• Published 17th Jul 2013
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Betrothed and Betrayed - Nightwings81



When the kingdom of Saddellia threatens Equestria, Princess Celestia sends the Elements of Harmony to deal with the brutish king. On the way, they save the life of the crown prince, who will help them, but only if Rainbow Dash becomes his princess.

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Chapter 8

“Well, I still don’t think she should have styled your hair up. With your features, it looks much better loose with a subtle decoration in it. And you would have looked far nicer in that pale mint green that I wanted than in that ruby. Sure, it’s a fine enough color for evening wear, but it’s just too bright and rich for this early in the day.”

Sitting on one of the chairs by the fireplace, Rainbow Dash flattened her ears against her head and squeezed her eyes shut, tapping one hoof against the cushion as Rarity continued her rapid fire tirade.

“And a little bit of makeup wouldn’t have hurt you at all—you have such bright and interesting eyes, so why not make them pop?”

“Rarity! Please!” The pegasus collapsed, flinging her hooves over her head. “I can’t take it anymore!”

As Rarity stuttered to a stop, Applejack turned to Pinkie Pie and passed over several bits.

“You win. Ah swear, I thought she would have blown back when Rarity was talking ‘bout dress lengths and hooficures.”

“Foxtail isn’t trying to be mean, Rarity,” Twilight pointed out gently. “She’s just doing the job the queen asked her to do. Bright Song didn’t know you were going to be Rainbow’s fashion advisor.” She glanced to the pegasus in question, who was now absently poking the hem of the lightweight cloak she wore with the tip of a hoof. “I think Rainbow looks beautiful—and she’s already nervous enough without worrying about—”

“What?” Rainbow jumped and put her hooves behind her back. “What’re you talking about? I’m not nervous!”

Rarity took one look at her wide-eyed friend and all her indignation drained away to be replaced with an expression of shame.

“You’re absolutely right, Twilight. I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash—here you are fretting over your date with the prince and all I can do is go on and on about that annoying mare and her Saddellian fashions.”

“I’m not fretting and it’s not a date! Linden is just walking the faire with us. How is that a date?”

“Well, um, he’s not exactly walking the faire with us, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said with an ingratiating smile. “He’s walking it with you and we’re just tagging along.”

“And he’s asked you to sit with him in the royal box during the joust,” Twilight pointed out. “Even if it is in your honor, it would have been perfectly proper to seat you with the rest of the nobility.”

“So he wanted to hang out!” Rainbow Dash threw her hooves in the air. “That doesn’t make it a—” There was a sudden knock on the door and she gasped, squeaking, “He’s here!”

“Oh no, it’s not a date.” Applejack grinned sardonically and nudged the pegasus, then trotted across the room to answer the door. “Well howdy there! Don’t you look all spiffed up and fancy!”

Rarity gasped and whirled around to poke Rainbow Dash sharply with her hoof. “Did you hear that?” she hissed, her eyes glowing ecstatically. “He got all dressed up for you!”

“Or he got dressed up because he’s a prince and he’s going out in public,” Rainbow pointed out, rubbing the sore spot on her chest.

“Don’t be so silly, Dashie,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly. “It’s for you. Now let’s get going! I can’t take it anymore!” She shoved Rainbow Dash from her chair and forcibly pushed her across the floor to the greeting room.
The pony waiting just inside the door with Applejack was not Linden, however. Perplexed, Rainbow trotted forward under her own power, taking Pinkie by surprise. The earth pony overbalanced, her legs windmilling wildly before she collapsed onto her face.

“Ouch! Is she alright?” Aster asked.

“I’m fine!” Pinkie waved a hoof towards the steward, then proceeded to peel herself off the floor.

Aster turned to Rainbow and Applejack, his expression one of mingled concern, confusion, and disbelief. Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly.

“That’s why she’s the jester,” she quipped.

The white pony opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but he had spent several days on the road with the girls and had finally come to the decision that trying to figure out Pinkie Pie’s oddities, or her friends’ acceptance of them, was impossible, frustrating, and a sure way to cause a sharp pain between his ears. Clearing his throat, he gave his attention to Rainbow Dash and dipped a bow.

“My lady, I’m here to offer the deep regrets of his highness, Prince Linden.”

“Regrets? What for?”

“Well, while the prince greatly wanted to show you and your friends around the faire this morning, he has been called to his father’s side for the time being.”

“Oh.” Rainbow’s face fell and her ears drooped. “Really?”

“He does extend his sincerest apologies,” Aster continued, “and hopes you will still enjoy yourself at the faire. He begs that you will still sit with him during the joust.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course I will.”

Aster smiled and bobbed his head to her. “Thank you, my lady. I will be sure to tell his highness. Please, enjoy your day.”

As soon as the steward let himself out of the room, Rainbow was surrounded by her friends, all wearing identical expressions of concern and disappointment for her.

“Ah’m sorry, sugarcube. But we’ll still have fun, just the six of us,” Applejack said with a comforting nuzzle.

“Of course we will.” Rarity gave the pegasus a brusque hug, using the embrace to surreptitiously remove the clip holding Rainbow’s mane in place so the multi-colored strands once again tumbled loose against her neck. “And you’ll still see him later at the joust, so don’t be upset.”

“Oh, I’m not. It’s fine,” Rainbow said, shrugging and unconsciously tossing her newly freed mane. “The king wanted to see him—it’s not like he could say no to that. And he promised to talk to his dad about us, so maybe he’ll have a chance now. I mean, that’s why we came here, right? To get the attention of the king?”

“Right!” Twilight said brightly, pleased with her friend’s mature reasoning. “Maybe he’ll work out an audience for us.”

“Yeah, maybe. But that’s later.” Pinkie Pie gave them each a small shove from behind. “Do you know what’s happening right now? As is, right now right now? A faire! A huge, wonderful faire with games and music and food and all kinds of neat things to see!” She sat down with a thump and began to sob plaintively. “And we’re missing it!”

“All right, y’all, let’s get goin’ before Pinkie floods the place.”

Pinkie’s waterworks switched off as quickly as they had switched on, replaced instantly with a beaming smile and twinkling eyes. She led the way down to the grounds, hopping and singing, and when Applejack tried to convince her to bubble down, she scoffed and replied, “A jester is supposed to be funny and perky, AJ. What would you want a boring jester for?”

Applejack looked to her friends for help, but Twilight only shrugged. “You’re the one who made her a jester, Applejack.”

“No, she didn’t,” Rarity disagreed. “Pinkie’s always been a jester. Applejack just finally gave her the name.”

A temporary wooden gate had been built at the entrance to the faire grounds. Two ponies in plumed hats and long tabards bearing the royal crest were positioned on either side of the gate. As the Equestrian ponies approached, these heralds stepped up to a pair of long trumpets and blew a loud series of musical notes before shouting—

“Lady Rainbow Dash of the Blue Hills!”

Eyes turned towards them curiously, followed by a flutter of whispers. Rainbow smiled awkwardly and gave a little wave, then hurriedly trotted through the gate, her friends close behind.

The sweeping, grassy grounds around the castle had been transformed into a busy, colorful city of carts, tables, tents, and booths of every shape and size stretched out in orderly rows. Vendors from all throughout the kingdom had heeded the call of the king, arriving in vast numbers to peddle an astonishing assortment of goods. As the mares trotted between the stands, they were dazzled by pottery, clothing, toys, tools, glassware, jewelry, and woodcrafts.

Rarity quickly took the lead from Pinkie. Her dark blue eyes shone as she pranced before the booths, inspecting wares with the shrewd skill of an experienced shopper. She had just found a stall with bolts of fine cloth in every imaginable color and had stopped to haggle over prices when Twilight spotted a familiar orange colt wandering about by himself.

“Nightfire!” she called, waving a hoof. “Nightfire, over here!”

The quiet colt turned at his name and smiled when he saw Twilight. Quickly, he trotted through the crowd to join them.

“Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. Lady Rainbow Dash. Girls. I trust you’re enjoying the faire?”

