Time seemed to move in slow motion as Dash walked quietly through the garage, each tiny footstep a bomb exploding in the silence. Dash clutched the welding rod tightly, her knuckles burning white.

Carefully, she stepped over the clutter on the ground, avoiding it as if they were landmines. Another sound, this one closer. A wrench dropped off the rack, a shadow jumped out of sight, a mirage across the corner of her eye. Every muscle in Dash's body was tensed for a fight.

Didn't Twilight say there was a Beast or something on the loose? Dash thought as her mind and eyes raced around the room.

Another noise rang through the garage, almost right on top of her.

Quickly, she spotted Rainbolt resting atop the workbench, only ten feet away. She quelled any ideas of being able to reach it in time. It might as well have been a mile away for all the good it was going to do.

Something moved on the other side of Dash's project, its tarp rustling faintly. Slowly she edged around the side, ready to pounce.

Then she felt a disturbance as a tuft of air moved against the back of her neck. Something was behind her. She swung blindly, aiming in the general direction of the thing's head. However, as Dash's welding rod arced through the air, its target moved with a supernatural speed, as if it already knew where the strike was going to land. By the time Dash returned the rod to her side, it had only managed to slice a few pink strands of hair.

It was a good thing, too. Dash would hate to have to explain to the others how she almost killed Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie! What the hell do you think you're doing here?!"

"My toes were wiggly!" Pinkie was bright and bubbly as usual, making no indication of knowing how close she was to being knocked unconscious.

Dash was at a loss. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, the last time my toes were wiggly was when my sisters had a really huge fight because Inkie said Blinkie took her doll-"

"Pinkie-"

"- which I thought was weird because we all shared the same room, so I thought 'Where would she hide it anyway?' and I was 95.6% sure that I saw Inkie leave it on a rock-"

"Pinkie-"

"-but when I said something to her she didn't listen and then they didn't talk for a whole month and I had to talk to a bucket of turnips and it was really boring and sad because turnips don't always talk back."

“Pinkie!" shouted Dash.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash?"

"Why are you here, right now, bothering me?"

"You and Twilight had a big fight, and I didn't want you two to not talk to each other for a month like my sisters did. It would be so sad and boring – wait, that's not true, Lyra is coming back from college this Wednesday, and the Cakes are testing a new razzmatazz berry icing for their cupcakes, and Rumble has his Bar Mitzvah next week-"

Dash was surprised. "How did you know about that?"

"Rumble's Bar Mitzvah? I got an invitation in the mail, there was a cute little puppy wearing a yamaka and everything. Well, that and it's being held in Sugarcube Corner and I kinda live there..."

Dash pressed her fingers against her temples, desperately trying to hold her growing migraine at bay. “No, that Twilight was pissed.”

Pinkie lifted up her leg and pulled her shoe and foot off, wiggling her toes in the air. “See, I figured it out! Each of my five toes corresponds to a different friend; Twilight is the big toe, you're the one after that, Applejack is the one after that-”

“Let me guess, you're the pinkie toe?” Dash asked.

“No, Fluttershy’s the pinkie, I’m the ankle. So anyway, one foot corresponds with one friend that’s in the fight, the other one goes to the other friend. My left big toe and my right index toe were wiggly so I knew that meant that you and Twilight had a fight.”

“Ugh, forget it.” Dash let out a tired sigh.

“Oooh! Whatcha doin’?” Pinkie asked as she began circling the large, mysterious object in the center of the garage, concealed under its tarp.

“I’m building something,” Dash answered curtly.

Pinkie's interest was piqued. "What is it? What is it?" She stopped and turned back to face Dash. "Wait don't tell me! Is it a smoothie maker? A duplicator? A time machine? A transmogrifier?"

"No," Dash said, thinking more of how she could get Pinkie to leave.

"Well, what is it?" Pinkie asked as she started to lift the tarp up.

Dash jumped atop the tarp to cover it from Pinkie. "It's not done!" she balked.

Without skipping a beat, Pinkie jumped to the workbench. "Ooooooh, is this your sword?" she asked, picking up Rainbolt.

"Yes, put that down!" Dash shouted, grabbing Rainbolt as Pinkie moved onto something else.

