Rainbow Dash: Hey everybody! It's the queen of cool, Rainbow Dash. We've got a GREAT chapter lined up for you guys this time. Pinkie starts us off with one of her epic parties, me and Applejack learn some new techniques, and there's a special surprise that no one saw coming. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Time for the disclaimer. Kurenairyu and vegetasragebroke1994 do not own any of the characters in this story nor do they own the rights to their respective franchises. Now, on to the music!

OP 1: Cha-La Head Cha-La*

Hikaru kumo o tsukinuke Fly Away (Fly Away)
Karadajû ni hirogaru panorama
Kao o kerareta chikyû ga okotte (okotte)
Kazan o bakuhatsu saseru

Ranma looks off into the distance as the sun rises. He jumps off his house and starts running off. As he does, he flashes back to the day he ran away from his father and met Master Asia.

Toketa kôri no naka ni
Kyôryû ga itara tamanori shikomitai ne

Ranma jogs up to the school and sees Sunset, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie waving at him. Ranma smiles and jogs up to them.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Nani ga okite mo kibun wa heno-heno kappa

Rainbow and Applejack charge at Ranma only for him to block Rainbows punch and sweep her causing her to fall. Applejack charges and Ranma parries her strike and tosses her into a charging Rainbow Dash.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Mune ga pachi-pachi suru hodo
Sawagu Genki-Dama...Sparking!

Ranma and Master Asia clash and exchange blows with each other. At the end of their clash, the two fire energy blasts at each other.

Sora o kyûkôka Jet Coaster (Coaster)
Ochite yuku yo panikku no sono e
Keshiki sakasa ni naru to yukai sa (yukai sa)
Yamasae oshiri ni mieru

Ranma is walking through the halls of Canterlot High. As he walks, Celestia and Luna turn to acknowledge him, Ranma high fives Flash Sentry, and pulls Pinkie away from staring at Zecora. In class, Ranma looks out the window.

Nayamu jikan wa nai yo
Dokoka ni hisomu "bikkuri!" ni aitai kara

Ranma is sitting with the girls in a field and smiles as he looks out into the distance.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Atama karappo no hô ga yume tsumekomeru

Ranma is in a rocky field gazing up at his opponent, Ryoga.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Egao urutora zetto de
Kyô mo ai-yai-yai-yai-yai

Ranma and Ryoga charge at each other and engage in a fierce battle.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Nani ga okite mo kibun wa heno-heno kappa

Genma and the Tendos, Shampoo, Ukyo and other enemies appear and charge at Ranma and the girls.

CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA
Mune ga pachi-pachi suru hodo
Sawagu Genki-Dama...Sparking!

Ranma brings his hands to his side, charges up a massive energy blast, and shoots it at them. The song ends with Master Asia, the girls, Celestia and Luna, and Flash are all together and Ranma lands in front of them, bo staff in hand and poses, ready for battle.

Parties and A New Student

Chinese music as playing in the air around the home of Ranma and Master Asia. Out in the yard, Ranma and Master Asia were leading Rainbow Dash and Applejack through a form from the Souther Kung Fu style, Hung Gar. Deep stances, and controlled muscle movements were heavily emphasized in the taolu (Chinese kata) they were practicing.

Once they finished this form, they moved onto a more Karate based form. They brought their hands together in front of themselves, fists clenched tight, and raised them up into the air. They then stepped out with their left feet and took up a side hoarse stance with their left fists punched out. After bringing themselves into two separate stances, they all stepped forward into a hoarse stance once again and punched.

They stepped back and took up another sideways stance with their left arms extended. They stepped forward into another sideways stance and thrust out their left hands in a palm strike. They suddenly crouch and execute a sweep kick which they followed up with standing and stepping back into a ready stance. They jumped, did a half spin, and landed in a hoarse stance once again, with both their fists slightly extended to the sides.

They turned to their left and executed a left arm outside block followed by a right middle punch. They stepped with their right feet and punched with their left fist. They brought their right legs up and snapped out a side kick, followed by a shuffling side kick followed immediately by a jump spinning crescent kick. They turned and took up their stances again, took a few steps and did a jumping side kick followed a low block which transitioned into a double handed low block. They jumped back, brought their hands to their sides and threw their hands in front of them. They front rolled and launched into umping uppercut.

As they jumped, they all cried out...

"SHORYUKEN!"

As they landed from their jumps, they all went over to their respected water bottles to rehydrate. Master Asia looked over at student and his own students. He couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Ranma had come so far since they first met.

"Ranma." Master Asia called to his protégé.

"Hai shishou?" Ranma asked as he stepped over to his master.

"It looks like your students have got the Shoryuken down pat. I think it's time to teach them their next technique." At hearing this, Rainbow Dash perked up.

"Our next technique?! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! What are we going to learn?" Rainbow asked as she ran over to her teachers. Ranma grinned. He jumped and started tarted spinning at high speed, his leg extended and at as he kept spinning, he flew right at a few low hanging branches and kicked them all off.

"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!" He cried as his kick tore the branches from their perch.

"Hot dang!" Applejack cried out as she saw Ranma's impressive kick. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped and her eyes bulged out of her head.

"WOW! That was awesome!" She ran over to Ranma as he landed from his kick.

"That was the sickest kick I have ever seen! What was that?" She asked. Ranma smirked at her.

"It's called the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, or the 'Hurricane kick'." Rainbow was bouncing with excitement.

"When do we learn that move sensei!?" Ranma looked at her and smiled.

"Right now."

Rainbow and Applejack sat cross legged while Ranma began explaining the technique.

"With the Tatsumaki kick, the principle of ki manipulation is a little trickier than with the Shoryuken. The technique starts with a jump, spinning kick. As with the Shoryuken, first you channel your ki into your legs, but the difference is that instead of channeling it into your fist, you channel it out from your leg. Kind of like, like a jet engine. The ki propels you forward and spins your body around like a helicopter propeller. The ki stays mostly in your leg during the spin, allowing your kick to be able to power through most objects while also homing in on your opponent."

The girls nodded their heads and started to practice. The kick seemed simple in theory, but they soon found that it was harder in practice. When Rainbow first tried, she ended up using too much ki to propel herself, and ended up flying right into the trunk of the tree. Applejack tried next, but ended up spinning around in place uncontrollably.

Their training kept going for some time, and after about an hour Rainbow finally started to get the hang of the technique. Applejack was having a harder time. She had no trouble with the power and the basic spin, but the hard part for her was being able to travel farther than half a foot.

She looked over and saw that Rainbow was already preforming the technique like a champ. She looked down feeling a little dejected. Seeing this, Master Asia walked over to her.

"Penny for your thoughts Applejack?" Master Asia asked. Applejack looked towards her teachers' master, and signed.

"It's nothing Master Asia. It's just, Rainbow seems so much better at this than me sometimes. She picks this up faster and, well, I just don't think I'm cut out for this."

Master Asia shook his head. He walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"(Sigh) Look Applejack, you shouldn't get discouraged just because someone else learns faster than you do." He said. Asia looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Let me tell you a little secret. Back in my youth, I actually was a very slow learner in the martial arts." That made Applejack look at him with shock.

"Say what!?" Master Asia just chuckled.

"Surprised?" He said with a smirk. "It's true. When I was young, I wasn't the best student. I was a slow learner. What took other students a minute to learn, it took me a day or two to learn. I was so frustrated that I wanted to quit. But my first master told me that if I quit, it would be like allowing myself to die. I took his words to heart, and I kept training. Eventually, I was the one that the master chose to be his successor. So don't let Rainbow Dash's talent get you down. In the end, talent that doesn't exist, can always be learned."

Applejack smiled at him, and nodded.

"Thanks master. I really needed that." Master Asia smiled.

