Master Thief Dragon

One night at the school' soccer field, Rainbow Dash and the soccer team were getting in some night practice. The rainbow haired girl was maneuvering the soccer ball with the other players before shooting it into the goal, "Yes!" she cheered with her team.

Off to the side was Coach Spitfire, who blew into her whistle, "All right team, hit the showers!" as the team headed for the showers, the coach spoke to Rainbow, "Dash, not a bad kick. We'll need that for the next game."

"My legs will be good and ready for it, Coach." Rainbow saluted.

"They better be. We're going up against Griffonstone, so we need everybody to be at the peak of their strengths."

"No sweat, Coach. Those Griffonstone Griffins won't know what hit them." Rainbow boasted before heading for the showers.

Afterward the team was heading out, "Ok, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Rainbow bid the team farewell, as she went outside the school.

She looked up at the star filled sky and smiled, "Beautiful night and some time to kill. Time for the Rainbow Rush."

Soon Rainbow Dash was doing parkour on the roof tops in the city. She had jumped from one roof to another cheering, "Oh, yeah! This is where it's at. Nothing like a little parkour after soccer practice to get the heart pumping even more," she suddenly looked ahead and saw Dragon was also running across roofs like she was, "Hey, it's Dragon. He must be out getting some exercise in as well. Hmm, I've always wondered how it would feel to race against him. This could be the perfect opportunity." she smirked.

With Dragon, he was currently running across roofs as part of his training. As he jumped over a fan, he spoke to himself, "Oh, man. With this new training regimen Celestia's got me on I'm really dropping the pounds. But it's all for the best. I am getting stronger and faster from this."

"Hey, Dragon!" Came Rainbow's voice, as the thief looked to his right and saw Rainbow running at his side, "Fancy a race?"

"Rainbow Dash?" he asked in shock, but answered her casually, "What're you doing out here?"

"Getting some parkour in to build up my leg muscles for soccer. And you?" she inquired.

"I'm getting in some personal training." he answered, as they jumped to another roof.

"Cool. How about we train together?" she offered.

"That's not important, Rainbow," he answered, as they jumped to another roof. "You shouldn't be out here this late."

"Why not?"

"Do I have to remind you I had to save you and your friends from the clutches of a dangerous gang?" he asked rhetorically.

"I'm a big girl, Mr. Big Bad Dragon. Or maybe you're afraid your rep might take a hit if you lost in a race to a high school star athlete"

"I don't have time for this, little girl!" he said in irritation, "Go home before I drag you home!"

"Think you can catch me, Mr. Dragon?" she asked, daring the master criminal while taking off on a sprint.

"Stubborn little sass." Dragon muttered, knowing this wasn't going to be easy easy.

Unknown the both of them, they were being watched by someone wearing ninja garb along with a mask to conceal the face while the eyes were visible, "There's the thief. And he's with one of the girls he saved too. Mr. Tirek will surely double the bounty if I bring her to him as well." he went after them while sticking to the shadows.

As the two continued to run, Dragon was determined to get Rainbow Dash to go home. Rainbow, however, was having too much fun as she ran ahead of him, "Ha! The master thief is too slow to keep up with Rainbow Dash!"

Dragon smirked, "Don't need to be faster, Dashie," he reached into his jacket and pulled out a bolo and threw it at Rainbow. The bola ensnared her legs making her fall flat on her face. Dragon stopped before her and looked down, "Just smarter. Now are you ready to go home like a good little girl?"

"Hey! You cheated!" Rainbow accused.

Dragon merely pointed at himself and reminded her, "Thief," he then undid the bola allowing her to get up, "But seriously, Rainbow, this city isn't safe, especially at nighttime."

"How so? Cops doubling up on patrol to catch you?" she teased.

"Worst. Let's just say there's a reason why I haven't been around these past few days and I couldn't do what I love to do." Dragon answered.

"Jeez, you must've really pissed someone off." Rainbow said.

"You have no idea. So please trust me on this and head on home before you wind up in the clutches of someone worse than The Dragon Gang." Dragon pleaded.

Rainbow pondered Dragon's words and couldn't deny how dangerous it was for her and the girls when they were captured. Before she could answer Dragon, a pair of ninja stars tagged with explosive tags flew right past them and nailed a wall before exploding, "What the hell was that?" Rainbow gasped in shock, as she and Dragon looked around.

"We're not alone here." Dragon answered, as he prepared himself.

