Customer Appreciation
Main Characters: Neighponese Imports, Barnyard Bargains, The Power Block, Sweet Apple Acres, Marvelous Comics and Collectables, Carousel Boutique, Sugarcube Corner, Flower Trio
Cameos: Twilight, Trixie, Mayor Mare, Zecora, Blackberry, Lemon
Original Start Date: January 31, 2013
Daring yawns as she trots down from her apartment to Neighponese Imports. Rei and Flitter sit at the counter watching a broadcast from Neighpon. On screen, Full Moon answers a question wrong on a game show and gets doused with water. She cringes as she pushes her mane out of her eyes, which flash green for a moment. She smiles, baring her fangs, and continues the game. Rei and Flitter roar with laughter.
‘Poor Chryssy,’ Daring sighs as she goes to the back offices.
‘Ohayo, Daring-neesma!’ Rei calls.
‘Morning!’ Daring shouts back.
‘I did all of the paperwork for our taxes and prepared the cheques and order forms for our next shipments. I also left your mail on the desk.’
‘Damn laws keeping you from running your store just because you are still a teen,’ Flitter grumbles. ‘You are a better boss than most of my other employers.’
‘Don’t worry, Flitter-chan. I’ll be old enough next year.’
Daring returns, holding a letter in her wing. ‘Rei, what is this?’
‘A letter,’ the young mare replies, giggling.
‘Apparently, we are invited to take part in the Annual Ponyville Customer Appreciation Festival. The hell does that mean?’
‘I don’t know.’ Rei shrugs. ‘Daddy got one of those last year, but he didn’t do anything. I left it for you since I didn’t know what to do.’
‘What does the letter say?’ Flitter asks.
‘It just talks about the event.’ Daring scans the letter. ‘Blah, blah, events, blah, blah, competition, blah, blah, blah.’ She keeps scanning. ‘Oh.’
‘What?’ Flitter asks.
‘Before the competition, there is a big gala at Mr Rich’s house with free catering.’
‘Rich ponies’ food?’ Flitter drools a little. ‘What else?’
‘Uh, trophy, choosing events, celebrity judges, sense of community.’
‘Boring!’ the younger mares declare in unison.
Daring laughs and adopts a fake announcer voice. ‘Face the reigning champions, the Barnyard Bargains team of Mr Rich, his daughter Diamond Tiara, Righteous Midnight and Rainshine.’
‘Midnight...’ Rei growls.
‘Rainshine...’ Flitter sneers.
‘Rival much?’ Daring asks Flitter.
‘I would enter just to bring her down.’
Rei snorts. ‘I’d say the same about Midnight, but we shouldn’t act on revenge alone.’
‘Well, the invite says all businesses are welcome at the party. We can check it out and see if we want to enter.’
‘Hmm... Spoon-chan did tell me that Diamond-chan likes fancy foods,’ Rei notes.
Flitter motions a Pinkie Promise. ‘I won’t beat that daughter of a Diamond Dog to submission... no matter how much she deserves it.’
‘Sweet!’ Daring cheers. ‘I haven’t had fancy eats since I presented Luna’s ancient royal regalia in Manehattan almost sixty-five years ago. I ate so much I couldn’t get out of bed the next day.’
Rei giggles.
Flitter looks over the invitation. ‘Oh, sweet. Says here that they got Trixie as the celeb.’
On the night of the gala, Filthy Rich’s mansion is lit up. The host greets the groups as they arrive. Mr Rich kisses the hooves of a cream-colored mare, a light blue-colored mare and a fuchsia-colored mare as they enter. The Flower Trio giggles and joins the party. They trot through the mansion to a large hall filled with ponies.
Pinkie trots past the arriving ponies with a tray of treats on her head. In addition to helping cater the event, Pinkie and the Cakes are sizing up their competition. Carrot Cake chats with Marvel Crystal. Image Crystal stands at the back of the hall and mopes, having been recently dumped by Sunshine Drops. Stormy, wearing his tuxedo, brings his friend a drink. Rarity and Sweetie Belle greet other guests. Both are wearing new dresses for the occasion. Diamond Tiara rolls her eyes and trots back to the entryway.
‘Da~~d!’ Diamond whines. ‘Why do I have to be here? It is boring!’
‘Diamond Tiara, we’re the hosts of this event,’ Mr Rich reminds. ‘We have to put on a good show for our guests.’
‘But couldn’t I have invited one of my friends? I have nopony to play with.’
The stallion sighs. ‘You can always try making new friends. I know both Miss Rarity and Miss Applejack brought their sisters. You can play with them.’
‘UGH!’ the filly groans. ‘I’m just going find somewhere quiet and play Minecraft on my tablet.’
Mr Rich snorts and turns back to the arriving guests. He adopts a smile as the group from Neighponese Imports flies up. Flitter marvels at the mansion.
‘I’ve seen better,’ Rei comments.
‘Welcome, ladies,’ Mr Rich greets bowing, trying to ignore Rei's opinion.
‘Food’s in there, right?’ Daring asks.
‘Indeed it...’
Daring darts past to the hall. Rei and Flitter bow and trot into the mansion. Rei spots her friends and flies over to them. Flitter explores the hall. She passes Daring, who is stuffing her face with everything Pinkie and the other caterers bring out. The wandering pegasus comes across a table with several sheets of paper spread across it. A bored-looking Twilight Sparkle sits at the table.
‘What’s this?’ Flitter asks.
‘An anemometer,’ the bored alicorn groans.
‘Funny. Seriously? What's up?’
‘As one of the officials, Mr Rich asked me to be in charge of registration and event preparation.’
Flitter looks over the registration sheet. ‘Your coltfriend is on here.’
Twilight grins evilly. ‘Is he now?’ she cackles. ‘It wasn’t just me. Lucas, Mimi and Del all wanted to enter too. Are you going to sign up your shop?’
‘I don’t know... I’m not sure I’ll have the time if we do. I still have weather service duties.’
‘That’s too bad. All entrants tend to get time off from their normal employers as well as other perks.’
‘Time off... Hmm...’ Flitter smiles slightly. ‘What events are there?’
‘They haven’t been decided yet. Each business in town is allowed to suggest events, but the other judges and I pick the winners.’
‘There won’t be a beauty contest, if that is what you are thinking,’ a new voice says.
The mares look over to see an emerald green pegasus mare with a dark grey mane trot up. Flitter glares at the new arrival.
‘Not that you would even come close to winning with that rat’s nest on your head,’ Rainshine taunts.
‘At least I wasn’t born a stallion,’ Flitter replies. ‘Did it hurt when they cut it off?’
‘Pfft. Like you have ever seen one. Oh, wait you have. It is your right hoof.’
‘Sorry. I couldn’t hear you over how bad your breath is. You’re not supposed to drink from the toilet after you used it.’
‘Whatever. At least I am not secretly in love with my best friend. Everypony knows you are jealous of Cloudchaser and her fillyfriend.’
Flitter growls. ‘Attack me all you want, but leave my friends out of it.’
‘What friends? The mental case who thinks she is Daring Do or the psychotic filly who thinks she runs that crappy little store you work at?’
Flitter looks away and tries holding back her anger. ‘At least I wasn’t kicked out of the weather service for sleeping with my superior.’
‘Better job. Better hours. Nice try. Next time you are at your precious weather service, ask Blossomforth to teach you some flexes so you can kiss your own ass.’
Rainshine turns her nose up and trots away, shoving Flitter. The other pegasus takes several deep breaths. Twilight lowers her shield spell from around her and the table.
‘Rival much?’ the unicorn asks.
‘Is it that obvious?’
‘You’re sort of shaking all over, and I think I heard cleaner language in the last GTA game.’
‘Sorry. She just...’ Flitter growls and kicks the ground. ‘Have you ever met anypony that you just cannot stand? One that always gets under your skin? Somepony that just pushes all of your buttons at once?’
‘Fillies and gentleponies! The Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived!’
Fireworks shoot off behind Trixie as she joins the party. Stormy leaves his friends to see his fillyfriend.
‘Sorry. Forgot about her,’ Flitter apologizes.
‘I can get along with Trixie well enough. You and Rainshine...’
‘Oh, look! The open bar!’ Flitter says, dodging the issue and joining Daring at the bar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr Rich groans and stretches his neck as his next guests enter.
‘Come by the spa and we can help you with that,’ Aloe says while entering the mansion.
Lotus kicks her sister. Mr Rich smiles at the mares. More visitors arrive.