"Anytime. Now come on. Let's see if I can help you catch back up to Rainbow." And with that, Master Asia helped Applejack with the Tatsumaki kick. By the end of the training session, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash had become proficient in the technique.

As time went on, the girls heard a call coming from their phones. They went over to their phones and saw that it was Pinkie calling.

"Huh. Pinkie says she wants us to bring Ranma to the park for some reason." Rainbow said. Ranma looked puzzled.

"Why does she want to see me at the park?" He asked. Applejack just shrugged.

"Knowing Pinkie Pie, who knows." Master Asia put his hand on Ranma's shoulder.

"Better go son. It's not a good idea to keep a woman waiting when she says she wants to see you about something."

"If you say so master." Ranma said as Applejack and Rainbow Dash led him to the park. They soon arrived at the park, but no one was around.

"Where is she?" Ranma asked. The girls looked around but couldn't see a single pink hair of their crazy friend.

"Keep your guard up." Rainbow said. "This reeks of one of Pinkie's infamous..."

"SURPRISE!" Came a loud shout from behind a bundle of bushes. Ranma and the girls jumped into a guard position only to relax upon seeing it was just Pinkie and a bunch of their class mates.

"Huh?" Was all Ranma could say. Pinkie jumped over to him and hugged him tightly.

"So, are you surprised? Tell me you were surprised. I know you were surprised. I could tell by the look on your face. And I..Mhmph." Ranma covered Pinkie's mouth.

"Pinkie, what is going on here? What is all of this?" Ranam asked. Pinkie removed Ranma's hand from her mouth.

"It's your One Month-Aversary!" Ranma looked at her with a confused face.

"My what?"

"Your One Month-Aversary silly. It's officially been one moth since you came to Canterlot. Sooooooo... I decided to throw you a party." Pinkie said as she pulled out her weird music box contraption.

"Happy Month-Aversary! Happy Month-Aversary! Happy Month-Aversaryyyyyyyyy! Ranma-kun!" And with that, a small explosion of confetti fired from her music box.

"Wait so, this party is... for me?" Sunset ran up and slapped Ranma on the back.

"Of course it is silly! You're one of Pinkie's friends, so, you need to get used to her throwing a party for you whenever she feels like it." At hearing this, Ranma looked even more surprised.

"You mean, she does this kind of thing often?" He asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Pretty much. Just like every other thing with Pinkie, you get used to it after a while."

Ranma looked around at all the people from school having fun at a party that was, apparently, thrown together for him. Twilight came up to Ranma with a slice of cake in her hand and handed it to him.

"Come on Ranma. Let loose, have some cake and enjoy yourself." Ranma took the cake and took a bite pensively.

"Wow..." Ranma said as he tasted the cake.

"Wow!" He said again. Pinkie scooted over to him again.

"Good huh?" She asked. Ranma nodded.

"Wow. Pinkie, this is by far the sweetest and tastiest cake I have ever tasted." Pinkie smiled as Ranma said this. She just put her hands on her hips and smirked.

"Heh heh. No one can resist my homemade butter cream frosting." Pinkie said as Ranma kept eating the cake. Pinkie went off to enjoy herself, but as she did Fluttershy noticed Ranma was wondering around like he was lost and didn't know what to do. She went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong Ranma? Aren't you having a good time?" She asked with a worried look on her face. Ranma shook his head.

"No, no. It's not that. It's just that...well...I'm not really sure how to act around these types of things." Ranma said nervously. Fluttershy looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Ranma looked around, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, you see...I've never really been to a party before." At that, the whole park went quiet at the sound of a disc scratching. Everyone stopped and looked at Ranma.

"What?" He asked as EVERYONE started looking at him with shocked looks on his faces. Suddenly, Ranma heard very loud footsteps coming towards him, the Earth shaking with each step as Pinkie Pie came stomping closer to him with a death glare on her face.

She marched right up to him and glared at him hard.

"What. Did. You. Say?" She asked. Ranma shrunk back as Pinkie closed in on him. And, for the first time since Ranma knew her, he was starting to fear the dark pink haired party animal.

"Um, I said that I've never been to a party before." Ranma said sheepishly. Pinkie stepped even closer, getting right in his face.

"You mean you've never just never been invited to one, right?" Pinkie asked. Ranma gulped.

"Um, no. I mean, I've literally never been to a single party in my entire life. Not one." Everyone gasped at what they had just heard. Fluttershy went up to Ranma.

"Um, you've at least had birthday parties, right?" Ranma just looked at her with a face that said, 'Are you kidding?'.

"Fluttershy, with how much I bad mouth my father, does he really sound like the kind of guy that would throw a party of any kind for anything except his own stomach?"

At that, Ranma's friends all gained a look of shock on their faces. As for Pinkie...she had a face of rapidly mounting annoyance. Her right eye twitching like crazy and her face turning boiling red.

"Um, Pinkie?" Ranma asked. "You ok?" In response, all she could say was...

"Un. Ac. CEPTABBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie screamed out so loud that a huge gale force blast of wind started blowing everything around them all over the place like they were in a hurricane. Her scream was so loud that it could even be heard from space.

"What the FUDGE kind of person doesn't let their own son have a party even once in his whole LIFE!?" Pinkie asked to no one in particular. Rarity went up to Ranma with a look of concern.

"Surely your father did something special for your birthday every year." She said to her friend. At that, Ranma couldn't help but scoff.

"Psh. Yeah. Every year he would go, 'Boy! Don't act like some sissy girl! So you don't have some stupid party, be a man and don't cry about something so stupid!'" Ranma said, doing his best impression of his father.

"You mean, you didn't do anything special for your birthday?" Fluttershy asked. Ranma just shook his head.

"Nope. I mean, what's the big deal?" Ranma asked. A proverbial sound of glass could be heard shatterig. And THAT was the final straw.

"WHAT!?" Pinkie screamed. "What do you mean 'NO BIG DEAL'? It's a HUGE DEAL!" She exclaimed.

"Parties are an important part of growing up! Not only that, but parties are meant to make people happy. The idea that someone has gone through their whole life without going to even one is straight up outrageous!"

With that Pinkie gained a determined look of resolution on her face as she shot her hand into the sky.

"Ranma, I, Pinkamina Diane Pie, herby swear to you that I will throw you...uh...how old are you again?" She asked.

"16." Ranma answered.

"I will throw you 16 of the bestest parties EVER!" Pinkie exclaimed. Ranma looked a little concerned.

"Um, Pinks, you really don't have too..."

"YOU WILL HAVE YOUR PARTIES AND YOU WILL ENJOY THEM!" Pinkie shouted at the pigtailed boy.

"Alright, alright! I'll take the parties. On one condition," he said.

"What's that?" Pinkie asked.

"Promise me you'll make more of that cake!" He answered with a smile. Pinkie grinned back at him.

"You got it! Now, let's get back to enjoying Ranma's first party EVER!" And with that, the DJ, Vinyl Scratch, started the music back up again and everyone danced to the beat.

"One down, 15 more to go." Pinkie said to the fourth wall.

The following Monday, Ranma, Rainbow and Applejack were on their way to the school, and as soon as they reached the front gate...

"SURPRISE!" Shouted Pinkie Pie as she jumped out of nowhere. Ranma jumped back in surprise.

"What the heck!?" Ranma cried out in surprise. Pinkie giggled as she shoved a cake into Ranma's face.

"It's your second PARTY!" Pinkie said as she fired off her party canon. Ranma coughed as the confetti spread all over him.

"Oh, um, thanks. But, shouldn't you have waited till a day when we didn't have school?" Ranma asked as he took a bite of the cake. Pinkie giggled.

