said sullenly, “Dash is falling for the move again!”

“It’s not that, squirt.” Soarin said as a small smile formed on his mouth, “It looks like Dash actually has a plan. I honestly never thought I’d see the day.” Scootaloo was bewildered by the old pegasus’s statement, so she just watched and hoped that Soarin was right.

Lotus lead Dash toward the ropes and she once again leaned against the ropes. Dash threw a right jab, which Lotus took with an audible grunt. Rainbow prepared a left hook, but instead of landing the blow, she tucked in her left arm. Then, as quickly as possible, she spun in a complete circle and put her entire weight into a left haymaker and it slammed into Lotus’s already bruised stomach.

Lotus’s reaction was almost instantaneous. Her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets and all of the wind was knocked out of her. She lowered her arms to clutch her injured stomach and that sealed the deal. Dash began her ruthless assault of jabs and hooks. The preppy was unable to escape as she was trapped between Dash and the ropes. The prep tried to bring her arms up for defense, but Dash’s heavy hits broke through her guard as though it was wet paper. Just as the referee was about to intervene, Dash managed to squeeze in one last uppercut. To everypony’s surprise, the uppercut was able to send Lotus tumbling over the top ropes. There was a collective gasp form the audience as they saw the preppy’s face meet the hard floor on the outside of the ring.

Dash was panting heavily as she looked toward the referee, “So, what happens now?”

The answer came in the form of the referee beginning his count. After the ten second mark, the referee continued to count and Lotus was on all fours. There were words of encouragement for the preppy, but that didn’t make Lotus get up any faster.

“19…20!” the referee announced and Lotus shouted in anger as she smashed her fist in the floor, “The fighter was unable to reenter the ring in 20 seconds, so she is considered knocked-out. The winner is Rainbow Dash!”

“There you have it, folks.” The tuxedo announcer, who suddenly appeared in the ring, said as Rainbow began strutting around the ring, “We now have our finalist. On the Block B side we have Colgate; a purebred who was trained for business and boxing by professionals. On Block A side we have Rainbow Dash; a newcomer who, from what the others say, is from the slums of Cloudsdale who taught herself how to fight in order to survive. I don’t know about you folks, but this sounds a lot like an underdog story, and I love every second of it. The final match starts in 5 minutes, so get yourselves ready for the fight of their lives.”





Soarin patted both of Dash’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “Alright Dash, the time has come. Your opponent will no doubt try to psyche you out, but remember that she is just covering up how tired she is. Keep your guard up and only lower it when you know for sure you can get a strong hit in. Also, if you start to feel exhausted, there is no shame in focusing solely on guarding and backing away. So go out there and kick some flank.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, “go show those preps that just because they have money, it doesn’t mean they’re better. Show them that you have more guts than all of them combined.”

Dash gave the two pegasai an appreciative smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you two down.”

Rainbow and Colgate approached each other in the center of the ring and half-heartedly touched gloves. As they stepped back, Dash turned her head slightly to see all of the preppies surrounding the ring. They were all looking at the two fighters with malice delight; they seemed to be waiting for Colgate to end the bane of their existence. Aloe, with her bruised face, seemed disappointed that she couldn’t be the one to fight Dash, but she settled with the fact that Rainbow wouldn’t come out of the fight as the victor.

The bell rang and the fight was on. The first thing the two fighters did was throw a hook punch and they both connected successfully. Colgate recovered first and proceeded with a flurry of jabs. Dash managed to dodge most of them and she then countered with a stomach punch. Colgate was stunned momentarily, but she came back with a vicious straight punch, striking the area under Dash’s right eye.

Rainbow backed off for a moment, trying to think of the best way to attack. She decided to go for a quick left and right hook. She took a step forward and saw Colgate’s left hook aiming for her right eye again. Dash instinctively moved her head the left to dodge and Colgate grinned. The unicorn had faked the attack and she quickly unleashed a right haymaker. Rainbow had no time to dodge the haymaker as it collided with her jawline, causing her to go down to one knee.

“Wow, a knock down in the first round; that’s a new personal best.” Colgate grinned. She closed in on Dash and as soon as she was within ranged, Dash quickly got up and let out a vicious uppercut. The prep, completely taken surprise, went flying until she landed on her flank.

“Save the talk until after I win.” Dash said confidently, with a smidge of arrogance. Colgate growled at the pegasus before getting up and resuming the fight. For the next minute, Colgate and Rainbow successfully managed to tire the other and themselves out.

“Are you still hanging in there?” Soarin asked after the first round ended and Dash was back to her corner.

“You bet.” The athletic pegasus replied with a smile, “I have a plan.”

“What is it?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

“It’s a secret.”

“And will this plan of yours work?” Soarin asked

“Yeah, I’m, like, 75% sure it will.” Dash then looked across to the other side of the ring. Colgate was getting advice from her corner when she caught Dash’s eye. The pegasus winked at the prep, who returned it with a loathing glare.

Dash turned back to Soarin, “Make that 95% sure.”

The 2nd round began and the fight was on. Colgate started off with a quick punch, which connect with Dash’s cheek. Surprisingly, Dash chuckled.

“That was a good punch.” Dash complemented. The prep was very surprised, until Dash continued, “that punch almost tickled.”

Colgate glared daggers before launching a left and right hook, which Dash quickly dodged.

“So close.” The pegasus chortled, “I tell you what; I’ll stand completely still and maybe then you might be able to hit me.”

Colgate was now positively fuming as she continued fight. All the while, she did not notice that Dash was leading her to the ropes.

“Oh no,” Soarin said as he watched Dash’s plan coming true, “Oh Faust, please no!”

Rainbow reached the ropes, and just like Lotus, she leaned against them and held up her arms to cover her face. At that moment, Colgate realized what Dash was planning. The unicorn thought about it for a second before letting her anger win and assaulting the pegasus. None of the punches managed to hit Dash’s face, but they all managed to hit her stomach. Rainbow gritted her teeth as she took the punches and even returned some of her own. As she was being assaulted, Dash questioned why Lotus would have risked this move a second time as only using the move once was an uphill battle.

After what seemed like forever, Colgate back away, gasping for air. She grinned at the stationary pegasus, who still had her guard up. The prep decided to get one more punch in and she got closer. Almost immediately, Dash launched herself forward and followed up with a haymaker. Colgate was too tired to dodge the punch as it impacted with her forehead. That punch was followed by a barrage of punches that Colgate never experienced. Dash’s jabs and punches were flying and hitting the prep. Colgate had to focus on protecting her head, which left her body wide open. Even with her guard up, Dash still managed to sneak in a couple of punches to Colgate head. By the end of the assault, parts of the prep’s face were bright red.

The unicorn stood like a statue as Rainbow tried to catch her breath. After the beating she took and the beating she dished out, Dash could have really used a nap. Thinking that she had the match won, Rainbow calmly made her way to the standing prep to deliver the final punch. Just as Dash lifted up her arm to punch, Colgate quickly clamped her arms around the pegasus’s arms and she then placed her head on Dash’s shoulder.

“What the hay?!” Dash cried as tried to move, or even lift her arms up. But after the energy she exerted, she could do neither, “I thought you said there is no grabbing in boxing.”

“This is clinching.” Colgate said as though it was a sufficient enough. The referee saw the clinching and immediately came to put an end to it.

“Alright you two, take a full step back.” The referee ordered. Dash took a step back, but Colgate didn’t. Instead, she took a step forward while the two were distracted and punched Dash in her right eye.

“Crap!” Dash cried in pain as she dropped to the floor. She glared daggers at Colgate for the cheap shot. Colgate simply grinned as she was being scolded by the referee. The bell rang after the little confrontation as the two went back to the corner.

To say that Dash was not happy would have been an understatement. Not only had her plan to knockout Colgate fail, the prep managed to get in a sucker punch, humiliating Dash in the process. Now, the pegasus was tired and in pain from the round. After some convincing and scolding from Soarin, Dash agreed to take it easy for the next round. But, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight.

The next round started and everypony could have agreed that it wasn’t exactly trilling. All of the previous matches could be compared to fierce waves colliding into one another in a restless ocean. This round, however, was more like small ripple of water in a pond. Dash and Colgate circled each other throughout the whole match while only throwing a handful of punches. But, things started to get interesting near the end. With some of their energy restored, the fighters decided to end the round with a bang. Dash and Colgate kept their jabs and hooks consistent as the round was nearing a close. In the last 20 seconds, Colgate decided to clinch again in order to save her energy. She managed to wrap herself around Dash, immobilizing her arms. The prep then held up her face in front of Dash to show off a cocky grin. This proved to be a fatal mistake as Dash, who grinned back, pulled her head back and viciously head-butted the prep. There was silence among the crowd as the sound of skull-on-skull echoed. Dash then felt something wet on her forehead as Colgate quickly pulled away just as the bell rang. That’s when Rainbow saw a moderate cut on Colgate’s forehead, which had a trickle of blood producing from it.

Dash was at her corner as Soarin was examining her.

“This is not good.” Soarin muttered as he got the ice pack.

“What’s wrong now?”

“Your right eye is swollen like Tartarus. Can you even see though it?”

“I can still see. Things are just a bit blurrier.”

Soarin sighed, “Alright, that’s it; I’m throwing in the towel.”

Dash’s eyes, or at least her left eye, widened in horror, “Wait, what?”

“You heard me; your eye is in a bad shape. It could be a sign that you got a head trauma.”

“You can’t do this, Soarin!”

“Actually, I can. You made me your Corner, and after hearing things from the other Corners, I know that I’m in charge of taking care of you and, if need be, stop the match if you’re injured.”

“I think he’s right, Dash.” Scootaloo interjected worriedly as she saw Rainbow’s blackened eye.

“Not you too, squirt.” Dash exasperated, “Listen, both of you, I’m fine.”

“No, Dash, you listen.” Soarin said in a stern, fatherly sort of way, “Whatever bravado you’re trying to prove isn’t worth your health. A good fighter knows when it’s time to back down. Besides, you already proved yourself by making it this far. And you also proved that the only way the preps can win is by underhanded moves. So, are you going to let me do this?”

Rainbow sighed, not sure what to do. She looked across the ring to see Colgate having a heated argument with her Corner. It seemed that they were having the same discussion the pegasai were having. The cut on Colgate seemed to have mostly stopped, but there was still a drop or two producing from it. From how their argument was going, Colgate seemed bent on continuing the fight, despite her injury.

“No.” Dash finally said

“Dammit, Dash-” Soarin started, but her was cut off by the rainbow-haired pegasus.

“Listen Soarin, and you too Scootaloo, I appreciate what you two are trying to do, even more than you know, but I have to continue. If Colgate isn’t giving up, then neither am I. And…I am not a quitter. I’m not about to stop just because of one stupid, black eye. I fought with worse injuries. So please, Soarin, don’t make me give up.”

The homeless pegasus was stuck. On one hand, he didn’t want Dash to get injured any further if there was something he could have done. But, there was a fierce determination in both of Dash’s eyes that could inspire a losing army.

“Alright.” Soarin said, “Against my better judgment, I won’t throw in the towel. But, you have to promise me to give it your all. Be safe, and don’t back down.”

“I never back down.” Dash said, causing Scootaloo to become star-struck at her friend/idol.

And so it was, that the final round started. Instead of a slow build up, the fight was intense in the first second. The moment they were within range of each other, Colgate and Rainbow threw punch after punch, neither one caring about guarding or dodging. In the beginning, it seemed like an even match; Dash would throw punch, and then Colgate would throw one. But, after a minute, something changed. Colgate was becoming weary and Dash was not slowing down. The pegasus’s sheer determination fueled each punch. For every punch Colgate threw, Dash launched two or three. That was when the prep went on the defense, but it didn’t help much. Rainbow didn’t slow down a beat as she continued to hammer against Colgate defenses, and the unicorn couldn’t fight back as much as she wanted to. Eventually, the clock ran down to mere seconds left with both fighters down to the wire. It appeared that victory was within Dash’s reach, but that’s when Colgate made a daring move. She dropped her guard and took all of the hits to throw one of her own. Colgate’s powerful, right hook flew wildly, and miraculously, it found its way toward Dash’s side of her head. The pegasus was taken by surprise by its sheer power that she was almost knocked down.

Almost.

Dash found her ground and she took a step forward. She then threw her entire weight into one, last haymaker. It smashed into the prep’s face and they both went sprawling to the floor. The bell rang, but that didn’t stop the referee from counting. Tired and beaten, but not broken, the two combatants slowly made their way to their feet.

“Well, will you look at that!” the announcer suddenly shouted, causing Colgate and Dash to jump, “It seems that neither one of the fighters achieved a knock-out. Now, it’s time for the judges to decide.”

Everypony waited with baited breath as the announcer walked toward the 3 judges: an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. Dash leaned on the ropes, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at Colgate, who was looking strangely calm. After what seemed like an eternity, the announcer reentered the ring with a big grin on his face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, first let me say that both fighters fought valiantly, but there could only be one victor. So, the winner, by split decision, is….”

Colgate cleaned herself up a bit as she prepared herself to take a bow.

“…RAINBOW DASH!”

“What?!” Colgate shouted, but it was drowned out by the cheers of three pegasai. Soarin and Scootaloo, still cheering loudly, jumped inside the ring and they each gave Dash a bear hug. The preppies surrounding the ring were in absolute shock that they were defeated in one of the things they prided themselves in. The parents and their associates were equally as shocked as the preps, but they decided to clap politely at this unforeseen turn of events.

Colgate glanced hatefully at Rainbow one last time before scanning the crowd of dispersing parents. After a while, Colgate finally locked eyes with the pony she was looking for: her father. The prep looked at her father with pleading understanding. The father returned his daughters look with a shrug, and unsurprised disappointment before exiting the gym.

Scootaloo and Soarin continued to congratulate Dash as the gym was slowly becoming empty. It wasn’t until the gym was only occupied by a few preppies and the pegasai when Dash remembered her prize.

“Oh snap, I almost forgot.” Dash said with a big smile as she quickly took off her gloves with her teeth.

“You almost forgot what?” Soarin asked. Dash was still untying her gloves with her teeth, so her replied was a combination of grunts and giggles. Finally, Dash took of her gloves and handed them to Scootaloo,

“You mind getting my things from the locker?” Dash asked.

“No problem.” Scootaloo nodded before exiting the ring and rushing toward the locker room.

“Alright Soarin, time to collect my prize.” Dash said, her grin still prominent.

“So what is this prize? Is it a bright, shiny trophy?” Soarin asked as the two exited the ring.

“A house.”

…

“What?” Soarin said as a look of absolute bewilderment engulfed his face. Dash giggled as they walked toward the preps, all of whom had changed back toward their clothes and were sitting at a bench near the stairs leading to the upper level. They all had a look of disappointment.

“What’s up preps?” Dash said nicely. With the prospect of becoming a home owner, the pegasus forgot all about her fatigue from the match and her animosity.

Colgate, who was sporting a couple of Band-Aids over her cut, looked up “What do you want, Dash?”

“I’d want world peace, to be captain of the Wonderbolts, and a house.”

“I’m pretty sure that none of those things will ever come true.” Colgate said as she stood up.

“Good one.” Rainbow laughed, “But seriously, I won, so that means I get my house, right?”

“Oh, that’s what you meant.” Colgate said innocently as a look of contempt formed on her face, “Well, sorry Dashie, but no.”

Rainbow blinked, “What do you mean, no?”

“Well, no is the opposite of yes. So the opposite of you getting a house is you don’t get a house. It’s that simple.”

Scootaloo had just returned from the locker rooms with Dash’s bag when Soarin confronted Colgate, “You know what I find funny. From what I know, boxing is supposed to be a noble sport with honorable fighters, who keep their words. So, why don’t you set an example and follow up on your promises.”

Colgate turned toward the homeless pegasus with disdain, “I would love to be honorable, but my hands are tied. You see, the house doesn’t go to the victor, but to the victor’s parent. Of course, I would be more than happy to give Dash her house, but I would need her parent’s information and signature. So, tell me Dash, can you contact your mother and can she arrive to collect the winnings?”

Dash grimaced, “No. She’s on her honeymoon.”

“Well that’s a darn shame.” Colgate smiled as she turned back to Soarin, “As you can see, the house stays with us. So, why don’t you think before you scold us and go back to begging for scraps?”

“Hold on a second.” Dash said angrily, “Don’t talk to Soarin like that.”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo agreed as Soarin tried to calm Dash, “You’re just jealous that Dash creamed all of you.”

“Me? Jealous of her?” Colgate laughed, “Oh please, I wouldn’t trade places with her for a million bits. I mean, come on; the closest thing she has to a father is this homeless peasant, the only friend she has is you, a low self-esteemed flightless pegasus, and she has a whore of a mother-”

“You bitch!” Dash shouted as she stepped forward and punched Colgate’s nose. The prep was knocked back to the bench. She quickly got up and launched a haymaker, but Soarin stepped in and caught it. He then grabbed Colgate by the arm and performed a judo throw. The rest of the preps got up and prepared to fight while Soarin protectively stood in front of Scootaloo and Rainbow.

“That is quite enough!”

Everypony turned their heads to the top of the stairs as a unicorn calmly walked downstairs. She was wearing a tea length purple dress under a white blazer and her dark purple hair was in perfect curls. She reached the bottom and then walked toward the downed Colgate,

“Are you O.K?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Rarity” Colgate said, all of her anger was now gone and replaced with a formal tone. Rarity smiled before turning to the three pegasai. She turned to each of them, observing them mostly to see their clothing, before stopping at Dash.

“Well, Miss Dash, let me first congratulate you in a job well done. This is the first time that a pony of your…background won.”

“Um, thanks.” Dash said as she eyed the new preppy suspiciously.

“However,” Rarity suddenly had a stern tone, “I must ask you not to fight outside of the ring. We box because it is a noble art, and thus, we must respect it and not use it without good reason.”

Scootaloo snorted at this statement. She found a funny that a preppy would say that, when every other preppy had done the exact opposite with their boxing.

“There wouldn’t have been fighting if I just got my prize.” Dash said stubbornly.

“Ah yes, about that.” Rarity said, “You see, we can’t follow up on the deal. As Colgate explained, we do need you mother’s consent. However, that doesn’t mean you should get nothing for your win.”

Rarity reached into her blazer’s pocket and pulled out a key, “This is the key to our clubhouse at the beach. The clubhouse makes up the lighthouse at the edge of the shore. We rarely use it, so you are free to use it as you see fit.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” Dash said as received the key. The reward wasn’t as fancy as a house, but it was better than nothing. And she would have probably gotten nothing if it wasn’t for Rarity. Rainbow nodded her head toward Rarity, before turning toward the door. Scootaloo and Soarin followed Dash as the preppies watched them leave.






“You know,” Scootaloo said as she re-positioned Rainbow’s bag over her shoulder. She was walking behind Rainbow and Soarin as they walked down the streets of the town, “that Rarity isn’t that bad.”

“True,” Soarin agreed, “she seems quite mature for her age. What do you think, Dash?”

“Well, she isn’t a control freak, so I guess she’s alright.” Dash looked down at the key in her hand and she grinned, “But if this clubhouse kicks flank, she’ll be pretty cool.”

Soarin nodded, “Yeah, a clubhouse by the beach does sound nice, but first, you’re going to the doctor.”

Dash stopped in her tracks, “What are you talking about?”

Soarin gestured toward Dash’s right eye, “Do you really need to ask? Besides, from all of those blows to the head, you might have a concussion.”

“Relax Soarin, I’ve had black eyes before and I didn’t go to see any doctor.”

“Well that was then, and this is now. So, are you going to make this difficult?”

Dash sighed, “Fine, I’ll go to the dumb doctors, after I’ve seen the clubhouse.”

Soarin contemplated this for a couple of seconds before saying, “O.K.”

Dash blinked, “Really?”

“Of course not.”

Without further ado, Soarin quickly picked up Dash and carried her over his shoulders.

“Soarin, let me go!” Dash cried

“I think I remember seeing a clinic around here.” Soarin thought aloud as he completely ignored the pegasus. He continued to walk down the street.

“You mind giving me a hand, Scootaloo?!” Dash cried as she frantically flapped her wings to get free.

“Is this really necessary?” Scootaloo asked the veteran pegasus.

“Yes, yes it is. Besides, Scootaloo, do you really want to risk Dash suffering from head trauma?”

“Well, I guess not.”

“Oh for the love of Faust…” Dash sighed.

“Calm down, Dash” Soarin chuckled, “If you’re as healthy as you say you are, then there’s nothing to fear." He blinked, "Wait, is that it? Are you afraid of doctor’s?”

“I’m not afraid of anything!” Dash said indignantly, “I just can’t stand the waiting room. Those doctors make you wait for hours just to tell you to go somewhere else for medicine. Now, let me go, or else.”

Soarin smirked, “What are you going to-”

“HELP!” Dash shouted, slightly deafening Soarin, “THIS CRAZY OLD PERV IS KIDNAPPING ME!”

“She’s just joking!” Soarin shouted quickly, but it was too late. All of the shoppers who were watching the pegasai with confusion now formed an angry mob, and their target was Soarin.






The doors to the gym closed as the three pegasai left. The preps watched the door for a couple of seconds before Colgate turned to Rarity,

“Did you really have to give away the clubhouse?” She said darkly

Rarity gave her friend a small smile, “Come now, darling, nopony ever uses the place, so I’m sure you won’t miss it. And besides, it’ll look better if we give her something for her win then nothing at all.”

“If you ask me, she deserves nothing.”

“Now, now, don’t let your anger get the best of you. It wouldn’t be exactly great if we get a reputation of acting like raged chimpanzees. Anyways, why don’t you all go and calm yourselves down. I recommend the spa; they have just acquired a brand new mud bath that is simply to die for.”

Giving one last smile to the crowd of preppies, Rarity walked past them and began climbing the stairs to the second floor. All of the preppies sighed before deciding to leave the gym. As they were walking out, Colgate whispered to Lotus,

“Has Rarity renovated the clubhouse?”

“She hasn’t. I doubt she even knows what state it’s in.”

“So the clubhouse is still the same way it was last year.”

“Exactly.”

Colgate grinned, “Well, at least I can take joy in imagining Dash’s face when she sees it.”

With a slightly happier tone, Colgate and the rest of the preps left the gym. Rarity reached the second floor and walked down the catwalk/balcony and then entered the VIP box. The VIP box was very spacious. To Rarity’s right, in the corner, was a small, polished bar with shelves filled with beverages. The walls were lined with portraits and pictures of the preppies and previous boxing matches. There was a mid-sized chandelier dangling from the ceiling and the floor was covered with an imported carpet. There were a couple of sofas and recliners facing the left wall, which was replaced with huge glass panels in order to see the rings below.

As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by a pegasus, holding a two drinks,

“Here you go, Rarity.” Lightning Dust said, “It’s your favorite; strawberry daiquiri.”

“Thank you. Lightning.” Rarity said as she took the drink and walked toward one of the recliners. Lightning Dust followed the unicorn and took a seat next to her.

“So, Lightning Dust,” Rarity took a sip from her drink, “what is the latest news going around in the school?”

“Well, some of the nerds seem to be planning a pranks on the boys’ dormitory, the bullies are adjusting to their new, ‘peaceful lives’, and the jocks are still imbeciles.”

“Excellent. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Lightning Dust said seriously, “and it involves Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh really? Do tell.”

“Well,” Lightning Dust said nervously, “do you mind if I ask you a question first? But if you don’t want to answer, I’ll understand.”

“Come now, darling, you can ask me anything.”

“Thanks. I was wondering why you allowed Rainbow Dash to join your clubs. From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t exactly meet your exceptional standards.”

Rarity set her drink aside, “You are quite right. After about a week of observation, it is plainly obvious that Rainbow Dash is not one of us. She has no restraints and has no respect for others. So, can you tell me how your news involves Rainbow?”

“You see, I’ve heard a lot of talk from the other groups in school. And most of it is about you preps.” Lightning paused as she thought for a moment, “Do you mind calling some of you friends? The news is pretty big, and I think some of the other preps might want to hear it.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll call a couple of the senior members. I’ll need to step out for a moment as the signal in here isn’t all that great.”

“Take your time.” Lightning Dust said in a friendly tone. Rarity exited the VIP box and began to make her way outside to make the calls. Lightning Dust began to whistle tunelessly as she waited. She took a sip from her drink and she set it aside. Lightning watched through the transparent wall as Rarity stepped outside of the gym. As soon as the preppy was outside, Lightning Dust’s eyes went from friendly warmth to a superior frost.

“Too easy.” Lightning Dust said as her trademark sneer returned.






The sun had finally set over Old Manticore Ville. With the sun now gone, the street lamps across the entire district flickered to life and the ponies continued their merriment. Among the ponies were Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Scootaloo, standing on the sandy shores of the beach. After about half an hour of being questioned by the police, and another hour of going to the clinic to get Dash checked out (Rainbow Dash did not have any concussions or other head trauma. However, she is to periodically place an ice pack over her black eye and is now wearing an eye patch to conceal the bruise), they all stood in front of what looked like a weathered lodge connected to an older looking lighthouse.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Scootaloo said gently as though a loud voice would knock down the entire structure.

“This is the only lighthouse at this beach.” Dash answered. She was beginning to think she was duped.

“Well, maybe it looks better on the inside.” Soarin suggested half-heartedly, “I mean it is owned by the rich ponies. For all we know, it can be the Ritz hotel in there.”

The three pegasai looked at each other before shrugging, deciding to give the place a shot. Dash went ahead first with the other two at her heel. She climbed the old, wooden steps and stopped in front of the door to the clubhouse. She braced herself as she took the key, unlocked the door, and opened it.

As soon as she opened the door, her nostrils were filled with the smell of rotting wood and mildew. While Dash was recoiling at the smell, she heard a sharp cry. She and Scootaloo turned around to see Soarin’s left leg had fallen through the aged steps.

“Mind giving me a little help?” Soarin grunted as he fruitlessly tried to free himself. The girls grabbed Soarin’s underarms and lifted him up. After that, they cautiously entered the clubhouse. To say that the clubhouse wasn’t in a terrible state would have been a complete lie. It was a large room, but that’s where the good ended. Every step the pegasai took caused a small puff of dust to form around their feet. At the far corner was what looked like a counter of a bar, but the counter and shelves behind it were broken beyond repair. There was what looked like a once nice fireplace on one of the walls, but it looked like it hasn’t been used in years. Above them were rafters and a chandelier that was swinging ominously.

“Well,” Scootaloo said as she stood under the chandelier, “it could be worse.”

She had just finished her sentence, the chandelier gave way and was plummeting toward the small pegasus. Rainbow moved swiftly and pulled Scootaloo out of the way as the chandelier made a good size hole on the spot where Scootaloo was standing mere seconds ago.

“What do you girls say we get the hay out of here?” Soarin said. Before waiting for a reply, he grabbed the girls by their shoulders and quickly pulled them out of the clubhouse/deathtrap. Once outside, Dash closed the door and locked it, as though to prevent anything from getting out and hurting anypony else. With as much pride as they could muster, the three pegasai sped walked out of the shores and to the concrete sidewalk. They shared a laugh after their little experience before deciding to return to the academy. After about half a minute of walking, Soarin asked,

“Do either of you know what time it is?”

Dash shrugged, “Probably a little after eight. Why?”

Soarin swore softly, “I’m late.”

“Late for what?” Dash asked curiously.

“An appointment.”

Scootaloo looked slightly surprised, “You have appointments?”

Soarin chuckled, “Just because I’m poor, doesn’t mean I still don’t have important matters. Anyways, I better hurry. Will you two be O.K by yourselves?”

Dash scoffed, “Do you really need to ask?”

Soarin grinned, “Good point. Alright then, goodnight Rainbow, goodnight Scootaloo.” And with that, he flew into the air and shot off to the academy.

“Who do you think he’s meeting?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

“I have no idea.” Dash said, equally as curious as Scootaloo.

They continued to make their way to the academy as they pondered over who Soarin was meeting. After a bit of walking, Scootaloo reached into Dash’s duffel bag, which she has been carrying since they left the gym, and pulled out her scooter. She rode along as Dash simply walked. Some moments of silent later, Scootaloo spoke up,

“So, are you going back to the boxing club?”

Dash shrugged, “Doubt it. Something tells me that me and the preps no longer see eye to eye. And since I haven’t seen a hair of Lightning Dust since I joined, I don’t really see the point of going back.”

When Dash mentioned Lightning Dust, Scootaloo looked as though she was about to ask another question, but then held her tongue. This did not go by unnoticed by Dash.

“Alright squirt, spill it.”

The small pegasus blinked, “What?”

“You wanted to say something else, right? So, say it.”

Scootaloo hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why are you so obsessed over finding Lightning Dust?”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Well, did Lightning Dust do something else to you that I don’t know about? Because I’ve seen other ponies that were back-stabbed by others, but I don’t think they had the same passion you have for finding Dust. So, did she do something else I should know?”

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, “Nah, you know everything Lightning did to me.”

“So what’s up with this craz- I mean passionate, obsession you have?”

Dash chuckled, “Haven’t you ever heard the expression ‘an eye for an eye’? Lightning burned me, and now I’m going to burn her. And I feel it’s about time I get a little payback for getting back-stabbed for once.”

“So this isn’t the first time?”

Dash was unprepared for this question. She wanted to pretend she didn’t hear it, but the expression on her face made it obvious. Rainbow thought about lying; she was never the pony to tell anypony else about her less than awesome moments. But Scootaloo had been straight with her since the beginning, so it only seemed right that she do the same.

The athletic pegasus sighed, “No, this isn’t the first time. Neither is it the second or third time. I moved around a lot, mostly because my mom’s marriages, so I had a lot of friends. I used to think they were great friends, you know. But, when we got into a serious jam, like getting in trouble with the police or principal, they didn’t lift a finger to help; they only thought of saving their own skin. Some of them even pinned the blame on me. I had to change so many schools because of my ‘friends’ that I was never able to get payback. Then again, I didn’t know whether I wanted payback. I mean, they were my friends, so I guess I felt obligated to not beat them senseless.” At the memories of her betrayals, Rainbow’s voice became angrier and angrier, “But not anymore; I‘ve had enough with letting ponies stabbing me in the back. So don’t blame me for wanting some good old fashion revenge, O.K?”

She didn’t mean to snap at Scootaloo, but the small pegasus caused the floodgates to open and all of Dash’s resentment poured out. They walked in silence for a while, neither one of them knowing what to say. Dash thought about apologizing for her outburst, and she was about to, when Scootaloo said,

“Don’t worry about looking for Lightning Dust; I’ll help you find her.” She then smiled to show she meant it.

“Really?” Dash said, surprised, “After I ditched you for weeks just so I can find her?”

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t help you do something that is important to you. You had my back since we met, so it’s obvious that I’m gonna have yours.”

