MLP - Friendship and Pleasures

It was one of those days that got you pumped for action.

Not a cloud in the sky, the scent of new flowers in the air with a hint of the chill mixed into the breeze, and the new students coming into Equestria University for the start of the new semester. Pinkie Pie loved meeting the new students, welcoming them to what she felt was the best university in the whole of Equestria, which was so much more interesting than Canterlot College or God forbid, Manehatten State, it has a restriction as to the number of parties that can be thrown in the dorms, and the paperwork needed just to have a birthday cake brought in was horrendous. Even now Pinkie still had nightmares about her time there.

Greeting, or more appropriately, screaming 'welcomes' to everyone who passed by the school gates, Pinkie's attention turned to a student who was not showing the usual excitement or nervousness that all new students had on their first day, instead he was slumped over and wrapped up in plain black with his feet dragging across the ground, furrowing the dirt and scuffing his battered grey sneakers. His face was smothered with a huge swathe of cloth and his eyes were covered by a hood pulled low over his eyes. Not surprisingly, everyone was giving him plenty of personal space, after all, it was a decision between getting sardined, or getting sardined with a potential terrorist, pretty easy choice honestly speaking.

Pinkie grinned, she had recently bought a brand new trick popper from Flim 'n' Flam's trick shop and she had been dying to test it out on someone. Now, it seems, was as good a time as any. Muffling her giggles, she slipped through the crowd and closed the distance with her oblivious target, her popper gripped in her right hand and stuffed into her pocket, ready to deploy at the last minute. When she was close enough, Pinkie reached out and clapped her hand on the boy's shoulder, aiming to turn him around so that he would get the popper right in the face.

Time to turn a frown upside down!

As the boy turned to face her, Pinkie pulled out the popper and let it rip.

***

Pinkie found herself in the hospital wing with a broken nose.

"Ooh dear, now that would definitely leave a mark." Nurse Redheart tutted as she placed a splint over Pinkie's nose; "There we go, come back in a week and you should be all better." Reaching into a drawer, Nurse Redheart pulled out a small tube which she placed into Pinkie's hand; "And this is for the bruising, twice a day and your face will soon be right as rain."

The door to the hospital wing slammed open as Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle rushed in.

"I just heard the news, what happened?" Rainbow's eyes found Pinkie Pie sitting miserably on one of the cots lined up along the right-hand wall of the room, with a white splint smack across her mottled, purple face; "Pinkie! were you punched?"

"Amongst other things." Applejack replied, leaning on the corner of Nurse Redheart's desk, her trademark cowboy hat was slung across her back, allowing the golden locks that framed her face to catch the light of the sun coming in from the open window next too her;

"From what I heard Pinkie was attacked by some new kid wearing a hood." Applejack spat; "That little creep, when I get my hands on him..."

"Hold on AJ."  Twilight interjected; "We don't know what happened, it could have been a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? Look at her, she looks like a big pink raccoon!" Applejack's accent, distinct but mild most times, was becoming stronger as her emotions ran high; "This kid's a menace I tell you! and he needs to be reined in! Before he hurts others with his sociopathic behaviour! He..." Applejack trailed off as she realised something; "Who attacked you by the way?"

No one could understand Pinkie Pie's response.

"Wow, that was worse than the incident with Sunset Shimmer's joke thing thing last summer" Rainbow Dash observed.

"At least it's not as wet." Twilight remarked; "Anyway, I think we should investigate this further before we take any action." Rainbow Dash nodded, rainbow coloured bangs bouncing furiously as Twilight continued; "Let's get Pinkie to class and we'll discuss this later at lunch alright?"

"You do what you want Twilight! I have a rat to find!"

So saying Applejack stormed out, slamming the door closed behind her as she went.

Her head popped back in a second later;

"Who did attack Pinkie?"

***

Finding out who did it was easy, the hard part was finding him.

Everywhere they went, Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy found traces of the mysterious hoodie wearing student and people who had seen him, but their target had thus far proven elusive.

"This is ridiculous!" Applejack burst out after their last lead failed to pan out; "He's more slippery than a rat trying to get into Granny Smith's larder!"

"Maybe we should get lunch first? and try again later?" Fluttershy stuttered nervously.

"No can do Fluttershy!"Applejack stomped her foot for emphasis as she continued; "We have to nip this in the bud, we can't let that no good malcontent go on another rampage, and why're you following us around anyway? Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"Rainbow and Pinkie had classes together so they went off first." Twilight ticked off a finger as she replied; "And Fluttershy is going with us because she was the one who brought Pinkie Pie to the hospital wing in the first place." Twilight finished with another tick off her fingers.

"Well why didn't you say so!" Applejack exclaimed.

"I don't think you noticed me when I first arrived." Fluttershy replied.

