//------------------------------// // Everyone in Equestria knows it now. // Story: Apple Scratch : Onward to the Equestria Games! // by Mariacheat-Brony //------------------------------// “I can’t wait for today’s trials to begin!” Bon-Bon said excitedly as she was walking to the Coliseum entrance with her friend, Carrot Top, and Ditzy’s daughter, Dinky. “Me too!” Dinky shouted cheerfully while holding firmly Carrot Top’s hand. “I want to see Mommy win the race again!” “Now, Dinky sweetie, you’ll have to be patient. Your Mommy’s race is in the afternoon,” Carrot Top explained with a motherly patience. “Aww,” the six year old blond whined with an adorable pout. “Why can it not be now, Auntie Carrot Top?” Bon-Bon chuckled happily. “Dinky, your Mommy’s the best flier in Ponyville, right?” “Huh-huh!” Dinky nodded vigorously. “They’re just following the saying then,” Bon-Bon assured with a good hearted smile. “Keep the best for the end!” “I get it!” Dinky beamed happily before gazing around. “Isn’t that Ms. Lyra?” she asked with curiosity, pointing at the teal haired woman who was talking to a man behind a pierced glass, not far from the Coliseum’s entrance. “Indeed it’s her,” Bon-Bon whispered with suspicion, walking up to her co-worker and best friend. “Lyra?” she called. “Hm?” Lyra turned around to face who had called her. “Hi, Bon-Bon! How are you?” “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Bon-Bon replied. “What’s that?” she asked, nodding at the numerous counters behind glass windows. “Oh, it’s a bookie!” Lyra replied casually, earning a raise of eyebrow from the pink and blue haired woman. “What’s a bookie, Auntie Carrot Top?” Dinky asked with curiosity. “It’s someone that takes bet, sweetie,” Carrot Top replied, frowning at the teal haired woman. “What’s a bet?” “Something that you mustn’t ever do!” Carrot Top replied sternly. “That’s the fastest way to lose money!” “Lady, how much do you wanna bet for the first trial?” the bookie asked impatiently. “Oh, right!” Lyra turned back to the man, pulling a rather bulky bit bag from her jacket’s inner pocket. “Ponyville! Three thousand bits!” she shouted happily, passing the bag through a secured drawer.         Her bet caused shocked gasps from anyone who heard her bet’s value, including the bookie. “LYRA!” Bon-Bon shouted in shock, turning her friend around to face her. “Are you insane?!” “No, why do you ask?” “Do you have any idea of much you’ve just bet?” Carrot Top asked in disbelief. “Yes, I have,” Lyra replied with a chuckle. “I know my way around money!” “Lyra, I know we’ve just had a huge cash inflow, but you can’t seriously be betting that much on a Games trial,” Bon-Bon explained with concern. “Bon-Bon, have you seen the odds for Ponyville’s victory?” Lyra asked with an excited grin. “It’s five to one!” “Well, that’s enticing, I’ll give you that,” Bon-Bon admitted. “But are you sure you wanna bet that much?” “Not that I want our town to lose, but there’s no guarantee that...” Carrot Top began with worry and concern. “Girls, have you seen what’s on the program today?” Lyra asked with a mischievous grin. “Huh, no,” the two women replied in confusion. “Check this out,” Lyra said as she extended a pamphlet of today’s trials to her dubious friends. “You see what’s the first trial?” “Yes, but I don’t see how....” “Now, check the roster!” Lyra demanded with a mad grin.         The two women scanned through the competitors list until their gaze stopped on a certain name they both knew. They both blinked profusely as their mind absorbed what they had just read. “Lyra....” Bon-Bon whispered with a low tone. “Yeeees?” “Tell me you brought some of my money with you!” “Way ahead of you, Roomie!” Lyra grinned as she pulled another, bulkier, bit bag from her inner pocket. “Four thousand bits on Ponyville for my boss, first trial!” she said to the bookie who almost fell of his chair at the sum. “Let’s go, Dinky!” Carrot Top frowned before pulling Ditzy’s daughter behind her. “Aren’t you gonna stop them, Auntie Carrot Top?” Dinky asked. “You said that making bets was a bad thing.” “It’s indeed a bad thing,” Carrot Top explained. “But I can’t force Lyra and Bon-Bon to make the right decision.” “Are they gonna lose their money?” Dinky asked with worry. “I don’t know. That’s why betting money’s dangerous! The outcome is always uncertain,” Carrot Top said with wisdom, resolute to be good model for the little girl.         