Writer's Training Grounds Entries

by Yukito

Prompt #18 - Equestria Games Junior Division (Alula, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Zippoorwhill) [Comedy, Slice-of-Life]

Prompt: Describe another pony's Equestria Games experience. It can be any pony not shown competing in one of the events in the episode, and can include both the event they competed in and what happened before and after during their visit to the Crystal Empire.

---

Alula jumped for joy as the Crystal Empire drew closer and closer outside of the train’s window. In the next car down she could hear Rainbow Dash giving a speech and pressed her ear against the door to listen. Something about being awesome, and the Wonderbolts, and then about taking first place. She would have entered the car to hear more clearly, but Diamond Tiara insisted that they travel in her family’s private first class luxury car and that they must not mingle with the ‘inferior dullards’ unless it was to rub their luxurious travel arrangements in their faces.

Still, Alula got the gist of what Rainbow Dash was saying, anyway. Ponyville was going to prove itself this year by being number one at the Equestria Games, and Alula was more than ready to do her part!

“Ponyviiiiiiile, fight!” Alula called out, startling Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who were well within earshot.

“YEAH!” Alula and Zippoorwhill cheered in unison.

“Do you mind?” Diamond Tiara asked, lifting the sleep mask from her face and glaring at the two energetic fillies bouncing up-and-down. “We’re trying to sleep here.”

“How could you possibly sleep on a day as exciting as this?!” Alula asked.

“Well considering you woke us up at five in the morning to get ready, it’s pretty easy,” Silver Spoon retorted, followed by an ungraceful yawn as she stretched her forelegs.

Alula blushed and giggled sheepishly. “Sorry ‘bout that, but this is just too awesome! I mean, only three children from every place in Equestria are able to compete in the Equestrian games and I’m one of them!”

“She’s gonna take the gold medal in jumping and Archer will take gold in running and then Snails will probably mess up the swimming but it won’t matter! ‘Cause we’ll have two gold medals and all of Equestria will see that Ponyville is super amazing!” Zippoorwhill circled around the train car a couple of times before coming to a stop beside Alula. “And it’ll all be thanks to you!”

Alula grinned and stood tall and proud. “If she wins,” Diamond Tiara said. “I mean, have you seen the competition?”

Alula and Zippoorwhill exchanged confused glances. “Uh… no?” Alula responded.

“They’re like, three years older than us!” Silver Spoon told her. “Some of them have even been to special training camps for this day!”

“What? Nopony told me that…”

Diamond Tiara noticed Alula’s smile turning to a look of worry and grinned. “Oh yeah. And they’ve also competed before, so they, like, know how the whole thing works.”

“They have?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Yeah, don’t you remember?” Diamond asked, turning to Silver Spoon and winking.

The grey filly realised what her friend was signalling and mirrored her sly grin. “Oh, of course I remember! And hey, aren’t they also, like, scholarship students at a sporting school?”

“Oh my gosh, I think you’re right!” Diamond turned to Alula, who by now was shaking on the spot. “Yeah, competition’s gonna be really tough! It’ll be hard enough to score bronze, but you can get the gold, right?”

Alula jumped and stammered for a bit. “Of course she can!” Zippoorwhill cheered, zipping into the air and banging her head on the train of the car. “Ow… I don’t like low rooves…”

“B-But the competition’s older than me, and they have more experience, so it won’t be easy,” Alula told the younger filly as she rubbed her head.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I know you can beat ‘em!” Zippoorwhill rushed over to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and gathered them together in a group hug. “So do you two, right?!”

“O-Of course!” Silver Spoon shouted as she struggled to break free. “No problem for somepony who’s practiced as much as you have, right?”

Diamond Tiara slipped out of Zippoorwhill’s grasp and fixed the crooked tiara on her head. “That’s right. Even if their training was much more intense and they’ve done this more times than you have, doesn’t mean you don’t have a shot. Remember, all of Ponyville thinks you can do it, too.”

“A-All of Ponyville…” Alula’s eyes shrank and she slowly stumbled backwards until she fell to her haunches onto one of the very comfortable velvet cushions just lying around inside the fancy train car. “Suddenly I don’t feel very good.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon both hoof bumped each other as they shared an evil laugh. Zippoorwhill joined them. “What’re we laughing about?” she asked.

“Figure it out,” Diamond said, leaving a quizzical Zippoorwhill to sit down and hold her head as her brain worked overtime, smoke eventually rising and setting off the emergency sprinkler systems in the car. “… Figure it out later,” Diamond said through gritted teeth as she moved her wet mane out of her eyes.

---

After the train had pulled into the station the four fillies got out and made their ways towards the stadium, Alula trotting slowly behind the group with her head down. Zippoorwhill noticed that Alula was moving slowly. “C’mon, let’s pick up the pace!” she said, hovering above Alula and looking down on the filly with at first a smile, but then a worried frown as Alula stopped in her path. “What’s wrong?”

“We’d better hurry,” Silver Spoon said, stopping with Diamond Tiara to turn and face the two fillies behind them. “The opening ceremony will be starting soo- Is that a statue of Princess Twilight’s dragon butler?”

