Spike had been out in the Square doing some weapon shopping after battling most of the day. As he met up with Thorax, Ember, and Starlight, he sipped from his Tenta Cola, and asked his friends, "So, anything new with you guys?"
Thorax shrugged, "Not much really, although I heard there's a Splatfest coming up. I haven't participated in one for a while, so it should be interesting."
As if on cue, the TV/billboard on top of Deca Tower came up with Pearl and Marina. As they started their news reel, Pearl asked Marina, "Why don't you tell everyone the good news before we announce the stages Marina?"
Marina nervously smiled and said, "What was the good news again?"
Pearl chuckled saying, "You know, the most important piece of our culture, the-"
Marina squealed as she interrupted Pearl, "Ooh! The Splatfest! What's the theme this time? I'm so excited!
Pearl pulled out a card and read it saying, "Well folks, here's an old school one. Mario VS Bowser! Who are you rooting for Marina?"
Marina rolled her eyes and told her, "Isn't it obvious?"
Pearl nodded, "Yeah, Mario!"
Marina's eyes widened as she replied, "What? No, I'm team Bowser! Bowser's not a bad guy, he's just misunderstood and lonely. How would you feel being a single father of eight? He needs help raising those little kids, and Peach and him did have some history before Mario showed up."
Pearl laughed, "Yeah right! Bowser's a sorry excuse for a dragon, plus he loses to Mario every single time! And Peach definitely loves Mario, there was even a game where Peach and Mario switched roles! Mario's been around longer than Bowser anyway."
Marina sighed and replied, "Yeah, Donkey Kong, but that was the story of a big hairy ape and his battle against Donkey Kong."
Pearl laughed for a while before saying, "Ha ha ha! Good one Ma- hey... wait a minute! Oh, it is so on this time!"
Marina giggled, "Pick your team at the Splatfest terminal and have fun!" after that, the news was normal, stages were announced and an advertisement for Grizzco played.
Spike asked his friends, "So, what team are you guys going to be on? You know we can't battle as a squad if we're on different teams. I personally like Bowser better. The boss fights with other villains aren't as fun, and they're too bland. Bowser fights are constantly changing and getting more interesting."
Thorax nodded, "I agree personally, nothing really changes about Mario, the only update to Mario's abilities in a while is Cappy's capture ability. They haven't released new power-ups in years."
Ember agreed with Spike and Thorax saying, "Yeah, that's true. Plus, Bowser has some cool forms, Dry Bowser was badass, The only thing cooler than a dragon is a skeleton dragon."
Starlight shrugged saying, "I'm not really a fan of Mario games, but Bowser does have a bit more appeal to me than Mario. I'm somewhat partial to the underdog."
Spike smiled, "I guess it's agreed then, we join Team Bowser." All the friends went to the Splatfest Terminal and signed up for Team Bowser. After they got their Splatfest Tees, they were excited and Spike said, "Now we just have to wait for the weekend."
A few days later...
It was late in the evening, Spike had just finished his dinner when he got his Splatfest Tee on and yelled as he went out the door, "Mom! I'm going out for the night!"
His mother called back to him, "Have fun sweetie! Go Team Bowser!"
Spike smiled as he ran down into the Square. Pearl and Marina had started their live performance that they do at every Splatfest. He met up with his friends and asked them, "You guys ready to go?"
The three friends said in union, "Yeah!" and the four of them ran to Deca Tower.
The receptionist smiled at them, "Here for the Splatfest I assume? Well, a Team Mario squad just started getting ready, so you'll be right up!"
Spike smiled as they got ready for their battle against a Team Mario squad. He heard a voice call out, "S-Spike!? You're on Team Bowser!?"
Spike looked over to the voice and said, "Twilight!? What are you doing on Team Mario!" he also saw Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset Shimmer with them before saying, "Oh, it. Is. On! I've beaten you enough times to know how you think, so let's get it on!"
As Spike and his squad battled, their Splatfest titles started rising. By midnight on Sunday, they'd reached the top of the ranks. Spike yawned as Splatfest came to a close and Pearl and Marina told the crowd that the results were being tallied. As he walked home with Twilight after returning his Splatfest Tee, he said, "No hard feelings, no matter who wins, right?"
Twilight drowsily nodded and replied, "Course little bro. To be honest, I'm proud you got to Bowser King. I've only reached the top Splatfest Title once in all the Splatfests I've participated.
When Spike got home, he collapsed onto his bed and quickly fell asleep, but not before he was able to say, "Best Splatfest ever..."
Several hours later...
Spike had woken up around 2 in the afternoon along with Twilight. They sat on the couch ready for the news. When Pearl and Marina came on, they practically had their eyes glued to the screen.
Pearl started the news, "Marina, why don't we tell the viewers the breaking news?"
Marina raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did you break this time Pearl?"
Pearl sighed, "I didn't break anything, I'm talking about the Splatfest results! First, let's see which team was more popular!"
Lil' Judd walked into the news room with two flags, one red and one orange. As he did, Marina smiled and asked, "Ok Lil' Judd, we know you're tired from tallying the results, but we need you for this last part, then you can take a long, well-deserved nap. Tell us, which team was more popular? Lil' Judd twiddled his paws before raising the orange flag.
As Lil' Judd raised the orange flag, Spike and Marina said together, "Yes!"
Pearl got over her disappointment quickly as she said, "Yeah, yeah. Let's get to the part that matters, the battles. Tell it to us straight Lil' Judd, which team won more solo battles?" Once more, Lil' Judd twiddled his paws before raising the red flag.
Twilight fist-pumped and said, "Yes!" in union with Pearl.
Marina sighed but brightened up, "Well, we're tied, which means whichever team won the most squad battles wins the Splatfest. Don't keep us in suspense Lil' Judd, who won?" Everyone was anxious as Lil' Judd twiddled his paws, and when he reached for his flags, Twilight and Spike's hearts seemed to skip a beat. When Lil' Judd raised the orange flag, confetti dropped down above Marina and music played. Marina cheered, "Yay! Bowser wins! Great work everyone!"
Pearl fell back into her bean bag moaning, "Darn it! Whatever, Mario wins against Bowser every time, so I guess Bowser had to win eventually... as much as I hate to admit it..."
Marina smiled saying, "Good sportsmanship Pearlie. If you participated in the Splatfest, pick up your rewards at the Splatfest Kiosk in Deca Tower!"
After Spike, Twilight, and their friends picked up their rewards, Super Sea Snails, Spike and his friends celebrated by going to the Crust Bucket on Twilight's dime. As Spike sipped his soda, he said to his sister, "Thanks for buying us lunch sis, you're a really good sport."
Twilight smiled, "No problem Spike. But you'll be paying next time if my team wins, as long as we're on different teams, let's make this a tradition, loser buys the winner lunch."
Spike nodded and shook his sister's hand saying, "It's a deal."