"Yeah, I would have, but it would have taken waaaaayyyyyyy too long. Besides, I want to give you all the parties you never had as quickly as possible." Pinkie said as she fired her canon again. Ranma laughed as he and the others eat the cake on the walk to the school.

At first, Ranma was actually flattered to have a friend who wanted to throw him a bunch of parties. But...as the week went by, Ranma began to HATE IT! Everyday Pinkie was throwing another party. Normally, Ranma wouldn't mind school being spiced up a little, but having Pinkie pop out of nowhere every few minutes to check on how his party of the day was going, and shoving cake down his throat was a little too much. Especially when every time he opened a door, be it his locker, a classroom door, or even the door to the freaking bathroom, there was Pinkie.

Shooting her party canon, blowing horns, firing streamers, or whatever else she could think of. By Thursday, poor Ranma had his head planted on his desk, his hands on his stomach, and groans coming from his mouth. Twilight saw this and went over to check on her pigtailed friend.

"You ok there Ranma?" She asked. Ranma looked up at the bespeckled girl with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Not really." He said. "All week long, Pinkie's been throwing me parties! It was fine at first, but all these back-to-back parties are taking it out of me. Every day: there's Pinkie, there's Pinkie, there's Pinkie! Everywhere I go, Pinkie's there trying to make every step I take a party in of itself! And all the cake she keeps forcing down my throat! I think I've put on five extra pounds with all that cake. And now my stomach is feeling sick."

Twilight couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy. As Ranma's head hit his desk again, Twilight stroked his head gently.

"I'm sorry Ranma." She said. "But I guess when Pinkie found out that you've never had a party before, the very idea of it must've driven her temporarily, 'party crazy'."

Ranma groaned and tried to sit back up.

"What's the big deal anyway? So I've never had a party before? Why is she making such a big deal out of it?" Ranma asked. Twilight shook her head.

"Well Ranma, I know you haven't known her long, so you wouldn't know, but, to Pinkie, someone who loves to make people happy, parties are the epitome of seeing them happy. The idea that someone never got the chance to have a happy time like that, it's almost like her hearing that the world's come straight to an end."

"I...I didn't think of it like that." Ranma said. The teacher came in and started the class, but Ranma didn't really pay attention. He was too busy thinking about Pinkie. Class soon ended and Ranma started walking almost aimlessly around the halls. As he neared his locker, his danger sense perked up and he looked around, and sure enough, there was Pinkie...charging right at him!

"Oh boy..." Ranma said to himself as the pink party queen charged ever closer. All the student in the hall cleared out of the way as she charged through.

"Pinkie STOP!" Ranma said, holding his hands up. Pinkie screeched to a halt in front of him.

"Pinks, we need to talk." Ranma said to the crazy girl. Pinkie looked at him slightly confused.

"Why? What's up?" Ranma took a deep breath.

"Pinkie, look, I really appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but..."

"But what?" She asked as she tilted her head.

"But this has to stop!" He shouted at her. Pinkie looked taken aback.

"W-what..." Pinkie's expression turned to one of sadness.

"Look, Pinkie, I get that you want to give me a bunch of parties to make up for me not having any throughout my life, but, you're going too far." Ranma tried to explain to the sad looking girl.

"W-what do you me?" Pinkie asked on the verge of tears. "Don't you like your parties?"

"Pinkie that's not it," Ranma went on. "I do like the parties, but I can't handle you throwing me one party after another, back-to-back. Can't you just cool it on the parties?"

Pinkie tried to compose herself enough to speak.

"But I still have 11 more parties to throw you. Can't I just throw you those parties real quick?" Ranma pinched his nose.

"Pinkie, do you know why I liked that first?" She shook her head. "It's because that was the first time anyone ever cared enough about me to throw me a party. It was special." Pinkie smiled at that.

"But when you start throwing them at me one after another, it makes them feel, well, less special."

That made Pinkie feel sad.

"Gosh, I never meant to make you feel like that. I just wanted you to have all the fun parties you never got to have. I just couldn't stand the idea that one of my friends never got to enjoy having a fun birthday party every year. And now I've gone and ruined the experience for you." Now the tears were really falling. Ranma waved his hands frantically.

"Woah woah woah! I never said you ruined parties for me!" He said trying to stop Pinkie from crying.

"I'm just saying that, maybe instead of throwing all these parties at me all at once, you maybe, I don't know, space them out a bit. You know, save them for some real special occasions?"

Pinkie stopped crying at that.

"So, you do still want your parties?" She asked. "I haven't ruined them for you?"

Ranma smiled at his friend and hugged her.

"Of course I still want them, Pinkie. And no, you haven't ruined parties for me. I just think you need to save them for when they'll really be special. That way they'll mean something."

Pinkie smiled and hugged Ranma back. Ranma could'nt help but blush.

"Alright you two, back to class already." The two teens looked behind them to see Principle Celestia walking around the hall.

"Hey PC," Ranma said to her. "What're you doing outside of your little office/palace?" Pinkie snickered at that while Celestia just ignored his snide remark.

"Well, if you must know, I'm doing a routine locker check." That made the two teens tilt their heads.

"Um...why?" Ranma asked.

"Well, if you must know," Celestia began as she kept walking towards the lockers and using her key to open them all up.

"A student told me that they saw someone stashing something in one of the lockers so I'm checking them all just to make sure there isn't anything illegal stashed in my school."

This drew a reaction from Pinkie. She gasped as Celestia drew closer to Pinkie's locker.

"Principle Celestia wait! Don't open my locker there's..." She never got a chance to finish, because at that moment, Celestia opened the door to Pinkie's locker...and a huge party canon popped out and fired a giant blast of confetti that flooded part of the hallway.

"Pinkamina Diane PIE!" Celestia shouted from underneath the mountain of confetti. Pinkie grimaced as she Celestia clawed her way out.

"That, wasn't by any chance meant for me...was it?" Ranma asked Pinkie. She grinned sheepishly.

"Maybe?" She answered. A shadow loomed over, they looked up and saw Celestia glaring right at the young pinkette.

"Hehe." Pinkie laughed nervously. "I'm in a lootttttt of trouble right now, aren't I?"

Celestia's answer was to lock Pinkie in detention. Shortly after school, we find Pinkie sitting in detention, playing a harmonica.

"I got those party animal blues." She blew into her harmonica. "Shot a canon full of confetti at my principle." She blows on her harmonica again. "I tried to throw an awesome party for my friend." She blows again. "But now I'm locked in detention." She blows again, and was about to sing again when she heard a knock on the window.

"Not exactly your catchiest tune there Pinks." Came a very familiar voice. Pinkie looked towards the window and was surprised to see...

"Ranma!?" She exclaimed. She jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the window that the pig tailed martial artist was crouching in.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well," Ranma began. "I felt kind of bad that you got thrown into detention because you were trying to throw me another party, so, I thought I'd come and give you some company."

Pinkie was shocked to hear that.

"You know, you didn't really have to do that." She said to him. Ranma chuckled.

"And you didn't have to throw me those parties. But you did. And so..." Ranma pulled out two slices of cake. "Now it's my turn."

Pinkie was shocked. "Wha..." Ranma handed her a slice of cake.

"Let's just call this our 'Chilling in detention party'" He said with a smile.

Pinkie accepted the cake, still dumbfounded that Ranma would do this for her. She felt tears of happiness welling up. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around Ranma and hugged him tight. He returned the hug, smiling the whole time.

"Hey now." He said as Pinkie hugged him. After a while, she let him go.

"Ranma. This is the sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me. Thank you." Pinkie said to him. Ranma blushed at the praise.

"Aw, it's nothing Pinks." Ranma said. He reached behind himself and pulled out a bag full of games. Pinkie gasped.

"How did you know I liked these games?" Ranma grinned and rubbed his nose.

