//------------------------------//
// Just a Not-So-Friendly Argument 
// Story: Just a Friendly Game 
// by veryoriginalponyname 
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	"Well, I must say, sister, that was quite possibly the most thrilling sporting event I have yet witnessed!" Luna, Princess of the night said with vigor.

"Indeed it was," the Sun Princess Celestia sighed happily. "I never knew my little Twilight was such a skilled athlete. I had always assumed she was too busy with her studies to be caught up in too much physical activity."

"Perhaps you do not know her as well as you thought?" Luna suggested mockingly.

"Maybe," Celestia said thoughtfully, oblivious to her sister's obvious taunt. "She is so full of surprises. I have always been hesitant to talk sports with her. She just never struck me as the kind pony to find interest in such things. But after watching her tonight, perhaps she would be interested in attending a game with me sometime. Oh, it could be such fun! We could sit in my private skybox, give our own little color commentary... maybe even partake in a little alcoholic refreshment..."

"Oh, Tia," Luna sighed and shook her head. "I fear you would embarrass the poor child with just how... 'passionate' you can be when it come to this particular game. Especially when you are inebriated."

"I am perfectly capable of restraining myself in front of others, dear sister," Celestia said with refined dignity. "I don't know what would lead you to believe otherwise."

"Indeed," Luna muttered sarcastically. When Twilight had made that incredible run, Celestia had practically been bouncing off the walls with excitement.

From the highest tower in Canterlot Castle, the two regal Alicorn sisters had been watching the game through their two most powerful telescopes while listening to it on their radio, which was about five seconds slow, meaning the sisters saw the play before they heard about it. It was a bit wierd, but they got used to it fairly quickly. One would think the rulers of Equestria would have more reliable accessories...

"I imagine I'll be hearing from her about this soon," Celestia said. "I do hope she provides an explanation for that rather unneccessary lateral she attempted that Applejack took away."

"I do not wish to speak ill of your most faithful student, dear sister, but I believe she may have been showing off," Luna said in a tone of apprehension.

"Showing off? My Twilight?" Celestia said incredulously. "I highly doubt that! I believe she simply wanted to extend the play as best she could. While it may not have been the appropriate time and place for that particular stunt, I have to admire her determination."

"I suppose," Luna sighed. "Now that rainbow-maned pegasus on the other hoof... what was her name again?"

"Her name is Rainbow Dash, Luna," Celestia pointed out with a roll of her eyes. "You really should make a better effort at remembering the names of those six mares. They did save you, after all."

"Duley noted," Luna remarked flatly. "As I was saying, Rainbow Dash certainly paid the price for her rather shameful display of showboating. I must say I am surprised she was not penalized in some way for unsportsmanlike conduct. I do so dislike it when players engage in such mean-spirited celebration before they have even finished the play. It's simply bad form."

"Rainbow Dash has always had the tendency to be rather brash sometimes," Celestia sighed. "But then again, so do the professionals. Hoofball has always been a game of passion; more so than any other game I can think of. Whether it is a desperate struggle to stay alive in the playoffs, or a friendly, meaningless game in the park with your friends, our little ponies play their hearts out in the hope that they may drink from the sumptuous fountain of victory rather than taste the bitter agony of defeat. Truly, the level of dedication and commitment this noble sport requires is beyond that of any other I can think of. We are indeed blessed to have the honor, the privilege, to experience the pure adrenaline rush that-"

"Tia, please," Luna interrupted quickly. "I implore you to cease your always heavy-hoofed ramblings of your love for the game, lest my stomach find itself unable to with-hold it's contents."

Celestia blushed a bit and gave a light cough. "I... apologize, Luna. I do tend to lose myself in my passion for the game. I only wish the seasons lasted longer..."

Luna smiled and shook her head. "Tia, I don't believe you and I have ever conversed this much about our views on the world of professional sports. Why have we not attempted this sooner?"

"Well..." Celestia said slowly. "I never really took you as the type who would enjoy such recreation. It wasn't until you came in here to join me in watching the game, and I saw just how into it you were getting that I realized... I probably don't know as much about you as I should." She sounded a bit glum at the end.

"Do not despair, my dearest sister," the Moon Princess gave her sister a kind nuzzle. "I chose to keep that part of my life to myself, mostly out of fear of what our subjects would think me if they knew I was one of those alcohol swilling, boisterous, insufferable ruffians who go out of their ways to make absolute horses of themselves at-"

"Luna!" Celestia scolded. "Such language! Nopony thinks of you that way! You and I are nothing like that!" Her tone softened a bit. "It's perfectly fine to express your love for the game. You saw how excited I was when my Twilight scored. And you were positively screaming when Fluttershy made that return."

