Ch.1: A Close Call…Too Close

"C'mon, girls," Spike cried to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. "I'll race ya!"

It is the first day of summer vacation/last day of school for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Spike was waiting for them outside the school, and they're going to start out the rest of the day racing to Fluttershy's place where the Mane Six are.

The four friends were having so much fun racing to Fluttershy's place that they failed to have noticed that they're close to the edge of the Everfree Forest…watched by a Cockatrice! Not just any Cockatrice, mind you, but the same Cockatrice that Fluttershy scolded when she was babysitting the CMCs. Now that the yellow Pegasus isn't with them, he can exact his revenge on the little ones. He then slithered out from the bushes, ready to catch the little ones into his scaly grasp…

CRASH! Spike and the CMCs jumped with surprise when they heard a loud noise behind them. They turned and saw that Derpy Hooves has crash-landed on the Cockatrice, knocking him out completely.

"It's a Cockatrice!" Sweetie Belle screamed. "RUN!" Spike and the girls then ran away screaming. As they ran for their lives, Derpy stood up and shook her head to clear it.

"Sorry, my bad," she said to the Cockatrice obliviously. She then flew off, leaving the crushed creature twitching a bit.