‘Sorry we’re late,’ Lucas apologizes. ‘Boss was... being stubborn. You can tell by his absence how successful we were at getting him out of the house. Del stayed behind as well. Something about "the pink one".’
Mimi bows. ‘Thank you for inviting us.’
Mr Rich laughs. ‘Come right in. I’m sure I’ll run into Mr Wanderer before the competition is through.’ He bows. ‘Make yourselves at home. Everypony is waiting for you.’
Everypony enters the mansion, with Mr Rich closing the doors behind them. Lucas and Mimi start going around the room, greeting everypony. Mr Rich takes a deep breath and scans the crowd.
The Flower Trio try to get Big Macintosh to react to their affections, the shy pony being quieter than normal. Sweetie Belle shows Apple Bloom her new dress. Rarity arranges her next spa trip with the Spa Twins. Flitter knocks back drinks at the bar. Twilight groans as Pinkie tries lifting her spirits. Marvel and DC have Trixie cornered as they pitch stories for her to use in her show. Rei and Daring have conquered a table and commandeered most of the food to themselves. The host smiles as he takes in the party. The smile disappears when he sees a dark blue unicorn approaching the feasting pegasi.
‘You owe me, you little bitch,’ Midnight snarls at Rei.
Rei turns and growls. ‘For what? Actually caring about Spoon-chan?’
‘I failed that class. There is no way I will graduate on time.’
‘Like you had anything to look forward to after graduation.’
‘I was trying to get into a good magic school! You ruined it!’
‘If you were failing a simple health class, how the hell would you have gotten into magic school?’ Daring asks. She shrugs. ‘If anything, it seems entry requirements have gotten harder since I was a prof.’
Midnight knocks a cake from Daring’s hooves. ‘Listen, you cosplaying weirdo. I had my future ruined by that half-sized freak! She owes me for what I lost!’
Daring stands. ‘Rei owes you nothing! You were the one throwing your life away! You were the one that abandoned Silver Spoon! You were the one that failed! She didn’t do anything except try to help both of you pass. If anything, you owe her.’
Midnight growls and charges a spell on his horn. Before anypony can react, a hoof connects across the unicorn’s jaw.
Flitter sways drunkenly. ‘I didn’t hit either of you two, right?’
Rei powers down a Thunder Shot. ‘Thank you, Flitter-cha...’
Rainshine knocks Rei aside and hits Flitter. Flitter tries to counterattack, but she misses and is hit in her wing. The emerald pegasus kicks Rei in the face and hits Flitter again. Her shoulder is tapped. She turns and swings but stops when she comes eye to barrel with Daring’s gun.
‘What now, bitch?’ Daring taunts.
Rainshine backs away.
Mr Rich clears his throat. ‘Miss Sparkle?’
Daring’s gun is levitated from her hoof. Rainshine sighs in relief as she watches the gun float above her head. She looks down in time to be floored by a punch from Daring. The conscious pegasus spits on the one at her hooves. Rei picks herself up and helps Flitter to her hooves.
‘I am sorry, but you have to leave,’ Mr Rich tells his guests.
‘What the hell? They started it!’ Daring protests.
‘But you are the only ones still standing. It would be best if you leave before I force you out.’
‘Whatever. Weak-ass party anyway. I’ve been to events at junior colleges better than this.’
Daring helps Rei with Flitter. They make their way to the exit. Mr Rich sighs and adjusts his tie.
‘At least we cleared the riffraff,’ the stallion snorts.
Daring stops and turns around. ‘You know what? We were just going to leave, wash our hooves of this and ignore your stupid event. But now, it is on. We will take you down in the most brutal manner. Twilight! Sign us up!’
‘Miss. Go home. You’re drunk.’
‘On your watered-down, weak-ass booze? Not likely. You can get a better buzz from cough syrup.’ Daring turns. ‘Come on, Rei. We can have our own party. With pizza and video games. In fact! Forget the party!’
Rei nods and sticks her tongue out at Mr Rich. The three pegasi trot away together. Mr Rich groans and holds his head. His leg is tapped.
‘Dad, can I go to their party instead?’ Diamond Tiara asks. ‘It actually sounds fun.’
‘No, Diamond...’ the stallion groans.
‘Fine! I’ll be in my room. All the fun seems to be over.’
Diamond trots away. Mr Rich groans and tries to recover the party.
The next morning, all of Ponyville is gathered in the main square. Several small groups in matching uniforms stand around town hall. Twilight and Trixie stand on stage waiting for the mayor. Daring yawns as she leads Rei and Flitter to the square. Rei adjusts an ice pack over the eye that Rainshine kicked. Flitter holds her head, battling a hangover. The group makes their way toward their place at the town hall.
‘Where’s the uniform, scrubs?’ Rainshine taunts.
‘Same place as your head,’ Daring replies. ‘Up your ass!’
Mr Rich holds Rainshine back. Diamond Tiara giggles. The pegasi reach their place. They stand beside the group from The Power Block.
Del leans over and sniffs. ‘Miss Daring and Miss Flitter smell like booze.’
‘We don’t smell that much,’ Daring replies.
‘Please keep it down,’ Flitter moans. ‘My head is killing me.’
‘Have a little too much fun, Rei?’ her father kids.
‘It was a lucky shot,’ the young mare snorts. ‘Won’t happen again.’
‘Was it the mean pink one?’ Del asks.
‘Del, shh. It is about to start,’ James warns.
The town hall doors open. Mayor Mare trots out with Zecora. The zebra joins Twilight and Trixie while the mayor goes to a podium.
‘Welcome, everypony, to the Annual Ponyville Customer Appreciation Festival!’ Mayor Mare declares.
The crowd cheers and stomps in excitement. Flitter covers her head and groans.
‘We have a lot of businesses competing this year, including some new ones. Our judges, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie, Zecora and I, have picked a number exciting events that will test everypony to their limits. The first event will be held in a couple hours in the bazaar. We hope to see everypony there!’
The crowd cheers again and starts breaking up. The teams start planning their strategies. Diamond Tiara just sighs and gets out her tablet while the older ponies talk.
James yawns and stretches. ‘Okay. That was fun. I’ll be in bed.’ He looks onto the stage. ‘Will I be seeing you later, Twilight?’
‘Yes, you will.’
‘Score.’
‘When you show up to all of the events.’
‘Son of a...’
Del trots over to the Sugarcube Corner team. ‘Do you have any treats?’
‘Sorry, Del,’ Carrot Cake apologizes. ‘We didn’t have any time to make anything this morning.’
Del frowns and turns away. Applejack stops her and give her an apple.
‘Here ya go. Don’ want ya t’ go hungry.’
The filly eats the apple in one bite. She smiles, baring her fangs. ‘Got any more?’
Applejack laughs and gets out more apples. In another part of the plaza, Rarity collects the rest of Carousel Boutique’s team bandanas to keep them clean. Stormy groans and folds his before levitating it to the mare.
‘STORMY!’
The young stallion turns in time to be tackled by a small yellow mass. Rarity screams and catches the bandana before it falls to the ground. Sweetie scowls when she sees what hit Stormy.
‘It is so great to see you again,’ Lemon Sorbet cheers as she nuzzles her brother.
‘Lemon? What are you doing here?’ the young stallion asks.
‘Good question,’ Sweetie snorts.
‘Sorry that we didn’t call,’ Lemon apologizes. She lets Stormy up. ‘I wanted it to be a surprise.’ She hugs Sweetie too. ‘Good to see you again, Sweetie Belle.’
‘Um, yes. Hi, Lemon,’ Sweetie replies.
Stormy gets a helping hoof up only to be hugged again.
‘Pretty good surprise, right, son?’ Blackberry asks.
‘Dad?’
‘When you told Lemon about this event, she got so excited that I just had to take her on a little holiday.’
‘You’re going to win everything, right, Stormy?’ Lemon asks.
‘I’ll do my best.’
‘It is a pleasure to see you again, Mr Sorbet,’ Rarity greets.
‘Lady Rarity.’ The stallion bows. ‘I look forward to seeing the games.’
‘Stormy~’ Trixie sings as she trots over. ‘Want the inside information to the first event?’
‘EEE!’ Lemon squeals. ‘It is Trixie!’
The mare poses. ‘Yes, I am great and powerful. Thanks for noticing.’
‘Trixie, your modesty is showing,’ Rarity groans.
‘Why, thank you.’
Rarity rolls her eyes. Lemon giggles and shakes Sweetie Belle. The other unicorn filly groans. The large group of unicorns head off together to catch up on current events.
