//------------------------------// // XII- Final Round: Endgame // Story: Foal Games // by DuskShadowBrony //------------------------------// Chapter XII- Final Round: The Endgame FlashRain was quick to get out of bed, and to the common area. Last night, Corona had promised that he could see DustStorm in the early morning. With only five competitors left, and three of them at two strikes, it seemed the Endgame was nearing. He paced around restlessly, and quickly whipped around when the door opened. But it was Dawn who stood there, not Corona. She froze as she saw him, and both stood in an awkward silence. “Morning.” Dawn eventually muttered. FlashRain returned the greeting, and she sat down on one of the couches. FlashRain struggled internally for a while, and then spoke. “Sorry about yesterday, Dawn.” “I don’t blame you.” She said. “You did what you thought was right to protect the others. If I were you, I would have thought the same thing.” They both looked up as Corona entered the room. “Flash? You wanted to see Dust?” She asked. “Come on, then.” Dawn gave a short wave of goodbye, which Flash returned. Flash and Corona trotted wordlessly through the halls, only their hoofsteps making any noise. They finally reached the nursery room door, and Corona pushed it open. Inside were a number of cribs, each with a number and name. Five were empty, for the five remaining players. She walked over to the one labeled ‘015- DustStorm’ and waited for FlashRain to approach. “When you’re done, come back downstairs.” She said, giving him a pat on the back before leaving. FlashRain looked in the crib. Inside, deep in sleep, was DustStorm. His cutie mark was gone, and in addition to his diaper, he had a pacifier. He rolled over slightly in his sleep. It seemed to be a peaceful dream, he had a calm look on his face, unlike most dreams he had in the past. “I will find a way out of this.” FlashRain whispered. “I’ll get us all out of here.” He gently patted Dust’s head before walking out, carefully shutting the door behind him. *** “This is the final round.” Corona spoke in an even more quiet voice than normal. “I had not originally planned to keep going, but I will do one final round. Anypony without three strikes at the end is free to go.” She rubbed an eye tiredly with a hoof. “It’s simple. I want you to feel how I feel, as a parent. Show me that you can be properly caring. The challenge, take care of a foal for a day. Torrent and Talon will be monitoring you, and taking notes. Every positive action will gain you points, negative actions will make you lose points. The pony with the most points at the end wins.” “Either way, win or lose, I am getting out of this, Corona.” FlashRain narrowed his eyes at her. “And when I do, I’m reporting you to the Royal Guard.” “Go ahead.” Corona answered. “I understand why you want to do it, and I won’t stop you.” A little taken aback by her response, FlashRain fell silent, allowing Corona to continue. “Go to the nursery. Talon and Torrent will show you the way. Pick a foal, and start from there. Good luck, my little ponies.” She slowly exited the room, Talon, Torrent, then the rest of the ponies following her out. *** “Isn’t this challenge a little unfair for the ones with two strikes?” Dawn asked. “I mean, they’re basically foals, how are they going to care for others?” “All they need to do is show that they can provide the same amount of care and love that Miss Corona can.” Talon replied. “If you ponies can do that, then that’s good enough.” Flash looked around, every other player with a foal already. He headed to Dust’s crib, and pulled down the side, carefully moving Dust out. Dust’s eyes opened slowly. “Hey there, little guy.” Flash spoke in a gentle whisper, brushing his wing across Dust’s face. Dust gave a small, happy smile, and Flash sighed. “Time to get you cleaned up and fed.” Aware of Talon’s eyes on him the entire time, Flash lifted Dust up, and placed him down on the changing table. Having never done this before, he looked around, and tried to learn from observation. His eyes fell on Dawn, who seemed to be doing it very well. Her foal, Oceana, was giggling happily while Dawn changed him. He followed her actions, and managed to finish the job. Using his wing as a ramp, he slid Dust onto his back, before heading to the kitchens. A group of highchairs were already set up, and Flash lowered Dust into one. He grabbed a bowl of hot foal food, a spoon, and brought it back. Dust was unsurprisingly well-behaved, and allowed Flash to feed him without incident. As he glanced around, he noticed that others weren’t doing as well. Dawn was half-covered in the food, as well as Oceana. Vine was trying to pry the spoon out of her foal, Luster’s magical grip. He turned back to Dust, and cleaned his mouth off with a napkin. “All right, little guy, let’s see what we can do for fun.” Carrying Dust out of the kitchen to the playroom, he examined the many assorted toys, finally going for a simple, colorful ball. He rolled it over to Dust, who batted it back at him. They played together for a while, and after some time, the other players came in with their foals. Turning his attention back to Dust, he could see Dust was in need of another change. Scooping Dust up with his wing and transferring Dust into his back, he headed back to the nursery. Having done it once, he was quick this time to clean Dust up and get a new