Rainbow, Fluttershy, Spike, and Twilight are sitting at the round table in the library. Fluttershy and Spike sit gaping, flabbergasted at what they are hearing from their new friend.

“So you kill vamponies?” Spike repeats dumbly.

Rainbow sighs and nods once more.

“Yes Spike, for the eighth time. I do slay vamponies,” She affirms.

“Sorry Rainbow, this is just a lot to take in after a life and death experience,” Fluttershy says. “Up until tonight, neither of us even knew supernatural things existed.”

“Not the funnest way to find out that your new BFF is a vampony slayer,” Spike adds.

Twilight takes Rainbow Dash by the arm and pulls her aside, out of range of Fluttershy and Spike’s hearing.

“Are you sure you can trust them with your secret?” Twilight begins her interrogation.

Rainbow nods with conviction.

“They’re my friends. I trust them.”

“How do you know you can trust them?” Twilight continues. “You’ve only just met them.”

Rainbow shrugs nonchalantly. She leans on the edge of the front desk.

“I’ve only just met you, and I trust you,” Rainbow says.

Twilight shakes her head.

“I’m your Watcher, it’s different. You can’t just trust any Mary Sue or Jolly Joe you meet. What proof do you have that they won’t expose you or turn against you?” Twilight insists.

Rainbow glances at Fluttershy and Spike. They are still discussing Rainbow and her vampony slaying.

“I just have a feeling,” Rainbow says.

Twilight Sparkle frowns.

“A feeling?” Twilight repeats, shocked. “You’re trusting the fate of your secret identity as a Slayer to a feeling?”

Rainbow throws her head back, fully confident in her new friends.

“Yep.”

She trots back to the table and sits down next to her friends. Twilight sighs and rubs her forehead with her hoof.

“The Earth is doomed,” Twilight concludes.

“Do you think we could go patrolling with you sometime?” Spike asks excitedly.

“I don’t know, it sounds dangerous,” Fluttershy says.

“I’m going to have to agree with Fluttershy on this one. It’s much too dangerous for you,” Rainbow agrees. “I wouldn’t want either of you getting hurt, or worse, killed.”

Spikes waves off the thought as though facing murderous, bloodthirsty vamponies is merely a routine activity for him.

“We’re tough cookies, right Fluttershy?” He glances expectantly at Fluttershy.

“No,” Fluttershy whimpers, shaking her head.

Spike frowns, disappointed at his counterpart’s lack of courage.

“I don’t want you getting hurt,” Rainbow insists. “ I have Slayer strength and agility. You don’t.”

“Look at me Dashie, I’m a dragon,” Spike begins. “Nothing can touch this.”

Rainbow levels with him.

“You’re a baby dragon Spike,” Rainbow states matter-of-factly. “A baby dragon.”

Spike is silent for a moment. He shuffles awkwardly in his seat.

“Well thanks for throwing that one in my face,” Spike pouts, insulted.

“I’m sorry Spike,” Rainbow begins. “I just don’t want you to think my being a Slayer automatically makes you both my sidekicks. It doesn’t. From what I’ve been told, this is a burden I have to bear on my own.”

Fluttershy lifts her head up and makes eye contact with Rainbow.

“No you don’t.”

“What?” Rainbow asks.

Fluttershy takes a deep breath, building up her courage.

“You don’t have to bear it alone,” Fluttershy says. “We’re here to support you. Even if we can’t slay with you, we want to be here for you. Right, Spike?”

“We’re with you all the way!” Spike confirms.

Rainbow Dash smiles and gives Twilight an I-told-you-so look. Twilight bows her head, still not fully convinced, but unwilling to take the argument any further. Maybe a Slayer isn’t meant to bear her burden alone. Twilight didn’t believe it for a moment.

Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Spike trot down the front steps of the almost empty Ponydale High. They stop next to the large stone “Welcome to Ponydale High” sign, a replacement for a similar wooden sign that had been there up until two years ago when a mischievous pony set it on fire.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but all these earth shattering revelations have left me with an appetite,” Spike concludes, rubbing his belly. “I’m up for a deep fried hay sandwich from Sugarcube Corner.”

