//------------------------------//
// 0 Days Until the Canterlot Three 
// Story: True Victor: Winning for Farmponies 
// by HapHazred 
//------------------------------//

The fields beneath Canterlot Castle were filled with ponies. The hum and chatter of stallions and mares was like a tidal wave. There were food stands and ponies wearing silly mascot outfits. There were athletes and spectators. There were old ponies and young ponies, and they were loud. It was like looking at a multicoloured sea in turmoil.

Banners were hung from the sides of the stadium, proclaiming the beginning of the Canterlot Three. Weatherponies were making sure that the place remained warm and pleasant, even as Winter began to creep up on everypony.

Applejack adjusted her saddlebag, eyeing the crowd.

"Boy, there sure are... more ponies than I thought," she said. "I thought this weren't as big as the Equestria Games..."

Spitfire nodded. "It usually isn't, but I reckon that after the, uh, controversial last games, the ponies up top are trying to revitalise it through marketing." She smirked. "I'm kinda used to this sort of thing. Try hard enough to get ponies to show up, and sometimes you’ll get what you want."

Harshwhinny was quieter than usual, and kept looking towards the crowd. Spitfire flashed her a look. 

"Looking for somepony?"

Harshwhinny didn't reply. Spitfire elbowed her back to reality.

"If he thinks your student is a challenge, he'll be here," Spitfire said. "Now, where did I put R..."

"Right here, Captain!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We going to our hotel?"

"Yeah. Drop our stuff off," Spitfire said. "Oh, and, Applejack," she added, looking towards the farmpony, "Good luck. I hear Haywire Hoofit is pretty quick for an Earth pony." She leaned in. "Not so good on the sharp turns, though."

Applejack raised her eyebrow. "Uh, thanks."

"Not that you need luck," Rainbow joked, nudging her friend. "He won't see you coming!"

"But he should see you getting further and further away," Spitfire added. "Preferably as you secure a solid lead."

Harshwhinny remained quiet, although she managed a small smile. Applejack imagined she was thinking about a different opponent to Haywire. Applejack herself wasn't sure what to think of the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Victor Valiance. If even half of what Harshwhinny had said was true, he wouldn't just beat his competitors... he'd break them.

"Well, better drop our things off," Rainbow said, and flew away. Applejack cantered behind her. She didn't care who she was going to be racing against... Haywire Hoofit, Victor Valiance... She was determined to win and earn herself a picture right next to the one with her parents, complete with medals.





As the day progressed, the first round of events went smoothly. Applejack sat on the benches, waiting patiently for her turn, and her chance in the spotlight. 

Rainbow was gone. She had moved up to where the pegasus games would take place to warm up. She remembered Spitfire's advice to her friend: so long as she could pull off a sonic rainboom, she'd have no problem taking the lead. The problem was gaining speed with all the tight turns.

Applejack would make sure to go and watch her friend win, as soon as she had finished her own race.

As the previous event cleared itself up, Applejack looked out for the other ponies participating in her race: a one-thousand metre dash. She could make out Earth ponies and unicorns alike in her category, although the majority were definitely Earth ponies. No pegasi, though. Rainbow Dash likely could have tried competing if she had wanted, but her ambitions were set higher. About one hundred feet higher, in fact.

Among the crowd, Applejack recognised Haywire Hoofit. He was one of the rare athletes whose name Applejack had memorised. It was hard not to admire the lightning fast pony who had repeatedly proven himself faster on hoof than most pegasi were in the air.

Just to look at him, he seemed to be built purely for speed. Where most ponies were rather round, Haywire was angular and sharp, like a knife. His mane was short. Everything about him looked efficient. His eyes, smaller than those of the average pony, stared straight ahead, like he was in the middle of some deep meditation.

Applejack wondered if she should be meditating, too.

Harshwhinny was next to her, and occasionally scanned the crowd. Applejack was beginning to get a bit frustrated with her attitude. She understood that Victor was a fearsome opponent, but it didn't do to ignore her actual student because she was fixated on some other athlete who beat her.

