//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four 
// Story: Step Up, Don't Suck 
// by KodyGears 
//------------------------------//

	‘Oooh...’

Your eyes go over the pictures of the screens taken from the newest upcoming games about to hit the shelves. For being only still images, they seem to still capture all the flashiness of the action and make your hooves itch to play them. Compelling narratives told through interactive media and gameplay to entertain for hours, even against other ponies in different parts of the world!

But these aren’t exactly in your budget. Besides, you get plenty of mileage from your current collection, boasting a whole… four titles. They were still entertaining, but sometimes you wish for something new. The closest you get are these gaming magazines, trumpeting new releases as well as showing exclusive information about games already out with new tips, tricks, and strategies. If you could ever get your hooves on some of these games, you’d be so ready.

Flipping the page, you get ready to read about the next newest release coming out. A game starring the mysterious Mare-Do-Well, whose game reputation you remember being shaky at best. At least from what you’ve heard. You give the newest title a read to see if it has potential when it hits the review section later in the magazine.

It seems to be your standard Action-Adventure game, much like its predecessors. Stylized graphics, beat-em-up segments, stealth elements, all the works. Given the arduous fighting segments that other titles starring the mysterious hero sported (at least, according to reviews), you wonder if they patched those up and made them a bit more enjoyable. If so, perhaps the game wields some promise. Maybe it will be-

*gurrrroooaaaag*

Your reading is interrupted by a sound akin to a whale after a lobotomy. You look down to the source of the noise to find your belly, rumbling and grumbling. The noise poses a good question; how long has it been since you ate? Yesterday, was it? You don’t really remember.

Whatever the case may be, hunger takes over you. Setting the magazine down and hopping off the couch, you swiftly move into the kitchen. You slide over to the pantry, crack it open and look inside. What you find is a less than fulfilling sight. A few cans of tomato paste, an empty, overturned cereal box, and a half-empty bag of potato chips. The sight poses another good question; how long has it been since you went grocery shopping?

As your stomach voices its disapproval, you let out a sigh. Pushing the pantry door shut, you make a mental checklist of the items you need, which comes to a simple “pretty much everything.” You turn and trot out of the kitchen and grab your saddlebags near the door. After hoisting the bags over your sides you push your door open, squinting your eyes as the sun bombards your retinas without warning.

That damn brightness, you can never prepare for it. Did the princess just decide to turn it up recently or does your messed up sleep schedule just make it seem this harsh? This conundrum poses one more good question: when’s the last time you got a decent night’s rest?

The answer to that being obvious, since before the mess with Hard Ball had started. Allie has really been running you ragged to the point that you’re afraid you may just lose due to sheer exhaustion. But of course, Allie is just full of her usual peppiness every time you see her. Smiles and giggles, all day and night. Come to think of it, you don’t think you’ve even seen her yawn during any of your practice sessions.

As you get into the main market square of town, the activity of ponies around you make you forget your lack of sleep for a while. Looking around at various stalls, you decide the hay stand would be a good first visit. Cheap, plentiful, and useful in a lot of different recipes. Hay burgers, hay fries, shaykes, hay dogs, hay soup, roast hay, hay nuggets, rolls in the hay, hay flambe, and haycon. Is there anything hay can’t do?

You approach the stand with a brown stallion standing in front of the wagon full of the golden straws. They smile as they see you trot up.

“Hey there!” you greet them.

“That’s right. How much you want?” they ask.

You pull some bits out of your saddlebag. “How much can this get me?” you ask, placing five bits on the counter.

They eye the number of golden coins before turning back to their product. You hear some shuffling of the hay as he ties up some in a bundle. He puts up two bundles the size of your foreleg and pushes them towards you.

“Here you go!” he says as he slides the bits into his hoof.

You stare at the two amounts of hay in front of you. “That’s it?”

“Sorry. Drought has really cut into our harvest,” they reply. “We’ve put in complaints, but apparently the pegasuses are dealing with a cloud shortage.”

“Oh…” you say. “Well, thank you.” You put the bunches of hay into your saddlebag and continue to your next unplanned location.

You had hoped to get a little more than the meager morsels from the stand, but there’s nothing you can really do about it. You just hope the weather hasn’t cut into the production of the other stands too badly. What else did you need… oh, right. Everything. 

You trot over to the next stand in the square, which happens to be the carrot stand. While not your favorite of snacks, you still enjoy carrots on occasion. You reach into your bag and count your bits, determining how many to spend here. As you approach the simple wooden structure, you find a familiar pony patiently waiting on the proprietor of the stand.

“Hey Sea Swirl!” you call out.