Fluttershy’s stomach growls in agreement. She rubs it gingerly.

“That sounds delicious!” Fluttershy says.

“Deep fried hay sandwich?” Rainbow asks skeptically.

Spike smirks at her naivety.

“Sugarcube Corner only makes the best deep fried hay sandwiches you will ever eat in your life,” Spike explains.

“They’re world famous,” Fluttershy adds.

“Yeah you have to try one,” Spike says. “It’s like a rite of passage to becoming a Ponydalian.”

Rainbow leans in towards Spike. She is also very hungry and at this point the aforementioned sandwich sounds irresistible.

“I guess I have to try one if it’s a rite of passage,” Rainbow relents playfully.

Spike exaggeratedly points in the general direction of Sugarcube Corner.

“Onward to sandwiches!” He proclaims.

Rainbow, Fluttershy and Spike arrive at an old brick building a few minutes later. An easily missable grey sign that reads “Sugarcube Corner” hangs above a rusted iron door that is littered with various kinks and dents. Rainbow surveys the decaying building skeptically.

“This is Sugarcube Corner?” Rainbow asks.

“It’s bigger on the inside,” Spike comments.

Spike opens the rusted door and ushers the girls inside. The door creaks as if in pain as he opens it.

“Welcome to Ponydale’s hottest teenage friendly club!” Spike proclaims. “And, yes, that sounded a lot better in my head.”

As Spike opens the door to Sugarcube Corner, a deep, pounding bass beat rushes out like feral cat from an opened cage; the beat of pony techno. There are teenage ponies dancing all over the place as if there was a dancing demon controlling them. Dizzying strobe lights light the club, scattering to and fro in various colors of red, blue, purple, and green. There was at least one pony that suffered from an epileptic seizure every Techno Tuesday, but so far no one had cared enough to file a formal complaint. Rainbow pushes her way through the dancing crowd.

“Wow, it’s really…eh…lively here!” Rainbow shouts back at her friends, hoping they have not already been swallowed alive by the mass of dancing ponies.

Rainbow doesn’t hear a response. Finally, she breaches the battalion of dancing ponies and looks back for her friends. A few moments later, Spike emerges from the crowd. However, Fluttershy does not emerge from the crowd.

“Spike, have you seen Fluttershy?” Rainbow asks.

Spike holds his hand to his ear, signaling that he couldn’t hear her.

“What?” Spike shouts.

Rainbow raises her voice above the blaring music.

“Have you seen Fluttershy?” Rainbow shouts.

Suddenly, Fluttershy emerges from the crowd of dancers as well, visually shaken by the sheer amount of ponies in the building.

“Let’s find someplace quieter,” Fluttershy suggests, barely above a whisper.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asks. “I can’t hear you, let’s find someplace quieter!”

Spike and Fluttershy nod in agreement, as talking would be pointless at the moment. After a minute or so of searching, they finally find a small table away from a good majority of the noise. They sit down and pause to regain their hearing.

“Whew!” Spike says. “I can finally hear myself talk.”

“Is it usually this loud?” Rainbow asks.

Spike shakes his head.

“It’s usually only half as many decibels, but it’s Techno Tuesday, so they vamp up the sound,” Spike explains. “I’m going to go order us those deep fried hay sandwiches. Do you want anything Fluttershy?”

He takes out a quill and paper and begins taking down the order. Fluttershy waves the thought off.

“No thank you Spike,” Fluttershy replies.

“Hey Spike,” Rainbow says. “Why the list?”

“It’s too loud for the bartender to hear me, so I’m writing it down!” Spike explains.

Spike heads off towards the bar. As Spike walks away, Rainbow turns to Fluttershy.

“So how long have you two been together?” Rainbow asks.

“Oh no no no, we’re not together,” Fluttershy retreats, but then she realizes what Rainbow actually meant. “Oh you mean how long have we been friends?”

Rainbow confirms the mistake with a quick nod.

“Oh,” Fluttershy blushes, embarrassed. “We’ve know each other since little filly’s school.

“I’m not surprised. You seem like you’ve known each other forever.”

