//------------------------------// // Whatever You Do, Just Thrust // Story: Fighting to the Top // by SwordTune //------------------------------// "Halt!" Sunset stepped back and saluted her opponent. Fifteen to eight, her favour. It was the last elimination she needed to reach the epee semi-finals. The semi-finalist she would face was already determined; she was a Gryphonstoner, as Sour Sweet liked to call them, and she had finished her bout just a minute before Sunset. "Go, Sunset Shimmer!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the seats. After being warned by a director not to obstruct the fencing strips with her excitement, she was a little tamer today. Sunset waved back to her friends watching in the seats. Rarity was with them today after her flight touched down last night. Sunset was glad her fashion show turned out well. It gave a positive attitude that was driving her to fence her hardest. Twilight and Rainbow were already hard at work watching the other competitors, going over the notes and tactics they came up with all morning. It was a relief to have the two by her side. Alone, both of them could make or break a competition. But their talents together were so much more. From the strip, Sunset could see who they were watching. Feohgiffa, she was the tallest student from Aurora High and their only epee fencer, not to mention a beast in a young girl's form. Her reach was unreal, hitting almost twice as far as Sunset could, with enough raw strength to power through any normal parry. Plus, she was winning her elimination bouts easily, meaning she would be in the semi-finals as well. Sunset walked past the other fencers getting ready. The gym was booked for an event later that evening, so the spare fencing strips had to be used for the young men's fencing matches while the young women's finished up. There were boys as young as Applejack's sister and as old as Sunset getting ready for their first bouts. "How're you feeling?" Rainbow Dash came down from the seats while Sunset gargled some water in her mouth. She spat it into an empty bottle and tossed it in her bag. "Great. I don't felt tired yet, so I think that's a good sign." Twilight walked up behind Rainbow. "That's an understatement," she said. "Your average score difference is up by one-point-five, and you're winning forty seconds faster than yesterday's matches. To say you're not tired yet is incredible." Sunset shrugged. "I got a few pointers from Marionette yesterday." Rainbow raised a brow. "Really? You beat her and she still gave you advice?" "Yup. And it's been working so far. Said she didn't want to lose to someone who wasn't good, and I'm just hoping I can live up to that. She's kind of intense, I don't want to get on her bad side." "Heh, sounds like Crystal Prep alright," Twilight replied. They turned their heads as another director called "Halt!" They saw a fencer from Cloudsdale storming away from the fencing strip while the winner was being cheered on by her friends. Sunset scanned her uniform for a symbol of her school. But it was oddly plain, not like all the other fencers who had come to represent their hometowns. "She's an independent fencer," Twilight said. Sunset looked at her flipping through a list of names. "I wrote down all the names I could see on the roster." Twilight showed Sunset her paper and pointed to a name in the middle of the page. "Here: Kassa Zabla." Next to her name, there were barely any notes on her what she was like. "I didn't think she'd make it this far." Rainbow agreed. "All the other independents were eliminated already. She must have a pretty good teacher." Sunset tightened her glove and changed out her epee for a spare one. "More reason to be careful, then. If dealing with magic has taught me anything, it's to be prepared for the unexpected." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marionette stretched herself on CHS's grassy soccer field. Crystal Prep's field was much better maintained, but the untrimmed grass cooled her skin under the blazing summer sun. For the most part, Canterlot High wasn't that bad. They certainly had more school spirit. From what she had heard from her friends, their side of the bleachers at soccer and football games was always packed with cheering students and parents, flashing their blue and gold colours. It was unfortunate they didn't have Crystal Prep's kind of funding. The city's business districts yielded huge amounts of corporate tax for school funding. Not to mention fundraisers, where the richest families in the city seemed to make a competition out of who could give the most money. Marionette thought about what it would be like to be one of them sometimes, even if the kids were as snobbish as their parents. She breathed deeply. Soft cedarwood, pines, oaks, and even faint sweetness from apple trees perfumed the air. Yet, with so much nothingness around her, Marionette couldn't help but wonder: could she do her next science project on the