Dash smiled and ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “Thanks, squirt; that means a lot.”






Inside the preppies’ gym, the VIP box’s door opened and Aloe, Lotus, Colgate, and Rarity entered. They each took a seat on the many sofas and recliners.

“So, Rarity,” Colgate asked “why did you call this meeting?”

Rarity said, “A reliable source seems to have some important information for us, and she wished to say it personally.”

“So,” Aloe asked, “who is it?”

“That would be me.”

They all turned to see Lightning Dust leaning behind the bar counter. None of them noticed the pegasus as they entered.

“You’re Lightning Dust, correct?” Lotus asked, “I haven’t seen you since your initiation. Where have you been?”

“Oh, you know,” Lightning Dust strolled over to one of the seats and sat down, “I’ve been doing all I can to be helpful to you all.”

“And a very big help she’s been.” Rarity added with a smile, “Lightning Dust has a very keen sense with organization. Thanks to her, we have everything scheduled for the next 3 months. She also has an excellent ear on what goes on in the academy.”

“You don’t say? So, what’s the scoop?”

Rarity held up a hand, “Not yet, Colgate. We still need to wait for-”

Rarity’s phone suddenly began to ring. She checked the caller I.D before answering it,

“Where are you? … You cannot be serious… I said to meet here in… *sigh* alright fine.” Rarity pushed a button on her phone before holding it at arm’s length, “O.K, you’re on speaker.”

There was silence until the phone erupted with a loud voice, causing everypony in the vicinity to cover their ears,

“WHAT’S UP, MOTHERBUCKERS?!!”

“Vivian!” Colgate cried as hearing returned. The voice in the phone grunted irritably. Colgate sighed, “Fine; Vinyl, is it really necessary to shout every chance you get?”

The voice, Vinyl, adopted a pompous accent, “Colgate, is it really necessary to have that stick up your flank?”

Colgate flushed with embarrassment as laughter was heard from the phone.

“I’m only teasing, Colgate.” Vinyl said, dropping the accent, “So, why is there a meeting? Did something happen in the tournament?”

“Not really, darling,” Rarity said, “we just needed everypony here to listen to Lightning Dust’s news.”

“Who?” Vinyl asked.

“That would be me.” Lightning said modestly, “And I just got to say I’ve heard a lot about you, Vinyl.”

“I’m sure it’s everything good, right?” Vinyl said with the usual, preppy pride.

“Of course.”

“Aw yeah!”

“Anyways,” Rarity interjected, “we’re here to talk about the news that Lightning Dust has uncovered. So,” She turned to the amber-haired pegasus, “what is it?”

“First, it has something, or everything, to do with Rainbow Dash-”

“Who’s Rainbow Dash?” Vinyl asked.

The preppies quickly explained to Vinyl, who had been abroad for a whole week, all about who Dash was and what kind of pony she is.

“Wow.” Vinyl said after the explanation, “So you girls have had your flanks kicked royally by Dash?” She giggled, “Man, I wish I was there to see it happen.”

“Enough distractions.” Colgate said, “Can we please get on to why we’re here?”

“Of course.” Lightning said, “After a couple of days listening in on the other groups, I heard some bad news. It looks like Rainbow Dash has been going around school, telling everypony that she’s been wiping the floor with all of you.”

Lightning waited as all of the preppies cried in outrage and indignation. She continued, “Now everypony is starting to see all of you more as a joke.” She leaned forward, “Especially the greasers.”

The preps a looked at each other seriously. The preppies and greasers have been enemies for as long as anypony could remember. There have been countless confrontations between their groups. However, each side knew better to avoid a full scale assault on each other as it could lead to catastrophic damages. But, if Lightning Dust was right, then the greasers might see the preppies as easy targets, and thus, no longer worried about repercussions.

Aloe sighed,  “So, what are we going to do about it?”

“I say we go to all of those doubters, and shove our feet right up their flanks!” Vinyl said.

“No hold on, Vinyl.” Rarity interjected, “I am all for protecting my honor, but it won’t look good for us if we go around and picking random ponies of the streets.”

Aloe, Lotus, and Colgate pointedly averted their eyes from each other. The reason that the preppies did most of their dirtier business in secret was to keep it under Rarity's radar. They knew she would never approve of it, but they felt obligated to teach anypony some respect when needed.

“Can I make a suggestion?” Lightning asked. As soon as everypony’s eyes were on her, she said, “Since doing nothing and beating up everypony are not the best idea, I say you all go after the source. It’s Rainbow Dash that has been spreading all of these lies and slander. So, if you take her down a notch, everypony would see that she was all talk. They’ll know that you are the best and that Dash was just a liar.”

There were nodding heads and sounds of approval after Lightning’s suggestion. As they all seem to have come to an agreement, Lightning got up, “Well, I think I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll take my leave as you decide on the best course of action.”

“We should probably thank you, Lightning Dust.” Lotus said, “You have certainly been a big help.”

“Don’t mention it.” Lightning said humbly, “I’m just doing what I can to help you girls out. After all, you preps deserve more than you get.”

Lightning Dust left the preppies as their egos increased more and more. The pegasus calmly made her way down the stairs and out of the gym. As soon as the gym doors closed behind her, she burst out laughing,

“Oh, those narcissistic bastards are too easy.”

> Chp 11: Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editors: Sandvich Brony, LavenderWallflower

Manticore Academy has a lot of pride for its library. After all, there are only a couple of schools that have a library with countless shelves packed with books ranging from novels to theoretical physiology. The walls were dark green and there were large, wooden columns that supported the floors above. At the very top of the library was a large skylight that made up most of the ceiling. The ground level consisted of cubicles and tables for students to sit and read the books from the surrounding shelves. At the center was a counter where an elderly, vulture-like pegasus librarian was making marks on an ancient ledger. There were spiraling staircases that led to the upper levels of the library, where the more advanced books were kept. It was such a wondrous place.

However, the library was nearly empty today as it was a Saturday and the students of the academy decided to have some fun. The only ponies that were spending their weekend in the library were sitting in a round table together on the ground floor. One of them was Twilight Sparkle, who took the liberty to stack the table with all sorts of books. She had a small smile on her face as she read a book about the theory of trans-dimensional travel. Across from her was a massively bored looking Rainbow Dash. The pegasus kept glancing around the vacant library as though hoping something exciting would happen. Alas, nothing exploded and nopony wanted to challenge her into a fight, so she went back to skimming a book she picked at random; ‘Famous Quotes Across History’.

Dash sighed as she stretched, wondering how long she’s been sitting. She looked toward a giant wall clock. It read 12:05 am. Dash groaned; they have only been in the library for 5 minutes. She was beginning to wonder why she was even there, but the answer came quickly. It was because Twilight was her friend.

Ever since Dash’s little heart to heart with Scootaloo, the rainbow-haired pegasus realized that she had also neglected her other friends when she was off on her crusade to find Lightning Dust. Feeling like a complete jerk, Dash decided to change that and actually hang out with the few friends she made.

The first on her list was Pinkie Pie, who Dash hasn’t had much face time with since Nightmare Night. Of course, hanging out with the head cheerleader usually meant having some confrontations with the jocks. The ‘Rulers of the School’ weren’t fond of Rainbow as she was now buddy-buddy with the nerds, but they kept their distance as a sign of mutual respect to her athleticism. Pinkie Pie was thrilled when Dash started to hang out with her (from what Dash understood, she was one of the few friends Pinkie got a chance to hang out with besides the jocks). The girls’ definition of hanging out usually meant pranking the students, teachers, and citizens of towns. Their pranks consisted of sneezing powder, stink bombs, and tying bits to the end of a string of a fishing rod.

Then there were the bullies, who weren’t exactly bullies anymore. Their definition of hanging out usually meant the bullies watching Gilda and Rainbow racing around the school or the town. Dash’s relationship with the clique recently improved when the pegasus saved Bon Bon and Lyra from getting busted by the prefects after spray painting the headmistress’s portrait. And by saving, it meant Dash sucker punching the prefect while the bullies ran away. After that, Dash was practically a member of the family.

The last group of friends was the nerds. The intellectually buff ponies were easily the faction that was the friendliest with Rainbow. While Dash wasn’t interested when they were discussing statistics, she was interested when video games and comic books, the only literature and art she enjoyed, were brought up.

Today, the nerds were talking about going to their own little club at the comic book shop at Manticore town. They invited Rainbow to join, and she asked who else was going. The nerds said everypony was going, except for Twilight, who was going to be busy studying for her upcoming tests, which wouldn’t be administered until the week before winter break. Not wanting for Twilight to be alone, Dash declined the nerds offer and joined the nerds’ leader at the library. Now, Dash was wondering whether being a good friend also meant having to suffer in her own personal Tartarus.

Half an hour had passed and things were not getting better. Dash was trying to comprehend the words that famous, elderly ponies once said, but her eyes were slowly drooping.

“Rainbow Dash, are you O.K?”

Dash looked up to see a slightly concerned looking Twilight. Dash yawned, “I’m fine, Twi. I’m just trying to figure out why you like books so much?”

Twilight smiled, “I find books fascinating because I see them as doorways. They’re doorways to information, the past, and the possible futures. And that’s just barely scratching the surface of non-fiction. There are also the fiction books that tell us tales of adventure, romance, and tragedies. All of these, and more, are what books have to show us.”

Dash only blankly stared at the unicorn. The pegasus doubted that she would ever find somepony else who loved books as much as Twilight. After a moment of silence, Twilight cleared her throat,

“Although, I can understand that there are ponies who aren’t as infatuated with books as I am. So,” She closed her book, “why don’t we take a break?”

Dash’s ears perked up at the sound of “break”, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I believe if we take one now, we should have,” Twilight did some quick calculations in her head, “seventeen minutes and thirty nine seconds. That way, we can still squeeze in some re-review.”

“I’ll take it!” Dash said happily as she slammed her book shut. This earned her a ‘shush’ from Twilight and the librarian. Dash smiled an apology as she stretched her arms and wings.

“Excuse me, darlings. Do you have a moment?”

Twilight and Dash looked up and the sight wiped the grins off their faces. Standing in front of them, with an air of authority, was the preppies’ manager and leader.

“Rarity,” Dash said suspiciously. She didn’t exactly trust Rarity after she gave her the beach clubhouse, which was more of a punishment than a reward, “what brings you here?”

“I’m actually looking for you.” Rarity said with a smile, “Although I must say, this is the last place I would think to find you.”

“Well, I guess I’m full of surprises.”

“I’m sure you are.” Rarity said. She then observed Dash’s clothing, which was a regular shirt and jeans. The prep giggled slightly before turning to Twilight. She extended her hand to the nerd, “Hello, I do believe we have never been properly introduced. I’m Rarity, and I do believe you are Twilight Sparkle.”

“Um, yes I am.” Twilight said suspiciously as she took the preppy’s hand. Like Dash, Twilight was also weary of Rarity, “How did you know?”

“Well, from all the books you have on your table and the fact that you are indoors studying on a beautiful day, I can deduce that you are Twilight: the highest ranking student in our fair academy. I must say that it is an honor to meet you.”

“Oh, um, thanks.” The intellectual unicorn said with a smile.

“And I’m sure you have a wonderful personality.” Rarity added.

Twilight’s smile vanished at the last remark and she rolled her eyes before returning to her book.

“Rarity, why are you here?” Dash said impatiently.

“Like I said before, I was looking for you. You see, a couple of us senior members in our club are having a little get-together at my home and, after your victory in our tournament, we decided to invite you. Our soiree starts in half an hour, but if you want to get there early, there is a limousine waiting for you in front of the school. We’ll see you there.”

Without waiting for a response, Rarity walked past the two ponies and exited the library.

“You’re not thinking about going there, are you?” Twilight asked the pegasus.

“Not really. I’m not much of a ‘soiree’ girl.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Twilight leaned closer, “You do know about the increase in preppy violence, right?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

“For the past couple of days, a lot of the preppies have stepped up their ‘secret’ campaign of fear. It used to be just once or twice a month that they would harass somepony, but now it’s almost three times a day. Something tells me that this invitation is a trap for you.”

“Well I’m not a pony who would deny another pony a challenge. But how do you know all about there 'secret' campaign', Twi?”

The unicorn shrugged, “It’s not that difficult to get information in this school. The only thing a pony needs is to be observant.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Rainbow said before standing up from her chair, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to a soiree.”

“What?!” Twilight cried in shock, earning herself a menacing glare from the librarian, “You’re still going?”

“Well, duh.” Dash said as she walked to the door, “Like you said, the preppies are bullying a lot of ponies. Since nopony has confronted them yet, I’ll do it.”

“But-but-but.” Twilight stammered. She was flabbergasted that anypony would willingly go into a trap. Dash had walked out of the library when Twilight leaped from her chair and followed the athletic pegasus.

“Do you really think it is wise to go by yourself?” Twilight asked as the two walked the pathway that lead to the front of the school.

“Chill out, Twilight. I’ve already beaten those snobby chuckleheads before. The only difference this time is that there is no ring and I have more freedom to fight.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to have some backup?”

“I doubt it. Besides, there isn’t enough time. If I don’t go now, then the preppies will probably change their plan. You see, I have the advantage. I know that it is a trap, so they just lost the element of surprise. That means that now I have the element of surprise because they don’t know that I know.”

“I still say this is the most illogical approach. But, I can see that you are set on going. So,” Twilight and Dash stopped between the two archways that lead to the boys’ and girls’ dorm, “I’m coming with you.”

There was a moment of silence before Dash tilted her head in confusion, “What?”

“You heard me.” Twilight said confidently, “Since you want to act so foolhardy, I’ll come along and improve your chances of success.”

Dash smiled appreciatively and sympathetically, “No offense, Twilight, but you’re not exactly a force to be reckon with. You’re more like the force’s smaller, scrawnier little sister. But,” Dash added as Twilight’s brow became more furrowed, “you’re the more intelligent one. You’re great with thinking, but not so much fighting. So, I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to tag along”

“While I accept your hypothesis, I reject your conclusion.” The unicorn grinned. Her horn began to glow with a dark pink aurora. Then, above her right jean pocket, the same pink aurora glowed and a leather pouch suddenly appeared. Twilight unzipped the pouch and pulled out a small firecracker.

“So, you’re a pyro?” Dash asked confusedly as she stared at the fire cracker.

“No, but I am well read.” Twilight said with a hint of pride, “This is a firecracker I designed. Watch.” Twilight pulled off the fuse on the fire cracker and she then tossed it into the air. After about 5 seconds, it exploded.

“Nice.” Dash complemented as she saw the remains fall back to the ground.

“Thank you.” Twilight said graciously, “I designed them to exert the same force baseball players would exert when swinging their bats. These are safer than regular firecrackers as they don’t blow off your fingers. However, they can still break your fingers if you’re not careful. Now, wait here while I go to my room and get more. I’ll be back in 10 seconds flat.”

“Hey, that’s copyrighted by me.” Dash joked as Twilight ran past her and toward the dorm. As soon as the doors of the dorm closed behind the unicorn, Rainbow turned and continued to walk toward the front of the school.

“Sorry, Twilight, but you’re not getting into trouble if I can stop it.” Dash thought aloud.

Rainbow reached the gates of the school and saw a long, black limousine on the curb. The pegasus stared at the vehicle wondrously for a few seconds. Dash had never actually seen a car in real life. The vehicles were some new inventions that were to replace the usual chariot, much to the dismay of all chariot pullers who would no doubt lose their jobs to the machines. Rainbow didn’t really comprehend how they worked. All she knew was that they were powered by science and magic, and that only the rich ponies are actually able to afford one.

After a moment or so, the front door of the limo opened and an elderly unicorn in a suit came out. He walked toward the pegasus,

“Excuse me,” he said in a formal tone that was alien to the rainbow-haired pegasus, “but may you happen to be Madam Rainbow Dash?”

“Um, yeah.” Dash said, slightly confused by the ‘Madam’ part.

The driver bowed, “Then allow me to escort you to the house of Lady Rarity for this afternoon’s event.” He walked to the back of the limo and held the door open. Dash shrugged, deciding to roll with this strange treatment, and she nodded thanks to the driver as she entered the car.

The inside of the limo reminded of Dash of the ones she’d seen on T.V. The back of the compartment was a regular, 3 pony seat while there was a long row of seats that took up a side of the car. The seats were a velvet cover and Dash could only guess they were made of some foreign material. On the other side was a mini fridge and next to it was a large set up of speakers. The thing that caught Dash by surprised wasn’t the material, but the other pony already sitting inside.

The pony was no doubt a preppy, but the only clue to that was the fact that she could afford to be inside a limousine. She was a unicorn whose cyan and cobalt blue hair was spiked and wild, completely opposite of other prep’s hair style. She had large, violet opaque goggles covering her eyes and white headphones around her neck. Unlike the aquaberry vest that the preppies always wore, this pony wore a sleeveless, white hoodie with cut jeans.

The pony was bobbing her head to unheard music when she turned her head to see Rainbow at the door. She grinned,

“Well if it isn’t the girl of the hour. Take a seat.” She said, patting the seat next to her.

Rainbow eyed the preppy suspiciously before taking her seat.

“Yo, James,” The preppy told her driver, “let’s get this party rolling.”

“Of course, Madam Smith.”

The preppy winced, “Please don’t call me that.”

“I’m sorry, Madam Smith,” The chauffer bowed apologetically, “but your parents have explicitly stated that I am to call you by your birth name.” With that, he closed the door. The preppy, Smith, sighed exasperatedly,

“Ignore what James said,” she said as the vehicle began to move, “Call me Vinyl, Vinyl Scratch. Or you can call me by my stage name, DJ-PON3. Want a drink?”

Before Rainbow could answer, Vinyl reached over to her mini fridge and pulled out two bottles. Dash was expecting some high-class beverage with a funny name, but instead she got regular cans of flat apple cider.

“Just because it isn’t expensive, doesn’t mean it isn’t great.” Vinyl said to answer Dash’s unspoken question. The prep opened her can and the pegasus watched in amazement as Vinyl drained the can in one go. She then tossed aside her empty can and pulled out a remote from her pocket,

“You like tunes?”

Rainbow shrugged, “Depends, what kind of tunes?”

Vinyl grinned, “The best kind.” She hit play on her remote and the back part of the limo exploded with music.

“Huh, Dubstep.” Dash said as she bobbed her head to the music, “I didn’t think you preps were into the stuff.”

“Yeah, everypony else doesn’t think Dubstep is ‘couth’ enough. Even if it isn’t, it still kicks large amounts of flank. You know, I actually created this song.”

“Really?”

“I don’t call myself DJ-PON3 just for kicks.”

“Pretty impressive. All I have to say your music does kick flank.”

Vinyl smiled, “You know what; you’re alright.”

Dash reached into the mini fridge and pulled out another apple cider, “You’re still taking me to the trap, right?”

“Sorry, but yeah. We’re gonna have to knock you down a peg.”

Dash grinned, “Good luck with that.”

The two continued to listen to the music as the limousine turned a corner and was met with large gates. After a pause, the gates opened and the limousine entered Manticore Hills. Dash stared out of the windows of the vehicle and caught glimpses of cobblestone walls, Beyond the walls were large, white houses that looked like mid-sized mansions. There were a couple of rich ponies out on the curb either talking with each other or jogging. Dash found it interesting that there were no sign of graffiti, the houses were in tip top shape, and all of the ponies, even the joggers, wore expensive looking clothes.

The limousine pulled up in front of one of the houses in Manticore Hill. Through the window, Dash saw the house pass the brick wall with a black, metal gate. It was the same design as the other houses, but at a much grander scale. The front yard had a road that was decorated with small statues of what appeared to be the gnomes. The freshly mowed lawn was split by the small road and the lawn was decorated with a number of plants, both planted and potted.

“We have arrived.” The chauffeur said.

“Thanks,” Vinyl said as she and Dash exited the limo, “you can pick me up in about an hour or so.”

“Of course, Madam Smith. Please enjoy yourself responsibly.”

The chauffer drove off, leaving the two girls by themselves. After the limo was out of sight, Vinyl led Rainbow to the gates. The unicorn banged on the gate three times,

“Lucy, I’m home.” Vinyl announced. The gates opened and she walked in with Dash at her heel. The athlete was impressed with how much more grand the property looked from inside the gate. However, she only got a second of peaceful sightseeing before Aloe and Lotus, who were hiding behind the brick wall, ambushed her. The earth ponies came from opposite directions; Aloe grabbed Dash’s left arm while Lotus grabbed the right arm.

“Well, that was easier than I thought.” Aloe commented as she tightened her grip on the pegasus.

“Indeed,” Lotus said, “I did not figure Rainbow would be this dense.”

Dash scoffed, “Alright girls, you had your fun, but I have to warn you; you must at least be an awesome level of eight to be this close to me. You two are around negative two, so…”

Rainbow swung her head back and head-butted Aloe. As the earth pony’s grip loosened slightly, Dash slipped her left arm from the hold and smashed her elbow into the preppy’s chin. As she began to turn around and punch Lotus, the preppy had already smashed her fist into the pegasus’s gut.

“Give me a hand!” Lotus ordered Vinyl as she tried to hold onto the fighting athlete.

Vinyl clapped her hands and chanted moral support. Lotus raised an eyebrow and the DJ shrugged, “Sorry, but I can’t.”

“Why not?!” Lotus cried. Aloe had managed to recover from her daze and began to help her sister.

“Because she has good taste in music.” Vinyl replied, “What kind of douche artist would I be if I beat up a fan?”

Lotus rolled her eyes as she and Aloe finally managed to get a hold on Rainbow. Just as they were catching their breath, Dash flapped her wings and began to ascend. The prep sisters were now using all of their strength to keep their grip on Rainbow and their feet on the ground.

“Let me go!” Rainbow demanded as she flapped her wings vigorously, “You two are really heavy!”

The sisters stared at Dash indignantly. They opened their mouths when an angry voice cried, “What is going on here?!”

Everypony turned to see Colgate entering the premise. Her arms were crossed and she wore a disapproving look.

“Aloe, Lotus, you two had only one job!” she cried exasperatedly.

“Then why don’t you help us with that one job!” Lotus said as her feet briefly left the ground. Colgate sighed and pulled down on Dash’s legs. The pegasus tried to wiggle her way out of the hold. As she was doing this, a shadow began to form above Dash. Rainbow soon noticed the shadow and looked up, only to have a shoe plant itself on her face.

Rainbow went crashing back to the driveway. As soon as she was grounded, Lotus, Aloe, and Colgate started to kick and stomp the rainbow-haired girl. Much to her chagrin, Dash was only able to curl up in a ball and cover her face.

After about a minute, the preps stopped and picked up Dash by her arms. Dash raised her head and saw the pony that the shoe belonged to.

“Hello there,” Lightning Dust said sincerely, “You must be Rainbow Dash. My name is Lightning Dust”

Dash’s pupils constricted and she was filled with new energy and rage.

“Let me go!” Dash struggled again, “Let me go right now, and I promise to leave you preps alone forever!”

“Sorry Dash,” Aloe said, “but it’s too late for forgiveness.”

“I don’t care about your forgiveness!” Dash shouted, “Just let me go!”

“Hey,” Lightning said as she looked around, completely ignoring Dash, “where’s Rarity?”

“She is out shopping in town.” Colgate answered, “She did not like our plan for Dash, so she decided to take her mind off it by buying new fabric.”

Lightning nodded in acknowledgement and then stared at Dash. Their eyes met and Lightning had a brief sneer before it returned to a humble smile.

“Can I ask you three a favor?” Lightning ask the preps.

“What is it?” Lotus asked.

Lightning began to retreat further into the yard, “Do you mind letting Rainbow Dash go?”

Everypony in the vicinity raised an eyebrow.

“Um, why?” Vinyl asked.

“Well, look at her.” Lightning gestured to Dash, “It seems pretty obvious that she wants to fight me.”

The preps turned their heads to Dash and they finally realized that the athlete was furious.

“Okay, I have a follow up question.” Vinyl said, “Why the buck does she look so pissed to see you?”

Lightning shrugged, “I have no idea. But, she’s mad, and she wants to fight me. So do you mind if I get a chance to fight her? After all, an enemy of yours is an enemy of mine.”

Colgate turned to Aloe and Lotus for confirmation. They all nodded and Colgate said, “Alright, we’ll give you five minutes, but then she’s ours.”

“Great.” Lightning said loudly, she was now quite a distance away from the other ponies, “Oh, and do you mind not interrupting the fight. No matter what, don’t intervene in the next five minutes.”

If the preppies looked confused, they didn’t let on. They just shrugged and released Rainbow. As soon as their grip loosened, Dash went torpedoing toward Lightning Dust. She brought her fist back and then launched it forward. Before Dash’s move hit, Lightning Dust turned around, flapped her wings, and brought up her leg. The pegasus roundhouse kick got a clean shot on Dash’s cheek and it sent her sprawling to the ground.

“You fall for that move every time.” Lightning chuckled lightly. Now that the two were out of ear shot from the preps, the amber-haired pegasus’s old persona returned.

Rainbow quickly got on her feet, “Why are you here?” She threw a jab.

Lightning dodged, “Isn’t it obvious? I came to see my favorite pegasus.” She countered with a left straight and Dash blocked it. Lightning blinked, “Huh, it looks like you got a little better. But still,” Lightning followed up with a combination of left and right hooks, “you don’t have anything on me. You never had, and you never-”

Rainbow ducked the left hook and punched Dust in her gut. She then followed up with an uppercut and Lightning Dust stumbled backward from the force. Lightning had a look of absolute shock.

“I’m sorry; did I break your concentration?” Dash grinned. She was currently in a state of ecstasy. After so many years of holding back the feelings of anger and betrayal, this was the perfect moment to let it all out.

Lightning Dust, however, wasn’t paying any attention to Dash. She kept massaging her chin, wondering how Dash managed to hit her. Dust was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the haymaker until it collided with her face. Lightning regained her balance and locked eyes with Dash. The amber-haired pegasus took a running start toward the other. Rainbow stood her ground and waited for the expected punch. However, instead of punching, Dust flapped her wings jumped in the air, and did a spinning kick, knocking down the athlete.

“And the universe is restored to its proper order.” Lightning grinned. She sauntered to Dash and got ready to stomp on her, but Rainbow quickly got to her knees and performed a pegasus leg sweep. Dust was caught off guard and she fell to the ground. Dash hurriedly climbed on top of Lightning and trapped her arms under her, Dash’s, legs. She grabbed Lightning’s collar,

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” Dash grinned. With her free hand, the rainbow-haired pegasus punched Lightning in the face repeatedly. After the fifth hit, Lightning Dust lips quivered. After the sixth hit, she began to giggle uncontrollably.

Dash stopped punching and she raised an eyebrow, “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry.” Lightning Dust giggled. Her face was now bruised from the hits, “It’s just that you are the cutest pony I have ever met! I mean, it’s just so adorable how this is probably the highest point of your life! It’s so sad that it’s funny and cute.”

“You want to talk about sad?” Dash snarled as she restarted her assault, “Then let’s talk about how you had to get friendly with the preps to get to me because you’re too scared to face me alone.”

Lightning Dust roared with laughter. Dash growled and stopped again, “What’s so funny now?!”

“You!” Lightning laughed, “It’s so funny how you think you’re actually important. Do you really think I would go through this much trouble just for you?! I was getting close to the preps before I sent Gilda after you. The only reason I’m here right now is because of the message you told Luna to pass on to me. I figured that you would be a thorn in my side, so I decided to get rid of you. And it wasn’t hard to get the preps angry at you, considering your personality.” She paused for a moment, “You know, if it wasn’t for the message, I probably would have forgotten all about you since you weren’t really anything special to begin with. It’s funny how life works like that.”

“You bucken ass!” Dash snapped. Her pride had taken a low blow from Lightning Dust’s words.

The amber-haired pegasus’s eyes widened slightly, “Whoa, Dash, no need to be racist. Oh, and by the way, the five minutes are up.”

“Screw the five minutes.” Dash’s punch nearly connected, but Lightning, who had finally wiggled her arms free, caught the punch and bent the fist backwards. Rainbow cried in pain and Dust punched the side of the athlete’s face, knocking her off.  Dash was on all fours, but Dust was already on her feet. Rainbow only had enough time to turn her head and feel Lightning’s foot connecting with her face. Rainbow was knocked onto her back, her right cheek burning with pain. She looked up and saw Lightning Dust with her smug grin,

“It’s been fun, but unlike you, I have things to do.” Lightning then smashed her foot on Dash’s nose. As Dash cried in pain, Lightning walk toward the preppies,

“She’s all yours.” Lightning said pleasantly. Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus grinned and smacked Lightning on the back as she walked past them. Vinyl, however, had her arms crossed and looked at Lightning reproachfully.

Dash slowly got to her feet as she tried to slow down the flow of blood coming from her nose. She saw Dust turn around, wink, and prepared to take flight.

“No you don’t, bitch.” Dash growled. She ran toward the other pegasus, but she was blocked by Aloe, Lotus, and Colgate.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aloe grinned. Dash, who was currently in a bad mood, said nothing and simply punched the preppy. She then followed up with a pegasus leg sweep and Aloe was down. Colgate went next and threw a haymaker. It connected and Rainbow fell down onto the lawn. The pegasus then dug her fingers into the lawn, pulled out a large chunk of dirt and mud, and she slammed it into Colgate’s face.

“Oh Faust!” the unicorn shouted, “It’s in my eyes!” Dash then shoved her out of the way and proceeded to Lotus. The preppy had her guard up and was ready for anything. Dash then noticed that she was standing next to a line of garden gnomes. She picked up the closest one and held it in front of her.

“Move or else I bash this thing against your head.” Dash threatened.

Lotus’s eyes widened in fear, “Put that down now!” She cried, “Rarity will kill us if anything happened to it!”

Dash raised an eyebrow and curiously looked at the gnome.  For a second, she wondered whether it was a gnome at all. Compared to all of the other, perfectly crafted gnomes, the thing in her hand looked more like an oval with strange markings on it. She couldn’t even tell whether she was holding it right-side up.

“Okay, I gotta know; why does Rarity care so much about this thing?”

“It was a present.” Lotus answered panicky, “It was a present from her sister.”

“Well then, if you don’t want Rarity on your flank,” Dash turned around, “then you better go catch it.” And she chucked the gnome as hard as she could.

Lotus screamed and tore after the flying object. Dash made her way to the gate, only to have Vinyl stand in her way.

“Sorry Dash, but I can’t let you pass.” She raised her fist.

Dash scoffed, “Try and stop me.” She then flapped her wings and flew above Vinyl and passed the gates.

“Son of a bitch!” Vinyl shouted as Dash soared through the sky. Rainbow then picked up her speed and was soon high above the middle of Manticore Ville. She scanned the sky for a couple of minutes for any sign of Lightning Dust, but there were none.

