//------------------------------// // The final of the swordsmanship tournament. // Story: Apple Scratch : Onward to the Equestria Games! // by Mariacheat-Brony //------------------------------// After her declaration about the break before the final, Luna and Twilight teleported back to the Council and the Princesses' box, both bearing rather gloomy expression. They both explained in details how precisely the latest combat had been rolled out, when they were asked why did they looked so down. Their reactions to Gilda's behavior were a bit similar to Luna and Twilight's. "That behavior is hardly in accord with the mindset of the Games!" Celestia said slowly with a drop of anger in her voice. "To say such things in order to destabilize Ms Kicker, that's not being good sport. I wonder what Rainbow Dash is going to do with this Gilda." "I agree with you, Sister!" Luna nodded. "A true fighter doesn't need to tell lies like these in order to win. That's an insult to the honor of swordsmanship!" She said sternly, closing her fists with conviction. "Pardon me, Aunt Luna!" Cadence chimed in sheepishly. "But, what Gilda had said aren't really lies. That's kinda Cloud Kicker's reputation." "What do you mean, Cadence?" Luna asked with curiosity. "Well, she does have that unhealthy 'habit' to fool around a lot." Cadence explained uneasily. "Be it to obtain favors, like the rumors suggest it, or not." "That's still no excuse to throw it at her face like Gilda did, Cadence!" Twilight snapped vigorously, much to everyone's surprise. Twilight had never disagreed with Cadence before. "I'm not saying it is!" Cadence replied, slightly offended by Twilight's outburst. "I just wanted to point out that those rumors exist for a reason." "Those rumors are wrong and you know it!" Twilight insisted. "Heck, there are even ones that say Cloud Kicker slept with Shining to become Lieutenant!" She said rolling her eyes. "How can you believe rumors when they say something as stupid as that." "I must admit that sounds pretty ridiculous." Rarity conceded slowly. "That's just the kind of gossip made to simply hurt Shining and Cloud Kicker's image." "In that case, why doesn't she dismiss them?" Cadence snapped. "If those rumors hurt her image so badly, why doesn't she do anything against them." "Because she probably knows that the best way to fight a rumor is to ignore it?" Octavia suggested slowly. "Why do you even care about that?" She asked with a crooked eyebrow. Cadence didn't say anything. "Darling, you're not telling us that you actually believe those rumors to be true, are you?" Rarity asked softly with concern. Again, no answers. "Don't you trust my brother?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "I trust my husband very much, Twilight!" Cadence nearly shouted with anger. "It's that cock tease of Lieutenant that I don't trust." She added venomously. "CADENCE!" Celestia shouted vigorously before anyone could speak. Her shout was so powerful that their private box was shaken by small tremors. "I'll not tolerate such language from you, that's beneath you!" She chastised her niece firmly. "Yes, Aunt." Cadence said softly, her voice slightly distorted by fear. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." "Good." Celestia nodded. "Anyway, why don't we all go and enjoy the lunch break?" "What a lovely idea!" Fluttershy said quietly, happy to change the subject of conversation. "Can we ask Vinyl and Applejack to join us?" Octavia asked. "Of course, my dear!" Celestia agreed with a small smile. "They're both always welcome at our table." Rarity and Octavia made their way toward Ponyville's locker room to get in touch with their lovers. Twilight decided to tag along, to take some distance with Cadence and, secretly, she also wanted to see how Cloud Kicker was doing. Rarity decided that their way toward the locker room would be a perfect trip to get the answers to some of the questions that had been annoying her since last night. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" Rarity said casually. "Sure thing, Rarity." "How did it go with Cloud Kicker last night when she walked you home?" Rarity asked with a knowing, smug grin. "Huh?" Octavia blinked, while Twilight was blushing madly. "Oh! What did I miss?" She asked eagerly. "Well, last night at Bon-Bon's.." Rarity quickly told Octavia the small argument/date invitation Twilight and Cloud Kicker had last night. "...and then, they both left the tavern." She concluded before turning toward Twilight." And now, our most esteemed Leader is going to fill the blanks." She added with a wink. "We're all ears, Twilight!" Octavia nodded with big smile. "What happened after you left?" "Well, huh...We talked a bit along the way..." Twilight said softly, swallowing her saliva nervously as her cheeks got back to their natural tone. "About her proposition of another date with me after this one.." Rarity and Octavia's grin grew wider. "....She...She told me that the date she had appreciated the most in her life was the first one she and I had together....." "Awwwww, that's so cute!" Rarity sighed dreamily, Octavia nodded happily. "I..I kissed her...she kissed me back and it was.....wow, just wow!" Twilight said with big shining eyes and a growing blush. "Shining and Cadence almost saw us, but Cloud noticed them beforehand and hid us. After that, I teleported the both of us in my room." "Wow! That sure was quick move from your part!" Octavia giggled playfully. "Stop it, Octavia. You're going to embarrass her." Rarity said with a soft chuckle. "Anyway, what happened next?" "She stayed with me for the night." Twilight said with an intense blush, showing clearly that Cloud Kicker had done more than just staying for the night. "That was partially why I was so mad at Shining and Spike this morning." "You mean that Cloud Kicker was still in your room when they broke in?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, she had to hide herself in a cupboard." Twilight said, giggling at the memory of this morning. She remembered the moment after the cupboard, the one in the shower. "This morning,...I..I told her that I loved her." She let out slowly, not realizing she caused her friends' faces to go blank from shock. "And?" Rarity asked after a few minutes silence. "She said that she loved me as well." Twilight said with small tears in her eyes. "That's wonderful news, Twilight." Octavia said with a big smile, pulling her friend into a big hug. "Indeed it is." Rarity beamed as she joined her friends' hug. "We're so happy for you." "Thank you, girls!" Twilight said, rubbing her tears away. "Can I trust you for keeping it a secret from Shining and Cadence?" She asked softly. "Of course, Darling!" Rarity assured firmly, as they started walking again. "You can count on us!" Octavia nodded. "Issues with the big brother can be really hard. I can relate!" She halfheartedly joked. "Oh yeah! Vinyl was supposed to meet your parents last night!" Twilight said in realization. "Oh dear. How could I have forgotten?" Rarity face-palmed. "How did it go, Darling?" "It could have gone better." Octavia said uneasily. Octavia explained them what happened last night at her parents estate and why she had a band-aid on the cheek. Twilight and Rarity's reactions to her story were like Octavia had thought them to be. A sudden shock followed by anger and disbelief. "Your mother did WHAT?" Twilight nearly shouted in disbelief. "Oh, sweetie! Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Rarity asked with concern. "Girls, I'm fine." Octavia assured softly. "Vinyl took care of everything." "Ah, so she sent your mother in the hospital?" Twilight asked in tone that clearly showed she already knew the answer to her question. "No! Why do you assume that my lover's first reaction would be violence?" Octavia retorted, pretty offended. "Because you didn't?" Rarity asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow. "No!" Her friends deadpanned her. "Ok, fine! I admit it. That's the first thing that came into my mind when I woke up this morning." Octavia sighed in defeat. "She wanted to do it, but she told me she didn't." "Did she explained why?" "Huh...She said that..." Octavia started as her cheeks were becoming bright pink. "Ahem. She said that I was more important than that. That she wanted to get things straight with mother but not before taking care of me." Their friends' expressions softened a bit. "She really does care about you." Twilight said softly. Octavia sniffed with a nod. "I don't know what I'd do without her." They continued their way toward the locker room of Ponyville's team, speaking about what could Twilight do to break the news easily for Shining or how Octavia could deal with the situation between her mother and brother and Vinyl. When they arrived at the locker room, they saw the four members of the team that weren't related to them plus nurse Redheart watching the locker's door with a mix of worry