Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 39: Equestria Games

Chapter 39
Equestria Games

“Today’s the day! Get up! Get up! Get up!” The whole bed bounced as a small form jostled me awake. I opened my bleary eyes into the face of bright-eyed Blaze.

“What’s today?” I groaned, rolling over and pulling the blankets closer. Even that was hard to do anymore; I was reaching the end of the third trimester, and at eight months, my stomach was overly swollen.

“The Equestria Games of course!” he exclaimed, jostling me to the point where sleep was impossible.

“Equestria... Games?” I yawned, not entirely alert. My eyes finally shot open, and I gasped in excitement. “The Equestria Games! That’s today?!”

“Well, it starts tomorrow, but we have to get there today!”

“Oh, Blaze, you got my hopes up. Ten more minutes.” I lazily rolled over in bed. With a huff of irritation, Blaze slid off the bed and scrambled over to the other side.

“It’s already ten o’ clock! Wake up, sleepy head, or we’ll miss the train!” I groaned when I realized he was right, but obediently started to rise. Blaze helped ease me out of bed, then waited as I reluctantly rushed to get ready.

“Where’s Torch?” I asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

“Wind Storm came by early this morning. Torchwood tried to wake you up, but you were out like a light,” he laughed.

“Really? I don’t remember that.” I exchanged the toothbrush for a comb.

“Wind Storm took him and Cedar out for last minute practice.”

“Cedar? Is Wild Flower here?”

“She was going to wait for you downstairs before Fluttershy stopped in.” I giggled. Those two had become nearly inseparable.

Once I’d stuffed my bedhead into the white hair bands, I wobbled over to the dresser for my hat. Heckley sat atop it in his usual perch, the plaid beret dangling from his tail. “Thanks, pal.” I roughly moved it to my head. “I’ve got to get Heckley’s breakfast, then I’m ready.”

“I already fed him. Let’s go! We’re going to be late!” I was quite literally shoved out the door by the youngster.

“Alright, alright, we’re going. Watch the house for us, Heckley. Mr. or Mrs. Cake should come by to refill your food. Be good, okay?” He hissed farewell before coiling up for another nap.

“There she is,” Pinkie announced as I flew out the door.

“You sure took long enough! We’re going to be late!” Rainbow complained.

“Why didn’t you get me up sooner?” I retorted.

“Girls, we’ll get to the train station faster if we aren’t arguing,” Twilight pointed out.

“Wind Storm, Cedar and Torchwood still haven’t returned. And what of Fluttershy and Wild Flower? We can’t leave without them,” Rarity pointed out.

“They’re probably already on board.” Rainbow was already zooming away, so we all rushed to follow. At least, my friends did. I waddled along at the back with Blaze pestering me to hurry. We barely made it in time, but managed sneak on at the last second. Sure enough, my family and Torchwood’s parents, along with Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps were already on board.

“Blaze!” A familiar midnight blue blur whizzed across the cabin, and Blaze was promptly landed at the bottom of a dog pile.

“Nova!” Blaze playfully knocked the older dragon off him.

“That was a close one!” Spike exclaimed, hoisting Blaze back to his feet.

“Yeah! We weren’t sure if you guys were going to make it!”

“What took you so long?” my sister teasingly chided, sliding out of the booth to greet me.

“Some of us are carrying a little more weight than others,” I joked, returning the hug.

“Gee whiz, that’s gonna be one big baby,” she chortled. I narrowed my eyes.

“Are you calling me fat?”

“Maybe...”

“Just wait until she has kids. Then you get to torment her,” Father chuckled, reaching over Wild Flower with his wing to hug us both.

“You’d let her do that to me?” Wild Flower pretended to pout.

“You’re tough enough to take it.” Dad chuckled.

“Mom, Dad told Acrylic to torment me,” Wild Flower tattled in the whiniest voice she could manage.

“Well, if your father said so, I suppose it’s alright.”

“Mom!” We all laughed, and I sidestepped her to get to my mother.

“How’s Charcoal?” She fondly ran a hoof over the baby bump.

“Fiesty as ever.”

“I’m sure the baby’s just as excited as the rest of us for the games,” Dad winked.

“Not too excited, I hope,” Mom interjected. “So much activity and stress isn’t good for the baby.”