ecological impact of different tree species artificially living together? Win or lose, it didn't matter. She knew her parents only cared about her academics. Fencing was one way to get into college, but her parents would never let her go to the professional level. Grades, internships, job, that was their focus. "Not like you to be so bummed out." Marionette rubbed her eyes to see who was talking to her. The bright sun was glaring in her eyes, but she could just about make out the silhouette of Sour Sweet's hairstyle. "What do you want?" Marionette asked. Sour shrugged and lay beside her. "Parents know you're here? Isa said she thought you'd be at the library studying by now." "As if she'd know anything about me. We barely talk." Sour giggled. "Silly, you're forgetting something: she's dating your brother. He's so nice, he loves talking about you all the time. You must be a pretty good role model." Marionette groaned with contempt. Her parents had always dragged her academics from the school to her home, but ever since her brother started spending time with Isa Belleguard, her personal life was constantly bridged with school. She felt the urge to stab something growing inside her. "The coach knows what my parents are like, he's not going to say anything that'll make them take me off the team," Marionette told Sour Sweet. "So you're just going to sit around and watch fencing when they want you studying?" Sour Sweet scoffed. "Do you want me to tell you that that's a bad idea, or do I need to get Sugarcoat?" "That's it." Marionette pushed Sour Sweet away. "Go lie down somewhere else if you're gonna be bipolar today." "I'd stop if it wasn't so fun," she replied joyfully. "Besides, I should head back in. Semi-finals are about to start if you're interested." Marionette shook her head. "If it's not Sunset in the finals, then I don't care." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The fencer from Gryphonstone was no slouch, despite her stance. She always left her arms down, almost dangling, but then she would strike at the most random times. Even with good form, Sunset was pressed to her side of the strip. She swatted her opponent's weapon aside and lunged, but the blade came around and struck her in the helmet at the same time. A double touch, meaning a point to the both of them. "The score is six-six," the director reminded them. They charged again. This time Sunset managed to slip below the Gryphon's wild thrust, landing a hit on her big toe. Her opponent jumped back but it was too late. Seven to six. Of course, the Gryphon was quick to react, launching a wild attack the moment the director said, "Allez." Sunset thought she was ready, creating distance to avoid the hit, but she began to see why her opponent was so relaxed. Her legs stretched so far it was almost like doing the splits, and by leaning forward excessively, she managed to land a solid thrust into Sunset's gut from an impossible distance. They matched each other, slowly crawling up to fifteen points. Ahead by one, the Gryphonstone fencer seemed eager to finish the bout. Feeling desperate, Sunset broke her form and stepped in deep. She pulled her arm back as she closed the distance. There wasn't enough space to attack, but she needed to be closer to stop her opponent from escaping. Awkwardly she rotated her body and brought her back foot forward, pressing out her opponent's blade with a deeply seated parry. Her opponent's loose stance and long reach were useless at such close range, and lacking structure meant she couldn't retreat before Sunset's riposte hit her hard in the chest. But after the director stopped the action, Sunset had to think of a new plan. It wouldn't work a second time. Her opponent was flexible, and though it gave her a long reach, she'd also be able to defend from awkward positions the next time Sunset tried to get too close. "Allez!" Sunset backed off again. The score was fourteen to the both of them now, and the Gryphonstone fencer was attacking harder than ever. Sunset felt the frustration in the speed of her attacks. She had stolen the comfortable lead from her and now the Gryphonstone fencer felt pressured to win. And with that kind of stress, she was bound to make a mistake. Sunset twisted her body away from an overextended thrust. Her opponent wobbled, managing to keep her balance, but it slowed her recovery long enough. Sunset dropped her arm and jabbed low, landing a penetrating hit into the Gryphon's belly. "Halt!" The director called the action and awarded Sunset the final point. She thrust her fists up in victory and waved to her friends. It was a worthwhile breath of relief for her, though a short one. The other finalist had already been decided, and to no surprise, it was the giant from Aurora High, Feohgiffa. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Up to the challenge?" Marionette asked as Sunset had her epee checked and repaired at a vendor by the entrance of the gym. She picked it up, checking the new tip was firmly in place and responsive to the right amount of pressure. "Against someone that tall? I don't know." "I heard the other girls talking about some of the tricks you pulled in that last bout. You can deal with long-range if you get close." Sunset yelped as Marionette slapped the back of her thigh. "Don't tell me you spent all that legwork for nothing." Sunset frowned and rubbed her leg. "So you're saying I should just shoot in? Even if I am faster than her, it's hard to turn and do the seated parry in time." "Then don't. Just sink in and pull your arm back," Marionette said. "Trust me, with arms as long as hers, you won't need to get too close to be inside her range." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ People began to gather nearer to her fencing strip as the final match was about to start. The young men's eliminations were progressing on the other strips, but it seemed hers was the only one with a crowd. Sunset hoped the other bouts would take some of the attention off her performance, but in actual fact, it brought more eyes. The fencers who had lost their bouts were now cooling off by watching the final event for the young women's epee tournament. Some watched with interest, as older boys were wont to do, while parents and coaches watched with judgement. Sunset knew how parents could behave. Even the best of them couldn't help comparing other fencers to their children. Of course, she imagined the university recruiters were the greatest pressure for the other fencers. Though they weren't technically representing their schools today, impressing a coach didn't need to wait for a formal invitation. But Sunset didn't care about them. Her biggest stressor was her friends and all the students of Canterlot High who were cheering her on. She could barely focus on the director's instructions as he tested the sensitivity of their weapons. No less than 750 grams of weight could press the tip of their blades down. Green for Feohgiffa, red for Sunset. Their weapons were both functioning perfectly. En garde. Sunset steadied herself. She was ready to win. "Allez!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marionette tapped her foot against the floor. Sunset's friends were right up by the fencing strip, ready to encourage their friend, but standing just behind them gave a little more perspective. Feohgiffa's reach advantage could not be overstated. She didn't watch the eliminations, but looking at the strip now, Marionette could tell that there was no chance of retreating from her strikes. If she wanted to, Feohgiffa hit from almost half the fencing strip in a single lunge. But that simply made her close range reactions slower. "That cannot be the girl who beat you, Sis," her brother said, standing annoyingly close on purpose. "She would have snapped you in half." "Not the tall one," Marionette groaned. "Sunset's the redhead with yellow highlights. Or, maybe she's blonde with red highlights? Nevermind, just watch." She pointed her brother's attention at Sunset as she brought her gear to the strip to be tested. "Isa hopes she wins," he said. "Spent a lot of time with Sour Sweet explaining the drills." "Yep." "Well, if she beat you she must be pretty good, right? Think she'll actually do it?" "Sunset has a lot of potential, Blazer, but nothing's certain. I'm going to have a word with her if she doesn't though." Her brother rolled his eyes. "Right, because it'll hurt your reputation if she isn't a winner." "Don't use that tone like I don't know what it is. We're not friends. I barely know her." Their small banter stopped the moment metal slashing metal rang through the gymnasium. Feohgiffa wasn't just tall, she had a muscular frame to match, and her attacks were nothing but unfathomable force. She beat aside Sunset's blade with so much power, Marionette could see the momentum unbalance Sunset for a second. But she dug in and went under Feohgiffa's extending blade while pulling her arm in to get close. Marionette knew it must've felt awkward for Sunset, but Feohgiffa could do nothing. She swung her epee in a circle to defend her body, the flat strike only met Sunset's shoulder, her arms being too long to quickly bring her blade back in. Getting the first point was a good start, but it looked like fighting up a hill every step of the way. Her friends were cheering her on, the one thing CHS students were unmatched in. But she knew what it was like to stand on the other side of the mask. The cheering was a distraction that made a fencer's blood boil with every mistake, while every success only increased the pressure to get the next one right. Once Sunset was losing by two points, Marionette reached over and pulled Twilight aside. "Tell the pink girl to turn it down, she's freaking Sunset out." Twilight stared at her. "Marionette? Didn't we have Non-Euclidean Geometry together?" "Yeah, and you were the quiet girl who had perfect scores on everything," she answered. "Why