> Apple Scratch : Onward to the Equestria Games!
>  by Mariacheat-Brony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Meeting back at Sweet Apple Acres.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ponyville had been in effervescence for the last two months. Ever since the town had been selected to host the Equestria Games, Ponyville had been more and more crowded. The streets were full of workers who were busy building extensions for hotels, inns or/and restaurants. The mayor had pulled the big guns, she had set up an entire camp of cloud-made bungalows in the town's sky. She had called on a huge favor from Cloudsdale for those, but, knowing how much the Games will yield, it didn't matter for her.

The Games' start was coming close, and that fact got the town even more crowded. Supporters and participating teams had started to arrive from all Equestria and foreign countries, such as Zebrica or Stalliongrad. The mayor looked pleased that, so far, her 'guests' seemed to appreciate their stay in Ponyville. The mayor had been worried that the local Guard might not be up to the task with Cloud Kicker's absence, but Canterlot's Guard had offered some assistance in that matter. 

The Princesses' arrival with the Council of Harmony, along with a great deal of the Nobility, had caused quite a celebration that nearly went out of control when Pinkie Pie chimed in. Luckily, Princess Celestia had managed to stop her before it got serious. 

The council of Harmony, minus Rainbow Dash who was training for the up-coming competitions, was walking down the road toward a farm they knew pretty well. A young girl with light purple and pink hair had tagged along with them. The small group was lead by Octavia and Rarity who were both quite angry.

"Rarity! Are we there yet?" The little girl asked pleadingly. "You promised the trip'd be fun and for the moment, walking for miles is not fun."

"Not quite! Sweetie Belle." Rarity answered without slowing down or turning her head at the girl.

"Beside walking can be fun." Pinkie said happily. "If you bounce around like this, it's more funny then walking normally." She added as she started do bouncing steps to demonstrate.

"But my feet hurt." Sweetie Belle complained.

"Oooh. I get it." Pinkie nodded. She grabbed Sweetie Belle and made her sit on her shoulders. "You just wanted a shoulder ride."

"Not really, but thanks Pinkie Pie." Sweetie Belle smiled, happy from not having to walk again.

"Girls! Why are you going so fast?" Twilight asked their two leaders. "The farm's not going anywhere."

"Simple, Darling. Octavia and I have something to say to some members of the Apple family." Rarity explained sharply.

"Exactly. Concerning their recent behavior." Octavia added.

"That's it? Just because they didn't show up at our arrival yesterday night, you're rushing there to make a scene?" Twilight asked rolling her eyes. "They were probably tired because of the work at farm. With all the business there's in town with the games, they must have quadrupled their productivity."

"There's one good counter argument to that little theory of yours, Twilight." Octavia answered sharply. "Vinyl told in one of her letter that quite a few of their cousins had come to help them with the farm work during the Games."

"That means they don't have any extra charge of work, like they had during our stay." Rarity explained. "They have no excuses."

"Woah. They must be really good friends if my sis' and Octavia are so mad at them for not showing up." Sweetie Belle said.

"You have no idea." Pinkie Pie happily replied.


They continued their walk and a couple of minutes later they passed the farm's front gate. Before they could go any further, a man with long blond hair wearing a brown leather jacket and a brown hat came to greet them.

"Howdy Missies! Welcome to Sweeeeeet Apple Acres." He shouted happily waving his arms opened. While he did so, the girls thought having heard a horse whinnying in the background. "Name's Braeburn. What can Ah do ya for?" He asked with a big smile.

"I like him." Pinkie noted with a big smile, earning a tip of the hat from the man.

"Good day, Sir. We would like to talk to Vinyl and Jacquelyn Apple. Could you please tell us where they are?" Rarity asked in a very polite tone. Yes, she was angry at Applejack but it wasn't a reason for her to misbehave with one of her lover's presumed relative.

"Ya're lookin' for my cuzins?" Braeburn asked. "They're at the gym now. Ah can show y'all the way if ya want."

"That won't be necessary, Mr Braeburn. We know the way to the gym." Octavia nodded politely, before storming away toward the gym with Rarity on her heels.

"What did ma cuz's do to upset these two gals?" Braeburn asked with a puzzled look. "It was pretty clear, they were mad at them."

"If you want to get technical, AJ and Vinyl didn't do a thing." Twilight remarked. "We'd better go after them."

Twilight and Fluttershy followed Rarity and Octavia after excusing themselves to Braeburn. Pinkie Pie had stayed behind with Sweetie Belle still on her shoulders. The little girl didn't understand why Pinkie hadn't gone after her friends.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie." Pinkie said politely. "You seem to smile a lot."

"Well Ms Pie, Ah have every reason to smile." Braeburn said with, guess what, a smile. "Ah've a good job, a good family, good friends..."

"A good girlfriend I suppose." Pinkie suggested.

"Well not really." Braeburn chuckled.

"Did I mention that I like smiling guys?" Pinkie asked with a serious tone.

"No, Ah don' think ya did.." Braeburn said with a picked interest.

"PINKIE! You'd better not be doing what I think you're doing and get your backside here! PRONTO!" Twilight shouted from afar.

"Woops! Gotta go! Seeya Braeburn." She quickly said before darting off with Sweetie Belle clinging to Pinkie like her life depended on it, which was probably the case.

"Seeya Ms Pie." Braeburn said with a small salute. "What a cute lady." He muttered to himself before getting back to his work.





Rarity and Octavia had come into view of Applejack's gym. They noticed two young women they didn't know sitting outside the gym. One had long blue hair tied up in a ponytail and the other had short raspberry red hair. They were both looking very exhausted. Octavia and Rarity frowned a bit when they saw their outfit. They both were wearing mini shorts with a small sports top.

"Excuse me, Misses. Are Vinyl and Applejack inside?" Octavia asked in a polite tone.

"It depends." The one with red hair said. "Who's asking?"

"Octavia Philharmonica and Rarity Belle." Octavia answered politely.

"Yeah right!" The blue haired one snorted.

"I beg you pardon?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"You think we're stupid or what?" The red haired asked with sarcasm. "You think that using the members of the Council's name will open all doors?"

"We've had our lot of people from others teams trying to spy on our training." The blue haired one said. "But you've reached another summit in fucked up plans."

"I'll admit that the disguises are rather well done." The red haired one conceded. "But it's not like the real Rarity Belle or Octavia Philharmonica would have any business here."

Rarity and Octavia looked at each other blinking. They had been in awkward situations before, thanks to Pinkie Pie's antics or Twilight's experiments, but someone thinking they were people trying to pose as themselves, that was a new one. Before they could try and say something, the gym's door opened.

"Rose, Allie, your break's over. Get back in…side." Vinyl said as she spotted Octavia while passing her head through the doorframe. 

Vinyl rushed toward Octavia in the blink of an eye, she grabbed her by her waist and pulled her close for a kiss. Even if she was a bit surprised at first, Octavia started to kiss back with great passion, causing the two women in sportswear to gasp in shock and surprise. 

"Oh sweet Epona! I missed you so much, Octavia." Vinyl said as she broke the kiss before kissing Octavia again.

"Missed you too, Love." Octavia managed to reply between two kisses.

"Well, now you know what the REAL Octavia Philharmonica has for business here." Rarity said to the two shocked women with a chuckle before going inside the gym.

When Rarity entered the gym, she noticed it was quite more crowded than what it used to in the summer. Applejack was on the ring with a woman with teal hair. They were both gripping each other's hands in what looked like a strength contest. They were wrestling under the watchful eyes of a tall black woman with white and black hair styled into a mohawk, a man holding a chronometer with short messy brown hair and a pink haired woman wearing a white medical jacket with a red cross on the back.

At one side of the room, they were two blond women getting massaged by two women who looked like twins except for the hair color. One had light pink hair and the other had light blue hair. One of the blond women looked up from her massage table and spotted Rarity.

"AJ, you got someone who's here for a visit!" Cloud Kicker shouted with a small smile.

"What? who?" Applejack asked before turning her gaze away from her opponent, until she saw her lover standing near the entrance of the gym. "RARITY!" Applejack shouted happily, tossing the teal haired woman away like she was nothing other than a rag doll.

"WAAAhaaaa!" The flying woman shouted before landing loudly outside the ring. "Owwwwiiiie!"

Applejack jumped off the ring and went to hug her lover. Rarity wanted to argue, she was still mad at Applejack and, on top of things, Applejack was covered in sweat. But that was before she felt her lover's strong arms around her. She instantly returned the affectionate gesture, her anger vanishing instantly at her farmer's strong yet delicate embrace.

"Raindrops, how many fingers do you see?" The nurse asked presenting three fingers in front of the tossed woman's eyes.

"D'aaw, the cute little fingers." Raindrops said with a drunken smile. 

"She's ok!" The nurse said to the black woman who turned toward the man with the chronometer.

"How was her time, Turner?" She asked. "Is she doing any better?"

"Well Zecora, she had surpassed her previous time by ten seconds." Turner said. "And she would have hold longer if Applejack hadn't break her 'limit' rule."

"I told you it was a good idea to train Raindrops with AJ, Coach." Cloud Kicker said from her massage table.

While the coach and her assistants discussed about Raindrops' performance. Rose and Allie entered the gym and almost froze at the sight of Applejack and Rarity, who had started making out near the door. They heard a loud shout from a cracking voice coming from outside.

"Rarity?" Shouted Sweetie Belle. "Where are you?"

"I'm inside, Sweetie." Rarity shouted back, pushing AJ away from her.

The farmer frowned a bit at her lover's gesture but understood immediately why Rarity had done so when a little girl with two tone purple hair passed the doorframe. She had never met the girl before, but Applejack had a good idea of who exactly she was.

"That yar sister, Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"Yes. That's Sweetie Belle." Rarity said with a proud smile. "Sweetie, meet Jacquelyn Apple, a very good friend of mine. Although, she prefers to be called by her nickname : Applejack." Rarity added sheepishly when she noticed the small glare Applejack gave her.

"Why? It sounds like a boy's name." Sweetie Belle asked in genuine curiosity.

"Damn straight, Kiddo." Cloud Kicker chuckled from her massage table.

"If ya want, we can start talkin' about yer name, Cloud Kicker." Applejack retorted.

"Nah! I'm good."

"Say Ms Applejack…" Sweetie Belle started.

"Ya can drop the 'Ms' with me." Applejack assured with a nod, earning a smile from Rarity.

"Is that true what the others said about you? That you're incredibly strong and all?" Sweetie asked with excitement.

"Hehe! They told ya 'bout that?" Applejack chuckled. 

"That and that your cooking is delicious." Sweetie giggled.

"Gotta to admit that to her." Cloud Kicker said as she got up from her massage table. "Thank you, Vera." She said to her masseuse, who nodded in silence. "I'm taking Ditzy for a flying practice. That ok with you, Coach?" She asked Zecora.

"Certainly. Flying is her strongest ability." Zecora said matter-of-factly. "But she still needs to work on her 'disability'."

Cloud Kicker nodded and walked toward the door. "You're coming Ditzy?"

"Yeah, I'm comin'." Ditzy said as she tried to get up quickly from the table, only to fall helplessly on the ground. "I'm ok!" She added with her thumb in the air. She stood up and followed Cloud Kicker outside.

"As for you Applejack, Raindrops is back on the ring. How about you continue your wrestling?" Zecora asked Applejack.

"Do Ah have to? Ah'm a bit tired." Applejack asked causing the nurse to laugh.

"You'll not make me believe you're tired now, Applejack. "The nurse chuckled. "It takes Cloud Kicker and Vinyl to double tag you for that."

"Beside, the Games aren't so far away. The lack of practice might cause our dismay." Zecora added.

"Ah reckon." Applejack admitted. "Sorry, Rarity. But Ah gotta go." She said apologetically to her lover.

"It's quite alright, dear." Rarity nodded in understanding.

"Your 'friend' and her sister are welcome to stay and watch, if they want." Turner said casually.

"We wouldn't want to bother you." Rarity said politely.

"It wouldn't be a problem at all." He said with a smile.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle sat on an unused working out bench near the ring, while Applejack got back on the ring. She stretched her limbs before taking her stance at few meters from Raindrops. 

"Ready?" Turner asked. Raindrops and Applejack nodded. "Then, Allons Y!" He added before starting the chronometer.

"You're going down this time, Applejack!" Raindrops shouted before launching herself toward Applejack.

"Keep dreamin', Raindrops!" Applejack replied with a smug grin.





Cloud Kicker and Ditzy got out of the gym and found that Rarity wasn't the only one of the Council who had come to Sweet Apple Acres. Cloud Kicker gave Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilitght a light bow, soon copied by Ditzy, even if she didn't understand why Cloud Kicker was doing that.

"My Ladies, it's wonderful to see you again." Cloud Kicker said in a pompous voice.

"Aww. Quit it, Cloudy." Pinkie giggled. "That tone doesn't suit you at all. We're friends, you can drop the Lady thing with us."

"All right then!" Cloud Kicker chuckled.

"Hum! Sorry to bother you, but could you tell me who they are?" Ditzy asked. "I feel more out of the loop than I usually am."

"Sorry, Ditzy! Meet Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle from the Council of Harmony." Cloud Kicker said casually.

"Ooooh. You were the ones at Sweet Apple Acres this summer, right?" Ditzy said in realization. "My name's Ditzy Doo, Ponyville's best mail-woman!" She said cheerfully.

"Excuse me, but what's going on inside the gym? I mean, it seems to be rather crowded. Not that it's a bad thing." Fluttershy asked in her demure voice.

"Oh! That. Well, we're training here for the Games." Cloud Kicker answered simply.

"The town doesn't have a gym?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but it's a lot more quiet down here." Ditzy answered. "Not to mention the wide open space for flying."

"And, let's face it, Applejack's equipment is way much better than what the Town's got to offer." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Anyway, Ditzy! You mentioned flying, how about an obstacle course?"

"Got it." Ditzy said in determination before conjuring her grey wings and taking off. After a few seconds, she flew down a bit above Cloud Kicker. "Humm! Can you get me the obstacles set, first?" She asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"It would be better, no?" Cloud Kicker chuckled. She conjured her large grayish purple wings and soon after her hands were surrounded by a soft haze. "Give me two minutes." She said, extending her hands toward the open field next to the gym.

"Oh, my!" Fluttershy said in amazement.

The field quickly got covered by large blankets of haze. The haze became thicker in the next seconds, turning itself into a  dense fog. The patches of fogs lifted in the sky, becoming more and more substantial as they flew higher. The newly formed clouds started to divided and compacted themselves into various form. They weren't white anymore, they had become dark grey. They positioned themselves into a rather large obstacle course that filled the sky above the gym.

"Done!" Cloud Kicker said rubbing her hands together as her wings dissipated into the air. "All set for you, Ditzy."

"Awesome!" Ditzy said before flying up to the start line.

"Didn't you forget something?" Cloud Kicker shouted playfully.

"Right, Thanks!" She shouted back before pulling a small muffin from her pocket, pecking it quickly and putting it back in her pocket. "Here goes!" She said before starting her course.

"That was awesome!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. "I didn't know Jupitarian magic could do that!"

"Well, the only times you saw Jupitarian magic were with the guards in fighting situations." Fluttershy explained softly. "Cloud-shaping magic is rarely known in the guard."

"That's true!" Cloud Kicker nodded. "Luckily, I'm not like most guard!" She added with chuckle, soon joined by Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"That's certainly true." Twilight whispered to herself, still amazed by the feat of magic Cloud Kicker had displayed. 

She had seen lots of things as the Princess' personal student, lots of Jupitarian who bragged their skill in various field of their weather magic. One she remembered particularly had rainbow colored hair. But, one with control so precise he could create, shape and place so many clouds perfectly in only two minutes. That was something she had never seen before. 

Twilight turned her head slightly toward Cloud Kicker who was busy watching her teammate flying in the obstacle course she had created. She recalled the night she had passed with the guard, how much they had talked about lot of interesting things, how Cloud Kicker had kissed her at the tavern, how they had almost..... She blushed at those two particular memories. 

She shook her head to chase those thoughts away. Nothing would ever happen again, they had agree what they had that night was a one time thing. Twilight was the one who had said stop in the end and Cloud Kicker never argued her decision. Something Twilight found a bit unsettling at first, but had been happy to see it didn't bring any harm to their friendship.

Twilight had heard various stories about the guard after her stay in Ponyville. Mostly from other guards who kept on saying she was a promiscuous woman that should be avoided and kicked out of the Royal Guard. Some rumors even said that she had become Lieutenant thanks to being the Captain's special spice in his relationship with Cadence. Apparently Cloud Kicker and Shining Armor had always been on good terms with each other. She had subtly brought that matter to him by using the incident with the carriage driver.

"Yeah, I know about those rumors, Twily. Just a bunch of stupidities."

"Why aren't you doing anything about them? How come she's still in the guard if she has such a bad reputation?"

"Because she's good. Yes, she has her 'hobby' but her results are undeniable."

"What do you mean by that? It's not like a town peaceful like Ponyville is hard to take care of."

"Couple of years ago, Ponyville had its criminality as well, Sis'. As soon as she entered the guard, the criminality started to decrease. And since she's been Lieutenant, it's barely non-existent. As long as her other activities have no influence on her job, why should she leave the guard?"

"But what about the men who disrespect her? Like the soldier who drove us back? That's got to happen a lot, no?"

"Not really! You should see her soldiers, Twily. They all respect her. Heck, they even respect her more than me.(chuckles)"

"Really?"

"Believe me when I tell you this, .....

"...There's a lot more in Cloud Kicker than what people think..." Twilight whispered to herself.

"DITZY, SLOW DOWN!" Cloud Kicker shouted.

"WAAAAAAAH." Ditzy screamed as she crashed on the ground causing a huge crater.

"Ditzy? Are you ok?" Cloud Kicker asked with concern as she landed next to the crater hole.

A hand holding a small intact banana nut muffin bursted out of the crater.

"I'm all right! And the Lucky Muffin as well!" Yelled the happy, yet muffled voice of Ditzy.

"Aww Ditzy!" Cloud Kicker chuckled.





Vinyl had taken Octavia to the stables. On the way she had explained why she and Applejack were not at the welcoming for the Council and the Princesses the evening before. Having a strict training program for the Games, they had to sleep early and no party allowed.

"You could have said that in your letter, you know!" Octavia reproved. "Rarity and I would have understood."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have come to Sweet Apple Acres if you had known." Vinyl said with a knowing smile.

"You...You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Guilty!" Vinyl said before gently kissing Octavia. "And I regret nothing!"

"You should!" Octavia said playfully. "Why are we here? Don't you have training to do?"

"That's why I'm here!" Vinyl nodded. "A part of the trials I subscribed in, includes horse shows. I'm competing with Alizee in those."

After having saddled Alizee, Vinyl undertook multiples exercises with her : dressage, show jumping, and what not. Octavia, leaning on the fence, kept watching dreamily her lover training with her horse. Knowing first handed how good Vinyl was with horses and that Alizee was a fantastic horse, Octavia knew that Vinyl would obtain the gold in those trials despite the experienced competitors like her brother.

The thought of her brother, brought back the memory of his encounter with Vinyl and the meeting with her parents that had followed when she came back to Canterlot. Like she had thought, her brother omitted a lot of important details when he told about the incident. He had only said that two farmers had assaulted him when he tried to mount one of their horses and that before going away he had seen Octavia kissing one of them.

The conversation with her parents had been unpleasant. She had admitted that she had kissed Vinyl and that she loved her, but she vigorously denied her brother's version of the story. She had explained what Cornelio did to provoke the anger of the two farmers, stressing furiously on the fact he hit Vinyl first in some fit of anger. It had been really hard for her to do so, talking about the incident had brought back the vision of how weak and distraught Vinyl had been after the incident.

Her parents, wanting to believe both their children, had decided that they'd like to meet with Vinyl first before taking a side. They said that they would be the judges to see if Vinyl was either the rude and violent farmer Cornelio pretended she was, or the sweet and loving musician Octavia knew she was. It was up to Octavia to organize the meeting between her parents and Vinyl.

She'd think about it later. Now her lover was busy with the competitions she had to participate to. Octavia had no intentions of disturbing Vinyl with something like that. She kept looking at Vinyl riding Alizee. She sighed with contentment. Now she had a pretty good idea about which team and especially which athlete to cheer for during the Games.
> a 'shower', a 'duel' and a 'bet'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Applejack had continued to train with Raindrops at wrestling for a bit more than an hour. Raindrops was nearly out of breath, while Applejack was just lightly panting. The nurse had decided that Raindrops' training for today was over, at the concerned party's great relief. Turner and Zecora looked at her data sheets with a smile, her times were growing steadily. She was now able to hold up against Applejack for nearly three minutes.

"I still don't see why we don't simply send Applejack in the wrestling competitions." Allie said casually, earning a dark stare from Raindrops. "Don't look at me like that, Rain'. You've seen it just like me, she completely overpowers you."

"Vinyl does overpower ya as well, Allie!" Applejack said calmly as she came down from the ring. "Yet, ya're the one in for the precision contests."

"Yes, Vinyl has more raw magic power. But for the precision contests you need precision!" Allie remarked. "And I'm the best for that!" She added with pride.

"That's the same for this situation my dear." Zecora explained softly. "Raindrops might lack Applejack's strength, but her techniques compensate for it. That's pretty clear."

"Why does she train with Applejack then?" Rarity asked in curiosity. "If the technique already compensate, why not focussing on that?"

"The technique, she already has it." Zecora shrugged. "Now, she needs the power to go with it!"

"I see, training her with Applejack will only help her in developing the strength she lacks at the moment." Rarity said in realization.

"Exactly!" Turner chimed in with a nod.

"Zecora, Ah'm taking ma lunch break." Applejack noted her coach who nodded in agreement. "Care to grab a bite with me, Rarity?" She asked the seamstress with a hopeful smile.

"Sure thing, Dear." Rarity winked.

"Awesome! Let me get a quick shower first." Applejack said before going inside the bathroom.

"Zecora, why don't we go see how Ditzy's doing?" The nurse asked with an hint of worry in her voice.

"Redheart, I think it might be a good think to do, yes!" Zecora nodded. "I hope that her efforts are meeting success."

With that Zecora, Turner, Raindrops and nurse Redheart went outside the gym, after having given Allie and Rose the instructions for their next exercises. Sweetie asked Rarity the permission to go see the flying practice, something she agreed without hesitation. Soon enough, Rarity was left with for sole company the two training women.

"So, you're Rarity Belle from the Council of Harmony." Rose said hesitantly while she was working her legs on the press.

"Indeed, I am." Rarity answered.

"We're sorry for earlier." Allie said in a low ashamed tone. "We shouldn't have talked to you and your friend like that."

"It's ok!" Rarity waved off.

"Drats! Can someone brin' me a towel? Ah forgot to take one!" Applejack shouted from the bathroom.

"On it, Darling." Rarity answered before taking a fresh towel from a nearby cupboard and making way toward the bathroom.

"Thanks, Sugarcube!"

"How did you know where the towels were?" Allie asked with a puzzled look.

"It's hardly my first time in this gym, dear." Rarity casually answered before entering the bathroom, leaving Rose and Allie alone.

"You know, Applejack never forgets a towel before going in the shower." Allie pondered.

"You watch Applejack's bathroom habits?" Rose asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Yes, but that's not the point." Allie shrugged. "I think she wanted someone to bring her a towel." she added with a knowing smile.

"Yes, that's what Applejack asked." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"I'll rephrase if for you. I think she wanted someone to bring her a towel, while she's in the shower....naked."

"Oooooooooh!" Rose said with a growing blush. "You think that..." 

"Mhmm! Want to go spy on them?" She asked with a sly grin.

Rose eyed the bathroom door for a few seconds before answering with a similar grin. "Why not!"





Rarity entered the bathroom, noticing Applejack's clothes all over the floor. She sighed in annoyance before collecting her lover's clothes with her magic while she made way toward the occupied stall. She knocked at the shower's door and passed the towel above it.

"Your towel, Darling." 

"Thank ya kindly, Rarity." Applejack said. "So, how was your arrival at Ponyville?"

"It was nice, could have been better if you'd come though." Rarity said in a small blaming tone.

"Sorry about that Sugarcube." Applejack said apologetically. "Ah wanted to go, but yesterday's training had tuckered me out."

"It's ok, Dear. I understand." Rarity said with sincerity. "How do you feel about the Games?"

"It depends. Will ya cheer for me?" Applejack asked playfully.

"Don't ask the obvious, Darling." Rarity chuckled. "Of course, I'll cheer for you!"

"Then, Ah'm sure to win!" Applejack said happily.

Soon after, she got out of the shower with her towel wrapped up around her body. She walked straight to the cupboard below the sink to retrieve a small box from it. She opened the box and pulled out of it a thin silver chain she passed around her neck. Applejack turned around to face Rarity, wearing a apple shaped medallion with a purple diamond. 

"You keep it your gym's bathroom?" Rarity asked with a false anger, decided on getting back at the farmer for yesterday.

"Well, Ah don't want it to get damaged during practice."  Applejack said sheepishly, scratching the tip of her nose. "Otherwise, Ah wear it all the time."

"All the time?" Rarity asked. "That's not fashion wise, Darling!"

"Oh! Well okay then..." Applejack said with a saddened tone. "Ah just thought that ya..."

"That I would wear mine all the time like you?" Rarity asked.

"Kinda.." Applejack whispered.

"Well..." Rarity opened the top of her shirt, letting the farmer see that she was wearing a silver medallion with an orange apple-shaped gemstone. "You were right! It never leaves me!" She smiled before hugging Applejack.

"Ya're terrible for makin' me feel like this." Applejack said in relief.

"You're right. I should make it up to you." She said sensually, slightly pecking her lover's lips. Applejack's mood perked up instantly.

"Hold on to that thought, Sugar!" Applejack whispered before going in front of the bathroom's door and kicked it strongly, causing two surprised feminine yelps from the other side of it. "Ah can't hear ya workin' out, y'all two! Git it done, this instant." She heard panicked footsteps followed by the sounds of two working out machines.

"Ah think Ah asked you out for a lunch." Applejack said softly while making her way toward a locker. "Let me get changed and we'll go. We'll talk about this makin' up to me thin' a bit later." Applejack added with a wink. Rarity bit her lower lip in anticipation.

"Fine, Dear. I'll wait for you to get ready outside, then." Rarity said in the calmest tone she could muster.

"Who said ya had to leave while Ah change, Sugarcube?" Applejack said sensually before opening her locker and letting her towel fall on the ground.

"Oh....My....Star!" Rarity whispered in a not so much calm tone.





Zecora, her assistants and Raindrops got out of the gym and started to observe Ditzy's flying, followed by an excited Sweetie Belle. Ditzy's flying had been going smoothly since her earlier crash. Pinkie and Fluttershy let Sweetie Belle sat between them as they watched the grey winged woman go through her cloud made obstacle course. Twilight only watched the course with one absent eye, lost in her thoughts. She didn't even noticed Cloud Kicker coming right next to her.

"Everything's ok, Ms Sparkle?" Cloud Kicker asked, causing the dark skinned woman to start in surprise.

"Pinkie told you to drop the Ms thing, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight said after regaining her composure.

"No, she said to drop the Lady thing." Cloud Kicker noted playfully.

"Same thing!"

"Kinda true." Cloud Kicker admitted. "But I can't go around calling you, my boss' sister and the Princess' student, by your first name. People'll slander." She added with a small chuckle.

"As if you're not used to it." Twilight groaned. After having realize what she had said, she covered her mouth with her hand, thinking she had just offended the guard. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She added quickly in a apologetic tone.

"It's ok, Ms Sparkle." Cloud Kicker said softly. 

"No, it's not ok, Lieutenant Kicker. It was incredibly rude of me." Twilight said, her head hanging low. "And stop calling me Ms Sparkle."

"On two conditions." Cloud Kicker said extending two fingers up. "First, you're gonna stop calling me by my rank. That's for other guards and higher ups. Not for friends!" She lifted Twilight's chin to have a good look at her. "And second, you're gonna stop making such a sad face. It doesn't suit a pretty girl like you." Cloud Kicker said softly, Twilight started to blush.

"A-All right, Lieut...Cloud Kicker." Twilight said with a small growing smile.

"Atta girl!" Cloud Kicker smiled back.

"Cloud Kicker!" Zecora shouted.

Cloud Kicker turned around just in time to catch what Zecora had thrown at her. A sheathed foil. Cloud Kicker saw Zecora approaching her holding a long bamboo staff in her left hand.

"You didn't think I had forgotten about you, you slacker." Zecora chuckled.

"Hey! I don't slack off." Cloud Kicker said, pretty offended by that comment. "I work just as hard as the others!"

"Off course, an hour of watching Ditzy flying." Zecora said with a smile. "After half an hour of back massage, That's really exhausting." She added in a playful tone, earning a small giggle from Twilight.

"All right, fine." Cloud Kicker said, with a small embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "Let's get this over with." She said, drawing the foil out its sheath.

"Hmm! An unusual motivation I sense in you!" Zecora noted, before looking at Twilight. "Perhaps, for the competition, we can ask your latest conquest to stand close to you." She added playfully.

"What? No, I..She...We're not....How could...." Twilight stammered in a whisper with an intense blush.

"Hey, don't go around making pretty girls like her flustered like that, Coach." Cloud Kicker reproached. "That's my job!"

"What?" Twilight shouted, her dark skin now completely bright red from embarrassment. 

Her shout was completely ignored by the two women who took position a couple meters away from each other. Cloud Kicker placed her left forearm behind her back, pointing her sword at her coach. Zecora spun her staff in her left hand, before grabbing with both hands and taking a spearman stance. 

"On three." Zecora said softly.

"Don't complain if I wipe the floor with you, Coach." Cloud Kicker said with a cocky grin.

"If such a thing should happen, It wouldn't bother me." Zecora nodded with a smirk. "One,..Two.. Three!"

Zecora started her assault on Cloud Kicker. She delivered a series of swift thrusts with her staff. Cloud Kicker drew her sword close to her and replied to Zecora's assault with incredibly fast parries. Zecora took a small jump backwards before thrusting her staff forward with all her might. Her blow was deflected by another parry from Cloud Kicker.

'Wow, that's really impressive!' Twilight thought. 'This Zecora is sure good. No wonder she's the one training Ponyville's team. Cloud Kicker's completely overwhelmed.'

Twilight got joined by the others, even Ditzy had stopped her flying practice to watch Cloud Kicker's and Zecora's fight. Zecora's fierce assault didn't falter and the only thing Cloud Kicker could do was block her blows.

"Zecora's gonna lose." Ditzy casually said, still hovering a meter or two above the others.

"Indeed she is, Ditzy." Turner nodded.

"What?" Pinkie, Twilight and Sweetie Belle shouted in confusion.

"How can she lose?" Twilight asked with a puzzled expression. "Cloud Kicker can't manage a single strike."

"No, she simply chooses to not take any yet." Turner shook his head.

"Huh?"

"Look at her stance. She hasn't broken it since the fight started, am I right?" Turner asked with a knowing smile.

Twilight took her attention back to Cloud Kicker with a bewildered frown. After a few seconds, her eyes went wide in realization. Cloud Kicker hadn't moved from her spot since the beginning of the fight. In fact the only moves she had done so far were those of her arm wielding her sword and occasionally her upper body.

Cloud Kicker deflected Zecora's staff with more strength than before, causing the black woman to lose her rhythm and stance. She finally took a step forward and put the point of her foil on Zecora's chest, right where the heart was supposed to be. She gave it a small poke.

"And I win again, Coach!" Cloud Kicker chuckled playfully.

"Wow!" Twilight whispered in complete admiration.





Vinyl had finished her exercises with Alizee. After having given her faithful horse her rewards for her hard work, a big hug and a couple of Almata apples, Vinyl joined Octavia on the other side of the fence Octavia was still leaning on to. Vinyl passed her arms around Octavia's waist putting her hands on her lover's belly, while she rested her head on Octavia's right shoulder. The cellist sighed in contentment when the woman behind her started to peck her neck lovingly.

"You missed me that much, Love?" Octavia whispered.

"You have no idea." Vinyl answered as she nibbled her lover's ear tenderly.

"Vinyl...Not now." Octavia said with a shaking voice. She clearly didn't want to stop despite what she was saying.

"Awww, are you sure?" Vinyl asked with a bit of disappointment, not interrupting her nibbling. "You want me to stop?"

"...N-No...I mean, yes." Octavia moaned softly. "You can't be allowed to lose your focus."

"Party-pooper." Vinyl pouted as she stopped her flirting activity much to Octavia's relief and disappointment (but she'd never say that part out loud).

"I would have thought you'd be more serious about the Games." Octavia remarked after regaining her usual composure. She turned around, not breaking Vinyl's embrace, to face her lover. "Aren't you a bit nervous?"

"I don't have to be nervous." Vinyl said with confidence. "I'm ready! And I know that the others are ready as well. No matter how fast, how strong, how experienced the other teams are. We'll go through them." She said softly. "We...I'm going to the Games, Octavia. And I'm gonna bring the gold for my town, making you and everyone proud." She concluded with resolution.

"Vinyl..." Octavia said softly. "Are you nervous?"

"I'm completely terrified!" Vinyl chuckled.

Octavia joined her lover's laugh without hesitations. At some point, she hugged her lover tightly.

"You don't have to bring the gold to make me proud, Vinyl." Octavia said softly. "I'll be extremely happy if you do, of course. But I'm already proud of you being you. I don't need you to wear gold medals for that."

"I know Octavia..." Vinyl nodded. "I'm just telling this to me to push me in the right direction."

"Hmm! how about a little bet with me?" Octavia suggested playfully. "To keep you pushing yourself in that direction."

"What would the bet involve?" Vinyl said with a piqued interest.

"A reward from me to you for each medal you'll bring."

"That's not really a bet." Vinyl said. "And what kind of reward are you talking about?"

"Well," Octavia said with a small blush. "Rarity had been much inspired lately in making lingerie. I may have abused of her generosity when she said I could help myself with those."

"Oh!" Vinyl said softly. "What kind of lingerie are we talking about?" Octavia whispered something in her ear, causing Vinyl's cheeks to become redder than her eyes. "...I see....That must look good....made of silk you say...with laces? Good choice..." She commented as Octavia kept on whispering details about what she had taken from Rarity.

"So, what do you think?" Octavia asked with an hint of excitement in her voice.

"Well, I hope you really have a lot of those; Because right now, I think I'll just win every medal there's in those competitions!" Vinyl replied with a growing smile.





After a delicious lunch, prepared by Granny Smith, the girls from the Council of Harmony went back to town, leaving their friends from the Apple family and their team to their training. On the way, Sweetie Belle kept on talking about how strong Applejack had been or how awesome Cloud Kicker's swordsmanship was. 

Rarity went back to their hotel room to get Sweetie cleaned up. The seamstress' sister had been playing around with Applebloom, some of her younger cousins and Winona before lunch. Sweetie seemed to have bond with Applebloom.

"Say, Sis'. Why didn't you have lunch with all of us?" Sweetie asked as Rarity was busy shampooing her hair.

"Applejack had invited me for lunch, remember?" Rarity said casually. "She and I had some catching up to do."

"About what?" 

"Grown up stuff, Sweetie." Rarity simply said. "So, did you have fun during our visit?"

"Yeah, they were so nice." Sweetie said excitedly. "Can we go back tomorrow?" 

"Hmmm. I'm not sure it's going to be possible." Rarity pondered. "The Games start in a couple of days, they'll be pretty busy."

"Aww, that's too bad." Sweetie said with a small saddened voice. "But, we'll see them during the Games, right?"

"Highly probable, Darling." Rarity said with a small smile.

"Yay!" Sweetie shouted happily. "Oh! I've got to tell Mom and Dad when they arrive. They're still arriving this evening, right?"

"I believe so, yes." Rarity said carefully.

Unlike Octavia, she hadn't come out to her parents yet. Not that she didn't want to tell them, it's just that her parents were traveling a lot for their business. That was basically the reason Sweetie was so often at the Castle with Rarity and the others. She wanted to talk to them about Applejack, but the opportunity never showed up before. 

With her Father being a huge fan of the Games and sports in general, her parents wouldn't move until the competition is officially over. She was sure to find time to tell them. Rarity wasn't worried about their reactions. Her parents were among the more tolerant people she knew. Nothing bad would happen when they heard about it.





When Octavia entered her suite, she had hoped that she could just play her cello for a little bit. Thinking about Vinyl had seemed to be quite the source of inspiration when it came to music. Actually seeing her was even better. But fate decided she couldn't play it yet.

"Where were you, my dear?" Asked an authoritarian feminine voice. "I wanted to have lunch with you, but you weren't here."

Octavia turned around to see an older woman who looked a lot like her. She had the same long black hair, except it was styled in a tight bun. The same amethyst eyes, only they were filled with cold authority. Standing a few meters from Octavia, was her mother. The High Countess of Northern Manehatten, Sonata Philharmonica.

"Mother, I'm pleased to see you." Octavia said in a polite tone. "May I ask how you got inside my room?"

"Well, I told it was my daughter's room and the sympathetic bellboy let me in." Sonata explained casually. "Could you answer my question, now that I've answered yours?"

"Certainly, I was out for lunch with my friends at Sweet Apple Acres." Octavia explained.

"You went there to see that woman, didn't you?" Sonata asked venomously.

"Yes, I did! But I thought you and Father didn't want to take sides until you heard Vinyl's version of the story." Octavia remarked with an angered frown.

"It's still the case, my dear." Sonata nodded. "We still want to hear about why she and her sister attacked your poor brother. But that doesn't mean I've got to like her."

"You don't know her, Mother." Octavia said sharply. "And It was Cornelio's fault, not theirs!"

"So you said! Did you set up a date so that your father and I can meet her?"

"No, I didn't bring that matter in the conversation. She has other things to worry about." Octavia explained.

"Pray tell, what could be more important than meeting the parents of the one she's courting?" Sonata asked.

"She's competing in the Games in Ponyville's team."

"I thought she was a very intelligent musician and that her sister was the uneducated athlete." Sonata said with crooked eyebrow. 

"I fail to see why she can't be sporty and an intelligent musician." Octavia remarked. "And for your information, her sister is far from being an idiot."

"I never said that, my dear." Sonata replied casually. "From what I seemed to have understood, her sister hasn't gone to the University, I didn't mean anything other than that."

"Sure, you didn't." Octavia muttered sarcastically to her herself. "Anyway, Mother, could you please go? I'd like to play my cello for a bit."

"Fine. Fine. I'll leave you to your creativity then." Sonata said before heading out of her daughter's bedroom.

As the door closed, Octavia sighed. Getting her parents to meet Vinyl had just gotten a tad more difficult. She knew now that she had to keep a watch on Vinyl during it. A few remarks like that around Vinyl, and Octavia would have to explain to her father why did his wife had been deafened by one of her lover's cranked up Applebucking spells.



> Let the Games Begin!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Games were finally there. After the last five days of intense training at Sweet Apple Acres, the Ponyville team finally went back into town, escorted by the entire Apple family. The Apples had come from all over Equestria to see two of their own compete in the most important competition. Two of them would compete, a handful would sell their products and the rest would cheer for the first two.

During their last days of training, Applejack and Vinyl didn't get many visits from their respective lovers. Octavia had swung by one afternoon a few days past, accompanied by Twilight, to see if everything was ok. Applejack had been a bit down that Rarity didn't tag along. Octavia explained that the seamstress had been busy working on a new project since the afternoon she came back from Sweet Apple Acres.

The Ponyville team was now inside the freshly renovated Ponyville Coliseum. While the crowd was already making its way inside, the competitors along with their coach and assistants were heading toward their private locker room.

"Oh, I can't stop shaking from excitement!" Allie shouted, her body affected by intense shiverings. "I can't believe we're really there!"

"You'd better believe it, Kiddo!" Vinyl said happily. "'Cause we're here and we're gonna rock, Ponyville style!"

"Hurray for Ponyville!" Ditzy shouted.

"YEAH!" They all yelled in unison.

"Too bad for our uniforms, though!" Raindrops added grumpily.

"We have uniforms?" Ditzy asked with a very surprised tone.

"Not really, Ditz'!" Cloud Kicker answered. "The mayor didn't give us any sort of budget to form the team. She said that all the town's money went in the renovations and other works in town. She supports us all the way, but she can't afford to give us any money." Cloud Kicker explained. "That's why we don't have any outfits whatsoever and we're gonna have to compete with our own sportswear."

"That sucks." Rose said with a hint of sadness.

"Now, Now. We don' need no fancy get-ups to be efficient." Applejack reassured softly.

"Applejack's right. What you're wearing doesn't make you win anything." Zecora said with wisdom.

"If you remember your history, the athletes even competed naked during the first Games." Turner remarked.

"What a bunch of lucky fellers they were back then." Cloud Kicker whispered with envy.

"Keep your mind out of the gutter, CK!" Vinyl chuckled.

"Never!" She shouted vigorously, earning bouts of laughter from her teammates.

"Girls!" Redheart said as they arrived in front of their locker room. "And Turner." She added sheepishly at the sole male member of the Ponyville Team. "We're here. Let's get inside!"

They all got inside the room. It was rather large compared to Applejack's gym. There was about a dozen of lockers and an access to a huge bathroom with six shower stalls. It also had a large red curtain at the end of the room. In front of said curtain stood Rarity. She looked a bit tired, but the seamstress was smiling widely at Ponyville's team.

"Rarity?" Applejack asked in complete surprise. "What in tarnation are ya doin' here?"

"I'm happy to see you as well, Darling." Rarity chuckled.

"Seriously Rarity, what are you doing here?" Vinyl asked. "What's with that curtain?"

"A surprise from me to all of you." Rarity replied happily. "Something you needed, apparently."

"What do you mean by that?" Cloud Kicker asked.

"Applejack mentioned your outfits issue the other day when we went on our own for lunch." Rarity explained simply.

"You don' mean that ya did..." Applejack started slowly, her eyes slightly bigger as she put two and two together. Rarity nodded happily before she could even finish.

"What did she do? I don't get it!" Allie asked with a frown.

"I think I've got an idea about what she did." Vinyl said with a growing smile.

"Care to enlighten us, then?" Raindrops asked abruptly. "I don't like being left in the dark." She added, the others approved her with a nod.

"Well Dear, I think it's best that I show you." Rarity said as she focused her magic around the curtain. "You're going to represent Ponyville in the most important Inter-city competitions in the country." Rarity stated. "You might as well wear your town's color." She added softly before opening the curtains.

Everyone's eyes went wide and their jaws almost fell from their skulls. Rarity had made them a complete set of sports outfits for each of them. They all bore an emblem on the back, a black rearing pony similar to the one of their town's flag, and a smaller identical one on the chest. The uniforms were sewn from a deep scarlet cotton with yellow highlights. She had even made a white medical jacket with red and yellow highlights, bearing the traditional red cross on its back for Redheart. They all stepped closer to the outfits, and noticed that each set was personalized with name tags and a few personal touches.

Vinyl's and Allie's outfits didn't bare a simple pony as an insignia. Their ponies had a small horn on their forehead, showing their lineage to the Unicorn Goddess Titania. Also the small circle in which stood the pony pattern was in a different color for each one of them : electric blue for Vinyl and light cyan for Allie.

Cloud Kicker, Raindrops and Ditzy's had a winged pony on their insignia, standing for their legacy from the Storm Pegasus Jupiter. Their backgrounds were dark fuchsia, yellow, and grey respectively, the same color as their wings. 

Applejack and Rose's pony symbols seemed to represent a more sturdy pony than the others, kind of like a ponyfied percheron; memento to the Nature Mare Epona. Their emblems background were bright orange for Applejack, her favorite color, and maroon for Rose. 

"Ya made all this, in five days?" Applejack asked softly. When Rarity nodded her answer, Applejack lifted her from the ground and twirled on the spot, causing her to chuckle happily. "Yer the best, Rarity!" Applejack beamed at her lover before kissing her deeply.

"That's soooo awesome!" Allie shouted with a high-pitched voice, both her hands on her cheeks, making a happy pout.

"It's so pretty!" Rose commented, on the brink of tears.

"That's more like it!" Raindrops said happily as she tried on her jacket. "It even fits perfectly!"

"Oh my gosh! She even made a special pocket for the Lucky Muffin!" Ditzy said shivering and looking like she was about to faint from excitement.

"Now, we finally look like a real competing team!" Cloud Kicker beamed.

"Say Rarity, what's inside this?" Vinyl asked as she held a small rectangular case that was in front of her outfit.

"That's an idea from Octavia." Rarity said, a little out of breath. Applejack's kiss seemed to have taken its toll. "She said that you had a similar pair for your performances that got shattered during the wedding. Twilight enchanted them: they're nearly unbreakable now."

Vinyl opened the case slowly. Inside of it were a pair of large purple tinted shades with a deep black rim. She noticed a small message in the case along with the shades. She recognized the hand-writing immediately. 'Now that you have those, you have no excuse to not perform well. *wink* Love, Octavia!' Vinyl smiled at her lover's attention. She put the shades on without hesitation and her world suddenly looked more purple.

"Awww, Yeah!" Vinyl cheered happily. "This rocks!"

"I'm glad you all like them!" Rarity smiled at Ponyville's team. "I must get going now, I wouldn't want to hold you back when the Opening Ceremony's about to start!"

"Thank you so much for this, Ms Rarity." Zecora said with a soft smile. "We'll find a way to repay you for your generosity." Everyone from the team nodded their approval vigorously.

"Just do your best! It'll be more than enough for me." Rarity answered before quickly pecking Applejack and going to the room's door. "Oh, and if someone asks, say it comes from me!" She added playfully with a wink, earning a goodhearted laugh from the Ponyvillians.

"Come on, Girls." Turner shouted. He had already pulled his team jacket on. It bore a large brown circle with a golden hourglass insignia on the back, with the mention of his position and nickname. 'Coach Assistant, The Doctor!'  "I'll wait for you all outside. Get changed! It's about to start." He said before heading outside the room by the Athlete's exit. 

"You heard the 'Doctor'!" Zecora barked with authority. "Get ready now or I'll pull you all by the collar!"

"Yes, Coach!" The team shouted with determination.





"Ha, Rarity! You're here just in time." Twilight said in relief as the seamstress finally arrived in the Princesses' private box. "The Opening Ceremony is about to start!"

"I'm sorry I'm late, your Highnesses." Rarity apologized to the two Princesses who were sitting in their large throne like chairs, before taking a seat next to Octavia.

"It's ok, My Dear!" Celestia waved off.

"Do not fret thyself, Lady Rarity." Luna nodded in her old Canterlotian speech. "Thou did not miss a single event."

"Lulu, please stop with the old speech pattern. It irritates me!" Celestia asked softly.

"Fiiiine! You're no fun, Tia!" Luna pouted.

"How did it go?" Octavia asked Rarity eagerly. "Did they like it?"

"They adored it. Vinyl really seemed to have appreciated the glasses." Rarity smiled at her friend who smiled back.

"I don't see Pinkie Pie." Twilight noted. "Where has she gone now?" Twilight said with annoyance.

"Ha! I didn't inform you about a little something, Twilight. You see..." Celestia started.

"GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOORNING PONYVIIIILLLLE!" Pinkie Pie shouted with her abnormally loud cheerful voice.

Pinkie's voice resonated to the entire coliseum, silencing every spectators' conversation, as they tried to find out where the voice came from. When a few pointed the sky, they started to look up to see Pinkie Pie in a flying contraption of her creation. A sort of small bicycle attached to a large ballon, that moved thanks to a propeller powered by her pedaling. Her special megaphone attached to the handlebar. She was flying in circles above the stadium.

"Hi everyone! I'm Pinkie Pie and I'll your eye in the sky during those super, duper, awesome Equestria Games." Pinkie yelled happily in her megaphone. "Are you excited?" The crowd cheered. "Louder, I can't really hear you from that far up!" The cheers became a lot more louder. "That's more like it!"

"You let Pinkie do the announcing.." Twilight stated with a blank expression. "Why?"

"I'm sorry Twilight. I couldn't resist. She used her puppy eyes on me...I can't say no to that!" Celestia sobbed dramatically, shaking her head in defeat.

"There, there, Sister, it's over!" Luna whispered compassionately, as she patted her sister's back.

"Oh! Princess, I completely understand what you're going through." Twilight sympathized softly to the Sun Monarch.

"At least the crowd seems to like her." Fluttershy noted casually, completely ignoring the Princess' dramatic break down.

"Indeed. But it's really hard to not appreciate Pinkie Pie." Octavia remarked.

"That's very true, Octavia." Cadence nodded. "So, I suppose you two are going to cheer for Ponyville." She winked at Octavia and Rarity.

"You supposed right, Darling." Rarity chuckled, joined quickly by Octavia. "And I think Twilight's going to cheer for a team other than Canterlot as well!" She added with a wink at Twilight.

"What are you talking about, Rarity?" Twilight asked with a puzzled look. "Shining is competing for Canterlot. I'm going to cheer for my brother."

"Oh! I just thought you'd be cheering for an other member of the Guard!" Rarity answered with a knowing smile, causing her friend to blush madly.

"D-don't say su-such nonsenses!" Twilight shouted, stammering in embarrassment.

The three princesses' attention focused directly on Twilight. Princess Celestia even dropped her pained dramatic act. They all bore a very interested expression.

"What's that, Twilight? You have a crush on someone in the Guard?" Cadence asked eagerly.

"My dear student, why didn't you inform me about this? That's the sort of details I like to hear about." Celestia said in a fake offended tone.

"How is he, Twilight Sparkle? Or maybe he's a she?" Luna asked rapidly. "When shall we meet him or her?"

While Twilight was mentally cursing Rarity with all the maledictions she knew and cowering in front of the massive assault of questions about her supposed crush by the three Princesses. Pinkie Pie had finished a very long speech relating a 'thank you to' list.

"..And now that I just finished thanking everyone that took part in the renovations in Ponyville." Pinkie explained tossing her list overboard. "Let's now focus on what really matters! I'm talking about the participating Teams." Pinkie said happily, earning a thunder of applause, cheers and whatnot.

"Let's give a huge and super welcome to our Capital's team." Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. "Ladies and Gentelmen, here comes the Might of Canterlot! Crystal Arrow, Quake, Pokey Pierce, Fleetfoot, Soarin, Spitfire, and last, but not least, The Paladin of Equestria, the Captain SHINING ARMOR!"

The team members went out one by one through the massive door that lead to the locker rooms. They were some decent cheers for the first three competitors. But for the last four, the entire stadium shook because of the thunder of applauses and the almost literal explosion of excited shouts. Those are the perks of being part of the Wonderbolts or a National Hero!

Cadence had been ecstatic when she heard her husband name. She kept on yelling all sorts of encouragements, cheers, etc. Her behavior was far from being one of a princess, but no one in her box seemed to care. Twilight was even relieved by her sister-in-law's behavior, the focus on her potential paramour had been diverted by Cadence's antics and the fact that the main event had finally started.

"You know, I'm surprised that Spitfire and the others aren't competing for Cloudsdale." Fluttershy said with curiosity. "If what Rainbow Dash told me about them is true, that's where they were all born."

"Easy answer to that, Fluttershy!" Celestia explained casually. "The athlete may choose which town he wishes to represent. The Wonderbolts pass much of their time in Canterlot. It's not a big surprise if they consider it more like their hometown than Cloudsdale."

"And now. Directly coming from the beautiful city in the skies." Pinkie shouted in her megaphone. "The children of the Storm Pegasus. Give a warm welcome to Cloudsdale's Winged Lightnings! Midnight Strike, the Streak twins : Lightning & Fire, Snowflake, Gilda Skytalon, Lightning Dust! AAAAAnd the master of the Sonic Rainboom! Renée Marianne RAINBOW DASH!"

"Yay, Rainbow Dash! You rock. Wohoo!" Fluttershy cheered quietly. So quietly that even Twilight, who was siting just next to her, wasn't sure to have heard her under the loud cheers the crowd was giving for their fellow Council member.

Pinkie Pie continued to introduce all the team and all the competitors. When Manehatten's turn arrived, Octavia checked her parents' box and saw her mother applauding madly at her brother, who as a team captain, bore their city's flag as the team captain should do. Octavia never really understood how Cornelio had ended up being his team's captain. He only took part in one kind of event: the horse shows, and never seemed to care about his teammates' trials. Not that she really cared though, but it seemed pretty odd to her.

The teams' introductions went on without an hitch, despite a few peculiar individuals. For example, the Neigh Orleans' team was lead by a really strange woman who was wearing a small purple cape with blue and yellow stars and a matching sorcerer's hat. Or the Las Pegasus' team, this team was lead by a giant of man who kept on making various poses every time he decided to open his mouth.

Soon, only one team needed to be introduced.

"And now, for the last team. I'd like you all to stand up and give a mighty super big hello to the team that represents our host." Pinkie said softly. "Here comes Ponyville team."

"Allie Way." Allie went out on the track to join Zecora, Turner and Redheart who were waiting with the other teams in line, waving with both hands at Ponyville's supporters who gave her rounds of applause.

"Roseluck Greentouch!" Rose joined her teammate with a slow pace. She looked a bit nervous when she waved at her supporters. She wasn't used to so much attention, but her mood perked up when she noticed a banner held by her friends from the flower shop. It said 'Our Rose has the toughest thorns! Victory for our Flower Girl!', she couldn't help but to smile as she took place next to Allie.

"Raindrops Silverain!" Raindrops flew out of the stadium's corridor, her fists pumping in the air at the sounds of her co-workers from the weather management team's encouragement. She spotted one of her friends, CloudChaser, holding a sign that said : 'Bring them the RAIN!'

"Ditzy Doo! And no, she isn't related to Daring Do. I did the research!" Pinkie Pie said seriously. Ditzy slowly ran toward her teammates but when she almost tripped, she decided to fly the rest of the way. She sheepishly scratched the back of her head while waving at the crowd who laughed a little before applauding her with the same vigor as for the others athletes.

"The Lieutenant Cloud Kicker!" Cloud Kicker flew out of the corridors under a thunder of applause from the Ponyvillians, especially from the female Ponyvillians. While still flying, she gave the crowd a deep bow, showing her cleavage for anyone who had a pair of binoculars. It turned out that a lot of Ponyvillians had a pair and they were happy to finally be putting them to a good use. She chuckled before joining her teammates under a lot of sharp whistles. When she landed, Zecora gave her a whack on the back of her head, shaking hers disapprovingly.

"And now, bearing their town's flag together." Pinkie Pie described as she put her spyglass in her pocket. "Two sisters from the most fun-a-fun-fun orchard on the planet. Equestria's Rodeo Queen and Magical Musician. Give them a warm welcome. Ladies and Gentlemen, here come JACQUELYN and VINYL AAAAAAAPPLE."

Applejack and Vinyl, each holding the flag's staff with one hand, walked side by side with a proud smile. The section of the grandstands where the Apple family were sitting started to shake when the Apples rose from their chairs to cheer for their kins. Four complete rows of people wearing southern clothing, applauding, whistling and waving multiple banners and flags with the Red Apple of their family on it. Applejack and Vinyl beamed at the show their relatives were giving for them. Rarity and Octavia were even more ecstatic than Cadence had been earlier. They kept shouting their wishes for their lovers' victory, while said lovers were slowly marching toward their teammates. 

"Hmm! I like their outfits!" Celestia commented. "That's what you were doing during those last five days, Rarity?"

"Indeed it was, your Highness!" Rarity nodded, her voice was bit harsh from all that cheering.

"You've really outdone yourself!" Celestia said with pride.

"OK, everyone! Now, that all the introductions are over, let's listen to Sapphire Shores who's going to sing our Nation's anthem!" Pinkie Pie said happily from her flying machine.

Everyone in the coliseum stood at attention with their right hand on their hearts. On a small stage in front of the lined up teams, Sapphire Shores cleared her throat before she started singing. Everyone listened in silence with pride, some even shed tears. Vinyl was trying her best to put up in an impassible face; she had never liked Sapphire Shores' singing.

'Of all the worst singers they could have chosen. This is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. SINGER.... ' Vinyl thought in anger. 'Hang on a minute, where did that expression even come from?...Was it AJ that used it once?...I think so but it's so unlike her...Oh no, AJ's becoming like Rarity!.... And AJ's influencing me a lot!... I'm becoming like Rarity!' She thought with a small fear.

Of course that thought process was completely irrational, but Vinyl did need something other than the singing to think about. Luckily for her, the anthem came to an end very quickly and every spectators sat back while Sapphire bowed under the unmerited, according to Vinyl at least, applauses. The only one in the audience who still stood up was none other than Princess Celestia.

"Philomena, my Dear. That's your cue." She said softly to her phoenix pet who had been sleeping on her perch since they arrived in their private box.

The phoenix cawed lazily as she woke up from her slumber. Philomena expended her wingspan before taking off, leaving a small trail of fire behind her. After a high-pitched caw, she immolated herself, changing her body into a huge fireball. Everyone watched in awe as the fiery bird flew incredibly fast toward the huge brasero on top of the Coliseum. Philomena crashed into it, lighting the Flame that signals the official start of the Games.

"The Flame has been lit! I, High Princess Celestia of Equestria, declare that the seven hundred and fifty-fourth Opening Ceremony of the Equestria Games is now officially over!" Celestia said with her magically amplified voice. "Let the Games begin!"



	

> Rose's qualification
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After Celestia's pet lit the Games' Flame, all the competing teams split up in their officials 'pits' along the coliseum's track. According to Pinkie Pie's announcing, the first trials that were going to take place would be the track trials. The games officials were busy preparing the said track for the first trial. In the mean time, Ponyville team got acquainted to their 'pit' neighbor, Cloudsdale team.

"AJ! Vinyl! How's it going?" Rainbow Dash asked happily. She was followed by a tall woman with short white hair and a smaller one with two toned yellow orangish hair.

"Hey, there Dash!" Applejack replied. "It's goin' good so far, what 'bout ya? Who're yar friends?"

"Things are going sweet! This is Gilda and Lightining Dust!" Rainbow introduced them.

"Hey!" The white haired one, Gilda, said in grumpy voice.

" 'Sup!" Lightning Dust said with a cocky grin. "Dash talked a lot about you two. She keep on saying you're quite tough."

"Did she now?" Vinyl chuckled.

"Not so much impressive now that I see them." Gilda grumbled, earning a frown from the two Apples.

"G! Behave a little. These are my friends." Rainbow chastised her teammate. Judging from her annoyed tone, it looked like it wasn't the first time Gilda behaved like that. 

"Haha! Excuse Gilda a bit! She's always grumpy when she's not flying." Lightning Dust chuckled. "Anyway, which one of you gals is gonna compete with me in the hurdles qualification?" She asked eagerly.

"None of us." Vinyl shook her head. "That's Rose's trial." She added, designating her friend behind her.

A couple of meters behind them, Rose, wearing her brand new running gear, was busy stretching her legs and warming up, under the watchful eyes of nurse Redheart. Zecora was talking to her, probably for some last minute advices. Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow when she saw her.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" She asked abruptly.

"What in tarnation's that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked with narrowed eyes.

"I mean, compared to you two, she looks like a twig."

"So?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow, although it wasn't really visible with her shades still on her nose.

"She's built like a florist!" Gilda chimed in. "Lightning thinks she's gonna be useless in the race."

"Beg pardon?" The two apples said sharply. Rainbow's teammates were starting to get on their nerves.

"Dust, I can see that she's warming up. Why don't you go do that?" Rainbow suggested quickly when she noticed the dark glare the two apples were giving to her teammates. "Gilda, go help her out."

"Sure thing Dash!" Lightning Dust, oblivious to the Apples' bad mood, nodded before going back to the Cloudsdale's pit. Gilda gave a light nod before going after her teammate.

"What was that all about?" Vinyl asked, blinking.

"Nothing! They're just a bit too dense during competitions" Rainbow explained with a sigh.

"Dense? A bit full o' themselves would be more accurate!" Applejack remarked, earning an approving nod from Vinyl.

"Oh! Come on guys! They aren't bad gals." Rainbow said.

"If you say so." Vinyl conceded. "But they better not look down on our teammates anymore!"

"Hey, easy there." Rainbow chuckled with her hands lifted in a defensive pose. "I'd like to still have all my team members at the end of the games." She joked, lightening the mood of her two friends from Ponyville.

"To all competitors for the first part of the 100 m hurdles, please take your position to your starting blocks." Pinkie shouted from her flying contraption. "I call the runners from the following team, Saddle Arabia for lane 1, Zebrica for lane 2, Canterlot for lane 3, Ponyville for lane 4, Cloudsdale for lane 5, Manehatten for lane 6, Nheighpon for lane 7, and Las Pegasus for lane 8." Pinkie added in a very unusual serious tone. 

"Well, this is it!" Rainbow said happily. "Say good luck to Rose for me." She added with smile, before returning to her team's pit.

"Thanks, RD! Good luck to your 'mate as well." Vinyl shouted, before turning toward Rose.

"Ok, Rose. It's up to you!" Zecora said softly. "Keep calm and nothing will came out of blue."

"Thanks, I think." Rose said with a small crisped smile.

"Want to kiss the Lucky Muffin?" Ditzy asked, extending her baked good shaped lucky charm.

"No, thank you Ditzy. I'm feeling lucky enough." Rose giggled, gently turning away her friend's charm. "Plus, Muffins aren't good for my diet." She joked with a genuine laugh.

"But I didn't ask you to eat it." Ditzy whispered in confusion, putting her Lucky Muffin in its special satchel.

After having received all the cheers and wishes for good luck from her teammates. Rose walked nervously toward the track's lane 4, she stood behind her starting blocks, awkwardly shifting from one foot to another. The other competitors also took their positions in their respective lanes. At her right was Lightning Dust, who didn't seem to be stressed at all and at her left was an athletic woman with long white hair. Rose recognized her, it was Fleetfoot from the Wonderbolts.

"First time in a competition?" Fleetfoot asked with a soft caring smile.

"It's that obvious, huh?" Rose answered with a shaking voice. "It looked fun when Cloud Kicker talked to me about the team at my flower shop. Now, it's a lot less fun." She said slowly, earning a small chuckle from the Wonderbolt. 

"I hear you, sister!" Fleetfoot nodded. "I clacked my teeth so much before my first race, they thought I had fallen into a frozen lake beforehand." She chuckled at the memory, quickly joined by Rose. "One little advice, forget the audience and think it like it's practice again. It still does wonders on me!" She added with a wink.

The casual conversation with a world famous athlete and a pointer from the same athlete seemed to have managed to calm Rose's nervousness.

"Thank you very much!" Rose beamed.

"You're welcome." Fleetfoot nodded. "Good luck to you." She added, extending her hand toward Rose who happily shook it.

"Good luck to you too." Rose said before turning toward Lightning Dust who had been watching the scene. "Good Lu..."

"Save it, flower girl! You're gonna need it more than me." Lightning Dust interrupted with a cocky grin, before focussing on her pre-race routine.

"Ooookaaay." Rose whispered in confusion. "So much for being nice!" She muttered for herself.





"So, Tia, who do you think we'll win this race?" Luna asked with interest.

"Luna, those are only the qualifications. It doesn't matter who ends up first." Celestia answered playfully.

"You know what I mean! Who'll pass the qualifications?" Luna asked, rolling her eyes.

"Hmmm, I think we can be certain that Fleetfoot is going to qualify." Twilight pondered. "That zebrican runner looks like he can make it as well."

"There's also Lightning Dust. According to Rainbow Dash, she's quite talented." Fluttershy chimed in quietly.

"I'm curious about Ponyville's choice." Cadence pondered while scratching her chin. "I would have thought that Vinyl or Applejack would participate in those running trials."

"I wonder about that as well." Twilight nodded, before facing Rarity and Octavia. "Do you have an idea why they didn't chose one of them?" Rarity and Octavia both shook their heads. "Well, let's just hope for them that this Rose is any good."

"I think Applejack mentioned she does classical dance." Rarity pondered. "Not sure that it helps in anything."

"We'll just have to wait and see!" Octavia shrugged before returning her attention on the track.





"Allright, everypony. I mean everyone." Pinkie shouted in her megaphone. 'Damn, almost forgot it's a humanized fic!' "Let me remind you of a few rules of this trial. Number one, the point is to run and jump. The first one with a pair of wing deployed is disqualified and I'll personally stuff his face with a triple layer chocolate cake." Pinkie threatened vigorously.

Unbeknownst to Pinkie, her 'threat' almost convinced all the competitors to deploy their wings, even those who didn't have any. It even took a small spell from Luna to keep Celestia from flying in front of Pinkie Pie. The Sun Princess had only two weaknesses: she can't say no to Pinkie's infallible puppy eyes and she suffers from a massive addiction to any sort of cake. Luckily, no incident occurred because of Pinkie's announcing.

"Number B, no use of magic what so ever, otherwise disqualification!" Pinkie continued. "Letter Three, ......I don't have anything more to say." Pinkie said sheepishly, causing small laughs from the audience. "Anyway, runners! Take your marks!"

Rose had followed Fleetfoot's advice and now she was feeling completely relaxed. She took position on her starting block, her hands firmly and her gaze focused on the border of the start line. She didn't need to watch the other competitors to see they were in position as well.

"Get set!"

Rose and the others started to lean on their starting block, their back slowly lifted up. Rose didn't feel the others' presence, following Fleetfoot's advice, in her mind she was back to practice, and at practice it was only her and those she trusted. She raised her head and saw her objective, the finish line situated behind ten hurdles. It wasn't scary or stressful anymore, it was just like practice.

Pinkie pulled out a smaller version of her party cannon, it was only bigger than her hand. She pointed toward the sky and shoot. It didn't threw any confetti, any streamers, it even didn't made a whistle sound. It only made a sharp Bang.

Rose launched herself forward along with the others competitors. After a few long strides, she came close to the first hurdle. Like in practice, she leaned on her right foot and jumped, lifting her left leg high. She passed above the obstacle without any problem. As soon as her left foot touched the ground, she went back to her full speed strides, as if the first obstacle hadn't been there. She came close to the second hurdle. It wasn't harder than the first.





"Aw Yeah! She's doing it!" Vinyl shouted excitedly.

"Ah reckon, she completely forgot her stress!" Applejack said with pride.

"GO ROSELUCK!" Ditzy and Allie yelled with enthusiasm.

"Come on, lift those sexy thighs! Move those nice good looking legs!" Cloud Kicker cheered in her own very peculiar way.

"CK, whatever has gotten into you is no little thing." Raindrops said slowly, taking a small step away from her teammate.





"It looks like they made the right decision after all." Twilight blinked.

"That's very surprising." Fluttershy whispered in amazement.

"My star, her movements are so graceful." Rarity whistled. "It almost feels like a ballet."

"From the looks of it, that classical dance thing does seem to help in something." Octavia nodded with a small smile.





Rose's race was going fantastically well, her years of ballet made her jumps nimble as those of a cat. She jumped above the hurdles and went back to running like it was nothing. She was so focused on her own race that she hadn't even realize what her position was. She was just behind Fleetfoot and Lightning Dust who were on par for the first place, but they were both losing a few tenth of second at each jumps, something she wasn't. She was gaining on them.

At mid race, she was on par with them. After jumping above the sixth hurdle, she took the lead. Ponyville's supporters rose from their seats and holding back their breath. One of their own was beating a Wonderbolt in racing! Everyone watched in awe as Rose jumped above the seventh, eight, ninth hurdle. She had reinforced the gap between her and her opponents. There was only one hurdle left.

She ran close to the last hurdle of the race. She leaned on her right foot one last time before jumping with her left leg higher than before. Just like for the other hurdles, she passed above it flawlessly. Her left foot was about to touch the ground and she was about to sprint to the finish, to run those last ten meters.

But something went wrong! When her left foot touched the ground, it slipped to her right. She felt a huge sharp pain in her left ankle. Rose fell on her left side, screaming in pain and rolling on the ground, her eyes closed. She heard the crowd gasped in surprise and shock, she felt a small, unexpected breeze on her face. She heard the running steps of the other competitors passed next to her and becoming more and more distant. She could hear a woman she knew shouting her name. 

She opened her eyes, and saw the face of Redheart in front of hers. She looked around and saw that Fleetfoot was still on the track, her light blue wings spread on her back. She remembered the small breeze on her face. She realized what had happened, Fleetfoot must have summoned her wings in order to not trample Rose. Tears started flowing from her eyes, not only had she lost but she also had caused Fleetfoot to be disqualified. She was so ashamed of herself.

"Applejack, bring her to our pit!" Redheart ordered firmly. Vinyl and Applejack and rushed after the nurse when they saw Rose falling during the race.

"Sure thing." Applejack said, before grabbing softly her sobbing teammate and carrying her to their team's pit, followed by Redheart.

Before following her sister and her team's nurse, Vinyl turned toward Fleetfoot. "Thank you for...You know." She said uneasily.

"It's ok." Fleetfoot waved off. "I hope she doesn't have anything serious." She added in soft caring voice.


Vinyl joined her teammates in the pit, the atmosphere was incredibly dense for the Ponyville's team. Rose was lying on a bench, still crying and everyone knew it wasn't from pain at all. Redheart had taken her left shoe off and was examining her injured ankle. After a few minutes, Redheart sighed in relief.

"Good news! Her ankle isn't broken, it's just a small twist." The nurse said with a small smile. Everyone let out a relieved sigh. "Rain', Allie, Ditzy could please help her to get in a shower? Vera would help her washing up." She asked softly. 

Rose was covered in dirt and clay because of her fall. The three concerned parties nodded and helped their friends toward their locker room. As soon as they were out of earshot, Redheart turned toward Zecora, Turner and the Apple Sisters grimily.

"We might have a problem." She said softly, her gaze focused on Vinyl and Applejack, as if she feared their reactions.

"What is it?" Zecora asked. "It's about her ankle, isn't it?" She asked with worry.

"No. It's a bit better and a bit worst than that." Redheart said, grabbing Rose's shoe and showing it to everyone. "Do you see anything abnormal with this shoe?"

Zecora and Applejack shook their heads with confusion. Vinyl lifted her glasses up to her forehead and took the shoe in her hands. As soon as her hands touched the tread, she noticed what Redheart had meant by her question.

"It's moist!" Vinyl said softly. "Her tread is moist."

"How in tarnation did it get wet?" Applejack asked with a puzzled look. 

Vinyl took a more insisting look at the tread, she noticed a something stuck between the shoes grooves. It was incredibly small and she had only spotted thanks to the fact it reflected a ray of light in her eyes. Her eyes went wide when she could name what was stuck inside the grooves. It made no sense but it couldn't be anything else.

"It's ice." Vinyl let out in a whisper before showing the small icicle to her coaches and her sister. At their grand dismay, the icicle melt in front of every one's eyes, only leaving a small droplet.

"What do you think it means?" Turner asked softly.

"It's pretty obvious!" Redheart said with a dark tone. "Someone made our Rose stumble. She had never lost her footing during training, and her race was absolutely flawless before her fall."

"Should we go and tell the committee about it?" Vinyl asked.

"With just a wet shoe? It'll bring more problems than solutions." Turner shook his head. "Beside, we have no idea of who did it."

"I have!" Cloud Kicker said softly as she walked back in the pit. Her usual playful smirk completely absent from her face, instead her face was contorted in a very angry frown,

"CK, where were you?" Vinyl asked. "What do you know?"

Cloud Kicker looked around to see that no one else could hear what she had to say. When she was certain that only her coaches and her two teammates were in earshot. She cleared her throat.

"You're not gonna like this...."





"I'm so awesome! I'm so awesome!" Lightning Dust sang happily, as she was bouncing around.

"Will cut that out already?" Gilda asked with a chuckle. "Man, you shouldn't be so happy. If not for that flower girl's accident, you would have been third instead of first." She added with a smirk

"Are you saying that Eponian florist would have beaten me?" Lightning Dust asked with a crooked eyebrow. "No way in Tartarus, that would have happened."

"From what I saw, she was beating you." Gilda shrugged. "You're lucky she caused Fleetfoot to disqualify. Now, we're sure to get the gold in the hurdles." 

"Yes, how Lucky!" Lightning Dust said with a knowing grin.

"Hang on....You got something to do with this?" Gilda whispered with a blank stare. She quickly smiled at her teammate. "What did you do?" She asked eagerly in a whisper. 

Instead of answering, Lightning Dust showed Gilda her right palm. She closed her fist for a second or two, before opening it again. On her palm, was a thin layer of ice. She gave a proud smirk at Gilda who nodded, very impressed.

"Wicked, Dude! When did you learn to do that without spreading your wings?" Gilda asked in amazement. "You gotta to teach me that!"

"I'll teach you that trick tonight in our dorm!" Lightning Dust nodded. "You really thought I would have let an mere flower girl beat me!"

"HAHA! Not really." Gilda laughed.

The two Cloudsdale athletes decided to go back to their pit. Rainbow had authorized them to have a small walk around, as a small gift for Lightning's performance. They both shared a laugh at Rose's accidents, certain that no one could hear them. None of them noticed Cloud Kicker leaning on one of the stadium's pillar or the fact that she had heard everything they had just said.





After Cloud Kicker's tale, Vinyl lifted Applejack in her magic, as her sister was about to run out of the pit. Applejack was furious and Vinyl perfectly understood why. She was almost convinced of letting go of her sister and letting her have her righteous moment of anger. Too bad for Applejack, it was only almost.

"Let me go, Vi!" Applejack groaned. "Ah'm gonna buck them vermits faces into the next season!"

"As much as I want to let you go, I can't." Vinyl sighed. "Can't we go to the Games official with what you told us, CK?"

"'m afraid not." Cloud Kicker shook her head. "Jupitarian weather manipulation leaves no trace like Titanian magic. A wet shoe and my word only wouldn't be sufficient. It would only make us look bad." She said in defeat.

"So we're supposed to let them be, without doing anything?" Applejack asked in a defeated anger. 

"Of course not!" Zecora shouted. She had been silent since Cloud Kicker came back. "There's a lesson that they need to be taught!" She eyed the three athletes in front of her. "They'll pay for Rose's dismay! But not like you think, Applejack. It'll be settled on the track."

"What do you mean, Zecora?" Cloud Kicker said with a growing smile.

It was a rhetorical question, Vinyl and Applejack started smiling as well, they all understood what Zecora had meant. Turner and Redheart nodded in approval. Zecora rose from the bench she had been sitting on.

"This Lightning Dust made Rose fall, because she was about to lose. We can not not answer to such a 'bruise'." Zecora said softly. "Lighting Dust wants Cloudsdale Victory at all costs, we shall give her our rightful ripostes. We'll just do better than them, make sure we stand above them." Everyone else nodded in agreement. "Let's make sure that the Dust in her name, would be for the one she catches by running after our fame!" 

"YES, COACH!" Vinyl, Cloud Kicker and Applejack shouted simultaneously!







> A crash at the flying contest.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	They kept on going with the numerous hurdles qualifications, such as the 200 m and 400 m. Ponyville had to forfeit in those. Rose, while not suffering from any long term damage at her ankle, had been forbidden by Redheart to compete for the rest of the day and no one in the team had gone through a sufficient training to take her place. The florist had accepted the nurse's decision apathetically. She kept sitting on the bench next to Zecora with a defeated expression, her left ankle wrapped up by a cooled bandage.

The rest of the teams was busy warming-up for the next trials. Vinyl, Cloud Kicker and Applejack had told their teammates about Rose's accident and what caused it. They took the news as bad as the others had, but they quickly accepted  Zecora's idea for a retaliation. Hitting Lightning Dust and Gilda, and ipso facto the rest of Cloudsdale's team, where it'll hurt them the hardest, at the score.

Applejack and Vinyl were feeling a bit guilty to include Rainbow in their retaliation plan. Sure enough, the athlete of the Council of Harmony was a sour loser and had cheated more than once on their various competitions they had at the farm. But it had always remained the playful kind of cheating for friendly, silly contest, like a drinking duel. Rainbow would have never dared to take an action that could have harmed her opponent.

The rest of the team hadn't been much convinced about that until Rainbow came to see how Rose was going. They all saw that she was genuinely concerned about their partner's well being. It erased their suspicions on the possibility that the Cloudsdale's team leader knew anything about Lightning Dust's actions. The Apples were divided about telling their friend about her teammates, but they chose not to say anything. Rainbow wouldn't want to betray her teammates without a solid piece of evidence of their perfidy, something that the Ponyville team didn't have.