A large crowd of ponies are gathered in the Ponyville bazaar for the first event: an ikebana demonstration as suggested by the Flower Trio. They are watching an arranger try her hoof at the art. The mare picks up a sprig with a bud on the end. The crowd gasps. The mare slowly places the sprig in her arrangement. A pegasus in the back faints. The judges clap their hooves and step forward.
‘Great job!’ Twilight cheers.
‘That is the most lovely arrangement Trixie has ever seen.’
‘I must have it in my office,’ Mayor Mare comments.
Zecora examines the arrangement. ‘This presentation makes me grin. I feel you should win.’
‘Ah shucks. Ain’t nothin’.’ Applejack blushes beet red.
Daisy looks over from her arrangement. ‘Oh, wow! That is amazing, Applejack.’
Rei finishes her display and sits back, smiling. The judges trot over to her section.
‘I know I still need practice, but I haven’t done ikebana since before I came to Ponyville,’ the young mare explains.
‘Very nice,’ Twilight says, marking her scorecard.
‘What a delightful presentation, Rei. It reminds me of a warm Spring day,’ Zecora adds.
‘That’s my girl!’ James cheers from the crowd.
The judges move to the next table. Del finishes chewing and drops some stems from her mouth.
‘These were tasty! More please!’ The filly holds out her hooves and grins green-stained teeth.
Twilight facehooves. Trixie and Zecora grin and laugh.
‘That’s my girl!’ James cheers from the crowd.
‘Ugh!’ Diamond Tiara groans. ‘You didn’t even try.’
The judges change stations. Diamond Tiara has her tablet out and is playing a game with Lily. A single flower sits in her display.
‘Is that it?’ Mayor Mare asks.
‘It is a minimalist design,’ Diamond retorts. ‘If you don’t get it, then you shouldn’t be a judge.’
The mare growls and marks a score.
‘Finished~!’ Rarity sings from her table.
Twilight cackles. ‘Oh, this is going to make up for my nest during Winter Wrap Up.’
‘Trixie can’t believe she found somepony that scored lower than Del.’
‘Your arranging skills are quite dire. The only solution is cleansing fire.’
Rarity screams, knocks over her table and stomps back to her team.
The town hall has been converted to a makeshift Kitchen Colosseum for a pastry competition proposed by the Cakes. Unfortunately, the ponies who proposed the event are feeling the strain as they try to recreate the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness. They are unnerved by Stormy calmly sitting by his oven, waiting for his baking to finish. From the gallery, Sweetie Belle and Lemon cheer for their brother. Applejack and Granny Smith fry up a near-endless stream of fritters while their apple pies bake. Apple Bloom has to guard the pastries from her drooling brother. Rei flies from her station to retrieve a taiyaki covered in a lime green aura.
‘It was her idea,’ Lyra says, pointing to Bon Bon.
‘She’s... actually telling the truth this time...’ the earth pony sighs.
Rei snorts at both of them and returns to her station. James, Lucas and Mimi work together on their entry. They pass ingredients around and work on separate items. They each turn away to get out dishes.
‘Can I get the batter?’ Lucas asks.
‘After I get the frosting,’ Mimi replies.
‘What about the filling?’ James wonders.
‘It is all...’ Lucas turns. ‘Where is it?’
Mimi turns. ‘Where’s the frosting?’
‘Probably with the batter,’ James moans, lifting up a tablecloth to reveal Del covered in batter, frosting and custard filling.
The filly hobbles up and adjusts her tiara. ‘I am going to lay in the sun and bake for a bit.’
The others watch her trot away.
‘She knows she is going to get sick, right?’ Lucas asks.
James sighs. ‘Yeah. She knows...’
The other competitors start getting their desserts from the oven and begin dressing them. Apple Bloom has to smack James when he joins Big Macintosh in raiding the fritter hoard. Once every team is finished, the judges come out to sample the baked goods.
‘I finally get to try the MMMM,’ Twilight drools.
There is a flash as Celestia appears in the town hall. The princess steals a slice of MMMM before teleporting away. Twilight facehoofs. The judges mark their scorecards and move on.
Stormy sets out a treat covered in berries and creams. ‘My winning National Dessert Competition entry.’ The unicorn shrugs. ‘Nothing major.’
Celestia reappears, steals the dessert and disappears. Twilight’s groan echos off the walls.
Stormy sets another pastry on the counter. ‘Always make a backup.’ He looks up at the gallery and smiles. ‘I made another for my team while I was at it, since it was what helped reunite my whole family.’
‘Aw! That is so sweet,’ Mayor Mare coos.
‘Your dedication is not hard to see. Young Stormy truly loves his family,’ Zecora comments.
Trixie leans in. ‘You’ll save me an extra piece too,’ she whispers.
‘I did say my whole family.’
‘Thank you.’
Trixie quickly kisses Stormy’s cheek.
‘Hey!’ Twilight snaps. ‘No cheating!’
‘Oh, please,’ Trixie groans. ‘I’m as impartial as you are, what with your coltfriend being an entrant too.’
‘He gets no special treatment from me.’
‘Twi~li~ght~!’ James moans. ‘Del ate all of our ingredients. Can you give us a seventy percent score for me?’
‘No! No entry, no score.’
‘Please? Me love you long time.’
Twilight growls and bonks her coltfriend on the head while everypony laughs at them. The judges move on. Rei smiles and presents her entries. She quickly fires a Thunder Shot when a taiyaki starts levitating towards the gallery.
‘I didn’t know what to make, so I made a bit of everything I know.’
The mayor samples a croissant. She gets a moony look on her face.
‘Rei-pan #43,’ the young mare explains. ‘Three hundred twenty-four layers of love.’
Trixie tries a loaf of regular-looking bread and lets out a whinny of joy.
‘Rei-pan #24,’ Rei says. ‘Delicious, hai?’
‘You are a very close second to Stormy,’ Trixie replies, scarfing down more bread.
The young mare smiles. ‘It is all in the Solar Hooves.’
The judges mark their score and move on. Mr Rich presents them with a large array of treats.
‘Eat and enjoy,’ the businesspony says. ‘We used all of the best ingredients from around the world. I even got hold of several world-class recipes.’ He motions to an iced puff pastry. ‘Mulia Mild’s mille-feuille.’ Rainshine uncovers a tray of chocolate-filled pastries. ‘Gustave la Grand’s pain au chocolat.’ Midnight levitates a tray of doughnuts. ‘And Donut Joe’s famous Maresachusetts cream doughnuts.’
‘And Midnight helped make them too,’ Diamond Tiara gasps. ‘Here, I didn’t think he knew how to cook since he never made a single dish for Silver Spoon when they were assigned to live together.’ She looks up at the young stallion. ‘Remember that? When you were supposed to take care of her?’ She shrugs. ‘I guess not since you only picked her up once and yelled at her the whole time.’
Midnight looks down and growls at the filly. She glares back, her disdain for the young stallion manifest.
‘Diamond, not now,’ her father hisses.
‘These are good,’ the mayor notes, ‘but they just don’t have the flare the others do.’
‘Though your dishes are from masters of the art, they lack a certain heart,’ Zecora critiques. ‘Your team has to be more sincere if they expect to win a single event here.’
The judges move on. Rainshine huffs and eats one of the doughnuts. Mr Rich drags his daughter away to have a word with her. Diamond sticks her tongue at Midnight, knowing that will be one more thing she will be punished for.
Crowds gather outside of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains for the next event. The store has been cleared for the event proposed by the store’s owner: shelf stacking. While everypony gets ready, Mr Rich chats with Midnight next to a sign proclaiming the unicorn’s record speed for restocking the store. The other contestants take their places by their shelves. Rei stands out as one of the few non-unicorns competing. Sweetie and Lemon both give Stormy a hug while the goods to be stacked are brought out. Lucas laughs and whispers something to his team. James and Mimi laugh as well.
‘Something funny, Mr Grainsborough?’ Trixie asks.
‘Nah. Just saying that this will be easy,’ Lucas replies. ‘Barely looks like half the stock we move on a launch day.’
‘The test is about speed and care,’ Mr Rich snorts. ‘Not raw endurance.’
‘Whatevs.’
The contestants take their places beside their goods. Mayor Mare rings a bell. The unicorns instantly levitate all the goods. Each use their own methods of sorting and placing the items on the shelf. Lucas rapidly fires the items, moving them only when space is needed. Stormy places each in its proper space, slowly filling the shelf. Midnight organizes all of the items in the air. He moves items towards the shelf when the bell is rung again. The items are placed a second later.
‘We have a winner!’ Mayor Mare declares, holding Rei’s hoof high.
