MLP: Friendship is Tragic - FiMFetch.net (2024)

Rainbow Dash was laying on a small patch of clouds in the middle of seemingly nowhere as she drifted off to sleep. Soon after, a prevalent growl of her empty stomach woke her. It was late fall once again, and there were no more apples to be had. Rainbow was getting used to surviving on her own, but hated the thought of enduring another harsh winter alone. She peeked over her cloud hoping to see something to inspire a warm fantasy, maybe a family clearing leaves off their lawn, or a happy couple walking close keeping each other warm. To her disappointment, she was drifting around just above The Flats, the complete opposite of inspiration. That's where the scum of Equestria collect, ponies cast out of normal society due to their affinity for crime and violence find a home there. Ponies that aren't welcome in the lives of others are the only residents.

Rainbow Dash continued thinking about it, and soon decided that maybe it's not such a bad place after all, she may find herself a place to stay throughout the winter. The sun was setting and the temperature was rapidly dropping. Deciding it's worth a look into, she flies down toward the jumbled mess of lights. Upon reaching the city, she surveys her surroundings from the air. Some shoddy apartments, a couple liquor stores. Suddenly a few ponies zip past underneath her, they're flying lightning fast, creating a draft. This instinctively exhilarates Rainbow, prompting her to join the group. She spirals down, speeding to the front of the line.

"You guys having a race?" Rainbow's dry voice is hardly audible.

"Who the hay are you?!" The dark blue stallion was amazed that this mare came out of nowhere and so easily got in front of him.

Rainbow Dash spotted an obvious check point ahead, it indicated a left turn. Rainbow took the turn like a pro, flattening her wings out and turning on her side. This only slowed her down long enough to clear the building on the corner safely, missing it by a few feet. She then leveled herself out with a smooth spiraling motion, pulling dead leaves off the street into her wake, all blending together in a magnificent spiraled rainbow. She soon spotted the finishing line ahead. A familiar sensation washed over her, she closed her eyes for a moment and felt all her troubles disappear as she approached the finish line knowing she had won. When she crossed it, she did a quick celebratory spin in the air followed by a hoof pump. She landed in the crowd, awaiting her congratulations. Instead she was greeted by wave of harsh questions.

"What the hay is this crap Smokey?!" A small stallion questioned Rainbow's sudden appearance, gesturing in her direction.

"How the hay should I know, you dirt buckin sack o' seeds." Smokey replied, he was a huge unicorn, the largest Rainbow had ever seen, even compared to Big Mac. He had a short grey mane that was neatly combed to one side, his coat was flat black, his cutie mark was a lit cigar.

"Well kid, you'd best buck the hay out of here before you get hurt." The huge black stallion stared her down. He spoke with a heavy Manehatten accent.

"But I won..." replied Rainbow, confused by their anger.

"You fly in here, put my best flier to shame, then trot around like you own the place?!" His horn began to glow as he walked towards her. Just then the small stallion thought he saw an opportunity he'd been waiting for, he pulled a knife out from under his leather coat and quickly trotted up behind the huge black stallion. The shiny steel blade caught Rainbow's attention, and as soon as she realized the shady earth pony's intentions she acted.

"Look out!" Rainbow yelled as she darted towards the ill intended pony. She slid around and kicked the knife out of the grasp of the would be assailant with her strong back hooves. The knife twirled through the air resonating a distinct ringing noise, before bouncing across the road.

"Holy buck." The dark blue Pegasus who recently lost to Rainbow Dash broke the silence. His long flowing mane was dangling in his face, deep red fading to light gray at the ends.

Smokey, the massive stallion immediately turned his menacing gaze on his attacker.

"I thought you weren't with thems no more." His horn now becoming engulfed within his infamous black flames.

"I I I, I'm not I swear!" A desperate lie.

Smokey's horn shot a small orb straight through the skull of the small brown stallion. It let out a loud echoing bang. Rainbow looked on in horror, now realizing the danger she had wondered into. Smokey walked up to the small blue pegasus, who was now terrified but retaining her heroic stance as the pony who saved his life.

"Thanks for that kid." Smokey patted her on the head.

"I've been thinkin, street racing is my business and you're the fastest flier I've ever seen. I saw you take that turn back there, you're no street punk, you've been trained, so to me you're good for my business. That been said, plus now that I owe you one, you're in."

Rainbow was confused but figured out what was going on. "So you want me to race for you?"

"That's right kid, you're headin the line."

