The trip towards the back of the manor proved to be more difficult than the students first imagined, as the multitude of windowless rooms provided no straight route to an exit.

Eventually, everyone decided to simply forgo the search in favor of leaving through the front door. Making their way around the building, a certain feature of the institution immediately caught some of the students' attention.

“We have a pool?!” A pink girl in a white outfit, vaguely similar to that of a ballerina, shouted. “Awesome! Let’s start this first day off with a splash!” Moving her hand to the shoulder of her outfit, she began to shuck it.

“Pinkie!” Applejack shouted, grasping the girl’s hand. “Ah love yer enthusiasm, Ah do, but Ah don’t think that’s what Ms. Faustdatter sent us out here for. Besides, Ah wouldn’t do that right here…” She glanced at the boys among her class, each of them wearing an expression ranging from embarrassment to mild interest. “...There are other people present.”

Spike felt more embarrassed then he probably should have, but that may not have been entirely his fault. “Twilight, could you move your hands away from my eyes please. I can’t see anything, but I’m fairly certain people are staring.” The quiet giggles he heard around him did not help to elevate his concerns.

Applejack grabbed the shoulder of Pinkie’s top and moved it back into its proper place. She whispered, “seriously, sometimes Ah wonder how we could ever be related. It's gotta be some distant kind of relation, because no one on my side of the family has this much issue with decency.”

Pinkie only giggled and responded as if Applejack wasn’t trying to keep their conversation private. “Silly Applejack, I’d never do anything indecent while so many people are around. See?” She pulled her top outwards, inviting Applejack to look down it, which despite the cowgirl’s better judgment, she did. “I always wear a swimsuit under my clothes in case of deep water based emergencies, because as superheroes it is our job to always be prepared for any sort of situation.”

Applejack leaned back and stared at her distant relative in confusion, then began to smile when Pinkie’s weird logic suddenly started to make sense. “Like Ah said Pinkie, Ah love yer enthusiasm.”

Everyone heard a male voice call out to them from outside the crowd. Turning, they saw Flash had walked away from the group, and was now pointing towards something and trying to get their attention.

“There’s something over that way!” He called out. “I think I can see a teacher over there too, so I’m pretty sure that’s where we’re supposed to go.”

No one else had any better ideas, so they decided to follow his hunch.

After a little more walking, the students found themselves standing before a large circular hole that had been dug into the ground. Unlike the pool however, this circle wasn’t filled with water and had a circular ring of cement surrounding its perimeter keeping the surrounding earth out.

The woman standing next to the hole quickly took note of their numbers, while the students were distracted examining the odd structure.

“Greetings students.” The woman addressed them.

The class turned to greet her back, only to immediately grow silent upon realizing who they were talking to.

The woman’s dark blue skin and long flowing hair was colored with the multiple hues of the changing night sky. Her costume was a darker blue, tight fitting, spandex jumpsuit with a black belt. Stripes ran down the sides of her arms and legs from the tops of her shoulders and the collar of her outfit, before reaching the end of her sleeves which were covered by a pair of black gloves. Her most “distracting” feature however, was the large v-shaped opening near the front of her collar that traveled down her body to just above her navel, where a black starburst design sat where the middle of her stomach would be. Her pant legs terminated in a pair of practical black boots.

It was abundantly clear to everyone who stood in close proximity that she was not wearing an undershirt.

“My name is Luna Astra Faustdatter, but you may refer to me as Ms. Luna, or my hero moniker, Dreamwalker.”

Lifting her hands up in front of her chest, the students noticed that she was carrying a clipboard with several pages of notes and a pen. “I will be your instructor for today.”

“Oh my gosh! We’re being taught by the legendary sleeping heroine, Dreamwalker!” Pinkie shot her arms out, grabbing the first person she could get her hands on, which just so happened to be a long haired girl in a blue sundress with pink straps. Shaking her violently, Pinkie exclaimed, “Can you believe it?!”

“I’m glad to see you're excited, but I must ask that you refrain from any further outbursts during the lesson.” Luna waggled her pen at Pinkie. “You will need as much of your energy as you can muster for the coming exercise. Also, I’ve never much cared for that title, the sleeping heroine. I am very much wide awake, so please choose your words more carefully next time.” Pinkie gave a nervous squeak.

Luna lifted her arm from her clipboard and motioned towards the hole. “This structure is what we here at the mansion refer to as “The Pit.” To begin your curriculum, we will be using it to assess your abilities through simple combat training.”

The students collectively blanched upon hearing those two final words. Twilight raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle?”

“You’re going to make us fight each other? Actually make us go down in that hole and fight each other?”

“I believe the correct term is sparring, but yes that is essentially the plan.”

Twilight lowered her hand and began to shake. “But I’ve never been in-”

“We don’t expect anything incredible from you just yet. We only wish to see your abilities so we can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to make your personal lesson plans as effective as possible. If you’re scared, I promise you shouldn’t need be. Despite its name, the Pit is extremely safe.”

Before she continued, Luna closed her eyes and let her body go stiff. The students looked at each other in confusion. Some were considering asking their teacher what she was doing, but before they could voice their questions, a being of blue energy floated out of their instructor’s back.

It had a woman's shape but lacked any distinctive features or even a face to present it's mood. Like Ms. Luna, it had long flowing hair, but instead of looking human, its body was composed of an energy that resembled the night sky at dusk. The students knew this as Luna’s astral form, the form that the sleeping heroine was most recognized for. She flew out from her human body and landed in the center of the Pit.

“Don’t be frightened children.” The students jumped when they heard their teacher’s voice speak from inside their heads. “This form allows me to project my voice into the minds of others in close proximity. As you can see, the bottom is bedded with a soft, non-coarse sand that will provide adequate cushioning should you be knocked down.” Her astral form flew towards the wall. “The wall as well has been expertly smoothed to near glass-like fineness by the most skilled masons within the city.”

Flying out of the Pit, she re-entered her physical body.

“Unless you intentionally try to severely harm your opponent by ramming them into the cement—which will be an immediate cause for expulsion—you will find the walls are incapable of causing bleeding.” She spoke sternly, her glare causing several of the students to step back in fear.

Luna lifted her clipboard and began reading over the first sheet. “I will be calling out the names of each combatant. When you hear your name enter the Pit and prepare to meet your opponent. Also, in future combat sessions you will not be graded on how many fights you win, only the amount of effort and creativity you put into subduing your opponent. This first session will not be graded.”

Lowering her clipboard, she looked towards her students. “Rainbow J. Dash and Jacqueline S. Apple, you’re up first.”

Applejack looked into the crowd to see another girl looking at her. She had cyan blue skin and multi-colored hair that matched her namesake. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and short sleeve blue jacket and pair of black pants with rainbow-colored lightning bolts on the sides.

The two girls smirked at each other as they both entered the Pit. Applejack walked to the center and stomped her feet into the ground, causing the earth to shake and almost everyone around her to begin losing balance. “Alright then, sugarcube. Come at me.” She said as she beat her chest not unlike a gorilla. Rainbow smirked as she went to one of the Pit’s sides and took a sprinter’s start.

Rainbow shot forward straight off the ground and flew like a rocket straight towards Applejack. The farm girl was so surprised she almost didn’t get out of the way in time, but managed to jump to the left just as Rainbow was about to tackle her stomach. Rainbow flew past her, only to turn upwards in a ninety degree angle and shoot several yards into the sky. Stopping herself in midair, she grinned confidently down at her opponent.

Applejack smirked back, before taking her hat and tossing it onto the edge of the Pit.

“You’re a quick one, partner. But runnin’ ain’t good for much when yer aimin’ to win a fight.”

Bending her legs, Applejack leapt into the air right to where Rainbow Dash was floating. The flying girl was shocked, and almost didn’t duck when Applejack tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to her head.

Rainbow Dash backed away to evade any more of Applejack’s attacks as the farm girl fell back to the ground. A smile spread across Rainbow’s face.

“I’ll show you running!” Rainbow Dash gleefully shouted.

Rainbow shot back to the ground, into a superhero landing. Flying forwards, she delivered a flurry of punches and kicks. Applejack didn’t even flinch as she began to block and tank all her opponent’s attacks, refusing to be pushed back even an inch.

