//------------------------------// // 12.- The Qualifiers - Final // Story: Canterlot High's Sports Challenge // by LiQuiD //------------------------------// - CHAPTER 12 - THE QUALIFIERS - FINAL Some minutes pass while everyone is waiting for the event to start, parents are getting something to eat, while others encourage their children. Lucky them, yours didn't even come to support you; Applejack and Big Mac are getting cheered on by their little sister and their granny and is the cutest thing ever, Sunset Shimmer and Cloudy Kicks talk to each other to face the upcoming event with a big smile and lots of confidence. Rainbow Dash, Sour Sweet and Sandy Prattle are trash talking each other…Pearl Blossom tries to join them, but she ends up getting mocked by the other three at the same time. Rainbow Dash looks quite confidant on winning this event, in that moment you feel someone tap your back. “Hmm? Oh hey Flutters! what’s going on?“ You ask to the pretty and shy teen. ”Anon? Have you seen my brother? I can’t find him anywhere!” She asks. “No? I haven’t…” ”Oh no…where could he be? I hope he didn’t actually go home, every time Rainbow rejects him he doesn’t come out of his room for a week,” Fluttershy blurts out, "whoops, please don't tell him that I said that." So you were right, the guy likes Rainbow Dash! “Ha ha, don't worry Flutters, I won't say a thing. Do you want me to help you find him Flutters?” ”It’s okay Anon, you better go ahead and get ready for the relay-race…" she says, still looking quite worried, "oooh, I hope he’s not mad at me!” “Why would he be mad at you Flutters?” You ask, wishing to know what troubles her, then Fluttershy, after a sigh and making you promise you'll keep it a secret she briefly explains what happened earlier. “Huh…I didn’t know he felt like that about me,” you say feeling somewhat confused. ”Don’t mind him Anon…all you need to do now is focus, I’ll take care of Zephyr, if I can find him that is,” she says. “Alrighty then. Good luck with that Fluttershy,” you let out a chuckle, she smiles at you and resumes her search. ”Zephyr?” She calls out for her annoying brother, “Zephyr?” That guy sure is annoying, you can’t believe how someone like him can be related to poor Fluttershy. As soon as you turn to face the track you spot Nelly, the shy girl from Pleasantview High sitting all by herself under the shadow of a tree, she looks quite sad, you decide to walk towards her. “…Nelly? Is everything okay?” ”Hey Anon…” she forces herself to reply, “not really.” “What’s wrong?” You ask, sitting next to her. ”It’s just…we’re in third place and my whole team including my sisters are counting on me. I’m soooo nervous; I feel like everyone is watching and judging me with their stares…it’s bad enough when my teammates and other classmates do nothing but mock me every day,” Nelly says, turning her gaze away from you. “You really hate taking part on this don’t you?” You ask, and she shyly nods. ”I know what you’re thinking…the reason is simple, Sandy begged me to join the team. I couldn’t say no to her! After all…both her and Mirage have stood up against meanies for me ever since I was little.” “I noticed…how come your teammates keep mocking you, even under these circumstances?” (BGM) ”Well…I-I don’t know how I should say this without sounding too conceited, but- I’ve always been at the top of my class, ever since I was little.” “Ahh…yeah, I can relate,” you say. ”Y-you do?” She's taken by surprise by your statement. “Yeah…I mean, for some people it seems that you aren’t allowed to enjoy different things such as computers and-” ”-Music?” Nelly says with a smile. “Oh! You play an instrument?” You ask, wishing to know more about her. ”Two actually, the piano and the guitar…what about you Anon?” She asks. “Nah…” you say with a chuckle, “if I played the violin again then people would rather jump off a building than hear how I destroy the innocence of music instead.” Nelly lets out a cute giggle, you’re glad your parents didn’t insist with the violin anymore, instead…you got enrolled in Seacrest County's various sports activites because they wanted you to be the best. ”Yeah…the problem is, everyone at school play mean pranks on me, they call me a weirdo, and lots of nasty stuff as well,” Nelly says. “Sounds a lot like my former schools, you should totally come to Canterlot High! Everyone’s very friendly! Even to the likes of me…” you say, Nelly looks at Pinkie Pie, who is telling jokes to the rest of the team, keeping their spirits up. ”Huh…would you look at that,” Nelly says looking impressed by the good chemistry between your teammates. “That girl over there is Twilight Sparkle. Everyone loves her despite being quite