"The hurdles qualifications are over!" Pinkie shouted excitedly from her airborne spot. "Congratulations for the selected teams and a round of applause for the others." She added softly, earning thunders of cheering and applauding from the crowd. "It's now time for the sprints qualifications! Let's start with  the 100 meters! Calling the following teams, Cloudsdale for lane 1, Ponyville for lane 2, Canterlot..."

"That's my cue, girls!" Vinyl said before taking off her tracksuit's jacket. "Yo, Ditzy!"

"Yeah?" Ditzy said.

"Let me kiss your Lucky Muffin." Vinyl asked playfully, earning a big toothy grin from the mail woman.

"Sure thing!" Ditzy replied happily, pulling her lucky treat from its satchel.





"Octavia, Look!" Twilight shouted excitedly. "Vinyl's taking her jacket off! She's the one competing for Ponyville in the sprints."

"Really?" Octavia asked eagerly, before coming closer to the edge of their box. "Where is she?"

"Second lane, my dear!" Rarity said softly. "Here, take my binoculars." She added, extending her opera binoculars.

Octavia gladly accepted Rarity's offer. She looked eagerly toward the lane number two with them, ignoring the snickers and small giggles from her entourage. She spotted Vinyl doing lunges to warm up behind her starting block. Octavia cloudn't help but to bite her lower lip when she saw her lover wearing skin-tight running gear. She wouldn't never admit out loud, but her gaze was slightly diverted toward her lover's lower back.

"Damn, she's pretty!" Octavia said, not realizing she had just thought that out loud until the giggles became louder."Huuuuuum!" Octavia added with a massive blush appearing on her cheeks. "Pretty good design you did there, Rarity!" She stammered, trying to cover her earlier comment.

"Why, thank you, Darling." Rarity nodded, stifling her laugh. "I'm glad you're enjoying it!"





Vinyl was busy warming up in her lane, she was quickly joined by Rainbow Dash and a slightly older woman than them with fiery orange hair, wearing Canterlot's Alicorn insignia. Vinyl was no troglodyte, so she recognized immediately who was accompanying Rainbow Dash. She was certain that even a troglodyte would have recognized the famous captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire.

"So, Vinyl. Ready to lose against me?" Rainbow asked playfully.

"Don't know. Are you?" Vinyl retorted with a chuckle.

"I take it you two already know each other." Spitfire said, taking her spot in the third lane.

"Kinda! This time Vi', we're on my territory. I'll get first place and you would be left at the third!" Rainbow mocked, pulling her tongue at Vinyl.

"The third?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Well, Spitfire's got be somewhere." Rainbow answered with a small laugh.

"Of course, but Spitfire's place is at the first one!" Spitfire retorted playfully.

"Sorry to break your daydreams, girls! But the first place will be mine." Vinyl assured, popping her legs' joints.

"Hold on there, Ponyville! I can accept that sort of line from Dash, because I know she got skill!" Spitfire interjected falsely offended. "But I can't let a no name like you shadowing me like that!" She said with humor, Vinyl only smirked at that.

"You better not underestimate her, Spitfire." Rainbow Dash said slowly. "I made that mistake far too many times."

"Glad to see some lessons are going through that thick skull of yours!" Vinyl said with a nod.

"Only a few!" Rainbow winked.

"Hey you, the three chatterboxes! In position, like the others!" Pinkie shouted from her contraption before flying away to get a better spot to watch the race.

"Did Pinkie Pie just called us chatterboxes?" Vinyl asked incredulously.

"Looks like it." Spitfire answered with a stunned expression.

"This world is getting weirder and weirder everyday." Rainbow shivered.

"On your mark!" Pinkie shouted, pulling her mini party cannon out of somewhere, as the competitors took their positions. "Get set!"

Vinyl leaned on her starting block and rose her bespectacled face. She grinned cockily when she saw the finish line waiting for her in a purple hue. She knew that her team was counting on her. And even more important, Octavia was somewhere watching her. She couldn't afford herself to lose. She heard the bang from Pinkie's small cannon. She launched herself forward.

Ponyville's team and supporters shouted excitedly when the race started. Vinyl, Rainbow and Spitfire were leading the race side by side. At mid race, the three of them were five meters in front of the others. The Apple family were cheering louder than every other supporters. But Vinyl couldn't distinguish what they were yelling under the race's noises. Except one, one cheer she managed to understand perfectly. The only one that really mattered for her.

"Faster, Vinyl! Faster!" The voice of Octavia shouted.

She had no idea about how could she have heard her lover's voice over the others' voices, but it didn't stop her to oblige. She quickened her pace and grew the gap between herself, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, much to their surprise. 

Rainbow recovered instantly from Vinyl's acceleration. She had been beaten too many times by her blue haired friend and her sister. The track was where she belonged, she wasn't going to let Vinyl beat her here! She accelerated as well, coming back to Vinyl's level. Spitfire grinned before catching up with them. In her head it was pretty clear, she wasn't going to let these juniors beat her. 

The finish line was only ten meters away. The three leaders of the race accelerated at the same time, each one of them trying to outrun the other two. They all leaned their body forward at one meter from the finish line. In the end, they passed it together.

"Is that a tie?" Applejack asked eagerly.

"Looks like it." Turner said. "We must wait for what the line judges decide."

Pinkie brought her contraption to the ground, next to the Games official who were checking various chronometers. After a quick chat with the line judges, she took off and took her megaphone to explain that they needed a few minutes to determined who was the first and that the result will be shown on the awesomely fantastic magic powered screen, they used to show the score. Vinyl, Rainbow and Spitfire's eyes didn't turn away from the screen, waiting patiently to see which one of them had bested the others or if it was a tie. After a few minutes, the screen lit with the following order:

1) Spitfire Maverick : 10.73 s
2) Vinyl A. Apple S. : 10.75 s
2) Renée M. Dash : 10.75 s

"Drats!" Vinyl groaned. "Still a couple hundredths short."

"Very nice race, girls!" Spitfire said happily. "Don't worry Vinyl, you can still try to beat us in the 200m and 400m. And there's also the finals." She added with a wink.

"I guess so." Vinyl conceded softly, before her face lit up with a large grin. "But, you both better be prepared for the 400m."

"Why's that?" Spitfire asked, very interested.

"Because in the 400m, you'll face my sister instead of me!" Vinyl said happily before going back to her pit where her teammates congratulate her for nearly beating Spitfire and Rainbow in a race. 

"Oh goody!" Rainbow gulped.

"Why do you react like that? Her sister doesn't look that scary." Spitfire said softly as she eyed the Ponyville team.

"Do you even know what her sister looks like?" Rainbow asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Isn't that the other one with the two tone blue hair?" Spitfire tilted her head in confusion.

"No! It's the tall blonde with the ponytail." Rainbow said vigorously, pointing Applejack.

"Oh! She does look more athletic than the others." Spitfire admitted, finally spotting who Rainbow was talking about. "But, considering that that Snowflake guy's in your team, I wouldn't have thought her stature could intimidate you."

"You heard that story about that giant minotaur and the one who submitted it a bit before Princess Cadence's wedding, didn't you?"

"Like everyone in Equestria, yes!" Spitfire shrugged. "Why?"

"Well, it was Applejack!" Rainbow simply said, pointing the blond farmer again.

Spitfire blinked a few times. "Oh goody!" She gulped.

"Told you!"





The qualifications for the 200m had gone just like the one for 100m for Vinyl. Spitfire had beaten her and Rainbow Dash again. Sure it wasn't by much but Vinyl had started to think that there was no way for her to beat the Wonderbolt. But then Applejack competed against her for the 400m.

Applejack couldn't compete in the 100m or the 200m, she had never managed to reach her maximum speed in the short amount of time that a short sprint lasted. That's why she only competed in longer races. When given a sufficient distance to get to her stop speed, nothing with two legs could outrun her.

During the first half of the race, Applejack ran a couple meters behind everyone. Vinyl could hear some of the other teams' athletes laugh at her sister. She snickered when their jaws dropped when Applejack started to catch up with the other competitors. She quickly closed the gap with Spitfire who was leading the race, Rainbow only a half seconds behind her, and passed them without a problem.

Spitfire had been very surprised to see the blond farmer outrun her so easily. She had tried to catch up with her, along with Rainbow, but they could only watch in awe the gap growing wider. Applejack had beaten both of them by a four seconds advance. Something similar during the finals, and it would be a gold medal for Ponyville.

Applejack's victory had caused a thunder of applause from Ponyville's fans. The part of the Coliseum's tiers in which the Apple Family were seated started to shake violently when the Apples started to acclaim their kin. Back in the Princesses' box, Rarity had been ecstatic at her lover's victory over two of the country's top athlete. 

"That girl's a monster." Spitfire panted, watching Applejack being hugged by her teammates and her sister. 

"You don't know the half of it." Rainbow said softly.

"What do you mean?" Spitfire asked, with an hint of worry.

"Just wait until the fighting trials begins." Rainbow said softly.





"Ok, everyone! Today's qualifications for the tracks event are over. We'll finish the first day by the first trials that'd allow one of the teams to win a medal. The flying obstacle course." Pinkie shouted. "Are you excited?" The crowd cheered. "Can't hear you." The crowd's shouts became louder. "That's better."

"Zecora, watch this!" Turner said, extending a clipboard toward Zecora. "Cloudsdale is sending out Lightning Dust for the trial."

"Mhmm. I would have thought they would send Rainbow Dash instead of her." Zecora pondered with a small smile. "Ditzy, do you think you can take care of her?"

Ditzy took a short glance at Rose. She had been feeling a lot less depressed since Vinyl's almost victory in the 100m. She still didn't move much from her bench, wanting to rest her ankle as much as possible. Watching the cool pack around her leg brought back the recent image of Rose crying in shame because of Lightning's cheating, it made Ditzy more resolute than ever.

"Surely, Coach!" Ditzy said firmly, earning an approving nod from Zecora.

"All the participating teams' contesters are waited on the launching platform." Pinkie Pie shouted happily in her megaphone, designating a large cloud-made platform.

The eights participants flew toward the cloud structure in the middle on the Coliseum's sky. Cloud Kicker decided to accompany Ditzy up, for moral support and also she wanted to be there in case Lightning would have another cheating fee. When they arrived on the cloud's surface, Ditzy managed to trip and to fall face first in the cloud.

"Aww. Ditzy." Cloud Kicker sighed with a chuckle, before pulling her friend up.

"Sorry, I tripped." Ditzy said, scratching the back of her head.

"Get in line, girl." Cloud Kicker said happily, letting Ditzy walk to her place in the line. 

Apparently she would compete in last place. The flying obstacle course was a time trial. The contester that finished the course with the fastest time, would be the one who win the trial. Touching an obstacle would incur a five seconds penalty and touching the ground or stopping mid air for more than a second during the race would cause the participant's forfeit.

Cloud Kicker sat at the edge of the could platform, along with the other team's jupitarians who had come to support their partners. Quickly enough, Rainbow Dash sat next to her under Spitfire's dark glare.

"You shouldn't sit next to that, Rainbow." Spitfire groaned with disgust, much to Rainbow's surprise. "Who knows where it has been."

"You're still on that, Lieutenant Maverick?" Cloud Kicker chuckled. "I thought it was water under the bridge, by now."

"It is, but that doesn't mean that I have to like you, Lieutenant Kicker." Spitfire said slowly.

"Fair enough!" Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Let's change our conversation topic, shall we? Who do you think is gonna win?"

"Well, I'm gonna bet on Lightning Dust!" Rainbow said, glad that the conversation went in less troubled waters. "But I guess that Soarin's gonna pull something awesome as well."

"I'll say Soarin as well." Spitfire said casually, not turning her face toward Cloud Kicker. She saw Ditzy tripped again when the line moved forward as the first competitor took off for his course. "Is that the one your team send?" She asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Eeeeyuuup!" Cloud Kicker said, mimicking the Apples' way of responding.

"You sure it was a good idea?" Rainbow asked softly, as Ditzy tripped again trying to stand up. She could hear some of the other teams laughing at her.

"Absolutely sure." Cloud Kicker nodded with confidence. Spitfire and Rainbow exchanged a worried look, before Spitfire shrugged and focused on the race. It was Soarin's turn.

Not much to everyone's surprise, the Wonderbolt's time record for the course was excellent. He had complete the course flawlessly at a fantastic speed. He took the first place with a time of 55.65 seconds. Under the crowd's cheer, he gently flew next to his partner who highfived him.

"Nice one, Soar'!" Spitfire congratulated her teammate. "That's gonna get you a nice slice of pie for dessert. I'll even bake your favorite!" She added with a wink.

"Sweet!" Soarin smiled, drooling a bit at the mention of the dessert.

"So, that's how the Wonderbolts psych themselves up." Cloud Kicker chuckled. "They get to taste their captain's pie if they do good. I knew I should've joined them instead of the Guard!" She joked in a sultry tone, causing Rainbow and Soarin to burst into a loud fit of laughter.

"Do not put me in the same bag as you, Kicker!" Spitfire snapped. "Not everyone lay around to get favors like you!" Her remark made Rainbow and Soarin stop laughing immediately.

"Spitfire come on, it was just a joke." Soarin said softly, frowning in disapproval at his captain.

"And beside, I do not get favors by laying around. I make favors by laying around." Cloud Kicker noted playfully, completely unfazed by Spitfire's outburst. "Hey look Rainbow, it's your teammate's turn." She added pointing Lightning Dust who was spreading her wings, ready to take off.

Lightning Dust's race distracted Spitfire enough to cool down her anger, not that Cloud Kicker cared much about it. Her focus was on the race as well. At Cloud Kicker's great displeasure, Lightning Dust had done a good race, she gained the second best time, just behind Soarin with 55.95 seconds.

"Good job, Pal!" Rainbow shouted happily, bumping fist with Lightning Dust.

"Thanks. Too bad it's not first place." Lightning said in defeat.

"Hey, don't feel bad. A silver medal is still a medal!" Rainbow said in a comforting tone.

The next three competitors' course went without a problem. Cloud Kicker beamed internally when the Stalliongradi athlete managed to make a 55.91 seconds time, putting Lightning Dust in the third position, much to the concerned party's dismay. The only competitor left was Ditzy. She walked slowly toward the start line and managed to trip again, causing mocking laughs from every competitor around. She sheepishly chuckled before standing up.

"Well, at least my third place's secured." Lightning Dust smiled. "I doubt a klutz like her can do anything."

"Watch it, pal!" Cloud Kicker warned angrily. "I don't like people mocking her." She added with a dark stare at Lightning Dust. She focused her attention on Ditzy who was preparing on the start line. "Ditzy, you're not forgetting something?" She shouted.

"Right! Thanks Cloudy!" She shouted back happily, before pulling her Lucky Muffin from her satchel and kissing it softly.

"What's that?" Rainbow asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Her Lucky Muffin." Cloud Kicker answered simply.

"Ha! A klutz like her sure needs luck!" Lightning Dust snorted. "But still a muffin?"

"She doesn't really need luck actually." Cloud Kicker said softly, giving Lightning Dust a dark look. "She's a bit clumsy I'll admit it...."She conceded, as an official gave Ditzy the signal to start. Before he could even blink, Ditzy had disappeared. "..but that's only when she has her two feet on the ground!" She added with a growing smile.

Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw Ditzy's flying. She was nothing but a red and grey blur, smoothly taking the turns, avoiding the obstacles with perfect swift movements. She passed the cloud slalom in a blink of an eye. She was taking the course at full speed.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!" Ditzy shouted happily, passing between a narrow cloud gate.

"You've got to be kidding me." Lightning Dust said slowly with wide eyes and mouth agape.

"That's very impressive." Soarin whistled.

"Ditzy Doo... Where have I heard that name?" Spitfire pondered.

"She had been in the wonderbolts academy stage period ten years ago." Cloud Kicker explained. At that comment, Spitfire's eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh!" Spitfire whispered, realizing something. "The Dizzatron record at the academy." Spitfire said slowly. "That's where I saw that name before. She passed the Ditzzatron test at maximum power with a time of 3.67 seconds."

"What?!" Soarin, Dash and Dust shouted in unison.

"But...Your record at the Dizzatron is only of 5 seconds and a half." Soarin said slowly, facing Spitfire in disbelief. "How come she's not a Wonderbolt? With a time like that, she would have been recruited right away."

"Easy answer to that." Cloud Kicker shrugged before Spitfire could even say anything.

"IIIIIINNNNCOOOMMMING!" Ditzy yelled as she came close to the finish line at full speed.

"Ha, That's my cue!" Cloud Kicker said, standing up and conjuring her wings, her hands surrounded by a white fog. "For all her talents and speed, there's a small drawback!" She added, as she was creating a large puffy cloud behind the finish line.

"A small drawback?" Rainbow asked.

"Yep, our poor Ditzy can't brake to save her life." Cloud Kicker explained.

Ditzy crashed into Cloud Kicker's cloud after having passed the finish line. Her momentum was big enough to make her pierce the cloud's end with her head. Cloud Kicker flew near the head of her teammate, as Ditzy shook it vigorously to get her mind clear from the crash.

"Nice catch, Cloudy." Ditzy said happily. "Did I do good?" She asked eagerly.

Cloud Kicker eyed the score screen. "Why don't you see by yourself?" She said softly, grabbing Ditzy's head and gently turning it so that she could see the screen.

On the screen, the following message appeared.

Ponyville Team : Ditzy Doo.   Time : 53.61s = WR  Rank : 1

Ponyville's supporters bursted into a huge explosions of screams of joy. Cloud Kicker pulled Ditzy out of the cloud before hugging her fiercely. Pinkie had pulled out her traditional Party Cannon to celebrate the first medal of the Games. Down below, Ponyville's team kept chanting Ditzy's name, applauding madly. Ditzy flew down to her teammates, who tried to bury her into a group hug.

Back on the platform, the others contesters kept applauding Ditzy with dumbstruck expressions on their faces. Cloud Kicker smirked when she saw Lightning Dust kicked the cloud violently, venting her frustration from losing her medal. Gilda was next to her trying to calm her. Cloud Kicker walked close to her.

"Don't feel bad. It happens to everyone to have their performance on thin ice." Cloud Kicker whispered slowly, before going to the cloud's edge.

Lightning Dust and Gilda blinked profusely, before realizing what Cloud Kicker had said. Gilda reacted first by grabbing Cloud Kicker's shoulder.

"Hold on you..." Gilda started.

"Take your hand away!" Cloud Kicker said in a low threatening tone. "Despite what people say, I do have standards. And I don't tolerate scum like you touching me." She added, snapping her wings open to make Gilda let go of her.

Cloud Kicker's sour mood lasted the time it took to land next to her friends who pulled her into the group hug. She quickly started to laugh and chant with the others. Ponyville had just won the first gold medal of the games thanks to Ditzy. All of the members of Ponyville were happy for that, and they knew it wouldn't be the only one!

	
	


> Invitation to the Manehattenite Household
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The first gold medal of the Games had been given to Ditzy by Princess Luna. It was tradition for the Moon Princess to give the medals in every flying competition. Ditzy had never been seen so proud when the dark blue ribbon holding the medal was passed around her neck. She took a flying tour of the Coliseum along with Soarin and the Stalliongradi who had won the bronze medal. She was so happy that, once again, Cloud Kicker had to catch her with a cloud to make her stop flying.

After Pinkie Pie announced the end of this day's trials, the teams returned to their respective locker room while the spectators slowly exited the Coliseum. After bidding a good evening to the princesses and her friends, Octavia went to Ponyville team's locker room exit to see Vinyl. Rarity had followed her to see Applejack and Twilight decided to tag along, she wanted to congratulate Applejack and Vinyl for their good performances on the Games' first day. The trio arrived to their locker room and saw the Ponyville Team leaving. Rarity rushed toward Applejack. Vinyl wasn't with them.

"Where's Vinyl?" Octavia asked Cloud Kicker. Applejack being busy making out with Rarity who had proposed a kiss to reward her for beating Spitfire and Rainbow Dash.

"She's in the shower." Cloud Kicker explained. "She only takes one when no one's fifteen feet near the shower stall." She added with an expression that said You probably know why. "Although, surely for you, she'll make an exception." She whispered to the cellist, who nodded slowly, before turning toward the others. "Why don't we go at Bon-Bon's to celebrate Ditzy's medal. Yes, Zecora. No alcohol allowed." She added quickly toward her coach who just chuckled before leaving.

All her teammates shouted their agreement with Cloud Kicker's idea. Even if Applejack's shout was a lot more muffled than the others, as she was still lips locked with Rarity. Twilight accepted Cloud Kicker's invitation to join them, not without a small growing blush. Octavia said that she would just wait for Vinyl before joining them. After a few minutes, Vinyl got out of the room, wearing her track suit and still drying her hair with a towel.

"Hey there, my little cellist." Vinyl cooed, before pecking Octavia.

"Hello, my little sprinter." Octavia giggled. "You did great!"

"Mah! I didn't win." Vinyl shrugged.

"You were on par with Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, two of the fastest runners in the country." Octavia gently said. "That's something worthy of a reward. Beside, you can always beat them in the finals." She added before gently kissing Vinyl on both cheeks which started becoming lightly pink.

"I guess I can do that." Vinyl whispered before leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Ahem." Coughed a strict feminine voice. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Octavia groaned internally when she heard that voice. That was the voice of her mother. She and Vinyl turned their heads toward where the voice came from. Vinyl's eyes widened when she saw Octavia's mother. The resemblance was striking.

"Octavia, you didn't tell me you had an older sister." Vinyl chuckled playfully, Octavia simply rolled her eyes.

"Vinyl, meet my mother, Sonata Philharmonica." Octavia said in a very polite tone. "Mother, this is Vinyl Almata Apple Scratch."

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Philharmonica." Vinyl said in a very formal voice.

"Countess." Sonata replied.

"Pardon?" Vinyl blinked in confusion.

"Lady Philharmonica is my daughter's title." Sonata explained matter-of-factly. "Mine's Countess Philharmonica."

"Oh! Did not know that." Vinyl shrugged, before starting to dry her hair again.

"Is there something we can do for you, Mother?" Octavia asked in a neutral tone.

"Well, I'm here to invite Ms Apple for dinner." Sonata explained casually.

"Oh! A dinner. Nice, when?" Vinyl asked.

"Tonight at Eight PM." Sonata answered. "Is that possible for you?"

"Hmmmm! Normally, I don't have to compete in tomorrow's trials." Vinyl pondered. "So, I guess that I can make it."

"But Vinyl, your teammates are at Bon-Bon's to celebrate Ditzy's medal." Octavia remarked. 

"Oh! That complicates things." Vinyl bit her lips.

"I don't see why." Sonata said casually. "It's not everyday that you're invited in the house of the High Count of Manehatten. It's considered a great honor."

"No offense Countess, but between meeting a High Count I've never seen before and celebrating a friend's success, the choice is easy to make." Vinyl said in seriousness.

"Fantastic, we'll see you tonight then." Sonata nodded. "Octavia will explain to you where we're staying." She added before walking away, leaving a sighing cellist and a bewildered athlete in a red tracksuit.

"What just happened?" Vinyl asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"You weren't clear enough for Mother." Octavia sighed. "If you're not precise with her, she'd take every word you'd say to her advantages."

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, you're expected for dinner at my father's table." Octavia answered matter-of-factly.

"I thought it was the High Count of Manehatten who had invited me." Vinyl blinked in confusion.

"And who do you think my father is?" Octavia asked with a crooked eyebrow.

Vinyl stared at the empty space around her for a few seconds. "I feel dumb for not having realized it before." Vinyl declared to one in particular. "So, I suppose you want me to go." She said, turning toward Octavia.

"In all honesty, not really." Octavia shook her head. "I know why my parents, especially Mother, want to meet you so much, and I think you don't need that for the moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Vinyl asked curiously.

Octavia explained the reasons of her parents insistence on meeting Vinyl in details. If the concerned party was annoyed by the fact that Octavia's parents only wanted to settle things down with the incident with Cornelio, she wasn't showing it. She kept listening with calm to everything Octavia was saying, waiting to be sure she was finished. 

"Well, I guess I have to go now." Vinyl shrugged when Octavia ended her explanations.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Octavia said quickly.

"It's ok, Octavia. That's something that needs to be done." Vinyl explained softly. "The sooner it's done, the sooner we can let that story behind us."

"If you're certain then. But what about the others? They're probably waiting for you." Octavia asked with concern.

"I'll explain everything to them. They should understand." Vinyl said hopefully. "Anyway, I'd better be going. I have to explain myself to the others, coming back and forth to Sweet Apple Acres to get changed and be there on time. Meet you back at your hotel?" 

"All right, see you in a bit." Octavia said, pecking Vinyl's lips.

"I'll be there as fast as I can." Vinyl winked.





Fortunately, Applejack and the other members of Ponyville's team didn't mind that Vinyl skipped their celebration. While she didn't like to leave her friends and her sister like that, Vinyl was grateful they had accepted her reason. After a quick journey to Sweet Apple Acres, she had tried to get in the bathroom to get ready. Something that was harder than expected.

"Come on, Big Mac!" Vinyl yelled as she knocked vigorously the bathroom's door. "I need the bathroom, come out!"

"Ah'm busy!" Her brother yelled back angrily. "An' with ya staying out there yellin', Ah'll probably be for a while!"

"I don't have time for this! I'm gonna be late for my dinner with Octavia's family!" Vinyl shouted. "Let me in!"

"Why don' ya use the gym's bathroom?"

"Because my stuff are inside THIS bathroom's cupboard." Vinyl explained. "Come on, you're not showering, or using the toilet! Why can't I get in?"

"Because Ah'm doin' somethin"!"

"Are you decent?"

"Huuh, yes! Why?" 

"Because I'm going in!" Vinyl shouted with determination, as she magically unlocked the door. "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, BIG MAC!" Vinyl bellowed in anger as she entered the bathroom. 

"What?" Big Mac said, starting in surprise.

"We've told you already to not use our stuff to wax your chest! Use your own wax, damn it!"

"But yours is less painful to use!" Big Mac sheepishly said.

"I don't care! Man up and suffer in silence or buy some for you instead of using our pot!" Vinyl shouted. "Ow! Gross! It's full of your hair now!" She added with disgust, as she looked at the state of her and Applejack's pot of depilatory wax. "Grraaaah! Get out!"

"Vinyl, come on, let me finish now!" 

"I SAID, GET OUT!" Vinyl shouted, before literally kicking her big brother out of the bathroom and and locking the door. Leaving Big Mac in the corridor, shirtless, with a half of his torso shining because of the wax.

"Ya know, ya could give me the pot since ya ain't gonna use it!" Big Mac huffed. The door opened to let a wax pot fly directly at Big Macintosh, who ended up with wax all over his face. "Thank ya kindly!" He added grimly before picking up the pot.

"You're welcome!" Vinyl shouted from the now closed bathroom door.





Vinyl had managed to get dressed and dolled up a little. She had opted for a her classical dark pants with a white blouse and matching jacket instead of a dress, none of the ones she had were the kind of dress you'd wear at a Noble's table. A tad too rustic, Rarity would have said. She joined Octavia in front of her Hotel. Her lover was wearing a beautiful dark grey evening dress. They walked toward the small estate Octavia's family had rented to assist the Games, Octavia gently holding Vinyl's arm.

"Good evening, My Lady." A middle aged butler said with a little bow, after holding the door open for Octavia and Vinyl. "Your parents and their guests were waiting for you."

"Thank you, Sebastian..." Octavia said softly. "Hang on, what guests?" She added with surprise.

"Well, your uncle and his wife are here and some of your friends from the Orchestra are here as well." Sebastian said slowly. "Didn't the Countess tell you?"

"No, she didn't." Octavia sighed. "Thank you, anyway." she added softly to the butler before leading Vinyl inside the house.

"Wasn't that supposed to be a simple dinner with your parents?" Vinyl asked uneasily.

"It was supposed to." Octavia nodded. "Looks like Mother decided otherwise." She added as they entered in the living room, 

"Octavia, my dear! It's been so long!" A blue haired noble man with a small mustache said happily when he noticed the couple entering.

"Uncle! It's so good to see you." Octavia beamed at her Uncle. "Vinyl, this is my uncle, Fancy Pants. Uncle, meet Vinyl Apple."

"Nice to meet you." Vinyl said politely, shaking hands with Octavia's uncle.

"Nice to meet you as well, Dear." Fancy Pants nodded. "I saw your qualifications trials. Quite a remarkable performance."

"Thank you." Vinyl smiled.

"Uncle, where is Mother?" Octavia asked softly. "I'd like to have a word with her."

"She's over there, with Fleur and your friends from the Orchestra." Fancy Pants said, tilting his head toward a corner of the room.

"Thank you. Vinyl, I'll be right back." Octavia said calmly, before walking toward the small group in the corner of the room.

" Ok, see you in a bit." Vinyl casually said, trying hard to not watching her leave with too much insistence. "So, you're Octavia's Uncle."

"Indeed I am." Fancy replied slowly. "Care for some Apple Cider?"

"I always care for some Apple Cider." Vinyl nodded happily. "One of the best beverage ever!"

"I completely understand your point of view." Fancy chuckled. "One of my favorite drinks as well, I can't start my day without a glass of cider. That and a slice of bacon." 

Vinyl blinked a couple of times before smiling. "I think you and I are going to get along quite nicely, Mr Fancy Pants!"





"Octavia, you're finally there." A woman with short brown hair, wearing a cyan dress.

"Good evening Brass, Frederic, Aunt Fleur, Mother." Octavia said slowly.

"Good evening to you as well, my dear." Sonata said softly.

"Mother, could I...." Octavia started.

"Say, Octavia. " Brass said eagerly. "Is that your girlfriend?" She asked quickly, pointing at Vinyl with a barely concealed excitement.

"Heu, yes Brass. That's her." Octavia said, taken a bit by surprise by her friend's enthusiasm.

"She seems to have bond rather quickly with your uncle." Fleur noted with a chuckle as Vinyl and Fancy were clinking their glass together. "If you excuse me, I'm going to bid her welcome."

"I guess we should do that as well." Frederic nodded. Following Fleur toward the two blue haired persons with Brass. 

After shorts introductions and a small conversation, the group decided to follow Sebastian, the butler, in an other room, leaving Octavia alone with her mother.

"What is the meaning of this, Mother?" Octavia asked vigorously, when no one was within earshot.

"What do you mean, Dear?" Sonata tilted her head in confusion.

"You know what I mean!" Octavia snapped. "Why did you invite Uncle and my friends? I thought Father and you would want to meet her alone."

"Well, your Uncle has a rare gift to judge people!" Sonata said matter-of-factly. "And I value his opinion a lot. And I'm sure it can help in your friend's problem with Cornelio."

"Ok, fine! Let's say I can understand why Uncle's here." Octavia conceded furiously. "It's still doesn't answer my question about why Beauty Brass and Frederic are here. And I'll have you know that Vinyl's my LOVER, not just a friend!" Octavia insisted in an angry tone.

"That's not a way to talk to your mother, Young Lady!" Chastised a deep manly voice.

Octavia snapped her head toward the voice and saw her father, Vito Philharmonico. Her father was a six foot tall man in his early fifty, with short black grizzled hair. He had a strong stature for someone his age. Octavia backed away a little when she saw the angry frown on his face.

"I'm sorry for that, Father." Octavia said slowly.

"It's ok, my dear!" Vito said as his expression softened.

"As for your friends' presence, " Sonata explained. "I hope that they could give her a good idea of what your usual company looks like. You know so that this Vinyl Apple can realize she's not at her place here."

"WHAT?!" Octavia and Vito nearly shouted simultaneously.

"Where did that non-sense come from, Sonata?" Vito asked, extremely bewildered. "I had agreed for your brother to come and help us with Ms Apple's situation with Cornelio. But what's this story about making her realizing her place?" He asked with anger. 

"It's pretty obvious what it is!" Octavia snapped with teary eyes. "And don't play the innocent, Father. Nothing happens in this house without you knowing it." She added with a shaking voice. "You both don't want to give her a chance."

"Octavia, I only want what's best for you." Sonata said in a motherly tone. "And I simply think that this Ms Apple isn't fit for..."

"I don't care about what you think, Mother." Octavia snapped, her disgust pretty clear as she spat the last word. "You don't even have the slightest idea of what's best for me. You don't get that I love her!"

"Octavia, that's enough!" Sonata said coldly. "Listen to me...

"No! I'll not listen to an old hag like y...."

SLAP

"You'll not speak to me like that, child!" Sonata snapped.

Octavia drew her hand to her, now bright red, left cheek slowly. Her cheek wasn't red because of anger, nor embarrassment. Octavia's eyes trembled as she looked at her mother. Realizing slowly what have just happened, her mother had slapped her! Her father stood behind his wife, his mouth agape from what his wife had just done. Sonata showed no sign of remorse. She just stood there with an angered frown on her face.

It was too much for Octavia, she just walked away from her parents, trying to hold back her tears. She opened the door to the corridor in which she collided into someone. She looked up and saw it was Vinyl.

"Hey, Octavia! Just to tell you that.....Octavia, are you ok?" Vinyl said with concern when she saw the tears in her lover's eyes, before she snuggled her head in Vinyl's chest and started crying. "Octavia, what happened?" She said as she pulled Octavia's face up.

Vinyl's eyes widened when she caught a small glimpse of the coloration of Octavia's cheek, before her lover tried to bury her face in her chest again. Vinyl started to hug her gently and slowly pat Octavia's head while gently rocking her lover. 

"It's ok. I'm here." Vinyl cooed gently. "Fleur, Brass, can you take her outside for a bit?" Vinyl asked slowly to Octavia's aunt and friend who both nodded immediately. Octavia's grip on Vinyl tightened. "Octavia, honey, it's just for a matter of minutes. I'll join you outside quickly. I promise." Vinyl whispered before pecking her lover's forehead.

It took some effort but Fleur and Brass managed to pull Octavia outside the house. As soon as Octavia was out, Vinyl slowly make her way toward Sonata who eyed her with anger and disgust, her husband, her brother and Frederic only watched the two women in silence.

"What do you want?" Sonata snarled. "Don't you think you've done enough already?"

"Pray tell, what did I do?" Vinyl said in a cold calm tone.

"You attacked my son, you've turned my daughter against him and me."

"You might want to change the subject of those two phrases." Vinyl deadpanned her. "Anyway, you know what I should be doing right now?"

"Leaving and never coming back? And giving me my daughter back?" Sonata retorted angrily.

"Well don't worry, I'm going to do the first two." Vinyl nodded, her voice as cold as ice. "But, after what I just saw, there's no way in Tartarus that I'll ever even consider the third! But, that's not what I meant."

"And what did you mean?" Sonata asked slowly.

"I should probably punch you for having raised your hand on Octavia!" Vinyl said with her gaze as cold as her voice. "But, I'm not gonna do it. I won't give you this satisfaction!" She added slowly. "It would be to much attention for the lousy excuse for a human being that you are."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Sonata groaned. "Do you have any idea of who I am?"

"You could be the High Princess herself, after what you did, I would still talk to you the way you deserve to be talked to." Vinyl said slowly. "But let me tell you something, right now! You give me one reason, one tiny reason, to even think you've hurt Octavia again, I won't stop myself from hurting you back." She said in a low threatening tone, before turning heels and walking toward the corridor.

"You dare threaten me, the Countess of Manehatten? In front of my husband and my brother?" Sonata shouted.

"They sure do look eager to defend your honor." Vinyl said sarcastically, without turning back or stopping. "Beside, I'm an Apple." Vinyl added slowly. "Apples do not make threats. They only make promises!"

Vinyl left the house and saw Octavia, still sobbing in her aunt's arms with Brass slowly patting her back, a few meters away for the front door. She slowly made her way toward her lover who looked up at the sound of her footsteps. When she saw Vinyl, Octavia rushed to hug her lover who held her tight. Vinyl's gaze went to the two other women.

"Thank you," She said slowly. "I'll take her back to her hotel."

"Don't thank me, I'll do anything for my niece." Fleur said firmly. "I can fetch my carriage if you want."

"That won't be necessary." Vinyl assured, before gently picking up Octavia who curled in her lover's grip. "I can carry her easily. It was a pleasure meeting both of you, your husband and Frederic. Good night!" She said before slowly walking toward the town hotel.

"It was pleasure meeting you as well, Vinyl!" Beauty Brass said as Vinyl walked away. "Too bad, it was in those circumstances." She added with a sigh. "I'll grab Frederic and leave."

"It's for the best, I doubt that you want to be there when Vito and Fancy will get out of their stun." Fleur nodded.





It didn't take too much time for Vinyl to make the way back to the hotel. She walked in through the back door, in case of some reporters being stationed in front of the building, since few members of the Council of Harmony were staying in here. After locking the door after them, Vinyl put Octavia under the bed's covers. 

"Please, can you stay with me tonight?" Octavia pled with a shaken voice, grabbing Vinyl's arm when she withdrew it from the bed.

"I had no intention of leaving, Octavia." Vinyl said softly with a nod. 

Vinyl took her jacket and shoes off before joining Octavia in the bed. Octavia quickly came close to her to hug her lover deeply. While Octavia was slowly calming herself to sleep in Vinyl's embrace, the anger in the blue haired woman toward Octavia's mother was slowly decreasing. Not assaulting Sonata had been against all what her instincts were telling her to do, but Vinyl didn't care. Octavia needed a supporting and caring lover, not an angry, hotblooded and violent girlfriend. And Vinyl was the first one to care about her lover's needs.

"Vinyl.." Octavia whispered in a sleepy voice.

"Yes, Octavia?"

"Thank you for staying with me!" Octavia whispered with a repressed yawn, before closing her eyes.

"Anything for you, Octavia." Vinyl assured, gently kissing her lover's forehead. "Anything."


	




	


	

 
> Cloud Kicker can change! (a bit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After having accepted Vinyl's excuse for missing the small celebration, the Ponyville team along with Rarity and Twilight were enjoying the nice atmosphere that was omnipresent at Bon-Bon's. When Ditzy walked in, she was immediately grabbed by a happy crowd of Ponyvillian supporters who tossed her in the air, chanting about her victory. Bon-Bon had decided to offer a round as a reward for Ponyville's first medal.

The team and her two guests simply got together in a corner of the bar area, Lyra having brought mugs of cider, alcohol free cider, to them. Quickly enough, Allie, Raindrops and Ditzy went to the dance floor, causing a slight movement of panic as none of them could dance without bumping into the others by accident, while the others enjoyed their drinks safely. They kept chatting about the games for a while.

Rose didn't stay long. Wanting to rest her ankle, she was the first one to leave in company of Allie who had decided to walk her home. Raindrops had chosen to do the same afterwards while Ditzy had been monopolized by Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts who wanted to speak about her flying technique and her experience in the Academy.

They had been quite shocked when Ditzy told them that her arrival at the Academy was purely fortuitous. At that time, she was doing a delivery for her father as a summer job. She simply happened to pass through an obstacle course the Bolts had settled for practice. The instructor wanted her to stay for a short period evaluation, something she agreed on doing.

"And how come you didn't get in?" Rainbow asked eagerly.

"Well, you saw it earlier." Ditzy shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "I can't brake!"

"You know, we could teach you that easily." Soarin noted, earning an approving nod from Spitfire and Fleetfoot. They seemed to be determined in recruiting the postwoman.

"Oh! I already have someone to teach me that." Ditzy said happily. "Cloud Kicker's been helping me for a long time now."

"No real surprise you didn't get it then." Spitfire said with a smug smirk. She opened her mouth clearly wanting to say something more but she refrained herself.

"Don't worry, I know how to brake." Ditzy said with a small smile. "I just can't get hang of it yet. Cloudy just helps me practicing that every time she's available. Too bad it's not as often as I'd like." Ditzy shrugged.

"Too many dates in her agenda, I presume." Spitfire said slowly, with a hint of disdain. Something that didn't go unnoticed by her partners who frowned at their leader.

"Not really, no." Ditzy shook her head, completely oblivious to Spitfire's tone. "She's been without a date for a few months now. Much to a lot of people's disappointment. Probably too busy with her job." Ditzy pondered out loud.

"Kinda hard to believe." Spitfire said casually. "Anyway, back to our main topic, if you come into the Bolts, you'd be able to brake in a neck of time. You could be the team's new acrobat."

"Nah!" Ditzy waved off immediately, much to everyone's surprise. "I appreciate the thoughts, but I think that being a postwoman is more fun." She smiled. "Beside, the schedule of a wonderbolt's life would be bad for my daughter."

"You have a daughter?" Soarin blinked. "That's so awesome. How old is she?"

"She's only six." Ditzy beamed, before pulling something from her pocket. "Here, I have a picture." She added extending a photo of a small blond girl biting vigorously on a muffin.

"Aww, she's so cute." Soarin said softly as he looked at the picture.

"I didn't know you liked kids, Soarin." Fleetfoot said casually.

"Are you kidding me? I love kids! I can't wait to have one." Soarin said happily, giving Ditzy her picture back.

"What do you know.." Spitfire whispered to herself, eyeing her partner from a new perspective.

"Anyway, I better be going." Ditzy said as she looked at the time. "It's nearly bed time for my little Muffin."

"Well, You better go tuck her in, then." Soarin chuckled with a wink.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do!" Ditzy giggled.

Cloud Kicker and Applejack had been keeping an eye on Ditzy's table for a while and kept watching over their friend as Ditzy bid goodbye to the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash and exited the tavern. Well, not exactly her. They had been watching Lightning Dust and Gilda who were behind Ditzy's table. Lightning had been glaring at Ditzy during all her conversation with Rainbow and the Bolts. Apparently, she still hadn't been over the fact that Ditzy beat her out of the top three. Gilda had been only taking small dark glances at Cloud Kicker, every now and then.

"Applejack, Darling, are you even listening to me?" Rarity tried to get her lover's attention, before looking at what Applejack had been looking at. "And, why are you checking Lightning Dust out?" She asked with anger.

"What?!" Applejack nearly shouted, completely taken aback by her lover's question. "Ah ain't checking her out!"

"You kept on looking at her and not listening to what I said." Rarity said slowly with an angered frown. "If that's not checking her out, then I don't know what it is."

"It ain't like that, Sugarcube." Applejack assured softly, coming close to Rarity. "Ah promise to ya, Ah have eyes only for ya. And ya know Ah always keep ma promises."

"Why were you looking at her then?" Twilight chimed in with suspicion.

"Because we know that Lightning Dust's the one responsible for Rose's fall at the hurdles." Cloud Kicker intervened seriously before Applejack could answer.

"What?!" Rarity and Twilight said in unison, both shocked from the surprise.

"It's true.." Applejack started to explain what they had found out on Rose's shoes and the conversation Cloud Kicker had heard between Lightning Dust and Gilda. ."....That's why we've been keepin' an eye on them." Applejack said slowly.

"I can't believe it. To think she'd do that only for a qualification tryouts." Rarity whispered in shock.

"Maybe we should talk to the princesses or Rainbow about it." Twilight suggested slowly. "They can probably do something."

"No!" Cloud Kicker shook her head quickly. "Nor the Princesses, nor Rainbow would accept this without proof. Just like for the Games committee." She explained softly. "But don't worry, we know what to do."

"You're not going to cheat back, are you?" Rarity asked slowly,with a pinch of worry in her voice.

"'Course not! Sugarcube." Applejack assured before pulling Rarity close to her. "Ah couldn't face ya or maself again, if Ah ever cheat in the Games." Rarity smiled at her lover, remembering how honest Applejack was. 

"Sorry, Applejack." Rarity said slowly. "I should have known better than to ask such question to you."

"No need to apologize, Sugar." Applejack said, before getting up. "Ah think Ah neglected ya far too much in this here 'soirée'." Applejack chuckled. "Care for a dance?"

"I thought you didn't like dancing, Dear?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Dancin' with ya ain't the same thing." Applejack grinned. "With ya, Ah could dance all night long!"

Rarity beamed. "In that case, let's go." She said softly, before taking Applejack's hand and going to the dance floor.

"Looks like it's just you and me then, Twilight." Cloud Kicker noted.

"It seems so." Twilight stammered with a growing blush, causing Cloud Kicker to look at her with curiosity.

"You seem kinda embarrassed. Want me to leave?" Cloud Kicker said slowly.

"No! no!" Twilight quickly said. "It's just that...."

"What? Come on, you can tell me."

"Well, it's that last time I heard you say that sentence." Twilight explained uneasily, poking her forefingers together. "It was in other circumstances." She concluded with her cheeks bright red.

"Oh!" Cloud Kicker chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Hehe! Sorry."

"No, it's ok." Twilight waved off, trying to be nonchalant about it, but failing miserably.

"If you're uncomfortable with me around, I can go." Cloud Kicker said softly. "I won't hold it against you."

"No, really it's ok." Twilight assured. 

-
-
-
-

"Are you sure?" Cloud Kicker asked, finally breaking the awkward silence that had settled between the two of them.

"No." Twilight conceded with a sigh.

"I'll just go." Cloud Kicker said softly before standing up. 

"No!" Twilight nearly shouted, grabbing Cloud Kicker's arm. "You can stay."

"Ooookay, I'm getting mixed signals right now." Cloud Kicker blinked in confusion. "Didn't you just say that I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Yes, I did say that." Twilight nodded slowly.

"Then, why are you telling me to stay?"

"Be-Beca-Because I never said that it was in a bad way.." Twilight stammered nervously.

"Oh!" Cloud Kicker let out softly as she sat back. "Really?"

"Yes." Twilight said with a nod. 

"Wow, that's new!" A bewildered Cloud Kicker said. "What do we do with that?"

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you the expert in seduction between the two of us?" Twilight asked in a sarcastic tone with a crooked eyebrow. 

"That may be true." Cloud Kicker slowly conceded, slightly offended by Twilight's tone." But, being knowledgeable in one field of expertise doesn't save you from unprecedented situations: like this one." She added in a reproachful tone.

"Well, excuse me for being different than the others!" Twilight snapped in anger.

"What do you want me to do? Start a scientific research on the matter?" Cloud Kicker snapped back.

"A scholar would have." Twilight remarked.

"Too bad, I'm a guard not a scholar. I don't do research!" Cloud Kicker replied angrily.

"Well, I'm a scholar and I'm pretty good at undertaking a scientific research!" Twilight nearly shouted.

"GOOD, maybe you can take care of it then! It would help us both!"

"You know what? I might just take care of that!" Twilight retorted furiously.

"Do you need an assistant or a test-subject?" Cloud Kicker asked with anger. "So that I can volunteer just to make you uncomfortable and ruining your research."

"In that case, why don't we start right now? If you're so eager to participate." Twilight shouted.

"I can't right now, I have trials tomorrow. Maybe on friday night."

"FINE! FRIDAY NIGHT IT IS!" Twilight retorted loudly as she stood up. "Can you walk with me to my hotel room?" She asked in an angry shout, before moving toward the exit.

"I'll be very happy to do so!" Cloud Kicker shouted back, going after Twilight. "Bon-Bon, put it on my tab." She shouted at the tavern owner, pointing at her and Twilight's drink.

"huh...Ok!" Bon-Bon answered, scratching her forehead in confusion. "Lyra, what just happened?" She asked her friend.

"I think Cloud Kicker just asked Twilight Sparkle out." Lyra answered while writing down on a notepad fervently.

"You're writing down how she did it, aren't you?" Bon-Bon asked with suspicion.

"It's my right to choose to not answer that question." Lyra said firmly.





Cloud Kicker happily escorted Twilight back to her hotel. It might have been awkward after their weird outburst at Bon-Bon's. But after a few minutes of walking, Cloud Kicker started to laugh at the situation, soon joined by Twilight. 

"We got to find out an other way to settle a date for next time." Cloud Kicker playfully said. 

"Next time?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah." Cloud Kicker said slowly as her good mood went down a bit at Twilight's question. "I mean, if you're ok with it." 

"I'm ok with it." Twilight quickly said, picking up on the guard's mood. "I was just surprised that you want to do it again afterward."

"Why is that so much surprising?" Cloud Kicker asked in confusion.

"Well, I thought you only did one night flings." Twilight shuffled awkwardly, with a shaking and embarrassed voice. Her embarrassment didn't last long as Cloud Kicker chuckled at her answer.

"Normally, I do." Cloud Kicker said playfully, before turning a bit serious. "But, to tell you the truth, it's been a while since I did those kind of things." She added slowly.

"Really?" Twilight asked with puzzled look.

"Yeah, I got a good talk with AJ and Vinyl a bit after you left this summer." Cloud Kicker explained. "It made me realize a few things."

"What kind of things?"

"You know, stuff about calming myself a bit, maybe trying to settle down instead of fooling around." Cloud Kicker shrugged.

That stopped Twilight right in her tracks, she froze at what Cloud Kicker had just said. Cloud Kicker kept on walking for a bit before realizing her interlocutor wasn't there anymore. She looked back and saw Twilight standing twenty meters behind her. She walked back to her and waved slowly in front of the dark skinned woman's eyes. They didn't react.

"Oh Great! I broke her." Cloud Kicker commented, as she was poking at Twilight's shoulder, hoping for a reaction. "What to do?" Cloud Kicker pondered about what could break Twilight out of her trance. "Of course!" She tapped her fist in her palm in realization. She came close to Twilight's right ear. "Ms Sparkle, "She said in a very stern voice. "Your copy of yesterday's assignment is missing. Are you sure you didn't give it later than the others?" 

Twilight blinked.

"What?! No, I've never given an assignment later than the others. I'm not tardy!" Twilight said quickly, with a pinch of fear in her voice. She looked around and saw Cloud Kicker smirking at her. "Ho! That's clever." Twilight groaned sarcastically, realizing what had just happened.

"Well, I had to stop you from being a statue." Cloud Kicker chuckled. 

"Not funny." Twilight pouted. Twilight pondered in silence while the two of them had start walking again toward Twilight's hotel. "You really meant that?" She asked hesitantly.

"Meant what?" 

"What you were saying about stop fooling around?"

"Mhm!" Cloud Kicker nodded. "Before, I was always up for fun but that changed after the night you and I had." She explained slowly.

"Really?" Twilight asked in disbelief. "How come ?"

"Too make it simple, I've been in the dating industry since I'm fifteen years old." Cloud Kicker explained with a small giggle. "And now, eight years later, the date I appreciate the most is the one you and I had this summer. And we didn't do a thing."

"That's hardly true." Twilight contradicted with a small blush.

"Well, sure we did a few things!" Cloud Kicker said, scratching the tip of her nose with a small embarrassed smile. "But, that wasn't the best part of the date."

"I was that bad, huh?" Twilight said sadly, looking at her feet.

"Absolutely not. You were very good. And believe me, I know what I'm talking about." Cloud Kicker reassured her. "It's just the moment we had later on, when we just talked...."She added in a dreamy tone. "That was just the best!"

They kept on walking for a few seconds in silence. Cloud Kicker felt something grabbing her hand and gently squeezing it tight. She looked down and saw Twilight's hand, her gaze went up to meet the the deep purpled haired woman's face. Twilight was smiling at her softly, her purple eyes looking at her fondly. 

"It was the best for me as well." Twilight whispered.

Twilight slowly leaned in, her eyes half closed and pushing her lips slightly forward. Cloud Kicker slowly did the same. Their mouths stopped an inch from each other. Cloud Kicker felt Twilight's breath tickling her lips, she shivered in anticipation before closing the distance. 

Twilight's lips were even softer than what she remembered. Cloud Kicker felt the grip on her hand disappear, only to feel Twilight's hand on her cheek while her other hand was on her neck trying to pull her close, without much success. All her talents and strengths in the field of magic had left Twilight without enough physical strength to pull the strong guard she was kissing out of her stance. Cloud Kicker relaxed her shoulders, slowly giving in Twilight's embrace. She passed her arms around Twilight's back and closed her eyes to enjoy the kiss.

Cloud Kicker had her share of experience in the field of kisses. But, the one she was having now was different. She couldn't process it how or why, but it just felt better. Just like that moment when she talked to Twilight about nothing and everything couple of months ago. It was just better then everything she had ever experienced.

Her normally sharp senses were a bit numbed by the fact she was enjoying the contact of Twilight's lips on her own. But, fortunately not enough to not hear the sounds of a couple coming toward them from beyond the street corner. Normally, she would have shrugged it off, but that was before she could hear the voices clearly.

"Are you sure about that tavern, Cadence?" Said a deep manly voice with an uneasy tone.

"Come on, Shining! The girls kept on saying it was great! Why not give it a shot?" A crystal clear voice playfully replied.

Cloud Kicker's eyes snapped open when she recognized her captain and his wife's voices. She couldn't let them see what she was doing. She conjured her large dark fuchsia wings and tightened her grip on Twilight. Probably too much, considering the muffled yelp of pain Twilight let out in Cloud Kicker's mouth. With one powerful flap, she jumped backward to a small dead end alley behind her, Twilight still in her arms. She used one of her wings to cover them, the dark tone of it added to the darkness of the alley was perfect to hide them.

"What was that all ab..." Twilight started angrily after breaking the kiss, before Cloud Kicker silenced her with her hand.

"Sshhhusssshhh!" Cloud Kicker whispered, tilting her head toward the street.

Twilight turned around to see where Cloud Kicker pointed and noticed with fear Shining Armor walking with Cadence close to him. She sighed in relief when they both passed in front of the alley without giving it any second thoughts. They both waited a couple of minutes, before starting to talk again.

"That was a close one." Cloud Kicker sighed.

"Yeah." Twilight assented slowly. "How did you notice them?"

"You gotta stay aware of your surroundings to be a good guard." Cloud Kicker explained casually.

"Thanks Faust and the other Three for that." Twilight chuckled. "So, where were we?" She added before kissing Cloud Kicker again.

"Twil...wait....we...ca....o.   .side....ke....at." Cloud Kicker said trying to break away from the kiss.

"What?"

"Ahem! We can't do it outside like that." Cloud Kicker repeated slowly.

"Oh, yeah!" Twilight said in realization. "It's ok, I gotta a trick for that." She added playfully, her hand glowing in a purple aura, before clacking her fingers.

The only thing Cloud Kicker saw after that was a bright purple flash. She blinked and noticed that she was still in front of Twilight but everything around them had changed. They weren't in the alley anymore, they were in a fancy hotel suite, bigger than Cloud Kicker's apartment. 

"Phew!" Cloud Kicker whistled in amazement. "You can do teleportation spells!"

"One of my specialties!" Twilight nodded happily, before casting a spell on the door.

"What did this spell do?"

"Soundproofing spell. Not as good as Vinyl's but it still does the trick." Twilight said with a small growing blush. Her gaze shifting quickly between Cloud Kicker and the bed. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the concerned party.

"I thought you weren't ok with giving yourself too quickly." Cloud Kicker said slowly, remembering what had happened in her apartment two months ago.

"Well, if you remember correctly." Twilight explained in seriousness. "I said that I didn't want my first time to be a one night thing. But, with what you said earlier.." She left her sentence in suspense, biting her lower lip.

"Are you sure about that?" Cloud Kicker asked. Instead of giving an answer, Twilight only unbuttoned the long skirt she had been wearing to let if fall on the ground. "I'll take that as a yes!" Cloud Kicker stated with a hungry tone.

"Let's just say that the few stories I heard about you all agreed on one point." Twilight explained, taking a few steps back toward the bed while taking off her sweater and her shirt.

"You mean that I lay around for favors?" Cloud Kicker said slowly, making her way toward Twilight, unzipping her tracksuit jacket, revealing her racy skintight top. She wasn't angry, she knew how those stories pictured her and she never cared about it.

"Also, but I know that's not true, so I never gave any thoughts to that." Twilight said with pure sincerity. "I meant the part about how your skills are out of the norm. That got my interest picked." She added in a very unfamiliar sultry tone.

"Well, it won't be the first time that stories don't do me justice." Cloud Kicker said, delicately pushing Twilight on the bed. "I can assure you my skills are a lot more special than what people say about them." She added sensually, climbing on top of Twilight.

"I'll be judge of that, Lieutenant Kicker!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Lady Sparkle."






> Loud grumble and Hide and seek.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl woke up instantly. There had always been a few things that could wake her up in an instant. For example, if a small ray of light managed to get on her face, she would snapped her eyes open, that's why she had the thickest curtains at Sweet Apple Acres. But that couldn't be the reason she was awake, Octavia had told her that her windows gave view on the West, ideal for watching the sunset, not the sunrise.

It neither could be Applebloom wailing in the middle of the night, that had stopped when she started to walk. Except when she had nightmares. But, it was still not the reason! If her little sister was indeed having a nightmare, there was no way that Vinyl could have heard her in Octavia's bed at her hotel, despite all her protective sisterly instincts.

It wasn't Octavia either. Her cellist was peacefully sleeping in her arms. Last night had been tough for her, so Vinyl was glad that Octavia managed to get some sleep. Vinyl took a small glance at the clock on the nightstand. It was six-thirty AM. Today's trials started at ten-thirty. She still had a lot of time to get back to her home in order of getting prepared for the Games. Heck, she could also arrived late since she didn't have to participate in any trials today. She could sleep in with her lover, waiting a bit longer to wake her up, getting breakfast wit.....

GRRRRRUUUMMMBLE

'Now, I know why I'm awake.' Vinyl internally sighed as her stomach started to grumble rather loudly.

She was a bit scared that her belly noises would wake up Octavia. Thankfully, they didn't. She slowly and delicately got out of bed to search for something to satisfy her hungry stomach. She didn't realized at first why she was feeling that much hungry. Then she remembered what happened last night.

'Right, we did skip dinner last night.' Vinyl thought grimly.

Last night had been a total fiasco in its attempt to make Vinyl appreciated by Octavia's family. Well, maybe not with her uncle and aunt, that might have gone well with them. And Vinyl couldn't really have an opinion about her father, since she only saw him shocked at his wife's attitude. The only thing Vinyl was certain, was that she hated Octavia's mother. And her brother, but that wasn't really new for her. She had been hating him since she saw him whipping Alizee, and her on top of things.

Anyway, Vinyl's quest for something to eat was met with a bitter disappointment. She was resolute to simply go back to bed and wait for Octavia to wake to get breakfast. At the thought of breakfast, her stomach started to grumble again.

"Easy there, pal! I know what you want, but I'm not leaving Octavia alone to satisfy your urge!" Vinyl whispered with resolution, her hand on her rumbling belly.

She heard someone knocked softly at the door. Wondering who would come to see Octavia, this early in the morning, Vinyl peeked through the peephole and saw a young teenage boy with spiky green hair wearing a green and purple hoodie and holding a clipboard on the other side of the door. He wasn't a staff member and certainly not a journalist, so Vinyl opened the door. The boy was very surprised to see Vinyl.

"Oh, sorry." He quickly said, his cheeks pink from embarrassment. "I must have knocked at the wrong door."

"I'm not sure about that." Vinyl said softly. "Who's room are you looking for?"

"Octavia Philharmonica's!"

"Well, in that case, you didn't knock at the wrong door." Vinyl chuckled.

"Oh, good! Wait, who're you?" He asked with suspicion.

"Vinyl Apple!"

"Apple..Apple...Wait! Aren't you supposed to date Rarity?" He asked eagerly. "Doesn't that mean you broke up with her if you're in Octavia's room?" He asked with hope.

"Wrong Apple, kid! The one dating Rarity's my sis'!" Vinyl said with a raised eyebrow. "And, they're going steady at the moment!"

"Drats!" He muttered to himself. "Well, Rarity was alone this morning so there's still hope for that fling doesn't work out." He added with a small grin.

"I'm still right in front of you, you know." Vinyl said slowly, startling the boy who let his clipboard fell on the ground. "So, who're you and how do you know that Rarity was alone this morning? Come to think of it, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant!" The boy said with pride. "And, I'm the one who takes the Council's order for breakfast, during their stay at the hotel!"

"At six thirty in the morning?" Vinyl blinked with confusion.

"Yeah, I know!" Spike shrugged. "But, I follow Twilight's schedule for the morning. You know how 'crazy' she can get with schedules."

"Can't disagree with that!" Vinyl nodded. As she felt a light pain in her stomach, she decided to give in into hunger. "Anyway, you mentioned breakfast, is it possible to get it served in the room?"

"Sure, what do you want?" Spike asked, picking up his clipboard and his pencil, ready to take note.

"Okay, so we missed dinner last night," Vinyl pondered. "So, it'll be four scrambled eggs, two hash browns, some baked beans, a loaf of whole wheat bread, six...no eight slices of bacons. Extra-crispy for the bacon!" Vinyl insisted vigorously. "A pitcher of apple cider, butter, Honeycrisp's jam and for good luck, two blueberry muffins!"

"Are you sure it's gonna be enough for both of you?" Spike chuckled.

"Right!" Vinyl face-palmed. "I almost forgot Octavia's breakfast!"

"What?" Spike blinked in confusion.

"So for Octavia, four oatmeal pancakes with strawberry sirup. I know those are her favorites." Vinyl continued with a small smile. "Actually, I'm hungry for pancakes now. Make it eight, I'll eat what she can't. And a jug of orange juice and a mug of strong coffee, no cream, no sugar." Vinyl concluded. "Oh, and if they have some, two small lemon tartlets. She's just crazy about those."

"Ooookaaay!" Spike said slowly. "It should arrive shortly." He added before going to continue his wake up round.

"Thanks! See ya." Vinyl waved at him, before going back inside.

She walked slowly back toward the bed of the room, in which she found a half awaken Octavia looking at her lazily. Her sleepy face lit up with a small smile when she saw Vinyl taking her spot back in the bed. She nuzzled Vinyl's nose before gently pecking her lover's lips.

"Who were you talking to?" Octavia asked, repressing a yawn. 

"Twilight's assistant, Spike!"

"Oh, it's already passed six-thirty." Octavia said, rubbing her eyes awake. "I suppose you ordered breakfast, considering how noisy your stomach was earlier!"

"You heard that?" Vinyl said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment

"Vinyl, it sounded like I was sleeping next to a roaring lion!" Octavia giggled. "I'm sure that Twilight who's in the room above mine heard it as well!"

"That loud, huh?" Vinyl awkwardly chuckled.

"Quite!"

Octavia straightened herself in bed. As she lifted her face from her pillow, Vinyl caught a glimpse of her left cheek. While it wasn't as red as when Octavia bumped into her outside her parents' living room, Vinyl did notice a small purple dot that indicated the presence of a bruise. She delicately brushed it with her finger, causing Octavia to wince a bit.

"Let's take care of that, shall we?" Vinyl said slowly, before leaving the bed to fetch a tube of arnica cream in the bath room, along with some bandaids.

"It's that bad?" Octavia asked as Vinyl sat next to her, putting some cream on her fingertips.

"Not really, it's just to make it go away faster." Vinyl said softly, gently applying the cream on her lover's bruise, causing Octavia to wince a bit.

"Vinyl, what exactly did you do when I was waiting for you with my aunt and Brass, yesterday." Octavia asked hesitantly, after pondering about it while Vinyl was treating her.

"I was having a little chat with your mother." Vinyl said with contained anger. Vinyl used her magic place a small square shaped bandaid on Octavia's cheek. "There, good as new." She added with a lighter tone.

"Did you..." Octavia started.

"No, I didn't hit her." Vinyl answered her lover's unfinished question, shaking her head softly. "Not that I didn't want to, but I was more concerned about coming back to you as quickly as possible. You're way more important! But, I did warn her about what she can expect if she touches you again."

Octavia rested her forehead on Vinyl's. She closed her eyes as she sighed in contentment. She wouldn't have minded much if Vinyl had lost her temper back then. Had she been in the same situation, she wasn't sure she could have refrain herself. And Vinyl was a lot more hotblooded than her. Knowing all that, she couldn't not appreciate the fact her lover had chosen to take care of her instead of giving in to her anger.

"You're incredible, you know that." Octavia whispered. "I keep on causing problems to you and you keep on going through them for me." Octavia added softly, nuzzling Vinyl.

"What problems are you talking about?" Vinyl chuckled, nuzzling Octavia back. "As far as I'm concerned, the only things that I might suffer from because of you, are that I tend to blush a lot more than before and that my heart rate goes a bit faster every time I hear you speak."

"You know what I mean. The argument with your Grandmother, the accident with Amadeus, my brother, my mother. Even at the wedding, you endangered yourself for my sake." Octavia slowly said, with a saddened voice. "I've only caused you trouble so far..."

Vinyl interrupted her with a kiss. While a bit surprised at first, Octavia quickly started to kiss back. It was a bit rougher than usual, as Vinyl kept pushing forward, making Octavia lie on her back in bed. After a few minutes, Vinyl broke the kiss, standing on four on top of Octavia who was panting heavily.

"I don't want to hear that from you, Octavia." Vinyl said firmly. "You're one of the two best things that has ever happened to me. You don't cause me trouble at all, don't you forget it! Forget about my situation with your brother and mother, I'll take care of it."

"OK." Octavia nodded with a small smile.

Vinyl bent her neck down in order to peck Octavia's, quickly enough, the pecks were replaced by small love bites, much to Octavia's pleasure.

"Say Octavia," Vinyl said softly, not interrupting her actions. "How much time does it take to have the breakfast delivered here?"

"I'll say about half a hour." Octavia answered with difficulty. She was having a hard time gathering her thoughts under Vinyl's touch. "Why?"

"A bit short, but I can make it!" Vinyl muttered to herself. "As for why, I just got hungry for something else." She added in a sultry tone.

"And what would that be?" Octavia asked, blushing profusely.