Midnight’s jaw drops.
Stormy laughs. ‘You fell into one of the classic blunders. Never go against Rei when speed is on the line.’
‘Yeah. Nopony is faster than her,’ Lucas agrees.
‘You go, Rei!’ a sky blue unicorn shouts from the crowd.
Midnight grumbles and storms away. James trots up to the shelves as everypony starts leaving. Twilight trots up next to him.
The stallion points. ‘Sorted linked list with insertion. Hash table. Merge sort. … Rei sort.’
‘Rei sort?’
‘An O(1) sort. Nopony knows how it works. Also known as a Discord sort.’
Twilight groans and trots away. James laughs and follows her out.
At Neighponese Imports, the staff is enjoying a successful day of competition. Rei has made a giant sushi platter for them to enjoy. Daring has even broken out some of her better drinks to share.
‘Kampai!’ the three pegasi cheer.
‘This was great!’ Daring laughs. ‘We won the one match and ranked towards the top on the others. We’re gonna smoke ‘em!’
‘We can’t just rely on Rei, though,’ Flitter warns. ‘We have to step up too.’
‘We have the athletic team events tomorrow and the finale after that. We’ll all have a chance to kick some flank.’
‘Yatta!’ Rei cheers before throwing back her drink. ‘Daring-neesama, your sake is weak.’
The pegasi laugh and continue their party.
Across the street, Twilight join James and Del for dinner. They are having some of Rei’s leftovers from the baking competition earlier. The young changeling stares at her plate, her stomach still hurting from earlier.
‘I can’t believe you aren’t cheating for us,’ James grumbles.
‘I was picked not just because I am the best pony for the job but because they know I can be impartial to all of my friends in the competition.’
‘Are you sure there is nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?’
Twilight laughs. ‘Sorry. No.’
James gets up and goes to the couch. ‘Not even belly wubs?’ He pats beside him. ‘I know how much you like belly wubs.’
‘Sorry. Not tonight.’ Twilight goes over and gives her coltfriend a kiss. ‘Get plenty of rest. You have all of the athletic events tomorrow.’
James groans and watches his fillyfriend leave. He feels movement on the couch.
‘I like belly wubs too,’ Del says, rubbing her head on her father’s chest, her horn scratching him a little.
James laughs and starts petting his daughter.
Diamond Tiara lays in her room, playing with her tablet. There is a knock on the door, and Mr Rich enters.
‘Tch! Can you at least wait for me to answer?’ Diamond groans. ‘I could have been indecent.’
The stallion sits on the bed. ‘Diamond Tiara, we have to talk about your behaviour earlier.’
The filly moans. ‘What? I did my best today. Okay?’
‘It isn’t that, though you could have tried harder at flower arranging,’ Mr Rich huffs. ‘I am upset about your attitude towards Midnight.’
‘You know why I don’t like him. He was mean to Silver during that assignment. He is not a nice pony.’ She snorts and goes back to her tablet. ‘I don’t know why you still employ him.’
The stallion takes the tablet from his daughter. ‘He might not be the best at customer service, but he is a hard worker.’
‘And that is why he lost his signature event today.’
Mr Rich snorts. ‘I know he hurt your friend, but that doesn't mean you cannot get along for the rest of the competition. Can you at least do that much?’
Diamond thinks for a moment before sighing. ‘You can keep my tablet. If I answered honestly, you were just going to take it away anyway.’
Mr Rich groans and drops the tablet on the bed before storming away.
Stormy, Sweetie Belle and Lemon play in the stallion’s room. They eat some ice cream Lemon made to go with their pastry. Outside, Rarity smiles as she watches the fun. She turns away to see Trixie watching the others as well.
‘This is something I miss,’ Trixie sighs. ‘I don’t get the feeling of family on the road.’
‘You have a place in town, correct? You could have it more often if you settle down.’
‘My career and talents won’t let me just yet.’ Trixie sighs. ‘It would be wonderful if Stormy could travel with me.’
‘As much as you would like that, he has a life here,’ Rarity counters. ‘Not only does he have his education to think about, but it would devastate Sweetie Belle to lose her beloved brother.’
‘But he would be getting the chance to see the world with the pony he loves. He would also be able to see his family more often.’
‘He has a family here. Blackberry and Lemon understand that they are free to visit whenever they wish. Even if family wasn’t an issue, he still has to finish school.’
‘He gets the top marks in all of his classes. He doesn’t need more education. It would be better for him to experience the world.’
Rarity takes a deep breath and shakes her head. ‘I think it is best we agree to disagree. We both love Stormy and want what is best for him, but we have different visions of how that should be accomplished.’
Trixie nods. ‘Agreed, but in the end, the decision should be his. We shouldn’t dictate his future for him.’
‘Right.’ Rarity looks back towards the room the turns and smiles at Trixie. ‘Would you like some coffee while you’re here?’
‘Is that a bribe?’
‘Depends on how many gems I would have to lace your mug with.’ Rarity laughs. ‘No, it is just as two ponies who love Stormy. I as his sister. You as his lover.’ She smiles. ‘And perhaps, one day, something more.’
Trixie blushes and looks away. ‘Coffee would be nice. Thank you.’
The competition has moved to Sweet Apple Acres for the athletics portion of the competition. The fields for the Sisterhooves Social are full of spectators watching the hoof wrestling competition suggested by Ponyville High School. To one side, the defeated competitors rest their sore forelegs. Lucas uses a healing spell on James’ limp limb. Aloe stands to the side and giggles, waiting for her turn to to massage the sore leg. Lotus waits by the stage for the current match to finish.
Stormy and Image struggle to get an advantage on each other. The two friends are straining all of their muscles to no avail. Neither the baker nor the artist can get the other to budge. Unfortunately for the teens, the crowd seems to think it is a battle of strength, not lack thereof. Nonetheless, the epic showdown fuels Lemon’s and Sweetie Belle’s mythologies about their brother. While Image struggles, Stormy takes in the other competitors.
Big Macintosh rests with his sisters, having turned down Lotus’ offer of a massage, much to the mare’s disappointment. His match against Stormy’s mentor lasted mere seconds. Waiting to compete, Flitter and Rainshine exchange furious glares from opposite ends of the stage. Only Zecora’s presence as a referee seems to be keeping them from starting a brawl.
Stormy lets his leg go limp and hit the table. ‘You win.’
Zecora holds Image’s leg up. ‘Stormy has been beat. Image has done a marvelous feat.’
The two teens trot offstage.
‘Have fun facing Big Mac,’ Stormy taunts as he gets fawned over by his sisters.
Flitter and Rainshine trot onto stage and start doing their warm-up stretches. Blackberry trots beside Mr Rich.
‘Care to make a wager on the outcome?’ Mr Rich asks.
‘I can waste some pocket change...’ Blackberry looks the pegasi over. ‘Twenty thousand on the lilac one.’
Mr Rich stares at the unicorn in shock.
‘Oh! Did you want to make it really interesting?’
‘Never mind,’ Mr Rich mumbles and trots away.
The pegasi take their seats and lock hooves.
‘I eat pieces of crap like you for breakfast,’ Rainshine snorts.
‘You eat pieces of crap for breakfast?’ Flitter laughs.
‘Shut up and do this.’
The two mares try with all their might to force the other’s hoof down. Rei and Daring scream encouragement from the sidelines. Mr Rich cheers on Rainshine. He taps Diamond who mumbles a cheer while staring at her tablet.
Rainshine smirks as she gets the upperhoof. ‘I’ll always be better than you.’
‘You never were to begin with,’ Flitter snorts.
The lilac pegasus grits her teeth and forces her way back. She growls and slams Rainshine’s hoof to the table. Flitter cheers and jumps up.
‘You are indeed the winner, dear Miss Flitter,’ Zecora congratulates.
‘Ugh! If you are going to rhyme, at least make them good ones,’ Trixie groans from the judge’s table.
‘Do you not like the way I speak, one with ears so weak?’
‘Yes! Those rhymes are getting annoying! Stop it!’
Zecora glares at the irritated unicorn. She smiles and laughs. ‘If you hate my speech / do not make a large to-do / I change for Trixie.’
Twilight groans and hits her head against the table.
Trixie shrugs. ‘Well, at least it is classier than rhymes.’
‘Will Image arrive? / It is time for his next match.’ -- Zecora motions to the remaining teams. -- ‘Flitter or Big Mac?’
Image looks at his two options. One is an earth pony twice his size. The other is a skinny pegasus flexing her muscles for her teammates. ‘Pass!’