the egghead,” you say, "especially that guy Flash. He's pretty chill." ”That sounds nice…” Nelly says. “Trust me, it is. I thought I had to keep a low profile when I moved to Canterlot…but in less than a few weeks I’m part of their sports team," you happily say to Nelly, and she replies with a smile. “So…I noticed there’s that guy who just can’t keep himself from bothering you. How come?” You ask. ”Oh, Artic Thunder? Yeah…he can’t help himself but call me names and bother me by ripping pages of my notebooks, making me trip on the hallways, he’s very childish. I don’t like him at all!” Nelly crosses her arms. “You said you refused to be his Fall Formal date that one time right?” You recall, she just nods “Of course, he wasn’t that bad before that day…but ever since I turned him down his pranks have become more and more intense.” “Jeez. If he’s like that I don’t know why your sister Sandy let him in on the team,” you say. ”He’s quite skilled…that’s all. I mean, you did see how he beat your teammate in the swimming pool right?” Nelly says, "besides our other classmates weren't too keen on joining the team so Sandy had to pick what she could." “I guess…I mean that's what happened with us,” you say to the shy cutie. ”And even though everyone is counting on me to win, I feel like they want me to fail,” Nelly says, shaking her head, then mimics her classmates ”the nerd with the perfect grades finally failed at something?! Yeah…that’s how I think they feel about me. I’m sorry Anon, you’re a cool guy and all…but I gotta win this race!” “I see…and you know what? You totally should!” You say, trying to lift her spirits. “Huh?! B-but Anon! How can you say that? W-we’re enemies!” She replies, looking quite conflicted. “We are? I’d rather be your friend…what you’re doing right now speaks very well of you. You’re very determined, even if you don’t like sports that much you won’t let people talk you down, your sisters trust you so much. I wish I had that same determination to overcome my obstacles in Seacrest County..." “The Relay Race event will start in two minutes! Captains! Gather your teams!” Principal Cadance announces on the speaker system. ”You won’t let me win will you Anon?” “No…but I’ll make you give your 110% so you can show everyone what you're made of, sounds fair don’t you think?” You say to Nelly, she juts puts on a cocky smile and then stands up. ”Well then, we'll see about that," she gives you her hand to help you stand up, ”come on, the race is about to start!” You’re now Zephyr Breeze, you’re hiding inside a bush, pretty close to the finish line and you have in your possession a neat and very thin steel wire some workers left behind. The plan is simple; as soon as Anon almost reaches the finish line, you’ll throw this baby directly at his feet. And he'll be from first place…to fourth! You know your team has enough points to qualify…however, him failing at what Rainbow trusted him the most will expose him as the fraud he is. How wonderful! You even rub your hands at the thought of her going nuclear at him. Perhaps she’ll even kick him out the team! “Very well teams, this is the last event!” Superintendent Discord announces on the microphone, “the captains will start the race, then the other five remaining members shall wait in their place for the baton.” It’s going to start! You look through the bleachers, trying to see the track between some guy’s legs. There she is…Rainbow Dash. Then, you take a look at the wire and lastly ponder…is sabotaging your own team justifiable just to get back at Anon? "YES IT IS! You asked for this Anon!" You say under your breath. “Is everyone ready?!” Superintendent Discord asks, then an official raises a revolver and fires a blank round in the air. The crowd goes wild! Your beloved Rainbow Dash runs as fast as ever, that Sandy girl is no match for your Dashie. Sour Sweet is left behind by Sandy as well, Pearl Blossom as expected is still in 4th place. Rainbow Dash passes the baton to Cloudy Kicks. What a race! Cloudy Kicks runs quickly. Wow, it seems Canterlot is quite inspired this time, After a whole lap, Cloudy hands the baton to Sunset Shimmer, then Sunset Shimmer to Applejack and Applejack to Big Mac. Canterlot High has been in the lead for the whole race! And that's even better! All Anon has to do is go through the finish line! But he won’t be able to stand up when he trips with this beauty. Anon grabs the baton from Big Mac’s hand, and the blondie from Pleasantview High grabs the baton from her teammate immediately afterwards. The blondie is gaining on Anon, but he won’t let her pass him, you’ll make things easier for the poor thing. Here he comes...this is it, goodbye Anon! You throw the steel wire onto the track and then close your eyes. ”EEEEK!” Ha! Suck on that Anon! He even screamed like a girl! However you hear jeers coming from Pleasantview High’s crowd. ”Wait…what?” ”NELLY!” Anon yells before stopping on his tracks. “ANON?