My Little Pony: The Human Chronicles

Episode 6: Rainbow Eyed Monster

---

As Celestia's sun slowly rose over the town of Ponyville the now ten-year old Toby Morrison, who was wearing red and white striped pajamas snored loudly as he peacefully slept in his bed inside his tree house of a house. Little did he know that his beauty sleep is about to come to an end.

A loud knock on his door came, Toby stirred as he came to "Ugh...what is that?" he said groggily.

He got up and made his way to the door. Whoever it was on the other side continued to pound on the door.

"Ok, ok! Keep your shirt on, I'm coming!" Toby called out as finally he reached the door. Then as soon as he turned the knob Rainbow Dash swung the door open in his face and knocked him down.

"Toby!" she cried.

Toby hit the ground hard then looked at Rainbow Dash annoyed "Rainbow! What the hay did ya do that for!"

"There's an emergency!" Rainbow Dash told him. "A dragon has landed in town and has started to tear the place apart. So get up, get dressed and take care of it, 'hero'!"

Toby groaned as he sat up "Man, couldn't this thing have waited till like… two in the afternoon to go on a rampage?"

"Hey, it's not its fault you sleep in," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Toby grabbed his clothes, spun around and around like a mini hurricane. Then when he stopped he was wearing his usual clothes.

"Now I know how you feel when everypony tells you to stop napping and clear the clouds," Toby grumbled, still half asleep.

"Just go fight the dragon," Rainbow Dash told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Sheesh, no respect," Toby muttered.

Toby leapt out of his tree house and started super leaping towards Ponyville, with Rainbow Dash following him close behind.

Elsewhere, in Ponyville, the townsfolk were all screaming and running around in terror as a giant dragon stomped its way through the town. It grabbed a house where a family is hiding and roars into it.

"Hey! Godzilla!"

The dragon turned to the source of the yell and saw Toby standing on the roof of a house nearby with his foot on top of the chimney.

"I think I got a seat for ya on the pain train," Toby told the dragon then he imitated pulling a train whistle "Choo, choo,"

The dragon roared while Toby jumped towards it and kicked it in the face, causing it to drop the house it held. The family inside screamed. Rainbow Dash saw this as she was flying toward the town and gasped.

"Don't worry!" she cried "I'll save you!"

Rainbow Dash flew towards the house in attempt to stop it from falling but before anypony knew it, somepony already had.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said confused. She looked closely and saw that Toby had enlarged his hand and stretched out his arm and caught the house before it crashed into the ground. He gently put the house back on the ground. The family inside cheered, while Rainbow Dash looked mighty annoyed.

The dragon roared loudly and attempted to smash Toby with its tail. But Toby grabbed its tail tightly then began to spin the dragon around and around, till finally he let go of the dragon and sent it flying into the distance. He whistled and listened to the dragon fall then crash as it hit the ground. Toby looked very pleased with himself.

The townspeople instantly stopped screaming and hiding and began cheering and jumping for joy. Rainbow glared at Toby as he started to bow thankfully to the citizens of Ponyville.

"Thank you, thank you, everypony," Toby told them "There's no need to thank me, really, I'm just glad all of you are safe and nopony got hurt,"

Rainbow turned and grunted. Just then Twilight and the rest of the girls arrived.

"What's the matter Rainbow?" Twilight Sparkle asked her. "You look kind of upset."

"Gah, I just hate the fact that I couldn't do anything to help take down that dragon," Rainbow Dash admitted "I mean look at him, acting like he's some kind of big shot,"

The others look toward Toby and saw him shaking the hooves of the ponies he saved and gently refusing the rewards they offered him.

"Aw, come on Rainbow, you know Toby's not like that," Applejack told her "I mean, he's as humble as they get,"

"Plus you've got to admit, he is kind of awesome." Twilight Sparkle added.

"Uh, no, I don't!" Rainbow Dash said stubbornly.

"My, my, aren't we jealous?" Rarity stated.

Rainbow's eyes widened, then she scoffed. "Me? Jealous? Of him? Please! I am not jealous of anypony!"

Mr. and Mrs. Cake approach Toby.

"Oh Toby, thank you so much for your help!" Mrs. Cake told him.

"Yeah, if that thing had rampaged any further it would have destroyed Sugar Cube Corner," Mr. Cake remarked.

Pinkie Pie gasped sharply when she heard this "Destroy Sugar Cube corner!? Never! "

"But thanks to Toby here, it was stopped before it could get there," Mr. Cake added.

