Bifrost

by Leaf Blade

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Adventure, Violence, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 20556

What's a forlorn fashionista to do when a rainbow-haired ruffian who made her teenage years miserable comes crashing back into her life? Join a fighting tournament to beat the hay out of her, of course. There will be blood... and smooches. [Omniship]

What's a forlorn fashionista to do when the rainbow-haired ruffian who made her teenage years miserable comes crashing back into her life? Join a fighting tournament to beat the hay out of her, of course.

There will be blood... and smooches.

A slow-burn, Raridash-flavored Omniship adventure.
Cover art by Xenon.

Content Warning: Depiction of suicidal thoughts.

Published 2019-09-09 12:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-07 13:07:17 UTC

01. Wake Up, Makeup

The small apartment in which Rarity now snoozed was modest and humble— ‘homely’, Rarity would describe it— but her bed was wonderful. It was her haven at the end of a monotonous day and on this early winter morning it cradled her in its warmth like a child in their parent’s embrace.

Simply marvelous.

That is, of course, until the sudden impact of a pillow hitting her in the face abruptly roused her from her slumber, a disturbance which was nothing compared to the clattering of her body falling out of bed and onto the thinly carpeted wooden floor.

“I’m awake!” she said deliriously as she tried to grab hold of something to help her onto her hooves, but she only managed to grab the blanket off the bed and pull it down on top of her head. “I’m blind!”

“Silly, you overslept,” the tender, albeit teasing, voice of Twilight Sparkle was a great comfort, almost as much as her delicately taking the blanket off of Rarity and placing it back on the bed.

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity chuckled bashfully, putting her hoof onto Twilight’s as Twilight pulled Rarity up and helped her get onto her hooves.

“My pleasure,” Twilight giggled, a little fang sticking out the side of her mouth when she smiled.

Rarity couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Twilight, a thin and slender lavender pony whose smile always brightened even Rarity’s dreariest days.

“I’m fine now though,” Rarity hummed, brushing a hoof through Twilight’s lovely bangs.

Twilight’s mane was one of Rarity’s favorite of Twilight’s many stunning features; immaculately kept and straight as an arrow, falling across the unicorn’s back and down in front of her shoulders, framing Twilight’s pretty lavender-coated face with a beautiful complimentary indigo, the streaks of violet and rosy pink only further highlighting Twilight’s awkward but dazzling beauty.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be today?” Twilight tilted her head, ears perked up and tail swaying behind her, completely oblivious to Rarity’s fascination.

“I do, I do indeed,” Rarity grumbled dramatically as she stretched her weary bones, which were no more ready to be awake than her mind was, and headed for her meager vanity, her nose curling up as she brushed her hoof across it, chipping some of its ugly pale pink paint.

The dresser and mirror combo also came with an uncomfortable and squeaky wooden chair that Rarity needed to sit in, and she squeezed herself between the chair and the vanity which were crammed into the dimmest corner of the room, the only place they would fit.

“My sweet companion Fluttershy has requested my assistance with a matter that she assures me is most urgent,” Rarity spoke casually as she applied moisturizer to her hooves and rubbed them across her cheeks.

“Oh?” Twilight, ever the inquisitive one, bit her lip and let her tail wag behind her as she sidled into the corner alongside Rarity, even her slender frame becoming cramped in this compact environment. “Do tell?”

“Darling, I wish I could,” Rarity sighed theatrically as she dried her face with a towel, speeding the process along with her magic, before brushing her face with the foundation brush, using her magic to move that process along quite nicely as well.

Rarity was never terribly good at magic, but she was infinitely grateful to Twilight for at least teaching her how to use it to ease her morning makeup routine.

She then grabbed her hairbrush to arrange her mane into its naturally perfect, gorgeous style with its distinctive curl, and as she finished, she gave yet another melodramatic sigh as she delighted in the feeling of being beautiful.

Her body was weary and at times rather difficult to look at, dysphoria being what it was, but her mane was perfect.

The clearing of Twilight’s throat clued Rarity in to the fact that she had gotten a tad distracted, and she hummed a little tune to play her pause off as somewhat intentional.

“Unfortunately,” Rarity said slowly as she carefully applied her eyelashes, “dear Fluttershy is rather tight-lipped about these sorts of things. I suspect she’s afraid of me judging her harshly if she’s forthright with me.”

“Huh, that doesn’t sound like you,” Twilight said ponderously, scratching her hoof against the wall, tearing at the tacky mauve wallpaper until an aside glare from Rarity forced her to stop.

“Of course not! I am as trustworthy as they come!” Rarity harrumphed and blinked several times, smiling at how pretty her eyelashes were. “That said,” Rarity muttered, delicately dressing her eyes with her favorite light blue eyeshadow, “Fluttershy is a nervous sort, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how that can play tricks on one’s mind.”

Twilight, ever anxious herself, let out a sad sigh of her own, though her eyes quickly lit back up as she refocused on the present. “You should really introduce me to her sometime. I bet we’d get along really great.”

“Ah, yes, of—of course,” Rarity gave a soft giggle and thanked her luck that Twilight was not one to pick up on certain social cues like ‘forced laughter’.

Fluttershy had been a faithful companion of Rarity’s for a year or two now— from before Twilight had moved in with her— yet in all that time, Twilight and Fluttershy had never actually met each other. This was, unfortunately, by design.

At first it was simply a matter of Twilight never leaving their apartment for any reason ever, but after about a few months or so the awkward pony began reluctantly leaving the humble dwelling every so often, usually to go to the library, check out more books than Rarity thought was even possible for a single pony to read in a lifetime, and then come straight back home and read them all within a fortnight at most.

However, the sad truth of the matter was that Twilight and Fluttershy were both anxious, awkward ponies, bless their hearts. Being out and about with either of them took a certain amount of mental energy from Rarity to make sure they felt safe and comfortable, and the idea of having to manage both of them, and the fears of what if they didn’t get along, and what if they didn’t get along because of her…

As was the case with an ever-mounting number of issues, Rarity never seemed to have enough spoons for it.

Rarity yawned rather dramatically and dismissed Twilight with a wave of her hoof. “Darling, can you grant me about ten more minutes of beauty sleep?”

“Uh, okay. If you’re sure?” Twilight said hesitantly, and as Rarity smiled and nodded, Twilight bowed her head, nearly bumping her nose into the vanity.

She slunk out of the room and closed the door behind her, reminding Rarity of the wooden door’s ghoulish green paintjob and the way its hideous coat was chipping away in clumps, but also leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts in a room that somehow felt even more stifling despite the so-called breathing room left in Twilight’s absence.

Rarity crawled back into bed, into her little haven, but she knew no sleep was coming.

She opened the blind above the bed to look out over the horizon and the beautiful cityscape of Dodge City. Unfortunately, all she could actually see from her window was the wall and dumpster of a neighboring apartment building.

Rarity buried her face in her pillow and groaned quietly—a pitiful mewling grumble of a bitter and hopeless pony. She would have loved to cry had she still the capacity to shed any tears, but she was quite certain that she had cried herself dry many years ago.

She didn’t dare look at the clock as she awaited Twilight’s inevitable return to ‘wake’ her. She simply remained on her bed with her face buried into the pillow, only lifting her head periodically to breathe before the weight of her circumstances forced her back down like a crushing hammer of gravity.

When a younger Rarity would retire for the night, she occasionally entertained the notion that she wished to never wake up again. As she grew older, those occasions became more frequent.

And now, she made that wish every night.

Author's Note

What if Raridash, but it's also the Omniship, and also Rarity and Rainbow Dash hate each other

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

02. Lunch Money

Rainbow Dash slumped out of her cramped hammock onto the concrete floor of the alleyway she called home.

She slipped her wings through the holes of her dusty brown bomber jacket, stretched her achy bones, a mix between a growl and a sad groan coming out of the pegasus’ lips as she stretched and ached, that hammock having done a number on her body these last few years.

Rainbow tapped a hoof against the rusty pole that held up the rain canopy above the hammocks, and then again on the pole that held up the canopy above the television, and both responded with a satisfying ‘clink clink’ sound, instead of the creaky death knell Rainbow was expecting.

She looked up, and the canopies were still standing too, and Rainbow allowed herself a smile at her handiwork. She wasn’t sure they’d hold up, but the ugly green and orange sheets she made into makeshift rain shields kept her and her partner dry through last night’s rainfall.

And more importantly—Rainbow clicked the knob on the television, and a bright smile erupted onto her face when the thing turned on with no problem. The TV was her and her partner’s pride and joy, they’d dug it out of somepony’s trash and it was a miracle the dang thing worked; if a little measly rain was enough to do the thing in, Rainbow had half a mind to kill herse—

Ahem.

Well, she wouldn’t be happy.

Speaking of Rainbow’s partner though; Rainbow peeked up at the hammock above hers and it was empty. Made sense, it was Pinkie Pie’s turn to scavenge food money today, which meant Rainbow was free to do whatever she wanted.

Whatever…

…she…

…wanted.

Which meant… time to go to the library. Again. Just like her last day off, and the one before that, and… the one before…

Hm.

Skulking through Dodge City’s dusty streets was a chore on the best of days, but the biting winter weather meant this day could hardly be considered the best at anything, other than being frustrating and cold.

There weren’t many ponies on the streets—who other than the homeless Rainbow Dash would want to be walking the streets in this weather?—and even though Rainbow was notably smaller than most of the ponies who were out and about, Rainbow radiated big ‘don’t mess with me’ energy and nopony thought twice about staying out of her way.

Rainbow paused as she caught something out of her awesome peripherals in a nearby alley, though it wasn’t super easy to make out since the alley was already drenched in shadow and it wasn’t helped by the dreary gray clouds in the sky.

That said, Rainbow knew a fight when she saw one.

Two girls; one was lying bloodied on the ground, the other stood over her with a sneering grin. The grounded girl had a cream-colored coat and looked like an earth pony, and a pretty small one at that; she had blood coming from her lip and bleeding scratches on her body.

The other girl was a griffon, with brown feathers covering most of her body but stark white feathers on her head, but Rainbow’s eyes were pointedly drawn to the blood all over her talons.

It didn’t take a genius to see what was going on here.

“Hey,” Rainbow’s voice was as cold as the chill in the air as she walked into the alley, and she scraped a hoof along the concrete for good measure. “Should’ve thought twice before roughing up somepony on my turf.”

“Who asked you?” the griffon girl spoke with a gruff, smug voice. “You tryin’ to start somethin’?”

Rainbow clicked her tongue; didn’t look like the griffon was taking Rainbow seriously, but her annoyance at that was quickly snuffed by her eagerness to bloody the griffon’s face, and she let out a single wheezy chuckle.

“If you got somethin’ to say, try—”

Before the griffon could even finish her lousy taunt, she was already sucking air thanks to Rainbow’s hoof colliding with the top of her head at freakin’ light speed. The griffon spread her wings and jumped back, coughing up a bit of blood and wiping it off on her cheek.

“Not bad, but it’ll—”

That girl needed to talk less, and Rainbow was more than happy to teach her that lesson with a firm kick to the side of her head that sent her to the ground.

“So,” Rainbow stood over the griffon and sported a huge grin as she flicked her feathers in the griffon’s face, “you wanna stick around and see me get serious?”

Dense as the griffon obviously was, even she got the point and didn’t say another word; all she could muster was a pitiful show of defiance by spitting blood at Rainbow’s feet before she made a break for it, flying away from the alley with her tail between her legs.

The bloodied pony, who Rainbow had nearly forgotten was even there, stumbled to her hooves but tried to play it cool with a cocky grin. “Hey, thanks a lot! That was—”

“Don’t sweat it,” Rainbow cut the girl off with a shrug. She looked her over to make sure the woman’s injuries didn’t need a hospital, but Rainbow was pretty sure the woman would be fine on her own, so she just got ready to bounce.

“I owe you one!” she called as Rainbow walked away from the alley, and Rainbow raised a hoof to acknowledge her, just hoping the earth pony didn’t see Rainbow flinch at the undeserved praise.

As Rainbow got back onto the sidewalk and away from the alley, she grunted in frustration and slapped her forehead.

“Dang it,” she huffed, “I should’ve tried to snatch the griffon’s wallet or something.”

True it was Pinkie’s turn to gather lunch money today, but that wasn’t an excuse for Rainbow not to pull her own weight. And the way Rainbow saw it, beating up other creatures was the only thing she was good at.

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

03. A Little Kindness

Rarity’s eyes darted at every single passing pony, even as her head was held high.

While she was certain that—

Well, fairly certain—

Moderately cert—

She hoped.

She hoped that none of them would clock her as trans, the worry gripped her heart at all times when she trotted through the Dodge City streets all by her lonesome.