don't you give some of that reclusiveness to your friend?" She pointed to Pinkie Pie. "We're cheering on our friend." Twilight frowned. "And overdoing it is making her stress too much." As if to prove her point, the director halted the action at the green light, another point for the Aurora High fencer. "I didn't know you cared about Sunset," Twilight said, a little surprised. "Oh sure, we go way back," Marionette said sarcastically. "I'll tell you all about it over tea if she actually wins this thing." Twilight looked over to Sunset's score, then to Pinkie. She didn't think cheering could actually be hurtful, even Rainbow Dash was showing her support. But Twilight had never seen any other athlete put more stress on themselves than fencers. Maybe Marionette understood in a way even they couldn't. Twilight watched the way she eyed Sunset's score. She didn't look worried, but that was just the Crystal Prep way. "Psst," she whispered in Pinkie Pie's ear. "I think our cheering is distracting Sunset. We are getting a little loud." "Are you crazy?" Pinkie Pie squealed. "Sunset's doing this for us, and we have to be there for her." "Yes I know," Twilight insisted more harshly, "but I think Sunset's feeling the same way I felt when I had to win the Friendship Games for Crystal Prep. She's losing because of us, because of the stress we're putting on her." Suddenly the red light flared for Sunset. There were murmurs from the other parents and fencers watching, and from her body language, Twilight could tell Feohgiffa was surprised too. "Gee, thanks a lot Twilight," Pinkie Pie whined. "I didn't see how Sunset got the point." "Honestly Pinkie," Rarity scolded her, "if you want to watch just watch. Twilight's right, this is a highbrow sport, not a football game darling." Pinkie pouted, but she listened to her friends and focused on what Sunset was doing. As the points progressed everyone could see her improving on the spot. Her speed was up to the task, launching her body below Feohgiffa's long reach and striking quickly. Her bladework flashed through the air and her epee looked like just a few glints of reflected light lashing out at her enemy. Eight to ten, then nine to ten, she was clawing back her chances point by point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I wonder what Celestia would think of me now. Sunset pushed her legs to carry her through. The timing was off, though, and Feohgiffa slammed another point into her shoulder. She had to clench her jaw for that one. This girl from Aurora High was a serious opponent. Her thrusts had a way of digging in, hurting more every time. Where was Pinkie's shrill cheering? Sunset wondered if she was so stressed that she couldn't hear anything beyond the director's voice. The gym sunk to silence all of a sudden, sound suspended in the air until a clashing of blades. Slam. Another point, pushing into the exact same spot as the last time. It was the accuracy that was killing her. One thrust, no matter how forceful, could be shaken off. But nine or ten at the same spot was like a battering ram, and Sunset could only wonder how long until the gate was knocked down. She retreated, twisted, and slipped through another attack. Feohgiffa was wise to the trick and backed off before the thrust landed. But Sunset didn't stop there. Her feet had crossed in a deep-seated guard, but she brought her right foot forward again in another lunge that undid the awkward position. Feohgiffa thrust wildly to score a counter-attack, but Sunset got her in the finger with a well-aimed thrust. Ten to twelve. Sunset didn't let herself get too hopeful, despite her new lead. It was a miracle of luck that they were this close. The director cried out and stopped the bout before setting the clock for a one-minute break. It was a desperately needed moment of relief. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight and Rainbow Dash were the first to her side, reassuring Sunset that she was doing great so far. They pulled a chair up and let her sit down, giving her just enough water to trickle down her throat and cool her off, but not so much that it would weigh her down and slosh her stomach around. Applejack wiped Sunset's sweat-drenched hair and forehead, while Rarity handled the delicate task of changing the lining in Sunset's mask. The wet cushioning was obviously slipping around, so it was fortunate Sunset had bought replacements for every piece of her gear. "Here, darling," Rarity said, putting the mask in Sunset's hands, "and run her through with your blade." Sunset smiled at Rarity's ferocity, but her lungs were breathing too hard to laugh. Even after her training, it was obvious she still wasn't yet the athlete she needed to be. There came some mumbling in the crowd, followed by Marionette pushing her way past a group of parents commenting on Feohgiffa's performance. "You're almost there, but you gotta clean up your act." She knelt down beside Sunset, pulling her in