"I wonder how many cupcakes you can cook with this?" Pinkie wondered as she grabbed a nearby blowtorch and started to prime it.

"That isn't a toy!" Dash cried out, struggling to keep up with Pinkie as she ran rampant through the garage like a pink tornado

"You know I don't think I've ever been here before. How come we never hang out or anything? I know almost everyone in town, even crazy old man MaGoot. But you? You always seem to be gone when I'm around. Why is that?" Pinkie looked up at the Wonderbolts poster on the wall.

"Because I wasn't sure if you were a crack addict or not..." Dash muttered to herself, and she watched Pinkie pull a pixie stick out of her hair, cock her head back, eat the whole thing in two seconds and give a little shudder as the sugar passed down her throat... She still wasn't sure.

"What was that?" Pinkie asked, unaware.

"Nothing."

Pinkie pulled something else out from her frizzy pink hair. "Gum?" she offered.

"No," Dash said as she pulled her motorcycle off it's resting spot against the wall, walking it over to the entrance of the garage.

"Wait, where are you going?" Pinkie asked, shufflingly ever so closely to Dash as she began revving the bike.

"To get some air. Some nice, clean, non-Pinkie occupied air," Dash said.

Before Pinkie could say anything, Dash put on her helmet and pulled the throttle, rocketing out of the garage as the tires screamed against the pavement. Speeding through the dense morning traffic, Dash darted in and out of lanes.

Any other person would never have tried something so recklessly stupid, but it was at those high speeds, when the rest of the world was reduced to a blur, that Rainbow Dash could truly be at peace. Leaving behind all the worries, all the troubles, all the fears, Dash was one with the machine and the road underneath it.

A red light rapidly approached and Dash halted, frantically tapping her legs and bobbing her head, waiting for it to change.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" cried a voice that shouldn't even be there.

Oh no, Dash's eyes grew wide, don't look don't look don't look, if you don't look then it's not real, there is no way she could be here, it's not possible, it can't be-

"Dash! Hey Dash! Over Here! I have to-"

Before the person Dash wasn't looking at could finish speaking, the light turned green and she wasted no time in taking off full speed, putting as much distance as possible between herself and her would-be stalker.

The next light turned red. The distance was rapidly closing. Only a second to decide if she was gonna run this or not. Closer, run the light or not? Almost there, what to do?

It wasn't worth it, there was no way that she could have caught up. Dash let off the throttle and slowed up. Then something caught Dash's attention, something pink. Dash heard a chiming noise and looked to the road on the right to see Pinkie on a bicycle, joyfully ringing the bell on the handlebars.

Pinkie waved at Dash, "Hi Dashie! Check out this neat bike, it even has a little bell! And look, pink!"

Okay, that's it, no more messing around.

Dash let the motorcycle go full throttle and sped away, leaving a psychotically persistent Pinkie in her wake. Looking behind her, Dash couldn't see anything besides burnt rubber and other, less awesome people being left in her dust.

"So where are we going anyway?"

...Wha?

Dash slowly turned her head to see Pinkie Pie sitting in a sidecar attached to her motorcycle, wearing goggles and a helmet. She squeezed the brake and the bike screeched to a halt.

"That's not possible, I don't even have a sidecar!" Dash shouted. "How are you doing this?"

"Doing what, silly billy?"

"Never mind, I guess you're coming with me then, whether I want you to or not," Dash replied. "Just try not to talk to anyone… or do anything weird."

Pinkie looked hurt. "Whaaa? Me, weird? I'm not weird!"

"There's a Twinkie in your hair."

"Ooh! Thanks for reminding me, I was saving that for later!" Pinkie plunked the Twinkie out of her tangled pink lochs and gleefully ate it, much to Dash's chagrin.

A turn into a darkened street led Dash and Pinkie into the dingiest, dirtiest, hole-in-the-wall to barely pass for a bar. The one or two patrons loitering outside gave nothing but a passing glance as Dash parked her motorcycle and newly-attained sidecar. They did, however, watch her companion, someone who definitely did not fit into a place like this.