Applejack chuckled. “Y’all know landin’ like that is terrible for yer knees, right?”

Pushing back with her own flurry of punches and kicks, AJ proceeded to counter attack. However, Rainbow’s faster reflexes allowed her to dodge every one of Applejack’s strikes.

“Thanks for the advice.” Rainbow snarked. “Those legs of yours are pretty awesome. When we’re actually considering superhero names, you should totally go with Captain Thunder Thighs.”

Applejack’s brows immediately furrowed. “Now yer just tryin’ ta make me mad.”

Applejack fell backwards, flipped over and landed on her hands. Curling her legs against her stomach, she then fired them outwards to deliver a powerful donkey kick to Rainbow’s midsection. The cocky girl however used her powers to fly over Applejack before the attack could hit and floated above her. Dash then shot forward and grabbed Applejack from behind in a submission hold then launched them both into the air before Applejack could attempt to break free.

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack shouted. She felt like she had been strapped to the body of a seeker missile with how fast they were climbing. She knew she could easily break free from her opponent’s hold with her superior strength, but given the velocity they were going, doing that could prove to be more of a hindrance than a help.

“I saw this one in a cartoon back when I was a kid.” Applejack heard Rainbow Dash explain. “Get ready for my seismic toss!” Flying in a loop, she quickly gained speed while making Applejack feel like she was stuck on the best part of a rollercoaster. Now sufficiently dizzy and extremely nauseous, Rainbow seized her chance and flipped Applejack over her shoulder and tossed her at the ground.

Applejack hit the sand with a painful sounding crash, the rest of the class hissed as they feared how hurt their classmate could’ve been. Laughing confidently, Rainbow’s jaw suddenly dropped when she saw her opponent standing in the center of the Pit unharmed.

Applejack cocked a brow and clicked her tongue. Brushing some of the dust off herself, she taunted, “Mighty respectable, but yer gonna need to put more umph in yer throws before you can expect to take me down, Dash.”

Rainbow furrowed her brows in anger. “Oh yeah, then how about you try this one on for size!” She flew higher into the air before shooting back downwards straight towards her opponent like a crashing meteorite. Applejack didn’t make an attempt to move, and instead only got ready to counter-attack. Applejack pulled her head back, before bringing it forward to collide with Rainbow’s forehead just before she could crash into her. The force of the collision sent sand flying out of the Pit and sent Rainbow careening into the wall. Applejack stood dazed for a second before falling over backwards as the force of her own blow finally overcame her. The two girls, though still fully conscious, were now no longer able to battle.

Luna clicked her pen in uncertainty. “A bit excessive…” Luna critiqued, “are the two of you uninjured?”

Rainbow replied with a garbled, “I’m cool…” while the farm girl gave her a shaky thumbs up.

Luna sighed in reluctant acceptance of the situation, “I guess I’ll allow it, since neither of you appear to be too terribly damaged. However Miss Dash, next time we hold one of these sessions, I must ask you to restrain yourself from going as “over the top” as you have today.”

Rainbow nodded. “Don’t know if that’s possible, but I’ll try, but it’s gonna be hella hard holding back this much natural awesomeness.”

A few groans were earned for that statement (mostly because she actually used the word ‘hella’). Applejack started to pick herself up, before Rainbow trudged over and offered her a hand.

“Miss Apple’s performance was just as exceptional. However, from this point going forward I must suggest you wear more “situationally appropriate” clothing. A skirt might not be the best choice of attire for some of the combat moves you were attempting.” Luna interjected.

Applejack blushed as she pulled herself out the Pit. Rainbow flying out and landing alongside her. She scratched the back of head in embarrassment. “Well technically they were appropriate since they let me do them fancy fightin’ moves. Anythin’ else would have restricted my movement. But Ah do see what yer implyin’.”

“The green apple patterned panties were cute by the way.” Rainbow patted her opponent on the shoulder mockingly, “I absolutely loved the view.”

Applejack’s face grew a brighter red as she grasped her left bicep in her hand. Walking back towards her brother and Pinkie Pie, she silently scolded herself for forgetting what underwear she decided to wear for the day.

“Next can I have Pinkamena D. Pie and Timber W. Spruce.”

As Pinkie skipped over to take her turn in the Pit, Spike and Twilight stepped over to see if Applejack was feeling alright. “You okay?” Twilight asked.

“A little red in the face, but no worse for wear.” She rubbed the back of her neck sorely. “Fly girl gave me one heck of a whoopin’ back there. But now that ah know her style better, ah’m pretty sure ah could beat her ass next time.”

“Are you so sure?” The group turned to see the rainbow-haired girl walking towards them. “The name’s Rainbow Dash by the way.” She held out her hand, which Applejack was all too eager to take. “You were pretty awesome out there. I wouldn’t mind going another round or two with you some other time. I’ll be winning next time of course, but don’t let that scare you away from trying.”

Applejack snickered. “Ah’m Applejack. This is my brother Big Macintosh and my friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike Sparkle.” The others waved and greeted their new acquaintance. Rainbow whistled as she glanced at Big Mac.

“Man, you’re a tall drink of water.” She smirked at him through half-lidded eyes. “You know, I’m feeling pretty thirsty after all that strenuous exercise. Think you could help me out with that?”

Big Mac silently chuckled as he shook his head. Applejack immediately grew more defensive. “Hey now, unless yer lookin’ fer that rematch to start right now, I’d suggest puttin’ them eyes back in yer head.”

“Relax, I was joking.” Dash relented, “Mostly...” she thought.

Turning back towards the Pit, Dash continued. “So that pink girl with you?”

“She’s our cousin from a distance branch of the family.” Applejack explained. “She used to live at an Amish quarry before movin’ into a bakery run by some close friends of her parents. Just so happened, ma family did regular business with that bakery, so you could imagine mah surprise when my brother and Ah first met her.”

“I’ll bet.” The two combatants had finally made it to the opposite sides of the ring for the spar to start. “Alright it’s starting. Everybody shut up!” Rainbow shouted.

“You were the only one talking.” Twilight commented.

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

In the Pit, Pinkie was standing across from a boy with forest green hair, gold pants, a red shirt with folded up sleeves, and a wool cap beanie on his head. Pinkie Pie waved excitedly at her opponent.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s nice to meet you. Are you ready to get started?”

The boy nodded and gave her a smile. “Timber Spruce, and just give me a second.” Grabbing the hem of his shirt, he peeled it off, before tossing it out of the Pit.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “I’ll have you know, good sir. I do not participate in those kinds of battles.” She said jokingly, then gave him a mock sultry look. “At least, not when there are so many other people watching.~” She whispered only loud enough for him to hear.

Timber chuckled. “Sorry for the confusion, but it’s nothing like that. My powers just work better when there’s more of my body showing, you know?”

Before she could ask him what he meant, Timber’s body began to transform, changing from his copper-color skin into smooth polished wood, similar to a skillfully carved wooden statue.

“Oooohhh~” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Now I really know you’re into me~”

Timber shook his head goodnaturedly. “Make all the dick jokes you want, Pinkie Pie. Trust me, I’ve heard them all.”

Wood formed around his hands until his forearms resembled a pair of giant blunt clubs. “They aren’t going to distract me.”

“Darn.” Pinkie complained. “Guess that leaves me with only one option then...” Pinkie took up a fighting stance like an old timey boxer. “...I’ll just have to kick your butt the hard way.”

Shooting her arm forwards, Pinkie launched her fist across the Pit like her arm was made of rubber. Timber ducked under the punch, causing it to bounce off the wall behind him and back towards Pinkie before returning to its original shape once her fist finally reached her.

Timber stood up and stared at her in confusion. “A rubber girl, huh?” He asked. “That’s different.”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “Yepper-deppers, my entire body can stretch like rubber before shooting back to its original shape, and before you ask, yes... yes it can.”

Timber blushed as he charged at her. “I wasn’t going to ask that.” He retorted. He swung at her with a right hook, only for Pinkie to duck under it. Shooting her fist upwards, she uppercutted him.

