//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Changeling War Reenactment // by Teal //------------------------------// Chapter 11 Twilight feverously scanned Rarity, making sure that every detail was perfect as she conducted last minute preparations. Quickly glancing towards her side, she could see the contest judges writing down their scores for the pony before them and knew that they would soon be next. “Relax, darling, you’re worrying too much.” Rarity said, trying to come down Twilight, as the alicorn circled her. “Everything will work out, just trust me.” “Are you sure?” Twilight asked frantically, as she stopped circling the unicorn. “Because we could be missing something, something very important! Everything must be perfect! Perfect I say! Now let’s go through the checklist again. Hmm...let’s see. Fur, check. Eyes, check. Mane…” Rolling her eyes, Rarity sighed, knowing that she could do nothing to stop Twilight now. The best thing she could do was to let Twilight wear herself down. Always anxious about preparation and wanting things to always go her way, Twilight tended to fall back to her check list as a piece of reassurance. But as Twilight went through her checklist, Rarity managed to catch a quick glance towards the judges and noticed that they were already heading towards them. Knowing that it was her “Twilight, I think it’s best if you calm yourself down now. Unless you want to scare the judges away that is.” Rarity said, informing her of the approaching ponies. “The judges?” She asked before turning to see three ponies heading their way. Immediately after sighting them, she became frantic and quickened her pace on reading the check list, while carefully staring at Rarity to check her appearance. “Oh, no the judges are here, the judges are here.” Twilight exclaimed, as she hoped in place. “Alright, Rarity, don’t panic, don’t panic at all. We can do this. You can do this.” She then began hyperventilating, as she began worrying about the possible bad outcomes that might happen. “Twilight, the only pony panicking here is you.” Rarity said, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Now, just try to calm yourself down by doing that breathing exercise thing, Princess Cadance taught you.” Following Rarity’s advice, Twilight did as she was told and began breathing slowly. Soon, her haggard and frantic breaths became calmer as she began to sooth herself down. “Good.” Rarity said with a smile. “Now, why don’t you go relax and have a bite to eat? You’ve already done enough to help and now it’s my turn to do my part.” She said, adding a confident smile to what she said. “Alright-“ Twilight said nodding. “-I guess I’ll just meet up with you later?” Rarity nodded. “Yes, darling. And I’ll have that book of yours with me when we meet.” Twilight smiled and trotted away, just as the judges arrived and stood in front of Rarity. “Contestant number 42…” The first judge greeted with a smile. “…you’re the last pony for the day.” “Please…” Rarity said in her most charming tone, as she gave them a wide smile. “…call me Twilight Sparkle.” “Alright then, Twilight Sparkle.” The first judge said as he began circling Rarity, followed by the other two judges. Inspecting her, they began comparing Rarity with a picture of Twilight they carried with them. Nodding their heads and noting every detail, Rarity could see the pleasant looks on their faces as they muttered to themselves throughout the inspection. Keeping still and silent as she gave a regal pose, she stayed in that position even after the judges finished their inspection and reconvened to start talking among themselves. “Fur color seems to be good.” The first judge said. “Yes, as well as the eyes and mane.” The second judge said in agreement. “Yeah, although don’t you think she’s a little plump?” After hearing this remark, all the stillness and composure Rarity held vanished, as she gave the third judge a sinister look after he gave that remark. “Plump?” She spat, feeling insulted for not only being accused of such a thing, but also having the pony who said the remark say it in front of her face. “Uh, I didn’t mean to offend you, mam.” The judge said, sweating in nervousness as he saw the rage in the pony’s eyes. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way; it was more like plump like a marshmallow.” Rarity snorted, as she gave the pony a disapproving frown. “A marshmallow, what is this, a joke?” “Now, now, mam, please do not take one of our judge’s comment too seriously. It was nothing more than a rude remark.” The first judge said, glaring at the third judge who just looked away, embarrassed. “Besides, mam, I can assure you that what he said will have no affect on your final score. In fact…” Glancing towards the clip board he had, before turning towards the clipboards of the other two judges, he looked up and gave Rarity a broad smile. “…from the rough estimate of your scores, it seems like we have a clear first runner up.” Rarity’s mood evidently brightened when she heard this, as her frown turned into a small smile. ”Oh, why that is great news! Although, I knew it all the time that I would win and-“ She then paused as she processed what she heard. “…wait…” She said, staring at the judges with a confused look. “…did you say first runner up?” “Yes…” The judge said with a nod. “…it’s only a rough tally of the scores, but it is quite obvious that your scores are higher than the other ponies by a significant margin. So it is most likely that you’ll be the first runner up.” “But, but…” Rarity sputtered in reply. “…if I’m the first runner up, then who won? I mean, who got a score higher than me?” “Why, that fine chap over there.” The judge said, pointing towards the distance. Staring towards the direction of the pointed hoof, Rarity looked to see a unicorn stallion adorned in the same colors and hair style she was bearing. From what she saw, she had to admit that she was quite impressed, yet she failed to see how this pony managed to beat her. His looks were mediocre to say the least, nothing compared to what Rarity had to show. “Wait a minute…” Rarity muttered to herself, suddenly recognizing the distant pony. “…no, it can’t be.” But giving him another full look, the suspicions within her head were cleared and confirmed as she soon recognized who that pony was. “It’s…its Prince Blueblood!” She cried out in dismay, not believing what she was seeing.