Alula felt her legs shaking and her heart racing. Her breathing became rapid and she began to sweat. “I can’t do it,” she whispered.

“Huh?” Zippoorwhill put a hoof to her ear. “What d’you say? You need to speak up.”

“I can’t do it,” Alula said, lifting her head suddenly and showing her panicked expression to her three friends, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“Can’t do it? You mean the race?” Silver Spoon asked. She and Diamond Tiara exchanged nervous looks before approaching Alula. “But you’ve been practicing for so long, and you’ve already signed up.”

“Yeah,” Diamond said. “It’s a little late to be getting cold hooves now. You should have done that before waking us up at five in the morning and making us wait four hours for the train to the Crystal Empire.” Silver Spoon nudged Diamond’s side with her knee. “What? I’m just saying.”

“But there’s no way I can win!” Alula shouted, startling the other fillies. “The other foals are all older and so much better than me! You said it yourself that bronze alone would be hard. I can’t go out there with so many ponies watching me when I have no chance of winning!”

Diamond Tiara bit her lip. “Oooh, right… Uh, about that-”

“I’d never be able to show my face around Ponyville again!”

“I don’t think it’d be that bad,” Silver Spoon said. “Besides-”

“Like you said, all of Ponyville will be counting on me, Archer and Snails to win! I can’t let them all down like that! What if my parents are disappointed and they never let me high jump again? What if Miss Cheerilee expels me from school?!”

“You’re overreacting!” Silver Spoon said, putting a hoof around Alula’s neck as the filly hyperventilated. “Besides, it’s not quite what you think. We-”

“Nopony will be mad at you if you lose!” Zippoorwhill said, landing on the ground and placing both of her forehooves on Alula’s shoulders, staring into the other filly’s eyes with a strong, confident gaze. “Just do your best and everypony’ll be okay with whatever you place! And besides, we know you’ll do well, right guys?!”

“Uh, yeah,” Diamond Tiara said with a smile and a nod. “Totally. You’re like, the best high jumper I know.” ‘And the only one.’

Alula seemed to calm down for a moment, but only for a moment as she suddenly gasped and took a step back. Her friends turned around to see a taller colt standing behind them, grinning with his two friends flanking his sides.

“So you’re my competition from Ponyville! Heh, what’s the matter? They couldn’t find a real athlete so they just sent a buncha babies?”

Diamond Tiara scowled and approached the colt. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m the one representing Manehatten in the jump-related events, and I couldn’t help but overhear you all talking just now. She’s right, y’know? All of her opponents this year are at least three years older than her. There’s no way she’ll win. She’ll be going back home a total zero!”

Alula’s breathing picked up again. “A-A zero?”

“That’s right. A loser. Last place. No medal, not even a pat on the back! Face it, you’re better off just boarding that train and going home, before you embarrass yourself!”

Alula sniffed as her tears spilled from her eyes and she quickly turned tail to flee. “Alula, wait!” Silver Spoon shouted, but it was no use. She turned to the three colts and gave them her best glare. “What would you know?! She’s been practising so hard she sleeps through class, and unlike you, she doesn’t have to resort to scaring the competition just to win!”

“Heh. Like I’d do anything so low. I was just saving her some embarrassment. Really, there’s no point in Ponyville even showing up, if you ask me.”

“And what makes you think we’re from Ponyville?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“It’s obvious. You all look like country losers, and that cheap, tacky jewellery isn’t foolin’ anypony.” The colt reached out a hoof and flicked Diamond’s tiara off of her head.

“HEY! PICK THAT UP!” Diamond demanded, her face turning red.

“As if! You want it, pick it up yourself!”

Diamond grumbled, but turned around and crouched to pick up her tiara. She felt something kicking her rear from behind and found herself face down on the ground.

“Diamond!” Silver Spoon ran to her friend’s side and helped her to her hooves. “You jerks! What, you too afraid to pick on somepony your own size?”

“Nah, it’s just more fun to put losers in their place,” the colt said, taking a step forward, but stopping when Zippoorwhill jumped in front of him. “W-What d’you want?”

Zippoorwhill crouched down into an offensive stand and growled, confusing the three colts. She then barked, loudly and viciously, and continued to bark at the colts, drawing the attention of the ponies around them.

“What’s her problem?! Crazy fillies!”

Zippoorwhill stopped barking and leapt forward, knocking the colt down backwards and pinning him to the ground, where the colt let out a pained cry. She then jumped off of him and ran back to her friends. “Let’s go find Alula!”

“What, and just let them get away with-” Diamond Tiara began, but was cut off by Silver Spoon.

“We need to find Alula and make sure she’s okay. Besides… we also need to tell her the truth.”

“Truth?” Zippoorwhill asked.

Diamond looked between her two friends for a moment, before sighing and placing her tiara back onto her head. “Fiiiiine. I think I saw her run towards the stadium.”

The three fillies took off, leaving the three angry colts behind them yelling angrily that they had better run away.

---

Zippoorwhill purred as she walked alongside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon through the interior of the stadium, following an older mare’s lead that the filly they were seeking had ran into a restroom some time ago.

“I thought you were a dog,” Diamond Tiara said, raising an eyebrow as Zippoorwhill brushed up against Silver Spoon.

