Sunset Helpers

by Spirit Shift

CH9: The Snow Games

Octavia opened the window to the Principal's office, bullhorn in hand, and looked over the battlefield. Somewhere on the field lay the coveted flag, but only Octavia knew where it was. With no one but her and a few others allowed inside the school, the entire perimeter was fair game. As such, chaos reigned supreme as students, children, and faculty were engaged in what was essentially a full on snow war.

Clicking the amplifier on, she aimed it out the window, directly towards the front gates where a certain electric haired girl stood defiantly. Said girl had somehow gotten a shoulder mounted snow cannon into the game, and was using it to knock people out left and right in her search for the flag.

“Vinyl Scratch! Stop this at once and surrender! You’re breaking the rules, and even so, you’ll never find our—EEP!” Octavia swiftly shut the window to the room just as a basketball-sized ball of snow slammed into it.

Vinyl chuckled. “COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME, TAVI! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!” she yelled up to her. The canon sitting on her shoulder was a high tech-looking piece of equipment. Streaked with the same colors as its creator’s hair, the machine had a large cylinder near the back where snow was inserted.

Octavia growled and reopened the window. “You ruffian! I will not sully myself by—” She slammed the window shut once more to block another blast.

Vinyl laughed as she turned the machine upside down to shovel more snow into it. “You can keep talking but I’m not gonna listen till you come down here!” Turning, she blasted a boy that had been running at her with a boulder of snow. “Hurry up and find that flag!” she yelled to her group.

“Hey, Vinyl…”

Vinyl turned to see Rainbow and Pinkie walking through the gate. Her mouth became a straight line when she noticed Sunset slinking in after them. “Sup…” she said.

Rainbow hesitantly raised her half of her usual fist bump greeting. After a second, Vinyl, never one to turn one down, responded in kind.

“Yeah… see, we need your help,” began Rainbow, looking at her shamefully.

Vinyl finally took her gaze off of Sunset and smirked at Rainbow. “What, did you lose your flag already?” she said, nudging the girl.

Pinkie jumped in and gave Vinyl a hug. “No way! We left Applejack and Soarin and Fluttershy and Rarity to guard it. What could go wrong?”

Vinyl briefly returned the hug before separating herself. “So whatcha need?” She sat the canon on her shoulder. Sunset looked down the barrel of the large gun and gulped. She really hoped Vinyl didn’t have any grudges for picking on her best friend.

“One of Octavia’s group members took one of us hostage and we need help getting her back,” answered Rainbow Dash.

Vinyl’s jaw hit the ground. “We can take hostages?!” she said, grinning like a mad woman.

Rainbow shrugged. “We have one back at the base. We made up some rule about how he’s not allowed to do anything until one of his team members comes and tags him.”

Pinkie reached into her pocket and picked out a small pamphlet. On the front it read, “Annual Snowball Tournament: Rules and Regulations” surrounded by decorative snowflakes. “Says here that ‘if something unexpected happens that the rules don’t cover, a new rule can be made on the spot if all present participants agree to it.'” She closed the slip and returned it to her pocket.

Vinyl shrugged. “Can’t argue with the Mayor I guess. So who was it?”

“The new girl, Coco Pommel,” answered Rainbow Dash. “Thunderlane took her, and his friend said he was coming back this way. So can you help?”

Vinyl hummed for a bit. “On one condition,” she smirked. Rainbow opened her mouth but Vinyl’s trigger finger was too itchy. Sunset, who was still standing there, ended up on the ground covered from head to neck in snow. Vinyl removed the canon from her shoulder and pointed it down at Sunset’s grounded form.

Mouth a straight line, she fired the cannon three more times. By the time the cannon was out of snow, only Sunset’s arm was sticking up, and Pinkie and Rainbow were stunned speechless.

Sunset’s gloved fingers twitched slightly. Vinyl finally let herself grin and, chuckling, she reached down to grab the girl’s hand.

With a grunt and a tug, she pulled Sunset from her burial. Sunset hacked and coughed and wiped the cold ice from her face.

Shivering miserably, she stared at Vinyl, who was still grinning. “I guess I deserved that,” she finally said, taking her arm back.

