Dash Academy

Dash Academy
Writer/artist	SorcerusHorserus
Date published	August 18, 2011
Pages	58 (as of July 12, 2014)
Featuring	Rainbow Dash

Dash Academy is an ongoing series of comics written and illustrated by SorcerusHorserus. The series centers around a teenage Rainbow Dash attending Flight Academy with her best friend, Gilda.

Dash Academy is one of the few English My Little Pony Friendship is Magic fan comic projects that is actively available in multiple languages, and has the most number of translation choices. Dash Academy is available in 17 languages as of November 2012.

Chapter 1 - Involuntary

The chapter starts off in one of Rainbow Dash's classes. She is getting bored when Gilda points out to her that a Pegasus pony in front of them has just got a wingboner. This makes both Rainbow Dash and Gilda laugh, but Rainbow Dash then gets a wingboner of her own.

Chapter 2 - Hot Flank

The chapter starts the day after the wingboner incident where Rainbow Dash and Gilda find a letter poking outside Rainbow Dash's locker. Opening the letter, Rainbow Dash discovers that the letter is from Brolly Brella, a Pegasus pony who is in Rainbow Dash's meteorology class. He claims to find Rainbow Dash really attractive, especially when she had her wingboner and wants to ask her out on a date. This makes Rainbow Dash mad and when she finds Brolly Brella, she argues to him about what he had written. However, Brolly claims he hadn't written any notes to her and calls her "Rainbow Crash" for being a bully to him before running off upset. Confused about what just happened, Rainbow Dash realizes she has been pranked by Gilda and becomes mad for making her look like a bully in front of Brolly. This sets off a small brawl between Rainbow Dash and Gilda, who are shortly separated by a near-by teacher who puts them both in detention.

Once out of detention, Rainbow Dash and Gilda apologize to Brolly about the letter. He accepts the apology, even apologizing himself to Rainbow Dash for calling her Rainbow Crash. Later that day at the academy cafeteria, Gilda attempts to apologize to Rainbow Dash about the letter but is interrupted by Rainbow Dash who has already forgiven her, only being upset that she wasted a good prank on Brolly. She then decides to team up with Gilda to prank another pony by giving them a secret admirer letter; the chosen target is Fluttershy.

Later that day, Rainbow Dash and Gilda return to their room where Gilda starts to write the fake secret admirer letter for Fluttershy. They then head to her locker and place the letter inside and hide behind a corner. When Fluttershy reads the letter, she really believes that the letter is from a real secret admirer, which causes Rainbow Dash to panic thinking she could have ruined Fluttershy's life if she realizes the letter is fake. Just then Billy, Hoops, and Quarterback see Fluttershy with the letter and start to make fun of the fact that she has a secret admirer and that someone actually finds her attractive.

This causes Rainbow Dash to become angry and she decides to confront the three bullies, but she is stopped by Gilda who reminds her that they are already in trouble for their earlier brawl and if they get caught fighting again they will be suspended from the academy. Additionally, Billy's uncle is the coach who is running the Speedster tryouts which are coming up and if Rainbow Dash upsets him, she might blow their chances to get in. Despite this, Rainbow Dash decides to defend her childhood friend on her own and confronts Billy, Hoops, and Quarterback who remember her from summer flight school. Rainbow Dash warns them to back off but is stopped by Billy who mentions her little fight with Gilda. Believing that they were having a lovers' quarrel, he suggests that Rainbow Dash is Fluttershy's secret admirer. As they continue to mock Rainbow Dash, they become bored and decide to leave the two "lovebirds". Fluttershy tries to thank Rainbow Dash for getting rid of the three bullies but Rainbow Dash tells Fluttershy in an aggressive tone to go away.

Chapter 3 - Crash Course

The chapter starts in Rainbow Dash and Gilda's room where Rainbow Dash just finished telling Gilda about the events that happened when confronting Billy, Hoops, and Quarterback. Gilda tells Rainbow Dash that she warned her and that she may have blown her chances with getting past the tryouts, upsetting Rainbow Dash even more. One week after the events with Fluttershy incident, Rainbow Dash and Gilda attend the Speedster tryouts where they find out that the coach will be assisted by Billy to help pick who passes the tryouts which puts Rainbow Dash at a disadvantage.