"I asked the others."

And with that, Ranma and Pinkie ate cake and played a few board games. Unknown to them though, Celestia and Luna were watching them from outside the door to the detention room.

"Shouldn't we interrupt them?" Luna asked her sister.

"Mmmmm, nah." Celestia answered. "Just this once, I think I'll let it slide. After all, Ranma just wants to thank his friend for doing something no one else has ever done for him. I think that's a good enough reason to let them enjoy this."

And with that, the two of them left the two young teens alone to enjoy themselves until Pinkie's detention time was up. Of course, Ranma was long gone before they ever got to the door again.

Another week passed, and Ranma continued to train alongside Rainbow and Applejack in-between going to school and hanging with his growing group of friends. Another day of school was coming to an end and Ranma was just putting his stuff up in his locker when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around and was surprised to see Flash Sentry, a friend of the girls and someone who had become a good friend to Ranma during his time at CHS.

"Huh? Oh, hey Flash, what's up?" He asked.

"Well, Ranma, can I ask you a little favor?" Asked the blue, spiky haired teen.

"Sure man." Ranma said with a shrug. "What do ya need?"

Flash looked a little bashful as he tried to find the right words.

"Well, you see..." He started to say. "I was wondering, if maybe, you could teach me how to fight?"

This caught Ranma by surprise, and it showed on his face.

"You want to learn martial arts?" He asked his blue haired friend. In the short time that Ranma had known Flash, he never struck him as the kind of guy who was into martial arts. Flash was known for being a rock n' roll guitarist not a fighter.

"Yeah. I mean, if it's not too much trouble I mean."

"It's no problem, man." Ranma chuckled. "And sure, I can teach ya, but first: Why do you want to learn martial arts? I thought you were a straight up rock n' roller?"

This was the question Flash was dreading. He had an answer, it was just hard for him to admit. Especially to someone like Ranma.

"Well, you see Ranma..." He began. "Before you came to this school, the only people around who had any power or ability to handle strange things were Sunset, Twilight and the other girls. And whenever they got into a fight with any strange magical enemy, I couldn't do anything to help them."

Flash sighed as he remembered all the times that his friends got into crazy fights or situations and he was powerless to help them.

"I'm always the one on the sidelines. Always stuck as the one cheering them on when they put their lives on the line."

Flash put on his most serious and resolute face.

"I'm sick and tired of feeling powerless. I don't want to be the guy on the sidelines anymore! The next time they're in trouble, I want to be the one to help them. I know that sounds selfish, but, it's just how I feel."

Ranma smiled.

"Flash, there is no shame in wanting to be stronger to help out people you care about." Ranma said as he put a hand on Flash's shoulder.

"I can train you if you really want. But I got to warn you, it won't be easy. It'll be hard, and if you want to get as strong as you say you do, you'll have to commit. And I mean you'll have to commit to it like breathing air to live. Is that understood?"

Flash didn't even take time to think about it. He had been thinking about this for a long time. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Do your worst Ranma. I'm ready to do whatever it takes."

Ranma smiled at the one guy he could call his best, male, friend.

"Alright then. And from now on, when we're training, it's Ranma-sensei. Got it?" Ranma asked his newest student.

Flash nodded again.

"Yes sir, Ranma-sensei."

"Good." Ranma said. "Then meet me at my house tomorrow morning at 6. That's the time me, Rainbow Dash and Applejack train in the morning. Wear some loose-fitting clothes, and bring some water to drink. Oh, and don't eat a big breakfast, ok?"

Flash nodded again.

"You got it sensei."

And with that, the two friends left the school to go to their respective homes.

The next day, just as Rainbow and Applejack were finishing up their stretches, they saw Flash jogging up to where they were.

"Flash?" Rainbow asked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Applejack. Flash scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, you see," He tried to explain. But before he could Ranma's voice cut into their conversation.

"Because starting today, he'll be joining us for training." He answered curtly. This revelation caught the two young girls by surprise.

"Uh, Flash? Since when did you want to start learning martial arts?" Rainbow dash asked the fellow guitarist. Flash looked down, embarrassed.

"Well, let's just say I have some 'personal' reasons." He answered. Ranma then coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Alright guys!" He said. "Let's get started."

And with that, Ranma got them started on the day's training. He set Rainbow and Applejack on the intermediate katas of his style while he gave Flash some one-on-one training in the basics. It took time for Flash to get his stances right. After getting the stances right, Ranma worked with him on the basic punches and a few basic kicks. Flash truly didn't have much of an affinity for martial arts, but that wasn't going to stop Ranma. Nor Flash.

Days soon turned to weeks, and Ranma was pleased with how his three students were progressing. Even though Flash wasn't quite at the same level as Rainbow and Applejack, he didn't let that get him down. Whatever new training exercise Ranma put forth for him, he was determined to meet it.

It started with early morning training before school, then jogging to school with a weighted back pack, then after school it was jogging back to Ranma's place for more training, then they would repeat it all the next day. Day after day, Ranma had Flash go through different training exercises. From stretches to help with his flexibility, to strength building, to drills and katas to help teach him techniques.

As for right now, Ranma was having Flash meditate. He was hoping to get Flash started on ki techniques.

"Applejack!" Ranma called out to his other protégé. She stopped training with Rainbow and jogs over to Ranma.

"What's up sensei?" She asked.

"When Flash finishes his meditation, I want you to spar with him and help him with his technique. Ok?" Said Ranma as he gave her instructions. Applejack nodded her head.

"You can count on me, sensei!" She said as she headed over to Flash.

"Rainbow!" Ranma called to his other student.

"Hai, sensei!" She said as she rushed over to him.

"Well, while they're working on that, I thought it would be time to teach you a new technique." At hearing that, Rainbow Dash perked up big time.

"Really!? All right! So, what am I going to learn sensei?" She asked, practically jumping up and down on the spot.

"Well, this time it's a technique that I came up with a long time ago." Upon hearing this, Rainbow's excitement only grew.

"You mean I'm going to be learning a Ranma original?" She asked, grinning like crazy. Ranma just nodded, smiling.

"Yep." Was all he said. He got into a fighting stance.

"Come at me." He said. Rainbow replied by taking up her own stance.

"Ok sensei." And with that, she charged at Ranma. He replied by charging at her. The speed and ferocity of his attacks caused her to stop dead in her tracks. His punches and kicks struck at her with so fast that even she couldn't keep up.

'S-so fast!' She thought to herself. 'His attacks are so fast and fierce! It's almost like...his attacks are like a pack of wild wolves charging at me!'

Rainbow fell to the ground, and the craziest thing was that his attacks never even hit her! His attacks always stopped just a hairs beath away from her. The air current from the strikes almost sounded like wolves to hear. She felt fear. During the barrage she could almost picture wolf heads on Ranma's hands and feet. Biting and clawing at her, threatening to tear her limb from limb.

Ranma relaxed and offered her a hand.

"And that is what you're going to be learning." Rainbow took his hand, a look of stark astonishment on her face.

"What...what was that?" She asked. Ranma chuckled and grinned.

"That was a technique I created to help me get over some bad dreams I had about a pack of wolves chasing after me. It's called, the Rogafufukken, or the Wolf Fang Fist." Rainbow just loked at him in astonishment.

"The Wolf Fang Fist?" Rainbow asked. "That, looked, so awesome! I can't wait to learn this move!"

Ranma smiled at her. "Okay then. Let's get started." And with that, Ranma started guiding Rainbow through how to use The Wolf Fang Fist.

The trick to the technique was not only the speed requirements, but also to channel the users ki through the attacking limbs, be it the fist, foot, elbow or knee, and imagine the attacking limb as the part of a pack of wolves biting and clawing at the opponent.