Dropping in was the ninja who was trailing them. He spoke some Japanese before speaking English, "Dragon the Master Thief, we meet at last."

"Who the hell are you?" Dragon asked.

"I am Shibizo Taizo. And I have come for your head." he drew a katana.

Dragon turned to Rainbow Dash, "See what I mean?"

"Ok, you got me." she confessed.

"Get to cover and stay there!" Dragon ordered, as Rainbow did as she was told.

Rainbow watched from behind an air vent, as Dragon and the ninja Shibizo faced off. The ninja tried to slice at Dragon with his sword, but the thief was dodging, "Nice try, ninja, but after facing down another sword master I've learned how to avoid the strikes."

"Clever, but can you avoid this?" Shibizo threw smoke grenades down releasing smokescreen.

Dragon prepared himself knowing his opponent was going to strike him in his blind spots, until he heard Rainbow, "Dragon, he's coming for me!"

Dragon gasped and thought, 'This was a ploy!' he jumped out of the smokescreen and saw Rainbow trying to get around Shibizo.

"Don't make this more difficult child and just come along quietly." the ninja beckoned her.

"No way in hell, creep." Rainbow answered, as kept her distance.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to bring you to Mr. Tirek in pieces." Shibizo readied his sword, until Dragon tackled him from behind. Shibizo dropped his sword, as the two rolled across the ground.

When Shibizo had Dragon pinned down, the thief struggled to push the ninja off but wasn't successful. Rainbow watched this, and knew she had to help Dragon. She quickly pulled her soccer ball out of her back pack and positioned it. With one good kick, the ball nailed Shibizo in the butt making him lose concentration. Taking advantage of this, Dragon headbutted the ninja before throwing him off.

Dragon got up and went to Rainbow Dash, "Sorry to cut this fight short, but it is a school night and I got to get this girl home before curfew." he threw a smoke bomb allowing the two to escape.

Shibizo got up and growled, "Mr. Tirek will not like this." he collected his katana and took his leave.

Dragon had flown on his glider wings while carrying Rainbow Dash in his arms like a bride. Rainbow spoke up, "You know Rarity would kill to be in this position with you, ya know?"

Dragon said nothing as they landed on the ground in an alley, "Now do you see how dangerous it is at nighttime here?" he asked her.

"Ok, I'll admit that was some freaky stuff that happened back there." Rainbow confessed.

"And it'll get more than freaky from this point on. So if you truly value your life and wanna live long enough to become a famous professional soccer player or something you'll go straight home when night comes. Do you understand me?" he asked firmly.

"Yes, sir." Rainbow nodded, knowing better than to joke with him.

"Good. Now get on home and don't speak a word of this to your folks."

"Understood." Rainbow was about to leave, until Dragon spoke up.

"And... thanks for the assist."

Rainbow smirked, "No problem, Dragon. And maybe next time we can have a proper race with no interference. Or gadgets." she took off.

Dragon watched Rainbow leave and let out a sigh of relief, "I've got to tell Celestia to talk to Coach Spitfire about these late night soccer practices." he hurried off back to his place.

At Tirek's office, Shibizo presented himself before the mobster, "So you not only failed to capture the thief, but one of the girls who played a role in taking down Garble and his gang?" the boss asked, while sounding displeased.

"I am ashamed of myself, Mr. Tirek." he lowered his head in shame.

Tirek slammed his fist on the desk startling the ninja, "Ashamed?! You are a disgrace to ninjas everywhere! If you want to have your honor as a ninja restored then you will bring me Dragon and his rainbow haired girl friend."

"Understood, Mr. Tirek." Shibizo left, as Tirek spoke to himself.

"After Byakko's failure I will not tolerate any further failures from anybody."

At Spike's place, the young professor stood next to Celestia and Cadence while Luna had pulled up some information on the assassin, " Shibizo Taizo, a former member of the once renowned Society of Assassins until he killed them all. He's been on the run ever since."

"Is this all you could find?" Spike asked, while looking over the minimal data.

"Unfortunately," Luna sighed, "When he murdered the society he erased all known records of himself and went dark. Nobody alive has ever seen his real face. And this was the only image Interpol could salvage from their destroyed records."

"Not much to go on, is there?" Cadence asked.

"Only that his reputation as an assassin precedes him," Spike noted, "I came close to almost losing Rainbow to that ninja. Celestia, you have to talk to Coach Spitfire and convince her these night practice rounds is dangerous for the students."

"I understand, Master." Celestia nodded in agreement.

