The Cutie Mark Clash

by Captain Gamer

Chapter 5

The last train out of Appleloosa was bound for Ponyville. The front passenger car alone was reserved for all the pony folk who were interested in competing in the Cutie Mark Clash or sticking around to watch. Other than that, the train was at its normal light load. Business ponies, tourists, cargo, and a particular pony who kept himself well hidden under a hat, sunglasses, and a cloak all the way up over his nose. The pony looked around at the rest of the passengers in his car, and then took another look at a letter. He slipped the letter back under the wires of an unopened package and ducked out to go further back into the train.

The pony passed through car after car, making for the rearmost passenger cars. Getting a seat in there normally requires a reservation, though ponies wanting alone time sneak in anyway. On this instance, there were no such ponies. The cloaked pony casually walked through, checking each bunk. He shook his head, his body language deeming his situation ridiculous. He passed by another cloaked pony with a ten gallon hat and sunglasses, casually greeting, "Howdy."

"Hello," the other pony said politely. They walked by each other, and then paused. "Braeburn?" the other said, shedding her disguise to reveal that she was not a pony at all. She was, in fact, a young buffalo that the citizens of Appleloosa knew as Little Strongheart.

"Sure is," Braeburn replied, removing his own cloak and sunglasses, leaving only his vest and hat. "Now, was there any reason to get me on this train just to tell me what's going on with the buffalo?"

Strongheart looked surprised, "... Get you...? But I'm here because of this...!" She presented her own matching letter and package.

Braeburn looked just as surprised, if not even more so. "Now what the hay is going on here? I KNOW I didn't get the wrong package because the letter is addressed to me and tells me that I'll get an answer for what's been going on recently. But you know, while we're here and you can't avoid me any more, you can STILL tell me what's going on with the buffalo."

Strongheart shifted her gaze. Braeburn wasn't being scrutinizing or even displaying the harshest tone of voice. He was genuinely looking for answers from a buffalo who had become a close friend over the past few months. Strongheart swallowed her pride and sighed, "We, the buffalo, have been trying to take care of it ourselves. We treasure our friendships and our alliances very closely. To have one of our own betray that trust and have our friends believe that we are not committed is unforgivable."

Braeburn tapped his chin, "I thought as much. But Little Strongheart, you have to understand. The Appleloosans just got used to sleeping well at night knowing that we made peace with the buffalo. And now for a week, we're right back to sleeping with one eye open. Seeing a buffalo over the wreck of our buildings just doesn't help things."

"I know!!"

Braeburn reeled back at Strongheart's burst. She wasn't a manipulative buffalo, especially not to a friend. That's why her frustrated tears washed away any suspicion or animosity Braeburn could have harbored. He looked at the letter again. "I figured that the worst of it was some of the buffalo didn't agree to the treaty and formed their own group. The buffalo we saw had a cape and some hat."

"That's the same as what our scouts saw. I just don't know how I can help the situation by being far away from my homeland..."

"Let's just hope that whoever wrote these isn't pulling our hind legs..."

-

When the sun rose on the next day, Braeburn and Strongheart opened their packages as the letters instructed. The packages contained pairs of gilded horseshoes that the letter called Hooves of War. Strongheart's Hooves of War were even smaller to fit her hoof size.

"Fighting, huh...?" Braeburn muttered as he prepared to equip his Hooves of War, "This might sound strange for a pony to say, but I'm not even that good at horsing around, much less fighting."

Strongheart examined her decorated hoof. "I admire your dedication to peace... But what if a confrontation is the only option?"

Braeburn knew better than to question that line of thought. The buffalo have been fighting for their rights, their possessions, and their turf for generations. It was in their blood. Thus, he gave an honest answer. "I know a few things. I've had to hold back a few ponies who've had one too many. But I dunno, Little Strongheart. I have yet to even hear about an individual too evil to sit down and talk with."

They both thought on that. With no more conversation, they could now hear a chopping sound getting closer to the train. The two shot looks out the window where they could only see the shadow of something flying over the train. The chopping sound was now very loud to be heard over the clanging of the train. Braeburn and Strongheart were startled to hear hoofsteps on the roof directly above them. The hoofsteps altered between careful and most definitely a fight. The two in the car shared a nervous look. The situation demanded a look. Braeburn was the closest to the exit, so he ventured a look.

Braeburn walked onto the space between cars and had to hold a hoof to his head to keep his hat on. With one forehoof occupied, he carefully climbed the ladder to the roof of the railway car.

Closest to Braeburn was a stallion dressed in camouflage clothing and boots with a tall, flat-topped blonde mane. Facing this stallion was a new figure. This figure stood tall as a large buffalo. The buffalo could be distinguished by his face alone; pure white eyes that somehow still held malice and a sinister smile wide with the glee of others' miseries. Beyond that, the buffalo wore a black cape held on by two large white shoulder pads. Perched on the buffalo's head was a peaked cap bearing some organization symbol as a silver decoration.

"Bison!!" Gil shouted over the train. The helicopter had long since failed to keep up. "What are YOU doing taking a train?"

The buffalo, who seemed to be called Bison, chuckled coldly, "Are trains not the most cultured way to travel? I would have thought you'd appreciate my refinement!"

Gil scowled, "You don't care about things like that! Now I know Appleloosa was just a distraction! What do you want with Ponyville!?"