and uneasiness. "What are you all doing here?" Twilight asked with concern. "Something happened?" "Well," Ditzy started uneasily. "Cloud Kicker's in a very bad mood since her fight with Gilda. Vinyl and Applejack are trying to calm her." "Oh, no!" Twilight whispered to herself. "But, why aren't you inside to comfort her as well?" Rarity asked with genuine curiosity. "We aren't mad enough to come close to an angry Cloud Kicker still holding a blade." Raindrops said with a pinch of fear, causing the newcomers to gasp in shock. "Raindrops, silence." Redheart chastised firmly, glaring at Raindrops who didn't stand the glare for too long. "You're scaring them for no reasons!" "Don't worry." Rose said softly as she turned toward the three Council Members. "It's just that when Cloud Kicker's upset, she only lets Vinyl and Applejack talk to her." "Yeah!" Allie assured firmly. "They're just talking, nothing bad's happening!" She nodded happily. A loud crack made everyone start in surprise. They all looked back at the door and noticed the blade of a sword piercing through it. From the looks of it, the sword had all its length thrusted through the wooden door. Everyone blinked from the shock with frozen expressions. "See, nothing bad's happening." Allie chuckled awkwardly. "hahahaha.........oh sweet Titania!" Cloud Kicker had left the arena right after the official had declared her winner of the second semifinal, she didn't even bothered to pay attention to Gilda who was holding her throat a few feet from her. Thankfully, Princess Luna had decided to have a break in the competition. She saw her teammates wanting to congratulate her for getting in the final, but she wasn't in the mood for that. She ignored her friends and walked straight toward the pits to get access to the corridor in which were all the teams' locker rooms. She kicked the room's door open and walked toward her personal locker. In front of it, she lifted her sword to examine the blade. The blade was intact, not a single chip on the edge. But it was stained with the characteristic brown reddish color of drying blood. Gilda's blood. Cloud Kicker took her cleaning kit from her locker and sat next to a sink. She started cleaning her sword vigorously, she kept on cleaning even after the stain wasn't visible anymore. She couldn't let a single drop of Gilda's blood on her sword. "What the hell was that, CK?" Vinyl said as she entered the room with Applejack in tow. "What was what, Vi?" Cloud Kicker said apathetically, not turning her gaze away from her sword. "Ya walked past us like we weren't there." Applejack said softly after having locked the door behind them. "I had to clean my sword." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Almost done." She said as she eyed the spotless blade in front of her. "The sword looks pretty clean to me." Vinyl noted as Cloud Kicker started to clean her sword again with an extreme vigor. "Considering it's her blood we're talking about," Cloud Kicker commented. "I don't want to take any risk of her staining my blade." There was a short silence in the room. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Vinyl asked, finally decided on breaking the silence. "Nothing happened, girls." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "I had a swords-fight and I won, end of the story." "Ya know what Vinyl's talkin' about!" Applejack interjected sharply. "What happened back there?" "I told you, nothing happened!" Cloud Kicker said defensively. "Really? So, you call cutting Gilda's throat nothing?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow. "It was completely safe with the enchantment!" "Ya didn't really look like ya were carin' about that, earlier." Applejack noted grimly. "What do you mean?" Cloud Kicker asked softly. "CK, you aimed at her throat!" Vinyl explained slowly. "And the look on your face suggested that you'd have done it even without the enchantment." "That's just silly." Cloud Kicker said with a shaken voice. "Cloud, she upset ya, we all saw that." Applejack said gently. "But, how come ya snapped like that? That ain't like ya at all!" "Because you know what's like me, huh?" Cloud Kicker shouted in anger as she was standing up. "Just like everyone else!" "Cloud Kicker, calm down!" "You think that I'm just a cheap, low-life hooker, right?" Cloud Kicker snapped. "That ain't the truth and ya know it!" "If we believe Gilda and the others, that's all I am!" Cloud Kicker shouted, her all body shaking