“She phases between animals every now-and-then,” Silver Spoon explained, trying to avoid the filly but failing horribly. “Is this it?” she asked as they arrived at a restroom.

“Yeah, this is it. It’s the first one we’ve passed in here and I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss any.” The three walked inside. It was thankfully empty, save for the echoed sniffles coming from one of the stalls. Silver Spoon nudged Diamond, prompting her to call out to their friend. “Alula?”

The sniffling stopped and all was silent for a couple of seconds. “I’m sorry…”

Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes. “What?” she deadpanned.

“F-For running off like that and… I-I’m sorr-”

“Stop apologising!” Diamond kicked the door open, startling Alula. “… Oh. I thought it was locked.”

“U-Um…”

“Anyway, why are you apologising when it was those jerks that said all that stuff about you?!”

“I-”

“How stupid do you have to be to let some colt from Manehatten get under your skin like that?!”

“But-”

“And don’t tell me you actually believed the stuff that he said, because that would just be-”

“Diamond,” Silver Spoon interrupted, placing a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder to calm her friend down. Diamond Tiara looked back to her for a second and Silver Spoon motioned to Alula.

Diamond cleared her throat and turned back to Alula, only briefly though, before turning to face the wall of the stall. “Anyway, about that stuff we said earlier… about how you probably wouldn’t do good against your competition… We kinda… made up some of it…”

Alula gave Diamond a confused look. “You did?”

“A little more than ‘some’,” Silver Spoon corrected. Diamond blushed and glared at the wall, refusing to face Alula and admit the truth. “Your competition will be older than you, but they’re not as good as we made them out to be. We were just having a little fun… and we’re sorry. Aren’t we, Diamond?”

“Yeah…” Diamond slowly turned her eyes to look at Alula, found that the filly was looking back and quickly turned around to leave. “Anyway, now you know, so can you stop sitting here crying and let’s go sign up already?”

“But,” Alula said, “… I think you were right. I mean, you saw how big that colt was. There’s no way I can beat him.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Diamond shouted. “After you practiced so much, and we came all this way, you’re not even gonna try?!”

“I’m sorry…”

Diamond Tiara’s eye twitched and her teeth ground together. She felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned to Silver Spoon. “Let me try something,” she whispered. Diamond was more than happy to let Silver Spoon take over. Silver Spoon leaned down beside Alula and whispered into her ear, “You know, that colt from before didn’t just pick on you. He picked on Di, too.”

“He did?” Alula asked, her ears shooting straight up.

“Oh yeah. And he got her tiara and her face all dirty.”

Alula gasped, and then her face suddenly turned to a look of rage. “… Is that so?” Alula approached a confused and somewhat frightened Diamond Tiara with a determined look now on her face. Nopony would ever be able to tell that she had just been weeping silently to herself in a restroom stall. “… I’ll compete. And I’ll kick that dumb colt’s butt to next Tuesday!”

“Yeah! You go, Alula!” Zippoorwhill cheered in a cheerleader outfit as she danced in the background. “Show them what Ponyville fillies are made of!”

“I’d better get going!” Alula said as she rushed past her friends, stopping for a brief moment to look back and say, “Make sure you cheer me on, you guys!”

“We will!” Silver Spoon told her, shooting Diamond Tiara a grin as the pink filly returned it with a flat stare.

“Okay, what did you say to her?” Diamond asked.

“Hmmm… I think I’ll just keep that secret,” Silver Spoon replied, walking past Diamond Tiara with her head held high. “Let’s go find our seats before her events start.”

---

“Here’s to Alula, winner of the Equestria Games Junior Division Jumping Events’ silver medal!”

Alula blushed as her friends all raised their glasses and bonked them together with her own. “Thanks, Zip. But really, I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”

“Too bad it wasn’t gold,” Diamond Tiara said with a grin.

Alula closed her eyes and smiled dreamily. “No, but so long as I avenged your honour, that’s reward enough for me.”

Diamond raised an eyebrow. “Uh, translation?” she asked Silver Spoon.

“She means how she beat that colt from before,” Silver Spoon explained.

“Ah…” Diamond picked up a crystal doughnut and took a bite. “Hey, these are pretty good.”

“I heard the Crystal Joes is one of the best diners in the whole Crystal Empire,” Alula said as she also picked up a doughnut. “Even if I only won silver, I’m glad I could celebrate it with all you guys.”

Diamond groaned as she picked up her glass of coke. “Why do you have to sound like such a huge dork all the time?”

Alula simply giggled, whilst Zippoorwhill stared at Silver Spoon, who seemed to be pondering something, and asked, “Hey, whatcha thinkin’ about, Sil-Sil?”

“Hm? Oh, I was just wondering… where are our parents?”

Author's Note:

Check out the other submissions by various authours here: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/05/writers-training-grounds-19-equestria_13.html

Comments

[Seether00]

We've never seen the kids supervised before, so why start now?

[Seether00]

Also, if DT had offered up a kiss for the win, I bet Alula would have won gold.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Hmm, interesting. DT here was... pretty evil, at least compared to how you usually write her.