The light-purple pony jumps a bit at the mention of her name, swiveling her head around. She seems to sigh lightly under her breath as she sees you. “Oh, hello.” she whispers. If there’s one thing you’ve learned about her, it’s that her volume knob always seems to be set several degrees too low. “What brings you here today?”
        
You shrug as you close the distance. “Oh, y’know, just a bit of shopping… or a lot.” you add under your breath. “What about you? Just out and about on the town?”

She nods. Before she manages a response, the orange-maned mare behind the stand emerges from behind the cart and places a paper bag on the stand. Sea Swirl takes the bag with a smile and a nod to the mare before turning back to you. “I was just picking up some things for a new dish I wanted to try out, and…” her voice trails off as her face begins to portray concern. “Um… are you okay? You look awfully tired…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” you say, holding back a yawn. “Just haven’t been getting enough sleep is all.”

She raises an eyebrow at your response. “What have you been doing?” she asks.

“Training with Allie at the bowling alley after hours,” you reply.

Her eyebrows go from curiously cocked to rise and surprise. “Cool! Is she helping you get better?” she asks with a small smile.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. My scores has easily doubled in my time with her!” you say raising a hoof in excitement. Slowly the hoof drops back down. “Which still isn’t impressive, but we’ll be sure to beat Hard Ball in that stupid bet next week.”

She giggles a little. “That’s great, I-” Her expression changes again from happy to confused. “Bet with Hard Ball? What bet with Hard Ball?”

Oh. Right. You had yet to have the explain-that-whole-mess-to-her part.

“Nothing, it’s nothing…” you stammer, trying to keep your cool. “Just the bet that if we lose we have to vote off one of our team members. No big deal.”

“NO BIG DEAL!?” she suddenly shrieks in a huge contrast to her usual quiet demeanor.

You wince as your eardrums recover from the sudden spike in volume. A few ponies glance your way as well, her exclamation catching the attention of more than a few passerby. “I-It’s alright, it’s all fine! Really, it’s nothing huge-”

"Voting one of ourselves out?” she says frenetically. “What do you mean by that!?”

“Uh… Well, that’s assuming we lose, which we won’t. But in the hypothetical event that we do, one of us will be voted to... be banished from the bowling alley for good.” you say as your ears drop lower with each word.

Her ears flop in tandem as her face bears an incredulous look. “How is this NOT a huge thing!? Why didn’t I know about this?”

You put up a hoof defensively. “L-Like I said, it’s under control! I’ve been practicing with Allie and getting better, really! We didn’t tell you because it was sort of a recent development, so we’ve been preoccupied with things…” Even you don’t sound convinced by the words you find yourself saying.

“What about Treble?  Does he know?” she inquires with that frantic air in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I told him about it… or, uh, he interrogated me about it…” You shake your head. “But that’s besides the point! The point is that we ARE going to win, I swear!”

She glance to the ground unsurely before looking back up to you. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough. Hard Ball may be a bit of a blowhard, but his team is really good. Even with Allie on our team, it’s not an easy feat. He’s a close second to her.”

“Not that close,” you say with a little point of your hoof. “She has enough of a lead to potentially give us an edge. Just bring your A-game that day.”

“How can you sound so confident?” she asks.

As you open your mouth to answer, you freeze. You almost didn’t realize what words were coming out of your mouth, but she was right. You sounded as if you didn’t have a care about this bet. As if you already know that you’ve got it in the bag. What’s even weirder is that you actually feel this way as well.

“Probably a mix of sleep deprivation and hanging out with Allie,” you finally reply. “Do you want to join us? Couldn’t hurt to get in some extra practice.”

She taps her chin with a hoof as her gaze drifts toward the ground beside her. Letting out a few non-committal hums, she bites her lip as she fidgets on the spot. Her eyes shift around a bit before she shakes her head with a frown.

“I can’t make it. I’m sorry, but I just can’t,” she says, her ears drooping back even further.

“I understand,” you say in as friendly a tone as you can manage. In all honesty, you’re a little disappointed. If any other one of your teammates could come practice with you and Allie then it would sure to be a big help towards beating Hard Ball.

The mare puts a hoof on her snout and sighs, closing her eyes. She remains silent in thought for a brief moment before speaking. “I… I need to get going. I’ll see you some other time, at our next practice session, or something.” she says half-heartedly as she starts to trot away.

You start to lift a hoof, but set it back on the ground. “Alright, see you then…” you reply despondently. She makes no sign of acknowledging your farewell and just keeps walking.

As she starts to vanish into the crowd, you sigh to yourself. It’s one thing that you and Allie are in the bet, but the fact that you unwillingly dragged your teammates into it as well is a bit of knowledge that sits in your stomach like a rock. Having to drop the news on them like a bombshell certainly doesn’t help the matter. Still, you’re in the bet and you have to see it through, lest you face the consequences of forfeit.