"And to thank you, we baked you something very special." Mrs. Cake informed him with a smile. Both she and her husband walked off to get something.

"Oh, that's really not necessary…" Toby started but he stopped

Everypony's jaws dropped, including Toby when they saw a large chocolate cake being pulled up by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Rainbow Dash growled with frustration and jealousy.

"Ooh! Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Cake but… no thanks," Toby stated.

"Huh?" Everypony asked.

"I'm not in this hero business for the rewards, I do it to protect creatures that can't protect themselves, so sorry but I can't accept your very delicious cake," Toby told them, He turned to Pinkie. "But you can have it, Pinkie, I insist,"

Pinkie squealed in excitement. "Whoopee!" She ran to the cake and began to eat it quickly and happily. Toby gave everypony a two finger wave before zooming off. Rainbow grunted and walked away.

---

Later, in Rainbow Dash's homemade cloud house, Rainbow was pacing her bedroom grumbling in jealousy and anger.

"No good show-off, thinks he's so great because he saved the town so many times," she grumbled "I gotta prove that I'm just as great as he is! But after the Mare Do Well incident I know I can't out hero him without making a fool of myself, so how…"

Rainbow gasped sharply when it hit her "A race! That's it! That's how we'll prove which one of us is best!"

Rainbow rushed to the edge of her home, looked down and saw Toby napping under a tree below her.

"Time to make him an offer he can't refuse!" Rainbow Dash stated before zooming down toward him. Unbeknownst to her someone or something was watching her.

Below, Toby was napping peacefully, but his peaceful slumber was quickly interrupted as soon as Rainbow landed right in front of him.

"Wake up!" she shouted.

Toby screamed, startled, then saw Rainbow standing in front of him, clearly looking upset.

"Holy Guacamole! Rainbow?" Toby asked startled. She started to approach him angrily, which caused him to slowly back up.

"Listen up tough guy, I'm challenging you to a race to see which one of us is the fastest in all of Equestria, once and for all!" Rainbow Dash declared. Toby stopped walking as soon as his back hit the tree.

"What?" Toby questioned in disbelief. "You wanna race?"

"You heard me! You. Me. Race. At Noon. Today!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"You mind telling me why and.. above all why now?" Toby questioned.

"Nope, I just want to see which one of us is truly the fastest being in Equestria, that's all. Unless you're scared that is," Rainbow Dash said.

Toby stood up "Wait, wait, wait, what's going on here Rainbow? You seem… upset,"

"Oh, like you don't know!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"Actually I really don't…" Toby replied innocently "Look, whatever I did to make you mad I'm sorry…"

"Save it! Just meet me at that forest with all the leaves," Rainbow Dash told him.

"The one where everypony races through every fall to knock all the leaves off the trees?" Toby asked.

"That's the one, be there at noon and prepare to lose!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, before Toby could say any more Rainbow zoomed off. Just then Twilight and Spike showed up.

"Hey Toby, what was all that about?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"I honestly don't know…" Toby replied

"Were you and Rainbow fighting or something?" she inquired.

"It would be news to me if we were…" Toby said, then something feathery caught the corner of his eye, but when he looked again it was gone.

Spike noticed this "What's the matter, Toby?"

"Uh… it's nothing, just thought I saw something," Toby said "Anyways, Rainbow just challenged me to a race to see which one of us is fastest,"

"What? Why would she do that?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"I don't know, but she seemed particularly upset about something…" Toby mused.

"Maybe you should just tell her you don't want to race," Spike suggested.

"Can't, when you get challenged by somepony, you have to accept it, there's no choice," Toby explained to them.

"I guess…" Spike added.

"Plus, maybe if I race her I'll get a better understanding as to why she's mad at me," Toby said.

"If you say so…" Twilight Sparkle agreed reluctantly. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah, me too…" Toby added. "Gather the others and tell them to meet us at the forest, that's where the race will be and if Rainbow wants my best so badly… she's gonna get it!"

Twilight and Spike exchange glances of worry.

---

Later, near the edge of the forest Rainbow Dash and Toby were both standing in front of the starting line which was right near the large forest. Rainbow Dash was stretching her limbs, preparing for the big race while Toby just stood there somewhat dumbfounded and confused.

Twilight and Spike were standing nearby, waiting for the race to start. Then Spike picked up a stick and began talking like an announcer.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the first ever race between Rainbow Dash of Equestria and Toby Morrison from Earth. This race will span from here to the end of the forest. First one there is the fastest being in Equestria!"

"Spike, who are you talking to?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Well…" Spike started, then he noticed, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy approaching "Them!"