"Well never mind that, did you see what that varmint look like?"

"Well I didn't see his face," Fluttershy began; "All I saw was a black hoodie covering his face and a a light grey scarf wrapped around his mouth, he also shuffled along like a zombie from one of Rainbow Dashes movies." Fluttershy shuddered, she really didn't like Rainbow Dashes zombie movies.

Applejack cocked her head as she considered Fluttershy's description; "Ok, so where would a hoodied up, scarf wearing zombie go at this time of day?"

At that moment, Hoity-Toity walked by, deep in conversation with Photo Finish, who was busy fiddling with her new camera.

"I say Photo, did you see that hoodie wearing boy in the cafeteria just now? How utterly unfashionable he was, and that inelegant scarf"

"And that Zombie shuffle, ugh!" Photo Finish sniffed in concurrence with her companion's assesment; "Although there may be something in him that I...Photo Finish, could use for my next project, yes."

As the couple sauntered off down the hall, Twilight turned to Applejack;

"Well, I guess even zombies get hungry."

***

The lunch crowd had left for classes when the trio entered the cafeteria.

"Black hoodie...Black hoodie...Fluttershy, that him?"

Applejack didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she tugged her hat low over her brow and marched straight at the boy who was shuffling down the tables towards the doors that they came through.

"Hey zombie boy!" Applejack shouted as she sped into a jog, her hand out in the universal sign for 'stop right there or I'll punch you on the nose'.

Zombie boy did not stop, nor did he give any indication that he heard Applejack, instead he just kept on shuffling forward, head bent over his chest and gloved hands vised around the strap of his sling bag slung across his chest. He bobbed and swayed with each shuffling step he took, as if he was moving to a beat that only he could hear, otherwise, zombie boy made no sound save for the scuff, scuff of his battered sneakers on the cafeteria floor. It was an unnerving sight which made Twilight and Fluttershy hesitate as they trailed in Applejack's wake.

But what unnerves others only makes Applejack angrier.

"Dang it I said. Stop!"

Applejack's hand came into contact with zombie boy's shoulder, and as if zapped by a bolt of lightning, shot off her feet and was flung backwards with her hand still glued to her opponent's shoulder. Regaining her balance Applejack shot forward with her left hand now gripping zombie boy's collar, letting loose with a cross free handed, a closed fist that turned into an open hand when she hit the floor.

The pain was short, sudden and swift, biting through her wrist and driving deep into the bone, a smothered scream escaping her lips as she was pressed into the ground by a mountain suddenly dumping itself on to her shoulders. The pain gave out just then as the force was suddenly taken of her, so Applejack shot back to her feet, only to find herself looking at Twilight and Fluttershy fast receding into the distance, standing upside down as if their feet were glued to the ceiling, in a inexplicable state of weightlessness that ended when she crash landed after a brief lesson in aerodynamics and physics.

Horseshoes barn danced across her eyes as Twilight rushed over to the crash site, a slightly out of breath and jiggling Fluttershy trailing behind.

"Applejack! Goodness are you alright!?"

Fluttershy came huffing and jiggling along; "Fluttershy, Applejack's gone all southern again."

Applejack scrambled to her feet to see zombie boy shuffle off with everyone in the cafeteria giving him as wide a berth as possible.

Applejack jammed her hat back onto her flight-mussed hair; "Boy, unless you realize. This. Means. War."

Twilight was at a total loss, torn between her friends and the mysterious zombie boy. She could not believe that anyone could hurt Pinkie Pie unless it was an accident, but the evidence was undeniable, especially since she just saw one of the strongest girls in Equestria University get hurled the length of the cafeteria like a football over the pitch. This new student was dangerous.

"Well, I see that you have had the pleasure of Pleasure."

The voice sounded like velvet mixed with a cup of gravel and dunked in milk chocolate. Twilight turned her attention away from Applejack, who was busy swatting away Fluttershy's nervous administrations with her hat, towards another boy, tall and broad, with close cropped, sliver hair wearing a white turtleneck and cargo pants. His most striking features were his eyes, one a clear, sparkling grey, the other an opaque, lifeless white.

"Excuse me, but do we know you?" comprehension dawned on Twilight as her mind registered what the newcomer just said; "Wait, you know zombie boy?."

Behind her, a happy Fluttershy had started sticking band-aids on a thoroughly abashed Applejack's arm.

The newcomer laughed; "Zombie boy? now that has a ring to it." reaching out a hand, he pulled Twilight to her feet;

"Like I said, you have just had the pleasure of meeting Pleasure, and you could say he is known to me." Grasping Twilight's hand in a warm, rough grip the newcomer continued; "My name is Sade Nelson, and if you are going after Pleasure, you will most definitely need my help."