You squeeze your eyes shut for a moment, trying to dispel the exhaustion that grips them. One thing that certainly isn’t going to help the situation is a case of insomnia. You’re going to have to speak with Allie about the whole late-night session thing. At this rate, even if you do manage to become good enough to tackle Hard Ball’s team, you’ll end up passing out in the alley once game day arrives.

You settle on it. You’ll speak with Allie as soon as possible.

“Sooooo… can I help you sir?”

The unfamiliar voice draws your attention back to the stand. The mare manning the stand has an wide, inviting smile and a basket of carrots waiting on the cart, ripe for purchase.

Allie can wait. Food comes first.


~~~~~~


Munching on a carrot, you walk along the path towards the bowling alley. The juicy bold flavor settling quite nicely in your stomach to fight the ravenous hunger from before. Crunching the final bite, you wipe off any excess juice on the back of your hoof before seeing the bowling establishment come into view.

A new strength from your little snack carries you along in a happy trot up to the door. Your mouth turns upward into a smile as you push against the metal handle, entering the alley and taking in all the familiar sights, sounds, and smells that are usually reserved for Saturdays. Making your way down the familiar multi-colored carpet, you approach the front counter to see if you can find Allie.

However, you notice a few of the bowlers casting a quick glance in your direction. They seem to whisper amongst themselves as you pass by. Oh shoot, did you step in something? Is something hanging off your fur? A check over yourself reveals nothing. Probably easier to assume everypony is crazy and just focus on the task at hoof.

You finally turn the corner and the front desk is in view. Allie’s icy blue mane sticks up over the crowd of ponies and you try to make your way to the front. Stepping over the foals trying on bowling shoes and avoiding the parents giving some bowling balls a few test swings, you make it up to see your friend/teammate/coach.

But when you do, you notice that something is off about her. Her usual vivid mane is drooping with stray hairs sticking out here and there. The polo shirt she wears is wrinkled, collar partially popped, and unbuttoned. Her chin rests on her hoof as she has trouble keeping open her eyes with bags hanging under them. When she’s done talking to a customer and giving them a scoresheet, she reaches over to drink from a coffee mug before turning to the next one.

She looks like a mess. You have never seen her like this before.

You purse your lips at the sight of her. Given her shaky appearance, the late-night games might be doing more harm than good in the long run. You move up to the side of the counter and wait until Allie finishes up with the current customer. She fails to notice you, even in such a close proximity.

After she dips her head beneath the counter and hands a pair of bowling shoes to the young colt before her, you speak up. “Hey Allie.”

Her entire body seizes lightly at once as she turns her head towards you. A trace of panic is visible on her face for a split second. It is quickly dispelled as she rubs her eyes with a hoof, turning back to you with an odd smile. “O-OH! Hey, hi! Didn’t expect to see you here so soon!”

You give a half-smile. “Just thought I’d see how you were faring.”

She tilts her head from side to side in a bit of a jerky motion. “Oh, you know… same old grind, right?” she says, punching the cash register to deposit some bits.

As the coins drop in with a series of satisfying clinks, you nod. “Yeah, I suppose… Hey, when you get a sec, can we talk?”

She smiles, though it seems painfully forced. “Yeah, yeah! We can chat right now if you-” She stops mid-sentence as she looks back to the front of the desk. A young couple waiting to be tended to, she silently mouths an apology to you before quickly taking the helm again.

You wave a hoof dismissively as she takes her place back at the register and dons her practiced clerk smile. It isn’t too hard to tell the smile on her face is entirely fake, given the mare’s stature. Her legs seem rigid and her back is oddly arched in a way that, to those unfamiliar with her, would be otherwise imperceptible. 

On top of this, the motions of her forelegs seem oddly stiff. Allie normally moves with a sort of fluid lankiness, her hooves normally swinging to and fro between items she needs. At the moment, however, they move about in an almost robotic fashion. Grab bits, deliver shoes and other necessities, punch keys on register, repeat as necessary. An odd mixture of haste and efficiency... almost. She still manages to bump her hooves on the shelves behind her a few times while she deals with a few more customers.

You can safely say that you prefer the friendly, upbeat Allie you see on Saturdays. Still, it’s a little neat seeing her behind the counter for a normal shift. You can still see a little sparkle of enthusiasm in her as she giggles or cracks an occasional pun.

She finishes up with the last customer in line, giving them a scorecard. “Have fun!” she calls out to them as they go to pick their lane. “So, what brings you here?” she asks, turning towards you.

“I just wanted to stop by and ask something,” you say. “You know, about our late night practice-”

“AUP BUP BUP SHHH!” she suddenly exclaims. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Big Wig chatting with a couple of other ponies. Confirming that her boss didn’t overhear, she coughs nervously into her hoof before sitting up straight in the worst act of casual you have witnessed.

You look between her and Big Wig. In a low voice you ask, “Allie, did you even get permission before setting up our after hours sessions?”

She glances over again, before looking around for any other ponies she may not want to hear. Motioning with a hoof for you to lean closer, she clears her throat.

“...Yeah, of course I did,” she says, instantly dropping the nervous act. “I’m not stupid,” she adds with a spinning of her hoof around her ear.

You stand shocked for a moment before you both burst out into chuckles. Tired or not, she’s still quite the joker.

“Well, I just wanted to say…” you begin. “I think perhaps we should take a little break? Maybe?”

Her mouth drops as she looks taken aback. “What!? Oh no no no! We can’t stop now! You’re just starting to get better!”

You put up a hoof defensively. “I’m not saying we should stop entirely, just… you know, take a break. Just a couple of nights off is all.”