“Very much, though we just got here and still have a lot to see. Do you want to join us?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

“So you’re not gonna be in the joust at all?” Rainbow asked him curiously. Linden had told her that he couldn’t enter the tourney because nopony would dare beat a prince and the contest wouldn’t be fair. Fletcher and Tiny, however, would both be participating.

Nightfire smirked and shook his head. “Not me, my lady, unless they open the joust to games of the mind and trivia contests. I spend more of my time in the libraries than out on the training grounds. I’d still be there now if Linden hadn’t ordered me out to enjoy the faire by saying, and here I quote, ‘Your nose if going to grow into a point if you keep it buried in the middle of a book much longer’.”

“That could never happen!” Twilight protested indignantly. “It would take more than a book to permanently change the shape of a muzzle—besides, reading that closely is more likely to hurt your eyesight than your nose and—”

Applejack draped a leg over Twilight’s shoulders and gave her a little wink. “Ah think the prince was jokin’ with him, Sugarcube.”

“Oh.” Twilight giggled sheepishly. “Yes, I guess that makes more sense.”

“Rainbow!” Rarity suddenly appeared and tugged on a fold of Rainbow’s cloak with her magic to get her attention. “Darling, I need to borrow you for a moment to see if this shade of violet is right for you. I think Pinkie may have chattered him down in price, but I have to act fast or—oh, hello Nightfire! How wonderful running into you. Are you enjoying the faire?”

“Very much, Miss Rarity. And you?”

“It’s lovely! The fashions and accessories here in Saddellia are so different from Equestria and I can’t wait to incorporate some of the styles into my lines.” She gave Rainbow a brisk little shake. “And I’ve already got some fabulous ideas for our little lady here that are sure to show that tacky imposter who the real fashion designer is.”

“I’m sorry?” Nightfire looked completely baffled so Twilight explained.

“Remember how we told you Pinkie Pie had come up with positions for all of us as Rainbow’s entourage? Well, Rarity was to be her fashion advisor, but when we got back to the Emerald Rooms that night we found that Queen Bright Song had sent a seamstress named Foxtail to help Rainbow with her wardrobe.” She glanced sideways at the other unicorn. “You might say Rarity got a little miffed when Foxtail refused to step aside.”

“Miffed?” Rarity gave a delicate sniff. “I was not miffed. I was merely perturbed.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow scoffed, looking over her shoulder and trying to suppress a laugh. “Perturbed. I guess that’s why you set Pinkie Pie on that poor merchant so you could buy up all the fabric in Saddellia.”

Rarity gasped and looked back at the cloth vendor, who had a plastered smile on his face, but whose eyes had long since glazed over as Pinkie Pie babbled steadily on about fabric, and dresses, and butterdragonflies. Fluttershy was whispering apologies to the harried stallion and trying unsuccessfully to pull their friend away.

“Oh Celestia, what have I done!” the white unicorn exclaimed, racing back to rescue the hapless merchant. Out of sheer guilt, she bought the fabric and several spools of ribbon at full price, though the vendor muttered something about giving her his entire booth as long as she took Pinkie away. Once her purchase was complete, Nightfire suggested that they take in one of the shows and led them all to a nearby performance stage, where an acting troupe was just starting their comedic rendition of The Savvy Stallion and the Ogre Under the Bridge. While the girls had never heard of him, Nightfire explained that the Savvy Stallion was a beloved character in Saddellian folklore who used his cleverness to outwit many enemies and escape from dangerous escapades. In this particular tale, the stallion encountered an ogre while running from one of his many enemies and convinced the monstrous beast to pass on eating him in favor of the much plumper, tastier ponies coming up behind him. Of course, the ogre took the bait and fell on the stallion’s pursuers while the hero happily trotted away.

The play was hilarious, especially to Pinkie Pie. She laughed so loudly that the actors gave her a special bow at the end. She was even called up on the stage by the next act, which involved tightrope walking jugglers and a mime. To the surprise of everypony but her friends, she did wonderfully at both, though Rainbow and Applejack hurriedly dragged her away before she could try her hoof at sword swallowing.
A walk through the food sellers’ stands distracted her and gave them a chance to sample some of the treats of the kingdom, including pastry pockets filled with seasoned vegetables, chocolate-covered pumpkin jellies, and, at Nightfire’s urging, candied pumpkin blossoms.

“Who would have thought?” Rainbow mused, happily munching her way through a packet of the sweet yellow delicacy. “We have to figure out how to make this back home. Hey, Pinkie, do you think the Cakes could…” A glittery flash on the table she was passing caught her eye and she stopped short, causing Rarity to bump into her from behind.

“Oomph! Oh, my apologies, darling, but you really need to warn a pony. What are you looking at—ooh, jewelry!”

The table was covered in black velvet to display a vast array of sparkling jewels set in silver and gold. There were necklaces and bracelets, earrings and brooches, halters and saddles—all shining with cut and polished gems in every shape, size, and color. The work was exquisite, but not what had grabbed Rainbow’s attention. Instead, she was intrigued by a jumble of stone pendants that spilled out of a box tucked in a corner of the display. One particular piece was a chunk of smoky quartz that had been carved into the shape of a flying falcon.

“Check this out, it’s really cool,” she said, lifting the pendant by its brown cord. “Like the falcon that flew with me back in the canyon.”

“Well, yes, I suppose so,” Rarity said, glancing at it absently. “But wouldn’t you rather something like those sapphires? Or maybe this peridot?” The unicorn lifted a necklace with her magic, admiring the light playing off the lime green stone. “Teardrop-cut. Flawless stone. Clear, even color.”

A ruby-red stallion with a golden ring for a cutie mark trotted over to them with a welcoming smile and introduced himself as Fourteen Carat. “You have a discerning eye, miss.”

Rarity nodded and turned slightly so her own triple gem cutie mark was visible. “I know a thing or two about precious stones. I use them in my fashions back home. Your work is extremely good.”

“How much for this one?” Rainbow asked, holding up the falcon.

“That?” Fourteen Carat shook his head. “My lady, that is the work of one of my apprentices—he does it in his free time to make extra spending bits. But might I suggest something like this for a lady such as yourself?” He delicately picked up a necklace in his teeth and held it up so the sun sparked off the facets of the large hexagonally cut emerald.

Rainbow eyed the necklace for a moment and gave a dismissive shrug. “It’s nice, but I really like this one. Will you take Equestrian bits?” She turned her head and nosed aside her ruby-colored cloak to reach the moneybag with the bits she had brought from home. When she looked back at the merchant, he was gaping at her exposed wing.

“What?” she said with a grin, waggling her feathers at him playfully. “Never seen a wing before?”

“Not on a pony, my lady.” His amber eyes widened with realization. “You’re the pegasus who saved the prince’s life!”

“Now how’d you know that?” Applejack wanted to know. “We’ve only been here a few days.”

“Word travels quickly among the merchant guild, especially when that word involves a lavish faire being thrown in honor of a new national hero.”

“National hero?” Rainbow blushed, for once not willing to brag. “I just helped a pony out, that’s all. Any pony would have done the same.”

“If you say so, my lady. Either way, we merchants are extremely grateful for the faire.” Fourteen Carat winked and picked up the falcon pendant, looping it over Rainbow’s neck. “If this is the one you like, this is the one you should have. No charge for national heroes.”

“Aww, how nice!” Pinkie beamed but Rainbow stammered, “N-no, I couldn’t just—your apprentice…I can pay…”

“I won’t take it, my dear lady. Now I can tell everypony that the beautiful pegasus who saved the prince wears jewelry from my shop. Business will boom, I am sure.”

“Very savvy,” Twilight spoke up. At her side, Rarity nodded sagely.

“I—I guess, uh, if you insist. Thanks!” Rainbow craned her head to peer down at the falcon, admiring the way the swirls of light and dark grey in the smoky quartz resembled the true life coloring of the bird.

“It’s really pretty, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said as they moved through the faire again, this time gravitating towards what sounded like a musical performance. “And it’s nice to have something to remember this by.”

“Would have been just as nice to remember it with that perfectly beautiful emerald,” Rarity muttered. “I can find plenty of wonderful gems back home, but the setting and cut on that one was just magnificent.”

