"Ugh, we'll NEVER get our cutie marks now!" Apple Bloom groaned, as the three fillies slowly made their way to the school bus. "Not with all this fancy school in the way!"
"Yeah, and to think - we're going to the same school as the others," Scootaloo said, disgusted.
"Different classes, right?" Sweetie Belle asked. She seemed a tad bit excited about her new school. "Hey! Maybe our cutie marks have something to do with school!"
"And maybe not," Scootaloo said, not convinced.
"We might meet some new friends!," Sweetie Belle cried out, attempting again to persuade her friends.
"And ask about their cutie marks!" Scootaloo finally joined in.
"Great! We'll love school, Ah tell ya!" Apple Bloom laughed, as the three ponies hopped onboard.
xoxoxox
"Wow, I can't wait to meet Rainbow Dash after class!" Scootaloo cried out. "Maybe she'll pick me up and drop me off home!"
"Fat chance," Sweetie Belle reminded. "Anyway, what is this place?"
"School," A sleek pegasus pony crept up to them and said, "Nothing special here, I swear."
"Well, howdy strange pony! Nothing special? We might get our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom cried out. "Can Ah see yours?"
"Wait a minute! You haven't got a Cutie Mark!" Scootaloo cried out, in horror, as she pointed a hoof at the new pony.
"Sure I haven't," the pony replied. "Even though I'm a pegasus. Anyway, I'm Sky Azure. Catchy, huh?"
"What? No Cutie Mark?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Of course not," Sky laughed. "I'm just like - WAY younger than Rainbow Dash, ya know."
"But..." Apple Bloom said, confused. "Have ya tried using yer wings?"
"Plenty of times," Sky replied. "I'm the best cayuse at flying in Equestria!"
"How?" Sweetie Belle asked. She examined Sky Azure from head to hoof. "You look like a pony to me."
"Not that," Sky laughed. "According to my teacher, cayuse is another word for pony."
"Hey! You're not the best! That title's Rainbow Dash's! She's always 20% cooler than you!." Scootaloo cried out.
Sky Azure just laughed scornfully, as she saw the indignance in Scootaloo's eyes. "You will never guess," she added, winking at them.
"But you're not a filly, neither are you an adult pony...How come you don't have your Cutie Mark yet?" Sweetie Belle asked, disbelieving.
"No idea." Azure said. "Though you get awfully teased at school."
"Teased?" Sweetie Belle asked. She looked around nervously. "Oh my...are you sure it's safe?"
"Sure," the goldenrod pegasus said. "I've joined the Wonderbolts, ya know."
"WHAT?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yup, they had one, *one* spot left in their team for somepony to join. And that's me," Azure said, proudly.
"Wait, no! Rainbow Dash! What about her?" Scootaloo asked, speechlessly.
"Well, I haven't exactly fully joined yet. But just you wait! I'll be -!" Sky cried out, bouncing around happily.
"No!" Scootaloo shouted at her, so much it hurt her ears. "Rainbow Dash is joining them - not a - a...a COW like you!"
"Cow?" Azure asked. Her blood was boiling up, as the orange filly said this. She also began to see red.
"A big ugly one," Scootaloo screamed. "Well, Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom. TWICE! And - and."
"So what?" Azure asked.
She zoomed into the sky, dived into a cloud, and came out of it, unleashing waves of rainbow colours out everywhere.
"There!" she panted. "A Sonic Rainboom. It's - that easy."
"WHAT?" Scootaloo cried out, gaping in horror at her.
"Well, you'll be seeing more when I get into training," Azure said.
Immediately, Spitfire landed in front of Azure's face. "Hey Azure! Sup?" she asked.
"Spitfire!" Scootaloo cried out, in excitement. But Spitfire took no notice of her, a little filly.
"That was cool, sister! Anyway, we're entering a little contest here - you game?"
Azure nodded her head fiercely, saucily glancing at Scootaloo.
"As game as the next pegasus," she cried out. "But 20% cooler - of course."
"Wow, cool catchphrase," Spitfire said, admiringly.
"Thanks," Azure said. "I came up with it myself."
"What?" Scootaloo asked. "No way! Rainbow Dash came up with that! She is the 20% cooler pegasus than any of you! She's awesome!"
"And who are you?" Spitfire asked, not unkindly.
"Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash's biggest fan!" Scootaloo replied.
"Oh, wow," Spitfire said. She shook her head, sadly. "If only there was a place for Rainbow Dash in our team..."
"Whadd'ya mean place?" Apple Bloom asked, sticking up for her friend. "Ah thought you had one spot left."
"We did," Spitfire said. "I'm sorry, but Azure's gonna fill it sooner or later. Don't worry, Rainbow's still my friend. I just -"
"I don't care!" Scootaloo snapped.
"Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, placing a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all..."
Scootaloo shook her unicorn friend off her shoulder and cried out, obstinately. "Rainbow Dash IS a Wonderbolt - and you know it! You - you!"
"What's going on?"
Scootaloo turned around to see - Rainbow Dash?
"Rainbow Dash!" she cried out. "Wow, this is SO awesome! Just when I needed you."
"What - why?" the blue pegasus asked.
"This is Sky Azure, and I want you to prove to her you're better than her - by far!" Scootaloo shouted.
"S-sorry," Rainbow Dash said, bashfully. "Scootaloo here, just got out of hand, that's all. I'm nothing special - really."
"That's okay," Azure said. "But mind the false humility. You're Rainbow Dash! You're the coolest pony in Ponyville, remember?"
"Hey Rainbow," Spitfire said, politely.
"What? Spitfire? What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, I study in this school - like all of you," Spitfire said.
"Wow," Rainbow Dash said. "This is the best day of my life! Spitfire in my school..." She jammed her cheeks together with two hooves, saying out loud, "This is SO awesome!"
"Yeah! Especially since I'm gonna be the next Spitfire!" Azure said, carelessly, as she did a few somersaults in mid-air.
"What does that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh! I'm about to join the Wonderbolts! Can't you see how awesome that is!" Azure laughed, doing a few more lazy somersaults, before falling back onto her hooves.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little angrily. "YOU taking MY place in the Wonderbolts team? Keep dreaming, Azure - or..or whatever your name is. Keep dreaming!"
"What do you mean?" Azure asked. "So because I'm more athletic than you doesn't mean I'm in the wrong!"
"Oh, here comes the Wonderbolt team now!" Sweetie Belle pointed out, as the rest of the Wonderbolts gathered behind Spitfire.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow," Spitfire said. "But there's no space in our team for you."
She pointed her hoof to the Wonderbolts' newest recruit.
"Oh my..." the new Wonderbolt nearly whispered. "Hello, Rainbow Dash."
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, eyes nearly out of her head. "How the hay did you get in the Wonderbolts' team?"
"Oh..I said please," Fluttershy said, modestly.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"S-sorry, Dash," the other Wonderbolts said, in chorus. "She was so cute, we couldn't resist."
Rainbow Dash's head turned as red as a ripe tomato. "DARN IT!" Without another word, she bolted into the sky, and away, furiously.
"Humph!" Scootaloo snorted, and she turned her back on Fluttershy. "Come on, guys. Let's go!"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed with relief as they followed the furious Scootaloo inside their classroom.
"Phew! Glad that's over," Sweetie Belle said, wiping a sweat from her forehead.
"Over? It hasn't even begun!" Apple Bloom shouted, pointing a hoof at two brawling pegasi in the distance - Azure and Rainbow Dash.