“Damn it.” Dash said to herself, “You had her, and you just let her go. Damn it!” she repeated. Deciding that it was useless to continue searching for Dust at the moment, Dash glumly flew back to Manticore Academy.

Before long, Dash landed in front of the academy with her head held down. She walked to the gates and heard somepony clear their throat. She looked up and saw a very stern looking Twilight.

Dash then realized how bad she must have looked with her bruised face and bloody nose, but she was not in a mood for a lecture. So she returned Twilight’s look with a nonchalant look of her own. They both continued to stare at one another until Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“I’ll go and get the nurse.”
 
> Chp 12: And it keeps going and going...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editors:Sandvich Brony, LavenderWallFlower


Junebug was running for her life in the streets of Manticore Town. Right behind her was Drizzle, a pegasus nerd with dull saffron hair. The two nerds rounded a corner and tore down the sidewalk. They were about to round another corner when Colgate appeared behind it. The nerds immediately stopped and ran back in the direction they came from, only to see Vinyl Scratch blocking their path. The preppy jerked her head to the left and Junebug turned in that direction to see a dark alleyway.

“We’re trapped!” Drizzle said in a panicky voice.

“I noticed.” Junebug said, equally as panicky.

The two nerds were herded into the alley, which was jammed with trashcans that was brimming with, well, trash. They walked for a couple of yards until the preps were sure that they would not be seen. Then Colgate grabbed Junebug and pinned her to the left wall and Vinyl did the same to Drizzle on the right wall.

“We didn’t do it!” Drizzle squeaked the moment Vinyl pinned her to the wall.

“Relax,” the DJ said coolly, “We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want to talk.”

“Talk is cheap.” Colgate snarled.

“Come on, toothpaste, don’t be like that.”

Colgate took her eyes from Junebug and glared at Vinyl, who returned it with a friendly smile. Drizzle and Junebug looked confusedly at the two preppies. While Vinyl looked as though she didn’t have a care in the world, Colgate looked tensed and volatile.

“Anyways,” Colgate said as she returned her gaze back at the nerd, “Let’s get down to business.” She threw Junebug to the ground and stepped on her back, “I want you and your little friend to apologize to us.”

“Apologize to what?!” Drizzle exasperated, “Why are you even picking on us?”

“Yeah,” Junebug grunted as she tried to push against Colgate’s foot, “we didn’t do anything to you.”

“Oh, really?” Colgate said innocently, “Well then, I guess Vinyl and I misheard you when you called us, what was it again?” she snapped her fingers, “Oh, that’s right: ‘Contemptible, Callous, Cows’.”

“We’re sorry!” Drizzle said, “We didn’t know you were around!”

“Yeah, that doesn’t exactly make it better.” Vinyl said, but she sighed and grinned, “But you apologize, so I guess we’re done here.”

The unicorn released the pegasus and the nerd’s eyes widened in shock.

“Really?” She said, surprised that there wasn’t a scratch on her.

Vinyl shrugged, “Yeah, I’m not really the type who takes insults to heart. I usually just let it bounce off me. Come on, toothpaste, let’s get a move on.”

Vinyl began to walk, but stopped when she noticed Colgate hadn’t moved an inch from her position.

“Not yet.” She growled as she continued to glare at Junebug, “Not until she apologizes.”

“Come on Junebug, please.” Drizzle urged her friend.

Junebug looked at her friend, then the preppies, and sighed, “No, I won’t apologize.” Colgate chuckled emotionlessly as Junebug continued, “I won’t apologize for saying the truth. I am tired of being afraid of saying what I really feel. Maybe I’ll apologize to her,” she nodded toward the DJ, “because she seems sensible, but not to you, Colgate.”

Colgate’s irises shrunk and she stomped on Junebug. Almost immediately, Vinyl grabbed Colgate and pulled her away from the nerd while Drizzle, now looking fearful, hovered over Junebug protectively.

“Easy, Colgate, don’t blow a top.” Vinyl soothed.

“No, I had enough.” Colgate looked slightly deranged, “I will not be called callous, I will not be called a cow, and I will not be called SECOND-RATE!”

Junebug and Drizzle were momentarily confused by the ‘second rate’ part. As they pondered what it could mean, there was a sudden slurping sound. All four ponies turned and were surprised to see Lyra, drinking what appeared to be a milkshake. Next to her was Bon Bon, who was standing next to an open trashcan. The two ex-bullies were staring intently at the other four ponies.

“Oh, please, don’t mind us.” Lyra said.

“Yeah, pretend we’re not here.” Bon Bon said eagerly, “We really enjoy watching drama, and I really want to know what that ‘second-rate’ part was about.”

“Although,” Lyra nonchalantly stepped toward the other ponies, “I could do without the whole ‘beating up the nerds’ stick. I mean, if we have to stop doing it, then so should you.”

Colgate’s eye involuntarily twitched while Vinyl said the thing everypony was thinking, “What are you two doing here?”

Bon Bon answered by shoving her arm into the trashcan she was standing next to. She then pulled out a small black bag, “This is our stash of pranking gear. We’re gonna leave the football team a little surprise in their locker room.”

“Then why don’t you go and get on that.” Colgate said in a final tone.

Lyra scoffed, “Whoa, you don’t tell us what to do.”

“Yes I can because I was bred for it. Unlike you, who was bred just to keep breeding.”

Lyra chuckled lightly and rolled her head back. She then took the lid of her shake and tossed its content toward the preppy’s face. Colgate gasped as her face and cashmere sweater dripped with the white substance.

Lyra giggled, “Hey, Bon Bon, look, she’s all wet and covered in white. Is it Saturday night already?”

Vinyl punched herself in a stomach to stop herself from laughing. Colgate, however, took a deep breath and punched Lyra in the face. The bully unicorn went sprawling to the ground as Colgate closed in. Bon Bon quickly stepped in, but Vinyl pushed her aside,

“Hold up there. It wouldn’t be a one-on-one if you stepped in. But if you still want to fight, I’m available.”

Bon Bon growled and lunged at Vinyl. The bully threw a wild hook and Vinyl easily dodged it. The prep then threw two successful jabs and grounded the earth pony with a knee to the gut. As Bon Bon fell, Lyra fell next to her, her face covered in bruises.

As the preps closed in, they felt something hit their heads from behind. They turned and saw the two nerds standing up, holding pieces of trash as weapons.

“Leave them alone.” Junebug and Drizzle they both said at the same, most of their fear now gone.

Vinyl looked impressed, and Colgate looked livid,

“Look at this, Vinyl,” she said, “The nerds want to be heroes. Well let me tell you something about heroes-”

Colgate suddenly stopped and fell face first to the ground. Everypony’s mouth dropped and they saw a single marble rolling next to the downed preppy’s head.

Everypony turned to the direction from where the marble came from and they smiled. Vinyl shouted, “Hey, long time no see! How’s my favorite fan doing?”

Colgate, who was slowly getting to her feet, stopped moving when she heard Vinyl say ‘fan’. Her eyes widened in horror, “No, please Faust not her.”

She rubbed the back of her head as she stood and turned around. She saw who the assailant was and screamed, “Rainbow Dash!”

“I love it when my admirers say my name.” Dash said arrogantly as she strode to the small group. She was holding the slingshot that Twilight gave her. She then pulled out a marble from her pocket, aimed her slingshot, and fired the small object. It struck Colgate on her forehead and she recoiled.

“Nice shot.” Vinyl complemented.

“Thanks, V.” Rainbow Dash replied with a friendly tone.

Everypony else stared agape at the two; since when was Rainbow Dash a friend of a preppy? Colgate was the first to voice out everypony’s confusion,

“Vinyl,” she said calmly and coldly, “do you have some information you wish to indulge?”

The DJ shrugged, “No, not really.”

Colgate glared at Vinyl and Rainbow Dash until the preppy got the message,

“What? That Dash here is my acquaintance?” Vinyl said confusedly.

“So this harlot is your friend?!”

“Friend is kind of a strong word. I still think she’s a complete tool, but she’s kind of okay. She has great taste in music.” Vinyl added slyly.

“Oh, Vinyl, thanks again for the iPod.” Rainbow said, grinning at the expression on Colgate’s face, “I really like track 6.”

“You’ve been giving her presents?!” Colgate practically exploded.

“Yep.” Vinyl responded nonchalantly, “After the whole fiasco at Rarity’s house, I bumped into Dash on the street. We talked; she said she liked my music, so I gave her my old iPod with my first attempts at Dubstep.” She turned to Dash, “You should listen to track 13; that’s where I find my sound.”

“Cool.” Dash smiled.

“Okay, I’m done.” Colgate said exhaustingly. She patted away the dirt she got on her clothe from the fall, “I’m done.” She repeated, “I am not going to let that rainbow slacker push my buttons anymore. We’re leaving Vinyl.”

“Hold you horses.” The athlete said as she got closer to the preppies, “You’re not going anywhere.”

Colgate rolled her eyes and stared at the bane of her life, “And why is that?”

Dash looked toward Junebug, Drizzle, Bon Bon, and Lyra, who were nursing their wounds, “I can’t let their bully walk away without a scratch, now can I?”

Colgate and Dash took a step toward each other, but Vinyl stepped in between them. She then turned to Dash, “Whoa there, Skittles.” Vinyl chuckled at her own joke, “Let’s take a step back and do something I rarely do; calm down. I’m all for a good slobber-knocker, but you two will probably turn this into second-degree murder. So, Colgate, come on and we’ll get you some nice apple cider, or that other fruity stuff you like.”

Slowly, very slowly, Colgate let Vinyl herd her away from the athlete and there were soon walking out of the alley. Rainbow, wanting to get the final say, shouted to the preppies, “Hey, have fun trying to get your parent’s approval.”

From a distance, she could see Vinyl laughing, but was quickly silence by a smack from Colgate. The DJ then turned around and shouted back, “We will! Have fun with welfare!” And with that, the preppies were gone.

“Thanks for the save, Rainbow.” Junebug said while Drizzle vigorously shook the athlete’s hand.

“Yeah, you helped us in a jam.” Lyra said and Bon Bon nodded in agreement.

Rainbow smiled humbly, or at least tried to, “What can I say? I’m just that kind of mare.”

“But how did you know what the preppies were doing?” Drizzle asked, “And how did you know where to find us?”

“You see, my dear nerd,” Dash loved all of the attention, “when you become as amazing as I am, you will get a six sense. I call this six sense the Hero Sense. Now, with my hero sense, I was able to hear your-”

“You were walking around and just got lucky, didn’t you?” Junebug said shrewdly.

…

“Okay,” Dash said slowly, her bravado now gone, “That is the less awesome version of the story. My version was way cooler, but whatever.”

Everypony laughed at Rainbow’s expense. Lyra picked up her milkshake cup; she sighed, “What a waste of a good drink.”

Bon Bon patted Lyra reassuringly, “Don’t worry; we’ll get you another one.”

“And these two will pay.” Dash said enthusiastically as she pointed to the two nerds.

Junebug and Drizzle were dumbstruck by this proclamation. They were about to voice their confusion, but Rainbow silenced them and ushered them toward the bullies,

“You girls really need to start hanging out with each other. I didn’t work my flank off trying to stop the bullies from messing with the nerds just so they could ignore each other.”

“You know,” Drizzle said thoughtfully, “she’s right.”

“She is?” Lyra asked.

“Yep, so why don’t you let Junebug and I treat you two. Think of it as our way of saying thanks for stopping Colgate from rearranging our faces.”

The bullies shrugged, “Sure, why not.”

Everypony left the alley way, with the nerds and the bullies going one way and Rainbow Dash going the other way.

“You’ve done well, Dash, you’ve done well.” Rainbow told herself as she wandered around the town aimlessly, “I should get a medal.”

As the pegasus contemplated what other awards she should get, she heard two familiar voices up ahead,

“I keep telling you that I have no control over the prices! If you’re upset, then speak to the management.”

“Don’t lie! It was one bit yesterday, and now two bits today! Just because I’m nice now doesn’t mean I won’t throttle ponies that try to take advantage of me.”

Dash ran toward the voices. She turned a corner and she found herself standing in front of a store with a green sign that read, ‘Convenience: We sell everything!’ The sign had a giant bit over the motto. Dash looked up and saw Gilda flying a couple of feet above. She was dangling the nerd Sparkler by her legs.

“Well,” Dash said loudly, catching the attention of the other two, “looks like you two are getting along just fine.”

“Sup, Dash,” Gilda said casually, “Give me one second while I deal with this dweeb.”

“Rainbow,” Sparkler said. She tried to sound bored, but there was a hint of worry in her voice, “please tell this ignoramus to let me go.”

Oh, is that what you wanted?” Gilda said innocently, “Well why didn’t you just say so?”

Gilda released her grip and Sparkler plummeted to the ground. The nerd closed her eyes and screamed. Dash causally held out her arms and caught the falling nerd, who was still screaming. The pegasus noticed Sparkler was wearing a green apron that had a bit plastered on it; the nerd worked at the convenient store.

“Sparkler, calm down.” Dash chuckled at the scared nerd.

Gilda descended, muttering under her breath, “Drama queen.”

Sparkler slowly opened her eyes and finally stopped. She got off Dash’s arms with as much dignity as she could muster and bowed slightly, “Thank you, Dash.”

“You wouldn’t need her help if you didn’t try to rob me.” Gilda said

Sparkler was about to retort, but Dash placed a hand over the nerd’s mouth, “Okay, what the hay happened?”

“This little twerp wanted me to pay double the price for a bottle of soda.” The griffon said.

Sparkler removed the hand from her mouth and was about to say something, but Dash held up four bits,

“Two sodas, please.” Dash said. Sparkler smiled, took the money, and returned to her job.

“I don’t know why you baby them?” Gilda said, glaring at the place Sparkler stood, “There just annoying bastards who get an inflated ego if you let them.”

“They’re not that bad.” Dash defended, “They just don’t have a lot of practice with having confidence since it is always beaten out of them.”

“Oh, so now it’s my fault!” Gilda growled.

Dash raised an eyebrow, “Chill, Gilda. What’s up your flank?”

Gilda sighed, “It’s just not my day today. Not only do I have the nerd trying to con me, but earlier, a couple of preps tried to play me.”

“The preps? What did you do to them?”

“I don’t remember. All I know that the preppy twins walked up to me and started insulting me.”

“What did you do?”

“I don’t really know. My vision kind of turned red. When I could see again, the preps were gone. Although,” A small smile formed on the griffon’s face, “my fists were very sore afterwards.”

Sparkler returned to the two flyers and handed each of them a bottle of soda. She then handed Dash two bits.

“I gave you the employee’s discount.” Sparkler said.

Gilda, who was in mid-drink, spewed the soda, “What?! Why didn’t you give me the discount?”

“Because I like Dash more than I like you.” Sparkler said simply.

Gilda started toward the nerd, but Dash held up an arm.

“Fine.” Gilda said, backing away, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go blow off some steam. I’m gonna go pay the preppies a visit.” She turned to Dash, “Unless I can’t do that either?”

Dash smiled, “Go ahead. In fact, I encourage it.”

“Finally!” Gilda shouted, “I get to have some real fun now!” She stared at Dash for a second before saying, “Want to tag along? I like having a crowd to see how badflank I can get.”

“You know what,” Dash said thoughtfully, “I think I will come with you. It’s about time I take the fight back to the preps.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Gilda held up a hand and Dash high-fived it. The two felt invigorated by their upcoming battle.

“Is that all what you’re gonna do?” Sparkler asked the two, “Just beat them up?”

“Well, yeah.” Dash said, confused.

“That’s a bit disappointing, and pointless.” Sparkler said. She saw the other two’s expression and continued, “So you beat them up, then what? They’ll just beat you up and the cycle never ends.”

“So what do you want us to do? Go and give them hugs?” Gilda exasperated.

“Trust me, Sparkler,” Dash said, “I tried to be all buddy-buddy, but those rich snobs just don’t listen.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Sparkler said, “I’m talking about sending a message to them, and not a physical message. I remember a couple of years ago; there was this jock that was as cruel as they come. I’m talking about the type of jock that tortured every kid in the school. One day, he went after Twilight because she didn’t let him copy her homework. So, the jock dumped a vat of maple syrup and a bucket of feathers on her during lunch.”

“Amusing, but why are you telling us this?” Gilda asked.

“And can you give me the name of the jock that pranked Twilight?” Dash said, cracking her fist, “I think I’ll give the guy a visit.”

“That won’t be necessary, Dash.” Sparkler said. She turned to Gilda, “And I’m getting to it. Anyways, Twilight decided to get even, and she didn’t need brute force. So that night, she snuck into the boys’ dormitory, hacked her way into the jock’s room, and covered the entire place in the frilliest things imaginable. She then dolled up the jock and took a lot of pictures. And she finished her revenge by super gluing fake teeth and goofy glasses on him. When the jock woke up, he found his room covered in pink and large pictures of himself and his costume plastered all over the school. He was so embarrassed that he had to transfer out. Boy,” Sparkler sighed as she looked up nostalgically, “that was a good day to be a nerd.”

…

Sparkler turned her gaze back at Dash and Gilda, who had their mouths opened.

“What?” Sparkler asked.

“So you’re saying,” Dash said, “that Twilight, our Twilight, pulled the greatest and most traumatic prank in Manticore Academy history.”

“Yep.”

“I’m kind of disappointed.” Gilda said, “Here I thought I was a menace to the little nerd, but she didn’t even come after me like she did with the jock. Then again, she could have been scared.”

Sparkler rolled her eyes, “First off, Twilight mellowed out as she got older. She became less of a psychopath and more of a sociopath. Secondly, what makes you think she doesn’t have dirt on you, Gilda?”

Gilda blew a raspberry, “Like she can even touch-”

“May 16th of last year.”

Gilda thought about the date for a second before her face became red, “How in Tartarus did she-”

“Don’t worry; she won’t do anything with it. She probably would have eventually if Dash hadn’t come and calmed you down a bit. Anyways, I’m telling you two this because you have to be more creative if you really want to hurt your opponent.”

Dash pondered, “The preps really love their image…”

“So let’s trash their gym.” Gilda insisted.

“That’s not big enough. I say we trash one of their homes.” A light bulb flickered on in Dash’s head, “I say we send a message by trashing Rarity’s house!”

“The fashionista?”

“Yeah, she’s their leader. So we hurt the leader, we hurt the whole clique.” Dash turned to Sparkler, “Can you get us everything you can that can deface a house?”

“I’ll get it with a smile!” Sparkler said excitedly as she rushed into the store, leaving behind a very eager looking Dash and Gilda.

> Chp 13: And it keeps getting worse and worse...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity took a step back and admired her work, “Oh Rarity, you are a gem.” She said proudly, “There are not many mares who can turn their father’s conference room into a welcome back party.”

Unlike a Pinkie Pie Party, a Rarity party, or soirée, was more elegant and tamed. Silk banners hung all around the room, beautiful plants decorated the corners, and there were paintings of the senior boxing members in their glory hanging around the room. On the long, mahogany table, which was surrounded by leathery chairs, was an assortment of finger foods, drinks, and small gift for the members once they arrived. Hanging over the tables was a giant banner that said, ‘Welcome back, champion’.

The door opened and Rarity turned around to greet her guest, “Hello, may-AHHH!”

Rarity cried in fear when she saw who was at the door; Sweetie Belle, who was covered in dirt from head to toe.

“Hi, Rarity!” The little unicorn said cheerfully. She then rushed to give her big sister a hug. Rarity, however, held up her hands defensively and back away quickly,

“Sweetie, what in heavens happened to you?!”

Sweetie looked down at her clothes, “Oh, you mean the dirt? I was helping out the gardeners. They say I have a green thumb, which means I’m good at gardening!” She added cheerfully.

“Well, I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself,” Rarity said sincerely as she slowly approached the little unicorn, “but does that mean you have to have a brown…everything? Do you remember what I always tell you about mares?”

“That they represent elegance and regality.”

“That’s my little sister.” Rarity said fondly as she briefly patted Sweetie’s head, “Now, go and clean off all of that dirt on you.”

“Afterwards, can we play?”

“We’ll see, Sweetie.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and walked out of the room. Rarity sighed; she wondered how she could make Sweetie Belle into a proper woman. Then, the door opened again. This time it was Aloe and Lotus who entered.

Rarity began to greet them, but then stopped when she got a good look at her friends. Aloe’s nose was bloodied and Lotus had a nasty black eye. They’re clothes and hair were disheveled and ripped. They slowly walked to their chairs, sat down, and gasped in pain before sighing in relief.

“Girls, what happened?!” Rarity said urgently as she used her magic to levitate some ice cubes from the punch bowl. She then wrapped them into two ice packs. She handed them to the twins.

“Thank you, Rarity.” They both said. They took their ice packs and placed them on their head.

“What happened?” Rarity repeated.

“Gilda happened.” Aloe moaned.

“The griffin? I thought she wasn’t bullying students anymore.”

“Well you could have fooled us.” Lotus barked.

Before Rarity could say anything else, Vinyl and Colgate entered. Colgate walked past everypony without saying a word, sat down, and slammed her head on the table. Vinyl, however, strutted in and stopped at the sight of the preppy twins. She burst out laughing,

“Oh my Faust! Hey, Rocky called, he’s pissed for what you two did to his face.”

The DJ dodged two ice packs from hitting her head,

“Whoa, chill out.” Vinyl walked to the twins and patted them on the back (she received painful glares), “Now seriously, who did this to you?”

“Gilda.” Aloe and Lotus said.

“Then you two wait here while I go give Gilda a little visit.”

“Simmer down, Vinyl.” Rarity said, “We can go and visit Gilda diplomatically later. Remember, we promised the champion we would be here when he arrived.”

“Screw the champion.” Colgate said suddenly as she slammed her hands on the table.

“Colgate!” Rarity said, scandalized.

“I say we all go right now to Gilda and beat that chicken senseless!”

…

“Colgate,” Rarity repeated slowly. She placed a comforting hand on the preppy, “calm down. You have nothing to prove.”

“Why do I have to prove myself?” Colgate said cynically, “Just because my father keeps pestering me about being perfect? Just because my father told me to stop doing things in a ‘second-rate’ nature in front of you all, my friends? Just because he wants a champion son-”

“Okay!” Vinyl said loudly, “Why don’t we put an end to this Greek tragedy?”

“Agreed.” Rarity said, “Colgate, you can’t let your life be ruled by your father.”

“Listen to the purple head.” Vinyl said, “I can’t tell you how many times my old man tells me to stop making complex noise.”

“Well…” Aloe said slowly.

“Shut up.” The DJ said quickly, “Anyways, Colgate, chill the buck out. Now, you stay here while I go down to the kitchen and make you some strong tea. Rarity, please make sure no one does anything stupid, because that’s my job.”

Vinyl left and Rarity took the seat next to her troubled friend. The purple-haired unicorn patted Colgate comfortingly while Aloe and Lotus said encouraging words to Colgate. Then Rarity’s phone beeped. She checked her new message:

Rarity, how the TARTARUS do I make tea???!!!

-Vinyl

________________________________________

“So, how do you want to play this?” Gilda asked Dash as the two stared up at Rarity’s house.

“We could always split-up.” Dash suggested, “You can work on the front while I work on the sides.”

“Why do you get to have more fun?”

“Because I have bigger beef with the preppies than you do.”

“Fine, but I call the spray cans.”

“Deal.” Dash grinned.

Gilda and Dash were each holding a bulging bag, courtesy of Sparkler. Gilda’s bag was filled with spray cans while Dash’s bag had cartons of eggs and a small bat.

“See you in about ten minutes.” Dash said as she made her way to the other side of the house, “Remember not to have too much fun.”

“You’re not the boss of me.” Gilda countered as she shook her spray cans and flew up.

Dash laughed and casually walked to the right side of the house. She stared up at the clean wall and grinned,

“To quote Berry Punch, ‘I’m going to enjoy this a lot more than I should’.”

The rainbow-haired pegasus began to launch egg after egg at the wall and windows. She saw that there were a couple of opened windows and took the liberty to enter them and splatter the room with yolk. After she was done with the right wall, she made her way to the backyard. On the way, she saw a couple of birdhouses and gnomes, and began smashing them with the small bat.

“Security here sucks.” Rainbow noted as she knocked off a gnome’s head off with one swing.

Dash reached the backyard, which was similar to the front yard except that it had a much bigger garden. She was cracking her fingers in preparation to pull out some plants when she heard somepony behind her,

“Dash? What are you doing here?”

The athlete turned around and saw Vinyl exiting the back door and approaching her.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “The better question is what are you doing here?”

“Making tea.”

“I would have never pegged you as a tea drinker. Anyways…” Dash took an egg and threw it at an open window.

“Whoa!” Vinyl cried, “Stop that!”

“Why?” Dash said innocently.

“Because Rarity will kill both of us and anypony in a one mile radius if she finds yolk in her room.”

“That was her room?” Dash giggled, “Score!”

“Sorry Dash, but I don’t have time for you.” Vinyl said, uncharacteristically somber, “So I’m gonna asked you politely to hit the road.”

“What if I don’t?”

Vinyl held her fist up.

Dash rolled her eyes, “Okay, I should warn you that I’ve beaten, like, every preppy in the school.”

“Then I should warn you that out of the senior members, I’m ranked number three.”

“Really? Then who’s number one?”

“Rarity.”

Rainbow burst out laughing, “Rarity?! Are you serious?! My Faust, you preps need help.” She sighed, “Alright, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll give you a chance to try to beat me.”

Vinyl charged and did a handstand flip. Her legs landed on Dash’s shoulders.

“What the-” Dash said, surprised.

Vinyl clamped her legs on Dash, the preppy twisted her entire body, and the pegasus was slammed to the floor with a loud crash.

“Had enough?” Vinyl said, grinning broadly as she got up and dusted herself off.

“Is that all you got?” Dash grunted. She quickly got to her feet and smiled, “Even if your number three with your friends, I’m number one in the whole school.”

Dash threw a haymaker and Vinyl dodged it. The preppy jabbed, but Rainbow ducked and then did a pegasus leg sweep, knocking the unicorn down. Dash aimed to kick Vinyl, but the prep rolled away and got back up. Dash threw a pegasus uppercut, but Vinyl jumped away and then came rushing back with a front kick, which hit Dash’s stomach. Rainbow doubled over and Vinyl did an uppercut. Dash didn’t think and reacted instinctively; she dodged to the right and then landed a vicious slap across Vinyl’s face.

Vinyl stood there and massaged her cheek with a shocked expression. She stared at Dash, “Really?”

“If it makes you feel better,” Dash said as she picked up her bag, “I feel ashamed that I slapped you like a wuss. I should have punched you instead.”

“Yeah because a slap is just a buzzkill.” Vinyl said annoyingly

“Sorry Scratchy, but I’ve got work to do.” Dash began to walk away, “So, bye-bye.”

Vinyl growled and ran to Dash, but the pegasus had one hand in the bag. As soon as the preppy was close, Dash took out the small baseball bat and smacked the unicorn’s face with it. Vinyl stood with a dazed look for a second before she flopped to the floor.

“I really hope you don’t get brain damage.” Dash said as she replaced her bat with eggs.

________________________________________

“What’s taking Vinyl so long?” Colgate said irritably.

“Simmer down,” Rarity said, “I’m sure Vinyl will be up here any second now.”

“It would have been a lot easier if you just sent the help.” Aloe said.

“I gave them all the day off so we could have our reunion in peace.” Rarity replied.

“Your help get days off?” Aloe said curiously.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow, “Well, yes. Don’t yours?”

Before anypony could answer, there was a splattering noise at the window across from them. Lotus, who was the closest to the window, inspected it.

“Something hit your window, Rarity.” The prep told everypony in the room. She inspected the substance closely, “It looks like a…an egg?”

She opened the window and looked below, but found nothing. She then looked above and her expression turned to irritably confused, “What are you doing here?!”

After she said that, her face was then covered in yolk and egg shells.

________________________________________

Rainbow snickered as Lotus retreated back into the room, asking for a towel. The pegasus swooped through the open window and into the room. All the preps stared at Dash with surprise, and Dash returned the look with an impish smile,

“This is gonna be good.” She said before pelting the preppies and the entire room with eggs. The rich ponies were so taken back that all they could do was take cover from the chaos while Dash laughed evilly. After Rainbow ran out of eggs, she looked around to admire her work,

“There’s probably a ‘yolks on you’ joke around here somewhere, but I’m just too cool to say it.” And with that, she jumped out of the window and flew to the front of the house, where Gilda was still hard at work.

“Yo, Gilda, you done yet?” Dash asked as she flew next to the griffin.

“You can’t rush perfection.” Gilda answered. Cries of rage began to emit from the preppy house and thundering footsteps could be heard. Before Dash could pester Gilda about hurrying up, the griffin stopped spraying the house and looked at her work, “Okay, now I’m done.”

Gilda and Dash took many steps back until they could see the whole picture, which took up half of the wall.

“What do you think?” Gilda said smugly as she dusted her hands off, “Is this the greatest piece of art or what?”

Dash was at a loss for words as she stared at the painting,

She gulped slightly, “Um, Gilda, is that Rarity?”

“Yup.”

“Is she…naked?”

“Yes.”

“What is she-how is she-why is she-” Dash was unable to form a coherent thought.

“Sorry Dash, I didn’t know your parents haven’t given you the talk.” Gilda said, holding back her laughter, “Let me just say that those things she’s holding aren’t brown bananas and she is not covered in whip cream.”

“Holy crap.” Dash said. After the image finally processed, she burst out laughing,

“OH MY FAUST!” she shouted between laughs, “Gilda! You are one, sick genius!”

“An artist always likes to hear her work being appreciated.” Gilda said, taking a small bow, “It wasn’t that hard to come up with the idea. I mean,” she gestured to her ‘masterpiece’, “Rarity is a rich unicorn girl with daddy issues. This stuff is probably second nature to her.”

The doors to the mansion flew open and out came Rarity, Aloe, Lotus, and Colgate; they were all now egg-free.

“You have one minute before I forcibly evict you from the premise!” Rarity yelled as she and her group closed in on the two flyers.

“Don’t get your panties in a knot.” Gilda said, “We’re leaving, but I have to say that I love what you did to your front wall.”

Gilda pointed to the house and the preps slowly turned around and they saw the art. Their jaws all dropped simultaneously.

“Rarity, I need to tell you something!”

Dash turned her vision from the preps to Vinyl, who was jogging to her comrades. The DJ seemed to still be dazed and she was softly rubbing her head.

“I need to warn you that Dash is here!” Vinyl told Rarity, who was not paying attention to her. The DJ soon realized that all of the preps were staring at something, so she looked in the direction they were looking at. Vinyl whistled and said a very quiet, “Whoa.”