The deep blue pegasus spoke up, "Whoa what? She's in just like that? It took me years to get in." He had a very unruly high pitched voice, considering his decently large build and toned wings.

"That's cause you ain't never saved my life, now pipe down before you get me mad." The dark blue pony sat down and forced himself to stay quiet.

Smokey lit a cigar and blew a puff of smoke in Rainbow Dash's face, causing her to cough a bit.

"So what's your name kid." Smokey spoke in a much softer, yet deeper voice.

"Call me R D." Rainbow wasn't exactly comfortable giving her name to these types of ponies.

"Artie huh? That's an unusual name, especially for a mare. But in your case it's suiting."

"What do you mean, in my case..?" Rainbow asked in confusion.

"Your colts name suits a mare of your, how should I put this, obvious disposition."

Rainbow tilted her head in confusion.

Smokey let out a sigh along with a long plume of smoke. "You know, since we're on the same side of the fence."

Rainbow's eyebrow raised "What?"

"You know, since you and I are playing on the same team."

Rainbow Dash gave up on trying to understand what the bulky black stallion was implying. "So am I going to race now or what?"

"Sure sure kid, tomorrow's the big day, tonight take it easy, come back to the club and relax." Smokey patted her messy mane again and led her down the street.

Upon arriving, Rainbow found herself greeted by a strange assortment of ponies.

"Listen up you bums, we got a new filly on board, her names Artie, now make sure to treat her real nice like. She saved my life, now she's my new star racer."

Smokey smiled at Rainbow, a rare gesture on his part, and walked off. "Feel free to make this place your new home if you want to, welcome to the Storm Colts kid."

Those words echoed in Rainbow's mind, a home is something she desperately longed for.

Jealousy boiled in the navy blue pegasus, he wanted to lash out and attack Rainbow, but stopped himself from doing so out of both respect and fear of his leader.

"Listen here Artie, I don't like you, and I don't trust you either, but there's nothing I can do about it as long as Smokey's got your back. Since you helped him out, you're on my good side right now, the name's Jet by the way." Before Rainbow could reply, he trotted off.

Rainbow Dash decided she should allow herself to get to know these ponies. She looked around the room, then spotted a small beige unicorn. He was non-threatening enough for Rainbow to feel comfortable introducing herself.

"Hi I'm Rainb... Artie, I'm Artie heh heh." Rainbow Dash was feeling awkward and embarrassed at her near slip up.

The small beige unicorn tilted his hat up to meet her gaze, he then spoke in a very strong Scoltish accent. "Well golly gee whiz, aren't you just a bucket of sunshine."

Feeling even more awkward Rainbow began to trot away.

"Wait wait, hold on a minute deary, I was only jokin, my name's Bag Pipes, but you can just call me Doc. Ya see, I'm the club doctor."

"Is your name really Bag Pipes?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, no, no it isn't. But is your name really Artie?" The clever unicorn shot Rainbow a sly glance.

Rainbow casually sat down, "Yeah of course it is. So do you want to tell me about this place?"

"Well, sure thing dear, lets see, where to start, where to start... Oh yes, first things first, you're a racer right? Yes then, look around us, most of your team mates are here now."

He went on to point them all out, Star Chaser, Blue Berg, and Jet were the three top contenders. Rainbow had replaced Blue Berg as number three, Doc went on to explain the chain of command among the ponies in the club. First and only was the club leader, Smokey. He came from the Manehatten division to head this one after its much less experienced leader was murdered. Most likely in an attempt to eliminate the competition between street racing clubs. Currently the Storm Colts were the number one club, holding the most points this season. A close second were Wing Blades, followed by Back Draft.

"Now that that's cleared up, listen closely Artie, don't betray us, you must remain loyal to this club no matter what the cost, or leave now and never look back."

"Loyalty is my middle name, don't worry about that at all." Rainbow spoke up with new found confidence.

"I'm sure Loyalty is your name just as much as Artie is." Doc laughed and looked at the smiling little blue mare.

"I think we're going to be gettin' along just fine now."

Rainbow got pointed towards her room soon after asking around for a while. She found a decently soft bed inside, when she laid down, she felt more comfortable than she had ever remembered. She was warm, inside, protected from the unknown by four walls and a locked window. She was at home for the first time since she left Ponyville, not much of a home, but a home none the less.

After the nicest sleep she had in well over a year, she forced herself out of bed. Excitement was the only thing driving her to get ready for the day ahead. This was her first organized race since long before Pinkie's death. This was her chance to prove she belonged here, and she wasn't going to disappoint.

