Blaze the Pony Tale

by Wolven5


22. Fall Weather Friends - Part 1

It was a brisk late-morning, Midnight was busy plowing the cornfield, grunting like the workhorse he was becoming as he pulled the plow with gusto. Nearby Rainbow Dash and Applejack were throwing horseshoes (not the ones they were wearing, mind you, but the kind one throws for the actual game).
Rather ironic for an equine to be throwing horseshoes he thought with a chuckle when…

*BONK*

“OW!!!” he yelled, feeling something hard hit him on the side of the head.

“Sorry!”

Rubbing his head and grateful it wasn’t his horn, Midnight glared towards the girls and saw Rainbow Dash, who shrugged apologetically, as Applejack giggled, “Wow, Rainbow. Ya couldn’t hit a barn door with tha’ kinda throw.”

“Better a barn door than my head!” Midnight snapped, unfastening the harness, deciding to take a break.
“Well, AJ’s turn…”

He plopped down, ignoring the aching bump on his head as he watched Applejack pick up her next horseshoe, furrow her brows… then she let it go!

They watched it twirl through the air… and land perfectly onto the stake, winning Applejack the game.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack reared up in victory. “It’s a ringer! That’s how we do it here on th’ farm.”

“I lost,” Rainbow looked dejected.

“It’s just a stupid game, Dash, get over it,” Midnight, like the bump on his head, was still a little sore.

“I hate losing…” Dash muttered.

“Well it’s all in good fun, Rainbow,” assured Applejack, “besides yer a pretty good athlete.”

But as she trotted away, Applejack couldn’t resist adding, “Ah’m jus’ better.”

“All right, Applejack!” Rainbow fluttered after her, Midnight sighing as he followed as well. “You think you’re the top athlete in all of Ponyville?”

“Well Ah was gonna say ‘in all o’ Equestria’… but tha’ might be gildin’ the lily,” Applejack smirked as she brushed Rainbow in the face with her tail, Midnight rolling his eyes, having a feeling where this was going.

“Well I think I’m the top athlete…” Rainbow remarked, “So let’s prove it!”

“Prove what?” Midnight asked.

Ignoring the blue unicorn, the rainbow-maned pegasus said to the orange mare, “I challenge you to an Iron Pony Competition, a series of athletic contests to decide who’s the best… once and for all!”

“Y’know what, Rainbow? Yer on!” Applejack accepted and they sealed the deal with a spit-shake.

“Well, you ladies have fun,” Midnight said as he began to tro away, “I’m going to Sugarcube Corner for a milkshake-”

“Hold it right there!”

He felt a yank on his tail, making him bray in pain, as he glared to see Rainbow spitting it out as she said, “What’s a competition without someone to witness it?”

Midnight sighed, saying, “Well, then, why don’t you two get ready for your waste of time and I’ll get you a bigger audience!”

And without waiting for her answer, Midnight was gone in a literal flash.

As he walked through town, (having teleported to the square) Midnight planned to get that milkshake when he saw Twilight and Spike.
“Hey Midnight! I’ve got an interesting lesson planned for you!”

“Hi, Twilight,” Midnight sighed tiresomely.

“What’s got you so low this morning?” asked Spike with a raised brow.

“Dash and AJ,” Midnight replied with a wince, rubbing the bump Rainbow had given him and clenching his buttcheeks from how his dock ached after she'd pulled on his tail. “They were throwing horseshoes, I got smacked by one, AJ won, and Dash, being the sore loser she is, challenged her to a series of contests to determine who the best athlete is.”

“Really? Where are they?” Twilight asked, suddenly intrigued.

“Back at the farm,” Midnight replied. “I’m gonna get myself a shake, then round up a few ponies to be an audience for those two hard-heads.”

“Well, I’m gonna head over there,” Twilight said, “This just might be worth seeing! See you there!”

“I’ll see if Pinkie or the others are interested,” Midnight called after her as he made his way to Sugarcube Corner.

After enjoying a delicious shake, Midnight was on his way back to the farm, accompanied by Twinken, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Thunderlane, and Rumble.