diaper on him. Dust smiled happily and gave Flash a small hug. Flash gently nuzzled him back as Dust yawned. “Tired already, huh buddy? What happened to sleep being a waste of time?” He smiled at Dust and carried him back to his crib. *** It was far past noon when Dust finally woke up. Flash lifted him out of the crib, and offered him a bottle, helping Dust hold it. Dust drank the bottle quickly, and Flash set it aside. “Woke up thirsty, did you, sleepy-head?” Flash ticked Dust with a wing, and he giggled happily. It was at this moment, Flash realized something. This was the first time since he had known Dust, that he heard him laugh. He looked into Dust’s eyes, and no longer saw the pain in the back that Dust always tried to hide and force a smile through. There was just the bright, innocent, and happy eyes of a foal. *** “We have the results.” Talon pulled out a clipboard. “Miss Corona, if you will?” She took the clipboard from him and announced the results. “FlashRain is the winner of today’s competition!” she seemed happy again. “I doubted that you ponies could take care of the foals, but even those of you who didn’t win, you still did very well. I’m happy to see that.” “That means only Dawn and I are leaving.” FlashRain said to himself. His magic paper confirmed this. Foal Games- Competitor List Remember, 3 strikes and you’re out! 001- Dawn- Pale Purple Unicorn, Female- Strikes: 2 002- Vine- Light Green Earth Pony, Female- Strikes: 3 003- Leaf- Deep Green Earth Pony, Female- Strikes: 3 004- SwiftCloud- Pale Gray Pegasus, Male- Strikes: 3 005- LightningFlash- Yellow Pegasus, Male- Strikes: 3 006- Oceana- Blue Unicorn, Male- Strikes: 3 007- Crayg- Orange-Brown Earth Pony, Male- Strikes: 3 008- SolidSteel- Gray Earth Pony, Male- Strikes: 3 009- Clay- Beige Pegasus, Male- Strikes: 3 010- Luster- Bright Blue Unicorn, Female- Strikes: 3 011- Rhythm- Red Pegasus, Female- Strikes: 3 012- SilverLining- Deep Gray Pegasus, Female- Strikes: 3 013- Sprout- Brown Earth Pony, Male- Strikes: 3 014- Mentira- Pink Unicorn, Female: Strikes: N/A 015- DustStorm- Gray Unicorn, Male- Strikes: 3 016- FlashRain- Pale Blue Pegasus, Male- Strikes: 1 Dawn had the magic powder scattered over her, and she shrunk down to a very small pony. Torrent took her aside to have her diapered, while Corona trotted over to Flash. “Congratulations. You and Dawn will be able to leave.” “Corona, I’m sorry for what I’m going to do. But I can’t just leave the ponies like this. I’m still a member of the SIU, and I have to finish my job.” FlashRain told her quietly. “I told you, I understand.” Corona walked off. “Do what you must. The East door is open now. It will lead outside.” “Wait!” Flash called after her. She turned around. “Corona… just as a hypothetical question… I won’t actually do this, but… if I keep quiet, can I still visit?” She smiled at him. “Of course. You’re always welcome here.” Flash waited for Dawn to return. It did not take long. She stumbled in with her new garment around her waist. “I don’t want to tawk about it.” She muttered. “Wet’s just go.” They walked together in silence, and reached the East doorway. Flash took a deep breath, and pushed the door open to the outside. The moon shone down brightly, and a gentle breeze stirred the air. Flash could see Canterlot in the distance, and making sure Dawn could keep up, headed straight for the SIU office. *** “So what’s your report?” The SIU head agent asked. Dawn had been sent to the Canterlot General Hospital, where a team of magic technicians were finding a way to reverse her transformation. Standard age spells had not worked. Dawn’s mind had been wiped faster, and she did not even remember coming to the hospital. She was acting the age her body said she was. Flash inferred that there was a direct correlation between the pony’s rate of mental regression and their IQ. Flash was about to spill everything, then he thought back. All those foals. They were living so peacefully, with no pain or worries. They had a good mother and skilled caretakers. Corona had a family again. Everypony was happy. He couldn't tear them apart. It would be wrong to destroy that harmony. Flash was brought back to his senses by his superior's voice again. “Agent FlashRain! Your report?” “We were unable to find the suspect.” Flash answered. “It was not Corona, life advisor. We think that the suspect resides somewhere in the Crystal Empire. Agent DustStorm has already gone there to investigate.” “Very well. But this sort of contact breaks normal protocol. Next time, do not report until the investigation is complete. Good luck, FlashRain.” He saluted, and Flash returned the gesture. “Thank you sir.” He quickly left the office as Torrent's illusion spell fell away. He sighed in relief. If the spell that made him look like his old age had worn off before he finished the conversation, there would be quite some explaining to do. It was a good thing that Torrent had caught up with him shortly after he had left Corona's house. Flash took one last look back at the office, before heading back home. *** “What is it, Miss Corona?” Talon asked. “Are they here?” Corona had just looked up and out the window. “No.” She answered. “They won’t be coming. I’ve got a feeling that somepony is watching out for us.” She smiled knowingly. “Thank you, FlashRain.” Corona said in a whisper only she could hear. “You truly have won the game.” Foal Games- End