"Not only is this attack good for striking a single target," Ranma explained. "But if done properly, you can use it to attack multiple opponents one after another."

Rainbow beamed at that explanation. She had no problem with the speed requirements but she was still having trouble keeping her ki flowing through her limbs as she struck. As she kept attacking Ranma, her ki kept fizzling out after a few hits.

"Aw man!" She cried out. "I can't get my ki to stay in one place!" Ranma place a comforting hand on Rainbow's shoulder.

"It's ok Rainbow. No one gets it on the first try. You ain't no Mary Sue ya know? Not like that dumb Rey 'no training' chick from KK's botched Star Wars sequel remake." That last one got Rainbow to burst out laughing.

"You saw that movie too huh?" She asked. Ranma nodded.

"I did. And I hated it. Speaking as a martial artist, you do NOT go from having no training to being the strongest in the galaxy in less than a month. That was just too unrealistic for my tastes."

"Heh heh. I agree." Rainbow replied.

After a few more hours of practicing, Ranma dismissed his students and decided to retire for the night. But before he could get to his house, he heard Flash call out to him.

"Ranma!" Ranma turned to see his blue haired friend/student running up to him.

"What's up Flash?" He asked, seeing Flash with a slightly worried look on his face.

"Look, Ranma, I'm really thankful that you agreed to take me in as a student, but, I'm worried that I'm not good enough to keep up with the others." At this, Ranma just chuckled.

"What's so funny man?" Flash asked annoyed.

"Flash, everybody learns at their own pace. Just cause the girls are ahead of you now, doesn't mean that you won't catch up to them later. You really shouldn't judge your own pace of growth by that of someone else." That made Flash a little better, but seeing that he still look a little down, Ranma decided to try another pep talk approach.

"Flash, let me ask you something: Do you know why there are more stories about underdog type characters than prodigy types?" Flash thought for a second then shook his head.

"Because those type of people are more relatable. Everyone may get jealous of the fact that prodigies learn stuff faster, but underdog types like you are the ones people always route for. Why? Because you represent the common people, and you give those same people hope that they can become better than the lot in life they were given. To be honest, I'm a little bit jealous of those kinds of people." At hearing these words, Flash was a little star struck.

"You...you're jealous of underdogs? But you're like, the ultimate martial arts prodigy. Why would you be jealous of people like that? Like me?" Ranma chuckled again.

"Because you get to inspire more people than I ever will. You can prove that even a late starter can, eventually, someday, catch up to guys like me. That's why." As Ranma finished his explanation, Flash couldn't help but gape.

"Whoa. I...I don't know what to say to that Ranma." Ranma put a hand on Flash's shoulder.

"Just promise you won't give up on your training, ok bud?" Ranma asked. Flash smiled and nodded.

"You got it, sensei." Before Flash left to go home, Ranma had on last piece of advice to give.

"One more thing." He started to say. "It's about you summoning your ki." Flash stopped to listen to Ranma's words.

"A lot of times, certain strong emotions can help to draw out your ki. But if you rely too much on a certain emotion, that emotion will start to get very addictive to use. I say this because I don't want you to fall into the same trap a lot of martial artists do." Flash nodded at Ranma's words.

"Okay. So, how do I not fall into that trap?"

"The best way not to fall into that trap, is to focus on the one thing that can never be turned against you...resolve."

"Resolve?" Flash asked. Ranma nodded.

"That's right. When it comes to channeling ki, nothing works better than resolve." Ranma stroked his chin as he thought of how best to explain.

"Think of it this way: When someone you care about is in danger, your resolve to protect them often gives you a boost. Channeling your ki through your resolve is kind of like that. As my master once told me, a person is always at their strongest when they're fighting to protect someone they care for. It's like, when a mother animal sees her cub in trouble, her resolve turns her into a dangerous fighting machine. Ya get what I'm saying?" He asked, afraid his attempt at explaining wasn't going over so well.

Flash nodded his head.

"Yeah, I think I get what you're trying to say." That made Ranma smile.

"Ok. We'll, I'll get to my point before I get too far off track. My point is, if you focus on your reason for fighting, and your resolve to protect those precious to you, you'll find that your ki will flow more naturally, especially in the heat of battle."

"Yeah, IF I ever unlock it." Flash said a little dejectedly. Ranma patted his friend on the shoulder

"Don't worry man. It'll come in time. Now go home and rest up." Flash nodded, bowed to his friend and sensei, then headed off to his home.

About a week later, we find Ranma, Rainbow, Applejack and Flash jogging to school. Once again Ranma was walking on the fence while his three students were jogging alongside him as he kept encouraging them onward.

As they arrived at the school, they were met by Twilight, Sunset and the others.

"Hey guys!" Said Pinkie as she rushed over to hug her friends. Taking extra time to hug and snuggle Rainbow and Applejack.

"Pinkie," Rainbow said to her pink friend. "If your hands go any lower, I am going to strangle you."

"That goes double for me." Applejack added in. Pinkie chuckled and let them go. Twilight walked over and gave Applejack, Rainbow, and Flash a thermos each.

"Here guys. I made you some vitamin/protein shakes to help replenish your energy."

"Thanks Twi." Rainbow said as she accepted the shake.

"Yeah, you're the best sugar cube." Applejack added.

"Yeah, thanks." Said Flash as he accepted his shake. As they caught their breaths Celestia started walking up to them.

"Oh Ranma." She called, getting their attention. "Can I see you in my office, please."

"Uh, sure." Ranma said as he followed Celestia to her office. As she did so, Pinkie couldn't help but stare at Celestia's retreating form.

"(Inhales then sighs) I wish she would take me to her office so I could stare at that ass...OUCH!" Pinkie exclaimed as she felt someone bonk her on the head. She turned and saw Rainbow glaring at her.

"What!? I'm just saying, it's right there!" Pinkie then turned back to catch one last glance at Celestia before the door closed.

"Plus it's just so big. And jiggly...ouch!" She cried out again as Rainbow bopped her again. "Stop doing that!" She cried.

Meanwhile, Ranma had just sat down with Celestia in her office.

"Sooooo, to what do I owe the honor of this little visit to your castle, your majesty?" Ranma asked with a tone of smugness. Celestia just glared at him.

"Don't call me that." Celestia said to him. She clasped her hands together and restd her chin on them as she looked at Ranma.

"So, Ranma..." She began. "I couldn't help but notice that you've gotten yourself another student to your little, unofficial martial arts club." Ranma just crossed his arms and legs as he returned her stare.

"Yeah, what of it, princess?" Celestia narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just curious as to how you convinced someone like him to join your little club is all?"

"Well if you must know, little miss nosey," Ranma replied. "He came to me for training. And speaking of which, how come it's taken you this long to say something about it? It's been almost a month and a half."

Celestia took a deep breath.

"I've allowed it to happen because I thought he would lose interest. How you managed to keep him interested baffles me."

"For your information," Ranma said as he glared at her. "He chose to stay on as my student because he's tired of seeing his friends fight to save everyone while he stays on the sidelines, unable to do anything." He leaned forward to emphasize his point.

"And believe it or not, Titzilla, some people actually find martial arts to be enjoyable. Not everyone is a hypocritical hater like you who quits just because things get a little harder." At that, Celestia quickly grabbed a glass of water that was on her desk, and splashed it on Ranma.

"REALLY!?" Ranma said as he turned into a red headed girl again.

"I just thought that you might want to cool off, Miss Saotome." She said with a smirk. Ranma growled at her.

"One of these days, I am ganna kick your..."

"Hark! Where are thou my lovely angels of this foreign land?" A very painfully familiar voice interrupted their argument. They both face palmed.

"Oh no. Not him again!" They said at the same time. They looked out the window and sure enough, there was Kuno, stirring up trouble again.

