//------------------------------// // 20: Seven Days of Stress // Story: The Games We are Forced to Play // by Kablam Pony //------------------------------// Twilight The day after Twilight’s announcement, Wednesday, Ponyville was surrounded by a constantly buzzing atmosphere as everypony hummed with energy and creative sparks trying to create their own unique game. Ponies were constantly bouncing ideas off of each other or had some quill and paper in front of them to write ideas down. There were a few who were already trying out rough designs of their game, but were repeatedly stopping to make new adjustments or stopping the game all together to try a different one. Twilight was constantly in motion doing one task or another. The day before, Twilight and Mayor Mare had spent the rest of the afternoon talking and planning the arrival of Richard Sportsen and what was needed at the school field for the show and tell. Their first priority was to inspect the field to make sure it was in excellent condition and ready for whatever kind of demonstration that could happen on the field. Secondly, they needed to make arrangements for food and refreshments during and after the tryouts. Lastly, Twilight and the mayor needed to devise an orderly way that allowed every pony in town to have at least one chance to present to Mr. Sportsen. All of this needed to happen before Sportsen arrived at the Ponyville train station and Twilight was already starting on the list. Her first stop was the Ponyville elementary school and the sports field behind it. She wanted to make sure that it was in peak condition when tryouts came because Twilight knew that one of the games was going to damage the field; she was half expecting it to be Rainbow Dash’s game. She slowly trotted up a familiar dirt path as the town slowly faded away behind her and the school house came into view over the crest of the hill. Twilight could hear the cries of children playing behind the school and she smiled softly to herself. She approached the school house and walked around to inspect the field. Behind the elementary school was a large, flat field currently occupied by the school fillies who were out on a recess break. The children whooped and cheered as they played their games back and forth across the field. There was an ongoing kick ball game in part of the field while others foals played tag with others who weren’t interested in playing kick ball that day. The last of the school children were off playing on the play sets, sliding down the slides and pushing each other on the swing set to see who could go the highest. Standing near the edge of the field was a maroon red pony with pink highlights in her mane and three smiling dandelions as her cutie mark. Twilight trotted over to join Ms. Cheerilee in watching over the children. “Good afternoon, Cheerilee!” Twilight greeted as she stopped next to her. “Princess Twilight! Good to see you today!” Cheerilee took a small bow before standing up again, “How are you? We haven’t seen you here at the school in a while now.” “I’m doing okay, right now. I’m busy with preparing the town for when Sportsen arrives for the games tryouts.” “Ah, yes. I was there when you made the announcement,” Cheerilee nodded, “All the school children were so excited when they came in today. Everypony wanted to see what kind of ideas they could come up with to see who could be chosen by Sportsen!” Cheerilee chuckled to herself. “How are the school fillies? I only get to see some of them in passing and the only ones I really get to talk to are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo during their ‘Twilight time’.” Off in the distance the three fillies Twilight just named came into view with some kind of kite strapped to Scootaloo while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran ahead with rope in their mouths. Cheerilee chuckled again, “Oh don’t worry, Princess. Eveypony has been doing well with the lessons and have been growing up quite nicely. The crusaders have been causing no more trouble than usual and they still somehow end up with more ideas for their next ‘Adventure’. It’s great to see so much creativity and enthusiasm, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pull them out of trees or untangle them during recess.” This time it was Twilight turn to giggle in laughter, “Well it’s good to see that you are always there to help them. Have any of the fillies decided to enter in the show and tell for Sportsen?” “Actually, yes; almost all of my students wanted to attempt at making a game for Sportsen,” Cheerilee took a moment to stop watching the field and look at Twilight, “In fact, I’ve decided to make a class room project out of it! I’m having everypony in class to try and come up with a new and original game to present to the class at the end of the week. We’re going to have our own little show and tell just like Mr. Sportsen! And the winner of our show and tell is going to receive a little prize.” “Ooo, what kind of prize is it?” Twilight raised her brow in curiosity. “Well, I was thinking on a small ice cream party for the class and the winner would get first pick of what ice cream they wanted and get a double serving of their ice cream.” The two mares giggled together at the perfect idea for a prize. When they finished, Twilight let her attention return to inspect the field. The field was already in pretty good condition; there wasn’t a whole lot of fixing that needed to be done to it. The grass needed to be trimmed a little bit and some patches of dirt could be fixed with a little grass, but the field looked relatively good. Cheerilee noticed Twilight looking at the field, “Was there anything else you needed, Princess?” “Well, I really came here to see how the