"Well, ladies, I bid you goodnight." Spike left for his room for some much needed sleep for tomorrow.

When morning came, Rainbow and the rest of the girls were walking up to the school, "You almost got captured by a ninja assassin?" Fluttershy gasped with her hands to her mouth.

"You bet. It was a close one." Rainbow answered smugly.

"However did you get away?" Rarity asked in concern.

"I did it with the help of an old Master Thief."

"Dragon was there?" Pinkie gasped.

"That's right. Watching him fight up close makes me feel hot all over." she swooned.

"First, that's just gross," Applejack began, "And second of all, how did you cross paths with that criminal varmint?"

"After soccer practice I went on a little parkour training and crossed paths with him. We had ourselves a little race and I won." Rainbow boasted.

"I find that ending highly illogical." Twilight said dryly.

"Hey, you weren't there." Rainbow argued.

"So what happened?" Fluttershy asked.

"That ninja got the drop on us and Dragon fought him, and I ended up saving his life." she continued to brag.

"You saved Dragon's life?" Applejack asked in shock, "Why?"

"Uh, because I owed it to him, A.J. He saved us, remember?"

"Just because he saved us doesn't mean any of us owes him a debt." Applejack said.

"There's just no chance of convincing you Dragon's not as bad as he seems is there?" Rainbow asked dryly.

"Nnope." she answered.

The group walked into the school and through the hallway. Suddenly the student body started laughing in the direction of Rainbow Dash. The girls were confused by this, but not as much as Dash herself, "What? What's everyone laughing about?!"

"Did we miss a punch line?" Pinkie asked curiously.

One female student walked by and spoke to Rainbow, "Say, Dash, I guess you're not as tough as you make yourself out to be." she chuckled.

Rainbow frowned and got into her face, "What did you say?! I should take my fist and ram it right through your..."

"Don't get mad at me. A picture says a thousands words." the student said, as she whipped out a picture of Rainbow Dash at the spa getting a full on makeover.

The girls gasped, while Rainbow looked horrified, "Where did you get this?!" the sports girl demanded, while clenching her fists.

"It was on my locker. In fact it was on everyone's locker." the student answered.

Rainbow and the girls looked all over seeing every locker in the hall had a copy of the picture on it, "This isn't happening." Rainbow said with wide eyes.

Pinkie took one picture and looked on the back, "Whoever planted these has a thing for you, Rainbow."

"What?!" Rainbow shouted, as she snatched the picture from Pinkie and looked on the back seeing a small message, "Hello, sweet Rainbow?" she frowned and shouted, "All right, who did this?!"

"Ya don't think anybody here would do something that cruel to Rainbow Dash, do ya?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"I'm not sure." Twilight answered.

"I'll bet this is a cruel prank by those jerks at Griffonstone to mess with my head before the upcoming game!" Rainbow growled, as she tore one of the pictures up.

"Do you really think one of the students there could've snuck into the school so early and plant this many pictures and get out?" Twilight asked rhetorically.

"Well, whoever did this is going to get it big time." she punched her fists.

Later on during lunch, Spike was meeting with his three servants in the teachers lounge, "You know what happened here this morning?" Spike asked.

"Yes. Every student had a picture." Cadence confirmed.

"Luckily they've all been turned in and disposed of." Celestia noted.

"This can't be a coincidence," Spike began, "Rainbow and I get targeted by a ninja last night, and all of a sudden this happens?"

"I'll do a check of the surveillance to make sure." Luna said.

"In the meantime, we have to keep an eye on Rainbow Dash," Celestia suggested, "It's clear this ninja has marked her as his target." the group nodded in agreement.

Throughout the day, Rainbow had been trying to brush off the bad publicity right from left. At first she just ignored it, but eventually started getting irritated as more students continued to mock her. As she walked past two male students snickering at her she unleashed her pent up rage.

"All right, that's it!" she stomped over with clenched fists, but before she could throw a punch, a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked and saw it was Spike restraining her, "Prof?" she gasped.

Spike motioned the boys to move along, and they did so. Spike spoke to Rainbow, "Taking your anger out on others is no way to solve a problem."

"But they..."

"I know, but that doesn't give you any right to use violence. I don't know who perpetrated this, but I assure you, Rainbow, we're all doing what we can to find out." he promised.

"Well, ya better find out fast otherwise my reputation's in the toilet!" Rainbow raged, while shaking Spike.

Spike made her let go, and answered, "Just leave it to the faculty. In the meantime, you have trig to get to."