Put it out of your mind, Rarity, she thought to herself as she centered her eyes on the path in front of her, It’s just paranoia. You’ll be okay.

The one comfort that allowed Rarity’s anxiety to ease—somewhat— was that everyone in Dodge City was as dirt broke and miserable as she was, and just trying to make their own way; so long as you didn’t get in said way, most ponies wouldn’t give you much trouble.

At least, that was the hope that she clung to for fear of becoming yet another trans woman horror story, of which she’d heard far too many.

Still though, with her mane perfectly coiffed and a dashing teal scarf billowing behind her in the soft breeze, Rarity looked hot and felt confident.

At least, confident enough.

The walk from Rarity’s apartment to the public library wasn’t long, and while it felt infinitely stretched by the constant war being waged with her own brain, she was there before she knew it, and any thoughts she had been battling with were brought to a screeching halt at the scene that greeted her in the courtyard in front of the library.

A slender, almost skeletal thin, yellow pegasus, with a waterfall of pink hair falling across her shoulders that acted as a picturesque backdrop for the affection and joy on the pretty mare’s face as she was lying stomach on the ground playing with a stray squirrel.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting, sweetheart,” Rarity kept her voice quiet and pleasant so as not to startle the easily frightened mare, or her little furry friend. “Have you been here long?”

“Not at all,” Fluttershy said with a smile, a single sharp fang poking out her upper lip in a most adorable fashion. “I’m just glad to see you.” Fluttershy turned her head away from Rarity to smile at the fleeing squirrel, waving goodbye as it scurried off back home.

“Likewise!” Rarity gently took the young lady’s forehoof and gave it a kiss, and the amused giggling that Fluttershy responded with was music to Rarity’s ears.

Even as Rarity felt herself drowning in her own life, her one constant reminder to keep swimming came in the form of her deeply valued friendships with Twilight and Fluttershy. Rarity was always quick to muse that said friendships were probably the only things in her life that had value.

“Did you oversleep?” Fluttershy asked, hopping up onto a nearby short brick wall and perching atop it. “You’re usually so punctual.”

“Ah, yes, I apologize,” Rarity awkwardly brushed back a curl of her mane. “I’ve been sleeping later and later these days it seems.”

“Something the matter?” Fluttershy leaned toward Rarity, practically closing in nose to nose, and Rarity felt a painful throb in her chest at the prospect of burdening her friend with her misery.

Instead of the ugly truth, Rarity simply gave a half-hearted frown and an apathetic shrug, though Fluttershy’s concerned glower only deepened at this.

Rarity took a deep breath of the crisp air and gathered her thoughts; if anyone deserved to hear her honest thoughts, it was Fluttershy, but Rarity had to weigh the catharsis of speaking her mind against the guilt of dropping her burden on Fluttershy.

And that was before even considering the knowledge that Fluttershy had no means to genuinely help Rarity, even if she knew what was going on with her. But would Fluttershy be offended if Rarity kept her thoughts from her? Rarity knew that she would be rather incensed were the positions reversed—

If only to make the voices in her mind shut up, Rarity found herself speaking—or rather, blurting out a confession.

“I have a lot weighing on my mind. That is all.”

Some confession.

But how could she tell Fluttershy about how her inability to get work was wreaking havoc on her anxiety? Or about how her inability to even gain disability payments made her feel useless, what with Twilight covering most of their rent with her own disability? Oh, or what about how she had thought that leaving her family behind would allow her to break free of the chains of misery that bound her but she hadn’t realized until she had left them that those chains had smothered her half to death already?!

The weight on Rarity’s mind, when she really boiled it down, was simple. Rarity wanted nothing more than to simply stop living. And no one needed to be cursed with that knowledge but her.

“I suppose it all just gets a little draining,” Rarity said with a weak chuckle that hid the resounding headache she was getting as her brain felt like it was trying to literally tear itself apart.

“I understand,” Fluttershy whispered with a sympathetic smile and leaned back onto her perch, and both the kind intent and utter falseness of her statement made Rarity smile in turn.

“So anyhow,” Rarity cleared her throat, eager to get the conversation back to the topic at hoof, “you were requiring my assistance on some matter?”

Fluttershy hopped off the brick wall and trotted toward the library, motioning for Rarity to follow her, which she was all too happy to do if only to get out of this blasted cold. A dashing scarf and illustrious coat of silvery fur could only do so much.

The inside of the humble library was as drab and tasteless as a bowl of unseasoned beans; ugly moss green carpeting clashing hideously with the decrepit bookshelves whose shades of brown varied only in the amount of visible decay on them, all wrapped up with absolutely gaudy pale-yellow wallpaper.

Rarity wondered how poor Twilight managed to even stomach such a dreadful place.

There were but a scant few patrons walking about or sitting in chairs, but Rarity’s eyes instantly locked onto one among them who stood out like a shining beacon.

Inside a small seating area in the exact center of the library, sitting on an old wooden chair barely padded with a thin dark green cushion, was a blue pegasus reading a book in one hoof while her other foreleg dangled limply onto the ground, and her long mane of rainbow hair that clashed miserably with her dirt-brown bomber jacket struck Rarity like the tricolored bolt of lightning that decorated the pegasus’ flank.

The crawling in Rarity’s stomach was accompanied by an appropriately disgusted sneer at the familiar woman, which was only made worse when an aside glance to Fluttershy’s tepid smile clued Rarity in that she was the reason Fluttershy wanted Rarity’s help to begin with.

Fluttershy was far too kind for this world, and nopony deserved her kindness less than that pony.

“You know her, don’t you?” Fluttershy asked meekly. “Didn’t you two used to be friends?”

Rarity shot Fluttershy a poisonous glare but upon seeing the color drain from her friend’s face, she sighed her anger away and smiled softly as she put her hoof on Fluttershy’s cheek.

Oh Fluttershy, if only you knew.

Fluttershy was Rarity’s number one confidant, so she knew about Rarity’s history with Rainbow Dash— vaguely. It was not a period of the unicorn’s life that she recalled with any fondness, and anecdotes from that time—especially regarding the rainbow-haired mare—could only be choked out of her in fleeting moments of incredible stress, apathy, or nostalgia.

“Why?”

That was the single most important question that Rarity needed to ask, and the bitter growl she asked it in was just loud enough to get a shush from a nearby patron.

“Why her, Fluttershy?” Rarity hissed.

“Everypony deserves a little kindness,” Fluttershy said with a timid smile, and Rarity frowned even deeper as she refused to be charmed by the cute little fang poking out of Fluttershy’s mouth, “and I don’t think she has anyone to show it to her. I see her around sometimes on my daily commute, and nopony ever looks at her or gives her a smile. I have you, you have me and your friend Twilight, but I don’t know if Rainbow has… anyone.”

Rarity looked back at the rainbow-haired barbarian with her hind legs resting on the arm of the chair, idly flipping pages through her books as her wings twitched awkwardly while they were splayed out behind her.

Rarity looked back at naïve, innocent Fluttershy, whose teal eyes were bright and full of hope somehow.

“People don’t change, Fluttershy,” Rarity’s voice, as cold as rusted iron, caused Fluttershy’s ears to clamp down on her head. “Hardship and failure shape them into the people they are, and they don’t change once they’ve been set.”

Fluttershy stared blankly for a moment, but a very mischievous little grin crept onto her face and took Rarity by surprise.

“Then you know you can’t stop me,” Fluttershy cheeks were tinted pink as she stuck her tongue out to tease Rarity, “I guess I have to show her kindness because it’s just in my nature.”

Rarity let out an ugly snort that echoed through the quiet library, attracting the other patrons’ ire and burning Rarity’s cheeks.

“I suppose I can’t argue with that,” Rarity hung her head in embarrassed defeat.

“Besides, trans solidarity, right?” Fluttershy said with a pained smile, and her words tugged at Rarity’s heart and forced her to look at Rainbow again. “If we don’t look out for each other, who else is going to?”

“I can’t argue that either,” Rarity’s words were calm and her tone measured, careful not to betray the bitterness with which they were spoken. You really had to hit me right where I live, didn’t you, Fluttershy?

Memories of Rainbow Dash made Rarity nothing short of violently ill, yet there was an infuriatingly persistent part of her brain that simply could not give up on her because of the identity that they shared.

“I’ll be your self-esteem team here,” Rarity said shortly, “but I’m afraid that’s all I can offer.”

“That’s all I need,” Fluttershy nodded and bit her lip as she looked over at Rainbow. “The fair’s in town, and I want to ask her to go with me tonight. It’ll be a nice, pressure free place for us to maybe learn a little bit about each other.”

Fluttershy’s ears flicked up and she looked at Rarity with concerned eyes and a slight pout. Rarity simply rolled her own eyes and sighed quietly but theatrically.

“Yes, I’ll be there too,” she said grudgingly. Fluttershy squealed in delight, tapping her hooves on the carpet before embracing Rarity in a hug, which Rarity happily reciprocated after with some mock reluctance. “Now go ask her before I change my mind.”

“Wish me luck,” Fluttershy squeaked as she took a couple of shaky steps toward the center of the library.

“Good luck, sweetheart,” Rarity waved at Fluttershy with a strained smile and waited for her to turn her full attention to Rainbow before sighing in disgust.

I sincerely hope that you have better luck than I had.

Author's Note

rarity's desire to see the best in every trans person, even ones who have treated her badly, is a huge mood imho

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

04. Hard Sell

Rainbow Dash’s hoof twitched as it rested uncomfortably over the arm of a creaky old wooden chair, Rainbow’s wings splayed in either direction as she laid half falling off the chair, reading the same Daring-Do book for the bajillionth time.

She’d never really been bothered in the library before, something about almost always having blood on her face or hooves must’ve made her seem ‘unapproachable’.

Today was different though. Today, Rainbow’s miserable lounging was disrupted by a faint squeak of a voice, almost like a mouse had suddenly got the ability to talk.

“E-excuse me?” the voice said.

Rainbow didn’t look up from her book. No one ever bothered her before, so the voice must’ve been talking to somepony else.

“Ex… excuse me? R-Rainbow D-Dash?”

Okay, now Rainbow was confused.

She tossed the book onto the nearby table, watching anxiously as the thing nearly slid right onto the ground, and she sat up straight—well, straight enough— and found herself peering just over the head of a graceful-looking yellow pegasus with really cute pink hair that just went on for days.

The mare was standing in front of the chair’s arm and looking at Rainbow through the corner of a single uncovered eye, the other eye shielded by a waterfall of pink hair as she hung her head down anxiously.

“Yeah?” Rainbow cocked her head, confused more than anything by the sudden interruption. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if, um, if you wouldn’t mind, if it’d be okay with you that is, if um—”

The girl trailed off, and she started breathing heavy like she was about to have a panic attack. Rainbow sucked air through gritted teeth but tried not to make it too obvious just how much secondhand embarrassment she was feeling.

Poor girl just stood there shaking like a leaf, stammering and kicking shyly at the ground, trying to come up with anything that resembled a sentence, but no luck.

Rainbow tried to think of something to say or do to help, or at least get her to calm down for pony’s sake, but she didn’t have the foggiest clue who this girl was or what she wanted, so Rainbow was kinda at a loss.

Finally the awkward pony stamped her hooves loudly on the thinly carpeted wood floor and said for the whole library to hear, “Will you go to the fair with me?!”

She immediately covered her mouth with her wings and her entire face turned red, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked around at all the people who were giving her really pointed stares.

Rainbow paused for a sec, just to take in the total absurdity of her situation, but when she saw the trembling girl’s tears start falling down her cheeks, she flashed a sly grin. “Well I can’t really turn you down after that, can I?”

“Y-you don’t, if you don’t— uh, or rather, you can’t, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to, I mean—”

“Bup!” Rainbow jumped onto the arm of the chair and put her hoof on the girl’s muzzle before she could start spiraling again. “It’s no biggie. Not like I have any plans. So yeah, I’ll go to the carnival with youuuuu…”

Rainbow’s hoof went limp as she shot a curious glance at her new acquaintance. When the timid girl did nothing, Rainbow moved her hoof in an expectant half circle, but the girl just stared blankly, causing Rainbow to sigh and roll her eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh!” the girl’s cheeks turned bright red and her eyes widened like they were staring down an oncoming train. “Um, it’s F-Fluttershy.”

“Well F-Fluttershy,” Rainbow said with a chuckle and playfully nudged Fluttershy’s chest, “I’ll meet you there at eight. Sound good?”

Fluttershy nodded, and even with her face still half covered by her wings, her bright red cheeks were as plain to see as the relief washing over her smile.

“That said,” Rainbow cleared her throat, tapping her hoof against her chest, “why would you wanna ask me to the fair anyway? You not got a lot of friends or something? Desperation maybe?”