“You were thinking about it~!” She sang. While distracted, Timber delivered a punch right into her gut.

“Was not!” He smiled, despite the subject matter of their batter, it was still rather fun to joke around with the energetic girl. Pinkie flew back and hit the wall, only to bounce off like a rubber ball.

“Was too!” She planted her feet into Timber’s stomach, forcing him to stumble backwards to regain his balance.

“Uh-uh!” He brought his right forearm down on his left, breaking the club arm clean off his body. A new arm began to grow in its place. Pinkie’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Neato-mosquito!” She cheered. “That’s a cool party trick!”

“Oh you haven't seen anything yet.” Timber stated. Shooting his growing arm forward, it wrapped around Pinkie’s arms and midsection to form a vice like grip around her. “Being made of rubber, it occurs to me that just hitting you isn’t going to be enough to win this. It’d be like punching one of those Boppo punching bag toys, which leaves me with only one option. I got to ring you out.”

Pinkie appeared to stop listening after hearing the toy’s name being stated. “Oh I love those things! The only problem is that it always took so long to blow them up. But that’s okay because I can suck in a whole lot of air at one time. Watch!”

Pinkie began to take a long inhale much to Timber’s confusion as she slowly began to inflate like a balloon from the chest outwards. She almost couldn’t fit within his clamp despite her elastic body. Suddenly, she exhaled, becoming far skinnier than the clamp could hold. She fell to the ground much to Timber’s shock.

Before he could react, Pinkie re-inflated herself to her regular proportions and grabbed the club arm Timber had broken off. His eyes widened as she swung it and whacked him clean in the stomach, sending him into the air and out of the Pit.

As Timber crashed into the ground, Pinkie began to cheer for her victory. “It’s a homer! The crowd goes wild!” She breathed out of her open mouth to mimic the sound of a cheering crowd as Ms. Luna took down some final notes on her clipboard.

“Nice work Miss Pie.” Luna complimented. “You made fine use of diversionary tactics and unorthodox techniques in this match. Your incessant chatter may prove useful to you someday when actually in the field, but I must ask you to try to take these situations a little more seriously. You aren’t playing superheroes anymore.”

Pinkie brought her hand to her forehead and gave her teacher a salute. “Oki-Doki-Loki, Ms. Luna.” The sleeping heroine nodded, before placing her clipboard at her side and walking to where Timber had landed to discuss his performance.

Pinkie pulled herself out of the hole and rushed over towards Applejack. “Did you see me?! Huh?! Did ya?! Did ya?! Did ya?!”

“Yeah, ah did!” Applejack shouted just as excitedly. “You trounced that woody dude!”

“It was totally wicked!” Rainbow Dash cheered. She grabbed Pinkie by the arm and began testing its elasticity. “So how far can you stretch? Can you transform into other things by stretching? Have you ever pulled something by stretching too far?” By her last question, Rainbow had started using Pinkie’s arm as jump rope.

“Thanks!” Pinkie greeted. “Um… I don’t know how far I can stretch; Does curling up with my knees to my chest and bouncing count as transforming; I don’t think I ever pulled anything; and also, who are you again?”

Rainbow suddenly paused and let go of Pinkie’s arm, letting it snap back into place. She gave the pink girl an incredulous look. “You're kidding right? Didn’t you just see that fight I had with your cousin? I’m the soaring heroine, Rainbow Dash! How could you forget about me after seeing that awesome battle?”

“I’m just kidding.” Pinkie giggled. “You just seemed like one of those people with big opinions of themselves. Those kinds of people are really fun to tease, and so are you.”

Rainbow blanched and stared at Pinkie. The soaring heroine was unsure of how to take the pliable party girl’s words.

Pinkie broke the silence. “I’m Pinkie Pie.”

Upon hearing her name Rainbow lifted her hand to shake Pinkie’s, only for the pink girl to suddenly wrap her arms around her shoulders. “Silly Dashy. Pinkie Pies don’t shake hands, they give warm hugs!~”

“Dashy..?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

Pinkie broke the hug. “It’s your nickname. I give them to all my friends.” Rainbow blinked at this, but soon began to smile.

“You know what, I like it,” privately she added, “and you are all kinds of soft too.” She growled suggestively.

“Pinkie Pie, ah’d like to introduce you to our new friends, Twilight and Spike Sparkle.” Pinkie turned to meet the people Applejack was introducing her to.

“Well if you don’t mind me butting in, let me say it’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” A new voice greeted them, drawing their attention before Pinkie could say a word in edgewise. A smile spread across her face.

“Timber!” Pinkie broke into a run and glomped onto her once opponent. Timber only smiled in response and attempted to stay standing.

“You are ridiculously forward, you know that?”

“Ahem…” Luna coughed, getting every students’ attention. “Now is not the time nor is this the place. You may engage in such activities on your own time, but right now you’re on mine. Next is Twilight E. Sparkle and Sunset E. Shimmer.”

Twilight was so focused on the conversation, she forgot that people were being called for sparring. “Wait, what?” She asked.

The same fiery-haired girl who had bumped into her earlier walked towards the Pit, hearing Twilight’s question, she replied with a rather threatening answer.

“You want to be a hero, don’t you Sparkles?” Sunset asked as she jumped into the Pit, “that means being ready to fight at any time. So come on and get down here. Let’s do this.”

Twilight gulped nervously, but felt a hand get placed on her shoulder before she could back away and show her fear. She looked back to see Spike giving her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t let her intimidate you. Just get in there and show her what you’ve got. It doesn’t matter if you win.” Spike reassured his anxiety ridden older sister.

“It’s not the winning part that concerns me.” Twilight rubbed her arm anxiously. “You saw what happened in those other fights, what if she really hurts me?! Or worse, I hurt her?!”

A few hairs on Twilight’s head began to fall out of place, a telltale sign of one of her notorious panic attacks.

Spike sighed. “You heard Ms. Luna. Hurting anyone too badly means immediate expulsion, and I doubt she’d take that kind of risk on a newbie like you-”

“Hey I’m growing old down here! Let’s get this slaughter over with!”

Spike growled, creating a sound not unlike the hiss of a crocodile. “You know what, scratch that. Get down there and show her smug ass up. Be as brutal as you want, I can tell she deserves it.”

“But…”

“Ms. Sparkle, I must warn you, if you do not participate in the lesson today, I will have to deduct points from your grade for the first day.”

Twilight stood up straight, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The only thing she feared more than bodily harm was the potential to fail a class, and because of that she began to anxiously amble towards the Pit.

“Yes, Ms. Luna. I’m sorry.” She replied.

Twilight sat down on the edge of the Pit, and slowly pushed herself in. She landed on the sand much softer than she would have if she had jumped, but still managed to stumble and almost faceplant in front of her opponent, embarrassing herself more than she felt already.

“Remember, you’re just showing what you can do.” Flash called out. Twilight looked up at the boy, beginning to blush a little bit. They had only met less than an hour ago, yet he was being so supportive of her. She wanted to call back.

But before she was able to speak, “thanks for the reminder, babe.” Sunset shouted back and blew Flash a kiss. She then turned to Twilight with a somewhat devilish smirk. “I promise I won’t break your new toy.” Sunset joked.

“Wait... what?” Twilight asked

“Yeah, my boyfriend is asking me to go easy on you, you must have left an impression on him earlier today. Maybe after this you’ll leave an impression on me, besides it's not cheating if we both do it with the same person together, right?” Sunset winked.

As Twilight’s inexperienced mind tried to fathom what she just heard, Sunset launched two balls of fire from her hands and then sent another flame in the shape of a wave via a kick. Twilight barely dodged each as she drove to the ground.

Sunset smirked, “This is gonna be fun.”

The fire attacks impacted the wall, but disappeared with no evidence of them being there in the first place. Twilight got back up to her feet as Sunset put her fists together. She pulled one hand away from the other, revealing a crimson baseball bat covered in a glowing gold aura.

“A little advice...” Sunset snickered. “This is going to hurt a whole lot less if you just go lax and stay still. Afterwards, well…. I always wanted a pet.”

