Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

67 The Arena Champion, Part Six

“With Twilight and Trixie tied at nine to nine, the next two events are sure to be heated,” Spike announces to practically the entirety of Ponyville. Pegasi are performing tricks in the air, hordes of ponies are crowding around, and a few cheerleaders are leading the crowd from the hooves of a few scantily clad stallions. In the middle of the commotion, atop a raised platform, Twilight and Trixie are sitting at a table. They both have confident smiles on their muzzles, practically holding their breath in anticipation of the next contest.

Applejack, sitting off to the side, gives Doug a twinkling smirk. “We should have Spike announce more of these events,” she remarks, stifling her chuckling that threatens to give away the farm. “And he just learned of the little addition we’re making, too.” Doug nods, glad Applejack is feeling better, especially because the next contest is one in which earth ponies and their iron constitution would have a clear advantage. Applejack hops up, slipping through the crowd to get four covered dishes from Granny Smith. The elderly mare slowly shuffles back to her seat next to Big Mac, eager to watch the four ponies about to devour one of Sweet Apple Acres' specialties with a little extra kick. Applejack walks up to the table, four steaming dishes carefully balanced on her back.

Rainbow Dash flies over, pulling the cover off of one steaming pie that she places in front of Twilight. The rest of the covers come off, the rainbow colored pies finding their way in front of Trixie, then Applejack, and the last one for herself. Spike announces, adopting his deep, rolling voice again, “For the penultimate event, we have everypony’s favorite, a pie eating contest! Zap Apple Pie is the pie of choice today, a definite crowd pleaser!”

The crowd stomps their hooves, excited cheers at the prospect of eating such a delicious treat. The way the reds explode in your mouth, the soothing blues, the tart greens. And, if their eyes can be believed, there is a small stand about to be completely overwhelmed where, after the event, slices of Zap Apple Pie will be available, free of charge! Lemon and Applebaum both stand vigil over the precut morsels, dubiously counting the number of ponies and glad they made such small pieces. Hopefully they won’t need to divide those even further!

“If Twilight Sparkle wins this event, she clinches the title of sixth mare of Herd Apple!” Spike waves a claw to the scoreboard; Fluttershy, certainly out of her element, is hovering as close to the scoreboard as she can without actually hiding behind it. She waves, a small smile as she hunches down, motioning to the scores still tied at nine to nine with eighteen hash marks next to Twilight’s cutie mark.

“But, Trixie still has the chance to pull out ahead! In the events leading up to this point, Trixie has defeated Twilight on most of the events involving physical strength, and the last event is sure to be one she has an advantage in! But, we aren’t at the Rope Pull just yet! Before these two get down and dirty in the mud, they’re going to get their muzzles down and dirty at the most delicious event ever!”

The crowd cheers again, pounding their hooves, eager to get to the part where they too can partake in the pie eating.

“Especially,” Spike draws the word out as he withdraws a small purple bottle, a hoofdrawn flame on the side, “because these four pies, and specially labeled pies at the stand, have a very special addition.” Spike takes the bottle, twisting it so the flame is facing the audience. “We call it, the Rain Blazer!”

Twilight’s eyes widen at the sight. These ponies are crazy! They expect her to eat a pie laced with Fire Sauce? And that’s Doug’s hottest blend!

“Contestants!” Spike yells, pulling out a cupcake completely drenched in purple sauce, “Are you ready?”

“Ready!” come three shouts, one earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn eager to get their grub on.

Twilight hesitates as she rocks her head back and forth. If she eats this pie faster than Trixie, she wins. But, she knows what will happen to her body if she eats this pie. And not just belching the flames, but the next night, too! It won’t be that bad if she gives up now, right?

“Twilight, are you ready?” Spike announces, a note of trepidation in his voice, curious as to what the delay is.

Twilight grits her teeth. Princess Celestia trained her better than this! Twilight Sparkle doesn’t give up! Twilight Sparkle does not fail! “Ready!” she shouts, or tries to, her voice coming out as more of a whimper.

“As you all know, first to clean their plate wins!” Spike eagerly devours the tantalizing treat in his claws. “Mm!” he announces, rubbing his belly, all four ponies at the table waiting with various degrees of eagerness.

“GO!” Spike shouts as he releases a great gout of flame, his normal green tinged with purple.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Trixie dive into their pies with gusto as Twilight clenches her stomach. She isn’t doing this for real, is she? Will her body forgive her? She glances to the side - Applejack and Rainbow Dash seem to be enjoying themselves as their faces turn red, their manes and tails exploding into orange flames! They raise into the air, the flames licking at the wooden table, steam pouring out of their ears.