At the tryouts, when Rainbow Dash's turn comes, Billy attempts to sabotage Rainbow Dash's chances by tripping her coming out to catch the ball, but with her speed, she is still able to catch up to it in time. Later, in the showers, Rainbow worries about her chances to make the team, but Gilda reassures her that the Speedsters need her. The comic then cuts to Billy discussing Rainbow Dash with his uncle. He convinces his uncle that the team doesn't need Rainbow Dash, by stating that even though her scores across the board were excellent, she's emotionally unstable, and probably a compulsive liar.

The next comic mainly focuses on Fluttershy, who receives another note, this one apparently inviting her to the Starlight Dance, which, according to a poster within the comic, occurs on November 6th, in the comic's world.

The next day, the results for the tryouts are posted, and while Gilda makes the speedsters, Rainbow Dash is assigned to the Junior Speedsters. Upset at this news, she goes to have a talk with the coach. However, her chat with the coach only serves to upset her further, and Gilda must restrain Dash.

The next afternoon, Rainbow Dash attends her first meeting of the Junior Speedsters, and the team, which includes Derpy Hooves, Firefly, and Surprise, is introduced. The team begins to play "Stormball"; however, the game quickly gets off track, and the ball ends up with a group of Pegasi rehearsing a scene from The Phantom of the Opera. The coach, however, states that the team is already much better than last season, which only serves to annoy Rainbow.

After that practice is over, she and Gilda meet up, and she complains about the team as a whole, listing off things such as they practices indoors since somepony's parents complained the Stormball storms were too scary, and the team didn't compete the previous year because half of them got fed up and dropped out. Then, Billy and his friends show up, and initially Rainbow Dash thinks they're there to tease her some more, but they instead ask Gilda if she wants to hang out with them later. Dash sees Gilda's sudden friendliness with them as a betrayal, but Gilda states that they're her teammates, and that it's not Billy's fault she didn't make the Speedsters. After Gilda flies off, Rainbow gets upset at a couple making out in the stands, so as they fly off, the colt makes a crack about how Rainbow Dash is only upset because her girlfriend dumped her, and Rainbow vehemently insists that Gilda isn't her girlfriend, and she's not a fillyfooler. As Rainbow Dash mumbles about how the day can't get any worse, she is startled by lightning and rain from an improperly stored cloud, as the coach for the Speedsters yells at the pony moving the cloud for not storing it in the athletic building like he ordered.

Chapter 4 - Starlight Dance

This chapter begins the next afternoon. Firefly asks Dash if she's feeling alright, and Surprise brings up the Starlight Dance, which Dash asserts she won't be attending. However, she changes her mind when a colt named Argie suggests that if she and Gilda find dates, the rumors of them being a couple will vanish. Firefly then questions if that is his way of asking Rainbow Dash to the dance, but he asserts that he will be asking Gilda instead. Rainbow expresses her skepticism, but he asserts to her that he knows plenty about griffons. The last panel of the comic reveals that what he knows about griffons, he learned from comic books.

Surprise bugs Rainbow Dash, asking her who she'll ask to the dance, and Rainbow Dash replies by saying she needs time to think about it. Surprise then suggests Brolly, and Rainbow Dash is dead-set against it at first, but relents when Surprise eggs her on by suggesting she's too shy do do so. Rainbow attempts to ask Brolly, but he turns her down, stating that he already has his heart set on taking somepony else. Argie then comes up with another idea: he'll ask a stallion who graduated the previous year and played varsity to be her date. Rainbow questions how he knows that pony, and he states that he tutor's the stallion's younger brother. He says he'll ask him, on one condition: that Rainbow puts in a good word for him with Gilda.

After the other ponies leave, Firefly attempts to talk to Rainbow Dash, to figure out what's wrong with her, since she didn't practice at all during the Junior Speedsters' last session. However, the talk only serves to anger Rainbow Dash, who feels that Firefly is babying her, and she yells at Firefly and leaves in a hurry.