Then again, if Ms. Harshwhinny's talent was winning itself, maybe losing had done more damage to her than Applejack expected. It would be like Applejack losing her family, in the sense that her family was what made her who she was. Applejack wondered if that was how important winning was to Harshwhinny. An extension of herself?

It seemed almost unreasonable.

"Your ultimate rival not showin' up?" Applejack asked.

Harshwhinny swallowed. "I... don't know," she muttered, for the first time visibly unsure of herself. "I can't see him."

Applejack smirked. "Guess I must have scared him off," she said.

Harshwhinny frowned. "That's not how Victor works." She sighed. "What number are you?"

"Nine," Applejack said.

"Okay. You'll want to start stretching and warming up, now."

Applejack nodded, and got to her hooves. "Sure thing."





From her position on the track, Applejack could barely make out the reassuring shapes of her family in the crowd. They popped in and out of her vision, so after a moment she decided to stop looking for them entirely. She knew they were there, and she knew they'd be looking. It was a shame she hadn't been able to find them before her race began, but that was the sort of thing that happened in huge crowds like this.

She'd be able to find them before she went to go watch Rainbow's race.

She stepped onto her position on the starting line. Coincidentally, she was only one spot away from Haywire Hoofit. The spectacular athlete looked more like a projectile than a pony. Applejack breathed out. She was still limber from her warm-up routine.

"This is for you guys," Applejack muttered to herself. An entire month's worth of intense training had let up to this moment. Weeks of aching and sore muscles. Stress and fatigue and sweat and Harshwhinny's poor cooking. All to try and do what her parents had done ten years ago.

Applejack felt her heart race. Rainbow might want to win because she could remember everything, but for Applejack, it was the things she couldn't remember. She couldn't remember being there at the events her parents were in. Maybe it was because she wasn't there. She must have been eight or nine at the time. Old enough to remember vague images, but too young to pay real attention.

How foolish, Applejack thought. She wished she could remember more than just blurs and pictures. She licked her lips. Today, she had the chance to get closer to them, even if it was for a minute. Granny Smith had once said that her mother's side was a family of athletes.

Time to continue the tradition.

"On your marks!"

Applejack stared straight ahead. She found herself focusing on Haywire. She immediately looked away. She needed to focus on the finish line, and being the first to cross it.

"Get set!"

Applejack lowered her body. Just like running up a river, she thought. Just fall into the motions...

"Go!"

Applejack took off like an arrow from a bow, her mane flowing behind her like it was about to fall away. Everything outside the track was a blur. All Applejack could see was the way forward, and out of the corner of her eye...

Haywire was the only pony to not instantly fall away. Applejack ran through strategies in her mind. The others might be conserving their strength to pull forward near the end... But not her and Haywire. Or rather, this was them conserving their strength.

The pair raced, their hooves thundering across the soft and bouncy track. The wind rushing past her ears drowned out the cheers. 

They reached the corner of the long, oblong stadium. Both her and Haywire turned... but Applejack was the faster.

It was like moving through slow water, she thought, except ten times easier. Every single one of her muscles acted to turn her in the correct direction. By contrast, Haywire was just like a knife: he cut through in straight lines.

Applejack pulled ahead by a nose. Her breath quickened. Haywire would accelerate as they ran across the next long stretch...

She'd have to accelerate too.

They both fell forwards. To an outside observer, they'd both look like some strange gravity was accelerating them parallel to the planet's surface. 

Haywire caught up with Applejack, barely. He spared his competitor no glance. His focus was supreme.

Applejack realised that by noticing, hers was not.

She needed to drown out any thought of Hoofit beating her. She needed to win, and to win, she needed to think about nothing else but winning. Bend everything she had towards pushing past her opponent.

Her mother had won silver in her race, but Applejack wanted gold.

She felt like her lungs would tear themselves apart, and her bones would be pulverised to fine powder, but she drew out all the strength she had. After a month of practising in the most unusual conditions, it turned out she had a lot.

