Joey's POV:

Joey took a step beck in shock. "Who, me?" he asked. "You're not THAT stupid, are you?" Rainbow Dash chuckled, then was elbowed by Sunset and quieted down.

Joey blushed. "Er, that's not what I meant...." he said, looking confused. "I mean, no one has ever, you know.......asked me out........and I don't really know you............." He glanced at Rarity. Her smile was so big, it was scary.

Joey sighed. "Sure, I will," he said, smiling. "Why turn down a first chance?" Rarity trapped him in a bear hug, making him desperate for air.

"Oh, thank you, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!" she squealed, her smile even bigger. How the hell was that possible? "Sweetie had had the hardest time finding a partner, and you, good sir, have ended that!!!"

Joey weakly tapped her arm. When she looked at his face, it was deathly pale. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!!" she gasped, immediately letting him go. Joey just waved her off while gasping for air. He bent over, wheezing. "Forgiven," he panted.

"So," Applejack interrupted, "Ya want some lunch?" Joey just glanced at her and shrugged.

"Maybe I'd rather starve to death," he replied. Applejack gave him a glare of disapproval.

"Kidding," Joey snorted. "Don't take everything so seriously." She just smiled and rolled her eyes. Why did everyone do that now except him?

The rest of school was a serious pain in the ass. Joey already understood how to do every single equation that Ms. Cherilee threw at him. It was kind of funny with all the surprised looks the others were giving him, but that didn't make it any less boring. He fell asleep four different times.

Sweetie Belle and her two friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, were just giggling and glancing at him for almost the entire second half of school. Joey pretended not to notice, but it still kind of creeped him out. He knew that he was her dance partner and all, but SERIOUSLY.

When the final bell rang, Joey silently rejoiced. He stayed clear of the sudden mob of crazed freshman, then he ducked out into the hall. Hopefully Sweetie Belle and Company wouldn't follow him. Maybe, just maybe.......

"Hey, Joey!!"

Well, shit.

He turned to face Sweetie and her friends, and he was immensely disappointed. "Where are you going?" chirped Sweetie Belle. "Uh, well, places...and...er...I'm kind of busy...'cause I have to...you know...er, nevermindgottago!!!" he replied, walking backwards away from them.

"You wanna hang out today, though?" asked Sweetie Belle, clearly disappointed.

"Uh, maybe."

"Aww, tarter sauce."

Tarter sauce? Who says that anymore? Joey thought. This place is interesting.

Joey quickly walked around a corner, hoping to get away. Right now, he was NOT ready to talk to a girl that liked him. He didn't even KNOW her that well. This was just his first day too.

"Yo, Joey!" said a voice from behind. When will this hell on Earth end?

He turned to find Rainbow Dash walking up to him. "Do you have to catch the bus?" she asked. Joey shook his head. "No, why?" he asked.

Rainbow shrugged. "I was just curious if you wanted to play with our soccer team during our practice." Joey nodded his head. "What would I be doing?" he asked.

Rainbow snorted. "Playing with us, of course," she said. "Didn't you say that you played varsity soccer at your old school?"

"Um, yes," Joey replied.

"Then what do you have to worry about?" she asked. Joey just gave her an uneasy look, and she returned it with an encouraging smile.

"Oh, all right," Joey sighed. Rainbow jumped in joy by hearing this.

"Great!!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall. "Let's test your skills!!" Joey stopped. "Wait, wait, wait. This is a TEST??" he said in surprise. "No, no, and nope," he continued, walking down the hallway the opposite way they were going.

"Joey, WAIT!!!" Rainbow cried in protest. "Don't you want to meet my soccer pals?"

Joey turned around and gave her a disappointed look. "Not really," he replied.

"So you're not coming?"

"If it's a test, HELL no."

"What if we just played one-on-ones?"

"...Maybe."

"So you'll come?"

Joey turned away sighed. "I did NOT say that," he grumbled. He looked back at her again with a serious look. "As long as I'm not tested, fine." Rainbow smiled. The two walked down the hallway, ready for their next activity.

The practice started out with a simple lap around the field. As Joey watched them all run, the coach came up to him. "Do you know anything about soccer?" he asked. Joey looked at him briefly, then returned his gaze back to the field. "I've known it my whole life," he replied.

"Alrighty then, you wanna help out with practice?" he asked.

"Sure," Joey replied.

"Start with equalizing the teams for the scrimmage we'll do to start practice."

"Will do."

"Thanks!!" The coach said with enthusiasm. "Go ahead and put a penny on!!"

When Rainbow saw Joey take the field, her eyes brightened. They were on opposite teams. "You ready to lose, punk?" she asked enthusiastically. "Only if you are," he replied. She chuckled at the comment.

The coach blew through the whistle, signaling kickoff. At this point the rest of the mane 7 came to watch the game out of boredom. Sweetie Belle and Co. showed up as well.

Joey assumed his midfield position and called for a pass. Receiving the ball, he took a long dribbling run to the corner of his opponent's 18 yard box. Only two more people to beat: the keeper, and Rainbow herself. Joey tapped the ball back and forth between his feet, then faked to the left. Seeing Rainbow follow, he quick tapped the ball through her legs, then got in on goal. As the keeper rushed out, he hammered the ball into the upper left corner. Everyone watching this let out an "Oooooooooooh!!"

After what seemed like five minutes, the scrimmage ended, as well as the practice. Joey quickly left the field, though, to avoid any attention. So far, so good.

"Wow, Joey, you killed it out there! Nice job!!" said Twilight, who came out of nowhere. Why, oh why couldn't just ONE thing go his way?

