A pair of soft lips brushed across a sleeping boy’s temple leaving sweet, tender kisses in their wake, awaking Julio. Part of him wanted to turn and respond, but for the most part, he wanted to remain asleep, mainly because it was a little after five in the morning.

“Julio, wake up,” Rainbow Dash’s voice said with a soft lilting.

“What the heck?” he moaned, “It’s too early to wake up… not until 6:30…”

“I want to make some of your delicious pancakes for breakfast,” Rainbow explained, somewhat amused. Julio opened his eyes reluctantly. It wasn’t even the crack of dawn, and they were usually up eating breakfast and watching television by the time the sun began peeking out. The mare leaned over his tired body, gazing at him intently.

“Come on, sleepyhead, get up…” She leaned over him and kissed him again. She set down a small glass of milk on the nightstand. “I brought you a drink. I’ll be in the kitchen, waiting for you. Don’t you go back to sleep or you’ll get in trouble,” she threatened, and her tone was mild. She kissed him again briefly before exiting, teasingly swaying her rear back and forth. She left the boy to blink and rub sleep from his eyes in the modestly-sized bedroom he and Dash shared. He felt suddenly felt refreshed after taking a swig of the milk, but suddenly feeling nervous.

“I’ve got an odd feeling that something’s going to be different today,” Julio thought to himself. He then finally decided to leave the bedroom, rolling his shoulders to get them moving, as well as wrapping a blanket around his waist to still be able to keep warm. “If I’ve any hope of keeping up with that girl…”

And that’s when he realized something. He frowns. “Why hasn’t she given me back my boxers?” He immediately scampered back to the bathroom, bewildered by his lack of underwear. But then another realization: she’d done this on purpose! She wants him to be embarrassed and ask for his boxers back, and she would most likely respond with “yes” or “no”. He grinned with a carnal delight. “Hell, two can play at that particular game…”

Resolving there and then to not ask for his boxers back and possibly deny her the cheap laugh she’ll most definitely get from the joke, he decided to go to school that day sans undies.

***

About forty-five minutes passed before hot fluffy pancakes were done and ready for the taking. Julio retrieved syrup from the refrigerator and set the bottle in the microwave to heat. Once done, Rainbow picked up the remote and flicked on the television.

Upon its full awakening, he noticed a movie channel playing on it – a playing of “The First Kiss” by the looks of it.

“Hey, I don’t remember you taking a liking for chick flicks,” Julio teased. “We watched that movie a while back, you personally said it was, and I quote, a ‘piece of garbage’,” he formed quotation marks in the air as reference, “and you were watching this girly stuff last night!”

“I can watch chick flicks if I wanna,” she retorted. ”Just because I’m a tomboy doesn’t mean I can’t be feminine once in a while!” She paused. “For me, it kinda goes in a circle. As for you, for example, you don’t care about sports and guy stuff that much, but you’ve also got a bit of a feminine side. And you like to express that, but I don’t really mind. In fact, I kind of like that part of you.”

“So what’s that supposed to mean?”

“As you know, I express myself mainly as a rough-and-tough colt even though I’m a mare, but you like that part of me; and I remember you saying that it ‘offsets your oddities’ so that people might think you’re into that kind of stuff. So therefore, with all of that said, you don’t mind it one bit.” Julio was left a mite confused. “Oh, and while we’re on the subject of being ‘different’, I want to tell you something.” She trotted up to his ear and whispered into it: “I’m bi…”

It took a few seconds for Julio to grasp what he’d just heard. She just confessed the fact that she was bisexual. “You know, I have something to say to you too.”
“Go on…”

“I can’t really set this in stone, but I might be like you… I may be bi too… rather, questioning who I really am…”

“So you understand my dilemma!” she exclaimed. “Thank you so much!” She then craned her neck, wrapping herself around him, cuddling him.

But I want you to remember: just because you differ from the norm doesn’t mean I love you any less. I will accept you just the way you are.”

“Oh, thank you, baby!”

“You come to me if anyone’s bullying you, and I’ll personally kick their asses for you. Does that sound good to you?”

“You’d beat up someone? For me?”

“For you, sweet stuff,” Julio affirmed mildly.

“Aww, that’s so nice of you! Thanks!” The mare smooched him on the lips.

