Competitive Edge

by Craine

Chapter 3

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Twilight screamed.

That was a skosh humiliating in itself.

Twilight normally screamed when something frightened her. Spiders, inner-she-demons, quesadillas--those cheesy little monsters--and seeing a pony-face in her reflection.

However, Starlight Glimmer added another fear to that list: snapping bones.

This whole event, indeed, was a horribly miscalculated error on Twilight’s part. She should have never agreed to join Sunset and the brute that tossed and slammed her on the gym mat.

If Twilight were honest, however, she’d hoped to at least hit some kind of stride. To find her inner warrior as the pain set in. To rise and fight back. To break her limits and topple her superior.

That. Did not. Happen.

Instead, her glasses flew off in the turmoil.

And she screamed.

Constantly.

Sure, she’d achieved a few good licks--out of pure desperation, if not skill. Every arm bar, Starlight twisted out. Every headlock, Starlight slipped out. Twilight even managed to ground her, and bend her entire left leg in a boston crab.

To say Twilight didn’t enjoy the pained shout would’ve been a total lie. To feel Starlight wriggle and writhe underneath her. To straddle her down and hold the power.

But, that same leg had thrown the lanky bookworm face-first into the mat.

For Twilight, hours passed. In reality, it was only two minutes. Two minutes, trying to find and maintain her footing. Two minutes, feeling and dreading Sunset’s eyes on her. Two minutes, knowing that Starlight showed her mercy.

That was the worst feeling of all.

Whenever those screams became louder, Starlight would let her go. She would lightly slap Twilight’s head and say anything from ‘On your feet, princess,’ to ‘You should’a tapped out.’

Somehow, those taunts egged the egghead on. Spurred her to charge and fight with all she was worth. Starlight knew that too.

Twilight had been tossed and twisted ever since.

And she screamed every time.

Now and then, Twilight would glance at Sunset. That face. That deplorably worried face.

Twilight could’ve accepted getting manhandled before a captive audience, if said audience didn’t look like someone was stomping on her pet gecko.

At least, that's what Twilight thought she saw. Without her glasses, Sunset was a mere splotch of orange, red and yellow. The crimson red freaked her out before she remembered that Sunset wore a unitard.

Twilight was disgracing herself.

She knew it. She did.

But she couldn’t stop.

She had to prove herself.

Twilight had to show Sunset that she could stand and fight. To show Sunset she was strong. At least strong enough to avenge a fallen friend.

First, she had to pry Starlight’s arm from around her neck.

The good news? Twilight wasn’t screaming anymore.

The bad news? Twilight couldn’t scream anymore.

“Come on, princess! MNH! Tap out!”

Twilight sat on one knee, her other leg splay uselessly aside. No chance to regain her footing. No chance of escape. But Twilight tried anyway, curled hands pawing and clawing at Starlight’s tensed arm.

Starlight tightened her grip with a sharp twist. Twilight’s blurry vision snapped with white. And her struggles weakened.

“Th-That’s enough, Starlight! Stop the match!”

Twilight frowned. And that alone made her more light-headed.

“Up. To. Her!” Starlight declared with another tightening twist.

She had a point, Twilight knew. But that didn’t make it hurt any less. More so, that Sunset doubted her. But… why wouldn’t Sunset doubt her? Why wouldn’t anyone doubt her? If anyone else saw this…

It was Crystal Prep all over again.

The weak little mouse: All brain and no brawn.

The slowpoke who puffed and wheezed after a two-yard run.

Twilight could barely lift fifty-pounds. What on Earth made her think wrestling was a good idea? She knew the answer. And that answer was staring right back at her.

“Twilight, please! Give up!”

Twilight could barely hear Sunset, could barely hear anything. It was just her slow, inadequate breaths, squeezing passed a constricted windpipe. Her once-erratic heartbeat, now slowed and calm.

Give up…

Is this what Sunset Shimmer really thought of Twilight? That she was some wimp? Some twig who should’ve quit while she was ahead?

Well… she wasn’t wrong. Twilight was nothing like Sunset. Nothing like Starlight for that matter.

A gentle whisper filled her ear.

“You like ice cream? Twenty-four-hour-shop a few miles in town. Loser’s treat.”

Twilight would’ve laughed if she could have. Starlight already won and she knew it. She was just gloating now… With a sincere, friendly offer.

Starlight Glimmer.

Patronizing girl-cock.

...

She was something special.

She challenged Sunset. She pushed Sunset. She inspired Sunset to be spontaneous, to focus on the positive despite the worry, or danger. She stirred old instincts that Sunset buried for years just to fit in.

She made Sunset feel at home, away from home.

All things that Twilight couldn’t hope to do.

Twilight felt herself relax, that confining arm now… comforting somehow.

Maybe this was right.

Maybe Starlight should’ve stolen Sunset away. To be with her people, her roots. Her true self.