Dash creaked the wooden door open, revealing an inside that looked just as dejected and downtrodden as the outside. As they passed the darkly lit tables and made their way to the bar it almost seemed like the "dive" look was on purpose, but it wasn't forced or artificial at all, the place was just naturally crappy. All Pinkie could think about was that Rarity would probably have a brain aneurysm if she even set foot in the place, and how clouds look like cotton candy, and if Fluttershy said that was okay to go in her shed or not...

Taking a seat on one of the bar stools Dash took a look around the bar. All the usual patrons were there and there were a couple of shadowy figures that remained hidden in the corners of the room. Dash leaned forward and unwound, relaxing as she breathed in the air laced with the pungent smell of tobacco and alcohol, and listened to the murmur of conversations both loud and quiet. This was her kind of peaceful, like the calm before the storm, a lit powder keg ready to blow at a moments notice. If she wanted to fight, there were many patrons who would oblige - if she wanted a quick fuck, even more so - and there was no better place for a stiff drink, something she needed now more than anything.

Luckily, the bartender brought Dash her usual drink as she sat down. She gripped the drink in her hand, taking a swig.

Pinkie suddenly began desperately bouncing in place while crossing her legs. "Where is the little ladies room?" she asked the bartender.

He pointed to a hallway on the left and with a pink blur she darted down it. After she was gone, the bartender Rainbow Dash gave an inquisitive look.

Dash gave out an exasperated sigh. "Don't ask."

The bartender shrugged his shoulders and turned to some of his other patrons, leaving Dash alone with her drink at last.

She absentmindedly sipped it for awhile, letting herself enjoy every second of Pinkie not talking her into a coma. At that thought, Dash shifted uneasily in her chair.

It's not that I don't like Pinkie, Dash thought to herself, she was actually pretty badass when we were fighting that Nightmare bitch. Its just, she is so… weird…

"Hey you! The cunt with fucking fag hair."

Dash paused for a moment, taking the time to have one last swig from her drink.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Slowly Dash turned around and looked over the person standing before her. It was some biker nobody with enough leather to make a gimp suit and a half. He was big; more flab than muscle, but he definitely had the weight and height advantage. He didn't really look that intimidating, but he sure looked pissed. Even though he was twelve feet away, Dash could smell the alcohol on his breath, could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. This would not be simple.

She cursed herself for not being smart enough to take Rainbolt with her. Had she brought it, this little shitstain probably wouldn't have been brave enough to try something. She was just going to have to fight hand-to-hand; luckily, Jack was the only person that had ever been able to take her in a fist fight… bitch.

“Yeah, I heard the first time, shit pickle," Dash muttered.

"You’re that hero wannabe that kicked the shit out of my brother and got him arrested!"

took a harder look at his face and saw the resemblance. "I take it your brother was that shitstain who kept breaking into homes and stealing panties? Good, creepy fucker deserves to get shawshanked."

The biker's face turned beet-red. "Fuck you!"

Reaching into his jacket, the biker pulled out the handle of a switchblade, and with a click the blade sprung out from the hilt.

Dash smiled. "Now you're making it interesting."

As soon as the biker pulled his knife, a few of his companions rose from their seats to join him, a thug flanking him on each side.

Dash rose slowly to her feet, assuming a battle stance. "Now you're making it fun."

"Hey, you numbskulls better take this outside," the bartender interrupted. "If you break anything, it's coming out of your asses."

"Relax," Dash said, turning to the man behind the bar, "I've got it under control."

While Dash was talking to the bartender, the biker rushed her. Attempting to stab her in the back of the neck, the biker brought down the blade down hard. Too hard to stop. With a quick turn, Dash moved away from the path of the blade causing it to drive into the bar, embedding itself deep.

As the biker struggled to pull the knife out of the bar, Dash brought the heel of her boot down hard on his foot. He threw his head back, bellowing in a pain driven fury. Grabbing the back of his head, Dash slammed it into the bar.

As he stumbled backward, dazed, blood trickled down his misshapen nose.

“You fugging bitch!” roared the biker, clutching his nose. “You broge my fugging nose!”

“Way to point out the obvious,” Dash replied. “You try to stab me and I’m the bad guy?”

