Princess Zelda was watching somepony zooming around in the sky through binoculars. Sonic came by. "What're you looking at?" he asked the princess. "Rainbow Dash," replied Zelda. Sonic looked up and he could see her too. "I love Rainbow Dash," he said. "She's fast and speedy, blue and sleek, just like me." Zelda smiled. They decided to watch Rainbow Dash for a while when somepony else walked up to them. It was Zelda's favourite math teacher, Professor Padraic Ratigan, dressed in a sweater and jeans. "Well, hello, my dear student and young hedgehog," he said, bowing to them. "How are you today?" Zelda was surprised that her favourite teacher was here. "Ratigan!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing in Hyrule?"

"Nothing special," he replied. "Might I ask what you two are watching in the sky?"

"We're watching Rainbow Dash," replied Sonic with a grin. "She's my favourite pony and I love her." Ratigan smiled as he watched Rainbow Dash flip around in the sky. "My, she certainly is quite skilled, isn't she?" he said. "Yeah," said Sonic with an excited grin. "I love watching her do tricks." Just then, Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed gracefully in front of them. "Come to watch my sweet tricks?" she asked. Then, she saw Ratigan. "Hey, Ratigan, what's up?" she asked, holding her hoof up for a hoof bump.

However, Ratigan didn't return the gesture. "Rainbow Dash," he said, a little sternly. "Not everypony can stand your bragging." Rainbow was taken aback. Had she said something wrong? "But… I was just saying hello," said Rainbow Dash, nervously. "Not really," said Ratigan. "You asked them if they came to see your tricks. Well, one day, Rainbow Dash, you're going to see that not everypony can withstand your bragging." Zelda was taken aback. Why was her favourite teacher acting this way? Rainbow Dash's eyes started to fill with tears. "You know what? I… I just remembered I have something I need to do. No, two somethings, actually," she said, her voice started to shake. "I have to help Rosalina bathe some baby skunks. Then I was planning to hang out with the Wonderbolts." And she left.

"One day, somepony's gotta teach her a lesson," said Ratigan, sternly. But this did not sit well with Sonic. In his mind, Rainbow Dash hadn't really been boastful. After all, he understood what it was like to have ego, so why was Ratigan treating Rainbow Dash with disrespect when she was just greeting her friends?

At Rosalina's castle, Rainbow Dash was wearing a stink proof suit on top of her space suit. "Thanks for helping me," smiled Rosalina. "I would ask why you can't just use your wand," said Rainbow Dash. "But… a promise is a promise, no matter how smelly it gets." Rosalina giggled. "Well, between the two of us, the work will get done much faster." And she was right. However, little did they know that a certain stallion, also dressed in a spacesuit, but it was a little fancier than Rainbow Dash's, was watching them. "At least she's keeping her promise," he said to himself. "But she'll see that she's not always nice. So why would Sonic be friends with her?" Luckily, the blue Pegasus didn't notice.

Soon, Rainbow's job was done and she was free to go hang with the Wonderbolts. The blue Pegasus was so excited. Being with the Wonderbolts was one of her favourite things to do. However, when she got to the Wonderbolts' training grounds, they weren't there. But Ratigan was. "Hello there," she said. "Come to watch the Wonderbolts too?"

"No," said Ratigan. "I've come to talk to you."

"What about?" asked Rainbow. "About your ego, that's what," said Ratigan, angrily. "You were bragging about your tricks. You have shown that you're not a nice pony. And…" He grabbed her by the collar of her thick stink proof spacesuit. "You have nothing but a selfish attitude. I don't know how Sonic can stand you, but he certainly shouldn't have. And he told me you're his best pony friend. Well, one day you'll boast so much, even he won't want to be your friend anymore. Just like this." And with that, he punched Rainbow Dash right in her left foreleg, making the blue Pegasus cry out in pain, even though it didn't hurt very much because her thick suit absorbed most of the blow, but she still felt it a bit and it hurt just as much. But the real pain was emotional and she started to cry. When her tears filled her helmet, she took it off and Ratigan punched her in the cheek, leaving a big painful bruise. "OWWW!" she cried. "Stop it!" And Ratigan did, but not without telling her "I hope you learned your lesson." And he left her crying her eyes out.