"I'm craving for a cellist right now." Vinyl answered simply as she licked Octavia's neck sensually, sending happy shivers to her lover. Her hands slowly making Octavia's dress' braces go down her shoulders. "And just like my salad, I think I'll have her naked."


```````````````


A bellboy knocked at Octavia's room, a rather large trolley with a copious breakfast in front of him. 

"What now?" A raspy feminine voice snapped angrily from inside the room.

"Huh... Room service, Miss!" The bellboy said with hesitation.

"Oh! Cool! Come in." The woman inside shouted happily. The door glowed in a light blue aura, before opening itself. "Push the cart in front of the bedroom door, will you?  Perfect!" The woman said happily from the bedroom as the bellboy did as instructed. "On the hatstand, there's a black jacket. In the left pocket, there's a bit bag! Take it, that's for your tip!"

"Are you sure, Miss?" The bellboy blinked in amazement at the content of the bit bag. "There's at least fifty bits in it."

"Fifty nine to be exact. And yes, I'm sure. Now, get out!" She shouted.

On normal circumstances, the bellboy would have frowned at the shout, but for a  nearly sixty bits worth tip, he could let it pass. He complied to the woman's demand who used her magic to lock the door behind him. The food trolley shined in a magic blue aura before gently rolling inside the bedroom, stopping softly right next to the bed.

"AWWW Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Vinyl clapped her hands together happily, watching the food trolley with a hungry look. A heavily panting Octavia lying next to her, her cheeks red from effort and excitement.

"Vinyl, you'd better not start to eat! We haven't finished yet!" Octavia said angrily.

"I never said we have." 

"What are you doing with that bottle of sirup, then?"

"You remember what I said about my salad?" Octavia nodded with a confused look. "Well, sometime, I do like it with strawberry sirup!" Vinyl added with a low purr in her voice, licking her upper lip in a very sensual way.

"Oh!" Octavia blinked in surprise. "Well, I do like strawberry sirup as well!" Octavia said sheepishly.

"I bet you do!"





A muffled sound coming from outside the bedroom of Twilight's suite awoke Cloud Kicker. During a few seconds, she had no idea where she was, but that was before she took a glance at the dark skinned woman with purple hair with a pink streak in it, lying next to her. Twilight was sleeping with a happy smile on her face. Cloud Kicker grinned as she remembered all that happened last night!

'Good to know that two months of abstinence didn't make my skills rusty!' Cloud Kicker chuckled internally.

Cloud Kicker kept on watching Twilight sleeping, she didn't feel like moving from her spot. Watching her date sleeping wasn't a thing Cloud Kicker ever experienced before. In the past, it was her or her date leaving before the other would wake up. It was incredibly relaxing to simply watch her girlfriend asleep.

Girlfriend, was that what Twilight was to her? Probably, she wasn't sure how to call her, maybe she should talk with Twilight about it! She knew that Twilight liked to talk. Okay, maybe more about scientific and magical stuff but it was talking nether the less! Cloud Kicker noticed Twilight fluttering her eyes open.

"Good morning, Lady Sparkle." Cloud Kicker said softly.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight answered sleepily, before yawning a bit. "Glad to see you're still here." Twilight said before gently kissing the guard.

"Why would I even want to leave?" Cloud Kicker chuckled. "Beside, you kinda worn me out last night, I'm not sure I could have left even if I wanted to!"

"Sweet talker!" Twilight said before kissing her again. "Anyway, I'm going to take a shower." She added before stretching her arms. "You want to join me?"

"Go in already!" Cloud Kicker said with a yawn. "I'll join you in a few minutes!"

Twilight nodded happily, before going out of the bed. She walked slowly toward the bathroom without even bothering to put a night robe on, swaying her hips sensually to offer a good show for her one person audience. A show that Cloud Kicker gladly watched with attention, feeling herself growing more awake at every step her latest conquest was making. While she closed the bathroom behind her, Twilight winked at Cloud Kicker with a sly smirk that Cloud Kicker returned eagerly.

Soon after, the only sounds that Cloud Kicker could hear in Twilight's suite, were the muffled sounds of the shower running. Cloud Kicker slowly got up, popping her back as she stretched her arms toward the ceiling. She took a glance at the scattered clothes around the messy bed and sniffed it before opening a nearby window.

'We sure need fresh air in here!'  Cloud Kicker thought, as she caught a glimpse of the clock watch. 'Six fifty, I got time, the swordsmanship trial is in the afternoon.' She gave a little more attention to her clothes. 'Should I pick them up before joining her? Nah, it's not like….'

KNOCK KNOCK

'Dang it!'

"Twilight, are you up? It's me, Spike." Spike said from the other side of the suite's door. "I knocked earlier but you weren't up yet so I woke the others up, first!" Spike explained. "There's only you left. Twilight? Twilight?" He added before knocking at door again, a bit louder.

'Damn it, just go away!' Cloud Kicker thought angrily as she was busy putting her clothes back on at top speed. 'Hang on, why I'm freaking out like that, it's not like it's the boss who….'

"What's going on Spike?" The voice of Shining Armor said softly from outside the room.

'Sweet FAUST! What in the wide land of Equestria did I do to deserve that?'  

'Maybe you should ask Who instead of what… And then the answer would be obvious.' 

'Shut up, Brain!' Cloud Kicker snapped internally. 'Think about something useful! What to do? What to do?'

"Weird that she's not answering." Shining Armor pondered. "The staff did tell me they hadn't seen her coming back yesterday when I asked them."

'Why did he ask them about that?' Cloud Kicker thought in bewilderment.

"Why did you ask them about that?" Spike asked in a surprised tone.

"I always check that she's come back safely." Shining said firmly. "Twily, open the door." He asked, knocking vigorously. "I should've come and check on her last night, instead of listening to Cadence. Twily, answer me or I'm coming in."

'Damn the Captain and his unfounded paranoia and overprotectiveness about his sister!' Cloud Kicker thought angrily. 'Well, maybe not totally unfounded, since I'm here but….Aaargh Not the time for this, Kicker!  You gotta to hide somewhere! Stat!'

"That's it! Spike, we're going in!" Shining shouted as the door glowed in a deep purple aura.

"Roger, Captain!"

The door slowly opened thanks to Shining's magic, letting a clear way for him and Spike. They both walked in slowly in silence, Shining made a sign to Spike to go left, while he went to the right of the suite. Spike jumped in the bedroom, holding his clipboard like it was a throwing star. He looked around the room, noticing that the bed was a mess and Twilight's clothes on the floor.

"So far, nothing unusual." He muttered, rolling his eyes.

He turned around, ready to go back to the other part of the room, when the bathroom door opened, letting a frowning, soaking wet and naked Twilight come back in the room. She froze with a blank expression when she saw her assistant who froze when he saw her lack of clothing.

"I swear I didn't see anything and I can explain!" He quickly said, covering his eyes with his hand.

"KYYYYYAAAAAHHHH!" Twilight shrieked before magically tossing Spike against the dresser, earning a small grunt of pain from her assistant.

"What's going on?" Shining shouted as he entered the bedroom quickly, being alerted by his sister's shriek and the crashing sound, only to be zapped out of it by one of his sister's magic beam.

Twilight quickly put on a bathrobe from the bathroom. "WHAT IN TARTARUS ARE YOU TWO DOING IN MY ROOM?" She bellowed in rage.

"You didn't answer when we knocked so…" Shining started, stammering nervously.

"SO WHAT? YOU CAN'T BE PATIENT FOR A FEW MINUTES? THE TIME FOR ME TO GET OUT OF THE SHOWER?" Twilight shouted. "OUT! BOTH OF YOU!"

She levitated both of them without ceremony out of her suite.

"Twilight, wait! What do you want for breakfast?" Spike asked, trying to recover from his mistake. Twilight only answered by slamming the door shut! "I'll take it you don't want breakfast, then." He chuckled awkwardly. "This is the last time I listen to you, Shining!"

"Oh! Shut up, Spike!" Shining muttered in anger and shame.

Inside the suite, Twilight casted her soundproofing spell, not wanting to hear from them for a while. As her anger came down, she started to worry about Cloud Kicker. She looked around and saw no trace of her lover.

"Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her thanks to you!" She sighed with a mix of anger and sadness.

"That can be easily fixed!" Cloud Kicker grunted. "At least, if I manage to go out of this shit!"

Twilight snapped her head toward where the voice came and saw Cloud Kicker trying to extirpate herself from the small cupboard she had been hiding in. Twilight rushed at her side to help her

"How, in Titania's name, did you manage to fit in there?" She asked with bewilderment.

"Silly, she did it just like me." Pinkie Pie said, coming out of an other cupboard. "But she's got more curves on her butt than I do, so she got stuck!"

Cloud Kicker, who had finally come out of her hiding spot, and Twilight's faces went blank when they saw Pinkie Pie standing in front of the cupboard.. The pink haired inventor tilted her head in confusion.

"What? I got a pimple on my nose?" Pinkie asked with worry.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, PINKIE?" Twilight shouted with flames in her eyes, literally , and in her hair.

"DID YOU JUST SAY I HAVE A FAT ASS?" Cloud Kicker asked with anger as she stood up.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go down for breakfast with me." Pinkie said innocently. "And for you Cloudy, I simply said that your butt has more curves than mine. Look." She added pointing her backside at the two others. "Mine's a bit flat compared to yours. Ideal to hide in narrow spaces while yours is ideal for seduction."

"Oh my gosh! That's so true." Twilight whispered softly as she eyed Cloud Kicker's butt with a rekindled interest.

"Well, I'm glad you like my ass, Twilight." Cloud Kicker chuckled with a wink. "But, that's not really the moment."

"Right!" Twilight said, shaking her head to get her thoughts clear. "How long have you been in there, Pinkie?"

"Oh, I'll say about eight or nine lines of dialogue." Pinkie pondered out loud, earning a crooked eyebrow from the other two. 

"So, you don't know what happened last night?" Twilight asked, completely ignoring her previous answer.

"No, why? Something happened?" Pinkie asked.

"No, nothing happened!" Twilight said vigorously. "And to answer your question. No, I'm not going down for breakfast with you and the others. I'm mad at Spike and Shining for the moment."

"What did they do?" Pinkie asked with curiosity.

"Ask them." Twilight said venomously.

"Ok!" Pinkie said before bouncing away."Lalalalalaaaalala!"

"Wait!" Twilight shouted. "You must promise me that you won't tell anyone that Cloud Kicker was here!"

"Why? Can't a friend visit another in the early morning?" Pinkie asked.

"Just promise me!" Twilight pleaded.

"I'll do better! I'll PinkiePromise." Pinkie nodded happily. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She added fervently, doing the special gestures that accompanied her promises.

"Ok thanks!" Twilight smiled. "See you later." 

"Bye!" Pinkie said before going outside of the suite.

"Are you sure that a promise was enough?" Cloud Kicker asked with worry.

"One does not simply break a PinkiePromise!" Twilight assured with a nod. "Especially Pinkie Pie."

"If you're sure, then" Cloud Kicker shrugged, before passing her arms around Twilight's waist. "Didn't you mention a shower?" She asked in a whisper.

"I've already had it." Twilight said matter-of-factly, not getting the hint.

"Too bad," Cloud Kicker sighed in defeat, breaking her embrace on Twilight before heading toward the bathroom. "You'll not get a chance to see this.." She slapped her butt."…sparkling under the hot water of the shower." She concluded before closing the bathroom's door.

"What was that all about?" Twilight blinked in confusion for a few seconds, before face-palming herself. "HUuurgh! Twilight, you're such an idiot sometimes!" She groaned in frustration.

She tossed her robe on the ground and nearly ran inside the bathroom. She magicked the shower curtain open, threw herself in Cloud Kicker's arms and started kissing her passionately. Their tongues wrestled for the dominance of each other's mouth for minutes. Twilight felt water becoming colder and colder every seconds, she quickly realized it wasn't the water but her whose temperature was changing. She could feel the fire inside her growing more and more intense.

Twilight never felt so alive before, and never in her life had she been out of her control habits. She always lived in an environment that was restricted by rules. Her rules, yes, but still rules she had to obey. Cloud Kicker had been the first one to really break her out of her bubble, two months ago at Bon-Bon's tavern. Her friends had tried to do that before but never succeeded. The only one who ever did that was Cloud Kicker.

Twilight had always been a good girl, wanting to please her parents, her brother, her mentor, everyone. She'd always complied to everyone expectations, fearing every single remark as if it was the most horrible thing that could happen. Because of that, Cloud Kicker had fascinated her. Cloud Kicker never seemed to care about what people thought about her, she simply did the things she wanted and how she wanted. "How does she manage that?" was the question Twilight had been trying to answer for two months.

She didn't get the answer, the enigma that she called Cloud Kicker was still an enigma for her. But, she didn't care about that, she had classed it out as a small detail. There was one question she didn't find the answer, big deal! Her parents might not approve her choice, her brother would certainly not. Twilight had mixed feelings about the Princess' reaction, Celestia tended to be a little blasé about certain things, probably because of her age. She had always looked their approval, but, right now, she didn't care about it and she loved it. 

She loved how daring she was around Cloud Kicker. She loved how Cloud Kicker had the ability to make her uncomfortable by just standing next to her. She loved how Cloud Kicker's eyes always bore that playful glint along with that incredible sternness that suited a high-member of the Guard. She particularly loved Cloud Kicker's round and firm butt. Sure that was fairly recent compared to the others, but it had its importance! She reminded herself to thank Pinkie Pie for making her notice that. She loved everything about that blonde with those dark purple eyes. It came down to five little words!

"I love you, Cloud Kicker!"

Twilight could see it in her eyes, Cloud Kicker had been very surprised by Twilight's declaration. Cloud Kicker stood there under the shower jet, holding Twilight in her arms with her eyes slightly wider than usual from shock. Twilight was starting to regret her words as Cloud Kicker didn't seem to react, she was about to look away in shame, fearing to have been too much forward too fast. 

But her doubts erased themselves when she saw that playful glint taking its place back in her paramour's eyes, the small growing smile that was one of the most beautiful thing she had seen in the world. Cloud Kicker was looking at her with the outmost affection, she let out a small breath before opening her mouth to speak. The next words that came out of this mouth were words Twilight would remember for the rest of her life.

"I love you too, Twilight Sparkle!"
> Javelin and Sword
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vinyl and Octavia came down to the lobby after having eaten a rather copious and delicious breakfast and a quick shower. Although Octavia complained a bit about the fact her pancakes were a bit dry, the bottle of sirup had been almost emptied during their first breakfast. Vinyl was quite surprised to see Applejack leaning on the hotel's restaurant's doorframe, a small travel bag in tow. When she spotted her sister approaching, she tossed the bag at her.

"Ah brought ya some clothes!" Applejack explained.

"Thanks, AJ!" Vinyl said as she grabbed the bag midair. "How did you know I was here?"

"Where in tarnation could ya have been, if not here?" Applejack asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

"Fair enough!" Vinyl shrugged.

"Why aren't you inside with the others, Applejack?" Octavia asked with curiosity.

"Ah didn't want to disturb their conversations!" Applejack explained. She noticed the small band-aid on Octavia's cheek. She was about to ask her about it, but she saw Vinyl shaking her head grimly." ....And, say, what's the deal with that green haired kid? He kept glarin' at me since he saw me arrivin'."

"Oh! That's Spike, Twilight's assistant!" Octavia said slowly. "He has a massive ......."

"FOREVEEEERRRR!" The voice of Pinkie Pie slowly said around them, causing the three women to look around until they spotted Pinkie Pie sitting at the table with the others, happily munching a cupcake.

" ...a massive crush on Rarity!" Octavia ended in a whisper. "That's probably why he doesn't seem to like you."

"But, ain't he like twelve year old, or somethin'?" Applejack asked, as she spotted Spike next to Pinkie. "He should have realized that it ain't gonna work for him."

"Thirteen actually." Octavia said slowly. "Don't worry too much about him, it's just a boyhood crush. It'll pass."

"If ya say so!" Applejack shrugged.

"Anyway, I'll go and say hello to the others!" Octavia said. "I'll tell Rarity you're here!" She added with a wink.

"Thanks." Applejack said with a small blush as Octavia walked inside the hotel's restaurant. "What happened to her cheek?" She asked with concern when Octavia was out of earshot.

"To make it simple, let's just say that my visit at her parents' house could have gone a lot better." Vinyl said grimly with a sigh. 

"What happened back then?" Applejack asked.

"I won't go into further details now, AJ. If you don't mind," Vinyl said slowly. "Beside, watch your left!" She added with a small chuckle.

"What?" Applejack asked in confusion before being almost tackled by Rarity who hungrily kissed her. Applejack returned the kiss immediately, completely forgetting that she was talking to Vinyl.

"Don't mind me, it's not like I was there talking to you, AJ." Vinyl chuckled playfully.

"Ya said somethin'?" Applejack asked genuinely, breaking the kiss, much to her and Rarity's displeasure.

"Nah! Enjoy your moment!" Vinyl waved off. "I'll go and say goodbye to Octavia before we hit the road to the Coliseum." She said before going inside the restaurant.

"Suit yarself." Applejack nodded before turning toward Rarity. "Now, ya were sayin' Sugarcube?" She purred as Rarity kissed her again.





"Welcome everyone to the second day of the Equestria Games! It's Pinkie Pie, your eye in the sky." Pinkie said in her megaphone from her flying contraption. "On this fine morning of September, we're going to start our schedule by the Javelin Throw!" She added happily.

"Hey, Rarity!" Octavia said as she noticed something in her binoculars. She had invested in a pair so that she wouldn't have to borrow Rarity's all the time. "Looks like Applejack's getting ready."

"Thank you for letting me know, Dear." Rarity said with a smile before pulling out her own binoculars.

"I hope she'll do well." Fluttershy said slowly. "Some of the other competitors look scary. I mean, look at the one from Las Pegasus." She added with a pinch.

"You mean the tall one that keeps on doing poses every two steps?" Twilight asked, noticing who Fluttershy was talking about.

"That's not important!" Luna interjected. "Why wasn't the swordsmanship competition scheduled in the morning?" She asked with an angry pout.

"Lulu, don't be so impatient." Celestia chuckled. "It'll start soon enough."

"You're also waiting for that trial, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked with curiosity, earning shocked glances from everyone in the box. "What?"

"I've always thought you didn't like that sort of competitions, Twilight." Cadence said softly.

"It's still the case, but C...Shining is participating in this, right?" Twilight explained, catching herself quickly just before selling herself out.

"I don't think so my dear student." Celestia who, at Twilight's relief, didn't notice her faux-pas said casually. "From what I know, it's Pokey Pierce that competes in this trial on behalf of Canterlot."

"Wasn't he the gold medallist in the previous games?" Cadence asked softly.

"Yes, indeed!" Luna confirmed. "A sad mark in the history of swordsmanship, I might say." She added grimly.

"Lulu, don't be like that!" Celestia frowned. 

"Why do you say that, your Highness?" Fluttershy asked to Luna with curiosity.

"Luna simply doesn't like Mr Pierce much." Celestia explained softly. "Anyway, let's just enjoy the trial!"





"YEAAAAAH!" Snowflake shouted as he made his last step before throwing his javelin on the field.

His javelin flew high in the sky before sticking itself firmly in the ground. An official ran next to the javelin to take a precise measure of the distance it had crossed. After taking measure, he pulled the javelin out of the ground and placed a small flag of Cloudsdale in its place. As soon as he communicated the precise distance, the magic powered screen lit up with the following chart.

1st          2nd         3rd        Rank
Cloudsdale      87.76                                       1
Zebrica            86.03                                       2
Manehatten     85.89                                       3

Cloudsdale's fans and team were ecstatic at their athlete's performance while the next competitor, the giant from Las Pegasus, picked his javelin up and walked next to Snowflake.

"That was very impressive!" He said with an approving nod. "But Iron Will will show you what a real throw is." He nearly shouted, flexing his arms to show his muscles. Snowflake simply rolled his eyes and snorted at the comment.

Iron WIll took his place at the start line, he prepared his throw a few times before he started running. A few inches away from the limit line, he throw his javelin with all his might, roaring loudly as the javelin left his hand. After a short flight, the javelin landed a dozen of inches beyond Cloudsdale's flag. An official placed a Las Pegasus' flag in place of Iron Will's javelin, as the concerned made a few victory poses as his score was displayed on the screen. 

1st          2nd         3rd        Rank
Las Pegasus    88.03                                       1
Cloudsdale       87.76                                       2
Zebrica             86.03                                       3

Iron let the way clear for the next competitor before making his way toward those who already had their first throw. He stopped in front of Snowflake while his face bore a triumphant grin. The two tall and muscular men eyed each other for a few seconds with electricity sparkling between their eyes until they heard a sharp whistling sound followed by two loud cracks before the crowd gasped.

They both turned around and their eyes widened in surprise at what they saw. Both their town's flags had been snapped in two by a javelin that had ended its flight at least four feet beyond them. Their gazes turned toward the end of the runway and saw no one.

"What in tarnation do y'all mean by invalid throw?" A feminine voice with a thick southern accent shouted in a mix of anger and disbelief.

Iron Will and Snowflake took notice of an angry Applejack discussing with a rather scared official at the beginning of the runway. In Ponyville's pit, Cloud Kicker and Vinyl were laughing madly while Zecora face-palmed at Applejack's throw. The rest of the team was divided between laughing along with Vinyl and Cloud Kicker and comforting Zecora, they choose for the third solution : trying to remain as inexpressive as possible.

"Ya mean that the runnin' thingy of this here trial ain't just for havin' a fancy lookin' throw? It's mandatory?" Applejack asked in surprise. The official nodded. "Aw shucks, Ah'll just have to try the next throws with the runnin' part, Ah guess." She added sheepishly, scratching the tip of her nose in embarrassment.

"Iron Will isn't sure of what just happened so he's going to ask you." Iron Will said slowly, his gaze fixed on Applejack. "Did that woman throw her javelin much further than ours without making the distance to the throwing line?"

"Yeaaaah!" Snowflake answered slowly, still pretty shocked.

"Hmmm! Iron Will doesn't know about you.." Iron Will sighed in defeat. "But Iron Will thinks that the gold is out of our reach, now!"

"Yeaaaah!" Snowflake nodded sadly.

Iron Will and Snowflake had almost been proved wrong when Applejack had her second throw done. She had accomplished the run-up correctly but her actual throw lacked of balance because of it. Her javelin landed about thirty two feet shorter than Iron Will and Snowflake's who both had bested their first throws. They were both convinced that the gold medal would go to one of them, since their second throws had put them on par with each other. On the third attempt, Iron Will took the lead in the competition by besting Snowflake's throw by two inches.

But, too bad for him, Zecora had taken action after Applejack's second throw. The Ponyville Coach had lost her patience at Applejack's failed attempt at throwing the javelin properly and passed the next minutes knocking the technique into Applejack's head. Literally. With her bamboo staff.

"You. Will. Get. It. Done. Right. You. Hear. Me?" Zecora groaned, hitting Applejack's head with her staff at every word. 

"I get it, Zecora." Applejack said slowly, completely unfazed by her Coach's assault as her head bobbed slightly forward at every hit. "Can you stop hitting me, now?"

"No! It does wonder to vent the frustration out of me!" Zecora replied.

"Well, it's ma turn and unless ya want to knock ma head along the runway, ya'll have to stop!" Applejack sighed as she picked her javelin up.

She took position at the beginning of the runway, earning a final and slightly more powerful hit from Zecora who went back to the pit afterwards. Applejack scratched the back of her head, glaring at her coach a bit before focusing on what she had to do. After a short warm up, she ran along the runway, her right arm holding her javelin extended behind her. She nearly buried her left foot in the ground when she leaned on it, barely an inch before the limit of the runway. She bent her body forward, before throwing her javelin with a powerful thrust from her right arm.

Her javelin didn't fly like the other competitors' did. Where their javelins flew high and slow in a curved pattern before before going down, hers flew parallel to the ground in a straight line at top speed with a sharp whistling sound. It landed in the ground, burying itself halfway into the ground a few feet away from Iron Will's. A few feet behind it to be precise.

After the last competitors had done their final throw, the screen lit up with the following chart, much to Ponyville supporters' great pleasure.

1st              2nd           3rd        Rank
Ponyville            Inv            79.23        92.30           1
Las Pegasus    88.03         89.32        90.03           2
Cloudsdale       87.76         89.31        89.96           3

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Rarity shouted as she jumped from her seat happily while the others in the box were applauding.

"I really thought she wasn't going to make it after her second throw!" Twilight said softly, quite relieved that her first thought had been proved wrong.

"You shouldn't doubt about what MY Applejack can do, Darling." Rarity chastised softly before her friends giggled at her remark.

"Fine, I won't do it again." Twilight assured while she was still giggling before making a cross on her heart and covering her left eye with her hand. "Pinkie Promise!"

"That's better." Rarity chuckled with a wink.

"Anyway, her performance was worthy of her reward." Celestia commented softly, as she rose from her seat. "I'll be right back, girls." She caught the sight of Luna who had risen from her chair as well. "Where are you going, Luna? I'm the one who's supposed to give this medal." She asked with genuine curiosity.

"I know, Sister." Luna nodded quickly. "I...huh...simply must go... somewhere else!" She added nervously.

"Oh! I get it!" Celestia said slowly. "Don't take too long, the next trial will begin soon." She winked at her Sister before both of them teleported in golden and deep blue flashes.





"Again, let's give a round of applauses for our three new medallists!" Pinkie Pie shouted happily in her megaphone as Princess Celestia teleported back to her box after having given the medals to Applejack, Iron Will and Snowflake. "And now, we're moving on toward the next event of the day, the....Hold on! Someone is telling me to go down." Pinkie Pie said softly as she spotted an official waving fervently at her. "I'll go see what's up..Or should I say what's down, since I'm up?" She pondered pensively while the crowd laughed at her joke. "Anyway, enjoy this musical interlude while I'm gone!"

She pulled out a record player out of one of her contraption bags and turned it on, filling the entire stadium with a soft relaxing tune. After that, she put a harness on, and attached herself to a bright pink rope and, at everyone's shock, she jumped. Her playful giggles could be heard as she fell toward the man who had waved at her. 

A few Jupitarians were about to take off to catch her when she pulled on her rope who started to expand as her momentum slowed down. Her feet touched the ground delicately next to the stunned official, as if she had just jumped from a small stairs step. After a brief moment to process what happened, the official started to explain why he had waved at her.





"How did she do that?" Allie asked, blinking madly.

"Don't ask, Sugarcube!" Applejack said softly.

"Why?" Allie asked, tilting her head in confusion

"It's Pinkie Pie, that's why." Vinyl, Applejack and Cloud Kicker said simultaneously in an apathetic tone.





The official explained the situation to Pinkie Pie and gave her a small clipboard she read rapidly. She nodded and made a strong pull at her rope which retracted on itself. Thanks to that, Pinkie made her way back to the height where she had left her machine flying in a neck of time. She climbed back on her contraption before falling again. 

"Ok, everyone! Change of plans!" She said in her megaphone after having turned the music off. "It seems that, at the general demand from the audience, the swordsmanship tournament will take place now, instead of this afternoon." She explained, causing the surprise from everyone, competitors and spectators alike.

"Luuuuna..." Celestia said slowly, as she turned her gaze toward her sister who was whistling innocently.

"Yeeeeesss...." Luna replied, making the most innocent face she could muster.

"Why did you do that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Luna affirmed with conviction.

"And, some others changes the competitors might want to know about!" Pinkie said in her megaphone, reading her clipboard. "Each match will be played by the traditional rules of duel, because it'll bring out the beauty of the noble art that is swordsmanship. At least, thats what the paper they gave me says." Pinkie shrugged as turned a page from her clipboard. "Anyway, those rules mean no counting points, the match ends at the first drop of blood or if one competitor gives up or gets out of the ring. Free choice for your weapon as longs as it's sword. Rest assured, all blades will be blunted by enchantment to prevent any kind of accident!" 

"What?" Luna asked as Celestia looked at her with knowing glance after Pinkie explained the basic rules. "That doesn't prove I have something to do with it."

"Luna, you wrote the traditional rules of duel!" Celestia interjected. "Confess already!"

"Isn't that dangerous?" Fluttershy asked with worry.

"Not at all, Dear Fluttershy!" Luna assured. "After all, the blades are going to be enchanted to prevent any serious harm."

"But, what if the enchantment isn't done properly?"

"No need to worry about that, my dear." Celestia said softly. "Luna's going to take care of that."

"Yes, of....Hang on! What?" Luna said with surprise. "Why?"

"Because If you don't, I'll just cancel this trial and resume the Games with the normal schedule." Celestia said firmly.

"Fiiiinnne!" Luna said reluctantly. "I'll go take care of that." She added before teleporting herself in the center of the stadium.

"Why don't you go with her, Twilight?" Celestia suggested. "It'll be a good opportunity for you to watch closely how enchantments work."

"Great idea, Princess!" Twilight said happily. 'It'll also be a good opportunity for me to wish Cloud Kicker good luck!' She said to herself, internally giggling at that thought. "I'll be back in a few."





Unluckily for Twilight, Shining Armor watched over the enchantments as well. Something along the line of his duty as Captain of the Royal Guard he had said, but Twilight didn't really listen, she was still pretty mad at him for the shower incident this morning. That, and also the fact that her brother's presence will prevent her from talking to Cloud Kicker.

After the Games officials set up the arena in the center of the field, Luna claimed that traditional duels had to be done outdoors, The Princess started the enchantment on the blades of the first two competitors, who entered in the arena, warming up while awaiting Pinkie's signal to start. The line of competitors awaiting for their enchantments grow thiner until it remained only one left. The one Twilight wanted to see the most, Cloud Kicker.

Cloud Kicker offered her sword to the Princess with a light bow. It was a simple one-handed sword with a black handle in a black and silver sheath.

"Thank you, Ms Kicker!" Luna said softly, before grabbing Cloud Kicker's sword gently. "It'll only take a minute!"

"Go ahead and take your time, your Highness." Cloud Kicker said politely as Luna started her enchantment.

As the enchantment was being casted, Twilight had the most hard time to get focused on it. Cloud Kicker was busy talking casually with Shining about the competitions, her back turned to Twilight, giving her a nice view on her rear. Twilight tried her best not to look at it.

'Damn, why do tracksuits got to be so skintight?' Twilight thought angrily. 'Look at her, it's like she's wearing nothing at all.......Not that it's a bad thing, though...' She added mentally with a dreamy and mute sigh as she gave an imperceptible glance at Cloud Kicker. 

'Focus, Twilight! Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts! Think unsexy thoughts! .....The enchantment mechanics! That's very unsexy.' Twilight thought in victory while focussing her gaze on the blade Luna was enchanting in front of her.'So, the magic of the enchantment is gathered at the hilt's end in a circle frame.....Or is it a round? ....yeah, it's a round....Round fits the best... Round's a better term.....Round, firm and incredibly soft just like her bu...........DAMN IT, STUPID SEXY CLOUD KICKER!'

"Ms Kicker!" Luna called, presenting her sword back to Cloud Kicker. "It's done!"

"Thank you, your Highness." Cloud Kicker said politely as she took her sword back.

"You're welcome." Luna said softly before looking around, her face bearing a reflective expression. "There! That'll do it!" She added before summoning a small puffy white cloud a bit above the ground on top of which she sat cross-legged.

"What are you doing, Princess?" Twilight asked with a crooked eyebrow. "Aren't we going back to our box with the others?"

"No! We can't see well from that far!" Luna answered happily before expanding the cloud, levitating Twilight and making her sit next to her with three clacks of fingers. "Sit with me, Twilight Sparkle! Here's the best spot to enjoy the wonderful spectacle that is armed combat!" The Night Princess grinned.

"Ok." Twilight said with uneasiness as she shifted uncomfortably on the cloud. 

"Well, enjoy the show, your Highness, Lady Sparkle!" Cloud Kicker said with a small salute before going toward the arena with the other competitors while Shining simply waved them before joining his team.

"Thank you, and good luck to you." Twilight said. As Cloud Kicker went away from her, she internally sighed dreamily.

"She really has a nice rear!" Luna commented in whisper. "I understand why you couldn't focus much during the last enchantment."

"Hasn't she?....Hang on! What?" Twilight nearly screamed in panic.

"Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle! There's nothing wrong with having a healthy interest in woman anatomy." Luna said in a reassuring tone. "Especially, when the woman in question happens to have a very nice one."

"...." Twilight thought about something to say, but every time she tried to speak she would only open her mouth in silence, like fish out of his bowl.

"It's ok, Twilight Sparkle. I won't say a word to anyone about you checking out that woman." Luna winked with a genuine smile.

"...thank you." Twilight said softly, her voice quieter than Fluttershy's. 'Gosh, I almost thought she'd seen through me and Cloud Kicker...I got to be more careful!'

"You're welcome." Luna said before turning her face toward the arena in which two competitors were ready and eager to start. "Anyway, it's about to start!"





Despite its first reluctance about it, the crowd had really taken a liking of Luna's traditional rules of duel. Their doubts about the safety of the competitors were erased after the first combat when they witnessed the effect of Luna's enchantment. The now enchanted weapons could only do a one centimeter deep cut on a man's skin. If one would try to make a deeper cut, the blade would only bounce back as if it had hit a rock. The crowd was now enjoying a totally safe show and Luna was happy about it!

A bit too happy to Twilight's liking though. Twilight had her share of sitting next to an excited fan. Heck, she had even accompanied Rainbow Dash to a Wonderbolt Derby a few years ago. Octavia and Rarity had trapped her into it. Back then, Rainbow kept on talking and explaining about everything that was happening. Every single thing. It was like listening to Pinkie's rambling, but at that time, she didn't know Pinkie Pie. The pink haired inventor having joined the Council only a few months after that derby. 

Anyway, back to Luna's case. The similarity the Princess of the Night had with Rainbow Dash was that she was literally fan-girling like Rainbow Dash would have in front of the Wonderbolts when she was younger. Now for the differences, replace the Wonderbolts by Swordsmanship techniques. Take Rainbow's life time experience and knowledge in her favorite subject and multiply it by at least two hundred to reach it to Luna's level. And finally, add the fact that Luna had the annoying tendency to cheer in the Royal Canterlot Voice at every particularly well executed attack or parry. Sum it all those elements together and you might get why Twilight's not really glad to have Luna as her cloud/seat partner.

Twilight would have regretted her spot on the cloud seat she was sharing with one of the Monarch if not for the fact she could watch Cloud Kicker's fights with great attention. With her limited knowledge in the field of swordplay, Twilight could only say that Cloud Kicker was an  excellent swordswoman. And Luna's remarks on Cloud Kicker's fencing tended to make her right. 

Her paramour's first fights looked exactly like the one between Cloud Kicker and Zecora Twilight had witnessed when she went to Sweet Apple Acres a week ago. Cloud Kicker parried every attack thrown at her without breaking her stance and making a single step. She had beaten her previous opponents with a swift counter attack after having deflected vigorously one of their blow. Twilight couldn't help to feel pride as Cloud Kicker had made it to the semi-finals.

Although, the semi-final was a fight Twilight apprehended a bit. It opposed Cloud Kicker to the swordsman of Cloudsdale. The swordswoman in fact, for she was facing Gilda. Twilight knew that Gilda seemed to be ok with cheating from what she had heard from Cloud Kicker and Applejack last night. She wasn't sure if Gilda would try anything or not, but she couldn't help to be worried.

Gilda and Cloud Kicker entered both in the arena a few minutes after the first semi-final had been won by Canterlot's swordsman. Ponyville and Cloudsdale's teams had come out of their respective pit to watch their teammates' fight. They both unsheathed their swords to salute before taking their stances fifteen feet from each other. Cloud Kicker put her left arm behind her back with her sword pointing at Gilda who was holding a rather thick gladius.

At the referee's signal, Gilda launched herself at Cloud Kicker and started to attack. Like in every other matches before, Cloud Kicker parried every blow. Gilda tried to get round her but Cloud Kicker's defense was still infallible. Gilda jumped back before charging at Ponyville's swordswoman who blocked her blow again. But, instead of being repelled, Gilda pushed forward, locking their blades together. 

"Why don't you make both of us gain time and give up?" Gilda asked in a whisper, her face barely inches away from Cloud Kicker's as she was pushing against Cloud Kicker's blade with hers.

"You make it sound like I'm going to loose." Cloud Kicker whispered with a chuckle. "Sorry to break your daydreams, but there's no way I'm going to let you win."

"Oh! You're going to if you want to keep your job." Gilda whispered with a smirk.

"What non sense are you..."

"Yesterday, you left the tavern with your boss' sister, right?" Cloud Kicker almost lost her composure at that question. Almost.

"So?" 

"I noticed how the others covered you up when he came into the tavern and asked where is sister was. Heck, even Spitfire did and she totally hates you."

"Mighty kind of her! Remind me to buy her a drink sometime." Cloud Kicker said playfully before thrusting Gilda away, freeing their swords. 'How could I have forgotten about the fact she was at Bon-Bon's last night? Of course she saw me and Twilight leaving together and if the others did cover me up, it wasn't difficult for her to put two and two together.'

Gilda quickly recovered from the thrust and started her assault again. Cloud Kicker's parries were becoming quite sloppy compared to before as she was slowly, but surely loosing her calm. Gilda's strikes became more insistent as she tried to get closer to the guard.

"So, what do you say?" Gilda asked in a low volume so that only Cloud Kicker could hear her as she locked their blades together again. "You give up or should I tell your boss you're fucking his sister to pave your way toward the top?"

"I don't do that!" Cloud Kicker snapped in a whisper.

"Yeah sure! Tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night!" Gilda said slowly with a malevolent grin. "We both know what's the truth."

"You know nothing about me!"

"I don't have to know a lot to see that you're nothing more than a whore in a guard's outfit."

"Shut up." Cloud Kicker said in a voice that was shaking from anger.

"You know that stories about you even come all the way up to Cloudsdale?" Gilda laughed loudly.

She hadn't realized that everyone around the arena could hear her. The spectators in the bleachers couldn't, the Council of Harmony couldn't, Pinkie Pie couldn't, but her team, Ponyville team, Canterlot team, a dozens of Games officials, Twilight and Luna could. 

"Shut up!"

"The amazing tales of Cloud Kicker, the official hooker of the Royal Guard!" Gilda mocked with a cruel grin.

"Shut up!"

"The woman who....." Gilda started

"WHAT PART OF 'SHUT UP' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" Cloud Kicker bellowed in anger pushing Gilda away with a shoulder strike.

"Geez, looks like someone's..." 

She never managed to finish her sentence as she felt something cold and extremely hard hitting her violently in the throat. She brought her hands toward her neck as she fell on the ground. For a moment, she panicked when she felt a warm liquid on her fingers, thinking that Cloud Kicker had opened her throat. But the amount of blood she felt didn't match with that possibility. She felt her neck and noticed a rather long but completely not life threatening cut on her throat. She looked around and noticed Cloud Kicker wasn't in the arena anymore.

"Dear spectators, the semi-finals are now over!" Luna declared in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "As the sun is now high in the sky, I invite you to enjoy the food facilities for the next hour and a half. It will give time for our two finalists to rest properly. "

"Gilda! Up!" Rainbow Dash ordered as she stopped next to her lying teammate.

"Hey, Dash!" Gilda said softly as she sat up. "Don't worry, I'll be ok for the final." She said as she bandaged her cut with a piece of her t-shirt.

"You think you're the second finalist?" Rainbow asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Well, that bitch hit me in the throat. Wouldn't she be disqualified?..I mean, Enchantment or not, ain't that unauthorized by the rules?"

"Apparently it's authorized in the traditional rules of duel." Rainbow shrugged. "Considering Cloud Kicker is the other finalist and you're not." 

"What? That's just ridiculous!" Gilda said in disbelief. 

"Just shut up!" Rainbow said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, Up! We've things to talk about."

"About what?" Gilda said with curiosity as she got up.

"About your attitude." Rainbow said angrily. "And wether or not I'm going to let you participate to the rest of the Games!"


	


	
> The final of the swordsmanship tournament.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After her declaration about the break before the final, Luna and Twilight teleported back to the Council and the Princesses' box, both bearing rather gloomy expression. They both explained in details how precisely the latest combat had been rolled out, when they were asked why did they looked so down. Their reactions to Gilda's behavior were a bit similar to Luna and Twilight's.

"That behavior is hardly in accord with the mindset of the Games!" Celestia said slowly with a drop of anger in her voice. "To say such things in order to destabilize Ms Kicker, that's not being good sport. I wonder what Rainbow Dash is going to do with this Gilda."

"I agree with you, Sister!" Luna nodded. "A true fighter doesn't need to tell lies like these in order to win. That's an insult to the honor of swordsmanship!" She said sternly, closing her fists with conviction.

"Pardon me, Aunt Luna!" Cadence chimed in sheepishly. "But, what Gilda had said aren't really lies. That's kinda Cloud Kicker's reputation."

"What do you mean, Cadence?" Luna asked with curiosity.

"Well, she does have that unhealthy 'habit' to fool around a lot." Cadence explained uneasily. "Be it to obtain favors, like the rumors suggest it, or not."

"That's still no excuse to throw it at her face like Gilda did, Cadence!" Twilight snapped vigorously, much to everyone's surprise. Twilight had never disagreed with Cadence before.

"I'm not saying it is!" Cadence replied, slightly offended by Twilight's outburst. "I just wanted to point out that those rumors exist for a reason."

"Those rumors are wrong and you know it!" Twilight insisted. "Heck, there are even ones that say Cloud Kicker slept with Shining to become Lieutenant!" She said rolling her eyes. "How can you believe rumors when they say something as stupid as that."

"I must admit that sounds pretty ridiculous." Rarity conceded slowly. "That's just the kind of gossip made to simply hurt Shining and Cloud Kicker's image."

"In that case, why doesn't she dismiss them?" Cadence snapped. "If those rumors hurt her image so badly, why doesn't she do anything against them."

"Because she probably knows that the best way to fight a rumor is to ignore it?" Octavia suggested slowly. "Why do you even care about that?" She asked with a crooked eyebrow.

Cadence didn't say anything.

"Darling, you're not telling us that you actually believe those rumors to be true, are you?" Rarity asked softly with concern. 

Again, no answers.

"Don't you trust my brother?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"I trust my husband very much, Twilight!" Cadence nearly shouted with anger. "It's that cock tease of Lieutenant that I don't trust." She added venomously.

"CADENCE!" Celestia shouted vigorously before anyone could speak. Her shout was so powerful that their private box was shaken by small tremors. "I'll not tolerate such language from you, that's beneath you!" She chastised her niece firmly.

"Yes, Aunt." Cadence said softly, her voice slightly distorted by fear. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Good." Celestia nodded. "Anyway, why don't we all go and enjoy the lunch break?"

"What a lovely idea!" Fluttershy said quietly, happy to change the subject of conversation.

"Can we ask Vinyl and Applejack to join us?" Octavia asked.

"Of course, my dear!" Celestia agreed with a small smile. "They're both always welcome at our table."

Rarity and Octavia made their way toward Ponyville's locker room to get in touch with their lovers. Twilight decided to tag along, to take some distance with Cadence and, secretly, she also wanted to see how Cloud Kicker was doing. Rarity decided that their way toward the locker room would be a perfect trip to get the answers to some of the questions that had been annoying her since last night.

"Twilight, can I ask you something?" Rarity said casually.

"Sure thing, Rarity."

"How did it go with Cloud Kicker last night when she walked you home?" Rarity asked with a knowing, smug grin.

"Huh?" Octavia blinked, while Twilight was blushing madly. "Oh! What did I miss?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, last night at Bon-Bon's.." Rarity quickly told Octavia the small argument/date invitation Twilight and Cloud Kicker had last night. "...and then, they both left the tavern." She concluded before turning toward Twilight." And now, our most esteemed Leader is going to fill the blanks." She added with a wink.

"We're all ears, Twilight!" Octavia nodded with big smile. "What happened after you left?"

"Well, huh...We talked a bit along the way..." Twilight said softly, swallowing her saliva nervously as her cheeks got back to their natural tone. "About her proposition of another date with me after this one.." Rarity and Octavia's grin grew wider. "....She...She told me that the date she had appreciated the most in her life was the first one she and I had together....."

"Awwwww, that's so cute!" Rarity sighed dreamily, Octavia nodded happily.

"I..I kissed her...she kissed me back and it was.....wow, just wow!" Twilight said with big shining eyes and a growing blush. "Shining and Cadence almost saw us, but Cloud noticed them beforehand and hid us. After that, I teleported the both of us in my room."

"Wow! That sure was quick move from your part!" Octavia giggled playfully.

"Stop it, Octavia. You're going to embarrass her." Rarity said with a soft chuckle.

"Anyway, what happened next?"

"She stayed with me for the night." Twilight said with an intense blush, showing clearly that Cloud Kicker had done more than just staying for the night. "That was partially why I was so mad at Shining and Spike this morning."

"You mean that Cloud Kicker was still in your room when they broke in?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, she had to hide herself in a cupboard." Twilight said, giggling at the memory of this morning. She remembered the moment after the cupboard, the one in the shower. "This morning,...I..I told her that I loved her." She let out slowly, not realizing she caused her friends' faces to go blank from shock.

"And?" Rarity asked after a few minutes silence.

"She said that she loved me as well." Twilight said with small tears in her eyes.

"That's wonderful news, Twilight." Octavia said with a big smile, pulling her friend into a big hug.

"Indeed it is." Rarity beamed as she joined her friends' hug. "We're so happy for you."

"Thank you, girls!" Twilight said, rubbing her tears away. "Can I trust you for keeping it a secret from Shining and Cadence?" She asked softly.

"Of course, Darling!" Rarity assured firmly, as they started walking again.

"You can count on us!" Octavia nodded. "Issues with the big brother can be really hard. I can relate!" She halfheartedly joked.

"Oh yeah! Vinyl was supposed to meet your parents last night!" Twilight said in realization.

"Oh dear. How could I have forgotten?" Rarity face-palmed. "How did it go, Darling?"

"It could have gone better." Octavia said uneasily.

Octavia explained them what happened last night at her parents estate and why she had a band-aid on the cheek. Twilight and Rarity's reactions to her story were like Octavia had thought them to be. A sudden shock followed by anger and disbelief.

"Your mother did WHAT?" Twilight nearly shouted in disbelief. 

"Oh, sweetie! Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Rarity asked with concern.

"Girls, I'm fine." Octavia assured softly. "Vinyl took care of everything."

"Ah, so she sent your mother in the hospital?" Twilight asked in tone that clearly showed she already knew the answer to her question.

"No! Why do you assume that my lover's first reaction would be violence?" Octavia retorted, pretty offended.

"Because you didn't?" Rarity asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

"No!" Her friends deadpanned her. "Ok, fine! I admit it. That's the first thing that came into my mind when I woke up this morning." Octavia sighed in defeat. "She wanted to do it, but she told me she didn't."

"Did she explained why?"

"Huh...She said that..." Octavia started as her cheeks were becoming bright pink. "Ahem. She said that I was more important than that. That she wanted to get things straight with mother but not before taking care of me." Their friends' expressions softened a bit.

"She really does care about you." Twilight said softly.

Octavia sniffed with a nod. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

They continued their way toward the locker room of Ponyville's team, speaking about what could Twilight do to break the news easily for Shining or how Octavia could deal with the situation between her mother and brother and Vinyl. When they arrived at the locker room, they saw the four members of the team that weren't related to them plus nurse Redheart watching the locker's door with a mix of worry and uneasiness.

"What are you all doing here?" Twilight asked with concern. "Something happened?"

"Well," Ditzy started uneasily. "Cloud Kicker's in a very bad mood since her fight with Gilda. Vinyl and Applejack are trying to calm her."

"Oh, no!" Twilight whispered to herself.

"But, why aren't you inside to comfort her as well?" Rarity asked with genuine curiosity.

"We aren't mad enough to come close to an angry Cloud Kicker still holding a blade." Raindrops said with a pinch of fear, causing the newcomers to gasp in shock.

"Raindrops, silence." Redheart chastised firmly, glaring at Raindrops who didn't stand the glare for too long. "You're scaring them for no reasons!"

"Don't worry." Rose said softly as she turned toward the three Council Members. "It's just that when Cloud Kicker's upset, she only lets Vinyl and Applejack talk to her."

"Yeah!" Allie assured firmly. "They're just talking, nothing bad's happening!" She nodded happily.

A loud crack made everyone start in surprise. They all looked back at the door and noticed the blade of a sword piercing through it. From the looks of it, the sword had all its length thrusted through the wooden door. Everyone blinked from the shock with frozen expressions.

"See, nothing bad's happening." Allie chuckled awkwardly. "hahahaha.........oh sweet Titania!"





Cloud Kicker had left the arena right after the official had declared her winner of the second semifinal, she didn't even bothered to pay attention to Gilda who was holding her throat a few feet from her. Thankfully, Princess Luna had decided to have a break in the competition. She saw her teammates wanting to congratulate her for getting in the final, but she wasn't in the mood for that. She ignored her friends and walked straight toward the pits to get access to the corridor in which were all the teams' locker rooms.

She kicked the room's door open and walked toward her personal locker. In front of it, she lifted her sword to examine the blade. The blade was intact, not a single chip on the edge. But it was stained with the characteristic brown reddish color of drying blood. Gilda's blood. Cloud Kicker took her cleaning kit from her locker and sat next to a sink. She started cleaning her sword vigorously, she kept on cleaning even after the stain wasn't visible anymore. She couldn't let a single drop of Gilda's blood on her sword.

"What the hell was that, CK?" Vinyl said as she entered the room with Applejack in tow. 

"What was what, Vi?" Cloud Kicker said apathetically, not turning her gaze away from her sword.

"Ya walked past us like we weren't there." Applejack said softly after having locked the door behind them.

"I had to clean my sword." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "Almost done." She said as she eyed the spotless blade in front of her.

"The sword looks pretty clean to me." Vinyl noted as Cloud Kicker started to clean her sword again with an extreme vigor.

"Considering it's her blood we're talking about," Cloud Kicker commented. "I don't want to take any risk of her staining my blade."

There was a short silence in the room.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Vinyl asked, finally decided on breaking the silence.

"Nothing happened, girls." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "I had a swords-fight and I won, end of the story."

"Ya know what Vinyl's talkin' about!" Applejack interjected sharply. "What happened back there?"

"I told you, nothing happened!" Cloud Kicker said defensively.

"Really? So, you call cutting Gilda's throat nothing?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"It was completely safe with the enchantment!"

"Ya didn't really look like ya were carin' about that, earlier." Applejack noted grimly.

"What do you mean?" Cloud Kicker asked softly.

"CK, you aimed at her throat!" Vinyl explained slowly. "And the look on your face suggested that you'd have done it even without the enchantment."

"That's just silly." Cloud Kicker said with a shaken voice.

"Cloud, she upset ya, we all saw that." Applejack said gently. "But, how come ya snapped like that? That ain't like ya at all!"

"Because you know what's like me, huh?" Cloud Kicker shouted in anger as she was standing up. "Just like everyone else!"

"Cloud Kicker, calm down!"

"You think that I'm just a cheap, low-life hooker, right?" Cloud Kicker snapped.

"That ain't the truth and ya know it!"

"If we believe Gilda and the others, that's all I am!" Cloud Kicker shouted, her all body shaking from anger.

"Since when do their opinions matter to you, Cloud Kicker?" Vinyl shouted back.

"Since they're so fuckin' right!" Cloud Kicker yelled before throwing her sword forward in anger.

The blade flew in between Applejack and Vinyl and ended its course by burying itself in the locker room's door. Applejack closed the distance between her and Cloud Kicker and slapped her vigorously. Cloud Kicker stumbled a bit because of Applejack's slap.

"Git a hold of yerself, for Epona's sake!" Applejack shouted.

Cloud Kicker's stayed there in silence, her hand on her slapped cheek. 

"Thanks, AJ." Cloud Kicker let out slowly. "I...I kinda needed that." She added with a shaking voice. "Vi, what are you doing?"

Vinyl had come close to her, grabbed the back of her head and firmly pulled it against her chest. Before she could say anything, Cloud Kicker sensed Applejack's powerful arms holding her with a delicateness she had always thought her farmer friends was incapable of.

"Guys, seriously what...." Cloud Kicker stammered, her voice on the verge of breaking.

"Shhhhhhh!" Vinyl let out slowly.

"Just let it out, Cloudy!" Applejack whispered.

Cloud Kicker blinked. Applejack hadn't used that nickname in years. Sure, Vinyl and Applejack had been the first ones to call her like that when they were kids, but it was like from another life for Cloud Kicker. Anyway, the use of the nickname had made her remember who were standing close to her. Her best friends since childhood were hugging her. She didn't have to play it strong in front of them. They both knew her inside out. She started to hug back her friends as she let go tears she didn't even know she was holding back. Cloud Kicker's soft sobs replaced the silence that had taken place in the room. 

"That's it." Vinyl whispered gently as she rubbed her friend's back. "Now, what did Gilda say to you?"

"She...she wanted me to give up or she would tell the boss about me and Twilight." Cloud Kicker explained in between sobs.

"Then, what Sugarcube?" Applejack said softly. 

"She said that the only reason I'm interested in Twilight was because I could use her at my advantage." Cloud Kicker said with a wince, disgusted at the very idea of simply using Twilight.

"And, ya believed her?"

"N..No." Cloud Kicker answered. "But, it made me think about my situation. All those remarks, those stories about me. I don't think I'm worthy of being with her." She sighed in defeat.

"Nonsense, Cloud Kicker." Vinyl said shaking her head firmly.

"Vinyl, the lead figure of the Council of Harmony can't date a woman with a reputation like mine."

"Cloudy, you never cared for your reputation before." Vinyl said.

"It involved only me back then." Cloud Kicker sighed.

"Sugarcube, a reputation can change pretty quickly." Applejack noted softly. "Yer even at the right place for it!"

"What do you mean, AJ?" Cloud Kicker asked with curiosity.

"Isn't that obvious?" Vinyl chuckled. "We're at the Equestria Games! You're in the final of the swordsmanship competition."

"In a few weeks, people would talk about ya like that : Cloud Kicker from Ponyville, Best swordswoman of Equestria and and one of the great winners of the Equestria Games." Applejack said with conviction.

"The awesome Lieutenant of the Royal Guard who happens to be dating Twilight Sparkle!" Vinyl added with a wink.

"Thanks, you girls are the best!" Cloud Kicker said with a soft smile before tightening her grip on her friends. After a small moment of silence, Cloud Kicker started to chuckle. "You know what's funny?"

"What is it, CK?" Vinyl asked with curiosity.

"Three months ago, I would have dreamed being squished in sandwich by the two of you." Applejack and Vinyl rolled their eyes with a small smile. "And now, here I am, my head buried in Vinyl's chest while Applejack is holding me tight. And I feel no arousal from this!"

"It means you're finally going out of puberty, CK." Vinyl chuckled.

"I guess so." Cloud Kicker nodded. "I would have never thought that a friendly hug could feel so nice compared to those in my dreams."  

"Have ya ever had dreams in which ya only saw us as friends?" Applejack asked with a chuckle.

"Nah! In my dreams, the situation is always way more steamy and we are wearing a lot less clothes than in real life." Cloud Kicker explained with a shrug. "Also, the roles are reversed. No offense, Vinyl, but AJ's got bigger assets than you when it comes to a chest in which one's head could be buried." Her remark earned her the right of being pushed away from her blue haired friend's chest before being whacked at the back of her head. "Oh, come on! I didn't say yours weren't comfy!" She added as Applejack pulled herself away from her with a chuckle.

"Whatever!" Vinyl pouted as she crossed her arms, still a bit offended at her friend's remark.

"Anyway, why don't all we go for lunch?" Applejack asked as she walked toward the exit. "Ah'm starvin'." She added before unlocking the door. 

"Applejack! Thank goodness, you're okay." Rarity said with an evident relief as Applejack walked through the door, before hugging her intensely.

"O' course, Ah'm okay, Sugarcube." Applejack blinked with confusion. "Why wouldn't Ah be okay?"

"Well, Cloud Kicker's sword in the door did kind of worry us." Octavia explained.

"Oh crap!" Cloud Kicker said apologetically. "Sorry about that." She added sheepishly before pulling her blade out of the door and putting it back in its sheath.

"Are you feeling better, Cloudy?" Ditzy asked with concern.

"Much better, Ditzy." Cloud Kicker nodded. "Sorry to have worried all of you."

"It's ok, Cloud Kicker. As long as you're feeling better." Redheart waved off along with the other members of Ponyville's team.

While the others were discussing about where to go for lunch and Applejack and Vinyl were pretending to be pondering on going to eat with the princesses and their lovers or their teammates, Twilight took Cloud Kicker apart. Twilight held Cloud Kicker's right hand firmly, occasionally rubbing it with her thumb.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Twilight asked with concern. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Twilight, I'm fine." Cloud Kicker assured with a nod. "There's not.....Actually, I can think of something." She added with a playful grin.

Cloud Kicker gently pulled Twilight's face close to hers with her free hand, firmly pressing her lips against the council member's. Twilight tilted her head on the side before opening her mouth to let the way clear for Cloud Kicker's tongue. Twilight let out satisfied moans as Cloud Kicker gently took control over her mouth. Cloud Kicker ignored the impressed whistles blown at the couple while Twilight didn't even hear them.

Cloud Kicker heard the sounds of leaving footsteps followed by Vinyl's voice saying something about wandering around for thirty minutes before coming back to grab something to eat with them. She smiled internally, Faust had blessed her with awesome friends who gave her time to enjoy her newly found love's company. Cloud Kicker made a mental note to thank them later. She broke the kiss and looked around to see no one other than a slightly panting Twilight, with cheeks colored in a dark shade of red.

"So, what could we possibly do in thirty minutes?" Cloud Kicker whispered softly, her arms around Twilight's waist.

The next thing she felt was Twilight pushing lips against hers and making her stumble back in the locker room. With her peripheral vision, she noticed the door glowing in a purple aura before fixing itself and slamming itself shut. She heard the characteristic noise of a lock followed by the zipping sounds of her jacket being open.

"What is that all about, Lady Sparkle?" Cloud Kicker said, as Twilight broke the kiss.

"That, Lieutenant Kicker." Twilight said with a small giggle. "Is a small preview of what you can expect as a reward if you win the final." She said with lustful grin.

"Interesting!" Cloud Kicker said slowly. "Care to elaborate a little? I couldn't grasp all the concept behind the reward." She added playfully.

"Don't mind if I do." Twilight winked before leaning in.





"Welcome back, everyone!" Pinkie Pie said happily through her megaphone. "I hope you had a great lunch, because I certainly had. I would gladly tell you where I ate, but the Princesses forbade me from making any publicity during my announcing, otherwise I would lose my allowance." Pinkie explained slowly with disappointment and sadness. "Anyway, We're here now to assist in the main event of today's trials!" She said with her usual cheeriness. "The final of the swordsmanship tournament!"

Princess Luna had checked that the competitors' swords enchantment before sitting back on her cloud between Twilight and her sister, Celestia, she had both "convinced" them to sit with her. Not that Twilight really needed to be convinced, but she had to keep up appearances. Celestia had tagged along after her sister's commented on how good you could see from the small cloud seat.

Luna had offered a spot to everyone from their box, but they all refused for various reasons. Fluttershy was fine in seeing the violence of those combats from far away. Octavia wasn't at ease on a cloud at all. Rarity found it a bit uncouth to sit on a cloud, although she hadn't said it like that to not offend the Princesses. Cadence simply didn't care enough about the match, to move from her comfortable chair in their private box.

Cloud Kicker was getting ready outside of the Arena, waiting for Pinkie Pie to introduce her to the crowd. A tall, rather muscular, man with curly grey and white hair was standing next to her to warm up. Pokey Pierce from team Canterlot.

"Ms Kicker, allow me to wish you good luck." He said politely.

"Good luck to you too, Mr Pierce!"

"I was wondering," He started matter-of-factly. "Are you doing anything later?"

"It depends on how do you define "anything" and "later"." Cloud Kicker answered with a smug smile. 'I know what you want, Mr Pierce. Too bad, you're not gonna get it! My butt now belongs only to Twilight Sparkle!' She chuckled internally.

"Well, maybe some fencing later in the afternoon." He suggested.

"Fencing?" Cloud Kicker asked with confusion. 'Maybe, I misjudged him....after all, not everyone can be after my cute butt!'

"Yes, fencing!" Pokey nodded. "You know, thrusting my sword at you for fun." He added with a small smirk. "Kinda like what we're about to do, expect that, later, my sword would go much more further than one centimeter deep inside you." He whispered in a sultry tone.

"Huh huh!" Cloud Kicker said apathetically. 'What was I thinking? Everyone wants a piece of Cloud Kicker's ass!' She thought, mentally rolling her eyes. 'He could have come up with a better pick up line, though!' "Not really interested." Cloud Kicker shrugged.

"Are you sure?" 

"Certain!" Cloud Kicker nodded.

"Well, maybe you'd change your mind after I shoved you my sword inside you during the match!" He chuckled. "Maybe you'd like it." he joked before entering the arena as Pinkie Pie called him.

'Sure thing honey! Keep dreaming!'

"Ladies and Gentlemen, give a round of applause for the challenger!" Pinkie shouted. "The woman who's about to face the one who's said to be the greatest swordsman of our time! Here comes, CLOUD KICKER!" Pinkie yelled happily as the crowd applauded when Cloud Kicker took her place in the arena.

Pokey and Cloud both saluted each other after having bowed to the Princesses. Pokey drew his stylized silvery rapier out of its sheath with fluid movements, Cloud Kicker couldn't help but whistle in amazement. That was pretty to look at. Cloud Kicker simply let her sword in its sheath she had placed on her right side.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Ms Kicker." Pokey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at all!" Cloud Kicker shrugged happily.

"What is she doing?" Twilight asked in confusion. "Shouldn't she have drawn her sword out already?"

"Not necessarily, my dear Twilight." Celestia answered softly, watching the competitor with renewed interest.

"There are some sword styles that consist in striking while unsheathing one's sword." Luna explained. "Maybe, Ms Kicker is an adept of one of those particular styles."

"BEGIN!" Pinkie shouted happily before hitting a small gong she had pulled out of her machine's side-bags.

Pokey took a few steps on the side, circling around Cloud Kicker who hadn't moved from her spot, her right hand lazily laying on top of her sword's pommel. While she was standing there with a laid back attitude, her eyes were completely focused on Pokey's movement, like those of an eagle eyeing its prey from afar.

"You're not going to do anything, are you?" Pokey asked softly.

"You were the one who wanted to show me his thrusts." Cloud Kicker explained with a shrug. "I'm waiting..."

"If you insist, miss." Pokey said happily before throwing a series of quick thrusts of his sword at Cloud Kicker.

Cloud Kicker didn't draw her sword out yet. She simply dodged all of Pokey's strikes with sharp (and rather sensual) movements of her waist. Pierce tried to hit her with quick lateral strike which she dodged by flexing her back backward. The blade passed millimeters below her breasts, cutting the fabric of her jacket. She jumped backwards and eyed the damage on her jacket. She pulled it off with a small grin, revealing her racy, skintight tank top. She lifted her hand and asked Pokey to come at her with her forefinger. Pokey couldn't help but to oblige with a smile.





"The idiot!" Shining muttered. "He isn't taking the fight seriously."

"Can't really blame him for that, Sir." Soarin shrugged. 

"You don't get it, Soar'." Spitfire shook her head quickly. "Not taking Cloud Kicker seriously in a sword fight is just plain stupidity."

"What do you mean?" Soarin asked.

"That Pokey has already lost." Shining sighed in defeat as he watched Cloud Kicker dodging his teammate's strike. "He just doesn't know it yet."

"Hey, now! Boss man." Fleetfoot said softly. "This is Pokey we're talking about. He's the world's best Swordsman! Give him some credits!" She chuckled.

"Just watch!" Shining Armor said slowly.





"I have judged your thrusts, Mr Pierce." Cloud Kicker said playfully as she dodged another blow. "And, I'm not convinced."

"Maybe, I should try harder then." Pokey chuckled.

"Nah! The fight lasted long enough." Cloud Kicker said firmly, as she grabbed the tilt of her sword with her right hand. "I'm ending this, now!" 

"As if, I'm going to let....." Pokey said before feeling her sharp blow at the tilt of his sword which flew out of his grip.

One swing. In one swing from her sword, Cloud Kicker had disarmed him. Despite his attitude, he had kept his focus on Cloud Kicker's sword, ready to take a defensive action the moment the sword would leave its sheath. But he just didn't see it. Cloud Kicker's blow came too fast for him to do anything.

The next thing his eyes recorded was the fact that Cloud Kicker held her sword in a reverse grip from her right hand, its edge against the skin of his neck. She gave it a little push, only hard enough to make a small drop of blood bead out of it. She flipped her sword in her hand before resting her blade on her shoulder.

"First drop of blood." She said softly with a smile. "I win!"

"And our new gold medallist and probably the new one to bear the title of Equestria's Best Swordsman is...CLOUD KICKER from PONYVILLE!" Pinkie shouted happily as the crowd started to applaud madly.

Pokey stood where Cloud Kicker had left him, blinking with his mouth agape while Cloud Kicker was waving at the crowd from her free hand. Ponyville's team nearly tackled her to the ground when they rushed toward her for a group hug. Pokey got out of his stun when Shining Armor clacked his fingers in front of him. 

"Sorry, captain." Pokey sighed in defeat. "I should have taken her seriously from the beginning."

"Yeah, you should have but don't feel bad." Shining said slowly." A silver medal is still something."

As Princess Luna came down from her cloud to start the medal ceremony for Cloud Kicker, Pierce and a Zebrican athlete (Cloudsdale having declared forfeit on the small final), Spitfire and the Wonderbolts came next to Shining Armor.

"I really hate that girl!" Spitfire said slowly, glaring at Cloud Kicker.

"I know, Spitfire." Shining sighed, rolling his eyes lazily. That wasn't the first time he heard the Wonderbolt saying that. "You should put your grudge aside, now! It'll be a relief for everyone."

"I'm not talking about that." Spitfire shook her head.

"What are you on about, then?" Soarin asked with curiosity.

"She's just too good without even trying." Spitfire said softly.

"Heing?" Fleetfoot and Soarin said in confusion.

"What are you saying? She did fight hard during the competition." Fleefoot noted. "She did beat Pierce with...."

"She wasn't serious at all, Fleetfoot." Spitfire interrupted sharply.

"How can you know that?" Soarin asked with puzzled look.

"Because, she only used her right hand during the competition." Shining explained softly.

"So did Pokey. I don't see what's the big deal!" Soarin said scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Yes, but Cloud Kicker's left-handed, unlike him." Shining said matter-of-factly causing Soarin and Fleetfoot's eyes to widen in shock. 

"You mean that...." Soarin started slowly.

"Yes, she did the all competition with her weak hand and she completely wiped out her opponents." Spitfire stated.

"Wow...First Applejack's monstrous physical strength, then, Ditzy's flying and now Cloud Kicker's swordsmanship." Fleetfoot said with admiration and a pinch of fear. "Do you think they got more special people like that in Ponyville's team?"

"If we're lucky enough, no." Shining said slowly.

"No offense, Boss." Spitfire interjected. "But apart from the hurdles incident, the ones with luck are them and not us." She added pointing at Ponyville's team.

Shining shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and see." 




 
	 
> Magical Skeet Shooting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Pinkie Pie said happily from her flying contraption. "For today's final event, I have the great honor to present to you, the magical skeet shooting!" 

Pinkie flew her blimp to the ground next to the various machines on the side of the Coliseum field. 

"Let me explain a few things!" She added before unhooking her megaphone and disembarking to stand next to one of the machines. "This is a disc thrower powered by magic crystals. Originally, I had built this to help in the distribution of pies or pizzas in bakery and restaurant whatsoever. But the Committee for Labeled Inventions Concerning Kitchens, aka the CLICK, judged it was too eccentric to be seen in food industry and sold the project to the Games Committee in order to get them to throw clay discs instead of food." Pinkie explained softly to the crowd who looked passably interested. "Jerks!" She muttered venomously more to herself.

Pinkie started to explain the general rules of the trials. One by one, the competitors will have to take down as many discs as they can during each volley thanks to their magic, be it Titanian magic or Jupitarian lightning magic. Pinkie also explained that Eponian couldn't participate in this event, for the tests on mass production of her Party Cannon 2.0. turned out to be a failure for the moment. Maybe for the next Games.

Each disc shot down brings a point for the competitor's team. For the five first volleys which are considered the easiest ones, one miss equals an elimination and the end of the competition for the team. From the sixth volley, the score starts to count and the team with the lowest score is eliminated then we move on to the next volley. In case of a tie for last place, no team is eliminated and we move on the next volley. Last team standing wins the gold!

"Ok, now that all the launchers are being checked and tested, I invite all the contesters to gather around near the shooting area along with their back up partners." Pinkie said cheerfully. "May I remind you that the back up partner is there in case one of his partner suffers from magic exhaustion. Only in that case are they allowed to switch place in between two volleys."

"Feeling ready, Allie?" Turner asked softly.

"Kinda." Allie replied nervously as she tried, with no great success, to tie her long cyan hair in her usual ponytail. 

"Let me take care of that, Allie." Redhearts said with a soft smile, before gently tying Allie's hair correctly.

"Thanks, Redhearts!" Allie smile before walking out of her team's pit when her hair were done.

"Wait!" Ditzy shouted as she flew next to Allie, pulling her muffin out of its satchel. "You didn't kiss the Lucky Muffin."

"Oh, that's ok. Ditzy." Allie chuckled. " I don't need it."

"Sweetie, it's dangerous out there, who knows what could happen?" Ditzy said with genuine concern. "So now, KISS THE LUCKY MUFFIN!" She nearly shouted with her left eye twitching violently as she practically shoved the pastry in Allie's mouth.

Allie eyed cautiously her teammate with a confused expression. The situation didn't get to escalate, as Vinyl levitated the muffin toward her before giving it a small peck and floating it back toward Allie. The other blue haired woman looked at her with a crooked eyebrow as Vinyl came closer.

"Just do it, Kiddo!" Vinyl shrugged. "That's a fight you can't win." She said with fatality.

"Fiiiine." Allie sighed before giving a small peck on the muffin.

"There you go." Ditzy beamed before flying back toward the team's pit, her muffin secured in its satchel. "Give them hell." She shouted happily.

"Since when is Ditzy so pushy with her Lucky Muffin?" Allie asked as she and Vinyl were walking toward the shooting area.

"Since Rose's incident in the hurdles, I think." Vinyl said softly. "Since Rose didn't kiss the lucky muffin yesterday and she got hurt in the competition, Ditzy probably thinks unconsciously it's her fault for not insisting about it." Vinyl speculated softly.

"That's just stupid!" Allie said vigorously. "We all know it's because of Lightning Dust's fault."

"I know, Kiddo." Vinyl nodded grimly. 

"Will you stop calling me Kiddo?" Allie said angrily. "I'm only three years younger than you."

"Actually, you're four years younger than me." Vinyl chuckled. "But, okay. I'll drop the kiddo thing....Shorty!"

"I'm not a shorty!" She said with vigor, glaring Vinyl right in the eye. The facts that she had to lift her chin high and that Vinyl had to nearly snap her neck forward to do so, didn't help her case.

"Of course!" Vinyl replied softly, but not without a pinch of sarcasm. Come on Vinyl! Be nice with her. She thought, trying her best not to laugh. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." Allie assured with a nod.

"Ready to blow their mind with your magic?" Vinyl asked with a genuine, confident smile.

"Sort of...." Allie said slowly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Vinyl said with concern as she noted her teammate's doubt.

"Nothing!" Allie replied quickly, waving her hands in front of her defensively.

Vinyl frowned a bit at Allie's defensive attitude, but decided to not press the matter further as it will only make her friend more stressed than she already was. They walked in silence toward the shooting area where the others contesters and their back up were busy warming up.

"What do you say we warm you up a bit?" Vinyl suggested casually.

"Yeah, why not." Allie shrugged.





"Hey, look! Vinyl and that other blue haired girl are going toward the shooting arena." Twilight said casually, as she looked over the Coliseum field with a pair of binoculars. She was very happy to have found back the comfort of her seat in their private box.

"I think her name's Allie Way." Fluttershy chimed in quietly.

"That's weird. Vinyl told me she didn't participate in any trial, today." Octavia said slowly in confusion.

"Well, maybe she's Ms Way's back up for this trial." Rarity suggested softly. "She probably doesn't think she'd have to take action in it."

"That's probably the reason." Octavia nodded slowly.

"If it's that. I must say that I don't understand Ponyville's decision." Luna pondered, her eyes glowing in a dark blue hue as they were fixed on Vinyl and Allie. "Ms Apple clearly has a lot more magic then Ms Way. Quite a lot actually." Luna added in a small impressed tone.

"How much magic are you talking about, Luna?" Celestia asked with interest.

"Oh, nothing extravagant in comparison with Twilight's level of magic power, I can assure you of that, Sister." Luna shrugged. "But, Ms Apple's is still quite above the average." 

"In that case, why didn't they make her the primary contester?" Twilight asked with curiosity.

"My dear Twilight, it takes more than a large quantity of magic power to win in a magic contest." Celestia said with wisdom. "They must have a reason as for why they chose Ms Way over Ms Apple."

"That's certainly true." Cadence said slowly. "In any case, Canterlot is sure to get a gold medal on this trial!" She said happily.

"What makes you say that, dear niece?" Luna asked with a small smile. She already knew why but she also knew that Cadence would want to say it out loud.

"The fact that Shining is competing of course." Cadence smiled broadly. "And that his back up is Spitfire."

"Indeed, they form quite the team." Rarity nodded.

"I'm still supporting Ponyville, though." Octavia shrugged with a small smile.

"You know you can say that you only support Vinyl, Octavia." Fluttershy joked softly, causing everyone to giggle.

"It's that obvious?" Octavia asked with a small chuckle.

"Quite!" Twilight nodded. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna do like you, Octavia, and supporting Ponyville."

"The more, the better." Octavia said with a small smile.

"You're not going to cheer for your brother?" Cadence asked with incredulity. "Are you still mad about this morning?"

"Yes!" Twilight answered flatly.

"You really shouldn't hold a grudge on him like that, Twilight." Cadence said softly.

"Spike and he broke into my suite and walked in on me while I was getting out of the shower." Twilight said with an angered frown. "I think I deserve to be mad at them for the day, at least."

"Seems legit to me." Luna nodded. "Anyway, the trial is about to start."





Allie was focusing her magic power to practice her spell for the contest. As her hands shined in a cyan aura, she let out a small relieved sigh and created a dozens of small marbles with her magic. Small cyan spheres, barely an inch wide, started to float around her hands. Vinyl smiled at Allie when she saw her friend chuckling happily when she noticed that her spell was working.

"That's not much worth of the giddiness you two are displaying." Humphed a feminine and pretentious voice at Vinyl's left.

Vinyl and Allie both turned around and saw who had just talked. It was a small woman with long white hair in a light blue tracksuit that bore the insignia of Neigh Orleans, the Unicorn on the fleur-de-lys. What surprised Vinyl was the rest of her outfit, she was wearing a short purple cape with twinkling blue stars on it and a matching sorcerer hat. 

"And, you are?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"You must be a simpleton for not recognizing." The woman said with fake compassion. "For I am no one else, than the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie! One of the strongest mage that has ever lived!" Trixie nearly shouted, opening her arms wide as small magical fireworks were exploding behind her, attracting the other competitors' attention. 

"Never heard of you!" Vinyl shrugged casually, causing Trixie to nearly lost her footing from the surprise. "Anyway, let's get back to your spell." She added, facing her teammate.

"Huh, ok!" Allie said softly, focusing her attention back on her spell. "What do you want me to do?"

"Can you make more marbles?" Vinyl asked. "Some of the last volleys have nearly twenty targets, it would be great if you can create all your ammunitions from the start instead of risking to lose time during the volley." Vinyl explained in a very professional tone.

"That could be done easily." Allie assured. "Just a minute." She focused more magic in her hands and a minute later, she created another dozen of small magic marbles. "There you go!" She said with a big smile, wiping her brow with her left hand as all the marbles were now spiraling around her right arm.

"Nicely done." Vinyl said with pride.

"Trixie thinks there's nothing to be proud of." Trixie claimed with a smug smile. "Look, Trixie can do that easily." 

Trixie's right hand glowed in a pale pink aura for about a second before small balls of pink magic appeared floating around her. In a few seconds, she had recreated the same amount of spheres that Allie had created in a couple of minutes, only that hers had the size of an apple. Allie's eyes went wide as she saw Trixie besting her spell instantly.

"Come on everyone, try it." Trixie said to the other competitors. "Trixie thinks it's easily a child's play."

Much to Vinyl's annoyance, a lot of Titanians competitors followed Trixie's example and they were all doing it with great ease compared to Allie. The other Titanian from Ponyville lost her focus, causing her spell to dispel itself, as she looked at the ground, ashamed of being bested so easily by the others.

"So much for Ponyville's Titanian might!" A competitor from Las Pegasus chuckled.

"Truly, Zey mustn't have a lot of mages in zis small town!" A germane athlete mocked. "Zey only have muscles, not ze brain!"

"Ok, that's enough!" Vinyl shouted with anger as Allie was nearly hiding behind her.

"Well, Trixie must say that Trixie agrees with her." Trixie said apathetically as she cancelled her spell. "Trixie now must prepare herself for the trial."