"All right, I'm going." Rainbow headed for her next class.

Spike watched, and thought to himself, 'If this keeps up, Rainbow might take it out on someone.'

Outside the school, Shibizo was watching Rainbow through binoculars. He put the binoculars down, before reaching for a cellphone and dialed.

"Yes?" came Tirek's voice.

"All is going according to my plan, Mr. Tirek," Shibizo began, "Eventually the rainbow haired girl will succumb to humiliation and panic, leaving her vulnerable to anything."

"It had better work, Shibizo. I cannot afford anymore mistakes." Tirek warned him.

"There will be none, I promise."

"I'll hold you to it." Tirek ended the call.

"Now to spice it up more." Shibizo said, as he went to put the second part into play.

After school, Rainbow left the building, as her friends rushed over, "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called.

Rainbow looked back and answered, "Hey, guys."

"How're ya holding up?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, fabulous." she answered in sarcasm.

"Wanna talk about it?" Fluttershy suggested.

"There's nothing to talk about, Fluttershy," Rainbow replied, "Look, I appreciate you guys trying to comfort me, but I think I need to be alone." she walked off.

"Rainbow." Pinkie wanted to go after her, but Applejack stopped her and shook her head.

"I feel so bad for her." Rarity said in worry.

"We all do." Twilight replied, as they watched their friend.

Rainbow Dash had walked to her favorite book store, and came out carrying the latest volume of Daring Do. As she walked away she was unaware of a fly sticking to the wall was watching her. Up close it wasn't an ordinary bug, but a spycam modeled into a fly. It was taking pictures of Rainbow Dash as she entered and left the place, and the pictures were being streamed back to Shibizo on a tablet he was carrying. When Rainbow Dash was leaving the flycam flew after her.

The flycam followed her to a fast food place and recorded more pictures of her enjoying her meal inside. Everywhere she went the flycam took more pictures that Shibizo kept on his tablet.

As it was getting late, Rainbow decided to heed Dragon's warning and just went home. She walked up to her place and went inside, "I'm home!" she called.

There to greet her was her parents. Her mother Windy Whistles and her father Bow Hothoof, "Welcome home, sweetie." Windy welcomed her daughter.

"How was school today, champ?" Bow nudged her.

"Fine. Never better," she answered, while not wanting to tell them what happened, "I'll be in my room. Call me for dinner." she said, as she went upstairs.

Rainbow went into her room, that was decorated with sports memorabilia. She walked over to a tank habitat where her pet tortoise was, "Hey, Tank. How's my buddy?" she asked, as she fed him a piece of cabbage.

At Spike's place, Luna was going through the surveillance footage at the school, and came at the part where someone entered the fray. The person was dressed as a janitor and had started putting up the pictures on the students lockers, "Janitor Hayseed? No it can't be." she said in disbelief.

"I don't believe Janitor Hayseed would do anything like that." Celestia said knowing something was amiss.

"Play it backwards and freeze it," Spike instructed. Luna did so, "Now zoom in."

Luna zoomed in on the Janitor and saw it didn't look like the man they knew, "It's not Hayseed." Cadence gasped.

"Then who is it?" Celestia asked in confusion.

Spike squinted his eyes and focused on the perpetrator's eyes recognizing them, "That's Shibizo!"

"The ninja from last night?" Cadence asked.

"Yeah. So this is his game. Trying to humiliate Rainbow Dash," Spike frowned, "I have to go see her. She might be in trouble."

"What're you going to do, Master?" Luna asked.

"Whatever I can to keep Rainbow Dash safe." he answered before dawning his mask and costume.

The very next morning, Rainbow Dash who was asleep in bed yawned before waking up, "I feel rested and relaxed," she stretched her arms up. She got up to stretch her legs, until she heard her phone ring. She checked it and saw she had a new email. She opened it up and to her shock saw pictures of her from yesterday, "What the hell?" she asked herself, while looking the pictures over she noticed they were of her from yesterday going in or coming out of her favorite places, reading her new Daring Do Book, enjoying a Burger, and even of her entering her home.

She saw captions at the bottom of each picture reading different notes, "Let's make music together. You are the pot of gold at the end of the Rainbow. You're my super star?!" the more notes she read the more uncomfortable she got. When she saw the photo of her walking into her home, she got scared that whoever was stalking her knew where she lived. Overwhelmed with fear she curled up on her bed while holding Tank close, knowing she was being watched. After enough panicking she shook it off, "Get a hold of yourself, Rainbow Dash!" she pinched her cheeks, "This is just some prank. You just have to ignore it." she got up and headed to the bathroom.