"This guy just doesn't know when or how to take a hint, does he?" Ranma asked, even though she already knew the answer. Celestia just shook her head in exasperation.

"No," she said simply. "No, he really doesn't."

Ranma headed out the door, Celestia right behind him. Meanwhile, the students outside were running for their lives from the sword swinging loon.

"Out of the way peasants! I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of the Kendo world, have no time for you. I have simply come to claim the love of my beloved angels." The blue bone head kept saying as he tore his way through the school yard. Sunset and the others followed the screams to find their would-be suitor.

"Really Kuno!? Again? Haven't you had enough?" Sunset said to the kendo nut. Kuno turned to see Sunset and her crew and instantly started going into his Casanova act.

"Aw! My fair beauties! At last, you've came to see me, your loyal samurai hero." Kuno went on like the hopeless idiot that he was, stuck in his own little world.

"Pfff, oh please!" Rainbow Dash chided. "The only thing we're here for is to kick your sorry butt back to Japan. You sad excuse for a samurai."

Kuno, however, didn't grasp the reality of the situation, as usual.

"Oh come now, surely you don't still intend to keep playing this game of hard to get?" Kuno said as he brushed his hair back, trying to look cool, and failing at it.

"The only thing hard to get around here, is your brain to work." Pinkie said, laughing at her own joke and getting a few chuckles from the others. Kuno glared at her.

"I've had just about all I can stand of you, you big pink wad of old chewing gum! Why don't you go back to the demonic whore house where you belong!" Pinkie looked hurt then enraged at that remark, but before she or any of the others could give Kuno one for, Flash nailed him in the chest with a flying side kick.

"OOPHFF!" Kuno felt the wind get knocked out of him. Flash landed from his kick and glared at the wannabe samurai.

"You know pal, it's comments like that, that make it easy to see why you're a sad single loser." He said as Kuno got back to his feet, glaring at the new comer.

"How DARE you attack me like that you western barbarian!" Kuno shouted at the blue haired young man. Flash just flicked his nose with his thumb.

"You're one to talk about being a barbarian, talking bad about the friends of women you constantly harass." That comment got Kuno seething mad.

"Grrrr! I shall make you pay for that insult you insolent cur!" Kuno shouted as he got to his feet and readied his sword. Flash got into a ready stance and prepared for the coming battle. Seeing what was going on, Sunset and the others started to go and help but Flash stopped them.

"Girls, stay back!" They heard him shout. "This time, this jerk is mine."

"Flash, don't be stupid!" Sunset cried out. "We can handle this creep!"

"Let them fight." They turned around and saw Ranma and Celestia walking up to them.

"Um, Ranma," Celestia began. "Shouldn't you end this in like, one blow like you normally do?" Ranma looked at her then at the others.

"Normally, I would. But I think Flash needs this fight." The others looked at him quizzically.

"Needs it?" Twilight asked. Ranma nodded.

"Quick question: How many times have you guys jumped into a situation like this and he was never able to help you guys out?" Ranma asked. That question caught the girls by surprise.

"Um...all the time?" Pinkie answered. Ranma nodded.

"And do you guys know why Flash came to me for training? It's because he's sick and tired of that happening. With us guys, it's a matter of pride. We don't like seeing the people we care about fighting all our battles for us." The girls, even Celestia grew sympathetic looks on their faces at this explanation.

"Flash needs this fight, to prove to himself that he's stronger than he used to be. Kuno's weak to me, but he should serve as a good measuring point for Flash to test his strength and skill." Ranma said then smiled.

"Besides, if things get too bad, I'll step in and end it." The others looked back at the fight.

Flash circled around Kuno. When a gentle gust of wind blew past them, Kuno charged at Flash. Flash dodge rolled to the side, and when Kuno came at him with a diagonal slash, Flash rolled to Kuno's right side then slugged him in the face. Kuno elbowed Flash in the ribs and knocked him aside with the butt of his bokken.

Dazed, Flash barely had enough time to duck under Kuno's next swipe. He followed with two uppercuts to Kuno's solar plexus, then swept his left leg from behind Kuno's legs while executing a palm strike to his chin, knocking the wannabe samurai to the ground.

"YEAH!" Shouted Rainbow Dash. "That's showing him Flashy!"

Kuno angrily swiped at Flash with his sword, forcing him to back up. Kuno got up and charged at Flash with a barrage of quick strikes. Flash dodged, side stepped and ducked under Kuno's attacks. Timing it just right, he ducked down and preformed a low spinning sweep kick that caught Kuno once more by surprise.

"Nice move Flash!" Pinkie said to her friend. Sunset was surprised. She knew Ranma said he was getting better, but she had no idea that he had improved so much in such a short amount of time.

In desperation, Kuno swung his sword at Flash like a mad man. Flash back rolled away from Kuno's swipes and got back to his feet as Kuno did the same. They circled around each other, looking for an opening to exploit. Suddenly, a bright light shone right in Flash's eyes.

"Agah!" Flash shouted as he covered his eyes. Kuno seized the opportunity and attacked Flash whiles his eyes were closed. Striking him in the head then in every other vulnerable spots.

"Hey!" Ranma shouted. "That's cheating ya creeps!" She looked over and saw Kuno's kendo cronies using mirrors to reflect light into Flash's eyes. Seething with rage, Ranma and Rainbow Dash charged at the creeps.

Ranma grabs the one with the mirror and punches him in the face. Rainbow executed the Tatsumaki kick and knocked down a few more of them. The two of them stared down the bunch of kendo goons as they prepared to take them on.

"Don't you guys have any shame! I thought you guys were supposed to be all about honor and yet here you are cheating for your boss just because he's losing?" Ranma said to the gathered lackies. They all looked slightly ashamed but shook it off as they pulled out their bokkens and prepared to charge at the two young female fighters.

"It doesn't matter I the fight is fair or not!" One of the goons said. "All that matters in the end is victory! It doesn't matter if we cheat so long as we're the ones who go home the winners." That comment REALLY pissed off the two fighters. It was at this moment, something snapped inside Rainbow Dash.

Ranma looked over at his student/friend and saw her battle aura blazing a bight cyan. Rainbow growled at the gathered throng of enemies and then, took up the stance of the wolf.

"Grrr! You guys make me SICK!" She cried as her limbs became covered with ki and she charged at the kendo goons. Ranma stood back and watched Rainbow closed in on Kuno's lackies. As she did, her body became surrounded by the image of a pack of wolves.

The horde of kendo thugs took a step back in fear as Rainbow closed in on them at lightning speed. When she was within range, she lashed out with a barrage of punches, kicks, and claw hand strikes that ripped and tore at them! She punched and kicked through their swords and knocked them down. Every strike having the image of a wolf's head covering he attacking limb.

"Garofufuken! Wolf Fang Fist!" She shouted as she finished off the last of the horde of creeps. Ranma brushed the hair out of her eyes and whistled. He looked back to Flash and saw that he had grabbed ahold of Kuno's sword and side kicked him hard in the gut, knocking him back and away.

"Ok, I'm ending this now." Ranma said as she prepared to step into the fight.

"NO!" Flash shouted at his friend and mentor. "I can handle this! This is my fight! Let me finish it!"

Sunset looked at her friend with a worried look.

"Flash! You've proved your point! Let us help!" She cried to her former boyfriend. But before she could charge in, it was Applejack that stopped her.

"Hold on there, sugar cube." She said to the red head. "Let him finish what he started."

"But..." Sunset tried to say, but Twilight put a hand on her shoulder.

"You heard what Ranma said. This is Flashes chance to prove he doesn't always need us to save him. Yeah, it's a stupid guy pride thing, but this is what he needs right now."

