"Alright, ponies, listen up!" Rainbow demanded, getting her teammates their full-on attention.
Ponyville was in rather great shape, and the weather was perfect for Rainbow Dash and her team members to get themselves all set. The rainbow Pegasus had been up and down practically for days to get her team together, and to get them up and ready to go for the grand event that was the Equestrian Games. The idea of playing in the Equestrian Games is one thing, but qualifying for them is another, something Rainbow Dash worked hard to do.
Speaking of teammates, the two Pegasus ponies Rainbow had gathered together were all ears, and ready to go. One Pegasus had a sort of yellowish gold coat, with a light blue mane and tail, which was similar to Rainbow Dash's hairstyle but longer. Her Cutie Mark is comprised of three raindrops, circling each other close to resembling a flower. The second one next to her had her coat a celeste blue, and her mane and tail all colored a sort of Persian green, hairstyle more in loops rather than a tomboy look like the other two. Her Cutie Mark resembles that of a raincloud, raindrops and all. Rainbow Dash was going through the game plan with them both, the two nodding so Rainbow knew they had their attention.
"We are the Aerial Relay team, and it's up to the three of us to make sure that we qualify at the tryouts. And do I need to remind you how much I Ponyville wants to qualify and make it to the Games? Right Sunshower, April?"
"Not at all, I really, really want to qualify for Ponyville," April said with glee. Sunshower was already up in the air with determination.
"I'd love to see them try! Bring it on!" Sunshower said, hoof in the air.
"I like your enthusiasm, you two. We'll show those judges that we got what it takes. Because what are we?"
"Team Ponyville!" April and Sunshower replied.
"I can't hear you," Rainbow said, hoof to her ear ready for the chant. All of a sudden though, her ear was assaulted by a extremely loud "TEAM PONYVILLE!" However, April and Sunshower didn't say anything. It was enough to make Rainbow stunned for a second, only to find a particular pink mare stand there, a megaphone in one hoof. She was dressed up as a cheerleader for Rainbow's team.
"Thank you, Pinkie," Rainbow said, a hoof trying to clean out her ear to clear it from Pinkie's clear.
"You're welcome. Let's go, go, go! Everypony's waiting," Pinkie said, starting off back to the direction she came from. Rainbow began to fly herself - the group had a train to catch, and their friends were waiting for them.
Over at the train station, Rainbow, Sunshower, and April arrived on time, as their train waited for them to go. As they expected, many of their friends, old and new, were waiting for their arrival. The rest of the Mane Six were by the train themselves, and even Steven, Connie, and the OG Crystal Gems too. With Garnet's permission, the group was given the chance to go with Rainbow and her team to the tryouts. It was great to see everypony, and everybody, there to go.
"Hey guys," Rainbow said, upon landing by the train station.
"There you are. This your team?" Pearl asked on seeing her with her team.
"Hello there. I'm April Showers, and this is Sunshower Raindrops," April introduced.
"What's up, everypony?" added Sunshower.
"Sup?" said Amethyst.
"Alright, everypony here, ready to go?" Twilight asked. They all agreed and began to board the train. The conductor went out as they went on inside, a signature "All aboard!" passing out his muzzle. While everypony/everybody went in without too much trouble, the second he saw Garnet, he was a bit flabbergasted. Compared to the ponies, she was simply giant! Course, the conductor cleared his throat before saying anything.
"We'll see what we can do."
~~~~~~
Sometime later, the train was on and running, going through the Equestrian mountainside to its destination. The area of snowcapped mountains, and tall pine trees were seen as the train continued onward, the whistle echoing off for miles. Within the train itself, the seating was quite nice for the train, lit up by candlelight and windows revealing the scenery just outside. For the number of ponies and Gems on board, they could accommodate with four passengers per booth. In one booth, Rainbow, Twilight, Steven, and April were sitting within one booth, April and Rainbow having the window seats. Among the crowd, Garnet had one booth to herself, which she had to bring her knees to her chest in order to sit properly. Seemed size wasn't working for Garnet here ...