She didn't notice herself pulling in front of Haywire by a hair's breadth. She didn't even notice when she pulled past the finish line. She kept running, and running until her legs gave out.

Her blood pumping in her ears, she stumbled to the side, trying to keep moving. Her lungs scrambled for air, and her vision blurred. Beyond the drumbeat of blood in her ears, she heard the sound of a massive crowd cheering and shouting.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder, the sensation of another pony cutting through the mist like a hot blade.

"You can relax now. Water is on the side."

Applejack stumbled towards where the pony was taking her. "Did I...?"

"Yeah, you won."

Applejack swallowed.

"I won?"

"Yup," Haywire said, panting heavily. "You got first place. Congrats."





What was strange to Applejack was how fast it had gone by. Of course, that was rather the point, but still, she had worked so hard for a win that after getting it so quickly, it felt almost like it had never happened.

Haywire hadn't seemed to mind too much. He took his silver medal without complaint. 

As they left the track, he gave her a look.

"I've seen ponies move like that before," he said. "Two, in fact."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Haywire nodded. "Yup. Ms. Harshwhinny, back when I was a kid, and Victor Valiance," he said. "It’s a strange kind of movement that I can’t quite place. Know any of them?"

Applejack nodded. "Harshwhinny is my coach."

Haywire's mouth opened in understanding. "Ah. That would explain it, then. Her and victory tend to go hand in hand." 

"Not always."

Haywire shrugged. "Well, no. But last games..." Haywire went quiet. "The gap between us was just so... vast. It didn't feel right to stand on the podium after that. Harshwhinny was in quite a state, too."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "She didn't talk much about it. She just said she wanted me to beat Victor."

Haywire chuckled. "What, at a race? I think you overestimate your abilities."

"Well, he ain't here to win."

Haywire frowned, his expression dark. "Yes. Disrespect is his forte." Haywire looked at his silver medal. "It's hard to take a victory seriously when your greatest opponent doesn't deign to show up. But I'm not interested in feeling snubbed by ponies who don't even bother to turn up." Haywire placed the medal around his neck. "Last games, I rejected my bronze. I regret that decision. I worked hard for it. I shan't complain or whine about getting silver today."

Applejack nodded.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask some questions 'bout Harshwhinny..."

"Applejack!"

Applejack turned just in time to catch Applebloom, who had catapulted towards her with significant velocity. Applejack grinned. "Hey, Applebloom!"

"You won!"

"Yeah I did," Applejack said, beaming. "Got me a gold, too."

Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were hot on Applebloom's heels, both eager to offer their congratulations.

"You look just like your ma'," Granny Smith said.

Applejack smiled, and turned her attention upwards, where the pegasi athletes were gathering in front of an obstacle course made of clouds.

There was another race she wanted to see.





The climb to the observation towers was tough, especially on Granny Apple, whose joints weren't as flexible as they used to be. Applejack was still tired from her recent ordeal, but she was certain Rainbow had seen her race, and she wanted to return the favour.

Besides, her friend had worked just as hard as Applejack.

At the top, Spitfire gave her a wave. "Hey, Applejack. Come to watch the recruit give it a shot?"

Applejack sat next to the wonderbolt captain, and beckoned for her family to follow her. "Hey there. She feelin' up to it?"

"She's always feeling ready," Spitfire said. "She's over on the..."

"I see her," Applejack said. "Rainbow mane ain't exactly hard to see, is it?"

Spitfire nodded. "I guess that's true. Where's your coach?"

"Can't find her," Applejack said. "I ain't sure where she is."

Spitfire frowned, and turned to stare at the racetrack. "I'll have to have a word with her."

“She’s bein’ more taciturn than usual,” Applejack said. “There a reason for that?”

“I think she’s disappointed her ‘plans’ haven’t worked out,” Spitfire replied.

Before Applejack could ask what Spitfire meant by that, the announcer started reciting the athlete's names. 