Dash turned toward the biker’s compatriots. “You shitheads just gonna stand there with your thumbs up your asses?”

“What are you doing? GET HER!” ordered the biker.

The two men spurned into action. The one on the left used his lumbering size to lunge after Rainbow Dash. He was massive, but slow, making it easy for Dash to move out of the way. The man-ape crashed into the bar, falling head first.

Before he had a chance to get back up, his partner grabbed a bottle from a nearby table and shattered it, turning it into a makeshift shiv. He rushed her, extending his arm out at her. Dash ducked down and pushed his arm up, causing his attack to miss overhead. She then grabbed his wrist and used her other hand to clamp down hard on his crotch. Dash planted her feet hard and performed a throwing move, launching him through the air. He crashed on the other side of the bar, glass flying everywhere.

As the first guy tried to regain his senses Dash stepped on his back, holding him on the ground. She grabbed his left arm and bent it behind his back. With a sudden twist and a grim sounding pop, he cried out in agony as his shoulder was dislocated. She dropped his useless arm so that it flopped limply on the ground and let him desperately crawl away to lick his wounds.

The biker now stood terrified as Dash turned back to him. He tried backing up, but Dash began slowly approaching him, cracking her knuckles as she walked.

“Y-you stay the fug away from me!” he stammered.

Dash continued approaching until she was only a foot away from his face. He was paralyzed with fear to the point that he nearly shit his pants right there and then. She glared intensely into his eyes, not blinking for a moment. She glared so hard at him that it left a permanent image burned on his retina. From now until the end of time whenever he closed his eyes, he would see Rainbow Dash moments before she kicked his ass.

“Then you and your dicknob friends better be gone ten seconds ago,” Dash growled.

The three men scrambled out of the building as fast as they could, leaning on each other for support as they hobbled away. Dash turned back to the bar, littered with fragments of glass and the embedded knife still in the wood.

She was just about to order a drink when a sudden chill descended upon the back of her neck, causing her gut to turn itself on end. There was a presence behind her and it felt very… wrong. Every single muscle in Dash's body froze, for a few seconds she was completely motionless.

Then she felt the tip of a knife being held at her back.

A female voice hissed behind her, "You've gotten sloppy, you forgot to check the corners for hidden targets… Dweeb."

Dash's eyes grew wide. She knew only one person in the world who would insult her like that.

A smile grew on Dash's lips. "And you forgot that I wasn't alone."

And with the fury and grace of a chimpanzee spaced out on meth, Pinkie burst behind her friend's attacker wielding a bar stool, swinging it against the attacker's back. It shattered into an explosion of wooden fragments that looked like it could give you splinters just from looking at it. To her opponent's credit, she staggered, but withstood the blow without collapsing. Before the unknown assailant could react, Pinkie was ready and armed with another chair. Just as she was about to start round two, Dash stopped her.

"Wait!" Dash said, grabbing Pinkie’s arm. "Pinkie, it's alright, this is Gilda. She's a friend from back when I… from back when."

Pinkie examined ‘Gilda’ with a cautious eye as she tried to compose herself after being assaulted with upholstery. She dressed similar to Dash: torn up jeans, leather jacket and combat boots. She had snow white hair tipped with violet ends that covered half of her face. The one visible eye had a tattoo crested around it, giving her a fearsome visage.

"Oh! Okie dokie lokie," said Pinkie, making an immediate face turn. "Hi Gilda, I'm Pinkie Pie! It's super duper awesome to meet you! Sorry I tried to jack you up with a chair."

"Yeah, sure," Gilda responded in a lackluster tone as she turned away from Pinkie.

"So G, what you been up to?" Dash asked.

"I've been traveling around, doing some bounty hunting for awhile. I just finished chasing down some jackhole after he led me through the desert thinking he could outrun me," Gilda smirked. "Picked this sweet knife off his corpse."

She held out the knife for Dash to look over. It dwarfed the knife currently embedded in the bar in size; to call it a knife would be a disservice, it was more like a small machete.

Dash watched Pinkie get distracted by something and wander off. Dash wasn't really paying attention to that girl, she wasn't her babysitter.