"Thanks again for letting me and Sunshower be on your team, Rainbow Dash," April said at one point.
"Don't sweat it, you two were great fliers back at the Wonderbolt Academy, you'll be great for the games," Rainbow said.
"What's that?" Steven asked, not hearing of that before.
"The Wonderbolt Academy is a training camp for Pegasus ponies, lead by the elite Wonderbolts - the same place Rainbow, Sunshower and I went to. I've been there a bit longer before Rainbow and Sunshower arrived," April explained.
"Yeah, you were a part of it for nearly a month, weren't you?" Rainbow asked, remembering the Wonderbolt Academy herself.
"I wanted to go for a full month, but couldn't qualify well enough to do that," replied April Showers. Soon, behind Steven and April, Sunshower and Lapis overheard what they were talking about. While Lapis were curious, Sunshower was a bit knowing of it herself with her own experiences.
"Yeah, it was great there. Though a bit sore after a bit though," Sunshower said, joining in.
"That rough, huh?" Asked Lapis.
"Well, yeah, got a few bumps and bruises, but we went through with flying colors, right Rainbow? Those Wonderbolts were really impressed with you."
"And who are the Wonderbolts?" Lapis asked.
"Only the best-known flying team in Equestria! They're appointed by Celestia herself, as the elite flight protection. They're known all over the place," Sunshower explained.
"I bet they are - I've heard they're representing Cloudsdale for the air relay, so, competition might be a bit high," April said.
"Really?!" Sunshower and Rainbow gasped.
"Well, hope you two are on your game - the tryouts are expecting the best of everypony."
"You got it," Sunshower and April said. As they were, two other ponies suddenly began to walk through, seeing Rainbow Dash. One was a light blue with a yellow mane and tail. The other was a stallion, black coat with a sky-blue mane and tail.
"Good luck, Rainbow Dash! Sorry we couldn't fly with you on the Aerial Relay, but the air sprinters needed us too," the mare said.
"Too bad we can only compete in one event. *sighs* But, rules are rules," added the stallion, before they both went off to their seating booth. The news got over to Amethyst, who was sitting on the otherside, across from their seating. Amethyst was with Applejack, Pearl, and Fluttershy, Pearl and Fluttershy having the window seat.
"One event?" Asked Amethyst.
"Well, yeah, one event per team. And we are doing the air relay," reminded Rainbow.
"So, you mean you're not doing all those other awesome events. Just one out of the whole thing?"
"Yeah," replied the flying team. Immediately, Amethyst found the news a bit rough to swallow.
"You kidding, right? Heck, I bet I can compete for all the challenges without trouble," Amethyst boasted.
"Amethyst, we're not going to compete, we're going to observe the tryouts, and support Rainbow's team. Besides, I doubt you know how the events even work, anyway," Pearl reminded. She was correct, Amethyst didn't know how the events work exactly. After all, they were in a different world entirely, what kind of events will these ponies do for the Equestrian Games is beyond her.
"Well, I wish the best of luck to you and your team, Rainbow."
"Thanks, Fluttershy," Rainbow said. Fluttershy nodded.
~~~~~~
After a while longer, the train began to go on through to its destination. With a screeching halt, the train settled down on the tracks by the next station. The area in question looked like a mountain town, all settled in on a plateau by the mountains. One key thing to note is the multiple amounts of waterfalls that flow through the area, the waterfalls themselves were multiple colors - purple, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and purple. Purely the colors, and appearance, of a rainbow. The Gems and Ponies went out and begun to go off to the tryout grounds (which itself was easy to find). The area was opened up for the tryouts to play out, a number of accessories going on to show where the tryouts will be. A number of different Pegesi were also training around in the area. Most of them were Pegesi in general, all of which were differently colored and different cutie marks. All of them were training by the time they'd arrived, so, the events themselves hadn't exactly begun just yet. As they settled, they even noted some other creatures competing in the relay as well, creatures none of the Gems really recognized (well, except Steven and Connie that is).