"Number eleven: Rainbow Dash, from Ponyville."

Applejack's ears pricked up when she heard Rainbow's name, and smiled to herself. 

The name that came afterwards sent chills down her spine.

"...and in, um, number twelve: Victor Valiance."

Spitfire's eyes shrank to pinpricks. "What?" Applejack saw Spitfire’s muscles tense. “You have to be joking!”

Applejack caught sight of the stallion on the number twelve spot. He was of average height, of average build, with a blond mane and light tan coat. His eyes were what caught Applejack's attention, however. It was like they were lifeless. His cutie-mark was plainly visible, even from this distance: a trophy, almost identical to Harshwhinny's own aside from the fact that his appeared to be cut down the middle and broken.

It was a cutie-mark unlike any she had seen. A cutie mark represented what made a pony complete. Seeing one that represented something split in two...

"But he's an Earth pony?" Applejack exclaimed, putting her thoughts aside and pointing at Victor. "This is a pegasus race!"

Spitfire gnashed her teeth. "I need to get down there," she said, getting up. "Rainbow doesn't understand what Victor can do."

"On your marks!"

Spitfire practically spat. "Horseapples!"

"What's wrong? Why is Victor competin' in somethin' he can't win?" Applejack asked.

Spitfire turned towards Applejack. "Because if he's competing, it means he can."

"Get set!"

Not far away, Applejack made out the recognisable shape of her coach. Harshwhinny was staring at Victor Valiance intently, like he was the only pony that existed in this world. Now Applejack had both ponies in the same field of vision, something struck her.

"Spitfire," Applejack asked, "Why does Victor look so similar to Harshwhinny?"

"Because he's her son," Spitfire snapped.

Applejack’s eyes widened.

"Go!"

The pegasi all took off at once, Rainbow sparing a glance at Victor, the only Earth pony competitor. It was a fatal mistake. Victor bunched up his hind legs, and the average physique he had turned into a wiry, muscular monstrosity. Applejack could swear she saw his cutie-mark glow.

He pushed off the launch cloud, and shot across the sky. Rainbow immediately realised the danger and accelerated, but Victor was like a bullet. They both flew neck-and-neck, catching up with the athletes in front, who hadn't been as woefully distracted. They both shot in front of the competition like they were nothing.

Something strange was happening to the pegasi who flew near Victor. Their wings shuddered, and Applejack's trained eye could tell they were slowing down. She had spent enough late-night lessons with Rainbow Dash to know when a pegasus wasn't moving properly.

"He's disrupting the air currents around him," Spitfire exclaimed. "That's not..."

When Rainbow and Victor reached the next checkpoint, Victor landed on the cloud checkpoint, bunched up again, like he was a slingshot, and fired himself towards the next point. Rainbow was allowed only a momentary head-start before Victor caught up with her.

"Why ain't she doin' her rainboom?" Applejack asked.

"She can't," Spitfire growled. "He's too close, and whatever he's doing to the air, it's stopping her from gaining enough speed. He's catching her in his wake."

"His wake? But that means..."

"That Rainbow is behind him," Spitfire snarled. "He's winning. He's using Rainbow's speed to push himself forward, and those jumps are just..."

"Unreal," Applebloom muttered.

It must be taking all of Rainbow's energy just to keep herself from spiralling out of control. Victor was brutally assaulting the air around her, turning it into a hurricane of turbulence. It was amazing she could keep herself going in a straight line.

Another checkpoint, and Victor pulled even further ahead. Worse still, with every inch Victor gained on Rainbow, the pegasus was getting increasingly caught up in that terrible air current effect. 

Applejack imagined racing against Victor on hoof. She didn't see herself lasting long. It was no wonder Haywire would have been depressed to race against that monster. He was on a different level entirely.

The finish line was in sight. With one last powerful leap, Victor shot through, disintegrating the cloud he had leaped off. Rainbow was close behind, but not fast enough.

The winner was Victor Valiance.