“Well,” Dash said as she stretched from a job well done, “If you don’t mind, me and Gilda will be leaving now. After all, we have a lot of homework to do, so…bye!” And she quickly ran to the gates. Gilda, who was grinning wickedly, was right behind her.

“Why aren’t we flying away?” Gilda asked as the two neared the gates.

“Because this is more fun!”

“Very true.”

The two flyers then began to giggle like school girls when they heard a very shrill cry behind them, “AFTER THEM!”

As Dash and Gilda neared the gates, the griffon took the lead and smashed through them. They looked behind them and saw the preps were still a distance away. It appeared that they were home free. They casually walked through the gate and onto the road, only to hear a screeching sound. Dash looked and caught the sight of a motorcycle barreling towards them. A split second later, Gilda grabbed Rainbow by the collar of her shirt and pulled her out of the way. The motorcycle and its rider eventually skidded to a stop. The rider took off his helmet, revealing light cream hair and a very annoyed look.

“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?” He said angrily as he checked his vehicle, “You’re lucky I don’t press charges on you.”

“And you’re lucky if I don’t beat your ass for almost hitting my friend!” Gilda said.

The rider looked at Dash from head to toe, turned to Gilda, and smiled wickedly, “Honestly, I doubt it would be much of a lost.”

“What’d you say, punk?!” Dash growled as Gilda cracked her knuckles.

The rider grinned broadly as he got up from his motorcycle. It was at that moment Dash and Gilda realized something; he was taller than both of them and much more muscular. He wasn’t as bulking as the captain of the M.A football team, Bulk Biceps, but he was still bulging with power.

“Dumb-Bell, welcome back!”

Dash turned around and saw that the preppies had finally caught up to them. However, they weren’t paying any attention to the flyers; they were smiling at the newcomer, Dumb-Bell.

The cyclist heard his name and saw the preps. The wicked grin turned into a pleasant one as he walked to the preps, “Rarity, Colgate, Aloe, Lotus, Vinyl!” he said their names friendlily, “How are my favorite mares doing?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Vinyl answered, giving Dumb-Bell a fist bump, “Except that we’ve been having some ‘issues’ with those ponies.” She pointed to Dash and Gilda, “More specifically; the one with rainbow hair.”

The male prep looked at the flyers, and then back at the preps, “The lesbians have been giving you trouble?”

“A gay joke?” Gilda said, taking a fighting stance, “Now I know he’s a dick.”

“Give me five minutes with them, and they won’t be troubling you anytime soon.” Dumb-Bell assured the preps as he took off his leather jacket, revealing more muscle and dark brown wings.

“I have to ask you something, Dumb-Bell.” Dash said, also taking her stance, “Are the muscles from steroids, or are you just trying to overcompensate for something else?”

Gilda laughed and said, “Well, aren’t you classy, Dash.”

Dash grinned; with Gilda by her side, there was no way Dumb-Bell could win. Dash strategized that since Dumb-Bell was very big, he was also very slow. There was no way he could keep up with her.

Dumb-Bell gave his wings a powerful flap and he was in front of Dash in a second.

‘Holy Crap! He’s fast!’ Dash shouted in her head. The male prep punched Dash in her solar plexus, instantly knocking the wind out of her.

As Dash fell to the floor, gasping for air, Gilda attacked Dumb-Bell with a haymaker. However, she, too, didn’t anticipate his speed. The prep swiftly dodged the attack and then grounded Gilda with an overhead punch.

“Are these really the ponies that have been giving you trouble?!” Dumb-Bell laughed, gesturing to the downed fighters, “My Faust; did you girls even practice while I was in Greece? Well, no need to fear because the boxing champion is here!”

The preps watching did not take this kindly. After being insulted, they didn’t bother telling Dumb-Bell to look behind him.

The pegasus prep turned around and saw Dash standing up. She smiled and pointed to the right. Dumb-Bell turned to the right and saw Gilda torpedoing towards him. He had no time to react as Dash got behind. Gilda performed a vicious cross line to the prep while Dash did the same to the prep’s legs. Dumb-Bell was spinning in the air from the attacks until he fell head first onto the floor.

“Come on, mister champion! If you can’t take an attack like that, then you must have been fighting preschoolers for the championship.” Gilda said.

Dash grinned as she turned to the bystanders, “Is that the best you got?!”

Rarity sighed, “Dumb-Bell, please stop playing around and finish them off.”

“With pleasure.”

Dash and Gilda jumped back as Dumb-Bell jumped back to his feet. He didn’t even look phased.

“Sorry about that, but my mom forced me to take some acting classes. So, did I fool you?”

Dash scoffed, “I liked you better unconscious.”

“Why? Because it reminds you of your deadbeat father?”

…

“Wow.” Gilda said, “Talk about a dick move.”

Dash didn’t really care about the insults Dumb-Bell threw at her; all she cared about was ending the preppy problem. Dash quickly collected her thoughts about Dumb-Bells fighting style; he’s strong and fast, but Dash was still quicker. She thought about aiming for the legs so the prep would be grounded.

Dash charged and threw a left hook. Dumb-Bell dodged and then Rainbow went with a pegasus leg sweep. The move connected, but Dumb-Bell used his wings in mid-fall to get him a safe distance from the athlete. However, he was too focused on Dash that he failed to see Gilda closing in on him. The griffin reached the prep and did a double axe handle. The move sent the prep sprawling to the floor. Gilda and Rainbow stood on top of the prep and they each sent a punch to his head. Dumb-Bell saw the attack and quickly grabbed the two fists and then slammed them together, causing the flyers to smack their heads on the other. The male prep took the advantage by kicking Gilda away and knocking Dash to the ground with a strong hook.

“Okay, I’m sorry!” Dumb-Bell told the female preps, “Can you please just help me make these two disappear; this is getting annoying!” The preps looked at one another and nodded; they accepted the apology.

Dash and Gilda stood back to back as they were surrounded by six experienced boxers.

Gilda leaned toward Dash and whispered, “Here’s the plan: I take on the steroid abuser and the bitch twins while you take on the wannabe DJ, toothpaste, and the whore. Deal?”

Dash looked around at their opponents, seeing their chances of winning, and then sighed, “Gilda, when I give you the signal, we fly out of here.”

“What?!” Gilda whispered, “Who are you and what have you done to the cool Dash?”

“Just listen to me damn it!” Dash whispered harshly, “As much as I hate to admit it, these preps are actually good. I could take two of them at once, but this is ridiculous. Plus, I'll have to watch your back."

“Buck off! I can handle myself.”

“We’ll deal with them later. When I say ‘Now’, we fly back to school as fast as we can and don’t look back.”

“Fine!” Gilda growled, “But you are so going to have to pay for this later.”

The preps took a step closer.

“Now!” Dash shouted. Gilda immediately flew into the air and was soon a speck as she soared back to school. Dash, however, stayed put, ready to fight.

“Well aren’t you a gallant one, Dash.” Rarity said, sounding impressed, “You actually letting yourself be the distraction while your friend escape. If we met on different circumstances, I’m sure I would have respected you.”

“Like I need respect from ponies who are shallower than a spit.” Dash said. She tried to look confident, but even she knew when situations were bad.

Colgate was the first to attack. She came from behind, but Dash quickly elbowed her back. Lotus was next as she threw a right hook, but Dash’s pegasus uppercut was faster. Then, Aloe managed to get a left hook in, momentarily stunning the athlete. Lotus came back with three jabs to the nose and Colgate followed up with a swift knee to the gut. Then Dumb-Bell came from behind and placed Dash in a full-nelson.

As Dash struggled to get free, Rarity walked in front of the captured pony, “You may not believe me, but I wished it wouldn’t have come to this.”

Rarity reached into her pocket and Dash was surprised by what she pulled out; brass knuckles.

“She still has those?!” Aloe asked her sister quietly. Dash was shocked to hear the fear in the earth pony’s voice.

“I thought she got rid of those.” Vinyl thought aloud, equally as anxious as Aloe.

Rainbow stopped struggling due to the fact that she was too distracted by Rarity. The preppy leader looked to be in a trance as she put on her brass knuckles.

“So what’s with Rarity’s weird fashion choice?” Dash asked Colgate. The prep, however, kept her mouth shut as though too afraid to say anything.

Rainbow stared back at Rarity and their eyes locked. The pegasus suddenly felt a strange chill going down her spine. Rarity didn’t look any different, but she gave off this dark presence. The preppy leader pulled back her fist with the weapon attached and aimed for Dash’s nose.

“This is gonna suck, isn’t it?” Dash grinned, trying to be as defiant as possible before the pain came.

Just as Rarity was about to strike, there was a sudden loud, almost animalistic, roar. Everypony looked up and saw Gilda flying toward them at unbelievable speed. The griffin came in leg first and struck Rarity in her face, sending her skidding across the floor. The preps was so taken aback that they couldn’t react as Gilda planted a haymaker to Dumb-Bell, successfully knocking him down and releasing Dash.

Gilda flashed Dash a grin, “Sorry, but I looked back.” She then grabbed Rainbow by her wrist and flew them both out of there, just as Dumb-Bell got up and chased after them.

________________________________________

One successful escape later,

Gilda and Dash were hiding on a cloud hovering over Manticore Town. They silently watched as Dumb-Bell stopped his search and sullenly went back home.

Gilda turned to Dash, “Well?”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “Well what?”

“I’m waiting for my ‘thank you’ for saving your flank.”

Dash scoffed, “Thanks for doing something unnecessary.”

“Bullcrap unnecessary! If it wasn’t for me, you’d be eating through a straw. There’s no point in us being friends if we only hang out during visiting hours.

Dash smiled when Gilda said ‘friends’.

“What’s with the creepy grin?” Gilda asked.

Dash sighed, “I’m about to open up, and if you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it. You see, I’ve always been the girl who always had my friends back. ‘Stupidly loyal’ is the best word for it. Whenever fights got too much, I would be the distraction while all of my friends ran away.” She looked at Gilda, “This is the first time a friend actually came back and helped me out. Thanks, Gilda.”

Gilda was silent for a moment before awkwardly saying, “So, are you gay?”

“And there goes the moment.” Dash said solemnly before flying away.

Gilda quickly caught up, “Hold up, Dash. It’s totally okay if you play for the same team, and I guess I’m flattered, but I don’t roll that way.”

“Gilda.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up!”

> Chp 14: The last straw
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter had finally come to Manticore Academy and its residents. The days were becoming shorter, the nights were as dark as Lighting Dust’s heart, and it was cold enough that wearing thick sweaters was the new trend. If things weren’t bad enough, Exam Week was quickly approaching. The halls were now filled with students, nerds and jocks alike, bumping into each other since they obscured their vision with textbooks. Even the party pony Pinkie Pie could be seen reading her bejeweled textbooks. It was a terrifying time for the students.

Over in Manticore Ville, the atmosphere was much brighter. It was just as cold, but there was a certain festive mood in the air. Now that is was December, the Manticore Ville Carnival was officially open. The residents of Manticore Ville enjoyed themselves with hazardous rides, foods, and performers. It was bliss.

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were walking down the street that led to the tunnel that would lead them to the carnival.

“This is going to be awesome!” Dash said excitingly, “I heard that on some rides, you have to sign waivers that would not make the Carnival responsible for any damages. Nothing says fun like a little danger.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Scootaloo said, surprisingly out of character.

Dash looked at the young pegasus, “What do you mean? You’re the one that has been hyping this carnival since November.”

“I know. It’s just with the exams are coming up and-”

“Scoots, chill.” Dash said, “You know the old saying, ‘All work and no play something something something,’. We have to relax and have some fun so we can ace the tests. Besides, there’s nothing in school you can’t learn in a carnival. I mean, the rides have physic stuff like momentum, you learn social studies from the people at the carnival, and loads more.”

Scootaloo grinned, “You’re right! I don’t know why I was being such a-”

“Chicken?”

Scootaloo scoffed, “Nice try, Dash, but even you can’t bring me down.”

Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “Good to hear.”

Scootaloo smiled, but then thought of something, “What about Twilight? Wouldn’t she be mad that you skipped studying to come here?”

If there was one pony that seemed to be the most stressed about the upcoming exams, it was the leader of the nerds. Even though Twilight was a prodigy and the top academic student in M.A, it didn’t stop her from making the library her new home. Rainbow Dash thought it was kind of funny until Twilight, for some reason unknown to the pegasus, decided to make it her job to help Dash study for the exams. And by ‘study’, it meant Rainbow was now buried under a mountain of books while Twilight talked non-stop about every subject imaginable.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Dash said shamelessly, “Plus, I told her I would be doing some independent studying by myself, so we have the whole day to have some fun.”

The two pegasai continued to walk until they made it to the tunnel. There were other ponies heading to the carnival, but most of them were citizens. There were some students taking a long break from studying. Dash and Scootaloo walked with the crowd, wondering about the fun they will have, when they noticed something that caught their eye. Near the entrance of the tunnel was a young unicorn with pale green eyes and grayish mulberry hair. She was wearing a white children’s dress and carrying a small purse.

“Look, a mini preppy.” Scootaloo said, pointing at the unicorn. She then cracked her knuckles, “You want me to take care of her?”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “Hold up there, I actually know this preppy. She’s okay, just a bit…innocent.” The athlete waved to the child prep, “Hey, Sweetie Belle!”

The preppy looked up and then beamed at the pegasus. She then made her way to where they were standing, “Hi, Rainbow Dash.” she then gave the pegasus a hug, “It’s so good to see you again.”

Sweetie Belle then turned to Scootaloo and extended her hand, “Hi, I’m Sweetie Belle.”

Scootaloo didn’t take the hand and instead crossed her arms, “Sup, I’m Scootaloo.” She said coolly.

Sweetie Belle didn’t look discouraged by Scootaloo’s behavior. She lowered her arm, “So, what are you two doing here?”

“We’re going to have some fun in the carnival.” Dash explained. It was then that Sweetie Belle hung her head in sadness.

“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle sighed, “It must be nice…”

“What?”

“To be able to have a day of fun with your sister.” Sweetie Belle said sadly.

Scootaloo blushed slightly, “Oh we’re not-I mean-we’re not actually sisters.”

“But we might as well be.” Rainbow said nonchalantly, “I mean, we always hang out.” Dash didn’t see it, but Scootaloo looked as though she was just told that she would be the next Wonderbolt. The rainbow-haired pegasus continued talking with the unicorn, “Is this about that stick-in-a-mud sister?”

Sweetie Belle giggled, “It’s funny that you called my sister a stick-in-a-mud because Rarity hates mud.”

The two pegasai’s eyes widened in shock. Rainbow was the first to say something, “Rarity is your sister?!”

“Are we talking about the same ‘preppy leader’ Rarity?” Scootaloo said in shock.

“I don’t know.” Sweetie Belle said, “What’s a preppy leader?”

“You know,” Scootaloo said, “your innocence is kind of getting annoying.”

The unicorn pouted, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it.” Dash said, “It’s not your fault you act cute. So, you’re waiting for Rarity?”

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for an hour.”

“Wow!” Scootaloo exclaimed, “That sucks. Oh well, have fun. Come on, Dash.”

“Hold on, Scoots.” Dash said as she turned to the preppy, “You wanna join us?”

Scootaloo looked scandalized while Sweetie looked thrilled, “Yes! Come on, let’s get going.” Without further ado, Sweetie Belle grabbed the two pegasai’s arms and hauled them through the tunnel.

The tunnel that led to the carnival was an interesting one. It was the place where young artist could paint, or defile, the walls. As Sweetie Belle dragged the two pegasai, chatting away about the rides at the carnival, Scootaloo turned to Dash, “I thought this was our day?”

Dash shrugged apologetically, “Sorry squirt, but could really say no to her?”

“Watch me.” Scootaloo said confidently. She turned to the unicorn, “Hey, Sweetie Belle.”

The prep turned  to Scootaloo with a face filled with childhood wonder and happiness, “Yes?”

It was at that moment that Scootaloo lost her nerve, “Damn, never mind.” She sighed, “So, what kind of food do they sell here?”

Sweetie giggled, “Well, they mostly sell commoner food, which I’m sure you two will love. Rarity hates the food, but I really like it. Is that weird?”

As she continued to talk, Dash turned to Scootaloo, “So-”

“Zip it.” Scootaloo said while Dash laughed.

The three finally exited the tunnel. There was a ticket booth with gates on either side that blocked the way to the Carnival.

“Come on you two, I’m buying.” Rainbow told the two fillies, who were now looking excited. Dash walked up to the ticket booth, “Yo, buddy, three tickets.”

The ticket vendor, a pimply teenage unicorn, said, “That’ll be three bits please.” He said monotonously.

“Well aren’t you a pinnacle of excitement.” Dash said as she paid for the tickets. She got the tickets and handed them to the fillies, “To quote Pinkie Pie, ‘Let’s get this party started!’. They all cheered as they opened the gates and entered the carnival.

They were greeted with a wonderful sight. On either side of them were food stands that sold hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, kettle corn, caramel apples, cotton candy, and so much more. Past the stands were large booths that held different games and there was a large tent where somepony could trade in their tickets for a prize. Beyond that was a grand area that had more games and the rollercoasters.

“This is gonna be good.” Dash said as she and the little ones enjoyed themselves. They first went to the food stalls and bought enough food to cause a hungry manticore to hurl.

Next were the game booths. They were playing a classic one; try to knock down the three pyramids of milk bottles with only five baseballs. Scootaloo was the one who tried this game. She threw three baseballs, but only managed to get a couple of bottles to topple over.

“You know,” said the sleazy game vendor, “you’re supposed to know down all of the bottles, not just some.” He always had an insulting remark after each of the filly’s failure.

“I know that!” Scootaloo said angrily. She threw another ball and it completely missed everything. The vendor stood next to the remaining bottles, “Wow, you got quite an arm because you didn’t even managed to knock down one tower.”

“Scoots, hand me the last ball.” Dash said and Scootaloo did as she was told. Rainbow took the ball, flapped her wings as hard as she could, and then threw it. It smashed into the vendors head and he fell back, knocking down all of the bottles.

“Look at that.” Dash told the unconscious vendor smugly, “I knocked down the three pyramids and an asshole with one ball. I say that deserves extra tickets.” She hopped into the game booth and took a roll of tickets before leaving with the star-struck fillies.

They entered the grand area, which was a lot bigger and more fun than they originally thought. As they talked about where to go first, their attention was drawn to a test-your-strength game, where an earth pony was playing to impress his date. He swung the mallet down onto the lever, and the piston soared before stopping just an inch below the bell.

“Not bad, sport.” The female vendor said as she handed the earth pony some tickets, “That is the best score I’ve seen today.”

“That was amazing.” The date said, batting her eyelashes. The earth pony grinned, “It was, wasn’t it? I bet nopony could beat my score.”

“Challenge accepted.” Dash said loudly. She took the mallet from the surprised boy and held it over her head, “This is for all of the little ponies that believed in me.” She brought the mallet down as she gave her wings a hard flap. The piston was sent rocketing to the bell, making a loud *ding*.

“Hallelujah!” the vendor said, handing Dash a stack of tickets, “Finally, we got a pony with some balls, and a mare no less.” Rainbow took the tickets, winked at the shocked couple, and walked back to the Sweetie and Scootaloo.

Their next destination was the one they have been waiting for: the rollercoaster. Unfortunately, everypony else at the carnival seemed to have the same idea. After a wait in line, the two pegasai and unicorn were finally in front, but there was a problem: there were only two seats left.

“You two go ahead.” Dash said, letting the fillies go in front of her.

“No, you go.” Sweetie Belle said, “I’ll go-”

“Too late.” Dash said quickly as she stepped away, “I’m out of the line, so I can’t go next.”

Scootaloo smiled, “Thanks, Dash.” Sweetie also smiled, “You know, you and Rarity would really get along. She likes generous ponies.”

Dash only smiled and waved as the fillies got onto the ride. She watched them as they raised their arms in anticipation when the rollercoaster started moving.

“Me and Rarity as friends?” Dash thought aloud once the coaster was out of the station, “The day that happens is the day my mom stops looking for new guys.”

“Which will be never, I guess.”

Dash quickly turned around and saw who spoke. It was Aloe, who was standing with her sister Lotus.

“Damn, you ponies don’t give up.” Dash said irritably. She wasn’t keen on fighting with the fillies nearby.

Lotus took a white glove from her pocket and then slapped Dash with it.

“Ow!” Dash said, mostly in surprise, “What was that for?”

“An official declaration of war.” Lotus said as she stored the glove.

“You have been a nuisance for far too long.” Aloe said, “We’ve decided that enough is enough. After today, every single preppy will be after you and your associates.”

Dash crossed her arms, “And who are my ‘associates’?”

“That would be Gilda and her little group.”

Rainbow scoffed, “You’re just going to get your flanks kicked if you go after them.”

Lotus grinned, “Let’s not forget your other associate: Twilight Sparkle and her little group.”

Dash’s pupils constricted almost instantly. She grabbed Lotus by her collar, “Stay away from the nerds.” She growled, “Twi and her friends have nothing to do with us.”

“Let me go, or things will get messy.” Lotus said calmly. She then jerked her head to the carnival entrance and Dash saw Colgate, Vinyl, and Dumb-Bell standing menacingly. Dash pushed Lotus away, but the earth pony didn’t seem fazed, “Let it be known that any friends of yours are enemies of ours. Have a nice day, Rainbow, because it will be your last.” With that, the sisters rejoined their group and they left.

Dash stood there, fuming, “Buck!” she cried as she thought about her next course of action. She wasn’t worried about Gilda or the ex-bullies because they knew how to fight, but Twilight and the nerds were so fragile and weak.

It was then that Dash noticed the ride ended and the two fillies were running towards her. The athlete hid her frustration; she didn’t want the kids to worry, “How was the ride?”

“Incredible!” Scootaloo said excitingly, “I almost threw up!”

“Sweet. How about you, Sweetie?”

The little unicorn didn’t respond. She looked at Dash worriedly, “Do you want me to tell Rarity?”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “Tell her what?”

Sweetie pointed to where the preps were standing, “That her friends were being mean.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened in shock, “The preps were here?!”

Sweetie nodded, “When we were at the peak, I looked down and saw Aloe and Lotus talking to Rainbow Dash.” the unicorn turned back to the older pegasus, “Rarity told me to tell her whenever they were acting mean.”

“Don’t worry, they weren’t.” Dash said. She knew that Rarity agreed with the prep’s decision. The whole ‘official declaration’ just reeked of the preppy leader.

“Okay then.” Sweetie said, “But let me know if they are mean. Rarity doesn’t want it to happen again.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, “Let what happen again?”

Sweetie Belle clapped her hands over her mouth, as though she let out a secret.

Dash got down to one knee to be on eye-level with the unicorn, “What is it, Sweetie Belle? You can tell us.”

Sweetie shifted her eyes between the two pegasus, “You promise not to tell anypony?”

The pegasai nodded.

The unicorn hesitated for a moment longer before talking, “It happened a couple of years ago when Rarity was in the middle school of Manticore Academy. She was the boxing champion at the time.”

“Wait a minute.” Dash said, “Rarity was the boxing champion?!”

Sweetie nodded, “For three years. She was boxing even before she entered Manticore Academy. Anyways, during middle school, she would always hang out with her friends and older students. I remember how they would always fight with greasy ponies.”

Dash nodded in comprehension. In middle school, Rarity and her friends joined older preppies in their fight against the greasers.

“She was scary back then.” Sweetie said shakingly, “She would always carry this metal thing that she would put onto her fist when she fought. The older students even had a name for her, ‘main de fer’.”

“If Rarity was such a great fighter,” Scootaloo said, “then why did she stop?”

“I don’t really know.” Sweetie Belle said uncertainly, “But I remember when it happened. It was two years ago when she came home late. She came into my room, and I was scared. She asked me what was I afraid of, and I said…” she paused as though ashamed, “I told her was afraid of her.”

“What did she do?” Dash said tensely.

“Well, I thought she was going to start yelling at me, but she didn’t. Instead, she started crying. She hugged me and she wouldn’t stop apologizing. After that,” Sweetie Belle smiled, “she was my sister again. She was caring, played with me, and she acted more ladylike. She stopped fighting, she stopped boxing, and she started to sew again; something she hadn’t done since she was a filly.”

Dash was silent after the story; she was somewhat confused of what she thought of Rarity now. The prep leader seemed to be a caring sister, but one good thing doesn’t make her a hero.

Dash then thought about the war that was sure to come, but decided she would deal with that later. She’d rather not ruin the fillies’ day, “Come on you two, let’s go to the funhouse next.”
________________________________________
It was past sunset when the three girls finally left the carnival, holding there prizes. Dash had won a lot of tickets, so she gladly paid for the prizes.

“Thank you so much, Dash!” Scootaloo said, holding her new RC car.

“Yeah, thank you!” Sweetie said cheerfully as she held her new teddy bear that was bigger than she was, “I’m sorry that all you could get for yourself was that old radio.”

Dash looked down at the radio she got with her tickets, “Actually, I really wanted this radio.” She then turned to the unicorn. “You gonna need help taking the bear home?”

Sweetie shook her head, “I’m getting a ride home. The limo should be here any minute.”

The moment she said that, a stretched limo rounded the corner and stopped in front of the unicorn. After a quick struggle to get the teddy bear to fit into the limo, Sweetie turned back to the pegasai, “Thank you so much for today!” she then gave a hug to Scootaloo and then one to Dash before entering the limo and leaving.

“She sure was strange.” Scootaloo said as she and Dash walked back to school.

“Yeah, a bit dense, but generally nice. She has a better attitude than most preppies.”

“Speaking of them, what were they talking to you about?”

“Oh, you know, the usual threat. Listen, we’ve better hurry up or else Twilight will have my head if she figures out we spent the day having fun and not studying.”
________________________________________
Rarity’s room was as large as her father’s conference room. One side was filled with mannequins, a sewing machine, countless threads, and the dresses she made. The other side was composed of her mementos from her boxing days; such as trophies and medals.

The preppy leader was currently hard at work creating a new design. Whenever she was in her ‘idea state’, the only thing she thought of was the dress she was working on. It was because of this that she didn’t hear the knocks on the door until the knocker spoke,

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle said as she knocked, “Are you in there?”

Rarity immediately stopped working, “Yes Sweetie, I’m here.” She said fondly, “Come in, darling.”

Sweetie walked in and stared at the dress in progress, “Wow Rarity, that’s really pretty.”

“Thank you. Now, just give me a couple more minutes and we’ll go to the carnival.”

“Um, Rarity, the carnival closed already.”

Rarity chuckled lightly, “Come now, Sweetie, the carnival doesn’t close until night, and you can see that it's only-”

Rarity turned to her window and was surprised that all she saw was darkness.

“I am so sorry” Rarity said sincerely, “I promise I will make it up to you.”

“That’s okay, Rarity.” Sweetie said cheerfully, “I still went to the carnival.”

“Oh, did Vinyl take you? I know she had wanted to go for a while now.”

“Nope.”

“Please tell me you didn’t go by yourself. You know how I feel when you are unsupervised.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity. I went with my new sister, Rainbow Dash.”

As soon as Sweetie said ‘my new sister’, it was like somepony plunged an icy dagger into Rarity’s heart. And when the little unicorn said’ Rainbow Dash’ was her new sister, the icy dagger was twisted.

“Are you okay?!” Rarity said hurriedly as she grabbed her sister and started looking for bruises.

“I’m okay.” the filly said, slightly confused by her sister’s reaction.

“Why would you hang out with someone like Rainbow Dash?!”

“Well, I was waiting for you at the entrance tunnel for a while. I didn’t think you would come and I was about to leave when Dash offered to take me. I thought that you would probably be too busy for me-”

Rarity placed a finger over her sister’s mouth, silencing her, “Sweetie, don’t ever think that I would ever chose anything over you. I know that I can get distracted, and I’m sorry, but I love you and I will always be your sister.” She then hugged Sweetie Belle, who looked close to happy tears.

Rarity picked up Sweetie Belle, “How about I read you a bedtime story?”

“Yay!” Sweetie cheered as she was carried to her room by her sister.
________________________________________
One hour later
Rarity returned to her room after Sweetie Belle fell to sleep. The preppy leader ignored her dress and walked over to a desk on the boxing side of the room. Rarity reached for the back of her neck and unhooked a necklace. On the necklace was a key, which she used to unlock the desk, revealing brass knuckles.

She picked up the weapon and stared at it. She then thought of how she was hesitant about declaring war on Dash, but that now changed. She then remembered what Lightning Dust told her about Dash,

“She will try to steal your fame, your money, and everything you own. Trust me, Rainbow Dash needs to be stomped out.”

Rarity thought Lightning Dust was being dramatic, at least until now, when Dash had just tried steal Sweetie Belle from her. Rarity was about to put on the brass knuckles when she remembered Sweetie’s crying face from a long time ago. The prep leader then placed the weapon back into the desk and locked it once more. She proceeded to walk over to the corner of her room, which had a punching bag. Rarity took a deep breath,

“Laissez-ciel Dash sentir ma colère.”

She then proceeded to beat the punching bag viciously, and expertly.

> Chp 15: Defi De Boxe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of days have passed after the preps’ declaration of war against Dash and her friends. The preppies were true to their word when they said that the carnival day was the last peaceful day for Rainbow and her friends. Fights have broken out between bullies and preppies, which usually resulted in large numbers of injured bullies and a handful of bruised preps. The nerds got the worst of it, but they managed to survive by traveling in large groups and always having a bat or small club at hand. Things were worse for Dash, who now got into three fights day. It reminded her of when the bullies were her enemies, except that she was now fighting more experienced ponies.

Dash was sitting at the pier next to the lighthouse. Scootaloo sat by her side and they were both silent. It was Sunday morning and the sun was hiding behind thick gray clouds. It was as though nature was reflecting their bitter mood.

“Crap.” Dash finally said, “What the Tartarus am I gonna do?”

“What are we going to do?” Scootaloo corrected, “You’re not in this alone. You got me, Gilda, and Twilight.”

“The preppies are after you, Gilda, and Twi because of me, so it’s my problem. Besides, you girls got bigger issues to deal with than my problems, like the exams.” She turned to the small pegasus, “You should really get back to school. The exams start tomorrow and something tells me you’ll need all of the studying you can get.”

“I’ll only go if you come.” Scootaloo said stubbornly.

“Sorry, squirt, but I’ve got bigger, richer fish to fry.” Rainbow sighed, “This is becoming a huge pain in the flank.”

“How about you send another message like you did with Gilda?”

“As much as I would love to do that, it would probably make things worse. I wish Twilight was here; she’s good with the elaborate plans.”

“Then I could go get her and-”

“Don’t bother. I doubt anything could pull that mare from her books with the exams so close. Gilda is also too busy getting preps to back off from her friends, so she’s out. You’re way too young-”

“I can fight!” Scootaloo cried indignantly.

“You’re too young to fight.” Dash said.