“W-what?” F-Fluttershy yelped, taking a step back and whitening up like a ghost, or one of those cheap ghost sheet costumes. “N-no, I honestly just wanted to—um, I wanted… to…”

She trailed off again, and you’d swear the ugly carpet was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen the way she was staring at it. Rainbow rolled her eyes and almost felt like she should give the girl a tap on the noggin to grab her attention back.

“Ahem,” Rainbow said flatly instead, and that did the trick as F-Fluttershy sprung up stiff as a board, eyes locked with Rainbow like she was prey in a hunter’s scope.

“U-um, the truth is—” Fluttershy closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, the color washing back into her face before opening her eyes again. “The truth is, you remind me of somepony I used to know. Somepony I miss.”

“Déjà vu, huh?” Rainbow nodded, a withered chuckle escaping her lips. “I feel that.” In fact, Fluttershy’s feelings were mutual; she reminded Rainbow of someone she used to know, someone she really looked up to.

“I wanted to ask you as a way to respect their memory,” Fluttershy said grimly, slowly shaking her head back and forth, “I didn’t do right by them, so maybe this is my way of trying to apologize to them? I don’t exactly know, but I do know… that you seem like somepony that I would like to know better… if that’s okay with you.”

Rainbow grinned ear to ear, baring glistening fangs, and if she wasn’t conscious of the quiet library setting, she would’ve busted out laughing.

“That’s a hard sell, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said gleefully. “You seem like somepony worth knowing too!”

“R-really?” Fluttershy bit down on the edge of her hoof, her wings twitching behind her and Rainbow couldn’t help but think she looked pretty cute.

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded to a beat only she could hear, “so I’ll meet you there around eight, just try and chillax until then, okay?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy bowed her head quickly, pink hair flying every which way. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow gave her one last grin before the girl bounced, Rainbow happy to get back to her book in peace.

She felt really bad for Fluttershy; she knew what it was like to be that nervous, and she wondered if it was even a good idea to go with her to the carnival or fair or whatever. Rainbow had no idea who she was or what her deal was—though Rainbow couldn’t help but feel they had met somewhere before.

That said, the one Rainbow felt really concerned for was Fluttershy herself. Her life wasn’t exactly gonna get improved by having Rainbow in it.

But it didn’t matter now. Rainbow was a lot of things, most of them bad, but she stuck to her word at least.

Who knows, Rainbow thought as she settled back into her book, maybe this’ll be a good thing for the both of us?

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

05. Invitation

What was it, six o’clock? Seven at night? Sometime around there that Rainbow Dash returned to the miserable little alleyway that acted as her home; setting sun’s light reflecting off of slowly parting rain clouds painted the whole sky a pale yellow.

Rainbow fell into her hammock, and every bone in her body rebelled immediately, making their strain of trying to get comfortable in the old worthless hammock known by crying out all at once.

Once Rainbow was settled, a head peeked down from the hammock above hers; pink fur and the most adorable set of sky-blue eyes, and a wild mane of curly pink cotton candy hair.

“I brought you a cosmic brownie,” Rainbow said, handing up the plastic-wrapped treat, the pink pony beaming as she snatched it out of Rainbow’s hoof.

“Thank you kindly, Rainbow!” Pinkie Pie giggled, and her infectious enthusiasm was almost enough for Rainbow to forget how cold and achy she was. Almost.

“Some girl asked me out today,” Rainbow said nonchalantly.

Pinkie gasped dramatically. “No kidding?! That’s so great!” she stuck her head down to look at Rainbow, brownie held firmly between her teeth. “Was she cute? Who was she? Did you accept? Tell me all the deets!”

“Her name’s Fluttershy,” Rainbow slunk out of the hammock; she didn’t know why she thought laying in that thing would help her relax. “You should’ve seen how pathetic she was— that sounded bad. I just mean she looked so, uh—”

Rainbow tried to think of a nicer word than ‘pathetic’, but she came up empty.

“It was sad,” Rainbow said, trying to sound a bit less mean, “so I told her I’d go to the carnival to make her feel better.” Rainbow pondered for a sec, and a quick glance at Pinkie’s pensive expression confirmed that no, that did not sound less mean. “That also sounded bad. I don’t want it to sound like I accepted her offer cuz of pity.”

“I should hope not! You hate pity!” Pinkie dropped out of the hammock, her big plump body landing on the concrete with a thud, but she sprung to her hooves like nothing happened before Rainbow could ask if she was okay.

“So where are you going? When are you going? When can I meet her?” Pinkie hopped up and down excitedly as she asked a million other questions that Rainbow pretty much tuned out for the sake of her own patience.

“We’re going to the carnival at like eight,” Rainbow yawned, stretching her back muscles and splaying her wings, “or was it the fair? Eh, either way, there was an actual reason, not pity related, that I accepted her offer.”

“Oh yeah?” Pinkie said curiously, standing up on her hind hooves and leaning her face close enough to Rainbow’s that their cheeks touched, before getting swatted away by Rainbow’s hoof.

“Yup,” Rainbow groaned as she looked over at the hammock, knowing she wouldn’t get any rest in it but also feeling totally antsy and seriously needing to chillax. “She was really nervous when she talked to me, like she was super worried about saying or doing the wrong thing.”

“That… sounds familiar,” Pinkie shifted uncomfortably and kicked awkwardly at the ground.

“So you see where I’m going then,” Rainbow snickered. “You remember how I used to be, super nervous and shaky and awkward. I couldn’t just, y’know, to go up to some girl and ask them out, that’s something I never could’ve done back then.”

“You couldn’t do it now!” Pinkie giggled and as much as Rainbow hated to admit it, Pinkie was totally right and that made Rainbow laugh.

“You’re not wrong,” Rainbow gave a wry smile, lying on the ground and letting her nose come mere inches from Pinkie’s, a smile finding its way onto Rainbow’s face like it always seemed to when Pinkie was around. “I guess what I’m saying is, I owed it to her to take her up on that offer. I couldn’t let her bravery go unrewarded.”

“A little kindness goes a long way,” Pinkie’s smile turned from devilish to sweet and right back to devilish again, and Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Exactly,” she nodded, “plus she reminds me of an old friend I had. Like an old old friend.”

“Someone from before we met?” Pinkie cooed, head cocked and ears upright.

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed. Her childhood, especially from before Pinkie, wasn’t something she had a whole lot of fondness for. “My old man’s right-hoof guy, an old man named Torch—guy practically raised me more than my old man did,” Rainbow clacked her hoof against concrete as nostalgia welled up in her stomach, but she quickly cleared her throat and got back on topic.

“Anyway,” Rainbow tapped against concrete twice, “old dude was in charge of training me and a bunch of dragon kids my dad thought would make good fighters. Sometimes he’d bring in other dudes to help us sharpen our fangs on, and one of those guys was a pegasus who I really hit it off with, had the same yellow fur and pink hair this girl Fluttershy has. So she reminded me of those old days, that’s all.”

“So,” Pinkie hummed, “what happened to your old friend?”

“They got out,” Rainbow muttered; remembering the day she got left behind brought back the same jolt of pain like it’d just happened yesterday. “They actually had the guts to. I didn’t.”

“You did,” Pinkie rubbed her mane against Rainbow’s neck and purred, Rainbow’s face turning pinker than Pinkie’s hair as she let out a hoarse laugh, “eventually.”

“I guess,” Rainbow awkwardly stumbled away from Pinkie, eyes crossed and cheeks flaring up. “E-either way—”

Pinkie cut Rainbow off with a dramatic gasp, Rainbow looking behind her and arching an eyebrow to see if Pinkie had something to say or if she was just being Pinkie.

“What if this Fluttershy is the same person!” Pinkie hopped in place, and Rainbow humored her with a grin.

“Maybe,” Rainbow shrugged, “stranger things, I guess. And I mean, I changed gender since then, maybe they did too.

“That said,” Rainbow bit her lip until she couldn’t hold back her excited grin anymore, “there’s one other reason I wanted to go to the carnival with that girl.”

“Why’s that?”

“Bifrost is almost here.”

“Ohhhhh snap!” Pinkie said emphatically, hopping over to Rainbow and wrapping her foreleg around Rainbow’s. “What are you talking about?”

“A carnival that visits a dump like Dodge City, it’s bound to be full of all kinds of shady characters,” Rainbow grinned, fangs peeking out the sides of her mouth. “Shady characters that may have a way for me to get an invitation to Bifrost. I mean, I know it’s a long shot but, it’s better than nothing.”

“I don’t get how that works,” Pinkie huffed, puffing up her cheeks. “Bifrost is like, the biggest martial arts competition—heck, the biggest competition period in all Equestria! How is it invite only?!”

“Cuz everyone and their mother is gonna wanna get involved!” Rainbow said excitedly, flapping her wings and hovering over Pinkie. “If just anypony could join, they’d have literally half of Equestria competing! By the time the tournament was over they’d have to start the next one right after!”

“So that’s why there’s only like a hundred invitations?” Pinkie grumbled, apparently not satisfied by Rainbow’s answer.

“Yup,” Rainbow sighed desperately, lowering back down onto the ground in a slump.

There was nothing more important to Rainbow than joining Bifrost—than winning Bifrost. She needed to prove that she was stronger than anyone else, that she could defeat every other team and prove that she could stand above everyone.

That was the only way she was going to defeat him.

“And it’s a hundred and eight, to be specific.”

“Right,” Pinkie whistled. “Welp, nopony wants this more than you do, so I just know you’ll get your hooves on an invitation! Tell you what, while you’re hanging out with your cute date, I’ll skulk around the carnival and try to find the shadiest of shady characters and see if I can’t rustle an invitation out of ‘em!”

“That’d be awesome, Pinkie,” Rainbow gave Pinkie a bright smile and lifted her hoof toward Pinkie, who pounded her hoof against it with a delighted giggle. “What would I do without you?”

“Uh, be extremely lonely and sad?” Pinkie scoffed. Rainbow just looked at her in bewilderment. “Too much?” Pinkie chuckled nervously, making Rainbow sigh and shake her head before grabbing Pinkie in a playful headlock and ruffling up her hair, Pinkie giggling the entire time.

Rainbow didn’t want to say—she couldn’t bring herself to say it— but Pinkie wasn’t wrong.

Author's Note

i love pinkie and rainbow's relationship.. they're rly sweet together

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

06. The Horizon

“Now I’ll be around the whole time,” Rarity said to a fidgety Fluttershy as they arrived at the fairgrounds together, the array of paper lanterns decorating the myriad vendors, games and rides cutting through the blackness of the night sky to bathe the ponies jetting to and from each attraction in bold orange light.

“Thank you, Rarity,” Fluttershy said with a slight nervous giggle as Rarity brushed some hair out of Fluttershy’s face.

“And if you feel uncomfortable at any time, for any reason, you come find me, okay?” Rarity said sternly but caringly, standing firmly in front of Fluttershy, though it was difficult to feel like the reasonable adult when Fluttershy easily trumped her in height. “I won’t be out of sight.”

“I know, Rarity,” Fluttershy must have caught on to how Rarity was doting on her because she chuckled and pat Rarity on the shoulder. “I can do this. I want to. For her sake and for mine.”

“Okay,” Rarity took a deep breath and let it out as a weary sigh. And with that, it was no longer just Fluttershy who was nervous but Rarity as well. It wasn’t long before the pair ran aground of the rainbow-haired ruffian in question, and Rarity could feel her heart falling into her stomach with a loud SPLOOSH.

Rainbow Dash was leaning against a wall and pushed herself off with her wings to walk over toward Fluttershy and Rarity, stopping abruptly as she looked at Rarity— looked through her— for barely a second before concentrating her gaze solely on Fluttershy.

Rarity couldn’t shake the feeling Rainbow was ignoring her on purpose.

“Hey, you made it,” Rainbow said with a self-amused smile. “How’re you feeling?”

“I feel okay,” Fluttershy said bluntly, an awkward smile on her face.

Was she getting cold hooves? Rarity couldn’t exactly blame her.

“I’m—” Fluttershy took in a deep breath and her smile seemed a tad more relaxed. “It’s good to see you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Of course it is, I’m awesome,” Rainbow chuckled and patted herself on the chest, eliciting an eye roll from Rarity, but an amused chuckle from Fluttershy.

“So, you ready to go?” Rainbow hopped next to Fluttershy and winked at her, nearly shoving Rarity aside with her wing. “I have a friend who gave me like, all the best info on how to squeeze as much as you can out of a place like this. Which is great cuz I have like no money.”

“Me neither,” Fluttershy laughed softly as the two of them walked away, Fluttershy giving Rarity one last smile as she headed off with her new friend.