"Why, to participate in the Cutie Mark Clash, of course! I haven't missed out on the fun yet..."

"That's because you always have some plan. What is it!?"

"I'm insulted..." Bison chuckled again and reared up, supporting himself on only his rear legs while be folded his forelegs across his chest.

Braeburn gasped a little at that sight. It was so familiar, and he knew exactly why. He ducked own and hissed to Strongheart, "That's him! That's the buffalo I saw every time!"

Strongheart's ears pressed against her skull, her scorn apparent at just the thought. Braeburn carefully poke his eyes over the edge of the roof again. He noticed they were both silent, but only because Bison seemed to be looking at something else. Braeburn broke into a cold sweat when he realized Bison was looking at him.

"What?" Gil turned around and also saw Braeburn. "NO! GET AWAY!"

It was too late. Bison landed with a stomp on the edge of the roof. This somehow popped Braeburn off the ladder and allowed Bison to dig his hoof under Braeburn's chin. Bison turned back to Gil, hostage in possession.

Bison chuckled, "Now where were we...?"

Gil growled again, mind racing. Suddenly, Bison was rammed from behind. He dropped Braeburn and landed on his side. Gil leapt forward for a knockout strike, but only managed to strike a dent into the train's roof. Gil whirled around and backed up as Strongheart and Braeburn moved forward to his sides.

Gil looked at them. "Stay back, civilians! This isn't your fight!"

Braeburn narrowed his eyes forward, "Now that's where you're mistaken."

Strongheart seemed off-set by Braeburn's bravado, but she nonetheless concurred, "This buffalo has done much wrong by us both."

Bison's grin widened, "I'll destroy all three of you!!" He quickly stamped out the Hoof of War, which to Gil’s chagrin, encompassed Strongheart and Braeburn as well.

Gil decided to head off any damage to the other two by taking the offense. While Gil took Bison's attention, Strongheart quickly turned to Braeburn.

"Are you sure about this? Not a few minutes ago, you were..."

"I... I'm sure, Little Strongheart. When he had me, I felt something... something scary. Something I thought I'd feel with the buffalo, but I didn't. And this is even worse than I could have imagined. I don't like the idea of fighting, but that pony needs all the help he can get."

For Braeburn of all ponies to say something like that, this buffalo had to be utterly irredeemable in his ways. He and Strongheart exchanged mutual looks, just in time for Gil to be tossed at their hooves.

Braeburn lowered himself, "Are you okay!?"

Gil lifted his head, ever alert.

"All three of you can perish!!" Bison called over the train and took off in a run. A purple energy billowed around him and became strong enough to lift and propel him all on its own. "Psycho Crusher!!"

Bison plowed through his three opponents, sending Gil back again and the other two to either side. Braeburn was lucky to come to a stop before the edge of the roof while Strongheart had to scramble her hooves to find solid standing. She could only watch as Bison strolled to Braeburn.

"A passive-hoof, are you? Ha ha ha... POWER solves everything. Words only provide the ILLUSION of progress! Your methods should infuriate me... but they make you into the bug you are, destined to be a smear under my hoof."

Braeburn stiffened his lip, keeping a tough front for Bison. "It's ponies, buffalo, whoever that think like that which get forgotten by history. Your oversimplified views are only gonna get you done in. And when that happens, not a single soul will remember who you are or what you stand for!" He swiftly threw a chop with one hoof, which got blocked and caught. Braeburn struggled against it, then just tried again with the other hoof. Bison caught that one too. Down to his last option, Braeburn thrust his head forward. Bison didn't have any counter for that and took the headbutt full-on. Braeburn used the stagger to quickly duck out and get near another ally.

This was exactly what Bison counted on. He lifted himself off his hooves using that same purple energy and came to a landing straight on Braeburn's back. Braeburn grunted with the sudden impact and fell on his stomach, legs splayed. Bison leapt from that position, narrowly missing Strongheart's attempted charge. In midair, Bison thrust out his forehooves and manipulated his fall to strike Strongheart back. When he landed, he surveyed the two in a heap.

"Sonic BOOM!"

A disc of wind slapped Bison's back, forcing him to keel over a bit before turning around to meet Gil's assault. Figuring Gil to keep it up, Bison went straight for his own counter, kicking his rear legs and sliding forward, forehooves out prepared for the sweep. Gil on to this plan and hunkered down to low-block the attack. Bison growled at his failed attack. With the bite taken out of the strike, Gil made for his own counter.

"Here we go!" Gil called, hunkering again. "ONE!" He flipped, connecting a flash kick into Bison's chin. "TWO!" Gil flipped again, this time catching Bison's stomach and sending him into the air. Gil surveyed Bison's flight and planned for trajectory. When Bison was low enough, "STRIKE!!" Gil flipped to make for the hardest of the three flash kicks, aided by gravity.

Bison took his down time, but was up fairly quickly. Warriors forged in the heat of battle and experienced with the Hoof of War know how to take a hit as long as it doesn't knock out the reserves of their energy. He stared Gil down, that wide smile no less deterred.

"Sonic boom!"

Bison's mindgame had worked. Gil threw the projectile, which Bison used his psycho energy to teleport behind. Gil's eyes widened at the sudden proximity.