Just then, Ariel walked up. There was no sign of the Wonderbolts anywhere. She, too, had come to watch the show, but all she found was a crying blue Pegasus. "Aw man, did I miss the show?" she asked. "He… he hurt me," sobbed Rainbow. "Who did?" asked Ariel. "Ratigan. Zelda's teacher," said Rainbow between sobs. "Just because I have… too much ego." Ariel rushed over and allowed Rainbow Dash to cry into her arms. "Aww. I'm sorry, Dashie," she said. Rainbow Dash just continued to cry. "What am I going to do? Nopony will want to be friends with me after that. Not even Sonic!" she cried. Ariel was about to answer when she noticed a big bruise on Dash's cheek. "Rainbow Dash, what happened?" she cried. Rainbow Dash sobbed and whimpered. "That's what he did to me," she said. "And… There's something else he did to me too." She took off her spacesuit and revealed a little bruise on her left foreleg where Ratigan had punched her. "I have learned my lesson," she sobbed once more. The bruise on her leg wasn't as painful as the bruise on her cheek, but it still hurt when she tried to stand on it. "Ouch!" she cried. "We need to take you to see a doctor," said Ariel. "And we need to tell Zelda what happened. She won't like that." Rainbow Dash whimpered. The thought of Zelda losing her favourite teacher made her feel worse. But Ariel lifted the wounded Pegasus and took her to Ponyville hospital.

At the hospital, Ariel was still trying to process what had happened. Everycreature in Hyrule had learned from Sonic how important it was to respect Rainbow Dash, ego or not. But it seemed like Ratigan hadn't picked up on that yet. And somehow, Ariel decided that they shouldn't give him a chance after what he did. Then, Zelda came up. "How is she?" she asked Ariel. "I don't know yet," said Ariel. "The doctor is still looking at her. When he's ready, he'll come talk to me."

"So Rainbow Dash got hurt?" asked Zelda. "What happened?" This was it. Ariel had to tell Zelda the truth, even though Zelda wouldn't like it. "Well…" she said. "The truth is… Ratigan sort of… punched her." Zelda was shocked. "He punched her? Why?" she asked. "Because he doesn't like her ego," said Ariel. "He seems to think she's a bad pony because of that." Zelda sighed and shook her head with great disappointment. She was learning how to respect Rainbow Dash from Sonic, who had never had a problem with her ego. After all, he, too, had lots of ego when he was a child and she'd never been bothered by it. Not one little bit. "Ariel, when Ratigan first met Jasmine two years ago at the gala, he stood up for her when she was treated poorly by a prince," she said. "If we were to break up with him, who will stand up for Jasmine next time if she runs into a bad date?"

"Sonic can," replied Ariel. "That's what happened last year."

"Well, I'd better tell Jasmine and Sonic, even though they won't like it," said Zelda. But before she could make a move, the door to the doctor's office opened and Dr. Stable appeared. "How is she?" asked Ariel. "There's…" the stallion replied. "A big bruise on her cheek. We've put some ice on it and discovered a small break in her leg." Both girls were shocked. "But all I saw was a little bruise," said Ariel. "I'm afraid that bruise is just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Stable with a sigh. "The break in her leg would explain why it hurts to stand on it. We placed an ice cast around it to help it heal, but she'll have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days." Both girls gulped. "But… you can fix her, can't you, doctor?" asked Zelda, worriedly. "Yes we can," replied Dr. Stable with a smile. "But she'll be very tramatized after a scary experience like that. I would recommend that Sonic comes by to see her. It should make her feel a little bit better."

"Thank you," said Zelda as the stallion went back into the room. Then, Zelda headed off to find Sonic.

It didn't take long to find Sonic in Hyrule Field, still thinking about Rainbow's tricks. "She really is skilled," he whispered. "And that's why I love her." Then, he saw Zelda walking up. "Hey, Sonic," she said sadly. "What's the matter, princess?" asked Sonic. Zelda sighed and gulped. "Sonic, my teacher punched Rainbow Dash, so Ariel took her to the hospital. She needs you, Sonic."

Sonic tossed a ring that took him straight to Ponyville hospital.

When Sonic got there, he sat in the waiting room until Dr. Stable came by. "Oh, hello. You must be Sonic." Sonic nodded. "Rainbow Dash is resting now if you'd like to see her." The doctor led Sonic to Rainbow Dash's room where the blue Pegasus groggily opened her eyes to see Sonic beside her. "S-Sonic?" she moaned. "Shh. It's okay, Rainbow. I'm here now," Sonic whispered tenderly. "I… I…" was all Rainbow Dash could say. "You don't have to say sorry. You didn't do anything wrong," said Sonic. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong," said Rainbow as a tear left her eye. Sonic rubbed her back gently. "I'm sorry to hear that you got punched, Rainbow," he said with a sigh. Rainbow Dash sniffled. "It's not your fault," she said. "I… I just… I have a lot of ego, so I totally deserved that." Sonic shook his head. "I do not think you deserve to be hurt just for having ego." Sonic could remember all too well when the girls posed as a quiet pony hero called Mare Do Well to teach Rainbow a lesson about her ego, a method that Sonic didn't like at all. He then remembered something that he should probably tell Rainbow Dash, no matter how hard it was going to be. "Rainbow," he said. "We're going to make sure Padric never hurts you again."