Twilight gulps, lowering her muzzle to the pie and taking a reluctant bite. She immediately regrets the decision, her mouth flaring with flavor. The dueling delicious delights, dancing down until descending to devilish depths. Her head rears back, a torrent of fire escaping her mouth as her mane and tail erupt into flame! She gasps for air, though her grimace turns to a smile. That wasn’t nearly as bad as the first two times! She eagerly digs into the pie, relishing the robust burn - she can do this!

Trixie’s keening cry pierces through the air, the azure unicorn panting as she recovers from the infernal transformation. “What the hay was that?” she huffs as she looks around, her eyes widening. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, despite their manes and tails ablaze, are both halfway through with their pies, twisted euphoric smiles as they scarf down bite after bite. On her other side, Twilight is eating her second piece, determination plainly showing as she gulps it down. The purple unicorn ignites a second time, no signs of slowing, as Trixie turns to her own pie.

Can she do it? Trixie licks her lips; the Zap Apple is delicious, but the hidden, slow burning Fire Sauce is there, lingering and waiting for her to dig in. But, if she doesn’t, she’ll lose! And there’s no way she’s losing to Twilight!

Now nearly impossible to distinguish, both unicorns delve into their pies, tongues only stopping to release great gouts of flame into the air before quickly returning to their pies. Bite after bite disappears, the two unicorns almost evenly matched, a halo of orange and yellow surrounding them.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash simultaneously lift their hooves to the air, hollering in victory. They both gasp at the other finishing, grabbing their opponent’s pie tin and inspecting the licked clean plate. Neither had left a speck of the Rain Blazer pie remaining, and all accounts leave them dead tied. They cheer, the flames surrounding them flickering and dying as they embrace each other, then turning to watch Twilight and Trixie.

The two unicorns are on their last quarter of pie each. Twilight’s head start is quickly being eaten up by Trixie, only a few morsels now left in the azure unicorn’s tin. Trixie takes one more bite, leaving a few crumbs, raising her hooves in victory.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly shout, pointing at her plate, “Finish it! All of it!”

“What?” Trixie exclaims, looking down at her plate. “Ahh!” she shouts as she dives back down, her tongue lapping up the last little bits as she watches Twilight throw her perfectly clean pie tin down in victory. “Noo!”

“I win!” Twilight grins madly, eerily similar to Princess Celestia after she finishes a bout with the latest in culinary creations. Flames spout from her mouth and mane as she clinches her spot as the winner! She raises her hooves, the crowd erupting into boisterous cheers, a number of the fillies exchanging hoof bumps. Many of them make a beeline to the pie stand, waiting for the final event to finish and the refreshments to open while Fluttershy replaces Twilight’s nine with a ten.

“Ugh!” Trixie moans, tossing her now clean pie tin to the table, the metal clattering around. “Trixie had it! She should have won!”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Applejack says with a grin, “you did great! You won half the events!” Applejack continues with a heavy sigh, “Now, since using magic won’t really help out with eating pies, we won’t be doing that contest again. Much to all our disappointment, Ah know.”

“Whew!” exclaims Twilight, along with a burp that releases a flicker of flame and a reprise of the heated aftertaste.

“Besides,” Applejack says, bumping Trixie’s withers with her own, “you’ll still get to drag Twi through the mud at least once!”

“Aww, do we have to go through with that?” Twilight groans, looking to the mud pit, two ropes suspended across. She rubs her stomach and swallows as another burst threatens to reassert itself.

“Yes!” Trixie says vigorously, an only slightly malevolent glare in her eye. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will regain her glory by dunking Twilight Sparkle into the mud!”

Applejack leads Twilight and Trixie to the final event, the Rope Pull across a large mud pit. The two take the rope in their mouths. Twilight looks resigned to Trixie’s greater strength but not yet willing to concede just yet, while Trixie is grinning, eager to begin. Applejack and Rainbow also take ropes, smirking at each other.

Spike raises one claw, looking between the four competitors digging their hooves into the ground. “GO!”

The rope snaps up both unicorns strain against each other, pulling with all their might! Next to them Rainbow Dash gasps as Applejack methodically pulls her closer, inch by inch dragging the pegasus towards the muddy pit.

“No no no! No! Nooo!” shouts Rainbow Dash, her mane swishing to the sides as she pulls back. Applejack is clearly enjoying every second of it as she slows her pace. Rainbow teeters on the edge, her wings flaring out to her sides.

Applejack grunts through the rope, “No cheatin’ now!” as she gives another solid pull, two of Rainbow’s hooves now suspended in midair, her wings giving a solitary flap.

