//------------------------------// // Gauntlet of Firestone, part 5 // Story: Twilight Gets a Puppy, Season 6 // by TDR //------------------------------// Twilight Gets a Puppy Season 6 By TDR Gauntlet of Firestone, part 5 [ Sweet Apple Acres] “Shit.” Witch-jack managed to say in an almost deadpan tone of voice before she crashed into a hay bale sending the hay into the air like a plant based mushroom cloud. Jynx sighed, standing up from the knee she had taken to dust herself off and look at the remains of her vest before pulling off the tatters. She had brought a change of clothes, though so had Applejack. Jynx moved over to the pile of broken hay bales looking down at Witch-jack who was half invisible in the mess with how her fur matched the straw. “And what did you do wrong this time?” “Over extended tryin' tah git a throw.” Witch-jack muttered pushing herself out of the pile with a grumble. All her clothing was in tatters and she wondered why she bothered with wearing it at all for these spars as she had to replace it nearly every time. She and Jynx were far more durable than anything Rarity could make. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, Rarity had no problem replacing the pairs sparing clothes for free, though Witch-jack thought they were getting skimpier every time a new pair was presented. Witch-jack was quite certain however that Rarity was getting a free supply of gems from the Diamond Dogs who secretly tried to watch the training sessions. That might explain why her shorts and top kept getting smaller too now that she thought about it. She'd have a word with the marshmallow nightmare later. Rahs had been invited to one session, then quickly excused himself before they really got into the training. Both Jynx and Witch-jack had been amused by that. “And how do you counter that?” Jynx offered. “Shift my weight tha other way and leg sweep.” “Good.“ Jynx offered a claw helping the former pony out of the pile of hay. “Your mother is glaring at me again.” “She does that.” Witch-jack sighed glancing to the side to see Pear Butter's angry face peeking out of one of the trees. “Least she keeps yer fans away.” “I am certain those dogs are staring at you as well. “Jynx huffed. She had given up on trying to discipline those that came out to watch them, as nothing sort of killing them would keep them away, though Granny Smith, and the Macs did a pretty good job until the dogs learned not to dig their way to the training area and ruin some fields. “Great. So am ah even getting any better at this or do you just like throwing me around?” Witch-jack muttered, brushing some hay out of her fur. “Yes.” Jynx offered remaining silent a moment as Witch-jack glared at her before continuing. "You've already gotten to the point Rahs was at before he ascended, though since then he has been avoiding training.” “Really? Think it's cause of this?” Witch-jack gestured to the ruins of her clothing. Jynx smiled without showing teeth. ”Most likely, also the last time we trained his clothing was damaged as well....” Witch-jack blinked and flattened her ears as she looked at Jynx. “Sneaky, ah gotta keep in mind ya ken be as bad as Saturnia an Sunset.” “I am doing my best to get what I want.” Jynx offered with a wave of her hand that made certain parts of her anatomy jiggle in a way that would cause nose bleeds. “ Have you given more thought to my offer?” “Ah have. And tah be honest ah'm pretty sure tha only reason ah ain't agreed yet is cause of all tha pony sensibilities ah've grown up with. Jus cause ah ken see that don't make it any easier.” Witch Jack sighed. “If you wish I can sweeten the deal by allowing you to have the first pups with him.”Jynx offered. There was a crash and a thud, as Pear Butter fell out of the tree she had been hiding in and crashed into the bushes below, she was now fighting to get out of the sticker bushes with little success. Jynx and Witch-jack glanced her way then back at each other. “As ah said, yer as sneaky as tha others.” Witch-jack huffed. ”Also that was a lie.” “Of course it was. I am the Alpha of Alphas. The first of his pups would be mine.” Jynx explained. "It is the way of things." “Diamond Dog culture is weird.” Witch-jack sighed. [ Dragonlands] Dragon Lord Torch rubbed his temples with a claw that could crush a city as he let out a groan of frustration. The race was over. And out of the forty some dragons that were in it, only thirty remained as those who placed lower than thirtieth were removed for the final events. The problem was, those that lost were all arguing about there being cheating. Twilight Sparkle, her furry brother, and his mother were all nearby, Bleu was highly amused. Which having grown up with nearby her, worried him. The argument was specifically, that the ponies had cheated. The Orange one named Scootalloo had grown wings of fire and placed first as she flew rings around the fastest of the dragons competing. One of the other fliers in the race had shot flame at her in aggravation, that was not against the rules of the race. That Scootaloo was unharmed by the fire meant very little to the one who breathed fire at her, as Twilight Sparkle had yanked the dragon out of the sky and proceeded to flatten a small mountain with him for attempting to harm Scootaloo. The other racers got the hint. That was thrown out as Scootaloo had not done that herself, and that the attack was for doing something that Twilight disapproved of. There was a small discussion where Twilight was asked not to interfere again, to which she replied that she would protect any ponies who needed it if she had to raze the entire volcanic cauldron to do so. Rahs had slapped her in the back of the head and argued with her for a while before she finally apologized for her threat. The ones protesting her involvement in that aspect wisely accepted that. Trixie was also being protested, for her success at placing 17 of 30. Not for any real reason aside from that it had devolved into a fight between her great grand father and three other dragons from the local bridge club. Mable had refused to allow Searing Basalt into the club in the past due to his interest in Ponies, and that had sparked a rather interesting conflict on it's own between the two for the last thirty years, but given Mable's daughter had been one of those cut from the race for not placing made her extra mad. That one was an easy fix as casting spells on yourself to make yourself go faster was not against the rules, it was no ones fault but their own if the competitors didn't learn any magic that would help. Several dragons including Torch's own daughter had used spells to do so. Ember had placed 5th. The biggest issue however was Spike. He had not so much run, or flown as he had been thrown by his sister after she layered him in spells. He had arced through the air and landed in 21st place after bouncing across the finish line, the only reason he placed so close to the limit as he did was that Twilight had waited until the race began to begin casting, just to be fair. Spike was unharmed at the landing though he seemed very annoyed that he didn't land in the lava cauldron like his math predicted. Evidently he forgot to carry a two or something. Torch really should have added more turns to the course. Currently every dragon that had placed 31 and above was yelling along with a number of them that were family or friends of the losers. “SHUT UP!” Torch bellowed at the dragons, and they all shut up. "The race placement stands as it is. There were no rules about outside interference before. NOW THERE ARE. Sparkle, you are not allowed to cast spells on Spike to help him win.” “I understand.” The mare smiled. The other dragons were annoyed at the rule only now coming into play , but like the first bunch they merely grumbled and accepted her word and that the Dragon Lord had made the law. Dragon Lord Torch however was rather worried about Twilight's smile when she agreed.