field looked and if any kind of repairs were needed before Sportsen arrives here in Ponyville.” “Ah, well don’t worry Princess. The groundskeeper is scheduled to mow the grass tomorrow and I will have the school children help out as well with picking up toys and any kind of trash that may be laying around,” Cheerilee smiled with confidence. “Excellent! Thank you so much Cheerilee,” the school teacher beamed even more from the Princess’s praise, “The only other thing I would like to ask of you is if we can borrow a few cones to mark off lines.” “Don’t worry Princess Twilight, I am more than willing to help out and lend some of our activity cones to you,” Cheerilee reassured. “Thank you, then I’ll leave you to the rest of your day. Have a good day Ms. Cheerilee!” Twilight waved good bye as she took off to fly back to Ponyville. Cheerilee waved goodbye before turning back to watch the children; only to gasp and shout, “No Apple Bloom! You can’t fly with a kite like that!” and ran off to stop the crusaders from causing another catastrophe. ~~~ On Thursday, Twilight wanted to take care of getting refreshments available. The easiest drinks that could be procured would be water; there was no making process needed, no mixing time, and if they ran out it was easy to replace. However, Twilight needed something to hold all the water in like a tub or a barrel. A barrel. Twilight paused in her listening of some ponies asking her to help with deciding whose idea for a game was better than the others. Barrels wouldn’t be too hard to get because the Apple family had plenty of barrels available that were used to hold liquids. In fact, Twilight could ask to use some of the apple cider barrels that were in storage waiting for apple cider season. “Princess Twilight?” Twilight refocused her eyes on the two ponies looking at her with concern, “Yes?” “We were wondering which game you thought was better? Do you think ‘Four Base Relay’ is better, or ‘Hoops and Shoots’ is better?” “Uhh,” Twilight had been stopped every few steps today by ponies asking if she thought their games were a good idea and it had been impeding progress, “I think both games are good ideas, but only Mr. Sportsen will be able to give a final answer. I’m sorry, but something just came up that I need to take care of; could you excuse me?” Twilight quickly trotted off leaving the ponies to continue arguing by themselves while she headed for the Apple farm again. Luckily, nopony had stopped Twilight again on her way out of town and her surroundings were quickly replaced with an open field to one side and the apple tree orchard on her other side. When she walked through the front gate of the apple farm, she glanced around looking for Applejack. She brightened when she spotted her putting some hay in the big red barn and quickly closed the distance between her and Applejack. “Hey Applejack!” The farmer pony stuck her head out from behind the barn doors and smiled. “Howdy Twilight! How’s it going?” “It’s a little hectic right now with everypony running around trying to come up with their game ideas,” Twilight gave a tired smile, “Applejack, can I ask of you a favor?” “Sure Twilight, what do you need?” Applejack shut the barn door behind her and faced Twilight ready to lend a helping hoof. “Well, I need to borrow a few of your apple cider barrels for next Tuesday when Sportsen arrives for the tryouts.” Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Cider barrels? Why would you need those? I thought you weren’t competing in the tryouts.” “I’m not,” Twilight corrected, “I need them for a refreshments stand we are setting up during the tryouts. Mayor Mare and I agreed that it would be a good idea to have snacks and drinks out when it gets hot or when ponies are finished with their presentation during the day.” “Oh; well then, sure Twilight. You can use a couple of barrels. We store them in the apple cellar just around back. Give me a minute and I’ll go get them.” Applejack headed around the barn with Twilight following behind. A couple minutes later, Applejack had procured three large, empty barrels for Twilight. “Thanks Applejack. These will do perfectly for the refreshments stand.” “Aw shucks, it’s no problem Twilight. If you want, big mac and I can help carry them carry them out to the field for you and help set them up with nozzles for easier serving!” “Really? Thanks Applejack! I wouldn’t mind the help taking them over to the school house. Each of us can grab one barrel and head over right now.” “Uh, that’s great Twilight, but…” Twilight paused in her step to pick up her barrel in her magic to stare at her friend, “Before we do that, there’s something I want to ask you first before we take those barrels.” Twilight looked at Applejack with concern and a hint of worry. Usually Applejack was reluctant to ask for help with a lot of tasks; so when Applejack did ask for help, it was often for something important to her. “What’s wrong Applejack? Is everything alright?” “No, everything is fine. I’m doing just fine…” “Did something happen on the farm? Another bat infestation?” “No no, it’s not that either. I just don’t want to be too much of a burden for asking this…” “Well, what seems to be the problem, then?” Twilight was stumped now. If it wasn’t a problem with Applejack and her family or something on the farm, she had no idea what Applejack needed. “I was just hoping, that maybe, you might be able to give your opinion on the game I’ve come up with!” Applejack said hopefully. “Really?” Twilight did a double take, “You want my opinion?” “That’s right! It would mean a lot to me to have an honest opinion from somepony on the outside to tell me what needs improvement.” “Um, sure; I guess I could do that. What kind of game is it?” “Now, I don’t