"Scream in pain!" Bison swiped his hoof under his chin in an intimidating gesture. He then saw Guile's back flips with his own forward flips, kicking down on Gil's head and back. Not done yet, Bison propelled himself with another Psycho Crusher, this time carrying Gil into the air. "This place shall become your GRAVE!" Bison gave a mighty shove, sending Gil onto the roof. Bison then dropped himself and landed on Gil, hind hooves crushing the Mareican soldier. The force was so great that it tore into the roof and dropped Gil into the train car's interior, Bison's pressure still hard on him.

"K.O.!!!" The Hoof of War bellowed.

"NO!!" shouted Strongheart and Braeburn in unison. They jumped through the hole to rejoin the fight.

Bison stepped aside to look at the two still in front of him. "Hah! Come to talk at me into submission?"

Braeburn narrowed his eyes at Bison, then closed them and took a cleansing breath. With a shout, he thrust his forehooves up, returned them to center, and then leapt forward. Through the force of his attack he glided over to Bison, a forehoof struck out and engulfed in flame. Bison could barely eke out a "WHAT?" before Braeburn's attack smacked him across the face and down on his side.

Even with his determination to take Bison down, Braeburn didn't expect to be able to cause that kind of damage. He looked at this hoof and the magic he tapped as signified by the glittering edges. He drew his hoof back in a pump of determination and looked back at Bison.

"Impressive!" Bison barked, "Your commitment to so-called justice actually has some yield! Now how far does it go!? Psycho Crusher!!"

Bison kicked off with his psycho energy at Braeburn. Braeburn had another idea, kicking off in a leaping cartwheel with his just hind legs, bringing a hind hoof onto Bison's head and sending the buffalo into the bunks. Bison smashed through the fallen furniture barely in time to see Braeburn stomp a forehoof down and send a shockwave that tore up the carpet at it went. Unfortunately, Bison counted on this.

"The end has come...!" Bison declared. He swiftly leapt over the roving projectile and directly in front of Braeburn. The force of the stomp ruptured the floor beneath Braeburn and popped him into Bison's grasp. Bison held Braeburn like he did before. "Keel before my psycho power..." Bison switched forehooves and struck Braeburn in the stomach. The strike itself wasn't the attack. Psycho energy welled up where the hoof met Braeburn's stomach. The energy burst, some of it seeping through Braeburn's body out his back.

"K.O.!!!" the Hoof of War bellowed.

"Fall!" Bison let Braeburn down, letting him follow orders and keel over before completely losing footing and hitting the ground. "Such weakness..." With two out of three down, Bison looked to Strongheart, who was occupied staring at Braeburn with a paled expression.

"What... what did you do to him?"

"You will beg for it when I am done with you!!" Bison charged forward with an old-fashioned stampede charge, aiming to bring a quick conclusion to the fight. He struck Strongheart, but she dug her hooves in and pushed back. The sight would be absurd to a spectator, but indeed this smaller buffalo was keeping the large adult buffalo back with her strength.

Suddenly, the train lurched. Bison lost his ground and stumbled back. Strongheart saw an opportunity.

"My family...!" she invoked and stomped the floor of the car. The stomp rippled and brought Bison to the floor. He looked up for Strongheart's approach and saw not only her but what appeared to be her entire herd. All at once they started a powerful stampede straight for him. When the front lines of the stampede reached him, he only felt the impact of Strongheart's charge, but it was at a stampede strength. The illusion of the herd faded, leaving only Strongheart and her concentrated attack.

"K.O.!!!" The Hoof of War announced definitively.

"NOOOOOO...!!!" Bison screamed all the way down to the floor.

Strongheart kept standing despite the Hoof of War's confirmation and leave. She sighed in relief and leapt to Braeburn's side. "Braeburn, it's over. Braeburn. Get up! Braeburn!!"

On the other side, Gil recuperated as part of the Hoof of War's magic. He quickly stood himself up and made to detain Bison. Instead, a glow surrounded the villain and lifted him up.

"What!?" Gil shouted.

Bison chuckled, albeit weaker than normal. "This is merely unicorn magic. Surely you've heard of it. It levitates the cannon train from Tokyoat to Horseaka. It levitates my desk, where I ride the saddle of the world. It even levitates... me...!" On that dramatic note, the magic pulled Bison through the hole in the roof and kept him in place while the train moved on and left him behind. "Farewell for now!"

"No...!" Gil gasped. He shoved open the door to the space between cars and could only watch out in the open as Bison's figure retreated into the distance along with the unicorn agent that made his escape possible. Gil breathed heavily with frustration, then struck a hoof in the air and shouted with rage that could summon flames...

"BISOOOOOON!!!"

Once the train made a turn about its path and Bison's escape was secure, Gil took a calming breath and noticed for the first time that the dusty west had given way to greener fields. He looked out the side and saw that the train was not far from Ponyville. He had just departed from the town after getting the call about Bison and leaving by helicopter. It looked like he was going back to being an unassuming tournament fighter until he got more intel...

A stressed shouting shook Gil from his thoughts. He re-entered the car to see Strongheart trying to shake Braeburn from his unconsciousness. "Darn it..." Gil muttered.

Strongheart thrust a harsh look up at Gil, "What did that buffalo do to Braeburn!? Who was that!? Who are YOU!?"

Gil decided to answer those questions the least worrying first. "My name is Gil. I'm a Major in the Mareican Air Force." He saluted to Strongheart, a gesture which was not entirely reciprocated or understood at first. "At least... I am, on and off. I work with a global agency to halt the ambitions of a crime syndicate called Shadohoof. They specialize in causing discord in order to seize control of what's left. There is much blood on their hooves..."