“This really sounds awesome!” Twinken said as he rode on Midnight’s back. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack are both really good athletes!”

“Don’t forget two of the most stubborn and hard-headed mares you’ll find anywhere in Equestria,” Midnight reminded, prompting a laugh from everyone.

“Well, if I know Dash, she’s gonna give AJ a real gallop for her bits,” Thunderlane insisted.

“But you could still beat her, big brother!” Rumble insisted, “Rainbow may be fast, but she doesn’t have your stamina!”

Thunderlane chuckled appreciatively, rubbing his wing against his little brother.

“I just hope they don’t hurt themselves,” Fluttershy said in concern, holding a first-aid kit just in case.

“Pish-posh, darling,” said Rarity, “Those two are among the very best athletes I know. Granted, they could stand to be a little more feminine but-”

“Ooh, ooh! Look ahead!” interrupted Pinkie as she pointed ahead, and sure enough, the front-yard of Sweet Apple Acres now looked like an obstacle course, as well as a few places for different kinds of competitions. There was a set of bleachers for an audience, a corral, a high striker, a barrel-racing course, and more.

“Hello, everypony!”

They looked and saw Spike, standing on Twilight while holding a twig, speaking into it like a microphone, “And welcome to the first annual Iron Pony competition!”

“Uh, Spike? Who’re you talking to?”

“Us!”

They looked and saw their friends coming, Spike leaping onto Twilight’s head (to her chagrin) as he declared, “Let the games begin!”

Everypony cheered as things got started.


First Event: Barrel-Racing.

Applejack stood before the course, as Twilight walked up, Spike on her back while holding a stopwatch.
“Ready! Set… Go!”

Applejack zoomed past the moment Spike started the count. With agility honed by years of practice, and the skill of a rodeo champ, Applejack weaved around the barrels with uncanny precision… until she gasped and knocked into one.
“Dagnabbit!” she muttered to herself but kept going, quickly making the finish line.

“Time, Spike?” Twilight asked, Spike having just stopped the watch.

“Seventeen seconds,” he reported.

“Yer kiddin’!" Applejack exclaimed as she trotted up to them, "Tha’ breaks mah record from last year’s rodeo!”

But…” Spike brought up, “you got a five-second penalty for nudging the barrel.”

“How’d Applejack do, big brother?” Twinken asked as he sat on his brother’s lap, everypony watching from the bleachers.

“Well, Spike said AJ finished in seventeen seconds,” Midnight explained, everypony listening, “but because she touched one of the barrels, it adds five seconds as a penalty.”

“Even so, twenty-two seconds ain’t too shabby,” Thunderlane commented, Rumble nodding in agreement.

“Oh, it appears Rainbow’s about to start!” Rarity pointed out.

“Ready, set… go!” Twilight declared, a rainbow blur rushing past her, Spike barely having the time to start the count.

Rainbow weaved through the barrels just as quickly as Applejack had, appearing as a living rainbow blurring through the course. In no time at all, she completed the course. Everypony listened carefully and heard Spike gasp, “Eighteen seconds!”

They cheered as Fluttershy set up a point for Rainbow Dash on the scoreboard, but they knew this wasn’t over by a long shot.

As the competitions flew past, they got more intense while the audience grew in numbers. Even Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Big Mac joined in to watch the two athletes compete. Applejack beat Rainbow Dash on the high-striker, due to her years in apple-bucking, Rainbow Dash won the Bronco Buck (with poor Spike having been the buckee), Applejack won the Lassoing competition (Spike being the doggie who got hog-tied while Rainbow got tangled in her own rope), Rainbow beat Applejack in balancing bouncing balls, Applejack won the haybale throwing event, Rainbow won hoof-wrassling (to everypony's shock), Applejack bucked a Hoofball further than Rainbow did.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Spike announced. “At the halfway point, the competitors are tied at five points each!”

Who are you talking to?” Twilight demanded.

“Them!” Spike answered, and for the first time Twilight noticed what a huge crowd the competition had attracted.