Unbeknownst to Dinky, Carrot Top wasn’t really thinking what she had just said. On normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have such thoughts, but seeing who was competing for the first trial had changed the circumstances. Now, Carrot Top regretted Dinky’s presence because she couldn’t bet on the outcome of the first trial, not after lecturing the little girl about it. For Carrot Top, and for Lyra and Bon-Bon, the outcome of the first of today’s trial was a far cry from being uncertain at all. “So, what happened after you left with the Princesses, Twilight and her brother?” Vinyl asked with curiosity, pulling a bottle of apple cider out of her locker. “You want know that now?” Cloud asked back with a cocked eyebrow while closing her own locker. “Mhm.” Vinyl nodded after taking a swig of her bottle. “I’m sure the others can warm her up without us for a couple of minutes.” “If you say so,” Cloud answered, not entirely convinced by Vinyl’s statement. “So, what happened?” “Well, after the party was over and the boss finally recovered,” Cloud explained, not without a short chuckle. “We went to a more secluded room of the town hall, and Twilight explained them everything that has happened between her and me.” “How did they react?” “There was some shouting...” Cloud said uneasily. “Shining?” Vinyl suggested. “Actually, he was the quietest of the group,” Cloud answered casually. “His wife on the other hand...” ********** “Twilight, you’re not making the right decision!” Cadence said firmly. “Cadence, if I wanted your opinion on who I should date or not, I’d have asked for it!” Twilight retorted with the same firmness as her sister-in-law. “She’s not good enough for you!” Cadence shouted angrily. “You know that I’m right here and that I can hear you, right?” Cloud asked casually as she was standing aside from the two bickering woman with Shining and Princess Luna while Princess Celestia was trying to mediate the situation. “You don’t know her!” Twilight shouted back, ignoring her lover’s question. “I know enough about her to know that she’ll end up hurting you!” Cadence retorted. “Again, I’m right here!” Cloud Kicker said, slowly losing her patience. “Cadence, Twilight, that’s enough!” Celestia shouted with disappointement, instantly calming the two bickering women. “We’re here to talk, not to shout at each other.” “I’ll stop shouting when this little girl will hear reason, Aunt,” Cadence muttered angrily, pointing at Twilight with disdain. “You’re not my babysitter anymore, Cadence!” Twilight started to shout again. “I’m twenty one and I can make my own decisions! I don’t need you to tell me what’s right and wrong!” “You being an adult doesn’t prevent you from associating with the wrong sort of people,” Cadence replied with a dark stare. “WHAT?” Twilight asked in a shocked and furious yell. “They’ve forgotten that we were here, right?” Cloud asked Shining who was watching the verbal assault between his sister and his wife. “Looks like it,” Shining answered matter-of-factly. “Anyway, how are you?” Cloud asked with worry, remembering how he had fainted earlier. “I’m little surprised, that’s all,” Shining replied. “Boss, we both know that it takes more than a little surprise to make you pass out,” Cloud remarked knowingly. “Ok, maybe a little more than that,” Shining admitted with a short chuckle. “I’ve had my suspicions for a couple of days now, especially with that letter...” he noted that Cloud wasn’t surprised at all about the letter. “.... Spitfire told you about the letter, didn’t she?” “Yes,” Cloud answered with a nod. “She knew then.” Shining sighed before staring at his Lieutenant with sternness. “I’ve had the time to think about it and there’s not much that I can do except trusting in Twilight’s decision. But, you better not hurt my sister, Lieutenant!” he warned threateningly. “The idea never crossed my mind, Captain,” Cloud replied in a martial, and sincere tone. “Good,” Shining whispered with a nod. “You know what you risk if that happens?” “Yes, I do.” Cloud nodded. “But, let me tell you a little something, Captain,” she added with serious glare. ”I’ll never leave Twilight, not because I fear your wrath, but because she means more to me than anything else!” Cloud claimed with resolution. “I’d die before even thinking of leaving her!”         