"That's my Gilda, always kicking ass," Dash said as she began to walk out of the bar. "Do you wanna get out of here? Maybe catch up on some sparring?"

"Sure," Gilda replied, following behind, but then she said in a low voice so that Pinkie couldn't hear, "but do you wanna ditch this loser? She's crampin’ our style."

"That's not such a good idea-" Dash tried to tell Gilda.

"Come on, just follow me," Gilda said, hopping on her own motorcycle, a big burly powerhouse of steel and pipes.

"Wait!" Dash warned, but it was too late. Gilda was already driving off.

Rainbow Dash followed after her, leaving Pinkie behind. She kept up with Gilda as she drove through the city, but Dash knew what was coming, and she kept her eyes peeled.

Amazingly, not a single bit of pink was to be found as the two sped through the city, but that didn't put Dash at ease. She kept her eyes peeled; it was only a matter of time.

"Come on, lighten up!" Gilda shouted, "I'll race ya to our old sparring place!"

"Dream on!" Dash returned, gunning the throttle and screaming past Gilda.

Gilda kept the pace, staying right on Dash's rear tire. They jet through the town, buildings and cars a blur. As they approached their hangout - an old busted warehouse- they became neck and neck. Just as they were about to make it, they both pulled the brakes and drifted past the finish line.

"Ha! I knew you couldn't beat me!" Gilda boasted.

"Dream on, there was no way you beat me, not now, not ever," said Dash.

"Pshhh, whatever," Gilda said.

Then a third voice joined in.

'Actually..."

Both Gilda and Dash turned to see Pinkie Pie, hunched over, gasping for air. "Dash...won by just a… teeny tiny sixteenth of an inch."

"Ha! See? I knew you didn't win, good thing Pinkie was here to keep you honest," Dash said triumphantly. "I'll meet you inside, join me when you're ready to get whooped again."

"Yeah, sure..." Gilda said, watching Dash until she was outta sight.

Pinkie started to follow Dash into the warehouse, but suddenly lost her footing as it caught on something. Pinkie fell on her face and a cloud of glitter dust puffed out of her hair.

"Woooooow," Gilda said sarcastically as she walked by her, "walk much?"

The abandoned warehouse almost completely barren, save for the occasional empty crate lying on the ground. It was on one of these crates that Pinkie was perched upon as she watched Gilda and Rainbow Dash spar.

They took turns trading blows, nothing too hardcore, just a friendly game between two longtime friends. Each move they made was slow and deliberate, time was taken to make sure every muscle was in unison.

"Your fighting style has changed," Dash commented. "It's more...primal. More core movements and lightness on your feet, you keep your center moving in a circle around your opponent, like a vulture...or an eagle."

"It's just something I picked up," Gilda replied.

They slowly stepped around each other, Dash threw a light punch testing Gilda.

“So what have you been up to, Dash?” Gilda asked, easily hopping back and smacking Dash’s hand aside.

“Get this, some evil bitch calling herself Lady Nightmare was doin’ some shit or whatever-” Dash began, blocking a simple hook from Gilda.

“-and I helped out some chicks, like Pinkie over there, and we beat the ever loving shit out of her-” Dash threw a couple of elbow swings.

“-anyways she’s still somehow not dead, but she’s using these weird creatures called Beasts to ‘destroy the world’ or some shit, I don't really know what she wants-” Gilda swung a wide haymaker.

“-so now we've got these sweet weapons that are the only thing that'll kill ‘em, how badass is that?” Dash said.

“Wow, that’s pretty...cool, or whatever,” Gilda replied, "enough practicing, are you ready for a real fight?"

Dash took a couple steps back and assumed a fighting stance. "Thought you'd never ask."

Dash was the first one to rush. She threw a couple of jabs at Gilda, followed by a swinging backhanded blow. Gilda dodged or countered each blow. This went on for five continuous minutes as they took turns trading blows with each other. It was an improvised concert, blow for blow, countering each move. Perfection, all in the moment.

Then Dash messed up, maybe too much force into the swing left her open to the side, maybe the her footing was off by just a little, or the her clothing dragged just a little too much, it didn't matter. It was a tiny mistake, but enough for Gilda to gain the upper hand.