Her eyes drift to the ceiling in thought. “Oh. Well, uh, we can’t afford to skip out on sessions. We don’t have much time left until game day, remember? We need all the practice we can get for you!”

“And to that, I agree,” you say. “But at the expense of all of my sleep, I don’t think all this practice will do much good in the long run. Aren’t you exhausted too?”

“What? Me? Pbbth!” she says as her hoof brushes a few stray hairs of her mane back down. “I dunno about you, but I’m doing just fine!” There’s that painful smile again…

You purse your lips. “Allie, you can’t be serious. On top of helping me, you have to deal with all of this too.” You wave your hoof towards all the patrons roaming around the bowling alley. “All of this for several days and next to no sleep? You can’t tell me that you aren’t the least bit tired?”

“Please, I’ll have you know that I feel absowootoweyyaaaauugh.” She turns her head away to hide the rest of her spontaneous yawn. Her head snaps back to attention as you raise an eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” you ask.

“My previous statement was perfectly clear,” she quips defiantly. She crosses her hooves for added effect. “I’m fine. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to work.” She turns around and sits on her haunches, staring forward intently into the wall behind her.

“Uh… Allie?” you call out to her.

“I’m working!” is all she shouts back.

“But-”

 “Working!”

You glance around at a few of the other ponies bowling, wondering how long she’ll keep up this charade. It’ll probably only last until the next customer walks up. Seeing a few other bowlers, you take some mental note of their techniques. Allie’s showing has given you some knowledge about what to look for. How many steps they take and how wide their swing is are the biggest determining factors you can see from this distance. A few bowlers you can actually predict how well their throw is going to be by their approach.

“Hey, you two!” comes an excited voice. Looking over your shoulder, you see Big Wig trotting up towards you. If anything would get Allie to stop ‘working’ for a moment, it would be her boss.

“Hi there. What’s up?” you respond. 

 “Well, I was just going to ask Allie about this, but what a treat that you both are here!” she rambles as she walks up. Casting a quick side glance, you see that she has in fact gotten the attention of Allie. “Now, there’s something that I’d like to ask the two of you, seeing as you’re both rather partial to the games we got in the arcade.”

“The arcade games?” Allie responds. She closes the register after the latest transaction and steps over to your side. “What about ’em? You’re not taking them out of here, are you?” she hisses, her words laced with venom.

The boss mare chuckles. “No, no, Allie. I couldn’t get rid of those doodads even if I wanted to! Celestia knows you’d be out the door in a split if I did! Though it might get ya to keep focused on working more than playing...”

Allie pouts as she turns her head and snorts. “I will not apologize for all the hours spent on Ms. Pac-Mare. My high score speaks for itself.” she says, holding her head up high. You can’t help but roll your eyes… though you have to admit, her high score is quite impressive.

Big Wig laughs again, waving a hoof. “I’m just teasing ya, Allie! They’re not going anywhere. In fact, it’s the exact opposite!”

You cock an eyebrow. “How do you mean?” 

The mare reaches into her jacket and pulls out a magazine. “Well, I’ve been thinking of adding a new game to the alley, but I can’t pick which one. I took some suggestions from around the arcade, but I can’t make sense of any of ‘em. Seeing as you two are all about them games, I’d like you to pick one out for me!”

You smile and open your mouth to speak, but it’s quickly cut off by the excited yelp from Allie. The magazine in the boss mare’s hoof starts to glow a familiar blue as it is levitated over to you and the mare beside you. The cover is swiftly blown back as Allie immediately begins to pan her eyes over the pages. Once she finally sits down and stabilizes the magazine in the air, you move over to join her and glance over the pages.

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Big Wig says with a chuckle. “Pick the one ya’ think is best for the bowling alley!”

“Will do!” you call out as she walks away. Looking back to the magazine, you join Allie in scanning down the list of available arcade cabinets.

The first couple of pages are mostly dedicated to the classics. Space Invaders, Mareo Bros, and Monkey Wrong the Second are prominently displayed with a couple other selections in smaller print. All of them are listed with various prices to purchase. If you had the bits, you would put one of these in your home in a second. You had sunk more than a few bits into these kinds of games and you know other ponies would to. These could pay for themselves in no time.

“See anything jumping out at you?” you ask.

“Let’s see all the options first,” Allie retorts.

Conceding her point, you let her turn the page. This time, it’s divided into two sections; racing games and light gun games. You know about these games. They were big, bulky, loud, and took more bits to play than any other kind of game. Without even looking at the titles, you see the prices are significantly more expensive than the ones on the previous page. Glancing up at Allie, she meets your gaze. In a silent agreement you both shake your heads before moving on.

The next one is dedicated to fighting games, both versus and cooperative beat-em-ups. Now these kinds of games you could really get into. The first one, Double Dragon catches your eye. Reading the description, your smile begins to grow at the idea of being able to play it. You’ve read about this one in so many magazines.

However, it’s cut short as the magazine swiftly falls flat face down on the counter, accompanied by a gleeful shriek from Allie. She holds her hooves in front of her hugely grinning face.

“Did you find something?” you inquire, wondering what in the world spurred that sort of reaction.

She bounces in place a few times squealing in an octave that would make a filly jealous. The magazine is swiftly jerked back up into the air with her magic as she plants her hooves around your cheeks, forcing your face into the pages.
        
“Look at it!” she yelps. “LOOKIT!”

You scramble a bit to regain your composure. She can get just a weeeee bit excited at times. You pull your head back a bit to get a better look at the pages to see what all of the fuss is about.

You read the name of the game in question.

You read it again. 

And again.

And one last time, aloud to yourself.

“Ninja Baseball Batmare.”