Long rows of low hale bales had been arranged in a semi circle around the stage and had already filled with ponies. The seven found space to squeeze in near the end of one row and sat to watch the performance. A brown stallion with one cream-colored fetlock was skillfully playing a mandolin that matched the one on his cutie mark. Beside him, a pretty young mare with a silvery-green coat and pale lilac mane and tail was singing in a sweet, lilting voice. She was just finishing a song, holding out the last note in mournful vibrato that had several ponies in the audience wiping their eyes.

Resting for barely a beat, the stallion then livened up the mood with an upbeat jig, his hooves flying nimbly over the strings of his instrument. The green mare flicked her tail in time with the beat, then raised her voice again in a rousing song that soon had the ponies stamping along.

“This is Lightfoot, one of the Queen’s favorite minstrels,” Nightfire told them. “He’s famous for his skill with the mandolin and song writing.”

“Who’s the mare?” Rarity asked. Something about her voice seemed vaguely familiar. The white unicorn tilted her head thoughtfully, then decided the mare’s singing reminded her a little of her own sister.

“I’m not sure. She’s been with Lightfoot for only a couple of months.”

“She’s sure gotta pretty voice,” Applejack observed.
“Yes, very,” Rarity agreed. “So pensive and full of longing.

“Unlike yours,” a snide voice mocked behind them. As one, they all turned to find Star Trillium sitting a few feet away with her tagalong twins.

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “And just what do you mean by that?”

Star Trillium gave a decidedly unladylike snort. “Oh nothing,” she said flightily, glancing from Rarity to Applejack. “Though some ponies do have the most absurd accents and insist on talking through a performance while others are trying to listen.”

Rarity blushed and started to apologize, but Rainbow whirled fully around, flaring her wings out as she glared eye to eye with the mauve pony.

“Just what is your problem?” she demanded, fed up with constant digs and slights. “If you’ve got a problem with us, why don’t you just come out and say it!”

Star Trillium’s eyes narrowed angrily. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, her voice dropping to a hiss. “You don’t belong here! The prince may give you a bit of land and call you a lady, but that doesn’t make it true. A real lady is born to her title. She is graceful, demure, and classy. She can dance, knows how to properly dress, knows all the proper ponies, and can sing like a bird. Whereas you obviously—”

“Now you wait just a minute here!” Everypony had been so focused on Star Trillium that they hadn’t noticed Fluttershy silently fuming to one side until the little yellow pegasus shoved past Rainbow and glowered at Star Trillium. “You’ve been rude to us since we got here and it’s just not right! We haven’t been anything but nice to you.” She stomped a hoof in emphasis, unaware that she had drawn the interest of all the ponies sitting nearby. “And you shouldn’t say things unless you know they’re true—because Rainbow Dash is every bit the lady you say you are!”

By now, the musicians had paused in their playing, and her friends were all gaping at Fluttershy, stunned by her outburst. Star Trillium, however, was unfazed by the sudden attention and merely smirked at the little pegasus.

“Is that so?” she retorted.

“Yes it is!”

The mauve pony stood on one of the hay bales. “Well then, maybe she should prove it. I said a lady knows how to sing like a bird, yes? Maybe Lady Rainbow Dash should entertain us all with her sweet voice.” Before anypony could object, she turned to the stage, where the minstrels were watching the scene with mingled interest and annoyance, and shouted, “Troubador, a request! Lady Rainbow Dash here would sing a song for us all!”

“What!” Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight exclaimed together. Fluttershy squeaked in horror and Nightfire groaned wildly, while Applejack hurried to interpose herself between Rainbow and the smug trio until her friend’s magenta eyes looked slightly less insane.

“What are you waiting for, Lady Dash?” Wild Rose taunted. She swept a hoof out to indicate the audience. “Everypony is waiting to hear your lovely voice.”

“You don’t hafta do nothin’ you don’t wanna do, Rainbow,” Applejack said, pushing the fuming pegasus back with her shoulder.

“That’s right,” Nightfire added. “You don’t have to prove anything to them. Linden and his parents have named you a lady—that’s all that matters.”

Rainbow blew a puff of air through her nose, then visibly relaxed. “No, I’ll do it,” she said softly. “I’m not scared and I don’t back down from a challenge.” She wriggled free of Applejack’s grasp and turned towards the stage. Whimpering guiltily, Fluttershy hurried after her.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, I’m so sorry! I never meant for…I didn’t think she would…I was only trying to…”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy.” Rainbow gave her a comforting pat. “But you really do pick the strangest times to be assertive.”

The crowd parted for the two pegasi, gasping when Rainbow ignored the stairs leading up to the stage in favor of a short, flying hop. The brown musician with the white hoof bowed to her, his pale partner hesitating slightly before doing the same.

“Sorry about this,” Rainbow told them. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your show.”

“My pleasure, my lady,” Lightfoot said, indicating the front of the stage to her.

“Oh…! Oh dear…” Fluttershy had been so concerned with apologizing that she had followed Rainbow Dash right onto the stage without noticing. Squeaking timidly, she tried to back away towards the stairs, but Lightfoot nimbly stepped in front of her, barring her path.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” he announced, leaning from side to side to block Fluttershy’s repeated attempts to escape. His rich, melodious voice carried easily over the crowd and drew even more ponies closer towards the stage. “This is a real treat—these two lovely ponies have volunteered to serenade us all with a song from their homeland of Equestria!”

There was a round of applause and Fluttershy went pale beneath her coat.

“Oh no, not me! I—I couldn’t…” She tried again to flee the stage, but caught sight of Star Trillium and the twins sneering while the rest of her friends nodded at her encouragingly. Resolved, she trotted back to Rainbow’s side and took a deep, steadying breath. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

Rainbow chuckled and nudged her affectionately. “Ditto.”

Together, they sang a song that every pegasus filly and colt was taught in flight school—a funny, rhyming tune that named the different types of clouds. Though they began acapella, Lightfoot quickly picked up on the melody and joined in on his mandolin.

In the crowd, Twilight was tapping her hoof along with the beat when a dry voice suddenly spoke in her ear.

“My, my, your friend sure manages to make herself noticed.”

Twilight turned to find Goldhoof standing at her side, his yellow eyes riveted on the stage and the singing pegasi.

“Yes sir,” she replied, smiling as Rainbow unabashedly belted out the song. “She’s not exactly one to fade into the background.”

“That could be said of all of you, I suppose.” He extended his chin towards Pinkie Pie, who had stood up on one of the hay bales to see better. “Your pink friend found the jugglers to her amusement, yes?”

“Well—uh, yes, she loved them. But how did you know that?”

Goldhoof smiled thinly. “Oh, I’ve been keeping tabs on you and your friends, my dear. We don’t get many visitors like you in Saddellia and, let me just say, you intrigue me.” He let his gaze drift back towards the stage and his lips twitched slightly. “And it seems I’m not the only one.” He pointed out Linden standing in the crowd, watching the performance intently.

“Guess his meeting with the king is over,” Nightfire observed. “He’s probably been looking for us.”

“Do you think he was able to talk to his father about us?” Twilight wanted to know. “He said he would try to get us a meeting.”

“Well, the prince is a pony of his word, Miss Sparkle,” Goldhoof said gently. “In fact, I believe today’s meeting with his father greatly concerned you and your friends.”

Twilight brightened. “Really?”
“Of course, I am not at liberty to indulge any information until the king deems fit,” he continued, and her face fell slightly.
“Right, of course.”
Up on the stage, Rainbow and Fluttershy finished their song to loud applause and calls for an encore. Lightfoot refused to let them leave until they complied, much to Star Trillium’s dismay and disgust. The mauve pony flounced away in a huff, followed by the flabbergasted twins.
“Not fans of Equestrian music, I see.”
“Actually, not fans of Equestrian ponies,” Twilight murmured, watching the trio shove their way rudely through the crowd. “Though we’ve tried to be—” She turned back to Goldhoof, but her fellow unicorn was gone. “Wh-where did he go?” she asked. She stood on tiphoof but there was no sign of the grey pony anywhere.
“He comes and goes rather abruptly,” Nightfire said with a trace of awe in his voice.