close to make sure she was listening. "Uh, who do you think you are?" Rainbow confronted Marionette. "This is the friends-only corner." "Hold on, Rainbow," Applejack cautioned, "you're a great athlete, but I think the fencing technique should be left to the fencers." Marionette barely acknowledged both of them. She simply took Sunset's hand and squeezed her right shoulder. It drew out a wince of pain, the damage from Feohgiffa's repeated attacks hurting all over again. "It's not too bad," she reassured as she felt around the shoulder. "Just pain." "Got any last-second tips?" Sunset asked. They both glanced at the clock. There were less than twenty seconds left before the next three minutes of the bout. So Marionette spoke quickly. "Quit being so afraid of your bladework." She grabbed Sunset's right hand and extended it into a slightly different thrust. "Use an opposition before throwing yourself into her. She knows what you're doing and she's going to make you hurt for it, so push her blade completely out of the way before you shoot in." The director called both fencers back to the strip as Marionette finished her sentence. Sunset breathed in and nodded. Throwing her weight into every attack was bound to hurt, even if the epee flexed with the force. She moved her shoulder, testing the place where she had been hit. It didn't hurt to move it yet, and Sunset was eager to keep it that way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opposition. That was easy for Marionette to say. An opposition meant waiting for Feohgiffa to make her attack, then attacking into the blade with full confidence that her epee would push it out of the way before they stabbed each other. It took superior timing and speed, as well as a trained eye to anticipate the next attack. "Allez!" Sunset stepped back and leaned away from Feohgiffa's incredible lunge. She could hit a satellite out of orbit with that kind of reach, Sunset thought to herself. She continued her little dance, moving just close enough to make Feohgiffa commit to an attack, then escaping with a burst of retreats. It taxed her thighs and calves but with just five points left to win, Sunset shifted all her focus to getting the perfect opposition. She pulled the first one off as soon as she found that she could keep pace with Feohgiffa's attacks. Weaving back and forth put them into a comfortable rhythm, one that Sunset could predict and counter with a clean thrust against Feohgiffa's epee. She took back one point, and ten seconds later, tied their score at twelve. That seemed to tick off the massive high schooler. She swung her epee in a wide and sloppy beat, something so obvious Sunset thought she could avoid it with a clean disengage. But its wide arc swept up Sunset's blade and flung it out of the way like a mother bear beating down a hunter threatening her cubs. Sunset backed off in fear, pulling her arm close for more control, but a second strike came from the opposite direction, shoving her arm aside again. Feohgiffa stepped in close this time and charged with a flèche faster than Sunset's retreat. The giant girl pounded her epee point into Sunset's shoulder with so much force that she could feel the blade forcing her backwards, digging into the joint to do so. Feohgiffa sidestepped once she felt the hit, running off the side of the fencing strip to cleanly finish the flèche. Sunset knew it looked like a standard charge to the director; Feohgiffa was holding back or else her epee would have snapped from the force. But it was enough to send get the message across. Sunset gritted her teeth, seething quietly through her helmet. "Allow me to reply." They exchanged blows once again, Sunset landing a clean and subtle hit to the back of Feohgiffa's hand before she could recover from a lunge. The girl released a short burst from her mouth. "Come on! Come on!" Balling her left hand into a fist, she beat the side of her mask a couple times. However, she was on guard as soon as the director commanded. Sunset didn't wait for Feohgiffa to attack when the director said, "Allez." She stretched her legs in a long advance, catching up to Feohgiffa in an instant and scooping her blade aside in a sweeping low-line parry. Using the defensive action as an attack distracted Feohgiffa. She raised her arm in an attempt to stab down at Sunset but was stopped short by a thrust to her thumb. The director called "Halt." At that moment Feohgiffa lifted her mask and yelled at the ceiling of the gym. "Oh my gosh!" She almost slammed the helmet back on and stormed to back to the middle ground. The director waited patiently and asked her to get back onto the fencing strip. "Allez!" Sunset lunged once again, expecting Feohgiffa to lash out in anger. But her response was surprising. The lunge struck nothing but air as the girl jumped back and followed up with a jab to the top of Sunset's arm. Again, Feohgiffa screamed, turning away and bending over in an exasperated "Yeearh!" The shout