want to share too many details about it because I think Rainbow Dash might be trying to steal my idea,” Applejack’s eyes darted around to the nearby trees for possible eavesdroppers, “But let me show you what I have so far. Wait here and I will be right back.” Applejack galloped off around the barn again, leaving Twilight standing there at the cellar entrance and three large barrels beside it. She stood there awkwardly waiting for Applejack to come back with whatever she was bringing. A few moments later, Applejack came back with three apples bouncing on her back. She stopped in front of Twilight and set the apples down in front of her in a straight line before sitting down on her hind legs. “Now, I’ve only been able to get the basics down and I’ve sort of have some rules made, but I’m still working on it. Let me show you what I’ve been practicing.” Applejack scooped up the three apples in her arms and tossed them in the air. The apples collided together in midair and bounced off of each other in different directions. They landed on the ground with a soft thud and rolled around. Applejack scrambled to collect all three apples again in her hooves before returning to sit in front of Twilight again. “Hang on, let me try that again,” Applejack said while trying to focus on her apples again. She tried tossing the apples again in the air. This time the apples didn’t bounce off each other and fell back down to the ground while Applejack struggled to catch the apples again and toss them back up. The apples hit the ground again kicking up a small amount of dust. Once again, Applejack quickly collected the fallen apples off the ground to try tossing them up again. She repeated her attempts over and over again leaving a baffled Twilight to decipher exactly what Applejack was trying to do. On Applejack’s final attempt, one of the apples collided together again and hit Applejack in the head with a noisy bonk. “Uh, not exactly what I wanted to show but I think I am getting better each time,” Applejack rubbed her head where the apple landed on her, “So what do you think? Be honest, I want to know if something needs to be changed or not.” Twilight stared in confusion, “Uum, I’m not exactly sure what you were trying to do. Were you trying to juggle the apples?” “Yes! I was thinking on either adding a few things or changing a few rules I have in mind to make some ideas easier. So what do you think so far?” “Well,” Twilight gave a pained expression, “Without knowing any details about your game like rules or the main objective to win, there is not much I can comment on.” Applejack’s head drooped slightly and her eyes fell but Twilight quickly continued, “But I think it seems like a good idea! Keep practicing and I’m sure you will have it ready by the time Sportsen arrives,” Twilight tried to comfort with a forced smile; but like she said before, there wasn’t a lot for her to judge if she didn’t know anything about Applejack’s game. “Thanks Twilight. I will make sure to keep practicing and try to work out some of the knots in the game too. Now, let me get big mac and we can take those barrels over to the school field.” Applejack picked up the apples and trotted off to put them away as well as collect her older brother to help Twilight move the barrels. Once everypony had their barrel secured, they made the journey to the school house. They walked in silence with Applejack smiling quietly to herself and Twilight happy that she was getting her barrels. They set the barrels down next to a table that was set aside for the tryouts and the three ponies said their farewells to each other. ~~~ Now that Twilight had barrels to hold water for drinks, she needed to fill the barrels with water. But the barrels were quite large and would take a lot of water to fill them. There were several ways to fill the barrels, all with their pros and cons. The easiest way to would have Rainbow Dash gather a rain cloud to use and fill the barrels there; it wouldn’t require the need for a long hose and it was faster than waiting for the faucet to pump enough water out. So Friday, Twilight set out to finding her weather Pegasus friend for help. However, it was easier said than done; it took longer than it should have to find Rainbow. Twilight was stopped several times by ponies asking her to judge their less-than-half finished games. A few ponies asked Twilight about the scheduling of tryouts and Twilight was genuinely happy to answer those questions, but they were only few out of the many other questions ponies asked. Eventually, Twilight spotted Rainbow Dash lying on a cloud over the parks of Ponyville. She had her hooves folded behind her head as she lazily drifted in the air without a care in the world. Twilight stopped just below the cloud and call Rainbow Dash’s name. “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted. She got no response. “Rainbow Dash!!” This time, the cyan Pegasus jolted awake and rolled over to see who was calling her name. “Oh, hey Twilight! What’s up?” “I was wondering if I could help me with something for the tryouts.” Twilight’s friend glided down from her makeshift bed and landed before her, “I don’t know. I’m kind of busy with this whole ‘Making a new game’ thing and I’m in the middle of some very important ‘Making’ business.” “‘Making’ business??” Twilight thought to herself as she raised a skeptical eyebrow at Rainbow, “But weren’t you just taking a nap on your cloud?” “Twilight, you should know that greatness comes in mysteriously awesome ways to me. I wasn’t sleeping, I was… planning. Planning what I’m going to do when I win that show and tell with that Sportsen guy.” “Something to do with the Wonderbolts, I presume,” Twilight mussed to herself. “Don’t worry your princess head, I’ve