"Are those ... Griffins?" Connie asked, looking to the Griffin group. The Griffins themselves looked rather intimidating (and rather large). One of them was a pure brown Griffin, with brown fur and feathers. The Griffin's beak match that of a pelican, but hard as stone. The other two were grey colored female Griffins. One of them was more white and light grey in color, with black wings, talons, tail tip, and eye spots. The other Griffin female was similar, yet her feathers were mostly black, with the eye spots and talons grey. They've heard of Griffins, yet they didn't see any Griffins with this kind of coloration before. The three Griffins were stretching for the events coming up, when one of the female Griffins noticed Steven and Connie staring at them.
"Are we interrupting something?" She asked.
"Oh, uh no, not really," Connie said, as the Griffins began to head over.
"Good. I suppose you are here for the tryouts," the male Griffin spat. They were a bit taller than the ponies, but, not by too much.
"Well, not competing, no," Connie said. Soon, Sunshower and Rainbow Dash got in between the male Griffin and Connie.
"That would be us you're talking about. And you are?"
"Grieva. And you are the Ponyville jocks, I assume? A bit late," Grieva said, obviously mocking them for the events ahead. The Pegasus glared at him.
"A-ha, keep flapping that beak, we're going right to the Equestrian Games, no problem," Sunshower snapped.
"You'd think you've got what it takes, filly? Believe you me, the only place your going is right to the loser's horse stall," she mocked, the other female Griffin giving her a high five for a good burn.
"Now listen you -" Suddenly the white-faced female griffin got right in Rainbow's face, making the Pegasus go to the ground as she towered over her like a predator would naturally.
"I'm all ears," she said. Before a fight could even begin, suddenly something rushed by everyone there, getting the Griffin and Rainbow Dash in a spin out for a few seconds. Everyone else was avoided, as something bolted around in the sky above them. It was flying very quick, yet erratic, until it landed nearby the Griffin and Ponyville team. One of them, while at first looking like a Pegasus, looked rather different. For a start, she had bat wings rather than bird wings, already looking plenty different. Her coat was red as a pepper, her mane and pigtail pitch black with a bit of red and pink for highlighting. Her cutie mark appeared to be a bright heart, with a set of headphones on them. Speaking of headphones, she also had a pink pair with her, with her cutie mark on them as well. Upon landing, the others took note of her, as the batpony hovered around them. She did chuckle seeing Rainbow and the griffin dizzy.
"Sorry," she said with a chuckle. "Looking for my group. You see any other batponies around here?" After a little looking around, one of them found a group of batponies nearby, waving her over.
"Over there," Garnet said.
"Cool, see ya in the air," she replied, rushing off to join her batpony group.
"You alright, girls?" Rarity asked.
"Eh, it's fine, we'll show them that Ponyville's got what it takes!" Rainbow said. Soon after she said that, suddenly there was a cause of commotion, as a trio of fliers went through the air above the Rainbow Falls training grounds. A number of the Pegasus Ponies saw the group, and were immediately looking on in awe, which included Rainbow Dash and her group. The Pegasus above them all wore a similar outfit, signifying their status to everypony present. The Gems looked up at the Pegasus ponies, the three in synch with each other almost perfect.
"My, I never seen such perfect coordination in flight. Are they ...?" Pearl asked.
"Yes. They're the Wonderbolts," answered Twilight. As the Wonderbolts flew over the training grounds, one of them looked down and saw Rainbow, April, and Sunshower below, and made an airplane side dive towards them, one by one. The Wonderbolts landed right down in front of them.
"And the game is on!" The leading pony said. She didn't sound as mockery or as irritating as those Griffins were, so, tension wasn't as high. One of them, a male Wonderbolt, went over to the rainbow Pegasus.
"Hah, nice to see there's some real competition here," he said, moving his goggles off his face. The rest of Rainbow's team went over to the Wonderbolts, catching their eye.