“Who’s that?” Applejack asked, suddenly taking an interest in the conversation.

“Lord Goldhoof,” Twilight told her, still trying to catch sight of the unicorn.

“Oh, when did you see him?”

Twilight eyed her confusedly. “Huh? Just now. We were just talking.”

The orange earth pony looked past Twilight to search the crowd for the other unicorn and ended up tilting her head in confusion. “You sure you ain’t seein’ things, Twi?”

“No! He was just—”

“Wow! I didn’t know Fluttershy liked Stratosphere,” Pinkie Pie interrupted. Her blue eyes were fastened on the stage, where the two pegasi were singing the latest hit from the popular Cloudsdale group Rainbow fancied. The song had a strong, fast tempo, very unlike the lullabies Fluttershy tended to sing to her animals, but the pale yellow pony had her head tilted back and was matching Rainbow note for note. The crowd had taken up the tune, stamping their hooves in time, and cheered loudly when the pair finished and took to wing again, soaring over the heads of the ponies to rejoin their friends.

“Did you see me?” Fluttershy asked, so giddy with happiness that Twilight forgot about Goldhoof and joined her in smiling from ear to ear. “I sang in front of everypony! I wasn’t even nervous—well, only a little—but they still clapped for us!”

Rainbow Dash flung her hooves around her friend’s neck, hugging her tightly and laughing. “Whoo! That was great! Lightfoot sure knows his stuff with that mandolin, doesn’t he? Never heard Stratosphere sound like that before.”

Linden suddenly appeared at her side and her grin widened as she released Fluttershy and dropped back to her hooves.

“Hey! There you are! You missed all the fun.”

“I saw some of it,” Linden said, beaming. “That was simply wonderful! You never told me you could sing, my lady!”

Rainbow shrugged, blushing. “We all like to sing every once in a while, don’t we, girls?” She looked askance of her friends, who all nodded in agreement. “In fact, I’m kinda surprised Pinkie hasn’t broken into one…or three…yet…” Her voice trailed off under a blaring fanfare of trumpets blasting from the gates of the castle. Everypony turned to the huge doors, which had opened to reveal a bright red and gold carriage pulled by four massive ponies in royal barding. As the carriage rumbled along the widest of the faire’s pathways, ponies on all sides immediately fell into respectful bows for the king and queen.

“Mother and Father are making their way to the arena,” Linden said, nodding as the carriage passed near the stage and Bright Song spotted them, waving genially. “The games will be starting soon. My lady, girls, might Nightfire and I escort you to the joust?”

To the sound of trumpets, they joined the eager crowd of ponies abandoning the faire to make their way to the tournament field.

**

The bow string twanged loudly and the green fletched arrow soared straight and true down the field, punching neatly through the red circle in the center of the target. Sixty feet away, Fletcher raised his bow in the air and turned a triumphant circle as the crowd cheered.

“Did he win? He won didn’t he? I think he won, but I couldn’t really tell. I know he got his arrow really, really close to the center of the target thingee, so I think that means he won.”

“Yes, Pinkie! He’s won!” Rarity had her forehooves on the railing surrounding the raised royal box where they were watching the games. When Fletcher happened to glance their way, she waved regally and the young archer dipped into a graceful, flamboyant bow.

“Oh for pete’s sake.” Linden rolled his eyes, then cupped his hooves around his mouth and shouted, “Showoff!”

Fletcher responded by swinging his bow onto his shoulder, then turning to trot back to the sidelines, flipping his tail insolently.

The archery tournament was one of the most popular of the games and, so far, Fletcher was dominating the competition. He had won the twenty yard, thirty-five yard, and now the sixty yard distance and had made it all look easy.

Now he restocked his quiver and lined up with the other competitors once again.

“Are they going to do a hundred yards this time?” Twilight asked, turning questioningly to Linden. To her surprise and delight, the six of them had all been included in Rainbow’s invitation to sit in the royal box, or what Linden had called the berfrois. It was a large, three-tiered wooden platform raised a dozen feet off the ground and shaded with a brightly colored canopy. A railing festooned with the heraldic crests of the competing families surrounded the lowest tier, where she sat on a cushioned bench with Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. The prince sat on a more elaborate bench on the second tier just behind them and Rainbow Dash had been given the honor of sitting beside him. The king and queen were on the highest level, in a pair of twin thrones brought to the arena just for them.

Linden shook his head at her question and pointed a hoof towards a half grown colt who stood on the sidelines. A mare was busily strapping thick barding onto his chest and sides. Colored ribbons trailed from rings sewn into the barding—green, blue, purple, and a couple of red.

“Now we’re getting to the real show of talent,” Linden said excitedly. “You ladies are sure to enjoy this.”

“Really?” Rainbow sat up straighter on her cushioned seat, peering at the colt. “What’s going to happen?”

“That lad with the ribbons there, well, his job is to race back and forth across the arena so the ribbons trail behind him. The archers will each have three shots. Different ribbons are worth different scores and the scores are higher if they cut through the ribbon fully. Green ribbons are one point each, blue are two, purple are five, and a red ribbon gets the archer ten points. As you can see, there are only a couple of red ribbons and they’re much shorter than the others.”

“They’re…they’re going to shoot at the colt?” Twilight was incredulous.

“Not at the colt. At the ribbons he’s wearing. It’s a test of real skill to be able to hit such a small and swiftly moving target.”

“Seems awful risky,” Applejack murmured. The colt was thin and lanky and didn’t seem much older than her own little sister. As they watched, he was prodded into the arena to a blast of trumpets. He hesitated as the competitors took their places, then leapt into a jerky gallop, zigzagging back and forth in a jagged line and dashing for the other side of the field.

Though he had drawn the fifth shot at the beginning of the competition, Fletcher’s wins had moved him up to the first for this round. He drew the string of his bow back to his ear with one fluid, almost effortless motion and sighted along the arrow before releasing.

The shaft flew straight and fast, heading right for the running colt. Twilight gasped and clapped her hooves over her eyes, unable to watch. An instant later, loud applause and stamping encouraged her to peek and she breathed a huge sigh of relief to see the colt reach the other side of the field. He was unscathed, but missing one of the red ribbons from his barding—it was pinned by a green-fletched arrow to the ground ten feet away, fluttering in the slight breeze.

“Oh Celestia,” she whispered, feeling slightly faint. She turned to her friends as Nightfire, Linden, and the crowd all cheered for Fletcher. Fluttershy had also been unable to look, and she still hadn’t emerged from behind her trembling hooves. Applejack and Rarity both seemed on the verge of being ill and Rarity’s dark blue eyes were welling with tears. Her lips moved silently, but Twilight was able to read the words “young” and “Sweetie”.

Rainbow Dash looked uncertain and had leaned closer to speak earnestly with the prince, but whatever she was saying was drowned out by the cacophony of applause. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, had swiveled around on the bench to glare openly at King Oak Bough, who was shouting that things were finally getting interesting.

Another blast of trumpets drew all their eyes back to the field and the colt readied himself to run again. Another archer, this one a jet black pony with an aqua mane and tail, had his bow drawn and ready.

“Why are they doing this?” Rainbow said, her voice audible now in the sudden hushed lull. Linden just shook his head, smiling and pointing at the colt, who had bolted into the field a second time, weaving and jigging to make himself a harder target.

The archer aimed and let fly, the arrow zipping by in a blur of blue fletching. The crowd gave a collective gasp as the colt stumbled awkwardly and the arrow passed directly over his rump, fanning the ribbons and sending the youngster into a frantic scramble for the safety of the sidelines. Once there, he collapsed in a panting heap and turned to look at a shallow graze on his flank.

“Aw, a miss,” Nightfire muttered. “No points for that.”

“But he hit the colt!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Just barely. The lad’s fine. No lasting damage.”

“But why should there have been any damage at all?” Pinkie persisted. “We all know Fletcher’s won—what’s the use of this?”