The crowd scattered as every athlete took place under the many tents reserved for each team. Vinyl turned to face Allie who was trembling softly. Vinyl's anger was immediately replaced by concern.

"Hey, don't let those idiots get to you." Vinyl said softly, resting her hand on Allie's shoulder.

"But, you saw them!" Allie said, her voice on the verge of cracking. "They all can do this spell better than me."

"Kid, listen..." Vinyl started.

"You should do this trial instead of me." Allie interrupted her. "It was already planned for you to finish this trial, you might as well do it from the beginning."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vinyl asked with genuine curiosity.

"Let's face it, I don't have the tenth of your magical power." Allie said, her head hanging low. "It was obvious that after the five first volleys you would take my place."

"Kiddo, that's not true at all." Vinyl said with conviction.

"Look, I know that I'm here just because you can't subscribe in all the trials." Allie affirmed with sadness. "I'm just Titanian number two in the team."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard." Vinyl said firmly. "And I've heard my lover's brother and mother's stupidities, so I know what I'm talking about. You're in this team for your skills, not because we have a quota to respect. Zecora picked you over me for this trial for a reason."

"Which one, then?" Allie snapped with teary eyes.

"What are you best at?" Vinyl asked softly.

"Heing?"

Vinyl sighed with a half chuckle. "What is your average score in bowling?"

"Huh." Allie let out in confusion before answering. "About 300 points."

"Isn't that the perfect score?" Vinyl asked softly.

"Yes, but..."

"What about darts?"

"150 points, but I don't see what does it got to do with..." Allie started, confused.

"Perfect score again." Vinyl chuckled. "Kiddo, sure you have less magic power than me. Sure, you can't manage spell like them." She added, designating the other competitors with a nod.

"That helps a lot, thanks." Allie whispered with a saddened voice.

"But, remember when we practiced for those trials." Vinyl continued softly, as if Allie hadn't said anything. "When AJ was throwing bad apples through the field at full strength for us to take them down. Do you remember what happened?"

".....yes." Allie said softly, looking up from the ground with a small growing smile.

"In the end, what was my score?" Vinyl asked with a knowing smile. "With all my more developed skills in magic, how much did I do?"

"....Eighty-five out of one hundred." Allie answered after a few seconds.

"And you?"

"........Ninety-four!" Allie finally said, with a big confident smile. Vinyl ruffled Allie's hair playfully, causing the concerned party to giggle. "Hey, stop it!" 

"You see why you're the shooter and I'm the back up, now?" Vinyl said, still not interrupting her ruffling.

"Yeah, I got it!" Allie said softly, trying to push Vinyl's hand away form her hair. "Can you stop, please?"

"Only because you said please, Kiddo!" Vinyl winked, stopping her ruffling.

"I'm not a kid, anymore!" Allie pouted with her arms crossed.

"When you sulk cutely like that, it's hard to not think that you are." Vinyl chuckled, causing Allie to stick her tongue out at her.

"Do I have to show you what I can do to make you stop calling me a kid?" Allie asked in a playful, yet threatening tone.

"I already know what you can do. Why don't you show them?" Vinyl asked smug, showing the other competitors with a wave of her hand. "Maybe then, I'll stop calling you like that."

Allie looked at her opponents, blinking a bit. Her gaze fell on the germane who had mocked Ponyville's mages, she closed her fists lightly. Each time her eyes went on one of the competitors who had mocked her and her town, her resolution grew stronger. She spotted Trixie who was busy dusting her hat and chatting with her back up partner. Trixie saw her before whispering something to her partner before both of them bursted into laughter. Allie's knuckles became white as she clenched  her fists vigorously.

"Yeah, I'll show them!" Allie said slowly in a whisper before facing Vinyl back.

Vinyl liked what she saw on Allie's face. Her teammate had been quite stressed before they came near the shooting area. Now, Allie's face bore nothing but confidence and determination. Vinyl simply nodded at her teammate with a small grin.

"Ok, everyone! The launchers had been tested properly and everything works just fine, the trial is about to start!" Pinkie shouted in her megaphone, before reading a small note that had been given to her by a Games official. "And, it says here that I must ask you to be very quiet during one competitor's turn. They need to focus, so let's help them the best we can!" She added happily. "Let's start with our first contester! Shining Armor from Canterlot!"

Shining took place at the shooting line under the applauses of the crowd at which he waved with a big smile. After the crowd went silent, he exhale softly as he focused magic in his right hand. The officials started the launchers, and one by one, four discs of red clay were sent flying across the field. Only to be blasted without much difficulties by four beams of deep purple magic. He walked away from the shooting line back to his team's tent in which Spitfire high-fived him.

"Next shooter, Trixie Lulamoon from Neigh Orleans!" Pinkie announced.

"Watch and be amazed by the magic of Trixie!" Trixie said in a very mysterious and boastful tone.

Trixie looked like the kind of person who talks loud but can't manage to do a single thing right. At Vinyl's surprise, she only looked like that kind of person as she passed the volley effortlessly with, she had to admit it, pretty impressive bright pink strokes of lightnings. She gave the crowd a small bow before leaving the shooting line.

The line of competitors went along for the first volley. Vinyl appreciated very much when the Germane Titanian who had mocked Allie and her earlier missed the fourth disc, leading him and, hence, his team to disqualification. Vinyl sat up straight on her chair when it was her teammate's turn.

Allie created four cyan marbles with her magic which started to spin around her right hand before signaling the official she was ready. She took a deep breath as she extended her right hand forward, her thumb pressed against her forefinger. One of her magic marble took position against the tip of her thumb. Vinyl noticed various contesters looked a bit surprised at Allie's pose, some even snickered or laughed quietly at her teammates.

'They're looking down on you, Kiddo. They probably think that you're not worth the worry.' Vinyl thought. 'Show them how wrong they are!' Vinyl grinned

The first disc was sent flying. With one flick of her thumb, Allie sent her magic marble to crash against her flying target that shattered at the impact. Allie put her thumb back in her throwing position as another marble took place on its tip. The second disc knew the same destiny as the first one, such as the third and the fourth one. Allie playfully blew on her thumb's tip to dissipate the magic aura around it.

'Atta girl!'





The contested continued for a bit more than two hours and a half. There were only three teams remaining in the competition after the fifteenth volley: Canterlot, Neigh Orleans and Ponyville. With the respective score of 154 and 153 for the other two. 

None of the competitors so far had to use the help of their back up. Trixie and Shining Armor looked a bit tired as their reserves of magic power started go down a bit, but they looked fresh as daisies compared to Allie who looked like she was on the verge of exhaustion. She was sweating and panting profusely on her chair in Ponyville's tent while Shining was busy accomplishing his sixteenth volley, the competition seemed to have taken its toll on her reserves. 

"Kiddo, I'm gonna have to intervene." Vinyl said softly

"NO!" Allie nearly shouted between pants. "I can do this, I don't need your help now!"

"Shorty, look at you. You can barely stand." Vinyl said firmly. "I might not know the spell to watch one's reserves of magic power but I can tell that yours are practically empty without it."

"I can make it!"

"No, you can't! And you're an idiot if you think I'm going let you overuse your magic like that." Vinyl nearly shouted grimly. "There could be serious consequences if you do."

"I refuse to be replaced by you, now!" Allie said with determination. "I didn't come this far to let you steal all the fame of victory from me."

Vinyl was a bit taken aback by that statement. "You didn't pay attention when Doc' explained to us the history of this trial, did you?" Vinyl asked in a reproachful tone with a lifted eyebrow.

"I can't really listen to all of the Doctor's stories about ancient times." Allie said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you should. They're very accurate, as if he had been there himself to see what's he talking about." Vinyl said with a reflective frown. "Anyway, back to the present. There's a reason why in this trial there are two competitors for each team, one as the shooter and one as a back up."

"Yeah, I know! It's to replace the shooter when he's near the magic exhaustion." Allie let out as she tried to catch her breath back. "But, as I said...."

"Raaa! Forget it, I got no time to explain anymore." Vinyl said quickly when she noticed that Shining had finished his volley, adding eighteen points to his team's score. "This might sting a bit." She added as her right hand glowed in an electric blue aura.

"What are you...." Allie started before Vinyl grabbed her head with her magicked hand.

As Vinyl's hand made contact with her skull, Allie felt a small electric spark cross all her body. She gasped in surprise. She was about to struggle against Vinyl's grip when she felt something. She blinked in confusion as she felt her magic coming back. No, scratch that. It wasn't her magic that was coming back. Her magic didn't feel like that, the magic she felt was more wild, more powerful and more musical. It felt like an incredibly strong and deep note that was resonating through her entire being.

"Wow." Allie let out as she started to feel strong again. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"It's not for nothing if there's "Degree of Musical AND Magical Arts" written on my diploma!" Vinyl retorted with a small chuckle. "I don't have the time refill your battery completely though. And it won't take away your fatigue." Vinyl explained softly. "But, you should have enough magic now to beat the crap out of that show woman and to tell Kicker's boss off!" She added playfully.

"Yeah, probably!" Allie chuckled softly. "But, is what you're doing ....legal?" She asked with uneasiness. Vinyl only grinned at that question.





"What's Vinyl doing?" Rarity asked with curiosity.

"I have no idea." Octavia answered slowly, her eyes fixed on her lover through her binoculars. "But I don't like her touching Allie like that." She added with a frown.

"Hum, she's just touching her forehead. I don't see...." Flutterhy said quietly, earning a deadpan from Octavia. "Never mind!"

"Hang on!" Twilight said quietly, before lighting her eyes with a purple aura. "What?" She nearly shouted in surprise. "She's giving Allie magic power!"

"I didn't know she knew of such a spell." Celestia said with interest.

"That spell isn't quite difficult, Sister." Luna noted. "It's just not common knowledge."

"Aren't you disturbed by what she's doing?" Twilight asked the monarchs with incredulity. "Isn't she breaking the Games rules?"

"Vinyl would never break the Games rules!" Octavia shouted, pretty offended by what Twilight was supposing.

"Oh! What's she doing then?" Cadence said vigorously.

"Her role as a back up, maybe?" Luna asked with a small chuckle.

"What?" The council members and Cadence nearly shouted simultaneously.

"Pinkie said that the back up member could only take the other's place if he ran out of magic power." Twilight said.

"That's only the modern version of the rule." Celestia explained softly. "That's what allows, pardon me for the term, interracial teams to compete. In the past, only pairs of Titanians could partake in this trial. One as the actual contester and the other as a magic supply case." Celestia frowned at her sentence. "I should have said that differently." She added to herself.

"Ms Apple is only applying the traditional aspect of the back up." Luna concluded. "Something that's still authorized by the Games Committee. And that I find personally more fair for the competitors."

"How is that fair for the other competitors who can't take a rest because they have more magic than the others?" Cadence asked with a crooked eyebrow. "Like Shining and this Trixie. How's it fair for them? They're tired but Allie get's a fresh start again." She added with a frown.

"I meant it fair for Ms Way, Cadence." Luna said softly. "How would you feel, if you manage to get your team into the final stage of a competition only to be replaced for the decisive moment?" Cadence's expression softened when she realized what her aunt was talking about. "That's what I thought." Luna said with a nod.

"Beside, that spell only transfers magic from one person to another." Celestia explained. "Ms Allie's still as tired as she was before, she just doesn't show the signs of magic exhaustion anymore."





Allie had her reserves back up to their halves. She was still pretty tired but it was less overbearing than before Vinyl's little trick. She took position on the shooting line before eyeing the screen with the scores. She noticed that Both Shining and Trixie had scored eighteen points out of the nineteen possible in this series, putting their score to 172 for Canterlot and 171 for Neigh Orleans. If she did a perfect score, she would be on par with Shining and Trixie would be left at the third place.

She summoned nineteen marbles with her magic. She noticed with surprise that her magic spheres were occasionally flickering in an electric blue hue. Probably the after effect of Vinyl's transfer of magic. She took her position as an official signed her to get ready, the first of her marbles placed on her thumb. She gave the official a small nod, then her volley started.

'One...Two....Three....Four...' She counted in her head as she bursted every disc thrown in front of her. ".... Fifteen .... Sixteen .... Seventeen .... Eighteen."

The last disc of the volley had been thrown at full speed. A straight shot wouldn't hit it. Allie knew about this, so she used a trick she hadn't used since she was little. When she was actually playing marbles with her friends. She made an ample waving move with her right arm and when her hands was at full extension she flicked the magic marble out of her hand.

Allie's magical projectile flew with a curved trajectory toward the left of the field, parallel to the disc's movement, only to change course mid flight to the right. Directly intercepting the disc in its course and shattering it to pieces. She jumped out of joy when she realized she had done a perfect score, securing at least the silver medal for Ponyville.

"I did it!" Allie shouted happily as she walked back toward Vinyl while Trixie had thrown her hat on the ground in anger.

"Nice job, Kiddo!" Vinyl said happily, high-fiving Allie. "Only Shining left."

"Yeah." Allie let out in a small sigh. "And, don't call me Kiddo." She added in a low threatening and sleepy tone.

"Hmmmm, Nah!" Vinyl said playfully. "You ok?" She asked with concern when Allie shook her head vigorously to stay alert.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a bit tired." Allie said sleepily.

"Come on, girl!" Vinyl encouraged her softly. "Only one volley left, then the day is over." 

"Don't worry, I can go on for another round or two." Allie bragged in an unsteady tone as she repressed a rather long yawn.

Shining's volley went rather well, he nearly made a perfect score, much to Ponyville's pair's displeasure, but the four last discs of the volley were launched simultaneously and he couldn't reach two of them. He scored eighteen points out of the twenty possible ones that added to his total and gave his team the final score of 190 points.

Allie gulped when she took her place on the shooting line. She had to make nineteen out of twenty for this volley to win. She created twenty marbles with her magic that started to spin around her right arm. She was about to take her stance and signaling the official to go when her vision got blurry a little. She blinked a couple of times but it only made her vision blurrier. She gave herself a small slap on the cheek with her left hand. The slap cleared her vision as she felt more awake. She nodded at the official.

'Come on, Allie! You got this!' She thought to herself as the first disc was in the air. She flicked her thumb. 'That's one!' She thought grinning as she heard the sound of the disc shattering at the impact.

She had done well during this volley, Allie had managed to take down all the sixteen first discs. She exhale softly as the four final discs were sent flying above the field in front of her.

'One at a time.' Allie thought with serenity

Allie flicked her thumb, sending a cyan marble crashing on the first target. She readied her thumb for the next marble before grinning when she heard the satisfying sound of broken clay. She focused her gaze on the second disc. She blinked.

After Allie had blinked, her vision became blurry again.

'Oh no, no, no!' Allie thought in panic as her right hand started to shake.

She shook her head to get her vision clear again. When the world stopped being blur, she noticed that her targets were much more farther than what she had first planned. In a panic, she flicked her thumbs three times, causing her last marbles to fly each toward one of the three remaining discs. She bit her lower lip when they came closer to their targets.










They all missed. Each of her marbles passed barely a inch higher or lower than the flying discs. She put her hands on her forehead, nearly screaming in frustration. She hadn't beaten Shining Armor, she hadn't won the trial. She walked back toward Vinyl who, at her great surprise, was smiling softly at her.

"Why are you smiling?" Allie let out with her head low in defeat. "I didn't win."

"You won the silver medal and Shining Armor beat you by only one point!" Vinyl remarked playfully. "It's still worth a smile and a small celebration."

"You're not upset that I didn't win?" She said slowly.

"You did your best, Allie." Vinyl assured. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of." 

"You didn't called me Kiddo." Allie said with wide eyes. "You called me by my first name."

Vinyl nodded. "Yeah, I did say that I would drop that nickname, if you'd show them what you're made off." Vinyl explained. "And I must say that you did great on that."

"Thanks!" Allie said softly as she beamed at her teammate.

"You're welcome......Shorty!" She said with a playful smirk, causing Allie to start groaning in anger and frustration.



	







 
> Dinner at Sweet Apple Acres
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That's how this second day of the Equestria Games ends!" Pinkie Pie said happily in her megaphone to the crowd which was applauding fiercely the newly medalists. "Let's now all go home to rest or to throw a party to celebrate! I don't know about you, but I'm going to PARTAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy....." She said uneasily as she heard delicate footsteps behind her.

She turned around, her megaphone still in her hand, to face a stern looking Princess Celestia. The monarch who just had given the medals for the magic skeet was tapping her right foot impatiently. Pinkie Pie gulped with an awkward chuckle, before bringing her megaphone to her mouth.

"Or not, since I promised the Princess that I will only partay for the ending ceremony." Pinkie explained. "Have a good evening and meet me back tomorrow!" She added before putting away her megaphone. "Better?" She asked with a pinch of worry to the monarch who simply nodded with a good natured smile.

In the Princesses' box, Cadence had convinced Twilight on going back to the Hotel with her to prepare a small get together to celebrate the two medals Canterlot had won today. Twilight had reluctantly agreed to her sister-in-law's demand, she knew she couldn't stay mad at her brother much longer than she already had been. But, it did annoy her because it messed up the reward she had been planning for Cloud Kicker. She had to think this through to get a solution. Fortunately, Twilight was a good thinker, she'll get her solution in the neck of time.

After Twilight, Cadence, Fluttershy and Luna left to the Hotel, Rarity and Octavia were slowly wandering around the Coliseum's numerous alleys and corridors toward the Ponyville's locker room. Their walk was going peacefully until it was interrupted by a high-pitched shout directed at them, accompanied by fast running footsteps.

"Rarity, Octavia, wait!" The voice, which they both recognized as Rarity's sister's, shouted at them.

"Hello, Sweetie!" Rarity said fondly as she caught her little sister, who had been running toward them, into an affectionate hug. "Did you enjoyed today's games?"

"Yeah, it was so much fun!" Sweetie said excitedly. "Except that Mom didn't let me watch the swords tournament." She added with a saddened pout.

"Of course!" An older feminine voice said. "I don't want my daughter to be exposed to such ruffian behavior!" The woman said softly.

Rarity and Octavia looked up toward the voice and saw a couple making its way toward them. The man was in his late forties, he had the remains of a strong musculature that was slightly overtaken by a very small paunch, half long brown hair, and a large and brushy mustache. At his side was a woman in her early forties, with long two toned purple hair styled in a old fashioned, yet very elegant, bun. She could have been the perfect copy of Rarity, if not for the fact she looked a bit older than the Council member and that her eyes were of lighter shade of blue.

"That's quite normal, Mrs Belle!" Octavia nodded politely. "It's not really a show for sweet little girl like her."

"Absolutely!" Rarity insisted vigorously.

"See?! I told you the girls would agree with me." Rarity's mother said with a triumphant smile to her husband who just groaned in response. "Oh, and Octavia dear. Stop calling me Mrs Belle!" She added with a more goodnatured smile to the cellist. "You're practically family, I told you already to call me Pearl!"

"Allright, Pearl. I'll do that." Octavia giggled softly.

"Anyway, where were you girls heading?" Rarity's father asked. 

He looked at one of the signs on the walls and noted that the one pointing at where the girls were heading before Sweetie interrupted them. It said "Locker Rooms".

"Never mind! I got my answer." He added with a wink at his daughter and her friend. "You can't stay away from those Ponyvillians for too long, can you?" He asked with a rather loud laugh, causing Octavia and his older daughter to blush intensely.

"Magnum, don't bother them like that." Pearl chastised him playfully.

"I don't get it." Sweetie Belle said with confusion.

"It's nothing, Sweetie. Just one of Father's bad jokes." Rarity tried to say nonchalantly.

"My jokes aren't that bad." Magnum chuckled.

"Dear, they are really bad."  Pearl assured. "Anyway, do you mind if we join you?"

"Why?" Rarity asked with a puzzled frown.

"Well, you and Sweetie kept on saying how nice and amazing this Applejack is." Pearl explained. "It can't be helped if we get curious about her and want to meet her."

"That nickname sure bothers me." Magnum chimed in slowly. "I always got the impression it's a boy we're talking about."

"Well, she acts like one most of the time." Sweetie remarked, causing Octavia to start laughing while Rarity got offended.

"Sweetie Belle!  That's not a very nice thing to say." Rarity chastised her sister. "Applejack can be very feminine when she wants to be."She said with conviction, before turning toward her friend. "Octavia, will you stop laughing?" Octavia responded by shaking her head vigorously, still laughing.

"Darn tootin', she can." An elderly voice with a southern accent chimed in playfully. "Too bad we only found out when ya came into to picture, Rarity!" The voice chuckled.

"Granny Smith!" Rarity said with a smile as she turned her head toward the voice and saw the matriarch of the Apple family walking toward them softly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Good to see you, Granny Smith." Octavia smiled, having finally stopped laughing.

"Good to see y'all as well!" Granny said softly. She noted the small bandaid on Octavia's cheek. "Good Grady, girl! What happened to ya?" She asked with concern, before grabbing Octavia's chin to inspect the bruise carefully.

"Oh! It's nothing, Granny Smith." Octavia said with a pinch of uneasiness. "I...I fell from the bed this morning and ....my cheek bumped into the corner of the night stand." She tried to sound convincing.

"Mhmmm." Granny said with narrowed eyes.

'She's not buying it....' Octavia thought with worry.

"Ah bet ma Vinyl kept hoggin' all the bed and that's why ya fell, ain't it?" Granny let out with her small chuckle, but her eyes told Octavia that the elder woman was thinking something entirely different.

"Yeah, that's what happened." Octavia chuckled awkwardly, jumping in the way-out Granny Smith had provided her.

"Anyway." Granny said before turning toward the other members of the Belle family. "Ah suppose y'all must be Rarity's parents." She bowed as far as she could. "Arabella Smith, pleased to meet ya, ...." She started with very polite tone.  "Ah don't rightly know what their titles are, do ya mind giving me a hint for that, Rarity?" She whispered at the seamstress.

"No need for all that decorum, Mrs Smith." Magnum said with a smile. "Magnum Belle, and this is my wife, Pearl. Pleased to meet you." He said before extending his hand toward the elder woman who shook it vigorously for a woman of her age. "Wow, you sure got a strong grip, Mrs Smith." Magnum added with an impressed tone.

"Well, rumor has it that there ain't no weaklin' in the Apple Family." Granny chuckled before shaking hands with Rarity's mother, a bit more gently than with her Father.

"Say Granny Smith," Rarity said softly. "Why are you here?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Ah was lookin' the two of ya actually." Granny Smith explained. "We're going to celebrate Applejack's first medal at Sweet Apple Acres and Ah wanted to invite ya." She turned toward Rarity's family. "Y'all are welcome to join us if y'all don't have anything planned already."

"I'll come with pleasure, Granny Smith." Octavia smiled.

"What a lovely idea!" Pearl nodded with a smile. "We've been looking forward to meet your granddaughter and your family for a few days, now." Her husband nodded his approval.

"I suppose it's two birds, one stroke then!" Rarity giggled.

"Ah'll be, Ah came at the perfect time, didn't Ah?" Granny Smith beamed. "Well, meet us back at the Acres in two hours."

"We'll go warn Applejack and Vinyl about it." Octavia suggested, walking toward the locker room with Rarity in tow only to be interrupted by Granny Smith.

"No need for that, dears!" Granny said softly. "Ah already sent Macintosh and a few of their cuzins to convince them about this dinner."

"Convince them?" Rarity and Octavia asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Ah meant warn them about it." Granny quickly said. "It ain't like they need convincin'!" She added with a sheepish and awkward chuckle.





A few corridors and a couple of floors downer in Ponyville's locker room, the Ponyville team had already evacuated the Coliseum. Well, Most of the team did get that chance.

"Ah swear to every God there is in this here world, Braeburn. " Applejack growled threat-fully as she was lying on the floor, her cousin straddling on top of her and holding her arms tied up behind her back. "Ya have exactly five seconds to get off ma back before Ah kick yar sorry ass into the next generation!"

"BIG MAC!" Braeburn panted loudly. "Brin' the rope, Ah got her!"

"EEEYUUUP!" Big Mac said, before tying his younger sister up with the help of his cousin.

"Big Mac, you slimy, back-stabbing traitor!" Vinyl shouted from the other side of the room.

She was struggling against three of her female cousins who tried to get a grip on her. Her right hand covering one's face and pushing her away, while she was trying to repulse another with her left leg. The third tried to contain her by grabbing her by the waist, accidentally brushing one of Vinyl's ticklish spots. Vinyl gasped loudly, before activating her magic instinctively to send her tickler cousin flying against one of the locker with a loud bang.

Every Apples in the room froze in shock, watching their potentially injured cousin.

"Oh my gosh! Fritter, I'm so sorry!" Vinyl apologized with evident concern. "I didn't mean to...Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Applefritter groaned, shaking her head vigorously to gather her thoughts. Her long green pigtails whipping her face as she did so, before she stood up.

"Thanks Epona for..." Vinyl started with relief before being tackled to the ground by Applefritter.

"I caught her by surprise!" The tackling cousin yelled at the other two. "Get her, girls!"

"Why you double-dealing scoundrel!" Vinyl snarled in anger before being pinned down by the others.

"Gala, not that I mind the show." Cloud Kicker said matter-of-factly. "But I was wondering. Why am I tied up again?" She asked trying to look up from the ground at one of the Apples next to her. 

Two of the Apple cousins, Red Gala and Apple Cobbler, had tied her up instantly when Vinyl and Applejack started to resist at Granny Smith's dinner invitation.

"Oh, because Granny Smith asked we invite you as well." Cobbler explained casually. "After all, we have to celebrate your medal as well." She added with a smile.

"Why didn't you attack Allie, then?" Cloud Kicker asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Well, she said she was going to celebrate with her family, so we let her go." Gala explained.

"And, you both assumed that I wouldn't do that as well?" 

"Eeeyyuup!" They said in unison.

"I don't know if I should be insulted by that remark or scared about the fact you know me that much without having seen me a lot." Cloud Kicker pondered. "Anyway, you could have just asked instead of tying me up when those two reacted badly." She pointed Applejack and Vinyl with a shake of her head, the only free part of her body. "I'm not foolish enough to turn down Granny Smith's cooking."

"You mean you'd have accepted our invitation just like that?" Gala asked.

"If I say yes, you'd untie me?" Cloud Kicker asked back.

"Noope! It's more fun that way." Cobbler giggled.

"Ok. While I admit there are some occasions when I liked being restrained like that, it's not really one of those moments right now!" Cloud Kicker said slowly. "VINYL! AJ!" She shouted at her teammates.

"WHAT?!" They both answered.

"How about we show your relatives why exactly WE are Ponyville's top three?"

"That there's a mighty good idea, CK!" Applejack answered.

"I like the sound of that suggestion, Kicker!" Vinyl let out in a muffled groan.

Applejack took a deep breath before opening her arms vigorously, snapping the rope that held her tied up, much to Braeburn and Big Macintosh's surprise. She push her hands on the floor to stand up, making Braeburn fall from her back. Big Mac tried to push her back to the ground, only to be overpowered by his little sister's strength.

Vinyl summoned her magic to lift all her three cousins off her. She summoned small strings of her magic that surrounded her kins before entering in contact with their skin. The strings started to vibrate and move along their bodies to find their ticklish spots. Vinyl grinned malevolently when the three of them started to giggle madly from the tickling.

Cloud Kicker shook her shoulders a bit, before the rope tying her up came loose and stood up, the rope still in her hands. She faced Gala and Cobbler whose eyes grew wide in surprise.

"How did you...." Gala said.

"There isn't any knot that Cloud Kicker can't undone." Cloud Kicker bragged with a coy smirk. "Applejack might tie up bulls like no one, but I have a certain talent in tying up naughty girls like you two." She added threat-fully.

"Oh my..." Cobbler and Gala said with a growing blush.

Cloud Kicker blinked. "You know nothing else is going to happen, right?"

"Aaaawwww!" They both sighed in disappointment.

Applejack repelled Big Mac and Braeburn toward the door as Vinyl levitated their giggling cousins on top of them before letting them fall on the boys of the Apple Family. They both heard the sound of a pulled rope followed by two eager moans. They turned around and their faces froze when they saw Cobbler and Gala tied up in rather saucy positions with an intense blush on their faces. They couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or excitement, and they didn't really want to know.

"And that's how it's done!" Cloud Kicker said playfully, rubbing her hands together victoriously as she walked toward her teammates.

"Was that necess....Actually, forget it!" Vinyl shrugged before looking everywhere but at her tied up cousins.

"....Bumpkin, call the others. We sure as sugar gonna need help." Big Mac groaned as he stood up along with the others.

Bumpkin dashed to the door that she opened before whistling loudly with her fingers. Soon after, she came back in followed by numerous other members of the Apple family. They all started to encircle the three athletes, who stood back to back with each other, holding various lassos in their hands. In the mean time, one of the Apples was trying to untie Cobbler and Gala, without much success. Cloud Kicker sure knew how to make tough knots.

"You know," Cloud Kicker said slowly. "I sorta always knew I would die in a massive bondage session with the Apple family." She said in all seriousness. Vinyl face palmed while Applejack rolled her eyes groaning.

"Another weird, old dream of yours?" Vinyl asked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes." Cloud Kicker nodded, as the circle of Apples came closer. "Except you two were leading them in my dream."

"Have ya ever had a normal dream in yer life, CK?" Applejack asked with a frown.

"When I was very little, but I don't remember much of it so I'm not really sure." Cloud Kicker pondered. "And if it's any indications, for the last two months I've only been dreaming about Twilight."

"That's a sort of improvement." Vinyl conceded.

"Gals, please shut up!" Applejack sighed.

"GET THEM!" Big Macintosh shouted before he and all the other Apples launched themselves toward the athletes trio.





"Father, please." Rarity asked pleadingly. "Take that thing off!"

"Rarity, you said the dress code for this dinner was casual and relaxed." Magnum said softly. "And I think my outfit is pretty casual and relaxed."

The Belle family and Octavia were sitting in a carriage on its way to Sweet Apple Acres. During all the journey, Rarity had been nagging her father to take off the stupid, unfashionable, overly rustic, worn out, ugly mishmash of straw that Magnum used as a hat. Sweetie Belle was completely ignoring her sister's rant at her father as she was looking at the window to see how far they were from the farm house. Octavia and Pearl were doing their best to not laugh at Rarity's lost cause.

"Father, that hat is just ......." Rarity groaned in frustration.

"I'm confortable with it, so I'm keeping it." Magnum shrugged with determination.

"Hey, look! We're here." Sweetie Belle said excitedly as the carriage came to a stop at the farm entrance.

"Ah'm on it, Caramel!" A southern accented voice said. "No need for ya to get down."

Rarity's sour mood, caused by her father's poor sense of fashion, vanished instantly when she recognized the voice outside. When the door opened, Sweetie Belle rushed outside to bump into Applejack who didn't even blink at the young girl's charge.

"Howdy, Sweetie!" Applejack smiled. "Ya in a rush?" She asked jokingly.

"Hi, Applejack." Sweetie beamed. "Do you know where are Applebloom and the others?"

"Probably at AB's club house." Applejack answered. "Do ya remember where it is?"

"Huh.... Not sure about how to get there." Sweetie said with an embarrassed frown.

"Don' ya worry, Sweetie." Applejack said with a smile before whistling sharply. "Winona! Come here!" With a happy bark, the collie of the Apple family ran toward her mistress. "Winona'll show ya the way, Sugar." Applejack explained softly. "Winona, lead Sweetie Belle to the clubhouse!"

Winona barked softly before walking toward a part of the orchard in which the clubhouse was, stopping every few meters to make sure Sweetie Belle was indeed following her.

"It still amazes me how clever that dog is." Octavia remarked as she stepped down the carriage.

"Well, Ah did train her good!" Applejack said with pride.

"That indeed you did." Rarity said, stepping down behind Octavia. She stopped right in front of Applejack. "Good evening, Sugarcube." She added fondly.

"Good evenin', Darlin'." Applejack said amorously before gently kissing Rarity.

"Awww, that's so sweet." Pearl said softly as she saw her daughter and her lover.

"Who are ya?" Applejack asked with honest curiosity after breaking the kiss with Rarity.

"Your grandmother didn't tell you?" Rarity asked with surprise.

"Tell me what?" Applejack asked with a puzzled expression.

"That my parents were coming as well."

Applejack's mind and face went blank at that remark. Her stun lasted for a few seconds, then she wondered why Granny didn't tell that specific and important information. Then it dawned to her, it was as obvious as caramel on a candy apple. Granny got back at her for her and Vinyl's behavior in the locker room. 

"Applejack, are you alright?" Rarity asked with concern.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Ah'm fine." Applejack said slowly. "Just realized something, that's all."

"So, you're the famous Applejack." Magnum said slowly, with the glare of an overprotective father. "The one who's been courting my daughter." He added with an icy tone that surprised both his wife and daughter.

"Ah reckon Ah am." Applejack said with assertiveness, glaring back at Rarity's father. "Got a problem with that?"

"....You sure got guts." Magnum muttered, his expression softening quickly. "I was just checking that you weren't some sort of scaredy cat, like every other suitors that I met in the past."

"I never introduced you to any suitors before, Father." Rarity said with a puzzled look.

"I know, that didn't stop them from coming to me to ask for you." He explained with a shrug. "But, I must say that Applejack here is the first one to ever stood up to me like that." Magnum said, with an impressed and proud tone. 

"Ah had to stood up to ma Grandmother for Rarity." Applejack said slowly, not without a growing smile. "Ain't nothing that could scare me after that."

"HAHA! I can relate to that." Magnum chuckled. "Magnum Belle." He said extending his hand at Applejack.

"Jacquelyn Apple. But Ah prefer to go by ma nickname, Applejack." Applejack said before shaking his hand vigorously.

"Woh, easy there!" He chuckled with a small wince. "I still need my hand."

"Oops, sorry." Applejack quickly said with an apologetic tone. "Ah don' kno' ma own strength sometimes.

"Geez, do all the women in your family have such a grip?" Magnum asked playfully.

"Anyway," Pearl chimed in. "I'm Rarity's mother, Pearl Belle. Please to meet you."

"A pleasure makin' your acquaintance, Mrs Belle." Applejack shook hand with her, with a lot more delicateness than before. "Ah must say that now, Ah know where Rarity got her looks from." She added playfully.

"Oh my, such a flatterer." Pearl said softly.

"It ain't flattery. It's the honest truth, like everythin' Ah say." Applejack assured. "Anyway, let's go. The others are probably waiting."

Applejack walked toward the nearby hill, the Belles and Octavia in tow. While they were walking, Rarity scooted close to her lover, entwining her arm around Applejack's.

"You did good, Applejack." She whispered softly before pecking the farmer on the cheek.

"Not that Ah mind the praise an' the kiss, but what exactly did ah do?"

"Nothing, you just remained true to yourself and my parents loved it." She beamed before snuggling Applejack.

"Say, Applejack. Where's Vinyl?" Octavia asked.

"Oh, She's sorta grounded, so she's to supervise the cooking tonight." Applejack explained. "Technically, Ah should be grounded too, but since it's for me that this dinner's about, Ah got excused."

"Grounded? What did you do?" Rarity asked with curiosity.

"Well, when Big Mac and the others told us about that dinner." Applejack explained slowly, with a light ashamed look on her face. "Vinyl and Ah didn't take it very well that they had invited ya two. They had to hogtie the two of us along with Cloud Kicker."

Rarity's expression fell when she heard what Applejack had said. The same could be said about Octavia. Applejack sensed Rarity slowly letting go of her arm. She quickly grabbed her lover's hand to give it soft reassuring rubs.

"It ain't like that, Sugarcube." Applejack whispered softly. "We just didn't want the both of ya to be overwhelmed with a dinner with our family."

"Why would we be overwhelmed at a dinner with your family, Applejack?" Rarity asked with incredulity. "It's not the first time, we eat with them, you know."

"Y'all see in a minute." Applejack said as they came closer to the hill top, much to Rarity and Octavia's incomprehension.

"Excuse me, Applejack." Pearl said politely. "We're not going to your house?" She asked with curiosity, pointing at the house on the other side of the hill.

"Not really, Mrs Belle." Applejack replied. "We don' have enough place in the house."

"What do you mean?" Octavia asked. "A week ago, we could easily eat with all your cousins plus the girls. It's the same number of guests than that day."

"Not really, Octavia." Applejack chuckled. She stopped at the hill top, waving in front of her. "When Granny says a celebration dinner with our family. She means with ALL the Apple Family."

Octavia, Rarity and her parents looked down the hill and gasped. There wasn't a large picnic table, like some of them had thought. What was happening down there was a full size fair with more than a hundred guests. There were large tents that sheltered caskets and barrel of beverages, numerous tables disposed in the form of a U, numerous cooking fires on top of which were put various cauldrons and pots with soups, stews, frying oil and so on. 

"I...must give it to you, Darling." Rarity said softly to Applejack. "It's a tad overwhelming." Octavia simply nodded her approval.

"Told ya." Applejack sighed with a small chuckle. 

"Woh, you sure have a big family!" Magnum commented, an awestruck expression on his face.

"Eeeeyyyuuup." Applejack nodded. "And now, Ah have to introduce y'all to every single one of them. Ain't that great?" Applejack said with a smile that was completely genuine but that the others couldn't help to think it was the most evil thing they have ever seen.





After an incredibly long series of introductions, punctuated by an occasional glass of fresh cider here and there provided by one of the Apples, Octavia walked to the kitchen tents in order to find out where Vinyl was.

"Excuse me, ...Fritter?" She asked hesitantly a green haired Apple with pigtails who was busy chopping a cooked steak.

"Eeeyup, that's me." Fritter nodded happily. "What can I do you for, Ms Octavia?"

"Well, I was wondering where I could find Vi...."

"FRITTER! Enough chit chat!" Vinyl shouted from afar. "Dice that steak and bring it to Aunt AppleSauce! Extra minced, remember that Aunt AppleSauce can't eat if it isn't minced correctly!"

"Yes, Vinyl! Right away!" Fritter shouted back before mincing the steak again. "You know where she's now." She added with a wink at Octavia.

"Kinda." Octavia giggled softly. "Thanks anyway." She said as she walked toward where she had heard Vinyl's shouting.

In the following seconds, her lover came into view and Octavia blinked at her outfit. Vinyl was wearing a long, white chef's hat with the mention, "Apple Family Reunion : Chief Cook", and a matching white apron with the following inscription, "Apples Wub the Cook". Vinyl didn't see Octavia as she was busy levitating five frying pans on top of five cooking fire. She was sautéing the contents of the five pans simultaneously. Octavia couldn't not be impressed.

"OOOkkayy, Goldie!" Vinyl called one of her cousins. "Take this and make it into four plates!" She explained as she passed the frying pan at her extreme right to her cousin. "Then bring it to Uncle Apple Strudel, Aunt Apple Rose, Pink Lady and Fiddlesticks." 

"On it, Chief!" Golden Delicious said with a mocked salute before doing as instructed.

"Peachy! Divide this into six plates and bring it to the Oranges and to Braeburn's father and sisters!" Vinyl ordered, passing a pan from her left to a brown haired woman.

"Sure thing, Vinyl!"

"Half Baked, C.A., Turnip! Take those and make twelve, no, thirteen portions out of it and take them to the kids at Lil' Bloom's clubhouse!" Vinyl passed two pans to three of her relatives.

"EEEEYYYYUUUP!" The three of them responded simultaneously.

"And THAT!" Vinyl designated the last and largest pan she had been cooking. "is for all of you in the cooking team! Bon Appetit! As they say in Prance!" Vinyl chuckled after having put the large pan on a counter-table nearby.

"YEAH!" The cooking team shouted happily before digging in voraciously.

Vinyl exhaled slowly as she took her chef's hat off and wiped her brow.

"So, you are athletic, smart, very cultured and good-looking. You can compose beautiful music, play lots of instruments traditionally or by magic, tell stories, defend yourself. You can cook and direct a kitchen staff better than an actual high class restaurant's chef." Octavia enumerated slowly with a chuckle. "Is there anything you can't do, Vinyl?"

"If you must know, Octavia." Vinyl answered, turning around toward her lover with a smile. "I can't do laundry, I somehow always manage to ruin clothes when I try. I'm a real danger when I hold a hammer in my hand. I truly hate mathematics. And one last thing." She added before pulling Octavia into a tight embrace.

"Which is?" 

"I can't stop loving you, not even for a single second." Vinyl whispered softly as she nuzzled Octavia's right cheek.

"Hmmm!" Octavia moaned silently with a small blush on her face. "I should add sweet talker to the list of your descriptives."

"I prefer the term, insanely in love with you." Vinyl cooed, pecking Octavia's lips.

"It does sound better." Octavia admitted before pulling Vinyl's head closer to kiss her passionately causing her chef's hat to drop on the floor.

"Woooo, you can feel the love all the way here." Fritter whistled.

"They're so cute." Peachy sighed dreamily, completely forgetting her plate and letting her fork drop on it with a small clang.

"I must say that Vinyl got quite a nice catch with Ms Octavia." Caramel Apple said with a soft chuckle.

"Hey, want to know what I say?" Vinyl asked her three cousins.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Eyes on your food or get back to work!" Vinyl shouted with authority, causing her cousins to start focussing on their plates again. "Now, where were we again?" She asked Octavia seductively who just kissed her again.





"Ya okay with everything, Kicker?" Applejack asked, as she was sitting at the honor table with her friend and Rarity. Rarity's parents were busy chatting with Granny Smith and some of the older members of the Apple Family. "Ya look a bit sad."

"Not really sad." Cloud Kicker shrugged. "I've just been ...hoping that Twilight would come as well." She said hesitantly.

"D'awww. Isn't that just cute?" Rarity giggled.

"AJ, control your girlfriend, will you?" Cloud Kicker chuckled, with a small blush appearing on her cheeks. "I don't do cute."

"Ya can't keep control on Rarity, Kicker. Sorry." Applejack said in a genuine apologetic tone. "She's a creative, her mind can't be restrained in any way." Applejack explained. "Part of the reasons Ah love her."

"Aww, thank you, Applejack." Rarity beamed. "Anyway, don't worry about Twilight, Darling." Rarity said to Cloud Kicker. "When she heard you'd be at Sweet Apple Acres, she said she'll do what she can to slip away from Shining's party to come here."

"Really?" Cloud Kicker asked hopefully.

"She even Pinkiepromised that she'll see you tonight, no matter what." Rarity assured.

"That's awesome!" Cloud Kicker said happily. "Only one thing left to do. AJ?"

"Yep?"

"Could you please tell Cobbler and Red Gala to stop stalking me like that?" She added pointing an apple tree behind her. "They've been at it since we arrived."

"I don't see anything." Rarity said with confusion as she looked at the pointed tree.

"Beside, it's kinda yer fault." Applejack reprimanded.

"How was I supposed to know that those two cousins of yours that tried to tie me up had a rope fetish?" Cloud Kicker said defensively.

"They were both perfectly normal before comin' close to ya." Applejack deadpanned her. "Ya just had to do yer sexy magic thingy, hadn't ya?"

"Her what?" Rarity asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Hey! It's a real burden to be as attractive as I am!" Cloud Kicker said vigorously. "If I don't control it, I'd make everyone around me faint."

"That there is just a bunch of stupidities!"

"No offense, Cloud Kicker. But you're not that good looking." Rarity commented slowly.

"Well, you only say that because you got exposed to that sexy piece of meat beforehand." Cloud Kicker shrugged pointing at Applejack. 

"That's even more stupid." Applejack scoffed.

"..." Rarity opted for not saying anything and taking a small sip of her glass, letting her lover and Cloud Kicker bicker about the guard's pretended ability. Well, I must admit that when I first saw Applejack without her shirt... Rarity thought absentmindedly. It is kinda true that Applejack is incredibly good-looking...

"You want an umpteenth proof of it, Applejack?" Cloud Kicker snapped. "Fine by me, but don't go complain afterwards."

She rose from her chair and faced the tree she had been pointing at earlier. The tree looked perfectly normal. Cloud Kicker took her jacket off and stroke an incredibly sensual pose. Applejack was about to roll her eyes while Rarity watched the scene with a skeptical frown. To them, it was a indeed a bit sensual, but nothing too much. 

Two excited squeals came from the tree, before Applejack and Rarity's eyes widened in shock when they saw Cobbler and Gala falling from the tree. They both bore delighted expressions on their face. Apparently they had fainted from their over-exposition to Cloud Kicker's sexiness, according to Cloud Kicker at least.

"So, you believe me now?" Cloud Kicker asked as she sat back at her chair.

"Well, it's either that or these two are easily impressionable." Applejack admitted slowly.

"Let's cut the pie in two and say it's a bit of both." Cloud Kicker suggested.

"Deal!" Applejack said. "But, put yer jacket back on, Ah don' want any other incident."

"Deal!" Cloud Kicker nodded.





At the hotel restaurant, Pinkie had organized a great party for the Canterlot team. The hotel staff was a bit skeptical about the party at first, but it had dragged a lot of costumers that seemed to enjoyed the atmosphere, so they didn't mind it much. Shining Armor was enjoying the party with his wife until he noticed something.

"Where's Twily?" He asked genuinely.

"Oh, she went to sleep already." Cadence explained. "She said she was a bit tired."

"Ok......You think she's still mad at me?" He asked with concern.

"To be honest with you. If I had been in her place, I'd still be mad at you."

"Well, that makes me feel better." Shining groaned.

"Hey, now. Don't be upset." Cadence said softly. "After a good night of sleep, things will be back to normal. As long as you don't do that again." She added with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah." Shining said bitterly.

"Come on, I'll go and get you another glass of wine." Cadence kissed his cheek, before going to the bar.

"Sir Shining Armor, There's a letter for you in the lobby." One of the staff member said politely.

"Ok, I'm coming."

Shining followed the staff member back to the reception where he was given a plain envelope with his name written on it. He turned the envelope and saw that there wasn't any sender's address. He asked the receptionist if he knew who brought the letter.

"I'm afraid not, Sir." The receptionist said. "It's was in the hotel post box this evening, that's all we know."

"Ok, thank you." Shining said politely before opening the letter and reading it.

Dear Captain Shining Armor,

I'm writing to you to warn you about something that I think you should know about.
I've come to notice that the Lieutenant Cloud Kicker from Ponyville seemed to have an unhealthy interest in your sister, Lady Twilight Sparkle.
I know it's not my place to spread rumors about this kind of thing.
But considering the Lieutenant's reputation, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm still not sure wether or not something already happened or will even happen, but I recommend you to be vigilant about it.                                                                                     	  
A friend

Shining ripped the letter in small pieces before throwing it in a nearby trash can. Then, he walked slowly back to the party.

That's just plain ridiculous. He thought, rolling his eyes. When would I stop receiving this kind of letter about Cloud Kicker?

When she'd start to act properly, maybe? A nagging voice in his head suggested.

Those are stupid rumors, nothing more. It's at the level of that one about that threesome between Cadence, her and me.

That would be totally hot....

NO!

Don't tell me you never thought about it. The nagging voice would have raised an eyebrow if she had one.

Ok, you got me on that one. Shining admitted. Anyway, that one was clearly a bad joke. I mean Twily would never do such a thing.

That's so true. Twilight's a good girl.  The voice admitted.

Probably another scheme to drag Kicker's name in the mud.

Probably right.

I mean Cloud Kicker and Twily only saw each other what? Five times.

Well, according to rumors, one time is enough for Cloud Kicker to make a move.

Twily's too intelligent to fall for those stupid dating tricks.

But Twilight can be a bit naive and oblivious to certain things.

That's kinda true....

Maybe you should talk to her about it...You know, to be sure.

I doubt Twily wants to see me now. Especially for something like that.

Maybe to Cloud Kicker then?

No.... Like I said earlier, It's nothing but a bad joke.

Yeah, you're right.

Shining entered back in the party area. He chatted with his teammates and his wife about how tomorrow's competitions were going to be. He was really having a good time. He excused himself to go to the man's room. For some reason, he decided to use the ones on the other side of the building, across the reception. When he got back, he stopped in front of the receptionist.

"Excuse me, how can I get to Sweet Apple Acres rapidly at this hour?" Shining Armor asked.
> Shining & Spitfire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, now to check my checklist!" Twilight said after having locked her suite's door and soundproofed the room.

She took the clipboard she had prepared before going to Shining and Canterlot Team's celebrations on the coffee table, along with a quill she dipped in a nearby ink bottle. On the sheet of paper, you could read : "Twilight's escapade in order to reward Cloud Kicker Official Checklist, by Twilight Sparkle!"

"So....20: 45, leave the celebration in the hotel's restaurant....Check!" Twilight said methodologically as she checked the first item on her list. "20:49, lock the suite's door, plus soundproofing....Check! I'm right on schedule!" She squealed happily when she noted the time on her clock and on her list matched perfectly. "20:50, Squealing happily from being on schedule....Check! Next item, clothes!"

Twilight took off her clothes in her bedroom, her checklist, ink bottle and quill levitating behind her. She opened her closet and started inspecting her wardrobe with narrowed eyes, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. 

"Hmmm...Rarity said that the dress code was casual and relaxed..." Twilight muttered. " Haha! That's it!" 

Twilight decided to wear a short dark purple skirt that went to her mid thighs along with a white blouse and a v-neck purple sweater with a pinkish purple star on the right of the chest. She also put her long, light purple socks before putting her shoes back on. When she was dressed, she looked herself in the mirror.

"Yep, that'll do it." She commented with a smile. "I'm at ease in these, it's not too formal. It's not too saucy. But, it can be, should Cloud Kicker decide to....." She started with a growing blush. "....Let's not go there. So, Clothes....Check! Next...Pick up your other clothes and put them in the laundry basket."

Twilight was about to pick her clothes up, but she froze when she saw them on the floor. There was a pair of long, light purple socks, a white blouse in a purple V-neck sweater and a short dark purple skirt. The perfect copy of the clothes she was currently wearing was spread on her bedroom floor.

"I really need to go shopping with Rarity." Twilight sighed, burying her face in her hand.

She put her already worn clothes in the laundry with a groan, before checking the laundry item and the next item on her list. The next item being : "Realizing you need to go shopping with friends".

"What's next?....Do your hair....That's gonna be easy!" She said as entered the bathroom. She took her brush but stopped before it made contact with her hair. "Should I try another style?" Twilight asked to herself. "I know! Rarity's hair styling book!"

She ran through her stuff to find this book Rarity had offered to every Council Members a while ago. The book contained detailed instructions, with illustrations, about multiple hairstyles. Rarity had made them for her friends so that they could get by with their hair for various occasions, such as parties, receptions, opera nights, and what not, while she wasn't available to help them with their hair like she normally does.

Twilight skimmed through the book before stopping at one page that showed a long ladder braid ponytail that fell on the right side of the model's face. She went back in front of the mirror, the book levitating next to it. She followed the instructions carefully and about ten minutes later, she admired the result.

"Yes, that's a really nice coiffure, as Rarity would say." Twilight commented calmly. "And the instructions are really easy to understand. That's really good looking braid and it's fairly easy to do." She took her eyes of the book and looked in the mirror. 
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"WHY DOESN'T MINE LOOK LIKE THE ONE IN THE BOOK?" She snapped furiously as she saw the tangled mess she had done to her hair trying to braid them. "RAAAAA! Stupid hair!....OW! OW!" She yelped in pain as she tried to undo her failed attempt at braiding hair. 

The pain and the anger from messing up her hairstyle only made it more difficult to get Twilight's hair back to normal. She only managed to get more knots in her hair than there already were. After a few minutes of valiant efforts which turned out to be unsuccessful, Twilight let her face fall desperately on the counter next to the sink.

"Why can't I do anything normal girls can?" Twilight sobbed with a growing sadness in her voice, tears slowly filling her deep purple eyes.

"Twilight! You still awake?" She heard Rainbow Dash ask while her friend was knocking a bit too vigorously at the door. "Come on, don't go to bed already! You're missing some awesome stuff down there!"

Twilight sniffed and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand before walking slowly to the suite's door. She undid the soundproofing spell so that her friends could hear her.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Twilight asked with a small crack in her voice.

"Twilight, are you ok?" Fluttershy asked softly before Rainbow could say anything.

"….No."

"Rarity told me about your idea." Fluttershy explained. "Do you need help with that?"

"What idea?" Rainbow asked with curiosity, only to be ignored by her two friends.

"…..yes." Twilight let out slowly, as if embarrassed to admit it. "I do need help. You promise not to laugh?"

"I promise!" Fluttershy assured while Rainbow voiced her incomprehension again.

Twilight unlocked the door and let her two friends in. As soon as they got in, she locked and soundproofed the room again. She turned around to face her friends and noticed Rainbow was looking at her hair and was trying really hard not to laugh at her. She was nearly biting her finger to blood for that purpose. After a few seconds, she couldn't resist anymore.

She bursted into laughter, pointing at Twilight's hair. The concerned party looked down in shame and embarrassment until she heard the laughing fit being interrupted by Rainbow's pained yelps. Twilight looked up and saw Fluttershy pulling Rainbow's ear with a disapproving frown.

"Renée Marianne Dash, that wasn't very nice of you!" Fluttershy said sternly in one of her rare moments of assertiveness.

"Ow! Ow! Shy, my ear!" Rainbow pleaded in pain.

"Well, you deserved it! Now, go to the corner of the room and think about what you've just done!" Fluttershy let go of Rainbow's ear and pointed a corner of the room.

"But, I…."

"Don't you 'But, I' me, Rainbow!" Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash with a lift of her eyebrow.

Rainbow gulped nervously before doing as Fluttershy told her and stood still at one corner of the room, facing at the wall. Twilight blinked in amazement as she watched Rainbow being tamed down by Fluttershy. She nearly got startled when Fluttershy turned toward her but she noted with relief that Fluttershy didn't look angry at her at all.

"Come on, let's fix this." Fluttershy said softly after examining her friend's hair. 

She took a chair and put it in front of the bathroom's mirror, inviting Twilight to sit on it. Once she was sit, Fluttershy started to delicately untangle her friend's hair. She took a glance on Rarity's hair styling book and on the particular style that Twilight had chosen.

"Is that the one you tried to do?" Fluttershy asked softly before Twilight nodded in silence. "It's a pretty one. You want me to do it for you?"

"You can do it?" Twilight asked with hope.

"Why do you style your hair before going to bed?" Rainbow asked in confusion, still oblivious about Twilight's plan, as she peeked in the bathroom.

"I didn't say you could leave the corner, Rainbow." Fluttershy remarked playfully.

"Oh come on! I want to apologize, ok." Rainbow looked at Twilight. "Twilight, I shouldn't have laughed at you like i did. I'm sorry." She said with sincerity.

"It's ok, Rainbow." Twilight said slowly. "With a bit of retrospective, it probably looked pretty funny." She conceded with a small giggle.

"Anyway, why were you trying to….?" Rainbow asked as her eyes fell on Twilight's checklist. "Woooohooo, our little egghead decided to go over the wall." She whistled with a mix of surprise and pride. "Things seems to be going serious between you and Kicker."

"Shut up!" Twilight said with an intense blush, snatching her checklist away from Rainbow's sight.

"Rainbow, leave her alone." Fluttershy giggled softly as she finished untangle Twilight's hair. "Okay, let's do this."

Fluttershy started to braid Twilight's hair under Rainbow's annoyed watch. Twilight closed her eyes at some point, fearing that if she saw Fluttershy not doing things like said in the book, she would overreact over her friend. Knowing herself like she did, it was likely to happen. After ten or fifteen minutes, Fluttershy tapped her shoulder delicately.

"I'm done. You can open your eyes now."

Twilight took a peek at the mirror. "Oh, Fluttershy you did it!" She said happily when she noticed her now braided hair. "It's exactly like in the book." She took her checklist and her quill. "Hairstyle..Check!" She stood up and hugged her friend. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Glad I could help." Fluttershy smiled. "What have you got next on your list?"

"Well, the next item is make up." Twilight said. "But considering what happened with my hair, it's probably safer to not try make up without Rarity around."

"It's probably a good thing!" Rainbow nodded knowingly along with Fluttershy.

"I'm ready then!" Twilight said happily. "Right on ..." She took a glimpse at the room's clock. ".......schedule..." She let out slowly. "Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Twilight panicked.

"What is it?"

"It's Nine forty-five pm!" Twilight nearly shouted in her frantic panic. "I should have left twenty minutes ago!"

"What's the big deal?" Rainbow asked with an annoyed sigh. "It's only twenty minutes!"

"Only twenty minutes?" Twilight growled with a twitch of her eye. "Look at my schedule!" She nearly shoved her checklist in Rainbow's face. "If I'm twenty minutes late, that means all my plans must be postponed and so they'll start later than planned. But since I'm obliged to get back here before six thirty tomorrow morning, I'll miss twenty minutes of the last item on my list. Do you realize how bad that is?"

"What's the last item on your list?" Rainbow asked casually, unfazed by Twilight's outburst and her sight obscured by her friend's list.

"That's not for you to know!" Twilight shouted with a huge blush, putting her checklist away from Rainbow's face. She took another glance at her clock. "And, I just lost two more minutes trying to explain that to you."

"We'll just leave then! Come on, Rainbow! Let's go back downstairs." Fluttershy said quietly as she pushed Rainbow toward the door. "Have a good evening, Twilight."

"You too, Fluttershy. Thanks again for doing my hair!" Twilight said happily, before locking her door behind her friends. She quickly grabbed a small purse and put her check list, quill and bottle of ink (well closed of course) in it. Her right hand started to glow in a bright purple aura. "Ok, now. To Sweet Apple Acres!" She said before clacking her fingers and disappearing in a purple flash.





Shining Armor was walking on the small road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres. The receptionist from the hotel had told him that he could ask for a carriage, but he couldn't find one available so he settled down for a walk. Next to him, a woman with fiery orange hair, wearing the Canterlot tracksuit, was flying slowly, in a position like she was swimming on her back, thanks to her golden yellow wings.

"Why are you here again, Spitfire?" Shining asked.

"I told you already, Boss." Spitfire casually answered. "Your wife noticed you were gone and asked me to go look for you."

"And since you know where I'm going, why didn't you fly back to tell her?"

"Oh yeah, I can imagine it from here." Spitfire chuckled. "Hey, Princess Cadence. I found your husband. He's ditching the party you threw for him to go to Sweet Apple Acres because he has something important to ask Cloud Kicker that can't wait until tomorrow.... What?....Oh yes, THAT Cloud Kicker..... Yes, I know it's the middle of the night, but the captain said it couldn't wait." Spitfire said with a fake casual tone, taking up the arguments Shining had said to her when she asked him. "Don't know about you, but I'd rather not to be the one who tells her that."

Shining glared at her. "I didn't say it like that."

"No offense Boss, but I think that's how your wife is going to see it." Spitfire let out with a shrug.

"Fine, I see your point." Shining sighed. "Anyway, why are you coming with me?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I can't go back to the hotel without you, I'm actually curious about what you want to talk about with Kicker." Spitfire explained.

"Hmmm. I received an anonymous letter about Cloud Kicker this evening." Shining said after deciding he could spill the beans to his teammate.

"What a shocker!" Spitfire gasped over dramatically. "Come on, Boss! It's not the first time it happens." She said slowly as Shining deadpan her. "Who's she accused to have slept with this time?"

".....My sister." Shining let out slowly.

Luckily, Shining was watching in front of him when said that. Otherwise, he would have seen Spitfire nearly gasped in shock and lost her flying pattern. She regain her composure quickly enough for her Captain not to notice everything. Thanks to Rainbow, she knew that something had happened and probably was still happening between Twilight Sparkle and Cloud Kicker. She had even agreed to cover both of them yesterday at the tavern when she noticed everyone else doing it.

"Was there any proof of that?" Spitfire asked in the most normal tone she could muster. "With the letter, I mean."

"No, The envelope contained nothing other than the letter." 

"Why didn't you class it as a bad joke like you always do, then?" Spitfire asked softly.

"Because....it concerns my sister."

"Really? You're just being stupid, Boss. How could your sister fall for Cloud Kicker's cheap dating tricks?" Spitfire chuckled playfully.

"Oh, I don't know...Maybe like you when you and your ex-fiancé fell for Cloud Kicker's cheap dating trick in the past?" Shining snapped.

Spitfire landed heavily on the ground, glaring at Shining Armor with an anger that he had never seen in the wonderbolt's eyes. He saw her close her fists as electric sparks started to surround them. He realized he had gone too far with his previous comment.

"That was uncalled for, Shining." Spitfire muttered, breathing heavily to cool down her anger. 

"Spitfire,....I'm sorry." Shining sighed with a true apologetic tone. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just worried about...."

"Yes, worried about your sister! I know!" Spitfire growled, rolling her eyes. "That's pretty much your sole excuse for everything you do out of the line!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shining said slowly.

"You know pretty well what it means, Shining." Spitfire shouted. "Every time your sister's involved you don't act normally. You always go way too far to protect her from dangers that exist only in your head!"

"You're exaggerating!" Shining shouted back. "Name one time it happened!"

"With pleasure!" Spitfire said with a smirk. "Four years ago, the first Gala for the new generation of the Council of Harmony, you asked almost half of the security to watch out for Twilight's movements in case some lady-killer would try to make a move on her!"

"Twilight was only seventeen, who knew what could have happened to her?"

"Oh yes, someone might have taken advantage of her when she was practically glued to Princess Celestia because of how nervous she was!" Spitfire said with sarcasm. "And for that age argument of yours, I take as an example the Gala of the year after. Pinkie's first Gala. You let her wander around with no one to look after her. She was barely fourteen years old!"

"Well....Pinkie's sorta special! Beside, nothing happened to her in the end." Shining argued uneasily.

"Of course nothing happened, but only because Soarin' and I spotted the punks who almost took advantage of her before they could make a move on her."

"What?" Shining shouted with surprise. "Why wasn't I informed of that?"

"Fleetfoot came to tell you but you didn't pay attention." Spitfire humphed. "Apparently you were to busy observing from afar the man who was sitting next to your sister. The man who turned out to be Octavia's brother who was just chatting with her and Rarity."

"..Huh..I..." Shining stammered.

"Or, more recently, when she left with the others to Sweet Apple Acres last summer!" Spitfire said slowly.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Sure, asking Cloud Kicker for the Apples criminal and civil records for no reasons and without a signed order from one of the Princesses or a judge is hardly a thing." Spitfire retorted sarcastically. 

Shining blinked before regaining his composure. "I'm just looking after my sister!"

"Yes, and that's admirable most of the time." Spitfire conceded slowly. "But that doesn't give you the right to do things like controlling if  she's in her suite every night by asking the receptionist if he had seen her coming back, or breaking in her suite when she doesn't answer immediately when you knock, or walking several miles in the night to have a discussion with Cloud Kicker about a stupid anonymous letter that you'd have ignored if it'd been about anyone other than Twilight!"

"I ignore Cloud Kicker's antics most of the time, that's true!" Shining admitted. "But, I can't let her take advantage of Twily like she does with...."

"Just shut up, Shining Armor!" Spitfire snapped. "Do you even hear yourself? Cloud Kicker may fool around a lot, but she has never taken advantage of anyone! If something were to happen between her and Twilight, it would be Twilight's fault as much as Kicker's."

"Are you implying that something is happening?" Shining asked with narrowed eyes.

"And?" Spitfire retorted. "What if something is indeed happening, what are you going to do about it?"

"What?" Shining asked in confusion.

"If Cloud Kicker is having a thing with your sister, like that stupid letter suggested it, what would you do about it?" Spitfire asked again. "Fire Cloud Kicker? Attack her and send her to hospital? Ask your Princess of wife to banish her? Send her in jail for raping your sister, since you think Cloud Kicker's taking advantage of the ones she's sleeping with?" Spitfire suggested angrily.

Shining didn't answer, he didn't have a clue about what he'll do if this start of a rumor was well-founded. He couldn't really do all the things Spitfire suggested. Only maybe the suggestion along with the rape part, but he knew that Cloud Kicker would never do something like that. 

The more he thought about it, the more he thought his idea of going to see Cloud Kicker didn't make any sense. If nothing happened, then he would have made the way to Sweet Apple Acres for nothing. If something did happen, Cloud Kicker would probably confess, then what would he do? Probably nothing. Since none of the things he could do would do any good or even made sense.

".....I think I'm going back to the hotel." Shining let out slowly after a while.

"That's probably better." Spitfire nodded bitterly.

"..Again, I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Shining added softly.

"Just go back to the hotel." Spitfire sighed slowly. "I simply need some time to vent. We'd be cool again by tomorrow morning."

"Ok." He whispered before clacking his fingers and disappearing a deep purple flash.

Spitfire rubbed her temples as she tried to calm down the anger caused by Shining's comment. After some breathing exercises, she pondered about what to do next. She didn't really want to go back to the party now, but she hadn't any place to go on her own. Then she realized what she could do. She took off and flew straight toward her destination. Toward Sweet Apple Acres.

> Checklist & Clouds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mother, Father, how is your evening going?" Rarity asked as she sat next to her parents at Granny Smith's table.

"It's a delight, my dear!" Pearl beamed. "Mrs Smith and her relatives are an excellent company."

"We've heard quite a bunch of stories about Applejack." Magnum chuckled along with the members of the Apple family at the table. "Speaking of the devil, where's she?" He asked gently.

"I don't know actually." Rarity said with a small frown, scanning the area around her looking for her lover. "She went to ask something to Vinyl along with Cloud Kicker and still hasn't come back." She said slowly before shrugging. "Oh, well, she'll come back eventually. Granny Smith, I've been wanting to ask you something." She turned toward the Matriarch of the Apple family.

"What's it, Sugar?" Granny Smith asked with curiosity.

"Why have you invited Cloud Kicker?" Rarity said casually. "Not that it's a bad thing you did, she's rather fun to be with...When she's not exaggerating." She added quickly with a sheepish smile. "I'm just curious about it. This summer, you didn't look like you liked her very much."

"Well, Ah suppose yer in the right about askin' yerself that." Granny conceded. "Let's just say that in the two months she had been on the farm grounds practicing for the games she kinda had grown back on me." The matriarch explained softly. "So, Ah invited her to celebrate with us. After all, she needs someone to celebrate for her."

"Wouldn't her family do it?" Rarity asked genuinely, causing the old woman to sigh with a saddened frown.

Granny Smith checked that everyone at the table wasn't listening to their conversation. Rarity's parents and the others were fully concentrated on trying to listen and understand to Uncle AppleStruddel who spoke in a mix of the Apples traditional southern accent and the Germane tone he had picked up by living there for years. She signaled Rarity to come closer, something the seamstress did immediately.

"Her parents didn't show up." Granny Smith whispered softly. "Ah know that Cloud Kicker invited them to come for the Games, but apparently they decided not to come. They're still in Cloudsdale."

"Why?" Rarity said, a bit shocked by the news. "Their daughter's competing in the most important sportive event in the land. How can they not want to cheer for her?" She asked with incredulity.

"Ah don' kno' why exactly." Granny Smith shook her head softly. "They've sorta been in bad terms with each other since the day Cloud Kicker officially became a member of the Royal Guard. That's all Ah know."

"That's so sad." Rarity sighed.

"Eeyuup!" Granny whispered sadly.

The sad mood didn't last for long, as a bright purple flash from behind the table startled everyone still sitting there. Twilight gasped softly before rubbing her eyes softly as she had teleported just in front of the numerous braziers that lit up the field in which the Apples and their guests were celebrating.

"Wow, it's so bright compared to where I was earlier." Twilight commented in a small pained voice as she blinked profusely in order to get used to the lights from the braziers.

"Twilight! Glad you made it, Dear." Rarity called her friend happily.

"Heya, Rarity! Mr & Mrs Belle! Granny Smith!" Twilight smiled happily as she walked toward the table. "I teleported in front of the house but no one was there. I saw the lights so I came here. It's a nice spot for a night time..." She looked around, finally noticing the number of persons present.".....pic-nic." She said slowly, before turning toward Rarity. "Rarity, you said it was a dinner with the Apple family."

"That's the Apple Family, Twilight!" Granny Smith chuckled as Twilight's eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"...I see....Give me a minute." Twilight said softly, after spacing out a bit, as she pulled her checklist, quill and ink bottle from her purse.

At everyone's surprise and incomprehension, except Rarity and Granny Smith who had been acquainted to Twilight's antics during her stay at the farm, Twilight started to write a few things on her list. After she had done writing on it, she put her checklist in her purse along with her quill and ink bottle. After she bid her hello to the other members of the Apple family she didn't know. 


Do your hair Thanks Rarity's book and Fluttershy's help!

Make up : passed

Teleport to Sweet Apple Acres

Say hello to the Apples  Will take longer than planned. Estimated time lost for last item on the checklist : 30 - 45 minutes!





After a very long series of introductions to the adult part of the Apple Family and a very delicious apple-ly snack that made it all easier to bear, Twilight decided to follow Rarity toward the part of the fair taking place where all the young'uns, as Granny Smith called them, were partying in the hope of finding their respective lover.

"I really love what you did with your hair, Darling. It's simply gorgeous" Rarity said happily. 

"Thanks, Rarity." Twilight answered with a small smile. 

"You used the book I gave you?"

"At first..." Twilight let out an embarrassed chuckle. "But, if Fluttershy hadn't come around, I probably would have cut my hair short in a fit of anger. Thanks for letting her know, if you hadn't....Well, you would have had to destroy me for ruining my hair." She joked.

"If you even suggest the very idea, my dear, I'll ask my Applejack to punish you." Rarity giggled playfully.

"Isn't that a bit excessive?" Twilight tried to sound worried but her giggling fit made it really difficult. "You wouldn't dare throw your incredibly strong farmer at me as punishment, I thought I was your friend!" She let out in fake alarmed gasp.

"Friend or not, ruining your hair would be a crime against fashion." Rarity explained, trying to hold back her laugh. "It's not for nothing that Pinkie Pie called me the fashion dictator when we first met her."

"Oh! I had forgotten about that one!" Twilight laughed. "But, since you're the infamous fashion dictator of Canterlot.."

"Please, my dear, of all Equestria, not just Canterlot." Rarity bragged playfully.

"Right," Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "Since you're the infamous fashion dictator of all Equestria, how come you don't punish Applejack?"

"Whatever do you mean, Darling?"

"You gotta to admit she got the same fashion sense as Rainbow Dash who thinks that wearing football jersey is very fashionable."

"Uurgh! Don't remind of that, Dear!" Rarity shivered at the memory of a particular event in which Rainbow had stubbornly wanted to wear what she pleased for an incredibly important soirée. " Anyway, to answer your question about Applejack, I don't punish her for her lack of fashion taste for three reasons!"

"Which are?" Twilight asked with curiosity.

"The first and most important one is simply because I love her for who she's, not for her sense of fashion!" Rarity smiled. "Second, I have enough fashion sense for both her and me when it might be necessary." Rarity explained. "And lastly, it's because I can't really punish her."

"Too strong for you to handle?" Twilight giggled. 

"There's a reason if Applejack always tops me, Dear." Rarity answered with a wink and a sly grin, earning a growing blush from her friend.

"Twilight, Rarity, here!" Octavia waved at them as she stood outside a circle of loud cheering members of the Apple Family of their age. "Nice hair, Twilight." She commented with smile as her friends came close.

"Thanks, Octavia." Twilight turned her attention at the circle of Apples. "What's going on?"

"Oh, a sort of uncouth traditional game in the Apple family." Octavia shrugged. "Want to see?"

"If it's uncouth as you said, why do you ask us that, darling?" Rarity asked with a puzzled look.

"Because your Apple, my Apple and her guard are partaking in it." Octavia explained pointing successively at Rarity, herself and Twilight.

The three women walked through the crowd of the cheering Apples before coming in sight of the contest that was taking place. Around a large square table, were sitting Applejack, Vinyl, Cloud Kicker, Braeburn and Big Macintosh. In front of each one of them were fifteen large mugs, some were already empty and the others contained what looked like cider.

"Yer gonna lose, Cuzin Applejack." Braeburn called as he drank his tenth mug.

"Eeeyyuuup!" Big Mac nodded before taking his eleventh drink and drinking it one gulp. "Datin' that cultured gal made ya lose yar touch with the drinks!" He said taking his twelfth mug.

Applejack had finished her eleventh drink as Mac was about to take his thirteenth. She wasn't about to lose. She grabbed the four mugs she had left, two in each hands, stood up throwing her head backward and opening her mouth wide. She lifted her mugs above her head and poured her four drinks in her mouth at the same time. Her throat didn't move a bit as four pints of cider were flowing directly into her stomach under the amazed gasp of the audience. 

When her mugs were empty, she slammed them vigorously on table with a loud clap, followed by the happy cheers and whistle from the spectators. She crossed her arms and eyed her challengers with a victorious grin, all four of them were looking at her with wide eyes, their arms frozen in the motion of bring their mug to their lips.

"Ain't no one who can outdrink the mighty Applejack, Big Brother!" She bragged happily, before poking repeatedly at her brother's chest. "Don't ya forget it!"

"Oh well, that was supposed to happened." Cloud Kicker shrugged as she finished her drink before turning toward the crowd of Apples. "Come on Apples, bring me my bits!" She shouted happily as numerous of the Apples reluctantly brought her few bags of bits.

"You bet on your own loss?" Vinyl asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Because you really thought that one of us was actually going to win against that monster you and Mac call your sister?" Cloud Kicker asked back, crooking her eyebrow higher than Vinyl's

"HEY!" Applejack shouted angrily.

"....No, you're right." Vinyl admitted. "She's truly a monster when it comes to drinking, among other things."

"Ah'm standing right here!" Applejack growled. "Ah swear, the next one of y'all who calls me a monster is gonna get it!" She warned.

"Even if it's me?" Rarity playfully asked as she walked behind Applejack.

"Oh, there ya are, Rare!" Applejack said happily, turning her head at her lover before gently pecking her lips.

"Not to be rude, but your breath reeks of cider." Rarity complained with a small wince.

"Oops! Sorry." Applejack scratched the back of her head sheepishly with a soft embarrassed blush. "Fritter, can ya brin' me some grub to get the taste out of ma mouth?"

"Sure thing!" Fritter nodded before going to the kitchen area.

Cloud Kicker was busy counting her winnings, she hadn't really noticed Rarity speak to Applejack, nor she had paid attention to Octavia siting on Vinyl's lap before taking a sip at the one of Vinyl's un-drunk mugs of cider. But, she did hear someone coming behind her. It sounded like hushed footsteps, someone was trying to get close to her by surprise. 

She decided to play along, pretending to not have noticed anything in order to take by surprise the one who was sneaking up behind her. It wasn't the first time it happened this evening, Cobbler and Red Gala had been stalking her for most part of the dinner. At first, she found it funny but now, she was growing extremely tired of this. Which was kinda weird, considering the fact that Cloud Kicker had always sorta liked to have fans following her and hoping to get a piece of her. Of course, that was before Twilight came in Cloud Kicker's life.

Now that she had Twilight, Cloud Kicker didn't feel the need to have such attention. She still liked the saucy jokes about it, like her exploit of making both Apples faint with her incredible and mysterious power of sexiness and she still appreciated the fact that people found her attractive. (What kind of person doesn't?) But, she didn't want people to get the wrong idea. When Cloud Kicker said that nothing would happen, nothing happened in the end. And it was about time it got through Cobbler and Gala's skull.

The almost stealthy footsteps came to a stop right behind her seat. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted hands coming her way but with the uneven lights coming from various campfire and braziers, she couldn't make out much about it. She conjured her wings and snapped them open, repelling the hands away with a small surprised yelp, before standing up.

"Ok now, you're seriously gonna stop doing that!" Cloud Kicker nearly shouted as she turned around. "I'm in a serious and very important relationship now, so you'll stop coming into me like ....." She trailed off when she saw who had been trying to sneak up on her.

Twilight was standing a few feet from Cloud Kicker, rubbing her wrists delicately where Cloud Kicker's wings had hit her. Cloud Kicker scanned her from top to bottom, she couldn't help to think Twilight's cloths made her cuter than she already was. Kinda like a schoolgirl in a purple uniform, but not in the erotic way Cloud Kicker had always seen the concept of schoolgirl's uniforms. Not that it couldn't become erotic. After all, it's Cloud Kicker we're talking about!. But on Twilight, it just looked incredibly pretty and adorable. And the beautiful side ponytail she had styled her hair in was a good complementary on that purpose. 

Twilight had been a bit shocked by Cloud Kicker snapping her wings open like that. She was about to shout at her for that as she started to rub her wrists which were a bit numb after being hit by the guard's wings. Then, Cloud Kicker started to talk and Twilight's mind went a bit blank at her words. Cloud Kicker viewed her relationship with her as serious and very important. She kept looking at the guard who was scanning her from top to bottom, until their eyes meet.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both made steps toward one and another. Twilight passed her arms around Cloud Kicker's neck as the guard held her by her waist before sharing a long and passionate kiss. The Apples, who had watched the scene, gasped in surprise before letting out sharp whistles and cheers at the couple.