Sunset knew deep down that her friends were right, but that didn't mean she liked it. She looked back at the fight and prayed that she wouldn't regret this.

Flash looked back at his opponent. "Not so tough now without your lackies to cheat for you, are ya?" Kuno, of course, was so full of himself that he acted like he didn't know what Flash was talking about.

"Don't go blaming your momentary weakness on my noble brothers of kendo! Just because you got over confident and dropped your guard doesn't mean you can blame it on others you western barbarian!"

'How full of crap can this guy possibly be?' Flash asked himself. 'He doesn't even realize that his own thugs cheated to help him win. And I'll bet it's not the first time either.'

"Oh well," Kuno prattled on. "I suppose I will have to take you more seriously. Behold villain! The TRUE power of the Blue Thunder of Furikan High!"

And with that, Kuno swung his sword and fire a blade of cutting wind that Flash barely dodged! With each swing of his sword, more wind blades came charging at Flash. The blue haired teen dodged left and right, doing his best not to get sliced by the vacuum blades. Flash tried to close the distance between him and Kuno, but each time he tried Kuno's vacuum waves pushed him back.

'It's no use.' Flash was saying to himself. 'I can't get near him! If I could just close the distance, I could finish this!'

As fear and doubt started to creep into the young fighters' mind, he misjudged the timing of one of his dodges and was nicked by one of Kuno's vacuum blades!

"AAHHHHH!" Flash cried as he felt the sting of the attack cutting through his skin.

"FLASH!" Everyone cried out as they saw their friend go down. Flash started to panic. Was all that training for nothing? Was he still so weak that he needed someone to come and save him? As these thoughts ran through his head, Kuno started walking forward.

"HA HA HA HA! So much for your bravado. Now prepare for your end!"

"That's it! I'm ending this!" Ranma said as she prepared to charge. But as she did, Sunset stepped out in fornt of her.

"Stop it! You've made your point Kuno! You're stronger than Flash just let him go!" She shouted at the kendoka.

"No he's not!" Pinkie chimed in. "If his goons hadn't gotten in the way, Flash would have beaten him by now."

"Yeah!" Twilight shouted. "Your problem is that you just can't handle it when things don't go your way so you have to have someone cheat for you to get what you want, you jerk!"

"That's right!" Fluttershy added. "You're just a big, cheating, meanie, sore loser!"

"And an overall crap hat too!" Pinkie added.

"SILENCE YOU PINK BITCH! And wuit putting words in the mouths of my fair damsels!" Kuno shouted as he launched another vacuum blade at Pinkie.

"AAAHH!" Pinkie screamed as Ranma jumpped in the way and chopped the wind blade in half.

"What's your problem pal!? You could have killed someone!" Ranma shouted.

Now Ranma was pissed, and so was Flash! Here he was feeling sorry for himself and once again, the people he wanted to protect where in danger of getting hurt again. But this time it was for just trying to protect him from someone he was fighting.

And it was at that moment, Flash remembered the talk he had with Ranma not long ago.

*Flashback*

"Think of it this way: When someone you care about is in danger, your resolve to protect them often gives you a boost. Channeling your ki through your resolve is kind of like that. As my master once told me, a person is always at their strongest when they're fighting to protect someone they care for. It's like, when a mother animal sees her cub in trouble, her resolve turns her into a dangerous fighting machine. Ya get what I'm saying?" He asked, afraid his attempt at explaining wasn't going over so well.

Flash nodded his head.

"Yeah, I think I get what you're trying to say." That made Ranma smile.

"Ok. We'll, I'll get to my point before I get too far off track. My point is, if you focus on your reason for fighting, and your resolve to protect those precious to you, you'll find that your ki will flow more naturally, especially in the heat of battle."

*Flashback End*

Flash clenched his fists and rose to his feet, a look of steely eyed determination etched on his face.

"Hey you bastard!" He shouted at Kuno. "Our fight's not done yet. You want to get to them, you got to go through me FIRST!"

Kuno turned to the blue haired teen.

"Fine! I'll end you first! I STRIKE!" He shouted as he let loose a barrage of vacuum blades at Flash.

Flash steeled himself, took a deep breath and centered his mind. Suddenly, an aura of blue light started faintly appear around him. Upon seeing this, Ranma felt a surge of ki coming form Flash.

'Oh, this is gonna be goooooood!' She/he thought to herself.

Flash charged straight for Kuno. Sunset and the others cried out his name, but Flash wasn't listening. He was in the zone. He felt his ki surge through him, amping up his speed. He didn't focus on it, he just let it drive him!

He dodged left, then right, trusting his instincts to guide him through the onslaught of wind blades. All the while, he clinched his right fist and subconsciously channeled ki into it. As he got closer to Kuno, his fist started to glow. But he didn't pay attention. Not to the rush of his ki flowing through him, not to the fact that he was evading the attacks he thought he couldn't before, not even to the growing light and warmth coming from his right fist. All he could think about, was how much he wanted to PUNCH. THAT. PRICK!

Once in range, Flash threw his fist into a powerful ki enhanced punch, that actually seemed to propel him straight for Kuno! Seeing this, the Shakespearian Samurai tried to strike with one final killing blow to his foe...Only for Flashes fist to punch RIGHT THROUGH sword and straight into Kuno's chest.

"WAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" Cried Kuno as the punch sent him flying right into the parked bus he and the kendo came on and nocked it over onto its side! Calming down from his adrenaline rush, a looked of shock and amazement came over Flashes face. He looked to the over turned bus, to his fist, then back...and grinned.

At this time, the rest of the kendo team were starting to get back to their feet after the beating they received from Rainbow Dash, and saw the last seconds of the fight in which their captain was sent flying. They all reacted in overly shocked screams at what they had just seen. Then the shock turned to terror as Flash looked over to them.

"So. Which one of you, bozos, tried to blind me earlier, huh?" He asked as he started to walk over to them. It was at this moment, that the kendo team of Furikan High, had enough brain cells to do the smartest thing they had ever done in their lives...And ran like hell. They stopped only to grab their unconscious captain and then fled like the devil was chasing after them.

"Yeah, that's right, you better run!" Flash shouted after them. "And when your idiot captain wakes up, tell him there are now FOUR people at Canterlot High that can kick his ass. Ranma, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, AND Flash Sentry!"

With that, the gathered crowd all began to cheer! Sunset and the others were all struck with amazement at what they had just seen.

"Whoa..." Was all Sunset could say.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute." Pinkie exclaimed. "Did Flash just have some kind of super cool, shonen action hero style, power awakening in the middle of a fight moment!?"

Ranma just smiled and nodded her/his head.

"Yep. He sure did."

Applejack just whistled while Rainbow Dash jumped in the air doing a Shoryuken motion in excitement for her friend.

"A-MAZING!" Pinkie squealed. Twilight just had her mouth opened in astonishment.

"Well, talk about ending a battle with style and flare." Rarity couldn't help but say.

"WOOOHOOO! YEAH FLASH! WOOHOOOOOO!" Everyone turned to see that it was Fluttershy shouting and screaming while jumping up and down, pumping her fists in the air. She saw everyone looking at her and dropped her hands behind her back and blushed while smiling sheepishly.

"I mean...Yeah Flash."

Ranma and the other rushed over to Flash as he was congratulated by the student body. Sunset pushed through the other students and rushed over to Flash, hugging him tightly. Then she punched him in the arm.

"You IDIOT! I get you want to prove your machoness, but don't go about making me scared like that!"

Flash was about to apologize, but Sunset cut him off by hugging him again and kissing his cheek.

"That being said, nice job out there, Karate Kid." Flash just blushed.

"Aw shucks. It was nothing." He said. Then Pinkie jumped up from behind him and hugged him around the neck.