Twilight gave a “meep” as she tried to recall those self-defense lessons Shining Armor had given her after he learned that she and Spike had been accepted into the Pillars’ school. Those thoughts immediately left her mind the moment she felt Sunset’s bat swing just inches over her head. Twilight gripped the sand in front of her, pushing herself away from Sunset, before shooting back to her feet and breaking into a run.

Sunset spun the bat in her hand before catching it by its center. Lifting it up over her shoulder, she cocked it back like a javelin.

“Heads up, Sparkles!” Sunset shouted

Sunset tossed the bat, watching with excitement as it flew towards the back of Twilight’s head. Twilight turned and squeaked upon seeing the bat. She raised her hands to protect her face, only to become confused when she felt nothing hit her.

Opening her eyes, she felt them widen. Sunset’s bat had stopped in midair and was now floating only a few inches away from her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Twilight finally remembered the telekinetic powers she had forgotten in her panic. Beginning to fidget with her hands, Twilight tried to get her powers to drop the bat, really wishing more non-fictional books explained how telekinesis worked. She gasped in surprise as the bat suddenly flew backwards and right at Sunset.

The fiery-haired girl shouted, “Shit!” jumping to the side as the bat flew by her and impacted the wall, dissipating the very moment it touched it. Sunset’s brows furrowed as she turned back towards Twilight.

“Alright Sparkles...” A sinister smile spread across her face, “...now that I know you can dish it out, the kid gloves are coming off. Maybe instead of my pet you just can be my submissive.” She finished with a low throaty growl.

Sunset’s hands erupted with the same golden aura that had covered her bat, her hair rising to flutter like the embers of a blazing campfire. Two crimson batons grew out from her closed fists. Charging Twilight, Sunset attempted to try and strike the telekinetic wunderkind with several sloppy but ferocious swings.

Twilight was now scared out of her mind, jumping back away from the aimless attacks that seemed to be coming at her in a variety of styles Sunset had probably never practiced before. If someone stood back and really studied her movements, they might even say she was trying to mimic the fighting-styles of several characters she might have seen in fighting video games.

Sunset huffed as she continued to attack. “So tell me… how’d a jumpy nerd like you get into this school anyways? I can see you have powers, and you’re probably one of those antisocial types who knows how to write papers but not how to talk to people, right?”

Twilight didn’t answer, feeling insulted by Sunset’s words, but at the same time she couldn’t refute any of the mean girl’s claims.

“I can tell you’re smart, sure. But you’re sure as hell aren't confident, am I right?” Sunset continued her verbal assault.

Twilight felt her anxiety growing, it was like Sunset was reading her mind.

“Yeah, you look more the kind of girl who’d piss themselves and run if ever put in a real dangerous situation. You probably only got into this school because your high ranking policeman brother recommended you and your pet lizard boy, right?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, partly because her opponent knew about Shining Armor, but also because she had just pulled Spike into this. A warm sensation started to grow in her chest as Twilight felt her eyebrows begin to lower.

Missing the change in her opponent, Sunset swiped Twilight’s legs out from under her with a surprise sweep kick, sending the bespectacled girl falling onto her back. Tossing her batons behind her, Sunset allowed them to dissipate. Straddling Twilight’s waist, Sunset clamped her hands around the purple haired girl’s skull.

“Wow, you didn’t even see that coming? You really are a loser.”

Sunset’s fingers began to glow gold as a burning sensation overtook Twilight’s mind. Twilight screamed in agony, it felt like she was experiencing the worst brain freeze of her life, but somehow the exact opposite.

Ms. Luna shouted at the combatants, “Sunset Shimmer, that is enough! Your opponent is unable to continue, let her up!” If Sunset could hear her, she refused to listen.

Sunset sniggered. “You’re going to lose, Sparkles. How does that make you feel?” Sunset pressed her fingers deeper into Twilight’s skull.

“I bet you’re going to hate me for the rest of this semester. It'll be a shame to lose out on a fling with a sweet thing like you, but I think I’ll get by. But if you're ever willing to give me a second chance further down the line, keep this in mind...”

Sunset’s lips opened up into a sneer. “Don’t submit to me because I’m mean. Submit to me because I’m better than you.”

As Sunset was about to deliver the final blow, that warm sensation in Twilight’s chest flared, clearing the pain and uncertainty from Twilight’s mind. She could no longer feel the sting of Sunset’s powers or words, but that was not where her thoughts were currently focused. Those last words struck something in Twilight's mind, something her parents had said. Her mind went back to when she was a little girl, when she found something on her family’s front doorstep, a basket with a baby boy inside, Spike. She remembered bits and pieces of her parents' debate about simply adopting him there and then and her confusion as to why anyone would abandon the then unnamed Spike. She said they should hate the people that left Spike, however her father said something else.

“Hating people who do bad is easy, loving them is hard. And heroes always make the hard choices.” There was much more but Twilight's memory ended as she mouthed those words.

“Night Light Sparkle, better known as the late white collar justice bringer, Dark Glow.” She added much like she was providing a citation for a quote.

Twilight focused her thoughts and the warmth around her mind started to invert itself and move outwards. A transparent purple barrier formed between Sunset and herself, before twisting outwards and surrounding Sunset. Sunset tried to force it back, but to no avail.

“Don't hate me because of how I got here. Respect me for being better than you.” She took Sunset's words and made them her own, throwing Sunset out of the Pit with her telekinesis.

She landed with a thud on some of the students that were too close to the Pit’s edge. As the warmth faded, exhaustion settled in to replace it and Twilight fell back onto her back, all but passing out on the warm soft sand.

Outside the pit, Flash helped Sunset up. There were no words between them, but Flash's soft smile hinted that this is why he said what he said earlier. It wasn't meant to encourage Sunset, but to reel in her ego. Sunset's pout and groan confirmed that she didn't want Flash to rub it in. The two then looked to the Pit and the struggling Twilight as she tried to get out. Sunset sighed and nodded.

After what felt like her tenth time trying to escape, Twilight's legs were about to give out under her. Falling back yet again, Twilight felt her arm get grabbed before being pulled out of the Pit. She was shocked and surprised to see it was Flash who was helping her. “Sorry about my girlfriend, she spent the year as Celestia's personal sidekick and apprentice.” He informed. “So she kind of has a little superiority complex.” He then rubbed the back of his head.

Twilight stared at him in shock. “She used to be Sunrise’s sidekick?!”

Despite her surprise, she found she couldn’t shout very loud because of how exhausted she felt. Flash nodded in response. Twilight glanced at Sunset briefly before turning back to Flash. She then grabbed him by the shirt before pulling him close so she could whisper in his ear. “She nearly killed me down there!”

Flash blinked before whispering back. “She wouldn’t do that. Sunset can get intense at times and has a bit of an attitude, but she wouldn’t actually...” Flash paused, seemingly unable to say the word. His defensive tone didn’t leave his voice as he continued, “Ms. Celestia trained her personally, teaching her both how to fight and what morals are needed when you have superpowers. Because of that she probably understands what it means to be a superhero more than any one of us does!”

Twilight furrowed her brows at Flash in frustration. She just couldn’t find herself agreeing with the boy's statement after dealing with the girl she just met.

An awkward silence filled the air as neither could think of anything else to say, even though they refused to break eye-contact. The odd little exchange did not sit well with Sunset as her brows began to furrow and her hair began to rise like it did in her fight with Twilight.

“Alright, Fluttershy M. Breeze and Rarity J. Belle, you two will be up next. Miss Sparkle, Mr. Sentry, please step away from the edge. You can deal with your hormones later.” Ms. Luna said, breaking the silence.

The two teens soon realized they had been staring and abruptly backed away from each other as the other students began to laugh. Grabbing Flash by the ear, Sunset began to pull him away before pushing him so he’d walk in the other direction.

Leaning in closer to Twilight until their faces were practically touching, she whispered in an aggressive tone, “the next time I get you down in that pit, I am going to incinerate you. Do you hear me?!”

Slamming her fist into her opposite palm to emphasize her threat, Sunset’s eyes glowed, twin embers boring into her rival. Twilight gulped and nodded in reply.