Toby noticed the others coming as well. "Hey, guys! Glad ya'll could come!"

"Ooh, a race between Dashie and Toby, I'm so nervicited!" Pinkie Pie squealed.

"You do realize that's not a real word, right?" Applejack asked.

"It is now," Toby joked.

Rainbow finished stretching and stood ready. "Ok everypony, let's go over the rules of the race shall we? The first to get to the end of the forest is the winner, any attempt at cheating will result in disqualification and the race does not end until both racers have reached the finish line!"

Toby smirked. "Sounds simple enough,"

"Well prepare to get whooped!" Rainbow Dash told him.

"We'll see about that," Toby stated.

"Are you guys sure you want to do this?" Twilight Sparkle asked them.

"No," Toby admitted.

"Yes," Rainbow Dash insisted.

"No!" Toby stated.

Rainbow glared at Toby "No, 'yes'!"

"No, I mean 'no'!" Toby told her.

The others groan as they continue to argue.

"Are they always like this?" Spike asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Applejack stated.

"Yes, I want to race…" Rainbow Dash started before looking at Toby "And you do too, unless you're a chicken!"

"You're on!" Toby declared.

"Ok, then… Spike take it away," Twilight Sparkle told her young assistant.

Spike then held up a red flag "On your mark…"

Toby and Rainbow got into their running positions.

"Get set…"

Toby glared at Rainbow as she gave him a raspberry.

"GO!"

Both Toby and Rainbow took off at supersonic speeds, blowing a large gust of wind in the direction of the others and each left flames on the racing course.

"Whoo, look at 'em go!" Applejack remarked.

"With them going that fast we'll never be able to catch up," Rarity stated.

"We're gonna have to go up to get a better view, come on let's get the hot air balloon!" Twilight told the others.

"I'll race ya!" Pinkie Pie said as she skipped ahead. While everypony else walked off to the hot air balloon, the mysterious feathered stranger that was watching Rainbow from before poked his or her head out of the bushes then suddenly went up and flew in the direction of Rainbow and Toby.

Toby and Rainbow began racing all over the racing trail. They race around every sharp turn, every obstacle and even the occasional passerby. One of which they accidentally knocked over while running.

"Sorry about that!" Toby called out.

"My bad!" Rainbow also cried.

"Hey, Rainbow, feeling tired yet?" Toby asked.

"No way, no how," Rainbow Dash stated "You know why? Because I was built for speed!"

"Is that so? Well are you hungry Dash? Because you're about to eat my dust!" Toby proclaimed.

Rainbow raced ahead. "We'll see about that!"

"Oh no we won't!" Toby cried as he ran even faster to catch up to her. The two were deadlocked and neither showed any signs of slowing down or tiring out. Just then Toby felt a strange sensation in the back of his head.

"Hey…" he started to say to Rainbow Dash "Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Sometimes, I usually ignore it and the feeling goes away. Now watch as I leave you in the dust and watch you eat it!"

Rainbow Dash zoomed off.

"Right back at ya Skittles!" Toby shot back as he chased after her.

Above them, the rest of the Mane Six watched from the hot air balloon.

"Toby sure is talented at running," Spike commented.

"Yeah, both he AND Rainbow Dash are running at the exact same speed," Twilight Sparkle pointed out "Their equal!"

"Ooh, I'm so nervicited I could just burst!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Again; not a real word," Applejack stated.

All of a sudden something big and fast flew right by the hot air balloon, causing it to spin around and around till it finally came to a stop. Everypony groaned, dizzy.

"What the hay was that?" Spike asked.

Twilight looked down and saw that the flying creature was heading straight for Rainbow and Toby "I don't know… but it looks like whatever that is… it's after Toby and Rainbow!"

Everypony started to shout and cry, attempting to warn their two feuding friends. But their cries fell on deaf ears because they could not hear them.

Rainbow turned to Toby. "Did you hear something?"

"Other than the fact that you're going to lose? Nope!" Toby replied smugly.

"Why you…" Rainbow Dash started, but before she could finished something landed right in front of them, causing them both to skid to a stop.

"What the heck?" Toby wondered.

The dust cleared to reveal a large griffin with golden eyes and sharp talons. It was Rainbow Dash's old friend, Gilda.

"Hey there Dash, remember me?" Gilda asked evilly.

"Gilda!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed shocked.

Everypony else saw Gilda as well and their eyes widened "GILDA!?"