Later on, in their room, Gilda shows back up, and Dash is still angry with her for ditching her. Dash learns that Gilda was already planning on attending the dance, and that it was Billy that already asked her to the dance, much to Dash's disgust. Dash then attempts to upstage Gilda by telling about her date, but Gilda doesn't buy Dash's description of him, seeing it as a lame, desperate excuse. As she fulfilled her end of the agreement, even though Gilda didn't agree, Argie agrees to ask the stallion for Rainbow.

A week later, on the night of the dance, Rainbow Dash and Gilda wait outside to meet Dash's mystery date. Dash continues to insist that Argie said he's an athlete, but Gilda remains skeptical. Eventually, Argie shows up, and attempts to hit on Gilda. Then, Argie introduces Rainbow's date: Pierce. At first, Dash is upset that Argie failed to mention that her date would be a unicorn with temporary dragonfly wings, but then, Billy shows up. He mistakes Argie for Rainbow's date at first, until Pierce intervenes, and gets Billy to back off Rainbow Dash, much to her delight, as they fly into the dance.

The comic then shifts focus to Fluttershy, as she arrives, eager to meet her mystery date. However, her evening becomes an exercise in awkwardness when she attempts to make conversation with Roid Rage, and he responds with his loud shout of "YEAH!", frightening her. In attempting to scurry away, she bumps into another filly, almost making her spill her drink, which makes the filly yell at Fluttershy. Fluttershy then decides to sit and wait quietly for her admirer to find her, and at first smiles confidently. Then, she decides that her braces might scare off her admirer, and resolves to smile confidently without showing her teeth.

The comic then shifts back to focus on Rainbow Dash and Pierce. They take to the skies to dance the "Starlight Dance". While there, they have a conversation, in which Pierce expresses a desire to get to know Dash better, since, as she points out, she knows nothing about him besides what they made up to impress everypony. Pierce then suggests that after the dance, they head back to his apartment. Rainbow Dash balks at the idea, saying that she's only a sophomore, and not ready for such a thing. Pierce asserts he was younger than her when he had his first time, and states that all the other ponies will probably be engaging in similar activities after the dance. Dash is still very reluctant about the idea, however, and so Pierce threatens to reveal the truth about the two of them if she doesn't go along with the idea. Rainbow scurries off, saying she needs a minute to think about it.

In another part of the dance, Brolly and Argie notice Fluttershy and Gilda, respectively. While Brolly tries to gather the courage to talk to Fluttershy, he turns away, and she flies off in tears, leaving him confused as to where she went. Meanwhile, Argie notices Billy is just talking about himself to Gilda endlessly, and goes over to ask her to dance. When he does, it draws the ire of Billy, and the two begin to exchange insults. The two seem to be about to come to fisticuffs when Rainbow shows up and tries to drag Gilda off to talk about something, presumably what happened with Pierce just prior, but Gilda is reluctant to leave, as she wants to see the outcome of Billy's and Argie's scuffle.

Dash manages to pull Gilda aside, and explains the whole situation to Gilda, who is unsympathetic. Rainbow Dash tries to get Gilda to help her out, but Gilda firmly refuses, saying she's tired of Rainbow Dash embarrassing her. Firefly and Surprise notice Dash's situation, along with Brolly's, and Argie's. They also noticing Derpy being teased for her dress, all of which prompts Surprise to declare the dance the "worst party ever". The comic ends with Firefly flying off, much to Surprise's puzzlement.

Rainbow Dash continues to beg for Gilda's help, and Gilda continues to insist that it's her problem, and she should deal with it herself. However, when Pierce shows up to ask Rainbow whether she's made up her mind, Gilda tells Pierce to beat it, to which Pierce retorts that Rainbow is capable of making her own decisions. However, before Dash can give her final answer, she notices a large cloud in the sky, being pushed by Firefly. Firefly declares that the party is over, and gives the cloud a good stomp. This causes a thunderstorm, much to the shock of all the Pegasi, with the exception of Surprise, who seems excited. Surprise takes off her dress, and encourages the other ponies to do the same, while Pierce cowers under a table, so as to not get his wings wet. Argie attempts to tell Gilda he had a lovely time with her, but their dance will have to wait, and as he's finally blown away, shouting "GOODNIIIIIGHT!", Gilda facepalms.