Stongheart noticed that at that mention, Gil habitually turned around one of the tags around his neck. One of them, the one he was probably giving attention to, wasn't his. Gil shortly realized he was trailing off and continued.

"That buffalo is Bison Bison, and he's a buffalo in appearance only. Whatever ties he had to the world as we know it he abandoned long ago. Now he's the leader of Shadohoof, and thinks only about power. He wields the power of psycho energy... the likes of which no science understands yet. The effects of psycho energy poisoning could be as benign as just losing consciousness."

"And the worst?"

The look of melancholy on Gil's face said enough. "I'd rather you focus on getting him proper medical attention. I don't know how soon I can get my stationed medical team to our location, though..."

Strongheart looked to the door to the next car. "There are nurses on board this train."

"No. We have to leave this train without being seen. Everything you just saw and heard is confidential. I'm only telling you this much because you got yourself involved."

Fitting the limp Braeburn onto her back for transportation, Strongheart glared back. "We were involved the moment he first disrupted the peace between the buffalo and the Appleloosans."

"So you told me... When the train stops, we're getting off undetected. A wrecked car with a hole in the roof and a stallion down isn't exactly inconspicuous."

On cue, some commotion was heard from the next car over. Gil frowned in thought.

"... Or we'll just jump off now. We already passed the town limit and now the train is just coming in to station."

Whoever was on the other side of the door to the car knocked.

"Go!"

Spurred, Strongheart leapt from the space between cars, followed by Gil. Since the train was slowing to its stop, Braveheart didn't have too much trouble keeping the landing stable.

Strongheart looked to Gil as he again folded his wings away and tucked in his tank top. "Thank you, Gil."

Gil made to acknowledge the thanks, but then looked straight ahead. Not in a particularly fearful way, just very incredulously. Strongheart turned around to look. In front of them, standing EXACTLY where she'd need to be, was Pinkie Pie.

"D... Dances Without Shame?" Strongheart stammered. This assumedly was a given name for Pinkie Pie by the buffalo.

The name didn't seem to affect Pinkie Pie at all. "What you just did was REALLY AWESOME! I mean WOW, that's like something you'd see in movies or TV shows! I didn't know you were a pegasus, Mr. Gil! Wait, is Gil your first name or your last name? I'll bet it's your first name and ponies just ASSUME that it's your last name so they can give you a more normal first name like, like Harry!" Pinkie had more to say, but it was lost on just how surreal it was to see anypony by the train tracks this far away from the main town.

Gil shook his head. "How are... what are you doing in a place like this!?"

"Walking my alligator, duh!" A quick look to Pinkie's side indeed revealed her poker-faced alligator pet on a leash. "Uh oh... what happened to Braeburn?"

Strongheart and Gil looked apprehensive, then turned away to briefly discuss something. Strongheart turned back around. "Dan- I mean... Pinkie Pie... May I ask for your cooperation?"

-

The Suarcube Corner was enjoying another day of moderate business. Perhaps above average because of the excitement the Cutie Mark Clash was stirring up. At this particular moment, there weren't many ponies, thankfully none in front of the door which Pinkie Pie swung open purposefully.

"I'm going to need half a dozen CCs, stat!!" The party pony called out.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake exchanged a look. Mr. Cake had to ask, "CCs?"

Pinkie narrowed her eyes with determination, "Cupcakes."

-

Without questions or clarifications on either side, Pinkie shoved the encountered trio into her room above the Sugarcube Corner and told them to wait a few moments. Gil was about to voice his doubt that any of this would help Braeburn, but he observed Strongheart's bedside manner and decided that at least she had faith that this would work. Upon looking away, he came eye-to-eye with Gummy standing on a table. The toothless alligator' large, purple eyes were cryptic in what intellect they could be hiding. Gil maintained a stare, trying to get at any semblance of awareness from the pet.

That moment was interrupted when Pinkie barged in balancing a tray on her head. "They're fiiiniiiiiished!"

All gathered around Braeburn as Pinkie set the tray down. Gil took a moment to notice how the cupcakes were decorated. "Are these... biohazard symbols?"

"Yessir! They're what I like to call 'Atomic Cupcakes!' As in 'the nuclear option.' Open wide, Braeburn!"

Pinkie pulled Braeburn's jaw down, placed an atomic cupcake in his mouth, and pushed it back into place. She playfully manipulated his jaw to chew up the cupcake and swallow it. For the first few seconds, nothing happened. But then...

"HAAAHHHYEEEEEE!!!"

Braeburn popped out of the bed as if struck by lightning, performed several degrees of somersaults in mid-air, and then fell back in. His lead lolled over to the side and he lazily opened his eyes. "Did... did anypony get the number on that buffalo that hit me?"

"Braeburn!!" Strongheart leapt over and rubbed her forehead to Braeburn's merrily.

"Whoa now..." Braeburn said with a weak smile, "You're acting like I nearly died."

Pinkie hoof-pumped at her success and Gil grinned. That was one life Shadohoof wouldn't have so easily. By curiosity, he didn't so quickly forget the way Braeburn reacted to the cupcake and inspected one himself. "How much sugar is IN these things?"