“It’s a good show,” Linden said, frowning slightly at her concern. He turned to Rainbow Dash. “Isn’t it? Don’t you think it’s exciting? Anything can happen. We used to use dogs to carry the ribbons, but they just went from one side to the other in a straight run. The colt is at least smart enough to dodge and that makes it harder for the archers.”

“But what if he gets…” Twilight never got the chance to finish her statement, for the colt had been sent out into the field again. This time, his running was wobbly and unbalanced—he was obviously tired from his last two tries. He barely made it to the center of the field before the archer released his arrow. A collective groan filled the air as the steel headed bolt pierced through the boy’s barding and punctured deep into his leg. He fell, rolling under his own momentum, then lay on the ground wailing in pain.

“No!” Fluttershy cried. She had finally gathered up enough nerve to peek and her eyes went wide with horror. “Oh no, oh no! He needs help!” She stood up to leap over the railing, but Nightfire hurriedly put up a hoof to stop her.

“Wait! He’ll be alright—look, they’re getting him off the field right now.”

A pair of ponies had hurried over to the prone colt, lifting him up and carrying him away to a brief smattering of applause.

“What’s goin’ to happen now?” Applejack asked, tracking the colt’s progress off the field.

“His wound will be treated and another will take his place for the rest of the competition. See? He’s all ready to go now.”

A taller, older colt was now being fitted with the ribboned barding and pawed at the ground impatiently.

“Wait…what? No, that’s ridiculous!” Rainbow Dash blinked incredulously as this new target launched himself in front of the next archer. “Linden, can’t you stop this?”

The prince faced her, genuinely perplexed. “Stop it? But I don’t understand, my lady. This is the exciting part.”

The blue pegasus shook her head helplessly and joined her friends in wincing as the new colt was forced to leap over an arrow that came perilously close to striking his chest. The rest of the audience hissed in disapproval—this was obviously some type of foul—and the archer stamped angrily and threw his bow to the ground.

“What’s exciting about shooting arrows at kids?” she wondered aloud.

The archery competition ended not long after with no further incidents and with Fletcher as the victor. He gave a showy bow and a toothy grin before trotting jauntily to the sidelines.

“There’ll be no living with him at the feast,” Linden muttered. “I can hear his head swelling from here.”

“He should be ashamed of himself,” Rarity whispered to Twilight. “That was utterly barbaric.”

“Shh!” Twilight rolled her eyes back to peek at the king, but he was too busy calling for a goblet of pumpkin wine to notice. Of all the spectators, his cheering had been particularly loud when the colt had been wounded.

Rarity fell silent, turning her angry eyes back to the field, where a group of worker ponies were hurriedly clearing away the targets, quivers, and stray arrows while a tall light grey stallion wearing a tabard with the royal crest took center stage and raised his hoof to command silence

Linden immediately perked up and gave Rainbow Dash a nudge.

“Your turn now, my lady.”

“What?” Rainbow stared at him blankly for a moment before she remembered that she was supposed to be a part of the show. “Oh! Now?”

“The crowd is all warmed up. Time to give them a thrill before the final two contests. Are you ready?”

Despite her misgivings over the end of the archery tournament, Rainbow nodded and grinned cheekily. “Are you kidding? I was born ready.” She shrugged out of the ruby cloak and passed it to Rarity for safe keeping. Standing up, she stretched her legs and wings as the herald raised his voice to a shout to be heard over the din.

“My lords, my ladies, my fellow ponies gathered to witness the spectacle of these exciting games—we now offer a rare delight to you, one and all!

“Today, we come together to honor a pony—a very special pony! A stunning and petite pony who hides nerves of pure steel behind a face as lovely as a summer morning, traveled here from the far flung land of Equestria to protect lives at any cost!”

“Oh brother!” Applejack muttered, hiding her face in her hooves while Rarity and Twilight snickered. Rainbow glowered at them, which only served to make them laugh harder.

“This valiant lady, with no thought or care for her own safety, faced off single hoofedly against a pack of vicious, disgusting hyleenas to come to the aid of our beloved Prince Linden, who seemed doomed to be torn limb from limb by the dread beasts!”

The crowd hissed and booed angrily, the stamping of hundreds of hooves against the stands loud enough to scare some nearby birds into flight.

“Yes, my friends, our valiant prince was fighting for his very life, clinging to a cliff above the bloodthirsty horde when a vision of rainbows appeared just when all seemed lost!” The herald paused to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye and Rainbow Dash snorted impatiently.

“Though she took an injury in her act of extreme bravery, this daring lady has battled through her pain and suffering—”

“It was just a scratch!” the pegasus said in a huff. “Will he get on with it already?”

“—and has come before you today to give a demonstration of the flying skills that have made her famous throughout her homeland.”

“Oh, well, I guess that’s true.”

“Good ponies of Saddellia, feast your eyes on the skies for the fabulous flying Laaady Raaaaaaaaaaibow Daaaaaaash!”

Rainbow sprang off the berfrois and soared into the air, her brilliant rainbow-colored contrail blazing behind her.

With the crowd gaping in wonder, she blasted over the field to the obstacle course that had been built for her demonstration. Whooping joyfully at the sheer thrill of flying and the breeze cooling through her mane, she darted for the first obstacle—a series of raised hurdles. It was very similar to phase one of her routine, though the hurdles were horizontal instead of vertical. She swooped up and down over them easily, leaving a rippling line of rainbow waves in her wake. From there, it was on to the wooden hoops on the poles, each staggered to a different height.

This stunt was a little more advanced. She didn’t just fly through each of the hoops—that would be too easy. Instead, she circled around and around through one hoop, then darted to the next and repeated the move in the opposite direction. She arched backwards over the top of the third hoop, spinning backflips over and over and over until she started to get dizzy.

At last, she zipped free with a strong flap of her wings and surged upwards into the sky where a patch of cumulous clouds floated over the kingdom. Plucking one cloud from the others, she veered back towards the spectators, using magic inborn only in pegasi ponies to strike the cloud and call forth small lightning bolts with booming claps of thunder. The audience cringed at first from the miniscule flashes, then laughed when she tore off pieces of the cloud and sent them wafting over the stands like bubbles. Several attempted to reach up and bat them out of the air, only to frown confusedly as their hoofs passed straight through the puffs. Rainbow smirked at them, bouncing a last bit of cloud on her head like a ball before sending it skittering away to dissolve in the warm air.

For her final trick, she climbed high into the sky again until her silhouette was just a paler speck against the vivid blue. Taking a deep breath to ready herself, she neatly jackknifed and rocketed towards the ground. Forehooves extended, she battled through the air resistance that pushed against her downward dive and threatened to send her bouncing back into the sky. The wind burned her eyes, drawing tears that blew away as quickly as they formed.

Far below, but quickly rushing up to meet her, were the upturned, stunned faces of the Saddellian audience. Among them, she could see the looks of eager expectation on the faces of her friends and, if the wind hadn’t been pushing her lips back in a grimace, she would have grinned. They thought she was going to do a sonic rainboom, but Rainbow had another stunt in mind, one that she had been practicing on the sly since the Best Young Flier competition.

Her wings flapped rapidly, carrying her downward faster and faster. Eyes bulged in the stands—she was going to crash!

Rainbow had crashed before—many times, in fact—but not this time. At the very last second, she snapped her wings out and pulled up sharply, turning a perfect right angle barely a foot over their heads. In a blur of blue and rainbow, she circled the entire arena before ending in a graceful backflip that landed her neatly on the bench beside the prince.

“How’d you like that?” she asked, laughing and nudging him with a hoof as the audience burst into thunderous applause. Even Queen Bright Song had risen to her hooves to join in. Her husband remained on his chair beside her, but his eyes were glittering and a small smirk had twisted his lips. Rainbow suppressed a shudder and turned away, preferring to give Linden a toothy smile. “That last part is something I’ve been working on—I’m thinking of calling it the Dive of Doom.”

“That was spectacular!” Linden said breathlessly.

“Breathtaking!” Rarity agreed.

“Right impressive, Rainbow. And you ain’t even winded,” Applejack added as Twilight and Nightfire nodded in unison. Beside them, Pinkie Pie was treating Fluttershy and Gumdrop to a play by play of the entire demonstration, waving her hooves through the air as she made whooshing sounds.