Rainbow was nervous all day, she knew she had nothing to worry about but couldn't shake the feeling. After eating, talking to more ponies in the club, and preparing both mentally and physically for this race, Rainbow and her team were off. It was late in the evening, the sun had long since set, leaving a moonlit city in its trail. Rainbow's mind was spinning while she flew in formation with her team, she felt uneasy looking around at all the rundown apartment complexes. She saw a homeless pony sleeping under a blanket of Equestria Daily news papers, an empty bottle of Colt Daniels lay next to him. At the next street corner, a group of shady looking ponies stood around a flaming barrel, staring her down as she flew by. They sent a string of obscenities her way, she did her best to ignore them. Her stomach churned with anticipation as they reached their destination, this was different from the race she had participated in before, this was a straight shot down the cities flood channel. It stretched on for about three miles, going under dozens of bridges.

Moments later another team of pegasi showed up. They each wore blue and grey bandanas, some on their heads, a couple over their mouths. Rainbow looked around at her team, each was wearing a black leather jacket with the characters "S C" separated by a lightning bolt depicted elaborately on the back. She felt awkward being the only undressed pony around, but let the excitement of the approaching race drown out any other emotions.

Smokey walked up behind Rainbow, "Listen up Artie, this is a drag race straight down this strip, nothin you can't handle I'm sure."

"You got that right." Rainbow's confidence spoke for her.

"Well go get em kid, earn your keep." Smokey noticed himself developing somewhat of a soft spot for this ambitious little filly who he can tell has lost her way recently. Something about her reminded him of himself during his younger years.

The eight pegasi lined up, Rainbow glimpsed around at her competition, nothing she can't handle. She stared down the center of the storm way, a small stream trickled down the center.

"Ready!" A small white earth pony began the countdown.

Rainbow lowered herself, her back legs ready to kick off.

"Set!"

Her eyes narrowed and she eagerly awaited the next word.

"GO!"

With that, Rainbow launched herself forward, securing an early lead.

"Good luck kid." Smokey found himself hoping for the best. He then engulfed himself along with the other spectators in a black fiery aura, teleporting them all about half way down the strip. There they looked towards the oncoming racers.

Rainbow spotted a neon yellow pegasus with a black mane approaching quickly behind her. Soon the two were parallel, he looked over at the very angry Rainbow Dash.

"Don't you think a trail of rainbows is kind of gay?" He chuckled at his own insult.

"You should talk sparky, like a trail of sparkles is so manly, ha!" Rainbow had noticed the sparking trail of static electricity being left behind him.

"What?!" The emasculated pony looked behind himself to investigate his trail, effectively distracting himself from the race. Rainbow saw an opportunity and cut in front of him, causing him to lose his stability. He spread his wings out and caught air, sending him straight up and out of the storm way, simultaneously stabilizing himself. He let out a frustrated growl and dove back into the race, now several places behind.

Rainbow smiled down at Smokey as she flew a few feet over their heads, her eyes boasting confidence since she had a considerable lead. Smokey held onto his hat as her and the rest flew by, then teleported to the finish line.

"Don't get too co*cky kid, it ain't over yet."

Rainbow saw a black and white flash in the distance where Smokey had teleported, this was her goal. She looked back to see the yellow and black pegasus gaining speed, he was in second place again. Rainbow pressed forward, the cliche checkered banner was flapping in the breeze. Sparky was right behind her now, Rainbow put on a co*cky grin and presses forward as fast as she could, leaving him far behind. She spent every last ounce of energy she had saved during the race, the yellow pony behind her slowed down, knowing he was out of his league. Rainbow slowed down and safely landed, coming to a slow trot as she casually crossed the line.

"Well done kid, you did good." Smokey gave her mane a few rough pats. Rainbow had come to enjoy this display of affection.

A few seconds later Sparky and Jet crossed, flying rapidly above their heads, both greatly over shooting the finish line, Jet securing second place.

Apparently this was good since Smokey shouted various Manehatten terms and threw his hoof into the air. Securing both first and second place is key to rising in a seemingly complex ranking system. Smokey began discussing details among other team leaders, she noticed her picture on a glass tablet as they were rearranging statistics. Then Smokey received a large roll of small papers, they were most likely Equestrian Reserve Notes, usually redeemable for around a hundred bits each. Rainbow had never seen so much currency at once.

"Alright kid let's buck out of here, I got somethin for ya back home." Smokey enthusiastically threw his arm around Rainbow, then teleported them both back to the club.