from anger. "Since when do their opinions matter to you, Cloud Kicker?" Vinyl shouted back. "Since they're so fuckin' right!" Cloud Kicker yelled before throwing her sword forward in anger. The blade flew in between Applejack and Vinyl and ended its course by burying itself in the locker room's door. Applejack closed the distance between her and Cloud Kicker and slapped her vigorously. Cloud Kicker stumbled a bit because of Applejack's slap. "Git a hold of yerself, for Epona's sake!" Applejack shouted. Cloud Kicker's stayed there in silence, her hand on her slapped cheek. "Thanks, AJ." Cloud Kicker let out slowly. "I...I kinda needed that." She added with a shaking voice. "Vi, what are you doing?" Vinyl had come close to her, grabbed the back of her head and firmly pulled it against her chest. Before she could say anything, Cloud Kicker sensed Applejack's powerful arms holding her with a delicateness she had always thought her farmer friends was incapable of. "Guys, seriously what...." Cloud Kicker stammered, her voice on the verge of breaking. "Shhhhhhh!" Vinyl let out slowly. "Just let it out, Cloudy!" Applejack whispered. Cloud Kicker blinked. Applejack hadn't used that nickname in years. Sure, Vinyl and Applejack had been the first ones to call her like that when they were kids, but it was like from another life for Cloud Kicker. Anyway, the use of the nickname had made her remember who were standing close to her. Her best friends since childhood were hugging her. She didn't have to play it strong in front of them. They both knew her inside out. She started to hug back her friends as she let go tears she didn't even know she was holding back. Cloud Kicker's soft sobs replaced the silence that had taken place in the room. "That's it." Vinyl whispered gently as she rubbed her friend's back. "Now, what did Gilda say to you?" "She...she wanted me to give up or she would tell the boss about me and Twilight." Cloud Kicker explained in between sobs. "Then, what Sugarcube?" Applejack said softly. "She said that the only reason I'm interested in Twilight was because I could use her at my advantage." Cloud Kicker said with a wince, disgusted at the very idea of simply using Twilight. "And, ya believed her?" "N..No." Cloud Kicker answered. "But, it made me think about my situation. All those remarks, those stories about me. I don't think I'm worthy of being with her." She sighed in defeat. "Nonsense, Cloud Kicker." Vinyl said shaking her head firmly. "Vinyl, the lead figure of the Council of Harmony can't date a woman with a reputation like mine." "Cloudy, you never cared for your reputation before." Vinyl said. "It involved only me back then." Cloud Kicker sighed. "Sugarcube, a reputation can change pretty quickly." Applejack noted softly. "Yer even at the right place for it!" "What do you mean, AJ?" Cloud Kicker asked with curiosity. "Isn't that obvious?" Vinyl chuckled. "We're at the Equestria Games! You're in the final of the swordsmanship competition." "In a few weeks, people would talk about ya like that : Cloud Kicker from Ponyville, Best swordswoman of Equestria and and one of the great winners of the Equestria Games." Applejack said with conviction. "The awesome Lieutenant of the Royal Guard who happens to be dating Twilight Sparkle!" Vinyl added with a wink. "Thanks, you girls are the best!" Cloud Kicker said with a soft smile before tightening her grip on her friends. After a small moment of silence, Cloud Kicker started to chuckle. "You know what's funny?" "What is it, CK?" Vinyl asked with curiosity. "Three months ago, I would have dreamed being squished in sandwich by the two of you." Applejack and Vinyl rolled their eyes with a small smile. "And now, here I am, my head buried in Vinyl's chest while Applejack is holding me tight. And I feel no arousal from this!" "It means you're finally going out of puberty, CK." Vinyl chuckled. "I guess so." Cloud Kicker nodded. "I would have never thought that a friendly hug could feel so nice compared to those in my dreams." "Have ya ever had dreams in which ya only saw us as friends?" Applejack asked with a chuckle. "Nah! In my dreams, the situation is always way more steamy and we are wearing a lot less clothes than in real life." Cloud Kicker explained with a shrug. "Also, the roles are reversed. No offense, Vinyl, but AJ's got bigger assets than you when it comes to a chest in which one's head could be buried." Her remark earned her the right of being pushed away