"Two more days of practice, then we'll see you in the air, Rainbow Dash! If you're lucky." Soon after that, the Wonderbolts went off on their way to begin their training. No other option then to begin themselves.
~~~~~~
For the time being since arrival, the team's got busy. Each team representing each of their towns got their training off and running right away. Rainbow, Sunshower and April were doing fairly well for their training exercises as the hours ticked on, as the other teams did their time with training as well. Improvement on each team was showing, including the Griffin and Batpony team. While Rainbow, Sunshower, and April were busy, the others were doing their own thing while they were busy.
"My, Rainbow Dash has been really busy with her team," Pearl said, watching the Pegasus with her group.
"I'd imagine so, she's been looking forward to this event for months. It'd be a shock if she didn't try for the Equestrian Games," replied Rarity.
"Seems so. Wait, where'd Steven and Connie?" Pearl wondered, looking around in the group.
"They're with Applejack, last I saw, dear. Said something about trying something with her Apple Bettys, I believe," explained Rarity.
Not too far away, Connie, Applejack, and Steven were hanging out together for the moment. For their trip to Rainbow Falls, Applejack had brought her homemade Apple Bettys for some sales while the events were going on. Steven and Connie both went over with her to try some for themselves, and, to try a little something after watching some other ponies do it not too far away. While Sunshower, April, and Rainbow Dash were in the air. Soon, Connie gave them a loud whistle, catching their attention. Upon seeing them, Steven and Connie each had an Apple Betty in their hand, looking up to them.
"Catch!" Steven yelled, and both of the kids threw the Apple Bettys as high as they could. Sunshower, licking her lips, immediately flew over and caught one of them in her mouth. Rainbow narrowly missed hers, and the Betty ended up going down to the ground. Pinkie quickly took note of it and skidded on her back just to catch the treat in her mouth.
"Sorry, Rainbow!" Steven called. Rainbow nodded and went right back to training. While they were doing that, the group ended up seeing the Wonderbolts training above them, going very well. While two of them were on the ground, the stallion practicing flying through some hoops up in the air. Each rainbow hoop was set on a path for practice.
"C'mon, Soarin, pick up the pace! You can do better than that!" One of the Wonderbolts called. As the stallion looked down for that one moment, suddenly the hoop in front of him, which was supposed to be a part of the main track for flying through, was moved just slightly off the straight path. Soarin turned back, but was too late to alter his flight pattern, and his right wing suddenly clipped the ring. Everypony bellow heard a distinct 'crack' fill the air, and the next thing they knew, Soarin was plummeting to the ground in a spiral! Looking up, everyone looked worried, seeing him fall to the ground. As he was, Garnet quickly rushed off before anypony could react, and caught Soarin just before he could hit ground. Soarin looked up to Garnet, who was holding him pretty easily.
"Thanks," Soarin said.
"You're welcome," replied Garnet, as she settled him down on the ground. He looked alright, but, Soarin's wing looked roughly bent the wrong way - clear sign of harsh injury. And, considering it's delicate wing bones, that could be a ton of trouble for him. His scream was heard everywhere, and a number of pony groups stopped upon seeing him fall, and hearing him.
"Soarin, you alright?" One of the Wonderbolts asked.
"Uh, my wing hurts, but I-I'm sure it'll be okay by the competition," Soarin assured them, though the appearance didn't look too good. Soon, another group showed up, upon hearing Soarin. The group were the Batponies, one of which they met already earlier.
"What happened?" One of them asked.
"Soarin got his wing caught in the ring up there. You will be good by the time, right?"
"Spitfire, it's just a clip. I promise, I'll be fine," Soarin promised. A little bit later, two medic ponies galloped up with a stretcher. Soarin settled himself down onto it, and the medics galloped off. He may have been distracted, but the rings are normally aligned with each other. One of the Batponies looked over to the long pole the ring was on and flew over to it. Garnet noticed her and went over as well.