Meanwhile downstairs, Rainbow's parents were at the kitchen table enjoying breakfast, until there was a knock at the door, "I'll get it," Bow said, as he went to the door and answered it. Standing outside was Coach Spitfire, "Coach Spitfire, what a surprise to see you."

"Good morning, sir. May I?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Bow showed her inside.

Windy noticed their guest, "Coach Spitfire, what brings you here this early in the morning?"

"I need to talk to Rainbow Dash. I need to inform her of the extra training hours for the soccer match coming up. Is she awake?"

"She should finished getting ready." Bow answered.

"I'll go up and check." Spitfire said, as she went upstairs.

As she went up, she suddenly heard the shower running from the bathroom. The coach suddenly smirked, and flying out of her pocket was the flycam. It flew under the door and into the bathroom. It flew closer to the shower and perched atop the shower curtain bar and began taking pictures of Rainbow Dash washing up. It zoomed in a few times making sure to capture a good up close. It flew away form the shower and back outside into Coach Spitfire's pocket.

She came back down, and Windy spoke, "Did you inform her, ma'am?"

"Yes. She got the memo," Spitfire confirmed, "I'll hopefully see you all at the game."

"You know we'll be there." Bow confirmed. Coach Spitfire took her leave.

Outside on the roof next to Rainbow's home, Dragon was sitting on a folding chair fast asleep surrounded by a portable coffee maker with an empty mug, and an empty box of sugary snacks. His earpiece started going off, but he ignored it, while thinking he was dreaming. Suddenly the beeping got louder, and he woke up to answer it, "Hello?"

Luna's voice spoke, "Master, is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine, Luna."

"And how's the situation with Rainbow Dash?"

Dragon looked out and saw the coach leaving, "This is strange. Coach Spitfire has just left the place."

"Did you say Spitfire?" Luna asked in confusion.

"Yeah. That's who I'm looking at." he confirmed.

"Master, Spitfire's still at home with her husband."

"What? Are you sure?" Dragon asked, while keeping his eye on the coach.

"Yes. The spy cams I have set up by the other faculty's homes confirms it." Luna answered.

"So if she's at home then... I got to go!" he got up and made his way down to the ground stopping before the impostor.

Shibizo knowing he exposed turned tail and ran, "Shibizo!" Dragon shouted, as he ran after him. The master thief reached into his jacket and pulled out another bola and threw it. Shibizo sensing the incoming bola jumped up and flipped forward to avoid it. As he flipped he threw two shuriken that looked electrical. Dragon dodged, and saw the two shuriken nailed a lamppost that released enough electricity into it making the lamps bulb burst.

"Whoa! This guy's packin' some juice." Dragon said to himself, before Shibizo turned into an alley.

When Dragon slid into the alley he looked around and saw no sign of the ninja. He looked up seeing no sign of him getting to higher ground. He sighed before tapping his ear piece, "Bad news, Luna, Shibizo got away. And worse he got into Rainbow's house undetected."

"What about Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

Dragon went back and peeked out of the alley to see Rainbow Dash walking for school looking completely unharmed or traumatized, "She's clear. But why did he go in there at all?" He asked himself.

"You'll have to figure it out later, Master. We need to get to school ourselves." Luna reminded him.

"Oh, crap!" Dragon cursed, as he headed back home to get ready.

Later on at the school, Rainbow Dash had arrived and met up with the girls. As they walked through the hall, they noticed some students were still snickering from the pictures of Rainbow from yesterday. Rainbow groaned in frustration, "How long is this moment of infamy going to last, the rest of my life?"

"I'd give it a week or two." Pinkie answered.

"Pinkie!" Twilight scolded her.

"Face it my life is over!" Rainbow moaned dramatically.

"Hey it could be worse. You could be in his shoes." Applejack motioned up ahead to Spike being scolded by Principal Celestia.

"But, Principal Celestia, I was only late because I was helping some old ladies cross the street!" Spike pleaded with her.

"As honorable as your actions were, Mr. Lupin, I cannot let this go unpunished. Now come along, we'll discuss your punishment in the teachers lounge." she grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him off.

"Yeah suddenly my problem doesn't seem as bad right now." Rainbow admitted.

Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder for comfort, "Just try not think about the pictures, Rainbow. It'll all blow over soon."