Rainbow flies away from the storm, and lands on a cloud. Soon after, Firefly lands next to her, and Dash immediately comments on the category 5 Stormball storm over the dance, and says she'd like to shake the hoof of whoever saved them from that "cruddy dance-garbage". As she and Firefly continue discussing the storm, Rainbow figures out that it was Firefly who brought the storm. She states that if Firefly gets caught, she'll be kicked out flight school, but Firefly replies that even if they were to discover it was her, it would still be worth it. Rainbow at first is skeptical, but then realizes that her problems of other ponies believing her to be a fillyfooler, as well as Pierce wanting to bring her back to his apartment, have been solved. She then realizes that Firefly had her back the whole time, even after she acted like such a jerk at practice. Rainbow states that she owes Firefly one, and Firefly replies by saying that if Rainbow helps the team win their first game next week, she'll call it even. Rainbow, confident as ever, declares the JV League Cup as good as theirs. Chapter 4 ends with Pierce attempting to hit on Derpy.

Chapter 5 - Old Friends, New Friends

The chapter opens up with the Junior Speedsters engaged in a game of Stormball with a team called the "Mount Olympus Junior Manticores", and twelve minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Right after Rainbow Dash snaps the ball, Firefly is sacked, but Surprise manages to keep the ball in play for the Junior Speedsters. She breaks through the defensive line, but is tackled and fumbles the ball. The ball is promptly recovered by a pony on the Junior Manticores named Starshine, who flies the ball back to the other end zone, scoring a touchdown and making the score twenty four to nothing in favor of the Junior Manticores. The announcer comments that with the Junior Manticores being so far ahead so late in the game, a Junior Manticore victory seems "almost certain." Rainbow Dash then decides to step it up and "show [those] punks what [she] can do", as she refuses to lose. The Junior Speedsters go into their cheer, and Starshine kicks the ball for the extra point conversion, but Rainbow Dash intercepts it and flies it to the other end zone, for a two point defensive conversion. Her teammates gather around her and celebrate, as those were the first points they had scored in years, according to the comic's description. Derpy questions why only two points are on the board, and Dash explains, telling Derpy that if she took the game seriously, she would have known that. Dash then chews Derpy out for missing practice for the past week.

In the next comic, the announcer reveals that the score is now twenty-four to nineteen in favor of the Junior Manticores, and that the Junior Speedsters have called a timeout to discuss their strategy. Rainbow Dash gives an assignment to all the ponies except for Derpy, and when Derpy asks what she should do, Rainbow replies that she should just do what she normally does. Firefly throws the ball, but rather than throwing it to Rainbow Dash, who is being guarded by two of the Junior Manticores, she throws it to Derpy. However, the ball bounces off Derpy's outstretched forehooves for an incomplete, pass, and the Junior Manticores win. Rainbow Dash facehooves as a result.

Later, at Private Pansy's Pizzeria (the restaurant the team is at after their game), Argie expresses his excitement for next week's game, but Derpy apologizes for dropping the ball. The rest of the team tell her not to worry about it, except for Rainbow Dash, who is still sulking. Firefly goes to try and talk to her, but the two get into an argument that ends with Dash quitting the team and flying off in anger.