"Come on you two, there's plenty of fishes in the ocean." Vinyl chuckled softly to Apple Cobbler and Red Gala who had both sighed in defeat at the romantic scene in front of them. 

"Yeah, you're right." Red Gala conceded with a shrug. "I think I need a drink."

"Me too!" Cobbler added before they both went to what the boys had called the 'Booze tent'.

"What's their problem?" Octavia asked with curiosity.

"They aimed for the lone cloud in the sky and their "wings" weren't the ones that could reach it." Vinyl explained in a mysterious and wise tone.

"And now, in a way that everyone can understand." Octavia insisted playfully.

"They wanted a piece of Cloud Kicker's ass, but Twilight conquered it for herself before they could even make a move." Vinyl said bluntly. "Is that clearer?"

"That phrase was more understandable but the first one was a lot more poetic." Octavia chuckled.

Cloud Kicker and Twilight broke the kiss after a few minutes, Twilight was looking fondly at Cloud Kicker while she seemed to be out of breath. Cloud Kicker brushed a rebel strand of purple, indigo and pink hair behind Twilight's left ear, caressing her cheek in passing.

"I was wondering when you're gonna show up." Cloud Kicker whispered.

"Sorry, I got delayed." Twilight said.

"I like what you did to your hair, it's pretty." Cloud Kicker commented softly, taking a glance at the ponytail.

"I would have thought you'd use an other term than that." Twilight let out with a small giggle.

"And what would words do you think I'd use?" 

"Something along the line of hot, or sexy."

"As much as you illustrate those terms perfectly, they are for much later." Cloud Kicker cooed before nuzzling Twilight softly.

"Oh, wonderful!" Twilight let out happily, clapping her hands together in a childish manner.

"You're just too cute, you know that?" Cloud Kicker asked playfully.

"Quiet!" Twilight giggled. She levitated her checklist out of her purse and checked one item on it.

"What's that?" Cloud Kicker asked, tilting her head on the left side.

"Just a checklist,...." Twilight explained with a pinch of uneasiness. "...That's what I do, I do checklists."

"Can I take a look?" Cloud Kicker asked with a genuine interest.

"Huh...Sure." Twilight agreed hesitantly.

Cloud Kicker grabbed the checklist with one hand, the other still on Twilight's waist. She let out a small chuckle when she read the title of the list before reading it entirely. She couldn't help but to chuckle at certain items as Twilight had written comments or notes about them. For example the 'do you hair', written next to it was the small phrase : 'Thanks Rarity's book and Fluttershy's help!'. Or the note 'Must go shopping with Rarity, too many identical cloths!!'

"And you always stick to the checklist?"

"Yeah..." Twilight said slowly. "I know it sounds stupid...."

"I don't think it's stupid!" Cloud Kicker interrupted her with sincerity. "I think it's a rather clever thing to do. I do know a lot of my  subordinates that would make a good use of something similar."

"You don't find it weird?" Twilight asked with hope.

"What's weird in being organized?" Cloud Kicker asked back with a chuckle, before being hugged fiercely by Twilight. 

She raised her hand to pat the dark skinned, purpled hair woman as her eyes fell on the last item Twilight had checked. 

Take Cloud Kicker by surprise and kiss her! The surprise failed, but the kiss was perfect!!!

Cloud Kicker sighed happily before giving Twilight's forehead a gentle kiss.

"You're way too adorable for your own good." Cloud Kicker whispered softly.

"Stop it!" Twilight said with vigor and a growing blush. 

They broke their embrace as Twilight put her checklist back in her purse. AppleFritter walked toward Twilight when she saw that she wasn't busy with Cloud Kicker anymore.

"Excuse me, Miss." Fritter asked politely.

"Please, call me Twilight." Twilight answered with a smile. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, Ms Twilight, I was going to ask you something similar." Fritter said with a chuckle. "Do you want anything? Food, beverage?"

"Oh, I've already eaten...." Twilight started.

"Hey, you're going to eat something!" Vinyl shouted. "I didn't bust my ass to cook so that there are leftovers!"

"Vinyl, that's very rude!" Octavia chastised.

"...But since Vinyl cooked, I guess I'll just grab a little something. "Twilight said sheepishly as Cloud Kicker and Fritter were laughing softly.

"Damn straight!" Vinyl said with approval. "Fritter, take her to the kitchen tents and don't go easy on the serving."

"Ok, Chief!" Fritter mocked a salute before waiting for Twilight.

"Well, I'll be right back!" Twilight said to the others as she followed AppleFritter toward the kitchen area.

The others went back to their chats as Cloud Kicker looked up dreamily at the clouds in the sky. After a minute or two, she spread her wings at their full span.

"I'm gonna fly around for a bit." Cloud Kicker said casually. "Can you tell Twilight I won't be long?"

"Sure thing, Sugarcube!" Applejack assured.

"Thanks, see you in a bit!" 

Cloud Kicker took off with a powerful flap of her wings. She flew in circles as she climbed up to the level of the clouds. She flew around one a couple of times before landing delicately on it. She sat on the edge of the cloud and her gaze lost in the night sky.

"How long do you plan on remaining hidden, Spitfire?" She asked softly, before dissipating a part of the cloud with a flap of her right wing, making a fiery orange haired woman with golden wings come into view.

"Tsss! How did you know I was in there?" Spitfire asked with annoyance as she walked to sit next to Cloud Kicker.

"The shape of the cloud was a bit too unnatural." Cloud Kicker explained.

"Oh right, cloud-shaping magic is one of your specialties." Spitfire face-palmed. "How could I forget that?"

"Well, it's not for nothing if I'm called Cloud Kicker." Cloud Kicker said with a small chuckle. "Anyway, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be celebrating for your team's medals at the hotel?"

Spitfire pondered before letting out slowly. "I came to warn you."

"About?"

"Shining got an anonymous letter, concerning you..."

"That's no big news." Cloud Kicker softly chuckled.

"...And Twilight Sparkle." Spitfire said as if uninterrupted.

Cloud Kicker remained silent for a brief moment. "Did the captain send you here, Spitfire?" She asked quietly.

Spitfire was a bit shocked at the volume of Cloud Kicker's voice. It was lower than every time she had heard it before.

"No, he didn't." Spitfire answered. Cloud Kicker let out a relieved sigh. "He wanted to come and ask you about it though! He left the party without telling anyone where he was going. His wife send me to look for him and he explained to me why was he coming to this farm."

"Should I expect his visit, then?"

"No, I convinced him to not come here."

"How?" Cloud Kicker asked with surprise. "When it's about his sister, Shining doesn't think straight!"

"I....had to argue with him." 

"You? What did he do to make you want to argue with him?"

"Nothing, he was just being a dumb overprotective brother so......"

"Bullshit, Spitfire!" Cloud Kicker snapped. "What did he do?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Lieutenant Kicker!" Spitfire said angrily.

"You're not my instructor anymore, nor my superior! I'll talk to you the way I want to, Lieutenant Maverick!" Cloud Kicker glared at her.

They glared at each other for a few minutes, before Spitfire sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll tell you what happened..." Spitfire explained to her how she had convinced Shining to not come after Cloud Kicker and what was the trigger of the all argument between him and Spitfire.

"HE DID WHAT?" Cloud Kicker shouted.

"Kicker, it's fine!" 

"No, it isn't!"

"Cloud Kicker, I said it's fine!" Spitfire insisted.

"Allright, do as you want!" Cloud Kicker said.

"Back to you, you know who could have sent that letter to the captain?" Spitfire asked.

"I have a small idea about it." Cloud Kicker said, remembering a particularly bad moment of today's trial." Gilda Skytalon from Cloudsdale team!"

"The one you beat in the semi-final?" 

"Yeah. During the match, she asked me to give up or she'd squeal on me to the boss about Twilight."

"Tsss. That bitch!" Spitfire spat venomously. "I think Rainbow suspended her from the Games roster for her attitude during your match."

"Good riddance!"

"Still, be careful!" Spitfire warned. "Shining might not be a problem anymore but his wife still doesn't appreciate you very much."

"Thanks for the warning!"

"I have to ask..." Spitfire said slowly. "What you have with Twilight...It's just for fun like you always do?"

Cloud Kicker narrowed her eyes at the wonderbolt. "No!"

"Really? That's hard to believe."

"You better believe it, because it's happening. I changed, Spitfire!...No, scratch that! She changed me!" Cloud Kicker said slowly. "And, I like that change. I'm serious about her and me." She said with conviction.

"What do you know? The bachelorette extraodrinaire, Cloud Kicker, finally found someone she's willing to stay with!" Spitfire said with a small playful smirk.

"Yeah, well! Everything can happen in this crazy world we're living in." Cloud Kicker chuckled. "Thanks for warning me, Spitfire. That's two times I owe you!" She said more seriously.

"Two?"

"Gilda did say that you covered me last night!" 

"She doesn't know how to shut up, does she?" Spitfire said, rolling her eyes.

"I think she learned the lesson, now." Cloud Kicker smirked. "I had a very striking argument after all."

"Kinda." Spitfire conceded with a small chuckle. "Anyway, my work here's done." She added before hovering slowly above the cloud. "Stay safe, Kicker."

"Spitfire...." Cloud Kicker said slowly. "..I'm sorry for what happened...You know, years ago!"

Spitfire faced her before sighing. "You already apologized for that, Cloud Kicker." She said with a sad tone.

"I know," Cloud Kicker whispered. "But I also know you still haven't forgiven me."

"......Goodnight, Cloud Kicker." Spitfire let out after a small silence before flying away. "Good luck with Twilight!"

"'Night, Spitfire." Cloud Kicker said slowly before flying back to the party down below.





"Ok....'Going to Cloud Kicker's place'...Check!" Twilight said happily as she and Cloud Kicker entered in the latter's apartment.

"What have you got left on that checklist of yours?" Cloud Kicker chuckled as she locked the door behind them.

"Only one item!" Twilight said. "But, it's the most important! Have a look." Twilight said with a small blush, extending the checklist to Cloud Kicker who read the last item on it.

"I kinda agree about your statement." Cloud Kicker said with a smile. "Do you mind if I change something on your list?"

"Not really, but what do you want to do?" She asked with curiosity before passing the quill to Cloud Kicker.

"You'll see..." Cloud Kicker scribbled something quickly on the checklist before showing it to Twilight.

Twilight choked a bit, trying to hold back happy tears, after reading what Cloud Kicker had written. She threw the checklist on the ground and hugged Cloud Kicker so vigorously that the guard had to acknowledge the possibility that lifting books all day long could count as a working out exercise.

"I didn't think you'd want to make the distinction." Twilight sobbed softly on Cloud Kicker's chest.

"Before you, I wouldn't..." Cloud Kicker said slowly as she hugged Twilight back. "But now, what I want for you,...for us, is that it has nothing to do with what I did in the past."

Twilight kissed Cloud Kicker with an ardent passion that was quite similar to the one the guard felt this morning when Twilight said she loved her. Cloud Kicker lifted her paramour from the ground. Twilight passed her legs around Cloud Kicker's waist as the guard carried her toward the bedroom, leaving the apartment's living room with an abandoned checklist on the ground.

The last item on Twilight's checklist was the one she wanted to have more time for, for it was the idea behind the checklist itself. Twilight had written "Cloud Kicker's reward : intense and long banging session as Cloud Kicker would say." But Cloud Kicker had crossed the word 'banging' when she wrote something on the checklist. She wrote two words, two words that marked the difference for her. The difference between her former lifestyle and her new one. Instead of banging, she wrote down the following words :

'Love making'
> Titanian Duel : Manehatten vs Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Applejack woke up to an amazing and enticing scent that was the perfect mix of rose and lavender essences. That was odd, barely all the perfumes she had, only two but still, were unsurprisingly carrying the scent of apples. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed her face was nearly buried in long and curly royal purple hair.

'Right, Rarity stayed for the night.' Applejack thought sleepily before catching a deep whiff of Rarity's hair and snuggling her softly.

"....Applejack darling... It's too early for that." Rarity whispered in a half asleep state.

"It's never too early for me to cuddle up with ya, Rarity." Applejack whispered back with a small smile, bringing Rarity close to her.

"I hate it when you're right like that." Rarity complained with a yawn before facing the farmer. "Do you have an idea what time it is?" She asked genuinely.

Applejack took a peek at her window. "Judgin' form the position of the sun.... Ah'll say it's about five fifty in the morning... Maybe six o'clock."

"You do know there's a clock on your night stand, right?" Rarity asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"'Course Ah know, but Ah'd have to look away from ya for that. And Ah don' wanna." Applejack explained happily.

"Sweet talker!"

"Guilty of charge, ma lady."

"Do you have chores to do?" Rarity asked.

"Nope! Durin' the games, the cuzs are filling in for me and Vinyl. Ah'm free to stay here with ya." She said softly before pecking her lover's lips gently. "Say, Rare... Remember when ya came to the farm the day after yar arrival?"

"Yes, I do. Why?"

"Ah kinda realized that ya said somethin' about makin' it up to me back then." Applejack licked her upper lip. "Ah'm still waitin' for it, ya know."

"I did say that." Rarity said with a knowing grin as the door shined with a deep blue aura for a few seconds. "Good thing I've been practicing that soundproofing spell."

Applejack tossed the covers away, exposing Rarity in her borrowed night clothes. While Applejack had the habit of sleeping with boxer shorts and a bra, or a T-shirt for when she had to share bed with one of her sisters, Rarity was more the type of woman to wear night gowns. But, not having originally planned on staying for the night, Rarity hadn't packed one and had to put one of Applejack's shirts on top of her underwear. Said shirt was barely covering her bottom and was too ample at shoulder level causing Rarity's left shoulder to be totally exposed.

Applejack shifted on the bed, placing herself on her back in the middle of the bed while Rarity straddled her waist. Rarity gave an amorous glance at Applejack when the farmer rested her hands on the baroness' exposed thighs, caressing them softly. 

Thanks to a small ray of sun that peeked through a wandering cloud and her window, Applejack noticed an orange glare in the center of her lover's cleavage. Rarity was wearing the necklace Applejack had offered her, faithful to her claim of wearing it all the time. She raised her right hand to delicately touch the medallion with the orange apple-gemstone with her fore-finger before Rarity did the same thing on the purple diamond on Applejack's necklace.

Applejack's finger, and thus hand, made its way up to Rarity's face where the purple haired woman pecked her lover's palm gently in passing. Rarity bent forward, completely lying down on the farmer's body, to kiss her passionately. Quickly, their tongues wrestled against one and another while they both let out satisfied and eager moans of pleasure.

After breaking the kiss, Rarity sat up straight and started to unbutton her shirt, very slowly and seductively, one button at the time. As she took all her time to do so, Rarity felt a malicious pleasure in watching her lover bite her lips in anticipation. She could see it clearly in those dazzling emerald eyes, Applejack was trying very hard not rip Rarity's shirt off, not that Rarity would mind much if not for the fact it will damage the piece of clothing she had borrowed. On second thoughts, that wouldn't be a problem at all, Rarity was a world famous seamstress after all. She could fix the shirt in a neck of time.

"Rarity, not that ya ain't sexy and all doin' it, but could ya please stop teasin' like that?" Applejack asked impatiently.

Rarity who had unbuttoned her shirt halfway to the bottom didn't answer and decided to tease her more by slightly opening her shirt, uncovering both her shoulders and exposing her chest a bit. It allowed Applejack to notice a small detail that had been obscured to her until now.

"No bra, huh?" Applejack said with a lustful grin. "Not very lady-like, Baroness Belle."

"Is that a problem, fair Applejack?" Rarity asked slowly. "Perhaps I should cover back my virtue...." She added, closing the shirt back only to be interrupted by Applejack grabbing both her wrists.

"Ya better keep on doin' what ya were doin', or else Ah'll do it maself in a very brutish way." Applejack threatened in a hungry and husky tone. 

"Oh My, both possibilities sound so pleasant..." Rarity teased seductively. "What to do? What to do?"

" O'Right, that tears it!" 

Applejack grabbed both side of the shirt and yanked it open, ripping the remaining buttons off before tossing the shirt on the ground. After that, she passed her hands around Rarity's neck and pulled her strongly down for a deep, passionate and hungry kiss. Rarity tried to fight Applejack's grip back, to keep being in control of the situation, but the fact she was enjoying being dominated by Applejack made her give up on those ideas very quickly. 

Applejack straightened up to sit on the bed, her hands caressing Rarity's back as she pecked her way down to the baroness' neck. Rarity's mind was in a blank state, completely lost in the pleasure of Applejack's touch. She felt the farmer's hands going further down on her back.

Little did they know, on the other side of Applejack's bedroom door, three small girls were knocking vigorously on the door. AppleBloom, Babs and Sweetie Belle, who had been authorized by her parents to sleep over since Rarity was staying at Sweet Apple Acres as well, were trying to call the others for breakfast.

"Why can't we just let them sleep?" Sweetie asked with long yawn, she wasn't used in being up so early.

"Come on, we can't let them miss breakfast!" AppleBloom interjected.

"Sorry to break it up to ya, cuz." Babs said slowly, trying to hold back the yawn Sweetie had passed to her. "But, Ah'm with Sweetie on this one. Ah still don't get how ya can already be fully awake at this hour."

"But there's work to be done." 

"Not for Applejack!" Babs interjected. "That's why Braeburn, Fritter, Bumpkin and CaramelApple are staying here, so that AJ and Vinyl can be rested for the Games."

"How come Vinyl's out there training her magic, then?" AppleBloom asked victoriously.

"How should Ah know?"

"Anyway, Ah'm just gonna get in." AppleBloom said happily, extending her hand toward the door knob.

"What if it's locked?" Sweetie asked.

"Applejack never locks her door, her door's always open for me." AppleBloom smiled before turning the door knob.

It was locked.

"Well, now that that's taken care off." Babs chuckled while AppleBloom cursed at the door. "How about we go and have breakfast, since we don' seem to be allowed to sleep in here." She added, blowing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Ah know what to do!" AppleBloom said, ignoring Babs' suggestion, before pulling a screwdriver out of her right pocket.

"You keep a screwdriver in your pocket?" Sweetie asked with surprise.

"Ya don't?" AppleBloom said with incredulity. She turned her attention to the door. "Talent Crusader Lock Picker, Yay!" She sang quietly and happily before inserting the screwdriver in the key hole.

"Talent crusader, what's that?"

"It's a thing AppleBloom came up with." Babs explained. "She, a bunch of her friends and Ah made a group to search for our special talent. We try a lot of different things. One time, we even tried to build a catapult for "Talent Crusader Siege Engineer"."

"That looks like fun." Sweetie said. "Did it work? The catapult, I mean."

"Ah'm not sure.. We built it in the barn but we didn't give it wheels, so we couldn't get it out to test it." Babs explained with a shrug. "Anyway, let's go Sweetie Belle. Ma butt remembers the time Ah break into ma sister's room and Ah know for a fact that Applejack is way stronger than ma sis'." She added before pulling Sweetie Belle toward the stairs, away from AppleBloom and her burglar shenanigans.

"Almost got it...." AppleBloom whispered, completely oblivious to the fact her cousin and new friend were gone, before hearing a small click that indicated the lock had been picked successfully. "Yes!" She let out raising her hands in the air.

"AppleBloom, what are you doing?" Fritter asked slowly as she came out of the bathroom, busy tying her pigtails together. She noticed the screwdriver in the keyhole. "Were you trying to break in Applejack's room?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

AppleBloom blinked slowly, her arms still in the air. "Nooooo..." She said slowly, her eyes darting up and down.

"Go downstairs, immediately!" Fritter ordered. "Granny's going to have a serious talk with you about privacy, Missy!"

AppleBloom gulped before complying to her older cousin's demand. Fritter sighed before kneeling in front of Applejack's door to pull the screwdriver out of the keyhole. Apparently, it was stuck so she pulled harder, but to no avail.

"I swear, how did she manage to do that?" Fritter groaned.

"Need a hand there, Fritter?" Braeburn asked as walked to her.

"Yeah, AppleBloom stuck this screwdriver in the key hole and I can't get it out."

"Let me try." Braeburn said before taking Fritter's spot and pulling the screwdriver toward him while he was pushing the door with his other hand. "The secret's to push while ya...pull!" He grunted before succeeding in his effort by freeing the tool from the door.

Accidentally, his push had opened the door as well, and thus breaking the soundproofing spell.

"Oh my...Applejack, yes....right there, yes, yes, yes, yes.....OH SWEET TITANIA, YEEEEESSSSS!" Rarity's pleasured moans could be heard by the two Apples on the doorstep.

Luckily for the couple, Rarity always tried to keep the volume down in that kinda of situations. It's not because you had a soundproofing method that you had to bellow like a rutting beast, she had said. Thanks to that, the only people who heard her were Applejack, evidently, Braeburn and Fritter as the rest of the household being downstairs and enjoying breakfast, completely oblivious to what was happening in Applejack's room.

Luckily again, Braeburn and Fritter couldn't see much of the action, despite the door being all open, as the frame of Applejack's bed hid things pretty well. The only thing they saw was the back of their cousin, who was still wearing her night clothes, and her hair as she was supposedly standing on her four above Rarity who was completely hidden by the bed frame and the pilled up covers at the end of the bed.

At some point, Applejack's face came into view as she shook her hair out of the way and caught her breath a bit, her left hand resting on the bed frame as her right hand was, according to Rarity's moans, busy somewhere else. That's when Applejack spotted the door was open and that two of her cousins were watching her and Rarity. 

She froze for a few seconds before her face distorted itself with the most furious expression her cousins had ever seen on her. She clenched her left fist, slightly cracking the oak frame of her bed as her right hand leaned on the mattress. She shifted her legs and positioned them in a stance that made her look like a tiger ready to leap on its prey.

"....Applejack....Why did you ....Why did you stop? I....was nearly....." Rarity panted heavily with her eyes close, still not knowing about the situation.

"Braeburn....It was a pleasure knowing you." Fritter said, her voice shaking in fear as she took a step back.

"Me too...." Braeburn answered in a very frightened tone.

"AH'M GONNA KILL YA!" Applejack roared as she leaped toward the door.

"RUN, FRITTER! RUN!" Braeburn yelled in panic before running for his life toward the stairs, Fritter in tow.

Applejack's leap took her too far as she crashed against the corridor's wall before she stood up to run after her cousins. When she spotted them at the bottom of the stairs, she jumped above the railings, not even bothering to run down the stairs, and landed in the living room with a loud thud, much to the Apples's, who were having breakfast or a cup of coffee there, surprise.

"What in tarnation's goin' on?" Granny Smith asked in bewilderment.

"GET BACK HERE YA TWO!" Applejack bellowed as she knocked the front door open after Fritter and Braeburn had run through it and slammed it behind them.

"Fritter, she can't go after the two of us, let's spread out." Braeburn shouted before running like hell toward the East of the farmland.

"Roger, that!" Fritter nodded as she ran toward the West.

"IT WON'T SAVE YA! AIN'T NOTHING ON THIS ORCHARD THAT CAN OUTRUN ME!" Applejack ran after Braeburn. "YAR TURN WILL COME FRITTER! BE CERTAIN ABOUT THAT! IT'LL JUST BE LATER THAN BRAEBURN'S!"

Braeburn ran as fast as he could, managing to get to the farthest field on the East side of the farm before being tackled by Applejack mid sprint. They both rolled on the ground for a few meters. Applejack managed to pine down her cousin, her fist ready to assault Braeburn's face. The concerned party put his arms defensively in above his head, waiting for the impact.

To his great surprise, it didn't came. He took a peek in between his arms and saw Applejack wasn't looking at him. She was staring in awe at something that was happening somewhere at his left. He noticed the light blue hue that seemed to light up this part of the orchard. He also heard a very loud, high-pitched chirping noise coming for the left as well.

Applejack stood up and walked toward what was happening. His curiosity got the better of him as he stood up and followed Applejack instead of seizing this opportunity to run away from her. His jaw dropped a couple of inches when he saw what was happening as he stood next to Applejack.

"Wow..." He let out slowly, before being hit by the back of Applejack's fist in the belly, as his cousin remembered why she was after him. "Owwww." Braeburn grunted in pain before falling on the ground.

"Huh?" Vinyl turned her head toward them, her hands shining in a light blue magical aura. "Why did you hit Braeburn?" She asked with curiosity when she noticed her cousin on the ground.

"Ah have ma reasons...." Applejack explained, her eyes still focused on what Vinyl was doing. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's a new variation of my magic." Vinyl explained happily. "I finally succeeded in doing it properly. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool, Ah don' know. But it's mighty impressive." Applejack said slowly. "Ya plan on usin' it today?"

"Normally not, but who knows?" Vinyl shrugged.

"How do ya call it?" Applejack asked.

Vinyl grinned. "I call it....."





"HELLO, everyone! Welcome to this third day of competition!" Pinkie Pie shouted in her megaphone. "On today's program, we'll have the opportunity to watch the wrestling and gymnastic competitions! Isn't that exciting?" The crowd cheered loudly. "But that's for this afternoon. RIght now, let's make room for the fireworks! Not actual fireworks, but something even cooler. The TITANIAN MAGICAL DUEL!"

"Oh, this is so exciting." Twilight clapped her hands together happily. "We'll get to see lots and lots of spells." She squealed.

"Well, someone is a good mood today." Cadence chuckled softly. "I'm glad you forgave Shining this morning."

"Well, I couldn't stay mad with my BBBFF for too long, could I?" Twilight asked with a wink.

"I'm glad that makes you happy." Cadence beamed, oblivious to the fact that Twilight was happy didn't have anything to do with Shining Armor.

"Rarity, are you ok, my dear?" Celestia asked with concern. "You seem to be in a bad mood since you arrived."

"I'm ok, your Highness." Rarity assured. "Just a few vexations in waking up this morning." She sighed grimly.

"You missed some of your beauty sleep?" Cadence joked. Her laugh last about a second when Rarity glared at her. "Let..Let's just watch the competition!" She added sheepishly.

"You're right, let's watch." Rarity nodded. "And for your information Darling, I didn't miss any beauty sleep." 'I did miss something else, though....Dumb screwdriver!'

"...And let's start with our first duel!" Pinkie Pie said happily in her megaphone before reading the program that had been given to her. "Our first match will oppose...Vinyl Almata Apple Scratch from Ponyville...." Ponyville's supporters cheered loudly!

"YES! GO VINYL!" Octavia shouted happily, earning the giggles of her friends and Princesses.

"..To Graphite Coal from Manehatten!" Pinkie said happily. "Competitors, put your protections on. We don't want any accidents!"

"Oh drat!" Octavia groaned angrily.

"What is it, Octavia?" Rarity asked. "You know him?"

"Kinda..." Octavia sighed. "He's a good friend of my brother. Mother always tried to convince me to get..."acquainted" with him in the past." She explained. 

"Oh!" Rarity let out in realization. "Did he..."

"Have a crush on me?" Octavia finished for her friend. "As far as I remember, yes. I don't really know if he still does, though."

"Is he any good?" Twilight asked. "Magically speaking, I mean."

"I don't know. If he got selected, I suppose he is."  Octavia shrugged. "The only thing I'm sure is that he was a real apple polisher. Always listening and agreeing to whatever my brother or mother said."

"Well, Vinyl's safe then. What harm can he do by polishing her?" Twilight said with a laugh before being deadpanned in silence by everyone in the box. 

"You know, because he's an apple polisher..." Twilight explained.

Silence.

"And, Vinyl's family name is Apple...."

A louder silence.

"And, polishing doesn't really hurt....." Twilight let out with an awkward chuckle.

"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmeee!" The voice of Pinkie Pie could be heard from afar.

"No offense, Twilight, but I think you should leave the jokes to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said with wisdom.

"That would be the best idea, I concur!" Luna nodded.

"Fine, fine. I get it!" Twilight pouted.





"Are the competitors ready?" Pinkie Pie said happily as Vinyl and Graphite were in the center of arena, both checking their protective gear.

Graphite was a young man in his mid/late twenties with dark grey hair, perfectly tousled in spikes. He had an athletic figure and Vinyl had to admit if she wasn't from the other side of the street, she would find him relatively handsome.

"So, you're the famous Vinyl Apple." Graphite said slowly, casting a dirty look at the blue haired woman.

"Didn't know I was famous actually." Vinyl shrugged casually, not really paying attention to Graphite. "How come you've heard about me?"

"Well, my dear friend, Cornelio, talks a lot about you since this summer." He explained with an icy tone.

At the mention of Octavia's brother, Vinyl paid more attention to Graphite. "Oh, nice to hear he's well. The last time I saw him, he was galloping away in fear as if the devil was after him. Well, he did have Applejack on his tail...."

"Tsss, just shut up, peasant!" Graphite growled.

"Did I say something inappropriate?"

"A low life scum like you shouldn't talk like that about a member of the Philharmonica Household." He warned.

"....Wow, you Manehattenites seem really attached to your leaders!" Vinyl commented.

"I'll have the great honor of putting back where you belong!" Graphite bragged with a mad grin.

"Excuse me, but did I ever do anything to you?"

"You've assaulted my friend, insulted and threatened my most esteemed High-Countess..." Graphite said slowly. "And worst of all, you defiled Lady Octavia."

"I did what?" Vinyl snapped, her anger rising with that last comment.

"You dirtied the purity of my Lady." He snapped back. "If it weren't for you, she'd be mine...."

Vinyl silently put her purple shades on. "I'll get you for those words, stuff-shirt." She threatened slowly, her hands glowing in an electric blue aura.

"We'll see about that, punk!" He said as he focused grayish magic around his hands.

"It's time to  DU-DU-DU-DU-DUEL!" Pinkie shouted.

Vinyl joined her hands together, creating a beam of blue magic that flew directly at Graphite who replied with a grey beam of his own magic. The two beams met halfway, struggling against each other, both not wanting to give in. Vinyl released a bit more of her magic into her beam. The blue magic started to overcome the grey one, much to Graphite's surprise. As the Vinyl's beam was about to break through his magic, Graphite teleported.

"Where did...." Vinyl muttered, before being hit violently in the back, just below the protective plate she was wearing.

Vinyl gasped as she felt her scars burning as if touched by a rod of brand iron. She fell on her knees in pain. Images of her past flashing in front her eyes. She started to shiver before she tried to calm down. While she was heavily panting, Graphite was standing behind her with triumphant grin.

"Looks like Cornelio was exaggerating after all when he talked about your back..." He said slowly. "He said you'd scream like a small girl...But, maybe if I strike harder..."

"Bastard!" Vinyl growled, before facing him quickly and casting another beam at him.

He teleported out of the way again. Vinyl felt two strikes of magic hitting her on the lower back. She let out a cry of pain and a few tears. The images of her dark bedroom from the orphanage were more vivid than before. She almost felt like she was back in her past, like when Cornelio had whipped her last summer. She had to resist, she couldn't afford to lose.





"Oh, no, no, no, no...." Octavia pleaded with tears in her eyes as Rarity patted her back softly.

"Damn, he keeps on hitting her in the back," Twilight mustered in anger. "Cornelio must have told him about what happened in the farm."

"Poor Vinyl..." Fluttershy let out softly with evident worry.

"I don't understand...." Luna said softly. Her eyes shining in a deep blue aura as she used her magical sight. "Ms Apple's magic flow is completely disturbed. The hits she received couldn't have been the cause of such internal damage."

"...Vinyl has a...condition about her back, your Highness." Rarity explained as delicately as possible.

"Come on, Vinyl....Fight! Don't let it get to you, please..." Octavia whispered slowly as she watched her lover's struggle against pain before being hit again in the lower back.





"That bastard!" Applejack snarled in anger as she watched Vinyl being hit in the back again. "He does that on purpose. Once Ah get ma hand on Octavia's brother, Ah'm gonna tear him a new one. Like Ah should've done this summer."

"What are you talking about?" Cloud Kicker asked with surprise. "What's that story about Octavia's brother? What happened during the summer?"

"Ah'll tell ya later!" Applejack sighed, her gaze fixated on the fight.

"You think Vinyl's gonna make it?" Allie said with worry. "She looks like she's in a lot of pain."

"Don't worry, Allie." Redhearts reassured her softly. "Vinyl's a tough one, she'll make it through." She added with an imperceptible nod at Applejack who nodded back at her.

"Show'em what ya're worth, little Sis'!" Applejack said slowly.





Vinyl couldn't see straight. Her visions about her past were starting to merge with her surroundings. She couldn't perceive what was real and what was the nightmare anymore. She was about to give up, she couldn't face it alone. She had needed Octavia's comfort to calm down last time it happened. Without Octavia, she couldn't do it.

Then, her lantern lit up. Of course, she needed Octavia's help. But Octavia couldn't possibly come to her help right now, not without putting herself in danger. Something that Vinyl's very own heart refused. How could she have Octavia's help without actually having Octavia at her side? The answer was obvious. Vinyl focused as much magic her perturbed mind could in her right hand before slamming it on the ground.

Her musical strings of blue magic appeared around her, startling everyone, including Graphite who clearly wasn't expecting anymore real reactions from Vinyl. The strings assembled in numerous racks before starting to vibrate softly. After a few seconds, the entire Coliseum started to hear the soft melody of a cello. Anyone with even a small amount of knowledge in the field of Music would have recognized this piece. It was Octavia's masterpiece, the symphony that granted her her place in the Council. Or at least the cello part of the symphony, as Vinyl wasn't in a state in which she could have tried to play the complete symphony.

At the sound of the cello's melody, Vinyl's mind slowly drifted to peace. The images of the orphanage slowly disappeared and the pain on her scars reduced itself to a more tolerable level. Her breath and heart beats paced at their regular rhythm.

"I must say you almost scared me with that spell." Graphite chuckled with a relieved sigh. "I thought it was something but it turns out it's just some shitty music you're playing with some weird unknown spell."

The music came to a sudden stop, much to the crowd's annoyance who was enjoying it, as Vinyl snapped her eyes wide open. She was still on her knees with her back turned toward Graphite who was nonchalantly standing.

"What did you just say?" Vinyl said in a cold tone.

"That your spell is weird."

"No, before that...."

"That the music you were playing was worth shi...." Graphite said before being catapulted by an incredibly fast bolt of electric blue magic.

"That's what I thought...." Vinyl muttered before standing up and facing Graphite who was still trying to comprehend what just happened to him. "You know, earlier I said I'll get you for those words...But now, I'm seriously going to kick your ass for what you said."

"You can't stand when someone criticizes your music?" Graphite said slowly.

"No, I can't stand some stuck up bastards like you who insulted the woman I love not once but twice!" Vinyl said angrily.

Vinyl assembled a ball with her strings of magic in her hand. A sphere the size of a football started flickering intensively with a loud chirping sound. She made a move to push the sphere forward, extending her arm, as if for a shot put. The sphere was about to to leave her hand.

"Idiot!" Graphite grinned before teleporting again.

Vinyl suddenly snapped her hand down, sending the sphere flying rapidly below her extended arm, behind her. Graphite reappeared behind her and his grin turned into a surprised gasp when he saw Vinyl's sphere inches away from his face.

"You're the idiot!" Vinyl said slowly before clacking her fingers, causing the sphere to explode.

The crowd lost the sight of Graphite in the huge flash of blue light caused by Vinyl's spell. A lot of spectators got startled by the massive sonic explosion while Vinyl who was the closest to explosion didn't move a muscle, not even bothering to turn around. 

"Wow..." Pinkie said slowly in her megaphone. "She doesn't even look back at the explosion....She's a heroine!" 

Eventually, when the sounds and the flashes from Vinyl's spell died down, she looked behind her and saw Graphite lying on the ground, his protective gear completely shattered to pieces. She slowly walked to him before crouching next to him. She could tell her spell had hit him hard as his eyes didn't seem like they could focus on anything. 

"Can you hear me?" Vinyl asked slowly. "Just blink if you do, it'd be best if you don't move before the meds get here and if you open your mouth, you're likely to throw up." Vinyl explained before Graphite blinked slowly. "That's good, I thought I have gone a tad overboard with the decibel level. It was a good match. Good luck with the rest! Normally, you should recover in a few hours. Maybe in one hour, if your medic is a Titanian who knows how the internal ear works." She said before standing up and walking away as the medical squad went to check on him. 

"One last thing." Vinyl said slowly as she looked back at him. "Don't ever badmouth Octavia or what she does in front of me again! I won't hold back anymore if you do!"





	
> Shining Armor has Equestria's strongest protections....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The rest of the competition wasn't really hard for Vinyl. Blasting Graphite's protective gear which was supposed to be extremely resilient to magic onslaught to pieces had scared quite a few of her potential opponents. Despite the fact that many of them had seen her weak spot, namely her back, her opponents didn't seem pretty eager to aim at that part of her body. All of them were thinking that hitting her on that particular spot was the trigger for her to unleash her magical spheres.

Vinyl had made it to the final of the tournament. She was happy to have come this far, although she was a bit bitter about her semifinal match. Her opponent, a very talented fillydelphian magic user who had a powerful spell that could manipulate rocks and the ground at will, had pathetically given up in a whimper as soon as Vinyl decided to step up her game and summoned her applebucking sphere.

At the moment, Vinyl was observing the other semifinal with a great attention. She was certain about one thing, whatever the outcome of this match, the final would be incredibly interesting. Shining Armor being who he was, that is the Captain of the Royal Guard, would be a formidable opponent and this Trixie character would be interesting to duel with as well.

The only problem was that the winner was pretty evident for the moment. The match turned out completely one sided when Shining Armor conjured his purple shield spell around him, thus blocking all the spells Trixie casted at him. Despite her spells being ineffective against Shining's protection, Trixie's will to fight didn't falter and kept on trying to pierce the magical shield. While it was very admirable, Trixie's pool of magic power wasn't infinite and, unlike Shining's, it was running low.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you to break!" Trixie shouted at the shield more than anything or anyone else, conjuring a volley of pink magic doves from her sorcerer hat.

The flock of pink translucent birds flew at full speed toward Shining Armor, only to crash against his protective barrier with small detonations and pink explosions. Much to Trixie's frustration, the explosions left the barrier undamaged. Shining had crossed his arms and was watching his opponent with a great calm.

"Listen, you should just stop." Shining said softly. "It's over."

"Trixie is the one that says when it's over!" Trixie snapped before casting pink lightning bolts at him. 

Again, the shield blocked all the spell without any difficulties.





"CK, is there a way to pass around that shield?" Vinyl asked slowly as Trixie tried a different spell to break Shining's shield.

"Not that I know about." Cloud Kicker answered shaking her head. "It's not for nothing he's the Captain. Rumors has it that the Princesses have to get a bit serious to break his strongest barrier."

"You mean that's not the only one?" Vinyl asked, pointing at the purple shield around Shining.

"That's the simplest he can conjure." Cloud Kicker said slowly.

"Damn!" Vinyl muttered. "That's going to be tough."

"Ya think yer gonna be ok?" Applejack asked with concern.

"Don't know." Vinyl let out with a sigh. "If I can put him out of commission before he casts his shield up, maybe I have a chance."

"He has seen what you can do with your magic, Vi." Cloud Kicker stated slowly. "I'm not only talking about the previous matches, there's also the Chrysalis Incident in Canterlot." Cloud Kicker explained. "He won't do the same mistake as she did by underestimating you."

"Hmmm." Vinyl pondered while scratching her chin with her right hand. "I might have an idea...."





"That lasted more than enough." Shining Armor said before casting a purple beam at Trixie.

Trixie created a small puff of smoke in which she disappeared. The beam passed through it before impacting her with a feminine groan of pain. When the smoke died down, Trixie was lying on the ground, curled up in a fetal position. Shining dispelled his barrier before walking to her in order to check on her.

"Finally! Trixie was wondering when you'd come out of that shield!" The voice of Trixie said triumphantly from his left.

He only got the time to turn his face around before a flock of pinkish doves impacted him head-on. While a hit from one of the conjured volatiles didn't do any serious damage, having to put with an assault of a flock of fifteen birds was quite taxing. Shining Armor grunted in pain before eyeing at his left. He blinked in confusion when he saw an other Trixie standing a few meters away from him, smiling cockily. Shining looked again at the wounded Trixie, only to see that she had disappeared.

"An illusion...." He let out in realization.

"Indeed!" Trixie nodded. "The Great and Powerful Trixie's the greatest illusionist that has ever lived. People come to Neigh Orleans from all Equestria to watch her shows." She noticed Shining frowning at her bragging. "You have no idea about when the illusion replaced Trixie, have you?"

"...I won't make the same mistake." Shining said, casting his barrier again. "You won't be able to win if you don't get another hit at me."

"Trixie admits it's true." Trixie said slowly, not without a frustrated groan as she saw the purple shield again. "But, the same goes for you." She said with a cocky grin, before she disappeared in a huge flash of pink light.

When the light stopped blinding him, Shining gasped when he saw five Trixies standing in a line in front of him.

"If you want to win against The Great and Powerful Trixie, you're going to have to find her first!" The five Trixies shouted in unison.

Shining Armor blinked before grinning slowly. "Clever girl...." He whispered to himself.





"AJ!" Vinyl said slowly.

"What is it, Sis?"

"The next time you go to Neigh Orleans for your bottle of wines, do you mind taking AppleBloom to see one of Trixie's shows?" Vinyl asked slowly. "Something tells me she'd like it."

"Ah reckon Ah can do that." Applejack nodded. "Ah actually think Ah'm gonna like the show as well."

"Maybe, we could all go." Vinyl suggested. "Like a family trip or something."

"Shouldn't you be focussing on the match instead of planning your next family trip, Vinyl?" Turner asked playfully, yet with a hint of reproach.

"Why Doctor, I'm a woman. I'm supposed to be able to do two things at the same time." Vinyl chuckled.

"That there is just the best way to badly do both things." Applejack interjected.

"You're just saying that because you're just a man trapped in a woman's body." Cloud Kicker joked, causing the her teammates and coaches to start laughing softly.

"Hey!" Applejack said with a growing blush. "Ah wont accept that comment from ya!"

"Why's that, AJ?" Cloud Kicker asked with interest.

"Because, out all of us, yer the one who thinks more with yar little head than with yar brain." Applejack said with smirk. "Ain't that just like men?"

Everyone started laughing at Applejack's comment, Cloud Kicker being the loudest.

"Good one, AJ!" Cloud Kicker said, trying to hold back her tears as she kept laughing before bumping fist with Applejack.

"Ah, looks like Shining found a way around Trixie's illusions." Vinyl commented.





The real Trixie got hit by a purple beam of magic. It wasn't the first time since she casted her illusions as Shining got lucky shots at her when he tried to figure out the real one out of the fakes by attacking all of them at once. Her magic clones could take a hit just like her and voicing their hurt the same as she did. But, she couldn't help but notice that the offensive spell casted by Shining Armor were slowly beginning to aim at her repeatedly, ignoring her clones despite some of them being in a more easy shot than her.

Shining, still covered by his shield, extended his two hands forward casting six bolts of purple magic that homed in straight at the real Trixie, much to the concerned party's surprise. She tried to protect herself by covering her head with her arms. The bolts knocked her on the ground as a loud pained grunt escaped her lips. Her illusions of herself vanished into thin air when the illusionist hit the ground.

"How did you...." 

Trixie slowly looked up at her opponent with a wince of pain as she tried to sit up, one of the bolts had hit her ribs with force. Shining Armor broke the shield spell and when he did, Trixie knew how he had found her between her clones. Without the purple aura of the shield around him, she could see the blue eyes were glowing in a deep purple hue.

"Tsss, the magic sight spell." Trixie groaned.

"Sorry, that's basic formation for any Titanian in the Guard." Shining explained softly.

"Trixie supposes there's no other way helping it." Trixie sighed in defeat. "Trix..... I admit my defeat." She added softly, realizing it was one of those times where she had to be humble.

"It was good match." Shining said slowly, helping Trixie to get up. "Good luck with the small final."

"Thank you." Trixie said quietly before slowly making her way toward her team's nurse.



 

"That's my Shining!" Cadence nearly shouted with pride.

"Yep, that's him." Twilight nodded softly. "I think Vinyl's going to be stuck at the second place of the podium." She pondered before quickly facing Octavia. "No offense, Octavia!" She added defensively.

"None taken, Twilight." Octavia shrugged. "You're favoring your brother, that's quite understandable." Twilight sighed in relief. "But, MY Vinyl's going to, pardon me for the crude language I'm about to display your Highnesses, kick your brother's sorry butt into the second place where he belongs while she'll enjoy her spot on the highest step of the podium." She playfully warned earning a raise of eyebrows from Twilight and Cadence while Celestia and Luna chuckled happily at Octavia's comment.

"You seem awfully confident about Ms Apple's victory, my dear Octavia." Celestia said with a smile. "What makes you think that?" She asked with curiosity.

"I've seen her against those timberwolves and Chrysalis' soldiers." Octavia explained. "She can hold her ground against Shining, I'm sure about it." She added with conviction.

"Sorry to break your daydreams, but that's not gonna happen." Cadence said. "No magic, apart from a spell from the High Princesses, can break Shining's shield." Cadence stated fervently.

"No magic was supposed to break the competitors' protective gear as well." Luna interjected slowly. "Yet, Ms Apple's spell completely ripped apart Mr Coal's protections. I think it's better to just watch the match and see what happens."

"A very wise choice, Luna." Celestia nodded.





"Are our two finalists ready?" Pinkie Pie said happily from her flying contraption she had finally named the "Pink Zep". An odd choice of name considering that the ballon that kept it in the air was dark purple. "They look ready to me. Don't you agree?" She asked to the crowd while Shining and Vinyl were both rolling their shoulders, wrists or neck as a preparation rite, a dozen meters away from each other.

"Ready, Ms Apple?" Shining Armor asked.

"Readier then ever, Mr Armor....or is it Sparkle? I never really got it right." She said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it." Shining said sympathetically. "My first surname was Sparkle, but it's a tradition in our family to take the name Armor when one decide to join the guard." He explained calmly. "Just a silly family tradition."

"Well, you can be glad about it." Vinyl started with a small chuckle. "Because otherwise you'd be Shining Sparkle, Captain of the Royal Guard. It doesn't really have the same panache as your actual name."

"Haha! You're right." Shining snorted a small laugh before focusing magic in his hands and turning a bit more serious. "Anyway, let's do this."

"Agreed!" Vinyl nodded, her hands shining in her magic blue aura. "Oh, wait! Have this, first." She added before levitating something he grabbed with one hand when it was close enough.

"Earplugs?" He asked softly.

"Just to be sure." Vinyl nodded. "I'd rather not have to face Twilight or your wife in case you got deafened by my spells."

"Well, thanks!" He put the earplugs in his pocket. "I'll let you draw your spell first because of that."

"Your gallantry will be your fall, Shining." Vinyl said with a smirk.

"Begin!" Pinkie shouted happily. "Let's see who....WAAAAHAAAA." Pinkie let out as she was startled by the sounds of the fight.

An incredibly loud and powerful explosion of blue light occurred where Shining stood at the second Pinkie gave the signal to start. Shining managed to put his shield up a hundredth of second before taking the explosion head on. Vinyl conjured two spheres of her magic before casting them both simultaneously at Shining Armor. The flickering of the strings composing the spheres was so intense it looked like they were made of bright white magic instead of electric blue. A millimeter before impacting the shield, Vinyl made the spheres explode.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Pink Zep calling Control Tower." Pinkie shouted in panic as her contraption was shaken by the explosions caused by Vinyl. "I'm flying through a zone of incredibly nasty turbulences. Request authorization for emergency landing. I repeat. Request authorization for emergency landing. Come in, Control Tower! Over!"

'Boy, I never should have left her the first draw.' Shining thought with a wince as he was maintaining his barrier up with more effort than he ever had to in the previous matches. 'She's right, my gallantry will be my doom!'. He spotted Vinyl grinning at him with four flickering spheres around her this time. 'You've got to be kidding me....' He thought with wide eyes as the four spells from the Ponyvillian flew toward him at top speed.





"Oh, my..." Fluttershy let out before squealing in fear at the sound of the double explosion.

"Vinyl seems decided to go all out." Rarity commented as the gush of wind from the explosion flew past her. "Urrgh! It's going to ruin my hair, tough." She commented sourly, noticing the wind's effect on her coiffure.

"How can she do that?" Twilight asked in a soft and low voice that wouldn't have been out of place coming from Fluttershy, her eyes glowing in a light purple hue. "I've watched this spell, there's no way explosions that violent can be created with so little magic power in use."

"I thought that someone as intelligent as you would have understood it by now, my dear Twilight." Celestia said softly. "Hold on, there's another one coming." The Sun Princess commented casually as four loud explosions occurred simultaneously.

"Oww! That hurts!" Cadence winced after the explosions stopped, uncovering her ears. "Anyway, that's still not enough to break Shining's ...."

CRACK

"You were saying, Cadence?" Octavia commented with a triumphant grin while Twilight and Cadence's jaws dropped, attempting to touch the floor.





The quadruple explosion had managed to shatter Shining's barrier much to everyone's surprise, including Vinyl's. But the Apple recovered from her surprise quickly, quicker than Shining did.

"Aww yeah!" Vinyl shouted before casting two beams of blue magic at Shining Armor.

"Drat!" Shining mutterred, focusing his magic in his hands as the beams came dangerously close to him.

"You won't be able to dodge this."

"Who said anything about dodging?" Shining answered with a cocky grin.

"What?" Vinyl asked in confusion.

The beams' course got stopped as Shining hands intercepted them. His hands weren't glowing in a typical spell casting aura. It was the same color, deep purple, but it looked way more consistent than usual. When the light from her beams died down with them, Vinyl saw why. Shining had conjured another protection spell. He was now standing tall, in clad with a ghostly purple full body plate armor with a sort of romane helmet. Vinyl decided to take her shades off, the purple lenses being not the most practical choice for seeing the magical armored knight in front of her.

"Tsss, you really are a knight in shining armor!" She muttered in a mix of laugh and anger.

"Guilty." Shining let out a small chuckle.

"That won't stop me!" Vinyl conjured once again four of her applebucking spells and casted them at her opponent.

Shining simply crossed his arms when the sphere came close to him. He took the explosions head on before disappearing in blue flashes of light. Vinyl gasped when he came back into view. He hadn't moved an inch and his magic armor was perfectly intact.

"If you must know, that armor spell is way more resilient than the shield you've seen before." Shining explained when he noticed her with her mouth wide open.

"Figured that much already." Vinyl muttered.

"I guess that now it's my turn to attack." Shining said before casting five bolts of magic from his fingertips.

Vinyl reacted by assembling a net with her magic tendrils, said net flickered intensely and caused a loud buzzing sound when Shining's purple missiles got caught in it. The aforementioned missiles shattered after a couple of seconds of contact with the Vinyl's net. With one push of her hand, the net flew and captured Shining Armor before he could move from his spot. Vinyl tightened her grip causing the net to tighten his hold on Shining Armor, thus restricting all his movements.

"Let's fire the grill, I got a big catch." Vinyl chuckled playfully.

"What? I can't hear you!" Shining shouted, not hearing Vinyl's voice as it was covered by the loud buzzing provoked by the contact of the net with his magic armor.

'Damn! I got to get the hell out of this net. I'm making a fool of myself!' He thought angrily, as he poured more magic in his armor, hoping to make it grow larger and thus breaking the net. 'I can't even hear me thinking with that sound. What the...' His eyes widened.

His armor's expansion was happening but not fast enough to counter the actions of the net. As the buzzing grew louder and in a higher tone, the net was ravaging his way through his armor, leaving cracks wherever the armor was in contact with the net's tendrils. He had to get out. In a blink of an eye, he cancelled his armor spell, causing the net to go suddenly loose before teleporting himself out of it.

He reappeared crouched in front of Vinyl, he conjured back the gauntlets of his armor before punching her in the stomach with two fists. Shining's armor spell didn't only protect him, it also strengthened his hand-to-hand combat skills by making his strikes way more heavy than what they were supposed to. Vinyl was sent rolling on the ground with a pained grunt. 

Vinyl coughed loudly a couple of times before slowly standing up and facing Shining with determination. She wiped off the small trail of blood that came from the corner of her mouth. She enrolled her fists with her magic tendrils, creating two drill like gauntlets of flickering blue magic before she dashed at Shining Armor, her right fist ready to strike. Shining stood up and made a move to punch his opponent. The two magically reinforced fists met.

The combined strength of both punches added to the magic effect of their respective gauntlet; an incredible rending force for Vinyl and an out of the norm resilience for Shining, caused a very sharp and high-pitched sound, similar to nails on a blackboard, to resonate through the entire stadium. The spectators all covered their ears in wincing and frowning in pain or reproach. The crowd was pretty relieved when they saw Vinyl and Shining's gauntlets shatter at the same time with a loud bang, only to cover their ears again when the two opponents bumped their left fists together. When their left gauntlets got shattered as well in another deafening bang, they re-conjured their right ones and started all over again.

The fight was captivating for the crowd, despite it being incredibly loud due to Vinyl's sound-based magic, as it was a pure battle of will that kept both competitors running. Not one of them was willing to give an inch of advantage to the other. The young magical musician from the apple orchard was fighting equally a national hero of the last great war. It was a battle that would be talked about for a long time in the history of the Games, no matter the outcome.

But, unbeknownst to the entire audience and Pinkie Pie who was trying to determine who was at the advantage by randomly shouting Vinyl or Shining's name every few seconds, an other clash of will was occurring in the Coliseum. In the Princesses' private box to be specific.

"RAAAA! I'm sick of all that noise!" Cadence complained as. "That's your girlfriend's fault, Octavia!" She pointed an accusatory finger at the cellist who didn't appreciate the attention.

BANG

"Hey! There are two people fighting down there!" Octavia snapped. "And one of them is your husband!"

BANG

"Yes, but that's your girlfriend's magic that causes all that noise!" Cadence explained in anger. "Go down there and make her stop all that ruckus!"

BANG

"Why don't you go down there and ask your husband to stop fighting back?" Octavia asked ferociously. "So that my lover can savor her more than deserved victory."

"Octavia, Cadence. Please calm down, both of you." Twilight pleaded as she was hugging Fluttershy who was slightly panicking at the sounds of the fight, her hands firmly pressed on her ears.

BANG

"Deserved victory? Don't make me laugh. Shining's still standing and he'll defeat Vinyl, that's for sure!"

"Vinyl has proven herself by breaking not one but two of Shining's protection spells." Octavia snapped vigorously. "Sorry to break it up to you, Cadence, but your husband is far from being invincible."

BANG

"Mhmmm! That's some excellent tea." Celestia commented casually after taking a sip from her cup of tea. The Sun Monarch was completely unfazed by the sounds of the fight or Octavia and Cadence at each other's throat. "Don't you agree, Luna?"

"Mhm?" Luna turned her gaze away from the duel for the first time. "Did you ask me something, Sister?"

BANG

"You take that back, right now!" Cadence said after gasping at Octavia's comment.

"Make me!" Octavia shouted before realizing something. "Hang on..."

The Coliseum was incredibly and abnormally quiet.

Cadence, Octavia and Twilight, who had reassured Fluttershy after the quiet came back, rushed at the edge of the box with their binoculars to see what was going on in the center of the arena.

Vinyl and Shining were standing a dozen of meters apart from each other, both panting loudly and heavily. Vinyl had long bloody scratches on her forearms and hands as some of her flickering tendrils of magic back-drafted on her during her struggles against Shining. As she watched her opponent's armor reforming itself completely, she realized that another long exchange of blows wasn't going to resolve anything. If she wanted to win, she'd have to get Shining out of commission along with breaking his armor spell in one hit.

'Looks like I'm going to have to use it...' Vinyl thought slowly. 'Good thing I finally get it right this morning.'

Vinyl took a deep breath and exhale softly as she conjured a great amount of her musicals strings and assembled them in the biggest resonance sphere she had ever done. A huge blue sphere of magic tendrils formed itself in front of an awestruck crowd of spectators. Even the High Princesses' jaws dropped a bit. 

The sphere had a radius of at least five meters and the strings composing its surface were so packed together that it look smooth instead of full of irregularities like her smaller spheres. A chirping sound started to be heard when some of the strings started to flicker. The sound got louder and higher and the ground around Vinyl's spell started to shake slowly as the number of flickering strings grew.

Vinyl pushed her hands closer to each other and when she did, the sphere compacted on itself continuously. The sphere shrank and, as it did, the strings got brighter and the sound got so loud and high-pitched that Vinyl winced at it, despite having shown the greatest tolerance to the noise before. The sphere attained the size of a football before Vinyl decided to stop it from compacting. She let the sphere fly in front of her, the sphere looked incredibly unstable and it looked like it was struggling to keep its form.

"Shining..... Now might be a good time for you to put those earplugs..." Vinyl said softly but still loud enough for Shining to hear her, putting her shades back on with her right hand surrounded by a her magic.

"....What's that?" Shining asked with an evident worry, visibly ignoring her advice.

"Nothing special... Just a new variation of my magic." Vinyl explained softly. "Here goes...."

Vinyl pushed her right hand forward, making contact with her sphere. Said sphere distorted itself as it absorbed the magic around her hand. The extremity of the sphere at the opposite of Vinyl's hand started to bulge, the strings composing it tensed at their very limits, ready to snap at any moment. Shining could've escaped but he didn't notice the danger until it was too late.

"...MY BASS CANNON!" Vinyl bellowed as the strings snapped.

An extremely powerful sonic blast occurred, making the previous explosions look like carnival firecrackers, as well as a huge beam of blue light that flew toward the Captain of the Royal Guard causing a small earthquake in passing. Shining Armor could've teleported himself away, but that was the last thing in his mind. 

Instead of teleporting away, he casted his strongest barrier between him and the beam that was coming at him extremely fast. His newly casted barrier wasn't transparent like his basic one, this one was completely opaque. It was the barrier that his soldiers had nicknamed the Adamant Wall, a barrier so strong that only the Princesses had succeeded in breaking it. The beam met the barrier and got stopped for a moment. Shining was safe and the barrier was holding fast.

But, something happened. The barrier started to wobble under the pressure of Vinyl's Cannon beam. The barrier's shakes were growing larger and some cracks started to appeared on its surface. Inevitably, the Adamant Wall was finally shattered by Vinyl's Bass Cannon, Shining just got time to curl his body in a ball before being engulfed by the beam of bright blue light.

	
> A scare, a lesson and a bathtub.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shining Armor slowly got out of his torpor. He remembered seeing his strongest barrier being shattered by Vinyl's spell. He also remembered being impacted by the huge beam of light casted by his opponent, as well as the shaking that accompanied it. He had felt his magic armor breaking apart under the vibrations that had destroyed his barrier before they reached him. He had quickly passed out as the pain was too much to handle. 

He could feel it now, all his muscles were sore. Like they would have after an intense working out session, except that, unlike when it occurred, it was affecting all his muscles and with a tension that he never felt before. He tried to move his fingers, wincing internally at the pain he felt when the muscles from his fingers contracted. It was painful, but not like when he had broken his fingers during his days at the academy. 

He tried to move his arms, toes, legs, and so on. Feeling the pain from his sore muscles but he also felt happily that none of his bones seemed to be broken. Vinyl's spell had roughed him up a lot, a huge lot to be specific, but it looked like a great deal of TLC and proper bed rest would be enough to get through it. He slowly opened his eyes.

The first things he saw were two familiar feminine faces. He recognized the chocolate-milk like tone of his younger sister's face along with her purple hair and the paler visage of his wife with her multicolored hair. He realized he had been put in a sitting position, his back leaning on one of the fence delimiting the arena. His eyes scanned around him and spotted that Spitfire and Soarin were both standing next to him along with his sister and wife. All four of them were looking at him with evident worry and concern, not having noticed that he had his eyes open.

Hey, guys. What's with the six foot long faces?

He had thought these words. He had moved his lips and tongue to pronounce them. If the fact that his wife, sister and teammates' faces lit up like it was Hearth Warming Eve was of any indication, they seemed to have heard him saying them. But, why didn't he? Twilight and Cadence's lips moved incredibly fast, probably voicing their relief as they were beaming at him, but no sounds came. He tried to listen around, but nothing could be heard. Not the wind. Not the crowd. Nothing.

I...I can't hear you.

Twilight's lips opened swiftly, probably saying "What?".

I can't hear a thing... Shining probably had a panicked voice at that moment, but he couldn't hear it.

Cadence and Twilight's expressions quickly fell at what he had just said. His sister started to panic, her lips moving at a frantic speed as she was probably rambling at all the things that might be done in such a case. Cadence simply let her mouth open in shock before slowly turning her head away, looking behind her and allowing Shining to see the scenery.

Shining spotted Vinyl trying to stand up with the help of Cloud Kicker and Applejack, under the supervision of Ponyville Team's nurse. Vinyl's forearms were both heavily band-aided and she was struggling lightly to even walk, showing the first signs of magic exhaustion. Cadence got up rapidly before nearly running at her husband's former opponent before slapping her.

It probably escalated in a loud shouting match as the ponyvillian nurse mutedly yelled at Cadence who was being restrained by Spitfire while Applejack was held back by the combine effort of Soarin and other members of Ponyville Team. Vinyl looked at Cadence in disbelief and confusion while Cloud Kicker was still supporting her. When Cadence yelled something at her, she gasped before turning her face toward Shining Armor. Vinyl's lips moved slowly, probably to apologize, as she looked at the ground in shame while Cadence was still shouting at her.

Shining Armor would have normally frowned at his wife's behavior. Despite being a fighter by profession, he was convinced that any argument could be resolved without any use of violence, be it verbal or physical. But right now, it was the last thing on his mind. 

Vinyl had deafened him. The information took its time to sink in, but it still happened. That meant that he couldn't do his job anymore. What's the use of a Royal Guard Captain who can't hear a thing. He let his head drop with a defeated sigh. Twilight was still at his side, holding his hand firmly with small tears in her eyes. Shining looked up and noticed Cloud Kicker walking toward him with a soft concerned expression.

She kneeled next to him, opposite from where Twilight was. She moved her lips, asking something to his sister. Shining wasn't an expert at reading lips but he recognized that Cloud Kicker had said the words 'may' and 'check'. Twilight seemed to scowl Cloud Kicker and sort of shouted at her angrily. Shining made out the words 'dare', 'ask' and 'check' out of Twilight's sentence. 

He understood what Cloud Kicker had asked and why she asked it. Cloud Kicker had to see before believing, especially if one of her friend was concerned like this case. Cloud Kicker presumably explained to Twilight why she asked. Twilight snapped angrily at the blonde. Cloud Kicker turned her face away from Twilight and extended her hand to Shining's head, despite Shining's sister trying to stop her. The Guard pushed her Captain's hair to reveal his left ear.


Cloud Kicker blinked a couple of times before rolling her eyes with an annoyed frown on her face. Shining felt two fingertips inside of his auricle, they pinched on something inside his auditory canal and pulled.

"....Leave him alone, Cloud Kicker!" Shining heard Twilight say angrily.

"I swear...." Cloud Kicker sighed, ignoring Twilight. "Boss, you're probably the only man in the land who can't realize he has earplugs in his ears!" Cloud Kicker chastised loudly, showing the earplug to Twilight.

"..WHAT?" Twilight shouted in disbelief, looking at her brother's face.

"Huuuuuuh...." Shining let out with an embarrassed growing blush. "..Oops!"

"You're....not deaf..." Twilight let out in a whisper.

"Apparently not anymore...." Shining chuckled awkwardly as Cloud Kicker extracted the other earplug from his right ear.

"How?" Cloud Kicker asked in complete disbelief and annoyance. "Seriously, how didn't you feel them?"

"Well, I must have put them in by instinct..." Shining pondered. "...And when I woke up, I was all sore so I didn't really pay attention to my ears."

"...You had earplugs all along..." Twilight whispered to herself as tufts of her usually straightened hair rebelled themselves.

"And when you thought you were deaf, you didn't think about checking your ears?" Cloud Kicker asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"I...panicked?" Shining suggested hopefully.

"....I worried for nothing..." Twilight whispered again, her right eye slightly twitching.

Cloud Kicker sighed. "You're quite a handful some times, Boss." She said slowly while face-palming herself.

"Hehehe! Sorry." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Never mind that." Cloud Kicker said abruptly when she looked back at Cadence. "You might want to call your wife back, before Applejack creates a diplomatic accident." She added as she noticed that Applejack looked ready to assault the shouting Princess.

"....Help!.....Help!" The voice of Shining Armor choked, making Cloud Kicker look back.

"I was worried about your safety. I shed tears for you, thinking there was nothing left to do." Twilight said in a shaken voice, her hands firmly pressed around Shining's throat. "And, you just had earplugs stuck in your ears and forgot about them!" Twilight growled, strangling her brother with more strength than before.

"...Twily....stop...I'm gonna die...." Shining's face became blue as he was starting to suffocate.

"Of course....I'm the one who's going to kill you!" Twilight said with a barely concealed anger.

"Twilight, no!" Cloud Kicker shouted, before pulling Twilight away from her attempted fratricide. "I know you must be upset, but that's not the solution."

"You're right.... That's so not like me..." Twilight whispered with a shocked expression. Cloud Kicker sighed in relief. "I have no strength in my arms at all! That'll work better." She roared before strangling Shining with her magic.

Cloud Kicker face-palmed again. "Sweet Faust, what did I do to deserve that?" She muttered before getting her mouth closer to Twilight's ear. "Twilight, honey, if you ever want me to do the thing you liked so much yesterday ...You know the thing with my wings... ever again, you'll stop trying to murder your brother, right now!" She threatened in a whisper.

Twilight's face became bright red as she stopped her magic instantly. Shining started to catch his breath again. He had no idea about what Cloud Kicker had done or said to his sister to make her stop, as being nearly choked to death tended to distract him from his surroundings, and he wasn't paying much attention to what his sister and subordinate were saying, much too happy to feel the air going back to his lungs.

"I'll be nice, I promise!" Twilight whispered, looking at Cloud Kicker with big puppy eyes.

"Atta girl!" Cloud Kicker grinned softly. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna save your sister-in-law!" Cloud Kicker walked away to stop the argument with Cadence from escalating further into the path of violence.





"Wow!" Spike let out in surprise. "What happened to your eye, Cadence?" He asked softly when Cadence sat at the table the Princesses had reserved for themselves and the Council of Harmony, her right eye hidden by a small patch of gauze.

"I took an eponian punch in the face." Cadence explained grimly.

"No offense Cadence, but you sort of had it coming when you slapped Vinyl." Fluttershy said quietly. "I mean, did you really think she wouldn't react badly to that?"

"Not really." Cadence admitted. "I still wouldn't have thought she'd really hit me."

"You did say pretty mean things to Vinyl, Cadence." Twilight said softly.

"She can be very protective, you know?" Rarity chimed in. "It's not something only Shining Armor suffers from."

"Still, it wasn't a reason for this Applejack to punch Cadence like that." Spike said angrily. "That's totally uncouth and nasty of her." 'Maybe Rarity will see that she's not meant for that woman.' He thought happily.

Everyone at the table turned their faces toward the young boy with raised eyebrows.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"Spike, it was Octavia who punched me, not Applejack." Cadence said.

"Really?" Spike asked, completely taken aback by that statement.

Cadence nodded. "Yes, really. Never thought she had so much strength." Cadence pondered, wincing a bit at the memory.

"Probably from lifting that cello of hers." Rarity said matter-of-factly. "Oh, by the way Spike! Do not speak ill about Applejack like that." She chastised sternly. "Especially when she's about to join us for lunch."

"Huh...Ok, sorry." Spike said with uneasiness. "So, where's she?"

"Cloud Kicker and she are taking Vinyl to Octavia's hotel room." Twilight explained. "They should be back any minutes now."

"Why to Octavia's suite and not her home?" Spike asked with curiosity.

"Ms Apple seems to suffer from magic exhaustion." Celestia explained softly before taking her seat at the end of the table. "She needs proper bed rest and Octavia's suite is much closer than Sweet Apple Acres, not to mention more comfortable than the Coliseum's infirmaries."

"Where's Shining by the way?"

"He's in his team's infirmary." Cadence said slowly. "His team's doctor want him to move the slightest possible for a couple of hours. In his opinion, Vinyl's spell didn't seem to have caused severe damages, but better safe than sorry he said."

"That spell was truly a work of art!" Luna commented happily. "To think that someone other than Twilight would be the first Titanian to break Shining's Adamant Wall barrier! Truly magnificent!"

"Luna!" Celestia chastised softly when she noticed Twilight's expression fall, nearly literally, on the ground.

"It's ok, Princess Celestia." Twilight said slowly. "I still don't understand how her spell worked.... I mean, I was there when you tested Shining's barrier. I saw how much magic power you used to break it, Princess Luna!" Twilight explained. "Vinyl's magic couldn't even compare to the amount of power you displayed back then." Twilight nearly freaked out. "How could she have broken it? It doesn't make any sense."

"You only say that because you don't have a clue about what Vinyl's magic exactly does, Lady Sparkle!" Cloud Kicker said happily as she walked into the private room where the Princesses usually eat at Coliseum, with Applejack in tow.

"Because you're the expert in Titanian magic now, Lieutenant Kicker?" Twilight snapped coldly.

True, Twilight had said to Cloud Kicker they might have to be less familiar with each other because of Cadence and the other Princesses' presence. But the guard was still rather surprised by the icy tone Twilight had spoken with and the glare her lover was casting at her. Cloud Kicker was about to frown at that comment when she remembered who Twilight was.

Twilight was the representative of the Magical Arts in the Council of Harmony and a real genius in that matter. Not being able to understand how a spell had worked at something she had thought impossible must be a real sensitive topic for her. Knowing all that, Cloud Kicker decided to let it slide. After all, she could get a good hearted apology for it later.

"Titanian magic? No!" Cloud Kicker admitted with a shrug. "But, I've been enough time on the wrong side of Vinyl's applebucking spell to have a decent share of knowledge about what it does."

"What?" Twilight asked slowly, concern rapidly making its way through her anger. "What do you mean by that?"

"The Boss isn't the only protective sibling I know, Twilight." Cloud Kicker said with a small smile. "Right, Applejack?" She asked her friend who had sat next to Rarity, much to Spike's annoyance.

"Are ya refferin' to that incident?" Applejack asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Yes!" Cloud Kicker deadpanned her.

"Oh, good! Because Ah wasn't sure." Applejack chuckled slowly. "Beside, ya had it comin' that day!"

"Yeah-yeah, I know." Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes. "You and Vinyl double tagged me because I was in the wrong...."

"For what happened, ya should consider yerself lucky it ain't Granny Smith who found ya before us."

Twilight and the others blinked in surprise when they saw Cloud Kicker shivering with an expression of pure terror at the mention of the Apple matriarch.

"...Thank you for finding me first, back then." Cloud Kicker said slowly as Applejack grinned victoriously.

"Anyway, Lieutenant Kicker, please have a seat." Luna said warmly, offering the seat next to her to guard.

"Thank you, your Highness." Cloud Kicker said with a small bow before taking the offered seat.

"So, Ms Kicker, you were about to explain to the girls how Ms Apple's spell works." Celestia said softly with a mysterious smile.

"Pardon me your Highness, but I get the feeling that you already know how it works." Cloud Kicker said with a reflective frown. "Am I right in that assumption?"

"Indeed, you are!" Celestia nodded, much to Twilight's shock.

"What? You know how it works!" Twilight asked. "When did you find out? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ms Apple explained it to me the day after Cadence's wedding at breakfast." Celestia said casually. "As for why I didn't tell you, you never asked." She added with a chuckle. "More seriously though, I think it's a great lesson for you to know that, sometimes, the answers might come from everywhere other than the obvious, even from the most unexpected place." The monarch designated Cloud Kicker with a small nod.

"I...I've never thought of that before..." Twilight said slowly.

"Twilight, you've got to keep an open mind." Celestia said with wisdom.

"All right, your Highness." Twilight said with nod before facing Cloud Kicker. "Could you explain it to me, Lieutenant Kicker?"

"I'll even make a small demonstration." Cloud Kicker nodded happily with a wink.

Cloud Kicker lifted her fore-finger which was surrounded by a small white fog before making it spin softly. A small patch of steam appeared a few feet above the table.

"Now, the steam is just there to make it easier to see." Cloud Kicker commented. "The air around us moves at each movement  we make." She blew gently at the puff of steam which distorted softly and moved opposite from her. "Kinda like that."

"What does it got to do with Vinyl's spell?" Spike asked with curiosity.

"I'm getting to that." Cloud Kicker answered. "Now, look at what happens when it's moved by two opposite forces. AJ, on three. One, two, three." She and AJ, who was sitting on the exact opposite of her on the other side of the puff of steam, blew together at the steam which kind of retract on itself a bit before gaining its original width. "See? The air compacted on itself before growing back to its original size." Cloud Kicker said slowly. "That's the fundamental behind Vinyl's spell."

"That's still doesn't explain how it broke through Shining's barrier." Cadence noted with a small frown.

"Well, put an air volume of about twenty-one cubic meters in place of that small puff of steam and maybe hundreds of magic strings, which can vibrate at a frequency that allows them to cut through rocks, instead of AJ and me blowing at the thingumajig." Cloud Kicker explained abruptly. "And, you can probably figure it out how much power her spell had in reserve before entering in contact with the boss' barrier, despite using, relatively speaking, little magic power."

"So, she can create a destructive power on par with the Princesses' by using a lot less magic?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"I wouldn't go that far!" Cloud Kicker shook her head. "It's more the nature of Vinyl and Shining's spells that are in cause, power put aside naturally."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"She means that Vinyl's spell ain't just about power output." Applejack explained before Cloud Kicker could answer. "What makes her spells so strong is that they involve vibrations!"

Everyone, including Luna and Celestia, looked at the farmer with a gasp that was the expression of a mix between shock, surprise and total disbelief.

"What?" Applejack asked with a lifted eyebrow. "Ah may not have gone to University to study magic like Vinyl did, but Ah sure as sugar know what ma sis' is been doing in the field of magic since her first surge..... Boy howdy, Ma and Pa really had it hard that day." She sighed with a chuckle at the memory.

"What do you mean by involving vibrations, Darling?" Rarity asked curiously.

"When Vinyl uses her Applebucking spell, it ain't a blast of air." Applejack explained. "When them spheres break, they let out small earthquakes. Everythin' within range resonates, sometimes to the point of breakin'."

"That pretty much tells everything, Ms Apple." Celestia nodded with a small smile.

"Thank ya kindly, Princess!" 

"I still don't get how it could break Shining's barrier..." Cadence let out slowly.

"I do." Twilight whispered in realization. "If it's the same as an earthquake, then it's fairly logical that Shining's barrier gave away. Shining's Adamant Wall is a spell that creates an incredibly solid barrier, but it's just like a standard wall. You can punch at the wall all you want, it would only get damaged where you hit it. Well in most cases, it's the fist that would get damaged, but that's not important." Twilight said quickly before going back to her explanations. 

"In case of an earthquake, structures that aren't built to adapt to the tremors always end up collapsing at some point, no matter how resilient they are. Shining's barrier is incredibly strong, but also too immovable to face Vinyl's magic. It makes perfect sense!" Twilight said cheerfully, happy to have finally understood Vinyl's spell.

"Anyway, how about we have lunch?" Luna asked hopefully. "All those talks about magic made me hungry."

"Oh, sure." Twilight nodded. "Spike, I trust you know what to order for all of us?"

"Basically!" Spike nodded happily. "But I don't know what our two guests want for lunch."

"I'm fine with just a sandwich, thank you." Cloud Kicker shrugged.

"Same here, as long as it doesn't have sea food in it." Applejack answered casually. "Ah can't stand sea food."

"Ok, be right back." Spike said cheerfully before going to the small kitchen where the chefs were awaiting the Princesses' table's orders. 'She doesn't like sea food, huh? Good to know!'





Magic exhaustion was something really obnoxious for Titanians. Magic being an essential part of them, suffering from said exhaustion left them in a state where even walking was considered as one of the most tiring things to do. The only thing left to do in that case was to rest long enough, not even sleeping, just staying there without moving.

Vinyl never enjoyed doing nothing, especially when her mind was too awake to go to sleep. She was lying on Octavia's bed, pondering about the final she had just won while the cellist was busy in the bathroom. 

'That spell was way more taxing than I thought.' Vinyl thought. 'I shouldn't use it too frequently from now-on... I got lucky Shining didn't teleport out of the way. He would have won for sure if he had.'

"Vinyl." Octavia called as she got out of the bathroom. "I've started a bath for you."

"Do I stink that much?" Vinyl asked with a small chuckle, before exhaustingly getting up from the bed and walking toward the bathroom.

"Hardly more than after a day of work at the farm." Octavia casually said. "I just thought you might want to relax and that a nice hot bath might do the trick."

"Thanks for that, Octavia." Vinyl gave a small peck on Octavia's lips. "You're going to join me in it?" She asked with hope.

"Redheart said that you need to rest, so that means no." Octavia said sternly, not without a growing blush and a pinch of disappointment in her voice.

"Awww!" Vinyl sighed. "Where are you going?" She asked when Octavia made her way to the suite's door.

"I'm just going downstairs to order us something for lunch." Octavia explained. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