Gilda wasted no time seizing the opportunity, rushing Dash and leaping into the air, performing a spinning kick. Dash tried bracing herself, but it still struck hard, knocking her down. With Dash on the ground, Gilda jumped on top of her attempting a pin. Before Gilda could get overtop, Dash put her feet out and launched Gilda overhead with a vault. She landed a couple feet away.

They both stood back up and resumed their stances, ready for the next exchange. It was Gilda's turn to lead. She led off with a flurry of quick blows. Dash was having trouble, just barely able to block the lightning quick blows, then Gilda stunned her with a headbutt. Staggering back, Dash was disoriented. Gilda brought her foot up and was about to drop kick her, and Dash only had moments to react. She brought her arms together in an X to hold Gilda's foot as she brought it down. Dash cradled Gilda's foot and launched it back, throwing Gilda off balance and finally giving Dash a chance to finish the match. Gilda's arms were unguarded, Dash seized them and flipped over Gilda, holding her arms so they came behind her head. Once Dash landed behind Gilda, she shoved her knee in Gilda's back, sending her falling to the ground hard with nothing to brace herself with. Dash was on top of her to press her down, effectively pinning Gilda down.

"Oh, fuck! No fair, what kinda move was that?" Gilda said with Dash's knee pressed into her face.

Rainbow Dash grinned, letting go of Gilda. "You're not the only one who's learned some new moves."

Gilda stood up off the ground, dusting herself off. "Well, that was a cheap ass move. Too scared you couldn't take me?"

"Grapple moves like that have been effectively used in combat tournaments for a couple years now," Pinkie chimed in as she pulled a tootsie roll out of her hair, throwing it up into the air for it to land in her mouth.

Dash was visibly shocked. "How do you even know that? Pinkie Pie you are so random."

"Ha, very funny," Gilda said in a forced calmness.

"Alright, it's been fun but I think we're done sparring for now, lets get going," Rainbow Dash said, making her way for the door.

As soon as Dash was gone, Gilda's face turned from placid facade to visible scowl. She walked right up to Pinkie Pie and hoisted her right up by her suspenders.

"Listen here bitch," Gilda hissed, "you stay the fuck away from Dash, she's too badass for a dweeb like you. Otherwise the only thing that'll be left of you will be a smudge of glitter."

Gilda dropped Pinkie on her ass and started to walk away, leaving Pinkie on the concrete floor.

"But-" Pinkie started.

Gilda turned around and what Pinkie saw was not the face she had seen moments before. Her eyes were a deep glowing yellow and her mouth had contorted into a two rows of jagged, pointy teeth and her nose became elongated and curved. She let loose a deep roar, that silenced any protest.

There was a moment of silence. Pinkie stared at Gilda for the longest time. A look of panic creeped across Gilda's face when she realized what she had done. Before either person could recover their senses, Gilda rushed away.

As Gilda walked out the door, Pinkie got up to try and chase after her, but as soon as she got outside, Gilda was gone, and the only thing left was a big brown feather in the ground. Pinkie picked it up, and packed it into her poofy hair for later.

"I have to warn the others," she said, running off.

Author's Note

So I finally got this all done, and I'm glad, because now I've got that monkey off my back. I had hoped I got this done before the end of the year but the finishing process took longer than expected, whatya gonna do?
Unfortunately, I don't expect to be putting a lot of time into this story anytime soon, between classes and work I am way too busy. I always put school school first.

I intend to wrap this story arc up in the next chapter, I'm still not sure how to format the story arcs, whether or not to put them in one chapter or two chapters or three or short little one-thousand snippets. Let me know what you think.

I also adding a bit more language and vulgarity to make it sync up with that PSG-feel.

I plan to do a couple of retcons to the previous chapters, I'll let you know in a blog post when and what they are, some of them are continuity things or for effect (for example, I'm not sure if I already changed it, but I decided to make Rarity to hold her shield, that way she's getting a little more dynamic and 'into' the fights so to speak, it means a bit more when you jump in front of a laser beam over just sending a force field over there, and that's why Chris Evans plays Captain America and not the Invisible Woman...probably)