"You got it?" Smokey shouted to another pony who was partially asleep.

"Yeah yeah, I got it boss, just finished it." He trotted up to Rainbow, hoofing her a nicely folded square of leather.

She grabbed the collar with her teeth then stood up on her back hooves, unfolding it in front of herself. The name Artie was neatly embroidered above the front pocket. On the back was the signature club logo. She excitedly put it on, her wings fitting nicely through two subtle cutouts in the back.

"This is awesome!" Rainbow gave Smokey a quick hug and trotted off to show her new cut off to Doc.

"You really are somethin else kid..." Smokey spoke to himself as he retreated to his private quarters.

"Yes that's just nice and lovely all the same deary, but are you sure you're comfy wearing a dead animal's hide on your back?"

"What? I thought making real leather was outlawed!" Rainbow began feeling sick to her stomach.

"Look around dear, this is an outlaw's safe haven, a whole den of em." Doc continued to stare at her, his thick eyebrows lowering.

"Ha, I'm just pullin your chain deary, of course its faux, lighten up Artie."

"Heh, psh, yeah I knew that, you lighten up." Rainbow trotted off to her room, more than tired, she was ready to collapse after her exciting day.

She laid in bed staring at the ceiling, thoughts of Pinkie Pie coursed through her mind. Rainbow closed her eyes and pictured her loving carefree smile, then drifted away into much needed sleep.

Days came and went, race after race Rainbow continued to win. Smokey continued to grow more fond of this amazing little pony who showed up in his life seemingly out of nowhere. The two had developed a ritual of complicated hoof shakes and bro hooves to celebrate each time she won another race. Eventually she was awarded an emblem plate metal seal, which was nailed into her hoof, this signified just how important she was to the club. Not even Jet had one yet. Rainbow came to like the name Artie, and accepted every bit of her new life. The street racing society was among the most loyal and "family" orientated in The Flats. It seemed the world outside the club was miserable, poor, and full of hatred for any pony that was even slightly better off than they were.

Rainbow woke up today with a familiar pit in her stomach. Today was an important day in her racing career, she was to face a team from Fillydelphia, their point total was higher that the Storm Colts, and like Rainbow Dash, their lead racer was undefeated. Rainbow threw her cut on and went through her daily routines of chatting and eating. Jet walked up to her with a look of hatred on his face.

"You shouldn't be here, you don't belong. Just get out of here already! Smokey's bent enough rules for you already, and now this?!" He flew away, in a fit of anger. Normally only ponies who had been signed on to a team for a minimum of four years could attend this event. Jet would be left behind this year despite his skills, however Smokey decided to make an exception out of Rainbow.

"Suit up kid, we're headin out." Smokey climbed into a sleek carriage.

Rainbow soon followed.

"Alright Artie, listen up. This ain't gonna be like the races you've had before, this is the real deal. Unlike them races in the streets before, this is moderated by a lot of serious ponies. The police working under the syndicate close off the course for an hour, there's lots of sharp corners kid be careful. Anyway they watch all yous to judge your flyin skills and what not you know. So look good and professional out there."

Rainbow looked out the window as they approached the huge city. The sun was setting behind it, casting beautiful shadows into the sky.

It was dark when they arrived, at the start she met a couple other racers. A large dark colored griffin, and a toned forest green pegasus.

"Sup." The griffon flicked feathers out of her face. "I'm Strix... Well see ya later." She joined, her team leader along with a small crowd.

"Artie right? I've heard a lot about you, you're some underdog out of nowhere flier that shouldn't even be here right? Well your luck won't help you here." The dark green pony walked away, smugly flicking Rainbow's nose with his dark brown tail.

She brushed it off, not wanting anything to cloud her mind today. She flew above the buildings, trying to learn the course at least a little before the race.

"Come down here kid, I gotta talk to ya for a minute." Smokey waved her down.

"Listen up, see that green pile of hay seeds over there? Don't trust him for a minute, he'll stab you in the back the first chance he gets if he thinks he can take a bit off your dead body. What I really want to say is good luck, I got your back out here kid." Smokey gave her his signature pat on the head, then pushed her towards the start line.

Rainbow found herself in the center of the line next to the forest green pegasus, the griffon and Star Chaser were on each side.

"Three!..... Two!....."

Rainbow readied herself for takeoff.

"One!....."

The green pony next to her whispered toward Rainbow, "Go!"

It took every ounce of her will not to take off.

"Go!" The countdown was over, the three racers took off, Rainbow didn't react quite so quickly. She finally took off at a huge disadvantage. She didn't let it discourage her, however she was now on a personal mission to beat the one who made her look bad.