Rainbow spiralled out of control, her energy completely sapped. She spun towards the ground, her wings going limp. Applejack realised she must have pushed herself as hard as Applejack had herself, if not farther. She had sank all her energy into winning, but unlike Applejack, it hadn't paid off.

Now she had nothing left, not even the wind under her wings.

Spitfire was gone from her seat, and soared through the sky to catch the falling athlete. Victor Valiance landed on a nearby cloud, sinking into it before stopping. The mere shock of the impact might have shattered a lesser pony's bones into powder.

Applejack's eyes were fixed on Rainbow and Spitfire. The captain had managed to catch the defeated pegasus, and was helping her to a nearby cloud.

The crowd was silent. The pegasi in the stands were all looking at the scene in horror. The skies were sacred territory, and an Earth pony with no reason to be able to defeat them up in their home court had crushed their best flyer.

Victor looked at the stadium. His green eyes looked utterly empty. Applejack seethed. It was as if he didn't even enjoy his victory.

Harshwhinny similarly looked beaten. Something told Applejack this was not at all what she had wanted, although after what Spitfire had said, she was no longer sure about anything Harshwhinny had told her.

Was that beast of a stallion Harshwhinny's son? 

Applejack got to her hooves. "I need to go," she told her family. "See you guys later."





Harshwhinny looked very different from the confident, tough teacher Applejack had come to know over their month together. She looked very different from the prim and proper pony she had seen from afar during the Equestria Games, too. She looked, in a word, beaten. Lost. 

She stared at the pegasus race course with a blank expression. The course itself had been practically ruined by Victor and Rainbow's bout. Victor himself had disappeared. He hadn't even claimed his gold medal. Nopony had claimed their medals.

"Harshwhinny!" Applejack shouted as she trotted towards the older pony. "You owe me an explanation!"

Harshwhinny turned towards Applejack, but she still looked miles away. 

"Oh," she muttered. "This isn't a good time."

"Was it a good time a few weeks ago, when y'all were tellin' me 'bout Victor?" Applejack demanded. "You knew he was way stronger’n me. Than RD. Did you ever want me to beat him? Why lie?"

Harshwhinny sighed. "I wanted you to be a challenge," she said. "You were... perfect, I thought." She put her hoof over her face. "He didn't even care, and now things are worse than ever."

"How 'worse'?" Applejack demanded. "What aren't you tellin' me?"

Harshwhinny slumped. "I suppose Spitfire told you Victor is my son?"

Applejack nodded. "That she did."

“She wouldn’t have told you everything,” Harshwhinny said. She brushed her mane out her eyes. "He has a degenerative cutie-mark disease. He's a broken pony."

Applejack immediately softened, taken aback. "What d'you mean? What disease?"

"It's a rare condition. Vic's talent is like mine: he wins." Harshwhinny sighed. "I just wanted to help him do what he liked best. We trained constantly, non-stop. I was so proud of him. When he was just a child he managed to master the slow-water caves. You should have seen him: he loved to win, and he loved practising to make it happen." Her lips curled upwards, but it was a hollow smile. "It was only fun if he had to work for it."

"What changed?"

"A cutie-mark can be... tricked, sometimes. Vic' got absorbed by winning, and he dedicated himself entirely to it. Whilst he was learning, it was entertaining... he lived for it. But when one day it became easy... he had nothing left."

"How's that become a disease?" Applejack asked.

"A pony's talent is part of who we are. Losing it is damaging, and sometimes, a cutie-mark tries to get it back. It's like scratching an itch. Victor tried to keep practising, harder than ever, just to try and make it stop. Unfortunately, that just makes it worse when the same satisfaction stops coming." Harshwhinny looked away. "When I saw him last games, I couldn't recognise him. He was... empty.” She peered into Applejack’s eyes. “But because he needed victory… even more than before, because he was suffering from withdrawal of sorts, he was far stronger than before. Even stronger than me."

Applejack frowned. "And where did I fit in?"