“All in a day’s work for Equestria’s Best Young Flier.” Rainbow stood and waved to the crowd, striking a pose with her wings raised and tossing her multi-colored mane. Twilight and Applejack rolled their eyes, but the audience loved it and the herald had a difficult time gaining their attention once again.

“That was simply wonderful, my dear!” Queen Bright Song leaned forward to tousle Rakinbow’s mane and ears affectionately. “It looked so fun and exhilarating—thank you for sharing that with us.”

“My pleasure, your majesty. I’m just glad the Dive of Doom worked out the way it was supposed to.” The pegasus sat down again and rubbed a hoof through her mane embarrassedly. “The trial and error parts during practicing it were not some of my best moments.”

“But practice makes perfect—and that, darling, was simply perfect. Oh, Rainbow, I almost forgot. Here’s your cloak back.” Rarity passed over a tightly rolled bundle of cloth.

“Thanks, I—hey, wait a minute. Wasn’t this red before?” Rainbow held up a swath of the mint green cloth and cocked her head pointedly at Rarity.

The unicorn responded by raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Darling, it almost sounds as though you are accusing me of carrying around that green cloak I liked with me all day on the off chance that I might find an opportunity to switch it out with the one you were wearing. Surely I would never do such a thing.”

“Oh no.” Rainbow donned the cloak and fastened the clasp at her throat, rolling her eyes skyward as she did. “Because that would be crazy.”

“Quite.” Rarity batted her eyelashes innocently and turned around to face the field again. “Ooh, what are they doing now?”

A long fence was being swiftly erected in the center of the field as the competitors for the joust marched out to chants from the crowd. They were all noble colts of different houses, wearing the crests of their families on their tabards and light armor. Handsome and proud, they trotted around the arena in a parade, waving and nodding as flowers and other small favors were rained down on them. One by one, they made their way along the stands, pausing to bow respectfully to the king, queen, and prince.

“My lady of the air.” A tan colt with a white and green mane, wearing armor with a blue eagle on the shield, smiled up at Rainbow Dash and bowed a second time. “For your service to our prince, I will win this joust for you!”

“Neigh, my lady! I will win for you!” A cranberry-colored colt with his navy blue mane artfully curled shoved his opponent aside and bowed with a flourish to the pegasus.

“Pay them no heed, my beautiful, brave mistress of the skies!” A third colt, this one blue and teal, trotted to the fore. “It is I who will win in your name.”

Linden snorted and shook his mane. “Prancing popinjays. They don’t stand a chance.”

“Why no—” Rainbow glanced along the line of noble ponies and recognized one massive competitor trotting ponderously along. She laughed. “Oh, I see!”

“Is that Tiny?” Pinkie perked up slightly and leaned over the rail. Her giant friend spotted her and waved, puffing out his chest and putting a bit more prance to his step. Pinkie Pie giggled and produced a hoofkerchief out of nowhere, fluttering it at Tiny as he passed before the royal box.

“I’ve read about jousts before,” Twilight said as they watched young squire colts race about to fit their competitors with special saddles that had wide metal hooks affixed to the sides. “But I’m not sure of all the rules. Does Saddellian joust differ from the ones Equestria used to have?”

“I wouldn’t know about Equestria, Miss Twilight,” Linden answered, “but the rules here are rather straightforward. You see, each of the jousters is fitted with a lance that sits in the cradle on their jousting saddles. Each competitor is set against another through a lottery. They run along the tilt as fast as they can and attempt to strike their opponent with the lance. A hit which results in a broken lance and is worth one point. A hit to the face or head is worth three points. Each pair tilts three times and the winner has the highest score after the third run. They move up in the ranks and will tilt again against another winner. This continues until there are only two competitors left and they will face off against one another in the final showdown. The winner of that tilt is the winner of the joust and gets everything the position warrants.”

“An’ what would that be?” Applejack queried.

“Great prestige, mostly, as well as a purse of gold from the royal coffers. Aah! Here we go! The lots have been draw and the first two are going to be Star Runner of Shady Grove and Brass Buckle of Bristlecone Heights. This should be interesting—last year Brass Buckle won the competition at the Bent Pine Games, but he hurt his leg when he slipped on some ice over the winter. We’ll have to see how it affects his performance today.”

The girls looked forward curiously as the two colts took their positions on opposite sides and ends of the tilt. Their squires finished last minute adjustments to their jousting saddles and the armor that protected their chests, throats, and legs, then settled long wooden lances into the saddle cradles and strapped them into place. The colts snorted and pawed the ground, their eyes locked on the royal herald, who had stepped forward to officiate the games. The herald had raised a flag in the air and the crowd went silent in anticipation. With a flourish, the pony dropped the flag and skittered out of the way as the colts pulled their helmets over their faces and thundered down the track. Dust flew into the air as their churning hooves kicked up great divots of the field. Heads lowered, they galloped straight toward one another, the tips of their lances glinting in the sunlight.

With a resounding crash the two collided, lances simultaneously striking the breast plates of their opponent and shattering into thousands of splinters. The two raced on after the impact, stopping only at the end of the tilt to turn and examine the damage to their armor. The metal was dented, the decorative enamel badly chipped and scored, but the crowd cheered as the herald announced a point to each side.

“Wow!” Rainbow breathed. She had hit mountains and houses with such tremendous force before, but not usually on purpose. The two colts seemed completely unfazed and were raring for another go at one another.

The broken lances were cleared away and quickly replaced, the herald gingerly stepping forward to drop the flag a second time. This time, he had to scramble for his life as Brass Buckle and Star Runner surged forward. Once again, the ground nearly trembled with the force of their charge, and the Equestrians all flinched when the lances struck a second time, the resounding crack of the wood as loud as an explosion.

Brass Buckle stumbled under the impact, his forward momentum carrying him half a dozen clumsy steps before he went to his knees. A gasp went up from the crowd and his squire rushed to his side, but the colt shook him away angrily and struggled to his feet. He staggered to the end of the tilt and took his place, gesturing imperiously for the squire to ready his next lance, but couldn’t keep the grimace of pain from showing on his face.

“He’s not going again, is he?” Rarity asked worriedly. “Anypony can see that he’s hurting.”

“He’s being a fool,” Nightfire replied, his voice laden with scorn. “Doesn’t know when to call it quits and is willing to do permanent damage to himself for a stubborn show of pride.”

The flag dropped for a third time and the jousters galloped across the field. Rainbow leaned forward on her seat, eyes riveted on the spectacle below. As the two drew nearer, she bit her lip and tensed, readying herself for the crack of the lances. Then, with barely ten feet between them, Brass Buckle’s leg gave out and he fell, the tip of his lance dipping low to scrape the ground, catching in the soil and dragging sharply on the saddle. Brass Buckle was flipped head over hooves just as Star Runner’s lance struck him full on the side, shattering in an burst of wooden splinters. Star Runner continued his gallop to the end of the field while the other pony collapsed in a heap.

“I can’t watch this!” Fluttershy cried. “No, no, no!”

The fallen jouster lay still and the crowd fell ominously quiet. The colt’s squire rushed to his side and bent down. A terrible moment passed when Rainbow had almost decided the colt was not going to get up again, then she breathed a huge sigh of relief as Brass Buckle took a shuddering gasp and gathered three legs beneath him. His left foreleg dangled uselessly, broken, and his squire had to help him limp from the arena. A smattering of applause and a few jeering whistles followed his slow trek.

“He’ll never joust again,” Linden muttered. “He’ll be lucky if he can walk properly after that.” He glanced to the left and nodded. “Looks like Star Runner’s last hit is going to be held as valid too. He’s the winner of the tilt.”

The midnight blue colt punched a hoof in the air victoriously while the shield bearing his family’s crest was moved over Brass Buckle’s, signifying his triumph.

Rainbow fidgeted, torn by conflicting feelings. On the one hoof, she wanted to be happy for Star Runner, who had performed well and deserved his win, but on the other, she lamented Brass Buckle’s loss. He had known what he was getting into, but as an athlete herself, she also hated being limited by anything and constantly pushed herself to do better.