“I know, I know.” While I appreciated the first-hoof advice she had to offer, this was only my tenth warning. I noted a shifting form off to the side, and changed the subject. “Hi, Cedar.”

“Hey.” We knew each other well enough so that he would now not only acknowledge me but sometimes even offer a hoofshake. This time I even got a friendly hug... or at least his version of a hug. It was more of a light tap on the shoulder with his wing, but for a pony as reserved as he, that was saying a lot. At least he was making an effort to become part of the family.

“There’s my boy.” While I was getting caught up with my parents, Torch had endured a similar ritual behind us. My family was a bit more expanded than his, though, so they finished quickly and waited to greet everypony else.

“Hello, Meteor, Rose!”

“Hello, dear,” Rose Petal warmly stepped up to give me a hug, and rather than wait his turn, Meteor Strike embraced us both.

“Ooh! Group hug!” Pinkie announced. Never one to miss out on such an event, Pinkie squished everyone together to the point I couldn’t breathe.

“Alright, competitors. Enough chit chat. Let’s all move to our own cars,” Dad called out, breaking away from the middle and pulling everyone else apart in the process.

“Your own car?” I hadn’t heard about this.

“Yeah. See, every team has its own car so we can get in as much practice as possible,” Rainbow explained. “The thestral car is behind the passengers, and Ponyville’s bringing up the rear.”

“Yes, we’ve already sent the Cutie Mark Crusaders down to wait for you in the Ponyville car,” Rarity offered.

“We better head over- see you when we get there!”

“I better go with them, in case anypony needs some extra help,” Spike reluctantly excused himself from his buddies.

“Sure, go ahead. We’ll have plenty of time to hang out when we get there,” Nova casually shrugged.

“See you up there!”

“Bye!”

“Have fun!”

“Take care!”

“Have a nice trip!”

“Don’t work yourselves too hard!” Eventually, they all filed out to fly to their own cars, leaving us with a lot more room to move about. That suited the rest of us just fine. I couldn’t remember the last time all of us had gotten time alone together. We had a lot of catching up to do.

---

We all had reservations to stay at one of the finer lodgings in the Crystal Empire, thanks to Cadance. The beds were plush and very comfortable, allowing us all to get a good night’s rest before the games. Though the hotel served breakfast, we were running late and didn’t have time to wait in the colossal line. Instead, we quickly grabbed a snack on our way in to the stadium.

Dad, Torch, Cedar, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps wouldn’t be competing today- the Aerial Relay was a mid-week event. Still, they had to go backstage and prepare for the opening ceremony. Spike went his own way to perform the honor of lighting the ceremonial torch. Twilight had to split off and join the other princesses in their designated balcony as well, when I noted with great surprise that Princess Essence had also been invited to the event! She sat between Luna and Cadence, looking as regal as ever. This left the rest of us to pack into the seats we had been assigned at the back of the stadium’s third tier. Pinkie was a bit disappointed that Twilight couldn’t stay and wildly cheer for Ponyville with us, but a fresh bag of kettle corn returned our friend to her usual excitable mood.

“Welcome, mares and gentlecolts!” A loud voice silenced all conversation over the microphone. We looked down onto the field to match the voice with the form of Shining Armor, decked out in his royal plating. “It is an honor to be here with you today for this year’s Equestria Games!” The crowds roared and stomped, wild with excitement. Careful to heed Mom’s warning about stress, I joined in the ovation with limited enthusiasm. Charcoal, on the other hoof, felt the need to partake in the celebration, and wriggled vigorously.

“It sounds like you all are just as excited as I am to get on with the competition. So without further ado, we will now invite this year’s Equestria Games competitors onto the field. Please welcome our visiting delegation from the Gryphon Kingdom!” Applause filled the stadium with each town and nation listed. Of course Canterlot had qualified to compete, as did the Crystal Empire, Saddle Arabia, Maretonia, Filly Delphia, Las Pegasus, Vanhoover, Baltimare, Cloudsdale, and of course, Ponyville. I noticed with great amusement that Twilight enthusiastically cheered for her hometown before remembering that as a princess, she was supposed to remain neutral.

“Now, for the first time in the history of the Equestria Games, please welcome our participants from the Everfree Forest!” Princess Essence seemed to sit a little taller as representatives from her newly recovered domain came forth, though she did a far better job at concealing her enthusiasm than Twilight. Although only a few competitors currently lived under Essence’s rule, we had all been born in the Everfree, and therefore qualified to play for her team.