That claim earned an approving nod from the Night Princess who had been watching the two guards’ exchange with interest. Shining kept staring at Cloud with seriousness before slowly smiling at her. “That’s good to hear,” he slowly said. “Now, how do you think we can stop them from tearing each other apart?” Luna asked, pointing at the two sisters-in-law who were still shouting at each other despite Celestia’s efforts. “Don’t know.... unless...” Cloud faced Shining with mischievous grin. “You must be devastated, Boss,” she whispered with a sympathetic tone. “Huh?” Shining tilted his head in confusion. “With me being in a serious relationship with your sister, your crazy fantasy about you and your wife sharing me is never gonna happen,” she whispered with a chuckle while Shining and Luna’s eyes widened in shock. “Not that it would have happened otherwise.” “WHAAAAAT?!” Cadence yelled toward her husband, who shrunk immediately in front of his wife’s fury. “See? For something like that they can hear us!” Cloud laughed. ********** “You did not say that?” Vinyl asked, laughing vigorously with Cloud. “I swear to Faust that I did say that!” “How did Twilight react to that?” “She pulled me close to her to hug me while giving Shining a “Don’t touch, she’s mine!” kinda stare,” Cloud explained casually. “You know, the kind you cast at every man who looks Octavia’s backside for too long.” Vinyl nodded. “I’m not sure Shining saw it though,” “She didn’t get mad at you?” “Not really, that was some sort of a joke between him and myself that goes way back,” Cloud explained. “Twilight knows that what was in my past will stay in it. Plus, Shining’s not really my type anymore.” “If you say so.” Vinyl shrugged. “What happened next?” “Princess Celestia thanked me for stopping Twilight and Cadence to shout at each other, though my technique lacked diplomacy.” “She wasn’t mad that Cadence was shouting at Shining?” Vinyl asked with a surprised tone. “To quote her, her niece arguing with her star student’s something that she deserves being mad at, while a quarrel between her niece and her husband falls into the duty of a couple therapist which she isn't,” Cloud explained. “So, in essence it went well enough,” Vinyl summarized. “You could say that,” Cloud said with a nod. “Anyway, why don’t we go help the others?” “Why are you so sure they need...”         The lockers room’s door bursted itself open, letting a heavily panting Raindrops walk in, firmly holding the door frame so she wouldn’t  fall on the ground. She opened her mouth a couple of time, but couldn’t voice anything she was trying to say due to her attempt to catch her breath. “Never mind that, let’s go!” Vinyl waved off Cloud’s ‘I told you so’ grin. “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this fourth day of the Equestria Games!” Pinkie shouted happily through her megaphone from her flying contraption. “I hope you’ve had a great week-end and that you’re all fully rested, because we’re starting with something big!” the crowd cheered loudly. “That’s something that I like to hear! Now, I give to you the HAND TO HAND FIGHTING TOURNAMENT!” “The crowd seems excited,” Celestia commented casually. “The passion and the fire of a fight always move the heart of the crowd, Sister,” Luna said, focusing her gaze on the arena set in the middle of the Coliseum. “Not only the heart of the crowd,” Rarity whispered knowingly to Octavia before they both chuckled softly at the Night Princess. “I wonder why...” Twilight said softly. “I mean it’s just throwing punches and kicks at each other.” “Hum, you didn’t mind that much during the swordsman competition,” Fluttershy remarked quietly. “Of course she didn’t mind, Fluttershy,” Rarity commented. “Cloud was taking part in it.”         That remark caused numerous giggles from almost everyone in the private box while Twilight was blushing in embarrassment and Cadence let out a low growl. The two sisters-in-law were still on disagreement about Twilight and Cloud’s relationship, but they were both making efforts to remain civil about it. Though not always successful. “I wonder who’s going to win,” Celestia said, quickly bringing another subject of conversation as Twilight was about to answer to Cadence’s growl. “Oh, I just hope that no one gets hurt too much,” Fluttershy said. “I wonder who they’ve chosen in for Canterlot.” Octavia pondered out loud. “You’re not wondering about Ponyville?” Cadence asked with curiosity. “It’s pretty obvious who Ponyville has chosen, Cadence,” Rarity answered with a knowing, happy grin. “Shhh!” Luna waved for the silence. “It’s about to start!” “For the first round of this tournament,” Pinkie said to the excited crowd. “Give a warm welcome to the current champion in title, Sergei Tishchenko from Stalliongrad!”         The majority of the crowd applauded politely the current champion while the Stalliongradi cheered like mad men when their athlete walked into the arena. Sergei was a six foot tall Eponian, strongly built, with shaved hair and a very strict frown. When he arrived in the center of the arena, he started to do shadow boxing as a warm up. “... And opposed to this champion, our hosting town of Ponyville is proud to.... huh?” Pinkie was interrupted by a collective shout from the crowd, or a part of it to be specific. “Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!”         