got this in the bag,” Dash finished patting her chest with her usual bravado. “Why should I be worried?” Twilight narrowed her eyes, “I’m not the one trying out for Sportsen. Besides, I just need your help with filling up a few barrels with water.” Rainbow slowly shook her head, “Sorry Twilight, I need to finish making that game before I run out of time. I want to make extra sure that it’s the most awesome game out of everyone else’s game. But if you do a little something for me, I might be willing to do a little something for you,” she leaned closer to Twilight offering the deal. Twilight gave an upset huff, “Fine, what do you need me to do?” “Relax Twilight, it’s nothing hard. I just want you to tell me what you think about my game that I have made.” “That’s it?” Twilight raised her brow in surprise. “Yeah! I told you that it wasn’t hard.” Rainbow grinned at the prospect of Twilight helping her out. “Hey Twilight!” Twilight turned looking for who had called her name to see Connor, of all ponies, approaching them. “Hi Connor, how are you?” “I’m doing fine. Listen, I was wondering if I could borrow Spike for a little bit; is that alright?” Twilight tilted her head a little in curiosity, “Sure, he’s in the library right now. What do you need him for?” “I was going to have him help me write a few things down for me, that’s all. It’s for the game that I have in mind.” “All right then,” Twilight nodded in understanding, “Good luck with your game!” “Thanks, I’ll see you later!” Connor waved goodbye and he trotted off back into town. With Connor gone, Twilight turned back to her Pegasus friend, “Alright, let’s see what you have so far.” “Great! So, right now the game is called ‘Extreme Kick Ball’. It starts off with somepony kicking the ball,” Rainbow Dash ran over to a place and pretended to kick a ball being rolled at her, “Next, another pony has to run and catch the ball,” she flew to a point in the sky to catch her imaginary ball, “Then, the pony has to run back and tag the kicker all while doing super cool tricks!” Rainbow did a few speedy loop-de-loops and barrel rolled towards the ground to tag Twilight in the side. She landed confidently with her head held high waiting to hear to adoring praises from Twilight, “Isn’t that just like normal kick ball?” Rainbow did a double take, “No, it’s not like normal kick ball! ‘Extreme Kick Ball’ is different because it’s more awesome.” Twilight rubbed her chin planning her next words, “Okay, it’s different. But maybe you should trying something new so it doesn’t get confused with normal kick ball.” “Hmm,” Rainbow lowered her eyes in thought, “Yeah, your right! It needs to be more awesome so that there’s no way it could be confused with any other kind of kick ball! Thanks Twilight. Now, what was it that you needed help with?” “I need a rain cloud to fill up the barrels with water at the school field for next Tuesday at the show and tell.” “No problem, you can count on me!” Rainbow snapped a salute, “I’ll have those barrels filled by the time you get to the elementary school! I’ll see you there!” Rainbow soared into the blue sky again collecting clouds and pushing them in the direction of the Ponyville elementary school. Twilight took off herself and left the field in a hurry to meet Dash at the school to watch the barrels be filled to regulated capacity. As she approached the school, a cluster of rain clouds were hanging over the field with Rainbow Dash bouncing on top of them to pound the rain out of them. Just as she landed, the rain had stopped and the barrels were laden with fresh, cool water. “Thanks Rainbow Dash, I really appreciate it.” Twilight smiled thanking her friend. “No problem, always happy to help. Now if you will excuse me, I have a game to make!” Rainbow busted the clouds she gathered and left the field to return to designing her game. Twilight let out a tired sigh and began her slow walk back to town. Now that the water issue had been dealt with, the next thing on her agenda was food and snacks for tryouts. ~~~ Saturday was the perfect day to see Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner and arrange snacks at the field. The business would be relatively low compared to the week days which would give time for Twilight and Pinkie Pie to talk and set up a deal for a food stand at the tryouts. However, since most of the ponies were not in the shop buying cupcakes and muffins, they were outside in the streets. The streets were becoming quite crowded with games being reviewed and groups of ponies testing each other’s game idea. Everypony had less than half a week to perfect their game and were taking every moment they could to test and revise their ideas. For Twilight, it was almost impossible to take more than a few steps at a time before being stopped and questioned by Ponyville residents. It was an endless stream of ‘Who’s game do you think is better, Princess?’ and ‘What do you think about this idea, Princess?’