Vinyl patted her on the shoulder and burst out laughing. “Well I could use a few more shots but I’m out of ammo so you’re good.” She stopped laughing and sat the gun back upon her shoulder.

Pinkie and Rainbow quickly jumped out of the way.

Vinyl paid them no mind as she looked directly at Sunset with a small smile. “I heard about how you’re trying to get your act together. If you’re really sorry, then you’re good with me.” Sunset gave her a thankful smile, glad one more person had taken her off their hit list. “My condition though—”

“That wasn't it?!” yelled Sunset, still wiping off snow from her body.

“Is for you to at least try to apologize to Octavia at some point,” she shrugged. “Sure she’s pissed and she’ll probably try to get you expelled... but hey, she’s a sucker for a good apology.” Before Sunset could respond, Vinyl turned to Rainbow. “Alrighty then. About Thunderlane...

Rainbow tiled her head, confused. Vinyl’s grin turned slightly nervous. “Thunderlane’s supposed to be on my team… and I haven't seen him at all today. I totally didn’t send him to the Corner.”

~~~

“Nice job, Thunderlane, Rumble, Ditzy.” Octavia grinned at the two brothers and their cohort as they entered the Principal's office. “I don’t know how you did it but…” she paused when Coco entered the room behind them. “Who’s she? I thought you said you were going to get Fluttershy.”

Thunderlane shrugged with a stupid grin. “She works too. She was on their team.”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “And you're sure they agreed?”

Rumble scoffed. “Well they got one of us so I think they—OW.” He groaned, rubbing the new hand print on back of his head.

Octavia’s eye twitched. “They what?!” She sighed. “This wasn't in the plan. Oh well, we’ll just have to improvise. You three can go now,” she said, waving them off.

Rumble glared at her as she turned back to the window. “Whatever... bossy—OW!” Thunderlane shoved him back outside the room. Ditzy followed them but stopped when Coco tapped her shoulder.

“A-are you sure you’re alright?” asked Coco, looking into the girl’s mismatched eyes. “I didn’t hurt you at all, did I?”

Ditzy Doo nodded and bonked her head a few times. “I’m alright, my eyes are always like this and I’m super durable.” She made a silly face with her eyes that caused Coco to snicker. Ditzy snickered too as she left. “We should hang out more!” she said, closing the door.

Coco waved goodbye before slowly turning back to see Octavia. The girl was still looking out the window, her eyes now locked onto one girl in particular. She didn’t even notice Coco standing next to her.

“U-um?”

Octavia snapped out of her reverie to see Coco slowly taking steps back, nervousness and fear etched all across her face. “Are you alright dear?” asked Octavia.

Coco nodded. “I-it’s just… you had a really scary look on your face.”

Octavia reached up and touched her face. Though she didn’t dwell on it. “Nevermind that, come, have a seat. You’re my guest right now.”

Coco let out a nervous chuckle, taking a seat on one of the Principal’s guest chairs. “I thought I was a prisoner…” Coco looked around. “Is this a usual thing… I haven't been here long.”

Octavia nodded and took a seat in the Principal's office chair. “I guessed as much. This particular stratagem is of our own devising, and has not been attempted before. Do you know the other rules?”

Coco shook her head. Octavia sighed. “I suppose I could give you the basics if you haven't figured it out already.” Octavia sat four objects down on the desk: A small roll of clear tape, a pack of staples, a paperclip, and a key. She arranged them into a square.

“You see, there are four flags. Every year, two are always in the same place while the other two are dependant upon the previous tournament’s winners.” She moved the tape and the staples to two ends of the desk, directly opposite from one another. “The two that remain the same are the one here at the school, and the one at Filthy Rich’s mall. They were chosen because of the wide area snowball fights could cover.”

Coco nodded and Octavia moved the remaining two objects to two random places on the desk. “This year, Rainbow Dash and Big McIntosh, last year’s winners, have chosen Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner respectively. In each of these four sites, a red flag has been hidden.” She pointed at the objects. “The four leaders lead a group of people to find the flags while holding a snowball war. While the flag is the objective, the fun in the snow is the purpose. Whoever finds at least two flags wins. They get to choose where the two free flags go on the following year.”

Coco digested the info and gasped in awe. “That sounds like so much fun!” she squealed.

Octavia smiled. “Isn’t it? Usually, Principal Celestia guards the flag... but due to circumstance, it’s up to me this year. I’ve hidden it extremely well if I do say so myself.”

Coco tilted her head curiously. “Where is it? Is it inside the school?”

Octavia shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t give you that information. I’d be aiding the enemy.” Octavia stood back up and headed for the window. “I am about to trade you back after all.”

Coco pouted. “Please, I Pinkie Promise I won’t tell anyone else,” she pleaded.

Octavia thought on it. In the end, she smiled and turned back to her. She had wanted to brag to someone after all. Making sure that no one was listening outside the door, or from the window, she leaned down to Coco. “Do the motions but don’t say anything,” she ordered, cautious of a certain pink girl’s sudden appearance.

Coco made the, now memorized, motions of a sacred Pinkie Promise. Octavia nodded and started giggling like a schoolgirl. “I am so clever! I hid it where no one will find it!”

Coco flinched at the sudden change of attitude. Gone was the professional acting figure of authority and now here was a person ecstatically gushing about her own cleverness.