"You know this chick, Rainbow?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, she's a griffin and a former friend of mine." Rainbow Dash stated "Well fell out after she showed everypony who she really was,"

"More like when you betrayed me and stuck with those dweebs!" Gilda stated "So… whose the freak? Your boyfriend?"

Both Toby and Rainbow bugged out with large blushes appearing on their faces.

"Absolutely not!" Toby cried.

"No way!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"The name's Toby," the human said "Now get out of our way right now or I'll be forced to introduce my fist to your…"

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "Back off, Toe, she's mine!"

"No way! She's mine!" Toby proclaimed.

"She's my former friend! I should be the one to stop her before she tries anything!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Besides, she's only after me got it?"

"Oh, sure, let the glory hound take all the credit." Toby said sarcastically "Newsflash Dash, it's my job to deal with threats to Ponyville and right now I'm getting the feeling she's a threat so I will deal with her, not you!"

The two racers continued to bicker and yell at each other, as they did so Gilda gave the others a questioning look and pointed to the two with her claw wondering what the heck was going on but all they did was simply shrug. Eventually Gilda got tired of their arguing and cut it.

"Hey!" Gilda shouted.

Rainbow and Toby turned to her "WHAT!?"

"Your right, I did come to get my revenge on Rainbow Dash," Gilda stated.

"Told you," Rainbow Dash told Toby smugly.

"But along the way I thought I should actually… apologize to her for the way I acted," Gilda admitted.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked shocked.

"But instead of seeing her do awesome stunts, I see her racing a monkey!"Gilda said.

"Whoa, now!" Toby said shocked.

"A really, really, small and annoying blue twerp that apparently goes by the name Toby or Toe, who apparently is Ponyville's 'hero'," Gilda continued "To that I say 'Super Hero'? More like super zero!',"

"Ouch!" Toby said hurt.

"So now instead of just hurting Dash for humiliating and betraying me… I'm going to do something even better, wanna guess what it might be?" Gilda asked.

"I have a few ideas…" Toby said, knowing where this is going.

Pinkie Pie then started waving her hoof in the air as if she were a school pony "Ooh! Ooh! Is it… play the tuba?"

Pinkie then started to play a large tuba, which seemingly came out of nowhere, much to the annoyance of everypony else. Gilda roared at her, causing her to stop.

"NO! It's pummel you two pests to dust!" Gilda proclaimed "But first…"

Gilda flew right past Rainbow and Toby and toward the hot air balloon where she cut a large hole in it with her talons. Everypony screamed as the balloon started to drop out of the sky while Toby and Rainbow Dash watched in absolute horror.

"NO!" Toby and Rainbow Dash screamed.

Both Toby and Rainbow raced over to their falling friends. Rainbow flew up towards them and Toby followed by forming his energy butterfly wings. Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight, Spike and Rarity while Toby grabbed Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. They both landed on the ground and placed their friends down gently.

"Are you guys ok?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Anypony hurt?" Toby added.

"No, I think we're ok," Twilight assured them.

Then it hit Toby "Wait a minute… Fluttershy why didn't you fly just now?"

"Uh…" Fluttershy started but before she could finish Gilda swooped in and grabbed both Toby and Rainbow before flying off with them.

"Rainbow! Toby!" Everypony cried.

Both Toby and Rainbow Dash struggled to free themselves from Gilda's grasp, but to no avail.

"Let go Gilda!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Not quite yet Dash, first I need to take you somewhere," Gilda said "Then I'm gonna give you… this!"

Gilda attached a glowing chain to Rainbow and Toby.

"What the?" Rainbow Dash wondered.

"Hey! Bird brain! Let us go and I won't eat your cousin for thanksgiving!" Toby cried.

"Very poor choice of words dweeb considering this chain prevents either of you from flying," Gilda pointed out.

"What?!" They both cried. Toby looked down and saw that they were right above a large bog. He gulped.

"You know what? I'm gonna retract my earlier statement," Toby said "Whatever you do, do not let…"

"Bombs away!" The griffin shouted.

And just like that Gilda released Rainbow and Toby, who were now falling straight towards the bog below. They bounced and hit every tree branch on the way down until they hit the green and mucky swamp water at the bottom.

They both groaned and got to their feet. Toby looked at his filthy swamp water stained clothes disgusted.

"Aw man! My clothes! I just had them dry cleaned!" Toby cried annoyed.

"Yeesh, and I thought Rarity was a whiner," Rainbow Dash remarked.

"I am not whining, I am complaining!" Toby stated. "And right now we got bigger problems,"

Toby pointed to above them where Gilda was circling them over and over like a vicious bird of prey.