. It would not have been so bad for Twilight if these questions were intermittent between other questions instead of the same question right after another. It was upsetting Twilight to the point of almost losing her cool when a young colt asked her about his game for (what felt like) the millionth time. By the time Twilight reached Sugar Cube Corner, it was already past mid-day and the sun was beginning its journey down towards the horizon. Twilight felt like she had ran another ‘Running of the leaves’ marathon as she fought to regain her breath in front of Sugar Cube Corner. After a couple of seconds of controlling her breathing, she opened the door to the bakery and stepped inside. The familiar smells of bread baking and sugar filled her lungs and Twilight visibly relaxed in the cool, quiet lobby. The bakery was almost barren of ponies except for Pinkie at the counter and the Cakes currently nursing Pumpkin and Pound Cake. Summer theme pastries like strawberry short cake and watermelon-mango muffins sat on display inside glass cabinets or on trays laid out on counter tops. “Hiya Twilight!” Pinkie bounced behind the front counter, “How are you today?” Twilight sighed, “It could be better. I’m almost done with preparing for the tryouts, then I just have the paper work to fill out when I’m done.” “Wow, that sounds like a lot of work to do! But I know you can do it Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said encouragingly while she set another tray of pastries down to cool. Pinkie dipped down below the counter top and popped back up with a cookie for Twilight, “Here Twilight, have a snack from me to turn the frown upside down!” She tossed the cookie to Twilight who caught it out of the air in her magic and took a bite. The taste of sweet brown sugar and tangy lemon played across her taste buds and she smiled pleasantly at the treat in her mouth. “So what can your best friend Pinkie help out with today?” Pinkie stepped out from behind the counter to place herself at Twilight’s disposal. “Well, I do need your help with the tryouts. The mayor and I decided it would be best to have a food table there for ponies to eat while Sportsen goes through all the games. So I was hoping you might be willing to bake a few things for the games!” Twilight chirped now that her mood had bounced back from her grumpiness. “Well yeah,” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes and smiled, “I already know about that. I was wondering if there was anything else I could help out with.” “You already knew?” Twilight raised her brow, “How did you hear about it?” “I have my ways,” Pinkie chimed, “So what else can I help you with?” “Uh, really that was everything I was going to ask from you Pinkie Pie. I was wondering if you and the cakes would like to bake some food for the show and tell.” “No problem!” Pinkie zipped behind the counter and pulled out a pencil and note pad, “So, what kind of snacks were you thinking of having for the show and tell?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. Now that she thought about it, it never really crossed her mind what kind of snacks she wanted available to ponies out on the field. Did she want something that was just filling to the stomach or something healthy? What kind of theme did she want to have? This was a major flaw that was over looked in her planning with the mayor as she had no idea what she wanted. Twilight turned to Pinkie with uneasiness in her eyes, “I’m not exactly sure, Pinkie. I thought the mayor and I had discussed it, but I can’t remember exactly what kind of food she wanted. If you give me a few moments, I can check my notes in the library to see if I wrote it down.” “Don’t worry Twilight; I can make a suggestion,” Twilight paused in her motion to leave, “How about we make it ‘A healthy summer’ theme! We can have short cakes with strawberries and blueberries for that fibery goodness,” Pinkie rubbed her belly, “Some muffins topped with sliced bananas for that awesome potassium,” Pinkie Pie zoomed in and out of the shop and back room, “And some peanut butter and oatmeal cookies for powerful proteins,” Pinkie hopped up on her hind legs like a boxer and threw a few quick punches, “And a whole bunch more!!” Twilight recoiled slightly from the outburst of predictable energy and unpredictable knowledge of nutritional chemicals. But Twilight knew better than to question Pinkie’s antics. So Twilight smiled and agreed to the proposal. “That would be great, pinkie. If you could have all of that ready by Tuesday that would makes things easier for me.” “No sweat, Twilight. I always loving helping my friends,” Pinkie slowed down enough to give Twilight a caring hug. “Thanks again, Pinkie! I’ll see you later!” Twilight turned to leave Sugar Cube Corner, but was abruptly stopped by Pinkie running in front of Twilight to stop her. “Wait! Before you go Twilight, I have a teensy-weensy favor to ask of you,” Pinkie smiled innocently. “Oh? And what’s that?” Twilight raised a skeptical eyebrow again. At the rate ponies were asking Twilight for her help these past few days, she could probably guess what Pinkie Pie was about to ask her. “Could you possibly (if you had time), maybe (you know), help me with my game idea?” Pinkie Pie sheepishly smiled again while Twilight’s frustration flared. “Pinkie, I would really love to help; but I have a lot of things to do by Tuesday and I don’t want to be late on them.” “Oh don’t worry, Twilight. I promise this will only take a second!” Pinkie repositioned herself in the middle of the shop floor, “I just need your help figuring out what kind of name I should use for my game idea!” “And how am I supposed to help with that?” Twilight’s frustration was starting to bleed through into her speech as she struggled to keep herself in check. “I’m just going to throw a few names at you and I just want you to tell me what you think, okay?” Twilight’s eye twitched slightly, but she pushed herself to be a good friend and at least hear the names. “Okay: what do you think about, ‘Magical Mystery Magicians’?” “I don’t know,” Twilight began but was cut off by Pinkie. “How about ‘Musical Cake Parade’?” Twilight shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped again. “Maybe ‘Beach Volleyball Madness’?” Twilight tried again to interject, but Pinkie kept going, “what about ‘Gone with the Wind’? ‘Frisbee Champions’? ‘Balloon Bombardment’? ‘Ultimate Muffin Eater’? ‘Master of Fighting Gummies’? ‘ULTIMATE HARD-CORE BATTLE ROYALE’!!!!???” “PINKIE!!” Twilight shouted over her enthusiastic friend. “Yes Twilight?” Pinkie