"That. Was. AMAZING! You were like, HIII_YEAHHH! Then he was like, OOPPHHH! And we were all like, WWWWWOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!"

"I think what Pinkie is trying to say is," Twilight interrupted. "Is that we're all very proud of you Flash. Just, don't go trying to fight your way through all OUR problems, ok?"

Flash chuckled. "I'll try."

Ranma clapped a hand on Flashes uninjured shoulder.

"Not bad buddy. Not bad." She/he said with pride at his third student. "But we've got to get your defensive game up a smidge." Flash couldn't help but nod.

"Yeah, I agree."

Just then, Celestia walked over to the gathered friends while her sister Luna ushered the rest of the students back into the school.

"Well," She started. "I can't say I'm happy with the method." At that, Ranma glared at her while the others looked dejected.

"But I must say, I have never seen those idiots run away that fast before. And, as much as I hate to admit it, you may have been right, Ranma."

At this, Ranma went wide eyed with shock.

"Say what?" She said. Celestia sighed.

"I'll admit, I didn't like you taking another one of my students in as one of your martial arts protégés, but to be honest, I have noticed that Mr. Sentry here, had been a little emotionally down lately. But, seeing him fight for his friends like that, I guess I can see that you may have been right that your training may have been what he needed for a confidence boost."

Ranma and the others were all shocked to hear Principle Celestia admit that Ranma had done right with training Flash, especially since in the two months that he had been here, she had not hidden her distaste for his obsession with martial arts.

"Wait, so are you, little miss Martial Arts Hater, saying that you approve of what I've been doing with Flash now?" Ranma said with quizzical shock. Celestia sighed again as she had no choice but to come out and say it.

"Yes. Yes Ranma. While I still hold my reservations on the subject, I will admit: You were right and I was wrong. It was a good thing, you training Flash." With that, Ranma burst out into a grin that threatened to split her face open.

"You do realize that I'm never going to let you live this down, right?" She said to Celestia, who just shook her head and smiled.

"Yes, I'm aware, you little delinquent." She said with a playful smile. "Now could you please take mister Sentry here to the Nurses office so he can get patched up?"

Ranma saluted mockingly. "You got it. Hypocrite." She/he said as she helped Flash along to the school.

"Oh, and Flash!" Celestia called out to them. "Please don't go solving all your problems with violence like your gender flipping teacher!"

Flash just gave her a thumbs up.

"I'll try!"

Later, in the school nurses office, Ranma was surprised to see that the nurse was none other than his World History teacher, Ms. Zecora.

"Whoa I didn't know you doubled as the nurse, Ms. Zecora." Ranma said to the woman in question as she patched up Flashes arm.

"Teaching history is a joy, that's true, but nursing the sick and wounded is the thing I truly love to do." She replied as Ranma filled up a cup with hot water.

"Uuuhhhh, what's with the rhyming thing?" Ranma asked as she poured the hot water onto her head, turning her back into a dude again.

"Sorry," Zecora chuckled. "It's an old habit of mine that pops back every once in a while. The truth is, I'm using my job as a teacher here to pay my way through medical school so I can become a doctor." She said as she finished up Flashes arm.

"Whoa, that's cool." Ranma said as he dried off his wet head. Zecora inspected her work on Flashes arm and seeing that everything was up to her standards, she gave Flash a nod.

"You're lucky it wasn't too deep, or you would have needed a trip to the hospital for sure. Now, back to class you go. And no more fights today boys."

The two young men looked at each other then laughed before turning back to Zecora.

"We promise." They said in unison as they headed back to their respected classes.

Ranma gave Flash the rest of the week off from training, but on Sunday, Flash was determined to get back to work. But when he jogged up to Ranma's house, he saw Ranma, Rainbow, Applejack, and Master Asia all lined up smiling, as if they were waiting for him. The weird thing was, Ranma and the girls were wearing wight karate gis.

"Uh, hey guys, what's up?" He asked, a little nervous. Master Asia was the one to speak up.

"Flash, Ranma told me about your fight the other day. I must say, I'm impressed. You managed to beat an oppenant who had more years of experience than you and you managed to unlock your ki while doing it. You've shown not only how good at teaching my young disciple is, but how much you want to push yourself beyond your limits. And for that, Ranma has a present for you."

Ranma walked up to Flash and pulled a white gi from behind him, and presented it to Flash.

"Congrats man, you're now officially one of us." He said as he handed Flash the gi. Flash was stunned. He never expected to be given a gift like this.

"I...I don't...No. I do know what to say." He bowed. "Thank you, sensei."

Ranma smiled proudly.

"You're welcome brother. Now go get changed so we can get started." Flash nodded and rushed into the house to get changed. When he came back out in the gi, white belt tied around his waist, Rainbow and Applejack patted him on the back.

"Welcome to the big leagues Flashy." Rainbow said.

"It only gets harder from here on out." Applejack chimed in. And with that, Ranma and his students all lined up for behind Master Asia as he began to lead them through the first kata of the day.

They brought their hands together in front of themselves, fists clenched tight, and raised them up into the air. They then stepped out with their left feet and took up a side hoarse stance with their left fists punched out. After bringing themselves into two separate stances, they all stepped forward into a hoarse stance once again and punched.

They stepped back and took up another sideways stance with their left arms extended. They stepped forward into another sideways stance and thrust out their left hands in a palm strike. They suddenly crouch and execute a sweep kick which they followed up with standing and stepping back into a ready stance. They jumped, did a half spin, and landed in a hoarse stance once again, with both their fists slightly extended to the sides.

They turned to their left and executed a left arm outside block followed by a right middle punch. They stepped with their right feet and punched with their left fist. They brought their right legs up and snapped out a side kick, followed by a shuffling side kick followed immediately by a jump spinning crescent kick. They turned and took up their stances again, took a few steps and did a jumping side kick followed a low block which transitioned into a double handed low block. They jumped back, brought their hands to their sides and threw their hands in front of them. They front rolled and launched into umping uppercut.

As they jumped, they all cried out...

"SHORYUKEN!"

-Pinkei: Hey everybody! Pinkie Pie here, and while I know you guys must love seeing Ranma train the others, I bet you wonder just what happens in-between the time skips the authors put in so they can skip the slow stuff and get to the action. Well, guess what? In the next chapter, we're going to be looking at a collection of short stories that happen in-between the two months of hard-core training Ranma's been putting everyone through. So tune in to the next Equestria Wild Horse: Interlude, A Collection Of Short Stories. See ya then!

Ending Song: Romantic Ageru Yo. (Sung By Sunset Shimmer)

Be as free as you can be, a childlike love of fantasy,
The world is a mystery for you and me.

Sunset is looking out her window, smiling.

A miracle, an adventure too, a single wish waits for you,
The beating of your heart will see you through.

Scene cuts to Ranma sitting on a cliff looking out over the horizon.

When you think you can't go on, give it another try,
The power of your youth is strong, and as big as the sky.

Fluttershy is playing with some animals, Rainbow is tuning her guitar, and Rarity is flipping through a magazine.

Search all over the valley, the mountains and you'll see...believing in yourself sets you free!

Applejack is working on her farm, Twilight is messing with some chemicals, and Pinkie is setting up a party.

Come on, I'll give you romance!
Come on, I'll give you paradise!

Scene cuts to a picture of Ranma and the girls all together. Scene pans out to show Ranma looking at the picture as he slowly smiles.

Liberate the "you" that you keep inside.
Come on, I'll give you romance!
Come on, I'll give you paradise!

Ranma walks through the city, wondering aimlessly.

Make your dreams come true; you'll see fantasy...magic can happen to you!

Ranam looks up and sees the girls waving at him. He smiles and jogs up to them as the girls rush over to him. As the song ends, the camera pans up and eight shooting stars streak across the sky.