As soon as the last of the delegates had filed onto the field, all eyes turned to the massive torch stationed at the end of the field.

“Is Spike coming out now?” Blaze asked. I squinted across the stadium in an effort to make out Spike’s small form.

“Yes!” I finally reported. “I see him!”

“I don’t,” Blaze pouted, still struggling to see over the crowd. At least Nova could fly, and could hover for a good look. Blaze was still grounded, and didn’t have this advantage.

“We’ve gotta get you up in the air,” Nova flatly stated. Realizing he was right, Blaze plopped back down, pouting. I chuckled. Until the day came when he did fly, I was happy to hoist him onto my back for a better view. I felt him press down on the worn fabric of my beret so his claws wouldn’t become entangled in my hair.

“SPIKE!” Blaze yelled, using one arm to keep his balance and the other to wave.

“Go, Spike!” Nova whooped, hovering overhead.

“I don’t think he can hear you, guys,” I giggled.

“It’s worth a shot,” Blaze shrugged, not at all put out by my remark. I figured it couldn’t do any harm, so I let them continue to cheer on their friend.

“Are you sure he’s down there?” Blaze finally asked, quieting down when the torch didn’t ignite.

“Yeah, I see him,” Nova confirmed.

“Down at the base of the torch, right?” I pointed him back out.

“I think so, but he isn’t lighting it.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Oh dear,” Rarity fretted, nervously clicking the tips of her hooves together. Pinkie buried her face in her hooves, too nervous to watch. Applejack also cringed. Blaze reached down, and I put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, though I wasn’t completely confident myself.

“Come on, Spike, what’s wrong?” I quietly muttered, biting my lip in worry.

“You got this, buddy!” Nova helpfully yelled. The stadium had gone so quiet, I wouldn’t doubt that Spike heard that one. The encouragement was enough to get him to try again, but still to no avail.

“You think he’s got a frog in his throat?” Pinkie inquired.

“More like smog in his throat,” Wild Flower snickered.

“Come on, Wild Flower, this is serious,” I chided. “Something could be really wrong!”

“It’s probably just nerves,” Mom soothed.

“I hope s-” I was cut off when a furious roar echoed through the stadium, a brilliant pyre now blazing at the base of the torch.

“You see?” Mom smiled as she applauded with the rest.

“Whoo hoo! Go, Spike!” Nova whooped.

“You go, buddy!”

“Bravo!”

“Yee haw!”

“Yeah!”

“Yipee!”

“Yay!”

“Good... Good job!” I contributed to the stadium’s deafening roar, confused but relieved. The applause was finally beginning to die down just enough for Shining Armor’s voice to be heard once more.

“Let the games begin!”

---

It was a long day for me, but even longer for those sitting around me. I was sitting in the middle of the aisle, and I had to get up so frequently for bathroom breaks that by intermission, Wild Flower had virtually forced Rarity and I to switch seats so I was now on the end. They all promised to scoot over one more, though, so I could still sit by my husband.

Speaking of whom, I didn’t see him until we did break for said interlude. Rainbow, the fastest, met up with us immediately after intermission was called. I had to wait a little longer on my family to show up. Wild Flower instantly fawned over Cedar, drowning him with praise to the point he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. “But... I didn’t do anything yet,” he’d argue. When the much-slower Fluttershy finally showed up, Wild Flower honed in on her next victim and repeated the ritual, dragging both her friends off who-knows-where. Nova stayed behind, however, to wait for Spike, who still had yet to arrive.

“Ooh! There are our little superstars!” Rarity squealed, finally picking out Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom from the swarm of departing ponies. The young girls galloped ahead to greet their sisters, or in Scootaloo’s case, mentor-slash-adopted-sister. “You were fabulous!”

“Made me sit up proud like a cornstalk in August,” Applejack declared, welcoming her sibling back.

“Ya done good, squirt!” Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo’s hair. I thought Blaze was about to contribute his kudos, but in reality, he was choking on a scroll. Nova clapped him rather loudly on the back, and the slip of paper was finally coughed up.

“You okay?” I rubbed his back as he finally began to recover from his wheezing.