sat down in front of Twilight in a neat and orderly fashion, seemingly oblivious to her friend’s near boiling frustration. Twilight took a few moments to calm herself before continuing, “I think that you should pick the name for your game. If I picked it, then it wouldn’t have the entire ‘Pinkie Pie’ experience that I think is very important to making your game, yours. I couldn’t possibly pick out a name that complete encapsulates the joy you are trying to bring, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight smiled as she finished her political answer in the hopes that Pinkie would accept it and let her go. “Hmm, you’re right Twilight. I think you just gave me the perfect idea for a name! Thanks Twilight! You were a really big help for me!” Pinkie gave one of her crushing hugs for a second before letting Twilight go. “No problem, Pinkie,” Twilight panted trying to regain her breath, “So I will see later?” “Later!” pinkie said confidently. Just then, the door chime rang through the shop and Twilight glanced over to spot Connor standing in the door way. “Hey Twilight,” he glanced amongst the occupants in the room before continuing again, “you don’t mind if I talk to Pinkie Pie real quick, do you? I wanted to ask her something.” “Sure, go ahead. I was just leaving. Good luck to you, Pinkie!” Twilight took her leave and waved goodbye to Pinkie Pie who was smiling and heading back behind the counter to the baking room to get started with Connor following behind. Twilight let her head fall and let out an exhausted sigh once the door shut behind her. She wasn’t tired of her friends or the Ponyville residents, but the constant stream of the same question was forcing Twilight to the end of her tolerance. Thankfully, tomorrow would a simple day of just filling out paperwork authorizing the use of the town’s budget to be spent on food, refreshments, and usage of the Ponyville elementary field for Tuesday’s tryouts. Twilight was actually looking forward to doing paperwork as it meant that she could stay in her comfortable library away from every pony looking for her approval on their unique and different games. ~~~ Sunday was a beautiful day to relax. The sun was out, it was clear skies as far as the eye could see, and everypony was outside playing; well, testing would be a better word to use as some ponies were finishing up their game ideas for next Tuesday. As for Twilight, she was enjoying a quiet, cool day in the library methodically filling out forms and filing them away. She hummed pleasantly to herself as she nibbled on some snacks that Spike made for her to enjoy. Today was going very well with hardly a single pony coming in to bother her. It wasn’t until lunch time that Twilight heard a knocking at the front door. She looked up from her work to see the door open and reveal Rarity standing there. “Hi Rarity!” Twilight set her quill down to take a break from her work. “Hello Twilight! How are you, dear?” Rarity trotted over to Twilight and her table filled with papers, forms, and requests. “I’ve been taking care of some paper work that needed to be done. I planned on using all day to finish all of it before heading over to town hall to deliver them.” “Really dear? All day? You’re not even going to take a break and step outside for a little bit?” Rarity looked at Twilight with concern. “Uh, no, thank you,” Twilight chuckled with uneasiness, “I’m just fine staying here for now. I sort of needed a break from going all over town to get things ready.” “Oh, well then, why don’t we take a break now and head over to Carousel Boutique!” Rarity beamed at the suggestion but Twilight was hesitant. “Why? What’s happening at carousel boutique? Are you trying to ask me about what I think about your game?” Twilight narrowed her eyes at Rarity. Rarity laughed, “Oh of course not, dear! I’ve seen how you have looked for the last few days and I can only guess what you have been going through!” Twilight continued to analyze her friend as a single bead of sweat trickled down Rarity’s forehead. But there was another knock at the door. Rarity and Twilight glanced over at the door just as it was opening to reveal Connor standing there. “Hey Twilight, I’ve been looking for you,” Connor calmly walked over to Twilight and Rarity standing by the work table. “Hello Connor, how are you this day?” Rarity politely asked. “Not bad, and yourself?” “I am doing well; I was just talking to Twilight.” “Well is it okay if I borrow Twilight for a minute? I just need to ask her some directions.” “What are you looking for, Connor?” Twilight jumped into the conversation between Rarity and Connor. “I was just at the hardware store looking for some supplies for my game and it turns out that they ran out of blue powder. Do you know where I might be able to find some more?” “What kind of blue powder are you looking for?” Twilight asked with her curiosity peaked. “Just some basic blue powder, kind of like chalk powder. Do you know somepony I might be able to get some more powder from?” “Hmm,” Twilight thought a little bit, “Maybe Zecora might have something that is similar to what you are looking for.” “Great where can I find this ‘Zecora’?” “She lives in a hut in the Everfree forest; Spike can help lead you to her,” Twilight turned in her seat to call up to the second floor, “Spike! Can you come her for a second!” A few seconds later, Spike the purple dragon came bounding down the stairs, “What’s up Twilight? Hey Rarity.” “Hello my Spikey Whikey,” Rarity cooed as she batted her eyes and brought herself down to cup a hoof under his chin. Spike nearly fluttered off the ground. Needless to say, Twilight and Connor both rolled their eyes in unison. “Spike,” Twilight refocused her assistant, “I need you to take Connor