Canterlot Life...
Ponyville Paintball
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter V
In the woods, a pony called Octavia trotted with her gun at the ready, very carefully and without a sound.
She didn’t consider herself particularly skilled at paintball. She had tried it once as a foal, and had actually enjoyed it. They always said she had very nimble hooves for a pony. But then she picked up the cello, and she never let go of it since. Her paintball skills, had she any to begin with, had waned a long time ago. That was the reason for which, unlike her partner, she chose the path of prudence.
Next to her, the famous Vinyl Scratch was trotting and making noise quite carelessly. Octavia didn’t care much for the silly “dubtrot” sounds the unicorn was making. In fact it seemed to her no one would think of pairing the two of them together, seeing as how different they were in their definition of music. But the fact that the two of them had landed in the woods immediately together had made her smile. Despite everything, it was an obvious pairing. It seemed to her that despite the two of them having next to nothing in common, they always ended up running into each other.
“Cut that out, Vinyl,” said Octavia. “It’s bad enough that ponies can see your electric colors in the middle of the night, don’t make us easy to hear either,” she teased, recalling an encounter they’d had the night before.
“Heh, sorry,” said Vinyl. “Just thinking about the awesome turntable set Celestia is going to give me once I win the game."
Octavia looked at her with a cheeky grin and eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Is that so?” she asked rhetorically.
“Uh, duh,” replied Vinyl. “I’m an ace paintball player!”
“Is that so?” said Octavia with a giggle.
“Yeah!” replied Vinyl. “I used to play all the time as a filly! Ponies around here don’t stand a chance!” she said, grinning and bobbing her head once so that her trademark glasses, which rested on her head above her horn, fell on her snout.
Octavia shook her own head playfully. “Well I’m glad to see that you’re able to remain such a sweet foal at heart,” she said. “Playing with toys and whatnot.”
“A full Pioneighr set is not a toy!” replied Vinyl. “It’s a instrument of awesomeness! Not like your boring old cello!”
“The cello, my friend, is an instrument of utmost class and prestige,” said Octavia. This remark earned her a scoff from the white unicorn, to whom she shot an angry glare. “Don’t gloat! I don’t think you could fully grasp the intelligent concept of classical music -- which by the way is the ancestor of your 'deejaying'. My cello doesn’t need any fancy gadgets or blinking lights. The emotion and power contained in its humble wooden body is what makes it simply majestic.”
Vinyl scoffed again. “Yeah, well,” she said, “I’ll give you an instrument of class; the hoof that I’m going to use to kick everypony’s fla--”
She was cut short by Octavia suddenly grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and pulling her hard to the ground. “Get down!” hissed the earth pony as they crouched behind a bush.
Vinyl was a little surprised, but then she looked at Octavia with a grin. “Well, well, well,” she said, “talk about not being able to resist me, Tavi.”
“Silence, you foal!” hissed Octavia. “Look!”
With a hoof she carefully pushed the bush in front of them aside to reveal what she had seen.
Vinyl saw a pony in between the trees, right in front of them. Just like her, that pony was a white unicorn. She seemed to be talking to herself.
“Oh my stars!” she said in a whining yet elegant voice. “Whatever shall I do? Woe is me, for I am surrounded by paint! Paint! Horrible, icky, sticky, messy pa-a-aint!” she complained, with exaggerated sobbing on the last word.
The theatrics of the pony left Vinyl puzzled. “Who is that?” she whispered.
“Don’t you recognize her?” whispered Octavia back. “Her name is Rarity. She’s one of the elements of harmony!”
“Oh really?”
“Yes...”
Vinyl continued to watch Rarity’s display of misery with mixed emotions. The white mare had just fallen to the ground in her sobbing, sprawled out on the grass.
“Why? Why must this fate befall me so?” she cried. “I am a lady, a refined pony of class! I’m not meant to take part in such a barbaric activity! All this messiness is not good at all for my fragile nerves! And if my nerves are wrought, then I’ll start sweating! And if I start sweating, my coat will get grimy! Oh, the very thought of it is making me sweat! It’s a vicious cycle!”
And with those words she burst into a very loud fit of crying and convulsing on the ground. Upon seeing this, Vinyl felt no empathy at all for Rarity. She withdrew her head a little and winced.