The scared young stallion gallops offstage while the crowds laugh at the embarrassed pony. Stormy waves his friend over.
‘Sorry, bro. Didn’t mean to throw you to the manticores,’ Stormy apologizes.
‘It’s cool,’ Image sighs.
‘Sorry for your loss, Mr Image,’ Lemon says, offering a bowl of ice cream.
‘Thank you.’
Back on stage, Flitter and Big Macintosh get ready for their match. The small pegasus growls and smirks playfully. The large earth pony sighs, sits and carefully wraps his hoof around Flitter’s. Zecora signals the start of the match. Flitter starts pulling as hard as she can. Big Macintosh is impressed that the mare can actually get his foreleg to budge slightly.
‘Ah’m sorry, Miss Flitter,’ Big Macintosh sighs.
The stallion finally flexes his muscle and ends up tossing Flitter from her seat. The crowd laughs while the mare stands and adjusts her bow.
‘Okay. That was fun,’ the dazed mare comments.
‘A winner is got. / Big Macintosh wins the pot. / Cheer for all the lot!’
The crowd starts cheering for the match.
‘Damn it! You’re rhyming again!’ Trixie shouts.
Zecora laughs and raises Big Macintosh’s hoof as high as she can. The stallion extends his hoof higher, lifting the zebra. Trixie laughs as Zecora tries not to fall.
The competition moves into the apple orchards. The Sweet Apple Acres’ proposed event of applebucking is proving popular to watch and a good source of free labor. The spectators dodge loose apples while they move around the orchard. Applejack and Apple Bloom lay out empty barrels under the trees between each round. Marvel Crystal and Carrot Cake rest their sore legs while their wives move on to watch the rest of the competition.
To make up for her loss in the last round, Rainshine is pushing herself to her limits, dashing from tree to tree and bucking as hard as she can. The pegasus bucks a tree right as Twilight blows a whistle. Apple Bloom helps shake the last few apples loose before Applejack takes the barrels to Granny Smith and Rarity for sorting.
‘Ya got at least five full barrels,’ Applejack congratulates. ‘Not t’ mention the partially filled ones.’
‘Whatever,’ Rainshine scoffs. ‘We’re just doing what yer too lazy to do.’
Applejack snorts and carries the barrel away.
‘Competitor from Carousel Boutique. You’re up!’ Twilight calls.
‘Yeah. That ain’t happening,’ Stormy replies.
‘What? You afraid to ruin your hooficure?’ Rei taunts.
‘Honestly?’
Twilight groans and goes down her list. ‘Okay. Neighponese Imports.’
Daring trots out to the center of the her area. The crowds laugh, thinking the mare is wearing a Daring Do costume, complete with pith helmet. Twilight counts down and blows her whistle.
Daring takes off to the trees. She bucks as hard as she can before moving on. The mare keeps mental note of time as she goes. When she sees Twilight about to raise her whistle, Daring pulls off her helmet and throws it at the trees. It knocks down the last few loose apples before time is up. The crowd cheers the impressive show. Daring bows and rejoins her team.
‘Hmm... Coulda knocked more down...’ Applejack comments as she carries the barrels away.
‘Woulda done better if I were knocking down snakes,’ Daring says back.
Applejack groans as she deposits the apples.
‘Power Block. You’re up,’ Twilight calls.
‘Can you let us go last?’ James asks. ‘It is fairer to the other teams that way.’
‘No offence, Jimmy,’ Applejack begins, ‘Ah doubt y’all can match Big Mac. He coulda cleared this whole orchard in a day.’
‘Um... Just let me go last. Please?’
Twilight groans and waves Big Macintosh into the orchard. The large stallion positions himself between a cluster of trees. Twilight blows her whistle. Big Macintosh takes off and starts bucking trees. His strength and speed allows him to quickly clear every tree he reaches. By the time the whistle is blown again, at least a dozen trees have been emptied of their apples. The spectators, especially the mares, cheer for the stallion as he trots off the field.
‘Shoot! Ah think ya set a new record!’ Applejack congratulates.
Big Macintosh glances toward the stallion his sister likes. ‘Eeyup.’
James either ignores or does not pick up on the taunt while he fiddles with his sonic screwdriver. He wanders out to the field. Twilight sighs and blows her whistle. James adjusts his sonic a moment more and points it at the ground. He waves his sonic around for a few seconds and goes back to the sidelines. Twilight just keeps watching the clock. After a few seconds, the ground shakes and all of the apples start falling from the trees. The spectators try shielding themselves as they get rained on. The Apples stare in shock at all the apples they have to clean up.
James looks out from under the shield Lucas raised for the team. ‘New record?’
After a communal effort picking up all of the apples, the competition has moved back to the main field. The teams line up around a track for a small relay race. Cheerilee suggested the event with some very specific rules. James talks with Del and Mimi while everypony is getting ready. Applejack and Apple Bloom line up next to them. The mare snorts at the stallion and turns away.
‘Not gonna cheat in this one?’ Applejack grumbles.
‘I didn’t cheat!’ James defends. ‘I used all of my resources. I just don’t hide mine under my hat.’
‘Ah only use it fer repairs ‘round the farm! ‘Sides, thought ya said it didn’ work on wood?’
‘The ground ain’t wood, Applejack,’ Apple Bloom corrects.
The mare snorts, scowls and begins her stretches. Stormy gives Sweetie Belle a hug before she and Rarity trot to the track. Diamond Tiara sighs and leaves her tablet on the sidelines with her father. She joins Midnight on the field. Rei and Flitter start heading out, but Zecora stops them.
‘You must stop right here. / Teams must have a foal to play. / One of you must stay.’
‘Um... We do have a foal on our team,’ Rei says, looking around.
‘We do?’ Flitter asks.
‘Yeah, uh...’ Rei spots somepony and grabs her. ‘Scootaloo! Tori-chan is on our team!’
‘What?’ the filly yells as Rei holds her up.
‘Is this true, young Scootaloo?’
The filly looks around. ‘Well, uh...’
Daring leans in and whispers, ‘If you help us win, I’ll get you a new scooter.’
‘Yeah! I am totally part of the team and stuff!’
Zecora glares at the team smiling before her. She sighs, shakes her head and gives the pegasi a baton. Rei sets Scootaloo down, and they head to the track.
‘Whoa! What the hell!’ Midnight complains.
‘What now, Midnight?’ Trixie groans.
‘The little twerp doesn’t even work for them. How can you allow it?’
‘Please,’ Diamond moans. ‘She at least goes to their store all the time. Seriously, she is in there more than I am at my father’s store. If you aren’t going to count her, you might as well not count me.’
Midnight looks down and growls at Diamond.
‘She can enter,’ Trixie says as she goes to the sidelines.
‘Thanks a lot, brat,’ Midnight hisses.
‘Whatever,’ Diamond tosses her mane over her shoulder. ‘Makes the race more interesting.’
The unicorn growls and takes his place. The teams line up along the track. The foals hold their team’s baton in their mouths. The friends look at each other, trying to gauge their competition.
‘Go, Del! Yay, Rei!’ a sky blue unicorn cheers.
‘Hey, squirt!’ Rainbow Dash calls from the sidelines. ‘Kick some flank!’
Scootaloo smiles and kicks the the dirt. Apple Bloom adopts a stance similar to her friend. Sweetie waves at Stormy one last time. Mimi whispers something to Del. Their legs flash green for a second and both smile, exposing fangs. Trixie casts a small firework spell, and the foals take off. The older ponies take their spot on the line.
‘Ah hate t’ tell ya, but AB is the best athlete in school,’ Applejack brags.
‘Tori-chan is faster,’ Rei counters. She turns to Mimi. ‘But Del-chan is pretty good too.’
‘Hmpf!’ Rarity snorts. ‘Sweetie Belle and I have been training for the next Sisterhooves Social. We’ll outclass you all.’
Applejack looks to the sidelines. ‘Is that true?’ she asks Stormy.
‘Yep. They will whip all of you at synchronized candy eating and professional complaining.’
Rarity growls at her adoptive brother. The others laugh and watch for their teammates. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo lead the pack with Del not far behind. Sweetie Belle has a slight edge on Diamond Tiara. Apple Bloom gets close enough to throw her baton. Applejack catches it with her tail and takes off. Not to be outdone by her friend, Scootaloo tosses her baton up and headers it to Rei. The pegasus catches it mid air and disappears in a streak of lightning. Del gallops up to Mimi and gives her the baton. Sweetie uses her magic to throw her baton. Rarity catches it with her magic and chases the others. Diamond Tiara gallops up to Midnight. She still holds the baton in her mouth.