“What’s that?” Pinkie wondered, looking intently at the scroll but making no move to pick it up. Nova snatched it instead, removed the purple ribbon in one clean swipe, and attempted to make out the sloppy hoofwriting.

“You guys did great,” he haltingly read, squinting at the slip of paper.

“We already knew that,” Rainbow proudly rolled her eyes.

“Who sent it, Nova?”

“I can’t make it out,” the dragon helplessly shrugged. Blaze grabbed at the paper, and looked over it for himself. His eyes widened with glee.

“It’s from Glitter Shine!”

“Really?” Blaze suddenly found himself surrounded by ecstatic fillies, practically crawling over him to get at the paper.

“That’s her hoofwritin’!” Apple Bloom excitedly verified.

“But how’d she see us?”

“Did we even tell her we were performing?” Scootaloo scratched her head.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Mom’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she pointed off into the crowd. A deeply saturated purple coat was slowly fighting its way through the swarms. When the small form finally broke clear of the surging masses, the girls squealed.

“GLITTER!” The young thestral took a moment to reorient herself from fighting through the crowd, but upon spotting her friends, sprung forward with renewed energy.

“We haven’t seen you in forever,” Sweetie exasperatedly burst, squeezing her friend tighter.

“Uh, Sweetie? She needs to breathe.”

“Oh, right. Sorry!” Glitter gasped for air as her friends bombarded her with questions.

“How’ve you been?”

“What’re ya doin’ here?”

“I bet she and Trixie were performing in the Crystal Empire, and decided to stop by! Isn’t that right?”

“No way. Everypony’d be too busy at the games to go to their show,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Oh. Right.”

“It’s good to see you again, Glitter,” Torchwood interrupted the debate and warmly greeted his former student. The young filly happily looked up, glad for the opportunity to speak.

“Hi, Mr. Torchwood!”

“Glitter!” Blaze happily stepped up.

“Blaze!” She gave the dragon a friendly hoof bump in greeting. “Sorry if the letter didn’t go through so good. I just learned how to send them.”

“Aw, that’s okay,” he waved it off. “Hey, you haven’t met Nova yet!”

“Nice to meetcha,” Nova offered a claw, which Glitter bashfully shook.

“Where are your parents, sweetheart?” Mom lovingly yet worriedly inquired.

“They stayed back home. Miss Trixie heard you guys were performing, and took me to see you as a special treat!”

“Trixie’s here?” Torchwood raised an eyebrow.

“Pardon me. Move aside, please. Hey, watch it! Excuse you! Why, I never! Ugh! MAKE WAY FOR THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!” A disturbance finally interrupted the constant flow of traffic as a blue unicorn indignantly forced her way through the crowd. Glitter giggled. Trixie finally spotted her apprentice, and sagged with relief. “Thank goodness you’ve found them,” she sighed, trotting forward. “If I had to fight through one more swarm of daft, thick-headed spectators, the Great and Powerful Trixie might have banished them all to the farthest reaches of the Everfree!”

“Right along with that last ursa major, huh?” Applejack good-naturedly winked. Trixie blushed.

“I’m not sure how Princess Essence would feel about that,” I chuckled, slinging a wing around our old friend.

“I suppose that’s true. The Great and Powerful Trixie must find a new place designated for banishment purposes,” she thoughtfully rubbed her chin. “I wonder how one would go about opening the gate to Tartarus?”

“Trixie,” Glitter admonishingly giggled. Chuckling at her own joke, Trixie finally turned her attention to the young ones.

“Crazed sports fans aside, you all did a splendid job with the flags.”

“I agree. You three really were wonderful.” Twilight fluttered down from the sky to join us. “Hello again, Trixie.”

“Princess Twilight,” Trixie respectfully dipped into a brief bow, but quickly righted herself before anyone else noticed.

“Come on, Glitter. We’ve got tons of catching up to do!” Scootaloo buzzed, hovering for about half a second before bolting off to find a quiet spot by the fountain. Trixie groaned and reluctantly prepared to chase after them.

“Trixie, why don’t you meet us at our hotel later tonight? The girls can get together and we’ll get to catch up, too.”

“Wonderful idea,” Trixie gratefully sighed.

“The Marquise Diamond Suites, Room 402 at 6:00?” Torch suggested.

“We’ll be there,” Trixie promised, already rushing off.