was long and shrill, but neither the director nor the crowd reacted. Tied at fourteen, it was apparently enough stress to warrant a shout. Seeing her scream, releasing that much pressure, changed Sunset's view in an instant. She wasn't the only one who was worried about losing. They were both stressed, which meant they could both make mistakes. This last point would decide who was better, and she expected her heart to be pounding out of her chest, but it wasn't. She had made it this far, she could go a little further. All she needed to do was thrust. She kept extending, poking at Feohgiffa's hand whenever she tried to extend. The reach of their arms might've been different, but not their blades, and by threatening the hand Sunset put them both on equal ground. One attacked the other, then it was reversed. As each retreated, the other struck the opening line, only missing by an inch. They could have used feints, disengages, locking each other up in a bind and gradually forcing their way through, but that was neither Sunset's nor Feohgiffa's way. It must have been the cleanest, most technical action of the bout, but she saw the clock counting down from forty seconds. There was no point in wasting any more time. Sunset lunged at Feohgiffa's retreating hand, forcing her to pull it away, before turning her thumb down and pressing the point of her epee up into the bottom of her hand. Green light, to Feohgiffa. "Whreeoah!" The girl yelled, pumping her arms to the sky and screaming at her classmates while the director halted the action. She ran to the end of the strip, took off her mask and let out one last whoop before returning to Sunset to shake hands. What happened at the last moment? Sunset rubbed her wrist, realizing how she had gotten hit. Feohgiffa wasn't in retreat at all. She anticipated a thrust to the bottom of her hand, so she raised it up beyond Sunset's reach and thrust down, around the point, and into the exposed top of Sunset's hand. Feohgiffa grabbed Sunset's hand roughly and shook it very briefly before jogging over her to friends and family on the other side of the gym. Sunset tossed her sword and mask into her bag and flung her glove onto the ground. Her hands, the hands that failed, were shaking. The joints that ached from gripping the sword curled up again into a fist, as if still ready to fight. Sunset couldn't stop replaying every action and wondering how her tools had failed her. And like before, her memory of Celestia resurfaced in her mind. Not just the princess, but Equestria, and its ponies. She let her fists uncurl into a rested position. They looked so much like Starlight's hands when she came over for the first time. Her fingers rested together, and like the first day she arrived in this world, Sunset didn't know what to do with them. She picked up her bag and paced to the girls' lockers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "We're not leaving her like yesterday." Rainbow stood with Twilight outside the locker room showers. They backed away from the doors like Sunset asked, but Rainbow was adamant about sticking by her side. "If I was her I'd like some time to myself first," Twilight said. Her other friends started coming too as they talked. "Sorry we got held up," Fluttershy said meekly. "We had to squeeze past a bunch of the guys getting ready for the boys' fencing eliminations." "Is she alright?" Rarity asked. Twilight nodded. "She just needs a moment alone." "What she needs is someone to tell her everything's going to be fine," Rainbow retorted. "What kind of friends would we be if we just left her?" "We won't be leaving her, Rainbow," Applejack said. "We're waiting like you said, but at a distance. Why don't we just go back to our seats and wait for Sunset to talk to us when she's good and ready." "Alright, fine," she replied. The steady shower was the only noise in the empty locker room. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Sunset closed her eyes and let the water streak down her cheeks. Pitter patter. Her friends would be okay with it even if she wasn't. That's why they were the best people she knew, and why she wanted so desperately to earn something to show how much they meant to her. Cold tile pressed against her back, she leaned against it and slid down. Hair drenched, she let it stay. Was she kidding herself this whole time? Yesterday she had at least been optimistic about winning. Getting so close to the final, she thought it could be different as long as it wasn't foil. A balled fist slapped against the tile uselessly. Her hands, worthless it turned out. They never had to learn how to use them. And she never had the privilege of being born with them. Knock knock. Sunset raised her head to see Marionette's shadow through the narrow frosted pane of glass on the shower door. "Hey there," she said, leaning against the door. "Cooled off yet, hothead?" "You too?" Sunset sunk her face into her palms. "Look, I'm sorry you can't say you only