Several days later, Rainbow Dash wakes up from a dream of her playing hoofball to find that Gilda has already left. While eating, Dash notices Gilda hanging out with the jocks, and then remembers Gilda's words towards her at the dance. Later, in class, the teacher, while taking attendance, points out that Fluttershy has been absent three times in a row. Rainbow then remembers how she and Gilda became roommates. As Rainbow Dash passes by Fluttershy's locker, she sees stickers and is reminded of a time when she gave Fluttershy stickers. In the flashback, she mentions to Fluttershy that she doesn't want her to be nervous starting flight school, and states that the two could be roommates. Rainbow Dash flies over to Fluttershy's dorm hall, and knocks on Fluttershy's door, only to find it unlocked and open. When she enters, she discovers the note that she and Gilda wrote, as a prank towards Fluttershy, and questions why she ever thought that would be funny. She then finds the note that Brolly wrote to Fluttershy, and right as she finishes reading it, Fluttershy walks in, startling Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy asks why Rainbow is in her room, to which the latter replies that the teacher sent her to check in on the former, and her door was open. Fluttershy then asks Rainbow why she was reading the notes, which Rainbow at first tries to lie about, but after Fluttershy insists that she tell the truth, she admits she saw the note Billy read out loud. She then asks why Fluttershy kept it, to which Fluttershy tells her that she wouldn't understand. When she asks why Fluttershy thinks she wouldn't understand, she learns that Fluttershy has a false conception of her, which she promptly corrects. She then admits that nothing is working out and that it's all her fault, and wonders if things would have been better if she and Fluttershy had remained friends. Fluttershy responds that Rainbow can't blame herself for what happened between them, and admits that although she was sad and jealous for a while, and while she still is to an extent, she also states that she realizes that Rainbow and Gilda had so many more interests in common, so she was happy about that. Rainbow then worries that she left Fluttershy without any friends, but Fluttershy replies that it's her own fault that she hasn't made a single friend; she admits that she's been having panic attacks whenever she's tried to talk to anypony, and that's the reason for her missing class. Rainbow then asks Fluttershy about why she can still talk to her, to which Fluttershy replies that talking to Rainbow is different. Rainbow states that she knows what Fluttershy means, as although she says Gilda is fun to hang out with, she admits they've never really opened to one another, and that when Gilda tried to one time, Dash stopped her, as it "felt weird" coming from Gilda. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash then admit they miss talking to each other about that sort of stuff, and they leave to go get lunch, like they used to, according to Rainbow Dash, and catch up on each other. The final panel of page 7 is a flashback to filly Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy going to have a picnic, as suggested by Fluttershy.

Later in the afternoon, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are discussing the love notes Fluttershy received, and right as Rainbow Dash is about to tell Fluttershy about the first one, Surprise shows up in a panic, stating that the future of the Junior Speedsters is at stake, and they need to get to practice right away. Surprise then states that she doesn't know who Fluttershy is, but she can come along anyway, and drags her along. Fluttershy's line, "I think I'm being kidnapped," was not in the original script, according to SorcerusHorserus, but was added the day the comic was published, as that was when she thought of it.

When the three arrive back at practice, Dash learns that the team wants to start taking the game more seriously, as Brolly states that it felt amazing to be on the verge of victory. Firefly then apologizes for costing them the previous game, as she states that she felt if Derpy made the game-winning catch, it would make the latter feel better. Rainbow Dash then states that she should be apologizing for the way she blew up and bailed on her teammates, and agrees to rejoin the team. She then states that the team will have to train hard, every day, in a real field with real storms. Firefly states that she still has the key to the storm storage, and so they just need to find a place to train in secret. Fluttershy then brings up an open field, surrounded by miles of forest, where she's never seen anypony before, and offers to show the team to it. Rainbow Dash takes to the idea immediately, as she states that no Pegasus stormball team has practiced on the ground before, and thinks it might give them the edge they need. She then orders the team to head to practice right away, and as the team is leaving, Firefly comments that it's good to Dash that it's good to have her back on the team.

At the practice, Rainbow Dash lays out the plans for which pony will play what position, before mentioning that she has a special role in mind for Derpy. That role is as a kicker. Dash mentions that Derpy is at a disadvantage with her eyes being how they are. Dash also mentions that the most common way to kick a field goal in stormball is to use a dropkick, but there's another method called "blind buck", wherein the player kicks the ball with their back to the uprights. Dash mentions that while a disadvantage is that the player can't see where the ball is going, and so must rely on muscle memory, making it trickier than the dropkick, an advantage is that the players who master it get much better distance and scoring power. Rainbow mentions that it will take a lot of practice, even outside the time the rest of the team practices, and Derpy asserts that she's up to the task. Dash then goes into a speech, as a montage of events, both from the Junior Speedsters' training and from a game, are shown, ending with the Junior Speedsters winning a game, and tossing Derpy into the air in celebration.

Chapter 6 - The Secrets We Keep

The first page of the chapter shows another montage. Rainbow Dash seem to be getting real close with her team the whole time they've been together. Whether it is a karaoke contest, playing board games, showering together, tutoring, ice skating, or practicing for their next game. The team was getting better at playing, and Fluttershy became very close to Brolly.