She saw a short stretch, she pushed on, cutting a sharp turn. She passed the griffon who took the corner much more cautiously. After a few more pressing corners, she spotted Star Chaser, she flew up next to him, he smiled and gave her a reassuring nod. Straight away she cought a glimps of her green rival as he rounded the next turn. Although she was losing, excitement filled her heart, and adrenalin filled her veins. She looked up, the moon was casting its glow on her hooves as she coursed through the city. She was now right behind the green pegasus, but he wasn't giving her the opening she needed to pass. Up ahead she saw a sharp narrow turn, this may be her chance. Her rival angled himself to smoothly take the turn through the center. Rainbow pushed forward as fast as she could, as she approached the corner, she turned completely sideways and arched her back. She bent her wings back as she began to turn. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she flew in between her rival and the building, missing it by a few centimeters. As she zipped passed him, her back hoof clipped his front one. He lost his stability, then slammed into the side of a building and crashed down into a garbage can. He rolled across the street, then laid still. Rainbow wanted to turn back but didn't, instead she hurried to the finish line. After crossing it in her usual first place, Smokey expected the usual celebratory actions. Instead Rainbow immediately turned around and headed back toward the injured pony, Star Chaser and the griffon flew past her. She stopped and trotted up to the green pony. He was covered in scrapes and dirt, but seemed otherwise fine.

"What have you done?!" He shouted as he stumbled to his hooves.

"It was an accident, I'm sorry." Rainbow's appoplogy went unaccepted.

She trotted towards him to help him back to the finish line. He reached into his tattered jacket and pulled a knife out which he stabbed into the side of Rainbow's neck. She looked at him with horror in her eyes, tears began to well up. She covered her wound with a hoof, blood was gushing out. The green stallion dropped the knife and flew away, just now realizing what he had done. Rainbow began to choke as blood filled her mouth, her vision began to blur. She saw Smokey along with a few other ponies quickly trotting towards her just before blacking out.

"Dashy... Daaaaashy... Wake up sleepy head."

"I'm up I'm up, what's going on." Rainbow stood up and looked around, she was in the town square in Ponyville. Vibrant sunshine blurred Rainbow's vision. The buildings around her looked the way they did when Rainbow first came to Ponyville. Beautiful flowers decorated the windows. She felt cold, but was quickly warming up as she felt the soft warm light wash over her.

"Finally, I thought you were going to sleep all day silly."

"Pinkie?.. Am I dead?"

"No, I mean, I don't think so. Unless you're a zombie!"

Pinkie shrieked and ran behind a bush, her tail sticking straight up into the air.

"You are so weird Pink." Rainbow trotted towards her.

"Please don't eat my brains, I promise you won't like them!" Pinkie closed her eyes and cowered.

"Stop Pinkie, I'm not a zombie and you know it. Now get over here and give me a hug, I missed you."

Rainbow shared a long sweet embrace with her best friend. She pressed her face into Pinkie's mane, taking in her sweet soft scent. Rainbow Dash's emotional walls were now non existent, her tears began flowing into her mane.

"Where did you go Dashy? I missed you when you left, you promised you'd never leave me alone again, but now I'm alone every single day, trapped in the dark."

"Pinkie, I'm so sorry, I, I thought you were... Dead."

"Oh yeah I forgot I was dead... I'll be going now..." Pinkie pushed away from Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow felt a sharp pain in her neck, she rubbed it with a hoof, only to realize her hoof was now soaked in blood. She looked back up, Pinkie was gone, a pile of leaves shaped like her were left in her place, they blew away in the breeze from top to bottom. She looked all around, Town Square was now run down, buildings boarded up, windows broken. The warm sunlight was hidden behind a thick wall of grey clouds.

"Pinkie, where did you go?!" Rainbow cried out, the only reply was her own echo. "Pinkie please come back!" Rainbow was alone. She looked around again, it was dark, the buildings were all gone, she was completely alone now. She looked up to the sky, there was a small break in the clouds, light flooded through, blinding her. She shielded them with her hoof, slowly lowering it while trying to adjust to the bright light. Soon a light fixture came into focus. Rainbow was laying in a ragged old hospital bed. Bandages were tightly wrapped around her neck, IV's were in her arm and neck. She pulled them out and stood up, quickly collapsing on the floor.

"Whoa there little filly, you need to stay in your bed for now dear." Doc assisted her back into bed.