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Rainbow Dash yells at Anon, you open your eyes wide and find the blondie on the floor, with both hands on her bloody knee. ”IT HURTS!” The blondie yells as Anon runs back towards her. “ANON?! ANON!” Your teammates yell at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Now Canterlot High’s crowd starts to jeer at Anon, Croix Bleue’s player runs through the finish line, Followed by Crystal Prep’s player. “AWW COME ON!” Rainbow Dash yells, “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOIN’ NEWBIE?!” "That doesn’t look good…some idiot left a steel wire loose on the track,” Anon says as he checks up on Nelly. "Grrr…" you grit your teeth in frustration. “Told ya she was useless…” Artic Thunder from Pleasantview High says, “HEY NELLY! GUESS WHAT? YOU BLEW IT AGAIN!” The girl starts to cry. “Don’t listen to him Nelly…may I?” Anon says in a comforting tone of voice. "Huh? What is he gonna do?!" You mutter to yourself. Anon picks up Nelly on his arms and walks her to the finish line. (BGM) “A-Anon?” Nelly says as a blush starts to form on her face. “Hey…it wasn’t your fault okay? You didn’t fail Nelly. Your team failed you instead…they were supposed to support you,” Anon happily says, the crowd goes silent at first, but then they start taking photographs of the incident. A few claps are heard before the whole crowd applauds Anon’s actions. No, no, no, NO NO NOOOOO! THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! “Now that’s true sportsmanship!” Superintendent Discord says on the microphone as Nelly crosses the finish line first, held in Anon’s arms of course, then Anon crosses it. The crowd goes wild… "Congratulations moron, you made Anon even more popular..." you say under your breath. "And here are the results of the Relay Race: Croix Bleue High was first place, Crystal Prep Academy in second place, Pleasantview High in third place, and Canterlot High last place. You take a look at your former teammates, they look quite conflicted. Rainbow Dash approaches Anon menacingly and raises her palm as if she were to slap him…but stops herself from doing so. Instead, she lets out a sigh, and walks away from him; Sandy quickly approaches Anon and her sister. “I’ll take it from here…Anon, right?” Sandy asks. “Yeah…that’s right,” he replies. Sandy helps Anon to place her sister on the ground; she complains a little, her knee doesn’t look too well. “Very well…now it’s time to decide the winners, and hand out individual prizes…which will also affect the score!” Superintendent Discord asks. Thank goodness this nightmare is almost over…well, it didn't go as planned but you'll make sure Anon gets his teeth kicked in by stirring up some doubt in the rest of the team. You’re now Anon and everyone on your team looks quite conflicted. Aria looks really mad at you, while Sonata can’t stop giggling. ”That was like…soooo sweet don’t you think Ari?” Sonata says, Aria Blaze blushes. ”N-no! Of course not! You better not make us lose Anon! Or I swear I’ll…” ”Yeah man! Like, what was that all about?” Flash Sentry interrupts Aria's threat, looking visibly annoyed, “we were gonna make it!” ”Not cool man,” Ringo says. ”I uh…” you don't know what to say. ”Flash, Ringo, take it easy…can’t you see? Anon has walked through the path of enlightenment. he’s seen the way of peace,” Sandalwood says. “Aww don’t feed us that hippy trash Sandalwood!” Brawly Beats says, “he just wants a piece of that blondie for himself!” Uh oh. You’re in real trouble, what were you even thinking? You then look at the Prattle Sisters, Mirage and Sandy are checking up on Nelly. You didn’t have to do what you just did…but; why did you do it? Even her lousy teammates are looking after her. “You okay Nelly?” A girl in her team asks. “I-I think I’ll be fine…” she replies, it looks like her teammates finally cut her some slack. You know you did the right thing, but…how are you gonna explain it to your teammates? Zephyr Breeze appears all of a sudden, joining your team. ”Zephyr? Where were you?” Applejack asks. ”Me? I had to go to the restroom…” Zephyr Breeze says, “I think I missed the last event, sooo…what was the outcome? When are we getting our cup?” ”We? Excuse me pardner…but, what did YOU do for the team?” Applejack asks, but Zephyr Breeze just gasps. ”Applejack! I’m shocked! Can’t you be a little more sensitive to an acrophobic? I had to take my time to calm down! A panic attack is quite