to Zecora. He needs to talk to her to find out if she can help him with his game.” “Sure, no problem. Follow me Connor!” Spike jogged out of the library with Connor trotting behind him. “Thanks Twilight!” Connor shouted over his shoulder before he was out of ear shot. Rarity and Twilight waved goodbye after Connor and Spike as they disappeared from the doorway. Rarity turned back to face Twilight again, “Well, would you like to come with me to my shop? I could show you my next line of outfits,” she offered to Twilight to entice her. Twilight sighed and set her quill down again and stood up, “Okay, let’s go. I could use a small break.” “Wonderful!” Rarity bounced with joy, “Let’s go now before it’s too late!” “Too late for what?” Twilight questioned like a detective. “Nothing!” Rarity snapped to hide her intentions. Twilight kept eyeing her friend but followed her out nonetheless. She was still suspicious that Rarity might try to get her opinion on her game, but she gave Rarity the benefit of the doubt. The walk to Rarity’s shop was an interesting one. Rarity was almost able to fend off every pony trying to approach the princess asking for appraisal of their games. Twilight felt weird with Rarity defending her like a royal guard, but was thankful for her efforts. When the door finally shut behind them and they were safe inside Carousel Boutique, they both let out a sigh of relief. “Goodness, Twilight; I didn’t know you had it that bad!” she huffed with exhaustion. “Yeah, I think it’s becoming a problem. But it should settle down once Tuesday comes and Mr. Sportsen arrives.” “I surely hope so! No princess should have to go through that!” Rarity straightened up before clearing her throat, “Now, would you like to see my new line up?” “Sure Rarity; that would be great!” Twilight smiled and stood up to take a seat in front of the pedestal where many outfits were tried on by customers to view in the many surrounding mirrors. “Excellent! I will be back in just one moment!” Rarity disappeared into her downstairs work room, but could still be heard as she shouted out to Twilight. “I actually had to make a few last minute changes and use one of my previous line ups, but I think you still like them!” she shouted out to Twilight. After a moment, Rarity came out from behind her saloon doors dressed in a beautiful gown. Twilight oo-ed at the marvelous design and Rarity took a slight bow. “Now, if I remember right; you are to go here first,” she stepped out and did a little twirl, “Then before you get on the platform, you must strike a dashing pose!” Rarity struck a dignified posture and cast her eyes into space, “Then, when you mount the platform, you must finish the routine with pizazz before the judges give you your final score!” She giggled as Rarity did another fancy move and ended with a slow pirouette. Twilight applauded vigorously, “Oh, that was nice! What else do you have?” “Oh! You liked it? Well, let me just get another outfit that I have!” Rarity hopped off the elevated platform and cheerfully trotted back into her back room to change. Rarity went through two more outfits and two more routines while Twilight was there. Each one, Twilight enjoyed the show Rarity put on. Every routine was different; one routine would be very graceful and delicate and the next one would be energetic and dashing! After the fourth routine with a new outfit, Rarity was feeling fatigued and needed a break. “So, how did you like that one?” Rarity huffed. “I really enjoyed it. Thanks Rarity, I really needed that. I think I’ll head back to the library now; see you tomorrow!” “Wait!” Rarity almost screamed. Twilight froze in her place, “What?! What’s wrong?!” “Um, actually, I was showing you what I had made so far with my game for Sportsen…” Rarity nervously looked at Twilight whose face was falling with shocked realization. “So this entire time, you were showing me your game?” “Yes; I was hoping you would be willing to give me a few pointers on what to change, but I knew you were a little flustered with the past few days; so I needed to find a way to get you to come with me without actually saying that I needed your help.” Rarity smiled softly hoping Twilight would make this one exception for her friend. Twilight was shocked that Rarity would do this to her. She had been dealing with every pony for the last five days constantly asking whether their game was good enough or not. It was even more difficult when her friends were asking if their game ideas were good ones or not. Twilight had almost specifically chosen this day with paperwork as a day she could get away from all of it. It was time she needed to put her hoof down on this. “I’m sorry Rarity, but I can’t help you on this,” Twilight mimicked Connor’s almost signature hard expression she had seen so many times, “This is something that you need to do with another pony. I can not be the only pony that you can think of to help you on making improvements on your game. I wish I could, but I have other things that I must take care of.” Rarity’s face fell from shame and disappointment at the deception she made. Twilight relaxed her hard expression a little at seeing her friend crushed by her words. Twilight took a few steps forward and put a reassuring hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Tell you what, after the tryouts I will tell you everything I can think of about your game, okay?” Rarity’s face brightened at hearing her friend’s kind words and scrubbed at her eyes, “Sure, Twilight. I would like that.” Twilight gave a confident nod, “Then good luck to you on Tuesday with Sportsen!” “Thank you Twilight, and I’m sorry for deceiving you.” “Your welcome; I’ll see you tomorrow Rarity!” Twilight stepped back a few steps and teleported back