//------------------------------//
// Round 1 
// Story: Battle of the Ballgowns 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo, sure enough, headed to the place in the mansion where she was meant to go. The interior of this place felt more like a castle than a house, with long corridors, tall walls with paintings on them (Scootaloo was convinced that the eyes on some of them followed her around the room as she walked, but this seemed unlikely) and some rather odd windows along the way with stained glass in them. Scootaloo found it all very peturbing, but she soon pressed onwards into the darkness and walked along more dimly lit corridors, shivering slightly until she reached the bathroom marked on the plan.

The bathroom couldn't have been more of a contrast to the hall that connected to it. Bright, modern, and airy, it was the perfect place to procedurally place perfect apparel. I know that doesn't quite work, but please bear with me, it was close enough. Anyways, the girl known as Scootaloo opened her bag and removed the truly marvellous garment she had been given not long earlier, and after ensuring that the coast was clear, the door was locked, and there was nobody looking in from anywhere, she swapped her clothing around.

I, not wanting to come across as weird and a bit off putting, will hereby skip the actual process of swapping from one set of clothing to another. Safe to say, the normal garments were now in the safety of a locker, and the new clothing looked to be in place. Scootaloo, for reference, and for those who are interested in the minute details of such things, was clad in a long blue dress with a floor length skirt, long  sleeves with turquoise trim on the arms and bottom of the bodice, fabric  connecting over the neck and to the top of her head with a silly hat atop that. Not a had. Because that wouldn't make any sense whatsoever.

Scootaloo checked everything was secure. In order to give herself a little bit of competitive chance (and avoid looking stupid) she had a pair of blue boots on underneath to help with some awkward terrain. True, the rules didn't say you could wear them, but they didn't say you couldn't wear them, and this was what Scootaloo was taking advantage of that very day. She smiled and checked herself over again. "Good, all looks to be in order," she said, and headed outside.

Diamond Tiara was waiting out there for her, and her approach was rather different. She wore a black and gold hoopskirt with a wide skirt and gold trim working down in a cascade pattern. The bodice was almost identical to that on the dress she had given Apple Bloom a while back, which was confusing, apart from the colour, and even had similarly configured sleeves and a hat as well (Scootaloo had no idea what it was called).

"Hope you can still walk under all that!" Scootaloo joked.

"Speak for yourself," Diamond Tiara smiled, moving effortlessly. "I'm used to this. I bet you're not!"





Alas, with all of that out of the way, it was time to move out and start the various challenges that were present for them to take on. The first of these concerned a strange thing lying on the floor, which was slowly coming into view as they got closer and closer and closer. The objects were, at last, soon much clearer as they approached whatever it was they were approaching (the sky was a rather curious shade of grey, which made everything a big indistinct to say the least). The terrain, consisting of rolling hills and a lack of trees, also made navigation a bit of an interesting challenge, especially when the two heading over it could hardly see their feet. At last, though, the duo arrived at their target, their destination, and were ready to take on the very first challenge that was set out.

Diamond Tiara indicated to a person who was watching from a nearby tower as an indication that things were about to begin. She then moved over to a coil of wire, and two things that were attached to both sides of the coil of wire that seemed like handles of sorts. She then proceeded to pick them up. "I believe you know what this is," she said to her adversary.

"Right, get the skipping ropes and be out into the rain," Diamond  Tiara said. "Once you've repeated the rhyme once, you can come back in  and warm up. OK?"

The three girls nodded and went outdoors, grumbling as they did so. "Remind me why Ah agreed to this?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We didn't agree, we lost a coin toss!" Sweetie Belle replied.

Once  they were outdoors (the rain was lighter than anticipated), they got to  work. Sadly, the exact rhyme has been lost to time, but the three did  it. Scootaloo, to her surprise, found this whole endeavour oddly fun,  and had a grin on her face whilst she did it. She even did it an extra  time for luck before heading back inside.

"Yep! Repeat of the first time you got me to do this," Scootaloo nodded, with a smile. "Nice and easy."

"Somebody's confident," Diamond chortled. "Looks like somebody's certain of winning. You'd best watch out!"

And so, the rope was tossed, and off they went. Scootaloo suddenly realised she had an advantage. As much as not being able to see her feet was a pain, at the same time she had less weight to contend with. As it was, Diamond's heavy skirt made it hard for her to gain much lift.

Scootaloo, on the other hand, was bopping up and down with no difficulty as she recited an old rhyme she knew from the old days (and the one Diamond had specified anyway). "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hands and do a little shake!"

Safe to say, Scoots was the victor, with Diamond quite tangled up in ever sense of the word. "Right," she said. "Let's see you weasel your way around Round 2."