"Uh, yeah, thanks," he said, unsure. Then the rest of the group came.

Joey had never heard so much praise in his life, and it was making him uncomfortable. He would rather be looking for Cory then this bullshit.

Then Sweetie Belle spoke up. "You ready for the Fall Formal tomorrow?" she asked, grinning widely.

Joey's pupils shrinked. "T-tomorrow?" he stuttered quietly. Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. Don't you have anything to wear?"she asked. Joey just smiled and said jokingly, "Does it have to be nice?"

Rarity butted in. "I have a tuxedo in my shop, but you can have it," she said. "It's on the house. Ooooh, you'd look so CUTE!!!" she squeaked.

While she was still fangirling and cooing, Joey backed off slightly. "Uh, sure, why not?" he asked. He had never worn a tux before. This was going to be a first.

"So just come on over, and I'll get you situated. You can just spend the night at my place," Rarity offered. "Would your parents care?"

Joey bit his lip. He felt like he had been asked this before, but he just couldn't remember. So he lied. "Er...nope, nope, not at all," he replied.

Rarity clapped her hands excitedly. "Oooh, this is going to be GREAT!!!!" she said, motioning for him and Sweetie to come to her car.

Joey moaned. "Oh brother," he muttered.

The time had come. Joey had just finished cleaning up at Rarity's after a long school day. She was muttering things like "Ooh, hope he says yes," and "Flash is such a good partner to Twilight," and crap like that.

That's interesting. Flash and Twilight? Huh. Never knew.

But here Joey was, all dressed up, standing in front of the gym doors. Oh man.......Sweetie Belle was in there and waiting for him. He was SO not ready for this.

He took a step through the doors, taking a deep breath first. He had to get this. He took a good look around. Streamers were strung all over the ceiling, and there were tables loaded with food and punch.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around to find none other than Sweetie Belle herself. "Hey," she said, blushing. "Hi," Joey replied nervously. "You wanna...you know...dance?"

Sweetie's smile lit up. "I was hoping you'd ask that," she replied. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor. "So," Joey said, "How do you...you know...I've never danced before...-" Sweetie cut him off. "Like this," she replied, showing him the moves. When she was done, she looked him in the eyes. "You ready?" she asked. Joey nodded, and the two proceeded to slow dance. It was one of the most amazing experiences in his life.

After the song was over, Joey realized he was immensely thirsty. "I'm gonna go get some punch," he said, excusing himself. Sweetie waved and said, "Alright. Thanks for the dance...heh, heh." She was blushing profusely. "No problem," Joey replied.

He chose the table with the least people at it, then went there. As he was getting punch, he noticed how shaky he was. "Damn," he said to himself.

He failed to notice that there was a figure eyeing him from under the bleachers. "You cannot run from me, young one," it rumbled in a deep voice. "Blueblood gave me a job, and I will not stop until it is done. You've defeated me once, but Backbone shall have vengeance TONIGHT!!!!" With that he lifted up his hands, and they developed a brown aura, surrounding Joey's head with the same aura. After he finished putting the spell on him, he silently cackled at what he did.

Joey's eyes turned yellow, and his pupils dilated. A sharp, burning pain went through his head, as if someone had blasted him with an energy beam. He put his hands up to his head and fell to his knees. He let out a scream, attracting attention from nearby people. A girl with pink hair and a brick red skin color looked at him and gasped. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Joey turned his head to her, revealing his eyes. The girl stepped back in shock. "Oh, that is not normal," she said, horrified. "Do you need a nurse?" she asked.

Joey swiped a hand at her. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!" he cried, pulling himself up slowly. Every single cell inside of him felt like it was exploding. "I....I D-DON'T NEED YOUR......GAAAHHHH!!" His head whipped back, and he fell to the floor again, holding his head. "The voice...the voice...GO AWAY!!" He got to his feet and ran, stumbling out the gym doors, holding his head.

Another kid came up to the girl. "What just happened?" he asked. The girl slowly turned to look at him. "Get a chaperone!" she said desperately.

Meanwhile, Joey ran out of the school and down the block on this chilly night. He was holding his head, grimacing. It was like someone had set off a million a-bombs in his head. His vision was blurry yellow.

When he stopped running, he quickly looked around. He was at Cory's shed, the one he had seen the day before. More pain interrupted his thoughts.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Princess Celestia's son," said a voice from behind. Joey knew that voice all too well. The pain lightened, and his vision cleared. He turned around and saw General Backbone standing there, holding him at gunpoint. "You," growled Joey. "I thought you were dead." Backbone just shrugged.

"I wish I could stay and talk, but...I have a job to finish." And with that he shot Joey in the chest. At the same time, the pain came back to his head. His breathing was shallow. He stumbled into Cory's shed. Dripping blood everywhere, he cried out in agony. He just needed to lean against a wall...

He chose the far wall, which didn't have any other drawings that could get blood on them.

But something was different.

When he tried to lean against the wall, he fell right through.

The scene changed to a frozen wasteland that was right in the middle of a blizzard. On top of the terrible pain in his head, the bleeding chest that felt like it had been blown up, and the cold, he didn't have to be a genius to know he was gonna die. "Oh, Cory...." he croaked, spitting out blood.

Before his vision went black, he heard the sound of a train.

Author's Note

Joey's number one enemy is back! Will Joey's so called luck run out? Or will he cheat death again? Stay tuned!

Sorry for the late update, everyone. I was busy juggling schoolwork, the suicide councilor, and this story. Thank you to those who have supported me all the way through so far!!!!!!