“Take care of yourself, Fluttershy,” Rarity whispered as she watched Fluttershy and Rainbow set off to have their carnival fun times, leaving Rarity alone by herself. She let out a disgusted sigh and grumbled under her breath, “I hate that girl.”

“What girl?”

Rarity gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Twilight’s voice, and her very unexpected presence directly behind Rarity.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity huffed, turning around to see the awkward, slender unicorn’s eyes darting this way and that as she scanned her environment; Rarity figured that Twilight had just gotten here herself. “Honestly, you’re bound to give a lady a heart attack.”

“S-sorry,” Twilight said bashfully, rubbing a hoof against the back of her neck and giving the ground a mournful look. Rarity had known Twilight for quite some time, so she really shouldn’t have been so surprised by Twilight’s mastery of the puppydog eyes, yet it caught Rarity off-guard every single time.

“It’s quite alright,” Rarity put her hoof up to Twilight’s cheek, Twilight humming contently as she let her muzzle melt for one moment into Rarity’s gentle touch, “you big dork.”

Rarity cleared her throat and took her hoof away, her cheeks feeling rather hot all of a sudden, which was certainly just an aftereffect of standing under all these paper lanterns, and definitely not a reaction to anything—or anyone—else.

“I’m glad you made it though,” Rarity said softly. “I would be dreadfully bored if I had to spend the entire night here by my lonesome.”

“Happy to help!” Twilight chirped, grinning ear to ear and her face just looked so bright and full of joy, it warmed Rarity’s heart before jealousy kicked in.

“You saw that, by the way, didn’t you?” Rarity hummed bitterly, turning her head and looking into the distance where she could still make out the silhouette of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “The way Rainbow Dash shoved me? I didn’t imagine that or anything, did I?”

“Sorry, I must’ve missed it,” Twilight muttered, walking past Rarity and squinting her eyes in the direction Rarity was looking, a satisfied smirk crossing her lips as she spied the object of Rarity’s attention. “That’s Fluttershy, huh? She’s cute.”

“Oh?” Rarity smirked, sitting beside Twilight and needling her in the ribs with her hoof. “Is that your takeaway?”

“Uh! I just mean—she’s, y’know—I, uh—” Twilight hastily scuttled back, jumping to her hooves in alarm as her face turned red like a jalapeno pepper, Rarity unable to hold back her giggling at the poor dear’s expense.

“So what’s your deal with Rainbow Dash, anyway?” Twilight said, and Rarity was so impressed by the seeming effortlessness with which Twilight switched topics that she felt inclined to follow along.

“She was a bully I knew in my teen years,” Rarity said coldly, careful to keep her tone steady and her face from twisting into an ugly frown at the thought of that time in her life, “nothing more.”

“Maybe she’s changed?” Twilight suggested, and the hopeful gleam in her eyes was as endearing to Rarity as it was completely alien.

“Do you honestly think-” Rarity hissed, a snarling grin etching itself across her face “-that people can change?”

Twilight was silent; a charge of cold electricity flashed between the two.

“I’ve been thinking about it lately,” Rarity continued, undeterred by Twilight’s silence. “I never thought Fluttershy would ask another pony out, not in a million years, yet here we are. And she sees something in Rainbow that I cannot, no matter how much I might want to.

“I don’t think ponies can change,” Rarity scraped her hoof against the concrete. “I think we can bend, and stretch, and pretend to be something we’re not-” Rarity lifted her forelegs above the ground “-but in the end-” and brought them down forcefully, the harsh clatter of her hooves hitting concrete making Twilight wince “-in the end you’ll always just be the person you are. Hardship and failure form you, and once you’re set there’s no changing the person that you are.”

“Maybe,” Twilight said distantly, and Rarity turned her head to see Twilight sitting down, expression ponderous and her eyes darting back and forth like she was reading some invisible manifesto placed before her. “But I think… I think if the person you want to be doesn’t match your actions, then you can change those actions until they do match. I think, at the end of the day, you’re at the helm of your own ship.”

Rarity was silent. She could tell the pressure of her gaze weighed on Twilight’s heart by the twitch of the poor girl’s ears and lowering of her head. Rarity had not meant to stare quite so coldly, but Twilight’s answer left something to be desired.

In Rarity’s mind, she had long ago lost control of the ship of her life, the waves of fate having caused her ship to move into unfamiliar waters, and she could not see a way out of them. The life that she lived was one controlled by circumstance, not by choice.

But perhaps…

Rarity scanned the horizon, spying Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash chatting in the distance, and she elected to turn back to Twilight with the brightest smile she could muster.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” she said softly, a tiny glimmer of hope flickering in her heart. “Perhaps Fluttershy will drag something out of Rainbow that will surprise me after all.”

“That’s the spirit!” Twilight cheered, jumping to her hooves and bouncing toward Rarity until she was practically on top of Rarity.

“Now,” Twilight added, scratching at the ground and biting down on her lip, “you wanna grab some gross, overpriced carnival food?”

“Darling,” Rarity put her hoof underneath Twilight’s chin and stroked it gently, “you read my mind.”

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

07. Cup Castle

Things with Fluttershy were going about as well as Rainbow had figured, which is to say not great.

As soon as Fluttershy’s friend was away, even though she was never totally out of sight, Fluttershy started to clam up instantly. She awkwardly kicked at the dust, her eyes darted nervously at the ground and her wings flittered about like she was doing everything she could to stop herself from just bolting into the sky and bailing.

She basically did everything but speak.

Rainbow knew she had to say or do something to get Fluttershy to open up, but Rainbow’s social skills were about as good as her reading comprehension. The wall of silence between her and Fluttershy was a real downer, and it was getting more impenetrable by the second, and Rainbow couldn’t blame Fluttershy for it for one second.

Because to be fair, Fluttershy wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Rainbow wasn’t exactly a dating master or anything, and it was hard for her to get out of her own train of ‘wow you sure are showing her a good time, you freakin’ idiot!’ thoughts.

But even still, Rainbow just kept thinking, I can’t let her down, I can’t mess this up for her.

Fluttershy reminded Rainbow of how she used to be as a kid, and that realization gave her an idea; if Rainbow were in Fluttershy’s position, what would she want herself to say?

“Do you like, uh—”

Rainbow looked around at the various carnival games, her eyes scrunching up to deal with the harsh orange lighting all over the place, which was frustrating cuz she felt like she’d probably just see better in the dark.

Anyway, about those carnival games, Rainbow knew she could win some of them, but she also knew a lot of ‘em were straight-up rigged and if she blew this chance it would pretty much tank the whole night, so she did the most reasonable thing she could and immediately choked on anxiety.

Aagh, screw that! she thought as she swallowed her nerves.

“Do you like stuffed animals?”

“I-I, y-yeah, I do,” Fluttershy nodded with a sweet but shaky smile, though her eyes were still glued to the ground.

“Want me to win ya somethin’?” Rainbow grinned and gently bumped her elbow against Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m pretty good at some of these games.”

“O-okay.”

Great, she’s a people-pleaser. Trying to figure out how she actually feels is gonna be way harder than winning a rigged carnival game.

Rainbow took a deep breath and tried to shake off the growing anxiety as she and Fluttershy walked up to one of those ‘shoot the thing at the cups and knock ‘em all over’ type of games, which was perfect for Rainbow.

There was a little mounted pellet gun with a couple of levers, but Rainbow recalled that the stupid gun was always jammed in a way where it would shoot to the left of where you aimed, then to the right, or— or maybe the other way around? Rainbow couldn’t remember.

Didn’t matter. Rainbow had a little rig of her own up her sleeve.

“What do you think of that bear?” Rainbow pointed to a giant stuffed bear that was practically twice her size.

“I-I already have that one,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Ah. Well what about the possum?” the possum was also pretty big, like one of those stuffed toys that you can use as an oversized pillow.

“I actually—” Fluttershy looked at the collection of prizes and started giggling, which was the first sign of any emotion other than ‘anxious’ she’d shown all night, so this was already a win so far! “I already have all these!”

“Whoa, seriously?” Rainbow gawked, looking over the fifteen or twenty prize animals. “That’s dedication!”

“I collect a lot of stuffed animals,” Fluttershy tilted her head and her hair fell over one eye.

“That is rad to be honest,” Rainbow snickered and she could see Fluttershy blush and smile, but the anxiety choked the emotion right off her face as quick as it came. “Okay, how about… that?” Rainbow pointed to a small teal butterfly charm, which didn’t look like much, but Rainbow thought it was cool.

“That’s—” Fluttershy bit her lip, which Rainbow hoped was a good sign, and gave a sly grin, which Rainbow figured was definitely a good sign. “I like it. Okay.”

“Alright then! Fluttershy, prepare to own that charm!” Rainbow was trying to sound cool but the jerk behind the counter snickered at her and that got her all flustered. She was absolutely gonna destroy his little cup castle now.

So, how this game is supposed to go; you get five shots and three castles, and the gun’s supposed to misfire in a wrong direction just enough that you’re too disoriented to hit all three castles. Like, you can’t analyze the system at play without putting in a ton of money.

Buuuut with subtle use of Rainbow’s wind magic, even if the bullet doesn’t hit the castle, the force behind it does. And with that on her side, it was no problem taking out three castles in three shots.

The counter guy looked totally flabbergasted and Rainbow figured that he suspected her of foul play, but what was he gonna do? Make a big scene? No way he was paid enough for that.

“That was incredible!” Fluttershy said, hopping excitedly up and down with a big smile, and Rainbow proudly grinned ear to ear.

“You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?” Rainbow said smugly to the counter guy, Fluttershy beaming at him and holding out her hooves. The man sighed irritably and handed the charm to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy blushed and tried to thank Rainbow, but she was getting a little bit blubbery. Rainbow was starting to get little hot too, so the pair walked over to someplace where they could get some frozen treats. In early winter, but whatever there was no such thing as a bad time for ice cream.

They sat on a bench and ate some cheap ice cream popsicles, Fluttershy weirdly fixated on the charm that she insisted on holding in her hoof instead of wearing.

“Do you not like it?” Rainbow blurted out awkwardly, taking a bite of her ice cream as Fluttershy turned her attention to Rainbow.

“It’s not that,” Fluttershy bit her lip, looking at Rainbow for half a second before darting her eyes back to the charm. “Actually, I think—um, I actually think it would look good on you.”

“O-oh,” Rainbow stammered, and she was sure her face was all red all of a sudden which kinda sucks when you have blue fur, makes it really obvious.

“Would you mind?” Fluttershy gently held her hoof out to Rainbow. “Putting it on, I mean? I’d like to see how it looks. I-if that’s okay with you, of course!”

“Y-yeah, yeah it’s fine,” Rainbow gave a weird smile; she was super not used to anyone saying she would look good in anything. Like, she always just kinda figured she looked like a goblin, and even though Pinkie would compliment her sometimes, Rainbow figured she was just being nice cuz they were fr—uh, cuz Pinkie was polite.

Rainbow slowly took the charm from Fluttershy’s hoof, attaching it to one of her feathered ears and—

And it felt really good actually???

Like, it was such a small thing, but the teal color of the charm complimented the icy blue of Rainbow’s fur, and it made her feel kinda cool actually.

“W-what do you think?” Rainbow said, fidgeting with the charm with her hoof.

Fluttershy put her hooves on Rainbow’s hoof, gently lowering it before Rainbow accidentally knocked the charm off of her ear or something.

“I think it looks lovely, Rainbow.”

“Y-yeah? Heh, well I guess you said it would,” Rainbow squeaked, trying and failing to keep her smile under control. “Geez, look at me grinning like a big idiot. It’s just like a cheap charm, it’s probably stupid to—”

“I don’t think it’s stupid,” Fluttershy said casually, licking her ice cream, “I think it’s nice. I’m glad you like it, Rainbow.”

“I—I do like it,” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck and took another bite of her ice cream, which she immediately regretted as the shock of icy coldness rocked her teeth.

Despite that though, for once in her stupid, worthless life she managed to feel pretty good about herself.

The two pegasi sat in relative silence for a few moments while they ate the ice cream, but it wasn’t the kind of incredibly awkward pregnant pause that they started on. This time there was like, a warmth between them.

“Hey, Fluttershy?”

“Yes, Rainbow?”

“Can I ask a weird question?”

“Okay?”

“Have we met before?” Rainbow didn’t know how else to say it but to just say it, and the longer she waited the weirder it was gonna get, and she just couldn’t shake this weird feeling of déjà vu she felt the whole time she was hanging out with Fluttershy.

“Y-you actually remember me?” Fluttershy gasped, and Rainbow nearly choked on her ice cream cuz she sure wasn’t prepared for that answer.

“I think so,” Rainbow said, her hooves trembling. “We met like a bazillion years ago, right? When I was part of Torch’s crew?”