"I hope so." Rainbow answered, as the girls headed for class.

As the day went on, Rainbow started stressing less about the pictures and after a good exercise in P.E felt good as new. As she went to the locker room to get changed she suddenly heard her phone ring. She checked and saw a new email. She opened the message and to her horror saw they were pictures of her when she was showering. She read more captions found under the pictures to herself.

'You're developing nicely. Love the legs. You look hot when you're wet?!' she thought in fury, 'All right I'm done playing Ms. Nice Girl. If I ever find out who took these I will wring their scrawny necks!' she halted her anger, before noticing a second email. She opened it and read a message, "If you want to settle this then come alone to the old community center on Main Street after school. Failure to come alone, and your shower time goes viral."

Rainbow closed her cellphone and frowned, "Oh, I'm gonna be there all right. And I hope you're wearing protective pads because I am going to open up a can of ass kick all over you!" she proceeded to get changed back into her normal clothes.

When the school bell sounded, the students headed home. Rainbow walked outside the building and was about to head to the rendezvous, until her friends came over, "Hey, Rainbow!" Pinkie cheered.

"We're all going for a cappuccino, you up for it?" Twilight asked.

"Sorry, guys. But I need to be somewhere else." Rainbow answered. She didn't want her friends to know of where she was going or risk her shower pictures to be sent viral.

"Where ya going?" Pinkie asked slyly.

"That's my business." Rainbow answered, as she ran off.

The girls watched Rainbow leave while feeling concerned, "Well, that just happened." Fluttershy said.

"And she was acting ok all day." Rarity added.

"You don't think something else happened, do ya?" Applejack asked the girls, who had no idea.

Spike walked up to them and spoke, "Hey, girls, what's going on?"

Twilight answered, "Oh, Spike. Afternoon. We were just talking to Rainbow Dash."

"And where is she?" Spike looked around.

"She said she had to be elsewhere." Applejack answered.

"Really?" Spike asked curiously, "Well, there's no practice today, so I figured she'd be with you girls."

"We thought that too, but I guess she had to be someplace else." Rarity explained.

"Did she say where?"

"No." Twilight replied.

"I see," Spike said, while feeling suspicious, before continuing, "Well, I'm sure it's no big deal. If you girls will excuse me. I have some work to do."

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Pinkie waved bye, as Spike left.

As soon as Spike got further away he began running, before tapping into his earpiece, "Luna, keep tabs on Rainbow. I'm going to follow her on foot."

"On it, master," Came Luna's voice, "Do you have your gear ready?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going risk exposing myself just yet. Don't need law distracting me on what I know is going to be a rescue mission."

"Understood, master."

Spike continued to run through the city while keeping an eye out for his rainbow haired friend. He was so focused on trying to find Rainbow, he didn't see where he was going and bumped into somebody. He groaned, before noticing who he ran into. It was none other than Desertstorm of the Maulers with Big John and Candy Girl with him.

Desertstorm looked sternly at Spike, "Watch where you're going, punk!"

"Sorry about that. Completely and totally my bad." Spike apologized, as he tried to get around him, only to be cut off by Big John.

"Whoa there. What's the rush, kid?"

"I'm supposed to be somewhere, so could you please move?" Spike once again tried to get around them, only for Desertstorm to block him.

"I don't like it when people bump me. So I guess i'm gonna have to bump you back." he cracked his knuckles, only for Candy Girl to come between him and Spike.

"Aw, don't beat him up TOO much! He looks so cute." she playfully pinched Spike's cheek.

Spike backed away from the biker chick, looking repulsed, "Listen, lady. I don't know where you've been, but-"

Desertstorm spoke up, "You callin' my girl unclean, midget?" Spike winced knowing he should've picked his words carefully.

"I think this little boy called me a whore, Stormie!" Candy Girl cried.

Big John crossed his arms and spoke smugly, "What you gonna do, Storm? Your lady needs her honor defended."

Desertstorm looked at Spike, "You're gonna get some lessons in manners, kid!" He attacked Spike who defended himself, but thought to himself.

'I don't wanna let them know I can fight better than them. So maybe... Yes.' Spike decided to take a few hits in the stomach, a hard blow to the head, then a knee to the chin before receiving a hit in the back of his neck.

Big John decided to have some fun, by elbowing Spike in the stomach followed up by knocking him in the face with his knuckles, and Candy Girl joined in by backhanding Spike. He fell to the ground and groaned, as the Maulers laughed.