With Hearth's Warming Eve drawing near, Rainbow Dash can't figure out what to give Firefly. During a conversion with Fluttershy in the school hallway, the ran into Billy, Hoops, Quarterback, and Gilda. They insult her by calling her a "fillyfooler", while Gilda was trying to convince them to leave the only. But then Rainbow Dash decides to retaliate by insulting them back. She told Billy her Junior Varsity Team are doing better than his Varsity Team. Gilda and Fluttershy tried break down the conversation. Rainbow continues by saying what "losers" they are as her and Fluttershy walk away. Fluttershy was concerned that Rainbow Dash made them angry, but she knows they wouldn't do anything to get themselves expelled. Even though, Fluttershy had her promise to be the "better mare".

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the JV team visits Ponyville for Hearth's Warming Eve shopping. Rainbow was amazed how a tiny village can be bustling. Surprise introduce her to Sugarcube Corner, which she always wanted to go in. Then she saw Brolly and Fluttershy walk out of the sweet shop, eating candy canes together. Thinking it was romantic, Surprise starts reminiscing about her first crush. When she was a filly during the Hearth's Warming Eve season, she walked into a bakery in Canterlot where she met Mulia Mild's son. But she was later thrown out by Mulia for getting too many "free samples". Rainbow Dash believes she was just hungry. Then Surprise asks her who her first crush was. She then remembers blushing when meeting Billy for the first time, until he starts insulting her. She sees Derpy coming, and suggests they ask her instead.

Fan film

Brony writer and director "marshan3q" (his username on both deviantArt and YouTube), was writing a screenplay for the comic. After receiving permission from SorcerusHorserus to make a "Dash Academy" movie, marshan3q is currently in the writing stages. On journal entry on his deviantArt page, he described a desire for the movie to emulate the quality of the show. He was looking for voice actors/actresses, artists and animators to assist in the project. After Hasbro declined permission for the film to be made, marshan3q originally attempted to contact Hasbro again to ask about their reasoning for denying him permission. With no response from Hasbro two days later, he decided to cancel the project, and moved onto a new MLP fan film titled "REGAL". 

External links

On deviantART

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2 - Part 1
• Chapter 2 - Part 2
• Chapter 2 - Part 3
• Chapter 2 - Part 4
• Chapter 2 - Part 5
• Chapter 2 - Part 6
• Chapter 2 - Part 7
• Chapter 2 - Part 8
• Chapter 3 - Part 1
• Chapter 3 - Part 2
• Chapter 3 - Part 3
• Chapter 3 - Part 4
• Chapter 3 - Part 5
• Chapter 3 - Part 6
• Chapter 3 - Part 7
• Chapter 3 - Part 8
• Chapter 3 - Part 9
• Chapter 4 - Part 1
• Chapter 4 - Part 2
• Chapter 4 - Part 3
• Chapter 4 - Part 4
• Chapter 4 - Part 5
• Chapter 4 - Part 6
• Chapter 4 - Part 7
• Chapter 4 - Part 8
• Chapter 4 - Part 9
• Chapter 4 - Part 10
• Chapter 4 - Part 11
• Chapter 4 - Part 12
• Chapter 4 - Part 13
• Chapter 4 - Part 14
• Chapter 4 - Part 15
• Chapter 5 - Part 1
• Chapter 5 - Part 2
• Chapter 5 - Part 3
• Chapter 5 - Part 4
• Chapter 5 - Part 5
• Chapter 5 - Part 6
• Chapter 5 - Part 7
• Chapter 5 - Part 8
• Chapter 5 - Part 9
• Chapter 5 - Part 10
• Chapter 5 - Part 11
• Chapter 6 - Part 1
• Chapter 6 - Part 2
• Chapter 6 - Part 3
• Chapter 6 - Part 4
• Chapter 6 - Part 5
• Chapter 6 - Part 6
• Chapter 6 - Part 7
• Chapter 6 - Part 8
• Chapter 6 - Part 9
• Chapter 6 - Part 10
• Chapter 6 - Part 11
• Chapter 6 - Part 12
• Chapter 6 - Part 13
• Chapter 6 - Part 14

Other

• A site hosting all the pages of the comic
• Red Sorena #1