"That's odd, all of them should be lined up here," the batpony wondered, looking over the pole a bit herself. Garnet looked down at where the pole was put in the ground, and noticed something with the ground.
"It was moved," Garnet stated, pointing to the ground. Sure enough, both of them saw that the ground where the pole was supposed to be stuck into was forcefully moved. a hole right next to the pole, literally an inch away, proved that. Garnet and the batpony looked to each other for the second. Soon, Twilight ended up over with them, hearing what they had to say.
"Great, somepony's playing for keeps," the batpony said, looking around at the many groups practicing.
"Who's doing what now?" Twilight asked.
"This pole was moved to injure Soarin," Garnet said. Twilight looked down, and saw that the pole was indeed moved from its spot. Twilight thought for a bit, but, didn't see this as a intentional act to injure the ponies.
"You sure about that? The officials probably moved it just before everypony arrived," Twilight said. A reasonable, and most likely reason for the pole being moved. Still, Garnet put her mind to work on the idea, looking over the pole, as the batpony went over to Twilight.
"Maybe, but, things had been a bit rough lately, many teams kept getting into accidents all day yesterday. Sprained wings, wrecks during practice, Pegesi going sick, it's going bonkers!" She explained.
"Be careful," Garnet said.
"Don't worry, Loli Beats is gonna be fine. I should worry more about your own team," she said, also giving her name to Twilight and Garnet while she explained. Loli began to trot away back to her team, as Twilight looked to Garnet with some worry. If ponies were suddenly having trouble, then Rainbow might end up in trouble along with April and Sunshower too. Twilight began heading back to the Ponyville group, as Garnet moved the ring back to where it was supposed to be before going back. When they did, Applejack was giving out some of her Apple Bettys to some of the group, finding Connie, Steven, April, Sunshower, Pinkie, Amethyst, and Lapis having an Apple Betty by the time the two got back.
"Want one? They're really good," Amethyst said, scarfing down hers. She wanted another, but, Applejack didn't want her profit completely eaten up by one Gem. For the moment, it seemed the issues might be something worth telling Rainbow, Sunshower and April about.
"No thanks," Garnet said.
~~~~~~
As the day rolled on, and training continued, Twilight and Garnet kept an eye out just in case something else would go wrong. So far though, it'd quieted down from any accidents, at least as described by Loli Beats. Everypony else just did their own thing, with Rainbow training up her own team for the upcoming tryouts tomorrow. However, one thing that bugged her was that the Wonderbolts, while still training, might not actually be able to show. For the event, they need three ponies, and they can't do it with one shy. At that point, Ponyville was practicing on some side-waving rings, placed close together. Rainbow Dash began, and flew through with ease.
"Alright, Sunshower, ready. Set. Go!" Sunshower flew forward with all her strength, and gone through with flying colors. Her tail was a little caught in a few rings as she did, but, she'd gone through.
"Boyaa! Okay, April, your turn!" Sunshower called, the Pegasus hovering in place, trying to think on how to approach. The others down below watched her, as she readied to go. After some time, April went for it, and started flying through. Through the first few rings, it seemed well, as April was able to fly through. However, as she neared the final ring, Garnet began to sense that something wasn't right. Soon, that feeling turned real - as April flew to the final ring, suddenly it began to speed up like crazy!
"April!" Garnet called. April slowed down when the final ring sped up, just saving herself from injury trying to pass through. However, the ring had gone haywire, and began waving around too erratic for anypony to fly through.
"What the hay?" Rainbow said, flying over to the crazy ring. Rainbow and Sunshower grabbed it, trying to stop it, but they ended up being banged around as if they were riding some crazed bull - banged around back and forth, trying to slow the thing down. The others quickly rushed over, and Pearl was the first to find the main control. Soon, with a few sudden switches, it got the ring pole to slow down. At regular speed, Sunshower and Rainbow Dash were still gripping, the pole slowly swaying with the two Pegasus, dizzy with mane and tails ruffled up. After a little bit to gain their composure, Rainbow and Sunshower peeled off, and fell down, being caught by Garnet down below.