from her blue haired friend's chest before being whacked at the back of her head. "Oh, come on! I didn't say yours weren't comfy!" She added as Applejack pulled herself away from her with a chuckle. "Whatever!" Vinyl pouted as she crossed her arms, still a bit offended at her friend's remark. "Anyway, why don't all we go for lunch?" Applejack asked as she walked toward the exit. "Ah'm starvin'." She added before unlocking the door. "Applejack! Thank goodness, you're okay." Rarity said with an evident relief as Applejack walked through the door, before hugging her intensely. "O' course, Ah'm okay, Sugarcube." Applejack blinked with confusion. "Why wouldn't Ah be okay?" "Well, Cloud Kicker's sword in the door did kind of worry us." Octavia explained. "Oh crap!" Cloud Kicker said apologetically. "Sorry about that." She added sheepishly before pulling her blade out of the door and putting it back in its sheath. "Are you feeling better, Cloudy?" Ditzy asked with concern. "Much better, Ditzy." Cloud Kicker nodded. "Sorry to have worried all of you." "It's ok, Cloud Kicker. As long as you're feeling better." Redheart waved off along with the other members of Ponyville's team. While the others were discussing about where to go for lunch and Applejack and Vinyl were pretending to be pondering on going to eat with the princesses and their lovers or their teammates, Twilight took Cloud Kicker apart. Twilight held Cloud Kicker's right hand firmly, occasionally rubbing it with her thumb. "Are you sure you're ok?" Twilight asked with concern. "Is there anything I can do to help?" "Twilight, I'm fine." Cloud Kicker assured with a nod. "There's not.....Actually, I can think of something." She added with a playful grin. Cloud Kicker gently pulled Twilight's face close to hers with her free hand, firmly pressing her lips against the council member's. Twilight tilted her head on the side before opening her mouth to let the way clear for Cloud Kicker's tongue. Twilight let out satisfied moans as Cloud Kicker gently took control over her mouth. Cloud Kicker ignored the impressed whistles blown at the couple while Twilight didn't even hear them. Cloud Kicker heard the sounds of leaving footsteps followed by Vinyl's voice saying something about wandering around for thirty minutes before coming back to grab something to eat with them. She smiled internally, Faust had blessed her with awesome friends who gave her time to enjoy her newly found love's company. Cloud Kicker made a mental note to thank them later. She broke the kiss and looked around to see no one other than a slightly panting Twilight, with cheeks colored in a dark shade of red. "So, what could we possibly do in thirty minutes?" Cloud Kicker whispered softly, her arms around Twilight's waist. The next thing she felt was Twilight pushing lips against hers and making her stumble back in the locker room. With her peripheral vision, she noticed the door glowing in a purple aura before fixing itself and slamming itself shut. She heard the characteristic noise of a lock followed by the zipping sounds of her jacket being open. "What is that all about, Lady Sparkle?" Cloud Kicker said, as Twilight broke the kiss. "That, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight said with a small giggle. "Is a small preview of what you can expect as a reward if you win the final." She said with lustful grin. "Interesting!" Cloud Kicker said slowly. "Care to elaborate a little? I couldn't grasp all the concept behind the reward." She added playfully. "Don't mind if I do." Twilight winked before leaning in. "Welcome back, everyone!" Pinkie Pie said happily through her megaphone. "I hope you had a great lunch, because I certainly had. I would gladly tell you where I ate, but the Princesses forbade me from making any publicity during my announcing, otherwise I would lose my allowance." Pinkie explained slowly with disappointment and sadness. "Anyway, We're here now to assist in the main event of today's trials!" She said with her usual cheeriness. "The final of the swordsmanship tournament!" Princess Luna had checked that the competitors' swords enchantment before sitting back on her cloud between Twilight and her sister, Celestia, she had both "convinced" them to sit with her. Not that Twilight really needed to be convinced, but she had to keep up appearances. Celestia had tagged along after her sister's commented on how good you could see from the small cloud seat. Luna had offered a