Room Mares

by TJW


The Athlete

Twilight sat accompanied by Rarity, Quackmire and Spike at their socially allocated bench during the lunch hour, tactically positioned far away from what Rarity would describe as 'the riff raff'. The cafteria's food was a fair way above average quality for what one would expect for such a thing, due to the college's hefty tuition fees, so the group had no trouble tucking into the delicacies that lay in front of them. The first half of Twilight's day proved to be challenging at best, between balancing her own studies with helping Rarity with hers and dodging Trixie, this hour of momentary rest was made even more valuable for her.

Rarity made sure that both the interior and exterior of her mouth were clear of debris before she spoke, "It sure is generous of the staff to provide us with meals each day, normally students have to arrange their own food at college".

Twilight seemed unimpressed, keeping her lifeless gaze on her empty plate, "True, but normally students don't have to practically sell their souls in fees to get into the place". She thought it best to keep quiet that she had been exempt from this pricing, thanks to being Celestia's recommendation and all.

Spike had become used to noticing when Twilight was hiding her inner troubles, certain tells in her facial expression gave her right away, "What is it now, Twilight? Did you lose your 'Fifty Shades of Neigh' novel again?"

"No, no, thank Celestia I managed to find it this morning... Err I mean... What 'Fifty Shades of Neigh' novel?!" sqeaked Twilight, blushing profusely.

"Well what's the problem then? Are you struggling with your studies?"

She turned to Spike, slightly offended at his suggestion that SHE could ever have problems with her studies, "No it's not my schoolwork. I'm starting to feel my reputation with the College is crumbling, all day I've been noticing dark glares I've received from the teachers and I don't know why".

"Maybe... it might be because you nearly levelled an entire wing of the building... on your first day?" Rarity interjected as carefully as possible.

Twilight's head slumped into her hooves, wondering how she could have forgotten about such a prominent event.

Spike edged closer to wrap his arm around Twilight, "Cheer up Twilight! I'm sure there are lots of ways for you to assert yourself in the school, perhaps you could try doing some sort of extra-curricular activity?"

Twilight headbutted Spike as she flew back up to her upright posture, her mood thoroughly revitalised. "Spike, you're a genius! That's exactly what I need to do! But what should it be? Science club? Debate team? The Epic Society of Ultimate Chess Legendaries?"

"What about athletics?" questioned Quackmire eagerly, "You could sign up for the athletics competition taking place tomorrow!"

His suggestion was only met by stern glares from the other three. Twilight softly giggled to herself, "You know, I'll forgive you for that because you don't know me very well. I'm here for my superior brain power, physical exercise isn't exactly MY thing, so there's not a chance in Tartarus that I would subject myself to athetics!"

"I think the winner gets extra credit"

"Where do I sign up?"

Quackmire reflected back on the numerous sign up sheets he'd seen throughout the day, trying to remember the details, "I believe the competition is open to any student who feels they have some sort of athletic prowess, which looking around the place would suggest there won't be too many, and you select one event to compete in with the winner of each one achieving extra credit."

"That's brilliant!" gleamed the now joyful purple unicorn, "Extra credit is just what I need to rebuild my relationship with the CCGU! If they see that I'm a student who is willing to go above and beyond to excel during my time here, then they should realise that I'm not just some violent trouble maker!"

The other three members of the conversation shifted their eyes awkwardly, before Rarity was subconsciously nominated to be the one to rain down on Twilight's parade. "Um, Twilight? How do you actually plan on... well... winning?"

This was the second time that Twilight had overlooked something so abundantly obvious, scrambling through improvised thoughts to give an answer to make it seem as though she had actually thought it through. "Well... I guess I have some books on sport that I could examine?"