‘Come on! Give it!’ Midnight shouts.
Diamond removes the baton and holds it in her hoof. She looks to the sideline where her father and Rainshine are screaming at her. ‘No.’
‘What?!’
‘I don’t care how much trouble I get in for this, but I hate you for what you did to my friend. You are a cruel, heartless pony. The sooner everypony sees that the better.’
Diamond turns and throws the baton as far away as she can. She starts turning back, but she is locked in a dark blue aura.
‘You little bitch!’ Midnight shouts as he lifts Diamond from the ground. ‘You think you can get away with this just because you are a rich, spoiled brat!’
‘My dad is watching,’ Diamond snorts.
‘Midnight!’ Mr Rich bellows from the sideline.
The unicorn panics and drops the filly. Before either stallion can react, Midnight is blown away as Rei dashes past him. Diamond breathes a sigh of relief and gallops over to her friends.
Rei spits the baton out of her mouth. ‘Did I win?’
The Neighponese Imports team celebrates another successful day of competition. Their party is tamer than the previous one since Scootaloo is joining them. The pegasi salute with their sodas.
‘One more day and victory is as good as ours!’ Daring cheers.
‘Any idea what is waiting for us?’ Flitter asks.
‘Who cares? As long as we show up, the trophy is as good as ours!’
‘You are going to honor our deal, right?’ Scootaloo asks.
‘We’ll buy you the bestest scooter, Tori-chan!’ Rei replies, hugging the filly. ‘You did amazing!’
‘Th-thanks.’
‘Seriously, kid. You’re great,’ Daring compliments. ‘You can work for us as soon as you are old enough.’
‘Or when your mommy allows it,’ Rei adds.
Scootaloo blushes from being praised by her idol’s idol. Flitter laughs and gives the filly one of Rei’s fresh croquettes.
‘Come on! Eat up! We can’t let Rei beat us to all her good food.’
Scootaloo laughs and joins in the feasting.
Diamond Tiara lays on her bed and plays with her tablet. There is a knock before the door opens. The filly groans, closes her program and holds up her tablet.
‘You are either here to apologize or to punish me for the race,’ the filly moans. ‘All ready for you to take it away.’
Mr Rich huffs and looks away from his daughter. ‘I am going to demote him back to his original position until he is eighteen. Then he is fired.’
‘Can I at least sue him for assaulting me?’
Mr Rich takes a deep breath and turns away. ‘Dinner is in five minutes. Wash up before then.’
Flitter escorts Scootaloo home after the party. The two pegasi laugh and joke as they make their way through the streets. The two ponies near the part of town where Scootaloo lives. The filly looks up to the mare escorting her.
‘You really think Rei would hire me?’
‘Sure,’ Flitter replies, ‘but she wouldn’t want you to miss out on your CMC duties. Then, of course, she would want you to follow your dreams.’
‘Heh, heh. Yeah. Gonna be a Wonderbolt like Dash one day.’
Flitter giggles. ‘CC would love to have you join too.’
‘That freaky-maned loser will never get in.’
The pegasi stop and look around. Rainshine trots from the shadows.
‘Just because the Wonderbolts aren’t like you and lets everypony in...’ Flitter sneers.
Rainshine growls and glares at the other mare.
Scootaloo looks at the two mares. ‘Rival much?’
‘Stay back,’ Flitter warns. ‘She might be a weakling, but she is a dirty, cheating bitch.’
‘You’re one to talk.’ Rainshine starts circling the others. ‘I was the only one that got caught. Everypony knows you should have be busted too.’
Flitter pushes Scootaloo behind her. ‘I haven’t even been with my current coltfriend yet. Not everypony considers hanging a “free admission” sign under their tail “dressing up”.’
Rainshine flares her wings. ‘Why don’t we settle things tonight?’
‘I don’t think we will ever be settled’ -- Flitter flares her wings and kicks the ground -- ‘but I don’t mind putting you in your place for a while.’
Rainshine snorts and fakes a lunge, trying to draw Flitter out. The lilac pegasus holds her ground. She sweeps her tail in the dirt and dusts up a cloud. Rainshine jumps through the cloud, but Flitter jumps up and rams her skull into Rainshine’s jaw. The emerald pony lands and stretches her mouth. She charges forward with her wings spread. Flitter swings and hits her rival across the face, cutting her with her hoof. Rainshine slides past, the two pegasi’s wings clashing. Flitter winces and steps back. She reaches under her wing and pulls back a hoof covered in blood.
Rainshine raises her wing. ‘Underwing knife. The great evener.’
‘You bitch.’ Flitter holds her wound and falls over.
‘It won’t be too long.’ She leans face to face with her rival. ‘Goodbye, Flitter.’
The emerald pegasus turns to leave.
‘H-Hello? Emergency services?’
Rainshine stops to see Scootaloo with her mobile out.
‘Guess I have to tie up some loose ends.’
The older pegasus dashes forward and shoves her wing into Scootaloo’s chest. She holds the filly up for a second before dropping her. Rainshine snorts before spreading her wings to take off.
‘Ow! That hurt!’ Scootaloo moans.
‘What!’ Rainshine spins around to see the filly rising. ‘That’s impossible!’
‘Ha! I’m tougher than you think,’ Scootaloo snorts. She wipes blood from her chest. Her wound is rapidly disappearing. ‘So glad I had a big meal.’
Rainshine steps back in terror. Scootaloo charges forward and rams her head into the mare. The older pegasus drops her knife as the wind is knocked out of her. She quickly backs away and takes to the air. Scootaloo picks up a rock and throws it after the attacker. She growls and goes back to Flitter.
Flitter rests in a bed in Ponyville Hospital. Her side has been wrapped, but a bit of blood is staining the bandages. Cloudchaser sits by her friend. She has a furious scowl on her face. Rei, Daring and Scootaloo are with their friends.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Cloudchaser growls. ‘The attack barely hit her organs but if Scootaloo hadn’t been there, she might have bled to death. Thank you.’
‘J-just doing my part to help a friend,’ Scootaloo stammers.
‘Have you contacted the police?’ Daring asks.
‘They came when I called for the medics,’ the filly replies. ‘They said they will be searching for Rainshine.’
‘I called Luna too,’ Cloudchaser adds. ‘She promised the full force of the Lunar Guard will bring her to justice.’
‘Mommy will find her. I am sure,’ Rei assures.
‘I asked if she could make all of Rainshine’s dreams into nightmares. She said that would be irresponsible.’
Daring pats the other mare on the back. ‘Don’t worry, Cloudchaser. Flitter was our friend too. We’ll stick with you until she is better.’
‘No...’ Flitter moans from her bed. ‘You have to win.’
‘Get your rest,’ Cloudchaser sighs. ‘You need to conserve your strength.’
‘No. Win the games. Don’t quit because of me. Winning is the best revenge.’
Rei takes her friend’s hoof. ‘You have our word.’
‘Hell, yeah!’ Scootaloo agrees.
The rest of the team put their hooves in and cheers.
The next day, a large crowd is in the town hall. The sewing competition suggested by Rarity is turning out to be surprisingly entertaining. The fashionista dazzles the crowds with her magical dressmaking. Across the hall, the spectators laugh as Mimi curses up a storm in her attempts to sew. The mare screams and rips the dress to pieces. She catches herself and grins ashamedly as cloth hangs from her fangs. Granny Smith slowly works on part of a quilt. Daisy sews flowers into a blouse in her team’s area. Scootaloo holds up her attempt at sewing. Her mother facehoofs as the crowd laughs.
‘Six legs!?’ the filly exclaims. ‘But I followed Sweetie’s instructions perfectly.’
Midnight grumbles to himself as he does what he considers an unmanly task. On the other hoof, Marvel Crystal seems to handle himself quite well as he works on a needlepoint design.
‘Finished~!’ Rarity sings as she lays out her designs for judging.
The judges trot over to inspect Rarity’s dresses.
‘Please don’t consider it a bribe, but I tried to personalize the designs for each of you.’
‘Thank you, Rarity. This is very lovely,’ Twilight compliments, examining her dress. ‘Too bad it would be unethical to accept this until after the competition. Right, judges?’
‘Yes, uh, unethical.’ Mayor Mare’s eyes dart as she finishes fitting her dress.
‘What dress?’ Trixie asks, retying her cape over her new garment.
Zecora examines her body in her new clothing. ‘This pony garment / fits strangely on me. / Haunch adjustment?’