Pinkie paused in place, trying to conjure and answer. She had a thought. "Wait... Are you part of the ponice?"

"Er... no."

"Then I don't need to answer that!"

The fact that Gil was willing to accept that as an answer worried him. "Look, can you keep it a secret that we were here like this? There's a lot at stake that requires keeping this secret."

"Hmmm..." Pinkie tapped her chin and rolled her eyes in thought. "Okey dokey lokey! I'll just get to washing this tray and you all just continue planning whatever it is you've got cooking! I always WANTED my place to be a base of operations!"

As Pinkie Pie bounced to the stairs, Gil was still unsure. "You're not even curious about what's going on?"

"Nope! I'm just glad Braeburn is okay. I give it until you're in focus again when he'll be back up and bucking!" At that, Pinkie hopped down the stair and began washing and singing. "First you've got to get the right amount of water. If no crumbs lift right off, you've got to make it hotter...!"

For the lack of anything better to say, Gill muttered "That truly is one unpredictable pony..."

-

Speaking of apples and earth ponies, the long-recuperating Applejack finally found her way back to town in search of her sister. She didn't really even bother to call her name.

"Oh... 'COURSE she wouldn't be in town. That's too obvious. But surely SOMEpony has seen the three of 'em..."

After asking a few random ponies to no avail, Applejack was surprised to pass by a pair of costumed pegasi. Heh. They looked just like those Wonderbolts that Rainbow Dash looks up to so much.

On the other end, those pegasi who actually ARE the Wonderbolts passed by just as normally... except for when Soarin' double-took at the sight of Applejack. He thought a moment, and then quickly hopped over in front of Applejack. "Pie!!"

Applejack understandably reared back at the imposition. "I beg your pardon?"

Soarin' inspected Applejack further. "Why do you remind me of pie...? And it's such a STRONG reminder. Normally I look at a baker or cashier and I get it mildly. But when I look at YOU, it's just a big blast of it! Do you make pie? Like... GREAT pie?"

Spitfire narrowed her eyes in disapproval of Soarin's conduct.

Stuck between pride and still awkward from the suddenness, Applejack just grinned. "You betcher bottom bit I make good pies! ... Look. While we're talkin' and all, have any o' y'all Wonderbolts seen a group of three fillies callin' themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Soarin'..." Spitfire cautioned, unheeded.

"Fillies, huh?" Soarin' thought. "No, can't say I've seen anything like that around. Sorry."

"Soarin'."

Applejack sighed, "That's just fine. I don't suppose you high-flyin' pegasi can do anything about findin' 'em?"

"SOARIN'!"

"WHAT?" Soarin' yelped, taking the time to look around and see that sufficiently enough ponies had stopped to see who this regular pony is that could command a Wonderbolt's attention for so long. "...Oh."

The way Soarin' initially interrogated Applejack about her baking prowess gave the impression of something more confrontational going on. Spitfire leaned to the side, "You know... we HAVE been on the lookout for our first fight of this tournament."

Applejack put two and two together. "Aw, no. I ain't doin' ANY MORE of that fightin' until I find my sister, y'hear me? Y'all itchin' to throw down, you can just have at each other for all I care."

The two Wonderbolts exchanged a look. Spitfire snickered, "The two of us FIGHT? That's what our sponsors would call a PR disaster. We Wonderbolts are a confirmed team all the way through."

"Well that's just-" Realization hit Applejack. "Now hold on a hay-balin' minute... You two are ACTUAL members of them Wonderbolts?"

Soarin' grinned, "Well, yeah! You don't think we're just playing dress-up, do you?"

"Well, uh... mainly keepin' to myself and my business don't give me all the time in Equestria to keep up on every lil' thing."

There was some snickering and disbelieving murmurs passing through the crowd at Applejack's unknowing.

Applejack looked to the side, "Now you just... cut that out! All that's goin' on is talkin'! Right now all I want is to find my sister and I'm getting' no closer just standin' around. Sorry to waste your time."

When Applejack made to leave, Spitfire asked, "So you're backing out?"

Though Spitfire asked just for confirmation, the "Oooooohhhhhh..." passing through the crowd gave that question a much more condescending tone.

Applejack turned around. "Look here... I've been beat up once before and it wasn't too pleasant. I ain't losin' again even IF y'all jumped me." The crowd riled again, causing all three of the center ponies to give a start. "Will y'all QUIT sensationalizin' simple bits of conversation!? Thank you."

"Well..." Spitfire chuckled, "We ARE Wonderbolts. Being fast and strong is what we do. You can't blame them for getting riled up like that when you're clearly the underdog."

The crowd, all knowing Applejack too well, didn't need to add anything to that statement. They merely swished their heads over to her, wide-eyed.

"Now hold on there, Miss...?"

"Spitfire."

"Miss Spitfire. My name's Applejack. Ahem, y'all may be fancy-shmancy celebrated athletes and all that, but I hold my own pretty good, too. Them apples don't just fall down 'cause I tell 'em to!"

All heads back to Spitfire.

"Hm... All bad starts aside, now you've got me curious."

All heads back to Applejack. Spitfire's tone of friendly competition wasn't lost on her.

"... All right. Fine! Gosh, this feels just like any time Rainbow Dash wants to challenge me at somethin'. She really WOULD fit right in with your group!"