“Awww,” Rainbow Dash moans loudly as her wings pull back to her body. She seems to hover in midair for a brief second before slamming into the mud pit with a huge splash! She pushes herself up, huffing and crossing her forelegs, her mane and back covered in mud.

Trixie tugs on her rope again, Twilight yelping as she is pulled back into the mud pit with a sucking slurp. She bounces back up, spitting mud out of her mouth as she pouts. Fluttershy replaces Trixie’s nine with a ten as Trixie cheers, “Wohoo! The Great and Powerful Trixie prevails again! All shall-”

Twilight’s horn lights, enveloping Trixie in a raspberry aura and dragging the madly struggling unicorn into the mud. Trixie sputters as she pulls out, shaking the mud off her face. She huffs until her eyes widen, hooves coming up to cover her face as a hatless Applejack cannonballs into the mud pit, covering all three with mud again.

Applejack reaches a muddy hoof up, snagging her hat out of midair before drawing all three into a hug. The crowd around them explodes in laughs and cheers, many heading to compete in the various contests themselves, partake in some of the refreshments, or see how long they can last against the Rain Blazer pie.

The four ponies drag themselves out of the mud, Rainbow Dash and Rarity helping clean them off. They walk up to the scoreboard, now standing at ten and ten, with Twilight winning the tiebreaker. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Doug are waiting for them there, happily and expectantly looking between the two unicorns.

Doug takes a step forward, motioning to the scoreboard, “Well, as you can see, Twilight wins the Iron Pony competition! A hard fought contest, congratulations to both of you!” He claps, the other ponies quickly joining in to cheer Twilight and Trixie.

Trixie steps forward, a slight incline of her head to Twilight, “You may have beaten me this time, Twilight, but I assure you that the Great and Powerful Trixie will have her revenge!” She throws a smoke bomb at her hooves, green and red smoke exploding out! The gathered ponies sputter and cough, futilely swiping away the smoke billowing in their faces.

“Just kidding!” Trixie says jovially as the smoke slowly clears, beaming at each of them. Rainbow Dash snorts in bemusement, her and Pinkie Pie jabbing Trixie in the side with a hoof as smiles are traded all around.

“All right, y’all, time for the serious part,” Applejack says, standing in the middle next to Doug. The rest of the mares quickly follow suit: Rainbow Dash, then Pinkie Pie are on Doug's left with Rarity, then Fluttershy on Applejack's right, forming a rough semicircle facing Twilight and Trixie. “Twi, you’re first.”

Twilight Sparkle steps forward, clearing her throat. “Applejack, Doug, mares of the herd. With your permission, I would like to join Herd Apple, sire Doug.” She steps back half a pace, a measured grin on her muzzle.

Applejack quickly glances across each mare, noting the eager smiles. She turns back to Twilight, solemnly saying, “Twilight Sparkle, Doug and Ah, and the rest of the mares are glad to welcome you into Herd Apple.”

Twilight prances forward, a relieved breath out as she stands next to Fluttershy. The stomp of hooves rings out around them, competing with the exuberant cheers of the surrounding ponies.

Trixie takes a step forward, nodding to Applejack. Applejack nods back as Trixie takes a deep breath. “Applejack, Doug, mares of the herd. With your permission, Trixie would like to join Herd Apple, sire Doug.” Trixie winks at Applejack’s slight frown, taking half a step backwards.

Applejack continues despite the slightly off wording, “Trixie Lulamoon, Doug and Ah, and the rest of the mares are glad to welcome you into Herd Apple.”

Cheers ring out again as the mares break formation, rushing forwards to pony pile around Trixie, pushing Twilight into the center as well. Rainbow smirks as she pulls the two new unicorns towards her, “Trust me, you two are going to love it here.”

Twilight winks at Rainbow, “And it’s my night first for some of that loving, right?”

Rainbow nods back, returning the wink, “Yeah, Twi. It sure is.”

Comments

[badninja]

So close. Well good job there Trixie I hope you are ready for all the chaos that is incoming.

[JLtheking]

D’awww this entire sequence was so heartwarming and hilarious

Initially didn’t expect Trixie to join but I can’t say I’m disappointed

[chibilink]

Yay! Good ending. :3

[DarkPhoenixx]

Yay!!! Congratz Twi on winning the Iron Pony tiebreaker! And congratz Twi and Trix on the Iron Pony tie and on joining Herd Apple!

[f0st3r21]

I am surprised how taken Trixie became with Herd Apple. Doug’s bad-boy rejection tactic really did a number on her. She really wanted in.

[MurderP0n7]

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Discord: Did someone say "Chaos"?