“I can still help. Let me think of a plan.” Scootaloo scrunched her face in concentration, “You already tried to send a message with tagging their house, but that didn’t work. Maybe you can beat them up all at once?”

“I did that so many times that I lost count.”

“Well, isn’t there somepony that they respect that you can fight?”

“There’s Rarity, but I don’t think I’ll feel right for bullying a fashionista, even if she is a prep.” At that moment, something in Dash’s head turned on, “Wait a second…there’s Dumb-Bell. He’s the champion.” Dash grinned, “If I take out the champ, then they’ll know not to mess with me.” She turned to Scootaloo, “Thanks, Scoots, you figured it out.”

“Are you sure about this? Didn’t you say that the champion was tough?”

“I said he surprised me. Besides, I got stronger.” Dash said. She looked down at her wrist where Soarin’s weights were hanging. She still had two on her wrist and two on her ankles, but they now weighed five pounds each. It had been a long time since she fought without them, so it would be interesting to see how much faster she had gotten.

“I’ll see you later, Scootaloo.” Dash said as she walked away, “After today, the preppies won’t be bothering anypony anymore.”

“Can I come too?”

“Don’t sweat it, Scootaloo. I got this.” With that, she ran to the preps’ gym.

After a couple of minutes, Dash reached her destination. She looked around, as though expecting to hear the sound of a roaring crowd. Sadly, there were nopony to cheer for what she was about to do; only regular citizens going on with their lives. As she reached for the door, she heard somepony gasp. Rainbow turned and saw a colt looking up at the sky with a goofy grin. Dash looked up and was surprised to see what she saw; snow. After several days of freezing winds, snow had finally arrived. 
________________________________________
The boxing gym was nearly deserted. The only ponies inside were Aloe, Lotus, Colgate, Vinyl, and Dumb-Bell. They were squeezing in some exercise before they resumed their studying when the gym’s doors burst opened. They all turned and saw Rainbow Dash marching in.

“You got a lot of nerve coming here.” Colgate said as she advanced towards the pegasus. Dash, however, shoved the preppy aside. Aloe and Lotus tried to intervene, but the pegasus swiftly went around them. Vinyl did nothing to stop Dash since she was excited to see what the athlete was going to do. Dash stopped when she was in front of Dumb-Bell.

The champion grinned, “What do you want?”

Dash took a deep breath and then performed a pegasus uppercut on the champion, knocking him on his flank.

“Sorry about that,” Dash said, not sounding remotely sorry, “but I didn’t have a white glove.”

Rainbow turned to face all of the preppies, “Listen up, you snob bitches! I, Rainbow Dash, officially challenge Dumb-Bell for the championship.”

The preps all roared with laughter. Aloe spoke in between laughter, “Do you really expect we’ll accept you as the champion?!”

“I don’t care about that. All I care about is that after this, you’ll know who the top dog is.”

“Sorry, but I decline your offer, Dash.” Dumb-Bell said after getting back up.

Dash smiled, “How about we make things interesting? If I lose to you, then I promise to dropout of Manticore Academy.”

Silence followed this proclamation. The preppies all turned to each other as though they couldn’t believe their ears. Colgate said, “How can we believe you?”

“If I don’t dropout, then you preps will just have more reasons to hate me, and we all know you want more of those. But, if I win, all of you preps will stop acting like idiots and stay away from me and my friends.”

“Deal.” Dumb-Bell said before anypony else could say anything. He walked up to Dash and stared her down, “And after you dropout, I’ll allow you to clean my boots.”
________________________________________
The bell rang, signaling the first round. Dash and Dumb-Bell, now in their boxing uniforms, circled each other while the senior members watched. There were no assisting corners and no referees; the match would keep going until somepony was unable to fight.

Dumb-Bell was the first to strike, but Dash dodged the move easily. The champion let out another series of jabs, but Dash swiftly moved around them.

“When are you going to start fighting?!” Dumb-Bell said irritably when he missed a right hook.

Dash smiled, “I’ll start when you start trying.”

Just like many preps before him, Dumb-Bell growled and punched relentlessly. Dash, however, appeared to be having the time of her life. Without the weights holding her down, she felt so much quicker. She was even surprised by how well she was able to dodge the attacks. The bell rang again, ending the first match. Dash was grinning broadly as she walked to her corner while Dumb-Bell was panting slightly on his way to his corner.

The next round was completely different than before. The champion started off with a strong right hook, leaving himself opened. With her new found speed, Dash sent out a volley of jabs to the champion’s face, causing the preppies to gasp as they saw the champion’s nose bleeding.

“You’ll pay for that.” Dumb-Bell said menacingly.

Dash scoffed, “The day I pay for your nose job is the day I stop being awesome.”

Dash was so confident that she didn’t keep her guard up. Unfortunately, her arrogance made her forget one crucial detail; Dumb-Bell was also fast. Dumb-Bell quickly threw a right hook and Rainbow dodged it, but Dumb-Bell quickly followed up with a left cross, colliding with Dash’s face.

The punch instantly grounded Dash. This wasn’t the first time she was ever knocked down with a punch, but it was the first time that one punch managed to almost knock her out cold. As Dumb-Bell received cheers from the crowd, Rainbow groggily got to her feet.

“What’s wrong, Dash?” The champion said, “I thought you could at least handle one of my hits.”

“And I thought you could close your mouth for a second.” Dash said. She was trying to hide her embarrassment from the pain she felt from the one punch. The athlete went into a frenzy and let out a barrage of punches. The champion took all of the hits and smiled. After the attack, Dash was winded, and that’s when Dumb-Bell landed a clean blow on Dash’s side. Again, Dash went crashing to the floor.

“What-the-buck?!” Dash said between pained gasps.

“There’s a reason why I’m the champ, and you’re just a chump.” Dumb-Bell said when the ring bell rang again. Dash struggled to her side of the ring as she waited for the next round. She didn’t know what was wrong. She took only two punches, and yet it felt as though she had been fighting for two hours.

The third round started and Dash decided that enough was enough. Dumb-Bell tried a right haymaker, but Dash moved aside and punched his damaged nose. As the champion recoiled in pain, the rainbow-haired pegasus let out all of her frustration she had felt for the last couple of days. For a full minute, it was nothing but jabs, hooks, and crosses from the rainbow-haired pegasus.

“Where’s all that tough talk now?” Dash howled, “Come on, mister champion! Where’s all you crap now?!”

“ENOUGH!” Dumb-Bell shouted after being hit in the stomach for the eighth time, “I will not be bested by some low-life!”

Dumb-Bell than began to forcefully removed his boxing gloves. He tore them off, revealing brass knuckles underneath.

“I knew you didn’t have the balls.” Dash said, eyeing the weapons, “So what? No rules?”

Dumb-Bell launched a punch with the brass knuckles.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Dash said, grinning. She dodged the attack, and then kicked him in his manhood, receiving painful, and sympathetic, groans from the audience. Rainbow then jabbed Dumb-Bell until he was hanging on the ropes of the ring. Dash flapped her wings and performed a pegasus uppercut, knocking the champion over the ropes and crashing to the outside floor.

“What’s up?!” Dash shouted as she took of her gloves, “Who’s the toughest now?! Who’s the top dog now?! Who’s the baddest now?! I’ll give you a hint! The big bad wolf is my BITCH!”

The preps just stared agape as they saw their champion groaning in pain, and their enemy dancing the cabbage patch on the ring.

“Well done, Dash.”

Everypony turned to see Rarity descending from the stairs leading to the second floor balcony. Dash saw the preppy leader, so she increased the speed of her dance to insult the unicorn. Rarity just smiled strangely at Dash. The unicorn reached the ground floor and walked past the other preppies and to the floored Dumb-Bell.

The ex-champion looked up at Rarity, “Sorry, Rarity.”

Rarity then slapped Dumb-Bell hard across the face. She said, “I saw your match from the VIP room and saw your little trinkets.” She pointed to the brass knuckles, “I am really disappointed in you.”

The preppy leader walked up to the rest of the preppies, “Ladies, we are at a crossroads. We cannot deny that we have been though many tragic defeats for a while, so we have two choices. We can either let the enemy steamroll over us, or we can rise from the ashes,” she pointed to Dash, “and smite our enemy.”

“Smite our enemies!” the preppies chanted.

“Hey!” Dash yelled, “Why don’t you skip the drama and get ready to get your flanks kicked.”

“Then allow me to prepare myself.” Rarity said. She then quickly ran up the stairs and to the VIP lounge. Dash jumped over the rope, only to be circled by Aloe, Lotus, and Colgate.

The pegasus sighed, “Alright, one more for old times’ sake.”

Colgate, being the most eager, threw the first punch, which connected. Dash massaged her face; she was still reeling from Dumb-Bell’s blows. However, Dash decided that it was time to test out the new move Soarin taught her for the radio she got at the carnival. Aloe closed in and was about to throw a jab, but Dash quickly brought her leg up and performed a heavy front kick, sending Aloe colliding to a wall.

Lotus came to her sister’s aid. Lotus went for an uppercut, but Dash jumped out of the way. The pegasus then jumped and did a dropkick on the earth pony, sending her flying across the room. Dash flapped her wings to stabilize herself in mid-air and landed on her feet.

“What now, Colgate?” Dash asked.

Colgate growled and charged. Dash did a pegasus leg sweep, but the prep jumped and dodged it. Colgate threw a cross and Dash took the hit in order to land a haymaker on the prep. As Colgate staggered, Dash did another front kick, and then finished up with a pegasus uppercut.

“Well, doesn’t this look familiar?” Dash asked the downed preps, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and beat up your boss.”

Dash casually walked over the preppies and onto the stairs. She walked up to the second floor and saw the VIP lounge, but Vinyl Scratch was in her way.

“Vinyl,” Dash said, “think real hard on what you’re about to do. I’d rather not beat up one of the only preppies I actually kind of like.”

Vinyl kept a grin on her face as she sized the pegasus up. Vinyl walked forward and Dash took her stance. The prep stood face to face with the pegasus, “You got five minutes.” she said before walking past the pegasus.

Dash turned around to the preppy, “What the hay just happened?”

Vinyl turned around, still grinning, “Even though you don’t think much of her, Rarity is a pretty cool pony. She helped us a lot, which is why we like her so much. Sure she has her faults, but who doesn’t? However, she’s angrier now ever since Lightning Dust came around. I don’t know much about that one, but I just get a bad feeling when she’s around.” Vinyl lifted up her tinted glasses, revealing bright red eyes. She winked, “I like you, so I’d rather have you be the pegasus Rarity listens to. But, I like Rarity more, so I’ll give you five minutes with her before me and the rest of us come kick your flank. Good luck.” And with that, she calmly walked down the stairs.

Dash grinned as she walked to the VIP door. Taking a deep breath, she kicked opened the door and walked right in. Rarity was at the bar making herself a drink. She was now wearing a pure white boxing uniform.

“Would you like a strawberry daiquiri?” The unicorn asked the pegasus.

“I’d rather just get on with it.” Dash said, raising her fist.

Rarity shrugged, “Suit yourself.” She took a sip of her drink as she stared curiously at Dash.

The pegasus sighed, “How long are you gonna take to finish your damn drink?”

Rarity answered by continuing to drink her beverage.

Rainbow sighed again before hopping over the bar counter and examining the drinks on the shelves, “You got any apple cider?”

Rarity took a bottle from the top shelf and handed it to Rainbow. As the two drank in silence, Rarity said, “Why are you fighting us? We’ve never did anything to you before you joined the boxing club.”

Dash took a swig of apple cider and then scoffed, “Isn’t it obvious? You preppies are a bunch a rich bullies that needed to be taught some manners.”

“There is no need to lie, Dash. I’ll respect your answer in the best why I can.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Yes you are because I know for a fact that neither my friends nor I ever bullied anypony. We only fight those that formally challenge us.”

Dash laughed, “My Faust you are so blind! You don’t notice anything at all. No wonder you make Sweetie Belle so upset.” Dash brought the apple cider to her lips, but Rarity launched a haymaker that sent Dash over the counter and onto the other side.

“And you finally pushed my big, red button.” Rarity said coldly as she set down her drink and raised her fist. Dash quickly got up and readied herself for a fight. They circled each other and Dash kept a sharp eye on Rarity’s hands; if she was an ex-badflank, then Rainbow would have to careful. Rarity stepped forward and, instead of punching, she brought her right leg up and kicked Dash’s chin.

The impact echoed and Rainbow stood her ground. She looked very confused until she grabbed her chin and groaned painfully, “How the hay does a boxer know how to kick like that?!”

Rarity smiled at her enemy’s pain, “I took a page from Vinyl’s book and decided to learn another form of fighting. While Vinyl studied a bit of wrestling, I studied a bit on karate.”

“Good for you.” Dash said, “Too bad it won’t help much.” The pegasus rushed and did a heavy front kick, which connected. As Rarity was propelled back, Dash went for a haymaker, but the unicorn stopped the attack with a quick jab of her own followed up with a right hook. The preppy leader did a strong uppercut, sending Dash back onto the ground.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity scolded, “I at least expected more from somepony who bested the champion. Quite frankly, I’m disappointed.”

Dash growled as she got to her feet and performed a pegasus leg sweep, knocking the prep down. The athlete got up and stomped on Rarity’s face, but the preppy rolled away and got up, only to be thrown across the room by the athlete’s pegasus drop kick. Rarity groaned as she got up and ran toward Dash. The unicorn jumped, grabbed the chandelier dangling in the lounge, and then swung to a very surprised Dash. Rarity brought up her leg as she fell to Dash and kicked the pegasus squarely in the chest. As soon as Rainbow was downed, Rarity grabbed Dash by the collar of her shirt and began to punch her in the face.

“I’m really sorry about this.” Rarity said as she punched, “I usually don’t fight in such a brutish way, but” Rarity grinned slightly, “I think I’ll make an exception for you.”

The preppy leader struck again and again. Dash tried to fight back, but she was still nursing the wounds from Dumb-Bell’s strikes, and Rarity’s blows did not help the athlete’s recovery. In a last ditch effort, Dash brought her legs to her chest and the used them to flip Rarity. During the flip, Dash flapped her wings as best she could while on her back, and Rarity went soaring over the pegasus, over the bar counter, and crashed into the shelves stacked with drinks.

Dash got back to her feet again and saw bottle and bottle of drinks rain down on Rarity. Drinks of all types and colors covered the unicorn from head to toe.

Dash chuckled as she walked to the counter, “I’m sure that there’s a ‘you’re all wet’ joke here, but it’s just too easy…like you.”

Rarity, soaked in all kinds of beverages, reached over the bar counter to grab Dash, but the pegasus was faster. Rainbow grabbed Rarity by the head and slammed her to the counter. The athlete then proceeded to put the unicorn on top of the counter, and then drag her across it like in the movies, which finished with Rarity slamming into the glass, and thankfully unbreakable, panels.

Dash used the bar counter to support her as she walked to Rarity. As much as the pegasus hated to admit it, Rarity was a good fighter that gave her a run for her money. Rainbow reached the unicorn and grabbed her by her soaked hair, “I have to say that I’m actually surprised by you. I thought you would have totally flipped out because of your ruined mane.”

“Believe me.” Rarity said venomously, “I am blindingly furious by what you have done to my mane, but my desire to watch you pay for your crimes is keeping it at bay.”

“Well that’s boring.” Dash said, “Come on, where’s Main De fer?”

Rarity’s eyes widened at the sound of her old nickname. She then spat at Dash, “Never say that name again.”

“Or what?” Dash said testily.

Rarity pursed her lips together and emitted the most ear-splitting whistle Dash had ever heard. The pegasus covered her ears, but to no avail, “What the buck?!”

Rarity finished whistling and grinned, “That was the signal. Soon, my friends will be rushing through that door, and you will pay for what you have done.”

Dash immediately backed away to the middle of the room and waited. She waited, but nothing happened.

“Where in Equestria are they?” Rarity said, sounding somewhat betrayed. It was at that moment the two ponies heard the sound of fighting. Forgetting their animosity momentarily, Dash and Rarity looked through the window panel and they were surprised by what they saw below.

Dumb-Bell and Colgate were currently fighting a very pissed looking Gilda. Next to the fight was another one involving the preppy twins fighting Twilight Sparkle, who was looking livid and holding her homemade firecrackers. And finally, there was Vinyl Scratch, laughing manically, as she was being chased around the boxing ring by a baseball bat wielding Scootaloo.

“What are they doing here?!” Rarity said.

Dash said nothing and stared in awe. The pegasus tried to hide it, but she was happy that they, her friends, came to help her. She even began to laugh, at least until Rarity punched her in the face.

“Stop laughing!” Rarity said, “You have no right to be happy.”

“Why not?” Dash said, “Is it because I’m not your bitch?”

“I couldn’t care less if you kissed the very ground I walk on. I care only that you are a worse bully than Gilda ever was.”

“Take that back!” Dash yelled as she got up and struck Rarity with a heavy front kick, “I am not a bully!” Rainbow followed up with a pegasus uppercut, “You and your little cronies are the bullies!”

“Blasphemy!” Rarity cried as she countered with a five-hit combo, sending Dash to her knees, “My friends and I would never stoop so low.”

“OPEN YOUR EYES!” Dash shouted, startling the unicorn, “Why else do you think I picked a fight with you? At first, I just wanted to get to Lightning Dust because she’s a crazy bitch, but after seeing you preps were bullies, I had to teach you all a lesson.”

“But we’re not!”

“Then why did you tell Sweetie Belle to report to you if your friends were ever bullying?”

Rarity quickly back away from Dash, “How did you know?” she said quietly.

“She told me when she joined me and Scootaloo at the carnival after you ditched her-”

“I would never ‘ditch’ my sister.” Rarity said hotly.

“Whatever you say, but the point is that you know I’m right.”

Rarity began to breathe quickly, as though a monster was closing in on her. She then said shakily, “It was a long time ago, when we were young and foolish. We thought the only way to get respect was through fighting, so we…” Rarity massaged fist, “We did some things we weren’t proud of, but it’s over now.”

“Maybe you stopped, but every other prep kept on doing it. There doing it right now. You know that I’m telling the truth, or else you wouldn’t have asked your sister to tell you if she ever saw your friends bullying again.”

“How do I know you’re not just using this information to create a rift between me and my friends?”

“Go ask your friends and see for yourself. If it turns out I’m lying, then we could go back to beating the ever loving crap out of each other.”

Rarity stared at Dash for a while longer before sighing, “Let’s go.”

Dash nodded and followed the unicorn to the door. Rarity turned to Dash, “Just one more thing.” Rarity then punched Dash in the stomach and then connected her knee to the pegasus’s chin, knocking down the pegasus. Rarity stared at Rainbow, “That was for my hair.” She then held the door open for Dash could painfully walk out the door with Rarity limping behind her.

The two walked down to the ground floor to see that the fighting was still going on. Rarity cupped her hands around her mouth, “Everypony stop!”

Rainbow did the same thing, “Listen to the drama queen!”

Everypony stopped and looked at the injured and bruised duo. Rarity walked to one side of the room, Rainbow walked to the other side, and they were joined by their friends.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said as she and the rest joined their friend, “Are you okay?”

“That’s kind of a stupid question.” Gilda said, “Of course she’s okay because Dash wouldn’t let any prep beat her up.”

“If you want to know something really stupid,” Twilight said, “it’s coming here alone. What were you thinking, Dash?”

Rainbow didn’t say anything; she just beamed at her friends, “What are you doing here?”

Gilda ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “This one told me that you wanted to be a badflank by taking on the preppies by yourself, so I knew you would need my help.”

“It was as they were running out of the school that they bumped into me.” Twilight said, “They told me what was happening, so I decided to lend my assistance.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the nerd leader, “So you gave up studying time for me?”

It was Twilight’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “Of course. Do you really think I would choose studying over a friend?”

Dash was saved from answering by the incoming preppies. Dash and Rarity were in front while their friends stood behind them like bodyguards.

“This is it.” Rarity said. She turned to her preppies friends, “I want you all to answer truthfully. Have you been going behind my back and fighting with defenseless ponies?”

Colgate raised an eyebrow, “Let me guess, Rainbow Dash told you some lies about us?”

“Don’t call Rainbow a liar.” Scootaloo said as she advanced toward the preppies, but the athlete held her back. 

Colgate continued, “Rainbow Dash is just a bully who wants to cause trouble for us.”

As Rarity’s friends looked innocent, Twilight stepped forward, “If that’s true, then why am I here helping a bully?”

This time, it was Lotus who spoke, “Maybe you just wanted protection, so you stand by Dash.”

Twilight scoffed, “Do you really think of me as so weak and submissive that I would give up my values for some protection? I would have thought that I have made it clear to everypony in Manticore Academy that I despised bullying.”

Rarity faced her friends, “This is the moment of truth; answer my question and you can prove these ponies wrong. However,” Rarity’s voice broke slightly, “if our friendship means anything to you, then please, just answer truthfully.”

The preppies seemed to have lost their momentum. They didn’t dare look at Rarity and instead stared at the floor.

“Rainbow Dash is right.”

Everypony turned and saw that it was Vinyl who spoke, “Dash is right. It wasn’t as bad as before, but we have been messing with some ponies.”

“Why?” Rarity asked sadly, “I thought we were done with that life.”

“You don’t remember Rarity,” Dumb-Bell said, “but our lives did not get easy after we agreed to stop. You didn’t notice much because you hanged your gloves, but other ponies, besides greasers, started to come after us." Dumb-Bell gestured to the senior members, "They thought that because we weren’t fighting anymore, that we were now easy targets, but we showed them.” He added with a grim smile.

Rarity wiped her eyes, “So it’s my fault. I should have been more attentive of you all. I was selfish.”

“No you weren’t” Aloe implored, “All you did was try to forget, but we couldn’t.”

“It’s not your fault, Rarity.” Colgate said, now visibly sad, “It’s ours.”

“We should have never listened to that pegasus!” Lotus said angrily.

Rarity blinked, “What did Dash tell you?”

“Not Rainbow Dash.” Lotus said, “I’m talking about Lightning Dust.”

“What did Lightning Dust tell you?” Rainbow said quickly as she stepped forward to the preps.

Colgate answered the question, “We have been in contact with Lighting for a while now. She was the one that gave us the names of the ponies who disrespected us. Although, it might have been that she just gave us random names to fuel our anger.”

“But why did she do it?” Rarity asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you why.” Dash said as she faced everypony, “Because Lightning Dust loves to make other ponies do what she wants.”

“I believe you meant she has a God-complex.” Twilight said.

“Right, God-complex. She just sat down and watched all of us dance around for her enjoyment. But you know what; she messed with the wrong ponies.” Dash turned to Rarity and held out her hand, “Lightning Dust was the reason we were at each other’s throats. Although, I guess it wasn’t too hard to get us to hate each other, but that’s beside the point. She was also the one who caused you and your friends to do some crappy thing. What do you say we work together, and prove to Lightning Dust that we aren’t her pawns?”

Everypony waited with baited breath as Rarity stared at Dash’s hand. The unicorn hesitated for a moment before taking Dash’s hand and shaking it. Rarity grinned,

“It-is-on!”

> One Year Anniversary!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manticore Academy’s gymnasium was completely decorated with banners, streamers, and balloons. There were tables of food and drinks and the music was blasting from a small stage. The center of the gym was packed with students, all dancing and having the time of their lives. Above the students was a banner that spelled out, ‘A night to remember.’

As the ponies danced their hearts out, the rock music that filled the room suddenly changed into a slow tempo. As ponies started to partner up with their dates, the sea of ponies suddenly began to depart, leaving a large opening in the middle of the dance floor. Somepony then strutted to the middle of the dance floor. The pony was Lightning Dust and she was wearing a black tuxedo. Many of the onlookers looked at the pegasus jealously and Lightning just looked at everypony calmly.

On the other side of the crowd, another pony walked out of the crowd. The newcomer was wearing an elegant white dress with laces. She had eyeliner and her hair was tied into a lovely ponytail.

Lightning Dust smiled as she walked to her date, “You’re looking dashing, my little Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash smiled back, “You’re not so bad yourself.” She grabbed Dust’s arm gently and the two walked toward the middle of the dance floor, where they began to slow dance.

“Who would have thought we would end up like this?” Lightning Dust said as she turned Rainbow, “After a year of typical high school drama, I would end up getting the girl.”

“I did help you a lot.” Dash said arrogantly, “After all, I’m the Mona Lisa while you’re pre-school arts and crafts.”

Lightning Dust dipped Rainbow, “And yet I managed to snag you.”

Dash gently touched Lightning’s face, “And I’m glad you did.”

The two pegasai’s faces slowly drew closer to each other. They closed their eyes, waiting to do something they both have wanted to do for a long time.
________________________________________
Rainbow Dash screamed at the top of her lungs as she awoke from her nightmare. She then rolled to the edge of her bed and threw up a little.

“Of Faust.” Dash groaned, “What fresh Tartarus was that?!”

“That would be the potion you drank.”

Rainbow looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle sitting on a chair with a book on her lap. Dash looked around the room and realized she was in her own room. The pegasus looked out her window and saw that the sun was barely rising.

Twilight took out a notepad and pen from her pocket. She then spoke aloud what she was writing down, “Needs less dandelion.”

“Twilight,” Dash said dangerously, her dream was still fresh in her mind, “what the hay did you do to me?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “You don’t remember? That’s strange.” Twilight mused over this information for a second before shaking her head, “Anyways, last night, I asked you to drink a potion I created to give the drinker a dreamless sleep. I thought if the pony didn’t dream, then they will be able to retain everything they learned the previous day. However, it seems that the complete opposite happened. So,” Twilight leaned toward Dash. The unicorn’s face was filled with wonder, “What did you dream?”

“Nothing.” Dash growled. Her face felt like it was on fire, “It was just a terrible nightmare and that’s all you need to know.”

“You know, I can make you some tea.” Twilight said helpfully, “I’ve been working on this new potion-”

“NO MORE POTIONS!” Dash cried. She then heard snoring. Rainbow looked to the other side of her room and saw Rarity sleeping like a log. The preppy had a small book fort around her.

“What the buck happened last night?” Dash said. She looked around her room and finally saw all kinds of books scattered around the room.

“It’s called studying, Dash.” Twilight said, “And since you’re up, I suggest you start. You already had your final exam for History and Art, but you have the English exam in a couple of hours, and I doubt Ms. Luna will be pleased if you fail.”

Twilight threw a nearby book to Dash, who caught it weakly. The pegasus sighed, “It’s too early to study. And why aren’t you waking her up to study?” Dash said, pointing at Rarity.

“I gave her the same potion I gave you, but I added some different ingredients. It seems to be giving her pleasant dreams. What kind of friend would I be if I woke her up?” Twilight said as Rarity giggled in her sleep.

Dash grumbled at Rarity’s good fortune as she sat up and propped opened her book. Rainbow yawned as she and Twilight began to read their books, but they both stopped when they heard something strange,

“Oh Trenderhoof, you naughty boy. You will need to be punished.”

> Chp 16: Prepare Yourself: Greasers Are Coming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle was lying on her bed in her dorm room. Her room was composed of the one bed and, right next to it, a large desk with a lamp and a number of notebooks. On the desk were also pictures of herself with her parents, a young man in a military uniform who was undoubtedly her older brother, and a young boy with spikey green hair who was her younger brother. There was a large T.V on the other side of the wall and a gaming console was connected to it. Twilight was casually reading a book with a cup of tea next to her. She tried to enjoy the book, but she had to make frequent stops due to two distractions in her room.

“Come on, Dash.” Scootaloo said. She was sitting by the unicorn’s bed with a video game controller in her hand, “You’re falling behind.”

“I can see that.” Dash growled. She was also sitting by the bed and had a controller in her hand. The only difference was that Dash was moving her entire arms frantically, as though it would assist her, and Scootaloo was holding her controller calmly. The pegasai were playing Equestrian Games: Summer Olympics. They were currently racing with their custom, Wonderbolt characters through a mountain terrain, and Scootaloo was making Dash eat her dust.

“Do you two mind?” Twilight said, “I’m trying to read here.”

“Why?” Dash asked, not taking her eyes of the game, “The exams finished yesterday, which means that we are now officially on winter break.” Rainbow blindly reached under the bed and pulled out another controller. She handed it to Twilight, “Take it. You should be playing too since it’s your game, Twi.”

“No, you two were the ones eager to play the game. Honestly, I haven’t used the system in months. Believe it or not, Dash, but I prefer books over video games.”

“That’s because she knows she would lose to me.” Scootaloo said, surprisingly arrogant. It seemed that video games were a thing that the small pegasus prided herself in.

“Come on, Twilight.” Rainbow exasperated, “You can’t deny a challenge like that.”

Twilight turned to the pegasus, “Watch me.” And then she turned back to her book.

Dash grinned, “Fine, I’ll play for you.”

Scootaloo smirked, “Even if you were playing for Faust herself, you would still lose.”

“Challenge accepted.” Dash proclaimed. She began to playfully make grabs for Scootaloo’s controller. Twilight turned to the two pegasai and she couldn’t help but giggle at their playful behavior.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

“It’s open.” Twilight said.

The door opened. Twilight saw who it was and raised an eyebrow, “What are you doing here?”

Scootaloo looked away from the game to see who was at the door. What she saw made her pause the game immediately and her jaw dropped. Dash blinked at the unmoving T.V screen, 

“Why did you pause?” Rainbow said as she turned to Scootaloo. It was then that Dash noticed a drop of sweat run down the small pegasus’s face. The athlete finally turned to the door and was surprised by who she saw. It was a female earth pony with dark orange hair. The thing that made her distinctive was that she was wearing dirty jeans and a dirty, black, leather jacket.

“Look at that.” Dash said with a grin, “A wild greaser appears.”

The greaser sighed, “So I’m guessing your Rainbow Dash?”

“How can you tell? Was it my rainbow hair or my sheer awesomeness?”

“It was your loud mouth.” The greaser said stoically.

Twilight turned to Dash, “I believe that was what you would call a burn, right?”

“Not helping, Twi.” Dash said, now glaring at the newcomer.

“Can we skip this useless banter?” The greaser said impatiently, “I came here to talk to you, Dash"

“Why?”

“Because Applejack needs your help.” The greaser said, as though it would explain everything.

Rainbow scoffed, “First off, I have absolutely no idea who Applejack is. Secondly, I don’t even know who you are.”

“The names Golden Harvest, but my friends call me Carrot Top.” The greaser said, “Applejack is somepony who can either be your friend, or your enemy. Trust me; you do not want her as your enemy. Meet her under the overpass that separates Manticore Town and New Delphi. Don’t be late.” And with that, Golden Harvest walked away.

“She seemed friendly.” Dash said as she reached for Scootaloo’s controller to un-pause the game.

“So what are you going to do now?” Twilight asked Dash.