He mewed for a second. “You’re most certainly welcome.” The pair broke out into a giggling fit. “Now let’s go eat some pancakes, shall we?”

“Right behind ya!” The two raced over to the plate containing said pancakes.

***

Rainbow Dash and Julio sat in front of the TV, pancakes bathed in hot syrup before them. Julio, being the piggy that he was, was taking five or more pieces at a time into his mouth while Rainbow Dash simply poked at them, eating maybe one piece every minute or so. She probably wasn’t too hungry.

After they’d eaten, they brushed their teeth, Julio changed into his day clothes, combed their hair, and rubbed each other a few times before he hopped onto the mare’s back to depart for the school.

They left the apartment, ensuring everything was turned off and the doors locked beforehand, flew over a couple of mountains and passed through a rougher part of town before ending up at the front doors to Central Consolidated High School. The two walked through the front hallway together, but it was when they reached the courtyard that they began hearing the school bullies, nutcases, and the jealous folk verbally berating them.

“Hey, lovebirds!” One such boy could be heard shouting at them mockingly. He then proceeded to make lewd noises to deliberately offend them. “Ohh baby! I wanna be pregnant! I wanna have your pony babies!” He continued to insult them, resulting in a laugh from his entourage.

They walked on by, totally ignoring them. That boy began to closely follow the two stalking them. “Babymakers… babymakers! Oooh!” he shouted out. Julio did an about-face, where he could take one good look at him and determine that the one dishing out the inappropriate jokes was none other than Dirty Dan, one of the toughest S.O.B.s this side of the railroad tracks. He’d heard numerous stories about him, from petty crimes like stealing lunch money and book-shanking to the more perverted kinds of bullying.

“What you gonna do now, ya big hunka kaboom? Bend me over and screw my brains out, faggot?” the bully started with his little gang behind him giggling under their breaths.

“Shut up and leave me alone!” Julio began to shuffle off, only for Dirty Dan to shout again.

“Hey horsefucker – “

“Now what’d ya just call me, sonny?” the drummer boy retorted.

“I didn’t call you nothin’!”

“I definitely heard something come out of your mouth,” he said.

“Whoa… slow your roll there, chubby – “

“Ooh, did you lot just call me ‘chubby’?”

One of his henchmen joined in on the fun. “I think I can work the chubby outta ya – here…” He began jerking his hips back and forth, making Julio uncomfortable. “Fatty!” Dirty Dan called out again.

“Hold on just a sec – I’m probably five, ten percent body fat at best and I look like I belong in GQ magazine, and you’re thirty, forty pounds overweight…” He pulled on a lock of the bully’s greasy hair, which came easily out of the follicles. “…prematurely balding, and yelling ‘fag’. I’m not your type, not by a long shot.”

A small crowd had gathered around Julio, Rainbow Dash, and Dirty Dan and Co by that time. “Whoo! Get him, tiger!” Julio heard another Equestrian exchange cheer in support. Others were yelling things like “fight fire with fire”, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, and “grease the pig” to up the ante.

“I know where my momma is. Do you?” Julio asked the group of hooligans. He personally knew that his leather-bedecked opponent’s mother ran off to be with a vacuum cleaner salesman when he was just a boy, leaving him to live with his dad, the stem of all the insecurities and preoccupations.

“Ya know I just did yours last night? Took her out to the motel and – “

“Oh, whoa whoa whoa… let me get one thing straight…” Julio resolved.

“Wait, what?”

Julio simply stared at his opponent with an ‘oh, really?’ look on his face.

“Aw crud. I’m all out of ideas,” Dirty Dan “admitted defeat”. However, as soon as he reclaimed his seat, another bully, a friend of Dan’s, “Big Brad”, stepped up to the plate.

“Ey, butterball!” Brad jeered, a slight reaction rousing the crowd for what was to come.

“Ey, butterball, what’s in your lunch bucket?”

Julio answered honestly. “Some leftovers from last night and a couple other odds and ends.”

“Leftovers? Come on, you gotta be more specific here.”

“Pizza…”

“Pizza! …the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast… in a butterball’s terms,” the bully stated, eliciting a slight laugh.
“What kind of pizza?”

“Cheese pizza…”

“No no no… I’m saying where did you get it? Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s – where?”

“Tony’s.”

“Tony’s… that’s the joint downtown. Now I hear they’ve got some tasty pizza – I’ve personally never had some myself, mind you,” he rambled a bit, “how is it?”