Walking away in the same direction as Flash, Sunset left Twilight to nervously shudder where she stood. The purple-haired science nerd only began to calm down when she felt Spike’s scaly hand grasp her own, leading her away from the Pit. As they walked, she looked down at her adopted little brother and felt those memories of her father returning. Once they stopped back near their new group of friends and Spike let go of her hand, she immediately pulled the younger boy into a close and affectionate hug.

The others around them were surprised by this, but kept their mouths shut, assuming that Twilight was just letting out all her pent up stress after winning the battle.

Spike blinked in confusion, whispering, he asked, “What’s up Twilight? Why’re you hugging me all a sudden?”

“I… I was just thinking about dad a little bit ago." Twilight admitted. “Could you just… let me hold you for a few seconds, till I calm down.”

Spike sighed and began to pat her back. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

Back at the Pit, a girl with ivory pale skin and luxuriously curled purple hair was standing at the edge with a peach skinned girl with baby blue hair standing next to her. The first girl wore a sleeveless sapphire blue top that flounced outwards over a light purple skirt, a pair of closed white and purple pumps with clear heels that shined like crystal graced her feet. The girl next to her had an ornamental red and purple flower in her hair and a collared top with white lines running around the hem of the sleeves, bottom of her shirt, top of her collar, and down the center of her shirt. She wore a light red pleated skirt similar to one a cheerleader would wear, with a pair of cyan socks and open purple heels. She was also carrying a large purple satchel in front of her as the other girl inspected the battleground before them.

“Hmm… I do believe the satin will be most appropriate for this endeavor.” The first girl said as she turned to the blue haired girl behind her. “If you please, Coco darling.”

Coco nodded before reaching into the satchel and pulling out a long sapphire sash.

Handing it to her friend, she said, “here you go, Rarity.”

Rarity took the sash and wrapped it around her midsection, creating two long arms as she tied it into a large bow over the middle of her back. The arms of the bow rose as if they were actual appendages before reaching down into the Pit. Lifting Rarity off the ground, they slowly lowered her onto the sand below.

“Wish me luck!~” She sang as she waved to Coco.

Coco waved back, but seemed too nervous to actually reply.

Ms. Luna stared at the Pit a good few seconds before she realized that Ms. Rarity Belle’s opponent was not coming forwards.

Turning towards the group of students behind her with an annoyed expression, she said perhaps a little louder than needed, “Fluttershy M. Breeze, it is your turn. Please come to the Pit or I will be forced to dock points from your grade.”

A frightened squeak was heard from the back of the crowd causing them to part and reveal the same girl Pinkie Pie had been shaking when Ms. Luna had first met her class. The girl was shivering like she had just been caught in a blizzard.

Nervously gulping, “I-I’m here,” she stuttered, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

“Then if you please, get in the Pit and commence combat with your opponent.” Ms. Luna directed. “We are running behind schedule and we’re not going to be able to get to everyone as it is. Therefore, I need you to cooperate and do as I say so I can evaluate as many of you before being released to find you rooms.”

“O-Okay… I’m sorry, Ms. Luna.” Came the whispered reply.

The timid girl slowly began walking towards the Pit. Her shoulders were hunched and she shook more violently with every step. Fluttershy could feel the other students staring at her. She hated those stares, it always made her feel like they were judging her. Did they think she was too fat or too cowardly? Was she too tall? Would they think her superpowers were stupid? These thoughts and others ran through her head until she reached the edge of the Pit, and by this point she wanted no part in the lesson. But despite not wanting to fight the girl she saw below, she didn’t want to disappoint anyone by being a quitter now. Fluttershy took a deep breath, before calmly kicking off her sandals and hopping in the Pit.

Landing expertly, she showed a seemingly inherent grace and perfect sense of balance.

“Wipe the floor with her prissy haircut, Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted in an attempt to cheer the shy girl on.

“Prissy?!” Rarity scoffed at the remark. “I’ll have you know my coiffure has been a trending style in Mareis, Prance since the days of Emperor Neapolitan, and has been worn by numerous stars of television and film for generations!”

Rainbow was about to throw back a rebuttal, but Applejack was quick to pull her back.

“Woah now, sugarcube. Let’s not go makin’ any enemies here.”

Letting go of Rainbow, Applejack turned her gaze back towards her group of friends, to catch Sunset still glaring at Twilight from some distance away. “Heaven knows we got enough of those already.”

Rarity huffed, turning her sights back towards Fluttershy.

“A friend of yours, I assume?” Rarity inquired.

Fluttershy brought her hands together and balled them in front of her mouth. She was so nervous she couldn’t even bring herself to speak. She nodded to give her opponent a reply.

Rarity could see that the girl was feeling uncomfortable, it reminded her of how Coco would act in most stressful situations. Taking on a pleasant smile in hopes of alleviating the girl’s fear, she said gently, “well then, I must say you seem far more pleasant then that ruffian up there. I wish you the best of luck.”

Fluttershy began to play with her hair, “She… She isn’t really that bad when you get to know her. S-She’s actually really nice, if a bit… loud.”

“Sometime today, ladies!” Ms. Luna shouted out of sheer frustration.

This caused Fluttershy to squeak and jump thirty feet into the air, before landing back on her hands and feet where she was standing like a bullfrog.

Rarity blinked in confusion, “Well… that was unexpected.” She muttered at the sight. “It would seem your powers share some similarities with our dear Jacqueline’s.”

A confident smirk spread across Rarity’s face. “Thankfully, I am quite familiar with combating such abilities. Have at you!”

An arm of Rarity’s sash curled up and shot forwards towards Fluttershy. The timid girl squeaked again and jumped to the side, landing on all fours with the grace of a cat. She then continued to run away from Rarity’s extended arms on all fours as the sash tried to whip or wrap her up in its fabric.

“Don’t get cocky now, Rares! It's always the quiet ones ya have ta look out for!” Applejack cautioned.

“You know her?!” Rainbow asked incredulously.

“She’s another girl from my hometown. A trendy, fashion-crazy gal who’s been workin’ in her ma’s clothin’ store since she was knee high to a grasshopper. We’ve been best friends since preschool.” Applejack informed.

Rainbow nodded. “Cool… the girl she’s fighting with is my best friend from Cloudsdale. She’s a total wimp, but she’s got this awesome power to memorize and mimic the movements of any animal she sees. Flutters can even talk to them if she hears them make enough noise.”

“That is a pretty neat ability. Sured be useful fer me back on the farm when Ah’d have to call the pigs.” Applejack complimented, “still, her powers don’t hold a candle to Rarity’s. As soon as she catches your friend in that sash of hers, it will be all over.”

Rainbow cocked a brow at the cowgirl, “you want to bet?” She challenged.

“Do Ah look like Ah have pockets to go with this skirt?” Applejack replied.

“True.” Rainbow Dash began to tap her chin as she thought. An idea suddenly hit her. “How about whoever wins gets to punch the other in the face?” She asked excitedly.

“Ah don’t think that’s wise.” Applejack stated bluntly.

“What’s the matter? Chicken?” Rainbow began to flap her arms and make the offending noises that came with her insult. Applejack smirked and was quick to reply.

“Oh Ah’m game.” Applejack suddenly picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and smashed it in her palm. Rainbow’s eyes widened upon remembering what Applejack’s superpower was.

“Question is, are you?” Applejack continued. “Be a mighty odd sight if ya aren’t… be the first time Ah ever met a flyin’ chicken.”

Rainbow furrowed her brows. She feared for the structure of her face, but her inner bravado refused to let her back down.

“You’re on!” She shouted, shaking hands with Applejack. Both girls turned their eyes back towards the fight, Rainbow now slightly more fearful that Fluttershy wouldn’t come out the victor.

“Miss Apple, Miss Dash, there will be no gambling of any sorts in this school!” The girls heard the scolding within their own minds before Luna’s astral form knocked their heads together. “If I find out next time that either of you have engaged in such activities, you both will find yourselves in detention. Do I make myself clear?”

The astral form returned to Ms. Luna’s body, allowing their teacher to glare at them with her own eyes. For a brief second the two saw something dark and terrible flash through Luna’s eyes. They both gulped and nodded yes in absolute terror of what laid beneath the sleeping heroine’s surface.