"Ah, yes... well," Luna couldn't hide a blush. "I assure you, had I been in a more public setting I would have most likely held my composure. My persona must remain ever dignified for our subjects after all."

"Of course, Luna," Celestia said with a slight snigger.

Luna rolled her eyes, but chose not to drag this conversation on any longer. She instead gazed through her telescope again down at the now almost completely empty field. Only three little fillies remained now.

Down on the field, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared at their no longer blank flanks. All three of them now had what appeared to be a variation of police batons for cutie marks. But instead of joy and elation being the shared emotion, the fillies looked rather disappointed.

"Wow, um..." Scootaloo seemed at a loss. "I, uh, didn't think it was actually gonna happen this time."

"Neither did I," Sweetie Belle said, "and honestly, I was kinda hoping it wouldn't. I mean, breaking up crowds isn't all that fun."

"Welp, guess we don't got any say in the matter," Apple Bloom sighed. "I wonder what we're gonna hafta do now?"

"I guess if there's a riot or something we have to be the ones who deal with it," Scootaloo said.

"But there hasn't been a riot in Ponyville since everypony went nuts over that doll," Sweetie Belle moaned. 

"What about that whole Pinkie Pie clone situation?" Scootaloo reminded them. 

"Eh, my sister said that was more of a 'minor civil unrest' than a full-blown riot," Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle moaned. "Awwww, it's gonna be so boring waiting for something to happen!"

"Well..." Apple Bloom thought for a moment. "Maybe we could tell everypony that our cutie marks give us permission to beat up anypony that bothers us. That might come in handy with bullies."

"Or even better," Scootaloo added with a sinister smile. "We can tell them our marks give us permission to beat up any pony we just straight up don't like... without an explanation! You know, as payback for all the teasing and junk we had to put up with when we were blank flanks. I think it's called karmic retribution or something."

Now all three fillies were smiling wickedly. "OH, DIAMOND TIARAAAAAAAAAAAA?" They called out simultaneously.

Princess Luna smiled as she watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders take off, blissfully unaware of what they were up to. As she pulled back from her telescope, she gave a small sad sigh. "T'is a shame they decided to end the game as is."

Celestia sighed as well. "Yes, it was a rather disheartening ending after such an effort was put forth by both teams. But I suppose they had a good reason, and I must admit I was glad to see them all leave happily. It was such an intense, hard-fought battle, and they all played so hard. I don't think I could've handled seeing half of them lose."

"I understand, I suppose," Luna sighed.

A few moments of silence passed. The regal alicorns stared intently at the field, the images of the game still fresh in their minds... particularly the last play. Finally, Celestia spoke. "Though it was quite obvious what the result of that final pass was."

"Indeed it was," Luna said confidently. "I suppose that young dragon cannot be held responsible for not knowing what to do. It was an intricately complex situation, and I don't think he was in the best position, nor did he have the necessary training to make the proper call."

"I'm starting to wish I had gone down there myself to offer my insight," Celestia said. "After all you and I may have had the best view of the play. But they seemed content with the way things were. I suppose we'd best just let it go."

"Agreed," Luna said witha nod. "Even though was so obviously a pick."

"Touchdown," Celestia corrected.

A moment of silence passed between them. They stared at each other with raised eyebrows. Finally, Luna broke the silence. "No, I believe I was correct in my initial assumption. It was very clearly a pick, sister. You saw it as well as I did."

"Yes I did," Celestia replied calmly. "And what I saw was an obvious touchdown. It was what Spike initially ruled after all."

Luna let out a small laugh. "Tia, you can't be serious. Pinkie Pie clearly had possession of that ball."

"As did Fluttershy. That was simultaneous possession; a tie is granted to the receiver."

"Oh please. That was hardly simultaneous possession, Tia; Fluttershy barely had the tip of it. Pinkie Pie had significantly more control."

"That was how it appeared initially, but Fluttershy may have gained more control of it as they went down."

"That's not what I saw."

"Well perhaps you weren't looking hard enough."

"I saw it just as clearly as you did, sister. It was a pick, and the game should have continued. I should not have to debate this with you."

Celestia's eyes narrowed, and her voice began to rise. "Are you implying that I don't know this game as well as you? I've been around much longer than you, Luna. I've seen many many more games than you have. I know what I am talking about when I see simultaneous possession."