“It’s pretty good. I remember eating there when I was just a boy,” Julio reminisced.

“May I have a bite of that pizza?” Brad asked.

He then proceeded to fumble around the bucket until he found a baggie with several refrigerated cheesesticks enclosed. “These are yours, right?”

Julio said nothing, but he was determined to put the bullies in their place on the courtyard, and he was mentally concocting a big payback.

Brad reached inside the baggie and pulled out an end piece before eating it. He chewed it for a second. “Mmmmm! This is some tasty pizza…”

Turning his head toward another fellow bully, he called out. “Jeb Daddy!”

“Yo!”

“You ever had Tony’s pizza before?”

“I’ve heard of the place before…”

“Want a bite? It’s pretty tasty,” he professed.

“Naw, I ain’t hungry,” Jebediah drawled.

“If you like pizza, man, you’ve gotta eat Tony’s sometime,” Brad continued.

“Oh, just for your information, we usually don’t eat a lot of meat – my girlfriend’s a vegetarian, which, technically, makes me a vegetarian…” Julio mused.

“’Cuz your girlfriend’s a pretty pony,” Dirty Dan shouted out, making neighing noises to taunt him. Some spectators chuckled under their breaths; Julio calmed them down.

“But I still love me the taste of a good piece of meat,” Brad added.

“Agreed.” Julio tried to change the subject. “Hey, since you lot claim to be so smart and all, do you know what a quarter-pounder is called in the European part of Cacciatora?” he asked, referring to his hometown.

Brad replied. “A Royale with Cheese…”

“A Royale with Cheese…” Julio mused. “Do you know why they call it that?”

Brad put on his ‘thinking cap’. “Because of the metric system…?” he took a wild guess.

Julio was “taken aback”. “Shee-it! Check out the big brain on Braaaad… you’a smart motherfucker, that’s right… the metric system,” he rambled, with several giggles going off in the crowd. He then set his sights on the big jug full of stuff in Jeb’s bag.
“What’s in that jug right there?” Julio asked.

“Right there’s my papa’ jar,” Jeb boasted proudly.

“Papa’s jar, eh? Julio came up with a new plan. “Well, do you mind if I have some of this fine beverage… your friend here ate one of my cheesesticks earlier, I just thought I’d recoup that loss,” he explained.

“Go right ahead,” Jeb drawled. Dirty Dan pulled out a little paper cup and poured some of the liquid into it before handing it off. “It’s reeeeal tasty,” Dan intoned amusingly.

Julio raised the cup to his lips and opened them just a tad. The “papa’s jar” stuff had a smooth, bold taste to it, but it came with a slight burning aftertaste. Once the liquid had been completed, he smashed the cup and sent it flying towards the trashcan.

“Damn,” Julio said, trying to abate the burning sensation in his mouth. “That hit the spot. Tasted like peach tea,” he added. He blew out hard a few times to try and cool his tongue.

“Sure does!”

Julio got up and walked over to a lanky bully. “Yo, flock o’ seagulls, know why I’m here?”

Dirty Dan interrupted, presumably to say something.

“Hey, I don’t remember asking you a goddamn thing!” Julio shut the boy’s trap.

“Now where was I?” he tried to get his thoughts back together.

“Yer daddy’s a deadbeat, yer momma’s a whore, and this wouldn’t’ve happened if the condom hadn’t tore!” Dan cajoled in a loud voice, adding to the entertainment of the nearby crowd.

“WHAT’D YOU JUST SAY?” Julio shouted, startling him, just enough to get his attention.

“Nothin’, I swear - “

“Your ass ain’t talkin’ your way outta this shit, buddy boy,” Julio shot back. The crowd was roused.

“Wait wait wait I can explain!...” Dan rambled a bit before Julio picked up the “papa’s jar” and dumped it on him, soaking him thoroughly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I break your concentration?” he said. “I sincerely apologize for that, but please, continue…”

Dirty Dan opened his mouth to speak. “Uhh…”

“Oh, you were finished? Well, allow me to retort,” Julio said. He leaned in so that the two were face to face. “What does my girlfriend look like?”

“What?”

Julio kicked over the trash can in response. “What country are you from?”

“Wh…what…?”