lost to a champion, but I'm not in the mood right now for another talk." Marionette scoffed, followed by a straightforward laugh at Sunset. "Oh my gosh, you just don't get it, do you?" "What?" "You were one point away from being the IFT girls' epee champion. One lousy point." "I still lost—" "Forget that!" Sunset could hear Marionette stomp her boots. "You think I could have done as well as you? Do you think anyone could have done that with the time you've had?" "I just want to win something for CHS." Sunset shut off the shower. "I don't care about being a good fencer." "Then how about being a great one?" Her voice was stubborn, but not harsh. "Because you are. And you can be even better." "Marionette, stop," Sunset sighed. But she wouldn't listen. "Imagine where you could go if you fenced for—" Sunset hand suddenly popped out from the shower and pointed to a nearby open locker. "Can you at least hand me my towel before you lecture me?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sunset pulled the towel from her head and let her damp hair unravel past her shoulders. Marionette stood at the end of the lockers, turned away while Sunset put on some new clothes. "Did you really mean that?" Sunset asked as she zipped up her bag of clean clothes. Marionette turned around. Sunset had changed into a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt. "About being a great fencer? Yeah, I meant it. You couldn't see for yourself, but you were pretty amazing to watch, probably because I helped." "You can leave out the probably," Sunset said, wiping down her hair one more time. "If you hadn't talked to me yesterday, I wouldn't have made it to the finals." "A couple of drills in one day doesn't make the kind of improvement you made. Everything you did was your ability. All I had to do was point you in the right direction." Sunset shrugged and sat down on the bench that ran between the rows of lockers. "Doesn't really matter now, I guess." "How does that not matter? Even if we're just talking about the IFT, you still have the sabre event." "As if I could win that," Sunset scoffed. "My sabre experience is as good as trash." "Ever tried recycling?" Marionette sat next to Sunset. "Stabbing still counts in sabre, it's not all about cuts." As true as that was, Sunset thought it still limited her options. Being good at only half of the weapon's capacity was a crutch, not a chance to win. "Fine, then think ahead," Marionette said, seeing that Sunset still wasn't convinced. "If you lose tomorrow, what are you going to do? Quit fencing?" Sunset stared at her. "What? No, I'll just fence casually like I did before." "And waste your talent in the process," Marionette added. Sunset frowned. "Okay, what is it with you? Why do you care so much whether I do or don't fence competitively?" "Because you're not like other fencers!" Marionette slapped her hands down on the bench. "All the fencers at Crystal Prep, and the other schools too, they're all in it for something else. We're all in it for something else. But not you. Your talent isn't being good at the techniques or being super athletic like that rainbow-haired chick. I saw you fence and I knew, without a doubt, that you love this sport. Everyone works hard, don't get me wrong, some even harder than you, but they don't do it right. It's hard to quantify, but they don't feel fencing the way you do." Sunset remembered what Marionette had said about college yesterday, but was it really the case with everyone? Honestly, she didn't know. Canterlot High School was her new life, and she had been ignoring the fact that college would change that. So she couldn't have known how valuable fencing was to schools. "I don't know what to say, Marionette." Sunset held her hands up to her eyes. "My friends are the best people I know, but we've never talked about each other like this." Marionette crossed her arms. "You could say thanks. I'm not exactly used to having real-talk either." "Thank you." Sunset smiled. "But... I think I can do better than that. If you want, I can treat you to dinner." "Oh, er—" Marionette hesitated. She didn't think her little speech could change Sunset's mood so quickly. "Just think of it as more thanks, for everything," Sunset said. "Have you been to The Greene? I far as I know they don't have a location in the city, so it might be new to you." "Heard of it, but I've never had vegan food before," Marionette said slowly, thinking it over. Going out with friends wasn't a thing most students did at Crystal Prep. There were club meetings and socials, but those were all for school business. Even the sports teams only went out when they won. Maybe that was what made the idea of going out with Sunset exciting. Even Marionette couldn't deny that she wished sometimes to be like a more casual student, instead of pushing herself to meet her own goals. And now that chance was right here, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. "Alright, dinner sounds fun."