"A side-effect of the disease he has is that the itch goes away more if he doesn't just win, but take away other pony's victory too. He breaks ponies. He can't help it, but he does." Harshwhinny ran her hoof through her now frazzled mane. "I imagine he'll have broken your friend, too."

Applejack felt a pit in her stomach, and her lips curled in distaste. "So why me?"

"The more somepony wants to win, the more he breaks them. You... didn't want to win. Not like Rainbow or I do, anyway."

"I wanted to be like ma' and pa'."

Harshwhinny shrugged. "I didn’t care why you wanted to compete, but Rainbow said you were different when she called me. I thought it anypony had a chance, it'd be you.” She put her head in her hooves. “But he didn't even care. He just went straight to the last thing he thought might be a challenge... and beat it. He's even more broken than ever now."

Applejack looked up at the mountain looming over them. "So now he's just left. There's no challenge left for him, huh?"

"No. Victor... my boy probably has nothing left anymore," Harshwhinny said, her voice breaking. "The doctors said he may become catatonic. I just wanted him to have a challenge again. The doctors said that if he could have a reason to practise, he might be able to be treated, but now it's hopeless. The doctors said—"

Applejack turned to leave. "I see," she said. She turned to look over at the broken finish line, and at the crowd of racers who were milling around, slack jawed and confused. Applejack bit her lip. Most had been so overwhelmed they hadn’t finished the race. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I weren't tough enough to even be noticed by your kid, but I need to make sure RD is okay."

Harshwhinny fell into silence, and stared at the ruined pegasus race as Applejack left.





It was mid-afternoon when Applejack reached Rainbow's hotel-room. Spitfire was just on her way out, looking miserable. She saw Applejack trot down the hallway, and ran a hoof through her mane.

"Oh, it's you," she said. "You might want to give Dash a minute. She's taking her loss pretty hard."

Applejack approached Spitfire. "I know she don't like losin', but it ain't the first time she only got second place. She really takin' it that hard?"

Spitfire nodded. "She was beaten by an Earth pony. No disrespect, but that's like you being beaten in a race by a pony with no legs. How would you feel?"

Applejack shrugged. "I guess you got a point."

"Not to mention Victor did something to the air around Rainbow. He wasn't just going fast, he was actively preventing Rainbow from winning. He quite literally stole it away from her, and there's nothing she can do about it." Spitfire stepped away from the door. "You're her friend, so maybe she'll feel better if you talk to her, but I'm just her captain. I can't fix this."

Applejack nodded, and entered Rainbow's hotel room. 

For the most part, it looks completely un-lived in. Applejack knew from experience that when Rainbow moved in somewhere, even for just a moment, it became very lived in. The fact the room felt empty made her uneasy.

It also made her uneasy that it took her a moment to find Rainbow. Usually, the loud pegasus would find a way to make herself noticeable. She wasn't a very big pegasus, but she tended to take up more space than the average pony, and demanded at least double the amount of attention. Now, she was lying on the couch, silent. Her mane was draped over her eyes.

"Hey there," Applejack said, walking towards her friend.

Rainbow barely stirred.

"Come to brag about your win?"

Applejack was taken aback by the viciousness of the comment. "S'cuse me?"

Rainbow tried to cave inwards. "Sorry. That was rude."

It was, but Applejack didn't comment. "You doing okay?"

Applejack heard a sniff from Rainbow. "How d'you think? I got humiliated." Rainbow turned away from Applejack, retreating further into the couch. "That guy was stopping me from flying. Like I was just a stupid paper plane."

Rainbow's voice was becoming increasingly broken. Applejack sat down next to her friend. Rainbow snorted. 

"I guess I'm gonna' remember this one for a while, huh?"

"Probably," Applejack said. “Harshwhinny told me about—”

"I hate that guy," Rainbow said, her voice quivering. "I've never seen a pony who makes you feel like you're just wasting your time. What was even the point of training if somepony is just going to take it away?"