“Oh my goodness,” Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof and looked away from Rainbow, her hair hiding her expression from an increasingly nervous Rainbow. “It really is you!”

“Ohmygosh!” Rainbow flew up into the air excitedly, hovering over Fluttershy with a big grin on her face. “You’re the cool pony from back then! Holy heck, I thought I was just going crazy or something, but it really is you, huh?”

“It is,” Fluttershy said softly, looking up at Rainbow and brushing the hair away from her face. “It really is.”

“It’s great to see you again, Fluttershy,” Rainbow gently floated to the ground, her heart overflowing with nostalgia.

Even though they both looked so different—especially with the whole gender situation—knowing that it was really the same person made Rainbow’s anxiety suddenly melt away like it was never even there in the first place.

“You too, Rainbow,” Fluttershy gave a smile that showed off her awesomely sharp teeth, and Rainbow had half a mind to just grab Flutters in a hug right then and there. “I’m sorr—”

CRACK!

Rainbow’s ears flicked up at the sound that tore through the night air and she darted around to look for the source, her confusion growing as the noise was followed by the clattering of a large metal object and the crackling of fraying electrical wires.

Whatever Fluttershy was about to said had to wait, as Rainbow threw herself into the air and faced the direction of the sound, catching a glimpse of someone with lightning crackling around their talons and throwing it at the ground in random directions.

It was a woman, a brown and white feathered griffon who looked vaguely familiar. It took a second, but Rainbow recognized her from the beatdown Rainbow’d given her earlier.

Rainbow smirked. If the griffon wanted a fight so badly, she was about to get way more than she asked for.

Author's Note

i went to a fair one time
"rly? how was it?"
it was fairly ok
"that's fair!"
*audience applauds*

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

08. Fair Fight

Rainbow wanted to be mad that her little carnival, fair or whatever date with Fluttershy was being bungled up by some rando griffon throwing lightning at ponies every which way, but to be honest she was more excited to throw hooves than anything.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson earlier, idiot?” Rainbow scoffed as she flew toward the griffon, taunting her with a dashing grin and ready to draw blood.

“Ha! It’s you again!” the griffon let out a single wheezy laugh. “I won’t go easy on you this time, dweeb!”

“That is such a cliché,” Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah I’m sure you went super easy on me when you were coughing up blood earlier!”

Rainbow buffeted her wings in the griffon’s direction, sending a blade of wind flying at her, but the griffon jumped into the pitch black night sky to avoid the attack, Rainbow almost losing sight of her as she hid in the pillars of smoke that rose from nearby shattered machinery.

The griffon had a bloodthirsty grin on her face, which fittingly mirrored Rainbow’s own. Her taunts aside, Rainbow could tell right away this wasn’t gonna be like the curb-stomp in the alley, this was gonna be a proper fight. And she was here for it!

“If this is gonna be a real match-“ the griffon lunged at Rainbow, sweeping her hand in an arc in front of her with an electrical current following behind it, and her attack would’ve taken Rainbow’s head off if she hadn’t lurched out of the way just in time “-we should at least know each other’s names. Mine’s Gilda.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow smirked and landed on the ground, scraping a hoof across the concrete.

Gilda nodded and smiled confidently as she touched the ground, scratching her talons across it as they crackled with electricity. Rainbow could tell Gilda was just starting to get warmed up, but that was fine by her. She could take the griffon down before she even had a chance to get serious.

Rainbow bolted forward, hooves leaving the ground and letting her wings carry her as she aimed to hit Gilda in the neck head-on, but Gilda swung her hand upward and a bolt of lightning followed her movement, appearing right where Rainbow’s face was about to be.

Luckily Rainbow was able to stop herself by leaning back and throwing wind ahead of her, pushing her just barely out of the arc of the attack, but that left her way off balance as she hit the ground, which she had a sinking suspicion was about to be very bad news for her.

Gilda jumped at Rainbow and swung her arm in a horizontal arc, aiming for Rainbow’s head, but Rainbow ducked under the electrical current. Gilda swung her other arm in a vertical arc, still looking to hit Rainbow’s face, but Rainbow threw herself backward with her wind to avoid the attack.

Still a little disoriented from the sudden change in momentum, Rainbow didn’t see Gilda’s next attack coming until it was right in her face, but she managed to throw herself into the air to narrowly avoid getting her muzzle seared by another current of lightning.

Gilda was standing directly underneath Rainbow now though, and she was still off-balance.

Playing defense like this was gonna get her killed. She needed to get her head in the game if she wanted to beat Gilda without getting her face fried off first.

Rainbow flapped her wings hard at Gilda, sending a strong gust of air that buffeted her just enough to distract her, as she was forced to throw her arms in front of her face and close her eyes, which gave Rainbow the opening she needed.

She jolted down and landed on the ground directly in front of Gilda, landing a right cross directly between the griffon’s eyes and a left hook against her cheek, Gilda’s pained grunts music to Rainbow’s ears.

The griffon’s red blood clashed beautifully against the blue fur on Rainbow’s forelegs as the force of her hooves hitting Gilda’s face, still a little busted from their encounter in the alley earlier, left bloody gashes in their wake.

Rainbow danced around to Gilda’s side and slammed her hard in the ribs with her hind legs, using her wind power to magnify the blow and sending Gilda flying into an abandoned food stand.

Gilda jumped back to her feet and scratched her electrified talons across the ground with a low growl. Her taunt was cute, but she was way too slow, and with her now on defense there was no way she could keep up with Rainbow.

Rainbow closed the distance and kicked Gilda’s arm out from under her, knocking her way off balance and sending her on a collision course with the concrete.

While Gilda was distracted ever so briefly, Rainbow quickly looked around to check for civilians. She needed to make sure Gilda’s attacks didn’t accidentally hit anypony who was too stupid to bail once things got ugly. You know there’s always that one idiot who stands around gawking during a fight instead of getting to safety, and just because they were an idiot didn’t mean they deserved to die.

Coast was clear though, so Rainbow felt confident she could focus squarely on Gilda, and on the electrified talon about to scratch off her face.

Rainbow thought that the momentum of Gilda’s arm being kicked out from under her would throw her more off balance than it did, but to Rainbow’s surprise, in the fraction of a second that she let her attention waver from her opponent, Gilda took the time to swipe her other claw right at Rainbow’s face, her talons crackling with electricity like they do.

Rainbow’s thoughts were racing a mile a minute trying to consider her options. Her wrongheaded assumption on how dazed Gilda would be from her last attack, plus her momentary distraction to check for passerby, left her way open.

She could throw herself backward or into the air to dodge this attack, but Gilda was obviously way faster than Rainbow would’ve liked, and there was no way Gilda didn’t immediately close the distance if Rainbow dodged this attack, and if Gilda’s follow-up attack didn’t just gut Rainbow outright, it’d still put her in a really tight spot.

Time was up and Rainbow had to do something, but all she could hope was that she could tank the attack and weather the consequences…

But the attack never came.

Rainbow was almost as shocked as Gilda when her electricity fizzled harmlessly around her fingertips, a little yellow hoof pushed gently against her wrist. Rainbow could not believe her eyes when she saw that hoof belonged to Fluttershy of all ponies. Rainbow don’t know how she managed to stop Gilda’s attack, but she turned the tide of this battle in a major way.

Rainbow slammed her hind legs against the ground and spread her wings, jumping into the air above Gilda and winding up a foreleg, landing a massive haymaker against Gilda’s cheek that, backed up with Rainbow’s wind power, sent Gilda flying across the battlefield and careening hard with the concrete floor a few feet away.

Rainbow needed to close the distance fast though; if she’d learned anything about Gilda during this fight it was that giving her an inch could be a fatal mistake. Rainbow briefly looked to make sure Fluttershy was alright and saw her staring determinedly at Gilda, spreading her own wings and getting ready to fly.

With a smile on her face and a heart welling with pride, Rainbow flew toward Gilda. She was just getting back to her feet when Rainbow hit her with a mach-speed flying punch right to the head, sending her crashing back to the ground and faceplanting onto the concrete.

In the heat of the moment Rainbow worried she might have accidentally killed her but was relieved to see Gilda struggling to her feet. Rainbow waited a second to see if she would surrender, now that everyone could see how badly outmatched she was. Big mistake.

Instead of surrendering, Gilda clasped her claws together and pointed a single claw at Rainbow, electrical energy flowing all around her and through her talons and culminating in that fingertip. Since Rainbow stupidly let her guard down, she was too far away now to interrupt the attack, and too close to effectively dodge it.

So Fluttershy’s intervention was timed perfectly.

With Gilda so totally focused on Rainbow, she didn’t even notice Fluttershy until her front hooves gently collided with Gilda’s ribs, completely knocking the griffon’s flow of magic out of whack and dissipating her attack.

Rainbow moved in quickly, throwing herself between Gilda and Fluttershy. Their opponent wouldn’t be stupid enough to ignore Fluttershy’s presence again, and Rainbow wasn’t about to let Flutters get hurt.

Rainbow buffeted her wings at Gilda, the griffon’s legs buckling and bringing her to the ground at Rainbow’s hooves under the gale force assault.

Rainbow looked down into Gilda’s eyes with a stone-cold glare. “This fight is over.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but think that she must’ve looked SO COOL!

“This ain’t worth the time,” Gilda clicked her tongue and grumbled before adeptly flying out from underneath Rainbow and catapulting into the air at alarming speed.

In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the black night sky, and Rainbow had a pretty good feeling she wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

Rainbow heard Fluttershy breathe a deep sigh of relief behind her and she gave the brave pegasus a gleaming smile as she turned around to face Fluttershy, grabbing her shoulders and lifting her an inch off the ground.

“Fluttershy, you’re amazing!”

Author's Note

the first proper fight scene also brings what will probably be the first of many, many naruto references

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

10. A Lovely Night

“Fluttershy, you’re amazing!”

Hearing those words come from Rainbow Dash as she heartily grabbed onto Fluttershy’s shoulders and lifted her off the ground was… overwhelming. The blood rushed right to Fluttershy’s face and it felt like she was trapped inside of an oven all of a sudden. She didn’t know how to respond either; she didn’t think she was all that amazing, she just—

“I just did what anypony would do.”

“Whatever!” Rainbow scoffed and put Fluttershy back on the ground, her laugh quickly becoming something of a cackle. “There were a ton of ponies at this carnival and no one but you and me had the guts to take down that griffon! And your ability was so cool! I’ve never seen anything like that!”

Fluttershy blanched. She wasn’t used to so much praise. She had no idea what to say to it all and she was starting to feel really panicky. Her ability—her Gentle Hoof as she liked to call it— wasn’t anything that special, and it’s not like she worked hard to attain it, it was just instinct. She didn’t even really understand how it worked herself!

She didn’t know what to say. But luckily she didn’t have to say anything because a haughty woman’s voice chimed into the conversation.

“Guts is a good way of putting it,” the voice said from behind Fluttershy, eliciting a frightened squeak from her as she jumped behind Rainbow, who narrowed her eyes and flared out her wings.

The voice belonged to a pale purple unicorn with bangs covering her forehead and her purple hair tied back into a slick ponytail with a teal streak that shone brilliantly through it.

“And you are?” Rainbow said warily.

“My name is Starlight Glimmer,” the unicorn said pleasantly, using her pale teal magic to grab something out of her saddlebags and producing two golden envelopes with a striking crimson seal on each.

“And you don’t need to be alarmed, I’m not much of a fighter,” Starlight said with a disarming laugh, hovering the envelopes in front of the two pegasi and offering them. “All I want is to give you each these.”

Rainbow quickly snatched the envelopes out of the woman’s magic, her hooves shaking as she looked at them with wide eyes that almost looked on the verge of misting up. “Are these—”

“They are two individual invitations to the Bifrost tournament,” Starlight had a smile on her face that said she knew exactly how valuable these invitations were and that she was quite pleased, if smugly so, to see Rainbow react accordingly. “One for each of you, of course.”

“One for— these are—” Rainbow was breathing heavily. She absentmindedly gave Fluttershy one of the envelopes, the contents of which meant very little to Fluttershy personally, but she was surprised to see Rainbow’s reaction. She’d never seen a smile so big as the one on Rainbow’s face as she gently rubbed her cheek against the envelope.

“Of course, the Bifrost is a team-based competition,” Starlight continued, mostly unfazed but still quietly amused by Rainbow’s zeal. Starlight probably saw reactions like Rainbow’s a lot. “The invitation extends to each of you individually and two other creatures of your choosing.

“Should you both decide to compete on the same team, please give one of the invitations to someone else so that they may compete, although I will leave the deciding of who should get said invitation up to your judgment. Think of it as a consolation prize, I guess.”

“That’s… a lot,” Fluttershy muttered.