As Octavia left the room, Vinyl entered in the bathroom, a large bubble bath waiting for her. She undo the bandaids around her arms and put them in the trashcan. She examined her fore-arms, the cuts from the fight were still visible but they were of a pinkish color instead of blood red as the skin started to grow back to close the wounds.

"Thank Zecora and her special ointment." Vinyl whispered with a smile.

She took her t-shirt off and noticed in the mirror that she had two small patches of purple bruised skin on her abs. Right where Shining had double-punched her after escaping from her magic net. She gave them a light touch, wincing a bit as she did. But she shrugged it off as she didn't even feel them before. She took the rest of her clothes off and entered the bath.

The water was at the perfect temperature. She was immersed to her neck when she smelled the lilac essence and felt the effect of the bath salts Octavia had poured in the water along with the foam bath. She sighed happily, her body relaxing instantly, before letting her head go underwater. She remained underwater for a couple of seconds before hearing the suite's door opening.

"How's your bath going, Vinyl?"

"Fantastic, Octavia." Vinyl said happily after emerging from the water. "Could you please come inside the bathroom? I'd like some company."

"Sure thing!" Octavia walked into the bathroom before kneeling next to the bathtub, her head at the level of Vinyl's. "Are your arms ok? The soap doesn't sting?" She asked with worry as she caught a glance of Vinyl's wounded arms.

"Eeenooope!" Vinyl chuckled. "Doesn't hurt one bit." Octavia let out a relieved sigh.

"You were great back then, you know that?" Octavia said slowly in a amorous tone.

"You weren't too bad yourself as well." Vinyl replied softly, her tone matching Octavia's. "Cadence didn't see it coming."

"There are many things that I can take, Vinyl." Octavia said firmly. "But, watching you being assaulted and shouted at while you're in an exhausted state isn't one of them."

"Awww, that's so sweet of you to come to my rescue." Vinyl kissed Octavia gently. "Don't get used to it though. I'm the strong one in this relationship."

"My dear Vinyl, it's not because you've just won this that you're the one in charge here." Octavia said with a smile, showing a gold medal in front of Vinyl's face. "Beside, you suffer from magic exhaustion, I can easily take you on in that state." She added playfully.

"Is that so?" Vinyl asked with a suspicious grin. "Octavia, how long has it been since the end of the fight?"

"I'll say about forty-five, maybe fifty minutes. Why?"

"Do you have any idea of how long does the toughest part of magic exhaustion last?" Vinyl asked slowly. "The part during which I'm totally spent and I'm nearly totally helpless."

"Not a single idea." Octavia said, tilting her head in confusion.

"It takes about thirty-five minutes..."

Vinyl suddenly grabbed Octavia by both her shoulders before pulling the cellist in the bathtub. Octavia was about to shout  in panic when she realized that it would only make her swallow bubbly and soaped water. Octavia fell in the water with a loud splash. She leaned on the bathtub bottom with her hands before emerging from the water, her hair in front of her eyes.

"VINYL! I'M ....." 

Octavia got interrupted by Vinyl locking lips with her. Her anger was washed away at her lover's gesture. She felt her clothes being taken off. But Octavia had no idea about how, as Vinyl had both her hands on Octavia's cheeks. She was half-undressed when Vinyl parted lips with a small pained grunt.

"Gaaa.. Maybe I did overestimate myself..." Vinyl groaned as Octavia's clothes she had been levitating fell loudly on the bathroom floor. "I shouldn't have tried any spell so early."

"I told you that I could take you on in your current state." 

"May I remind you that I used no magic to get you in?" Vinyl asked slowly.

"Just shut up and let me go so that I can take the rest of my clothes off."

"So you're finally joining me?" Vinyl asked with a playful smirk as Octavia took the rest of her clothes off, not without some difficulties. 

"I don't have any other choice since I'm completely soaked."

"You know you're cute when you try to be angry when you're really happy about the current situation?" Vinyl giggled.

"I hate you...."

Vinyl kissed her lover passionately. Octavia immediately returned the kiss with gusto.

"Forget what I just said..." Octavia said in a whisper with a soft, loving smile after breaking kiss.

"Atta girl!" Vinyl whispered before leaning in again.





	
> The wrestling tournament
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you had a very nice lunch to recover from the awesomeness that was dripping from the final of the Titanian duel competition." Pinkie Pie said through her megaphone. "I know it took some time for me to do so. Anyway, while I'm speaking you can see that they are adding the finishing touches on the arena in order for it to meet the standards for the upcoming wrestling competition." Pinkie explained with her usual cheerfulness. Pinkie turned around to face said arena. "See? They're setting up those tatami mats as I'm speaking. That's a funny word. Tatami! Tatami! Tatami! Hey, it gets funnier when you repeat it... Tatami! Tatami! Tatami! Tatami! Come on, people! Say it with me!" Pinkie shouted happily. "Tatami! Tatami! Tatami! Tatami!....." She kept on going like that for two seconds before being joined by the crowds.

"........" Twilight stared at Pinkie in silence. "How did she convince the crowd to do that?"

"Twilight darling, we told you already to leave Pinkie's antics alone for the sake of your sanity." Rarity said slowly with an evident concern.

"I know! I know!" Twilight said with a nod. "But, I can't help to ask myself questions."

"My dear student, while I normally congratulate your thirst for answers and knowledge, I must advise you to follow the recommendations of your friends." Celestia said slowly. "Some things are destined to never be explained and I think Pinkie is one of those."

"I hope the competition will be as entertaining as this morning." Luna said happily, ignoring the comments about Pinkie Pie. "Does the program say who will be competing for each team?" She asked with curiosity.

"If what I read is true." Cadence said slowly, her un-patched eye fixed on the program. "First match, Boris Yurinov from Stalliongrad vs Iron Will from Las Pegasus..."

"Isn't Yurinov a veteran from the Stalliongradi special forces?" Luna asked her sister.

"I think so..." Celestia pondered. "He's supposed to be retired though."

"It'd still be quite a show if he's against that Iron Will." Luna said with a shrug. "What about the other matches?"

"Let's see...." Cadence focused her eye back on the program. " Watari Yukifuji from Neighpon against Alfero from Manehatten.. Snowflake from Cloudsdale against Armen Mkertchian from Saddle Arabia..." She kept on saying the line up for the first round up until the last match."...And Quake from Canterlot against....." Cadence's eyes grew a bit wider. "Rarity, Applejack's not participating in this competition."

"Yes, I know." Rarity replied casually.

"That's surprising." Luna said slowly. "From what I keep on hearing about her, she's probably one of the strongest competitors of these Games. Who's taking her place."

"Raindrops Silverain!" Cadence read on the program. "Why didn't they choose Applejack?"

"Zecora must have her reasons." Rarity explained with a shrug. 

"That name sounds familiar to me. Who's this Zecora?" Celestia asked with curiosity.

"Ponyville Team's coach." Twilight answered, before taking her binoculars and looking toward Ponyville's pit. "There, she's talking to the nurse." She said before passing her binoculars to the princess.

"Mhmmmm...." The Sun Princess took a few seconds before her gaze fell on the black woman with a black and white mohawk. "Ha! I see... It's not really a surprise anymore that Ponyville's team is doing so well now, with her as a coach." She said in realization.

"What do you mean, Sister?" Luna asked before looking at Zecora through another pair of binoculars. "Ooooh. At least now, we know where she's been." She added when she recognized Zecora.

"Do you know her, your Highnesses?" Rarity asked.

"Indeed, we do." Celestia nodded. "It's Zecora Michieka from Zebrica." Her declaration was met with silence.

"And?" Twilight asked slowly, breaking the couple of seconds long silence.

"Oh, right!" Celestia chuckled sheepishly. "You probably haven't heard about her, since none of you is deeply interested in the Games' history."

"She was captain of the zebrican team in Games about..... Was it sixteen years ago, Sister?" Luna started with doubt. Celestia nodded. "At that time, Zebrica had been the great winner of the Games, all thanks to her! She was an excellent leading figure for her teammates and one of the best athletes of her generation." Luna explained. "It had been quite a surprise when she decided to stop the competitions and to leave her country in order to travel around the world a couple of years later. It turns out she ended up in Ponyville."

"Really?" Twilight asked in amazement. "Wow, that's impressive."

"That's far cry from the small herbalist and potion brewer that lives inside the Everfree forest." Rarity said in a tone that matched Twilight's.

"Indeed." Twilight nodded.

"If Zecora chose Ms Silverain instead of Applejack, I suppose that we can trust her." Celestia commented softly.

"We'll see if she can win against Quake, Sister." Luna interjected. "He's far from being a novice."

"That's very true, Luna." Celestia acknowledged. "Anyway, the first match is about to start."





The first round matches went along just fine. No incident, no severe injuries. Except one or two dislocated shoulders, but that was bound to happen at some point. There was only one match to end the first round, Ponyville vs Canterlot. Raindrops had finished her warming up exercises while listening to Zecora's last minute advice and now she was about to leave the pit when she stopped in front of Applejack. The two women looked at each other for a few seconds before grabbing their hands in a grip similar to the one used for arm wrestling.

"Good luck, Raindrops!" Applejack said with a confident grin.

"I needed luck when I was training with you, now it should be piece of cake!" Raindrops replied with an even more confident smile before letting go of Applejack's hand.

"Don't you think it's an excuse for passing on the Lucky Muffin!" Ditzy chimed in with a playful, yet serious tone.

"I don't need luck from Applejack, Ditz'!" Raindrops said slowly. "But, the Lucky Muffin is always a necessity." She added with a wink before partaking in the team/Ditzy's ritual for good luck.

After kissing the Lucky Muffin, Raindrops flew gently to the arena, landing on her side of the tatami. Her opponent, Quake, was getting ready. He was a tall muscular man with short ashen blond hair. When he heard her landing, he looked up to Raindrops before sighing with a small annoyed frown.

"There's a problem?" Raindrops asked with narrowed eyes.

"Sort of," Quake said with a shrug. "I don't really like fighting with women and I was expecting to face someone else."

"Well, that's very gallant of you." Raindrops commented. "But, who were you expecting?"

"I was expecting Applejack." He explained. "Ever since I've arrived in this town, I've been hearing about her strength. I was hoping a real challenge."

Raindrops snorted her annoyance. "I doubt that I won't be a challenge. Also, you can't really aim at the stars without learning how to fly first..."

"Are you saying that you agree that you're weaker than her?" Quake asked with a mocking laugh. "That's not a very good way to sell yourself as a challenge."

"We'll see if you still think that after I wipe the floor with you." Raindrops growled, taking her starting stance.

"BEGIN!" Pinkie Pie shouted in her megaphone.

Quake and Raindrops lunged at each other, seizing themselves bodily in the center of the arena with a small bang as their shoulders clashed together. Soon after, they locked their hands together and both tried to push the other off without great success. After a few seconds of status quo, Raindrops started being pushed back, her feet could get a 'grip' on the tatami mats. 

'No real surprise, he's stronger than me...' Raindrops thought, a bit of disappointment in her thinking voice. 'But, I'm not done yet'

Raindrops quickly changed her footing. She let her body fall backwards, taking Quake with her as he wasn't prepared for such move. When her back touched the ground, she lifted her feet to make contact on his abs and pushed. Quake was sent flying above her thanks to her backward roll, landing loudly on his back with a pained grunt, letting go of her hands.

With the swiftness of a feline, Raindrops got up and lunged on top of Quake, securing his legs with one arm and pressing all her body against his torso to make him stay down. Pinkie Pie started to count in her megaphone.





"That's it, Raindrops." Cloud Kicker commented. "Grab him and pin him down. Ride the man like every woman should." She shouted in a sultry tone.

"Do ya have to make it sexual like that, CK?" Applejack asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"How is mixed wrestling not sexual, AJ?" Cloud Kicker asked in bewilderment. "Hang on, even non-mixed wrestling is totally sexual! Look at the position she's in." She said pointing at Raindrops. "She could easily have a small grope at her opponent's crotch without anyone noticing it. He would probably like it."

"See? That's why ya ain't the one wrestling despite yer trainin' in the guard." Applejack explained with an annoyed voice. "Ya would have turned it into one of them things ya see in some trash novels."

"You know, you can say the word orgy, it's not gonna make you burst into flames." Cloud Kicker chuckled. "Beside, I'm in a serious relationship now. I'm done with those kind of things." She said with conviction.

"Good to hear, Sugarcube." Applejack nodded.

"Unless Twilight agrees with it of course." Cloud Kicker chuckled playfully. "Then, I'll try to convince you and Vinyl to join us and to bring Rarity and Octavia along, it would be so......" Applejack cracked her knuckles while glaring at Cloud Kicker. "You're going to punch me if I ever finish that line, right?" Applejack nodded. "Let's just watch this non-sexual mixed wrestling competition, shall we?"

"The smartest idea ya had today, CK." 





The count down had almost been up to ten when Quake managed break Raindrops' grip and shove her away from him. He stood up only to be nearly tackled back to the ground by the teal haired woman. Once again, they locked their hands togethers in a strength contest. Raindrops tried to hold her ground as Quake pushed with a growing strength. Her wrists twisted under the pressure and she slowly put a knee on the ground as he was overpowering her.

'I got to fight back...' Raindrops thought as she was pushing harder, trying to stand up.

"That's admirable..." Quake commented with a grunt as he was repelled a bit by Raindrops' effort. "But..."

He stopped pushing and turned around before making Raindrops pass above his shoulders with one move from his arms. Raindrops landed violently on her back. Before she could even gasp in pain, Quake blocked her legs with one arm and maintained her upper-body on the ground with the other by pressuring on her clavicle with it. 

"One!" Pinkie started the count down.

"Damn it." Raindrops said before being nearly crushed by Quake in order to lock her arms.

"Two!"

"Get off me!" Raindrops groaned.

"Three!"

"You're going to lose!" Quake said.

"Four!"

"I trained with the top fighters in the world!" Quake explained sternly.

"Five!"

"And, none of them could escape my hold."

"Six!"

"I don't care..." Raindrops muttered.

"Seven!"

"You might have trained with elites...."

"Eight!"

"... but, I've trained with..."

"Nine!"

"... a fucking monster!" Raindrops roared before pushing violently her torso upwards, making her shoulders leave the ground and breaking Quake's grip.

"SAFE!" Pinkie shouted.

Raindrops straightened herself quickly before lunging at Quake, making him turn around so that he wasn't facing her anymore and passing her arms around his waist.

"Now! Get lost!" Raindrops shouted before lifting him vigorously and leaning backward.

"What the...?" Quake said in surprise before his shoulders hit the ground with a loud clash.

The crowd gasped loudly at what the saw. Raindrops had her body entirely flexed backward with for sole supports her feet and Quake's shoulder blade. 

"Hooo! What a nice suplex from Raindrops!" Pinkie commented as Raindrops let go of Quake before pinning him on the ground. "One! Two! Three! Four!" 

Raindrops kept the pressure on Quake who wasn't even fighting back as he was grumbling something inaudible and had his eyes nearly spinning around. Raindrops started to grin as the count down nearly ended.

"...Nine! Ten!" Pinkie shouted happily. "Winner: Raindrops Silverain of Ponyville!"

"OH RIGHT!" Raindrops shouted her arms raised in victory as the crowd cheered for her. "YEAH!"





After her victory against Quake, Raindrops had her confidence at full charge for the rest of the competition. She had earned quite a few bruises during the competition, but nothing the combined knowledge of Zecora and Redheart couldn't handle. She had really merited her place in the final. 

The Zebrican wrestler had been a tough one to beat. At some point, she thought she was about to get her right shoulder dislocated in trying to break away from her opponent's grip. She had won but her shoulder had been left pretty sore from the fight. Since she didn't feel anymore pain from it, she shrugged it off.

She had gulped a bit when she had seen the semifinal between Iron Will and Snowflake. The violence each overly muscled man had displayed in their attempts to beat the other had been very intimidating for her. She wasn't sure about her victory in the final anymore, not after having witnessed Iron Will launch Snowflake out of the ring.

"Ya're okay, Raindrops?" Applejack asked with worry.

"Oh, yeah! I'm good!" Raindrops said with a well put up bravado. "I'm just a bit stressed by the final, that's all." It wasn't really a lie so Applejack didn't see through it like she normally did.

"Ah reckon Ah'd be nervous about it too if Ah were in yar shoes." Applejack said in a comforting voice. "It's perfectly normal."

"Yeah, right!" Raindrops chuckled sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Applejack blinked in confusion.

"Applejack, please! If you were in my shoes as you say, this tournament would've been pointless!" Raindrops said with a crisped chuckle.

"Ah don' follow..." Applejack said slowly with uneasiness.

"There would be no reasons for you to be stressed if you were in my place." Raindrops explained with a sigh. "You'd have just crushed your opponents without any difficulty." She added with sincerity.

"Come on, you're just talkin' stupid!" Applejack waved off with an embarrassed blush.

"Applejack, I trained against you." Raindrops said with a hint of admiration. "I'm probably one of the few to know with certitude that there's no one in this competition who could hold the candle to you."

".... Ah don' need no candles!" Applejack said with a puzzled frown. "We're in the middle of the afternoon!"

Raindrops nearly had to bite her lip to the blood to hold back her laugh. "....I....I meant that you're probably the strongest competitor in these Games."

"Oh...Right... Now, Ah get it." Applejack chuckled awkwardly.

"I wish I was strong like you." Raindrops said slowly. 

"Yer far from being weak, Raindrops!" Applejack claimed firmly. "Don't let anyone tell ya otherwise!"

"I appreciate the thought, AJ. But, it's not easy to stand in your shadow." Raindrops blew out a defeated sigh. "None of my opponents really took me seriously. Quake even said to me he was expecting a real challenge out of the fight between Canterlot and Ponyville because he was expecting you."

"Raindrops, why do them idiots' opinions matter?" Applejack said softly. "They were foolish enough to underestimate ya and ya beat the crap out of all of them! And, let me tell ya that none of them weren't taking you seriously. Ah watched yer matches carefully, they were all focused on ya and ya still beat them!"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Raindrops said with a soft smile.

"Ya know Ah can't lie to save ma life, Raindrops!" Applejack chuckled. "Ah only stick to the truth."

Raindrops smile grew bigger. "Thanks, AJ." She noticed that Iron Will was back in the arena. "Anyway, I must go."

"Be careful with him, Sugarcube." Applejack warned her teammate. "He's a toughie!"

"I fought scarier and probably tougher than him." Raindrops winked at Applejack before flying toward the arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Here we are for the final of the wrestling competition!" Pinkie said through her megaphone while Raindrops landed on her side of the tatami. "After many exciting fights, we are now left with two finalists! Iron Will from Las Pegasus!"

"Iron Will will crush you and win this final!" Iron Will said with a dynamic pose while flexing his arms to show off his muscles.

"And, Raindrops Silverain from Ponyville!"

"It's going to take more than that to impress me." Raindrops said with a grin she wanted confident, unfazed by Iron Will's mountain of muscles, or at least trying to look unfazed by it.

"Begin!" Pinkie shouted happily.

Unlike her previous matches, Raindrops didn't lunged at Iron Will immediately, knowing that seeking the clash of power between him and her right from the start would be plain stupid. She took small side steps to her right instead, Iron Will mimicked her movements. They were like two predators circling around each other, waiting for the right moment to bite the other's throat.

Without any warning, Iron Will dashed at Raindrops. There wasn't much distance between the two of them, so dodging was out of question. Fortunately, Zecora had taught her a small trick for that kind of situations. She shifted her body in profile compared with Iron Will's body. As he came nearly in contact with her, her shoulder line was perpendicular to his. It was the moment to act.

At the last tenth of seconds, Raindrops made a side-step to the right, grabbed Iron Will's left shoulder with both hands and pulled it down as strongly as she could while her right feet tripped his left leg up. The maneuver worked. Iron Will fell face first on the ground. 

Before he could stand up, Raindrops leaned on his back, literally climbing on top of him as he was a real colossus compared to her. She placed each of her feet on his bend his knees while locking his left arm behind his back and pressure his shoulders on the ground with her upper body. Pinkie Pie started the count down.

Pinkie Pie didn't count for long. Iron Will straightened up on his knee with Raindrops still on his back. Raindrops had the reflex of jumping away from his back as he let himself fall backward. Hadn't she moved in time, she'd have been crushed under his weight.

Before she could even blink, Iron Will stood up and, with a speed no one would have suspected on someone his size, lunged at Raindrops, locking hands with her in a power contest. At first, the status quo was maintained, but Iron Will quickly put more strength in his push, making Raindrops wince in pain as her previously sore shoulder started to ache. Raindrops was losing her ground slowly, but surely.

'Holy F... If my shoulder wasn't hurting...' Raindrops thought in pain as she put a kneel on the ground.

'Who am I kidding?' A nagging voice in her head interrupted her. Raindrops recognized the voice as being the expression of her reason and/or her common sense. 'Even if I was uninjured, it'd be the same!'

'.... Yeah that's true... He's stronger than me....' Raindrops admitted as she was being pushed back, the pain on her right shoulder's was growing more and more vivid.

'A lot more stronger than me!' Her reason insisted.

'I'm going to lose....' 

'I still made to the final, it's not so bad.'

'But I don't want to lose. I've done that too many times during the last months.'

Those were practices with Applejack, that doesn't really count. I should just give up, he's too strong.' Her reason claimed with wisdom.

'But.....

'But?'

'...Is he stronger than her?'

'.....' Her reason was dead silent.

'IS HE?!' Raindrops shouted internally at herself.

'No!' The reasonable part of her mind admitted with conviction. 'Not even close!'

'I refuse to bow down... Not to someone other than her! Or at least someone stronger than she is!'

'Figured as much.' Her reason would have rolled her eyes at this point, were she another being than Raindrops. 

'But, how I'm gonna do it?'

'Well, there's one trick....The one trick I pulled off that made Applejack lost her footing during a spar. She still beat the crap out of me afterward but still, I don't have anything else...Unless I decide to go check on Cloud Kicker's ideas....' Her reason pondered.

'Lets not go there...'

'Agreed!'

'Why not? I think it might be fun!' Raindrops' lust chimed in. Weirdly enough, her lust sounded a lot like Cloud Kicker to Raindrops.

'QUIET YOU!' Raindrops and her reason shouted in unison.

'You bunch of prudes!' Her lust snorted in annoyance.

'Anyway, let's try this!'

'If I can grope him a little while I'm at it, that would be nice!' Her lust suggested.

'I missed the time when that part of me was so quiet.' Her reason sort of sighed wearily.

Finally ending her internal debate, Raindrops pulled off the same trick as against Quake. She rolled backward, taking Iron WIll with her by surprise, and pushed him away with both her feet. But, unlike with Quake, she didn't try to hold him down after he fell on the ground. She stood up and took a few steps away from her massive opponent.

Iron Will stood up as well, a small grin on his face. He was enjoying this fight. He watched Raindrops taking a few steps backward while she was facing him. Iron Will slowly walked toward her until she didn't have anymore place to go as she was driven back against the limit of the tatami. Iron Will charged at her, hoping to bring her out of the ring.

Iron Will noticed Raindrops taking the same stance as earlier, when she first shoved him on the ground. He grinned internally while making an angry frown, he wasn't going to fall for the same trick again. Before making contact, he simultaneously took sidesteps in the same direction as Raindrops, making her the perfect tackling target.

But Raindrops' expression didn't falter at Iron Will's move. Instead, she let her right leg slide in front of her, making her upper body come at Iron Will's stomach level, bending it forward a bit. She extended her right arm below his crotch. As Iron Will's abs came in contact with her shoulder, she shifted her fulcrum on her right leg while with a perfect smooth upward move from her right arm and shoulder she lifted Iron WIll above her.

While her right shoulder was on fire because of the effort and the pain that followed, her levering action added to Iron Will's momentum had succeeded in sending the champion of Las Pegasus flying slowly toward the exterior of the ring. She had come up with that action against Applejack by copying a technique well in use in Cloudsdale that used the wing instead of the arm as a lever. Applejack still beat that move by managing to grab Raindrops along her flight and tossing her away after she had landed on her feet. But, Iron Will was way to massive to be able of such agility.

But, she hadn't taken in account the large constitution of her opponent. Iron Will being as heavy as he was, he didn't fly very far away from Raindrops and one of his massive legs still hit her on her right shoulder and she got send backward as well. 

"Out of the ring!" Pinkie said in her megaphone. "Winner of the wrestling final," Iron Will landed loudly face first on the ground out side of the ring. "Iron Will from Las Pegasus!"

"What?" Raindrops shouted in disbelief as she was rubbing her again sore shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Raindrops. But look down!" Pinkie Pie explained softly.

"What do you mean by..." Raindrops widened her eyes when she looked down. "...that?" She finished softly.

Her backward stumbling had made her set a foot out of the ring, presumably a couple of seconds before Iron Will touched the ground. Raindrops fell on her knees and punched the tatami with her left fist, growling in frustration and disappointment. She had lost because she couldn't take a small hit without making a few step back. She had the victory in the bag and it escaped her because of one small step.

As tears were threatening to bawl out of her eyes, she left a huge hand grabbing her left wrist and pulled her up and lifted her hand in the air. She looked at her side and saw Iron Will wiping the dirt of his bearded face. He gave her a small smile before shouting at the crowd.

"Iron WIll would like all of you to applaud this woman as much as you're going to do for Iron Will! No, she even deserves more than that!" He shouted firmly. "She didn't give up and won this fight in Iron Will's book. Give her the applauses she had rightfully earned."

The crowd started to applaud and chant Raindrops and Iron Will's name at the same time. It was impossible to say who was receiving more cheers than the other. Tears rolled along Raindrops' cheeks, not frustrated or sad tears anymore, nothing but happy tears.

"Thank you..." She whispered softly to Iron Will.

"Don't mention it." Iron Will said with a genuine smile.  "Iron Will looks forward in another match with you!" He added, letting Raindrops' hand fell down her side. "Perhaps when your shoulder's not hurting anymore?"

"I'd like that." Raindrops said with a nod. "How do you know about my shoulder?"

"I noticed that your right arm was losing ground faster than the left." He explained slowly. "Anyway, good luck for what's next."

"Thanks..." Raindrops said while watching him go. As she kept on watching him, her gaze fell lower than acceptable and she decided to listen to a part of her mind that used to be quiet for a very long time. "Iron Will!" She called him.

"Yes?" He asked with curiosity while turning around to face her.

"Are you free for a drink tonight?" She asked eagerly.



 
> In Ponyville's Gymnasium.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello again, everyone!" Pinkie said to a magic crystal orb that was floating in front of her, thanks to a Titanian's magic assistance. "I'm talking to you thanks to a rather super duper awesomely fantastic communication spell device Twilight worked on with Smarty Pants here. Come on, Smarty! Say hello to the crowd." She added while pulling the Titianian who was levitating the orb in front of it.

Said Titanian was a young woman with long dark grey and black hair styled in dreadlocks. She had a rather pale skin and particularly intriguing eyes, barely hidden by her black rimmed glasses. Her right eye was deep purple while her left one was blueish-grey.

"Ms Pinkamena, I told you already to not use that ridiculous nickname. My name's Samantha!" The young woman said with an annoyed frown. "Could you please address to me with my real name?"

"Mhmmm!" Pinkie scratched her chin with a reflective frown. "It depends... Will you stop calling me Pinkamena?"

"But, that's your name.." Samantha said with a crooked eyebrow.

"Wrong answer!" Pinkie said cheerfully. "You're now stuck with the nickname! The author shall now write your lines as Smarty Pants instead of Samantha. Or Smarty. That's up to him, anyway." Pinkie explained with a shrug.

"......What?" Smarty Pants blinked in confusion.

"As I was saying," Pinkie reported her attention to the floating orb, ignoring Smarty Pants' question. "Meet Smarty Pants! She has recently graduated from Canterlot University in Magical Engineering. She participated in the creation of this vision orb that allows you all in the Coliseum to be able to see us while we're inside Ponyville Gymnasium for today's last trial." Pinkie explained cheerfully. "Isn't it great?"

"They can see you and hear you, but you can't hear them cheering from here." Smarty Pants said slowly as Pinkie was expecting to hear the crowd answer her question. "The other 'side' of the orb is connected to the Coliseum's screens thanks to Miss Sparkle's team."

"See? That's why I call her Smarty Pants!" Pinkie said happily. "I should totally hire her in my lab team when the Games are over and that we're back in Canterlot."

"You have a lab team that works for you?" Smarty asked in disbelief. "I thought only Miss Sparkle had one."

"Well, if you accept my offer, I would have one as well." Pinkie chuckled.

"I appreciate the offer but I was hoping to work with Miss Sparkle." Smarty Pants explained uneasily. "It's more my field of expertise."

"Aww, don't do that!" Pinkie whined with disappointment. "I need someone like you for my next idea."

"I hardly think that I would be of any uses in the making of a vanilla pudding grenade, Miss Pinkamena." Smarty Pants deadpanned her cotton candy haired interlocutor.

"Silly! That's no idea!" Pinkie giggled loudly. "That's just some randoms thoughts, beside I finished it last night! First, listen to my idea."

Pinkie leaned closely to Smarty Pants and whispered something inaudible in her ear. As Pinkie explained her idea, Smarty's bicolored eyes grew wider, reaching the size of saucers when Pinkie pulled away from her ear. 

"Is....Is that even possible?" Smarty asked with a small voice, her interest in Pinkie's idea was obvious.

"You'll come to learn that EVERYTHING is possible with your Auntie Pinkie Pie around!" Pinkie said happily while patting Smarty's shoulder.

"I'm six years older than you." Smarty muttered under her breath.

"You game?" Pinkie asked eagerly.

Smarty Pants pondered for a minute. "I'm game!" She finally said with a determined nod.

"Awesome! Now, I simply must ask permission to the Princesses for the project and the lab team." Pinkie said. "I'll ask later, anyway back to the Games!" Pinkie Pie said as Smarty Pants got outside the scope of the crystal orb. "As I told you earlier, we're in Ponyville's Gymnasium, just outside the Coliseum. We're going to end this days of competition with Gymnastic." 

Pinkie Pie walked to the edge of the balcony and signaled Smarty Pants to make to orb float next to her, bringing the all gymnasium into view for the crowd. Multiples apparatuses were being set by the Games staff while the competitors were warming up. At the edge of the gym, a large table for four persons was set up.

"As you can see the judges are taking place." Pinkie commented. "Each one of them is going to give a mark on ten for the performance's they are about to see. The teams with the three highest scores would be on the podium. If I believe the schedule, there's going to be the rhythmic gymnastic trial and then the day will be over." Pinkie explained. "Oh, you're probably wandering who the judges are, aren't you? Well, you see...."





"Remind me," Fleur de Lys said softly to the two persons who were sitting next to her at the Judges' table. "Why are you two judges of this competition again?"

"Izn't obvious, Fleur?" A woman with short white hair and gaudy pink shades replied with a strong Germane accent. "I, Photo Finish, am here becauze I'm well known through all of Equeztria to find the one who has De Magicks!" She dramatically pointed her finger at the ceiling. "Who better than I, Photo Finish, can judge a dizplay of beauty as a gymnastic trial?"

"I don't really understand your question, my dear." A man with curly grey and white hair styled in a ponytail and wearing a tuxedo and sunglasses said in a pompous, overly fancied voice. "We live in the world of fashion, we see grace, attitude, beauty everywhere we turn."

"...." Fleur de Lys looked at them with narrowed eyes. "You're both here to recruit new fashion models among the gymnasts, aren't you?" She asked slowly.

Photo Finish and the man looked at each other for a few seconds before sighing simultaneously.

"Hoity, I told you she'd zee through us like through a plain glass window." Photo Finish said slowly.

"What can we do, my dear?" Hoity Toity shrugged, his voice abandoning the pompous tone he had been displayed before. "How did you find out, Fleur?"

"You think I forgot how you recruited me in the past?" Fleur asked with a soft giggle. "Anyway, you've spotted someone interesting?" She asked with curiosity.

"For my part, not really!" Hoity Toity shook her head. "But, my extravagant wife here keep on saying that there's something about those two blondes in Ponyville's team."

"Are you talking about Applejack and Cloud Kicker?" Rarity asked softly as she took the last seat at the judges' table.

"Rarity, my dear!" Fleur said happily. "It's so good to see you!"

"Do you know theze two?" Photo Finish asked with a professional and hurried interest.

"What she means is 'Hello, how are you?'" Hoity Toity said with a small chuckle, not without chastising his wife with a short glare.

"It's ok, Hoity Toity." Rarity waved off. "To answer your question, Photo Finish, yes. I do know them."

"Excellent!" Photo Finish said before standing up from her chair. "I have now an 'in'............................................. I GO!" She dashed toward the area where Applejack and Cloud Kicker were chatting nearby Rose who was warming up, followed by three of her assistants who had been standing by behind the judges' table.

Rarity blinked. "...... Excuse me, but I really got to see that!" She said with a small giggle before standing up and walking after Photo Finish.





"So, that's what happened with Octavia's brother!" Cloud Kicker said grimly as Applejack ended her explanations about the story between Vinyl and Cornelio, according to her word of telling the guard everything about it. "You should have come to me afterward. Noble or not, assault and battery are a big deal!"

"That wasn't really in our plan that day, Cloudy." Applejack sighed. "Vinyl was hurtin', Granny and Octavia were worried sick about Vinyl, Ah had yelled at Rarity in a fit of anger.... There were just too many things happenin' at the same time. As soon as Vinyl got better and Ah had calmed down, we kinda decided to forget about it."

"I suppose you did what you thought was right." Cloud Kicker let out slowly. "If it happens again, come and tell me directly."

"So that you could save me from lifetime in jail?" Applejack asked playfully.

"No! So that I can come with you and beat the crap out of the responsible with you." Cloud Kicker said with a playful wink. "And, hopefully we could be cell-mates!"

"Ain't that against some allegiance oath to the Guard?" Applejack asked with a smirk.

"My allegiance to my friends matters more than the one to the Guard, AJ." Cloud Kicker said with sincerity. She blinked as she looked at something behind Applejack. "Huh.... You got someone behind you...." She said slowly.

"What?" Applejack said in confusion before turning around.

"Haaar! She's even good looking from the front!" Photo Finish said with giddiness before starting to inspect, rather rudely, Applejack's features.

"Woah there, missy!" Applejack shouted before grabbing Photo Finish, who had her face way too close to Applejack's chest, by the collar of her dress and lifting her away. "Ah don' know who ya are, but Ah sure know we didn't raise them pigs together, so back off."

"Oh my! Those are real muscles!" Photo Finish said in amazement as she palpated Applejack's arm, not really bothered by the fact her feet weren't touching the ground anymore. "So much different from what I zee usually. Zhose models only pump iron and have no actual merits, but you... You're ze real deal! You're ze deep black chocolate wrapped in a zimple and beautiful paper zat suits milk chocolate. Under zis coat of simple and innocent farm girl, there's a woman that can take over all of Equeztria!"

"...Beg pardon?" Applejack asked in bewilderment. 

"Now, don't get intimidate by me." Photo Finish said casually. "For I, Photo Finish, am going to make you shine all over Equeztria. For you have.....De Magicks!" She pointed dramatically her finger in the air.

"Riiiiight." Applejack said slowly before hearing a small laugh coming from behind the woman hanging in front of her. A laugh she would recognize instantly between a thousand of others. "Friend of yars, Rarity?"

"Sort of." Rarity giggled as she walked next to her lover. "Now, be a dear and put her down."

"It depends. Is she going to invade ma personal space again?" Applejack asked.

"No, I have ze informations I needed." Photo Finish shrugged. "I just need to zee how good will you look in a proper attire, but that can't be achieved here."

"Ah don't really get what ya want, but since Rarity asked." Applejack gently put Photo Finish down.

"Hoooo!"

"Mmmmm!."

"Oh my..!"

Three loud pleased squeals came from behind them, followed by three thuds that were characteristic of a body falling on the ground. Applejack, Rarity and Photo Finish looked at where the sounds came from. They saw Cloud Kicker frowning sourly while she was casually rubbing her hands together in a sign of victory and Photo Finish's three assistants lying unconscious on the floor.

"Cloud Kicker...." Applejack growled loudly.

"What?" Cloud Kicker said in annoyance. "I told them to stop and they didn't listen."

"Ah agree with the principle, but why did you have to use it?"

"I can't control it, you know that!" Cloud Kicker shrugged in a bad mood pout.

"Vhat just happened?" Photo Finish asked with curiosity.

"Nothing, Photo Finish! Nothing happened!" Rarity shook her head quickly, trying to convince both the photographer and herself. "Anyway, we have a contest to judge. So, let's go!" She added, pushing Photo Finish away.

"Hang on,... YER one of the judges?" Applejack asked Rarity in surprise.

"Why yes! It's tradition for the representative of Arts in the Council to judge those kind of events." Rarity explained. "Anyway, we'll be off." She gave a small glance at Photo Finish's assistants on the floor before levitating the three of them behind her, not without wincing at the effort.

"Let me help ya with that, Sugarcube!" Applejack before putting two assistants on each of her shoulders. "Ya ain't used to lift that much with yar magic."

"Thank you for your concern, Applejack." Rarity said with a relieved smile. "You don't hope me to favor your team because of that, do you?" She asked playfully.

"Darn it, Ms Belle!" Applejack gasped, as if caught red handed. "Ya saw right through ma well thought plan Ah came up with at least ten seconds in advance."

"Oh, my star!" Rarity dramatically lifted her hand to her forehead. "I'm shocked with what I just heard! Jacquelyn Apple is trying to get favors from the judges in a contest she isn't even participating in." Applejack and Rarity couldn't keep it straight any longer and started giggling madly. "Even just saying it sounds too ridiculous."

"Ah agree!" 

"Haaaar." Photo Finish snorted in annoyance. "Get a room, you two!"

"Mhmmmm! Later!" Rarity whispered so that only Applejack could hear her while casting a knowing glance at the farmer. "You and I still have unfinished business to attend, my dear Applejack!"

"Ah know, Rarity." Applejack whispered back in a sultry tone. "Since, Ah'm sorta late on that particular job, you should expect me to work on it twice harder than this morning, at least." Rarity could only bite her lip with a growing blush at that comment.





"How you're holding up, Rose?" Applejack asked as Rose was rolling her ankle under Redheart's watch.

"Pretty good so far." Rose said with a smile, she gave her ankle swift rolls clockwise and counterclockwise. "Good as new!" She commented before standing up.

"Ready to blow their mind away?" Redheart asked with a wink.

"Ready to try, at least." Rose shrugged as the first competitor was getting ready. She noticed her setting up a record in a player. "Oh-oh!" She let out with wide eyes. "I think we have a problem..."

"What problem?" Allie asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"It's a rhythmic gymnastic trial." Rose gulped uneasily. "And Vinyl is out of commission... So, I'm without any musical arrangement."

"Oh fu...." Cloud Kicker groaned.

"What are we going to do?" Allie asked in panic.

"Couldn't we ask for one of the other team their record?" Ditzy suggested uneasily.

"No, we can't!" Rose shook her head as panic started to gain on her good mood. "My choreography is based on Vinyl's piece! If I change the music, I'd have to change the choreography as well."

"Never fear!" Turner said as he came back from the Coliseum's locker room with a violin case in his right hand. "Vinyl had planned the possibility for her absence in the afternoon." He explained by showing the violin case with his left hand.

"So, what?" Applejack asked. "Yer gonna play, Doc'?"

"Oh,  no, no!" Turner shook his head with a big smile before tossing the violin case at Applejack. "You are!"

"WHAT?" Applejack shouted in surprise. "Who in tarnation came up with that idea?"

"Vinyl and Zecora, why?" Turner said casually.

"What's the big deal, AJ?" Cloud Kicker frowned. "You can play pretty well. Not at Vinyl's level, of course! But you're far from being bad with a violin."

"Well,... Ah ain't comfortable with playin' in front of people..." Applejack muttered.

"Oh, please!" Rose pleaded with big teary eyes.

She was soon joined by Allie and Ditzy who kept staring at Applejack with big shining puppy eyes. Despite how much she would tell the contrary, Applejack was a sucker when dealing with pouting faces. When AppleBloom was little, she knew that Applejack was the one to go to for hidden cookies or sweets. One tear in the eye and the bottom lip over the top one and it was hook, line and sinker. After a few seconds of a three way assault of pleading eyes, Applejack sighed in defeat.

"Fine!" She muttered. "Give me the damn sheets so that Ah can prepare!" 

"Yay!" Allie and Ditzy shouted in victory.

Applejack started reading the music sheets a bit apart from her teammates as she needed quiet to try to memorize them. Luckily for her, it wasn't a really complicated piece. Applejack wasn't a novice in playing but she had mostly played without any sheets, at family reunions where just an ambiance tune was sufficient. Vinyl had taught her a few tricks to read them, but it was still pretty annoying for Applejack.

"AJ, what are you doing?" The voice of Rainbow Dash asked with curiosity from behind her.

"Howdy, Rainbow." Applejack said without looking up from her sheets. "Just readin' some music sheets. Ah'm taking Vinyl's place for Rose's music arrangement."

"You know how to play the violin?" Rainbow asked with surprise.

"A little." Applejack shrugged. "How are things going on for yer team?"

"Well, things are going pretty good so far, if you don't count the situation with Gilda..." She said sourly.

"What happened with her?"

"I... I had to suspend her from the active roster." Rainbow said with a pinch of sadness.

"Good riddance!" Applejack muttered.

"Hey, easy! She's still my friend." Rainbow snapped. "She just.... made a mistake."

"Threatenin' Cloud Kicker of telling everythin' about her and Twilight to Shining Armor so that she'd give up the fight, for insultin' her in front of the whole Coliseum in the end, ain't what Ah'd call a mistake, RD." Applejack growled.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow said slowly. "What's that story about Gilda blackmailing Cloud Kicker?"

"Ah guess she didn't tell ya that part." Applejack said sourly.

"No, she didn't." Rainbow said slowly with a sigh. "..... You're not making this up, are you?" She asked with incertitude.

"Don' insult me, Rainbow!" Applejack growled, finally looking at Rainbow Dash. She blinked profusely at the sight of the Council Member, confusion replacing her anger immediately and making her forget about Gilda. "What in tarnation are ya doing in that git-up, RD?"

Rainbow Dash was wearing a cyan leotard with the symbol of Cloudsdale team; the winged lightning bolt, on the shoulder and a rainbow pattern that circled her waist. She had her chromatic hair styled in a tight bun at the rear of her head. She was also holding a red ball between her right arm and her hip.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Rainbow asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Nothing... It's just that it makes look like yer participating in this here trial." Applejack stammered.

"Well, I am! Got a problem with that?" Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes.

"No....Not at all." Applejack quickly waved her hands defensively. "It's just... surprisin', that's all."

"I can admit that." Rainbow conceded with a sigh. "My mom sort of insisted that I do one thing at least girly enough by her standards, so I took rhythmic gymnastic." She explained, scratching the tip of her nose sheepishly. "It does help a lot for finding new stunts."

"Ah suppose it does...." Applejack whispered.

"Miss Dash!" A Games official said as he walked next to them. "You're next."

"Oh, ok! I'm coming." Rainbow said casually. "See you later, AJ! Good luck with those music sheets."

"Thanks. Break a leg as they say!" Applejack said as Rainbow went to the performing area. "Rainbow Dash doin' rhythmic gymnastic......Who would have guessed that?" She pondered out loud.





Rainbow exhaled softly before taking her starting stance. She bent backward while lifting her right leg as high as she could. She put her left hand on the ground, her posture being similar to a "h", the ball secured firmly secured between her left thigh and her belly. When the music started, she made a move.

She lifted her left hand from the ground while she spun a quart turn counterclockwise on her left leg, while her right hand gently grabbed the ball on her belly. She straightened up right before making a quintuple pirouette on her right leg with the ball high above her head between her palms.

She let the ball slide along her right arm while bending forward, making the ball roll along her shoulder line before securing it between her shoulder blades while she was on her knees and her arms were extended in front of her, nearly in a form of prostration. 

Rainbow lifted her legs up right while leaning on her hands and chest for support. After a few seconds, she let her legs fall delicately toward the ground while she straightened her upper body. As she did, the ball rolled along back up to between her calves. Only to make the ball roll back with the perfect opposite move. When the ball reached her neck, she bent her head between her extended arms to let it roll along them.

She secured the ball within the grip of her right hand as she stood up. She did a small dribble before doing a cartwheel, using her leg movement to make the ball climb up to her to her waist where her left hand was waiting for it. After that she turn around and launched the ball straight into the air. She bent over and casted her right left up so that ball could rebound on her feet sole before doing a forward cartwheel and catching the ball in the middle of it.

Rainbow kept on going like that for a minutes or two as the crowd watched in silence and awe. Her movements' speed increased with the music and the ball kept rolling along her limbs as if it was mocking gravity. Now, Applejack knew why Rainbow had trained so much at dribble and at making the ball rebound on her limbs while she was at Sweet Apple Acres during the summer.

Rainbow launched the ball higher than before and spun forward a couple of times to fall in a sitting position. She opened her legs a bit to let the ball between them and closed them immediately afterwards. She took the ball in her hand before standing up doing some pirouettes before launching the ball high into the air again.

Rainbow bent over and kicked the ball into the air as it landed on her left sole before doing a forward cartwheel followed by a roll and ending her course in a sitting position, forming a double pyramid with her profile line. The ball fell between her upper body and thighs before she locked it by taking a nearly fetal position as the music came to a stop.

Rainbow stood up slowly, lightly panting at her effort but maintaining a perfect composure as she was facing the judges' table under the applauses from the other teams and few spectators that had decided to come into the gymnasium to see the competitions. The four judges pondered in silence for around a minute before each of them raised a card with Rainbow's score on it.





Rose nervously took her spot in the corner of the performing area while Applejack readied her fiddle, she insisted on calling it like that instead of violin, with Allie levitating the music sheets in front of her. She unfurled her ribbon and took her starting position. 

She passed the ribbon around her forehead and opened her arms wide, the wand of the ribbon parallel to her right arm and delicately secured between her thumb and fore-finger. Her other arm was stretched out and held an other part of the ribbon in order that it wasn't loose between her two hands. Applejack gently placed her bow on the fiddle's string when Rose stood on her tiptoe and tilted her arm-line to the left a bit. Applejack started to play some quick notes and, at the sounds of music, Rose started her routine.

With one swift circling move from her right wrist, the ribbon unfurled itself from around her head. Rose did a few pirouettes to let the ribbon completely unfurled itself, before she started to make it take the shape of a spiral thanks to swift rolls from her wrist.

After that, Rose grabbed the end of the ribbon with her left hand and threw the wand of it into the air while she was spinning on her right foot. Still spinning, she took a few steps to the center of the stage, her hands joined high above her head. She opened her hand a bit, letting the ribbon loose between them, before she lift her leg up to between her hands. With one sharp descending movement from her leg, she pulled the ribbon down, causing it's wand to fly above and landing in front of her.

She made a step forward, fetching the wand of the ribbon between her toes, before she launched it into the air in full extension of a forward cartwheel. Before it touched the ground again, Rose kicked the wand to her left in the middle of a graceful ballet jump. She yanked the ribbon in a circling motion of her arm after making few small dance leaps.

The ribbon flew majestically at each of her movement, as if it had its own will to dazzle the audience. With another yank on the ribbon, the wand nearly literally flew back in Roseluck's hand. Rose did a large jump worthy of all her years of classical dance experience. She landed on the tip of her right foot while her left feet joined her hands above her head by stretching her leg far up behind her back. She then proceeded to make the ribbon spin around her, as if she was inside of a maroon reversed drill/spiral made of silk.

As Applejack's playing grew quicker, Rose's movements became more swift and graceful than before. Each jump, leap, cartwheel or arabesque she did was accompanied by the hypnotizing sight of her ribbon which formed waves, loops, circles or spirals.

The music climbed to its peak and Rose casted the wand into the air with the ribbon flying behind and forming a nice and neat curb. That was the toughest part of Roseluck's routine. She ran a few steps before doing a front flip followed by a cartwheel, and a second, and a third and a fourth. In the middle of the fourth, Rose gabbed the wand with the toes of her right foot before leaning on her left leg and rolled over in a sitting position.

She did a backward roll after having spun the ribbon with a rotative move of her ankle. As she did so, the wand of the ribbon was once again casted in the air. She managed to straighten up on both her feet and grabbed the wand of the ribbon before undertaking a sextuple pirouettes while the ribbon was spiraling around her.

Applejack abruptly stopped the music and, when she did, Rose stopped her pirouette by firmly planting her foot on the mat and her wrist stopped spinning to let the ribbon wrap itself around her like a snake around its prey, carried by the momentum it had accumulated. 

Rose's chest lifted heavily from the effort while the audience started to applaud fervently. Rose untangled herself from the ribbon as the judges pondered over her marks, before furling it around the wand. She looked at her teammates who either winked, thumbed up or nodded at her with a comforting smile. She turned back to the judges' table as they were lifting the cards that determined her score.


 
> Friday night (early evening)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Renée took her 'defeat' more nicely than I thought she would." Fleur de Lys commented casually as the top three of the competitors were on the podium, receiving their medals.

Princess Cadence, her black eye cured thanks to her Aunts' magic, was the one who was giving medals. She had just given the silver one to Rainbow Dash before reverently having given the gold medal to a softly sobbing, yet genuinely smiling, Roseluck who was standing on the top step of the podium. 

The two remaining judges; Rarity and Fleur, were watching the medal ceremony with interest. Hoity Toity and his wife had left after giving her scores to the last competitor, not before Photo Finish gave her card to a very surprised Cloud Kicker and an even more bewildered Applejack though.

"Well, Rainbow learned how to be a good 'loser' during our stay at the farm couple of months ago." Rarity explained with a shrug. "There's also the fact that she doesn't really like gymnastic competitions as much as she likes the ones involving flying. Plus, she's lost with only one half point behind Rose's score."

"Hmmm." Fleur pondered for a few seconds. "I suppose you know her more than I do." She let out with a shrug. "I was wondering, do you know where's Octavia?"

"She's most likely in her suite, probably lavishing attention for her beloved Vinyl!" Rarity hypothesized with a small giggle.

"Not that it's not cute, but why is she doing that?" Fleur asked playfully.

"Well, Vinyl's earlier confrontation with Shining Armor took its toll." Rarity explained. "She's currently suffering from magic exhaustion and she's also resting at Octavia's suite since it's closer than her home."

Fleur smiled softly. "Octavia seems to care about her a lot."

"That she does!" Rarity nodded. "Anyway, you wanted to tell her something?"

"I most certainly do. You probably heard that my husband is organizing a small reception tomorrow evening, right?"

"I'm very well up-to-date in my gossips, Darling." Rarity chuckled playfully.

"Not really a surprise I suppose." Fleur winked. "Anyway, I wanted to invite Octavia and Vinyl Apple." Fleur explained. "Fancy and I didn't get a chance to really have a conversation with both of them." She added with a pinch of sadness. "Octavia probably told you why, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did." Rarity sighed. "Not an easy situation you're in." 

"Indeed." Fleur regained her good mood. "Anyway, I was thinking of inviting Vinyl's family as well. Do you think they would agree?"

"Easy way to answer that question, Darling." Rarity turned her head to where the Ponyville team was gathering their stuff together. "Applejack! Could you come over here please?" She called her lover who, as soon as she found out who had called her, walked toward the remaining judges.

"What's up, Rare?" Applejack asked genuinely. She noticed Fleur and slightly bowed her head. "Madam."

"Applejack, this is Fleur de Lys."

"Fleur de Lys? Like the vineyard in Neigh Orleans?" Applejack asked with surprise, before politely shaking hands with Fleur. "Pleased to meet ya."

"Pleased to meet you as well." Fleur answered politely. "The vineyard is an old family business. My father renamed it after I was born." Fleur explained. "Some strange man my father was." She chuckled softly.

"Anyway, Applejack, Fleur wanted to invite you and your" Rarity searched her words with caution. "...direct family at a small reception tomorrow night."

"Oh!" Applejack blinked in confusion. "That's quite neighborly of her. But why?"

"Yes, Rarity!" Fleur said, sharing the farmer's confusion. "Why exactly?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow at Octavia's aunt. "Because, Apple-jack is Vinyl's sister." Fleur let out a long realization 'OH'. "Applejack, she's Octavia's aunt!"

"Another of them stuck-up fancy pants who wants to pull Vinyl in the mud?" Applejack said with a growing anger and narrowed eyes at the former model who shrank before the farmer's anger."

"Hahaha!" Fleur chuckled awkwardly, trying to make herself disappear under the table.

"Applejack!" Rarity chastised by giving Applejack a firm punch on the shoulder and regretting it immediately as she held back a  pained yelp.

"What?" Applejack snapped before watching Rarity rubbing her hand with a pained wince. "Oh, gosh! Rarity, yer hurt." She said, worry and comfort replacing her anger in a instant.

"It's ok." Rarity waved off. "I forgot that your muscles are rock solid, that's all."

"Ah'm so sorry!"

"Don't be! Your solid stature has its perks." Rarity said with a small smile. "But you should be sorry for acting like that toward Fleur. She's on Vinyl and Octavia's side."

"Really?" Applejack asked slowly to Fleur who just nodded. "Aww, shucks!" She face-palmed in embarrassment. "Ah apologize for what Ah said. Ah didn't think before speakin'." 

"...It's ok!" Fleur said with relief. "After what happened with my sister-in-law, I can understand your reaction."

"As I was saying," Rarity started, after finishing rubbing her sore hand. "Fleur and her husband are organizing a small reception tomorrow evening. They wish to invite your family along Vinyl. To get to know you all a little." Rarity explained. "It'll be a great way to break the ice with a part of Octavia's family."

Applejack scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Ah reckon it might be good." She let out after a few seconds. "But, we can't let them pay for more than a hundred guests. We'll look like a bunch of freeloaders! And, we Apples ain't no freeloaders!"

"Hold on...A hundred?" Fleur asked, as her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull in surprise.

"Applejack...." Rarity said with a tired voice. "I was talking about your direct family. You know; Granny Smith, Macintosh, Vinyl, AppleBloom and you?"

"Ooooh! That there's mighty more reasonable." Applejack nodded in understanding. "Ah suppose Ah can ask Granny if she's ok with it, but Ya and yer husband can already count on ma presence." Applejack said with a genuine smile which was returned by Fleur. "Where's it gonna be?"

"My husband has booked the town's village hall." Fleur explained.

"Good!" Applejack said happily. "Now, let me see this here delicate hand of yours, Rare!" Applejack gently took Rarity's hurt hand.

"Applejack, what are you..." Rarity got interrupted by her lover softly massaging her sore hand. "Oh, dear!" Rarity sighed with a blissful expression as the pain let room to a nice relaxing sensation.

"All better?" Applejack asked softly. Rarity simply nodded. "Great!" Applejack gave a small kiss on her hand.

"Even better, Darling." Rarity cooed amorously.

"..... Did I miss something here?" Fleur asked with wide eyes.

"Ha, Fleur my dear! There you are." A man's voice said in a hurry.

"Hello to you, my dear husband." Fleur smiled as her husband walked toward her. "How did it go with the caterer?"

"I have bad news about that." Fancy Pants sighed. "The Golden Unicorn received too many reservations for tomorrow evening. They can't send anyone for tomorrow's reception."

"Oh, that's just dreadful!" Rarity commented. "What are you going to do?"

"I suppose we're going to have to postpone it." Fancy Pants sighed again. "Unless you know a way to have a full kitchen staff available for tomorrow evening."

"I'm afraid that's not feasible." Fleur said sourly.

"That's too bad. I was looking forward this soirée!" Rarity whined a little.

"No sweat!" Applejack said happily. "Follow me and ya can get that in five minutes!"

The three Titanian nobles blinked profusely at Applejack's statement.

"What?" They all asked in unison.





"WHAT?!" Bon-Bon shouted vigorously. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Bon-Bon, could ya please stop shoutin'?" Applejack said calmly. "The man's here, why don' ya at least discuss about it with him?"

"Do you even realize what you're asking me?" Bon-Bon asked with incredulity. "I can't close the tavern on a Saturday night on a last minute notice like that!"

"Ya don't do reservations!" Applejack argued. "Ah don' see what's the big deal!"

"AJ, catering for a reception for someone like Fancy Pants takes a lot of preparations." Bon-Bon explained slowly. "He has to ask me what sort of food he wants and I'm not sure I can meet his expectations in the field of gastronomy."

"Ah already asked Lyra to serve him and his wife some samples of everything on the menu." Applejack waved off nonchalantly. "He'll just have to pick what he likes."

"WHAT?!" Bon-Bon shouted in disbelief. "LYRA!" She yelled, turning her face toward her co-worker.

Lyra startled with a surprised shriek at the shouting of her name, almost loosing her magical grip on the numerous samples of the menu's cold starters she was levitating out of the kitchen. 

"Yes, Bonnie! You called?" Lyra asked innocently, after regaining her composure.

"Why did you agree to this?" Bon-Bon asked furiously.

"I didn't agree to anything!" Lyra insisted fervently. "Mr Pants asked to have a sample of everything on the menu and plans on paying for it, so I'm just doing my job as waitress." She explained before rapidly going outside of the kitchen, her samples in tow.

Bon-Bon groaned in frustration. "She's lucky she's cute!" She muttered under her breath. "Anyway, I won't accept this!"

"Why not?" Applejack asked. "From what Rarity told me, he's one of the heaviest heavyweights in the country!"

"I know he is!" Bon-Bon conceded. "But, since the Games started and that you all started to win some medals, people have been coming here more often as you and the others are regulars." She explained. "I simply can't close the tavern on a Saturday night in those conditions. I'll lose too much!"

"Ya sure 'bout that, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked with a knowing smile.

"AJ, I have a small tavern in Ponyville with no stars whatsoever." Bon-Bon said with a lifted eyebrow. "I can't really compete with a great restaurant like the Golden Unicorn."

"BON-BON!" Lyra shouted frantically as she barged into the kitchen, a small paper in her right hand. 

"What's it, Lyra?" Bon-Bon asked with a surprised tone.

"We've got to accept this catering tomorrow!" Lyra explained.

"Lyra…." Bon-Bon growled threat-fully. "Don't tell me you've accepted it without my consent!"

"You perfectly know that I never take decisions that important without telling you first." Lyra rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"That's true." Bon-Bon admitted slowly. "Sorry about that. Anyway, we're not gonna do it."

"Yes, we are!" Lyra said fervently.

"Lyra, we can't afford to close on a Saturday night. We'll lose too…" Bon-Bon was interrupted by Lyra nearly shoving the paper she had in her face. "What's that?"

"Read it!" Lyra simply said.

"Fine…" Bon-Bon reluctantly took the paper and read it. "What's that number supposed to mean?" She asked with an annoyed frown.

"That's the sum on account he's ready to offer for the catering." Lyra stated with a big toothy smile.

Bon-Bon's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "….Sum on account….on account…" She stammered in disbelief. "That's…. That's…That's more than what we did since the Games started."

"I know." Lyra shouted excitedly. "And the best part is that it's only ten percent of the payment!" Lyra squealed as she was bouncing up and down.

"Ten percent on account…" Bon-Bon said with a quiet voice. "As in we get that sum now....and we get nine times that.... when the job's done..?" Lyra nodded excitedly.

Bon-Bon stood there in silence, blinking profusely as her mind processed what just had been told to her until a big grin started to appear on her face. She jumped around the kitchen, giggling madly of happiness. Lyra soon joined her and they were both jumping in circle from excitement. 

To the kitchen staff, Applejack and Lyra's great surprise, Bon-Bon suddenly grabbed Lyra's face and pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Lyra stood there in complete shock, her eyes wide open and her arms helplessly fall at her side. After a good minute of making out with her white and green haired friend, Bon-Bon broke the kiss with a loud and satisfied pop and faced her kitchen staff.

"All right, guys!" She said happily. "We have the creme de la creme within our very walls, I'm counting on you all to make me proud! We must get this catering and for that we must blow him away with our cuisine!" Bon-Bon shouted with authority. "If we succeed, the Heartwarming Eve's primes will be there a lot more early than what we're used to." The staff cheered their boss happily before going back to work with a renewed fervor as Bon-Bon left outside the kitchen.

"Ah'll be..." Applejack whistled in amazement. "Ah knew she'd change her mind as soon as the money'll be mentioned, but Ah sure as sugar didn't know y'all were a couple." She said to a dumbstruck Lyra who hadn't moved from the spot where Bon-Bon had left her.

"Funny you mention that," Lyra let out slowly. "I didn't know either.... Must have been the spur of the moment."

"Ya sure 'bout it?" Applejack asked. "Maybe there's a hidden message to it." She playfully nudged Lyra's shoulder.

"Nah," Lyra shook her head quickly. "She often gets lost on her little cloud when there's a lot of money involved."

Applejack chuckled at that statement. "In that case, good luck for when she climbs down her cloud." She patted Lyra's shoulder before heading out of the kitchen. "See ya tomorrow, Lyra!"

"You're not staying for dinner?" Lyra asked with curiosity.

"Nah, Ah got plans elsewhere." Applejack said happily. "But, if ya could get  me one or two bottles of white wine for the night, that'd be mighty neighborly."

"Sure thing!" Lyra nodded. "Wait at the bar, I'll bring them to you in a matter of minutes."

"Thanks, Sugarcube!"

Applejack walked to the table where she had left Octavia's uncle and aunt and Rarity. She noticed that Fancy Pants and his wife were in deep conversation with Bon-Bon, Rarity listened only with one ear as she was gazing around to pass time.

"Ah see they hit it off nicely." Applejack whispered in Rarity's ear, taking her a bit by surprise. "What do ya say we leave them to their business an' we go on our own?"

"I guess it might be a tad boring to speak business all night long." Rarity pondered in a whisper. "What do you suggest, darling?"

"Remember the place where Ah gave ya this?" Applejack asked, pointing at the silver chain around Rarity's neck.

"I most certainly do." Rarity whispered with a big smile. "What of it?"

"Ah was thinkin' ya, me, some bottles of wine, a pic-nic basket and a blanket at the same spot...." Applejack whispered amorously. "We could watch the sunset together.... then gaze at the stars for a while....We could kiss ... cuddle .....an' who knows...maybe... Ah could finally finish what Ah started this here morning...." Applejack purred before giving Rarity a small peck on the cheek.

"W...Well, that sounds like a wonderful date..." Rarity said quietly as she felt her face becoming crimson. "Just need a moment to leave the table properly...."

"Ah'm gonna get some wine by Lyra." Applejack said. "Ya have exactly one minute to meet me back at the entrance." She left the table in silence while Rarity pondered on how to excuse herself like a proper lady.

"...Anyway, the warm starters are going to be served soon." Bon-Bon said in a warm welcoming tone. "What would you like to drink with them?"

"I don't know... You've been here before, Rarity, right?" Fancy said before turning to face Rarity. "What do you recom.... Where did she go?" He asked with surprise when he noticed that Rarity's seat was empty.

"Probably to the ladies room." Fleur suggested. "She'll be back in a few."

"I wouldn't count on that, my lady." Lyra said casually as she brought the warm samples. "She just left with Applejack."

"Without saying goodbye?" Fleur asked in bewilderment. "That's not like her."

"She must have good reasons to do so!" Fancy Pants waved off playfully. "Let's just taste those cheese croquettes, they looked delicious." He added as he eyed one of the plates in front of him with envy.





Vinyl was peacefully dreaming about her moment in the bathtub with Octavia. While Vinyl might have wanted to take it to the next level, just cuddling, hugging and kissing Octavia inside a hot foaming bath had been extremely fulfilling. But that moment of foaming loving actions turned short as the repercussions of the magic exhaustion caught up with her. 

Vinyl could brag as loud as she wanted about how fast she can regain her strength, one has to sleep to recover completely from magic exhaustion. Vinyl was no exception to that rule and her body had been pretty clear on where was her limit. She had fallen asleep in the bathtub, her head resting on Octavia's shoulder as the cellist was 'using' her as a living chair back. Vinyl wasn't sure about it, but she thought having heard Octavia giggled at her as she gave up to slumber.

Vinyl's eyes fluttered open, finally waking up from her forced nap. It took time for her eyes to get accommodated to the darkness of the room but she quickly recognize where she was. She was in Octavia's bed. She looked up to the clock on the nightstand, it was eight fifty in the evening.

'Wow... a six hours long nap... That got be my personal record.' Vinyl thought with a long yawn before stretching her arms.

Vinyl noticed that she was wearing one of the hotel's white bathrobes. She pondered on how Octavia had managed to get her dressed without her waking up, but she shrugged off quickly as she thought that how Octavia had dragged her out of the tub and dried her enough to not completely soak her bedsheets was probably a better question to ask.

Thinking about her lover made her realized the cellist's absence. She was a bit disappointed to have woken up alone but her place in the bed indicated clearly that she hadn't slept alone at least. Better that than nothing. Vinyl decided that she had passed enough time in bed and stood up, popping all her joints as she stretched with a loud groan.

"Vinyl?" Octavia's voice came from the bathroom. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, I am!" Vinyl answered. "Sorry to have fallen asleep like that..." She started in a apologetic tone.

"Think nothing about it!" Octavia's voice assured. "I know what magic exhaustion does to someone. It happened to Rarity way more often than she would admit it." Octavia explained with a soft giggle. "I've ordered dinner if you're hungry. It's in the suite's living room."

"I can wait for you, you know?" Vinyl said.

"Don't worry about me, I've already eaten." Octavia said casually.

"Oh... Ok, then." Vinyl said, trying to hide her disappointment. "I'll just...eat alone then."

Vinyl walked slowly to the table on top of which laid a metallic cover. Vinyl sat and lifted the cover. As soon as the smell from the dish tingled her nose, her bitter mood vanished. Octavia had ordered her favorite Romane dish; spaghetti alla carbonara, with a double portion of bacon and creamy as one pleases. Just like Vinyl loved it.

"Oh, thank you so much, Octavia!" Vinyl said with a hungry tone as her mouth started to water. She took a nice forkful in her mouth. "...Divine creamed and porked goodness...." Vinyl whispered in contentment as she was masticating her food with gusto.

Vinyl finished her plate quicker than what would have been proper, it was a rather large serving after all. Vinyl wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb before licking it to make sure not much sauce went to waste on a napkin. She slightly regretted that she didn't have any bread to dip the remaining sauce in the plate.

'Maybe I could....you know...lick the plate clean....' Vinyl thought with a growing grin before slapping herself violently. 'NO! Not with Octavia in the next room!' She chastised herself internally. 'Now, put the cover back on the plate and drink a nice and cool glass of water.' Vinyl thought while she took a long sip of water.

"How was the food?" Octavia asked from the bathroom.

"It was pretty good!" Vinyl said genuinely. "Would've been better with you, though." She added with a pinch of reproach.

"I'm sorry about that, Vinyl." Octavia's voice sounded sincere. "But, I had to get ready!"

"Ready for what?" Vinyl asked.

Octavia ignored Vinyl's question. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Vinyl assured. "What do you need to get ready for? Are we supposed to go out tonight?"

"You're not tired anymore?" Octavia asked, without considering Vinyl's questions. "You don't feel febrile anymore?"

"I'm fine, Octavia!" Vinyl snapped and stood up to face the bathroom's door. "Now, answer my...."

"Are you absolutely sure you're feeling fine?" Octavia asked with a hint of worry.

"For Pete's sake, Octavia." Vinyl shouted. "I AM FINE! I'm feeling like I could run a goddamned marathon. TWICE!" 

“Oh! How splendid!” Octavia said joyfully, much to Vinyl's confusion. "You're gonna need that energy!" The bathroom door opened.

"What are you talking abo......" Vinyl started before letting her jaw drop from a couple of inches when Octavia came into view.

Octavia was looking at her with a hungry glint in her eyes and with the most sensual smirk Vinyl had seen on Octavia's face. But that was nothing compared to what she was wearing. She was wearing silk black stockings that went up to her upper thighs and a matching set of black fingerless gloves that nearly came up to her shoulders. She was also wearing a black thong with white knots on each side of her waist holding it in place. She also had a black and white bra and a white collar with her usual pink bow tie.

"You like what you see?" Octavia purred with a smug grin.

Vinyl tried to speak but her jaw refused to pick itself up, so she simply nodded with her face frozen in shock. Octavia let out a small giggle before delicately putting Vinyl's jaw back in its original place with two of her fingers. Octavia started to caress Vinyl's cheek while her lover was slowly nuzzling it with her eyes closed, not unlike a cat demanding more caresses.

"Octavia...." Vinyl whispered. "Have I been asleep for two months and it's actually my birthday now?"

"No, not at all." Octavia chuckled softly, not stopping her caresses. "For your birthday, I plan on going all out."

"Because you're not going all out now?" Vinyl asked with surprise.

Octavia drew her visage close to Vinyl's. "Far from it, my love." Octavia locked lips with Vinyl.

Still a bit shocked by Octavia's exit from the bathroom, Vinyl let herself being driven back in the bedroom, without parting lips with her lover, by Octavia. But her craving for her cellist managed to snap her out of her stun. She tilted her head on the side and opened her lips to press her tongue on Octavia's lips. Taking the hint, Octavia let the way clear for Vinyl's tongue.

As the kiss grew wilder every seconds, Octavia had led Vinyl against the bed. Octavia felt Vinyl's hands wandering along her thighs and her bottom. Despite shivering in excitement at the touch of her lover, Octavia quickly pulled Vinyl's hands away and broke the kiss, much to her and Vinyl's displeasure.

"Vinyl, no...." Octavia panted a bit.

"I...I..I'm sorry, I just thought..." Vinyl stammered with concern. "I didn't mean to troub...

"Don't worry, it's not bad." Octavia assured quickly. "It's just that I don't want you to do anything."

"...What?" Vinyl said in confusion.

"This is your reward, Vinyl." Octavia explained amorously as she undid the belt of the bathrobe Vinyl was wearing. "I want you to simply enjoy it.... Leave everything to me." She added with a sultry tone as she opened the robe a bit, letting it slide on the floor. 

Octavia admired her lover's naked body for a few seconds before she noticed Vinyl's chest rising at a rather quick pace. She looked up to her face and saw that Vinyl was panting heavily, as if trying to remain in control of her actions.

"It's going to be really hard for me ..." Vinyl let out with a knowing and lustful grin. "...to not do anything to you..." Vinyl licked her lips and looked at Octavia with a gaze that would have made Octavia literally go on fire if she was made of wood. "..Very hard!"

"In that case, I better not give you a single moment of rest, so that you can't tempt anything." Octavia grinned sensually, before making Vinyl lie on the bed. "If you want me to do anything in particular, just ask." Octavia whispered in a low purr as she climbed on the bed. "I'll happily comply to it."

"Anything?" 

"Anything!" Octavia nodded, before giving Vinyl a small kiss.

"Right..." Vinyl said as she took her ease on the bed. "First thing, you're going to free those two hostages, they're suffocating in that sexy tight silk made  prison." She added with a small chuckle, pointing at Octavia's breasts.

Octavia giggled softly before passing her hands behind her back to unhook her bra. She let out a small relieved sigh when the bra loosened up and she let it fall on the bed.

"I must thank you for this." Octavia said slowly. "Rarity kinda made it a bit too tight for me..."

"How could Rarity make such a mistake?"

"Because she bases her lingerie line on her physique and then adapts to her costumers."

"Does that mean you have bigger b..." Vinyl started.

"Yes, mine are bigger than hers!" Octavia said abruptly. "Do you want to continue speaking about fashion and the comparison between my breasts and Rarity's or do you want me to do something else?"

"Definitely you doing something else!" Vinyl nodded quickly.

"Fine..." Octavia grinned before standing on four above Vinyl. "While I'm at it, do you want me to take something else off?"

"Mmm, not immediately." Vinyl whispered with a knowing smile. "Just one little request and then I'll give you carte blanche."

"Mmmmm, carte blanche, huh?" Octavia licked her lips. "Well, that's interesting. What's your request, my love?"

"No matter what happens..." Vinyl said with big grin. ".... Don't take the bow tie off!"
	
> Friday night (late evening)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A reception organized by Octavia's uncle?" Granny Smith asked slowly after Applejack had told her about Fancy Pants' reception. "An' we five are invited?"

Applejack nodded. "Ah'm plannin' to go an' Vinyl probably gonna go as well. What about ya, Big Mac?" She asked, turning her head to her brother who was reading a book on the couch.

"Eeeeyuuup!" Big Macintosh nodded as well.

"Really?" Applejack asked with surprise. "Ah thought ya'd need a lot more convincin' than that!"

"Eeeenooope!"

"Oh, well." Applejack shrugged. "What about ya, Granny?"

"Ah suppose Ah could go as well." Granny said with a nod. "But Ah ain't gonna stay too late. Ah ain't as vigorous and full of energy as back in ma days." She added with a chuckle.

"If ya say so, Granny..." Applejack rolled her eyes playfully. "It ain't like we all saw ya dancin' around with Uncle AppleStrudel from ten to two AM. Right, Big Mac?"

"Eeeyuuup!"

Granny Smith snorted in annoyance while her grandchildren and grandnephews laughed at her softly. She went in kitchen to prepare dinner in company of Fritter and Bumpkin who wanted to help her.

"What 'bout ya, AppleBloom?" Applejack asked to her little sister. "Do ya want to come or do ya want to stay here with the others?"

"Mhmmm. Can Babs come?" AppleBloom asked slowly. "Ah don't want to be alone in a grown up party."

"Ah don't see why not." Applejack smiled genuinely at her sister who beamed in return. "Why don't ya go ask her if she wants to go?"

While AppleBloom went upstairs to see if Babs would agree to come to Fancy Pants' party, Applejack went in the kitchen and grabbed discretely a large pic-nic basket she had prepared before talking to Granny about tomorrow's party. She was about to go out of the when she heard AppleBloom calling for her.

"Applejack, where are ya goin'?" AppleBloom asked with curiosity.

"Ah'm going on a pic-nic, see?" Applejack said, showing the basket at her sister and hoping she'd not question it further.

She was wrong of hoping that much.

"OH! Can Ah come with ya?" The red-haired girl asked with hope. "It's been a while since we did things together."

Applejack winced. "Not really, Sugarcube..." She answered uneasily. 'Rarity's waitin' for me outside, Ah must do this quickly.'

"Why?" 

"Because....Ah...Ah'm going on a pic-nic with a friend." Applejack stammered. 'That's not really a lie...'

"Who is it?" AppleBloom asked. "Maybe they don't mind that Ah..."

"AppleBloom, Ah said no!" Applejack insisted.

"But why?"

"Because Ah want some time alone with ma friend!" Applejack snapped. "And, also Ah'm still a bit mad at ya for this mornin'!"

"That ain't fair, Ah apologized for that!" AppleBloom shouted. "Why all the big fuss about it? Ya were just havin' a sleepover with Rarity!"

"Right....just a sleepover...." Big Mac chortled quietly with sarcasm, regretting it immediately as Applejack casted him the darkest glare she could muster. "Huh....AppleBloom. Leave yer sister alone." He said with a slightly shaking voice. "Ya didn't have to try to break into her room in the first place." He looked at Applejack whose expression softened a bit and nodded at her brother. "Ya'd have liked one of us comin' in yer room like ya tried to this morning?"

"...No." AppleBloom admitted after a couple of seconds, looking at the ground in shame.

"And, if we had, would ya have forgiven us on the spot?" He asked with wisdom.

"....Ah... Ah'd probably need a day or two...." AppleBloom whispered, before looking at her sister with small tears in her eyes. "Applejack, Ah'm sorry."

Applejack slowly smiled with a small sigh, before putting her basket on the ground and kneeling to have her face at the level of AppleBloom's. She signaled her little sister to come closer to her. When she did, Applejack pulled AppleBloom into a short but firm hug.

"Now, don't cry, AppleBloom." Applejack whispered softly. "Ah ain't really badly mad at ya." She broke the embrace and patted her little sister's head. "It's just that Ah don't get much time for me between the farm work, all the chores and now with the games and everything. This morning, Ah.....Ah was finally able to ....blow off some steam." She said after searching for the most appropriate terms. "An' yer little burglar shenanigan kinda interrupted that..."

"That's why ya were really angry this morning?" AppleBloom asked, her voice filled with guilt. "Is it like when we accidentally wake Granny up during her nap?"

"....huh...." Applejack hesitated for a couple of seconds. "Sure, why not!" She said, trying hard to not make the link between her granny and what she was doing with Rarity this morning.

"In that case, Ah promise.... No, Ah pinkiepromise that it won't ever happen again!" AppleBloom said with determination.

Applejack ruffled her sister's hair playfully. "Atta girl!" She said with a big smile.

"If ya want some time for you to relax..." AppleBloom said as she realized something. "Why was Rarity with ya?" She asked in a tone of genuine curiosity.

"Huh....It's because.....huh.... Rarity knows......stuff that helps..." Applejack let out slowly, a bit taken by surprise by that question.

"Do ya think she could teach me those?" 

"What?" Applejack asked with wide eyes.

"Oh!" AppleBloom let out excitedly. "It could be ma special talent. Talent Crusader Steam Blower! Yay!" She shouted before running in another room. "Babs! Ah've got a new idea!"

"What?" Applejack repeated with a dumbstruck expression.

"AJ, what did ya do?" Big Macintosh asked with worry while they could hear their little sister explaining her new idea to her cousin.

"....." Applejack tried to say something but she could only open her mouth like a fish out of his bowl.

"When ya say blowing steam off, do ya mean like relaxation an' stuff?" The voice of Babs asked, followed by the characteristic sound of her blowing her strand of hair out of her face.

"Ah think so, why do ya ask?" AppleBloom answered.

"Ain't that what they all do in spas and such?" Babs asked. "Ah don't about ya, but it doesn't interest me much if it's that."

"Oh, come on! It might be fun!"

"Massagin' people's feet and watch them takin' a bath while ya work ain't fun in ma book!"

"That's what they do in spas?" AppleBloom asked with a surprise mixed with a pinch of disgust. "Eww, that's gross!"

Big Mac and Applejack blinked and sighed with an evident relief in unison, happy about the fact AppleBloom seemed to have decided to not take the road of the 'steam blowing talent'. Applejack grabbed her pic-nic basket and walked to the front door.

"Big Mac?" She said slowly, facing her brother.

"Eeeyuuup?"

"When her birthday comes up, remind me to buy Babs a HUUUGE present!" Applejack asked, before going outside the house.