It takes a moment to register the words you just read. Allie lets go of your face and you slowly turn to face her. The two of you silently mouth the title again to each other. Ninja Baseball Batmare… 

And then it hits. That sheer, unbridled hype that only a gamer could know.

“Ninja Baseball Batmare!?” you shout.

“YES!” Allie confirms, bouncing on her hind legs in pure glee.

“Isn’t that the absurdly rare game imported from Neighppon!?”
        
“Yes!” she responds, her head nodding furiously.

You glance back to the magazine with a giddy smile on your face. The first thing you spot is the price, which is notably higher than the other titles on the page. Almost on par with the racing games from the last page. You turn back to Allie, unable to contain your volume.

“Seems to be a bit pricey though…”

“Yeah. On the one hoof,” she begins while gesturing, “this is our chance to really make some money for the place should we choose the right game.  But on the other…”

You lean closer during her pause, waiting in suspense for what reason she may give to justify the expensive purchase. However, she suddenly reaches out towards you. You lean back in surprise out of her reach. She steps forward in another attempt, but gets nowhere as you move back again.

“Come here,” she commands.

“What?” you blurt out.

“Come here, I need to grab you.” She wriggles her hooves in a sign to beckon you closer.

“Why do you need to grab me?” you ask.

“Because I need to for the full effect of this!” she explains. “So come here and let me grab you!”

“Are you going to shake me?” you inquire, imagining where this could lead.

“No!” she spouts defiantly.

You raise a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

“...Maybe,” she admits.

You cross your forelegs.

“But you’re not going to hear what’s on the other hoof unless you let me grab and maybe shake you,” she protests.

“Are you just going to shake me and say because it’s Ninja Baseball Batmare?”

“You’re killing me here!” she exclaims, dragging her hooves down her face. Looking at you, she reaches out again, this time in a pathetic looking pout with her bottom lip sticking out.

“Allie,” you groan in a mix of embarrassment and reluctance. However, her eyes grow wide to simulate the look of a puppy dog. Caught in the poor gaze of the mare who just wants to spread a little weirdness to break the monotony of the normal work day, you let out a sigh.

“Fine,” you say defeatedly as you step within Allie’s reach.

“Thank you,” she replies with a genuine smile as she places her hooves on your shoulders. “Now where was I?”

“On the other hoof,” you offer.

“Oh right. On the other hoof…” she starts again.

Suddenly you start getting rocked back and forth in her grasp, Your head is whipped forward and backward behind your shoulders.

“It’s Ninja Baseball Batmare!” she shrieks as she shakes you.

You force yourself out of her hooves and grip your head, trying to dispel the sudden vertigo. “Allie, it’s very… tempting, I won’t lie, but we still need to think about the cost. This is coming out of Big Wig’s pocket, right?”

She purses her lips. “B-But… it’s so shiny! And it’d definitely bring in a lot of dough! This game is awesome! ...Supposedly.”

You shake your head to her. “As shiny as it is, I don’t think it would be the best choice. Don’t get me wrong, I want to play it too! But we still need to think of the alley’s sake on this one.”

Her ears flop as she turns to the magazine again, giving the price another glance. She bites her lip as she looks it over, eyes darting a bit. After what appears to be some contemplation, her lips droop into a pathetic frown. Her gaze drifts to the ground. “Nnnggaaawww! I want it sooooo baaaad…”

You scooch over and give her a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, maybe we can order it next time if the price drops, alright?”

She pouts for a bit, but eventually nods. She then suddenly pokes you in the chest. “BUT! You have to come to our session tonight, no objections! Deal?”

“What? But, I’m tired! And you’re tired!” you respond, pointing both your hooves towards the accusedly tired. “There’s no way we’d actually make progress like this.”

She crosses her forelegs and stares at you, daring you to challenge her offer. Your eyebrows furrow at her gaze. If this is the game she wants to play, then fair enough.

“Fine,” you say. Allie smiles smugly until you add like she did, “BUT! The arcade game we’re getting is…” you eye the magazine and flip back to the first page. “This one,” you quip as you point your hoof on the page.

She glances over to see your pick. Her frown deepens.

“Asteroids!?” she exclaims. “That’s so boring! No runny punchy action. Not even a stick to hit things with.”

“It’s the current record holder for the biggest taker of bits among arcade cabinets,” you explain. “If there’s a game that’ll make money for the alley, it’s that one.”

She bites her lip in frustration. It’s clear she wants to use this opportunity to get something flashy. Her eyes dart between you and the magazine.

“So what’ll it be?” you ask, crossing your forelegs for the full imitation of her just a moment ago. You seriously doubt she’ll go for it. While the game is addictive, it’s been known to drone on with its sounds and having it so close to the front would surely drive Allie insane.

Her eyes dart around in bit for a moment, seemingly searching for an alternative, but she finds none as she throws her head back with a dissatisfied groan. “Fine… but I’m not happy about it.” she says, as she folds her forelegs with an adorable pout.

You give a content smile. “Great! Want me to go tell Big Wig?”

“No, no, I’ll handle it,” she says, shaking her head. Her voice carries a hint of disappointment. “You just go on ahead, maybe get some rest before our session?”

You push yourself up to your hooves and begin to make your way to the door. “Right. And what game are we ordering?”

“Asteroids, why do you- Oh, pbbth on you!” she says, sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry in your direction. “I’m not gonna tell her to get the other one. What do I look like, a little spoiled filly?”

You let out a chuckle, shaking your head. “Just messing with you Allie, calm down! I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”

“Muh.” she responds, swinging a hoof in your direction as she makes her way back to the desk. You’ve known her for long enough to know she isn’t mad. At least, not too mad. Just slightly beyond having her buttons pushed.

You figured she’s had enough of the teasing for one afternoon. You turn to the door and begin the trip home to maybe sneak a quick nap in. Hopefully she won’t drill you too hard this session.