spot to everyone from their box, but they all refused for various reasons. Fluttershy was fine in seeing the violence of those combats from far away. Octavia wasn't at ease on a cloud at all. Rarity found it a bit uncouth to sit on a cloud, although she hadn't said it like that to not offend the Princesses. Cadence simply didn't care enough about the match, to move from her comfortable chair in their private box. Cloud Kicker was getting ready outside of the Arena, waiting for Pinkie Pie to introduce her to the crowd. A tall, rather muscular, man with curly grey and white hair was standing next to her to warm up. Pokey Pierce from team Canterlot. "Ms Kicker, allow me to wish you good luck." He said politely. "Good luck to you too, Mr Pierce!" "I was wondering," He started matter-of-factly. "Are you doing anything later?" "It depends on how do you define "anything" and "later"." Cloud Kicker answered with a smug smile. 'I know what you want, Mr Pierce. Too bad, you're not gonna get it! My butt now belongs only to Twilight Sparkle!' She chuckled internally. "Well, maybe some fencing later in the afternoon." He suggested. "Fencing?" Cloud Kicker asked with confusion. 'Maybe, I misjudged him....after all, not everyone can be after my cute butt!' "Yes, fencing!" Pokey nodded. "You know, thrusting my sword at you for fun." He added with a small smirk. "Kinda like what we're about to do, expect that, later, my sword would go much more further than one centimeter deep inside you." He whispered in a sultry tone. "Huh huh!" Cloud Kicker said apathetically. 'What was I thinking? Everyone wants a piece of Cloud Kicker's ass!' She thought, mentally rolling her eyes. 'He could have come up with a better pick up line, though!' "Not really interested." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Are you sure?" "Certain!" Cloud Kicker nodded. "Well, maybe you'd change your mind after I shoved you my sword inside you during the match!" He chuckled. "Maybe you'd like it." he joked before entering the arena as Pinkie Pie called him. 'Sure thing honey! Keep dreaming!' "Ladies and Gentlemen, give a round of applause for the challenger!" Pinkie shouted. "The woman who's about to face the one who's said to be the greatest swordsman of our time! Here comes, CLOUD KICKER!" Pinkie yelled happily as the crowd applauded when Cloud Kicker took her place in the arena. Pokey and Cloud both saluted each other after having bowed to the Princesses. Pokey drew his stylized silvery rapier out of its sheath with fluid movements, Cloud Kicker couldn't help but whistle in amazement. That was pretty to look at. Cloud Kicker simply let her sword in its sheath she had placed on her right side. "Aren't you forgetting something, Ms Kicker." Pokey asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not at all!" Cloud Kicker shrugged happily. "What is she doing?" Twilight asked in confusion. "Shouldn't she have drawn her sword out already?" "Not necessarily, my dear Twilight." Celestia answered softly, watching the competitor with renewed interest. "There are some sword styles that consist in striking while unsheathing one's sword." Luna explained. "Maybe, Ms Kicker is an adept of one of those particular styles." "BEGIN!" Pinkie shouted happily before hitting a small gong she had pulled out of her machine's side-bags. Pokey took a few steps on the side, circling around Cloud Kicker who hadn't moved from her spot, her right hand lazily laying on top of her sword's pommel. While she was standing there with a laid back attitude, her eyes were completely focused on Pokey's movement, like those of an eagle eyeing its prey from afar. "You're not going to do anything, are you?" Pokey asked softly. "You were the one who wanted to show me his thrusts." Cloud Kicker explained with a shrug. "I'm waiting..." "If you insist, miss." Pokey said happily before throwing a series of quick thrusts of his sword at Cloud Kicker. Cloud Kicker didn't draw her sword out yet. She simply dodged all of Pokey's strikes with sharp (and rather sensual) movements of her waist. Pierce tried to hit her with quick lateral strike which she dodged by flexing her back backward. The blade passed millimeters below her breasts, cutting the fabric of her jacket. She jumped backwards and eyed the damage on her jacket. She pulled it off with a small grin, revealing her racy, skintight tank top. She lifted her hand and asked Pokey to come at her with her forefinger. Pokey couldn't help but to