“We practically have,” She replies in agreement.

Spike returns with the deep fried hay sandwiches. He sets one down in front of Rainbow and the other at his seat. Sugarcube Corner’s world famous deep fried hay sandwiches are surprisingly simple to prepare. First, the chef makes the batter: flour and milk with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Then, he dips the hay in the freshly made batter and fries the batter-soaked hay in scalding oil for about a minute-and-a-half. Once the hay is fried, the chef sprinkles salt on the hay and sets it between two pieces of whole wheat bread, along with a “special sauce.” The recipe for the special sauce is unknown, but rumor has it that it has saffron.

“Thanks Spike,” Rainbow says. She takes a bite of her sandwich and is pleasantly surprised that it is one of the best sandwiches she has ever tasted.

Spike waves off the sentiment and dives into his sandwich.

“It’s still so cool that you’re a-“ Spike begins between mouthfuls of bread and deep fried hay, but Rainbow covers his mouth with her hoof.

“Not here,” She mouths.

Spike notices Fluttershy gazing at a brown stallion that is across the room by the front door.

“Who are you checking out Fluttershy?” Spike pokes playfully.

Fluttershy blushes.

“Oh, I’m not checking anypony out, but somepony is staring at us,” Fluttershy points at the stallion.

Rainbow and Spike both look towards the brown stallion. The stallion has an hourglass as his cutie mark and a pair of wings tucked discreetly at his side. He notices that the three of them are staring at him and quickly makes his way out the door. Rainbow stands up from her seat and jumps into the air.

“Where are you going?” Spike asks, as a piece of bread falls sloppily from his mouth.

“I’m going after that pony,” Rainbow explains. “I have a bad feeling about him.”

She flaps her wings and zooms above the dancing ponies after the strange pegasus. As she exits Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow flies on top of the old brick building. She perches motionless on top of Sugarcube Corner like a gargoyle, following the strange pony with her eyes. She then begins following him on top of the building as he makes his way down an alley. Suddenly, he stops in place. Rainbow lowers her body and pokes her nose over the building slightly to get a better view of him. The brown Pegasus stallion turns around.

“I know you’re there,” He says. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

Rainbow hesitates. She jumps off the glides down to his level. She lands softly on the ground. Her hooves crunch the dirt quietly. The stallion’s mouth twitches into a smile.

“Hello Rainbow Dash,” The pony says.

Rainbow frowns, both perplexed and intrigued by the pegasus.

“Now how is it that every strange pony I meet knows my name?” She asks, but it is more of a statement than a question.

The stallion is standing unnaturally still, like he is a talking statue.

“You happen to be quite famous, Miss Dash,” The pony replies.

“Famous,” Rainbow muses. “Or infamous?”

Another amused smile twitches on the mysterious pony’s face.

“Perhaps both.”

Rainbow seems satisfied with this answer. She puffs up a little in pride.

“What do you want from me?”

“I’m here to tell you that you’re in terrible danger,” The pony says.

Rainbow frowns, contemplating the pony’s meaning.

“You’ll be in terrible danger if you keep threatening ponies like that,” She warns.

The stallion shakes his head, flapping his neatly groomed dark brown mane.

“I’m not here to threaten you. I’m here to warn you,” He explains. “It’s not safe in Ponydale. Not for you. Not for your friends. Not for anypony.”

Rainbow chews on the information in her mind.

“You really need to work on your warning mannerisms,” Rainbow observes. “They sound a lot like threatening mannerisms.”

The pony ignores her quip.

“There are some things even a Slayer can’t defeat,” The pony begins. “Not without help.”

“So which are you, Mare Mysterious?” Rainbow asks suspiciously.

“I’m the help,” The pony folds out his wings, and then hops up and flies off into the darkness.

“Wait,” Rainbow shouts after him. “Who are you?”

The mysterious Pegasus shouts back at her.

“You can call me The Doctor.”

Suddenly, a shower of rain begins coming down on her, soaking her where she stands. Rainbow growls. She flies up into the sky and kicks the unfortunate cloud out of existence. Taking this small triumph, Rainbow sulks back to Sugarcube Corner.