“I’d like to say you have plenty of time to decide what you want to do, but-” Starlight chuckled, lifting a hoof up to her mouth and staring coldly at Rainbow and Fluttershy. She seemed polite enough, Fluttershy couldn’t help but find something about her… unpleasant. Unnerving almost. “-to be honest, the tournament does begin the day after tomorrow, so please make up your minds by then.”

“Wait a tick,” Rainbow said suddenly, giving her full focus to Starlight. “Day after tomorrow? And you’re still giving out invitations? Doesn’t that seem a little sloppy?”

“We give out a single invitation on each of the hundred and eight days before the tournament,” Starlight explained. “If we gave them all out months or even weeks in advance, there would be no sense of intrigue or urgency, plus they would all likely go to a bunch of rich jerks who just bought them or hired hitmen to take them or some such. Very boring, no fun for anyone.”

“If you give out one every day, why are you giving us two?” Rainbow asked suspiciously. Fluttershy couldn’t blame her for being a little hesitant and making sure this wasn’t a ‘too good to be true’ situation.

“Those of us that are given authority to hand out invitations are allowed to make judgment calls like this,” Starlight said with a slight giggle. “You both impressed me. And besides, those are the final two invitations so that means I can take tomorrow off!” Starlight laughed.

“So, this is legit, huh?” Rainbow said, her voice a mixture of excitement and anxiousness.

“One hundred percent,” Starlight replied with a nod and a confident smirk. “Clear as the scarlet seal on those envelopes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a one-day vacation to take!”

Starlight laughed again as she walked off into the dark of the night, leaving behind only a few more words before she disappeared.

“I hope to see both of you at the preliminaries in two days! Good luck!”

Fluttershy looked at the envelope in her hooves and tried to muster up any sort of emotion, but felt nothing. She had no interest in joining a fighting tournament and it made her sad to think that she had something so valuable in her possession yet it meant less to her than Rainbow winning that silly carnival game to impress her.

“Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at the sound of Rarity’s voice, and she looked around for a moment before seeing Rarity and Twilight running toward her, both looking rather haggard and their coats were all messed up, like they’d gotten into a fight.

Oh.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” Rarity said, grabbing Fluttershy by the shoulders and inspecting her this way and that.

“I’m—I’m okay,” Fluttershy laughed softly. “What about you? You don’t look— you look a little worse for wear.”

“Eh?” Rarity looked at herself and then at Twilight, before looking back at herself and then at Fluttershy, only to give a shrug. “It’s been a long night.”

“Fluttershy, is this what I think it is?” Twilight said with a gleam in her eye, picking up in her raspberry magic the envelope that Fluttershy had carelessly dropped on the ground.

“Oh. Yes.”

Fluttershy groaned under her breath and braced herself for the unwanted attention she was afraid she was about to receive. “It’s an invitation… to Bifrost.”

“How the heck did you—” Rarity coughed to cover up whatever she was about to say. “How did you get your hooves on one? And so suddenly at that?”

“Because she’s awesome, that’s how!” Rainbow Dash suddenly joined the conversation and put her foreleg around Fluttershy, taking her by surprise and causing a tiny “Eep!” to escape her lips.

“Is that right?” Rarity said drolly, shooting Rainbow a bemused glance. “I mean, I don’t disagree, but I’m surprised you’re saying that.”

“Did you two get into a little scrape?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded meekly, sliding out from under Rainbow’s leg.

“Yeah, and Fluttershy was incredible,” Rainbow laughed and playfully bumped her hoof into Fluttershy’s side. “I really owe her one.”

“Huh. You don’t say,” Rarity looked at Fluttershy, who cautiously averted her gaze, feeling like Rarity’s eyes were going to burn a patch into her skin.

“It’s getting pretty late now though,” Rarity looked up into the sky, the smoke from some of the explosions pretty much entirely cleared up at this point, and the fair was quieting down as cleanup began. “Fluttershy, do you need someone to walk you home?”

“I can do it if you want,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I kinda want to talk to you about this anyway,” she raised her envelope for everyone to see, and Fluttershy was more than a bit curious what Rainbow wanted to talk to her of all ponies about.

“That’s really not—”

Rarity tried to interrupt but was cut off by Fluttershy, “I would like that, Rainbow Dash.” She looked toward Rarity with an apologetic smile. “If that’s okay with you?”

“What? Y-yes, of course,” Rarity nodded effusively, and Fluttershy pretended not to see Rarity’s apprehension. “Do what you need to do, darling!”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Fluttershy bowed her head graciously and gave Rarity a tender hug. “And thank you as well, Twilight.”

“Uh, no problem,” Twilight said with a bright, albeit nervous, laugh and Fluttershy smiled at it because she knew she made that exact same laugh all the time.

Rainbow jerked her head to motion for Fluttershy to follow and Fluttershy gave a gentle nod in return.

“And thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile as the two trotted away from the fair, and from Rarity and Twilight, Rainbow returning the sentiment with a very charming grin. “It’s been… a lovely night.”

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

11. Oblivion

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash walked mostly in silence the whole way to Fluttershy’s home, a fact that Fluttershy was rather thankful for, as she was still really overwhelmed and needed some time to breathe before she talked about the whole Bifrost… thing.

As they reached the place Fluttershy called home— a sad, dark, and lonely building that could only generously be called a ‘house’ and was much more like a shack— Fluttershy walked up the steps of the porch, but as she reached for the doorknob, she hesitated.

If Fluttershy were being entirely honest with herself, she wouldn’t be able to deny that she had an amazing night. Even with the scary stuff that happened, Rainbow was so kind to her, and even fighting alongside her felt liberating, somehow.

“So, hey, uhh—” Rainbow cleared her throat, standing at the bottom of the three steps that led to Fluttershy’s front door. “What do you uh— what do—”

Rainbow sighed and Fluttershy adorned a strained smile as she waited for Rainbow to figure out what she wanted to say. Fluttershy found it kind of adorable the way Rainbow was fumbling her words; it reminded Fluttershy of herself, made her feel less like a stupid loser who couldn’t do anything right if even someone as brave as Rainbow stuttered sometimes.

“I’ll just cut right to it,” Rainbow said, releasing her breath in a quick, sharp exhale. “I know you got your own invitation to Bifrost, but I want—” Rainbow shook her head, ruffled her hair and then, to Fluttershy’s shock, bowed her head. “Please join my team, Fluttershy. I would really like to have you on it.”

“Wh-what?!” Fluttershy’s shock at Rainbow bowing was nothing compared to the shock those words gave her. “Why me? Why would you— why would you want someone like me on your team?” Fluttershy wasn’t a very good fighter, she wasn’t reliable or strong, and she was kind of a downer. She had no idea what Rainbow could possibly have been thinking.

“You’re amazing, Fluttershy.”

Rainbow said those words like it was nothing, like she was just stating an obvious fact. But to Fluttershy, nothing could have prepared her for them. She swore her face must have turned cherry red at those words and she wouldn’t have been surprised if her face was still red the next day.

“That power you have,” Rainbow continued, “I dunno what you did or how you did it, but it was incredible! But even more than that, you had the guts to throw yourself into the fight between me and Gilda. Power is one thing, a lot of ponies have power, not everyone has the guts that you showed me tonight. And that’s why I want you on my team.”

Fluttershy was speechless. She stood there trembling, not sure of what to say or how to even begin to say it.

“And honestly, it’s even more than that,” Rainbow sighed, a coy smile on her face. “You’re kind, you’re fun, you’re funny,” Rainbow laughed softly and looked up at Fluttershy, smiling brightly, “I could really use someone like you on my team.”

“I— I don’t know what to say,” hearing Rainbow gushing all that praise, all of it for her of all ponies, she couldn’t— she didn’t—

“I’m not gonna twist your leg or anything,” Rainbow batted her hoof dismissively. “It’s not my style to force people into stuff, you’re free to live your life however you wanna live it. And you don’t have to decide anything right now.”

Rainbow turned to leave and walked a few steps down the paved path back into the road, taking a deep breath and releasing it with a tense sigh.

“I’m leaving tomorrow on the eight o’clock morning train,” Rainbow said, turning back to Fluttershy with a bright smile. “If you wanna join my team, meet me at the station. If not-” Rainbow shrugged but she was still smiling “-then hopefully I’ll see you as a rival. Later, Fluttershy.”

With one last wave goodbye, Rainbow was on her way, leaving Fluttershy alone in the dark on the porch of an empty home. No one was waiting for her inside— no, nothing was waiting for her. And not just ‘no thing’, but nothing. Emptiness. Oblivion, almost.

Maybe that’s overdramatic.

But…

Fluttershy stared at the golden envelope that she’d tucked into her wings, and saw an opportunity to change her life forever, for better or worse.

She didn’t like fighting— no, she hated fighting. She hated conflict of any kind, but she couldn’t stop her mind from flashing between the sad thoughts of her eating alone in her dark house all by herself, wishing for somepony to keep her company, and the kind words Rainbow Dash piled onto her all throughout the night.

You’re amazing, Fluttershy!

You’re kind, you’re fun.

You’ve got guts!

…

…

Fluttershy opened the door to her home, headed straight to the dark, empty bedroom and threw herself into the bed. She buried herself under the covers and tried to clear her mind to sleep.

After all, she needed to be up before eight o’clock tomorrow.

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

12. Icing

Rainbow headed back to her stupid little alleyway home, walking along the asphalt roads of Dodge City lit up by barely functioning street lamps that flickered in and out.

Nothing mattered to her besides the golden envelope that was sticking out between her teeth, her tongue gently brushing the edges of it as she walked, which she knew was probably a really good way to get a papercut, but she didn’t care.

She almost couldn’t believe it, but there it was.

Her invitation.

“Hi there!” Pinkie chirped as she showed up next to Rainbow and started walking beside her, Rainbow completely unfazed by Pinkie’s sudden appearances after a very long time getting used to her doing that exact thing.

“Hey,” Rainbow said coolly, her eyes firmly locked onto the ticket. “Didn’t see you at the carnival.”

“I was around,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Played some games, got some snacks, skulked around for some shady characters.” Pinkie giggled and placed her hoof gently on the crimson seal of Rainbow’s invitation before saying in a sing-song voice, “But it looks like I didn’t need to!”

“You knew about this?” Rainbow asked curiously, dropping the envelope into Pinkie’s hooves.

“I was watching from the bushes,” Pinkie said nonchalantly, analyzing the envelope she was now holding. Rainbow didn’t recall there being bushes at the carnival grounds, but she knew better than to question Pinkie’s logic.

“This is it, Pinkie,” Rainbow said proudly, stamping her hooves against the ground. “We’re competing in Bifrost. Somehow, we got our hooves on a ticket. You and me are going to Bifrost!”

The emotions had been welling up inside Rainbow all night but there was still a part of her that felt it must’ve been a mistake cuz it was too good to be true, but it was really hitting her now that this was real. She had the invitation in her hooves and this was happening.

Rainbow stopped in her tracks and just grinned ear to ear at the invitation. She started jumping in place and doing a really awkward looking dance, Pinkie Pie quickly joining in until both were on the ground in a laughing fit.

“I’m so happy for you!” Pinkie said, wrapping Rainbow up in a big hug. “But wait!” Pinkie sprung to her feet. “You plus me equals two, which is three minus one because zero plus three makes three which is how many you need for Bifrost but three minus two is one which is how many we don’t have because we’re two and one plus two is three so three minus one is two—”

“Alright, I’m confused,” Rainbow put one hoof on her forehead and another on Pinkie’s to stop her rambling.

“We need one more teammate, duh!” Pinkie scoffed and rolled her eyes. It was really endearing to Rainbow how Pinkie thought anypony could keep up with her sometimes. “I thought it was pretty obvious what I was saying, Rainbow. You need to step up your game,” she stuck her tongue out teasingly and Rainbow just bopped her on the nose with a sly grin. Pinkie backed away with a giggle, brushing her nose gently with a hoof.

“I asked Fluttershy to join our team.”

“Doesn’t she have a ticket of her own?” Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “Are you sure she wants to join us?”

“Yeah, and I dunno if she even wants to join Bifrost at all.”

Rainbow took a deep breath and sighed. She scrunched up her face and wrinkled her nose for a sec, but then just shook her head.

“But I’m willing to bet on her,” Rainbow shrugged with a wry laugh. “And if not, we’ll just find someone when we get there. Doesn’t matter who, I can ace this whole thing by myself, and I have you with me which means double the acing.”

“Ooh, I love acing!” Pinkie said exuberantly. “Like a strawberry acing on a chocolate cake! Mm-MMM!” Pinkie licked her lips. “Doesn’t that sound so good?” Pinkie gasped dramatically and donned a very proud smile. “We can call it Bifrosting!”