“Think she’ll find it?” Rarity wondered, noting her distracted disposition. Rainbow just shrugged.

“Well, right now, I need to find Spike. Has anypony seen him?” Twilight intervened.

“Not since he lit the torch,” Blaze shook his head.

“He sure is taking a while. I wonder if he’s okay? I mean, he was having an awful lot of trouble getting that fire lit,” Nova folded his arms, brow furrowed with concern.

“Yeah, he sure seemed to be havin’ a tough time of it out there,” AJ concurred.

“He put things right in time, though,” Rarity pointed out.

“Actually, that was me,” Twilight flattened her ears and shuffled nervously. “I didn’t want him to be embarrassed, so I cast a secret spell to light it for him.”

“Uh oh,” Nova and Blaze exchanged uncertain glances.

“Oh, dear. Have you told him?” Rarity inquired.

“No, but he might’ve figured it out on his own.”

“Ya gotta tell him, just in case,” Applejack pointed out.

“I know. I’m just afraid of how he’ll take it. I know what pride he takes in a job well done.”

“Psst! Here he comes. Act casual!” Rainbow hissed. After frantically warning us, she expertly cleared all emotion from her face, casually leaned back, folded her arms, and produced a pair of sunglasses from somewhere behind her. “’Sup?”

“Spike!”

“Hey, pal!” Nova leap frogged over Blaze to get to his other friend. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Spike admitted. “The weirdest thing happened down there.”

“Yeah, about that...” Twilight stammered.

“I mean, there I was with all of Equestria watching, and feeling like the hugest failure ever, when the thing just lit! It was amazing!”

“Oh, phew. I was worried you’d be upset,” Twilight sighed.

“Upset? Are you kidding Why would I be upset to discover that I can light fire... with my mind?”

“WHAT?!”

“Whoa, no way!” Blaze gasped, sounding genuinely enthralled. Nova face-palmed.

“That’s not helping. He doesn’t have mind powers.” Nova rubbed his temples.

“Oh,” Blaze disappointedly slouched.

“Sure I do,” Spike confidently smirked. “How else do you explain what happened down there?” We didn’t get a chance to reply.

“Look! It’s the Great and Honorable Spike, the Brave and Glorious!” a crystal pony pointed out, trotting over with his friend.

“Can we get your autograph?” his companion hopefully asked.

“Sure!” Spike was happy to oblige.

“How you saved our Empire last time last time you were here was really amazing!”

“Aw,” Spike casually shrugged. “You know what else is amazing? Watch this!” To our dismay, Spike seemed to be intently focusing on the picture he’d just signed, probably trying to light it with his ‘mind powers.’ “Don't worry. Once it bursts into flames through brainpower, I'll sign another one for ya. Promise,” he vowed as he continued to strain. “Spike, may I have a word with you a moment?” Twi whispered.

“Hey, you'd better be careful with that! It might burst into flames later! Delayed reaction. Hey, Twi, what is it?” Spike chased after the alicorn as she trotted off somewhere private. Blaze tried to follow, but I held him back a moment to give them time alone. The orange hatchling cast me a worried look, but submitted when Nova nodded agreement. We watched worriedly from the sidelines, most of us trying to look inconspicuous as we attempted to eavesdrop. Twilight had moved all the way to the other end of this bustling street, however, so any effort to hear their whispering over the clamour of the crowds proved futile.

Though their conversation was indistinguishable, their body language adequately carried the entire conference. Spike’s indignant posture soon melted to one of hurt and embarrassment, and we knew the news hadn’t gone over well. Twilight tried to make him look at her by lifting his chin, but he pulled away and moped down the street.

“Spike?” Twilight fretfully called. Only then did I release Blaze and Nova. Those friends needed no words to communicate; companionship was enough. They made no effort to cushion the blow, or give an encouraging pep talk just yet. They merely walked their friend back to the hotel. And at the moment, that was just what Spike needed.

Comments

[HeartfireFirebrand]

“Gee whiz, that’s gonna be one big baby,” she chortled. I narrowed my eyes.

“Are you calling me fat?”

“Maybe...”

“Just wait until she has kids. Then you get to torment her,” Father chuckled, reaching over Wild Flower with his wing to hug us both.

“You’d let her do that to me?” Wild Flower pretended to pout.

He let you do that to her, don't be self entitled