"That's what happens when you talk crap about my girl, kid." Desertstorm warned him.

"Noted," Spike groaned, before smirking to himself, "And this is what happens when you underestimate an opponent." he raised his leg up and shoved it into Desertstorm's stomach making him groan. This took Big John and Candy Girl by surprise, as Spike got back on his feet looking like Desertstorm's blows didn't do as much damage as they thought.

"My turn now." Spike said, as he used his own moves on Desertstorm, landing a some hard strikes to the Mauler's body.

"That kids got balls." Candy Girl gasped.

The two watched as Desertstorm dropped before them looking more bruised than Spike. Spike looked at the two firmly, and Big John spoke, "We'll just uh, take him and go." the two picked Desertstorm up, and they got on their bikes before riding off.

"Well, that was a waste of time," he hurried off before contacting Luna again, "Luna, any word on Rainbow?"

"She's still moving. Looks like she's heading close to Main Street."

"Got it." Spike said, as he took off again.

Meanwhile Rainbow had stopped before the old community center just as the perpetrator wrote, "All right. Let's see what asshole made the mistake of trying to get under my skin." she went up to the building and opened the door to go inside.

She walked into the gymnasium that was loaded with old exercising equipment and ball racks. She looked around and called out, "Come on out, you slimeball!"

"As you wish." came a voice, as Shibizo dropped down from the ceiling and landed perfectly on the ground.

Rainbow Dash was in shock that the ninja Dragon defended her from was the mastermind behind all the pictures. Not wanting Shibizo to see her afraid, put on a brave face, "So you're the one responsible for all those candid shots?"

"Guilty as charged," Shibizo confessed, "And can you blame me? I mean look at you. You're so picturesque. That hair. Those legs. That body in general."

"All right, ninja boy, you're going the right way for an ass kickin'." Rainbow warned him.

"And might I add feisty." Shibizo snickered.

"Yuck it up all you want, because when I turn you over to the cops you're gonna be doing time for life."

"I don't think so, girl. I've dodged every law enforcement there is. Nobody's putting me away," Shibizo boasted, as he circled her, "Besides you should count yourself lucky all I did was take a few pictures. I could've done a lot more than that."

"Then why didn't you?" Rainbow questioned him.

"I like to start small with a few minor things like blackmailing with pictures. And it worked. Why else would you come here?"

"To stop you!" Rainbow answered, getting angrier by the minute.

"Stop me?" he laughed, "This is just the beginning. With these shots I control you now. And should you fail to cooperate I can be extra persuasive. Maybe I can kill your parents and beat you till you're at an inch of your life... And then maybe have a little fun with you." he raised his brows flirtatiously.

At that moment Rainbow finally lost it, "ALL RIGHT, YOU'RE DEAD!" Rainbow ran at Shibizo and tried to fight him.

While Shibizo relied on his ninjitsu moves, Rainbow relied on her own strength fueled by her rage, "When this is over I'm gonna rip that mask of your face and stuff it down your throat!" shes screamed. Unfortunately, her rage wasn't enough to kept up with Shibizo who kept blocking her blows.

"If this is the best you got I think your soccer team should look for a new star athlete." Shibizo mocked, while blocking a kick.

"Oh, you just crossed it!" Rainbow threw a punch at Shibizo, only for him to catch it.

"My turn," he replied, before knocking her to the floor and started kicking her around, "Look at you, whimpering on the floor like a defeated dog!" he mocked her with laughter.

Rainbow growled from his mockery, and took Shibizo by surprise and delivered a punch to Shibizo's gut, followed up by a roundhouse kick to his jaw. Shibizo fell to the ground and groaned in pain, before pulling his mask off. Rainbow watched as Shibizo lifted his head up to reveal third degree burn marks around his left eye which trailed to his ear, and his eye itself due to the burns had very little vision in it.

"You broke my jaw," he groaned from the pain, "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BITCH!" he attacked Rainbow.

Meanwhile, Spike had reached Main Street and contacted Luna, "Luna, I'm here on Main Street. Where's Rainbow?"

"GPA is pinpointing her at the old community center. So might I suggest you get changed now." Luna suggested.

"On it." Spike said, as he ducked around a corner and came out as Dragon.

The Master Thief hurried to the community center and scaled the wall before looking through a window. He saw Shibizo with his mask off attacking Rainbow with his ninja tools. He noticed Rainbow Dash was dodging like crazy, but still has some bruises, "Rainbow." he gasped, before Shibizo threw a kunai at Rainbow Dash. The ninja tool grazed her cheek drawing some blood.