"Eeeyuuup!" Big Mac nodded quickly, agreeing without any doubt with his sister's idea.

Applejack grabbed the rolled blanket she had left on the patio earlier and tossed on her shoulder before walking to where Rarity was waiting for her. The young baroness was looking at the Orchard absentmindedly, leaning on a nearby fence, occasionally putting a strand of hair moved by the wind back in her perfectly styled, long, curly, purple hair.

"Ah'm sorry it took this long, Sugarcube." Applejack said softly as she arrived right behind Rarity.

"It's ok." Rarity smiled. "We have all the night ahead of us, since there are no trials tomorrow." She faced Applejack and frowned with concern. "Are you ok, Darling? You're a bit pale."

"Ah'm fine, don't worry." Applejack assured with a small smile. "it's just...Nah, ferget it! It ain't worth mentionin'." Applejack chuckled awkwardly.

"Are you sure?" Rarity asked, putting the back of hand on Applejack's forehead as if to check her temperature.

"Yes, Ah'm sure." Applejack shook her head to chase Rarity's hand. "Come on, Ah kno' we got all the time we want but Ah don' want to lose one second of it." She smiled softly at her lover who beamed in return.

"Fine, then. Lead the way, Darling." Rarity said softly.

After a short walk, Applejack and Rarity settled their little pic-nic on the same hilltop where Applejack offered her necklace to Rarity. Despite the simplicity of the food Applejack had quickly put together for the occasion, Rarity enjoyed it as if it was a five star restaurant's dinner. Applejack tasted of the bottles Lyra had passed to her earlier before sitting next to Rarity to watch the sun set with her, a glass of white wine in each hand.

"Here ya go, Sugarcube." She smiled while offering one of the glasses she was holding to her lover.

"Thank you, darling." Rarity took her glass and clinked it with Applejack's. "To this delightful date."

"Here, here!" Applejack answered with a smile.

While the sky slowly tainted itself in a myriad of orange tones before turning into the dark blue tone characteristic of the night, Applejack and Rarity kept on talking about a bit of everything, with Rarity scooting closer and closer to her lover. Applejack nuzzled Rarity's cheek before giving it a delicate peck. 

"Mhmmmm." Rarity sighed with pleasure. "I wish those moments to last forever.."

"Moments like what?"

"Like right now." Rarity said. "Just you and me, without anyone to bother us."

"We did have some of those before." Applejack said slowly. "Remember that shower in the gym? Or ma apology for the bar fight?" She asked with a playful tone.

"Of course I do." Rarity said, not without a growing blush. "I'm still very surprised of your..... stamina! More than three hours, each time."

"Ya kept the count, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked with a chuckle. "Ah betcha ya even wrote it down in yer private diary or somethin'." She added with a joking tone.

"......Of course, not!" Rarity said, a bit too slowly to be sincere. "That'd be ridiculous."

"Ya totally did, didn't ya?" Applejack asked with a knowing and slightly mocking grin.

"Well....Yes." Rarity admitted. 

"Tryin' to keep memories for when we would be too old to do the thingy anymore?" The farmer asked playfully.

Rarity stopped snuggling the farmer and looked at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Applejack asked in confusion.

"Applejack.... Could you... repeat that please?" Rarity asked slowly.

"Huh, ok." Applejack said slowly, not really understanding what was going on in her lover's mind. "Ah said: Tryin' to keep memories for when we would be too old to do the thingy anymore?" Rarity's eyes filled themselves with tears. "Oh, no! Rarity, don' cry!" Applejack said in a panic. "Ah'm sorry Ah said that... Ah take it all back..A.." 

Rarity interrupted her with a long and passionate kiss. The dumbfounded farmer didn't really know how to react to Rarity's sudden mood change, so let herself being kissed and started to kiss back after a good minute of thoughts sorting.

"You're just perfect, Jacquelyn Apple!" Rarity cooed amorously before giving Applejack a more chaste kiss on the forehead. 

"...Huh okay, then!" Applejack said with a small blush. "Huh... What did Ah do to deserve such compliment?"

"You don't even realize it?" Rarity asked with a small chuckle. Applejack shook her head in silence. "You see us together, Applejack. You see our future together. You see us getting old together."

"Oh! That's why?" Applejack said in relief. "Ah'd thought you were crying because Ah'd caused ya to imagine yerself old." She added with an awkward smile.

"You just ruined the moment, Applejack." Rarity frowned a bit, but she couldn't help to smile at her farmer. "Beside, I'm not that  shallow."

"Sure, sure!" Applejack nodded with a mocking tone. "We all know ya fell for me because of ma outstandin' intelligence and lady-like behavior."

"Well, you do possess those qualities, Darling. It's just that they are in a very heavy sleeping state." Rarity chuckled. "But, I do admit that what first drag my attention on you were these two!" She added sensually, poking at Applejack's chest.

"Was it that hard to admit it?" Applejack winked.

"Not really!" Rarity giggled before looking at her lover with a more serious and amorous gaze. "Applejack... Do you really see us together in the future?" She asked softly. 

"Of course, Ah do!" Applejack said simply, with a comforting smile. "Why wouldn't Ah?"

"And, what do you imagine when you do?"

Applejack laid down on the blanket, her hands behind her head, in order to gaze at the slowly appearing stars as the sky was slightly passing from its red-orange coat to its dark blue mantle. Rarity leaned on her left arm as she was sitting to her farmer's right.

"Ah see the two of us livin' on a fertile farmland a bit outside of Canterlot." Applejack said with a soft dreaming tone. "Close enough for ya to still attend all the fancy parties ya like so much. But outside the town enough for us to have our own peace and quiet." Applejack smiled. "We would live in a two-story house with enough rooms to invite our family and, or friends for the holidays. Ah would have fit out a large workroom for ya to continue your sewin' and another one for yer paintin' and sculptin' on the ground floor." 

She caught her breath and continued with a calm and soft voice. 

"While ya will be busy with all yer arts an' what not, Ah'll be workin' the land... Ah'll start small. A couple of Red Delicious trees, some Honeycrisps to make some jam, a few Granny Smiths for bakin', a rather large kitchen garden. We would have fresh products all year long. No need to go to the market, except for some meat and for the pleasure of visitin' the stalls and wanderin' around ..."

Rarity stopped leaning on her arm and laid down next to her farmer. Applejack passed her arm around her lover who kept on looking at her with a small smile, listening to all what the farmer was saying with a great attention.

"At some point, Ah'll start a small vineyard. Ah would make ma own wine,... Maybe Ah would do some experiment to create an apple wine." She added with a small chuckle. "Ah think Ah would name ma first Grand-Cru after ya..." Applejack said dreamily. 

"Every evenin', Ah'd cook a romantic dinner with them candles and everythin' just for ya. Every night, we'd go asleep in a large four-poster bed, with silk and satin sheets. We would cuddle each other to sleep. Then when yer asleep, Ah would kiss your forehead an' whisper ya goodnight before falling asleep as well....."

Rarity sniffed a bit, her eyes full of tears but smiling happily. "... Just perfect." Rarity said with a shaking voice, before locking lips with Applejack.

The kiss was a bit more shaken than usual, probably due to the fact that Rarity was still trembling of emotion. Applejack closed her eyes as she pulled Rarity with one arm in order to let the baroness lie on top of her. The farmer sat up straight, still not breaking the kiss which grew wilder and wilder every seconds, while Rarity passed her arms and legs around, respectively, Applejack's neck and waist.

With a swift move from her powerful legs, Applejack managed to stand up, holding Rarity with her arms under her lover's backside. Applejack sensually bit Rarity's lower lip and gave it a little pull, earning a small moan of pleasure in response, before breaking the kiss. Applejack opened her eyes and plunged her gaze into the ocean of blue wonder that were Rarity's eyes.

They didn't need to say anything, for they let their gazes speak for themselves. Applejack slowly walked down the hill while Rarity collected their pic-nic with her magic. Rarity, still in Applejack's arms, rested her head on Applejack's shoulder while the farmer was walking toward the most remote barn of the farm. She kicked the door open to get in before the door closed itself thanks to Rarity's magic.

Rarity used her magic to position their pic-nic blanket on top of a large bale of hay, arranging it in an instantly made double-bed. Applejack walked to the 'bed' Rarity had just prepared and delicately leaned forward to make Rarity rest on the bale of hay, only then Rarity let go of Applejack.

Her eyes focused on Applejack's, Rarity used her magic to undo her lover's trademark ponytail, letting a cascade of golden hair fall on her face as the farmer was standing above her. Applejack started to slowly open Rarity's shirt while Rarity was doing the same to her.

Applejack had always been the rougher one of the couple. At each 'moments' she and Rarity had shared together, she had been like a wild animal; ripping Rarity's shirt open, leaving bite marks on her lover's neck, sometimes roughing her against the walls, even pulling Rarity's hair occasionally. Of course, she had never hurt Rarity in the process. She was certainly a rough lover, but Applejack wasn't a brute.

This time however, Applejack was playing it slow. The wild beast inside her was completely asleep. Applejack had seen it in Rarity's eyes; she wanted Applejack to make love to her. The farmer had replaced her strong love-bites by gentle pecks that sent shivers of pleasure through Rarity's spine, her usually strong hands were caressing her lover with an unusual delicateness.

Applejack wasn't used to be that soft in the bedroom, but it didn't stop her from enjoying it while it'll last. She knew that Rarity would want more after that, especially after this morning's fiasco. Rarity could complain about how it wasn't possible for her to keep up with Applejack's stamina, it didn't stop her from asking for more at each time.

Rarity and Applejack both knew that their 'date' wouldn't stop after Rarity's demand of sweet affection would be fulfilled. Their night was still young and, for the first time in a while, they were completely on their own on a remote part of the farmland. Their sole company was the moonlight that filtered to the barn's skylights and the sole sounds they heard were the other's breath and small pants. Their night was still young and they were together. What could they ever want in more?

The answer was nothing.





"Lieutenant Kicker!" A woman guard shouted as she landed behind Cloud Kicker while she was wandering around in the main street of Ponyville. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Well, I was here." Cloud Kicker chuckled playfully as she turned around to face the guard who was dissipating her white wings. "You know? When I'm not in service, you can drop the Lieutenant thing, Blossomforth." 

"I prefer to stick to the protocol, Ma'am!" Blossomforth said matter-of-factly.

"Whatever floats your boat." Cloud Kicker sighed with a shrug. "You said you've been looking for me. May I know why?"

"Certainly." Blossomforth nodded. "I have two things to say to you."

"I'm all ears."

"First, you've heard about that reception at the town hall tomorrow night?" Cloud Kicker nodded so Blossomforth continued. "The mayor wants you and two squads of our best guards to assure the security at the reception. All equipped with ceremonial armors."

Cloud Kicker blinked with a frown. "You're joking, right?"

"No, Ma'am!" Blossomforth said in a martial tone. "I wouldn't dare to, Ma'am!"

"In that case," Cloud Kicker groaned. "Go tell the mayor than my best guards have better things to do than playing the bouncers at a posh party!"

"I've already have, Ma'am!" Blossomforth said. "But the mayor insisted on your presence at the party. She said that The Princesses and a great deal of the nobles are going to attend. She wishes to gives the town a good image."

"What image?" Cloud Kicker pondered a bit. "The image that Ponyville's Guard is nothing but a bunch of pet show-dogs? That's a job for the Royal Palace Guard!" Cloud Kicker rubbed the bridge of her nose before sighing in annoyance. "Send a message to the mayor. Ask her to come to my office tomorrow morning. I'll sort this out with her in person!"

"It'll be done, Lieutenant." Blossomforth nodded solemnly.

"So, what about the other news?"

"A woman came to the guard post ordering your immediate presence...." Blossomforth said slowly, taking a small step back as if fearing Cloud Kicker's reaction.

Cloud Kicker raised an eyebrow both at Blossomforth's step back and comment. "Who's she to 'order' my presence?"

"It's Gilda Skytalon from Cloudsdale, Ma'am." Cloud Kicker's eyes snapped wide open in surprise. "She seemed pretty pissed off."

"What did she do?" Cloud Kicker asked slowly.

"Hmm... She shouted various insults addressed to you... and to the other members of our competing team." Blossomforth said uneasily.

"She can't let it go, can she?" Cloud Kicker sighed. "Anything else?"

Blossomforth hesitated to answer for only a split second. That was enough for Cloud Kicker to notice there was something else going on and that Blossomforth wasn't willing to tell her. The lieutenant casted her most authoritarian glare at Blossomforth who nervously gulped in fear. Blossomforth's stern composure was falling apart under her superior's gaze.

"Anything else?" Cloud Kicker repeated sternly.

"Huh.. She ...huh.. While she was venting numerous insanities about you and your activities'..." Blossomforth stammered nervously. "She shouted that you and Lady Sparkle were... you know... on 'private business' together..."

Cloud Kicker remained impassible for a couple of seconds. "Where's she now?" She asked in a icy tone.

"I..don't think I should..."

"Sergeant! Answer my question!" Cloud Kicker shouted loudly, causing the passers-by to look at the pair of guards.

"She's still at the guard post." Blossomforth finally whispered.

"Good!" Cloud Kicker muttered before speaking with a more conversational tone. "You're going to do two things once you're back to the post."

"Which ones?"

"You're going to send one of our trainees as a messenger to the mayor about tomorrow's meeting." Cloud Kicker explained. "Then, you're going to gather the men on duty and come to the post's courtyard with them while I'll be speaking with Gilda." She added with a cold and neutral tone.

"Huh... ok." Blossomforth looked at her lieutenant with worry. "May I ask why do you want me and the others there? It's kinda your private business." She asked.

"To make sure the talk between me and Gilda can't escalate to the point where I'll have to send to her to the hospital." Cloud Kicker groaned, conjuring her dark fuchsia wings before flying to the guard's post.

"Exactly what I feared..." Blossomforth sighed. "...At least you kept your head cool enough to not send us away, Cloud." She added to herself before taking off to fly after Cloud Kicker.
> 'Discussion' above the Guard's headquarters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, when does your bitch of lieutenant's going to arrive?" Gilda growled angrily to the nearby guard as she paced round in the guard post's courtyard. 

The young guard woman who had been asked by Blossomforth to watch over Gilda looked at the pacing, angry woman apathetically. At the first, the guard didn't understand why the sergeant had asked to watch over the athlete from Cloudsdale. As soon as she saw Gilda pacing round furiously with a gladius attached to her belt, she hadn't needed anymore explanations. Blossomforth had preferred a watcher instead of confiscating Gilda's weapon without Cloud Kicker's presence as she estimated that trying that would only make things escalate to the point of non-return.

"When it pleases her," the guard said with a neutral voice.

Gilda snorted in annoyance. "Anyway, how do you do it with Cloud Kicker?" she asked curiously.

"Do what exactly?"

"How do you stand having that slut as your superior?" Gilda asked venomously.

The guard's jaw clenched a bit. "She does her job correctly. That's enough for me and the others," she said in the most calm tone she could muster.

"You don't have to lie, you know?" Gilda retorted. "She's not around."

"I'm not lying." the guard's annoyance at the offending woman was slowly growing.

"Yeah, right." Gilda rolled her eyes in disbelief.

Before the guard could retort, a sharp whistle cut through the air. Gilda and the guard looked up and saw Cloud Kicker landing a few feet away from them with Blossomforth in tow.

"Swiftwing, you can step aside now," Cloud Kicker said in an unusual cold tone. "I'll take care of this."

"Yes, Lieutenant Kicker!" Swiftwing saluted before walking away, happy to finally leave Gilda's side but also a bit ill-at-ease at her superior's tone.

"Blossom', you know what to do," Cloud Kicker added to her sergeant.

"Yes, Lieutenant Kicker!" Blossomforth nodded sternly before doing as she had planned with Cloud Kicker.

"Now," Cloud Kicker whispered as she turned to face Gilda. "Skytalon, I heard you were looking for me."

"Yes, indeed." Gilda glared at Cloud Kicker.

"What can I do for you then?"

"Because of you, I got fired from the team!" Glida groaned.

"Because of me you say?" Cloud Kicker asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yes!" Gilda snapped with an angered and shaking tone. "You squealed on me to your cowgirl bitch! She talked to Dash about it today. And because of that, she and I got into a fight and she fired me from the team."

"You couldn't keep your cool with your team captain," Cloud Kicker said without sympathy. "I don't see what does it have to do with me."

"It's all because of my fight with you!" Gilda pointed an accusatory finger at Cloud Kicker.

"Maybe you're right," Cloud Kicker admitted slowly. "But, if my memories are correct, you're the one who made a fool of herself during that match!"

"It was all your fault, you could have just taken the deal and..."

"You're joking, right?" Cloud Kicker chuckled sarcastically. "You screw things up on your own and you dare come here to blame it all on me?" she looked at Gilda with a mix of incredulity and disgust. "You're just pathetic!"

"You're calling me pathetic?" Gilda bellowed in anger, her hand dangerously close from her sword's hilt. "When you're just abusing Sparkle's naivety for your own benefits?"

"You leave her out of this!" Cloud Kicker yelled in fury, her dark fuchsia wings widely spread on her back.

"Hit a nerve, huh?" Gilda smirked. "You can't really hide it anymore... After all, the guards know by now, your boss has known since yesterday's letter...."

"So, it really was you." Cloud Kicker slowly groaned with narrowed eyes, a light fog condensing around her hands and wings.

"I was very surprised when I saw him so friendly with you after his fight with the blue haired dweeb!" Gilda remarked, her hand holding the hilt of her sword. "I thought he would have taken the letter seriously.... But, who knows? Maybe he didn't feel the need to check because you're doing the thing with him as well.... After all, ain't it like that you became Lieutenant?" she added with a malevolent grin.

"...... You're a real idiot, you know that?" Cloud Kicker said after a few seconds with a look of disgust directed at Gilda.

"That your answer? A stupid insult?" Gilda snapped.

"I always stoop down to the level of the one in front of me," Cloud Kicker retorted with a cold chuckle.

"Don't look down on me, bitch!" Gilda roared, drawing her sword of its sheath.

"Gilda, I'm warning you," Cloud Kicker said firmly. "Do not challenge me!"

"Threatening me won't work if you don't have any weapons." Gilda chuckled madly before spreading her dark brown wings and lunged at Cloud Kicker, her sword ready to fall on the unarmed and unarmored lieutenant.

"If you think I need one to teach you a lesson.... You're wrong!" 

Before the impact, Cloud Kicker grabbed Gilda's wrist with her left hand, still surrounded by a white mist which turned into a soft icy blue hue at the contact of Gilda's wrist. The brown winged Jupitarian winced at how cold her right forearm felt. She looked at her wrist and saw with horror her skin becoming blue and slowly starting to be covered by a thin layer of ice.

Gilda's momentum completely broken, Cloud Kicker let go of her wrist before punching her in the stomach. Gilda stumbled backwards of a few feet with a pained grunt. The ice around her wrist melted but her skin kept that blue tone. She looked at Cloud Kicker with her eyes widened by shock and surprise.

"What? You didn't think Lightning Dust was the only one to know ice shaping magic, did you?" Cloud Kicker asked angrily.

Gilda didn't answered as she was rubbing her frozen wrist with her other hand around which the air seemed to undulate. After the cold feeling in her arm was gone, thanks to her heat magic, she took off in order to gain more speed for her next blow. As soon as she had gained enough altitude, she dived toward Cloud Kicker who hadn't moved from her spot.

Instead of charging Cloud Kicker, Gilda conjured a lightning bolt in her free hand before casting it at the lieutenant. Cloud Kicker created a small white cloud to absorb the lightning bolt, turning it slightly grey before dissipating it. Gilda started to fly in circles above Cloud Kicker, occasionally casting lightning bolts at her, only to be absorbed by her clouds.

"I'll get her," Gilda muttered under her breath. 

She casted another bolt at the lieutenant before diving at her to get her blind spot thanks to the distraction offered by her lightning bolt. She grinned madly when she was coming close to Cloud Kicker. But, when Gilda was about ten feet away from her, Cloud Kicker turned around and conjured a powerful gush of wind with a huge flap of her wings, stopping Gilda in her tracks.

Before Gilda could recover from the sudden stop, Cloud Kicker flew to charge her midair, taking her up to an altitude of one-hundred meters. Then, Cloud Kicker span on herself, still holding Gilda by her clothes before throwing her to crash on a nearby cloud. Cloud Kicker maintained herself at that altitude by constant flaps of her wings.

Gilda groaned as she stood up on the cloud before facing Cloud Kicker. "So, you want to do it airborne, huh?" she asked with a smirk. "My pleasure," she added before Cloud Kicker could respond and took the air.

Gilda had spent all of her life in Cloudsdale. All her physical and combat trainings had been done airborne. She was more at ease in the airs then on the ground. She wasn't as fast as Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust, both the best fliers of Cloudsdale's team, but she was convinced she could beat Cloud Kicker in an air combat.

She was quickly proven wrong.

Cloud Kicker managed to dodge all of her attacks. No matter what was the angle, Cloud Kicker could always anticipate Gilda's sword strikes and move out of the way before getting hit. It was getting on Gilda's nerves. And, if that wasn't enough, Cloud Kicker didn't seemed to be willing to riposte. 

"What are you waiting for to strike back?" Gilda roared, charging electricity in her left hand.

"Don't wanna," Cloud Kicker shrugged apathetically. 

"In that case..." Gilda casted a lightning bolt at her opponent.

The fight continued with Gilda casting a real barrage of lightning bolts at Cloud Kicker. As a volley of ten bolts flew toward her, Cloud Kicker conjured around herself a puffy white cloud. Said cloud turned grayer as it blocked every lightning casted by Gilda until it became pure black with electric sparks coming out of it. Cloud Kicker disappeared into the black cloud.

"The idiot," Gilda whispered to herself. "She locked herself in a thundercloud, she's sure to ...." Her eyes snapped wide open. "What the hell?"

The thundercloud was rapidly changing its shape and size. It contracted on itself, causing the numbers of electric sparks to grow at least tenfold. The cloud drifted spirally in between Cloud Kicker's hands, slowly becoming smaller as it gathered at the guard's right.

"She's shaping a thundercloud," Gilda whispered in bewilderment as the cloud was slowly taking the form of a black, cloudy, three foot long rod in Cloud Kicker's hands with bright electric sparks running through it. "...It seems to take a lot from her," she commented, noticing Cloud Kicker was frowning in concentration with her eyes closed. "Chance." Gilda grinned before lunging at Cloud Kicker.

Gilda was coming closer at top speed while Cloud Kicker was still focused on her cloud shaping magic. When Gilda was a few feet away from her, Cloud Kicker calmly opened her eyes. She wasn't unsettled by the fact that Gilda was charging her with her sword ready to deliver a presumably lethal blow. Her right hand 'grabbed' the end of her 'thundercloud rod', which now looked like a misty, blackened blade with sparks of lightning coursing along its edge.

"Too late!" Gilda roared in triumph, ready to deliver her blow.

"No... too late for you," Cloud Kicker whispered with a dark glare, before striking toward Gilda's sword.

Their blades met midair.

Glida was snatched by a sudden downdraft at the second her blade came into contact with Cloud Kicker's. The surprise made her let go of her sword and looked down. Only to see a white winged guard woman flying up to her, a spear spinning in her hands which were surrounded by a thin white fog. 

Blossomforth thrusted the non-lethal end of her spear deep into Gilda's stomach as she came down straight to the ascending guard. Gilda, gasping loudly at the impact, was sent flying upward for a couple of meters as Blossomforth span her spear again before delivering a powerful batting strike on the Cloudsdalian's torso when she fell back, sending her crashing to the ground.

A Titanian guard caught Gilda in his magic before she touched the ground. He put her on the ground on which she rolled over in pain, her hands firmly pressed on her belly and a dozens of guards circling her. The low rumble that accompanied Cloud Kicker's cloud-made blade died down when the Lieutenant dissipated it and flew to the ground. Blossomforth and she landed right next to each other, the former's spear resting on her shoulder.

"Nice timing, Blossomforth," Cloud Kicker whispered.

"That's why you're paying me, Lieutenant." Blossomforth shrugged casually. "Beside, It's not like you'd have really hit her in the end, right?" Cloud Kicker didn't answer. "Right?" she asked again with a hint of worry and fear in her voice.

".... To tell you the truth, I'm not sure." Cloud Kicker let out with a slow sigh. "In any case, I'm glad you intervened." 

Blossomforth nodded solemnly before she and Cloud Kicker turned their gaze at where Gilda had been dropped on the ground. 

"You know, the point of what I asked you was to prevent her from being sent to the hospital," Cloud Kicker remarked with a small, halfhearted chuckle as she saw one of the Titanian guards casting a basic healing spell on Gilda. "Not just to prevent me from sending her to the hospital."

"That's exactly what I did, Lieutenant," Blossomforth answered matter-of-factly. "You asked me to intervene before it escalates and I did."

"And the wounds she might get because of you?" Cloud Kicker asked playfully.

"Nothing that can't be dealt with in our infirmary, Ma'am." Blossomforth shrugged. "If I haven't intervened, you would have hurt her a lot more!"

"I suppose you're right," Cloud Kicker admitted slowly.

"What do you want us to do with her?" Blossomforth asked.

"Do whatever you think it's normal to do, Blossomforth," Cloud Kicker said with a tired sigh. "I'm afraid the matter's clearly too personal for me to make any impartial decision."

"Of course, Lieutenant." Blossomforth nodded with her 'stern guard face'. Her expression softened. "Cloud, what she said about you and Lady Sparkle .... That's true, isn't it?" she asked softly with concern.

"Do you really think I'd have used that magic if it wasn't case?" Cloud Kicker asked softly.

"It's more than just a fling then?" Blossomforth asked knowingly. Cloud Kicker nodded. "I know it's not my place to tell you what to do, Cloud. But, if I were you, I'd just come out with it. Keeping things like that a secret's not good in the long term."

"You're probably right .... I'll have to talk to her about that," Cloud Kicker whispered. 

"May I suggest you do that tomorrow?" Blossomforth asked with concern. "I think you need some rest to clear your thoughts."


"Well, I do feel more tired than usual," Cloud Kicker admitted softly with a nod of her head. "I leave this to you, Blossom'. See you in the morning," she said before taking off.

After Cloud Kicker took off, Blossomforth walked to where Gilda was, only to find her lying where the Titanian guard had dropped her. As she came close to her, the circle of guards surrounding Gilda broke apart to let their sergeant through. Gilda glared at the guard who had attacked her.

"So, your slut of lieutenant couldn't take me on her own?" Gilda asked venomously. "She had to call one of her pets to the...."

She was interrupted when the tip of Blossomforth's spear was an inch away from her throat, right above the nearly healed scar from her match from the day before. Gilda gulped nervously, her eyes filled by fear.

"You really need to learn when, how, and who you need to shut your mouth with, Gilda Skytalon!" Blossomforth said sternly. "Do you know what you risk with that little shindig of yours?" Gilda shook her head slowly and Blossomforth put the spear away. "You know? Drawing your sword at someone when you don't have one of these..." she tapped her royal guard armor with the shaft of her spear. "... It can go to one year in the slammer, if the judge's not accommodating," Blossom explained coldly. "Added to that the fact you actually attacked someone both with your weapons and magic.... You're going to be in a heap of troubles."

"... All because of that stupid bitch! If she hadn't started to piss LD and me off none of....." Gilda muttered as she tried to sit up, not without a wince caused by her sore ribs. 

"What did I just tell you about shutting up?" Blossomforth snapped, causing Gilda to turn silent again before turning to two of her fellow guards. "Bring her to the infirmary and try to contact someone from Cloudsdale's team."

"Yes, Sergeant!" the two guards saluted before one levitated Gilda in a lying position to the infirmary and the other spread his wings and took off toward the town. 

"And, once the nurse got her job done, put her in one of the cells," Blossomforth ordered.

"Wait!" Swiftwing shouted as she walked to the levitating Gilda from the other side of the courtyard. "You dropped this," she added coldly.

Swiftwing dropped something at Gilda, causing her to wince in pain as it had landed right where Blossomforth had hit her in the stomach and because of the heat that sprang from it. She looked at what it was. Her eyes slowly widened as her defiant glare turned into a shaken and frightened glance. Her lower lip started to quiver as an icy chill crawled up her spine, making her hair stand at the back of her neck. It was her sword. 

Or the remains of her sword, to be more specific. The hilt and the start of the blade were intact but were glowing in a faint red hue. Above the point on which Cloud Kicker's cloud-blade had hit, it was nothing but a thin rod bent in a serpentine shape. The upper part of the blade had nearly completely melted.

Gilda had always been a daredevil, only taking pleasure with the most daring flying tricks, the most dangerous place to explore. Not unlike Rainbow Dash, she had always claimed to be too cool to be afraid of anything. But, as she realized that she could have easily shared her sword's fate, she couldn't help but start to shake in fear at the sight of it.

"Now, you know better than pissing the Lieutenant Kicker off," Swiftwing said with a smirk as Gilda was taken to the infirmary.
> Fancy Pants' Reception
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Cloud Kicker had come back to her apartment, nearby Ponyville's marketplace. The first thing she did was walk straight to her bathroom to get the shower running. Her water heater always took a couple of minutes before the water got warm enough to have a relaxing shower. Right now, she was in great need of relaxation.

She was about to turn the water on when she winced and let out a soft cry of pain as her right hand came in contact with the faucet. After shaking it for a couple of seconds, she took a glance at her palm and noticed it was bright red, as if it had been sunburned.

"I shouldn't have conjured that sword without my gauntlet on," Cloud Kicker commented sourly before opening her cabinet to get one ointment against skin burns. "I guess the shower will have to wait a little..."

After having treated her hand, she went out of the bathroom to get to her bedroom. She laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for about half a hour, her mind filled with visions of what had happened over the Guard Post. The more she thought about it, the happier she was about Blossomforth's intervention. She would have definitely hit Gilda with her 'storm-blade' if her sergeant hadn't acted on time. It would have been worse. Much more worse.

Her train of thought concerning her altercation with the Cloudsdalian was interrupted by the sound of a teleportation spell accompanied by a purple flash, both coming from her living room.

"Cloud? Cloud, are you here?" Twilight's frantic voice asked.

"Twilight?" Cloud Kicker called with a surprised tone as she sat up on her bed.

Her bedroom's door slammed open to let a panicked and slightly crying Twilight in. As soon as she saw Cloud Kicker on her bed, Twilight rushed at her to pull the surprised guard into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank Faust, you're ok," Twilight whispered with a shaken, but relieved voice.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" Cloud Kicker asked softly.

"I... I just..." Twilight stammered as she wiped her tears away.

"Shhhh," Cloud Kicker whispered as she put her left hand on Twilight's cheek. "Take a deep breath... and relax." Twilight did as instructed, finally calming herself both thanks to Cloud Kicker's advice and the warmth from her hand. "Now, what happened?"

"One of your guards came to see Rainbow Dash when we were in the Hotel's bar," Twilight explained slowly. "He said that Gilda was locked up in the Guard Post's cells.... When Rainbow asked why, he said that she had gotten into a fight with you.... A pretty serious one apparently..." Twilight's voice trembled a bit, so Cloud Kicker started to gently caress her cheek. "...I thought she had hurt you... I teleported to the hospital... When I heard they hadn't admitted you... I teleported to the Guard Post and someone told me you might be at your place...." tears were slowly trying their way in her eyes.

"Hey... Don't cry anymore," Cloud Kicker said softly with a comforting voice. "I'm fine, you see?"

Twilight sniffed. "Yeah, I know that now...." 

As she said that, the corners of her mouth raised up to form a small smile. Cloud Kicker returned the smile before giving her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. Twilight let her face fall on Cloud Kicker's shoulder, causing the guard to gently hug her and softly rock her.

"I'm sorry I panicked about...." Twilight began in a whisper, after a couple of minutes long silence.

"No, it's ok. Don't apologize." Cloud Kicker interrupted her softly.

"... What happened with Gilda?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

Cloud Kicker pondered about revealing Gilda's actions to her lover. She decided to be honest about certain facts she had left obscured, for Twilight's sake.

"You remember how I snapped at Gilda during the swordsman tournament?" Twilight nodded softly. "I haven't been completely honest about what actually happened between her and me...."

At that remark, Twilight's eyes snapped open in shock as she broke away from Cloud Kicker's hug, much to Cloud Kicker's surprise. Twilight looked at her with an incredulous expression perfectly mixed with a lot of pain. Cloud Kicker didn't understand why Twilight was making such a sad face, until she thought about what she'd just said.

"...no, no, no, NO!" Cloud Kicker shook her head vigorously. "It has nothing to do about what you think!"

"....You're sure?" Twilight asked slowly, relief slowly taking the hold of her voice.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Cloud Kicker said loudly, a little bit offended that Twilight thought that. "You're the greatest thing that's ever happened in my love life! I'm not gonna go and fool around anymore! That chapter of my life has been over for more than two months already and I'm not gonna change that! Especially not with an ugly bitch like Gilda Skytalon!"

Twilight managed to smile at the ranting guard. "Well, I'm flattered about what you said about us..... Sorry, I overreacted to what you said, I should've trusted you."

Cloud Kicker sighed. "I guess I could've phrased things better." Twilight nodded with a short giggle. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. Gilda knows about us."

"And?" Twilight asked in confusion. "She's a friend of Rainbow Dash, she ...."

"She threatened me to reveal everything to Shining Armor, unless I'd deliberately lose the match," Cloud Kicker explained.

"What?" Twilight asked, slowly starting to panic again, for another reason this time. "Oh, no, no, no, no!"

"Twilight!" Cloud Kicker shouted with her best commanding tone, causing her lover to sit still as she was about to stand to run panicky in circles. "Remain calm until I finish, please. Can you do that?" Twilight nodded swiftly. "Ok. After the match, she sent a letter to your brother, saying that something between you and me was happening," Cloud Kicker explained. "If not for Spitfire knocking some sense into him, he would have come to Sweet Apple Acres yesterday."

"What did she say to him?" Twilight asked, her voice hardly louder than a whisper.

"Something along the line that what and who you're doing aren't really his business," Cloud Kicker said casually. "Not phrased like that, of course." she added when she noticed Twilight's shock.

"Of course..." Twilight said slowly. "What about tonight?"

"Well...." 

Cloud Kicker explained what happened earlier; How Blossomforth had been looking for her because Gilda was venting her frustration from being expelled from the competition by Rainbow Dash. How Gilda was convinced it was her fault because she hadn't submitted to her blackmail. How Gilda had assaulted her.

"You're trying to tell me that you fought her without any weapons?" Twilight asked with a shocked, yet amazed face.

"Twilight, I'm the commanding officer of the Royal Guard's unit stationed right next to the Everfree Forest," Cloud Kicker said matter-of-factly. "I was trained and formed by some the strongest Jupitarian guards still on duty. I can face basically anything with or without any weapons." she pondered in silence for a couple of seconds. "Except dragons. And Applejack," Cloud Kicker admitted. "I don't think I could ever subdue monsters like that."





"Aachaaaa!"

"Darling...Are you ok?" a heavily panting Rarity asked with worry. "You didn't catch a cold, did you?"

"Nah," Applejack answered, rubbing her nose with her finger. "Some dust in ma nose, Ah reckon." she looked at Rarity with a hungry smirk. "So..... Yer up for round four, Sugarcube?"

"Haven't you had enough already?" Rarity asked with wide eyes and a growing blush.

"O'course Ah haven't! Ah've just finished warmin' up..... The real thing starts..." Applejack purred before leaning toward Rarity's neck. "...now!" she firmly pecked her lover's skin.

"Oh my," Rarity moaned with satisfaction as the peck turned into a sensual lick.





"Seriously?" Twilight asked with a cocked eyebrow. "You're putting Applejack on the same level as a dragon?"

"Well, not really," Cloud Kicker admitted casually. "As a matter of fact, I'm more scared of Applejack than I'm of dragons. Though, that might be because I've never seen an actual dragon before."

"Anyway, back to what you were saying about Gilda," Twilight said with concern. "She attacked you, then what happened?"

"We fought together until I conjured a storm-blade..."

"A storm-blade? What's that?" Twilight asked, her worries and concern completely abandoned to an eager curiosity.

"A form of cloud-shaping magic, I'll explain it to you later." Cloud Kicker waved off casually. "As I was saying...."

"Awwww, why not now?" Twilight complained with an adorable pout.

"Twilight, it's not really the moment...."

Twilight put her lower lip a bit forward, trying to mimic Pinkie Pie's ultimate puppy face.

"Twilight, please stop...."

Twilight leaned her head forward, causing her to have her eyes looking up to Cloud Kicker.

"Twilight,...."

"Pretty please...." Twilight whimpered while fluttering her eyelashes.

Those two things, the whimper and the flutters, added to what she'd already done previously was nearly at the level of what Pinkie could muster, which could only mean that anybody would fall for that. 

"Twilight, you're probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life," Cloud Kicker said softly. 

Twilight smiled amorously at her lover.

"But, I'm not changing the subject of this conversation," Cloud Kicker said firmly. "It's kinda important!"

Apparently, Cloud Kicker wasn't anybody.

"Awww," Twilight sighed in defeat. "I wanted to know...."

"And you will, I promise," Cloud Kicker assured affectionately. "As I was saying, at some point, Blossomforth interrupted our fight and Gilda was taken to the infirmary. I chatted with Blossom and she made a  rather noteworthy remark...." Cloud Kicker paused to swallow her saliva. "She thinks that you and I shouldn't hide what we have anymore..."

"Well, it's kinda complicated...." Twilight said uneasily.

"... and I kinda agree with her," Cloud Kicker continued as if uninterrupted.

"Cloudy, it's not that simple...."

"I don't really see how it's not simple, Twilight," Cloud Kicker replied softly. "I love you, you love me. Simpler than that doesn't exist!"

"I do love you, but I'm scared of how people are going to react..."

"Twilight, I can understand that," Cloud Kicker admitted. "But, put yourself in my place, I've never cared about what people thought of me before."

"I know...” Twilight gave a short nod. “I- I kinda find that rather attractive," Twilight said with a sheepish grin.

"Oh!" Cloud Kicker started to blush. "Well, uh...thank you." she scratched the tip of her nose awkwardly. "Look, I care about you. I care about you a whole lot. I want to show it! I don't want to have what we have hidden because of what people might think about us. I’ve never cared about what they thought whenever I did something 'wrong'. Why should it be different about something that makes me happier than ever?" she asked with a soft, caring tone.

A deep silence filled the room after her question. Cloud Kicker watched Twilight staring at her with an impassible frown until her lover's eyes shined with happy tears and her frown turned into a small loving smile.

"... You're right," Twilight assented in a whisper. 

"I know you don't want....hang on! What?" Cloud Kicker asked with a shocked and surprised expression.

"I said you were right, Cloudy," Twilight repeated with a short giggle, passing her arms around the guard's neck. "You're absolutely right. I love you and I shouldn't have to hide it from anyone!" she noticed that Cloud Kicker kept her dumbstruck expression. "Why are you so shocked?" Twilight asked cheerfully.

"Well, I kinda thought it'd take a lot more time than that to convince you...." Cloud Kicker explained.

"Blame it on you for being an incredible force of persuasion." Twilight winked. "After all, when we first met, you 'conquered' me in about twenty minutes. Me, the sheltered leader of the Council of Harmony," she added with a playful chuckle.

"Well, I'm the amazing Lieutenant Kicker after all." Cloud Kicker chuckled. “And it was fifteen minutes, not twenty.”

"I maintain it was twenty minutes, but I’ll admit that you’re indeed amazing,” Twilight beamed. ”You're MY amazing Lieutenant Kicker," Twilight whispered fondly, leaning toward Cloud Kicker.

"Hmmm, could you repeat that, please?" Cloud Kicker asked amorously, leaning toward Twilight as well. 

"My...." Twilight gently pecked Cloud Kicker's lips. "...Amazing..." another peck. "....Beautiful..." a longer one. "....Sexy...." Twilight gently licked her lover's lips. "....Lieutenant.... Kickmfff." 

Cloud Kicker grabbed the back of her lover's head and pulled her into a deep and passionate make out session. They both sighed with pleasure as their tongues 'dueled' together for the dominance of their lover's mouth. After a couple of minutes long kiss, which felt like it lasted for hours for both of them, they broke apart. Both sets of purple eyes locked on each other.

"So, you wanted to know what a storm-blade is, am I right?" Cloud Kicker asked softly.

"Don't you want to discuss about us coming out to my family?"

"That can wait until tomorrow morning, can't it?" Cloud Kicker whispered as she pulled Twilight close to her. "How about we have ourselves a good night of casual talk? Just like during our very first date?"

Twilight beamed before snuggling her lover closely. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

Cloud Kicker conjured her dark purple wings to wrap them around Twilight and herself. As she felt the feathery appendages wrapping around her, Twilight sighed happily. She had always liked the contact of Cloud Kicker's wings on her skin. They were warmer and softer than any blanket she had ever used before. Considering the fact that Cloud Kicker could put them to, let's say, a good use, it was no surprise that Twilight liked them.

"Cloudy…" Twilight whispered when she noticed something on her lover's wings.

"Yes?"

"Is it just me or your wings are darker than a couple of days ago?" Twilight asked, tilting her head to the right in confusion.

Cloud Kicker observed her feathery appendages and noticed that they were indeed of a darker purple hue than before. She kept a puzzled frown before her gaze fell upon Twilight's purple clothes. Her lover's clothes and her wings' color were a perfect match.

"I think I've grown a liking for deep purple over the last few days," Cloud Kicker said with a short chuckle.

"Huh?" Twilight let out in confusion.

"So, you're ready for a crash course on cloud-shaping?"

"Oh, yes!" Twilight squealed excitedly, her eyes lit up at the prospect of a new knowledge.

"So, cloud-shaping works thanks to several basic principles……"





"Are you sure it's a good idea to do that today, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked quietly as the others and her were standing a bit apart of the road to the reception hall in which Octavia's uncle hosted the reception.

"A good idea? I'm not sure," Twilight admitted casually. "But, the sooner it's done, the better! The fact it's a secret has already caused my Cloudy enough trouble!" she stated firmly.

"Awww, isn't it cute?" Pinkie chimed in happily, as she was jumping around Twilight. "She's all possessive about her honey, just like a big teddy bear!"

"Pinkie dear, hold still a minute for Titania's sake!" Rarity chastised while Twilight was blushing in embarrassment at their bubbly friend's remark. "How do you want me to get rid of the creases on your clothes if you keep bouncing around?" she asked impatiently, her royal blue magic surrounding Pinkie's skirt. "Honestly, you could have told me before we left the hotel, Darling."

"I told you that I didn't notice them before you did, two minutes ago," Pinkie said in a genuine apologetic tone.

"It's alright, Pinkie." Octavia reassured her. "You know how crazy Rarity can get about clothes, right?" 

Everyone nodded at Octavia's question while Rarity frowned in concentration as she focused her magic on Pinkie's skirt, not showing any signs of having heard her cellist friend's remark about her.

"And... Done!" Rarity exclaimed as the aura around Pinkie's, now creaseless, skirt faded. "Now, if I'm so crazy about clothes, maybe I should start asking you to pay for what you all take from my work room?" she asked slowly, smirking when she noticed how her friends seemed to dread that possibility. "That's what I thought."

"Anyway, let's go! We don't want to be late," Octavia said awkwardly before walking toward the reception in the Town-hall.

"Octavia, my dear, what a pleasure to see you!" Fancy Pants said happily when he saw his niece entering the building, the other members of the Council in tow.

"Uncle," Octavia called with a smile before hugging her uncle. "I'm happy to see you too. Where's aunt Fleur?"

"She's discussing with some of her friends from when she was modeling. Not exactly my cup of tea, if you know what I mean?" he winked playfully, earning a approving chuckle from his niece, before turning to face the other members. "Hello, my ladies," he said with a short, polite bow.

"Hiyaaa, Tavi's uncle!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

"I do apologize for Pinkie's behavior, Fancy," Rarity said awkwardly. "Did everything go well with your new caterers?"

"It went perfectly, my dear. Remind me to thank Ms. Apple for her suggestion," Fancy said happily.

"Speaking of Apples, have they arrived yet, Uncle?" Octavia asked with curiosity.

"Mrs Smith, her grandson, her youngest granddaughter and one of her nieces have already arrived," Fancy explained before turning around to spot the Apple Family near the buffet table, busy talking with Bon-Bon and Lyra. "There they are!"

Fluttershy and Pinkie excused themselves to go and say hello to the Apples, as they both haven't seen them since their arrival, nearly two weeks ago. Twilight, Rarity and Octavia remained with the latter's uncle and explained why Rainbow had decided not to come. Apparently, Gilda's incident with the Guard's Lieutenant had kept her busy all day; explaining to Gilda's father why his daughter was held in the Guard's cells wasn't an easy feat.

The Council of Harmony quickly scattered after a small talk with Fancy Pants. Octavia went to see her aunt who was now busy speaking with the band, which was made up of some of Octavia's friends. Twilight went to see her brother and his wife who were busy talking to a woman with grey hair she recognized as the Ponyville's Mayor. Rarity remained with Fancy Pants as some of her contacts from Canterlot went to see him and her.





"Hi, Octavia!" Beauty Brass said happily when the cellist arrived where they were. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Brass," Octavia answered with a smile before saying hello to her aunt, Brass, Frederic and Harpo, her deep blue haired friend who played the harp. "What about you all, how are things?"

"Things are going great so far," Frederic said casually. "Your girlfriend sure impressed the entire Coliseum yesterday."

"That's so true," Harpo commented with a short nod. "Just thinking about her match with Shining Armor gives me the shivers." Octavia smiled happily at her friends complimenting her lover.

"Indeed." Fleur nodded. "I must say that Ponyville sure created the surprise in those Games. For a first time in the competition, they sure managed to gather an excellent team."

"Say, Octavia, where's Vinyl?" Brass asked with curiosity. "I thought she'll be coming with you."

"I don't know actually," Octavia answered. "Granny Smith's here with Macintosh and AppleBloom but no signs of Vinyl or Applejack so far." she noticed her friends interrogative frowns. "That's her grandmother and her siblings," Octavia explained with a chuckle while her friends let out a long 'oh' of understanding. "Do you want me to introduce you to them?"

"It would have been a pleasure but we have to start playing in a couple of minutes," Frederic answered.

"Come on, we got time. It's not like the Princess are here ye...." Beauty Brass stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw the royal carriage stopping in front of the Town Hall thanks to the large windows of the room. "Oh dear, let's go!" she said in a small panic before nearly running on stage with Harpo and Frederic on her heels, leaving Octavia and her aunt giggling softly at them.

"Why don't you introduce me to Vinyl's family after I’ve welcomed the Princesses with your uncle, dear?" Fleur asked softly when she calmed her bout of giggling.

"Sure thing, Aunt. I'll wait for you with them," Octavia replied with a smile before heading to the Apples while Fleur joined her husband near the entrance of the room.





"Oh, no!" the Mayor whispered in a slightly disappointed voice when she saw the carriage's arrival.

"What's wrong, madam?" Cadence asked softly in confusion.

"It's nothing important," the Mayor explained sourly. "I've arranged with the Lieutenant Kicker for the elite our town's Guard to be present for the Princesses' arrival, but they're not here yet."

"That's weird," Shining commented slowly. "It's not in Cloud Kicker's habits to be late."

"Because you know Cloud Kicker's habits, Shining?" Cadence whispered bitterly, more for herself than anyone else, with a frown.

"Well," the Mayor began uneasily. "She wasn't very keen on the idea at first. It might be partly because I talked to her about it only last night...."

"I can understand why she'd be upset about it," Twilight commented matter-of-factly.

"I know," the Mayor admitted. "But with the Games and this reception nearly getting cancelled, I haven't got time to warn her before. And with what happened yesterday, she probably wasn’t really in the good mood she seemed be in this morning.”

“What happened yesterday?” Cadence asked with curiosity.

“Don’t you remember what Fluttershy told us this morning?” Shining asked. “A guard came to tell Rainbow that Gilda got arrested after assaulting Cloud Kicker.”

“Right.” Cadence face-palmed with a groan. “How could I have forgotten that?”

After that, the group decided to go welcoming the High-Princesses with Fancy Pants and his wife. When they arrived near them, both Celestia and Luna faced the Mayor with with a genuine smile.

“Greetings, Mayor Mane,” Celestia called happily. “I’d like to bid you a good evening and to thank you for your idea. It was very thoughtful of you.”

“Indeed it was, Sister,” Luna commented cheerfully.

“What do you mean, your Highnesses?” Mayor Mane asked in a polite confusion.

Celestia looked as confused as the Mayor. “Well, I was referring to you arranging Ponyville’s Guard to escort me and my sister from our residence,” she explained by waving at her escort.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the Princesses’ escort guards and noticed none of them were wearing the traditional armor of the Solar or the Lunar Guards. The fifteen knights and the six winged soldiers were all equipped with a crimson plated armor trimmed with gold; Ponyville Guard’s ceremonial armor.

“The Lieutenant Kicker said you’ve arranged things with her in order that our carriage did a small tour of Ponyville,” Luna explained. “It was very interesting,” she added with a genuinely happy smile.

“It was partially the reason we might be a bit late.” Celestia said in an apologetic tone as she faced Fancy Pants.

“You’re right on time, your Highnesses,” Fancy assured with a polite bow.

“Thank you again, Madam Mayor,” Luna said cheerfully before coming in the village hall.

“You’re really doing a good job in Ponyville,” Celestia assured with sincerity before joining her sister inside.

Cadence, Shining and Octavia’s relatives followed the Princesses inside, leaving a rather stunned Mayor behind with Twilight who was admiring Cloud Kicker who was sharing the posts for her men out. Cloud Kicker looked quite fetching in her ceremonial armor. After her men scattered to their assigned posts, Cloud Kicker walked up to Mayor Mane before taking her helmet off.

“You wanted to impress the Princesses, Mayor,” Cloud Kicker said softly. “I guess it’s now done.” she added with a wink.

The Mayor blinked a couple of times before smiling at the leader of her town’s guard.

“You’re really full of surprises, Cloud Kicker,” the Mayor said with contentment. “I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”

“Don’t forget my men’s New Year’s bonus and we’re good.” Cloud Kicker chuckled.

“I won’t.” Mayor Mane assured with a nod before going inside the hall.

“Ok, she’s gone,” Cloud Kicker said to the two guards who were stationed next to carriage when the Mayor was out of earshot. “Thanks again for filling the gap.”

“Huh?” Twilight said in confusion.

“Next time yer two guards short, don’t call us, CK!” Applejack said as she took her helmet off.

“Yeah!” Vinyl said vigorously as she was unbuckling the crimson breastplate she was wearing. “Seriously, how do you even do to remain calm with this thing on?” she tapped her armor. “It itches terribly.”

“Well, the Mayor did ask for Ponyville’s elite, I couldn’t really do it without you two!” Cloud Kicker winked at her friends.

“You sweet talking scoundrel!” both Apples chuckled simultaneously.

> Interlude: the tales of Cloud Kicker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

".... And that's how Jupitarians shape the clouds," Cloud Kicker ended her explanation.

"So, it's a combination of wind and water manipulation?" Twilight asked with excitement from under her blanket that consisted in Cloud Kicker's wings. "With a bit of heat manipulation to create storm clouds?"

"You sure listened to your 'teacher'!" Cloud Kicker rewarded her 'student' with a short kiss on the top of her head.

"Yay!" Twilight playfully cheered with a giggle. "Cloudy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything!" Cloud Kicker nodded.

"With all your knowledge on weather manipulation, how come you chose to be a guard instead of joining the weather factory?" Twilight asked with curiosity.

"Wooo, that's a long question," Cloud Kicker replied playfully. "And the answer's even longer."

"Well, we have the whole night for us," Twilight noted.

"Indeed we have..." Cloud Kicker nodded. "But I don't feel like telling you."

"Awwww, why not?"

"I've just spoken for about an hour," Cloud Kicker complained. "I've lost the motivation to speak."

Twilight wriggled from beneath her feathery blanket to face Cloud Kicker and to press her lips against Cloud Kicker's.

"I think I have my motivation back," Cloud Kicker whispered with a smile after breaking the kiss.

"In that case, I'm all ears," Twilight said, returning her lover's smile.

"Get comfortable, sweetie, because you're in for quite a story," Cloud Kicker chuckled. "So, it all began when...."
	

> The cat's out of the bag
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The High Princesses’ arrival caused a short silence from the attending parties in the village hall. As Celestia and Luna were busy bidding their hello to some of the nobles, the sounds of casual conversations slowly started to fill the hall again. 

Only to turn into ushered whispers when the Ponyville trio, preceded by Twilight Sparkle, entered the room. While most of the whispers were about Cloud Kicker’s confrontation with Gilda, which had been the main gossip in town since morning, some of the attendees who weren’t from Ponyville commented the Apples’ very own presence.

“I wonder what they’re doing here?”

“How could they got invited to Fancy Pants’ reception?”

“Did you see what those two are wearing?”

“They didn’t know that the Princesses were attending?”

“Probably, otherwise they would’ve dressed in something other than those jeans and T-shirts...”

“That worn-out hat is so gaudy,...”

“So, one managed to beat Shining Armor in a magic duel and now they think they can walk in this party uninvited?”

        What those gossips didn’t know was that, despite whispering among themselves, Vinyl’s ears, which were those of a well-talented musician, picked up the general idea of who and what they were talking about.

“We’re making quite the show, AJ,” Vinyl commented with a chuckle.

“What do ya mean?” Applejack asked with curiosity.

“They’re thinking we don’t have anything to do here apparently,” Vinyl explained with a shrug.

“In our own town’s village hall?” Applejack asked in disbelief and anger.

“Let them be, AJ,” Cloud Kicker chimed in casually. “Those stuck-up jerks from Canterlot stupidly believe they own every place of Equestria because they live in the shadows of the Princesses.” 

Twilight cleared her throat to remind them she was from Canterlot as well. 

“Fiiiine. The majority of the Canterlotians are like that, with the exception of a living encyclopedia and her family,” Cloud Kicker added playfully, causing snickers from the two Apples and a frown from Twilight.

“I guess this is where we part ways,” Vinyl said as she spotted her relatives chatting with Octavia’s relatives and Octavia herself. “I’m going to see what’s going on over there,” she added before walking toward them.

“Ah’m gonna grab a drink.” Applejack had seen Lyra opening a bottle of wine behind the buffet table. “Seeya!”

“And, I’m gonna go where I’m supposed to guard,” Cloud Kicker stated with a hint of annoyance. She faced Twilight who was still frowning at her. “Will you forgive me if I add ‘extremely hot’ to the ‘living encyclopedia’?” she asked in a playful whisper.

“It’ll be a good start,” Twilight conceded with a short giggle, before sighing wearily.

“You know? It doesn’t have to be tonight, that can wait a day or two,” Cloud Kicker quietly said with concern.

“I want to do it as soon as possible, Cloudy,” Twilight said sternly. “It has caused you enough trouble already.”

“Trouble’s a big word for what I have been through.” Cloud Kicker chuckled. “It’s more like small disturbances, like a pebble in the shoe. Just need to put shoe off and it’s gone.”

“Cloudy, Gilda blackmailing you isn’t just a ‘pebble in the shoe’,” Twilight remarked in a worried whisper. “The same could be said about what happened yesterday.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Cloud Kicker shrugged.

“And what if something you can’t handle happens because of that secret?!” Twilight quietly asked with a shaking voice.

“Twilight,....” Cloud Kicker whispered with affection. “Nothing bad will happen to me because of that.” she smiled softly.

        During their chat, the pair has arrived to the place Cloud Kicker was supposed to be stationed in: a small alcove situated that had a clear view of the hall, but that was hardly noticeable for anyone partying in the aforementioned hall.

“I know... but I can’t stop thinking it might happen.” Twilight started to tremble slightly. “Just like I can’t stop thinking that my brother might snap at you, or Cadence yelling at you, or the Princesses...”

“Twilight,” Cloud Kicker interrupted her softly, taking her helmet off. “Look at me in the eyes.” Twilight focused her gaze on Cloud Kicker’s. “Are you happy with me?”

“Of course I am!” Twilight immediately claimed with sincerity. “Why do you even ask that?!” she nearly shouted, almost drawing the attention of some passerby on them.

“And your brother, his wife and the Princesses want you to be happy, am I right?” Cloud Kicker asked, ignoring Twilight’s question.

Twilight gave a curt nod. “What’s your point?”

“My point is: why do you think they’ll be mad when you’re doing what they want?” Cloud Kicker asked with a smirk. “That is being happy.”

        Twilight blinked a couple of times before a growing smile lit her face up, much to Cloud Kicker’s pleasure who smiled back at her.

“Thank you, Cloudy,” Twilight whispered fondly, resisting the urge to kiss her still secret lover. “I needed to hear that.” 

Cloud Kicker looked around to see if anyone could see them before pulling Twilight in the alcove. Before Twilight could voice any protests for being pulled around like that, Cloud Kicker pressed her lips against hers. Despite her initial shock, Twilight quickly relaxed into the kiss, closing her eyes in contentment.

Cloud Kicker let go of Twilight before breaking the kiss. Twilight opened her eyes slowly to lock her gaze on Cloud Kicker’s with a dreamy smile.

“You looked like you needed more than verbal encouragements,” Cloud Kicker explained as Twilight was about to speak.

“Maybe I need more non-verbal encouragements,” Twilight whispered playfully.

“Hmmm.” Cloud Kicker scratched her chin in reflexion. “If you can cast an invisibility spell and somehow soundproof this alcove, then I might have just the thing for that,” she purred in a very hungry and lustful tone.

        Twilight’s response to that was an intense blush combined to a quiet squeak as images of what she and Cloud Kicker could do if she would cast such spells started filling her head. She gulped, suddenly feeling her throat as dry as a desert, something a small part of her brain, the one which somehow remained rational, attributed to the heat wave Cloud Kicker had caused inside her.


“I.. I really need to get an ass in water... I MEAN a glass of water! I really need a glass of cold and refreshing water!” Twilight stammered with embarrassment. “I must go... I’ll see you later!”

“If you ever need me, I’m not moving from this spot,” Cloud Kicker winked before putting her helmet back on as Twilight walked toward the drink table, fanning her face fervently with both her hands. “So adorable,” Cloud Kicker whispered as she watched her lover go.





“Lady Rarity, do you know by any chances who are the people talking to Fancy Pants and Lady Octavia?” a noble with small glasses and black hair asked pointing at Granny Smith and Vinyl.

“That’s Mrs. Smith and her granddaughter, Vinyl Apple, my dear Jet,” Rarity answered casually.

“Aren’t they from Ponyville?” Jet’s wife, Uppercrust, asked with a cocked eyebrow. “I wonder how they got invited.”

“Well, from what I know, Mrs Smith and the Apple Family are a bit of a big deal for Ponyville,” Rarity explained matter-of-factly while internally frowning at Uppercrust’s remark. “Mrs Smith and her family were one of the founding families of this town, and Sweet Apple Acres is one of the town’s most important apples supplier in the surrounding area. If not the most important for short.” 

Rarity paused to take a sip of her glass of wine to let the informations sink in her interlocutors’ head.

“So, in essence they own a rather big farm around these parts,” Jet summed it up with a concealed, condescending tone which wasn’t lost to Rarity’s ears.

“Orchard,” a voice southern accented voice chimed in casually.

        The married couple plus a few bystanders turned to face the source of that comment. Their gaze fell on Applejack walking up to Rarity’s side, a small plate of appetizers in her left hand, a cheese croquette in the her right one.

“I beg you pardon?” Jet asked with a confused frown.

“Sweet Apple Acres isn’t a farm, it’s an orchard,” Applejack explained before tossing the croquette in her mouth. “Oh, those are good!” she commented happily for herself.

“Excuse me, Miss, but that’s kind of rude to butt in conversions like that,” Uppercrust chastised with a cold glance. 

“Not as rude as disregardin’ ma kin and what we do for living behind our back,” Applejack replied slowly with a colder glare that made Uppercrust take a step back. Her cold demeanor vanished as she turned her face toward Rarity. “Have ya tried these white cheese and nuts crackers, ma Lady? They’re good eatin’.” Applejack extended the plate in front of Rarity who, despite rolling her eyes, took one appetizer with a genuine smile.

“Thank you, dear,” Rarity replied before taking a small bite of her cracker.

“And tell me, miss, who are you to speak to my wife like that?” Jet asked, clearly offended.

“Name’s Apple, Jacquelyn Apple!” Applejack said before biting on one crackers. “But I prefer being called Applejack, what about you?”

“Well, Ms Apple, My name’s Jet Set, and this is my wife Uppercrust,” Jet introduced himself and his wife.

“Why don’t their names even surprise me?” Applejack asked to herself, earning a small giggle from Rarity who had manage to hear her.

“Tell me Ms. Apple, how did you and your family came in contact with Fancy Pants?” Uppercrust asked.

“Hmmm... Ma sis’ met him a couple of days ago an’, from what I heard, they got along nicely,” Applejack explained matter-of-factly. “As for me, Ah met the fella last night...”

“The fella?” Uppercrust asked with a shocked face. 

Applejack ignored her. “... Ah helped him to find a caterer an’ that’s it.”

“How come your sister or you even met someone like him in the first place?” Jet asked with a mix of curiosity and disbelief.

        Applejack answered by pointing her finger at where Fancy Pants and his wife were chatting happily with Granny Smith. Well, she was more pointing at Vinyl who was watching their grandmother discussing with Octavia’s relatives, her hand holding firmly the cellist’s while Octavia leaned her head on Vinyl’s shoulder. 

Jet and Uppercrust’s mouths dropped when Vinyl shifted her head to kiss Octavia on the forehead. Apparently, such display of affection didn’t go unnoticed by Octavia’s aunt who took the opportunity to turn the flow of the conversation on two lovers, causing them to blush madly.

“As for how Ah met the guy....” Applejack continued, earning back the dumbstruck couple’s attention. “Rare, you got a little something here!” Applejack scratched the middle of her lower lip.

“Oh, dear!” Rarity said in a short panic, before tapping her lips with a napkin. “Is it gone?”

“Almost,” Applejack grinned before pressing her lips on Rarity’s, causing a rather loud gasp from the other couple.

        The kiss didn’t last long. Applejack looked around and smirked at the shocked expressions she had caused, only to be slapped by a rather put out Rarity. The slap didn’t hurt Applejack at all, but it made her face Rarity again.

“Applejack, how dare you?!” Rarity fumed.

“Yes, how dare you do something so uncouth to Lady Rarity?!” Uppercrust asked the farmer.

“Oh, keep quiet you, it’s none of your business!” Rarity growled.

“I beg your pardon?” Jet nearly shouted in shock as his wife stood with her mouth agape.

“Atta girl!” Applejack chuckled, causing Rarity to turn her attention back to her.

“Stay quiet while I’m dealing with them, I’ll get to you later.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Applejack gave a short tip of her hat.

“As for you two,” Rarity faced the Set couple who seemed to shrink in front of the baroness. “I’d take you kindly to mind your own business instead of expressing your stupid and senseless opinions on things that are none of your concern,” Rarity said coldly. 

“Lady Rarity, how dare you speak to us like that?” Uppercrust asked in anger. “We’ve been nothing but nice to you!” her husband nodded with an angry frown.

“Nodding in front of me to shake your head in disapproval when I turn my back is not what I call being nice to me. It’s nothing but mere hypocrisy and I’m tired of it!” Rarity explained abruptly. 

“This is scandalous!” Jet roared angrily before walking away from Rarity, his wife in tow.

“You’ll regret this, Rarity Belle!” Uppercrust added threathfully.

“See if I care, you fashionless parasite!” Rarity growled, earning a shocked ‘oh’ from the insulted woman.

“Well, that was mighty impressive,” Applejack commented with a nod as Jet and his wife were out of earshot. “But what exactly pissed ya off like that?”

“You did, Applejack!” Rarity accused fiercely, poking Applejack’s chest with her finger. “How dare you kiss me like that in front of everyone?”

“So, what? Ah ain’t supposed to kiss ya in front of them fancy people because yer ashame of me?” Applejack asked in anger.

“No, you can kiss me whenever you want, no matter the company!”

“Then, what’s the problem with that kiss?”

“Five seconds!”

“Huh?” Applejack tilted her head in confusion.

“You kissed me for five little seconds,” Rarity explained angrily. “Five measly little seconds of lips touching with no real passion, nor emotion, nor romance whatsoever. How could you do that to me?” she asked in disappointment.

“Is that what it’s all about?” Applejack asked in disbelief. “That’s the reason ya were so snappy a couple of minutes ago?

        Rarity slowly nodded with a sad pout.

“Ah swear, Rare, yer one of a kind.” Applejack scratched her brow with a chuckle, her gaze falling on the plate she was holding. ”Ya want a half of the last cracker?” Applejack asked before picking the white cheese and nut cracker up and giving the empty plate at a passing waiter.

“That’s your answer?” Rarity asked with a bemused expression. “Half a cracker?”

“Do ya want it or not?” Applejack asked with a knowing grin before putting the cracker between her teeth, leaving one half of it exposed outside her lips.

“Oh!” Rarity let out in realization. “Well, when you put it like that, I can’t really say that I don’t want it,” she added with a short giggle.

        Rarity brought her face close to Applejack’s, slowly opening her mouth to let the cracker slid between her lips. As her lips met Applejack’s skin, she slowly closed her mouth, hearing small cracking noises as the appetizer broke in half. Applejack and she softly breathed in the crumbs into their respective mouths simultaneously.

        Rarity, her eyes focused on Applejack’s, pushed the tip of her tongue in between her lover’s lips, playfully snatching some of the white cheese cream on top of the half cracker in her lover’s mouth. Applejack’s answer to this food theft was to swallow her half whole before pinching her lips together to trap the tip of Rarity’s tongue.

        Rarity arched her left eyebrow at Applejack before her eyes snapped open in shock when the farmer slowly started to suck the tip of her tongue. Applejack’s green eyes sparkled with mischief as she noticed the growing blush on her lover’s alabaster face.

At some point, Applejack flicked the tip of Rarity’s tongue with her own. Rarity started to shiver at the gesture before forcefully pulling her tongue out of her lover’s mouth. Her tongue now free of movement and not stuck between her teeth, Rarity could finally quickly masticate the cracker.

It was very tasty, but she didn’t get the opportunity to savor it. As soon as she could, she swallowed the appetizer before kissing Applejack again. She thrusted her tongue in between her lover’s lips, shivering from pleasure as Applejack started to suck her tongue again. She tilted her head on the side, sighing pleasantly through her nose, tickling Applejack’s face doing so.

        When they broke the kiss, they found out that they were both entwined with each other. Applejack had her arms around Rarity’s waist while Rarity had one hand on Applejack’s neck and the other through her lover’s golden hair. They looked around and noticed a lot of people staring at them with their mouth agape.

“Y’all wan’ a picture or what?” Applejack asked fiercely as Rarity blushed in embarrassment, causing all the observers to look away in shame.

All, except one.

“Aaacchhh, Yes!” Photo Finish said happily, before photographing the couple multiple times with bright white flashes, much to the concerned parties’ surprise.

“Hum, Hum!”

“Zilence, you,” Photo Finish chastised her husband who had just cleared his throat. “You zaid zhat I could take pictures if someone ever zayz that I could!” she turned her attention to Applejack and Rarity, the latter whispering kind words comfort to the former who was rubbing her eyes, now dazzled by the flashes. “YEEES, zo much Magicks with these two!” Photo Finish said happily before lifting her photo camera in front of her eyes, ready to capture another moment of de Magicks.





“So, you’re not seeing dark patches anymore?” Vinyl asked casually to Applejack who blinked a couple of times in response.

“Nope. Finally gone!” Applejack sighed in relief.

        After a rather flashy onslaught, Photo Finish got her camera ‘confiscated’ by Blossomforth, more to avoid having to deal with an angered Applejack than anything else. After that, the reception went rather well.

        Granny Smith definitely took a liking of Octavia’s uncle and aunt, much to Vinyl and Octavia’s pleasure. The three had been discussing about all kind of things until Fancy and Fleur remembered that they sadly had other guests to see. It was with regret that the married couple went to speak with a bunch of leechin’ vermits, as the matriarch would call them.

        At that moment, Granny Smith was sharing old stories from when Ponyville was founded with the mayor, some of her advisors and a rather curious and attentive Princess Luna. On the other side of the hall, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were discussing with Bon-Bon about the good job she had done with her staff for this catering. Granted, Pinkie did most of the talking, but it didn’t matter to the other two; mostly because they were either too shy or too tired to interrupt their cotton candy haired interlocutor.

        The remaining Apples: Vinyl; Applejack and Big Mac, were now sitting at a table, waiting for AppleBloom and Babs to come back with a slice of pie for each of the five people. 

“So, how’s everything going on for you, big brother?” Vinyl asked. “You’re not too bored, are you?”

“Eeenope,” Big Mac replied with short shakes of his head. “Time tends to fly with Pinkie askin’ questions,”

“What did she ask?” Applejack asked with curiosity.

“Fer most parts, things about Braeburn,” Big Mac replied casually.

“Well, ain’t that interesting?” Applejack whistled.

“Isn’t Braeburn taken already?” Vinyl asked. “You know, with that Appleloosan native chick... What was her name again?”

“Little Strongheart?” Big Mac cocked an eyebrow. “Ah don’ think they ever got together.”

“That’s a shame,” Applejack commented. “She’s quite a nice gal.”

“It would’ve brought a little exotism in the family,” Vinyl said jokingly.

“Ah think the family has already enough exotism with yer two noble women.” Big Mac chuckled.

“Yer just jealous because ya can’t score with women,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Unlike us,”

“Good one, AJ!” Vinyl high-fived with Applejack.

“Ma sisters, ladies and gentlemen,” Big Mac commented sourly. “The most supportive and comfortin’ ones in the world.”

“You betcha!” Applejack and Vinyl said simultaneously with playful grins.

        AppleBloom and Babs returned with a waiter holding a tray with five slices of pie in tow, causing the conversation between the three older siblings to move on to something more appropriate for their little sister and cousin.

“So, are you enjoying this reception, kiddos?” Vinyl asked as the waiter was serving the plate in front her. “Thanks,’ she added for the waiter who replied with a polite nod.

“Well, we thought Sweetie Belle would be there,” AppleBloom admitted. “But Pinkie’s kinda fun, so it was nice.”

“Yep.” Babs nodded, blowing a strand of her hair from face.

“Anyway, let’s dig in!” Applejack said hungrily before taking the slice of pie in her hand.

        All five Apples took their slice of pie in their hand and, like one man, they simultaneously took a bite of it. As soon as the bit of pie touched their taste buds, they all snapped their eyes open with a blank expression. They slowly masticated, making their bite of pie go to the right of the their mouth, then to the left. All in perfect synchronicity. It took them a whole minute before simultaneously swallowing with a small wince.

“What’s going on?” Octavia asked in confusion as she and Rarity walked up to their table.

“Maybe the pie’s not good,” Rarity suggested.

“Pears,” the five Apples explained in a sour voice, putting their slices back on their respective plate.

“What?” Octavia and Rarity asked with incredulity.

“Pears!’ they repeated, each one of them pointing an accusatory finger at the offending slices of pie.

“Seriously?” Octavia shook her head in disbelief. “You know pears are as healthy as apples, right?”

All she earned as a response was a loud collective gasp from her lover and her family. All five Apples were looking at her as if she had gone crazy.

“Octavia, I love you and all, but you better not say anything like that ever again,” Vinyl said slowly.

“Same goes for ya, Rarity,” Applejack chimed in with a dumbstruck expression.

“Eeeyuuup!” AppleBloom, Babs and Big Mac added with nods of approval.

Rarity blinked. “Can you believe that?” she asked Octavia.

“Are you implying that I’m not allowed to eat pears now?” Octavia asked Vinyl with narrowed eyes, ignoring Rarity’s question.

“No, I’m just asking you to never mention it again,” Vinyl corrected. “You see the difference?”

“WHERE IS SHE?!” A thunderous, angry shout resonated in the village hall as Octavia was about to answer.

“Please, Duke, calm down!” The panicked voice of Rainbow Dash followed the shout.

“Ah think we better go to see what’s going on...” Applejack said as she stood of her chair.

“Yep.” Vinyl nodded before standing up. “Anything other than that awkward ‘pear’ discussion.”





        The evening went well for everyone so far. Except for Twilight. During the reception, the lead figure of the Council of Harmony had tried to tell Shining and Cadence about Cloud Kicker and her, only to get interrupted by someone who wished to speak to the princely couple whenever she tried.

“What’s on your mind, my dear student?” 

Princess Celestia looked at her student with worry as Twilight drank down her third glass of wine. Her brother and sister-in-law had, once again, evaded her nth attempt thanks to some noble who wanted to chat with them.

“Nothing! Everything’s fine, your Highness!” Twilight replied in a mix of anger and frustration.

“Twilight, something’s definitely wrong,” Celestia said with concern. “You know you can tell me everything, right?”

Twilight let out a soft sigh. “There’s nothing really wrong, Princess,” Twilight explained awkwardly. “It’s just that I must say something important to Shining and Cadence, and each time I try, someone comes and block me. I guess that it frustrates me a little.”

“Well, you understand that now that your brother’s prince, he sort of has to be present for everyone at that sort of gathering,” Celestia explained with kindness. “It’s what expected of him and Cadence.”

“I know that the moment’s not really well chosen, Princess,” Twilight admitted. “But, that’s not something that can be delayed.... Not anymore!” she added, a pinch of sadness growing inside her as Twilight remembered what happened to Cloud Kicker because their relationship was maintained secret.

“It’s really that important, Twilight?” 

“Of the most importance, your Highness!” Twilight assured with conviction. “To me at least.”

“Well, in that case.” Celestia smiled. “Wait here, I’ll bring them to you. After all, no one’ll dare to bother them if one of the High Princesses is chatting with them. If you’re ok with my presence, that is.”

“Of course!” Twilight nodded eagerly. “That’s also something that...”

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

“Please, Duke, calm down!”

“Was that Renée?” Celestia asked with a puzzled frown.

“It sounded alot like her,” Twilight nodded, her worries about telling the truth about her lover momentarily forgotten.

        Celestia and Twilight walked up to where the shout came from. As they came closer, they saw a very angry man with large, brown, eagle wings spread on his back surrounded by his escort of five guards wearing Cloudsdale’s praetorian armors, and by Rainbow Dash.

        Celestia recognized the shouting man immediately. He was a high member of Cloudsdale’s senate, the Duke Gaius Skytalon. Gilda’s father.

“Where is she?!” Gaius repeated in an angry yell.

“Duke Skytalon,” Celestia chimed in sternly, breaking the man’s angry frown to a more submissive one. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I’m sorry for my outburst, your Majesties,” Gaius quickly said with a deep bow as Luna took place at her sister’s side.

“He wants to speak to Cloud Kicker, Princess,” Rainbow explained with worry. 

Why does he want to speak to her? Twilight thought with concern. Wait a minute... Duke Skytalon.... He must be Gilda’s father....

“And you feel the need to yell for everyone to speak to me?” Cloud Kicker asked the angry Duke in annoyance, as she came into view with six of her guards a few feet behind her.

“You!” Gaius pointed an accusatory finger at Cloud Kicker, his anger coming back at full charge. “What did you do to my daughter?!”

“You might wanna start by telling me who the hell are you,” Cloud Kicker said apathetically, ignoring the whispers that started after Gaius’ questions.

        Twilight, on the other hand, couldn’t.

“Probably another of Cloud Kicker’s saucy stories...” a man from Ponyville asked with a roll of his eyes before turning away from the scene with a couple of other attendees.

“I wonder how she became lieutenant in the first place,” another man, from Canterlot this time, according to his accent, asked his neighbor. “I mean yes, she can fight... but she doesn’t really have the … ‘standard attitude’ of a royal guard, let alone one of a commanding officer.”

“Well, didn’t you heard about the rumor? The one about her and Captain Shining Armor.”

“That’s ridiculous, Prince Armor’s far too respectable for something like that.”

“I know, but the idea’s still very plausible if you consider others officers... After all, a good commander, like Shining Armor, listens to his officers’ recommendations.”

“Oh, you’re probably right....”

Twilight felt sick at hearing that. How could they judge Cloud Kicker without even knowing her? she thought with anger.

“What have you done to Gilda?!” Gaius roared.

“Oh, that’s who you were talking about,” Cloud Kicker replied. “Well, apart from defending myself when she attacked me yesterday, nothing much.”

“You’re lying! I’ve seen her! She kept staring at this...” He pulled out the remains of Gilda’s sword from under his coat, and threw it at Cloud Kicker who caught it nonchalantly. ”....shaking in fear like a little girl woken up by her worst nightmare!”

“What exactly is that?” Cloud Kicker looked at the sword in confusion before Blossomforth whispered something to her ear. “Oh! I get it now.” Cloud Kicker faced Gaius. “Well, that just means that your daughter learned something valuable about herself yesterday.”

“Really?” Gaius asked fiercely. “Enlighten me then.”

“She learned that she was nothing but a child playing some adults games,” Cloud Kicker explained coldly. “And that she was extremely lucky to not having been severely injured. Too bad for her, she had to learn that the hard way.” Cloud Kicker glared at Gaius before throwing Gilda’s sword back at him.

“You’ll pay for that!” Gaius muttered.

“For what? For your daughter’s behavior, or for your inability to teach her how to behave in the first place?” Cloud Kicker asked with a dark stare.

Gaius’ face became bright of anger, while electric sparks circled his fists. “I will not be talked like that by some two bits slut like you who attained her position by offering herself to her superiors,” he growled threateningly, taking a step toward Cloud Kicker.

        That remark added to his tone and his step forward caused shocked gasp from the attendees who didn’t come from Ponyville, while every Ponyvillians only cast hateful glares at  the duke. Cloud Kicker’s guards, ready to defend their leader, slowly moved their hands toward their weapons, immediately mimicked by Cloudesdale’s prateorians.

“ENOUGH!”

        All gaze turned to the source of the shout, and almost everyone was surprised that it came from, Twilight and not from the High Princesses. The Council member was staring at the offending duke with a rage that Twilight had never experienced before.

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND THAT PUNK DAUGHTER OF YOURS!” Twilight bellowed as she walked up to him. ”Your daughter has spent the last three days trying to blame Cloud Kicker for all of her bad decisions! She was the one who tried to blackmail her. It was because of that she got suspended, and in the end cut out from her team! Gilda was the one who attacked Cloud Kicker when she couldn’t deal with that fact!”

The Duke Skytalon wasn’t impressed by Twilight’s outburst, on the contrary of the rest of the audience, Princesses included, who was looking at the dark skinned woman with wide eyes. Nor did he seem surprised when he heard what Gilda did.

“I don’t think I’ve asked the opinion of this skank’s latest toy,” Gaius replied with a cocked eyebrow.

“What?” Twilight asked, fear and shock replacing her anger.

“You think my daughter didn’t rant to me about what you were doing with that depraved woman?” Gaius asked. “You’re even more of a slut than her, considerin....”

“LIEUTENANT, DON’T DO ANYTHING.....” Blossomforth shouted in a panic.