"What happened?" Rainbow's memory of the incident was fuzzy at best.

"Just a moment deary, Smokey made me promise to go get him as soon as you woke up." Doc trotted off.

Rainbow pressed her hooves to her eyes, wiping away tears that slipped out during her nightmare. She tried to force herself to forget about that dream, but Pinkie's words echoed in her mind. Smokey Rushed in.

"You're finally awake kid? You had me worried there." To Doc's surprise, Smokey hugged Rainbow Dash.

"I told ya not to trust that mud buckin son of a mule didn't I?"

"You did didn't you." Rainbow laughed a little and apologized for the trouble she caused.

"It's alright Artie, just don't let it happen again or you'll get us both killed. Now you're going to sit a few races out til you're all healed up. Until then, make sure you take it easy kid." Smokey pat her on the head, and trotted out of the room.

"Will do..." Rainbow's reply came out late.

She laid back down and listened to Doc tell her all about what happened, then he began explaining her medical conditions. A combination of the boring speech plus Rainbow's lack of energy caused her to fall back asleep. Doc was interrupted mid sentence by Rainbow's snoring. He let out a warm hearted smile, shut off the light, and trotted back into the club.

As rainbow recovered, things in the club were getting tense. It would seem Jet was secretly planning to get rid of the soft Smokey, and lead the club on his own, with an iron hoof. Luckily he didn't seem to have any followers.

Days turned to weeks once again, Rainbow Dash found herself shroud in the protection of a small group of ponies in the club. They included Doc, Star Chaser, and a couple others. Most importantly it included Smokey. Lately Jet seemed to be gaining support from both within and outside the club. Smokey worked on handling the situation on his own, but he had other things on his mind. Today Rainbow's bandages all came off, she was completely healed. Rainbow wiggled her neck around then stretched it up, showing off her scar.

"Wear your scars proudly kid, they're a sign of your loyalty to the club. Now that you're feeling good I've got you a couple gifts lined up. For now, grab some grub, you'll need it." With a swift pat, Smokey was off to do whatever it is he does.

Rainbow waited around anxiously for Smokey's return. Once he finally came back it was pretty dark out, he and a few other bulky stallions trotted in.

"Let's go Artie, your gift awaits." She trotted outside, following them into the night. They soon arrived at a large warehouse, Smokey walked her up to the side door, a dim light flickered above them. Smokey eased the door open, inside she saw a forest green pegasus tied to a chair, a black sack placed over his head.

"You did that dirty little hay seed a favor by going to help him, I know racers look after one another, but this sack of crap isn't a racer in my book, not after what he did to you."

"What do you expect me to do?" Rainbow looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Get even. You can cut em loose and let him walk out of here, or you can cut his throat and let our associate here take care of the remains. I know what I'd do, it's up to you though, it's only right that his fate is in your hooves now." Smokey nudged Rainbow inside and shut the door behind her. "Have fun in there kid."

Rainbow trotted towards her attacker, a menacing smile grew as she neared. She threw his mask off with her teeth. She then met gazes with the terrified green stallion.

"Artie? You're to blame for this abduction?!"

"Nope, if anyone's to blame you are, for being slow and dumb enough to let yourself get caught."

"Listen here you little stud bucket, I'm going to finish you off as soon as I get out of here, I'll cut that pretty little smile of your stupid face."

"I'd like to see you try, no sneak attacks this time." Rainbow reached into her pocket, pulling out a large hunting knife, she dangled it in front of his face for a minute and walked behind him. She cut the ropes and gave the back of his chair a powerful buck, which sent him tumbling to his hooves. Rainbow threw her knife into the wall, then kicked the chair out of the way.

"What are you waiting for? Not scared of pretty little filly are you?"

The green pegasus was shocked that she actually set him free.

Rainbow continued to taunt him, "There's no pride to be gained in kicking the crap out of you while you're tied up. Now bring it on!"

The green pony stood his ground, staring Rainbow down. Tired of waiting Rainbow charged towards her old rival. Just before reaching him she slid to a near stop, spinning around and delivering a powerful blow to his ribs, causing him to tumble over. Rainbow leapt on top of him, smashing her strong front right hoof into his face repeatedly. He pushed her off and gave her a swift but strong kick in the side of her face. Rainbow lost her focus for a moment, stumbling over. That blow reminded her of one she had received from Applejack during a fight they had, Rainbow had accused her of being incestuous as an insult, Applejack felt the line had been crossed.

"That's it? You hit like a mare, and I'm not even joking I know a mare who hits just like that."