Back in the Pit, Fluttershy was still dodging the arms of Rarity’s sash like a mouse would the paws of a house cat. Though not getting tired, Rarity was quick to notice that her current means of attack had no effect. Pulling her sash back to consider different options, she stared in surprise when Fluttershy fell on her rump and panted like an exhausted dog.

Rarity cocked a brow in confusion. “My dear, you do realize in order to win this battle you need to attack back? I realize I may have not given you a lot of opportunities to do so, but even still…”

Fluttershy only shook her head in response. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to fight.”

“Well that’s just not practical.” Rarity argued, placing her hands on her hips. “Being a superhero requires learning to fight, so we can thoroughly trounce the ruffians who may want to cause other people harm. What exactly did you expect when you joined this school?”

Fluttershy tapped her fingers together in embarrassment. “ I always thought that a hero’s goal wasn’t so much to stop the bad guy, but to save people.” She spoke just above a whisper at first while looking down. She slowly looked up then back down again as she saw that it didn’t answer Rarity’s question. “I thought that I could maybe focus on smaller crimes and disasters? Saving cats and children from trees, finding lost people, disaster relief, things like that…”

“Hmm… commendable.” Rarity replied with a smile and a nod. Her smile then turned to a sad frown as she readied her next attack, “but sometimes to save people you have to treat the cause, and that means stopping the villain. For example...”

Rarity’s opposite sash arm stretched out of the Pit and plucked Applejack’s hat clean off her head. “Hey?!” Applejack shouted in protest. She tried to grab it from the swiping length of satin, only for it to pull out of her reach and place the hat on Rarity’s head instead.

“...A detestable hat thief!” Rarity twirled before striking a pose as if to show off the glamor behind her villainy. “A true heroine would not only get back what has been stolen from the poor helpless maiden above-”

“Ah am not helpless!” Applejack interjected.

Rarity continued as if she hadn’t heard the farm girl’s complaint, “she’d also subdue the bothersome lout in order to make certain they couldn’t perform the crime again.”

Fluttershy stared at her opponent curiously, more fascinated than afraid.

“Let’s consider this lesson number one. Simply snatch Applejack’s hat off of my head and I will forfeit the fight here and now. But if I manage to catch you and throw you out of the arena, I take the victory. Does that sound fair, darling?” Rarity teased.

Fluttershy began to nod far more enthusiastically. “Um… Yes, I like that idea very much actually. Just as long as I don’t have to hurt anybody.”

“Splendid!~” Rarity sang as she clasped her hands in front of her. “Well take baby steps then and in time turn you into a spectacular heroine!~” A smirk spread across her face, “that being said,” Rarity’s sash arms slammed down above Fluttershy, forcing the timid girl to leap to the side in surprise, “don’t expect me to make this too easy for you! Challenge is the crucible for greatness, after all.”

Determination flooded through Fluttershy replacing the anxiety of hurting someone. Falling to her hands and feet again, She sped around the circumference of the Pit with the speed of a bunny.

The fashion-forward girl gasped in surprise, realizing that her opponent was charging towards her back. “My word, now I certainly wasn’t expecting this.”

Rarity smiled, as she placed her hand on her stolen hat. “But that doesn’t mean I am unprepared.” Pirouetting in place, the arms of her sash stretched outwards until they spread across the full diameter of the Pit.

The arms spun like the hands of a clock, forcing Fluttershy to jump over the first, only to get tripped up by the second a short moment after she landed.

Fluttershy landed face first against the sand, allowing Rarity to seize her opportunity. One of her sash arms lashed Fluttershy’s legs together. Fluttershy felt herself being lifted as she struggled to keep herself grounded by clawing at the dirt like a cat who didn’t want to be picked up.

The other end of Rarity’s sash wrapped around Fluttershy’s waist, cinching her skirt to her body, keeping it from falling over the shy girl’s chest as she was lifted upwards.

“Have to preserve the poor thing’s modesty after all.” Rarity purred inside her head, “It wouldn’t be prudent to grant any of the boys above a free show. A proper lady makes them work for it!”

Realizing her clawing wasn’t proving effective, Fluttershy knew she had to shift tactics as she was raised from the ground.

“Cat claws aren’t good for gripping malleable surfaces…” She thought. “...They’re primarily used for catching and tearing prey!” Fluttershy looked at the sash arms, remembering all the times she’d seen cats rip and tear at curtains.

A cheshire grin spread across Fluttershy’s face as she flexed her fingers like a cat unsheathing it’s claws. Hissing like the animal she was mimicking, she swiped at the sash restraining her, only to feel her fingernails rake across something that felt more like steel than sapphire blue satin.

Fluttershy’s pupils dilated, swinging again and again, she only received the same result for her efforts. She heard Rarity let out a haughty laugh from below.

“You aren’t going to be able to cut that fabric, darling.” Rarity gushed pridefully. “My abilities allow me to change the properties of any cloth I can keep in physical contact with. No matter how strong your swipes are, you will not be able to tear through my fabulous sash.”

Fluttershy let her arms go lax and hang downwards near the sides of her head. “Oh dear…” she commented.

Casually walking over to the side of the Pit, Rarity suspended Fluttershy over the grass outside the arena, “the battle was well fought, and I commend you for pushing past your anxieties to try and give me a fair challenge, but sadly this must be the outcome.” Rarity reminisced.

Gently laying Fluttershy down on the grass, she pulled herself out with her sash. Continuing to walk towards Fluttershy, Rarity offered her a hand to help Fluttershy to her feet.

“I hope that you won’t feel too bitter about this, because I would greatly like you to consider me a new friend, dearie.” Rarity gushed.

Fluttershy moved back into a seated position and grabbed the fabulous fashionista’s hand, before being pulled by her new friend into a stand. Fluttershy nodded her acceptance and gave a soft smile, earning her a brief hug from her once opponent. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise, but accepted the hug nonetheless.

Luna sighed and checked off the two students. “An excellent use of diplomacy, Miss Rarity. That skill is invaluable when dealing with crowds of panicked civilians or frightened individuals in the field. Miss Fluttershy however,” Luna lifted her gaze revealing a disappointed look, “though we do have classes focusing on support positions at this school, you will be required to know how to fight should violent situations occur. Simply trying to avoid confrontation will not be an option when you actually become a hero.”

Glancing back at her clipboard, Luna uttered crispily, “We’ve time for one more match before I’m required to assign your housing placements. Spike C. Sparkle and Flash T. Sentry, please enter the Pit as soon as possible so we may remain on schedule.”

An excited smile spread across Spike’s face as he headed towards the Pit, only to feel Twilight’s hand grasping his own.

Glancing back at the worried expression she was giving him, “Twilight, let go.” He whispered. “It’s going to be fine. I’m not going to get hurt.”

Spike’s eyes darted around, trying to make sure no one was staring.

“Just be careful,” Twilight whispered back, “I don’t think Flash will go too hard on you starting out, but I’m afraid what might happen if you go too far in this fight. You have a habit of putting your all into everything you do, and that could cause Flash to really hurt you if he thinks he needs to. Just remember this is a sparring match, so don’t poke the sleeping dragon, okay?”

Spike smirked at her before sliding his hand out of her grasp. “Relax mom, this is going to be great!”

Rushing towards the Pit before jumping in, like Fluttershy, he landed on his hands and feet, before standing up straight and walking towards the other side of the arena.

Flash walked past Twilight as he headed towards the Pit. Glancing over his shoulders at her with a sympathetic look, Flash mouthed the words, “he’ll be okay,” before casually jumping in the Pit himself.

Flash nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets as he sized up his opponent. Judging by the way Spike’s tail was swishing back and forth behind him, Flash assumed Spike was doing the same thing.

“Hey, may the best hero win,” Flash said as he nodded to Spike with a smile, “just remember we're only gonna show what we can do.”

Twilight wanted so much to look away, she just couldn't bear to see what might happen should Spike push his opponent too far. But at the same time, she couldn't look away. Something about Flash had her gaze locked on him and made her slightly anticipate the bout to follow.

“Your brother is screwed.” Sunset decreed as she walked next to Twilight.