~~~

Sunset dodge-rolled behind some bushes near the corner of the school, desperately trying to evade the barrage of snow being thrown at her. Like she thought, as soon as someone noticed her there, everyone, regardless of team, turned against her. For a few seconds her entire world went completely white as everyone continued to attack her. She was sure some of them were yelling something, but the snow that seeped under her earmuffs made it kind of hard to hear.

Thankfully, an order from Vinyl and threats from Rainbow caused some of the fire to stop. Now she was only getting a bit more than the average amount of snowballs directed at her.

Initially, she had wanted to leave, but then she remembered that Coco had wanted her to at least try to have fun. But that was before she got captured. Sunset knew that she couldn’t go home until she at least knew where Coco was.

Unfortunately, her frantic running had separated her from the others. Just as she was about to run back out into the field, she heard a few voices from around the bend.

‘So are y’all ready?”

“Yeah, we got Button’s text! Let’s go!”

“I hope he knows what he’s doing.”

Sunset peaked out of the snow covered bushes to see The Crusaders dash out from the corner near where she was hiding.

Without hesitation, Sunset ran out after them. “Hey, you three!” The three kids stopped in their tracks to see a fuming Sunset. “Where’s Coco?” she demanded.

Scootaloo smirked and shook a fist at her. “We’ll never tell!” She quickly reached down and grabbed a lump of snow. In one swift motion, Scootaloo packed it and lobbed it right at her.

Sunset hopped to the side, leaning down to grab some snow in the process. “Last chance!”

“ATTENTION, RAINBOW DASH AND COMPANY!”

Sunset paused in her threat and turned to face the direction the voice was coming from. When she turned back she saw The Crusaders bolting down the street. Growling, Sunset was about to take off after them when the voice echoed once more.

“WE HAVE YOUR TEAMMATE!”

Sunset immediately dropped her snow and turned to run back to the front of the school. She stopped by the horse statue and looked up to see none other than Octavia Melody talking through a bullhorn from a window. Apparently, to achieve maximum attention, she had cranked the volume up to the max. “SURRENDER YOUR FLAG AND JOIN MY TEAM!”

“Not a chance, give Coco back!” Sunset shouted.

Octavia merely gave her a disgusted look before turned to look at Rainbow. “THIS IS YOUR ONLY OPTION!”

Rainbow, who had been hiding with Vinyl behind a hastily made snow barrier, smirked and pointed up at her. “Well sucks to be you because we’ve got one of your teammates too!”

Octavia frowned. “WHO?”

Rainbow frowned and gave Vinyl a perplexed look. “What was his name again?”

Vinyl shrugged. Sunset yelled from where she was, “First Base. Flash’s brother, remember?”

Over by another snow fort, Flash Sentry’s head popped up in surprise. A snowball quickly found it.

Rainbow nodded and pointed back up at Octavia. “Yeah, we got that kid!”