"Hey Gilda! Why don't you come down here and fight us!" Rainbow Dash challenged "What's the matter? Are you a chicken or a griffin?"

"I really don't think taunting her is the best idea Rainbow…" Toby warned her.

"Relax, all these chains do is ground us, we can still take her," Rainbow Dash said confidently.

"Oh yeah?" Gilda called out. "Just to let you dweebs know, that if one of you just so happens to… 'not make it' those chains will make sure the other doesn't either!"

Rainbow's confident face quickly fell.

"You just had to tempt fate didn't you?" Toby asked in a deadpan tone "But don't worry… it's only going to get worse…"

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Think about it. Chaining us together, making sure we can't escape and assuring us that if one us dies the other does too. Then placing us in a very dangerous part of Equestria. Don't you see her plan?" Toby asked. "If not, let me spell it out for you; she made sure we couldn't escape this place because she plans to hunt us down like animals then kill us, and to make sure we did die, she put us in this dangerous place where creatures could kill us at anytime. So no matter what happens to us… she wins,"

"Oh…" Rainbow Dash said as she started to see what he meant.

"Yeah," Toby nodded, they both then heard a loud cawing sound plus many inhuman screeches and roars around them "And I suggest we try to find a way out of here… like now!"

"You don't have to tell me twice! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash cried.

The two feuding friends then raced ahead into the deep and mysterious bog.

---

Later, both Toby and Rainbow were carefully creeping through the large and thick bog, hoping to not run into anything dangerous or Gilda for that matter.

"See anything?" Toby asked.

"Nothing, this swamp fog is thicker then pea soup!" Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Just keep an eye out for Gilda, ok?" Toby told her.

"Would you relax, we're fine," Rainbow Dash assured him.

"We're not fine, we're chained together and stuck in a very dangerous and disgusting place!" Toby pointed out "Not to mention a griffin with a grudge is trying to hunt us down!"

Rainbow Dash turned to him "You know what your problem is?"

"Enlighten me," Toby said bored.

"You may be totally brave when you're fighting, but when it comes to everything else you're always so cautious!" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"That's because I always know when to go in strong… and when to go in smart, unlike you who rushes into situations all riled up no matter what they are," Toby stated.

Rainbow Dash walked away a little further frustrated "All Iknow is that we've been wandering around this bog for over an hour and what have we seen?" she asked before turning to him with an extremely frustrated look "A lot of nothing!?"

Just then something began to emerge from the swampy waters, something with multiple long necks. Toby's jaw dropped, Rainbow Dash saw this and her face fell.

"There's… something really bad behind me isn't there?" she asked in a deadpan tone.

The beast emerged fully and revealed itself to be a hydra. It lunged for Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow! Look out!" Toby cried before pushing her out of the way before the Hydra could bite her. They both backed up against a large tree.

"Is that a…" Toby started to say scared.

"Hydra," Rainbow Dash finished, equally scared "A very, veryangry Hydra…"

The Hydra growled at them.

"May I?" Toby asked.

"Be my guest," Rainbow Dash nodded.

"RUN!" Toby screamed. They both started to run but in opposite directions, causing the chain to pull them back and slam into each other's backs. The Hydra approached them.

"Run that way!" Toby told her pointing to his direction.

"Why do we have to run where you want to?" Rainbow Dash asked annoyed.

The Hydra roared loudly.

"JUST RUN!" Toby loudly exclaimed.

They both started using their super speed to run through the bog with the Hydra hot on their tails. They eventually reach the very edge of the bog, which unfortunately… was a dead end.

"Aw, great, we're trapped!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"And here it comes…" Toby added as he heard the Hydra approaching them rapidly.

"Why can't you just… fight it off or something?" Rainbow Dash demanded "Isn't that your job or something?"

"I can't fight it with you attached to me!" Toby pointed out.

"Well I can't fly with you attached to me," Rainbow Dash added "Unless you conjure your own wings like last time, remember?"

"I can't, not twice in a row." Toby said, as he gestured to his still bandaged arm. "I mean hello? Injury. OW!"

"Well what then 'genius'?" Rainbow Dash asked Toby mockingly.

"Working on it," he assured her, he quickly thought up a plan "Be ready to fly,"

"But…" Rainbow Dash started.

"Just follow my lead and…" Toby started before he and Rainbow began to charge towards the Hydra "Charge!"

As soon as they got close enough Rainbow Dash flew up while Toby began to run up the Hydra's chest. As soon as Rainbow flew over one of its heads Toby kicked one of its heads hard, jumped on a head that was lunging for him then grabbed it and tied it's neck around the neck of the hydra head he just kicked.