~~~~~~


“Front and center, maggot!” she yells as you line up to take your next shot. “You will throw your ball. You will send it on a course towards those pins. You will knock down a good number of them, leaving little, if any, standing afterward. Is that clear?”

“Yeah, okay. Sure,” you mumble around the hoof you raise to cover a yawn. Your afternoon nap wasn’t nearly long enough, all for sitting in front of a lane with Allie yelling like what she thinks is a military official. “Can I bowl, now?”

“You must first be in the right mind!” Allie says, putting her hooves on your shoulders. “First off, who is our enemy?”

“Hard Ball,” you reply. “I thought that was pretty obviou-”

“Wrong!” she suddenly shouts, causing you to wince. “Hard Ball on any day is a chump. No, the ones standing between you and victory are those things right there.” She points down the lane to the white pins awaiting on the other side.

“But they never hurt anypony,” you say. “In fact, they exist only to be abused if you really think about it.” Sleep deprivation mindset at work.

“It’s them or you. If you cannot take them out, they will take you out,” she explains. She starts rubbing your shoulders as she leans towards you. “Look at them,” she whispers. “Standing up like they’re all that and a side salad. Are you going to let them mock you?”

You stare down the shiny pins. Memories come back of all the times you had thrown towards them only to remain upright in defiance. The grip on your ball becomes tighter as you set your jaw.

“No,” you reply to her question.