“What is up with that mare?” she whispered. “Does she have a death wish or something? How does no one hear that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Octavia, with a malicious grin. “I hear her. Which makes her easy prey for us.”
“You’re gonna shoot her?”
“Yes. But let’s not be rash, or our cover will be blown”. She cocked her gun. “One shot will do.”
“Are you sure about this, Tavi?”
“Of course! They always said I had nimble hooves.”
Carefully Octavia parted the bush a little more and slowly edged the barrel of her gun forward. After a few seconds, she fired a shot.
The grey paintball that was fired zipped forward through the air. It missed Rarity, and instead splattered against a tree behind her. Rarity gave out a yelp and jumped as the bullet flew right next to her perfect mane.
“Ah! Who goes there? Stop, please! I’m unarmed!”
Octavia was going to fire another shot, but seeing as how Rarity was indeed unarmed she decided against it. With a grunt she revealed herself from behind the bush.
Vinyl got up as well, and looked at Octavia.
“Nice going, madame fumble-hooves.”
“Oh, be quiet!” retorted Octavia.
“Please!” pleaded Rarity as she slowly got up. “I implore you! Have mercy on me! I lost myself in the forest while playing this dreadful game! I misplaced my absolutely gorgeous paintball gun and now I’m galloping for my life!”
Octavia turned to Vinyl. “You see?” she said. “There’s a pony who knows how to behave!”
Vinyl gave her a grimace in response.
“Wait a minute!” said Rarity, whose eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Oh my stars! You’re Octavia Philarmonica, the cello artist!”
“Yes, that’s me,” said Octavia feeling quite pleased at being recognized for once. “And this is Vinyl Scratch, also known as DJ PON-3.”
“Pleasure,” said Rarity with a curt nod towards the unicorn, who didn’t really know how she should reply. Rarity turned back to Octavia. “This is such an honour, madame! I’ve seen you play at the Grand Galloping Gala last year and I must say your playing style was simply to die for!”
“How kind of you,” replied the flattered earth pony. “But I have much to learn still.”
“Oh don’t be so modest!” said Rarity, dismissing her claims with a hoof. “You were simply divine! Oh, you have no idea how honored I am to run into such a high-class pony like you in the midst of this game of ruffians! And I’m ever so grateful that you spared me because I’m unarmed. It just goes to show that some ponies know better than to mindlessly shoot others!”
“Um... thank you,” said Octavia with a sheepish smile, not willing to reveal that she for one actually enjoyed this massive game of paintball they were playing. Apparently, Rarity had completely forgotten that Octavia had just tried to shoot her.
The white unicorn gave a short and giddy giggle. “Oh dear! I have just had the most delightful idea! What say you to making a three-pony team with me, until I find my way out of this terrible place?”
Vinyl and Octavia looked at each other in surprise.
“Well, I guess that would be alright,” said Vinyl. “But... you don’t have a gun, right?”
Rarity shuffled on the spot and looked at the ground absent-mindedly.
“Oh yes, well, there’s that,” she said. “I’m just going to be a burden to you without a gun, aren’t I...”
As she said this, she looked at Octavia with a look she tried to keep casual, but she couldn’t help giving a tiny little smile away. Octavia got the hint, but it was Vinyl who spoke first
“I... guess you can borrow my gun, Rarity,” she said.
“Really?” replied the unicorn, lightening up like a lightbulb. “Oh my, thank you so much for your generous offer!”
With a polite smile, Vinyl handed Rarity her gun. The unicorn took it gently in her hooves and eyed it for a few seconds.
“Now then,” she said. “You won’t be needing yours either.”
Giving Octavia a sincere smile, Rarity quickly placed the barrel of the white gun right in between the cello player’s forehead.
Octavia and Vinyl didn’t have time to comprehend exactly what was happening, in their bewilderment, as a shot suddenly rang out. Octavia thought it was Rarity, but the fashionista hadn’t even blinked. The shot had come from above, and Vinyl yelped as it hit her right on the forehead, staining her glasses.
It was from the tree that they were all standing under that the mystery shooter dropped down to the ground. Octavia didn’t recognize him and was quite surprised to see that it was not a pony, but a little purple and green dragon.