All the Ponyvillians in the Coliseum, including the guards, the town’s officials like the Mayor and her advisors, plus the entire Apple Family were chanting Applejack’s name in unison, as if they were one sole entity. Every shout of her name was accompanied by three vigorous hand claps or stompings, which resonated through the entire stadium. “Shoot, I wanted to say her name!” Pinkie pouted for a few seconds. “Oh well, might as well go with the flow.” Pinkie cleared her throat. “Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!” She joined the crowd chorus in perfect tempo.         Back in front of Ponyville’s pit, half of the team and their coaching team were sitting patiently on the ground. Raindrops, Allie and Rose were slowly recovering from having tried to warm Applejack up in a mock battle. They had quickly passed the torch to Vinyl and Cloud Kicker when they realised they couldn’t hold the blonde Eponian’s pace. “You hear that?” Redheart whispered with a small smile as the shouts of Applejack’s name became louder and louder. “Our Applejack’s quite demanded.” “Not very surprising,” Turner commented softly. “She’s going to make them proud, I know it.” “How could you know that, Doctor?” Ditzy asked playfully. “Did you use your clockmaker powers to go to the future?” she joked, earning fits of laughter from the rest of the team. “No need to travel through time to know the outcome of this trial, Ditzy,” Turner answered with a mysterious smile. “Of course.” Raindrops nodded. “Everyone with a pinch of good sense would know that our monster’s unbeatable!” Everyone replied with a collective nod. “Y’all better stop callin’ me a monster!” Applejack shouted from the pit. “Ha, you finished warming up?” Zecora asked, facing the blonde competitor who nodded while putting her usual brown hat on. “In that case, why don’t you go bring back this tournament’s cup?” “Unless you want to disappoint them,” Redheart showed the crowd with a wave from her hand. “Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!” Applejack listened to the crowd chanting her name before sighing with a small smile. “It ain’t in ma habits to let ma town down,” Applejack said as she walked out of the pit. “Ah ain’t gonna start today.”         As soon as she came into the crowd’s view, Ponyville’s supporters’ cheers for Applejack became even louder than before. She gave them a small tip of her hat before walking with determination to the arena. “Cloudy, Vi’, are you two ok?” Ditzy asked when the two others sat next to the rest of the teams, slightly sweating and panting. “Don’t worry, Ditzy,” Cloud answered before towelling her face. “So, who wants first call?” “For one hundred bits each?” Allie asked with curiosity. “Eeyuup!” Vinyl nodded. “I call one block followed by an uppercut,” Raindrops said casually. “Two dodges and one right hook!” Redheart suggested. “One block with the right hand, followed by a left punch in the stomach,” Allie called. “I’d say three dodges, one block, and ending by a stomp on the chest.” Roseluck pondered. “I call one double punch in the thorax after one dodge,” Ditzy claimed happily. “Three light punches followed by a right uppercut for me,” Turner said with conviction. “Two dodges followed by a right hook should bring the victory in my book,” Zecora called in her usual, mystical tone. “One grab, a twist of the arm and a roundhouse kick.” Cloud let out casually. “And for me, I’ll say one kick to the knee followed by a diving punch on the face,” Vinyl suggested playfully.         In the meantime, Applejack had entered the arena and was now facing Sergei who was eyeing her with curiosity. She took her jacket off and put it on the arena’s fence, earning a few whistles of admiration from the rest of the competitors who were standing close to watch the first match. Applejack was wearing a crimson, tight tank top which showed her well endowed muscles, as well as another rather well-endowed part of her anatomy. About which one they were whistling, Applejack wasn’t sure, but she decided to ignore them. “Ok, now that we’ve got our two competitors ready, how about we get started?” Pinkie asked through her megaphone. “You gonna keep the hat on?” Sergei asked with a cocked eyebrow as Applejack was securing her hat on her head. “Is that a problem, Sugar?” she asked as she took her starting position. “Nyet,” Sergei replied with a shake of his head. “Udachi!” [Good Luck!] he added before taking his fighting stance. “Begin!”         