"Tia, she barely had a tooth on it!" Luna'a voice began to rise now as well. "That does not even remotely qualify as possession! Any qualified official would have noticed that!"

"Any qualified official would have also noticed that Pinkie Pie pushed off on Rarity when she jumped! That was blatant pass interference!"

"Oh for crying out- Pass interference happens on plays like that all the time and they almost never get called! And in all honesty, I thought it looked more like incidental contact!"

"How utterly ridiculous, Luna! No sane official would consider a forceful push off like that to be incidental!"

"Well irregardless of what happened there, young Pinkie Pie clearly had more possession of the ball!"

"Fluttershy got to it first though!"

"It doesn't matter who got to it first, Tia! Pinkie had more possession when they came down! It was her ball and you know it!"

"Fluttershy had enough of it to qualify as a catch! I know what I saw!"

From outside the room, two royal gaurds stood on opposite sides of the door, horrified looks etched upon both their faces as they listened to the gradually raising voices of their beloved rulers.

"Sir, are they...?" One of them asked shakily.

"Yes, they are," the other answered. "They're arguing Hoofball."

"Shall we warn the palace?" The first guard sounded fearful.

"It's too late..." the other guard said grimly as he inserted his earplugs. "Brace yourself, lad."

"I can't believe this day's finally come." The first guard sounded close to tears.

"We all knew it was inevitable," the other sighed. "Her Highness, Celestia's passion for Hoofball... her sister's vastly different mind-set... they were doomed to clash one of these days..."

"Have mercy on us all..."

From the other side of the door, the shouting continued to intensify. Luna lifted her hoof to Celestia's tiara and barely gave it a poke.

"Oh, so by your logic, Tia, I was in full possession of your tiara right there? I had it entirely in my control?"

"Keep your disgusting hooves off my tiara!"

"AHA! So you really do consider that to be full possession!"

"That is not even remotely the same case, Luna! You're using a completely illogical comparison to make your point! Fluttershy had enough control to qualify as possession! I saw it clear as day, and so did you!"

"It was a pick, Celestia! Any qualified official would've ruled it as such and you know it! I simply cannot believe you are being this Naïve!"

"How dare you claim your knowlege of Hoofball to be greater than mine?! I have been around much longer than you! I was there when the very first game was played! I... Know... Hoofball!"

"All the more disturbing that you would truly believe that last play to be a touchdown! Your expertise of the game as clearly faded with age! Going a little senile now are we, dear sister?"

"WHY YOU-"

About four hours later...

It was past midnight now, yet the sun remained where it had been since the game ended, hanging just over the horizon, painting the sky orange. All over Equestria, ponies were staring in awe and terror at this strange phenomenon. Somewhere in Manehattan, a crazed stallion was running up the streets, shrieking hysterically, "THE PRINCESSE'S HAVE ABANDONED US! THE END IS NIGH! IT'S EVERYPONY FOR THEMSELVES!"

Nopony could explain it. Nopony could comprehend it. Nopony was aware that the only reason behind this strange turn of events was that the two All-powerful Alicorns responsible for the setting of the sun and raising of the moon and stars were still holed up in the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, and for the past few hours had been arguing every major controversial play that made up the colorful history of Hoofball. Both of them were full-on screaming at each other now; the regal elegance was gone from both their voices, and their normally beautiful and majestic manes were total messes. Their faces were beet red from utilizing the full power of their booming voices.

"THE MANEHATTAN MIRACLE WAS NOTHING MORE THAN THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME COMMITTED IN THE ENTIRE ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY OF HOOFBALL!" Luna roared.

"HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW?! YOU WERE LIVING ON THE MOON WHEN IT HAPPENED!" Celestia screamed back.

"I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH! I HAVE SEEN THE OLD FOOTAGE! ANYPONY WITH EVEN MODERATELY PASSABLE EYE-SIGHT WOULD'VE SEEN THAT THAT PASS WAS IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM A LATERAL! THE RECEIVER WAS CLEARLY STANDING AHEAD OF THE PASSER!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE THE RECEIVER IS STANDING! IT'S FROM WHERE THE BALL IS TO WHERE THE BALL GOES! HE CLEARLY REACHED BACK TO GRAB THE PASS! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, THEY TESTED IT, LUNA! THEY USED LITTLE LASERS AND EVERYTHING!"