Quackmire promptly climbed onto the table, walked over to the stuttering unicorn and slapped her across the face with a considerable amount of his force, which didn't actually cause Twilight too much pain due to Bill's scrawny physique. "I cannot believe what I am hearing! This is an ATHLETICS competition! Where the physically adept meet in the stadium to prove their dominance... and you want to prepare for that with BOOKS?... I wipe my ASS with books... literally... our dorm doesn't really provide us with toilet paper so we have to use what we can. But I digress! If you want any chance of coming out on top in your event, you're gonna need to train! Train... hard and long... quackiddy".

"We'll train you, Twilight!" Spike added excitedly, "All three of us will"

"I'm afraid I must exclude myself from that proposition" informed Rarity, slowly removing herself from the table, "I too haven't the faintest clue about sports... and besides... I have to start work on that five page essay on 'Sporadic Magical Combustion' that YOU so generously set for me as practise, Twilight".

"Oh, no problem Rarity, you're welcome!" grinned Twilight

"Haha, kiss my bucking flank" mumbled Rarity through gritted teeth as she made her way out the cafeteria.

"Don't mind if I do!" called Quackmire, the only one within earshot of her hushed statement.

Twilight used her magic to levitate the empty dishes into one neat stack, as she gestured her two volunteered coaches towards the exit. "Alright everypony, let's hit the track!"
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With the exception of two mares, positioned unintrusively in the stands, the CCGU athletics stadium was currently uninhabited, leaving all of its facilities open and available for Twilight and her crack team of personal coaches, consisting of Spike and Quackmire. Having just come from her lunch break meal, Twilight's stomach felt full and heavy and as much as she'd have liked to, she couldn't use this as an excuse for the diabolical performance that her training session had entailed. The mortified duck and dragon could only watch on in despair as their trainee tripped, stumbled and collapsed in each and every event she attempted, with each failure narrowing any prospect of extra credit she hoped for.

In the 100m dash, the uncoordinated unicorn's time was so disgraceful, that an average pony could have beaten her time even if they were standing still.

In the high jump, her leap was so pathetic, that an onlooker would assume it was more likely she was playing limbo than actually trying to get over the bar.

In the javelin, her throw was so weak, that her distance had to be measured in minus figures.

It was clear at this point that neither speed or strength were going to be anything but a problem in the competition, so this clearly was not the right approach. With sweat dripping and the threat of indigestion looming, Twilight headed over to Spike and Quackmire as a solution to this dilemma had to be formed. They had to think of an event that would allow Twilight to use as much brain as she would muscle. Then it hit her,

"The 1000m gallop!" she bounded up and down as the words left her lips, trotting circles around her companions, "It's so obvious! Although I can't handle all out pace, I'm sure I'd be able to handle a slower run. Then I would be able to ration out my overall stamina to ensure I maintain a constant speed throughout the race!"

The three shared a nod of agreement as they strolled off to the track designated for long distance running for their last few minutes of training they could squeeze in before having to head back to their dorms. They were so engaged in this new idea that they paid no regard to the two mares sat in the stands. The two mares that had witnessed every one of Twilight's athletic blunders. The two mares being Trixie and Sunset Shimmer.

Wiping a tear from her eye and catching her breath from the intense laughter, she turned her attention over to Trixie, wearing a now sinister expression on her face. "The 1000m gallop eh? I think my brilliant mind has just hatched an idea to make this situation even funnier! But I'll need your help with it"

Trixie rubbed her chin quizzically, "Trixie doesn't quite understand, but likes where you are going with this. What do you need?"

"I don't suppose you have any industrial grade bear tranquilisers do you?"

"Pfft, obviously! Trixie would never leave home without them!"