to the library. Twilight popped back into the library where Spike was dusting some of the shelves. “Welcome back, Twilight!” Spike called over his shoulder while he dusted one of the shelves above him. “Your back! How was the trip to Zecora?” Twilight walked back over to her work table where more papers needed to be filled out. “Pretty easy. Nothing attacked us along the way and Connor said he could find his way back to Ponyville when we got there; so I came back here.” Twilight hummed in acknowledgement as she picked up the last form she was working on. She needed to get the rest of this work done before she could really take the next day off to relax. If everything worked out correctly, Monday was her scheduled day off for setting up the tryouts; then Tuesday was the day Sportsen was due to arrive in Ponyville. So Twilight set to work finishing her paper work. ~~~ Monday finally arrived and Twilight was ready to relax. She had finished all of her paper work last night and she had food and refreshments ready to go at the field when Sportsen arrived. Today was her day to have some fun and enjoy herself. Twilight had arranged a tea party with Fluttershy that afternoon to help with unwinding. So after lunch, Twilight teleported over to Fluttershy’s cottage to avoid any ponies who were scrambling to finish the last bit of their games. Fluttershy’s cottage was peaceful as ever with birds lazily washing in the bird baths or chirping happily to each other. Butterflies drifted through the air on a current while little critters hopped around going about their daily business. Twilight trotted up to the front door and knocked three times and heard a gentle, “Come in!” before she pushed the door open and smiled. Inside was a table set out in the middle of the main room of the cottage adorned with a tea set, two sets of tea cups, tea addings, and two cushions for Fluttershy and Twilight. Fluttershy was just in sight through the kitchen door and was in the middle of heating up the water for the tea. Twilight smiled even more; if anypony knew how to make someone feel relaxed, it was Fluttershy with her kind and gentle nature. “Hi Fluttershy! It’s me, Twilight!” Twilight walked into the cottage and closed the door behind her. “Oh, hello Twilight! Go ahead and take a seat; I’ll be right there!” Fluttershy called in her quiet voice. Twilight sat on the cushion closest to her and waited as Fluttershy came into the living room with the hot water and poured it into their respective cups. “How are you today, Twilight?” Fluttershy set the tea pot on the table and grabbed a tea bag of her favorite blend to dip. Twilight let out another tired sigh as she grabbed her own tea bag, “I’m a little tired, but I’m hoping that I can recuperate today before the hassle tomorrow when Sportsen arrives.” “Really? And how is that going?” she added about two and a half spoons of sugar to her tea cup while the tea bag soaked in the water. “Well, I have all the preparations done as well as all the paper work that I finished last night; I managed to get here without too much trouble and right now I’m enjoying a cup of tea with one of my best friends!” Twilight added exactly one teaspoon of honey and one and a half teaspoons of sugar to her own cup. “Well, everything seems to be going well. Has there been any trouble over the last week?” Fluttershy fanned her cup of tea a little before taking a small, delicate sip. “You have no idea,” Twilight took a drink from her cup before delving into her story, “This last week, every single pony in town has been asking me whether or not their game idea was good or not and what they should change about it to make their game better. I’m always glad to help, but I felt it was just becoming too much that I needed a break.” “Oh my, that does seem rough. Were you able to get through it?” “Almost,” Twilight let her expression fall a little bit, “When Rarity tried to have me help with her game, I had to put my hoof down and say no. but she has apologized and I have forgiven her so everything should be good.” Twilight took another sip of tea. “Mmm,” Fluttershy hummed, “I guess she thought it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.” Fluttershy took another sip of tea. “I guess so. But I am glad everything worked out in the end,” Twilight smiled again at the end of her sentence. Fluttershy nodded in agreement before changing the subject, “Um Twilight, if you don’t mind, I have something I would like to show you.” “And what’s that?” Twilight took another sip of tea. “Um, maybe it might be easier to just get it,” She got up from the table and disappeared up the flight of stairs to the bedrooms, “I’ve been working on it for the last couple of days and I was hoping you could help me.” Twilight set her tea cup down on the table and waited patiently for Fluttershy to return from upstairs. A few seconds later, Fluttershy returned carrying a few objects under her wing. “Here they are!” she exclaimed, “This is what I wanted to show you!” She set the objects down on the table for Twilight to look at. “What are these?” Twilight picked up the objects in her magic, “They look like dolls.” “Well, they are. They are for the game I am making.” Twilight froze and her eye twitched as she fought back the urge to yell in frustration. Fluttershy sat patiently waiting for Twilight to make a move. Eventually, Fluttershy spoke, “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, right?” Twilight let her head fall and slam on the table before her and held her head against the table. Fluttershy jumped at the sudden noise and stared at Twilight with her face down in the wood. “Goodness! Was it something I said?” Twilight couldn’t wish for tomorrow to come any faster than she could at that very moment.