“Gotcha!” said Spike with pride. “You shoulda thought twice before shooting at Lady Rarity!”
“W-What?” said Octavia, looking back and forth helplessly between Rarity and the little creature.
“Do try to understand, dear,” said Rarity in a confident and elegant tone of voice that was nothing like her fragile tone of mere seconds before. “The prize is whatever my heart desires. You already have a place in the Canterlot elite; I think it’s only fitting that I should obtain mine, n’est-ce pas?”
Octavia’s color was starting to drain from her face. She’d fallen in one nasty trap.
“H-how... how could you?” she asked in a quivering voice.
“Don’t tell me you’re not used to underhand tricks such as this one. It’s all part of the high life, after all.”
Octavia didn’t have time to respond before she was shot ruthlessly at point-blank. The whole world went silent as she felt the pain of the very harsh impact of paint between her eyes. For a while she did nothing, swaying softly in her daze. Then she absent-mindedly picked Vinyl off the ground and the two of them limped away into the woods.
Rarity looked at Spike as he added both of their guns to the belt of weapons he was already wearing, which she thought made a most bizarre skirt for him. She giggled at the thought.
“That’s number seven I believe?” she asked.
“Yup!” said Spike. “And that’s not counting mine or yours!”
“How on earth do you manage to carry all those weapons with you and still be as agile, Spikey-wikey? Why, each one of them is about half your size!”
Spike turned to Rarity and gave her a very tender look. “I manage,” he said in a dreamy and wistful voice.
Rarity rolled her eyes in amusement. She certainly knew what kind of prize he was after.
“Let’s get going,” she said.
They both set forward, Rarity trotting calmly while Spike walked nearby, concealing himself in the trees and waiting for their next prey.
* * *
Fluttershy breathed out a long sigh of relief. It seemed to her that it had been ages since the last time she was able to relax like this. It was fall, and there were few things that she enjoyed more than the early sunsets of fall in the Everfree.
This third day of the competition had started out just fine for her. From the moment she was softly awoken by stray beams of sunlight on her cheeks, she’d been pleasantly surprised to discover that today’s weather wasn’t at all like the heavy, strenuous climate of the days before. Today, the sky was free of clouds. Today the sky was of a soft blue, that nice autumnal kind that carried a hint of orange that made everything seem warm and golden. Yesterday’s stale ambiance, that had left an irritating emptiness in the air, was whisking away with the gentle breeze of today. It picked up from time to time, but never too much.
It was in this heavenly setting that the yellow pegasus lay on her belly, peaceful and content, under a tree to rest. It was a good tree; the kind that was thick and solid at the trunk, deeply rooted in the rich and plentiful earth below, and yet did not stand that high above the ground. This one, in fact, was crooked. It was bent ever so slightly, so that the many branches that stemmed from it seemed to arch above her. All in all, Fluttershy found herself resting on a fresh green carpet of grass under a natural alcove of branches and leaves. Eyes closed and dozing off, she enjoyed all the sweet sounds around her, the delicate smells, and the harmonious balance created by the warm glow of the setting sun mixed with the fresh caress of the breeze on her fur.
I could stay here forever... she thought to herself. It wasn’t the first time she’s had that thought, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Even though they’d had their share of scary encounters, during all of which Fluttershy had hidden and let Applejack take control, it had been a good day for the two of them. They’d taken a nice stroll through the forest, talking about all sorts of nice things like how Fluttershy was busy preparing all her woodland friends for the annual hibernation season, and how Cider season would be starting soon for the Apple family. Fluttershy replayed in her head the satisfying sound of crisp and fallen leaves brushing against each other as her hooves treaded among them. It had been such a good day up to now. Eventful for sure, but there were no crazy occurrences like Applejack and her brother trying to shoot each other. And that was just the way Fluttershy liked it.
Fluttershy opened an eye to look at her friend. Applejack was resting comfortably herself, lounging at the foot of the tree. Her hat was tipped low forward to shield her eyes from the sunlight, and she had a hay straw twitching at the corner of her lips. With her back pressed to the the trunk and her gun at her side, she truly fit the part of the cowpony resting after a long day under the hot sun.
“How’s it goin’ sugarcube?” she asked softly without looking up.
“How did you know I was looking at you, Applejack?” replied Fluttershy.