serious you know…” ”Don’t leave me hangin’…what happened? What’s with all the grim faces?” He insists, but no one replies to him. ”Well, all Anon had to do was run through the finish line!” Trixie complains, “but that girl from Pleasantview High tripped and hurt her knee…” ”Oh?” ”Yeah! And he went back to pick her up!” Tennis Match adds, “Then he walks through the finish line in fourth place!” ”That’s quite unfortunate…” he says in disbelief, “even when poor Rainbow Dash put all of her trust in you," his last phrase made you clench a fist. ”Don’t be so mean to him!” Derpy says, “If he weren’t for him we would’ve been penalized in the high diving event!” At least Derpy appreciates what you did. ”He went through all that trouble, at least Anon isn’t afraid of heights…” Sunset Shimmer adds, which makes Zephyr Breeze frown. ”Indeed! Anonymous did what a true gentleman would,” Rarity adds, “besides, who inspired you all to keep going after you all wanted to quit already after the first event?!” Everyone lowers their gaze, still feeling quite conflicted. "R-Rarity…" you say, moved by her words. “THE RESULTS ARE UP!” Superintendent Discord announces on the speaker, everyone looks at the scoreboard, “First Place, with 1073 points…CRYSTAL PREP ACADEMY!” Crystal Prep’s crowd and team celebrate. Sour Sweet puts on a smug grin. ”Was there ever any doubt?” she confidently says. The suspense is killing you all… “Before we announce the second winner, we’ll say goodbye to the two teams that didn’t make it, au revoir Croix Bleue High!” After hearing Superintendent Discord's cruel announcement Pearl Blossom just cries. “D-don’t cry Pearly," Twisted Luck says, “t-the next year will be the good one!” The 4th place’s score pops up on the scoreboard. “Now…the team who is in third place, which ‘sadly’ didn’t make it-” Superintendent Discord pronounces sadly in a sarcastic tone as opens an envelope and puts on an evil grin. “Aww…better luck next year, CANTERLOT HIGH!” (BGM) ”WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash yells. ”WHAT?!” Principal Celestia and Luna yell at the same time. “CONGRATULATIONS PLEASANTVIEW HIGH! You’re placed second!” Superintendent Discord says as the score appears up on the scoreboard. Pleasantview High’s team and crowd celebrate as well...except for the Prattle Sisters, Nelly even looks quite sad. "This…can’t be." Your team turns on you, you even see Sonata’s smile turn into a frown. Aria Blaze cracks her knuckles. ”So, we’re out of the games,” Rainbow Dash says. “I…I-I’m sorry.“ ”Aww…even after ALL those hours spent training,” Zephyr Breeze says, “it seems that Anon couldn’t care less about your efforts.” “I’m sorry, I truly am…” ”Oh,” Aria grabs you by your shirt, “you’ll be sorry alright!” You close your eyes and wait for Aria’s punch, it's what you deserve. “Uhh…Superintendent Discord?” Principal Cadance says, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Aria’s fist stops in mid-air. Everyone listens to Principal Cadance. “Hmm…and what would that be Ms. Cadance?” Superintendent Discord asks. “The Individual Awards of course…they affect the rankings of the teams as well remember?” (BGM) ”S-she’s right!” Rainbow Dash says, Principal Celestia’s face goes as bright as the sun. “…You’re right Principal Cadance, I completely forgot about them. Silly ol’ me,” Superintendent Discord says, then he turns around and addresses the crowd and students, “sorry people, but this isn’t over yet. We have different categories for the individual awards, and as Principal Cadance said, these awards affect the score of a team as well.” “For the first category: The Council’s Award," Superintendent Discord clears his throat, "this award is given to the captain of the team with the most points. So! Sour Sweet…come over here and pick your award.” Sour Sweet walks to the podium and gets a small trophy painted gold, with an ovation coming from Crystal Prep, their score goes up by 100 points. “Underdog Award…for the player who did their best against all odds, Coconut Milk from Croix Bleue High!” Croix Bleue’s score goes up by 100 points. “Most Aggressive goes to…Artic Thunder of Pleasantview High!” Pleasantview’s score goes up by 100 points. “Most Technical Player goes to…Mirage Prattle of Pleasantview High!” Their score goes up by another 100 points. “Now, the most valuable trophies. The Fair Play Award goes to…Anon,” Superintendent Discord struggles to say, “…from Canterlot High!” Your team’s score goes up by...200 points! ”G-guys?!” Rainbow Dash excitedly says. Wait a sec…YOUR TEAM IS IN SECOND PLACE NOW! ”Dude! What are you waiting for?! Get up there and grab that award!” Rainbow Dash excitedly says, you do as told and walk up