As soon as the signal was given, Sergei lunged at Applejack, his right fist ready for a right hook. Applejack took as step back before twisting her upper body backwards to dodge the first hit, her right hand maintaining her hat on her head. Before he could draw his fist back, Sergei felt an intense pain on his chin.         During her dodge, Applejack had given him a powerful, rising kick in the jaw, causing him to be thrown upwards by the strength of the blow like a rag doll. While the current title holder fell heavily on the ground, Applejack slowly put her foot back on the ground. She eyed the man on the ground for a second or two before turning around as he didn’t look like getting up. Applejack managed to make one step toward the exit of the arena when the crowd, who had been silent since the blonde’s kick, cheered loudly and she heard a low grunt from behind her. She faced him back to see him uneasily standing up, ready to fight despite his bloody mouth and his unfocused gaze. Sergei shook his head to get his sight clear before charging toward Applejack. Sergei tried to get her with a left hook, but she dodged again by making a quarter spin to her right before kicking behind his right knee, forcing him to the ground. Before he could even glance at her, Sergei received a strong punch to the right of his skull. The momentum brought his head vigorously to the ground, knocking him out instantly. A heavy, and deep silence filled the Coliseum as a huge part of spectators were watching at the hat wearing blonde in the arena in awe, the other part, composed of Ponyville’s supporters, was slowly smiling. “YEAH, APPLEJACK! WOOOOHOOOO!” Ditzy shouted happily, hovering above her teammates before letting herself fall on the ground while Vinyl was grinning madly with an expectant hand. “Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!” Ponyville’s supporters cheered for their champion loudly. “Winner of the first eighth final, Applejack from Ponyville!” Pinkie shouted excitedly.         The other competitors looked at Applejack with uneasiness and worry. When she noticed their stares, Applejack softly chuckled. Now, she knew what they were looking at, and, with their fearful expressions, it clearly wasn’t at her endowed femininity. “First quarter final!” Pinkie shouted happily. “Neighpon vs Ponyville! HAJIME!” Pinkie tapped a gong to signal the start of the fight.         As soon as the signal was given, Applejack’s opponent, a rather muscular man with spiky, short, brown hair, wearing a white gi with ripped off sleeves, red fingerless gloves, and a red bandana on his forehead, dashed at her before jumping while executing a spinning kick, five meters away from her, shouting some incomprehensible chants.         What surprised Applejack, was that he kept doing his fast, spinning kicks midair while advancing toward her, weirdly hovering a few feet above the ground. It didn’t surprise her enough that she couldn’t take any actions though.         At the last second, she swiftly kneeled, letting his kick pass inches above her hat, before standing up to place a mighty uppercut between his abs and his ribcage. The spinning motion of her opponent was suddenly interrupted, as he gasped loudly before being sent flying a few meters in the air.         Applejack made a backward jump before leaning heavily on her left leg, swiftly taking the stance of a predator ready to leap on its prey. Her adversary managed to do an acrobatic pull-up during his fall, thus succeeding to land on his feet. He glanced in her direction.         Applejack pushed on her left leg, thus starting a fast charge at her opponent. All he could see was a crimson, blonde haired blur wearing a brown hat before being stomped in the chest by her right foot.         He felt, and heard, few of his ribs cracking under the pressure of Applejack's kick before being catapulted toward his team outside the arena. One of his Titanian teammates tried to catch him in his green, magic aura to prevent the poor guy to crash on his team. The rescuer’s magic focus wasn’t strong enough to break the momentum of his propelled friend who ended his course on him, knocking over the rest of his teammates along with both of them. “Ah might have gone a bit too far with that kick,” Applejack whispered with a wince as Pinkie declared her winner of the quarter final. “No, I’m not going!” Soarin affirmed in a fearful but firm resolution. “Soarin, stop acting like a wuss!” Shining taunted him. “If it prevents me from going into the arena with that.... monster of a woman, then I’d rather become the king of the wusses right away!” Soarin claimed, pointing a shaking finger at Applejack who was busy watching