“’What’ ain’t no country I ever heard of,” he blasted. “Do they speak English in ‘What?’”

“What?”

“ENGLISH, MOTHAFUCKA! Do you SPEAK it?!”

“Y… Yes…”

“So you know what I’m saying?”

“Well, yes…”

“Then describe what my girlfriend LOOKS like!” Julio roared.

“What?”

Julio curled his right hand into a fist. “Say ‘what’ again! Say ‘what’ again! I dare you – no, I DOUBLE dare you, mothafucka – say ‘what’ one mo’ goddamn time!”

Dirty Dan was trembling. “She’s a pony – “

“Go on!”

“She has wings – “

“Does she look like a bitch?”

“Wh…what?”

That proved to be a big mistake, as Julio delivered a powerful uppercut to Dirty Dan’s face, causing him to scream in pain.

“Does… she… LOOK… like… a bitch?!” Julio roared again.

“No!” Dan whimpered.

“Then why do you want to fuck her like a bitch, Brad?” Julio turned and looked back at Brad, who was fearing for his life as well.

“I didn’t wanna – “

“Yes, you did! YES, YOU DID, Brad!” Julio roared again. “You tried to feel up on her…”

“Aww – “

“Well, my girl Rainbow Dash doesn’t like to be felt up on by anybody except yours truly… Julio Estevez,” he made it clear that he wanted no part of him. Brad went off for behind the table.

“Because I know how you niggas act… and just so we’re clear on this whole situation, if I see even ONE of you morons trying to stick your dick under her tail, I’m gonna personally chop the son of a bitch off,” Julio forewarned. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” the bullies affirmed. Julio then refocused his effort on Dirty Dan, the ringleader. “And as for you…”

“Yeah?”

“I have some Christian friends, and they mentioned something yesterday that sort of fits this occasion… Ezekiel 25:17 if I’m not mistaken…”

Dirty Dan continued to stare into space in an attempt to ignore the “good guy”.

After clearing his throat, Julio began, as if by rote: “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.

“Blessed is he who in the mane of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.”

Julio stepped back a bit, his gaze unbroken. “And I will strike down upon with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers!”

He then picked up the garbage bin he kicked over earlier, fully intent on catapulting it as far as he was able. “And you will KNOW my name is the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon thee!”

“No! Wait!” Dirty Dan managed to utter before Julio hurled the bin in the bullies’ direction, the trash erupting everywhere. And now… all the half-eaten snack cakes, pop bottles, and other things were scattered about where the bullies stood, while the ecstatic crowd was cheering and hollering behind him. Wonderful.

Julio turned to tell her about his victory. “Rainbow Dash – huh?” She wasn’t there! With that, he automatically went on a frantic search for his bargain belle. “Rainbow Dash! Where in the hell are you!?” he shouted.

He went back inside, only for the P.A. system to crackle to life. An older lady’s voice could be heard, saying: “Julio Estevez, would you please mosey on down to the counselor’s office? That’s Julio Estevez, please report to the counselor’s office… thank you.” The system cut off.

“I better go see what they want,” Julio thought. That in mind, he immediately hauled ass to the counselor’s office. I’m gonna pop some tags, I’ve only got twenty dollars in my pocket… he tried to distract himself. “I hope it’s not too serious…”

Once he entered, however, they seemed to be in quite a crabby mood, and with Rainbow Dash and three other students from the school being among them, they meant business.

The first counselor out of the three, Mrs. Nyman, a middle-aged woman with graying hair, blue eyes, and wrinkles, shot Julio a dirty look. “SIT DOWN!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Julio complied in a frenzy, shaken by the outburst.

“You know why you’re here, right?”

“Not exactly, ma’am – “

“You’ve GOT to be kidding me – you broke your little agreement you negotiated with us.”

“Shit.”

Author's Note

And so I decided to split this chapter into parts...

Even though I had FOUR snow days this weekend, I still had to do stuff, so I didn't have time to progress this much further. But, never fear, I am getting ideas! Of course, I'll have to work most of Saturday, so it'll be a matter of slow and steady for the time being. Enjoy reading what is here, and PLEASE be patient; this project isn't gonna die on my watch. *cough*it'sanaughtyone*cough*...

P.S. I'm still amazed at how a human/pony love story has a dislike/like ratio higher than Xenophilia, even though it's of the same genre... damned conservative bronies...