On the bleachers, the others were getting more and more engrossed into the competition, Pinkie was even munching into a barrel of popcorn, the origin of which nopony knew, though she had been sweet enough to provide sodas. Unfortunately (in Rarity’s opinion) this had inspired the boys to try and out-belch each other.
“So uncouth!” Rarity muttered, doing her best to ignore a loud burp from Thunderlane.

Midnight smirked and took a good swig before letting out a growly burp, Twinken, Rumble, and Button Mash all laughing (Button having shown up to watch and had been invited to sit with his friends).

But then Big Mac once again lived up to his name and let out a belch straight from the belly, so loud it attracted the attention of the whole crowd. Midnight and Thunderlane whooped as they hoof-bumped their big red friend when somepony shouted, “Are you guys quite through?!”

They looked to see Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight giving them the stink-eye, Midnight chuckling as he motioned them to move it along and said, “Oh don’t mind us, carry on!”

Before long, the games got back on track. Rainbow won the next event of push-ups, and the Long Jump, she even won the competition of carrying chicks across mud. But Midnight noticed something about her victories as the events wore on – Rainbow Dash was using her wings to win.
I wonder why Twilight isn’t stepping in, this doesn’t seem fair for Applejack.

Midnight could tell Applejack was getting frustrated by the disadvantage but for some reason she wasn’t saying anything. Finally, it was down to the last event, a good ol’ fashioned game of Tug o’ War!

But Midnight noticed that Rainbow Dash was ahead of Applejack by fifteen to five. He intended to play his cards right and wait for this event to be over. Unsurprisingly, Rainbow won again… because she used her wings to lift Applejack with the rope and trick her into letting go and falling into the mud

Midnight teleported down to Twilight while Fluttershy set up the fifteen on the scoreboard, Rainbow boasting, “I win by a landslide!”

But she couldn’t resist saying to Applejack as she glared at her from the mud, “Or mudslide in your case!”

She flew up, a couple pegasi holding up a rainbow banner as she declared, “I am the Iron Pony!”

Her moment of victory however, was stolen as a bolt of energy flew out of nowhere and incinerated the banner, everypony gasping as Midnight stepped up, stating, “Only because you cheated!”

“What?!” Rainbow zoomed into his face, saying, “Who’re you calling a cheater?”

“You, that’s who!” Midnight said unflinchingly. “You used your wings to win over half of those events, and using your wings was not fair!”

“Sounds like sour-apples to me,” Rainbow retorted.

“More like rotten apples, from you Dash!” Applejack spoke up, “Ah cain’t believe it took somepony this long to speak up o’ how unfair this was.”

“What?! Now you’re just being a sore-loser!” Rainbow Dash accused when Midnight stood next to Applejack.

“Rainbow listen, what if I was the one competing against you? I could’ve just thrown the haybale or hoofball with my telekinesis or levitated myself for the Long Jump event. Wouldn’t you feel it unfair that I, a unicorn, was using my magic to win the contests?”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t rebut that because when she thought about, …He’s right.

She sighed, all her gusto gone as she looked at Applejack and said, “Sorry, AJ… I was being unfair.”

Applejack smiled and went over, putting a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, saying, “S’alright, Sugarcube, just glad t’ know yer admittin’ yer mistake.”

“Well,” Twilight spoke up, “since Rainbow is admitting her cheating, she forfeits the points she accumulated from the contests she won using her wings. This means you two are tied again at five points each.”

“And I have an idea of how you two can settle this once and for all,” Midnight added, “Tomorrow is the Annual Running of the Leaves. Since you two are tied, this could be your tie-breaker: Whichever of you crosses the finish-line first will be the winner of the Iron Pony Competition!”

“Ah’m in!” Applejack liked this idea.

“Bring it!” Rainbow zoomed up in excitement, only to be telekinetically yanked back down.

“With the condition of no wings allowed!" reminded Midnight with a firm tone before addign with a raised brow, "After all, you wanna win fair and square, right?”

Chuckling nervously, Rainbow nodded as Applejack approached her, spitting onto her hoof and holding it out. She got the idea and did the same, sealing the pact with a spit-shake