Maybe Twilight was just being selfish. Yes, unfair to the last person who deserved. And surely, Starlight didn’t deserve it.

Because Starlight was a hero. Twilight’s hero.

If not for her, Twilight and all her friends might’ve still been trapped in limbo behind Juniper Montage’s mirror. To this day--months later, they might’ve still been falling.

Starlight is the one who stopped that.

Twilight owed her everything.

She was… a true friend.

Twilight’s eyes twitched open, her heart beating louder in her ears. A fresh flood of air filled her lungs. The numb tingle left her now-stiffening muscles. But the most notable change of all?

Twilight could see. Clear as day.

This… Twilight knew what this was. A force she’d once feared. A vice she’d grown to accept. A weapon she’d used to protect herself and her friends.

The Magic of Friendship.

New strength ripped through her limbs. She reached up and pried Starlight’s arms from her neck.

“W-what the…?!”

Twilight slinked away with a feline’s grace, body twisting around. She was on all four now, legs wide apart, fists pressed firmly on the mat. She stared right into Starlight’s now-shocked eyes and smirked.

She flexed her back, smiling wider at the flaring wings.

She twitch the alien--yet oh-so-familiar--ears on her head. And heard every rasp in Starlight's breathing. She heard her pulses, quickening by the second.

The brush of extra long hair along her backside confirmed it.

Twilight ponied up.

A droplet of sweat rolled down Starlight’s brow. Twilight’s smirk became a grin. The former unicorn just looked so… defenseless. Sitting there all wide-legged, leaning back on stilted arms.

“Um… o-okay, then?” Starlight muttered.

Twilight muttered right back, “Mine…”

Then she pounced.

Before anyone knew, Twilight was behind Starlight, her own arms constricting that slender neck. That felt good.

Twilight’s grin faltered at the flailing struggles that met her.

“Let… go!”

Twilight locked her other arm over her own wrist. And squeezed even tighter.

“Not so fast,” Twilight whispered, that pony-ear twitching against her lips. “Ready for that cat-snack?”

Starlight struggled harder, and Twilight reveled in her own bolstered strength. The harder Starlight fought, the tighter those arms squeezed.

Then Twilight got an idea. An awful, wonderful idea. She eyed that twitching pony-ear. Once again, alien instincts tempted her, mingled with her own. And once again, she listened.

Twilight bit the little ear.

Her tongue prickled at the salty taste, and she grinned fully again, teeth raking along flesh as she pulled back.

“Oh, no FUCKING WAY!”

Starlight tripled her efforts to escape. Twilight grunted and squealed for control as Starlight jerked and thrashed about.

Twilight lost her grip and watched Starlight slip and tumble away. Both girls righted themselves and faced one another, one smiling fiercely, the other gritting her teeth.

Both girls resumed their starting pose: crouched down, a fist on the mat.

Twilight’s fierce smile morphed back into a smirk, and Starlight didn’t like that. Not one bit.

“For the record,” Twilight said. “I love ice cream. Hope you can afford a sundae.”

“Oh, that is it!” Starlight shouted. “You wanna go, princess?! LET’S GO!”

And so they did. And Twilight couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

This feeling--this competitive edge… It did things to her that science never could. No, that wasn’t true. The numbing surge through her heart. The blood rippling through her veins. The very thought of making Starlight act in any desired way.

This was science. Chemistry at it’s finest. Psychology in the works.

Yet again, the gym echoed with grunts, shouts and bodily contact. Gripping, pulling, spinning, tossing. Twilight loved it. Twilight needed it. She would’ve never known she needed it, if not for Starlight.

Before CHS--before Crystal Prep, for that matter--touching was taboo for Twilight.

A notion, later abolished, yes, but she'd never forgotten.

How she would tense when another's skin brushed against hers.

How her breath fell nauseatingly short after a hug. Excluding her family's, of course.

That all changed when she met the girl cheering her head off on the bleachers.

Twilight could simply kiss that wily mare-in-a-people-suit. Hell, she could kiss Starlight.

The way she handled her. Squeezing, crushing and throwing.

Hands all over her.

Straddling her down only to be thrown right off.

Feeling her.

Where once, it made Twilight cringe with lingering pain--and minimal disgust--it excited her now. It gave her the strength to fight back. The need to fight back

It made her strong. Strong enough to break that girl-cock in two.

A lofty goal, however. Yes, Twilight found it easier to break from Starlight’s holds. Even the more painful ones. But after several more minutes, an impasse was reached. Both girls knew that as they stood and faced each other again.

Breaths heavy.

Muscles worn and shaky.

And yet they smiled.

Twilight tried something daring. Starlight was very good at catching her unawares; when she was focused on anything but the opponent.

So Twilight looked aside, but not at nothing. She saw Sunset at the bleachers, no longer sitting, but standing. Shuddering. Lip-chewing. Hands tangled in her fiery hair. Eyes so wide they’d have fell out after any wrong move.