"How?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Jasmine's going to break up with him and then he'll be banished from Hyrule," said Sonic. Rainbow Dash yawned. She was really too tired to panic at the moment. "It'll be time for me to go soon," said Sonic. "But I'll be back tomorrow. You just have to relax and know that you are safe and loved." And with that, he left.

Later that evening, Sonic told Jasmine about Ratigan's behaviour. "He did WHAT!?" cried Jasmine. "I don't want him to hurt Rainbow Dash again, ever," said Sonic. "Which is why I'm going to ask you to do something… but you may not like it."

"Oh, you're going to ask me to break up with him, aren't you?" said Jasmine. Sonic nodded uneasily. "Well, it's not going to be easy," said Jasmine. "After all, when we first met two years ago, at the gala, he stood up for me when I had a bad date. Who's going to stand up for me next time?" She sighed sadly as she gazed at the ground between them. "I know it's not going to be easy," sighed Sonic. "But I can stand up for you if you run into a bad date. And you'd be doing this for Rainbow Dash."

"Well, okay," said Jasmine. "But it's not going to be easy."

"I know," said Sonic.

Jasmine went to find the wolf in sheep's clothing and it didn't take long for her to do so. "Princess Jasmine?" asked Ratigan. "Ratigan," said Jasmine, boldly. "Sonic told me that you punched Rainbow Dash. Why did you do that?"

"I did it to teach her a lesson," said Ratigan. "She has a lot of ego and not everypony likes it."

"But Sonic DOES!" said Jasmine, boldly. "And if you can't respect her, then we're THROUGH!"

"Princess, I stood up for you when we first met," said Ratigan, slowly becoming angry. "Who's going to stand up for you next time?" And he marched away. But he didn't get very far when the royal guards grabbed him and dragged him away. Jasmine just sighed and shook her head. I can't believe I just did that, she muttered. But then she also felt sad and scared as his harsh words got to her. "What if he's right?" she sobbed quietly. "What if I run into a bad date with no one to save me?" She bit her nails. "Maybe I won't go to the gala next year."

Meanwhile, Sonic was talking to Princess Zelda. "What happened?" she asked, making sure she got it right. "Ratigan punched Rainbow Dash so now Jasmine has to break up with him," Sonic said. "Oh no," said Zelda. "My favourite teacher?"

"Yeah," sighed Sonic. "Oh no. Who's going to stand up for Jasmine if she has another bad date?" cried Zelda, worried for her friend. "I can," said Sonic. Zelda smiled. "You've done it before. I'm sure you could do it again." The two friends smiled for a moment, but then Zelda frowned at the fact her favourite teacher would betray her by hurting most of her friends. But before she went to check on Rainbow Dash, she had somepony else to talk to.

After getting permission from the guards, Zelda walked down to the dungeon. Ratigan looked up from his cell. "I guess you're not my favourite student anymore," he whispered bitterly. "I can't if you're going to treat my friends like that," said Zelda with disgust in her voice.

"Jasmine's not going to have anypony to save her from a bad date," said Ratigan. "Well, it's not fair and Sonic can save her from a bad date," said Zelda, boldly. "He's done it before."

"And there's another thing: Rainbow Dash has too much ego! She boasts too much. This puts an end to our friendship," Ratigan said. Zelda just teared up and walked away. "I was thinking the same thing," she said. "About the end of our friendship. I won't blame Rainbow Dash for this. It was your own fault for not respecting her. WALL-E's going to have you banished, so if you have any last words you want to tell me, you'd better tell me now."