He jumped down off the Hydra and Rainbow Dash landed right next to him. She looked impressed.

"Nice one!" Rainbow Dash remarked.

"Now that's what I call teamwork," Toby declared.

They are then suddenly rammed in the backs by a flying object that sends them flying into a tree. They groaned as they came to and gasp when they saw Gilda.

"And that's what I call a major wipeout!" Gilda said before laughing.

"Gilda!" Toby and Rainbow Dash said angrily.

"Who else?" Gilda asked smugly.

"Alright, I'm giving you one last chance to let us go Gilda or else it's strike three, game over, you're out," Toby told her.

Gilda paused for a minute before speaking "Nah,"

"Your funeral," Toby told her "Let's get her!"

"For once I agree with you!" Rainbow Dash added.

They both charged towards Gilda, screaming a battle cry and ready to fight. However, Gilda simply stepped on the middle of their chain, which pulled them back and caused them to land right back onto the swampy waters. Gilda slammed her claws on their necks.

Gilda laughed. "You two dweebs are so gullible, just like typical prey,"

She tightened her grip on their necks, making them groan in pain, and caused them to sink lower into the swampy waters. Toby tried to say something but his voice was muffled by the water.

"What was that geek? I didn't quite catch that last bit." Gilda said mockingly. She raised his head up so he can speak clearly.

"I said; I wouldn't stand there if I were you," Toby told her. Gilda looked confused at first then noticed the Hydra was about to step on her with its large foot. She let go of them and jumped back, allowing Toby to get up, pick up Rainbow and run off deeper into the bog.

The Hydra growled annoyed, but it was quickly knocked out by Gilda, who flew up to it and gave it one quick punch.

"YOU CAN RUN YOU LITTLE BLUE TWERP BUT IT'S GONNA BE REALLY HARD TO HIDE FROM ME!" Gilda screamed as she flew off to go and find them.

---

Toby ran and ran, further and further into the bog, trying as hard as he could to get himself and Rainbow Dash away from Gilda. He could almost hear the griffin breathing down his neck.

Eventually he stopped at a sunny clearing in the bog and panted.

"Whew! I think we lost her," Toby told Rainbow "We should be ok… for the moment,"

"Great, now could you… PUT ME DOWN!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Toby abruptly dropped Rainbow into the swampy waters.

"Dude, what is your problem?" Toby demanded.

Rainbow Dash stood up and glared at him "For starters… you!"

"You said that last time!" Toby pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I meant what I said then and I meant what I just said now!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"Oh yeah? Well you know what my problem is with you?" Toby asked.

"Enlighten me, smart guy," Rainbow Dash said.

"Ok, it's that you don't respect me!" Toby exclaimed. "You've never respected me! From the first moment I got here you've had it in for me! You thought I was a danger to the girls and Spike! What do I have to do to get you to trust me? To like me instead of hating me all the time, especially today!"

Rainbow was silent for a bit then sighed an almost defeated sigh. "I don't… dislike you, Toe… not exactly…"

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"

"It's more like… jealousy…" Rainbow Dash admitted, Toby looked stunned "You see… I used to be something like a hero in Ponyville at one point… then I let it go to my head and my friends had to teach me a lesson… yada, yada, yada… but the point is you haven't, notyet anyway…"

Toby scowled a bit.

"The point is… you save everypony's lives but unlike me you take like zero credit for it!" Rainbow Dash stated "You never ask for a reward… or a favor… or even a thanks, and even though there are some folks in town that still don't trust you… you still try to protect them regardless of what they think, to me… and to the others… you're more than just a hero Toby… you're a superhero,"

Toby looked touched and was surprised to hear her say that to him. "Rainbow…"

"I'm serious Toe. If more humans and ponies were like you, both your world AND mine would be a better place," Rainbow Dash told him.

Toby smiled. "Thanks,"

"Oh, and if you ever tell anypony else I said that… I'm gonna deny it… and kick you into a mountain," Rainbow Dash said.

Toby chuckled "You wouldn't be you if you didn't,"

Rainbow and Toby laughed to themselves.

"By the way... I'm sorry I got us into this mess by challenging you to a race," Rainbow Dash said. "None of this would of happened if I wasn't jealous,"

"Well you wouldn't have if I had been less of a show off around you," Toby admitted. He held out his fist "Friends?"