"Great!" grinned Sunset, "Meet me tomorrow at the side of the track with the goods, then we'll take it from there. Twilight is in for more of a shock than she could ever expect!"
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It was the day of the competition. An atmosphere of excitement flooded the stadium as all the CCGU's students with free study periods filled the stands as they observed the various sporting events being played out in front of them. The intensity and pressure of her upcoming event was taking a serious toll on Twilight as she stood at the side of the track, waiting for the dreaded announcement for the start of her race to arrive. Her morning was straining enough on its own, due to the various muscular aches and pains she woke up with from the previous day's training session. Despite her anxiety, she took comfort in the thought that she had already planned it all out, everything from starting intensity to overall pacing had been calculated, all that was left to do now was to participate in the race itself. Sure enough, that time had come:

*Could all competitors of the mares' 1000m gallop please make their way to the starting area*

She took a strong inhalation through her nostrils, then headed over to the requested start point. Upon arrival, she took the opportunity to evaluate her competition, who were all gathered around a large energy drink dispenser, taking it in turns to use it for some pre-race refreshment. Twilight considered whether to join them and capitalise on the chance for an extra boost of energy, but rejected it, mentally concluding 'Naa, I can't stand that stuff. I'll stick to water'.

After a very short briefing, the racers took their positions at the starting line. As Twilight stared down at her hooves, a surge of self confidence filled her chest before spreading to her head. While double and triple checking her calculations for the race, the thought that she could come out on top after two and a half laps of the track was more and more feasible. She very well COULD win this. No, she WAS going to win this!

*All racers at your mark. Get set. GO!*

Twilight kept her head down and lunged forward, focused only on her hooves and maintaining the amount of speed she had allocated for herself at this point in the race. Thinking back to her session the day before, she was doing well, really well, she was truly on her way to beating her personal best, this was a huge spell of encouragement for her. Still with her head held low, she breezed her way around the first lap, another confidence booster to help her on her way to victory. Everything was going great. Too great. Something didn't seem right here, in her fixation of her own performance, she hadn't noticed the lack of presence of the other racers, where were they? For the first time in the race, she looked up ahead of her, which met her with a crushing disappointment of an answer to her question. The other mares were a fair way down the track, having left her in the dust a while ago. This couldn't be happening, how could they have edged away from her so much? Perhaps the energy drink she had dismissed was giving them the advantage over her? She was about half way through the second lap as she watched the racers complete this lap and gallop into their last 200 metres of the race. She had to try harder, she couldn't let the prize of extra credit slip out of her hooves. There was a chance she could pull it back, maybe if she pushed herself. She finished the second lap as the other racers darted into their last 100 metres. It would take nothing short of a miracle to win now, she watched as the leading mare executed her final sprint, fast closing in on the end. It was over.

THUD

The mare stumbled and fell to the ground, tumbling along the track and stopping just inches of the finishing line. The same fate was brought upon the unicorn in second place, then third. Gradually, one by one, each competitor collapsed to the ground, fast asleep and ending their run of the race. Each competitor... except Twilight. The exhausted purple unicorn was both delighted and stunned by what was happening around her, but chose not to question it and push for the finish regardless. As she pulled into the final stretch, it was evident that the other racers were not waking up any time soon. Once the shocked gasps from the crowd had subsided, they were replaced by a roar of cheers and applause for Twilight, which filled her soul with delight and pride of her oncoming victory, even if was slightly undeserved.

Meanwhile, Trixie and Sunset were sat at the far side of the track as Twilight crossed the finishing line. They were left mouth agape, arguing between themselves and wondering how their 'flawless' plan had backfired so heavily, producing the exact OPPOSITE result to the one they were expecting.

Twilight came to a gradual halt, drowning in the positive feedback from the crowd and the guarantee of extra credit. Spike, Quackmire and Rarity rushed towards the panting victor and embraced her in a strong hug.

Spike was overflowing with pride at their unexpected success, "That was amazing Twilight! Maybe a bit lucky... but I'm sure you could have pulled it back even if that didn't happen!"

Rarity released Twilight from her grip, turning to the dormant racers who were being carried off the track, "Speaking of which... what do you think it was that caused this to happen to them, Twilight?"

Twilight thought this over, reflecting on any posible solutions she could, "I'm not sure? Perhaps they all had a bad reaction to something that was put in the energy drink?"