"Who messed with the controls? It wasn't supposed to go that fast," April said, landing by the control panel.
"I don't know, but, something's not right here," Twilight said, a hoof to her chin in thought.
"You think?" Rainbow said, after getting herself together.
"Rainbow, this can't just happen. Maybe you should relax a bit while -"
"NO WAY! We can't rest now, we have to qualify!" Rainbow insisted. Sure, some stuff was happening, but, it couldn't stop her from qualifying for the big event.
"Rainbow, we'll be fine. Couldn't hurt if we rested for a bit," April said. Nearly getting herself tossed around in that accident, it might be a good idea to relax before anypony would get hurt. Sunshower didn't argue (she felt like she was just inside a washing machine anyway). So, Rainbow agreed. Rainbow, April, and Sunshower walked off from the situation, Pearl taking the moment to look over the controls while they did so.
"They need to fix those," April commented.
"Eh don't worry about it. I'd love to see those Griffins go through that," Sunshower replied. Suddenly, the three stopped and quickly realized something. They looked to each other before Rainbow spoke.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep, let's check on those bird brains," Sunshower replied.
Immediately the three went off to find the Griffins for the Equestrian Games. Throughout the entire thing, they didn't hear a peep out of them for nearly the whole entire time. Might as well pay them a little visit to see what they were up to. Soon, the three found the Griffins off away from the others, still doing their own training. However, Grieva and his fellow Griffin were around, with one missing from their group. Did they end up apart of the series of accidents? Considering who they were dealing with, they couldn't take any chances. Soon, Rainbow, Sunshower and April flew into their sights.
"What do you want?" Grieva asked.
"Oh not much, wanted to check on the competitors, see how they're doing and all that," Rainbow said, obviously acting a bit rough towards them.
"What are you saying?"
"Me? Well, there's been trouble happening to every team yesterday, and you haven't made a peep the whole time since we showed up!" Rainbow accused; a hoof aimed right at Grieva's beak. Course, the Griffin took offense to it, and whacked the hoof away.
"Because unlike some teams, we try to keep focus on our team's progress," the female Griffin growled. Rainbow was ready to clock her right there, but, April flew over and got in the way.
"Rainbow, wait a minute. What happen to their third? She's not here," April pointed out.
"If you three must know, our third had took a rough tumble, and is in medical attention. Kinda puts a damper on your accusing, doesn't it?" Grieva explained. The Pegesi (Sunshower and Rainbow mainly) looked to each other in some silence ...
"Oh ... uh, okay then, sorry," Sunshower said, and the three went right off back to the others.
~~~~~~
As time went onward to the next morning, the group themselves had been going on with their own training to handle the tryouts tomorrow. Still, Rainbow's group still needed to be weary, considering all of these random accidents that had been going on. So far, Twilight and Garnet both had been keeping their eye out for anymore trouble, or the pony who'd been causing the trouble to begin with. So long as Rainbow, April, and Sunshower can go through it all in one piece, they should be alright in the end. During the whole thing, the Griffins didn't bother them all that much, and still had their third missing while they were trying out.
"Guess they're not behind this after all," said Rainbow.
"Hope the other teams are doing better," added April. While the pony team continued training with their bit, Rainbow looked over and soon noticed the Wonderbolts nearby, beginning to fly off.
"Hey, where ya going?" Rainbow asked, flying up to them.
"Soarin's still a bit rough, so, we're going to check up on him. See ya later," Spitfire said, flying off with her teammate to check on Soarin. Some thought did come up to mind as Rainbow flew back down to her team. So many ponies had been a bit rough lately, and, they couldn't help but wonder how bad the situation actually was for Soarin. So, with some thinking, they actually began to follow Spitfire to the said area. Those who decided to go were Pearl, Rainbow, Twilight, Steven, Connie, and April as the rest of them stayed behind to look after things.