Hidden in the shadow of the brim of Applejack’s trusty hat, Fluttershy could see a grin on the earth pony’s face.
“Just paid attention is all,” said Applejack. “Ya didn’t think ah was actually sleepin’, did ya?”
“Actually I did,” said Fluttershy. “This is such a nice way to end the day, don’t you think?”
“Can’t afford it,” replied Applejack briefly. “Ah gotta be ready in case something happens.”
“Oh, I don’t see what could possibly happen now,” she said, smiling broadly.
“Exactly,” said Applejack. “That’s the point. Ya don’t see it comin’.”
Fluttershy said nothing, secretly thinking that this was nothing but a nice calm evening for a change, and that her friend was just being a little paranoid after all the fighting she’d done.
“It always starts with silence,” she muttered. “It was always like that when ah was jus’ a lil’ filly still losin’ ta Mac at paintball on sundays at the orchard. Ah remember, one day... Apple family reunion a few years back. Ah was lookin’ for Mac for hours and hours, without gettin’ no glimpse of him no how. Ah wanted ta find him so bad that day... Ah’d never won before, see. Not once. So ah looked again and again in the same ol’ spots. Nelly, ah went through every corner o’ the orchard so many times ah’d learnt it all by heart. But eventually ah couldn’ take it no more. Ah figured it was all right, that he was jus’ tired o’ lookin’ an’ that he gave up the game without tellin’. So ah sat down a while... started dozin’ off under a tree ta calm mah nerves...”
There was a moment of silence. Fluttershy had gotten curious.
“And then?” she said, half-whispering.
Applejack slowly tipped her hat upwards, revealing her green eyes, and a smirk on her face.
“Ah forgot lil’ Applebloom was still playin’ the game. She shot me in mah sleep.”
“... Oh,” said Fluttershy.
“Yeah,” said Applejack pensively. “First time she ever shot anypony herself. Jus’ goes ta show, somethin’ always happens when it gets all quiet in the game, and ya never expect it. Best ya can do is stay awake for when it comes.”
She set her hat back the way it was, allowing her eyes to rest from the sunshine. Fluttershy closed her own eyes and went back to her dozing. She could have fallen right back asleep comfortably, but she heard Applejack mutter something quietly from under her stetson.
“The look on that filly’s face... Ah swear, she was bouncin’ around like she’d won the town’s mud rastlin’ contest.”
It was just then, as if on cue, that the slow breeze picked up quite abruptly. It blew strongly in a long, drawn-out huff that whistled somewhat and shook the leaves. Fluttershy cringed; there had been the occasional gust of wind today, but this one was the strongest. It sent a chill coursing through her, disrupting her sleep.
Suddenly, something bumped into the pegasus, making her jump in surprise. She looked about and saw that it was only Applejack’s hat, which had flown off the farm pony’s head and bounced off of her, carried away softly by the wind until it got snagged on a branch not too high up.
Startled, she turned to Applejack. The farm pony simply sat there and looked at where her hat had set itself with a disgruntled look.
“Shoot,” she finally said. Grumbling, she got up to retrieve her hat. “What ah tell ya,” she muttered. “Ya never expect it. Good thing ah was awake.”
She trotted slowly to the tree on which hung up her hat. The branch was low, but not low enough for Applejack to reach up and grab. She turned around, and bucked the tree to make her hat fall, and fall it did. But before it could reach the ground, it was blown away further beyond the trees by a new gust of wind.
Applejack gave a loud sigh. She was beginning to lose patience. She started galloping through the forest, giving chase to her hat, which drifted elusively along a slow breeze. Strangely enough, as fast as she ran, Applejack could never get a hold of the hat even though it was floating mere inches from her. It was almost as if the wind was teasing her towards someplace in the woods.
Suddenly, the breeze picked up quite sharply, and Applejack witnessed in surprise as the hat flew away beyond the trees where she could not see it. She stared at the spot where it had been just a second ago, before trudging on with a huff of annoyance.
She ran for a long time, and was starting to be afraid that Fluttershy would not be able to follow and that they might lose each other. But as good a friend as the pegasus was, Applejack was not about to let anypony see the day where she would turn her back on her hat.