“You’re thinking of icing,” Rainbow said with a baffled laugh, “although yeah, it does sound good right now.”

Then it hit her, and her eyes widened as drool fell from her open mouth.

“Pinkie.”

“Yes, Rainbow?” Pinkie leaned against Rainbow, smooshing their cheeks up against each other and smiling brightly.

“Teams competing in Bifrost get free meals at like, dozens of restaurants in Manehattan,” Rainbow said excitedly, giving Pinkie a huge grin. “If we make it all the way to the tournament proper, we can eat like queens!”

“Strawberry acing chocolate cake, here we come!” Pinkie screamed, hopping up and down and clapping her hooves against Rainbow’s, who quickly joined her in hopping around like a doofus.

It’d be a long road from here to the end of Bifrost; nearly an entire year if past tournaments were anything to judge by, but Rainbow was ready for it. She was strong, and confident, and she knew she would have the best team.

And for just a sec, she felt like life was good to her.

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

13. The Person You Are

Seven in the morning.

Rarity got maybe three hours of sleep, and now she was pacing the floor of her room in the dim glow of the rising sun peeking through the blinds.

Did it bother her? That Fluttershy got an invitation to Bifrost and she did not?

No, that wasn’t it. She wasn’t interested in Bifrost.

Was she?

No, of course not. What use does a fashion loving socialite have with a fighting tournament?

But Rarity couldn’t stop herself from looking over at the pile of clothing in the corner of her room, unable to recall the last time any of it had been laundered or even touched. And she couldn’t claim to be socialite without a social life.

No, no, don’t be ridiculous, Rarity! What possible purpose could a fighting tournament of all things have for YOU? Bah, just— just put it out of your mind!

Then why was she awake right now? Why could she barely sleep during the night? What had her so wound up?

It hit her soon enough. It wasn’t her lack of invitation that bothered her, not really; what bothered her was that Fluttershy got one at all.

She was not mad at Fluttershy, of course. It’s not as though Fluttershy ever asked for an invitation and if she was given one, Rarity was certain she deserved it.

But Fluttershy’s not supposed to get an invitation to Bifrost. One of the one hundred and eight exclusive invitations to the biggest profile event in all Equestria.

Fluttershy was not that type of girl. She was an ordinary girl, shy and sweet. She stays home on the weekends, collects stuffed animals, doesn’t make a fuss or make waves. People like her don’t get one in a million opportunities to join fighting competitions.

But even that didn’t quite hit the nail on the head; there was something else at work.

What was really getting under Rarity’s skin was that she was so sure Fluttershy wasn’t going to ask Rainbow to the fair, she was certain Fluttershy was going to chicken out.

Fluttershy’s decision to go with her gut and do something outside her comfort zone, something Rarity never in a million years would have expected her to do and even tried to talk her out of, led Fluttershy to getting one of the one hundred and eight exclusive invitations to Bifrost.

A one in a million opportunity because she left her comfort zone.

Why was Rarity so bothered by that; so incensed by it?

People don’t change.

Those words had been resonating in Rarity’s head for as long as she could remember.

People don’t change.

If there was one thing that she truly believed to be a universal truth, it was that.

People don’t change.

People are formed by hardship and failure, and once they’re set…

People. Don’t. Change.

She thought she knew everything, thought she couldn’t be surprised anymore, but Fluttershy did something she never could have expected, and she got a ticket to Bifrost— of all things— out of it.

Rarity laughed and shook her head, sitting down onto the bed.

It doesn’t matter, she thought. Fluttershy’s probably already thrown the envelope away. Fluttershy of all ponies is never going to want to join Bifrost.

A knock at the door made Rarity nearly jump out of her skin and tied her stomach into a violent knot. Who could possibly be at her door at this ungodly hour?

She slowly opened the door of her bedroom and snuck through the living room where Twilight was asleep on the couch, and into the entryway, looking through the peephole to see who was at the door.

Fluttershy?

The knot in Rarity’s stomach grew tighter.

Rarity opened the door slowly and stepped outside, leaving the latch stuck in the door so it couldn’t close her out. Fluttershy turned and walked down the steps onto the pathway and Rarity followed.

“W-what are you d-doing here?” Rarity stuttered from the cold, stamping her hooves on the ground in a futile attempt to keep warm. “And so early?”

“I want to give you something.”

Fluttershy’s voice was colder than the weather but there was an underlying current of firmness to it. She turned to face Rarity and the nervousness Rarity was accustomed to seeing in Fluttershy’s eyes was hidden behind a veil of surefire determination; still there if Rarity squinted, but hidden.

“And I want to say something to you.”

“Okay, what is it?” Rarity asked concernedly, the knot in her stomach turning into a violent storm. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything is more than alright,” Fluttershy smiled and held a hoof against her heart and it was only then that Rarity noticed the saddlebags resting atop her. She looked like she was ready to travel.

The storm in Rarity’s stomach became a rampaging maelstrom, and then subsided into steely silence as it dawned on Rarity why Fluttershy was here.

Rarity held out her hoof. “What is it you want to give to me?” she asked, even as she already knew the answer.

“You’re so sharp, Rarity,” Fluttershy giggled. “You’ve already figured it out, right?” Fluttershy reached into her saddlebags and plucked the golden envelope out from inside it, hoofing it over to Rarity. “I’m going to join Rainbow Dash’s team. I’m going to Bifrost with her.”

Rarity took the invitation and held it in her hoof, looking down at it for a moment with cold eyes before even acknowledging what Fluttershy was saying.

Rarity heard the sound of shattering glass in her mind.

People don’t change.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity said weakly, gripping the envelope tightly with both hooves, half a mind to rip the damn thing apart.

“We’ve been friends for years, Rarity,” Fluttershy started to pace back and forth. “And since even before I met you, I’ve been— really weak. I’m scared, a lot, by a lot of things. I’m easily frightened and I get anxious and— oh well those all mean the same thing.”

She looked at Rarity with flushed cheeks and stamped her hooves defiantly on the ground. “Rainbow saw something in me last night, she said I was amazing, that I had guts. I—” her eyes started to water, and Rarity wanted desperately to say something comforting.

“Fluttershy—”

“Please!” Fluttershy shouted weakly and held out her hoof, catching Rarity off guard. “Let me— let me finish.”

Rarity simply nodded.

Fluttershy put her hoof on the ground and took a deep breath.

“I want to be the amazing, gutsy Fluttershy that Rainbow saw last night. Not for her, but for me. I know—” the water in her eyes had turned to full on fountains by now and she looked half a step away from openly sobbing, the poor dear. “I know that you think people can’t change, and for a while I used to believe it. I still might, but—”

And there were the sobs.

Fluttershy put a hoof up to her face and let her hair fall over her eyes and wept for a few seconds. Rarity didn’t know what to do, so she did nothing; just watched as Fluttershy broke down in front of her.

After a few more sobs and a couple of loud sniffles, Fluttershy was composed enough to speak again, albeit just barely.

“I want to believe that I can change,” Fluttershy said in-between sniffles, her eyes already all red and puffy. “I used to believe it wasn’t possible, because I hated the idea that it was just me that wasn’t strong enough to change. It’s so much easier to accept that it was people that couldn’t change and not just me. But I—”

Fluttershy breathed deeply and let it out slowly, a serene smile creeping onto her face as her tears dried and left her eyes red but with a fire burning in them.

“I want to believe that I can change,” Fluttershy said firmly. “And that’s why I’m giving you my invitation. I’m joining Rainbow Dash because she saw something in me that made me want to see it in myself. She lit the fire inside me that made me want to be better, made me think that I can be better. And even if it was just by accident, I think that I—”

The tears started to reform in her eyes but Fluttershy closed them and steeled herself, opening dry eyes and continuing to speak with confidence.

“I want to follow her to Bifrost,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know if it’s to pay her back, if I think being with her will help me find what she saw in me. Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I feel it burning in my heart that my place is on her team.”

Fluttershy held her trembling hoof in front of her to point at the golden envelope in Rarity’s hooves.

“And that’s why I want you to have that. Because I want you to see in yourself what I’m starting to see in myself. If someone as weak and pathetic as me can change, can become amazing and gutsy, then how much more can someone who’s so bright and smart and beautiful and talented as you?”

Rarity trembled as she stared speechless at the yellow pony who had always seemed so small and weak, who Rarity had known for so long but did not recognize today, and now looked so powerful.

“I hope that I will see you at the tournament, Rarity,” Fluttershy bowed her head. “I’m sorry I can’t stick around, but I’m already a little late between preparing this speech and the ensuing anxiety attack that came with thinking about saying it,” she let out a nervous laugh. “But I really do hope to see you there. Until then, goodb—” she shook her head and smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you, Fluttershy,” Rarity said distantly.

Fluttershy smiled once more and turned around, turning back quickly and jumping toward Rarity to give her a hug, one that Rarity was all too happy to reciprocate. She held Fluttershy tight because a part of her didn’t want to let go.

But let her go she did, for Rarity could not in good conscious keep Fluttershy from being the pony she was trying to be.

Rarity watched Fluttershy walk down the road headed for the train station, disappearing into a foggy winter morning. Rarity had a lot to grapple with.

This should not have happened. This went against everything Rarity thought she knew. In less than twenty-four hours, that yellow pony shattered the one universal truth Rarity thought she believed in.

People don’t change.

Rarity shook her head and bit her lip.

People can bend and stretch and pretend to be something they’re not…

She looked up at the sun rising against the pale grey sky and felt the cold morning air biting her skin.

But in the end…

She looked down at trembling hooves that she could not keep steady, and the golden envelope held by them.

You’ll always be the person you are.

Rarity took the envelope in her magical grasp and carried it back into the apartment, taking great care to be as gentle with the envelope as possible; she was going to need it, after all.

I need to find out the truth.

Author's Note

i'm rly proud of this one.. if i'm being pathetically honest, it's one of my favorite chapters i've ever written.

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

14. This Is It

Fluttershy’s legs were like butter and her whole body couldn’t stop quivering; her breath was short and fast, and her heart was about ready to explode out of her chest.

She took a deep breath and tried to be calm. This was it.

Fluttershy stood at the train station, about to walk up to the platform, hidden behind a column so she could look to see if Rainbow was there. She was indeed, standing on the platform and waiting for the train, a thick-bodied curly-haired pink pony standing next to her; the only two ponies on the platform.

This was it, the moment of truth.

Fluttershy walked up onto the platform and slowly approached Rainbow Dash, who turned her head to look at Fluttershy approaching. If Fluttershy didn’t know any better, she would have almost thought that Rainbow’s eyes lit up when she saw her.

Fluttershy tried to play it cool as she approached the two ponies, but she couldn’t hold back a big smile.

“Was starting to wonder if you were gonna make it,” Rainbow said coolly with a sly grin.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Fluttershy remarked confidently and she just felt so cool after hearing herself say it.

This was it, she was joining a fighting team! Fluttershy, of all ponies, was going to be a cool fighting mare of danger and intrigue!

She half expected to trip or for something else to ruin her cool entrance, but she made it all the way to Rainbow Dash’s side without any issue. She reached out her hoof and said, “I would really like to join your team, Rainbow Dash. If you’ll still have me.”

Fluttershy blushed and brushed some hair out of her face, worrying for the briefest of moments that somepony else took her place already and Rainbow didn’t need her anymore and this whole entrance was for nothing and she was going to look like a big joke, but Rainbow crushed that fear rather soundly.

“Of course!” Rainbow firmly bashed her hoof against Fluttershy’s in a show of painful comradery and smiled confidently, a passionate flame burning in her violet eyes.

“Yay! This is exciting!” the pink pony pushed herself between the two pegasi and put her forelegs around them both, dragging them in for less of a hug and more of a headlock.

“Pinkie Pie, could you not?” Rainbow said drolly, Pinkie giggling and letting the two go.

“Sorry,” Pinkie said, her pink cheeks turning red as she ruffled her hair.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Fluttershy said with my hoof outstretched toward her. “I’m Fluttershy.”

“And I—”

Pinkie took a big gasp of air and bolted away for a moment, coming back in less than a second with a cannon aimed at the sky. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in concern but Rainbow Dash just stifled a laugh and shook her head.

“I’m Pinkie Pie!” she yelled as she hit a button on the back of the cannon, which had a fuse for some reason, and a burst of confetti exploded out of the barrel and showered down upon the three ponies.

“And yes,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, putting Pinkie in a headlock this time, “she is always like this.” Pinkie just beamed ear to ear and that made Fluttershy laugh, thinking that Pinkie seemed like a real joy.

As Rainbow and Pinkie Pie joined Fluttershy’s laughter and the whistle of the train cut through the cold station, all the fear and worry that had been building up inside Fluttershy melted away.

