No, wait, stop, Lulu!
Ah, sports! It's been awhile since I've done anything with my sister and a few friends, so this should be interesting...
Currently, one of the castle's gyms was being used to host a dodge-ball game for two teams. On one side of the gym, Team Tia was assembled, consisting of Celestia, Elhaym, Twilight Sparkle, Chrysalis, Applejack and Fluttershy, of Team Cheesecake. On the other side of the gym, Team Lulu was quietly discussing tactics, and they consisted of Luna, Nightmare Moon, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire (who Rainbow Dash was practically drooling over), Cadence, and Shining Armour, of Team Moonpie. Both teams were on separate sides of the gym, and the bleachers were packed, full of guards and other staff members of the castle who were on break, eager for the carnage to begin. After all, it's not everyday you see some of the most powerful and inspiring ponies play a dodge-ball game.
Rarity was currently acting as one of the referees, as she had no wish to get hit in the face with a dodge-ball. Surprisingly enough, Pinkie Pie didn't want to play, either, though that was because somepony needed to bring out the snacks, and Pinkie Pie could be seen all around the sidelines, popping up out of nowhere to offer drinks, popcorn, whatever the pony seemed to want at the moment. Those who didn't question how the pink blur suddenly managed to appear next to them did question how they managed to get service so fast, and would forever ponder that.
With a shrill whistle sounding out, both teams looked up to see Rarity holding a whistle in her magical grasp. Once she had everypony's attention, she strode down to the middle of the gym, and beckoned for both teams to come over. Celestia shot Luna a sly wink before striding over with her team, and Luna could only grin as her team also made their way over.
Rarity cleared her throat before sounding off the rules of the game. "Right, these are the rules! I don't want anypony trying to find a way around these rules, and you know I have an eye for detail, so nothing is going to get past me. No magic (this was met with a whine from Twilight Sparkle), no flying (Rainbow Dash nearly died from that rule), no cursing, no cheating, no stepping over your side of the field, and you must start at the ends of the gym, where upon when I blow my whistle, you run to the balls located in the center and...Ugh, use them to bludgeon each other to death. Upon getting hit by a ball, you're out, and must move to the sidelines. Catching a ball from an opposing player will let you bring back a teammate who has been hit earlier, and the pony who threw the ball that you caught is out. If you get hit by a ball but manage to catch it before it hits the floor, the former rule applies. Any other rules can and may be made on the spot if it looks like unfair play to another team, and I reserve the right to call off the game in the event that somepony gets severely injured. Are my rules agreeable and fair?"
A wave of nods and murmurs of agreements satisfied Rarity. "Very well then. Return to the back of your team's side and await my whistle."
Both teams slowly made their way on over back to their side of the gym, and Rarity walked away, nodding to several attendants, who took that as their cue to lay out the balls that were going to be used in the game. There were eight in all, spread out on the line that separated both teams. Once placed down, Rarity held her hooves up, and silence overtook the entire gym. Horrified that all eyes were on her while she was wearing such a tacky referee uniform, Rarity levitated the whistle up to her mouth, and blew on it, sending out the shrill sounding noise that started the game.
With a speed that rivaled sound, Celestia ran up to the center, picking up a ball at the same time that Luna did. Both locked eyes with each other and immediately let loose with their projectiles. Since they were both close to each other, there was no missing for either of them. Celestia's ball hit Luna square in the face, while Luna's ball was impaled on Celestia's horn, deflating immediately with a bang.
"Princess Celestia, out! Princess Luna, out! Somepony get another ball in!"
Both alicorns glared at one another before retreating to their sidelines. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was the second to reach the balls, and she as she grabbed one, she let it fly, hitting Elhaym in the chest and almost hitting Twilight Sparkle in the face as it rebounded.
"Rainbow Dash, out!"
Rarity's call was unappreciated by Rainbow Dash. "WHAT?! I'm not the one who got hit by a ball!"
"You stepped over the line, get out!"
Looking down, Rainbow Dash saw that she indeed stepped over the line, and she smacked herself in the face with a wing before trudging over to join Luna. By now, all participants in the game wised up to the dangers of throwing a ball so close to another player or the line, and had begun to back up slightly with their balls before letting them loose. This crossfire was exchanged for awhile, and the crowd was on the edge of their seats, wondering what would happen net.
After throwing herself onto the floor to avoid a ball, Spitfire grabbed a ball, tossing it over to Shining Armour. "Captain, throw that ball up lazily, where anypony can catch it; I'll do the rest."