Eventually, after much galloping, she suddenly arrived at a clearing. It was a large, isolated spot in the forest, hidden from the outside by a ring of trees. The grass there was of a strangely pale and electric green, almost jade, that gave it a mysterious feel. In the middle of the clearing was a pond of water, visibly clear from being filtered by the ring of mineral stones that surrounded its edge and made its bed.
Applejack could have just galloped on through the clearing. After all, her hat was missing. But there were a few things that compelled her to stay.
First of all, this place had a unique touch to it. Applejack could not exactly put her hoof on it, but this wasn’t just any clearing. She had a steel resolve to move along and find her hat... but something unseen was tugging at her. She felt that she could actually stop here, shut out the world beyond and just relax forever. Applejack knew she was very earthly even for an earth pony, and that she wasn’t as knowledgeable about the average pony when it came to magic. Nonetheless, she knew magic when she felt it, and it was right here, in this strange clearing.
Yet that was not what compelled her to stay. She was strong-minded, and it only took her a shake of the head to dismiss the thought. She would have moved on.
But somepony was indeed relaxing here, by the lake.
That was one thing. Another thing was that it wasn’t a pony. Sitting by the lake, dipping her hooves in the water, was a zebra. And everyone knows there’s only one zebra that lives near Ponyville and the Everfree. Applejack knew her well, for they had met a few times before. Normally, she would have simply trotted up to Zecora to say hello. But things were different now. She couldn’t afford to forget she was part of a competition in which she was alone against all others. If she showed friendliness towards any of them, she’d most likely be shot right then and there -- or worse, tricked into a fake alliance, and then shot. Such is the harsh law of paintball, and Applejack knew it only too well.
There was no going around it. She would have to be careful. Not only because she didn’t know whether Zecora was a skilled paintball opponent or not, but because as it happens, she found the zebra wearing her hat as if it were her own.
There were a few questions to be asked.
Carefully.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
1,163 users online
2,009,908 hits today, 2,364,530 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
(Joke) Alt. Title: Call Of Wisher: Paint Ops
Heh. Sniper Derpy. I might have to use that one if I ever bring in the pegasus for my own works... should you be willing to allow my use of the concept, of course.
Overall, good chapter. I await the scene between Zecora and Applejack...
wow Rarity totally played vinyl and octavia. so stoked to see spike and rarity as a team for this game.
According to Rainbow Dash, It needs to be 20% cooler~. I don't know why she says that all the time, but I'll take her word for it.
It looks to me like Rarity is already pretty bad at paintball, but perhaps you could have some comedic moments with Rarity and Spike struggling to remain in the game? Otherwise we already know why Rarity is trying to win the game and we all can guess why Spike wants to win the game (so he can sniff his feet), and there really isn't any reason to keep them around at this point other than to approach their relationship.
1945353 Sure. Just mention me
1946627 Yeah... That seems like a good option. I don't think I or anyone else is gonna come up with a groundbreaking idea for Spike/Rarity anyway. It's k though, I thought up of an extra scene. Ya'll can look forward to two more Rarity/Spike scenes, and not just by themselves too (as in not shooting background ponies, but interacting with the mane 6.)
Wow rarity, you sure are the element of generosity...
1960764
This is paintball, darling; not real life. There's a difference.
1960805 LOL, its funny because because I play a lot of paintball and do airsoft wars. People are truly different in the field. The nicest people I know become quite ruthless, and we've never even had incentives to win.
Yeah. Rarity is generous. Free Headshots for everyone!
Your story is epic!
Calling it right now Fluttershy wins!
I have to say...
I'm quite impressed on how you worked out how the characters would act in this.
Each 'method' they use is them to a T. Well done.
Also, smooth move on Rarity's part.
~Skeeter The Lurker
This reminds me of the...Community paint ball episode where everyone goes crazy and the campus becomes a war zone.
Yeah, careful my ass.
You want to win this game? Find a single place, preferably high up or in a corner, and don't. move. Seriously, don't fucking move unless you're aboslutely sure nobody is near you. Then, wait as long as it takes for a clear shot at someone, and bang. never knew what hit them. don't fucking announce yourself like an idiot, just shoot them from a mile away and move on.
Yes, it's camping. But it's what real snipers do, and it keeps them alive.