oblige with a smile. "The idiot!" Shining muttered. "He isn't taking the fight seriously." "Can't really blame him for that, Sir." Soarin shrugged. "You don't get it, Soar'." Spitfire shook her head quickly. "Not taking Cloud Kicker seriously in a sword fight is just plain stupidity." "What do you mean?" Soarin asked. "That Pokey has already lost." Shining sighed in defeat as he watched Cloud Kicker dodging his teammate's strike. "He just doesn't know it yet." "Hey, now! Boss man." Fleetfoot said softly. "This is Pokey we're talking about. He's the world's best Swordsman! Give him some credits!" She chuckled. "Just watch!" Shining Armor said slowly. "I have judged your thrusts, Mr Pierce." Cloud Kicker said playfully as she dodged another blow. "And, I'm not convinced." "Maybe, I should try harder then." Pokey chuckled. "Nah! The fight lasted long enough." Cloud Kicker said firmly, as she grabbed the tilt of her sword with her right hand. "I'm ending this, now!" "As if, I'm going to let....." Pokey said before feeling her sharp blow at the tilt of his sword which flew out of his grip. One swing. In one swing from her sword, Cloud Kicker had disarmed him. Despite his attitude, he had kept his focus on Cloud Kicker's sword, ready to take a defensive action the moment the sword would leave its sheath. But he just didn't see it. Cloud Kicker's blow came too fast for him to do anything. The next thing his eyes recorded was the fact that Cloud Kicker held her sword in a reverse grip from her right hand, its edge against the skin of his neck. She gave it a little push, only hard enough to make a small drop of blood bead out of it. She flipped her sword in her hand before resting her blade on her shoulder. "First drop of blood." She said softly with a smile. "I win!" "And our new gold medallist and probably the new one to bear the title of Equestria's Best Swordsman is...CLOUD KICKER from PONYVILLE!" Pinkie shouted happily as the crowd started to applaud madly. Pokey stood where Cloud Kicker had left him, blinking with his mouth agape while Cloud Kicker was waving at the crowd from her free hand. Ponyville's team nearly tackled her to the ground when they rushed toward her for a group hug. Pokey got out of his stun when Shining Armor clacked his fingers in front of him. "Sorry, captain." Pokey sighed in defeat. "I should have taken her seriously from the beginning." "Yeah, you should have but don't feel bad." Shining said slowly." A silver medal is still something." As Princess Luna came down from her cloud to start the medal ceremony for Cloud Kicker, Pierce and a Zebrican athlete (Cloudsdale having declared forfeit on the small final), Spitfire and the Wonderbolts came next to Shining Armor. "I really hate that girl!" Spitfire said slowly, glaring at Cloud Kicker. "I know, Spitfire." Shining sighed, rolling his eyes lazily. That wasn't the first time he heard the Wonderbolt saying that. "You should put your grudge aside, now! It'll be a relief for everyone." "I'm not talking about that." Spitfire shook her head. "What are you on about, then?" Soarin asked with curiosity. "She's just too good without even trying." Spitfire said softly. "Heing?" Fleetfoot and Soarin said in confusion. "What are you saying? She did fight hard during the competition." Fleefoot noted. "She did beat Pierce with...." "She wasn't serious at all, Fleetfoot." Spitfire interrupted sharply. "How can you know that?" Soarin asked with puzzled look. "Because, she only used her right hand during the competition." Shining explained softly. "So did Pokey. I don't see what's the big deal!" Soarin said scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Yes, but Cloud Kicker's left-handed, unlike him." Shining said matter-of-factly causing Soarin and Fleetfoot's eyes to widen in shock. "You mean that...." Soarin started slowly. "Yes, she did the all competition with her weak hand and she completely wiped out her opponents." Spitfire stated. "Wow...First Applejack's monstrous physical strength, then, Ditzy's flying and now Cloud Kicker's swordsmanship." Fleetfoot said with admiration and a pinch of fear. "Do you think they got more special people like that in Ponyville's team?" "If we're lucky enough, no." Shining said slowly. "No offense, Boss." Spitfire interjected. "But apart from the hurdles incident, the ones with luck are them and not us." She added pointing at Ponyville's team. Shining shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see."