A stark difference from the jumping, whooping and cheering nut-case she’d become when Twilight ponied up.

Starlight charged like a bull. Just like Twilight wanted.

The book-worm-turned-roughhousing-savant snapped back to attention, and stepped aside.

Starlight's confidence was scrubbed clean off her face.

Brow furrowed, Twilight latched her arms around the slender waist with a loud *thwap*.

“Oh, shit…” Twilight heard from the bleachers.

With a leg-shuddering stomp, an abdominal-burning hoist, and a roar befitting a beast of legend, Twilight threw all of her weight up behind her. And a shrieking Starlight Glimmer along with it.

“OH, SHIT!” came another, louder cry from the bleachers.

Starlight hit the mat, and folded like a lawn-chair. She rolled back onto her knees. She remained there a while longer, face and eyes hollow.

She swayed…”Ow…” Then fell motionless to her back.

Twilight remained on the mat, body twisted round to see her handy work. She couldn’t hope to wipe that proud grin off her face. But it fell anyway, as the job wasn’t quite finished.

Twilight scrambled to her feet. Then collapsed to one knee. She was winded, but decidedly better off than her opponent. A huff escaped her, and she staggered to her feet without falling.

She hobbled forward just as Starlight regained consciousness.

Then she saw the fear.

Fear that only worsened as Twilight got closer.

“W-when? How??” Starlight shuffled backward at a snail’s pace.

All movement stopped when Twilight reached and stood over her prey. They locked eyes, one’s narrowed, the other’s pleading--desperate even. A swift, wordless message passed from person to pony. A warning and a choice glinting through Twilight’s scathing gaze.

She caught Starlight’s eyes flitting below several times.

“O-okay, wait a minute, I...” Starlight held up her palm, as though to stop an impending onslaught. “Just… wow…”

Twilight slapped a tight grip onto Starlight’s forearm.

“No, wait! I GIVE UP!”

Every thought paused. Twilight was going to twist that arm the same way Sunset’s was twisted. But seeing those glimmering eyes, on the verge of tears. It pulled something in Twilight. Something she couldn’t quite explain.

There had been many of those today.

“What did you say?” Twilight asked in genuine wonder.

Starlight averted her eyes. “I… I-I give up.”

The rush of disappointment surprised even Twilight. Surely, this was cause for celebration. But Twilight could only gawk, for her eyes deceived her not; Starlight was actually afraid of her.

The clattering teeth. The falling sweat. The ragged breaths. The constant failures to maintain eye contact.

Twilight Sparkle was having none of this.

Starlight shifted where she lay. “W-what are you staring at…? If you’re g-gonna gloat, get on with it.”

Twilight realized she was still holding Starlight’s arm.

Her breath hitched as those annoyingly alien impulses stirred again. The fear. The submission. The permission to flaunt her superiority. All alien to a girl who had only known defeat up until recent months.

Alien things that terrified Twilight. Not that it stopped her acting on them all night.

Twilight tightened her grip. She reached down with her other arm, hoisted Starlight by the collar of her stretchy unitard and brought their faces close.

Twilight drank in the expression: akin to a child awaiting punishment. Twilight released her arm, but held fast to that collar.

Then Twilight kissed her.

A simple, dispassionate thing. Starlight’s breath hitched--eyes wide with shock. Twilight pulled back, tongue gliding over her chops.

Twilight hummed with a growing smirk. “So that’s what I taste like.” Then she dropped Starlight back onto her butt and sauntered toward the exit. “Don’t forget to brush.”

Twilight’s eyes flickered to Sunset Shimmer, who’s own eyes darted aside. Twilight noted the red tint painted on that face. She reached the exit, grabbed her clothes and left without a word.

It was all she could do to keep from fainting.

Author's Note:

All of these voices inside my head
Blindin' my sight in a curtain of red.
Frustration is gettin' bigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pull my Devil Trigger!

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The final chapter is afoot. Prepare yourselves.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Given that Twilight's vision cleared up, I can't help but imagine Midnight's sight-correcting mask of arcane fire on her for that whole sequence. Which honestly makes it even more epic.

Looking forward to the conclusion.

[redandready45]

Wow!

That was a lot more epic than I expected.

Sci-Twilight's pony powers kicking in out of compassion for her friend was one of the most stirring things imaginable.

[The Voice in the Water]

So, wait, I'm a bit confused. Did Twiggles go from being Sunsexual to Starsexual? Huh, that wasn't a development I was expecting. Also, good for you Twi. Glim Glam needed to have her ass kicked.

Now I wait with baited breath to see how Sunny and Glim Glam respond to all this.

[ThatWritingDragon]

HOLY Fuck! I hope you continue this cause I cannot believe I did not see this before.

[MoonlightRift]

So much for that conclusion, huh?

[BlueMoonHarlot]

Those were hands worth throwing. Really liked when Twi ponied up and pounced.