the last quarter final. “You’re overreacting, Soar’. You’ve been the silver medalist during the previous Games,” Fleetfoot reminded him. “You’ve seen what happened to the gold medalist of the previous games?” Soarin asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Forty five seconds! That’s how long he lasted against her! And he’s still knocked out!” “You’ve been training to surpass Sergei, you should be able to hold your ground against Applejack,” Quake chimed in slowly. “Yeah, I don’t know why but after your estimations on Friday, I’m not entirely trusting your opinion on that,” Soarin said with a shrug. “What did you just say?” Quake asked angrily. “Soarin, Quake, that’s enough!” Shining interrupted them vigorously. “Soarin, like it or not, you’re going to fight this match!” “Why don’t you go in my place?” Soaring asked with annoyance. “The blue haired sister already beat the crap out of you, why not let the blonde have her chance? It’ll be a nice doublet for Ponyville.” “Triplet actually, considering Shining fainted Saturday because of Cloud Kicker.” Spitfire chuckled softly, causing her team leader to glare at her while the others laughed at him. “Is that your payback for Thursday night?” Shining asked the Wonderbolt Leader with narrowed eyes. “Yes,” Spitfire bluntly answered. “And Iron Will wins the last quarter final!” Pinkie shouted in her megaphone. “We’ll take a short snack break before watching the first Semifinal opposing Canterlot to Ponyville!” Pinkie explained before pulling a cupcake out of her pocket. Soarin gulped at the mention of his next fight, before Spitfire flicked his nose impatiently. “Aow!” he muttered, rubbing the tip of his nose. “What was that for?” “To make that loser face going away,” Spitfire explained casually. “You’re a Wonderbolt, Soarin, people look up to you. We can’t have the second in command of the Wonderbolts frightened like a schoolgirl, can we?” “I suppose.” Soarin awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Not sure people are still going to look up to me after that though...” “Soarin,” Spitfire warned in a low threatening tone. “That’s loser’s talk. There are no losers in my team! Especially if they want pie as a reward,” she added with a knowing wink.         Soarin chuckled softly at that remark. “It’s going to take more than one pie to convince me...” “Fine,” Spitfire chuckled. “I’ll treat you to an all-you-can-eat pie buffet after tonight if you fight with all you got.” “That’s already more interesting,” Soarin admitted, his interest slightly piqued. “And if you win,” Spitfire added with a knowing and sly grin. “I might even let you have IT.” “You mean the....” Soarin replied with a dumbstruck expression. “Yes, Soar, MY very OWN special pie!” Spitfire purred in a low seductive tone. “The one I’ve only shared with my former fiancé.”         Soarin swallowed his spit before licking his lips with a hungry look, and a strange, sensual glaze in his eyes, as they were focused on Spitfire. “That’s very interesting...” “You have to earn it first, my dear Soarin,” Spitfire whispered, slowly brushing her forefinger up to Soarin’s chin. “After all, it’s a rare prize. I’m not giving the opportunity to taste IT to anyone.” she casted a fiery glance at Soarin who was shaking in excitement. “I’m going to warm up!” Soarin quickly said, his motivation at full blast, before flying to the arena to warm up. “I don’t believe it,” Fleetfoot let out quietly. “I didn’t know you of all the people could do that,” she said with wide eyes. “Do what?” Spitfire asked innocently. “You’ve just bribe Soarin with reward sex!” Quake replied bluntly. Spitfire blinked before blushing madly. “Do- Don’t say stupid things like that!” She defended herself. “It wasn’t that at all!” “It looked a lot like it though,” Shining chimed in awkwardly. “Yeah, what else could my very own special pie mean, huh?” Fleetfoot said, grinning widely at her captain. “I-It means my grandmother special secret recipe!” Spitfire shouted, her cheeks red from embarrassment. “Soarin tasted it when we were kids and he has always wanted to eat it again.” “Likely story, Spitfire.” Quake chuckled. “As if we’re going to buy that,” Fleetfoot said with a growing grin. “SOARIN!” Spitfire called loudly. “GET BACK HERE NOW!”         In a blink of an eye, Soarin was right back at Spitfire’s side. “You called?” Soarin asked with a short chuckle. “What did I just promise to give you if you win this fight?” “You promised to bake me your grandma’s nut cream pie with caramel,” Soarin replied with sincerity. “Why do you ask?” he noticed Spitfire’s cheeks. “And why are you blushing like that by the way?” “For nothing! Go back warming up,” Spitfire ordered sternly,. “Ooookay,” Soarin said in confusion before flying back to the arena. “See?” Spitfire asked with a dark glare as soon as he was out of earshot. “Huh,” The other members of her team said uneasily, unable to look at her. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d do that,” Spitfire said, her disappointment and offense both pretty clear in her voice. “Ok, Snack Break’s over!” Pinkie called through her megaphone. “Are our competitors ready?” “We’re sorry, Spitfire,” Shining, Fleetfoot and Quake said in unison. “First semifinal: Ponyville vs Canterlot..... FIGHT!” Pinkie blew loudly in a whistle to start the match. “Seriously, who do you think I am?” Spitfire asked. “Cloud Kicker?” “I don’t think she’s ever done that,” Fleetfoot whispered. “Wooo, Soarin’s all fired up,” Pinkie commented happily. “He keeps the pressure on... Maybe someone will finally land a hit on Applejack,” “Even worse!” Spitfire replied. “You think I could have done that while Cloud Kicker never did, and SHE’s a sex addict!” Spitfire yelled without realising it. “No, I’m not!” Cloud retorted from afar, pretending to be offended. “Yes, you are!” Spitfire and all of Cloud’s teammates replied simultaneously. “And you’re almost proud of it!” “Yeah, you’re right,” Cloud admitted with a good hearted chuckle. “Ha, Soarin’s in trouble,” Pinkie said with worry. “Applejack grabbed his leg before his kick could hit.” “Well, it’s just that you’ve always had sorta of a soft spot for Soarin, so...” Fleetfoot justified awkwardly. “W-what?” Spitfire asked in shock. “Since when?” “Well, you’ve always forgiven him whenever he’s late for practice,” Quake remarked. “I’m a forgiving woman that’s all,” Spitfire retorted. “Aouch! That’s gotta hurt,” Pinkie commented with a wince. “Forgiving?” Shining asked with a cocked eyebrow. “You’ve yelled at me before a cadet inspection because my left lace wasn’t tied up anymore.” “Huh...” Spitfire didn’t know what to answer to that. “He’s pretty determined to fight,” Pinkie said solemnly. “I’m not sure someone else would have stood up after that punch.” “Or when he said that he’d love to have kids on the Games’ first day,” Fleetfoot said knowingly. “You’ve stared at him weirdly after he said that.” “I was just surprised,” Spitfire said uneasily. “Not just surprised.” Fleetfoot grinned knowingly. “I’d really take one or two steps forward if I were Spitfire right now,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly in her megaphone. “What....”         Spitfire turned back to the arena quick enough to see Soarin’s body land heavily on her, sending them both on the ground. After recovering from the impact, Spitfire took notice of Soarin’s blackened right eye as he was slowly, and painfully trying to get off her. “Soarin, you ok?” Spitfire asked softly with an obvious concern. Soarin groaned loudly. “I think I’m not gonna find out your grandma’s secret ingredient today,” he muttered with a painful chuckle. “I think you’re wrong, Soar,” Spitfire chuckled back, gently patting his head. “I’m still going to bake it for you, you’ve earned it.” “Aww, that’s nice.” Soarin sighed with a short smile. “Not today though,” he added, wincing as he felt his belly with his hand. “I think she broke my stomach.... I didn't even know it was possible,” “In that case, I’ll postpone the pie buffet as well,” Spitfire replied with a nod. “Good call... Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to pass out on you,” Soarin whispered before falling unconscious, his head landing in Spitfire’s chest. Spitfire giggled softly. “I can’t really stop you, can I?” “She’s soooo into him!” Fleetfoot said happily. “Hook, line and sinker!” Quake nodded. “Completely infatuated!” Shining chuckled.         Spitfire’s raised middle finger was the only response they got from her. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s now time for the GRAND FINALE!” Pinkie cheered happily. “The clash of Titans between the Strong Giant from Las Pegasus, IRON WILL,  and the Untouchable Monster of Ponyville, APPLEJACK!” The crowd chanted happily along with the pink haired announcer. “What in tarnation did she call me?” Applejack asked, angrily staring at the pink and purple flying contraption. “Well, you kinda are a monster compared to regular people, Sis,” Vinyl said matter-of-factly. “And that’s exactly why we love you so much,” she quickly added when her sister’s angry stare passed from Pinkie to her. “Sure,” Applejack whispered to herself with a sour pout, before heading to the arena. “Applejack, hold on a second,” Raindrops called. “What is it, Sugarcube?” “Mhm... Could you....huh,” Raindrops stammered. “Could you maybe not hurt him too much?” she asked hesitantly, pointing at Iron Will. “Yer askin’ me to lose on purpose?” Applejack asked with a cocked eyebrow. “No!” Raindrops firmly shook her head. “Just not hurt him too much,” “That drink you had with him on Friday night was that good?” Cloud asked with curiosity. “Kinda.” Raindrops nodded with pink cheeks. “And, it’d be nice if he’s still.... complete for another one,” Applejack smiled. “Ah’ll do what Ah can,” she said softly. “Thanks.” Raindrops smiled back.         