Unfortunately, Spitfire only heard up to the agreement before stamping out the Hoof of War. Since Applejack was a little preoccupied the first time she clashed, she watched the shadow of the magic pass under and root itself. "Well would ya look at that..." Spitfire wasn't looking at it. She was too busy going for the first strike. Applejack looked up barely just in time to flatten herself to the ground. "Quicker'n a dinner bell, ain'tcha?"

Spitfire turned around in midair after having overshot Applejack's location. "Yeah! I heard this Hoof of War magic is potent stuff, but this is the first time I've actually used it. I bet I could kick up some mean flames if I wanted to!"

"Hoof o' War, huh..."

"By the way, I'm keeping this."

"Huh?" It took this long for Applejack to realize that her signature Stetson was no longer perched on top of her blonde mane. Instead it was held good and well in Spitfire's possession as she flipped it onto her own head. "N-now that's just poor sportsmareship! Takin' somethin' that's important to your opponent and just plain don't belong to you! You give that back!"

"Or what?" Spitfire adjusted the hat, "You'll hurt me? Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing now?"

That statement segued into Spitfire's descent to strike the first blow in the clash. Applejack was no foal; she knew she was in an imbalanced situation. However, she knew that for all their flying around, pegasi had to get in close at SOME point to get ahead in a fight. The window for using that was small, but darn it she was going to use it. Spitfire came in for a speedy strike. Applejack tried to calculate whether to dodge, block it, take a hit to give a hit, and then she saw it. Spitfire's burt sienna eyes widened and softened with the realization she was overshooting again. Applejack leapt backwards and let Spitfire hit the ground on the spot, landing hard on her hooves to avoid an outright crash.

Applejack took advantage of the confusion. She struck a dominant hoof out to blind side, followed up with a headbutt into Spitfire's chest, then whipped around for the quick buck. Spitfire was knocked back. In a curious change of pace, the Hoof of War reacted to the move by materializing a stopping wall of magic behind Spitfire. When Spitfire hit it, the collision caused a ripple of golden magic to briefly appear. Spitfire rebounded off the wall, coming down to Applejack's position again. At a loss for what to do other than what may come to her by instinct, Applejack stomped the ground with both forehooves. The stomp kicked up a force that first collided with Spitfire to stop her fall. A second stomp send Spitfire airborn again, this time destined for the ground.

Applejack didn't look at Spitfire's fall. She instead saw her hat leave Spitfire's head and glide direct to her own. Applejack stood proudly, letting the hat fall back in its rightful place.

At least it would have if Spitfire hadn't composed herself and recovered in time to snatch it just before it touched even a hair. "Hey!"

Spitfire secured the hat on her head again. "Not bad, Applejack! You've got some moves. Now here's some of mine..." She went for another dive at Applejack.

After a history of dodging Rainbow Dash's attempted flinch-inducing rushes, Applejack was well aware how to read a pegasus's incoming angle. She judged that Spitfire was coming in directly at her, looking a lot more confident. Suddenly, Spitfire's angle upturned just a little. She was coming in... just above? She already HAS the hat, so this must be some sort of confusion tactic. As expected, Applejack ducked and that let Spitfire go straight over. Applejack then turned around to see what Spitfire was up to... and saw nothing. She did, however, hear an expectant swoon from the crowd. Just what was that Wonderbolt up t-?

And then Spitfire came to a harsh landing on Applejack's back. The crowd's earlier expectation culminated in a short impressed cheer. In reality, Spitfire looped-the-loop right in Applejack's blind zone and ended the loop coming straight from above. Applejack exhaled heavily; Spitfire on her back, stomach on the ground. And that was just step one. Applejack felt Spitfire's hooves on either side, lifting her off the ground. Then Spitfire just heaved Applejack into the air. Normally something a pegasus couldn't hope to achieve, but the Hoof of War made anything possible. Spitfire leapt to intercept Applejack in the air and grab her again.

"Aaaaaand... fall!"

Spitfire turned upside down and let the technique roll full circle, looping again and crashing into the ground, letting Applejack take the impact. Applejack uncurled on her back, getting her wind back as well as her will. Thankfully for that, Spitfire took a moment to appeal to the crowd with a nod of the hat.

"That just ain't right..." Applejack muttered. She flipped onto her hooves to start it up again. Spitfire took notice.

As Applejack charged, they both examined each others' movements for any sign of their plans of attack. Sure, Spitfire could just take flight, but to actually score a hit required setting her opponent up. Judging seemed to be out of the question, so Spitfire went with the sure thing. She took to the air... exactly what Applejack wanted.

The farmer pony gave a mighty leap and met Spitfire in the air, connecting with a pair hind hooves thrust forward. Spitfire was caught in a stun and could only do so much to keep herself aloft. Applejack followed up with a mid-air flip also landing a hit with both hind hooves, ending off with an elbow strike that sent Spitfire crashing to the ground.

Applejack wasn't in the mood to fool around like Spitfire. She figured putting up a good fight was showing off enough. At that very moment, she just wanted her hat back. She made a grab for the hat, only for Spitfire to lunge out of the way. She turned around and dug at the ground confrontationally. Apparently, the showmareship was over. Spitfire made this abundantly clear by lifting her hooves, and making a dash so fast that she was a blur until she crossed over to the other side of Applejack, hitting Applejack on the way through.

Applejack scrambled up. "T... tarnation!?" Spitfire was in hiding... or staying in Applejack's blind spot always. Applejack looked around so fast she almost appeared to be chasing her tail.