Rainbow hoof bumps him. "The best,"

Toby smiled. "Sweet,"

"So what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well... if we're gonna find a way out of this bog AND get this chain off, we're gonna need a plan…" Toby said, then he spotted a large rock "And a rock,"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

Toby took the rock and then the chain and started to pound on the chain with all his might. Over and over again. He eventually got so tired he ran out of breath.

"I guess this is a type of rock that doesn't break chains…" Toby breathed out.

Rainbow looked around, saw a slimy substance coming out of a tree and suddenly got an idea. "Who say's we need to breakit?" She asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Toby said confused.

Rainbow Dash ran over to the slime and in the process forcefully dragged Toby towards it as well.

"See this slime? We can use it to slip out of the chains!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"Yeah…this just might work!" Toby exclaimed. He took a large glob of slime, with a very disgusted look on his face, and put it on both his cuff and Rainbow's.

"Ok, on three we pull!" Toby told her.

"Got it!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Three!" They both cried.

The two of them pulled on their cuffs and slowly but surely their wrists were sliding out of the cuffs, till finally they popped right out. They both smiled triumphant.

"We did it!" Toby cried.

"We're free!" Rainbow Dash added before leaping into the air and flying around whooping. She then dropped to the ground.

"I can't believe your idea actually worked Speedy!" Toby remarked. "Who knew you had a brain in that pretty yet messed up head of yours,"

"You… think I'm… pretty… and smart?" Rainbow Dash asked while blushing.

Toby scratched the back of his head nervously, also blushing. "Well… yeah, sure… not to mention you are kind of awesome."

"Thanks..." Rainbow Dash smiled.

There is a long awkward silence between them before Toby finally spoke up.

"So anyways… back to dealing with Gilda," he said.

"You got a plan smart guy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Always, and I'll let you in on it… if you trust me," Toby smirked.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and slowly smiled.

---

Meanwhile Gilda, was still searching high and low for the duo, she searched under every rock and creature and behind every tree and every time she failed to find them she grew more and more frustrated.

She growled "Oh… Where are they!?"

"Up here Gilda!"

Gilda looked up and saw Rainbow Dash flying above her with Toby on her back. They both wave to her.

"What?" Gilda exclaimed shocked, she flew up to face Rainbow and Toby.

"How'd you get free of your chains!?" she demanded.

"That's for us to know…" Rainbow Dash started.

"And you to find out," Toby finished "And on a side note; this is the first time I've rode a Pegasus that wasn't afraid to fly in the air!"

Gilda's beak hung slack for a second; a quick shake of the head brought her back to herself, and her face went bright red with rage.

"Yeah! And it's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!" Gilda exclaimed angrily.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Rainbow Dash quipped.

Gilda's responded by flying straight towards them. Rainbow just yawned in a bored fashioned while Toby leaned back. This prompted an enraged growl from the sociopathic griffin, which was followed by Toby's giddy laughter. Now Gilda's growl intensified as her eyes went blood shot. She aimed her claws straight toward the pair, who simply float up to avoid collision. Gilda stopped, looked up and growled.

"Now what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Now… fly for your life!" Toby exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash turned and started to fly away, with Gilda flying not far behind. Toby turned and saw that she was gaining on them.

"Don't you have a hyper speed!?" Toby asked worried.

"Just stick to the plan, man!" Rainbow Dash told him.

"Right!" Toby said. "Ok, time to fly where she can't… up!"

Rainbow Dash then flew straight up into the sky, Gilda immediately followed. The higher and higher they flew the less air they started to get. They had nearly reached the atmosphere when Rainbow and Toby suddenly disappeared in a cloud bank.

"Hey! Where'd they…" Gilda started. But before she could finish she started to choke due to the lack of air. In order to breath Gilda flew down and down till she finally got near the trees and was able to breathe.

A whistle caught her attention, she looked down and saw that Rainbow and Toby were flying right below her.

"Howdy, looking for us?" Toby asked casually.

"Wha-How'd you?" Gilda asked as she tried to piece together what had just happened.

"When we hit the cloud bank, Toby made me fly down to an air filled level. We hid their till you came down to get some air," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Which we knew you'd probably do since you're so stubborn you wouldn't quit flying up till you had to," Toby stated "And now… let the hunter become the hunted!"

Toby stood up, bent down and jumped from Rainbow's back to Gilda. She screeched as he pulled on her feathers and tried to climb up.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Gilda exclaimed loudly.

"What does it look like? I'm trading a pony ride for a griffin ride!" Toby said.

As Gilda continued to fly over the town of Ponyville, Toby grabbed her wings and began to forcefully direct her towards a nearby lake.