Applejack was quiet.

"I dunno," she said. "I'm sorry."

"I don't care. I want him to be sorry." Rainbow tightened her grip around Applejack's hoof. "I want to crush him.”

“Harshwhinny told me he can’t help but break ponies,” Applejack said. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“Yeah, I do,” Rainbow replied. “You think this is bad for me? Think about every other pegasus who saw that. If I had seen that as a kid, I’d never have wanted to fly. I couldn’t have beared the thought of working so hard for nothing.” She clenched her hoof closed. “He ought to…”

"It ain’t about beatin’ him,” Applejack said, putting her own hoof on . “It’s about bein’ the best you can be. Makin’ other ponies feel bad ain’t a part of that."

Rainbow breathed out, and her hoof unclenched.

“Right,” she said. “I get it.”

“I know you do,” Applejack said. “I just think you need remindin’.”

Rainbow nodded. “But I want my best to be better than him,” she replied. “I want him to know the difference between making ponies feel worthless and beating them fair and square.”

Applejack put her other hoof around Rainbow's shoulders. 

“I get it,” she said. “How d'you think I feel? He didn't even bother to race me. Or Haywire. Or any Earth pony." Applejack felt indignation well within her. “I guess I agree. I want my best to be better than him, too. He ain’t right.”

"Y'know, when I was a kid, the wonderbolts used to be so much better than anypony else around, but at least they inspired you to be like them," Rainbow muttered. "I really hate him. I want to show him that… you can’t just make ponies everywhere miserable like that.”

Applejack ran her hoof across Rainbow’s mane, then began to pull away. Rainbow resisted.

“Don’t go.”

Applejack swallowed.

"I need to be alone for a bit. I need to think."

“What about?”

“About what I’m gonna do next,” Applejack replied. Rainbow looked through her mane at Applejack with wet eyes. Her brow furrowed.

“I get it,” she said. “I guess… I need to think too. About what I want.”

“I think you know what you want,” Applejack said. 

“I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet,” Rainbow replied.

Applejack nodded. "I get it. But I'm goin'," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

“Tomorrow?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack nodded, and adjusted her mane-band. “Yeah. Probably.”

Rainbow said nothing as Applejack left. As the door closed, Applejack held it ajar for a moment.

“Y’know, if it’s worth anythin’, I think you’re still the best athlete around.”

The door closed.

“Thanks.”





As Applejack left the hotel, she saw a familiar face. Two, in fact. Harshwhinny and Haywire Hoofit were both waiting by the entrance. Haywire's ultra-focused eyes locked on to Applejack with unnerving precision. Harshwhinny still looked tired. The bags under her eyes were more pronounced than ever. It occurred to Applejack that Harshwhinny would probably be about as old as her own mother, but in her current state, she looked like she could have been much older.

"How's your friend?" Harshwhinny asked.

"I don't know," Applejack said, her face dark. "Ms. Harshwhinny, I ain't happy."

Haywire kept staring at Applejack. "Valiance has a certain effect on ponies. You should be glad you didn't experience it first-hand."

Applejack gestured at her cutie-mark. "Y'know what this means? It means I'm a family pony. An Apple like the rest. An' that means I don't like it when family gets hurt." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "As an Apple, I ain't happy. As somepony who just won gold, I ain't happy that I might have just gotten my prize 'cause some better pony didn't even bother to show up. What's the point of winnin' if the real competition didn't even think you were worth facin'?" 

Haywire's stare was finally broken, and he looked to the side.

"I'm just as unhappy about that as you are."

"I'm mad." She looked up at the mountain looming over them. "Ms. Harshwhinny, I get that y'all wanted what's best for your kid. I ain't angry at you for that." She gave Harshwhinny a steely-eyed glare. "But I still don't like bein' lied to."

She moved to leave the hotel. Harshwhinny breathed in.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To have a few words with Victor," she snapped. "He skipped out on our race, and somepony ought to teach him some manners."





[centre]***[/centre]