Spitfire ended the suspense and came down from the sky. She employed the same blitz attack to start her assault, landing and lashing out with some jabs going into a buck. On that buck, she didn't hit Applejack but felt something wrap around her hoof. Applejack used her lasso around Spitfire's hoof to too as hard as she could. Spitfire landed from the throw and blitzed Applejack again, using the knock in the air to blitz again, knocking Applejack to the ground. She landed to rest her wings a little, and then took to the air to use that advantage until the fight was won. And then the lasso tightened around her midsection.

Applejack gave the rope a mighty pull. "Git on over here!!"

Spitfire emitted a guttural meep as she was pulled out of the air. It was so sudden that she couldn't put up enough wing power to resist. Applejack stood ready and when Spitfire fell close enough, delivered an uppercut into Spitfire's gut. The Wonderbolt sailed into the air, hit the ground, and then stood back up instinctively. However, it was clear from the way she was swaying that this was over.

"FINISH HER!!!" the Hoof of War bellowed.

"Uh... okay." Applejack walked up to Spitfire. "Now I know I have this down..." she took a few steps forward and back, ducked, took another step forward... and ended up just throwing a jab. It bonked Spitfire on the head, sending her down for the count. Applejack frowned. "Aw, horse apples!"

"APPLEJACK WINS..." the musical voiced announced.

"Phew..." Applejack sighed. "Now THAT was a workout! Thank ya kindly, Miss Spitfire. Now if you excuse me, Apple Bloom won't just walk right up to me... though that'd be nice, for once."

Applejack turned to leave, but was immediately set upon. "WAIT!" A flash of varying shades of blue caused Applejack to about-face directly in front of the recovering Spitfire. Soarin' stood between them. "I'm letting neither of you leave until you make nice! This whole thing isn't personal and I'm not letting it get personal! You're nice! And YOU'RE nice! Two nice ponies!"

Applejack and Spitfire avoided each others' gazes for a bit. They looked at each other, putting on tough fronts. At the same time, those fronts softened and weary smiles cracked. "Oh, all right then." Applejack muttered, holding a hoof out.

"Yeah, fine..." said Spitfire with the smile. She knocked her hoof against Applejack's in a show of good will. The crowd reacted positively to that. "And I'll even throw in if we hear anything about Apple Bloom, we'll be sure to tell you."

Shortly, Applejack was back to strolling the streets as if nothing had happened. She was a little tussled, but feeling pretty darn good. She was a little worried that being celebrities and all, that the Wonderbolts would petty and arrogant. After meeting a pair, she had no reservations letting Rainbow Dash pour her heart and soul into joining their ranks.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack yelped with a start, "I should put in a good word!"

She whirled around to see the two athletic ponies had already flown off somewhere.

-

Meanwhile, Princess Luna was enjoying the company of the zebra and draft horse she recently befriended. They walked the path to Ponyville in a cautious manner. On one hoof, they were far away from where the 'Shadohoof' agents had last seen Luna. On the other, they could still be anywhere. Luna was constantly checking her winged purple back at first. To defuse tension, Big Macintosh asked her about what she seemed most excited about; letters from Twilight Sparkle. Luna's eyes lit up and she immediately forgot about everything else.

Big Macintosh and Zecora quickly learned that Luna had invested a LOT of time in those letters. They practically were her life. It seemed unbecoming of a mature mare to pour so much time into these ponies, but it made her happy and she assured them that it didn't interfere with her moon duties. With all the speculation about Luna's emotional health, they were just happy in turn to see Luna so happy.

"... And I was kind of disappointed that Twilight only got fifth place. But I realized it was realistic since she isn't the most athletic pony and she wasn't exactly trying to win. So in hindsight, fifth place is really good! That's the sort of thing that makes modern Equestrian society so well developed and three dimension- oh my!"

The three of them looked ahead and saw a pegasus seemingly collapsed on top of a rock. The pegasus was gray in coat with a long, straight faded blonde mane. On her flank was a cutie mark of several bubbles and by her side a cylindrical mail bag.

Luna marched up to the pegasus. "Oh, dear! The poor pony looks absolutely ravished! Is this the sort of thing that follows in the wake of a Cutie Mark Clash?"

Big Macintosh was about to raise an objection, but then he looked again and indeed saw the gilded hooves on the pegasus.

Zecora leaned in and examined the pegasus closer. "Do not weep. She is merely asleep."

"WAS asleep." The other three snapped their gazes to the pegasus, who turned over. Her eyes were closed as if defiantly trying to go back to sleep, but she could still look in the general direction of the voices. "I've been... EVERYWHERE remotely connected to Ponyville. Canterlot and back, various places in the country, UNDERGROUND, aaallll the way to Appleloosa, and... and... well, some places that I can't disclose to layponies."

The other three shared a knowing smile. Zecora replied, "Perhaps you should watch what you say. You are in the presence of a pony who is anything but 'lay.'"

"... Huh?" The pegasus turned over and Luna stood in front of her to give her a surprise. The pegasus opened her eyes. Her eyes were big, yellow, and crossed to the top and bottom extremities.

"AH!!" both Luna and the pegasus yelped. The pegasus leapt onto her hooves while Luna took a step back. Both pairs of wings flared up in surprise.