"Heh, sounds like a plan." Shining Armour tossed the ball up in a low arc at Applejack, who smirked at the seemingly easy catch that she was about to get. Unfortunately for her, since her attention was on the ball, she didn't see Spitfire's thrown ball, which impacted her in the chest, causing her to take a step back and missing the ball thrown by Shining Armour.
"Applejack, out!"
"Bah!" Applejack stomped out of the field.
Chrysalis noticed the trick that Spitfire and Shining Armor performed on the farmer, and she kept that in mind as Shining Armor threw the ball up lazily. Chrysalis pretended to have her concentration on the ball thrown overhead, but quickly made a grab at Spitfire's thrown ball, which was sucessful. Shining Armour's ball landed a few inches away from the alicorn, who stuck her tongue out at the two; unfortunately, karma was out to get her, as she was hit with a ball from Cadence.
"Spitfire, out! Princess Celestia, you're back in! Chrysalis, out!"
Celestia gave Chrysalis a grateful nod before going back into the game, dodging a ball thrown by Nightmare Moon; however, that very ball impacted Elhaym, who didn't see the ball that went flying in her direction.
"Elhaym, out!"
"Aw, shucks." The guard left the playing stage, leaving behind Fluttershy (who everypony was surprised at lasting this long), Celestia, and Twilight Sparkle, against Shining Armour, Cadence, and Nightmare Moon. With half of each team out, the balls weren't flying around as thickly anymore.
Twilight Sparkle squeaked with fear as Cadence and Shining Armour started an unrelenting attack on her, throwing balls that Twilight could barely avoid. Her few returning shots were very pitiful, as she had very small windows of opportunity to return fire. In the end, Cadence realized that it would be far easier to just catch one of Twilight's weak throws.
"Twilight Sparkle, out! Princess Luna, you're back in!"
"I don't even like sports! Why did I agree to this?!" Twilight Sparkle walked off the playing field, and Luna eagerly scrambled back into it.
So, we're back in again, eh, Lulu? Celestia grinned as she picked up a ball and flung it at Cadence. Shining Armour, however, took the ball for his wife, sparking a series of gasps from the crowd and from Cadence.
Even Rarity had trouble not being moved by the scene in front of her, and she wiped a tear from her right eye as she spoke her words. "Shining Armour...O-Out."
Cadence was not taking her husband's sacrifice well, as her tear-stained face was enough to say. "Shiny! Why?! That ball was meant for me! Y-You didn't have to do such a thing! W-Why, why?!"
Shining Armour looked up at her with a faint smile, and reached out with a hoof to touch his wife's face. "Because I lov-"
The moment was utterly ruined as a ball impacted Cadence in the face. "All's fair in love and war!" Crowed Celestia, as she readied another ball.
"...Cadence, out."
Shining Armour groaned as his plan backfired on the both of them. "Oh, come on! I was sure that was going to work! You needed to be more convincing, Caddy!"
"Excuse me?! Who was the one that tried to act like an overly dramatic diva just now?!"
The couple bickered with one another as they left the floor, and Luna sighed as she began trading balls with Celestia. "I have to admit, Tia, it was smart of you to ignore those two!"
"You have to learn to be very observant of your surroundings, Lulu." As she said that, irony caught up with her in full force as she tripped on a ball that she didn't see, sprawling out on the floor and causing an impact that made more than a few ponies wince. Even more unfortunate was the fact that Celestia was very, very close to the line that separated the two teams.
Taking the opportunity presented to her, Luna quickly ran up to her sister, and grinned down upon her as she prepared to fling a hastily grabbed ball down upon her sister. "It ends now, Tia! I shall win and take your cheesecake!"
Horror and scenes of unimaginable things happening to her cheesecakes flashed by Celestia's eyes, and she held a hoof up to shield her face, knowing that her end was near. "No, wait, stop, Lulu! I-I'll do anything for you!"
"It's too late to try and trade promises and services, Tia! Now, I shall have my revenge!" Luna threw the ball down on Celestia, who whimpered as it impacted her rump, adding insult to injury. Luna then laughed loudly (and extremely creepily), enjoying the sweet, sweet joy of having bested her sister.
That joy, however, was short-lived, as she felt an extremely soft impact against her side. Her laughing ceased and she looked with wide eyes at the pony who threw the ball, which was one Fluttershy, who, after all this time, was still in.
"Princess Celestia, out! Princess Luna, out! Team Cheesecake wins!"