The tilts continued, with more noble ponies from all over the country showing off their prowess. Rainbow’s three admirers each took their turns, though only two managed to move forward in the ranks. Tiny tilted second to last and beat his opponent so neatly he made the competition look like foals’ play.

An hour passed, then two, and the day grew steadily hotter. Servants brought trays of small snacks and cooled fruit juices to the berfrois. The competitors dropped out, one by one, and the girls cheered as Tiny moved further up in the ranks until only he and one other jouster remained.

“Yeah! Alright! Go Tiny!” Pinkie shouted. She had somehow produced a pair of ponpoms and was standing on her back legs, waving them in the air. “Tiny, Tiny, he’s our pony! Any other is a…a phony!”

“Pinkie!” Mortified, Rarity tried to pull her back into her seat while Queen Bright Song covered her mouth with her hooves and giggled like a filly.

Tiny took the encouragement to heart, waving to his number one fan as his squire checked over his armor for the final run. His opponent was a grey highborn colt with dark red streaks through his mane and tail. Known as High Wind, he was short and stout, but had run with intense precision and had scored mainly head strikes for the extra points. He was undaunted by Tiny’s enormous size, pawing the ground impatiently, and even spared a glance to the stands and cotton candy-colored cheerleader.

“Why not place your favor with the real champion, cutie?” he called out to her. “And the promise of a kiss when this joust is won!”

Pinkie Pie dropped to her haunches, looking slightly puzzled. Sarcasm didn’t work well on her. After a moment, she shrugged and smiled brightly. “Sure! I’ll give Tiny a kiss if he wants one.”

Linden, Nightfire, Bright Song, and a good number of ponies within hearing distance all burst out laughing. Tiny blushed, but High Wind took the laughter in stride, the only sign of his annoyance a slight tightening of his lips.

“Well, let’s make things even more interesting, then! A kiss to the winner, for sure, but a kiss from the lady of the winner’s choosing!” The audience murmured appreciatively as the noble pony gave an ingratiating smile and raised his bushy eyebrows at Rainbow Dash and Linden. The prince stiffened, but High Wind smoothly continued before he could speak. “Surely the lovely lady of the air would not refuse to bestow a kiss on the pony who wins the joust thrown in her honor?”

Rainbow Dash scoffed, then felt the eyes of the entire crowd riveted on her. This was the last thing she’d been expecting, but if she refused, she would make Equestria look bad in the eyes of the Saddellian ponies. Trapped by the eager crowd, she gave him a reluctant nod. Behind her, Oak Bough laughed heartily, causing her mane to bristle.

“It is done!” the king bellowed. “A kiss to the winner!”

High Wind smirked, bowed to the king, and slammed his visor down on his helmet. “Let’s get on with this!”

“Yuck.” Rainbow shook her tingling mane and wrinkled her nose to her friends. “This diplomatic stuff stinks!”

The herald trotted to the center of the field and raised his hoof. “My lords and ladies, good ponies of Saddellia and beyond,” he bellowed. “We have come at last to the final showdown, the clashing of the titans, the ultimate tilt between two champions who have bested all other foes faced this day! We have witnessed their battles, their triumphs, and, now, they come together one last time for your amazement! There can be only one victor, only one champion of the day, only one winner of a promised kiss! Who will have the honor of this wonderful title, this glorious gift? Will it be the illustrious High Wind, heir to Wither Heights and champion of the Whispering Valley games? Or will it be Strong Watch, son of Golden Shield and chosen protector of his royal highness, Prince Linden?”

“Strong Watch?” Rarity asked.

“That’s Tiny’s real name,” Linden said with a chuckle. “You didn’t think his father named him Tiny, did you? I gave him that nickname when he came to court, because even as a foal he was larger than a timber wolf.” He looked fondly at his massive friend, who was stretching his legs and limbering up for the next contest. “He’d better win—High Wind is already insufferable.”

The herald raised the flag in the air. “Now, my good ponies, for the title of Tourney Champion and a promised kiss, let the joust…begin!”

The flag fluttered to the ground and both ponies reared, neighing defiantly before thundering down the length of the tilt. Tiny kicked up clumps of earth with his giant hooves, his normally gentle eyes narrowed with fierce concentration behind the visor of his helmet as he angled the lance for a clear shot at the center of High Wind’s chest. Within seconds, they converged at the center of the field and the air was once again filled with a rain of shattered splinters.

Tiny slowed to a trot and glanced up at the lance attached to his saddle. It was broken clear down to the graper and the huge pony nickered as High Wind cursed on the far side of the tilt. His own lance was still whole and unblemished—he had missed his hit!

“Oh, it’s going to be hard to come back from that!” Nightfire said, not even bothering to hide his glee. “Especially in a championship tilt—if he weren’t so proficient with the head hits, I’d say the tourney is already won.”

“And Tiny has such a big head,” Pinkie added. Her friends all looked at her and she shrugged. “What? It’s true! His head is really big and that makes it a good target. He needs to keep his head up and back so High Wind has to reach for him, which will throw off High Wind’s stride, but it’ll slow Tiny down a lot and he won’t be able to see as well.” She sighed heavily. “It’s fifty-fifty really, so Tiny’ll have to be really careful if he wants to keep his lead.”

Applejack’s mouth had dropped open in amazement and she laughed. “Whoa nelly! Looks like somepony’s a sports fan! You’ve really got a handle on all this, doncha, Pinkie?”

“It’s all about the strategy,” she said matter-of-factly. “Ooh, here they go again!”

Bemused, the orange pony focused on the next charge, watching a newly equipped Tiny race along the banner covered tilt with a strength and speed that belied his previous exertions of the day.

One tier above her, Rainbow wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead and let out a held breath. “They must be boiling in all that armor,” she stated, squinting at the sunlight flashing off the plates of metal strapped to the competitors. She was sitting under a shaded canopy with just the lightweight cloak flung carelessly over her shoulder, but the heat was still intense.

“True,” Linden replied. “But I wouldn’t want to be in their horseshoes without it.”

“Yeah, you got me there. That probably wouldn’t be the best idea. Though I wonder who thought hitting each other with big sticks was a good idea in the first place. Seems to me a race or a nice game of Battle Clouds would settle things just as well.”

Linden tilted his head and studied her, his lips curling in a warm smile. Gently, the prince inched his hoof across the cushioned bench they shared until it pressed against hers. The blue pegasus glanced down, her eyes briefly shocked, but she didn’t pull her hoof away and was also smiling when she turned back to the field.

“Last one,” Twilight murmured, hopping from hoof to hoof anxiously. Though the joust had been strange and brutal, especially considering her pastoral life in Ponyville, but she was still swept up in the thrill and danger of the competition. She could hardly wait to write down everything she had seen that day so Princess Celestia could read it when they returned home. “Oh, I really hope Tiny wins!”

“Me too,” Rainbow Dash and Linden said in unison. They beamed at one another, oblivious to the sly looks Rainbow’s friends sent their way.

Out on the field, High Wind took his starting point in a fit of foul temper, snapping at his squire when the colt tried to shift one of the plates of armor on his flank. He was obviously upset about the last run—he had made a tactical error in abandoning the risky head strike in favor of a shot that had landed solidly on Tiny’s breastplate. It had been a point scored, but he was still behind by one. Anything less than a head strike in this next tilt would leave him the loser.

The noble colt snorted a puff of air through his nose and lowered his visor, glaring through the eyeslits at the plum-colored pony across the field. As soon as the flag dropped, he leapt down the tilt, his face twisted in an ugly grimace of rage and concentration, lance angled up to strike his opponent in the face for the winning blow.