"YOU KNOW, SISTER, IF I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER I'D SAY YOU WERE PART OF THAT CONSPIRACY TO KEEP FILLYDELPHIA OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!"

"CONSPIRACY?! SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU BEEN A CONSPIRACY THEORIST?! YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO JUMP ON THAT BANDWAGON TO MAKE YOURSELF APPEAR MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE GAME THAN YOU REALLY ARE! AND BESIDES, IT'S CLOUDSDALE THAT IS SUPPOSEDLY BEING CONSPIRED AGAINST, NOT FILLYDELPHIA!"

"THEN HOW COME FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS WHENEVER FILLYDELPHIA COMES TO WITHIN A GAME OF MAKING THE PLAYOFFS, THEY'RE ALWAYS DONE IN BY A BAD CALL?!"

"WRONG, LUNA! THE REASON THEY NEVER MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IS BECAUSE THAT DOLT ANDY STEED HAS ABSOLUTELY NO CONCEPT WHATSOEVER ON HOW TO PROPERLY MANAGE THE GAME CLOCK! IT'S FORTH AND TWENTY, LESS THAN FIFTEEN SECONDS IN THE GAME, THEY'RE DOWN BY FOUR, NO TIMEOUTS LEFT, THE CLOCK IS TICKING... AND HE DECIDES TO RUN A DRAW PLAY?!"

"IF YOU CAN PROPERLY FOOL THE DEFENSE INTO THINKING PASS, IT CAN BE A VERY EFFECTIVE PLAYCALL!"

"IT NEVER WORKS IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT, LUNA! THE DEFENSE IS NEVER THAT STUPID!"

"HA! YOU CLEARLY HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING MUCH ATTENTION TO OUR BELOVED CANTERLOT TEAM THIS YEAR!"

"WELL I..." Celestia paused there a moment. Slowly, her face fell into an expression of comprehension. "Well, that's true; our defense hasn't been particularly steller this year... but still!"

"Honestly, Tia, you need to open your eyes and accept the fact that you're not nearly as learned as you think you are when it comes to this sport," Luna sneered. 

"I would be willing to bet I could do a much better job of coaching than most of the so-called 'professionals' have been doing recently!" Celestia challenged.

"Ha ha ha!" Luna laughed haughtily. "Oh, what a glorious sight that would be: My dearest elder sister, scrambling about on the sidelines, shouting orders to your players, deriding incompetent officials... oh, it is to laugh!"

Celestia glared daggers at her younger sister. "I figure I would be significantly more apt than you," she said venomously.

Luna soon found herself glaring back at the elder alicorn. "Is that a challenge?"

Celestia smirked. "Perhaps it is..." she said sinisterly. "Here is what I propose: We gather the Bearers of the Elements and have them engage in another three-on-three match up, this time with you and I acting as coaches. The team that wins determines which one of us is the true expert in Hoofball!"

Luna smiled devilishly. "Oh, sister, you have just planted the seeds of your doom... I accept! And, as an added level of humiliation, the loser must clean up after Philomena for a week!"

"Make it a month!"

"Two months!"

"My dear sister," Celestia lifted her forehoof. "You... are... on!" She jutted it towards Luna, who gave it a powerful bump.

"So, when shall we start?" Luna asked.

"How about right now?" Celestia suggested lightly.

"Do you think the Bearers will be willing to go right now?" Luna asked with mild concern.

"We'll make them willing," Celestia hissed. "We are the rulers of all Equestria; if we demand a Hoofball game, we shall have it! Besides, Twilight would never refuse me her aid when I need it."

"Very well then!" Luna snapped. "Let this be our final battle! What time is it?"

"Why, it's only..." Celestia glanced at a large grandfather clock in the corner of the room, and her face fell. "...half past midnight." The two sisters stared blankly at each other for a minute, their faces gradually turning red, this time with embarassment. "I was supposed to set the sun a few hours ago, wasn't I?" Celestia stated sheepishly.

"And I was to bring out the moon and stars," Luna muttered.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, the Royal Sisters scrambled for the balcony and took to the air to do their duties.

"This is not over, Luna!" Celestia snapped as she went airborne.

"No, it most certainly is not!" Luna hissed back.

From a courtyard down below, the mismatched form of Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, watched the majestic Alicorns glide through the air, still shouting insults and taunts at each other. A smug grin formed on his face. He jerked his head towards them and said to nopony in particular, "Ya see, this is why those two don't hang out much!"

It was frighteningly clear now that there would be no peace in Canterlot tonight... or possibly for the next few weeks.

THE END