"Let go bonehead!" Gilda cried "I can't fly like this!"

"I know, you should let me fly for a while," Toby said with a smirk "Because I'm taking this little 'game' to a whole new level, Gildy!"

"Atta boy Toe!" Rainbow Dash cheered "You show her!"

"Hey Gilda! Pop quiz; who has two thumbs and the guts to pull this off?" Toby asked "This guy!"

Toby somersaulted upward then did a powerful axe kick to Gilda's back. The force from the kick sent her flying straight into the lake where she made a large splash. Toby landed on the shore of the lake.

"Heh, hope she can swim," Toby remarked nonchalantly.

A few bubbles popped up before a wet, soggy and battered but still defiant Gilda staggered out of the water. She then began to stagger toward Toby.

"You… can't beat me... you... you're just a… a… a dweeb!" Gilda said breathing heavily.

"Maybe… but I'm the dweeb who beat you!" Toby stated triumphantly.

"Toby!"

Toby turned and saw Twilight and the others rushing over to him.

"Guys!" Toby smiled.

"Oh goody, it's your pony friends," Gilda smiled evilly. "Well that's just dandy because when I'm done with you I'll take on them next!"

Toby frowned while Gilda lunged at Toby with her claws. But then Toby grabbed her wrist. Gilda's eyes widened. Then Toby began to roughly kick her in the face.

"You… are… so NOT!" Toby exclaimed before kicking her so hard she flew right into a windmill. She spun around and around till finally she was sent flying into the distance.

"Dweeb," he muttered.

The Mane Six all cheered, while Toby turned and bowed to them.

"And that my friends… is how you make the feathers fly!" Toby smiled.

The Mane Six and Spike cheer and shout with glee, Rainbow flew down and landed next to Toby.

"Oh, thank Celestia you two are ok!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.

"We're so glad you're safe!" Fluttershy added.

"So what the hay happened to you guys in that there bog?" Applejack asked.

Toby and Rainbow looked at each other and smiled.

"Eh, not much," Rainbow Dash replied.

"We just got to know each other a little better," Toby added.

"So… I take it the race is over?" Rarity asked.

Toby nodded "Eh, I say we just call it a tie,"

"Sounds good to me!" Rainbow Dash stated.

"Oh! That's so supertastic!" Pinkie Pie squealed.

"Will youstop?" Applejack asked her even more annoyed.

While everypony laughed in amusement, Rainbow Dash glanced at Toby then at the ground and paused before speaking.

"Listen, Toe, when we first started racing… I said some things…" Rainbow Dash started to say with a guilty tone.

"No need to apologize," Toby interrupted. "We're both kind of jerks, that's why we get along,"

Rainbow Dash smiled at him.

"We're not jerks!" Spike pointed out.

"Good point," Toby admitted before turning to Rainbow "If I were you, I'd apologize,"

"Yeah? Well if I were you I wouldn't have been such a wuss!" Rainbow Dash declared.

"Wuss?" Toby asked insulted.

"If Gilda insulted me like that like when she insulted you at the beginning of the race I would have taken her down right away and save us both that long jog through the rotten bog!" Rainbow Dash declared.

"So what? Besides, don't forget, if I hadn't saved you from that Hydra, you wouldn't be right now to call me a wuss!" Toby declared.

They both glared at each other for a long period of time, much to the worry of their friends, but their anger quickly faded and turned into a smile.

"So I guess it all worked out ok after all," Rainbow Dash said.

"Guess so," Toby smiled.

"So… that's it?" Spike asked. "They're friends again?"

Twilight giggled. "Until tomorrow,"

Toby shrugged "Eh, what can I say Rainbow? You're the best,"

Rainbow Dash shook her head "Nah, you're the best,"

"Yeah, you're right," Toby said quickly before stretching "And if you ever want me to prove it, I'm always up for a race."

"How about a rematch?" Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Just try to keep up," Toby told her.

And with that they both took off, leaving behind both a rainbow and cyan blue colored streak as they ran. The rest of the pony gang and Spike all smiled warmly as they watch them race.

They ran down the dusty trail, shoulder to shoulder and smiling broadly. Then Toby managed to get in front of Rainbow, he turned around and began to run backwards all the while staying ahead of Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash smiled at him which Toby returned before giving her a two finger wave, turning around and quickly leaving her in the dust. Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop, her jaw dropped in complete shock after seeing how Toby ran. But instead of anger and jealousy, Rainbow Dash smiled a proud smile and sighed.

"You go get 'em kid, you go get 'em," she said simply.