‘Am I the only one here with morals!’ Twilight snaps.
‘Well, excuse me, princess,’ Trixie groans.
Twilight growls at the unicorn. The rest of the judges move on. Twilight looks at the dress.
‘Take it. You know you want to,’ a voice whispers in her ear.
‘Yes, it is so you, darling,’ another voice whispers.
‘You would look so cute in it.’ -- sniff, sniff -- ‘Ooo! You had corncakes with extra honey this morning!’
Twilight yells and pushes Rarity and Pinkie away from her.
‘Take it, Twilight. Take it~!’
The alicorn swats a miniature Discord on her shoulder. She snorts and joins the rest of the judges.
The contestants and spectators wait outside town hall as the next event is set up. The crowds are buzzing about Rainshine’s disappearance and the massive increase of bat ponies as the Lunar Guard hunts their prey. Applejack nervously watches the Lunar Guard, just in case Sunshine is about. The judges come out and stand before the gathered ponies.
Mayor Mare clears her throat. ‘For the next event, the teams will be...’
‘Playing Mare-io Kart,’ Twilight groans.
‘YES!’ James shouts, double hoof pumping.
‘You can guess who suggested the event,’ the alicorn sighs.
‘Forfeit!’ Stormy shouts for his team.
‘Ditto!’ the Crystal family adds.
‘We’re out,’ Applejack says, getting a sad moan from her sister.
‘Pfft! Weaklings,’ Rei snorts. ‘You’re going down!’
‘Right. You can’t beat me,’ her father counters. ‘I taught you everything you know.’
‘You’re just scared. I can beat you with one hoof tied behind my back.’
‘Deal!’
‘Wait, no! I didn’t really mean it.’
Twilight sighs as the father and daughter enter the building. The spectators follow to watch the showdown.
After a quick round of Mare-io Kart that ended with Rei flying to Fluttershy in tears, the competition is heading to Sweet Apple Acres again for the final event. The teams speculate on what will come next. There is a flash from the field as Twilight teleports ahead of the crowds with the rest of the judges.
‘Welcome, everypony, to the last event in the Annual Ponyville Customer Appreciation Festival!’ Twilight declares.
Trixie casts a few firework spells in celebration.
‘Before we reveal the final event,’ Mayor Mare begins, ‘we would like to thank every team that participated as well as the other businesses that sponsored the competition and all of spectators who came out to cheer everypony on.’
Zecora bows. ‘Everypony / Thank you with all of my heart. / Final round, begin!’
The crowd cheers and gallops ahead to see what is in store for the competitors. Everypony stops and marvels at a giant multi-stage obstacle course. There is a rope swing over a pit of mud, large cargo net climb leading to a zip-line, a small maze, hurdles of varying height, swinging foam-covered logs over a balance beam, and a ramp with reverse-running treadmills.
‘Cool! You got my design!’ Daring cheers.
‘Yes, it seemed to make a good finisher,’ Mayor Mare compliments.
‘Doesn’t look complete though...’
Twilight rolls her eyes. ‘Well, we couldn’t find the lions, tiger, bears...’
‘Oh, my!’ Trixie interjects.
‘... poisonous snakes, pressure switch activated dart shooters, quicksand, really quicksand, pit of spiders or alligators.’
‘Oh! One sec!’ Pinkie dashes off and returns with Gummy on her head. ‘Found one!’
Twilight groans at her smiling friend. The teams start debating who should run the course. Lucas rolls his eyes and lets James take the field. He immediately gets out his mobile and starts entering commands. A sky blue unicorn cheers for the stallion. Blackberry pats his son on the back as he takes the field next to his mentor. The two stallions hoofbump. Applejack adjusts her hat as she joins the stallions at the starting line.
‘Any last words, Jimmy?’
‘You can do it, Applejack!’
The mare jumps and looks around. She finds an armored bat pony waving from the sidelines. She nervously trots over.
‘Sunshine? What are you doing here?’
The bat pony smiles. ‘Since I am the captain of the Lunar Guard, I decided to abuse my rank a little to see you compete. I know it isn’t right, but I really wanted to see you in action.’
Applejack blushes and tries hiding her face. ‘That is sweet of ya. Thanks fer comin’.’
The mare gives Sunshine a quick nuzzle and hurries back to the starting line.
‘Think your coltfriend is here,’ James notes, not looking up.
‘Ah know that!’
Daring trots towards the starting line. Midnight groans and turns to head to the start.
‘What’s the matter? Have to send somepony to do your dirty work like you did with Flitter?’ Daring calls to Mr Rich.
‘I had nothing to do with that disgusting attack,’ the stallion snorts back. ‘I have cooperated with the authorities in every way.’
‘Still means yer a chicken for not wanting to get your hooves filthy. I was doing this sort of thing before your dad was stinking up his crib.’
‘I am not afraid to get my hooves dirty. I just happen to not be as athletic as the rest of the team.’
‘Not what your secretary says.’ Daring shrugs. ‘Or maybe it is and you have to replace her when she gets bored of all the nothing.’
Mr Rich growls. ‘My name may be Filthy, but you are the vulgar one.’
‘Whatever. Skybound had a bigger pair than you when it came to getting his hooves dirty.’ Daring sighs. ‘I guess they don’t make evil industrialists like they used to.’
‘Madam! If you are so desperate to challenge me, so be it.’ Mr Rich stomps over to Daring and glares at her. ‘I will not have you dishonor me further.’
‘See you from the finish line.’
The two ponies go to the starting line. With every team ready, the judges take their positions around the track. They nod, and Trixie casts a firework spell. The ponies take off. Applejack stumbles a little knowing Sunshine is watching her. James remains seated at the starting line. The ponies struggle up the treadmills and make their way across balance beam. Stormy takes a log to the side and falls into the mud below. He climbs out as the others reach the hurdles. Applejack and Daring leap over the hurdles while Mr Rich ducks the higher ones. Daring is the first to reach the rope swing, but her forelegs slip and she falls into the mud. Applejack crosses and is the first to enter the maze. Daring struggles to get free while the others cross above her. Mr Rich slips a little, but he is able to pull out of the mud with ease unlike the hapless pegasus.
‘Damn it! Let go!’ Daring shouts at the mud.
Rei paces as she watches her teammate struggle. She stops when she sees a small band of blue around Daring’s hind leg. The small pegasus growls and slips into the crowd.
At the back of the crowd, Midnight uses his magic to hold Daring down. He keeps a foreleg out to keep Diamond at bay as she struggles to stop him.
‘Knock it off! You’re cheating!’ the filly screams.
‘You want to win, right?’ Midnight snorts. ‘With my help, you dad will win, and I’ll get my rightful position back.’
‘If it is money you want, I’ll pay you to stop!’
Midnight kicks Diamond to the ground and steps on her. ‘Free lesson: even a spoiled bitch like you can’t buy everything she wants.’
‘Let her go!’
Midnight looks up to see Scootaloo galloping at him. The young stallion knocks her down and stands on her as well. Both fillies struggle to get free. A small burst of lightning hits the young stallion, causing him to let the fillies free.
‘Pick on somepony your own size,’ Rei growls.
‘You? What can you do?’
‘Scoots, Diamond, stay back.’
The fillies nod and hide behind Rei. The young mare growls and charges her electric affinity around her body. The tips of her wings and hooves turn black, her mane appears slightly ethereal and she seems to grow half a meter. Midnight releases his spell on Daring and starts charging another spell on his horn.
Rei stares down into Midnight’s eyes and growls, ‘I’ve waited a long time for this...’
Freed, Daring darts into the maze and starts making quick work of it, passing Stormy. Mr Rich passes Applejack as the mare gets a hind leg tangled in the cargo net. The stallion makes it down the zip-line and gallops towards the finish line. Applejack’s troubles are made worse when the net heavily shakes as Daring charges to the top. The pegasus holds the zip-line with her wings so she can hit the ground running. She gains on the out-of-shape stallion. Mr Rich looks back and pushes harder. He turns forward right when a loud crack rings across the field. James appears mere meters from the finish line.
‘Ha!’ The Wandering Physicist points at Lucas. ‘Told you I could get the transmat working!’
The Smug Physicist’s taunting is cut short when Mr Rich runs into him. Daring gallops past the tangled stallions. The pegasus crosses the finish line and looks back at her competitors. The spectators cheer the victory. While the stallions untangle themselves, Applejack gallops past to get second place. The judges trot to the finish line to congratulate the victorious mare. Twilight uses her magic to lift the stallions to their hooves. She drags her coltfriend away to lecture him about using alien technology to cheat at races.