It took a little bit, but, eventually they found Spitfire heading into the village's medical center. They went on inside to see the state of the ponies within, and soon found the main area where the ponies were indeed at. There were a lot of ponies, many of which were actually from the Rainbow Falls tryouts. Some were looking sickly, as Loli said, some also had casts on either their hooves or wings. They even saw the Griffin third with her wing casted, looking ticked off with herself for injuring her wing. Grieva was right after all about his third. Soon, they saw Spitfire with Soarin, his wing still casted and still a bit rough in shape. One of the doctors was with them while they were there.
"Oh my," Pearl gasped. Spitfire turned, and saw them come in.
"You got somepony in here too?" Spitfire asked.
"No, no, we're just want to check on everypony," said Twilight.
"Well, everypony isn't doing very well. It'll take a week to cure at least half of these ponies," the doctor explained, much to Spitfire's disappointment. The group were sad to hear that, but suddenly, Connie realized something.
"Wait, Steven your healing powers!" Connie remembered.
"huh?"
"You healed Lapis, didn't you? You can heal these ponies here!" The other ponies easily heard what Connie was talking about. Steven did tell her how he healed Lapis, but to heal so many ponies ...
"Can it work again? Here it goes," Steven said, walking over to Soarin first. With a good lick, his spit covered his hand, and he placed it on Soarin's wing. At first, nothing seemed to happen, no light flash. However, Soarin looked back, and began to move his wounded wing. However, when he was moving the cast, it was moving very quick for a hurt wing. Suddenly, the cast actually broke off, to reveal a fully healed wing! Everyone, hurt or not, was shocked to see Soarin's wing fully healed. Even Soarin seemed surprised on it, but, felt great!
"Whoa! My wing it - it doesn't hurt at all!" Soarin gasped, starting to fly off the bed with both wings fully healed! Steven smiled big on a job well done, yet the others hurt were a bit eager upon seeing that, wanting to be healed themselves. After looking to his pals, Steven looked with some determination. He saw a medic cap, and grabbed it.
"Don't worry everypony, Doctor Universe is here!" Steven beamed, putting on the cap.
~~~~~~
Sometime later, the Rainbow Tryouts weren't looking too good: many of the teams still had their own team lacking their members. Ponyville team was still waiting for Rainbow and April for the event to begin (which was going to be in just a bit). Soon, one unicorn began to go out to begin calling for teams to step forward. He was a cream-colored unicorn with a cutie mark of a medal. He also had a judge's coat - perfect for his job.
"Will the prepared Pegasi team step forward please," he called out, waiting for the prepared teams to go forward. However, many of the teams had at least one member missing, not too many groups actually were ready for the tryouts. A few of the teams did step forward (which was only about three), compared to the many other teams total. Many of the other teams, including the Griffin team, still weren't ready with their members injured. Sunshower, however, did step forward despite April and Rainbow both gone for the moment. The unicorn looked to Sunshower, who was looking ready as ever. The unicorn waited for anymore groups to go forward, but that seemed to be the only groups ready. So, levitating a quill, and a list chart, he was just about to mark off the groups going in, but, before he could ...
"We're ready!"
Everypony, and every Gem looked over, and noticed a ton of Pegesi flying towards them. The Pegesi were the other members for the tryouts. The Wonderbolts landed first, as the other members went back to their respected teams. the Gems got back to the Ponyville team, though, Steven seemed to appear a little bit bothered, his tongue out and kind of dry.
"You okay Steven?" Lapis asked.
"Can I have some water?" Steven asked. Lapis got a small bit of water from her gemstone, and used that to quench Steven's thirst. It helped Steven out, as Rainbow and April got back to Sunshower.
"Everypony's better now?" Sunshower asked, still a bit surprised.
"Indeed, you should've seen Steven, he was doing so well! Though I have to admit, his method to heal was ... Different," April said, though, they were glad to be there anyway. Suddenly, many of the other teams went forward, the judge impressed seeing the competition up and ready. So, he quickly altered his list, everypony ready and assigned.