to Superintendent Discord, he hands you your award with disdain. “Thanks Superintendent Discord…” “Whatever…” he coldly says as you grab the award. ”Congratulations Anon,” Principal Cadance says, “you deserve it!” Superintendent Discord rips another envelope. “Next up…Most Valuable Player, it goes to…Anon again?!” The crowd goes wild, the score goes up by another 300 points. Sour Sweet gasps, Canterlot High is in first place. No one saw this coming…not even you. Rainbow Dash looks like she wants to kiss you or something. Rarity just bats her pretty eyes at you, your team goes wild; and to think they wanted to murder you earlier. Sonata’s smile returns to her beautiful face, Flash Sentry and their friends look kinda ashamed of themselves for their false accusations. Bulk Biceps is…crying?! You grab the second trophy. “And last but not least…for Zephyr Breeze of Canterlot High!” ”Hah, about time someone recognized my talents…” Zephyr Breeze happily says, “Prize for what? Moral Support?” He says as he walks towards the Superintendent. Discord just grabs the trophy, depicting a guy sitting on a couch and sleeping and hands it to Zephyr Breeze. “The Most Carried Award…you didn’t participate in an event, so your team gets deducted 250 points.” Everyone flips out at Zephyr Breeze, who looks extremely uncomfortable at the situation, your team is back in second place. Obviously, Pleasantview High’s students protest because they have been eliminated; you return to your team, only to be greeted by their shy faces. “What’s wrong guys? We won!” You happily say, however no one dares to say a word. Rarity pushes Rainbow Dash in front of you, Rainbow Dash lets out an awkward chuckle. ”Umm…” “We made it captain!” You say, showing her both trophies. ”No dude…you did it, we pulled it through because of you,” she says. ”We’re sorry Anon…” Sonata says, “isn’t that right Ari?” “….yeah, sorry Anon. But don't do it again okay?!” Aria threatens you once again, however you find her threat adorable so you just laugh, causing Aria to blush. “I owe you all an apology...we almost get eliminated because of me-” ”-but you didn’t do anything wrong darling,” Rarity interrupts, “in fact. I’m proud of you…those two awards truly reflect what you are.” ”HOORAY!” Pinkie Pie says, "PARTY AT FLASH'S CRIB!" "Wait what?!" Flash Sentry says. "YEEEEEAH!" Everybody goes. “Well…I guess that wraps it up,”] Superintendent Discord says, [Group A’s Qualifiers have ended…Both Crystal Prep Academy and Canterlot High are gonna-“ “HOLD UP!” A bunch of officials walk towards the podium. (BGM) “Huh? What’s the meaning of this?” Superintendent Discord asks. “We have found some anomalies regarding the relay race!” An official says as she presents some evidence. Everyone is confused. Wait, Isn’t that the same steel wire Nelly tripped with? An official shows Superintendent Discord the wire. ”A wire?” ”This was left on the track…exactly where a player of Pleasantview High tripped. Yes, Pleasantview High was sabotaged…” SABOTAGED?! Everyone starts asking questions, Pleasantview High’s students protest even louder as an official takes out a smartphone and shows Superintendent Discord footage of the incident involving you and Nelly. ”Yeah…what about this?” Superintendent Discord says as he looks at the video. The official rewinds the footage and shows that in the same spot that there wasn’t a wire to begin with, it was thrown in in the last lap. ”I see…” Superintendent Discord says. ”We thought of it as strange, so we immediately asked for Crystal Prep Academy’s security footage, given that there’s a security camera in that place.” Another official shows Superintendent Discord and the Principals a recording of the perpetrator throwing the wire from a vantage point. (BGM) “ZEPHYR BREEZE?!” Principal Celestia yells, everyone gives Zephyr Breeze the stink eye. Zephyr Breeze sweats profusely. ”I see…well Canterlot High, do you know what’s written in the rules when something like this happens?” Superintendent Discord asks with a smug smile on his face. ”Oh no…” Twilight says after reading the rulebook. ”Canterlot High has been DISQUALIFIED!" Pleasanview High’s crowd goes wild, everyone gathers around Zephyr Breeze. ”I...uhh,” Zephyr Breeze doesn't know what to say. ”Zephyr, you…YOU-” Rainbow Dash says. Aria Blaze cracks her knuckles and Sonata does as well…even Derpy of all people clenches her fists! ”G-guys…calm down, can’t we talk about this?” He bargains. Big Mac lets out his angriest “Nnnnope!” ever. Zephyr Breeze runs away as fast as he can. (BGM) ”GET HIM!” Rainbow Dash yells, your team goes after him, even some of your supporters get off the bleachers to go after him as well. ”PLEASE! LET ME