Or more like… it was shot out of a cannon.

Author's Note

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

15. You Can't Go Home Again

Rarity was delighted to see Twilight was awake, albeit barely, as she walked back into the apartment after her ordeal with Fluttershy.

Twilight sat groggily at the breakfast table in the living room with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, the curtains drawn and bathing her in the warm glow of the morning sun, and without a word, Rarity walked over to the table and threw the golden envelope onto it.

At first, Twilight was clearly galled by Rarity’s lack of tact and glowered at her, but when she saw Rarity’s cold stare fixed on the envelope, Twilight begrudgingly looked down at it herself and, realizing what it was, her eyes widened as she looked back at Rarity in shock. Rarity nodded slowly, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Will you please—” Rarity thought she could say her piece without the words choking themselves in her throat, but she was quite wrong! “Will you join me? Will you go with me to Baltimare, and to Fillydelphia, and Manehattan? Will you join Bifrost with me and fight alongside me?”

“Wow, that’s— this is really sudden—” Twilight said seriously, her eyes darting anxiously between Rarity, the envelope, and the window. “Do you even have any idea of what that would mean? What would happen to our lives here?”

“Some life,” Rarity sneered venomously. She shook her head sadly when Twilight raised a concerned eyebrow and instead said calmly, “I can’t force you, obviously. I wouldn’t want to even if I could, but I need to do this.”

“You’ve never been one for half measures-” Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee “-I’ll give you that.”

Twilight sighed softly, her gaze fixed out the window toward the back alley next to her and Rarity’s meager apartment.

“Rarity, if we leave our apartment to go compete in a fighting tournament… we won’t be able to come back to it.”

“I know.”

“We’ve lived here for years,” Twilight continued, “and rent was far cheaper when we moved in. Between my disability and the pitiful little allowance that we both still have to depend on from our parents, I don’t know if we would be able to find another apartment with just the two of us.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“Not to mention that getting those disability payments in the first place was—” Twilight groaned exaggeratedly, and for good reason.

“A nightmare,” Rarity said. “And yes, through some ridiculous legal loophole you will probably lose them if you leave and won’t be able to get them back.”

“You really know what you’re saying,” Twilight smiled. “You honestly, truly understand that magnitude of what you’re talking about here.”

“I do,” Rarity nodded, feeling nothing but confident in her decision, for if she let herself second-guess that decision for even a second, her confidence would crumble like paper in the rain. “And if we go to this tournament only to lose in the preliminaries or something, then I will have ruined our lives for absolutely nothing. I understand this. If that happens we shall be forced to move back in with our parents, and I—”

Rarity shook her head vigorously and scoffed.

“I refuse to accept that will happen, but-” Rarity cleared her throat, stifling one of many swarming doubts in her mind “-it is a risk that I am willing to take. But I don’t know what will happen to you, so I completely understand if you don’t want to do this.”

“Welp, it’s a good thing that I wanted to join your team anyway, Rarity!” Twilight said with a bright smile and a sparkle in her eye, Rarity’s jaw practically dropping to the floor in shock. “I had you going though! Who says Twilight Sparkle is above a good prank every now and then!” Twilight’s self-satisfied giggle was the cutest thing Rarity had ever heard.

“So you’ll come with me,” Rarity put a hoof on her chest, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I will,” Twilight took another sip of her coffee. “But that still only makes two of us. You and I both know that we need three to make a full team. I don’t suppose Fluttershy—”

“Is on Rainbow’s team.”

“Ah.”

Twilight grumbled and looked down at her cup with a ponderous scowl on her face.

“And we can’t just join up with anypony. I may be a gifted magician but I’m not exactly a star combatant and you—”

Twilight stopped herself and her cheeks flushed before she could let out what would certainly be a cutting remark about Rarity’s complete lack of fighting prowess, a remark that would no doubt sting Rarity’s pride, but would not be unearned.

“Correct,” Rarity grumbled, slumping into a chair at the table. “We would need somepony who’s a good fighter. Someone strong, reliable, dependable, and trustworthy especially.”

Rarity clicked her tongue and let out a single, bitter laugh as the pieces fell into place. “Of course.”

“Somepony tough who can balance out our deficit of physical strength would be ideal,” Twilight pondered, more or less talking to herself in order to come up with a solution. “And we need to find this pony—” Twilight arched an eyebrow at Rarity.

“By tonight,” Rarity didn’t feel the need to look at Twilight as she answered, her eyes still fixed into the distance. “We need to catch the express train that leaves here at ten o’clock tonight headed straight for Baltimare, because the tournament starts tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Twilight groaned disgustedly, hanging her head in anguish. “So what we need is a really strong, honest and capable pony…”

“Right.”

“One who can be relied upon and who won’t crack under pressure,” Twilight continued, and Rarity nodded. “Somepony who’s tough as nails, perhaps a real working girl, rugged and fierce, but dignified and stoic in her own stubborn way…”

“I cannot believe you’re doing this by accident,” Rarity laughed, and Twilight cocked her head confusedly. “You haven’t met her, but I know a pony that fits the exact description you just gave.”

“Great!” Twilight said cheerfully, bouncing out of her chair and stamping her hooves eagerly on the tile floor. “Then let’s get going.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Rarity sighed forlornly and stepped onto the ground herself, stretching her legs and arching her back to awaken her weary muscles.

“Let’s go talk to my ex.”

Author's Note

lmao i was just getting caught up on enchanted kingdom, and now here i am immediately writing rarity and twilight. mono psyop'd me

Anyhoo, please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

09. Children Shouldn't Play Around With Violent Magicks

Honestly, a pony goes to the bathroom for one second and they miss everything.

Rarity stood outside the companion restroom as Twilight occupied it, since Twilight had understandable anxieties with public restrooms that Rarity could sympathize with, and she wanted to help her dear friend however she could.

And when the pair went to the restroom, everything was fine, yet when Twilight came back out and the two returned to the fair, they found ponies running every which way and screaming in panic while pillars of smoke coated the sky in a noxious black cloud.

“What in the name of—” Rarity muttered in awe, Twilight letting out an audible gasp as she saw the fleeing crowds and flaming wreckage of several machines.

“That’s right! Run! Run for your lives!” the shrill sound of an annoyingly haughty voice caught Rarity’s attention. She looked to Twilight for a moment and the two nodded before heading to find the source of the voice.

Surrounded by several overturned carnival games and food stands, with a couple machines wreathed in flame that billowed tall columns of black smoke, was a child, of all things. She was a pale pink pegasus with bright sky-blue curled hair, and she was looking rather smugly over the damage she had caused as she floated above it all.

Rarity didn’t know if the girl was looking for a fight, but she had certainly brought one upon herself. And while it did cross Rarity’s mind that perhaps engaging in a magical duel with a child wasn’t properly ladylike, allowing said child to continue her reign of terror was simply out of the question.

“If you beg for mercy from the mighty Queen Cozy Glow, perhaps I will find it in my heart to spare you!” the girl spouted melodramatically, before cackling and throwing a gust of torrential wind at an abandoned carnival game stand, knocking the stand over with a loud crash.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cozy Glow,” Rarity spoke as she stepped up to confront this mysterious ruffian, making sure Twilight was safely behind her. “But I’m afraid if you’re the one causing all this upheaval, I will be forced to bring you down.”

“Oh please,” Cozy Glow landed on the ground and spat in Rarity’s direction, causing her to scrunch her face in disgust. After all, it was one thing to be evil enough to attack innocent ponies, but must she be so rude on top of it?

“I don’t suppose you’d mind just turning yourself in?” Twilight asked pleadingly, and both Cozy Glow and Rarity shot Twilight bewildered glances, which made her cheeks flush adorably. “It was worth a try, I guess.”

“Look, if you guys aren’t gonna run,” Cozy Glow rolled her eyes and slowly walked toward the two unicorns, “then you can at least put up some kinda fight. I mean, I came to this backwater town to look for Bifrost competitors, but all these ponies-” Cozy Glow gestured weakly toward a few fair-goers that were running in panicked circles amidst the chaos- “are just pathetic.”

“You can’t just attack innocent people!” Twilight said indignantly and stamped her hoof on the ground. She was acting so brave, and Rarity was quite impressed!

“Uh, yes I can,” Cozy Glow scoffed. “I mean, that’s what I’ve been doing. Have you not been paying attention?”

“Enough talk then, I suppose,” Rarity whispered to Twilight.

“Right,” Twilight replied coolly, nodding her head and analyzing Cozy Glow.

As if sensing the change in demeanor, Cozy Glow buffeted her wings toward Rarity and Twilight, nearly toppling the two over with a strong blast of wind before Twilight raised a glassy barrier in front of them that sent Cozy’s attack back at her.

Cozy Glow was undeterred by her reflected attack and simply flew high into the air, sending another wave of wind at Twilight and Rarity. While Twilight raised the shield to protect against the wind itself, she failed to notice that Cozy’s attacked was aimed not quite at the two ponies, but around them; specifically, at several hunks of broken scrap metal that were now lying on the ground from busted machines.

The wind gathered several of these scrapped pieces and sent them flying at Twilight and Rarity from their sides. Rarity managed to jump forward to evade the attack and Twilight dodged backward, but now they were separated by a few feet which left Rarity open to an attack from Cozy Glow, who hovered just above her with a wicked grin on her face.

Twilight threw the glass shield at Cozy Glow, the improvised magical weapon shattering against Cozy’s head and resounding against her skull with a solid CLANG, disorienting the pegasus who fell to the ground and wobbled around on her hooves.

Rarity took a second to flash Twilight an appreciative smile before turning her attention back to Cozy Glow. Truth be told, despite all Rarity’s bravado from before, she was not much of a combatant. She was very good at sewing, and talking, and… well, and that was about it.

Still, a solid kick to the head hurts even when coming from a non-combatant and it certainly made its mark on Cozy Glow, who fumbled to the ground in a heap.

“Rarity, look out!” Twilight’s words caught Rarity by surprise, but not nearly as much as the sudden sting of sharp scraps of metal digging into her body from behind her.

Rarity let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground. Her vision blurred and for a single heartbeat she wondered if she was going to die. She wasn’t so used to being in an active battle zone, but Twilight? Twilight was more than prepared.

Before Rarity’s vision had even fully settled, she could see the scraps of metal that had pierced her hovering in the air surrounded by Twilight’s raspberry aura. Rarity looked at her wounded flank and saw not blood and injuries as she had expected, but the same violet glow bathing her fur and sealing the wounds effortlessly.

Cozy Glow clicked her tongue, but Rarity saw Cozy’s eyes widen as Twilight launched the several pieces of metal straight at her, almost as if she intended to gore her outright, though Cozy was able to miraculously dodge them all.

It was so unlike the Twilight Rarity knew to be so violent, but she could hear Twilight’s heavy, frantic breathing as she stood above Rarity in a defensive posture.

“Relax, darling,” Rarity said as she stood on her hooves, placing a hoof gently on Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t lose yourself to anger; be calm and be vigilant.”

“Right,” Twilight said with steely eyes fixed on Cozy Glow, scraping a hoof across the ground as she stared Cozy Glow down.

Cozy Glow groaned in disgust. “If you think I’m going down that easy, you’ve—”

Before Cozy Glow even had time to finish her taunt, the shattered remains of a cotton candy machine fell on top of her thanks to Twilight. The pegasus crawled out from the wreckage and shook her head but before she could even speak another taunt, yet another machine— a popcorn one this time— fell atop her.

“Darling, I don’t think you want to give her a concussion,” Rarity said concernedly.

“Sorry,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Yeah, okay, screw this!” Cozy Glow screamed as she bolted out from under the wrecked machines, flying off into the sky until she was a mere twinkle among the stars.

Twilight harrumphed and stamped an indignant hoof.

“You did marvelously,” Rarity said, brushing back Twilight’s bangs like a doting friend would do and making the younger mare turn her face away and reflexively bat at Rarity’s hoof.

“I guess,” she grumbled. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Thanks to you,” Rarity said charmingly, “I am perfectly well.”

“That’s good,” Twilight sighed, partly in relief and partly in frustration. Suddenly her ears perked up and she looked at Rarity in alarm, Rarity cocking her head confusedly. “We should go make sure Fluttershy’s okay!”

“Ah, of—of course!” Rarity said frantically, startled by the sudden reminder and burned by the shame of momentarily forgetting about her companion and the danger she could be in.

After all, Fluttershy was no more prepared for combat than Rarity was, and who knows what kind of danger the poor thing could be in if there were more ruffians about?

And of course, the knowledge that she was with Rainbow Dash didn’t make things any easier on Rarity’s psyche.

Oh, I just hope she’s alright…

Author's Note

i love that cozy glow exists. what a legend

Please feel free to alert me to any typos or errors.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!