Rainbow clutched her cheek before seeing the blood stain in her palm. Shibizo spoke, "I was aimingfor your cheek. Next I'll aim at your heart!" he was ready to attack again, until Dragon slipped through the window and landed before Shibizo blocking his path to Rainbow.

"Dragon!" Rainbow gasped in relief.

Dragon spoke severely to Shibizo, "You really are a piece of work, Shibizo. What you did to Rainbow...what you could have done to her...I have done things, terrible things to people like you. Things no one ever speaks of when the Dragon legend comes up. You think leaving someone to die was the worst thing I've ever done, asshole!? You're going to beg for death before I'm through with you!"

The Thief and Ninja engaged in combat, as Shibizo threw more electrical shuriken at Dragon. The thief dodged the incoming projectiles, before fighting Shibizo up close. The two fought hand to hand and matched blow for blow. Shibizo threw a punch, at Dragon, only for the criminal to catch his fist and redirected it back at him, "Stop hitting yourself!" he declared, as he made Shibizo punch his already broken jaw. The ninja recoiled from the pain, giving Dragon an opening. He spun kicked Shibizo onto a bench pressing table, where a set of weights fell down on his stomach pinning him down. Shibizo blacked out from all the pain.

Dragon nodded knowing the deed was done. He went over to Rainbow Dash, "Are you ok?"

"Better thanks to you." she answered, while trying to cover up the cut.

"Here," Dragon gave her a handkerchief, which she put to her cheek, "You should still get that looked at."

"I'll do that."

"What happened here?" Dragon inquired.

"Shibizo tried to blackmail me with more pictures of me, this time in the shower. He told me to come here if I wanted to settle things."

"Coming here alone was dangerous of you." Dragon scolded her.

"I know, but he was planning to make those pictures go viral."

"Even so. Don't try to take on the burden of facing something alone. Remember you have friends and family to help you."

"Yeah. I'll remember that. Thanks, Dragon." she smiled.

Dragon raised a fist to her, "You put up quite a fight from the looks of it. For that I commend you."

Rainbow smirked, "Oh, yeah!" she fist bumped with the thief, "So what's going to happen to Shibizo?"

"Don't worry about him. I'll make sure he gets what he deserves. In the meantime, you better head on home."

"You're right. Thanks again!" Rainbow Dash headed off.

Dragon turned back to Shibizo before finding the tablet on his person. He opened up a file containing Rainbow's pictures. He blushed while looking at the shower shots before deleting them. He threw the tablet to the floor and smashed it with his foot. He tapped his earpiece, "Luna, I got Shibizo down here at the community center. Send a message to the FBI. I think they'll be overjoyed to hear one of their convicts has been caught." he smirked beneath his mask.

Later on at Tirek's office. The mobster was on the phone, and was as usual not happy, "What?! Shibizo has been taken in by the FBI?!" he hung up, "Damn that Dragon!"

"Uh, boss?" Big John asked, as he and the Maulers entered.

"What?!" he snapped.

"We just came to inform you of our protection racket progress." Candy girl answered, while feeling nervous about her bosses mood.

"Tell me later. I need to be alone," Tirek answered, before noticing the bruises on them, "What the hell happened to you three?"

The three paused, before Desertstorm answered, "Just a gang brawl. Nothing serious."

"Good. Now get out." Tirek dismissed him.

The Maulers left the office, and as they walked through the hall, Big John spoke, "The boss can never know we got our asses handed to us by some shrimp."

"If he finds out, he'll never give us a shot at Dragon." Desertstorm added.

"Which means we'll never get that bonus." Candy Girl cried.

A week had passed since Spike's fight with Shibizo, and he was currently sitting on a bench with the faculty watching their soccer team play against Griffonstone. Rainbow whose scar had healed up was out on the field playing like a pro. The score was tied up with only a few minutes remaining. Rainbow and her team maneuvered the ball around to the goal, as the fans cheered.

Spike got out of his seat and cheered, "Go! Go! Rainbow! Go!"

Rainbow took a shot at the ball as it went flying past the goal keeper and into the net. The crows jumped out of their seats and cheered.

"YAY!" Pinkie cheered, as she and the rest of the girls waved a banner with Rainbow Dash's name on it.

Spike watched as Rainbow and the rest of the team gathered together in victory, and thought to himself, "Rainbow Dash, you are on tough nut.'