EXPLAAAAAIN!” Zeph exits the school with an angry crowd following after him. You wonder how much he’ll be able to outrun them, he sucks at running after all. “NOT THE FAAAAAACE!” Oh, that answered your question. (BGM) "Man…what a day," you say to yourself. You see Pleasantview High’s crowd cheering for their team, congratulating Sandy, praising Mirage and cheering for Nelly; it brings a smile to your face. You can only hope they’ll leave her alone from now on. Then, you take a look at your trophies. What did Rarity mean by that? (“…those two awards truly reflect what you are,”) you reflect on her words, funny she said that, you pulled off these kinds of stunts back when you played soccer at Seacrest County High. But your teammates called you a moron, a loser, and a traitor; just because you refused to play dirty. Parking the bus when you were winning, diving whenever an enemy player slid…yeah, totally not your style. However, Rarity’s words make you feel a little funny. All was lost, and she did nothing else other than defend your decision. Everyone was looking forward to make it to the round of sixteen…and you put the team in danger of losing that chance. Not that it matters anymore…Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna are begging the officials and Superintendent Discord to reconsider their decision. The officials refuse to listen to them, while Superintendent Discord just laughs at their misfortune. It’s no use…you turn around and see Principal Celestia sobbing on Vice Principal Luna’s chest. Poor Principal Celestia. You sit on the grass and reflect upon the last few days. All those bonds you had formed with your friends, will they change now that you’ve all been disqualified? You sigh, will they still be your friends in the first place? ”Anon?” A girl’s voice calls from behind. You turn your head around your shoulder and find Nelly and Sandy, standing behind you. “Oh, hey!” You say before standing up. ”Come on sis…don’t be shy,” Sandy says, giving her a little nudge with an elbow. (BGM) ”Right…Anon, I-I just wanted to tell you something,” Nelly stutters, ”I know you feel bad over how this turned out but, I don’t think your team wanted to sabotage ours…after all, you did come back to help me out.” “Yeah, that’s true...I don’t know why Zephyr Breeze did what he did,“ you say, trying to figure out Zephyr's actions. ”I don’t think that matters anymore…after all, he’s getting what he deserves right now,” Sandy says with a smirk on her pretty face. ”What I’m tryin’ to say is,“ Nelly emphasizes by arching an eyebrow and speaking louder to contrast to her sister’s interruption, “Is that…what you did for me was…the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you Anon.” Nelly leans in to give you a kiss on your cheek. It feels so…good! Sandy lets out a giggle. ”Don’t tell me this was your plan from the very beginning Anon,” Sandy mockingly says. ”Ugh! Could you please leave us alone for a bit sis?” Nelly angrily begs to her sister. ”Alright, suit yourself…I’m gonna see Bell,” Sandy laughs and walks away from you two, “enjoy yourselves lovebirds!” ”SIS!” Nelly yells at her sister looking quite flustered. Cute. ”I’m sorry your team was disqualified because of me Anon, if I hadn’t tripped on that wire-” “You know what Nelly? I think we should stop blaming ourselves for once…none of us did anything wrong,” you interrupt her in a reassuring tone. ”Yeah…you’re right Anon," Nelly closes her eyes for a couple of seconds, "and you know what? I’ve been thinkin’ about what you said earlier.” ”Hmm?” ”Now that the qualifiers are over…we are not enemies anymore right? S-so-“ she hands you a piece of paper, you take a closer look and see her phone number written on it next to a heart, ”-I’d love to keep in touch with you…perhaps I could drop by Canterlot High or-” “Sure Nelly, we can hang out…maybe I can come cheer for you in the Round of Sixteen,” You smile at her, but Nelly just looks away. “What’s the matter?” ”I-I don’t think I’m strong enough to keep going Anon,” she says. “That’s nonsense Nelly, you’re stronger than you think,” you comfort her. ”Y-you really think so?” Nelly asks. “Of course! And you wanna know how? By telling your sister how you truly feel about this whole thing,” you say, arching an eyebrow. ”Huh?!” “Yeah…you have the talent, but if you don’t want to take part in this competition you have to let your sister know, she’ll understand.” ”You know what? I might just do that,” Nelly says before giving you a big hug that feels quite long, ”thank you so much Anon…” Nelly says her goodbyes and goes back to her team. What a cutie, you pick up your awards and head straight to your home to get a well-deserved rest.