The crowd gasped when the two converged in the center of the field for the third and final time. High Wind was jarred by the painful force of Tiny’s lance slamming into his chest and causing him to stumble, but his grimace turned to a grin as own lance struck soundly against the front of Tiny’s helmet in a deafening screech of metal…
…only to harmlessly slide away, unbroken, when the large colt snapped his head to the side.
“No!” High Wind bellowed, his distraught wail drowned out by the gathered ponies bursting into wild, exuberant applause. He whirled around with a cry, his hooves cutting a deep circle in the turf, and rushed at Tiny, who was just trotting to the front of the stands to take his celebratory bows. The prince’s friend actually staggered under the force of the blow, going down on one knee in a clatter of armor.
“Melee challenge!” High Wind shouted above the rising cacophony of outraged protesting from the other ponies. “Sire, I call for a melee challenge to determine the winner!”
Oak Bough had been lounging limply in his seat for most of the joust, his goblet never far from his reach. Now he sat up, his eyes flickering with interest once more. Queen Bright Song gasped beside him, her face going pale.

“Melee? What’s that?” Rainbow glanced back and forth between the king and queen and the two competitors. Tiny looked stunned, but High Wind had his hoof raised in the air, his chest heaving with recent exertion.

Applejack frowned in confusion. “Yeah, what’s he goin’ on about, your highness?”

Linden looked grim. “He’s calling for a melee to finish the tourney. It’s an ancient rule that forces the jousters to battle it out in hoof to hoof combat rather than with the lance. It’s invoked as a way to settle ties between equals—key word being ties.” He shook his mane angrily and turned to face his parents. “Father, this is ridiculous—everyone saw that Tiny won the joust. High Wind’s final lance glanced off, unbroken. The battle ended three to one. You should declare Tiny the champion.”

Oak Bough studied his son beadily for a moment, smiling slyly. “You’re the one who always tells me how strong and tough your friend is.”

“Father, no, I…”

“So let’s see him prove it.”

“No, but…it’s not necessary…” He turned a look of entreaty to the queen, who lowered her head and glanced away. “Mother, you saw, we all saw…!”

Oak Bough ignored him and stood up, bringing the arena to immediate silence. Almost negligently, the king tossed a hoof at High Wind. “A melee challenge has been raised…and approved by the crown. The winner will be the true tourney champion and deserving of all promised rewards.” He sat down again heavily and called for more pumpkin wine.

“What’s happening now?” Pinkie Pie asked. Half a dozen colts in royal tabard were running about the field, depositing swords, spears, a mace, and other weaponry at random on the grass.

“Oh dear...please tell me those aren’t for what I think they’re for,” Fluttershy moaned.

“Yeah,” Rainbow added, leaning forward to squint at the varied weapons. “This doesn’t look good. What is a melee?” she repeated.

“It’s an all out brawl with weapons laid out at random for the fighters,” Nightfire said, his voice low but the displeasure still evident in his tone. “At the flag drop, they will both have to run to the nearest weapons they can get and then they will fight until one surrenders…or is too hurt to continue.”

“You mean they actually have to hurt each other?” Rainbow Dash was aghast. “Not just points?”

Linden’s bleak expression answered her before he turned his eyes down to where Tiny stood rooted to the spot, stunned by the unfairness of the king’s decision. Linden gave his friend a helpless shrug and Tiny nodded resignedly, trotting to his squire to prepare.

“But he won,” Rainbow murmured. She dragged the tip of her hoof along the edge of her seat, her tail flicking in agitation. “You can’t just change the rules on him.”

The last of the weapons were distributed around the field and the fighters had been refitted with their armor. The herald began to spout about the bravery of the competitors and the heroic danger of the melee, but the crowd impatiently drowned him out with a chant of, “Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!”

The flag was dropped and Tiny galloped onto the field. The huge pony had a small sword and a bow and quiver within yards of him, but he ignored both, making a bee line straight for the single mace in the arena.

He skidded to a halt beside the weapon, his hooves gouging deep furrows into the ground, and grabbed the two foot long handle in his mouth. The head of the mace was blackened steel studded with jagged spikes that glinted dully in the sunlight. Tiny hefted it easily, spinning around to face his competitor.

High Wind was smaller and had the slight advantage of being quicker than Tiny, even in his bulky armor. By the time Tiny had his mace, the other pony had selected a long sword from the scattered weapons. He swung it at Tiny in an arc of flashing sunlight that the plum pony barely managed to block with the handle of the mace. The ringing chime of metal on metal was accompanied with a shower of sparks.
Tiny’s knees buckled under the force of the blow. With a grunt, he dug his hooves in for leverage and shoved back, turning his head so the sword slid aside with a screech. He then drove his shoulder forward, slamming it into High Wind’s chest and knocking him backwards. The grey pony quickly leapt away from the following swing of the mace—a blow that could have broken his leg. The steel spikes stuck in the packed dirt and High Wind took the opportunity to attack again while Tiny tried to wrench it free.
The sword slashed towards Tiny’s chest, but Linden’s friend swiveled his hindquarters around, taking the blow on his flank instead. Gritting his teeth with pain, he bunched his massive muscles and kicked out with both hindlegs. Hooves the size of dinner plates slammed into High Wind’s breastplate and sent him crashing to the ground in a clattering heap.
High Wind was still for a moment, then struggled shakily to his hooves, his armor badly dented and marred. That was all the time Tiny needed to wrench his trapped mace from the ground and advance menacingly on his opponent.
Rainbow Dash swallowed hard and turned her head as the mace swung through the air, but she couldn’t help hearing the awful thud and crash as the weapon struck home and High Wind crashed to the ground once again.
She couldn’t get over the feeling that this was all terribly wrong. This whole faire and tournament was supposedly in her honor, because she had rescued Linden from the hyleenas—but where was the honor in forcing one pony to injure another for amusement? This would never happen in Equestria.

Tiny walked ponderously to where High Wind had fallen, hefting the mace again while the grey pony groaned and tried to get his legs beneath him. Trembling, he raised a hoof to ward off the coming blow.

“Don’t!” Pinkie Pie screamed, standing up on her bench and waving her hooves frantically. Her poufy mane had gone as flat and straight as Twilight’s. “Can’t you see he’s won?” she shouted angrily at High Wind. “Just stop already! It’s no fun anymore!”

Tiny’s ears dropped slightly and he looked from Pinkie to High Wind and back again. With a sigh, he took a step back, resting the mace against his foreleg. “My little petal sees what you don’t,” he said, his deep voice carrying easily over the stands. “Forfeit before this goes too far.”

High Wind glared at him hatefully for a long moment, then dropped his head, his own ears drooping. Taking this as surrender, Tiny nodded and turned away, removing his helmet to look expectantly towards the berfrois and the pink pony who sat back down with a dazzling smile, her mane and tail springing back into their usual curls.

“Hah!” Linden turned on his bench to give his father a look of satisfaction. “He’s definitely the winner this ti—” he started to say, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash jumping to her hooves with a gasp.

“No!” she cried, her wings flaring in outrage.

“Tiny, watch out!” Applejack yelled. Beside her, Rarity pointed frantically, shouting, “Behind you!”

Tiny turned, but High Wind had already grabbed his fallen sword and made a last, raging leap at his unprotected back. The large pony had no time to duck or bring his mace up to parry as the bright blade slashed through the air...only to freeze in place a hairsbreadth from Tiny’s throat. High Wind snarled and tried to force the sword down, but the shimmering, reddish purple light that surrounded it quickly spread out to envelope him as well.

In the royal box between Pinkie and Rarity, Twilight Sparkle stood with her forehooves braced on the railing, her face twisted in an angry scowl of concentration. Her horn glowing brightly, she lifted High Wind into the air and floated the cursing, flabbergasted pony clear across the field before dropping him in a graceless heap. Immediately, half a dozen of the previous jousters surrounded him, dragging and shoving the defeated noble away before he could shame himself further.

With a squeal, Pinkie leapt from the box and bounced over to Tiny, giving him an exuberant hug and a kiss between the eyes while the crowd burst into tumultuous, stamping applause.

“Yes!” Oak Bough declared, slamming a hoof against his throne and spilling the contents of his goblet across the floor. “Now that’s the proper way to end a show! Just when things were getting boring, we get some magic to liven them up.” He hauled himself to his hooves and gave Rainbow a sneering wink. “Come on, Feathers,” he said, oblivious to the looks of horror on the faces of his young guests or the dismay in his own son’s eyes. “Now we feast!”