Rainbow hovered up on her wings, pointing down to Applejack. "I challenge you to an Iron Pony Competition. A series of athletic contests to decide who's the best, once and for all."
"You know what, Rainbow, you're on." Applejack spat on her hoof and held it out. "But no wings allowed. 'S gotta be fair, after all."
Rainbow grinned. "Deal!" She bumped her hoof into Applejack's.
* * *
"And that ends our last event!" Spike hopped off of Twilight's back, still holding his twig microphone. "At eleven to nine, Applejack wins!"
"Well, wallop my withers." Applejack elbowed Rainbow. "Looks like I'm the iron pony after all."
Rainbow sulked, crossing her hooves in front of her chest. "Yeah, whatever. I'm still better at flying."
"Heh, I guess I can give you that." Applejack shook her head. "That ain't my department at all."
"So," Twilight said, walking up between them, "still friends?"
"Of course!" the two competitors said at once, bumping their hooves together.
How does them being overpowered mean they're more intelligent, exactly? Now we're entering into OOC territory...More than we were before with Twilight being a jerk for no reason.
And thus the running of the leaves was won by Derpy with Twilight taking 5th place.
5063969
All Apple Bloom cared about was a cutie mark, after all. She has that now.
5063978
Well that was a little too close for comfort!
5064092
There will still be CMC
CMC > continuity
5064180
5064253
Yeah, um... sure. Both sides.
5064895
Stranger things have happened.
5064578
5065082
True zen will be achieved when you realize there are no corners... just continuity gaps.
5067411
Or that. That works too.
5068884
Um... I'll take that as a compliment.
5068903
Because their friendship is overpowered.
5068925
Well that got dark.
5068939
Isn't that how it happened anyway?
Pinkie Pie should have won using her rock-farm powers?
5069015 Yeah, apart from Applejack and Rainbow not tied for last this time.
5069021
How do rock farm powers help you win a race?
I'd think her 'outrun Rainbow Dash' powers would be much more useful.
5069027
Heh, yeah, except for that.
Heck, maybe Twilight would have done better if she hadn't stopped to talk to those two.
5069045 I meant for the iron pony competition.
Rainbow, give it a rest, cos Applejack's the best!
5069074
But... she wasn't competing...
It would be just like her to win anyway, though.
5069085
We may need to have a best pony fight, you and I.
Dashie is part of my three-way tie for best pony.
Twilight Sparkle is the best. Did you not know? Magic > Hats > Wings
KBO.
So AJ got the rules down at the start, problem solved. Huh.
5069167 It. Was. A. JOKE.
5069429
Indeed.
5069457
Aw, no best pony fight?
5069167 Looks like I was right, Twilight didn't compete in the race.
Outstanding job, Ocalhoun!
You know, I never got how giving up the wings would make the iron pony competition fair. I'll leave the race till the end first the iron pony thing.
Dash is using her natural inborn abilities, which includes flight along with the wings themselves.
A.J. is doing the same but hers are more along the earth pony magic route which includes but is not limited to her massive physical strength and endurance. Asking Dash gto not use her wings cripples her for that competition.
The race however is different. It's not just a race from start to finish but it is a ground race where the ultimate goal is to remove leaves from the trees. Thus making flight pointless.(Except that if Dashie flew through those woods with a sonic rainboom she would loosen every leave in Equestria from its happy perch.)
Still even without her wings, she is fast, light on her hooves and still has her athletic endurance. A.J. however is a tank. Slower too get going based on her superior weight class, but due to more experience on her hooves she would have a higher top speed on the ground. The corners are where Dashie has the advantage due to A.J. needing to slow a little more to take the turns without going off the track. So all in all it would be an even race if those two hadn't messed around so much...
Anyway, next episode is... Suited for Success is too damn easy... Seriously I'm gonna drop under the black bar for this answer.because I'm fairly sure I'm right.
Rarity tells her friends off, because her first dresses are great and thus she has the time to make her own dress instead of wasting her time making those crappy second dresses.
Well? How wrong was I this time?
I'll see you at the next chapter.
5069585 NO!
If I hadn't seen myself that RD had used her wings as a crutch half the time, I'd argue her loss. I'd have made it a 1-point game though. They're pretty dead even otherwise.
>open chapter
>"Oh yeah! OP pony against OP pony? This is gonna be good!"
>you skipped the part that could have been really fun
>._.
Nope. It should've been that they ties, and then Twilight beat both of them at the same time.
it's still way unfair that Rainbow Dash had to give up her one advantage, but Applejack didn't. That isn't friendship, it's just selfish.
5325973 AJ's "natural advantages" actually kind of made it unfair to begin with. Being an earth pony gives her superpowers. After all, Big Mac can pretty much break a brick wall if he so much as sneezes wrong. It would be about as fair as having Applejack pilot a plane. I can't say it often enough. THERE'S A NATURAL ADVANTAGE.
Yeah, if Dash didn't have the ability to go vertical, Applejack would have won at the tug-o-war. Since that one is meant to be a strictly linear exercise in strength and traction, AJ should have won that one. If you define 'Iron Pony' as raw strength and endurance, AJ does have the edge - but 11-9 sounds about right, considering all the exercise Rainbow Dash does. But considering that 'strength' is explicitly defined in canon as a magical ability that earth ponies have, an earth pony *should* be able to beat a pegasus in strength contests, all other things being equal. If they had done more speed or agility tests in the Iron Pony competition, Dash would have won, but 'Iron Pony' really does sound like it should be mostly strength and endurance.
Everyone says that it's unfair for AJ to be an Earth Pony, but RD agreed and she was the one who challenged AN
5325973 The thing that bothered me is that everypony seemed oblivious to it and only Applejack was the only one who called Dashie out on it.