Octavia’s brow furrowed. “Hold on a moment,” she muttered, away from the bullhorn. She stepped away from the window and, after a few seconds, she came back with a list. Bringing the microphone back up to her chin, she said. “WE DON’T HAVE SOMEONE NAMED ‘FIRST BASE’ ON OUR TEAM! YOUR TRADE IS INVALID.”

Rainbow’s face fell. “Wait… what?” she muttered.

“NICE TRY. MY OFFER STILL STANDS, RAINBOW DASH. YOUR FLAG FOR—”

‘You shoot me down, but I won't fall

I am tita~ni~um

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am tita~ni~um’

To her surprise and embarrassment, Octavia’s phone began to ring. Vinyl immediately burst out laughing. “Is that you singing Titanium?!”

Octavia, her face flushed, forwent the bullhorn and simply yelled down at her. “Sh-shut up! It’s a good song and it fits my vocal range!” She swiftly reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

“Hello?” she said sweetly, though laced with venom. “What? You’re bluffing!” Less sweet, more venom. “Well I don’t believe you. There’s no way you… WHAT?!” Dropping her bullhorn, Octavia vanished from the window. In a matter of seconds, she threw open the front doors and ran to the side of the building.

While she was doing that, another ringtone echoed out. A pulsing electronic dubstep beat began pumping through the yard. It was at least twice as loud as Octavia’s ringtone.

“My BBBFF always came over to remind me

That being stuck in the same room reading books not at all healthy

But my mind was focused and my patience already depleted

So I kept on reading and reading and reading, reading!”

Vinyl gave a light headbang to the fact paced electronic lyrics until the dubstep took the beat back over. Rainbow grinned and looked down at Vinyl’s coat pocket. “Is that The Living Tombstone?” she said, almost yelling to be heard over the music.

Vinyl reached into her pocket and nodded. “Yeah, he let me do a set with him a few months ago. Better than Octy’s song that’s for sure.” Cutting the song, she brought the phone up to her ear. “Wubsup!” she greeted. Her grin vanished instantly. “What? You can’t find it? Didn’t you call me earlier and… what?”

Sunset, Rainbow, Pinkie and everyone else simply stared on in confusion. Once again, another ring tone echoed out.

Give me a smidge of confidence

Give me a speck of something that makes sense

Give me an idea of dependency

Give me a dash of loyalty (Lo~ya~lty~)

Rainbow fished out her phone and looked down at the caller ID. “Hey Applejack, what’s up?”

“Hey… umm… sugarcube… we got us a problem here…”

Author's Note:

ALT Title: The Snowger Games Lulz #I'msoclever!

Comments

[MustacheMerlin]

Sorry Sunset, but your princess is in another castle!

All those wubs make me want to go be a DJ or something. I'd be M3RLIN!

[MoldyShishkabob]

Question: when everything is over and they are about to make a truce before the next year's winter…
Do the winners get Snowbel Peace Prizes?

All I'd know for sure is that they'd definitely be the cool kids until winter ends.

[00RaiserGundam]

Something tells me that this is all part of Button Mash's plan, whatever it is.

[Noctus Umbra]

Button done goofed. EVERYONE is going to pummel him into the ground

[Imperator Knoedel]

He groaned, rubbing the new hand print on back of his head.”

The quotation mark at the end doesn't serve any purpose except for confusing the reader.

[theNDinspector]

Vinyl briefly returned the hug before separating herself. “So whatcha need?” She sat the canon on her shoulder. Sunset looked down the barrel of the large gun and gulped. She really hopped Vinyl didn’t have any grudges for picking on her best friend.

You got an extra "p" there, making it a completely different word.

[theNDinspector]

6284350 And all because they wouldn't let him use the box, which was essential to the success of their mission.

[supergirl1329]

So many epic brony songs!

[Emperor]

I have a feeling somebody set a plan in motion that's going to backfire here.

Definitely lots of charisma and GAR coming out with the snowball games.

[FancyFan]

What could go wrong?

Pinkie why? Why would you do that?

Hmmm. Someone is pulling something. I doubt its Diamond Tiara. So that leaves Big Mac or a fifth party. Hmmmmmm