The green pony just snarled and continued his assault. Rainbow was more than prepared, as he quickly approached her, Rainbow took flight, landing just behind him. As he quickly turned around to meet her, he felt two powerful hooves forcefully land on his face. The impact sent him rolling across the warehouse floor, his hooves holding his face. The hit left two deep cuts on his face, one on the back of his cheek, the other just above his eye. He tried to stand up but couldn't keep his balance.

"I thought you were going to finish me off, oh well I guess." Rainbow felt a familiar sensation fill her core, winning this fight reminded her of winning her first race. She looked around to notice Smokey and his bulky associate watching her. They had decided to come in after hearing all the commotion inside.

"Very impressive kid, I always knew you had guts, but you have honor as well. You were right, there's no pride to be gained in beating a pony who's tied up. Artie, you earned some serious pride tonight." Smokey gave her a nice long mane pat.

"Awe it was nothin, he's a pushover anyway." Rainbow poked at the bruise on her cheek as they walked out.

"Bruce, take care of that mess over there, we got things to go do."

Bruce nodded and tended to his duties.

As Rainbow and Smokey neared the club he attempted to explain her next gift.

"After a long recovery, I thought you'd enjoy some, let's see... Professional company."

"Oh awesome." Rainbow Dash didn't know what he meant but was excited.

"By the way I assumed you prefer the fairer of the two sexes, it's pretty obvious though."

"I'm really not sure what you mean by that?"

"I mean, you know, since its clear that we're batting in the same field."

"Batting? What?"

"You know, some mares like to get down, others only like to get gone down on... By other mares."

Rainbow just looked up at him with the cutest most innocent eyes possible.

"Forget it, you'll see when we get there."

They arrived there shortly after, where Smokey took it upon himself to announce Rainbow's courageous acts to the entire club. Rainbow walked around the room receiving compliment after compliment. Way to go kid, bro hoof! I always knew you were a fighter.

"Good one deary, tryin on them hoofy cuffs I hear." Doc gave her a shoulder bump and looked at the bruise on her face. "Cripes, let me get ya some ice for that, I'll be right back."

Rainbow sat and waited patiently for her ice, she was in pain and looked forward to the relief, although she'd deny it if anyone asked. Her state of pride had reached its peak tonight, nothing would phase her now. She noticed a pair of deep green eyes staring at her from across the room. There sat an orange unicorn with a long flowing deep red mane, boasting a simple cutie mark, three red hearts. Rainbow nervously smiled and looked at the table. Her pride now mostly swallowed. Smokey walked up in front her, "that's your gift over there, go introduce yourself."

Rainbow gulped "My gift?"

"Yup, go get er kid."

Rainbow nervously walked towards this gorgeous mare that was apparently her gift. She sat next to her and gulped once more.

"That looks like quite a doozy you got there." The orange mare touched her soft hoof to Rainbow's face.

"My name's Starlette, and you're Artie right?"

"Yeah that's me, nice to meet you."

"Let's go somewhere more private and get to know each other a little better."

"Or just stay here, whatever's fine. Heh heh." Rainbow gave her a very nervous smile.

"You don't often do things like this do you. Just follow me and try to relax."

She took Rainbow by the hoof and led her into a private room. Rainbow sat on a bed, Starlette sat next to her, she reached around and rubbed her hoof softly on Rainbow's sore cheek. Rainbow was wishing she had gotten that ice before leaving the area. Starlette leaned in and gave Rainbow Dash a sweet long kiss. Rainbow shied away soon after, blushing unnessicery amounts.

"Something wrong Artie?"

"No nothings wrong, this is just the first time I've done something like this." Rainbow admitted, lowering her head. "I guess I always thought my first time would be special ya know?"

"I had no idea this would be your first time sweetheart, here, I'll go return this payment to Smokey at once."

"Wait wait, hold on there, I don't want him to feel bad about the gift. Can you just, maybe stay the night and sleep here with me?" Rainbow didn't want her secret revield quite yet.

"I suppose I'm fine with that, are you tired now?"

"Very tired actually." Rainbow smiled and laid down on the bed, the orange unicorn turned the lights off with her magic.

They snuggled up close, Rainbow wrapped her wings around Starlette, the two ponies found sweet comfort as they drifted into sleep together. This sensation meant more to Rainbow Dash than any of them would ever realize. Morning soon came, Rainbow rolled and stretched her wings out, letting a deep yawn break her grogginess. Starlette was gone, but there was a note on the night stand. Thank you so much for the most wonderful night I've enjoyed in quite some time. We must do it again sometime Artie.