"Y... you shouldn't make such faces when meeting somepony for the first time!" Luna griped.

"Faces?" The pegasus griped back. "You were up in mine! And-and you're a princess!!"

"I AM a Prin- Oh...! You're... Yes, you're the mailmare that delivered my invitation to the Cutie Mark Clash! You returned my acceptance and got me registered so quickly!"

The pegasus beamed upward proudly at that. "That's right! And I did! I was in such a hurry, I couldn't introduce myself. I'm Ditzy Doo. My friends sometimes call me 'Derpy Hooves' because of, well... you know."

Some smiles were had. Big Macintosh came to a realization. "Ditzy... I mailed out a letter to my extended family. Right after that, I saw you flying out of the place. Did you deliver that one too?"

Ditzy busted another grin and titled her head. "Maaaaaaybe."

Zecora took her turn. "These coincidences are falling too well into line. Did you also deliver an invitation to that mailbox of mine?"

This was beginning to resemble an interrogation. Ditzy held a hoof to her chin and looked up to think. "I, uh... Everfree Forest, right? I know my way through the Everfree Forest! That's how I, um... got this!" She lifted a foreleg and showed off a wound neatly wrapped up. "Don't worry. I have first aid!"

Ditzy held up the foreleg, as if trying to draw attention to it rather than the fact she was the indirect reason they were all standing there at that very moment. Ditzy grinned wider and began sweating, a prayer for a distraction playing through her head.

"LUNA!!!"

The four were startled and looked around for the source of the booming male voice that addressed the moon princess. Luna knew exactly where to look. The other three quickly looked in the same direction.

"Oh, no...!" Luna muttered.

-

Suddenly, Hayley appeared on a stage.

"Oh, hello! I hope I'm not interrupting anything, because I know how awful it can be when you're trying to get through something and all of a sudden OH HELLO some busypony starts yammering about nothing. Ha ha... Ahem, it has come to my attention that some - or many - of you are not entirely clear on the rules of the Cutie Mark Clash."

A chart with a spreadsheet of competitors lowered itself. Hayley lifted a pointer to it.

"There are actually multiple phases to the Cutie Mark Clash. First is the free-range phase in which all competitors can be anywhere at any time... though remaining in or around the focal point - that is, Ponyville - is recommended. Not entirely sure how many fights you're going to get in Fillydelphia when this clearly is labeled as the PONYVILLE Cutie Mark Clash, but I digress. The goal here is to engage NO LESS than six opponents. Each victory is a merit, each loss is a demerit. Standard procedure. Only competitors with a positive merit count will proceed to the next phase, MEANING a total merit count of zero - three wins, three losses - will not be sufficient. See, we only accept the most ambitious of participants. If any participant has trouble finding opponents or wishes to remain both with less than six opponents and in the tournament, we will take it upon ourselves to... ahem, ENHANCE the opponent-finding process."

A new chart lowered itself with several icons of ponies in various numbers.

"Team battles. In standard team battles where both sides are equal or similar in number, the results are based purely on the winning team. One side wins, each competitor earns a merit for each opponent on the losing team. In the case of one competitor versus many, the rules are different. The count is instead in personal knockouts. One knockout earns a merit, no matter who deals it to whom. Should the one competitor be the first and only knockout, they get a demerit and the competitor who dealt the finishing blow earns a merit. A real strain on friendship there. If the one competitor takes out two of the opposite team and is knocked out by the third, that's two merits for the loner, one demerit for each of the two, and one merit for the victor. Let me establish now that someponies must be MAD to engage in the latter sort of fight in the first place. That sort of thing can only be instigated by the lone competitor in the first place, so there isn't exactly any ganging-up allowed."

The next chart was actually a map of Clopperfield with a diagram of Clopperfield Castle.

"Once we have our final roster of positive-merit fighters, we fly them all over to Clopperfield where the REAL elimination tournament begins! Schedules matches, a big arena, presided over by Lady Aremis... all a very big deal. It starts with team fights, moving on to the finalists who fight solo in brackets until we have a crowned champion. After that, said champion is given the privelige... nay, the HONOR of one last match for grand champion! Of course this means facing off against the Cutie Mark Clash's current reigning grand champion, who is none other than...! Ah-ah! Thought I was going to give away a spoiler, did you? You'll just have to sit tight and keep watching! Or... if you're competing, climb to the top and see for yourself! If you have any further questions, I will be lurking in the booth. And to answer your first question, NO, I do NOT have anything better to do. Scientifically proven."

Hayley took his leave. The stage fell silent. And then Hayley poked his head back in.

"Is- was that all right? Did I explain everything thoroughly enough? Because I know... somepony is going to march right up and ask me something fairly obvious but since I didn't cover it I'm going to have to give him the satisfaction. Her. Or her. Might be a her. Either way, I don't know if I'll be able to handle that."

The audience that Hayley addressed consisted solely of his sovereign, Lady Aremis. She smiled warmly, "That was perfect, Hayley."

"Okay, good. If you say so, then it- it SHALL BE. Ha ha... using a deeper voice... for emphasis. I mean, major conflict between what I think and what you just said, but... Well, you're not Lady because you flattered your scholars. That is, I'm not implying I know how you became Lady. Even though I do know because I've been following Clopperfield politics all my life. All my knowing life. I wasn't following it as a tiny colt. Wouldn't be surprised if I had been, though. Um... but I digress."