Twilight turned to face Sunset as the pyro-psychic smirked at the oncoming battle.

Before Twilight could question what she meant, Sunset cut her off, “Flash can absorb kinetic energy and has an insanely fast healing ability,” turning her head to stare down Twilight she mocked, “doubt your educated enough to get what that means, so let me explain it to you. All the force behind any attack your freak bro manages to land will be absorbed into Flash’s body. He can then send that force back out through his own attacks or release it in a gigantic burst.”

“Got to experience it myself actually, last we had-” Sunset began haughtily, but suddenly went silent, as if stopping herself from spilling a national secret, “well I’m sure you know already. A girl like you has to have at least some stories about your bedroom, am I right?”

Burning red from both rage and embarrassment, Twilight knew this girl was going to be her greatest enemy while attending this school.

Quickly turning her attention back to the fight she admonished herself. “This is Spike’s moment. I need to support him, no matter what the fiery-haired bitch standing next to me says. Even if she did invite me to share her boyfriend. I believe in him with all my heart. I just wish it wasn’t the cute guy I’d just met who Spike was expected to fight.”

The feelings in her heart only helped to increase her already frazzled mindset.

Back in the Pit, Spike started out the fight by charging at Flash, spinning to swipe him with his tail. Flash ducked, rising back up to deliver an uppercut to Spike's lower jaw. Before the attack could connect however, Spike vanished, only a cloud of hazy purple smoke taking his place.

Flash blinked in surprise as the cloud quickly dissipated. Then suddenly with an unusual “Bamf”, Spike reappeared on the other side of the area out of another cloud of smoke.

Smiling in excitement, Flash teased. “Well, it looks like I was off the mark. I thought by your looks you were gonna be some kind of dragon and breathe fire at me or something. I never even considered you’d be able to teleport.”

“To be fair, I did scare the shit out of my parents the first time I did that.” Spike snarked back, “I was a baby and they thought I somehow spontaneously combusted. Found me an hour later gnawing on a piece of my mom’s jewelry in their closet. Point is, I look like an iguana and fire is somewhat involved in my powers. So yeah, you could say I’m kinda dragony.”

Spike spread his feet, moving his hand up to make the self-defense stance Shining Armor had taught him. “But enough about me, what’s your specialty?”

Flash smirked, “First, dragony? Really? Your big sister’s a bibliophile, so one would think you would know the word draconic.”

“What's a bibliophile?” Spike asked.

“It means lover of books. I can tell Twilight is one because she smells like an old library book. Actually it's kinda cute.” Clearing his throat he left that train of thought, “but to answer your first question. You want to know what I can do?” Flash turned to expose his right cheek, “give me your best punch.”

Spike snickered, “gladly.” Clenching his fist, he charged right at Flash, Spike threw his whole mass behind the blow. Everyone watching, sans Sunset, closed their eyes for a second.

Pulling his arm back, Spike was shocked to see Flash still standing. The only difference from before was that Flash’s right cheek was now glowing blue. Flash took a step back and turned to face Spike, as the younger teen stood horrified that his punch had done nothing.

“Sorry about this.” Flash said sincerely.

Making his own fist, the blue glow flowing down into his hand. Flash threw his punch right into Spike’s gut, sending the boy to the other side of the Pit.

“Energy absorption and redirection is what I do,” Flash said as he casually walked to Spike as the boy got back up, “the harder you hit, the more force I can hit back with.”

Spike looked at Flash and a grin started to form, “there's a limit to what you can absorb,” Spike mused, “and I am gonna find it.”

Spike's voice dropped two octaves, causing Twilight's eyes to widen in horror. As quickly as she could she ran to Luna.

“Ms. Luna, you have to call off the match!” She pleaded.

“Miss Sparkle, I have had just about enough of these interruptions. Your little brother seems just fine. The match will continue.”

“It's not Spike I’m worried about. Well not the way you think,” she started to backpedal.

“Miss Sparkle, either get to the point or let me be.”

Before Twilight could continue a crocodile-like hiss was heard from the Pit. Luna and Twilight turned to see Spike crouching down and teleporting. If they had been closer they would have noticed Spike’s pupils had turned to slits like those of an actual reptile.

Reappearing above Flash, Spike slammed his fists down onto Flash’s back. The other teen fell to his knees from the momentum of the blow, but absorbed the majority of the force behind it. Flash began to stand back up, only for Spike to reappear and deliver a knee to Flash’s chin.

The attack sent Flash back up and onto his feet with a stagger. Shaking his head, Flash tried to elevate the dizziness he was feeling. Spike was attacking faster and more ferociously than he first anticipated. Having lost sight of the draconic boy, Flash scanned the Pit in search of his opponent, only for Spike to teleport behind him again and deliver a kick to his lower back.

Staggering forward, Flash turned to meet his opponent. Finding that again Spike had vanished, Flash assessed his situation.

“Alright, so he can teleport,” Flash thought to himself, “but there seems to be a delay between when he reappears and when he disappears.”

Reappearing right in front of him, Spike surprised Flash, before delivering a punch to his stomach that made the onlooking crowd groan in discomfort. Disappearing again, Spike left Flash struggling to remain standing.

“The kid definitely took me up on the offer to hit hard.” Flash snarked to himself.

Looking down at his hands, Flash took note of the blue glow that was slowly creeping up his arms. Rolling up his sleeves, Flash saw that the glow extended up to just past his elbow. From above the pit, Sunset spotted the glowing arms and covered her mouth.

None of this was lost on Twilight. “Please, don't go overboard, Spike.” She silently prayed.

Flash groaned, “running out of space to hold all the energy he’s giving me. At this rate, I might have to risk releasing it as a burst. But with the cement walls surrounding us, that could easily lead to the kid getting squashed. But if I don’t…”

Flash took a breath. “Sorry Spike.” He whispered as he threw out his arms and widened his stance.

A burst of pure concussive force went out in a sphere centered on Flash. It drilled across the ground, through the air, and into the wall. Spike was caught up in the burst and forced into the wall like a bug on a windshield.

The crowd released a cloud of muttered “oofs” and hisses as they watched the collision. Twilight gasped, as Sunset began to smile again, and gave a sigh of relief. Spike fell to the ground like a broken toy, and as Flash watched the young man for movement, he realized exactly what he feared had come true.

“Shit!” Flash cursed as he ran forwards, only stopping when he heard a low growl coming from the draconic boy.

Spike raised himself onto his hands and feet, several of his joints producing cracking noises. He glared at Flash with the slitted eyes of a feral predator, causing Flash to stumble back in surprise.

Lifting her hand over her mouth, Twilight bit back her tears, “No…Not here you moron,” she whispered.

Charging at Flash with the ferocity of a predator, Spike leapt at the other teen, claws extended. Flash didn’t move back an inch however, only staring down his opponent.

“Not this time.” He stated.

Raising his leg, he swung it straight into Spike’s stomach, his shin sinking into Spike’s belly, the blue glow revealing he still had a small amount of kinetic energy left stored within himself. Releasing all the built up force, Flash sent the dragon boy soaring into the air like a rocket, Spike snarling and swiping at the air, before landing painfully against the ground far outside the ring.

Gasping Twilight ran to her little brother.

“Not now, please, not now.” She pleaded in silence.

Everyone else turned to watch Twilight run to her brother, save for Sunset, who reached into the Pit to help Flash out.

“Nice job babe, throwing a kid out of the ring.” She joked.

“Hey if I had a choice in my opponent, I’d pick the big guy. Something my dad told me in a letter, ‘School is like prison, if it comes to it, the best way to get respect is to beat the crap out of the biggest guy so everyone leaves you alone’.” Flash said as he pointed to Big Mac.

Sunset replied with a small laugh, kissing his cheek. Flash’s blush turned to concern as he looked where everyone was staring. A worried expression spread across Flash’s face as he watched Twilight help Spike back up.

“Excuse me a second.” He dismissed Sunset as he rushed towards his downed opponent.

“Hey is he okay?” Flash asked.

Twilight nodded as she picked Spike up, her little brother groaning. The force of the crash landing had apparently reverted him back to his more civilized self.