“Are you going to let them win?” she asks.

“No,” you respond again, a little tension rising up the back of your neck.

“Are you going to just let them sit there?”

“No,” you say as a fire begins to burn in your chest.

“Let the arm of the machine knock them over for you?”

“No!” you yell out, hoof shaking at the pins that have mocked you so many times before.

“Are you going to knock them off their buffed and polished butts?”

“N- I mean, yes!”

“Then show them what you’re made of!” she cheers as she lets go and moves back.

You quickly take your stance and move forward with intent to kill. The weight of the ball flows satisfyingly through the air as you release it down the lane. Such a throw, it slides down the lane before actually starting to roll.

THUMP- crchkchrck chunkpoomp.

...Right into the gutter.

You sink down as your ears flop back in embarrassment. Your cheeks start to feel a little warm as well. Allie trots back over and puts a hoof on your shoulder again. After all that pumping up, with that performance you don’t really want to look up at her.

“Can I get another chance?” you ask meekly.

“Sure. But first, do me a favor,” she says. All the previous aggression and toughness in her voice is gone. “Take a deep breath.”

Doing as she says, your chest begins to puff out with the air you intake.

“And out slowly,” she commands.

Releasing it slowly, you feel the tenseness of the moment begin to lift. Muscles you didn’t know were tightened start to relax. Your posture dips down a little further.

The ball return coughs up your ball as Allie takes her hoof back. Taking a small glance over towards her, she gives you a nod. Stepping up, you take your ball and your place in front of the lane again. She places her hooves on your shoulders again, rubbing with a lot less vigor than last time.

“Deep breath again,” she says calmly. You obey and let it out again slowly. “Okay. You can do this,” she states as she steps back.

Going much more slowly, your steps feel lighter and the ball comes forward a lot more steadily. It travels down the lane in a much more promising fashion until…

KERSH-clunklunkclunkclunkclunklunkclunkklunk

Eight pins fall with one of the other two standing wobbling back and forth. You smile at the much better outcome and Allie gives a small round of applause behind you.

“Now remember this. Anger, excitement, and high tension are the real enemies,” she explains. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Hard Ball will try to rile you up come the big day, so you have to keep your emotions in check. Do you understand?”

Your eyes widen a bit in surprise. You really weren’t expecting the bubbly girl Allie is to turn that little outburst of hers into a life lesson. Clever girl. You nod your head with a smile. “Understood.”

She smiles in response moving over to you and draping a hoof over your shoulders. “It’s easy to get a bit anxious when it comes to a big game, believe me. But just always remember!” She puts her other hoof to her chest, taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly. She then looks back to you with a smile. “Simple, right?”

You nod again in response. You open your mouth to speak, but are cut off by the familiar cough of your ball being returned. You give her a look that tells her “you got it” and “allow me?” at the same time. She pulls away from you and takes her seat once more, crossing her legs and leaning back.

“So,” she starts as you pick your ball up and align your hooves for another toss, “how’s it feel being a big-shot bowler?”

You roll your eyes, making minute movements to your hooves. “Allie, c’mon, I’m still only worthy of the minor leagues at this point. Maybe.” You wind up your swing, take a few steps forward, and let the ball loose on the track with a satisfying thud.

Allie leans forward in her chair, watching your ball go. “Psh, naw. You’ve been doing great! Don’t tell me it’s not a step up from your old game!”

KERSH-clunkclunkcluclunkclunk

“Hey, six pins!” she quips. “Not bad!”

You shrug. “Hm, it works. And yeah, I’ve been doing better. Still nervous about game day, though…”

She clicks her tongue. “Don’t be such a Negative Nancy!” She sits in place waiting for your ball to return, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. She tilts her head from side to side, humming to herself a bit before standing up. “Hmm… How about this then.”

You look to her with a curious expression. “How about what?”

“Well, for most, getting better is motivation itself to keep going. But since you…” she says while pointing a hoof into your chest, “don’t seem to be excited for your leaps and bounds of improvement, then maybe we need something else.”

“Something else? Like, not getting kicked out of the bowling alley?” you ask.

“Precisely!” The hoof in your chest is quickly brought into the air in a show of enthusiasm. “But let’s keep it separate from the big game or anything else. I want you to be excited for you. To improve for you. To bowl for you and you alone.”

“So what did you have in mind?” you inquire.

“How about a super special extra prize if you do well?” She wiggles her eyebrows to tempt you further. “A prize from me to you.”

A prize? Like another trophy like the participation ones you have cluttered together in a box in the back of your cellar? Or maybe she’ll get you some free games of bowling or something from the concession stand.

You shrug. “Okay, what do I win if we’re able to beat Hard Ball?”