“I don’t know. I think I’ll finish this game, eat a bag of chips, travel around town for a bit, and then call it a day.”

“Huh?” Twilight said, “I’m surprised by you. I would have expected you to jump at the chance to get on Applejack’s good side.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s the leader of the greasers.” Scootaloo blurted out. She was still sweating nervously, “And she is one of the toughest ponies in this school and one of the most violent.”

“I think that’s a bit too extreme.” Twilight said, “I think the word you're looking for is protective.”

“If by 'protective' you mean throwing students down a couple of stairs, then yeah, Applejack is really protective.” Scootaloo retorted.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Applejack never pushed Felix down a flight of stairs. He got scared when he saw Applejack approaching him, so he ran down the stairs and tripped.”

“So is this Applejack like a bully?” Dash asked, “Should I be thinking of a plan to stop her and her greasers?”

“The greasers are more like vigilantes than bullies.” Twilight said. She got off her bed and began to pace around the room as though giving a lecture, “They don’t care if other students get bullied, but if somepony threatens their own, then every single greaser will be after that pony.”

“They’re kind of like preppies, but they don’t care if somepony insults them.” Scootaloo said, “They only go after you if you threaten them, and it is scary how fast they learn about a threat. Everypony in the school knows to never threaten the greasers, not even as a joke.”

Dash nodded slowly, “So now I have some crazy, overprotective ponies to deal with? Wow, isn’t this school fantastic.”

“I still say you should try to get on Applejack's good side.” Twilight said, “She may be a bit extreme at times, but she has a good heart.”

“So what are you going to do?” Scootaloo asked.

Dash mused over her options for a second, “I think I’ll go see what this Applejack has to offer, but first,” Dash held up her game controller, “I’m gonna school Scootaloo in a video game.”

Scootaloo laughed and un-paused the game. As the pegasai laughed while they played the game, Twilight returned to her bed and began to read. It was five minutes before the unicorn gave up trying to reading with the noise in her room and decided to just watch the pegasai play.

________________________________________

After facing a humiliating defeat at the hands of Scootaloo, Dash was walking on the bridge that connected the Academy with Manticore Town. Thanks to the snow, a lot of ponies seemed to have stopped using carriages or vehicles and decided it would be much safer to walk, so it was a bit crowded on the sidewalk. Shops and buildings were decorated with lights, tinsels, and candles while there were pine trees and giant candy canes planted on the ground. These decorations would have seemed weird at any other time of the year if it wasn’t for the fact that Hearts Warming Eve was just around the corner.

Rainbow walked through Manticore Town and saw many ponies carrying large parcels and presents. The pegasus began to wonder what presents she should buy for her friends, but she decided to focus on more pressing matters. She walked for a couple more minutes until she reached the overpass.

Dash stopped and looked beyond the overpass, and then behind her. She couldn’t believe how different it looked; behind her was a bustling town with happy ponies, and beyond the overpass was a town with bums and buildings that were falling apart. New Delphi reminded Dash a lot of her home.

The pegasus walked under the overpass and she heard music. It sounded like a harmonica playing the blues. She continued to walk and eventually saw an earth pony leaning against a wall. Dash knew that this was Applejack since she was wearing the standard leather jacket all greasers wear. Dash also noted that she was wearing a stetson on her head. The pegasus stopped a couple of feet from the greaser and waited. The greaser kept playing her instrument until she looked up and saw the pegasus.

“Sorry about that.” Applejack said. She got off the wall and made her way to the pegasus, “I kinda lose myself when I play. Did I keep ya waitin’?”

“Um, I just got here.” Dash said, surprised by what she saw. When she thought of Applejack, Dash expected some outcast with dead eyes and prone to anger. However, she did not expect the leader of the greasers to be a stetson-wearing blonde girl with a southern accent and a friendly smile.

The greaser walked up to Dash and held up her hand, “Nice to meet ya. Allow me to formally introduce myself. The name’s Applejack.”

Dash took the hand, “Sup, I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“I gotta say, it’s nice to finally meet the famous Dash. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The pegasus grinned, “Really? What have you heard?”

“A lot of things; some good, most bad.” Applejack said bluntly, “You’ve caused quite a stir since you arrived. Ponies keep calling you loud, obnoxious, and just down right unpleasant.”

Dash scoffed, “Is that the best ponies can think of these days? I’m more insulted by the lack of creativity in the insults.”

Applejack stared uncertainly at Dash, as though wondering whether she was being sarcastic or not, “Anyways,” she said slowly, “besides all of the trash other ponies talk, there are still ponies who say you’re loyal, and always there to help somepony in danger.”

“How the hay do you know this stuff?”

“Any pony in Manticore Academy can learn anything about everything. All they gotta do is listen.” Applejack said.

“You know, you sound a lot like Twilight.” Dash said, remembering that the unicorn once said something similar about information gathering.

“So you do know Miss Sparkle.” Applejack said pleasantly, “I didn’ think ponies were right when they said you and Twilight were some sort of tag team. I mean, that unicorn is less sociable than hermit crab with trust issues.”

“That’s putting it mildly” Dash chuckled, “But that’s in the past. Now, she’s just an awkward hermit crab.”

Applejack giggled for a moment before sighing tiredly, “Anyways, let’s get down to business. I need your help.”

“What would somepony like you need my help for?”

Those words seemed to have damaged Applejack’s pride. The greaser cleared her throat, “I heard that you are friendly with the preppies. Don’t worry,” Applejack said quickly when Dash went into a fighting stance, “I’m not looking for a fight. You see, my little sister, Applebloom, has gotten into some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Applejack sighed again and said somberly, “The preppy kind of trouble.”

Dash’s eyes widened, “Are you sure?”

“That’s the problem; I ain’t sure. But I got this feeling in my gut that tells me that some rich pony is messing with my kin. That’s why I need your help. Since you’re friendly with the preppies, I was wondering if you know something about it.”

“Listen, the preppies don’t talk to me about all of the ponies they trash. And besides, they don’t do that anymore.”

Applejack scoffed, “So they say.”

“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you handle the problem yourself?”

It was at that moment that Dash touched a nerve. After the words left the pegasus’s mouth, Applejack stared at her with a challenging stare.

“Easy there, cowgirl.” Dash said cautiously, resuming her stance.

Applejack again took a step back, “I’m sorry; this isn’t you fault.” She took a deep breath, “Listen, if I try starting random fights with any of the preppies, then it won’t end pretty for anypony. I need to have a reason, or else it would be like it was two years ago.”

“What happened two years ago?”

“Things that I am ashamed of.” Applejack said soberly, “But the past doesn’t matter; what matters is that my sister is probably being bullied by preppies, and I need to know which ones.”

“Are you sure you’re right? Have you asked your sister whether she really was being bullied?”

“Applebloom denies it, but I can tell when she’s lyin’.” Applejack said wearily, “I wish she could just be open with me so I can protect her.”

“And what will you do if you find out these bullies are actually preppies?”

“Then I’ll handle it.” Applejack said, not meeting Dash’s eyes. Rainbow Dash knew what Applejack meant by ‘handling’ it. 

The pegasus sighed, “Alright, I’ll let you know what I find out.”

The greaser looked surprised, “Really? I’d thought you would try to defend the preppies. Aren't ya their friend?”

“First off, not every preppy is my friend. There’s only, like, two that are okay. Second, friend or no friend, I hate bullying, and I will stop it if I know about it.”

Applejack smiled, “You know, I’m starting to like you. It’s nice to finally meet somepony who listens to her conscious. If you find something, and I pray to Faust I’m wrong, then tell me immediately. I’ll be waiting here for an hour every morning, afternoon, and night. Thanks again, Dash.” With one finally smile and a tip of her hat, Applejack walked to New Delphi. Dash stood her ground for a couple of seconds, surprised by what just happened,

“D-Did a leader of a clique actually like me the first time she met me?!” Dash said, her eyes bulging, “Wow, this must really be an early Hearts Warming miracle.”

Dash turned around and headed back to Manticore Town. The pegasus knew that if she wanted to learn if the bullying was real, she would need help. Once Dash reached Manticore Academy, she crossed another bridge that led her to Manticore Ville.
________________________________________
Rarity was standing in front of a full-length mirror at Fleur De Lis Boutique in Manticore Ville. The unicorn liked to shop there for two reasons: one was that it always had the latest dresses from Prance, and the owner, Fleur Dis Lee, was a family friend, so Rarity usually got a discount on clothing and fabric.

As Rarity held two dresses in front of her, she heard a very distinctive voice,

“Rarity! Are you in here? If you’re buried under clothes, shout for help!”

Rarity rolled her eyes good naturedly, “I’m fine, Dash.”

Rainbow waded through racks of clothing until she was finally with the preppy leader, “There you are.” Dash said, sighing in relief, “This place is like a maze. How can you find what you’re looking for in here?”

“I’ve had years of experience.” Rarity said, smiling, “I’m glad you came. I was starting to think my text message didn’t send.”

Dash raised an eyebrow, “What text message?”

“The one that said to come here to help me. Now,” Rarity held the two dresses in front of Dash, “which one do you think looks better on me? The blue dress or the purple dress?”

Dash blinked and then sighed, “First off, I don’t even have a cell phone.”

Rarity turned her head in confusion, “Then what was that phone number you gave me?”

“That was for my home telephone number, which is basically useless here. And Rarity, why in Tartarus would you have me be the one to give you fashion advice?”

“Well, I have to agree with you that you have the fashion sense of a starfish.”

“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”

Rarity smiled embarrassedly “Sorry, I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. I texted you because we haven’t really hanged out since our, um, little feud, so I thought this would be a perfect way to bond.”

“What do you mean we haven’t hanged out? We hung out with Twilight during exam week.”

“All we did was study, and whenever I tried to talk, Twilight would shush me. I just thought that we should try to become actual friends rather than just business partners against Lightning Dust.”

“Hey, I’m all for becoming friends, but couldn’t you have picked a better place? I mean, I’m not exactly a fashion freak.”

“I’ll admit that this place may be catering more to me, but I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.”

“I doubt it.” Dash said, looking at all of the formal dresses, “But I’d rather not be a jerk and just blow you off, so,” Dash looked at the two dresses Rarity was holding, “I guess you should go for the blue dress. I mean, isn’t it a rule to always go for the dress that matches your eyes, or something?”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Rarity said with a grin as she took the blue dress and walked into a nearby changing room.

“Are you going to be long?” Dash said.

“You can’t rush these things, Dash.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Rainbow groaned. She looked around for anywhere to sit, but there were no chairs in sight. The pegasus groaned; she has hated these situations ever since her mother took Dash to boutiques to try on dresses for Dash’s ‘future father’.

“Rainbow Dash.” Rarity called over the door, “If you didn’t get my text, then why are you here?"

“I need your help, and I guessed you would be buying clothes.”

“Then you guessed right. How can I help?”

Rainbow was thankful that Rarity could not see her, Dash's, shifting eyes and terrible poker face. She didn’t know how Rarity would react about her friends resuming their old ways. In the midst of all this, Dash found it funny that the preppies were more likely to start bullying than the actual bullies, who were becoming more and more docile.

“I just wanted to know how the rest of the senior members are doing.” Dash said finally, deciding it’s best to be as general as possible.

“They are doing a lot better thanks to you.” Rarity said cheerfully, “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for helping me see what was going on. While it was uncomfortable at first, we managed to get through that terrible ordeal.”

“So there hasn’t been any bullying?”

“Of course not. And if there is, then you’ll be the first pony I tell.” Rarity walked out of the changing room wearing a long, beautiful blue dress, “What do you think?” Rarity said, doing a little twirl to give Dash the full view.

“It’s, um, nice, I guess.” Dash said.

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you could get one that looks cooler?”

“And how would you make this cooler?”

“I don’t know.” Dash repeated, “Maybe make it twenty percent cooler?”

Rarity blinked, “What does that even mean?”

Dash shrugged, “I’m just not a pro on dresses.”

“That could change quickly.” Rarity said, “If you give me an hour or so, I can teach you about the ins and outs of the fashion world.”

“Maybe someday,” Dash said, “but not today. I’ll see you around, Rarity.”

“Wait! Before you go, I want you to have this.” Rarity said. She narrowed her eyes in concentration and her horn began to glow light blue. After a moment, a card appeared in Rarity’s hands. She handed it to Dash, “Here you go. This is your invitation to my Heart’s Warming Day party.”

“You’re gonna have a party?” Dash said. Her mind immediately thought of images of overly dressed ponies making boring small talk that they wouldn’t remember the next day.

“Yes, and I promise that you’ll find it enjoyable.” Rarity added as though she could read the pegasus’s mind, “After all, I had Pinkie Pie help me with the planning.”

“Really?!” Dash said, surprised, “Since when were you and Pinkie friends?”

“Apparently to Pinkie, we’ve been friends for years, but I don’t really remember seeing much of her. Anyways, it’s a semi-formal event and everypony is invited, which is a big deal. This is the first time I’ve hosted a party that was opened for the whole school. I usually just invited friends and family.”

“It’s probably going to be a small party.” Dash said thoughtfully, “I mean, a lot of students are going to leave school and spend their holiday break with their family. And also, you preps still have kind of a bad reputation because of the bullying a couple of weeks back.”

“That is why I’m having Pinkie Pie send out the invitations.”

“You really think that’s a good idea? I mean, Pinkie doesn’t exactly scream ‘semi-formal’.”

Rarity blinked, finally realizing what she’s done, “Oh, my.” She said quietly, “I really hope Pinkie doesn’t do anything brash.”

________________________________________

Students were hanging around the Manticore Academy’s courtyard that led to the stairs of the actual school. It was packed with groups of cliques and non-clique students. Suddenly, somber music filled the air. Everypony looked around for the source, but they couldn’t find anything. As they were becoming more and more confused, Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared in the center of the courtyard, catching everypony’s attention. All of the students gawked as they saw the party pony. She was wearing a gaudy dark pink dress with a large feathers producing from her back side. She had large amounts of black eyeliner and blue eye shadow plastered on her face. Her hair was unnaturally tamed and a much darker shading of pink.

“Hello everypony.” Pinkie said in a scarily pompous voice, “You are all invited to the Hearts Warming Day ball hosted by Lady Rarity. Please carry yourself with the same dignity the lady herself expresses every day.”

Nopony said anything or moved a muscle. Most of the unfortunate bystanders were to terrified to say anything about this strange Pinkie. One of the middle school students was close to tears.

“Well that wasn’t fun at all.” Pinkie said, back to her lovable tone, “How about I do a real invitation?!”

Pinkie tore off her gaudy clothing and was now wearing a sparkling, hot pink dress. Her make-up was gone, her hair was back to normal, and she was holding an electric guitar.

“Party at Rarity’s house on Hearts Warming Day.” Pinkie shouted, “Be there to get your pants rocked off!”

She then played her guitar and let out an awesome rock ballad, much to the approval of her now relieved audience.

_______________________________________

“You unicorns worry too much.” Dash said, patting Rarity on her back, “I can’t tell whether you or Twilight will have a panic attack first.”

“Something tells me it will be me.” Rarity said with a nervous laugh, “I usually pride myself in being able to make friends quickly, but I guess the same methods I used for us preps won’t apply to everypony.”

“You’ll be fine.” Dash said, “Before you know it, you’re going to be popular and narcissistic in no time.”

“Thanks for the vote of confident.” Rarity said sarcastically.

“Anytime.” Dash said with a grin, “Now, do you know where the rest of the senior members are? I kind of want to ask them something.”

“If you want, you can tell me the message.” Rarity said, taking out her phone, “I can easily text them the information.”

“I’d rather just ask them personally.” Dash said.

Thankfully, Rarity was not suspicious, “Very well. I know Vinyl is at home working on her music, Dumb-bell is at the gym, and Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus are at Manticore Town.”

“Alright then, I’ll see you around, Rarity.” Dash said.

“Wait!” Rarity said loudly, startling the pegasus, “I have to give you one more thing.” Rarity walked past the racks of dresses and disappeared for a couple of minutes before returning with a long, thin package, “Take this.”

Dash took the package from Rarity’s grip, “Thanks. What is it?”

“A dress.” Rarity said happily. Dash immediately pushed the package back to Rarity, but the unicorn didn’t take it, “Come now, Dash. What’s wrong with looking a little feminine once in a while?”

Dash raised an eyebrow and whispered, “Have you even met me?”

“Would it help if I said I made the dress myself and that this is a token of my apology for the troubled I caused you?”

Dash groaned, “See, now I’ll feel like a jerk if I give it back to you.” The pegasus took back the present, “Thanks for the dress, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it.” Rarity said sweetly, “I’m sure you’ll look dazzling wearing it.”

‘The day I wear this is the day I admit that I love my mother’ Dash thought loudly as she walked back into the clothes maze.

________________________________________

Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus were standing in an alleyway in Manticore Town. They were smiling wickedly at a young, red head girl, who was wearing a hoodie and a large red bow on her head. The young girl was staring hatefully at the three preps, who seemed to be enjoying the girl’s torment.

“What shall we have her do now?” Aloe said giggly as she turned to her sister.

Lotus, looking equally happy, said, “Well, she already wrote a sonnet for you, Aloe, and she did give me a wonderful foot rub. How about you, Colgate? What should this little grease stain do?”

Colgate looked at the young girl, “Alright Applebloom, since you have been such a good sport, you deserve a gift.”

The prep reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a large bag of bits, “This is a hundred bits for your efforts. It will no doubt be the most money you will obtain legally.” Colgate held out the bag and Applebloom eagerly went to grab it only for the prep to take it out of reach, “But first, you will need to beg for it.” The prep said evilly.

“What?!” Applebloom said, outraged.

“You heard me.” Colgate said while the other preps looked gleefully, “Balance this bag of bits on your nose like the good little dog you are.”

Applebloom clenched her fist as her irises shrunk. The little greaser rushed Colgate and brought her leg up, intending to kick the prep, but Colgate easily caught the leg and picked up Applebloom effortlessly.

“Now Applebloom, is that anyway to treat other ponies?” Colgate scorned playfully, “Hasn’t that redneck sister of yours taught you any manners?” 

Applebloom made frantic grabs for Colgate but her little arms couldn’t reach the prep. Colgate then tossed Applebloom aside and began to walk away.

“Wait!” Applebloom cried, “I need that money!”

“I don’t know if you deserve the money.” Colgate mused, “I mean you did try to attack me.”

“I’m sorry!”

“How sorry are you?”

Applebloom paused for a moment. Taking a minute to think about it, she took a deep breath and slowly, very slowly, went down on her knees. She then brought her forehead to the ground, “Please, can I have the money?” She said in a strained voice, as though the words were literally causing her pain.

“Isn’t that sweet?” Colgate said. She walked up to Applebloom and patted her head, “Who’s a good doggie? You are! Yes you are!”

The greaser clenched her teeth until she could have sworn that her mouth was bleeding. Still, she didn’t say anything.

“Alright my little puppy, sit up.” Colgate said as the preps behind her chuckled uncontrollably.

Applebloom got up to her knees and Colgate balanced the bag of bits on the greaser’s nose.

“Now that is adorable.” Lotus said.

“Stay still.” Colgate ordered as Applebloom balanced the bag. The prep then crouched down next to the greaser. Colgate turned to her friends, “Take a picture of me and my new pet.”

Aloe and Lotus grinned as they took out their camera phones and took a number of pictures of the scene in front of them. Colgate smiled at every one of them while Applebloom looked mortified, but she refused to move.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Colgate said as she got up, “Run along little greaser.”

Applebloom quickly grabbed the bag of bits and ran away from the laughing preppies.

________________________________________

After depositing her new dress, Rainbow Dash was patrolling Manticore Town. She knew that if the preps were bullying anyone, they would be doing it very secretly, so she checked every alleyway she could find. Sadly, all she found was trash, hobos, and a lot of tagging that was mostly anti-Manticore Academy.

Dash was beginning to give up her search when suddenly, as she turned to another alleyway, somepony crashed into her. The oncoming pony was sent flying backwards while Dash just stood her ground, slightly startled.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” the pony said. 

Dash heard the familiar country accent and saw that the pony she bumped into was a small girl. Dash eyed her for a moment, “Hey, are you Applebloom?”

“Yea.” The girl said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stick around. I gotta go.” Clenching something in her hand, the young greaser ran off as though she was being chased by wolves.

Dash turned to the alleyway and saw the wolves laughing heartedly.

“Really? You’re picking on kids now?” Dash said as she walked to the three preps, “I know you girls are trash, but this is just sad.”

“Hush now, Dash.” Aloe said, “Even you can’t ruin our mood.”

“So why don’t you run along and go back to your empty life.” Lotus said with a big grin on her face.

Dash smiled, “Listen, just because me and Rarity are kind of tight doesn’t mean I’ll pass up a chance of beating some sense into you.”

“And just because Rarity forgives your misdeeds, doesn’t mean we do.” Colgate countered, “You may have fooled her and Vinyl, but we see you for who you are; a self-centered pegasus who would gladly sell-out her friends for her own sake.”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,” Dash said, and then yawned, “but your words will always bore me.”

“Same old Dash.” Colgate said, “Well, don’t let us keep you. We’ll just be on our way.”

“Not before you tell Rarity that you three were bullying again.”

“We weren’t bullying.”

“Then what were you doing to that kid? Braiding each other's hair?”

“We were doing to her the same thing she does to us.” Aloe interjected, “That brat Applebloom is always insulting us every chance she gets.”

“She thinks she’s the queen of the school.” Lotus said, “All because her sister is Applejack.” She added with disgust.

“Imagine our surprise when she came up to us and asked us for money.” Colgate said gleefully, “I mean she has a lot of guts for coming to us for help. Of course, being the kind ponies we are, we decided to help her out in exchange for some favors.”

“And let me guess.” Dash said, “These ‘favors’ involved a lot of kicking and punching.”

“Come on, Dash, even we know that kids are off limits. We did, however, have some fun with her.” Colgate then gestured to Aloe, who held up her phone to show Dash the pictures.

“See” Colgate said, “No harm came to the little pony.”

“Either way,” Rainbow said, “I’m still going to have to tell Applejack-”

The preps eyes immediately widened. Colgate quickly grabbed Dash by her collar shirt, “You will do no such thing!”

“Why the buck not?” Dash said, looking more bored than worried, “She has the right to know if her little sister is being bullied.”

“We’re just doing what you always do, Dash.” the unicorn prep said, “You know, teaching ponies lessons. Because of us, Applebloom will learn some humility.”

“You do not want Applejack to find out about this.” Lotus said with a hint of worry in her voice, “That pony is unstable.”

“Trust us, Dash.” Aloe said, “If you tell Applejack, then this won’t end pretty.”

“Come on, girls.” Dash said, “Enough with the abstract warnings. Just tell me what’s gonna happen.”

“Imagine the worst fight you can, and multiply it by ten.” Colgate said, “So you keep your mouth shut.” She then pushed Dash aside and walked away with Aloe and Colgate.

Dash stood staring at the preppies and thought about their warnings. She then weighed her choices. If she told Applejack, then some unforeseen horror will happen. If she didn’t tell Applejack, then the three preppies will feel they could get away with bullying because Dash won’t say a thing.

Rainbow Dash sighed, “I swear this school is becoming more and more convoluted everyday. Military school probably has a lot less drama than this.”

> Chp 17: Greasy Slope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter Break had finally started at Manticore Academy. This meant great joy for the students as the majority of them would be leaving the school to spend time with their families. However, there were still a number of students staying at the school. The student’s reasons ranged from attending special seminars the teachers provided for students needing extra credit to not wanting to visit their families. It was the former reason that made Colgate and a number of other students wake up early in the morning to attend class. After about an hour or so, Colgate’s seminar ended and she hurried to her lockers to collect her things and enjoy the rest of her day as far away from the school.

As Colgate placed a book in her bag, she felt a sudden chill down her spine. She looked to the right and saw, at the end of the hall, a greaser looking at her from behind his locker. Colgate didn’t give the lone greaser much thought, so she continued taking her books. A second later, she felt another chill. She tried to shrug it off, but the chill persisted. She sighed and turned to where the greaser was and found that three more appeared and that they were all looking at her direction.

‘Crap.’ Colgate thought. She pretended that she didn’t notice the greasers so as to not alert them. Once she got her things, she closed her locker and quickly made her way to the stairs. Once she was sure that she was out of the greaser’s view, Colgate took out her phone and sent a text message to Aloe and Lotus, who were attending seminars on the same day, but on different floors:

‘Meet me on the ground floor. Hurry!’

Colgate was on the fourth floor, so she had a ways to go. She walked down the stairs to the third floor. She considered using the elevator, but a quick glance back showed that the greasers were already at the staircase. The elevator would take too long, so she just continued to speed walk to the next staircase. Unfortunately for her, the greasers picked up their speed as well.

Colgate reached the second floor and she was now moving at a light jog speed. She took out her phone again to text Vinyl, who was out shopping, to bring her limousine to the front of the school. Before she could even start to text, somepony grabbed her from behind and pulled her into an adjacent hallway. The moment she was grabbed, Colgate began a series of elbows blows to the grabber’s stomach. After the third hit, the grabber spoke, and Colgate recognized who it was,

“Relax, it’s me!” Rainbow Dash said as she struggled to keep her hold on the prep.

Colgate, however, did not relax. She instead increased the speed of her hits. Rainbow then turned Colgate around so she was facing the pegasus, and Dash punched Colgate’s solar plexus, momentarily subduing the unicorn.

“Sorry about that, but I’m doing you a favor.” Dash said. She then grabbed Colgate around the waist and dragged her down the hall and around another corner until they reached a janitor’s closet. Dash then dragged Colgate inside the closet and Dash locked the door behind them.

“Let go of me!” Colgate said. She continued to struggle until she managed to hit Rainbow’s nose. As the pegasus recoiled in pain, Colgate got into her fighting stance.

“Wait!” said a voice. Colgate turned and saw that Aloe and Lotus were right beside her.

The unicorn’s eyes widened and she said, “What are you two-”

“Shh!” Dash said. Everypony stopped talking and stood still as they all heard noises coming from the hallway.

“Where did she go?!” Somepony said. The girls knew that the speaker was a greaser.

“I don’t know.” said another greaser, “Come on, she probably went this way.”

The two greasers rushed down the hallway. Once the girls could no longer hear footsteps, Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, “It looks like you three are safe for now.”

Dash turned to the preps and was punched in the face by Colgate. The unicorn then grabbed Dash by the collar of her shirt,

“Alright pegasus,” Colgate said angrily, “You have five seconds to explain why a couple of greasers were following me.”

Dash grinned, “Come on, Toothpaste. That’s kind of impossible, even for me.”

Colgate was ready to launch another punch when Aloe grabbed her arm,

“Hold on.” Aloe said, “Maybe we should listen to her.”

Colgate turned to Aloe and blinked, “Are you serious?”

Lotus stepped forward and said, “You aren’t the only one the greasers are stalking. Aloe and I were being followed this morning by the greasers, and it was Rainbow Dash that helped us get away from them.”

Colgate scoffed, “So what? Are you two now friendly with Dash? Haven’t you girls thought that maybe Dash sent the greasers after us?” She turned back to Rainbow, “You told Applejack, didn’t you?”

“If you let me go, I’ll tell you the whole story.” Dash said coolly.

Colgate glared at the pegasus before throwing Dash to the ground. 

“Talk.” The prep ordered.

“Would it kill you to be pleasant?” Dash asked as she got to her feet.

“To you, yes.” Colgate answered.

“Aw, I love you too.” Dash said. Colgate bared her teeth and Rainbow chuckled, “Okay, chill out; I’ll talk.”
________________________________________
A couple of days ago

Dash was walking to overpass for her meeting with Applejack. It had been a couple of hours since she saw Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus humiliating Applebloom. Dash was still contemplating what she will say to Applejack as she reached the overpass and saw the greaser leaning against a wall.

Dash sighed and walked to Applejack. Once Dash reached her, the athlete said, “So, how are you doing?”

Applejack turned to Dash, “I’m actually pretty nervous.” She admitted, “What did you find out?”

Dash bit her lip and then said, “Well, I, um, found out that…” The pegasus stared at Applejack and thought about Rarity and the rest of the preps. The pegasus then sighed, looked Applejack straight in the eye, and said, “No preps are bullying your sister.”

Applejack glared at Dash intensely, but the pegasus didn’t flinch. She continued, “I give you my word; I didn’t see or hear any preppy punching, kicking, or beating your sister.”

The greaser continued to glare at Dash, who was hoping that her poker face was good enough to fool the greaser. Applejack eventually sighed, “Okay, I believe you. After all, your word is all a pony has. But, if you don’t mind, can you still keep an eye out about this bullying thing?”

“Sure thing.” Dash nodded.

“Thanks.” Applejack said. She began to walk away, but then turned back to Dash and smiled “Oh, by the way, what can you tell me about the preppies Colgate, Lotus, and Aloe?”

Dash’s stomach dropped and she momentarily lost her poker face, but she quickly regained it. However, it was to late. Applejack continued to look at Dash innocently, but there was a glint in her eyes that practically screamed ‘Gotcha!’.


“I-I don’t know them well.” Dash said, trying to sound convincing, “All I know is that they are close friends with Rarity, I think.”

“Okay. I only ask because I heard that those three preps are rather unpleasant. Anyways, thanks again for the help, Dash.” Applejack then tipped her hat to the pegasus before walking away.

Rainbow stared at the greaser as she walked away. The rainbow-haired athlete thought about how Applejack could give Twilight a run for her money in information gathering.
________________________________________
“You didn’t tell Applejack?” Aloe said in awe.

“Wow…well, thanks, I guess.” Lotus said.

Colgate was in deep thought. She paced around the closet and said, “So Applejack is suspicious. Well, it doesn’t matter. She won’t do anything without proof, which she doesn’t have.”

“But she might get some.” Rainbow said, “Which is why we need to do something now.”

Colgate raised an eyebrow, “Why are you trying to help us? Last time I checked, we hated each other. What’s your motive?”

Rainbow shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess it’s just that Rarity will be upset if anything happens to you three.”

“So you’re doing this to get Rarity’s favor.” Colgate said.

“No; I’m doing this so my friend won’t be sad.”

The preps looked at Dash as though she grew another pair of wings on her head. The pegasus ignored their looks and thought of how to get the three girls out of trouble. After a minute, an idea came to her.

“I think I’ve got it.” Dash said, “I think I know how to help you three. But first, I’ll need to get some supplies. You girls stay here for a couple more minutes in case there are any more greasers around.” Dash then exited to janitor’s closet and made her way to the school’s exit.
________________________________________
Twilight Sparkle was walking back to Manticore Academy with two bulging bags. She had just crossed the bridged that connected the school to Manticore town. She continued to walk, but then stopped when, up ahead, she saw two female greasers blocking her path.

Twilight rolled her eyes and thought, ‘Oh great’.