“What happened?” Spike queried, clutching his stomach, “ugh, it feels like I just had the all you can eat special at Taco Bell. My stomach is killing me,” Spike groaned.

“You better be glad it’s killing you and I’m not,” Twilight admonished, giving her younger brother a sharp smack to the back of his head, “I told you not to go overboard, you dingus.”

“I agree that you should be frustrated with him, but at least give the kid some credit where it’s due.” Flash smiled and softly punched Spike in the shoulder, “he had me in a pretty tough spot back there. If I didn’t have that burst technique, he probably would’ve had me.”

Twilight hugged Spike closer.

“Don’t encourage him. You're only going to make him think he can get away with not listening to me in the future.” Twilight's remark caused a snort from Flash and soon all three were laughing as the absurdity hit all three at once.

Back with the rest of the students, Sunset stood clenching her fists and growling at how close Twilight and Spike seemed to be getting with her boyfriend.

Behind her, Luna was not pleased either. Finishing her notes on the latest spar, Dreamwalker couldn’t help but notice several similarities between the youngest Sparkle and someone she would have rather forgotten.

“The use of fire in his teleportation abilities is alarming, but it doesn’t mean…” pausing as she tapped her pen against her chin, “...now is not the time to get lost in your memories, Luna. There is work to be done. Besides, even if he did share blood with that monster, one must never judge the child for the sins of the parent. I will hold my verdict till I observe more of young Mr. Sparkle.”

Standing straight, Luna clicked her pen, “students, I believe that will be enough sparring for today. Gather around, it is time to hand out your housing accommodations.”

The students gathered around, as Ms. Luna handed out slips of paper with each of their names printed on it. Across from their names was the room and floor number that would be their home for the semester.

“You’ve all received room numbers in the mail, to allow you to drop off your things, so let this sheet act as a reminder,” Luna explained, “You will each be assigned a roommate. Male students will be regulated to one floor of the dormitory with females on another. Communal washrooms and showers are provided and are present on both floors. You’re free to roam about both floors as you wish, but we ask that all lecherous and private matters be discrete. You’ll find that all important areas of the mansion are printed on the backside of the sheet. You’re free to do with the rest of the day as you will, but if you require my services for any reason, you can find me as well as the other teachers in the faculty lounge, which has also been printed on the opposite side of your sheet.”

Everyone looked at their sheets. Pinkie jumped, landing on Rainbow’s shoulders, like she was a three year old girl on the shoulders of her father. “Hiya roomie!” She cheered.

Sighing at her cousin's antics, Applejack walked over to Fluttershy.

“So it looks like it’s you and me. Name’s Applejack.” She said, offering her hand.

“I’m Fluttershy.” Her roommate whispered back, cautiously accepting Applejack’s hand.

Spike looked at his sheet and turned to Big Mac, “looks like we’re together.” He said.

The giant of a teen nodded in agreement, grunting in assertion.

Rarity smiled upon seeing who her roommate was. “You see Coco darling, it’s just as I told you. I’m going to be with you every step of the way. There was no need to be worried about this semester.”

“I should’ve believed you, Rarity.” Coco replied in relief.

Walking up to each other, Flash and Timber scrutinized each other before they both gave a small smile and shook hands.

As everyone else paired up and headed towards the mansion, only Twilight and Sunset remained. Twilight extended her hand to shake Sunset’s.

“We got off to a bad start, maybe we can begin again? I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight tried, she was most certainly not going to gainsay the decision of her teachers.

Scoffing at the gesture, Sunset growled at her reply, “For your sake, you better hope we have a closet, because as far as I’m concerned that room we’re both assigned to is entirely mine.”

Turning her back on Twilight, Sunset was stopped in her tracks by Luna blocking her path. .

“You and I need to have a talk with Celestia about your performance.” Luna admonished. .

From Twilight’s perspective the way Ms. Luna spoke to Sunset didn’t sound like how a teacher would to a student. No, Luna’s tone sounded more personal, like how a close family member would correct a wayward child. .

Luna turned to Twilight, “she will meet you in your room later. You’re free to leave.”

Hesitating for a second, Twilight ultimately fled to her assigned room. With Twilight gone, Luna turned, leading Sunset to another area of the campus.

“I don’t know why I’m even here. I've already trained under her for a year.” Sunset grumbled as she looked away.

“You’re here because there is nothing more that my sister can teach you by yourself. Certainly there is more that she wishes to tell you, but nothing more that can be directly taught by herself. It has to be experienced.”

“She’s casting me out,” Sunset accused, “I’m not who she wants me to be so she’s dismissing me."

“I for one do not personally believe that.” Luna commented. “But you’ll need to speak with Celestia to gain a more accurate opinion. You two are more alike than either of you would care to admit.”

Sunset huffed as they entered the building, slightly more apprehensive of the upcoming school year.

Author's Note

This took a while, but finally the second chapter of Supports is finished. I'd like to give a special thanks to Foxhelm, for joining up with us as another co-writer and editor for this project. The story wouldn't have been completed nearly as soon without his help. Thanks also goes out to Minaren, Scholarly-Cimmerian, and The Dark Nightmare for being such amazing editors.

Along with this chapter, we are also introducing a new segment to go along with the story called the Power Index. All superpowers within this story are based on abilities found on the Superpowers Wikipedia, so to make them easier to understand, brief descriptions for each newly introduced power will be placed in the author's notes. Costume designs are also still largely based on already existing characters from film and comics so expect this box to get somewhat cluttered.

Power Index

Luna Astra Faustdatter/Dreamwalker

Astral Projection
User can separate their spirit from the body by entering a trance, gaining access of travel the Astral Plane.

Rainbow Jennifer Dash

Levitation/High-Speed Flight
User can cause oneself to float in the air unassisted, allowing the user to carelessly float in the air and prevent their bodies from making contact with the ground below. User can obtain flight at incredible speeds through this ability.

Jacqueline Susanna Apple/"Applejack"

Enhanced Strength/Power Legs
User has strength beyond that of a normal member of their species. The user's legs and lower body are abnormally strong allowing for an increase in combat performance with those particular limbs.

Pinkamena Diane Pie

Rubber Mimicry
User's body is made of rubber. The user can become extremely malleable and elastic, allowing them to stretch, flatten, deform, expand, and contract their whole body, including limbs, torso, neck, etc. Body will always return to original shape after a stretch.

Timber Woodrow Spruce

Wood Mimicry
User can transform their body completely into wood, homogeneous matter, without any part of their form being more important than the other. User can shape and manipulate the wood present in his body.

Sunset Evelyn Shimmer

Psychic Flame Manipulation/Psychic Constructs
User can create and manipulate psychic flames, allowing them to burn away thoughts and minds and manifest psychic energy. User can change psychic energy into tools, objects, weapons, and other items, and create structures of varying permanence.

Twilight Eleanor Sparkle

Telekinesis
User can influence, manipulate, and move objects with their mind. This ability can be used to keep objects from moving and levitate objects off the ground.

Rarity Juliet Belle

Cloth Manipulation
User can shape and manipulate any sort of clothes of any material (cotton, plastic, leather, wool, etc.) or type, and textiles/cloth, a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibers formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or felting. The user can change the properties of cloth making them far stronger and more durable then they would be normally.

Fluttershy Melody Breeze

Animal Imitation
The user can imitate animal powers, they can run like an ostrich, swing like a monkey, sprint like a cheetah, move like a cat, take the strength of an ant, track like a dog, hide like a turtle, constrict like a snake, etc. They cannot transform into animals, as this power only enables the user to mimic animalistic traits while still in their original form.

Flash Thomas Sentry

Kinetic Energy Absorption/Hyperkinetic Exertion
The user can absorb kinetic energy, while removing it from the source, into their body and use it to enhance themselves. The user can exert an enormous amount of force with a mere touch once a sufficent amount of kinetic energy has been absorbed.

Spike Curtis Sparkle

Teleportation/Reptilian Physiology
The user can teleport from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. User possesses several reptilian features, allowing him to mimic many of the abilities of common reptiles.

Dreamwalker's powers and the design of her costume was based off the Negative woman from the Doom Patrol comics.