"Very well. Is everypony ready? teams with the best combined time is qualified for the Equestria Games," the judge asked. The starter team got ready, as their two teammates flew off to get into position. For the Ponyville Team, April Showers was still on the ground, as Sunshower and Rainbow flew off to ready themselves for the event. The competitors on the ground were given a sort of small horseshoe, as a way to pass onto their teammate for the event.
"Good luck, Ponyville!" Twilight said.
"'P' for Ponyville!" Pinkie yelled. April nodded, and looked up to Sunshower ahead. In between them was a number of rainbow rings (actual rainbows, not hoof-made), and April had to fly through them to keep herself in. Soon, everypony was all set, as the judge readied a stopwatch.
"Ready!"
Everypony got their wing's spread.
"Set!"
Ready to take off.
"... Go!"
Off like a light, everypony on the ground flew off as fast as they could. Everypony in the sky kept rather close pace with each other, though after a few seconds, the speed of the Pegasus began to show as each flier went through the first ring. April was about the 3rd, going back to 4th, as the fast fliers were passing her. Sunshower tried to encourage her from where she was, but she can't fly down to help her out. The Wonderbolt was in the lead, with two other ponies in front of April, with the batpony right beside her. It was a rather close call, but April eventually got to Sunshower, and passed on her horseshoe. Sunshower rushed off fast, going up to second place after a second time. Everypony behind her tried to keep up, yet the only one in front was Grieva from the Griffin team. Sunshower, and Wonderbolt Soarin flew right behind, trying to get in front of Grieva, but suddenly the Griffin's huge wings whacked Sunshower back, making her go into a spin out! Soarin didn't get hit and got in front of Grieva. Sunshower kept spinning, but eventually got herself flying straight again, the Ponyville team on the ground cheered her on to get her faster, though she got behind an extra five ponies before she got back to it. Sunshower flew as fast as she could, and even threw her horseshoe to get Rainbow moving. Luckily for her, Rainbow caught it, and quickly rushed off as fast as her wings could carry her. Everypony on the Ponyville team held their breath, as Rainbow rushed as quick as she could, passing other ponies and eventually the Griffin, til she was close to second place after the third ring. The only pony in front of her was Spitfire for the Wonderbolts, as the two were neck and neck. The Gems, and ponies for her team looked in anticipation. Soon, the judge was at the finish line, seeing the Pegasus fly off as fast as they could. By the time everypony got pass the finish line, many of them were a blur passed the judge, catching the third pony time as they passed.
Those who passed through the finish line went back to their spots, the Ponyville team flying back to the mane six and Gems nearby. After everypony passed through the finish line, the judge unicorn looked over the following times, every team holding their breath.
"We have five teams that qualified! First team ... Cloudsdale!"
The Wonderbolts were an obvious choice for the Equestria Games, Spitfire and Soarin doing a brohoof as the judge continued.
"Second team ... Canterlot!"
The team cheered at a job well done.
"Third team ... Griffinstone!"
The griffins seemingly expected their spot, and just smirked on hearing their name.
"Fourth team ... Transylmaneia!"
Loli Beats and her batponies felt grateful for being apart.
"and the final team ... Ponyville!"
That was the best news they've heard all day! Rainbow, Sunshower, and April flew up in the air in a grand cheer. While the teams who didn't manage were a bit bummed out, they still applauded the group who did qualify for the Equestrian Games. Even after everything, and risking time in the medical center, it was a good day at the end of it, especially when they got to qualify at the end of it all. The judge went around, and got the medals out for each team, passing it down team by team until Rainbow, April, and Sunshower got their own. Everyone in Rainbow's group got together, Gem, Human, and Pony alike, for the big picture. The judge got his camera out, having it perefectly aligned for everyone to be put in. With a good flash, the picture was made.
A good memory for everyone.