Iron Will watched Applejack getting in position, a few feet away from him. At some point during his drink with Raindrops, the conversation turned to Raindrops’ training, and thus to Applejack. At first, Iron Will thought that the teal haired woman had purposely exaggerated her teammate’s ability to fight and strength a bit. Now that he had witnessed the full extend of it, he was regretting not having believed her on the spot.         Iron Will had participated in the previous Equestria Games’ hand-to-hand fighting tournament. He had had the opportunity to fight against Sergei during the quarterfinal back then. He remembered that he hadn’t lost by much, which made him confident about his chances to win the competition now, four years after that defeat.         Seeing Applejack wipe out her opponents like they were nothing had almost crushed his confidence in victory. Making it to the final had restored some of said confidence, but he knew that one second of inattention against hat wearing blonde could mean defeat. Soarin had lasted longer than the others, but he still didn’t manage to land a hit on her. “Alrighty guys, let’s get this party started!” Pinkie shouted before ringing a gong.         Iron Will took a deep breath before marching slowly toward Applejack, his guard firmly held in place. In the meantime, Applejack rolled her shoulders while making a few steps back before taking her hat off to put it delicately on the arena’s fence, turning her back to Iron Will. When he saw Applejack wasn’t looking at him, Iron Will quickly closed the distance, his right arm ready to punch the reckless blonde. He threw his punch at Applejack, only lowering his left guard for a short half a second to get a better view at his target. Unfortunately for him, it was during that little half of a second that Applejack swiftly spun around to face him. In one smooth, swirling movement, Applejack had lifted her right leg to Iron Will’s face level, delivering a strong kick to the side of his skull before his punch could connect with her own. The blonde continued her move by putting more strength in her leg, thus ending her spin by propelling Iron Will away from her. The tall man’s body heavily fell on the ground, bouncing a couple of times before crashing into the arena’s fence, bursting it to pieces to end his course a couple of meters outside the arena’s limits. “Well, that was pretty rough,” Pinkie commented as Iron Will didn’t show any sign of getting up up. “The new champion of Equestria: APPLEJACK FROM PONYVILLE!”         That announcement provoked an explosion of cheers from the Ponyvillians, who started to chant Applejack’s name while the concerned party put her hat back on to give it a short tip to the crowd. “She said she’d be nice with him,” Raindrops whined a little. “Well, you asked her to not hurt him too much,” Vinyl remarked casually. “Vinyl, she sent him THROUGH the fence!” Raindrops pointed out vigorously. “How is that ‘not too much’?” “How did you want AJ to not hurt him too much without winning the fight with one, single hit?” Cloud asked. “As for the fence part, you know that she doesn’t do things with subtlety, right?” “That’s kinda true,” Raindrops admitted with a sigh. “I still feel bad for him to have lost like that. It would have been nice if he had won.” “You actually thought he could have beaten Applejack?” Allie asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow. “Let’s not get carried away, Allie,” Raindrops replied with a soft chuckle. “I said it would have been nice, not that it was possible,” she explained. “I know from first experience that our monster’s unbeatable.” Raindrops pointed at Applejack who had decided to carry Iron Will to the infirmary as his team’s medics were too slow for her liking. “Everyone in Ponyville knows that, Raindrops,” Ditzy pointed out. “And now, everyone in Equestria knows,” Roseluck stated. The rest of Ponyville’s team glanced at the crowd who was still chanting Applejack’s name. The only difference with before was that chanting crowd occupied the entire Coliseum this time, not just Ponville’s bleachers.