Rainbow felt a pang of remorse, she hadn't felt an emotional connection to another pony in several years, and she let this one go without even giving her real name to her. She shook her sadness off and ventured into the club. There she met Smokey, hoof stretched out prompting Rainbow to bump hooves with him.

"Way to go kid, Starlette was lookin all emotional when she left this morning, you show er what you're made of or what?"

Rainbow laughed at the big excited stallion behaving like a high school colt. "You bet your flank I did." Rainbow chose to play along. Joining her club mates in their daily routines, Rainbow once again felt her troubles slip away.

Another month had passed, spring time was setting in. Rainbow had just gone to sleep for the night when she heard an explosion. She jumped to her hooves and rushed out to investigate the noise. There she saw dozens of ponies running in various directions, all looking to escape the inflamed building. Doc stopped when he saw Rainbow.

"Come on lad, we've got to hurry, it's Jet, he's trying to destroy the club and rebuild one of his own."

"Jet did this? Where is he now?!"

"There simply ain't no time deary, let's get out of here now!" Doc ran out the escape doors.

Rainbow spotted Jet and a couple unicorns blasting away at Smokey's private quarters. Rainbow rushed towards them as soon as they broke through. One of the unicorns spotted her and shot a large destruction spell her way, sending her flying back into the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of her but she was okay. Her vision was blurred due to her disorientation along with plumes of black smoke filling the building. Rainbow snuck around through the outer hallway, making her way to the back door to Smokey's room. She slowly peeked in, looking through the closet shutters, she looked just in time to see Jet and his crew leaving. She ran through the door in search of Smokey, she found him laying on the floor silent and bleeding. There was a gaping wound on his left side where he had been recently stabbed. Rainbow quickly rushed to his side.

"Hey there kid, it's good to see a friendly face." Smokey talked slowly, choking in between words. Rainbow once again found herself in an unbearable situation, she was forced to choose watching someone she loved die, or facing the guilt of letting them die alone. She knew the choice was easy, but watching her new best friend suffer like this was overwhelming.

"Listen Artie, you got to go, it's... It's not safe in here, fly away to safety for me, oh and before you go... I love ya kid. You're like the daughter I never had, the perfect little sidekick I always wanted. Thanks for makin my last years worth livin. I can't repay you for what you gave me..."

Rainbow's aching heart couldn't take this again, she burst into tears, feeling every emotion she ever knew. She was beginning to have a nervous breakdown.

"My name is Rainbow! It's Rainbow Dash not Artie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. And I'm not leaving you here, you're going to get help and you're going to live Celestia damn it!"

"Even now you remain loyal to me, there's really somethin about you kid, tell me your story, I want to know all about you Rainbow Dash, consider it a final request..."

"You want to know my story? Why I won't abandon you here? Smokey nodded.

"Fine, it'll kill some time while the fire trucks show up, just promise me you'll hold on til then okay?!" Smokey let out a small chuckle, "I promise kid."

"Back when I was just a little filly, before I started flight school, me and my mom used to run through the clouds. She would lift me up and drop me down in the soft piles, I'd ride on her back while she flew and I remember feeling like I was weightless and the world around me was nothing but freedom. I couldn't wait to learn to fly myself. My dad was never around, I never even met him and we were a poor family, barely surviving in a slow economy. Somehow my mom saved up enough to enroll me into flight school, it felt like a dream come true and I had made a goal to be the best flier I could be. After I graduated at the top of my class, I finally returned home. I was so excited and looking forward to showing off my awesome flying moves to my mom. But when I got there the house was empty and quiet. There I found a note left from my mom, it said now that you're all grown up and can take care of yourself, I'm going to begin traveling the world to find my place and who I was meant to be. I love you Rainbow Dash, I only hope you understand why I left and that you grow into the pony you're meant to be as well... I felt lost and alone, at that point I decided I would never leave anyone on their own, especially a friend. I decided I'd stay loyal to my friends even if it kills me. That's exactly why I won't leave you here, not as long as you have a chance to survive."

"I always knew you were somethin else kid, I just never knew how special... you ...really were..."

Smokey closed his eyes and fell into his final sleep. A very familiar pain radiated from within, Rainbow felt like she wanted the building to collapse, burying her here, ending all the hardships she's continuing to endure. Instead she backed out of the room, went outside, and once again flew into the night sky, never looking back. Her heart once again shattered, tears falling behind her, she wondered if she would ever find peace or a home again.