As the unicorn got closer to the greasers, she noted that they were twin pegasai with grayish, pale blue hair. She reached the greasers and walked around them, but one of the greasers grabbed her shoulders,

“Hold up, nerd.” The pegasus said, “Are you Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight looked at the greaser and said, “No.”

The other greaser said, “Okay. Then do you mind telling us where Twilight Sparkle is?”

The greaser holding Twilight’s shoulder turned to her twin sister, “Are you really that stupid, Flitter? We know what Twilight looks like, and this is Twilight Sparkle.”

Flitter raised an eyebrow, “Then why did you ask if she’s Twilight, Cloudchaser?”

“To create a tense atmosphere, which you ruined. So shut up.” Cloudchaser said. She then turned back to Twilight, but the nerd had already escaped the pegasus’s hold and was walking away.

“Hey!” Cloudchaser said as she and her sister caught up to Twilight, “We were talking to you, nerd!”

“Well I can’t talk.” Twilight stated, “I’m busy.”

“You think you’re pretty cool, huh.” Flitter said, “With your…um.” The pegasus stooped down and rummaged through Twilight’s bags, “With your gift wrapping and your-”

Twilight took her bag away from the greaser and used her other bag to hit the prying pegasus.

“I knew that you greasers weren’t very cultured, but I at least thought you had some vague hints of what manners were.” Twilight said as she faced the greasers.

“You just made a big mistake.” Cloudchaser said as she got into a fighting stance, “We just wanted some information about your preppy friends, but it looks like you just want to fight.”

Fritter recovered from the bag attack and also got into a fighting stance. Twilight’s horn began to glow, ready to battle.

“HEY!”

The three ponies turned to the school’s direction and saw Rainbow Dash flying toward them. Dash landed in front of Twilight and she glared at the greasers, “Leave. Now.”

Cloudchaser glared as well, “Who are you to tell us what to do?”

“Um, sis,” Flitter said, “I think this is Rainbow Dash, and Applejack said to leave Rainbow Dash alone.”

Dash and Cloudchaser stared each other down. Twilight’s horn continued to glow as the unicorn slowly reached for her firecrackers. Flitter was staring at the pegasai nervously as she hoped a fight wouldn’t break out between the two. After a tense minute, Cloudchaser finally scoffed and said, “You are lucky.” She then walked away with her sister right behind her.

“No, I’m awesome.” Dash said. She turned to Twilight, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a little annoyed.” Twilight said, “I thought today was going to be a tense-free day”

“You and me both.” Dash said, “Come on, I’ll walk you back to the dorm.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and pointed to the academy, “Um, the school is right over there. I’m pretty sure I can make it by myself.”

“I’m not taking any chances. Things are starting to heat up with the greasers.”

“Already?” Twilight asked, “How do you always manage to anger every group you interact with?”

“Hey, I didn’t anger you and your nerds.”

“Well…” Twilight began.

“Oh come on! Seriously?”

Twilight giggled, “I’m kidding. I was just suspicious of you, but not anymore.”

“Good.” Dash said, “Now, let’s get you back to the dorm before more greasers come. You need any help with the bag.”

“I’m good.” Twilight said. She and Dash began to walk to school, “Besides, I have your Hearth's Warming gift in one of these bags and I don't want you to see it yet.”

“Nice.” Dash said, “You know, you can give it to me now. I mean, you’re going back home for the holidays, right?.”

“I’m not leaving until midnight before Heath’s Warming Day. That’s when you’re getting your present.”

“Fine.”

The two continued to walk for a while in silence until Twilight said, “I’m guessing you’re staying, correct?”

“Yep. With my mom and her ‘husband’ on that one year honeymoon cruise, I have nowhere to go.”

Twilight stared at Dash with a sympathetic look. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she stopped. They reached the dorm and Dash said, “Alright then. Now that you’re safe, I’m off. I’m expecting a great present from you, Twilight.”

“And I’m expecting a ‘thank you’ no matter what.” Twilight said.

Dash smile and ran to the border of the campus. Once there, she spread her wings and flew to the Manticore Town Sporting Goods Store, where she will find supplies for her plan to help the preps with their greasy problem.

> Two Year Anniversary (Sorry for my tardiness!)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manticore Academy was experiencing its worst storm of the year. The clouds were pitch black and drenched the school grounds with unrelenting, freezing rain. Nearly everypony was in their dorms as they waited for the storm to pass by. The only ponies left outside were located at the Manticore football field. There were a total of twelve ponies on the field. On one side were eleven ponies, who just so happened to be the best offensive line Manticore Academy has seen since the eighties. The captain and quarterback of the team, Bulk Bicep, stared down the lone pony on the other side of the field, who was Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash stared back a determined glare. She glanced at the staircase that lead to the field and saw that nopony else was coming. She sighed,

“I guess they decided not to show.” Dash said. She looked at the football she was holding and took in a deep breath. She then let out an intense yell and ran as fast as she could toward the opposing team. The football team met her yell with their own yells and charged toward the pegasus.

The opposing forces met each other in the middle of the field. Dash managed to swerve past two jocks and performed a pegasus drop kick to another. Then one of the jocks grabbed her by the waist. The jock tried to bring her down, but Rainbow quickly expanded her wings to gain some air. However, another jock jumped high and delivered a devastating kick to Dash’s face. The pegasus dropped to the ground, but she didn’t slow down. She began to elbow the jock holding her until the jock released her. Dash got back onto her feet for about a second before Bulk Bicep came torpedoing toward her.

“YEAH!!!!!” he yelled as he propelled himself forward with his tiny wings and speared Dash to the ground.

Rainbow was gasping in pain as she looked up to see the football team surrounding her. Bulk Bicep walked up to Dash, folded his hands together, and brought them crashing down to Dash’s face.

‘Well, this sucks.’ Dash thought before she blacked out from the hit.
________________________________________
Dash woke up and was momentarily blinded by a light. She tried to shield her eyes, but her entire body felt too tired to move. It was then that somepony was suddenly standing over her. At first, Dash thought it was Bulk Bicep, but this new pony was much scrawnier. The pony crouched down and Dash was able to see that he was a unicorn with pure white hair. He let out a long whistle and said,

“Wow, you got knocked the buck out.”

He let out a small chuckle and helped Dash to her feet. The pegasus groaned slightly as she steadied herself.

“I went easy on those blockheads.” Dash said as she massaged her ribs, “I won’t make that mistake again.” She turned to leave, but the unicorn suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

Dash walked past him and said, “I’m gonna go and demand a rematch against the jocks.”

“I would seriously advise against that.” the unicorn said, “You aren’t ready yet.”

Dash scoffed, “And how would you know? And who the Tartarus are you anyways?”

“My name is Silver Lining, and let’s just say I have been with you since the beginning of your little adventure.”

Dash stared at the unicorn, “Um, I’m pretty sure I would have known if someone was stalking me.”

She turned to leave again, by Silver teleported in front of her again.

“Would you please stop that?” Dash said angrily.

Silver ignored her and said, “I’ve been with you since the beginning; observing and occasionally helping you. I’ve seen you grown and I honestly did not expect you to turn out the way you did. That is a good thing, by the way. I had much lower expectations for you.”

“Um, thanks?” Dash said.

Silver sighed, “Listen, I came here to apologize.”

“For what?”

“For this!” Silver said, gesturing toward the entire field. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this; with you facing the jocks all alone. Unfortunately, it was my lack of planning and general stupidity that caused you to be so far behind and so unprepared for this. For that, I am truly sorry.”

He then went down on his knees and bowed down low. Dash was slightly put off by this act; it felt as though he was talking to someone else besides her.

“Um, is there anything else you wanted to say?” Dash said.

“Not really.” Silver said as he got to his feet, “I just wanted to apologize and that I will try better in the future. Wait!” he said, causing Dash to jump.

“What?!” Dash said.

“I almost forgot.” Silver said. He then closed the distance between him and Dash, grabbed the back of her head, and then delivered a strong head-butt, knocking the pegasus out cold.

“Whelp, that’s it for this anniversary.” Silver Lining said. He turn to the empty stands and began to speak as though the stands were filled with ponies. “Thank you all for your kind words and support these past two years. I’m sorry for the long periods of nothing and for my bad grammar. I’ll try to manage my time better and I hope to see you all here for another year!”

________________________________________
Rainbow Dash snapped her eyes open and sat up immediately. She was momentarily dazed as she looked at her surroundings. She was in her room and the morning sun was barely making it through the clouds that brought a fresh blanket of snow.

“That was one weird dream.” Dash said. She tried to remember it, but her mind was drawing a blank. Shrugging it off, she jumped out of bed and got dressed. She had a busy day ahead of her since today was the day her plan to settle the dispute between Colgate, Lotus, Aloe, and Applejack was about to go underway. 

> Chp 18: Preparations (Pt.1) (The Next Generation)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Manticore Ville antique shop was one the oldest and dirtiest building in the district. It was certainly an eye sore compared to the jewelry stores, fancy cafes, and anything else adjacent to it. The shop always had a low number of customers. Even now, during the week leading up to Hearth’s Warming Day, the shop was nearly vacant. The only ponies inside were the old unicorn shopkeeper, who was dozing off behind his counter, and Scootaloo, who was observing some ancient and withered swords.

‘I wonder if Rainbow Dash would like this one.’ Scootaloo thought as she picked up a particularly short and stocky sword. She unsheathed the weapon and swung it haphazardly, resulting in her destroying an old vase nearby.

The shopkeeper was awoken by the noise, 

“W-what happened?” He said groggily as he rubbed away the sleep in his eyes.

“Nothing!” Scootaloo said in a high pitched voice. She quickly stood in front of the shattered remains of the vase in order to block the shopkeeper’s view of it. The shopkeeper eyed Scootaloo suspiciously until the shop’s door opened and somepony new walked in. Scootaloo turned to see who it was and saw a young earth pony girl with a large red bow on her head. The pegasus also saw the girl was wearing a leather jacket; the trademark for all greasers. Scootaloo quickly looked away as to not draw attention to herself.

The earth pony walked up to the counter and said, “Excuse me, sir. I’m Applebloom, the girl that called yesterday.”

“Yes, I remember.” The shopkeeper said, “Do you have it?”

“Yes.” Applebloom said. She reached into her jacket and pulled a long, battered case. The shopkeeper took the case from the greaser, opened it.

He pulled something out of the case and began to examine it closely. Scootaloo, who was curious about what a greaser would bring to an antique shop, slowly got closer to the counter. From where she was standing, the pegasus could see that the shopkeeper was holding a large necklace that appeared to be a fusion of a number of gems with a diamond as the centerpiece. The diamond on the necklace was beautiful, but its beauty was diminished by the rest of the necklace, which was covered with scrapes, dirt, and what appeared to be scorch marks.

“It’s a traditional Earth pony engagement necklace.” The shopkeeper said to nopony in particular. He pulled out a small magnifying glass to further examine the item, “When an Earth pony stallion wanted to propose to an Earth pony mare, he would mine for gems to decorate the necklace and for diamonds to use as the center piece. It is said that the more different types of gems the stallion would decorate the necklace with was equivalent to the amount of love and dedication he would provide for the bride. Judging by the amount of gems here,” he turned to Applebloom and smiled, “the stallion was a very dedicated husband, and father I presume.”

“He was.” Applebloom said with a small smile. Scootaloo was surprised to see a small tear forming under one of Applebloom’s eye. The pegasus has never heard of a greaser crying.

“So, can you repair it?” Applebloom said.

“The job should not be too difficult.” The shopkeeper said, “It will cost seventy-five bits for the repair and you can have it back in about two to three weeks.”

“That long?!” Applebloom said, “Can’t you have it done by Hearth’s Warming?”

The shopkeeper blinked, “Um, you do know that Hearth’s Warming day is in four days, right? For me to get the necklace fixed would require my absolute devotion.”

“What if I pay you extra?” Applebloom said slightly desperately. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a small bag. She tossed it onto the counter and bits spilled out, “That’s a hundred and twenty-five bits. It’s all yours if you can fix the necklace by then.”

The shopkeeper looked rather uncomfortable, “I’m sorry, but I have other repairs I must complete. It would be problematic for business to stop all of those jobs for just one.”

“But…but…” Applebloom said. She was trying to think of a way to convince the shopkeeper, but she could not come up with anything.

Scootaloo did nothing as she saw the entire scene play out. She has never seen a greaser in such a distressed state; it was quite unsettling. Even though the young pegasus was afraid of the greasers, she couldn’t help but wonder how to assist Applebloom. It was then that an idea popped into Scootaloo’s head, an idea that she wasn’t exactly fond of.

“Okay, I understand,” Applebloom said in a slightly hollow voice. She grabbed her things and turned around to leave. The look of despair on the greasers face was too much for Scootaloo to bear. Now with a sudden burst of determination, she grabbed Applebloom by the shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her to the counter.

“Hey! What are you-” Applebloom cried out. She stopped when Scootaloo released her, pulled out a small pouch from her pants pocket, and spilled most of its contents, bits, onto the counter.

“Here is an extra hundred bits if you can fix the necklace by Hearth’s Warming.” Scootaloo said. Applebloom’s eyes were now as wide as saucers and the shopkeeper was speechless. Scootaloo continued, “I sure you’re super busy, but can’t you please look into your heart. After all, it is the season to be kind to others.”

‘I cannot believe I’m being sappy for a greaser.’ Scootaloo thought, ‘I hope this wouldn’t disappoint Dash if she saw this’

The pegasus then displayed the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster. Applebloom saw this and quickly did the same. The shopkeeper was no match for the two adorable faces and sighed, “I’ll see what I can do. I make no promises that the necklace will be in perfect condition, but it should at least in a much better condition.”

Applebloom gave the shopkeeper a big smile and bowed, “Thank you so much.”

“Of course; now, please leave my store and turn the ‘open’ sign to the ‘close’ sign. I have a lot of work ahead of me and I do not need distractions.”

Applebloom nodded another thanks and deposited her money back onto the counter before she and Scootaloo walked out of the store. 

The antique shop was one of the stores that circled the fountain in the center of Manticore Ville. The stores that resided next to the shop were a coffee shop and a clothing store. The center was decorated with a number of things for Hearth’s Warming Day, like fairy lights and ice sculptures that sang carols as ponies walked past them.

The moment the door closed behind them, Applebloom turned to Scootaloo and hugged her tightly, “Thank you so much.” The Earth pony said joyfully as she began to hop up and down, with Scootaloo still in her arms, “If you need any help with anything, you just give me a shout, got it?”

She released Scootaloo, who was stunned by the strength of the young greaser. The pegasus replied, “No problem. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal.” Applebloom said earnestly, “You helped me, a stranger, when I needed it. I’m Applebloom, by the way.” She extended her arm out for a handshake.

Scootaloo took the hand, “I’m Scootaloo. And like I said, it was no big deal. When I saw your face, I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

Applebloom blinked and she developed a frown on her face as though she just realized an ugly truth.

“So you helped me because you pitied me?” The Earth pony said in a slightly indignant voice.

“That’s not what I meant.” Scootaloo said hastily. She had to explain herself before she incurred a greaser’s wrath. “It’s just that I know how it feels like to be…powerless. Let me finish!” she added when she saw Applebloom about to respond. “By powerless, I don’t mean being weak. I mean being in a circumstance where you are not given much of a choice. I have been powerless for a long time and it was my best friend, who was a stranger at the time, who helped me. When I saw you, it reminded me of back then, so I just wanted to help, like she helped me.”

Applebloom stared at Scootaloo for a while. The greaser than gave Scootaloo a quick bow and said, “I’m sorry if sounded ungrateful. I just really hate when ponies see me as a weakling. I truly am grateful. Thanks, and give a thanks from me to your friend.” She added, “She sounds really amazing.”

Scootaloo sighed deeply, “She is; I just wish I can show my thanks for her.”

Applebloom raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

Scootaloo sighed again, “I still have not found her a Hearth’s Warming present. Plus, I kind of gave that shopkeeper most of my shopping money for the present.”

Applebloom’s face was then filled with guilt, “I’m so sorry. Maybe we can get it back-”

Scootaloo held up a hand, “It’s cool. I’ll just have to think of something amazing before judgement day.”

“You mean ‘we’, right?” Applebloom said with a smile.

Scootaloo was confused for a moment before she realized what the greaser meant. She smiled, “Are you sure?”

“Of course!” Applebloom exclaimed, “Whatever it takes, I will help you, Scootaloo. Come on.” She grabbed the pegasus by the wrist, “I know somepony who is great with figuring out the perfect present for other ponies.”

She began to pull Scootaloo, but the pegasus resisted,

“Wait, I actually came with a friend. We should wait for her-“

A horrible realization just came over the pegasus. She was currently with a greaser, sworn enemies of the preppies, and the friend Scootaloo was talking about just so happened to be-

As though on cue, the coffee shop’s door opened and Sweetie Belle came out holding two cups of hot chocolate.

‘Oh…crap.’ Scootaloo thought. Before the pegasus could think of something, the preppy was already making her way to the two ponies. Sweetie Belle was oblivious to the greaser.

“Scootaloo, what are you doing outside?” Sweetie asked, “Did you already find a present for Rainbow Dash?”

“Wait,” Applebloom said, “You mean the friend you’re shopping for is Rainbow Dash? My sis says that she’s a pretty good pony, but I guess it isn’t that surprising since you think so highly of her.”

Scootaloo was surprised that Applebloom had not noticed a prep standing right in front of her. She was surprised, but grateful. The pegasus then began to wonder who Applebloom’s sister was; the one who thought Dash was a good pony. Scootaloo assumed that Applebloom’s sister was another greaser and that all greasers now liked Rainbow after she helped out their leader.

‘The greasers’ leader’ Scootaloo thought, ‘Applejack…Apple… Applebloom.’


*Click*

‘Uh oh…’ Scootaloo thought as her brain made the connection.

“Your sister knows Rainbow Dash?” Sweetie Belle asked, finally realizing the greaser, “Is Twilight Sparkle your sister?”

Applebloom, also finally realizing the preps presence, said, “No, my sis is-”

“STOP!” Scootaloo cried desperately.

“-Applejack” Applebloom said, looking surprised after Scootaloo’s outburst.

The greaser was not the only one surprised. Sweetie Belle’s pupils shrunk at Applebloom’s reveal. She suddenly saw that Applebloom was still holding Scootaloo by the wrist.

“Let her go!” Sweetie Belle cried fearfully. She took the two cups of hot chocolate she was holding and threw them at the greaser. Applebloom raised her arms and successfully blocked the assault. When she lowered her arms, Sweetie Belle, to Scootaloo’s great shock, threw a right hook that connected with Applebloom’s face. The Earth pony crashed to the floor with a surprised look on her face.

The prep then turned to Scootaloo and said, “Are you hurt? Can you run?”

“Wait, Sweetie?” Scootaloo said, “It’s not what you think!”

“What was that for?!” Applebloom said as she massaged her face.

“My sister told me all about your sister and the greasers.” Sweetie Belle said as she gave the greaser a fierce (fierce for Sweetie Belle) glare, “You’re all just a bunch of good-for-nothing bullies.”

“Well your sister is a liar!” Applebloom yelled.

Sweetie Belle said, “Rarity would never-”

‘This is going to get worse, isn’t it’ Scootaloo thought as she saw Applebloom’s face when Sweetie said ‘Rarity’.

Applebloom slowly stood up and said, “You mean you’re the sister of the…”

Scootaloo cleared her throat, “Now Applebloom-”

Applebloom quickly closed the distance between her and the prep. The greaser than brought her knee up and it was heading straight to Sweetie’s gut. Scootaloo reacted by pushing the prep out of the way.

“Stop it you two!” Scootaloo said.

Her words were to no avail. Sweetie and Applebloom were now giving each other the death stare as they begun to take their stances. Sweetie started to relax her shoulders as she got into a boxing stance while Applebloom started to stretch her legs.

‘I’ve got to do something, but what?!’ Scootaloo thought. As she was coming up with a plan, she couldn’t help but think of the rivalry between the greasers and the preps. She knew they disliked each other, but she never knew that hatred could seep all the way to the children.

Sweetie Belle moved in and was prepping for an uppercut. Applebloom moved in at the same time and brought her leg up for a roundhouse kick.

In that instant, Scootaloo remembered something that Rainbow Dash taught her for situations that called for immediate action. Scootaloo rushed toward the two, who were just seconds for connecting their moves. Scootaloo crouched down low, spun around, flapped her wings as hard as she could, extended her leg, and performed a pegasus leg sweep. The move worked; Sweetie and Applebloom were caught off guard and fell to the floor.

“Would you two please calm down?” Scootaloo said as the prep and greaser scrambled to their feet.

Sweetie and Applebloom pointed their fingers at the other and yelled, “Not until she leaves!”

“You two don’t even know each other!” Scootaloo said.

The two ponies crossed their arms and said, “I know enough!” 

Scootaloo sighed and tried to think of a plan to calm them down. The prep and greaser got into their stances again and were about to go another round when the pegasus stood in their way.

“If you two are going to try to kill each other, then you’re going to have to go through me first.” Scootaloo said, trying to sound confident, “So please, would you to stop?”  In her mind, Scootaloo was actually a bit scared; it probably wasn’t wise to get in the way of mortal enemies. However, her gamble worked because the two fighters stood up straight and were looking rather guilty.

Applebloom was the first to speak, “Sorry about that, Scootaloo. I didn’t mean to let things get out of hand.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo observed the two ponies. Even though they stopped fighting, they glared at the other suspiciously. Scootaloo suddenly got an idea. Scootaloo turned to Sweetie and gestured to the greaser,

“Sweetie, this is Applebloom. I just met her today in the antique shop while you were buying drinks. Even though we’ve know each other for a short time, I can already tell she is really nice and a hard-worker. She was even going to help me look for a present for Dash.”

“Of course I was gonna help you.” Applebloom said, “In fact, I’m still going to help you. I’d just rather not be in a presence of somepony who would buy somepony’s friendship.” She added as she looked at Sweetie Belle.

“Applebloom, this is Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo said as she looked at the greaser and gestured toward the prep, “I’ve known her for a little over a month. I can safely say that she is one of the most generous ponies out there. Sure she can be a bit ditzy now and then-”

“Hey!” Sweetie said.

“-but she is still a great friend.” Scootaloo continued. She then walked next to the prep and placed a hand on her shoulder, “So, if you want to get along with me, then you’ll have to get along with my friend too.”

“Aww!” Sweetie said. She gave the pegasus a quick hug and then stuck her tongue out toward the greaser.

Applebloom stared at the two for a while. Scootaloo was beginning to think it might be a good idea to run, but the greaser then smiled, “I’m part of the Apple family; we never go back on our word and will rather make friends than enemies.” She extended her arm out toward the pegasus, “I’ll still gladly help you Scoots, if you’ll have me.”

“Of course.” Scootaloo said. She took the hand and gave a hearty shake. Applebloom hesitated, but then extended her arm out toward the prep. Sweetie didn’t take the hand, but merely bowed her head slightly. Applebloom retracted her arm and bowed back.

“So,” Applebloom said, “now that everything is settled; what are you going to give Rainbow Dash?”

Scootaloo, who was smiling after this big breakthrough, frowned slightly as she tried to focus on the task at hand.

“I still don’t know.” Scootaloo said, “Can’t we go to that pony you said knew perfect gifts for ponies.”

“Um, yeah.” Applebloom said, “The pony I was talking about was my big brother, but he doesn’t take too kindly to…her kind.” Applebloom pointed at the prep.

Sweetie ignored Applebloom and turned toward Scootaloo, “What about going to the sporting goods store in Manticore Town again?” She said, “Maybe we missed something good.”

“What does Dash like anyways?” Applebloom asked, “I don’t know her that well, so I’m kinda in the shadows right now.”

Scootaloo began to list the things she knows Dash likes, “Well, she really loves the Wonderbolts, but all of their souvenirs are already sold out in every store in Manticore Ville. She likes to fight, fly, nap, play video games, race-”

“Race?” Applebloom said. She snapped her fingers in inspiration, “We greasers have a surplus of old bikes we find around New Delphi and in junkyards. We fix them up for ourselves and to sell. You think Dash would like a bike?”

“No, Dash hates bikes.” Scootaloo said, “She told me that when she was a kid-”

The pegasus stopped as though just realizing that she was talking. She blushed, “Um, it’s a secret. However,” Scootaloo suddenly remembered Dash’s favorite mode of transportation besides flying, “she does like to ride on her skateboard. Do the greasers have a hand in the restoration of skateboards as well?”

“Sadly, no.” Applebloom said.

“Wait!” Sweetie shouted suddenly, causing the other two to jump, “The sporting goods store sells skateboards rather cheaply. What if we buy one and decorate it?”

Applebloom rubbed her chin thoughtfully, “That’s not a bad plan; a customized skateboard for Dash. Actually, I can be a big help for customization work.” Applebloom smiled as she fished into her jacket and pulled out a key. She said, “My sister and some of her friends are taking advanced auto shop, so the teacher gave them some keys to use the Manticore Academy garages to work on any project during weekends and breaks. Applejack gave me a copy so I can take and return equipment for her and her friends. I say we use the garages so we can do some A-Class customization.”

Scootaloo could not produce a bigger smile than the one she had on right now. She gave the prep and the greaser hugs as she said, “Thanks you two. I doubt I would have figured out a good gift in time.”

“No problem.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, it was no sweat.” Applebloom said, “So come on, let’s see how far we can get on this project before the day is done.”

Scootaloo nodded and the three of them raced to the Manticore Town Sporting Goods Store.

> Chp 19: Preparations (Pt.1.5) (Fan Chapter #1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The beach residing in Manticore Ville was completely barren of any life. Nopony was willing to have some watery fun while the beach’s sand was basically replaced by snow. The only pony nearby was Rainbow Dash, who was leaning on the guard railing that separated the sidewalk and the shore. She checked her watch and saw that she was still half an hour early. Dash stared at the ocean for a while when she noticed that she was nervously tapping her legs. 

‘Why am I so nervous?’ Dash thought, ‘It’s a simple plan. What could go wrong?’

Dash then casually turned toward the lighthouse that also served as a clubhouse. She smiled as she remembered how Rarity, after becoming friends with the pegasus, remodeled the entire clubhouse so that it can actually be habitable. Even though it was technically Dash’s now, the pegasus did not really have any use for it. Thinking it would be a waste to let it gather dust, she decided to give it to her mentor, Soarin; whose only possession seemed to be the clothes on his back, a moldy bed, and whatever resided in the wooden shack he slept next to. Soarin refused the gift at first, but the snowy season eventually changed his mind and he now lived in the clubhouse.

Dash looked down at her wrist and stared at the weights that Soarin gave her; two for her wrist and two for her legs and each weight was about fifteen pounds. The athlete no longer noticed their presence and she wondered whether she should go ask for Soarin for heavier weights. She checked her watch again and saw that she still had a lot of time,

“I might as well pay him a visit.” Dash said, “The old man is probably lonely without me.” 

Smiling to herself, Dash jumped over the guard railing and jogged toward the beach clubhouse. As she got closer, she started to hear rambunctious laughter. Confused, she picked up her pace until she was a couple of yards away. She then stopped and saw that there were two ponies sitting on the clubhouse’s wooden steps. One of them was Soarin, who had a beer in one hand and the other hand was resting on a now empty six-pack of beer. His cheeks were a light red and Dash knew it wasn’t because of the cold.

The pony sitting next to him was a complete stranger. He was an Earth pony with dark skin, a minty green sweater, and a bushy afro. He seemed to be the same age as Soarin and his cheeks were as red as Soarin’s.

As Soarin casually glanced toward the beach, he saw Rainbow Dash. He immediately beamed,

“Well look who decided to finally visit!” he yelled as he stood up. Soarin walked toward the pegasus and ruffled her hair with a big grin on his face. He then turned to the strange pony,

“Hey, GM!” he said, “This is the mare I’ve been talking about; the little wildfire that has been raising Tartarus over at the academy.”

The Earth Pony, GM, got up and walked over to the two pegasai. Dash noted that GM was quite tall, but very thin.

“Hi there!” GM said as he reached the pegasai, “I’m GM. You must be Rainbow Dash. Soarin has told me a lot about you.”

Dash smiled, “All awesome things, right?”

GM was about to speak, but stopped at Soarin’s suddenly stern look. The old pegasus then turned back to Rainbow and said, “GM is an old buddy of mine during my military days. We joined the army at the same time and completed our basic training together. We were separated after I began training as a Wonderbolt, but we still kept in touch.”

“At least until the…incident happened.” GM said, casting an uncomfortable glance at Soarin.

Dash knew what GM was talking about. She remembered that Soarin was left to die by his so-called friend. After that, Soarin, who wasn’t in the calmest state of mind after being rescued and reunited with his ‘friend’, was discharged from the Wonderbolts. Dash didn’t really know happened after that. All she knew was that Soarin ended up in Manticore Academy and he stayed.

“Again, I’m sorry about not writing back.” Soarin said as he patted GM’s shoulder, “But hey, I’m glad to see you. We got really lucky that you just happened to be visiting Manticore Ville while I was roaming around the streets.”

“We’re lucky that I decided to spend my vacation visiting my relatives in Manticore Hills.” GM said.

“Are you still in the military, GM?” Dash said. She was curious to learn more about somepony Soarin would befriend.

“Yes.” GM said, “After basic training, I decided to join the Royal Guards-”

Soarin snickered. He tried to cover off as a sneeze, but GM was not fooled.

“You got something to say?” GM said.

Soarin chuckled, “I mean no disrespect, but I wouldn’t call the ‘Royal Guard’ a real part of the military. I mean, when was the last time you saw any real action? You guys are more like a neighborhood watch”

GM smiled, “You say that, and yet you joined the branch of military that focuses more on posing for pictures. However, in the Royal Guard, you need a little thing called skill.

Soarin smiled and slowly got into a fighting stance, “Why don’t we have a friendly sparring match like we used too. Let’s see which is better: Royal Guards or Wonderbolts.”

GM took his fighting stance, which looked like a low squat, “Sure; I could use a quick exercise.”

The two old stallions prepared their attacks, but then Rainbow Dash stepped in front of Soarin and faced GM.

“Hold on, Soarin.” Dash said, “Let me take him up.”

Soarin raised an eyebrow and said, “Why? This isn’t your fight.”

“Yes it is, because nopony disrespects the Wonderbolts while I’m around.” Dash said. She then got into her stance to prove her resolve.

GM stared at the young pegasus and grinned, “Let her fight Who knows, I might teach her a thing or two. I’m also curious to see whether she is as good as you make her out to be. Unless you think Dash is all talk.”

Soarin stared at the two for a while, thinking deeply. He eventually smiled, “Dash, show him what a Wonderbolt can do.”

“Right!” Dash said. She rushed GM and prepared an attack. Once she was within range, she flapped her wings and performed a pegasus uppercut.