"You were my best student in math class," said Ratigan. "And now you go around hanging with boastful ponies like Rainbow Dash. I'm very disappointed in you." Zelda was a little fazed by those words, but she had more important things on her mind, like making sure her friends were okay. With one last glance at her now former math teacher who was no longer her friend, she walked away.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still very sad at the hospital. Just as she was drifting off, she heard the door open. "Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. "Rainbow Dash?" came a familiar voice. It was just Zelda. "Zelda, y-you scared me," said Rainbow Dash in a whisper. "Sorry, Rainbow," Zelda apologized sadly. "I just came to tell you that Ratigan will not hurt you again." Rainbow Dash felt her eyes widen. "W-what happened?" she asked softly. "He was taken to the dungeon," replied Zelda. "And I told him off. Everypony is going to make sure he never hurts you again. It wasn't easy for me or Jasmine to break up with him, but it had to be done. For you." Rainbow Dash didn't know if she should be relieved or guilty. "Thanks, Zelda," she said. "You really are brave. I…" She started to tear up. "I can't believe you lost him as a favourite teacher… because of me. I feel bad because I… I caused this to happen." Rainbow Dash started to cry. "Oh, Rainbow, everypony here cares very deeply about you," said Zelda, tenderly. "B-b-but if it wasn't for my ego," said Rainbow Dash between sobs. "Then this never would've happened." Zelda didn't know what to say. So she stood back as Dr. Stable came into the room. "Hi, Zelda," he said before rushing to Rainbow Dash's side. "Rainbow Dash, what's the matter?" he asked. "S-sorry, doc," Rainbow Dash whimpered. "I just…" But she couldn't finish her sentence as she started to cry. "Shh. There, there," Dr. Stable told her. "It's going to be okay. Just let it all out." And Rainbow Dash did. Zelda came to her other side and hugged her. Sighing, she told Dr. Stable "Rainbow thinks it's her fault I had to break up with Ratigan as well as Jasmine." Dr. Stable sighed. "Well, Zelda, it is very brave of you to make such a bold move to prevent this from happening again. I'm very impressed," he said. Zelda smiled. "So, how is she? I mean, before I ruined everything. I just wanted to check on her," she asked nervously. "Well, Zelda, before she had a meltdown, she was recovering quite nicely," he answered. "Her bruise is almost gone so she should be good to go home tomorrow."

"I'm sorry," said Zelda. "It's alright," said Dr. Stable. "I can see that you had good intentions and that's good." The room was silent for a moment. "But I'm thinking, maybe she should stay with us just a little bit longer, until the banishment is done. When does it happen?" he asked her. "WALL-E is going to have him banished in the morning," replied Zelda. "And the process will be over by noon. If she stays here, she won't have to see it happen."

"I was just thinking the same thing, princess," Dr. Stable replied. "Rainbow Dash will be nice and safe here and she'll have more time to recover mentally."

"Yeah… sorry about the meltdown," Zelda said, sheepishly. "It's alright, princess," said Dr. Stable. "We'll make sure she's safe." Zelda smiled. She was glad Rainbow Dash would be safe and protected. If she were to see the banishment, she'd surely have another meltdown, just like the one that just happened.

The next morning, Ratigan was thrown into a ship's jail. Zelda was beside Sonic and Jasmine as they watched the process. "I'm glad Rainbow Dash isn't here to see this," said Sonic. "It would really scare her."

"Definetely made the right choice keeping her at the hospital," said Zelda. "Especially after I caused her to have a meltdown."

"Oh, great," said Sonic. "Now she'll have to stay another day. Zelda looked at the note she had been holding in her hands. "Yeah. Before I came here, the doctor and I agreed that to be on the safe side, she should stay at the hospital another day to recover from her meltdown."

"I hope they're not banning you from the hospital," said Sonic. "Nah," said Zelda. "They know my intentions were good. All I wanted was to make sure she was okay."

"Good," said Sonic, wiping his brow. Then WALL-E cleared his throat to get everycreature's attention. "Professor Padraic Ratigan," he said sternly. "You used to be my daughter's favourite math teacher in the whole world, but recently, your behaviour to the hero of time's best pony friend has been very unacceptable, so you are hearby banished and on behalf of my subjects, I'm very disappointed in you for the way you treated Rainbow Dash. Ego or no ego, we love her and nopony who is going to hurt her in any way like that, physically or mentally, should ever go anywhere near her, just like Trixie and Ms. Harshwhinny. You are now a criminal in our eyes." To the ship's captain, he said. "Captain, take him away." And WALL-E stepped off the boat. "It's done," he said to Zelda. "He can't hurt Rainbow Dash anymore." Zelda had mixed feelings. Losing a dear friend was so hard, but she was also glad Rainbow Dash wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt like that anymore.

Over the next few days, Zelda and her friends visited Rainbow Dash at the hospital.

When Zelda visited, she promised Rainbow Dash that Ratigan would never hurt her again. Rainbow Dash was still scared by her ego causing Zelda to lose a friend, but Zelda assured her that she would stand with her and make sure everything would be okay with her. And that was just enough to make Rainbow feel better.

When Jasmine visited, she told Rainbow Dash that she was very sorry to hear what Ratigan did to her. She also brought her a ribbon as a get-well present, which helped cheer her up.

When Sonic visited, he reassured Rainbow Dash that she would always be loved in Hyrule, ego and all. Rainbow Dash was happy to hear that.

After about four more days, the hospital staff decided it was safe to discharge her. When they did, Rainbow Dash had one thing to say to her friends for standing up for her and being such good friends.

"Thank you."

The end.