Electrical energy diffuses around Rei as she stands over Midnight. The young stallion twitches a bit and gasps for breath. Scootaloo and Diamond stare in shock at what they just saw. Rei turns around and lifts Scootaloo to her back.
‘He’s alive, but it wouldn’t hurt to get him some medical attention,’ the young mare advises. ‘We should leave or else we might get in trouble too.’
Rei trots away to celebrate her friend. Diamond watches the young mare leave before turning back to Midnight. She trots over to the injured stallion. She glares down at him and snorts. Midnight tries to speak. Diamond smirks evilly and turns away. She slowly trots off to ask Nurse Redheart for help.
Flitter smiles as she holds the trophy her team earned. Rei, Daring and Scootaloo are having a small victory party in the injured mare’s hospital room.
Cloudchaser raises her drink. ‘Here’s to Neighponese Imports, winner of the Annual Ponyville Customer Appreciation Festival!’
‘Kampai!’ the pegasi cheer, before drinking.
Daring catches Scootaloo as the filly starts swaying. ‘Don’t worry, Scoots. You’ll get used to sake soon enough.’
‘Hopefully by the time Flitter-chan heals so we can have a real party!’ Rei adds.
‘I can’t wai...’ Scootaloo falls back into Daring’s wing. ‘You know. You look a lot like Daring Do.’
Flitter giggles. ‘I’m sure I’ll be well enough soon.’ She sets down the trophy. ‘Do any of you know what all of the commotion was about before you got here?’
‘It was Midnight,’ Rei replies. ‘He came down with a case of heart attack at his team’s loss. It was very... shocking.’
‘Ugh! That pun was horrible.’
The pegasi turn to see Diamond entering the room.
‘Hey, sexy,’ Scootaloo coos.
‘You are such a lightweight,’ the pink filly sighs, sniffing her friend’s cup.
‘Can we help you, Miss Tiara?’ Daring asks, shifting Scootaloo from her wings to her back.
‘Just coming to congratulate your victory. The best team definitely won this year.’ She looks up at Daring. ‘I would ask for an autograph, but all of my copies of your books are digital.’ She trots around the room. ‘My dad is very angry, but he’ll get over it. He is a bit of a jerk at times, but he comes around.’ She swoons as she samples one of Rei’s mochi. ‘I am really sorry for everything my team did. I didn’t even want to compete.’
‘Told ya Diamond was good and beautiful,’ Scootaloo laughs from Daring’s back. She hiccups. ‘And her mane smells like strawberries.’
‘Thank you, Miss Tiara,’ Daring says.
‘Please. You can just call me Diamond. Any friend of Scootaloo’s or Rei’s is a friend of mine.’
Rei laughs and lifts Diamond to the bed with Flitter. Daring sets her friend next to her. Scootaloo smiles and leans in for a kiss. Diamond sighs and kisses her friend. Cloudchaser places a plate of treats in front of the pink filly.
‘Now, I believe we were having a party,’ Flitter laughs.
‘Kampai!’ all of the ponies cheer before knocking back their drinks.
Daring has to catch Scootaloo again before the filly falls over.
Diamond look at her cup. ‘Do you have anything stronger?’
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2168446
Now, now
iseekthegrail.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/spoilers.png
I love this one. Toward the begining though, you wrote "Rei adjusts an ice pack over the eye that when Rainshine kicked."
The underlined part doesn't quite make sense. Not trying to be a jerk, just thought I'd try to help with grammar.
Great chapter. Makes me wonder about Scootaloo though.
2170238 2170197
Thanks for the grammar checks. I am consistently battling them, and I really appreciate targeted feedback like this. They will be fixed right away
And about Scootaloo... I would say you would have to wait to see what is in store, but it may be explained in The Master Game, which I just posted this morning
2170349
That was a mistake?
Good.
I was starting to wonder about a thousand year old consoles, stallion from Gallopfrey.
"Well, excuse me, princess," and "daughter of a Diamond Dog" each got a burst of real laughter from me. "Rei sort," "Rei-pan," and "the ground ain't wood" were all high points as well. And it's always nice to see some character depth from Diamond to resist the trend of antagonist flanderization. I really liked this chapter.
One comment, though: it seems a bit odd that Twilight's transformation wasn't mentioned - one chapter she's a unicorn, and in the next her pronoun changed without even a nod. A lampshade might be nice to cut down on glare from the bare bulb, if not an actual chapter. I feel like TWP and Princess Twilight have some interesting dialogue to cover about the topic. Particularly about marrying royalty and (depending on whether your headcanon dictates that all alicorns are functionally immortal or only the two we know for sure are) a new depth to "love you forever."
2176716
The change from unicorn to alicorn does come across as a bit sudden. That is something I did worry about when posting. I didn't really post anything on the story itself except for a small change to the description, but the series is intended to take place about a year after the series. For the past week, I have been updating the older chapters to reflect the new wings and title. Most of the editing has actually been fixing grammar, which really shows how unimportant wings and a title really is in the series. About 55-56 chapters have been updated. This chapter was the first one I changed. There is no need to go back (unless you want to see some Author's Notes).
Actually, you may have handed me a lot of help by saying they should address the issue. I have been wondering how to handle the (hopefully obvious by now) planned proposal. Thank you
You may have inadvertently really helped in creating that chapter. Expect to be credited when it is posted 
I am really glad you liked 'Rei-pan'. Yakitate!! Japan is one of my favorite shows. The Rei-pan are actual Ja-pan from the series with the same intended reactions.
From Fillies and Colts onwards, I consider the Diamond Tiara seen in the series to be 'Nice' Diamond Tiara, meaning she is not as bad, but she is still Diamond Tiara. (I have some fun lines written for her in the TWP sequels.)
As for the eternal love... >/////< Knowing that the oldest canon alicorn is as old as The Doctor (in Doctor Who canon) really does help the series so much more than my original, cheesy solution to that issue.
I get lucky post 137! Bow-chicka-bow-wow!
2303757
Yes. You are right. There has been a disgusting amount of shipping early in the series. It has been something I was trying to fix for a long time.
Back when I wrote chapter 3, I realized that it had gotten very shippy. Dangerously shippy for my tastes. Then that process repeated itself with Luna, Pinkie and spiraled out of control so quickly that by the time the chapters were in the 20s I was desperately looking for a way out. This was a serious problem for the series and needed to be fixed. It has been a slow process across the whole series but as the end nears, the loose ends have to be tied up. Most of that has happened, but there are a few strands. Where the story stands, TWP is prepared to propose to Twilight; Pinkie is behind the couple 100%; and Applejack is dating Sunshine while TWP keeps reminding her that they would never work.
There will be some relationships left unresolved by the end of TWP, but that is where the next stories in the series come into play. As with a lot of this series, there is an element of wait and see with a dash of long view. If it hasn't been covered already, it will be soon or will be in The Master Game or Starlight Chronicles.
Stay tuned
May I just point this out: MINECRAFT!!!!!!
So, 15 chapters to go, where is this series gonna take its turn?
Also, i should point out, the show has a really sucky way of invalidating fancanons.
4075918
Turn for the good or turn for the bad? Depending on who you ask, both would be considered the first chapter...
At what point in time did Scootaloo become Hancock.
4520781
Alright, I really don't want to say this because of how mean I know it's going to sound, but it just needs to be said. This is likely only my opinion, but here I go....
What's up with Rei? She's my least favorite character, and with good reason. She's a "perfect" brat, which annoys me greatly. She's better Alejandro almost everyone at cooking, she is smarter than almost everyone, she works better than almost everyone, she is faster than anyone, no one can physicall or magically stop her if she goes on a rampage, and everyone absolute loves her. (With the exception of Midnight or course). To top it off, she's the biggest brat in the entire story.... She whines when she doesn't completely get her way, she screams all the time for no reason, and she threatened to KILL someone because they freaking looked like her. She's didn't even think about be fact that she's in a different reality altogether, which would've been a good start. I just don't understand why you made Rei so perfect, so spoiled, and such a little girl.... What's worse is the fact that whenever she talks, I believe she's a 12 year old, but when she was revealed as 17, I was confused beyond all heck. She doesn't act anywhere NEAR her age. Also, the Japanese suffixes. I believe I will eventually get used to that, but for now, it intensely annoys me seeing her talk like that. I just wanna know why you made her like this..... In fact, I've half a mind to officially name her a Mary Sue. Did I mention the fact that apparently she needs to win everything she does and always be right? No? Well, that's also the case as it seems. This chapter only made me hate her even more.