“You already get a prize from that. The smug satisfaction of rubbing Hard Ball’s big, dumb muzzle in it right out the front door!” She wiggles her hoof across the way all the way to the exit.

You give a little chuckle, but then stop to think. You hadn’t thought about how their team would have to vote out one of their own should you emerge victorious. It makes you feel a little hollow having to subject somepony to what you fear of for yourself; even if it happened to be Hard Ball.

“You know…” you begin in a somber tone. “I don’t think we should kick any of them out if we win.”

Allie looks taken aback. “What? Really? After all of the flak they’ve given us over the past months? Given you?”

You wince a bit at her tone. “I haven’t forgotten that, but think about it. Wouldn’t we be stooping to their level if we went through with that?”

She rubs her forehead before responding. “It’s not about that. They pulled us into this bet… well, I kinda did to, but they made us part of it knowing full and well the stakes and risks. They’re just as subject to having to ban one of their members as we are!”

“Allie, I just… I don’t know. It feels wrong having to kick someone out. If it were deserved, like someone causing constant trouble, I can understand, but for something as silly as a bet, I just don’t know.”

She purses her lips as her eyes scan the ground for a bit, seemingly searching for an answer. “Hm… Well, we can worry about that when we get to that bridge, alright? For now, we need to make sure we can actually cross the bridge and not fall through the planks, okay?” she says with a smile.

You sigh through your nose, nodding in agreement. This really isn’t a battle you want to fight right now. You’re too tired to debate with her all night. Knowing how stubborn she is, it would really go all night. Instead, you jump to another topic as you fetch your ball again. “So, what is this prize exactly?”

She shakes her head, her ponytail whipping around her neck with the motion. “Nope. Not telling.”

You look at her with mild annoyance. “Allie c’mon, I don’t want you doing anything extensive for me.”

“I’m not telling! What’s a prize without the excitement factor?” she asks, with a wide smile.

“Allie-”

“You can’t spell ‘surprise’ without ‘prize!’ ...Kind of.”

You stare at her with half-lidded eyes and a gaze that begs her to cease the silliness. She returns it with a smile and wide eyes that say you aren’t going to win this battle either.

A couple more moments pass as you frown/grin at each other.

“So I don’t get it for beating Hard Ball,” you begin to break the silence, “then when do I get this prize?”

“As soon as you get a high enough score,” she answers. “That should get you to look forward to ramping up your game. Let’s say at one hundred pins.”

“A hundred pins!?” you shout. “But my highest score so far is 63! How am I supposed to reach a hundred before we face Hard Ball?”

“By getting better, unless you have another way,” she quips.

“Not really. You’re the one with the magic horn,” you retort.

“Eh, magic’s overrated.” She waves her hoof to add to the dismissive comment. “But I promise that I would totally magic you better if I could.”

“Why can’t you? Light it up and make me bowl,” you say with a bit of a snicker.

“Hmm. You know, I never really tried before,” she ponders while tapping her chin. “Let’s give it a shot!” Her horn illuminates as an aura begins to envelop your hoof. It the mysterious force drags you over to your ball and picks it up. “Now let’s take your place and-”

“I’ve changed my mind!” you yell out. The magic is really uncomfortable, making your limb feel like you’ve slept on it all night. Although, that’s some wishful thinking. The aura vanishes from around your hoof as you drop the ball back onto the rack of the ball return.

“Well, you’re on your own, then,” she says. “Don’t say I don’t try to help.”

You try to rub feeling back into your hoof as you glare at Allie again. She gives another one of her giggles. Normally this would cause you to cheer right back up and laugh with her, but the sleep deprivation is taking its toll again causing you to continue your scowl. Eventually she sees that you are not amused.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” she offers. That’s enough to get you to break your stare of disapproval.

“So, a hundred pins and I get a prize?” you ask.

“That’s the deal!” she confirms.

“And I don’t get to know what it is?” you ask again.

Instead of the immediate ‘yes’ she hums for a moment. “Tell you what. I’ll give you a hint.” Your ears perk up, ready to listen. “It’s something very personal and I really hope you’ll like it.”

You mull over the clue in your head. Maybe one of her old bowling trophies? A medal of some kind that she one? Perhaps a used ball of hers? Whatever the prize could be sounds more sentimental than expensive, which you’re all for if she doesn’t have to spend a lot for you.

“I’ll try to work up to it,” you say. This statement is met a with a wider, excited smile from Allie giving a little squeak of approval.

“Take your ball and get started! We can get in a few more throws tonight,” she states.

Grabbing your ball without magical assistance this time, you stand back in front of the lanes. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, you think over your new goal as you approach your throw.

100 pins…