GM was launched toward the sky. Dash grinned, but she was confused. She didn’t actually feel her punch connect. She then saw that GM was now very high up. Even though GM was skinny, Dash knew there was no way her punch could launch somepony that high.

“He jumped!” Dash said in surprised. She was astounded any pony could jump so high. He must have been at least 15 feet above the ground.

“Be careful.” Soarin said, “GM may not be a pegasus, but he can still gain lots of air. He focuses his Earth pony strength into his legs to jump high.

GM looked down and grinned at Dash’s surprise face. He then balled himself up and began to spin as he came back toward the ground.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Dash said as she saw the spinning Earth pony quickly closing in on her. She prepared another pegasus uppercut as the ball got closer. At the last second, GM de-balled and brought out his leg. He then swung it down for a devastating axe kick.

Dash reacted instinctively and raised her arms to block. It worked somewhat; the kick did not reach her face, but her arms felt the full force of the kick.

“Bucking Faust!” Dash yelled as she massaged her arms. GM reached the ground and quickly created distance between him and Dash.

“Impressive, Dash.” GM said, “Not many ponies are fast enough to block that move.”

“Thanks.” Dash said through clenched teeth.

“Rainbow Dash.” Soarin yelled, “It’s time for your next phase of training. Do not worry; you do not need a radio for this.”

“Radio?” GM said.

“Sweet.” Dash said, “What is it?”

“Dodge!” Soarin said.

“Dodge?” Dash said. She turned to Soarin for confirmation. GM took the chance and used his legs to jump toward Dash. He turned himself into a ball again and, once he reached Dash, he brought his leg up and performed another axe kick. The kick connected with the top of Dash’s head and her face instantly met the snowy beach.

“Why didn’t you dodge?!” Soarin said.

Dash plucked her head from the snow and yelled back, “How the hay was I supposed to dodge that?”

Rainbow quickly checked her face to see if she was bleeding. Thankfully, the snow cushioned the impact, but the top of her head was definitely throbbing. Dash got half-way up and performed a pegasus leg sweep. GM was swept of his feet. He quickly regained his footing, but not before Dash set up and connected a pegasus dropkick to GM’s chest.

“What was one of the first things I ever told you?” Soarin said.

“To leave you alone or else you’ll kill me?” Dash said. GM and Dash were now focusing on punching. Dash could tell this was not GM’s strong suit; GM’s punches did not hurt as much as his kicks. Every time he tried to gain distance, Dash closed it quickly. Rainbow was also now better at punching thanks to Rarity, who would occasionally teach the pegasus a thing or two in exchange for being a model for her dresses.

“Not that!” Soarin said, “I said that when Pegasai fight, we use our speed to our advantage. Our speed comes from our wings. I’m telling you to use your wings for short burst of speed to dodge faster and swifter.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to fly?” Dash said.

“That takes more effort than it would to simply dodge.”

Dash decided to try out Soarin’s advice. When GM tried a haymaker, Dash flapped her wings and, instead of flying, she sidestepped him. In a split second, Dash was at GM’s side, safely away from the haymaker.

“Awesome.” Dash said. She then delivered a kidney punch. GM was still surprised by Dash’s sudden dodge that he took the blow and went down on one knee.

“Not bad.” GM said in a slightly pained voice, “Not bad at all. Now, let’s see how fast your new dodge is.”

Much to Dash’s surprise, GM quickly recovered from the punch and jumped away. Dash now assumed that the fighting was over and the training began. As Soarin supervised, GM would propel himself as a ball and Dash would then perform a pegasus dodge at the last possible moment.

After about half an hour of training, Dash was able to dodge a majority of GM’s attacks. On the last trial, Dash decided to get creative. As GM performed his ball attack again, Dash waited like usual. In the last second, instead of going left of right, she used her wings to propel herself downward. She was lying face up and saw that GM would fly above her. Once he reached Dash, the pegasus brought her legs toward her chest and then kicked upward. The kick connected with GM’s back. He cried in pain as he de-balled and flopped down next to Dash.

“That was… actually quite… surprising.” GM said as he tried to catch his breath, “There is nothing… like a kick to the back to… remind somepony… of their age.”

“Thank…you.” Dash said. She too was out of breath. As Dash slowly sat up, she suddenly heard clapping.

“What the-”

Dash turned toward the guard railing that separated the beach shore and the sidewalk. There she saw Colgate, Lotus, and Aloe, all clapping and nodding their head in approval.

“Looks like you got some friends waiting for you.” Soarin said as he walked toward Dash and helped her onto her feet.

“Not exactly.” Dash said. She still had not clue whether or not she would consider the three preps friends. However, she did not consider them enemies, “However, I do need to go with them.”

“Okay then.” Soarin said as he helped GM up, “Just be careful and remember what I taught you.”

“Roger that.” Dash said. She turned toward GM and said, “So, can teach me how to do that axe kick and ball attack thing?”

GM swatted away some snow from his body and smiled, “Sorry Dash, but I don’t have the time. I’m heading back to Canterlot the moment the holidays are over and I’ll be spending my time here with my family. I’m actually supposed to be shopping for them when I met up with Soarin. I should probably get back to doing that.” He added with a nervous laugh. He then patted Dash’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, you seem like a bright kid. The axe kick shouldn’t be that hard for you to learn by yourself; just make sure you’re balanced as you bring your leg up high and the send it crashing down. The ball attack would be harder to learn, but I think Soarin could teach you that.”

“I doubt that.” Soarin said with a mischievous smile, “I rather not have Dash looking like a total fool when kicking flank.”

Soarin dodged GM’s jab. Dash opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she heard Colgate yelling,

“Dash, you can figure out which one’s your real father later! We need to get going!”

“Motherbucker…” Dash said quietly.

“She seems impatient.” Soarin said, “I suggest you get going, Dash.”

“Wait!” Dash said. She suddenly remembered why she even came here in the first place, “I’m gonna need some heavier weights because I’m not even registering these.” She gestured to the waits on her wrist and legs.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send them to you later. Now go because it looks like one of those ponies is ready to start throwing punches.” Soarin said as he pointed to the preps.

“Alright, later then!” Dash said as she ran toward the preps.

“You know,” GM said as he and Soarin watched the four ponies walk away, “that Dash reminds me of somepony.”

“Really? Who?” Soarin asked.

GM’s face scrunched up in concentration, “Hmm… I can’t remember her name. She was the one that convinced you to join the Wonderbolts.”

Soarin took a moment to remember before he roared with laughter, “Oh my Faust! Dash really is just like her. I can’t believe I never realized.”

“Do you still keep I touch with her?” GM asked as the two walked back to the steps of the beach clubhouse.

“Yep.” Soarin said, “She’s the only one that I have not lost contact with.”

“Is she still the same flying-loving, arrogant brawler?”

Soarin sat down on the wooden steps and smirked, “Buck no. She’s a hard-flank now.”

> Chp 20: Preparations (Pt. 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manticore City was split into four different sections: Manticore Ville, Manticore Town, Manticore Academy, and New Delphi. The first three sections were well off in economy and reputation, but New Delphi, which was the oldest and biggest section, was known for its large number of poor ponies and high crime rates. New Delphi was once filled with warehouses that were booming with business and train tracks that were always running with trains filled with steel and other materials. It all ended when the all of the business owners decided to take their business toward the edge of New Delphi, which was nothing but land and beaches, to start a shipyard. It was now one of the largest shipyards in Equestria. While that part of New Delphi, now referred to as Delphi Prime, was bustling with business and ponies, the rest of New Delphi was a hollow shell of its former self. Only ponies who couldn’t afford to live in Manticore Ville or Manticore Town lived in New Delphi. It was exceptionally drab and quiet; the old apartment buildings and now vacant warehouses casted dark shadows over the streets. However, this suited the greasers just find.

Ever since the greaser clique formed in the early years of Manticore Academy, they needed a place to hangout. New Delphi was the perfect option since they were already used to that kind of environment. It was the first greasers that decided to go into one of the warehouses in New Delphi and, using their mechanical skills, renovate it. Generations of greasers continued to work on the warehouse until the job was finally finished.  The once old warehouse was turned into an indoors bike park; which they used to store the bikes they worked on and to test them out using the large number of ramps within the warehouse.

The warehouse was usually filled with greasers during the school year, but since most of them went home for vacation, the warehouse was usually vacant. However, it wasn’t empty today. At the far end of the warehouse, which was a filled with tables, chairs, and a refrigerator, were four greasers. One of them was Applejack, the current leader of the greasers. Her leather jacket, orange blouse, and Stetson were resting on a nearby chair while she was hanging onto a low pipe with her legs and doing upside-down sit ups.

“69…70…71…” Applejack counted.

While she was doing that, the three other greasers, Carrot Top, Cloudchaser, and Flitter, were sitting by a nearby table, eating and watching Applejack doing sit-ups.

“How does she do that?” Flitter asked in amazement as Applejack reached seventy-five, “I would have passed out after about thirty of those things if I wasn’t allowed to use my wings.”

“It’s probably because she’s an Earth pony.” Cloudchaser said, “But even then, that’s still a lot. I mean, I know Carrot Top couldn’t do that match and she’s an Earth pony too.”

Carrot Top raised an eyebrow at Cloudchaser, “What makes you think I can’t do seventy-five sit-ups?”

Cloudchaser grinned, “Well, you have been getting kinda sloppy in the athletic department. I mean, remember two weeks ago, when that prep challenged you and she got a couple of good hits in.”

Carrot Top rolled her eyes, “I already told you that I was distracted. I was looking through my flash cards for my finals when the prep issued the challenge. I was too focused on my cards that I agreed haphazardly, so she got the first few shots in before I fully realized what was going on. Besides, I know for a fact that I’m more athletic than both you and Flitter.”

“Why am I being dragged into this?” Flitter asked.

Carrot Top gestured to the food she was eating, “Compare what I am eating to what you two are eating.”

The twin pegasai looked down to what Carrot top was eating. It was a salad comprised of a lot of different vegetables, but the majority of them were carrot slices. The pegasai then looked down at their food, which was the number four at Hay Burgers: two double cheeseburger with large fries and a large drink.

Cloudchaser picked up one of her cheeseburgers, looked at Carrot Top, and took a large bite out of the burger. She said, “I’m not giving up the finer things in life just to be what you call ‘athletic’.”

“Besides,” Flitter said as she shoved some fries into her mouth, “We burn off a lot of calories when we fight, so it all balances out.”

Carrot rolled her eyes good-naturedly and giggled, “You two never change.”

“100!” Applejack shouted, surprising the three other greasers. Applejack jumped off the pipe and landed on her feet

“Whooee!” Applejack said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, “I finally beat my previous score.” She walked over to a nearby chair with an old-looking towel. She turned to the three greasers as she dried herself off with the towel and said, “Who here knows what time it is?”

All three greasers checked their watch and Cloudchaser was the first to say, “It’s eleven-fifty five.”

“All right.” Applejack said as she finished drying off. She walked over to the other chair holding her clothes and said, “Are you three ready?”

“We’re always ready to deal with preps.” Carrot Top said.

“I still can’t believe that those preppies were bullying Applebloom.” Flitter said in disgust, “I mean, she’s just a kid.”

“That’s what Rainbow Dash told me.” Applejack said. She was now fully clothed and began to throw a couple of jabs at the air, “Remember the plan. When Dash brings in Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus, let me do the talking.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just beat them up and get it over it?” Cloudchaser said.

“Just because something is easy doesn’t make it right.” Applejack said, “Rainbow Dash said she didn’t actually see the bullying being committed. She just made an educated guess. I need to hear a confession from the preps upfront if I want to confront them.”

“And what will we do if they confess?” Flitter said.

Applejack finished her air sparring with a roundhouse kick. She said, “Then we will show them what happens when they mess with our kin.”

Carrot Top, Cloudchaser, and Flitter all nodded in agreement. The four greasers then heard the warehouse door open and slam shut.

“Let’s go girls.” Applejack said. The three other greasers got up and they all made their way to the warehouse entrance.
________________________________________
Rainbow Dash walked into the old warehouse with Colgate, Aloe, and Lotus walking right behind her.

“So, Dash,” Colgate said, her voice magnified due to her apparent annoyance, “why did you bring us to this filthy warehouse.”

“It’s a surprise.” Dash said, not bothering to look back at the prep. The four continued walking until they reach what appeared to be the center of the warehouse. The three preps looked around the warehouse, but their vision was impaired by the amount of tall ramps that filled the place. It was then that they heard footsteps approaching them from the other side of the warehouse.

“Who else is in here?” Aloe said. Nopony answered her. After about half a minute of waiting, the four greasers, Applejack, Carrot Top, Cloudchaser, and Flitter finally arrived at the center and faced the three preps.

Once Colgate saw the greasers, she got into her fighting stance and yelled, “It’s a trap!”

Aloe and Lotus also got into their fighting stance. The prep twins turned to Dash and their jaws dropped when they saw the pegasus walking toward the greaser side.

“I’m sorry, girls.” Dash said as she joined the greasers in staring at the preps, “I told them about Applebloom.”

Applejack placed a hand on Dash’s shoulder and said soothingly, “There’s no need to apologize, sugarcube. You did the right thing.” Applejack then turned her attention to Colgate and said with a voice now void of warmth, “A couple of days ago, Dash told me something interesting. She said that she had good reason to believe that you three were bullyin’ my little sister, Applebloom.”

Aloe and Lotus shared a nervous glance. Colgate, however, rolled her eyes and said, “And you believed her.” She scoffed, “I thought you greasers were good at information gathering. If you were, then you would know that Rainbow Dash hates Aloe, Lotus, and I. And if you had any brains, then you could conclude that she would lie to you in order to get us in trouble.”

Flitter then stepped forward and said, “Why don’t you stop trying to worm your way out of this and just confess!”

“Easy, Flitter.” Applejack said. Even though she said that in a calm voice, Flitter looked as though she was just scolded and quickly went back to standing with her sister.

Applejack made sure the rest of the greasers were stationary before turning back to the preps, “Whether or not Dash hates you three is not the issue right now. Although, from the information we gathered, Dash does not hate you. She’s seems to be rather friendly with you preps.” She turned to Dash, “I would actually like to talk to you about that later on, if you don’t mind.”

Dash nodded, “Sure, I don’t mind.”

Applejack gave Dash a nod before turning back to the preps, “The issue right now is the bullyin’. Now, I want you to look me straight in the eye and tell me the truth. If you are telling the truth, then I will apologize for jumping to conclusions and y’all will be free to go.”

Everypony, except for Applejack, Colgate, and Rainbow, waited with baited breath. The leader of the greasers took a step forward and stared down the prep. Applejack said, “Did you bully Applebloom?”

Colgate stared back at the greaser without a hint of worry and said, “Relax, I did not punch, kick or caused any physical harm to your sister.”

Applejack quickly scanned Colgate’s face for a sign of a lie, but Colgate’s face was cool and collective. After about a solid minute of staring, Applejack looked down at her feet and said, “Looks like you’re telling the truth.”

Aloe and Lotus both breathed a sigh of relief and their shoulders sagged. Carrot, Cloudchaser, and Flitter looked surprised.

“I told you so.” Colgate said with a confident smile.

Applejack nodded, “You’re telling the truth when you say you didn’t hit my sister. However,” Applejack looked back at Colgate and gave her a harsh glare, “bullyin’ comes in other forms besides a physical one.”

The warehouse’s temperature suddenly dropped, and it wasn’t because it was winter. Aloe and Lotus slowly got into their defensive stance while the greasers waited for Colgate to speak.

Colgate crossed her arms and said, “What do you mean?”

Applejack got closer to the prep and said, “Did you put my little sister in any form of a negative state with the intention to cause harm or humiliation?”

Colgate smirked and said, “Wow, those are some pretty complicated words you just used. Do you want to take a minute to rest your brain?”

“You’re stalling.” Applejack said.

“Looks like this greaser finally decided to open a book and learn something else besides how to roll in the dirt.” Colgate said as she turned to Aloe and Lotus.

Applejack sighed, “I figured you preppies would do something like this. I reckon it’s no surprise since Rarity is your leader.”

Colgate’s smirk was replaced with a frown. She said, “What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is that Rarity must be a terrible leader.” Applejack said, “After all, ponies follow the examples set by the leader. For you to be acting like this must mean that Rarity-” 

“Careful now, Applejack.” Colgate said, “I suggest that you stop talking about Rarity right now.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the preps. She noticed that they were all clenching their fists and slightly baring their teeth.

‘What got them so mad?’ Dash thought.

Applejack continued to talk, “I reckon I’m right when I call Rarity a bad leader. If Rarity is sending you three to pick on my sister, then she is a tactless coward. Even if Rarity does not approve of your bullyin’, then you must not respect her enough to follow her. Although, if my memories of her still hold strong, then I can see why you do not respect her.”

“Shut up!” Aloe said, her eyes glaring intensely at the greaser. Everypony but the preps were taken aback by this sudden outburst. “Don’t you dare talk about Rarity like that while in our presence!”

“Aloe is right!” Lotus said, looking as livid as her sister, “We wouldn’t follow her and we wouldn’t be friends with her if she was terrible. Her generosity knows no bounds and her heart is as radiant as she is.”

Colgate’s cool composure was changed with anger. The prep said, “She is too respectful to be slandered. And besides, she was not a part of us messing with your sister.”

Applejack bared her teeth, “Is that a confession?!”

“Yes!” Colgate yelled, “And I would do it all over again because your sister is the most obnoxious, vile, disrespectful…”

Colgate continued to yell insulting things about Applebloom. For ever insult the prep gave, Applejack’s body began to tremble more and more. After the sixth insult, Applejack could not contain her anger anymore. She clenched her fist and brought it up, prepping for a punch. However, she stopped when Rainbow Dash suddenly came into view, flapped her wings, and performed a pegasus uppercut on Colgate, which connected with the prep’s chin.

Everypony could only gawk in shock as Colgate was flung backward. She was caught by her two friends. Nopony spoke or made a sound as the event that just transpired processed within everypony’s mind. Flitter was the first to come to her senses and she yelled, “Charge!” Carrot Top and Cloudchaser snapped out of their daze and the three greasers rushed toward the three preps and attacked.

Applejack took a step forward to join in the fight, but she was stopped by Rainbow Dash, who held her by her shoulder.

“Easy there, cowgirl.” Dash said, “If you start swinging punches in the state you’re in, you’re gonna hospitalize somepony. Something tells me you wouldn’t want Rarity to come marching into New Delphi and start asking questions.”

Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but she could actually feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. The anger she felt when Colgate was insulting Applebloom was still coursing through her veins.

The greaser leader took a deep breath and said, “You’re right.”

The two stood as they watched the three versus three match between the preps and the greasers. The preps were using their boxing skills to easily dodge the blows going to their heads, but the greasers were surprisingly quick with their feet. As the greasers missed their punches to the preps’ head, they would follow up with a kick to the stomach.

They continued to watch the fighting when Dash turned slightly to Applejack and said, “I know for a fact that Rarity does not like bullying and if she knew about, she would have stopped it. It was just these three that were bullying.” Dash paused before saying, “I don’t think Lotus, Aloe, and Colgate are bad ponies. They’re just stupid and overly sensitive. So don’t treat them too badly.”

Applejack didn’t say anything. She just stared at the fighting and appeared to be in deep thought. Dash took the chance to continue talking, “I don’t know the messed up history between you greasers and preps, but from what I can tell, you and Rarity seem like pretty cool ponies. Rarity may seem like a pompous drama queen, and she kind of is, but she is does know what is right and what is wrong. The preps were right when they said she is a pretty damn generous pony.”

Applejack wasn’t looking at the pegasus when she said, “A couple of weeks ago, the preps were suddenly challenging just about every student in Manticore Academy. I was starting to get worried that they would eventually declare war on us, but something strange happened. The preps suddenly stopped challenging ponies and began to apologize. The greasers and I were all surprised when this happened and we wanted to know why. We asked around and eventually found out that when the preps stopped fighting, ponies began to see you and Rarity hang out a lot more often.” Applejack turned to Dash,  “So, did you stop the preppies?”

Dash smirked and puffed out her chest, “It was all…” she suddenly stopped and deflated slightly. She remembered that while she was fighting Rarity at the preppy’s gym, her friends were there to provide back up. Dash’s smirked turned into a happy smile and she said, “It was a team effort. It was the former bullies, the nerds, Scootaloo, and me.”

Applejack smiled, “I’d like to hear this story over a drink. Maybe later today? Around four o’ clock?”

Dash smiled, “Aren’t we a little under-aged?”

Applejack chuckled, “Don’t worry. My brother owns a pub here in New Delphi and he has a large selection of non-alcoholic drinks. The pub’s called Vintage Cider. It’s a little ways away from here. Just keep your ears open for cello music and you’ll find it.”

Applejack then turned to the six mares fighting in front of her. The greasers and preppies were both panting, but it was the greasers who were still standing while the preps were on the floor, clutching their bodies in pain. The greasers moved in and raised their feet in preparation to stomp the rich ponies. However, Applejack intervened,

“Enough!” she yelled. The greasers immediately stopped and back away. Applejack walked toward the downed preps and said, “Let this be a lesson. If I hear y’all are bullying my sister or anypony else I will personally tie y’all up and deliver some good ole’ frontier justice.”

The preps painfully got off their backs and looked up at the greaser. They all looked at each other and nodded. Colgate then said, “While your penalty is a little too western for us, we understand. We won’t touch a single hair on anypony’s head…unless provoked. But, if I can make a suggestion; can you please have a talk with your sister. I was not lying about her showing absolutely no respect for us preps.”

“Respect it earned. It can’t be inherited or bought.” Applejack said. With that, Applejack walked toward the door of the warehouse and gestured the three other greasers to follow.

Rainbow Dash watched as the greasers reached the door and exited. Applejack was the last to leave. The leader yelled, “I better not find a single screw missing in this warehouse when y’all preps show yourselves out.” She then, tipped her hat toward the direction of Dash, smiled, and left.

Dash stood still and looked at the preps, who were looking right back. No pony moved as they all listened carefully. They also looked around the warehouse for anything suspicious, like a hiding greaser. After a while of looking and listening, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, that worked better than expected.” Colgate said. She, Aloe, and Lotus stood up with no effort at all. All the previous pain they were displaying was now non-existent.

“Yeah, and you’re welcome by the way.” Dash said, “Thanks to me, the greasers now have no reason to stalk you girls any more. Right?” Dash added as she raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Lotus nodded, “The greasers stay away from our business as long as we stay away from their business. That’s how it usually is.”

Aloe said, “And now that the whole ‘Applebloom business’ is over, we are free from their dirty clutches. Thank you, Rainbow.”

“Yes, thank you.” Lotus said. The twins bowed in unison and wore friendly smiles on their faces.

“No problem.” Dash said. She then turned to Colgate, who looked back with a frown.

“What?” The preppy unicorn said.

“Where’s my ‘thank you’?” Dash said.

“It was probably knocked off when you uppercutted me!” Colgate said as she pointed to her now red chin, “Wasn’t the point of your plan to not get any visible bruises from the greasers?”

Dash couldn’t help but smile at her self-proclaimed genius plan. She figured that the three preps would eventually get beaten by the stalking greasers, which would then lead Rarity and the other preps to retaliate. Dash decided that the best course of action was to come clean with Applejack personally since she seemed quite sensible. After many hours of arguing and promises of safety, (which required Dash to buy sports padding from the sporting goods store for the preps to wear under their winter clothes to dull any blows in case the deal went south) Dash convinced the preps to come clean. However, Colgate told Dash that she had to be the one to tell Applejack the truth. The prep was convinced that Applejack would think something was amiss if the preps decided to suddenly come clean and the only thing worse than a greaser was a paranoid greaser. Colgate said that it would be best to let the greasers think they had the upper hand in the situation, so Dash had to pretend to be on the greasers’ side while secretly keeping the preps safe.

“Hey, I wouldn’t have had to punch you if you didn’t start going of the rail with the insults.” Dash said.

Colgate scoffed, “I wouldn’t have if Applejack kept her mouth shut about Rarity.”

“Rarity doesn’t deserve any insult.” Lotus said as she stretched, “She’s a good mare.”

Aloe nodded in agreement, “Yeah. She never does things half-heartedly, unlike that greaser Applejack. Have you seen how unorganized those greasers are. No meetings, no schedules, no nothing.”

“And yet they have probably the best information gathering network in Manticore Academy.” Dash said.

“They’re just lucky.” Colgate said. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Dash looked curiously at Colgate, who appeared to be deep in thought. When Dash was about to ask what was on her mind, Colgate said, without looking at Dash, “Did you mean what you said to Applejack?”

Dash blinked, “What are you talking about?”

Colgate, still looking up at the ceiling, said, “When Aloe, Lotus, and I were fighting the greasers we could hear your conversation with Applejack. I was wondering if you were sincere when you defended Rarity and us.”

Dash turned her head sideways, “Um, yeah. Why would I lie about that? When are you ponies gonna realize that I actually consider Rarity a friend. You three, however, need serious attitude adjustments. But, Rarity sees something good in you three, so I guess you’re all not so bad.”

Aloe and Lotus walked up to Dash and they each grabbed a hand.  They booth shook vigorously.

Aloe smiled and said, “Dash, you may now consider us your friends.”

Lotus also smiled and said, “We know it will take a lot more to fix our past conflicts, but we might as well start now.”

Dash grinned and looked at Colgate. The pegasus’s jaw dropped when she saw the unicorn bowing slightly. 

The prep said, “I’m being truthful when I say thank you. I may never like you as much as my friends, but I can at least respect you.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh; to think that these three ponies were once out for her blood. The pegasus’s laugh caused the twin preps to start giggling. Colgate smiled slightly as she watched the three laughing.

After a while, Colgate interrupted the moment when she said, “Does anypony know what time it is?”

The two preps stopped laughing and checked their phones. Aloe was the one to answer, “It’s ten past twelve.”

“Alright then.” Colgate said, “We have a little more than an hour, but we should still hurry.”

“What’s going on?” Dash said.

“Our monthly review session for our boxing club is today.” Lotus said, “I don’t suppose we can convince you to come. We know that you have already rejected our previous invitation, but Rarity would really like for you to attend.”

Dash frowned, “I didn’t get any ‘previous invitation’.”

“Yes you did.” Colgate said. “Don’t you remember? I was the one sent to invite you and you turned it down. I asked you a couple of days ago when you were at the library. You kept ignoring me, so I assumed that was a rejection.”

Dash searched through her memories for a couple of seconds before she remembered, “Oh right. Sorry, but I wasn’t really paying attention.” She said as she smiled guiltily, “I kinda have the habit of sleeping with my eyes open whenever I have a book in front of me. Twilight’s been on my case about studying more often so I’ve been trying to, but I usually end dozing off. So, sorry I didn’t say anything.”

Aloe, smiled, “It is okay. So, would you like to come?”

“I doubt you would like it, Dash.” Colgate said quickly, “It’s mostly just business talk. You know, lots of numbers and legal terms. Even I consider ditching meetings because they’re just so boring.”

Lotus giggled, “That has to be the biggest lie I have ever heard you say, Colgate. I know for a fact that you love the meetings. After all, you’re always so happy during the meetings.”

“A happy, non-sneering, Colgate?” Dash said, “I have to see this. After all, aren’t we trying to become better friends?

Colgate sighed and said, “I would prefer if we took baby steps. Anyways, we better hurry up. I’d like to have enough time to look presentable.”

“Wait!” Dash said, “Is this a formal thing?”

“Don’t worry, Dash.” Lotus said, “Aloe and I have you covered.” She then grabbed onto Dash’s left arm.

Aloe grabbed Dash’s right arm and said, “The four of us are going to our family’s spa in Manticore Ville for a quick clean up. I’m sure you will love it.”

“I’m pretty sure you two already know I don’t like the idea.” Dash said as she tried to wiggle out of the sister’s grasp, “By the way, have you two gotten stronger?”

“Just a tad.” The twins said at the same time.

Colgate was at the exit and had already looked outside when she said, “Come on! The coast is clear. Let’s go!”
________________________________________
Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were standing in front of a large garage door at Manticore Academy. As Applebloom searched for the key to open the door, Scootaloo, who was carrying the bag containing the new skateboard, looked at her surroundings. Piles of crushed cars stood high and strong-looking fences were placed in front of the cars to stop an unexpected car-avalanche. This part of the academy was kind of a maze because the stacked cars blocking most of the view. Only the ponies taking auto-shop or engineering classes, like the greasers, knew how to navigate the maze with ease. Scootaloo was actually surprised to see the place was completely abandoned. Whenever the pegasus passed by the area, she always saw greasers hanging around the entrance or walking in/out of the maze. Scootaloo assumed that the lack of greasers was because of the winter break.

“Found it!” Applebloom cried victoriously. She pulled out the key from her inner jacket pocket and unlocked the lock on the garage door. She squatted to get a grip of the door and struggled to lift it up.

“Do you need help?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Relax, prep.” Applebloom said, “I wouldn’t want you to break a nail and then sue the school.”

Sweetie huffed indignantly. She then squatted and grabbed the door as well. Scootaloo helped out too and the three were finally able to lift the door enough for them to crouch down under it.

Applebloom breathed deeply, “Thanks. I guess the cold weather must have messed with the garage door.”

“Sure it did.” Sweetie Belle said with a smirk.

Applebloom turned to the prep, “Hey, at least I’m humble enough to be thankful for assistance.”

“Easy you two.” Scootaloo said. She entered the garage and was shocked to see how the walls were completely filled with tools of all kinds. There were also blueprints covering one wall, and tool boxes were scattered around the large garage. There was also a furnace at the corner and piles of wood and metal on another wall. Most of the center of the garage was comprised of stationary work benches. The garage was about half the size of the preppies’ gym in Manticore Ville.

“Wow.” Scootaloo said, “It’s a lot bigger on the inside.”

“It’s pretty weird though.” Applebloom said as she entered the garage, “Rumor has it that it was the chemistry teacher Dr. Whooves that designed the place. To make things stranger, the garage has been around for at least fifty years.”

Scootaloo blinked, “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense-”

She stopped when a loud sound echoed through the empty garage. Scootaloo and Applebloom turned to see Sweetie Belle quickly picking up what appeared to be a tool box.

“What are you doing?” Applebloom said.

Sweetie Belle placed the tool box onto a nearby workbench, “Sorry, I was just cleaning this workbench so we can work on the skateboard. I grabbed the toolbox and I didn’t expect it to be so cold, so I dropped it.”

“It is pretty chilly in here.” Scootaloo said, “You think we can turn on that furnace-“

“Who’s in there?!” said a loud voice outside the garage.

The three fillies froze up when they saw somepony grabbing the bottom of the garage door and easily lifting it up completely. The ponies were surprised to see who it was.