        Gaius faced Cloud Kicker again, only to have his nose smashed by a crimson and golden armored fist, surrounded by a white foggy aura, before being catapulted through one of the village hall windows by a sudden and powerful gust of wind. The shocked crowd heard a loud thud from outside, making them know the Duke hadn’t gone very far.

“.....too rash,” Blossomforth finished her sentence with a sigh.

“Blossom,” Cloud Kicker called with a stern voice, breaking her punching stance in front of an awestruck Twilight.

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“Dispatch Moonshield and Sentry to carry the Duke to the hospital,” Cloud Kicker ordered. “I know for certain that he’s got his nose broken and maybe a few ribs as well due to his landing outside."

“Yes, Lieutenant Kicker,” Blossomforth answered with a nod before heading to see the two aforementioned guards.

“Swiftwing,” Cloud Kicker faced the red haired guard who was standing next to Blossomforth. “Go back to the post and take a few blank forms for the Duke, Fancy Pants and the Mayor,” Cloud Kicker demanded. “They’re likely to lodge a complaint.”

“Well, Ms. Kicker, I’ll have you know that I have no intention of doing so,” Fancy Pants assured with an approving smile.

“I’ve already planned that someone would be thrown out the window actually, so it’s no problem at all,” the Mayor explained casually, earning cocked eyebrows from everyone in the village hall. “What? May I remind my fellow Ponyvillians that Applejack is in attendance?”

        While most of the foreign attendees didn’t understand that question, everyone who knew Applejack and her legendary patience toward those who patronized her gave nods and mumbles of approval, much to Applejack’s annoyance.

“That makes only one form for you to bring, Swiftwing,” Cloud Kicker said before taking her helmet off.

“Yes, Lieutenant.” Swiftwing nodded. “Huh... Is it ok if I lose it on the way to the hospital?”

“As tempting as it sounds, no, it’s not.” Cloud Kicker chuckled. “But, I suppose that can wait until tomorrow morning.” Swiftwing nodded again. “The rest of you, get back to your posts,” Cloud Kicker added before turning to the Cloudsdale’s praetorians. “You five are still here?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow, causing the grey armored men to break out of their stun to head out of the village hall.

“Cloudy, why did you do that?” Twilight asked softly as the crowd slowly went back to their previous conversations. “You’re going to get into trouble!”

“I’m not letting anyone say such horrid things to you while I’m around,” Cloud Kicker assured with a smile before kissing her lover’s forehead. “Besides, you’re worth all the troubles of the world. Twice!”

        Twilight beamed before pulling her guard into a deep kiss, earning ‘oh’ of surprise from the few people who were still paying attention to them. Namely, the three princesses, Fancy Pants and his wife, the Mayor and their friends, thought the latter ones were less surprised than the others.

“That’s what you wanted to tell your brother and Cadence, Twilight?” Celestia asked with an imperceptible grin when Twilight broke the kiss and faced them.

“Yes, Princess.” Twilight nodded, holding Cloud Kicker’s hand with a small blush. It was hard with her lover’s gauntlet, but she managed.

“Well, we’re in for a good story in that case,” Celestia said with interest. “As soon as Shining wakes up, of course.”

        Everyone turned their attention at the empty spot next to a still dumbstruck Cadence, only to look down and to find out that the Captain of the Royal Guard had lost consciousness when no one was paying attention.

“I knew he would faint when he saw us kiss,” Cloud Kicker said with a shrug. “Vinyl, let’s be having your bits!” she added, extending her hand to grab a bag of bits.

“Actually, he fainted when the Duke said that you and Twilight were an item,” Vinyl explained with a devious grin. “So, I won this one.”

“Damn!” Cloud Kicker muttered to herself.

> Everyone in Equestria knows it now.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t wait for today’s trials to begin!” Bon-Bon said excitedly as she was walking to the Coliseum entrance with her friend, Carrot Top, and Ditzy’s daughter, Dinky.

“Me too!” Dinky shouted cheerfully while holding firmly Carrot Top’s hand. “I want to see Mommy win the race again!”

“Now, Dinky sweetie, you’ll have to be patient. Your Mommy’s race is in the afternoon,” Carrot Top explained with a motherly patience.

“Aww,” the six year old blond whined with an adorable pout. “Why can it not be now, Auntie Carrot Top?”

Bon-Bon chuckled happily. “Dinky, your Mommy’s the best flier in Ponyville, right?”

“Huh-huh!” Dinky nodded vigorously.

“They’re just following the saying then,” Bon-Bon assured with a good hearted smile. “Keep the best for the end!”

“I get it!” Dinky beamed happily before gazing around. “Isn’t that Ms. Lyra?” she asked with curiosity, pointing at the teal haired woman who was talking to a man behind a pierced glass, not far from the Coliseum’s entrance.

“Indeed it’s her,” Bon-Bon whispered with suspicion, walking up to her co-worker and best friend. “Lyra?” she called.

“Hm?” Lyra turned around to face who had called her. “Hi, Bon-Bon! How are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Bon-Bon replied. “What’s that?” she asked, nodding at the numerous counters behind glass windows.

“Oh, it’s a bookie!” Lyra replied casually, earning a raise of eyebrow from the pink and blue haired woman.

“What’s a bookie, Auntie Carrot Top?” Dinky asked with curiosity.

“It’s someone that takes bet, sweetie,” Carrot Top replied, frowning at the teal haired woman.

“What’s a bet?” 

“Something that you mustn’t ever do!” Carrot Top replied sternly. “That’s the fastest way to lose money!”

“Lady, how much do you wanna bet for the first trial?” the bookie asked impatiently.

“Oh, right!” Lyra turned back to the man, pulling a rather bulky bit bag from her jacket’s inner pocket. “Ponyville! Three thousand bits!” she shouted happily, passing the bag through a secured drawer.

        Her bet caused shocked gasps from anyone who heard her bet’s value, including the bookie.

“LYRA!” Bon-Bon shouted in shock, turning her friend around to face her. “Are you insane?!”

“No, why do you ask?” 

“Do you have any idea of much you’ve just bet?” Carrot Top asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I have,” Lyra replied with a chuckle. “I know my way around money!”

“Lyra, I know we’ve just had a huge cash inflow, but you can’t seriously be betting that much on a Games trial,” Bon-Bon explained with concern.

“Bon-Bon, have you seen the odds for Ponyville’s victory?” Lyra asked with an excited grin. “It’s five to one!”

“Well, that’s enticing, I’ll give you that,” Bon-Bon admitted. “But are you sure you wanna bet that much?”

“Not that I want our town to lose, but there’s no guarantee that...” Carrot Top began with worry and concern.

“Girls, have you seen what’s on the program today?” Lyra asked with a mischievous grin.

“Huh, no,” the two women replied in confusion.

“Check this out,” Lyra said as she extended a pamphlet of today’s trials to her dubious friends. “You see what’s the first trial?”

“Yes, but I don’t see how....”

“Now, check the roster!” Lyra demanded with a mad grin.

        The two women scanned through the competitors list until their gaze stopped on a certain name they both knew. They both blinked profusely as their mind absorbed what they had just read.

“Lyra....” Bon-Bon whispered with a low tone.

“Yeeees?”

“Tell me you brought some of my money with you!”

“Way ahead of you, Roomie!” Lyra grinned as she pulled another, bulkier, bit bag from her inner pocket. “Four thousand bits on Ponyville for my boss, first trial!” she said to the bookie who almost fell of his chair at the sum.

“Let’s go, Dinky!” Carrot Top frowned before pulling Ditzy’s daughter behind her.

“Aren’t you gonna stop them, Auntie Carrot Top?” Dinky asked. “You said that making bets was a bad thing.”

“It’s indeed a bad thing,” Carrot Top explained. “But I can’t force Lyra and Bon-Bon to make the right decision.”

“Are they gonna lose their money?” Dinky asked with worry.

“I don’t know. That’s why betting money’s dangerous! The outcome is always uncertain,” Carrot Top said with wisdom, resolute to be good model for the little girl.

        Unbeknownst to Dinky, Carrot Top wasn’t really thinking what she had just said. On normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have such thoughts, but seeing who was competing for the first trial had changed the circumstances. Now, Carrot Top regretted Dinky’s presence because she couldn’t bet on the outcome of the first trial, not after lecturing the little girl about it. For Carrot Top, and for Lyra and Bon-Bon, the outcome of the first of today’s trial was a far cry from being uncertain at all.





“So, what happened after you left with the Princesses, Twilight and her brother?” Vinyl asked with curiosity, pulling a bottle of apple cider out of her locker.

“You want know that now?” Cloud asked back with a cocked eyebrow while closing her own locker.

“Mhm.” Vinyl nodded after taking a swig of her bottle. “I’m sure the others can warm her up without us for a couple of minutes.”

“If you say so,” Cloud answered, not entirely convinced by Vinyl’s statement.

“So, what happened?”

“Well, after the party was over and the boss finally recovered,” Cloud explained, not without a short chuckle. “We went to a more secluded room of the town hall, and Twilight explained them everything that has happened between her and me.”

“How did they react?”

“There was some shouting...” Cloud said uneasily.

“Shining?” Vinyl suggested.

“Actually, he was the quietest of the group,” Cloud answered casually. “His wife on the other hand...”


**********


“Twilight, you’re not making the right decision!” Cadence said firmly.

“Cadence, if I wanted your opinion on who I should date or not, I’d have asked for it!” Twilight retorted with the same firmness as her sister-in-law.

“She’s not good enough for you!” Cadence shouted angrily.

“You know that I’m right here and that I can hear you, right?” Cloud asked casually as she was standing aside from the two bickering woman with Shining and Princess Luna while Princess Celestia was trying to mediate the situation.

“You don’t know her!” Twilight shouted back, ignoring her lover’s question.

“I know enough about her to know that she’ll end up hurting you!” Cadence retorted.

“Again, I’m right here!” Cloud Kicker said, slowly losing her patience.

“Cadence, Twilight, that’s enough!” Celestia shouted with disappointement, instantly calming the two bickering women. “We’re here to talk, not to shout at each other.”

“I’ll stop shouting when this little girl will hear reason, Aunt,” Cadence muttered angrily, pointing at Twilight with disdain.

“You’re not my babysitter anymore, Cadence!” Twilight started to shout again. “I’m twenty one and I can make my own decisions! I don’t need you to tell me what’s right and wrong!”

“You being an adult doesn’t prevent you from associating with the wrong sort of people,” Cadence replied with a dark stare.

“WHAT?” Twilight asked in a shocked and furious yell.

“They’ve forgotten that we were here, right?” Cloud asked Shining who was watching the verbal assault between his sister and his wife.

“Looks like it,” Shining answered matter-of-factly.

“Anyway, how are you?” Cloud asked with worry, remembering how he had fainted earlier.

“I’m little surprised, that’s all,” Shining replied.

“Boss, we both know that it takes more than a little surprise to make you pass out,” Cloud remarked knowingly.

“Ok, maybe a little more than that,” Shining admitted with a short chuckle. “I’ve had my suspicions for a couple of days now, especially with that letter...” he noted that Cloud wasn’t surprised at all about the letter. “.... Spitfire told you about the letter, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Cloud answered with a nod.

“She knew then.” Shining sighed before staring at his Lieutenant with sternness. “I’ve had the time to think about it and there’s not much that I can do except trusting in Twilight’s decision. But, you better not hurt my sister, Lieutenant!” he warned threateningly.

“The idea never crossed my mind, Captain,” Cloud replied in a martial, and sincere tone.

“Good,” Shining whispered with a nod. “You know what you risk if that happens?”

“Yes, I do.” Cloud nodded. “But, let me tell you a little something, Captain,” she added with serious glare. ”I’ll never leave Twilight, not because I fear your wrath, but because she means more to me than anything else!” Cloud claimed with resolution. “I’d die before even thinking of leaving her!”

        That claim earned an approving nod from the Night Princess who had been watching the two guards’ exchange with interest. Shining kept staring at Cloud with seriousness before slowly smiling at her.

“That’s good to hear,” he slowly said.

“Now, how do you think we can stop them from tearing each other apart?” Luna asked, pointing at the two sisters-in-law who were still shouting at each other despite Celestia’s efforts.

“Don’t know.... unless...” Cloud faced Shining with mischievous grin. “You must be devastated, Boss,” she whispered with a sympathetic tone.

“Huh?” Shining tilted his head in confusion.

“With me being in a serious relationship with your sister, your crazy fantasy about you and your wife sharing me is never gonna happen,” she whispered with a chuckle while Shining and Luna’s eyes widened in shock. “Not that it would have happened otherwise.”

“WHAAAAAT?!” Cadence yelled toward her husband, who shrunk immediately in front of his wife’s fury.

“See? For something like that they can hear us!” Cloud laughed.


**********


“You did not say that?” Vinyl asked, laughing vigorously with Cloud.

“I swear to Faust that I did say that!”

“How did Twilight react to that?”

“She pulled me close to her to hug me while giving Shining a “Don’t touch, she’s mine!” kinda stare,” Cloud explained casually. “You know, the kind you cast at every man who looks Octavia’s backside for too long.” Vinyl nodded. “I’m not sure Shining saw it though,”

“She didn’t get mad at you?”

“Not really, that was some sort of a joke between him and myself that goes way back,” Cloud explained. “Twilight knows that what was in my past will stay in it. Plus, Shining’s not really my type anymore.”

“If you say so.” Vinyl shrugged. “What happened next?”

“Princess Celestia thanked me for stopping Twilight and Cadence to shout at each other, though my technique lacked diplomacy.”

“She wasn’t mad that Cadence was shouting at Shining?” Vinyl asked with a surprised tone.

“To quote her, her niece arguing with her star student’s something that she deserves being mad at, while a quarrel between her niece and her husband falls into the duty of a couple therapist which she isn't,” Cloud explained.

“So, in essence it went well enough,” Vinyl summarized.

“You could say that,” Cloud said with a nod. “Anyway, why don’t we go help the others?”

“Why are you so sure they need...”

        The lockers room’s door bursted itself open, letting a heavily panting Raindrops walk in, firmly holding the door frame so she wouldn’t  fall on the ground. She opened her mouth a couple of time, but couldn’t voice anything she was trying to say due to her attempt to catch her breath.

“Never mind that, let’s go!” Vinyl waved off Cloud’s ‘I told you so’ grin.





“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this fourth day of the Equestria Games!” Pinkie shouted happily through her megaphone from her flying contraption. “I hope you’ve had a great week-end and that you’re all fully rested, because we’re starting with something big!” the crowd cheered loudly. “That’s something that I like to hear! Now, I give to you the HAND TO HAND FIGHTING TOURNAMENT!”

“The crowd seems excited,” Celestia commented casually.

“The passion and the fire of a fight always move the heart of the crowd, Sister,” Luna said, focusing her gaze on the arena set in the middle of the Coliseum.

“Not only the heart of the crowd,” Rarity whispered knowingly to Octavia before they both chuckled softly at the Night Princess.

“I wonder why...” Twilight said softly. “I mean it’s just throwing punches and kicks at each other.”

“Hum, you didn’t mind that much during the swordsman competition,” Fluttershy remarked quietly.

“Of course she didn’t mind, Fluttershy,” Rarity commented. “Cloud was taking part in it.”

        That remark caused numerous giggles from almost everyone in the private box while Twilight was blushing in embarrassment and Cadence let out a low growl. The two sisters-in-law were still on disagreement about Twilight and Cloud’s relationship, but they were both making efforts to remain civil about it. Though not always successful.

“I wonder who’s going to win,” Celestia said, quickly bringing another subject of conversation as Twilight was about to answer to Cadence’s growl.

“Oh, I just hope that no one gets hurt too much,” Fluttershy said.

“I wonder who they’ve chosen in for Canterlot.” Octavia pondered out loud.

“You’re not wondering about Ponyville?” Cadence asked with curiosity.

“It’s pretty obvious who Ponyville has chosen, Cadence,” Rarity answered with a knowing, happy grin.

“Shhh!” Luna waved for the silence. “It’s about to start!”

“For the first round of this tournament,” Pinkie said to the excited crowd. “Give a warm welcome to the current champion in title, Sergei Tishchenko from Stalliongrad!”

        The majority of the crowd applauded politely the current champion while the Stalliongradi cheered like mad men when their athlete walked into the arena. Sergei was a six foot tall Eponian, strongly built, with shaved hair and a very strict frown. When he arrived in the center of the arena, he started to do shadow boxing as a warm up.

“... And opposed to this champion, our hosting town of Ponyville is proud to.... huh?” Pinkie was interrupted by a collective shout from the crowd, or a part of it to be specific.

“Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!”

        All the Ponyvillians in the Coliseum, including the guards, the town’s officials like the Mayor and her advisors, plus the entire Apple Family were chanting Applejack’s name in unison, as if they were one sole entity. Every shout of her name was accompanied by three vigorous hand claps or stompings, which resonated through the entire stadium.

“Shoot, I wanted to say her name!” Pinkie pouted for a few seconds. “Oh well, might as well go with the flow.” Pinkie cleared her throat. “Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!” She joined the crowd chorus in perfect tempo.

        Back in front of Ponyville’s pit, half of the team and their coaching team were sitting patiently on the ground. Raindrops, Allie and Rose were slowly recovering from having tried to warm Applejack up in a mock battle. They had quickly passed the torch to Vinyl and Cloud Kicker when they realised they couldn’t hold the blonde Eponian’s pace.

“You hear that?” Redheart whispered with a small smile as the shouts of Applejack’s name became louder and louder. “Our Applejack’s quite demanded.”

“Not very surprising,” Turner commented softly. “She’s going to make them proud, I know it.”

“How could you know that, Doctor?” Ditzy asked playfully. “Did you use your clockmaker powers to go to the future?” she joked, earning fits of laughter from the rest of the team.

“No need to travel through time to know the outcome of this trial, Ditzy,” Turner answered with a mysterious smile.

“Of course.” Raindrops nodded. “Everyone with a pinch of good sense would know that our monster’s unbeatable!” Everyone replied with a collective nod.

“Y’all better stop callin’ me a monster!” Applejack shouted from the pit.

“Ha, you finished warming up?” Zecora asked, facing the blonde competitor who nodded while putting her usual brown hat on. “In that case, why don’t you go bring back this tournament’s cup?”

“Unless you want to disappoint them,” Redheart showed the crowd with a wave from her hand.

“Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!”

Applejack listened to the crowd chanting her name before sighing with a small smile.

“It ain’t in ma habits to let ma town down,” Applejack said as she walked out of the pit. “Ah ain’t gonna start today.”

        As soon as she came into the crowd’s view, Ponyville’s supporters’ cheers for Applejack became even louder than before. She gave them a small tip of her hat before walking with determination to the arena.

“Cloudy, Vi’, are you two ok?” Ditzy asked when the two others sat next to the rest of the teams, slightly sweating and panting.

“Don’t worry, Ditzy,” Cloud answered before towelling her face. “So, who wants first call?”

“For one hundred bits each?” Allie asked with curiosity.

“Eeyuup!” Vinyl nodded.

“I call one block followed by an uppercut,” Raindrops said casually.

“Two dodges and one right hook!” Redheart suggested.

“One block with the right hand, followed by a left punch in the stomach,” Allie called.

“I’d say three dodges, one block, and ending by a stomp on the chest.” Roseluck pondered.

“I call one double punch in the thorax after one dodge,” Ditzy claimed happily.

“Three light punches followed by a right uppercut for me,” Turner said with conviction.

“Two dodges followed by a right hook should bring the victory in my book,” Zecora called in her usual, mystical tone.

“One grab, a twist of the arm and a roundhouse kick.” Cloud let out casually. 

“And for me, I’ll say one kick to the knee followed by a diving punch on the face,” Vinyl suggested playfully.

        In the meantime, Applejack had entered the arena and was now facing Sergei who was eyeing her with curiosity. She took her jacket off and put it on the arena’s fence, earning a few whistles of admiration from the rest of the competitors who were standing close to watch the first match. Applejack was wearing a crimson, tight tank top which showed her well endowed muscles, as well as another rather well-endowed part of her anatomy. About which one they were whistling, Applejack wasn’t sure, but she decided to ignore them.

“Ok, now that we’ve got our two competitors ready, how about we get started?” Pinkie asked through her megaphone.

“You gonna keep the hat on?” Sergei asked with a cocked eyebrow as Applejack was securing her hat on her head.

“Is that a problem, Sugar?” she asked as she took her starting position.

“Nyet,” Sergei replied with a shake of his head. “Udachi!” [Good Luck!] he added before taking his fighting stance.

“Begin!” 

        As soon as the signal was given, Sergei lunged at Applejack, his right fist ready for a right hook. Applejack took as step back before twisting her upper body backwards to dodge the first hit, her right hand maintaining her hat on her head. Before he could draw his fist back, Sergei felt an intense pain on his chin.

        During her dodge, Applejack had given him a powerful, rising kick in the jaw, causing him to be thrown upwards by the strength of the blow like a rag doll. While the current title holder fell heavily on the ground, Applejack slowly put her foot back on the ground.

She eyed the man on the ground for a second or two before turning around as he didn’t look like getting up. Applejack managed to make one step toward the exit of the arena when the crowd, who had been silent since the blonde’s kick, cheered loudly and she heard a low grunt from behind her.

She faced him back to see him uneasily standing up, ready to fight despite his bloody mouth and his unfocused gaze. Sergei shook his head to get his sight clear before charging toward Applejack.

Sergei tried to get her with a left hook, but she dodged again by making a quarter spin to her right before kicking behind his right knee, forcing him to the ground. Before he could even glance at her, Sergei received a strong punch to the right of his skull. The momentum brought his head vigorously to the ground, knocking him out instantly.

A heavy, and deep silence filled the Coliseum as a huge part of spectators were watching at the hat wearing blonde in the arena in awe, the other part, composed of Ponyville’s supporters, was slowly smiling.

“YEAH, APPLEJACK! WOOOOHOOOO!” Ditzy shouted happily, hovering above her teammates before letting herself fall on the ground while Vinyl was grinning madly with an expectant hand.

“Applejack! Applejack! Applejack!” Ponyville’s supporters cheered for their champion loudly.

“Winner of the first eighth final, Applejack from Ponyville!” Pinkie shouted excitedly.

        The other competitors looked at Applejack with uneasiness and worry. When she noticed their stares, Applejack softly chuckled. Now, she knew what they were looking at, and, with their fearful expressions, it clearly wasn’t at her endowed femininity. 





“First quarter final!” Pinkie shouted happily. “Neighpon vs Ponyville! HAJIME!” Pinkie tapped a gong to signal the start of the fight.

        As soon as the signal was given, Applejack’s opponent, a rather muscular man with spiky, short, brown hair, wearing a white gi with ripped off sleeves, red fingerless gloves, and a red bandana on his forehead, dashed at her before jumping while executing a spinning kick, five meters away from her, shouting some incomprehensible chants.

        What surprised Applejack, was that he kept doing his fast, spinning kicks midair while advancing toward her, weirdly hovering a few feet above the ground. It didn’t surprise her enough that she couldn’t take any actions though.

        At the last second, she swiftly kneeled, letting his kick pass inches above her hat, before standing up to place a mighty uppercut between his abs and his ribcage. The spinning motion of her opponent was suddenly interrupted, as he gasped loudly before being sent flying a few meters in the air.

        Applejack made a backward jump before leaning heavily on her left leg, swiftly taking the stance of a predator ready to leap on its prey. Her adversary managed to do an acrobatic pull-up during his fall, thus succeeding to land on his feet. He glanced in her direction.

        Applejack pushed on her left leg, thus starting a fast charge at her opponent. All he could see was a crimson, blonde haired blur wearing a brown hat before being stomped in the chest by her right foot.

        He felt, and heard, few of his ribs cracking under the pressure of Applejack's kick before being catapulted toward his team outside the arena. One of his Titanian teammates tried to catch him in his green, magic aura to prevent the poor guy to crash on his team. The rescuer’s magic focus wasn’t strong enough to break the momentum of his propelled friend who ended his course on him, knocking over the rest of his teammates along with both of them.

“Ah might have gone a bit too far with that kick,” Applejack whispered with a wince as Pinkie declared her winner of the quarter final.





“No, I’m not going!” Soarin affirmed in a fearful but firm resolution.

“Soarin, stop acting like a wuss!” Shining taunted him.

“If it prevents me from going into the arena with that.... monster of a woman, then I’d rather become the king of the wusses right away!” Soarin claimed, pointing a shaking finger at Applejack who was busy watching the last quarter final.

“You’re overreacting, Soar’. You’ve been the silver medalist during the previous Games,” Fleetfoot reminded him.

“You’ve seen what happened to the gold medalist of the previous games?” Soarin asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Forty five seconds! That’s how long he lasted against her! And he’s still knocked out!”

“You’ve been training to surpass Sergei, you should be able to hold your ground against Applejack,” Quake chimed in slowly.

“Yeah, I don’t know why but after your estimations on Friday, I’m not entirely trusting your opinion on that,” Soarin said with a shrug.

“What did you just say?” Quake asked angrily.

“Soarin, Quake, that’s enough!” Shining interrupted them vigorously. “Soarin, like it or not, you’re going to fight this match!”

“Why don’t you go in my place?” Soaring asked with annoyance. “The blue haired sister already beat the crap out of you, why not let the blonde have her chance? It’ll be a nice doublet for Ponyville.”

“Triplet actually, considering Shining fainted Saturday because of Cloud Kicker.” Spitfire chuckled softly, causing her team leader to glare at her while the others laughed at him.

“Is that your payback for Thursday night?” Shining asked the Wonderbolt Leader with narrowed eyes.

“Yes,” Spitfire bluntly answered.

“And Iron Will wins the last quarter final!” Pinkie shouted in her megaphone. “We’ll take a short snack break before watching the first Semifinal opposing Canterlot to Ponyville!” Pinkie explained before pulling a cupcake out of her pocket.

Soarin gulped at the mention of his next fight, before Spitfire flicked his nose impatiently.

“Aow!” he muttered, rubbing the tip of his nose. “What was that for?”

“To make that loser face going away,” Spitfire explained casually. “You’re a Wonderbolt, Soarin, people look up to you. We can’t have the second in command of the Wonderbolts frightened like a schoolgirl, can we?”

“I suppose.” Soarin awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Not sure people are still going to look up to me after that though...”

“Soarin,” Spitfire warned in a low threatening tone. “That’s loser’s talk. There are no losers in my team! Especially if they want pie as a reward,” she added with a knowing wink.

        Soarin chuckled softly at that remark.

“It’s going to take more than one pie to convince me...”

“Fine,” Spitfire chuckled. “I’ll treat you to an all-you-can-eat pie buffet after tonight if you fight with all you got.”

“That’s already more interesting,” Soarin admitted, his interest slightly piqued.

“And if you win,” Spitfire added with a knowing and sly grin. “I might even let you have IT.” 

“You mean the....” Soarin replied with a dumbstruck expression.

“Yes, Soar, MY very OWN special pie!” Spitfire purred in a low seductive tone. “The one I’ve only shared with my former fiancé.”

        Soarin swallowed his spit before licking his lips with a hungry look, and a strange, sensual glaze in his eyes, as they were focused on Spitfire.

“That’s very interesting...”

“You have to earn it first, my dear Soarin,” Spitfire whispered, slowly brushing her forefinger up to Soarin’s chin. “After all, it’s a rare prize. I’m not giving the opportunity to taste IT to anyone.” she casted a fiery glance at Soarin who was shaking in excitement.

“I’m going to warm up!” Soarin quickly said, his motivation at full blast, before flying to the arena to warm up.

“I don’t believe it,” Fleetfoot let out quietly. “I didn’t know you of all the people could do that,” she said with wide eyes.

“Do what?” Spitfire asked innocently.

“You’ve just bribe Soarin with reward sex!” Quake replied bluntly.

Spitfire blinked before blushing madly. “Do- Don’t say stupid things like that!” She defended herself. “It wasn’t that at all!”

“It looked a lot like it though,” Shining chimed in awkwardly.

“Yeah, what else could my very own special pie mean, huh?” Fleetfoot said, grinning widely at her captain.

“I-It means my grandmother special secret recipe!” Spitfire shouted, her cheeks red from embarrassment. “Soarin tasted it when we were kids and he has always wanted to eat it again.”

“Likely story, Spitfire.” Quake chuckled.

“As if we’re going to buy that,” Fleetfoot said with a growing grin.

“SOARIN!” Spitfire called loudly. “GET BACK HERE NOW!”

        In a blink of an eye, Soarin was right back at Spitfire’s side.

“You called?” Soarin asked with a short chuckle.

“What did I just promise to give you if you win this fight?”

“You promised to bake me your grandma’s nut cream pie with caramel,” Soarin replied with sincerity. “Why do you ask?” he noticed Spitfire’s cheeks. “And why are you blushing like that by the way?”

“For nothing! Go back warming up,” Spitfire ordered sternly,.

“Ooookay,” Soarin said in confusion before flying back to the arena.

“See?” Spitfire asked with a dark glare as soon as he was out of earshot.

“Huh,” The other members of her team said uneasily, unable to look at her.

“I can’t believe you’d think I’d do that,” Spitfire said, her disappointment and offense both pretty clear in her voice.

“Ok, Snack Break’s over!” Pinkie called through her megaphone. “Are our competitors ready?”

“We’re sorry, Spitfire,” Shining, Fleetfoot and Quake said in unison.

“First semifinal: Ponyville vs Canterlot..... FIGHT!” Pinkie blew loudly in a whistle to start the match.

“Seriously, who do you think I am?” Spitfire asked. “Cloud Kicker?”

“I don’t think she’s ever done that,” Fleetfoot whispered.

“Wooo, Soarin’s all fired up,” Pinkie commented happily. “He keeps the pressure on... Maybe someone will finally land a hit on Applejack,”

“Even worse!” Spitfire replied. “You think I could have done that while Cloud Kicker never did, and SHE’s a sex addict!” Spitfire yelled without realising it.

“No, I’m not!” Cloud retorted from afar, pretending to be offended.

“Yes, you are!” Spitfire and all of Cloud’s teammates replied simultaneously. “And you’re almost proud of it!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Cloud admitted with a good hearted chuckle.

“Ha, Soarin’s in trouble,” Pinkie said with worry. “Applejack grabbed his leg before his kick could hit.”

“Well, it’s just that you’ve always had sorta of a soft spot for Soarin, so...” Fleetfoot justified awkwardly.

“W-what?” Spitfire asked in shock. “Since when?”

“Well, you’ve always forgiven him whenever he’s late for practice,” Quake remarked.

“I’m a forgiving woman that’s all,” Spitfire retorted.

“Aouch! That’s gotta hurt,” Pinkie commented with a wince.

“Forgiving?” Shining asked with a cocked eyebrow. “You’ve yelled at me before a cadet inspection because my left lace wasn’t tied up anymore.”

“Huh...” Spitfire didn’t know what to answer to that.

“He’s pretty determined to fight,” Pinkie said solemnly. “I’m not sure someone else would have stood up after that punch.”

“Or when he said that he’d love to have kids on the Games’ first day,” Fleetfoot said knowingly. “You’ve stared at him weirdly after he said that.”

“I was just surprised,” Spitfire said uneasily.

“Not just surprised.” Fleetfoot grinned knowingly.

“I’d really take one or two steps forward if I were Spitfire right now,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly in her megaphone.

“What....” 

        Spitfire turned back to the arena quick enough to see Soarin’s body land heavily on her, sending them both on the ground. After recovering from the impact, Spitfire took notice of Soarin’s blackened right eye as he was slowly, and painfully trying to get off her.

“Soarin, you ok?” Spitfire asked softly with an obvious concern.

Soarin groaned loudly. “I think I’m not gonna find out your grandma’s secret ingredient today,” he muttered with a painful chuckle.

“I think you’re wrong, Soar,” Spitfire chuckled back, gently patting his head. “I’m still going to bake it for you, you’ve earned it.”

“Aww, that’s nice.” Soarin sighed with a short smile. “Not today though,” he added, wincing as he felt his belly with his hand. “I think she broke my stomach.... I didn't even know it was possible,”

“In that case, I’ll postpone the pie buffet as well,” Spitfire replied with a nod.

“Good call... Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to pass out on you,” Soarin whispered before falling unconscious, his head landing in Spitfire’s chest.

Spitfire giggled softly. “I can’t really stop you, can I?”

“She’s soooo into him!” Fleetfoot said happily.

“Hook, line and sinker!” Quake nodded.

“Completely infatuated!” Shining chuckled.

        Spitfire’s raised middle finger was the only response they got from her.





“Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s now time for the GRAND FINALE!” Pinkie cheered happily. “The clash of Titans between the Strong Giant from Las Pegasus, IRON WILL,  and the Untouchable Monster of Ponyville, APPLEJACK!” The crowd chanted happily along with the pink haired announcer.

“What in tarnation did she call me?” Applejack asked, angrily staring at the pink and purple flying contraption.

“Well, you kinda are a monster compared to regular people, Sis,” Vinyl said matter-of-factly. “And that’s exactly why we love you so much,” she quickly added when her sister’s angry stare passed from Pinkie to her.

“Sure,” Applejack whispered to herself with a sour pout, before heading to the arena.

“Applejack, hold on a second,” Raindrops called.

“What is it, Sugarcube?” 

“Mhm... Could you....huh,” Raindrops stammered. “Could you maybe not hurt him too much?” she asked hesitantly, pointing at Iron Will.

“Yer askin’ me to lose on purpose?” Applejack asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“No!” Raindrops firmly shook her head. “Just not hurt him too much,”

“That drink you had with him on Friday night was that good?” Cloud asked with curiosity.

“Kinda.” Raindrops nodded with pink cheeks. “And, it’d be nice if he’s still.... complete for another one,”

Applejack smiled. “Ah’ll do what Ah can,” she said softly.

“Thanks.” Raindrops smiled back.

        Iron Will watched Applejack getting in position, a few feet away from him. At some point during his drink with Raindrops, the conversation turned to Raindrops’ training, and thus to Applejack. At first, Iron Will thought that the teal haired woman had purposely exaggerated her teammate’s ability to fight and strength a bit. Now that he had witnessed the full extend of it, he was regretting not having believed her on the spot.

        Iron Will had participated in the previous Equestria Games’ hand-to-hand fighting tournament. He had had the opportunity to fight against Sergei during the quarterfinal back then. He remembered that he hadn’t lost by much, which made him confident about his chances to win the competition now, four years after that defeat. 

        Seeing Applejack wipe out her opponents like they were nothing had almost crushed his confidence in victory. Making it to the final had restored some of said confidence, but he knew that one second of inattention against hat wearing blonde could mean defeat. Soarin had lasted longer than the others, but he still didn’t manage to land a hit on her.

“Alrighty guys, let’s get this party started!” Pinkie shouted before ringing a gong.

        Iron Will took a deep breath before marching slowly toward Applejack, his guard firmly held in place. In the meantime, Applejack rolled her shoulders while making a few steps back before taking her hat off to put it delicately on the arena’s fence, turning her back to Iron Will.

When he saw Applejack wasn’t looking at him, Iron Will quickly closed the distance, his right arm ready to punch the reckless blonde. He threw his punch at Applejack, only lowering his left guard for a short half a second to get a better view at his target.

Unfortunately for him, it was during that little half of a second that Applejack swiftly spun around to face him.

In one smooth, swirling movement, Applejack had lifted her right leg to Iron Will’s face level, delivering a strong kick to the side of his skull before his punch could connect with her own. The blonde continued her move by putting more strength in her leg, thus ending her spin by propelling Iron Will away from her.

The tall man’s body heavily fell on the ground, bouncing a couple of times before crashing into the arena’s fence, bursting it to pieces to end his course a couple of meters outside the arena’s limits.

“Well, that was pretty rough,” Pinkie commented as Iron Will didn’t show any sign of getting up up. “The new champion of Equestria: APPLEJACK FROM PONYVILLE!”

        That announcement provoked an explosion of cheers from the Ponyvillians, who started to chant Applejack’s name while the concerned party put her hat back on to give it a short tip to the crowd.

“She said she’d be nice with him,” Raindrops whined a little.

“Well, you asked her to not hurt him too much,” Vinyl remarked casually.

“Vinyl, she sent him THROUGH the fence!” Raindrops pointed out vigorously. “How is that ‘not too much’?”

“How did you want AJ to not hurt him too much without winning the fight with one, single hit?” Cloud asked. “As for the fence part, you know that she doesn’t do things with subtlety, right?”

“That’s kinda true,” Raindrops admitted with a sigh. “I still feel bad for him to have lost like that. It would have been nice if he had won.”

“You actually thought he could have beaten Applejack?” Allie asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

“Let’s not get carried away, Allie,” Raindrops replied with a soft chuckle. “I said it would have been nice, not that it was possible,” she explained. “I know from first experience that our monster’s unbeatable.” Raindrops pointed at Applejack who had decided to carry Iron Will to the infirmary as his team’s medics were too slow for her liking.

“Everyone in Ponyville knows that, Raindrops,” Ditzy pointed out.

“And now, everyone in Equestria knows,” Roseluck stated.

The rest of Ponyville’s team glanced at the crowd who was still chanting Applejack’s name. The only difference with before was that chanting crowd occupied the entire Coliseum this time, not just Ponville’s bleachers.



 



> Celestia's little idea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That was rather impressive, wasn't it?" Luna asked slowly as the Council members and Cadence, lead by a very excited Rarity, walked out of their private booth, leaving the two monarchs alone.

"Indeed, it was," Celestia commented as her eyes were fixed on Ponyville's pit, or to be specific, on the tall blonde wearing a brown stetson in Ponyville's pit.

"I always thought the girls exaggerated Jacquelyn's strength to some extent," Luna said as she also fixed her gaze on Applejack. "Looks like I was wrong,"

"Don't feel bad, Luna," Celestia reassured softly. "I still have trouble believing she actually stopped a Gorghon like it was a simple rodeo calf, and I had every proof of the truth right before my eyes at that time."

"I understand your skepticism, Sister." Luna nodded. "I questioned some of Chrysalis' soldiers who surrendered. They all said that they had to use the perfect coordination of two five Titanians strong squads to capture it," she explained slowly.

"Yet, she took care of that beast alone with a rope for sole equipment," Celestia added in an admirative tone.

"You know, I think I didn't hear such admiration in your voice since that day when our attention was drawn on the younger Twilight Sparkle," Luna commented with a chuckle.

"Twilight was a diamond in the rough," Celestia explained, not without joining her sister's chuckle. "Her potential was simply beyond anything we ever witnessed since Uncle Clover,"

"And you think Jacquelyn is a similar case?" Luna asked with curiosity.

"That's what I think," the Sun Princess replied with a nod. "Though, in her case, I think we still didn't grasp the full extent of her potential,"

"What makes you think that?"

"You remember Aunt Smart Cookie's lessons about how Eponian Magic works?" Celestia asked with nostalgy. 

"You're the one more in touch with Eponian Magic out the two of us, Tia. You'd got lessons with Uncle Pudding and Aunt Cookie while I had Uncle Hurricane to teach me about Jupitatian Magic," Luna replied in the same nostalgic tone. "That's why you're the "big" sister," she added in a joking tone.

Celestia faced Luna with narrowed eyes. "I don't see why you stressed the word big so much."

"Let's just say that despite what you claim," Luna said with a smirk. "I know that since Pinkamina entered in our life, your royal buttocks took a few centimeters. Making them bigger than they already were before."

"Luna, we're four thousand three hundred sixty-eight y...." 

"Sixty-seven!" Luna claimed vigorously.

"Sixty-seven, sorry," Celestia corrected herself in a patient tone. "Don't you think we're past the age for you to be jealous about how my body looks?"

"First of all, I'm not jealous!" Luna affirmed with firmness. "And second, don't think I implied that you look good. I merely pointed out that you are getting fat!"

Celestia cocked an eyebrow at her sister. "Really?"

"Like the young ones would say," Luna cleared her throat. "Your ass is so fat that when you go visit the zoo, people point at you from behind and shout: Wow, check that out. A hippo escaped his paddock!" she said in a deep, rude voice.

"Ooooookaaaay, now you've done it." Celestia stared at her sister angrily. "Your breasts are so small that whenever I want to cut my bread in slices, I lay you down on the table and use your chest as a cutting board!" she said in the same deep and rude voice.

The two sisters held each other's glare for a good minute before they both cracked into a good hearted laughing fit.

"That was so bad, Tia," Luna almost cried from laughing.

"You must admit that yours was far from good," Celestia chuckled before turning her eyes to her lower back. "Is it really getting bigger?" she asked in a soft worried tone.

"Don't worry, Sister! It's still as big as it had been for four thousand years," Luna replied with honesty. 

"Thanks.... I guess ...."

"Anyway, what were you about to say about Eponian Magic?" Luna asked with curiosity.

"Well, basically, it's even more connected to the emotions than the other two types of magic," Celestia explained. "Titanians and Jupitarians have to focus their minds to do their magic. It's the very definition of their character that defines what they are good at when they cast spells, what color their magic aura, or wings are."

"Like how, for example, Shining is talented with barriers and shields because he deeply wishes to protect?" Luna asked.

"That's a good example," Celestia agreed. 

"What about Eponians, then?" Luna wondered out loud. "What activates their magic if it's not controlled by the mind?"

"It's always active," Celestia replied simply.

"Huh?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "Then how can you say we haven't grasp the full extent of Jacquelyn's potential?"

"It's always active, but the output isn't constant at all," Celestia explained with a mysterious smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Luna scratched her brow with a puzzled expression. 

"Let's just say that if our bodies didn't know instinctually when to reduce the amount of Eponian magic in our limbs, you and I would have crushed to pieces basically everything and everyone we ever touched," Celestia answered with an unhappy chuckle.

"I think I get your point," Luna replied with cold shivers running down her spine at that thought. "That's why you suspect her to be actually a lot more strong than what she already is?" she asked, nodding toward Applejack whom Rarity had just jumped in her arms before kissing her passionately in Ponyville's pit.

Celestia nodded. "I've done some research about her after Cadence's wedding," she said matter-of-factly.

"Anything interesting came out of that?"

"Scholarship pretty below average," Celestia commented casually. "With the exception of a few fights in bars, she is a model citizen. She does a lot for the community. She has won a lot of rodeos and a few local boxing competitions. Nothing really interesting..... Except a small incident nearly seven years ago."

"What incident?" 

"A rogue manticore's attack on a teenager in White Tail Wood," Celestia replied.

"How is something like that considered a small incident?" Luna asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"The attacking beast was killed before injuring the teenager too severely."

"That teenager must have been lucky some guards passed close to the attack's place," Luna commented. "But, what does it got to do with Jacquelyn Apple?"

"Well, when the guards arrived in White Tail Wood, they found the attacked girl with one of her friends taking care of her near the lifeless body of the manticore," Celestia explained. "Said friend, a sixteen years old blonde named Jacquelyn Apple, had rescued her friend by killing the beast herself."

Luna's eyes widened in shock. "How did she do that?"

"The Guard's report mentions she did that with her bare hands," Celestia slowly said.

"What?!" Luna nearly shouted in surprise.

"You heard me, Luna," Celestia said softly. "Sure the manticore in question wasn't a young one; It had only one wing left and was apparently deaf.... They did mention another, older incident with the Apple Family and a one winged manticore.....but still, that manticore was still dangerous, and the guards found it with fangs shattered, its tongue almost cut in two, its stinger shoved in a tree, its jaw nearly broken and with a broken neck near an untouched Jacquelyn Apple."

Luna let out a short impressed whistle. "A very interesting incident indeed. If I may say it like that."

"I think you may, Luna," Celestia replied with a nod. 

"It's weird that something like that never reached our ears before," Luna remarked.

"What would you have done if it did?" Celestia asked curiously.

"I would have recruited that girl into my Night Guard on the spot!" Luna said firmly.

"Not a bad decision....Though I think she would look quite fetching wearing the Solar Guard's armor, don't you agree?" Celestia asked with a small grin.

"Tiiiiiaaaa!" Luna whined. 

"Don't worry," Celestia chuckled. "I don't plan on offering her a place in my Guard before you do... Though, I do have something planned for her first," she added in a conspicuous tone.

"What are you planning to do?" Luna asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow.

"I plan on measuring the extent of her potential," Celestia explained slowly.

"...... How?"

"I have my little idea," Celestia grinned before rising from her seat. "If someone asks, I had to urgently go back to Canterlot and I'll be back later in the afternoon," she said while her hand was glowing in a bright, golden aura. 

"What idea?" Luna asked before Celestia teleported away in a golden flash. "Grraah! I hate when she does that!" she groaned while rubbing her dazzled eyes.





"How long do you think they're gonna keep going?" Allie asked in a whisper, pointing at Applejack and Rarity who were both still locked together in a passionate make out session.

"I don't know," Roseluck whispered back. "Not long I suppose. I mean, they have to stop to breath at some point, right?"

"I'm not sure," Redheart tilted her head in a pensive frown. "I think they're alternatively, mutually giving each other oxygen through their kiss."

"That's actually possible?" Ditzy asked curiously.

"I have no idea," Redheart replied softly.

"I can't believe I'm the one who's going to say that." Cloud rubbed her temple. "But, do you really want to spend the extra lunch hour AJ's badassery gave us by staring like a bunch of horny idiots at her kissing Rarity?"

"Yes!" Roseluck, Allie, Ditzy, Redheart, and Turner replied in unison.

"They're about to break a record, I'm sure of it!" Turner said happily as he was glancing his chronometer.

"I think it's so romantic," Roseluck sighed longingly. "And, I'm sucker for romance."

"It reminds me of my younger days with Dinky's father," Ditzy sighed just like Roseluck. "Before he committed the unforgiveable!"

"What did he do?" Twilight asked with compassion.

"He dared say to me that he liked donuts more than my muffins!" Ditzy growled.

"That's ....horrible?" Twilight said hesitantly before Cloud approved her remark with a discrete nod. "I'm sorry it happened," 

"It's ok, Twilight," Ditzy assured. "I'm over it!" she blinked a couple of times. "Curse you, Donut Joe's Franchise! Curse you and your manufactured, family-breaking pastries!!!" she shouted angrily at the ceiling.

"Oooookay," Vinyl said awkwardly before heading out of the pit. "I'm gonna go and see if Big Mac brought Alizée already,"

"I'm coming with you," Octavia said before walking to take Vinyl's arm in hers.

"Oh, it just makes the whole deal a lot more interesting then," Vinyl whispered amorously before softly pecking Octavia's lips. "Thanks for the company, love."

"I'm doing this for Alizée," Octavia replied with a small blush. "She needs all the encouragement one mare might get before a big competition."

"You can't lie to an Apple, honey," Vinyl replied with a chuckle. "Just admit you can't stand being away from me for too long," 

"Why would I admit that?" Octavia asked hesitantly.

"Because that's how I feel, and I know you feel the same," Vinyl whispered in Octavia's ear in a low purr.

"You really need to take care of that silver tongue of yours," Octavia replied slowly, her whole body shivering in excitement.

"Would you do it for me?" Vinyl asked in a soft whimper.

"With pleasure!" Octavia grabbed Vinyl's collar before pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Hum.... Shouldn't you go to your brother to see if he brought Alizée?" Fluttershy chimed in quietly, delicately poking at Vinyl's shoulder. 

Evidently, Fluttershy's question was answered by a series of soft moans from Octavia and Vinyl as the former was 'taking care' of the latter's tongue with the most dedicate attention. The group of 'admirers' now had a problem: which couple to observe?

"Hum, I guess that's a no," Fluttershy said softly.

"Don't worry, Sweetie," Cloud chimed in casually, causing Fluttershy to blush a little at the pet name. "I know what to do." Her left hand surrounded itself with a blue-ish fogg as two miniature rain clouds appearred above the kissing couples. "They just need a cold shower." she clacked her fingers.

The two Apples interrupted their kissing activity with their respective partner in a mix of grunts and shrieks as the cold water from the clouds fell on their necks, while the observing group sighed in annoyance and disappointment. The four women, now a bit wet by the short indoor rain, glared angrily at Cloud. Applejack even put Rarity on the ground.

"Twilight, could you please teleport the two of us away in about a second or two?" Cloud asked fearfully.

"Sure! Your place or my suite?" Twilight asked as her right hand glowed in a purple aura.

"Anywhere but here, Twilight!" Cloud urged her as Applejack charged at her a second before Twilight clacked her fingers.

The pair disappeared in a purple flash and a low pop, making Applejack's charge end into the locker in front of which Cloud was standing a second ago in a loud clang.

"Darn it!" Applejack muttered angrily. "Ah missed her."

"You sure didn't miss the locker," Vinyl commented as the locker's door fell loudly on the ground. "Anyway, let's go see if Big Mac has arrived." she took Octavia's hand and headed to the exit. "You want to come, Shy? I'm sure Alizée will be happy to see you?"

"If you and Octavia don't mind, that is," Fluttershy remarked softly.

"It's no problem, Fluttershy," Octavia assured.

"Just a second!" Vinyl levitated a few towels for Octavia and Rarity and herself. "Now, we can go!" 

The trio exited the pits to go where Big Mac was hopefully waiting for them with Vinyl's horse.

"Well, now that the show's gone, who's up for a sandwich?" Turner asked to the rest of the group who nodded in response.

The group left the pit after having argued about which stand to go to for the best sandwich in the coliseum, which wasn't much as Redheart remarked but still, leaving Applejack and Rarity alone.

"Why don' you head for the restaurant already, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Ah'm gonna take a quick shower and meet ya there in a jiffy,"

"Don't you want me to join you?" Rarity asked sensually as she passed her arms around her lover's neck. "As a reward for that more than deserved gold medal you now have around your neck." she glanced at the medal in question.

"Ya know that Ah can't right now," Applejack said with a sly grin. "If ya get me started here, Ah won't stop for the next three hours at least." she gave her lover a quick peck on the lips. "How about we keep that for tonight?" she asked softly.

"All right," Rarity replied in a slightly disappointed tone. "Come to my hotel room later in the evening, I'll send Sweetie to Pinke for the night," she demanded eagerly. 

"Ah wouldn't miss it for all the bits in the world," Applejack said amorously.

"In that case." Rarity gave her lover a last peck on the lips before breaking her embrace on the blonde farmer. "See you in a few at the restaurant, Sugarcube," she said with a wink.

"Seeya very soon, Darlin'," Applejack winked back before Rarity went out of the pit and she went for the lockers room.

Applejack walked straight to her locker, opening up and grabbed a thin, rectangular, burgundy box before throwing without ceremony her newly earned medal in it. She hooked her hat on her locker's handle, then headed for the sink. As soon as she was in front of the mirror, Applejack opened her box to pull a thin, silver chain with an apple-shaped, silver medallion with a purple diamond encrusted in. She passed at around her neck, and sighed with a warm smile as she saw the medallion hanging on her chest.

Applejack couldn't help but to feel naked without that medallion around her neck. It was as important as her hat, which meant a lot as her hat had been given to her by her dying father eleven years ago. Both items were token of the two most important promises she ever made. Her hat for the promise she made her father to always watch over her two younger sisters and her older brother, and the medallion for her unconditioned love for Rarity.

"Beautiful necklace," a warm motherly voice commented from behind her.

"Gyaaah!" Applejack let out in surprise before turning to see who had sneaked up on her, only to be even more surprised than before. "P-Prin-Princess Celestia?" she stammered as the Sun Princess was sitting casually on of the room's benches.

"Hello, Jacquelyn," Celestia said warmly. "Or maybe you'd prefer that I call you Applejack?"

"Ya can call however ya want, yer Highness," Applejack nervously replied as she bowed to her monarch.

"Then, I'll go for Applejack," Celestia said with a soft smile that relaxed Applejack a bit. "From what I heard the crowd chanting earlier, it's obvious that you go more by your nickname than by your first name."

"Ah guess." Applejack scratched the back of her head. "Pardon me for pryin', yer Highness but..."

"Please, call me Celestia," Celestia demanded softly. "We are just the two of us, no need for so much decorum," she explained with her good-natured smile.

"Huh... Ok, Princ... Ah mean Celestia." The princess' smile grew larger. "As Ah was sayin' why are ya here?"

"Are you asking that because my presence bothers you, Applejack?" Celestia asked worriedly.

"Not really a bother, more a surprise than anythin' else," Applejack replied honestly. "An' Ah'm simply curious about why yer here, that's all."

"Rarity and the girls weren't exaggerating when they said that you always speaks your mind," Celestia remarked casually. "Though they did add you're rather blunt when you do," she added in a chuckle.

"That's a very accurate description," Applejack embarrassedly chuckled. "But ya still didn't answer ma question, Celestia."

"Do I need a reason to visit one of my protégées' lover?" Celestia asked casually.

"Not really, but Ah doubt that ya sneakin' up on me when Ah'm all alone counts as a casual visit," Applejack retorted.

The Princess stared at the farmer in silence for a few seconds. "Blunt personality, but a rather sharp mind.... An original combination," she commented in amusement. "Well, no need to beat around the bush then. I want to discuss about something with you. Something that I think is better left as a private matter." she invited Applejack to sit by pointing at the bench across her. 

"Discuss about what exactly?" Applejack asked as she took a seat on the designated bench.

"You," Celestia answered.

"Huh?" Applejack tilted her head in confusion.

"I want to talk to you about you," Celestia explained with a chuckle.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that my sister and I are rather curious about you," Celestia noticed Applejack's still interrogative frown. "Your abilities, to be specific."

"Ma abilities?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What's so special about them?" she asked after Celestia nodded.

"Hmmmm," The Sun Princess scratched her chin pensively. "You must understand that you stand out a bit too much."

"So, what's the problem in that?"

"There is no problem at all..... Unless you count the fact that five of my castle guards who have three hours of combat practice everyday didn't stand a chance against you," Celestia said knowingly. "That ten infiltrated, supposed elite soldiers, armed and ready to kill, we're wiped out by you, an unarmed farm girl, in less than a minute. That you defeated the Changeling Captain and broke more than forty soldiers' fighting spirit with a single kick. That you subdued a seven meter tall minotaur alone with, for only equipment a good rope, when it took ten Titanians to capture it in the first place. That you just won the hand to hand fighting tournament in the Equestria Games in less than four minutes of actual fighting. That you broke a manticore's neck like it was a dry branch when you were sixteen years old."

Applejack blinked at that last sentence. "How do ya know that?"

"I was curious about you and your sister since Cadence's wedding," Celestia explained softly. "I did some researches. Now, do you understand what the "problem" is?" Applejack slowly shook her head. "To make it simple, you're strong, Applejack. Ridiculously strong, I might add. Eponians are supposed to be physically stronger than the other two 'races'," Celestia said that last word with a sour expression. She hated speaking in term of races. "But, you stand at another, higher level, surely you must have realized that."

Applejack looked at the princess with a blank expression before sighing in defeat. "The idea went through Vinyl's mind, and she doesn't hesitate to share her theories with me," she explained.

"That doesn't surprise me a lot given your sister's intelligence," Celestia commented with a smile. "A shame she didn't accept that seat in the Council. She could have changed many things."

"She's an Apple," Applejack said with a chuckle. "We don't grow indoors, we need open space to for our labors to bear fruits."

"Nice metaphor, my dear." Celestia softly chuckled back. "Now, your sister made her decision, and I have no choice but to respect it. But, there's still you I'm curious about...." she trailed off with avidly curious eyes.

"Curious about what exactly?" Applejack asked with a hint of worry.

"I want to know how much strength is still hidden inside you," Celestia replied honestly. "I want to know if what people have already witnessed is, to quote your metaphor, a fully grown apple tree, or still a sapling which waits to grow into something bigger. I want to know what is supposed grow from the 'seed' the Nature Mare 'planted' inside you when you were born: a large tree, or a gigantic orchard!" Celestia locked her gaze on Applejack's. "What are you destined to be? That is what I want to know, Jacquelyn Applejack Apple."

The blonde turned her gaze away from the monarch's before standing up to get her hat from her locker, and to sit back in front of a puzzled Celestia.

"Ya want to know what Ah'm destined to be?" Applejack asked slowly. When Celestia nodded she pointed at her hat and her necklace. "Those two objects symbolize ma destiny! Ah'm destined to be a farmer! Ah'm destined to look after ma brother and ma sisters! Ah'm destined to love Rarity with all of ma heart!" she said so firmly that even Celestia leaned away from her a bit. "That's the destiny Ah chose! Not the one that puts me as some sort of freak of nature! People joke already that Ah'm a monster for what Ah can already do! What will happen if Ah'm capable of a lot more?" She asked in a slightly shaken voice. 

"Ah'm already a bit above others as ya said it! Ah don' wanna know if Ah'm supposed to be higher than Ah already am!" Applejack shouted angrily as she stood up. "Because Ah know that the higher Ah'll stand, the lonelier Ah'll get. Ya and yer sister are the perfect example!" she added while pointing her finger at her ruler.

For the first time in many generations, Princess Celestia was totally caught by surprise by what someone told her.

"What?" Celestia asked with wide, shocked eyes.

"Ya and Princess Luna stand above every darn thin' that has ever lived so far!" Applejack explained angrily. "Y'all can hide in that fancy castle with an army of servants and occasionally connect with a few individuals from each generation of the Council of Harmony, it won't change the fact that the only one who could really connect with you on a deeper level is yer own kin. Even if ya and Luna probably love each other as much as sisters could, it doesn't change the fact ya have no one other than her! And Ah think that after four thousand years, it must hurt to have only one person who can fully understand ya. To not be able to fully open yerself to others because it'll only hurt like hell after because ya'll outlive them all. All because yer above everything else!"

Applejack's angry rant was met with the deepest silence she ever encountered in her whole life. The Sun Princess stared at the farmer with blank stare until she blinked once. Applejack wasn't sure about it, as it only last the time the Princess blinked, but she thought having seen a tiny tear in the monarch's cerise right eye.

"A personality blunt as a boulder, but a mind sharp as a blade," Celestia whispered to herself, before standing up, slightly confronting Applejack.

The two women's maintained each other's gaze for a few seconds, Celestia looking down on Applejack as she was half a foot taller than her.

"You answered with your heart," Celestia said sincerely. "It's a good answer..."

"Thank ya."

"...It doesn't satisfy me though," She said in a sad, apologetic tone. "I still want to know what you're really capable off, and there's only one way to know that!" her hand shined in a golden aura before she clacked her fingers.

Before Applejack could think about voicing a protest, the two tall women vanished from Ponyville's lockers room in a bright flash of golden light.





Like Rarity and Applejack had planned right before lunch, Sweetie had gone to Pinkie's room for the night. Though it wasn't because Rarity wanted to have her suite available to have some quality time with her lover. It was because Sweetie was tired of her angry sister's pacing around their hotel room during the end of the afternoon and the whole evening.

Rarity had waited at the table she had booked for her and Applejack alone until the trials of the afternoon began. She passed by the bleachers only to see her lover was absent in her team's pit. She didn't stay to see Vinyl compete in the dressage qualification trials, and went straight for her hotel room.

She had spent the afternoon wondering about where Applejack was, only getting angrier for being stood up by her lover. She had gone from angrily shouting at a pillow thinking it was Applejack to softly sobbing while hugging the same pillow afterwards. Rarity had always had an incredible imagination, and right now, she couldn't stop it from imagining her Applejack spending 'quality time' with another woman, or worse, another man..... Or maybe both!

She kept telling herself that Applejack would never do something like that, but her hurt mind kept reminding her that Applejack was also the type to never stand her up for a date, like she did earlier that day.

It was nearly close to midnight when Rarity heard someone knocking at her door. Rarity looked herself in the mirror before opening the door, seeing her bloodshot eyes from crying, her hair in a mess and her make up completely ruined. She cleaned her make up before grabbing a large bath robe with a hood on her dresser. She put the robe on, and brought the hood up and opened the door, letting Applejack wearing her team's uniform come into view.

"Howdy, Rarity," Applejack sheepishly said in a very tired voice.

Rarity's reply was to slam the door in her face.

"Not really a surprise," Applejack commented with a wince before knocking again with her left hand. "Ah should have said somethin other than 'howdy, Rarity'... So stupid!" she whispered as she heard Rarity locking her door. "Rarity, Ah'm sorry for not being there with ya for lunch, and for not contactin' ya during the rest of day. Ya have every right to be mad at me, but please let me talk to ya!" Applejack pleaded softly as leaned her forehead on the door. "Please...."

There was short silence before she heard the lock of door opening itself.

"That's way better than your 'Howdy, Rarity'. Brush your feet before coming in! Your shoes... You're dirty!" Rarity said coldly as she noticed Applejack's uniform was covered in dust before letting her in. "Where were you this afternoon?" she asked angrily before closing the door.

"Ah.... Ah... Ah can't tell you, Sugarcube," Applejack replied hesitantly.

"Where were you this afternoon?" Rarity repeated as she brought her face close to Applejack, lifting the hood of her head.

"Sug..."

"Don't you Sugarcube me, Jacquelyn Apple!" Rarity growled angrily. "Tell me where you were! I waited for you like a complete idiot for two hours at that restaurant and spent the entire afternoon worrying sick about your whereabouts. You owe me that answer!"

"Ah know," Applejack admitted slowly. "Ah just can't... Ah'm not sure how ya will react to that..."

"Did you sleep with another woman?" Rarity asked abruptedly.

"What!?" Applejack shouted in offense. "NO!"

"A man then?"

"NO!"

"Did Cloud somehow finally convince you for a threesome with Vinyl during lunch?"

"Okay, first of all, that falls under yer first question. Second, ewww!" Applejack said with cold, disgusted shivers. "Ah did not sleep with someone else! Yer the only one Ah ever kissed and slept with, and Ah plan on keeping it like that until Ah die, okay?" Applejack shouted firmly in honesty.

Rarity's angry frown broke for a short smile. "That's good to hear," Rarity whispered softly, before deciding to bring out the big guns. "But, if you ever want it to happen anytime soon, you will tell me where you were!"

Applejack blinked in a surprised shock. "Yer blackmailin' me with sex, ain't ya?" Rarity nodded. "Didn't see that one comin'," she commented awkwardly.

"So, you will tell me?" Rarity asked in a low purr as she leaned closer to Applejack.

"huh...." Applejack took a few steps back, blushing fiercely while leaning on Rarity's vanity.

"Please tell me," Rarity whispered sensually. "I brought that toy I spoke to you about the other night..."

"Oh, Nelly!"

"Come on, Jacquelyn Apple, your baroness commands you to tell the truth so that she can give your reward for your gold medal!" Rarity demanded in her bossy tone that made Applejack's lust climb up the walls, her lips dangerously close from Applejack's right ear.

"Ah....Ah...." Rarity licked her earlobe. "Ah can't!" Applejack shouted as she bolted away from a stunned Rarity.

"WHAT!?" Rarity shouted, offended that Applejack resisted her charms. "Don't you dare walk awa..." she grabbed Applejack's right forearm.

Applejack yelled in pain as soon as Rarity touched her arm.

Rarity, startled by her lover's yell, immediately let go of Applejack's arm. While her lover was rubbing her sore right arm, Rarity stared at her in shock and disbelief. Applejack had yelled in anger very often during her life. Occasionally in pleasure, basically since Rarity and her became a couple. But never in pain.

"Show me your arm, Darling," Rarity demanded with worry.

"No!" Applejack grunted stubbornly. "Ah'm fine!"

"Darling, with that yell, you simply can't be fine," Rarity replied sternly.

"Ah'm fine!"

"You're a bad liar, Applejack!" Rarity said as she enveloped Applejack's jacket in her royal blue aura.

"Rarity! Don't!"

Rarity's magic torn the jacket apart revealing the remains of the crimson tank top her lover was still wearing, now leaving a lot of skin in plain sight. Rarity gasped in horror at the state of her lover's body, her hands quickly covering her mouth. 

Applejack's upper body was covered with large bruises: her stomach, her left hip, her lower rib cage, the left side of her neck. Her right arm was slightly swollen and bright red. Now that Rarity paid more attention to it, Applejack's knuckles were scratched, and covered with dried blood as if she had punched a brick wall repeatedly. She could see it, even in the half-light of her hotel room. A faint golden halo seemed to slowly pulse from every bruise and her swollen right arm.

"What happened to you?" Rarity asked in a tiny voice filled with worry, her eyes full of tears.

"Ah had ma right arm broken, few bones of ma torso cracked...even a couple of broken ribs....Ah think that all the bones in ma right foot were on verge of shattering at some point....." Applejack told her physical condition in a defeated sigh, while looking at the ground. "Ah was out of commission until that healing spell did enough of its work for me to walk," She added as pointed to one of the golden halos on her wounds.

Rarity softly grabbed Applejack's head and pulled it up for their eyes to meet. When she saw the worry and concern in her lover's beautiful, blue eyes, Applejack resolved to tell her what she had hope she could remain one of the only to know.

"Who did this to you, Applejack?" Rarity asked in a pleading tone.

"Ah...Ah'll tell ya, Rare," Applejack said softly, resting her forehead on Rarity's. "Ah don' wanna, but Ah will."

"Why don't you want to tell me?" Rarity asked as she caressed her lover's cheeks with her thumbs.

"Ah think ya'll freak out when Ah do," Applejack replied in a tired whisper.

"Whatever you tell me, I won't freak out," Rarity gave her a soft, chaste kiss on the lips.

"Ya promise?"

"I promise, my love."

Applejack leaned in for a longer but still chaste kiss.

"Ah need ya to promise me another thing, Rarity."

"Just ask, Darling," Rarity softly replied.

"What Ah'm about to tell ya must remain a secret!" Applejack firmly demanded. "No one must know! Ma family, our friends, ma teammates... No one!" Rarity slowly nodded. Applejack gulped before resigning herself to tell her lover everything. "Ah....Ah had a fight with Princess Celestia..." she began hesitantly her story as Rarity's eyes widened in shock at her first sentence.





The Royal Sisters had rented a small mansion in Ponyville's suburbs for themselves and a few of their servants. At this advanced hour of the night, everyone was probably sleeping inside the mansion. No soul was moving, except Princess Celestia who had discreetly just come home and was making way to her bedroom.

"Long day, Tia?" Luna asked curiously as she got out of the shadows of a large statue representing herself and her sister.

"Pretty long indeed, Lulu," Celestia replied casually, unfazed by her sister's sudden apparition.

The immortal sisters walked together toward their quarters.

"Did your little idea satisfied your curiosity concerning Jacquelyn Apple?" Luna asked as the pair walked the stairs to the second floor.

"It did," Celestia replied simply with a nod.

"Care to share what you found out with me?"

"I can't, Luna."

"Why is that?" Luna asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I promised Applejack that I wouldn't speak to anyone about what we did and what resulted from it," Celestia answered slowly. "She's the one who will decide who has the right to know."

"That promise even excludes me?" 

"Even you, Luna." Celestia nodded. "I'm sorry, but I gave her my word."

"In that case," Luna said with a sigh. "I bid you good night, Tia," she added before going to the right at the top of the stairs.

"Good night to you too, Lulu," Celestia said softly as she went to the left before entering her quarters.

Celestia used her magic to lock her door before heading to her large vanity to get ready for the night. She opened the zipper at the back of her pearly white dress. As the white silk gracefully fell on the ground, the monarch's eyes caught a faint golden hue in the vanity's mirror.

"The spell still hasn't healed it much," Celestia commented slowly as she glanced at the reflect of the shoe-shaped, dark blue bruise right in the middle of her chest. "The damage must be way more important than I thought," she added with a wince as she felt her wound with her finger. "Luckily, it's not cleavage season anymore."

She extended her right hand to her hairbrush before groaning in pain as she tried to grab the handle. She took a look at her hand and noticed she couldn't crook her little and ring fingers anymore. She remembered a particular moment of her earlier fight with the young farmer. The moment her fist was blocked by a violent kick from her younger opponent. Celestia chuckled as she cast her healing spell on her broken fingers.

The Princess sat in front of her vanity. Her hair stopped waving at non existing breeze and fell gracefully on her shoulders. As soon as her fingers started to move again, she grabbed her brush and pulled the locks that kept her left eye hidden behind her ear before starting to to brush her hair, leaving in plain sight the nearly healed black eye Applejack had given her earlier with the faint golden halo of her healing spell.

The scene of how she got that black eye played back in her head. She was holding Applejack by the collar a feet above the ground before the farmer agilely and swiftly passed her leg around the princess' right arm to lean on it in order to deliver a powerful blow to the left side of the princess' face with her other leg.

After brushing her hair, the monarch put a nightgown on before pushing her fists on her back to stretch, satisfactorily hearing her spine joints popping one after another while remembering how Applejack had managed to pass beyond her guard to elbow her in the back.

"No combat formations. No history of any trainer beside the physical education teacher in school," Celestia whispered to herself as she laid down her queen size bed. "She only trained on her own or with her brother and sister." The princess put her hands on the back of her head. "Yet she managed to keep up with me for nearly two hours..."

The image of the young farmer repeatedly standing up from the ground after falling from one of her ruler's powerful strikes, her emerald green eyes burning with the undying flame of her desire to win that made the immortal's blood boil in excitement.

"How long has it been since I was that thrilled for an unarmed combat?" Celestia wondered as she remembered all the fights she had delivered during her long existence. "Not since Uncle.... No, it was Master Puddinghead at that time, taught me and Luna how to fight," she shortly smiled in nostalgia. "Applejack reminds me of him and Aunt Cookie.... Both of them enjoyed the simplicity of life, they never seeked power.... They just used it when they had to for the sake of others. The true Eponian way of life, Aunt had called it." Celestia sighed in remembrance before her thoughts went back to Applejack.

 "A personality blunt as a boulder, a mind sharp as a blade, a body resilient as a mountain, and a spirit unbreakable as a diamond," Celestia commented with a pinch of admiration. "She may have chosen the path of the farmer, but she and I both know that she was born to fight." she slowly smirked before bringing the covers over her. "Training her would surely be a blast!"





> A walk along the Orchard of Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Despite the advanced hour of the night, a few people in Ponyville were still wide awake. Bartenders and restaurants’ cleaning crews, guards on night duty, and many others. One of these others was Luna, the Princess of the Night. Due to her title, the star-haired monarch wasn’t used to sleeping at the same time as the Sun.

        Her insomnia only became more intense whenever something was on her mind. And today, that something was what her sister had been doing during the previous day. Celestia had told her that it was Applejack’s decision to not reveal what happened to anyone, and that frustrated Luna a lot. 

She hated to feel left out of important matters, and judging by the hour her sister came back, it had been a very important matter. She wanted answers and by Faust, she would get them from the only one who could deliver them. 

Luna focused her magic to sense where the blonde farmer was at this hour. She spotted her aura right next to Rarity’s in the seamstress’ hotel suite. After a bright, blue flash, the Night Princess was standing in front of Rarity’s door. She lifted her hand and knocked a couple of times.

“Rarity,” Luna called when no one came at the door. “I know you and Jacquelyn are here and awake. I’d like to just talk to her for…”

The monarch was interrupted by the sudden, and rather violent opening of the door by a rather disheveled, and angry Rarity. Luna didn’t know what puzzled her the most, the state of Rarity’s hair and the fact she didn’t seem to care about it, or the furious glare she was casting her.

“Applejack doesn’t want to talk with anyone, and would appreciate some peace and quiet!” Rarity snapped angrily before starting the movement to slam the door.

“Rare!” Applejack’s voice called, and Luna couldn’t miss how tired she sounded. “Let her in.”

        The seamstress gritted her teeth together in anger, much to Luna’s incomprehension, before letting her Princess in. Rarity led Luna to her bedroom, wherein the monarch snapped her eyes open in shock at the sight of a very badly injured Applejack sitting on the bed.

“What in Tartarus happened to you?” Luna asked in a soft, worried tone.

“Don’t play the innocent, Princess!” Rarity growled. “You perfectly know what happened!”

“Rarity, Ah told ya she didn’t know,” Applejack retorted with a wince before holding her sore ribs. “Princess Celestia told me she hadn’t told anyone.”

“My sister did this, didn’t she?” Luna asked slowly before Rarity was about to reply, pointing at the many bruises lit up by the golden healing spells.

Applejack licked her lips uneasily. “Yes.” she replied simply while her lover simply glared at Luna in silence.

“When did she cast those healing spells?” Luna asked after inspecting the blonde’s wounds.

“A few hours ago,” Applejack replied.

“Really?” Luna frowned before examining Applejack closely. “That’s odd…”

“What? That Celestia nearly killed my lover?!” Rarity snapped. “Because that sure is odd behavior!”

“You should be completely healed by now.” Luna commented, ignoring Rarity’s rant and casting her magical sight spell on. “....Sweet Faust…” she whispered in complete shock.

“What is it?” Applejack asked with worry, causing her lover to scoot closer to her.

“You need to rest!” Luna stated firmly. “Try to get some sleep!”

“Ah ain’t feelin’ like…”

“Sleep!” Luna ordered, poking Applejack’s forehead.

        The effect was instantaneous. Applejack’s eyelids almost immediately closed as her body slumped backward on the bed. Rarity quickly grabbed her lover in her magic to prevent her from falling on one of her injuries too harshly.

“What did you do that for?” Rarity asked with a glare.

“I sped up the healing process!” Luna explained as Rarity settled Applejack comfortably. “Her own magic was fighting the one from the spells. Normally, Celestia’s spells can completely heal any wounds in less than an hour.” Except on herself and me… Too much power within us for that… 

“Then, why wasn’t she healed before?” Rarity asked in a whisper as the light of spells glowed brighter than before.

“I suppose her mind was still set on battling Celestia, which caused her magic to instinctually try to reject the spells,” Luna suggested slowly as Applejack’s snores filled the room. 

 “That’s actually possible?” Rarity asked with curiosity.

“It’s a rare phenomenon, but it’s not unheard of,” Luna replied casually. “Anyway, did she tell you what happened with my sister?”

“She was going to tell me about it when you knocked at the door.” Rarity’s anger came back at full charge. “All she told me was that Celestia started a fight with her!”

“She didn’t tell you anything else?” Rarity shook her head in response. “I guess, you and I’ll just have to wait for her to wake up… or..”

“Or what?” Rarity asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I could just….” Luna licked her lips uneasily. “I could just visit her memories of today through her dreams!”

“You can do that?” Luna nodded slowly. “But, wouldn’t that be an invasion of privacy… sort of?”

“We could say it like that,” Luna answered with a brief wince before sitting cross-legged next to the bed. “Watch over my body while I’m gone, please,” she added before taking a deep breath and joining her hands together.

“Wait! I didn’t give my authorization for this!” Rarity nearly shouted when she realized what Luna was about to do.

“That’s good, because I don’t remember asking it, my dear!” Luna replied with a short, half-hearted chuckle. “Seeya gal later, as Rainbow would say,” she added before closing her eyes in intense focus.

When she opened her eyes again, Luna saw that she wasn’t in Rarity’s suite anymore, but in the middle of a gigantic orchard. She guessed it was Sweet Apple Acres, considering whose memories she was visiting. 

The Night Princess took a look around and noticed that there weren’t any limits to the lines of trees. They just kept going beyond the horizon. She couldn’t miss the fact that there were different kinds of trees, despite a rather limited knowledge on the matter.

“I wonder if there’s a meaning behind them,” Luna thought out loud as she walked close to what clearly looked like an orange tree.

She brushed the bark of the tree with her fingers, causing the scenery to change from the orchard to a fancy apartment living room. She looked around, stumbling across a rather cute scene.

“Do Ah have to wear this dress, Auntie Orange?” An eight year old Applejack asked with obvious discomfort as her aunt was closing the zipper of her niece’s orange dress.

“I think you’re just radiant, Honey!” Aunt Orange replied with a smile before. “Don’t you agree, Ariane?” she asked to the woman who looked like the carbon copy of the Applejack Luna had come to know.

“She’s just adorable!” Ariane cooed softly, pinching her daughter’s freckled cheek. “Good job on picking Jacquelyn’s dress, little sister.”

“Good, that’s one girl done.” Aunt Orange looked around for a few minutes. “Where’s my other niece so that I can put that new dress on her?” she asked playfully when she spotted a lock of blue hair peeking from behind the chair of her sister.

        Luna couldn’t refrain her giggle at the sight of the tiny head of Vinyl Apple slowly going out from her hideout formed by the coat of her mother and the back of the chair. Aunt Orange smiled widely at the young, shy girl before showing her the light blue dress she had picked for at the shop.

“Your mother wrote me that you like the color blue, is that true?” Aunt Orange asked softly, earning a small nod from the tiny Vinyl who walked out of her hiding spot, holding a small, stuffed unicorn with a mane similar to her hair tightly secured in her right arm.

        With an encouraging, and delicate shove from Ariane, Vinyl slowly walked up to her aunt. The smiling woman turned the dress around to show its back to the young girl.

“Would you like to try it?” Aunt Orange asked slowly, earning another nod from Vinyl. “Perfect! Now, let’s just…” she gave a small tap on Vinyl’s upper back.

        Immediately after the contact, Vinyl let out a short yell followed by a bright flash of blue magic that surged from her hands before a light blue cord hit strongly Aunt Orange’s hand, giving her a long, and rather deep cut on the back of it.

        Ariane quickly stood up from her chair to reach for her sister who held her bloody hand while biting her lip to not curse in front of the girls. Vinyl looked at her wounded aunt in horror before running away to the closest closet, not seeing that Applejack was right behind her.

“It’s nothing, Ariane,” Aunt Orange tried to reassure softly. “Just an accident, and it was all my fau...” her voice turned mute as the closet door closed behind Applejack, forcing the Night Princess inside a crammed coat closet with a little Vinyl hugging her plush while sobbing uncontrollably.

        Luna was more than perturbed by what she was seeing. She had only known Vinyl as the confident spellcaster and musician, and had trouble believing it was the same terrified little girl in the memory in front of her.

        The Immortal Princess gasped in shock when the young Applejack tried to reach for her crying sibling, only to have Vinyl’s magic attacking her as well. The young blonde ignored the magic tendril hitting her on the shoulder and simply pulled her blue-haired sibling’s head into a strong embrace.

“Ah got ya, little sis’!” Applejack whispered softly to her sister’s ear while the blue tendrils whipped around the closet. “Nothin’ gonna hurt ya, Ah’m here!” 

        Applejack kept repeating her that until Vinyl’s magic stopped its rampage and that the smaller girl turned around to bury her face in her sister’s chest. Luna was more than impressed by how true Applejack’s words to always stand by her sister’s side rang for a girl so young. Such a sincere and genuine sisterly bond wasn’t something the monarch was used to seeing.

        Luna closed her eyes and focused her thoughts to pull herself away from the memory. When she opened her eyes again, she was once more in the middle of the orchard, before the orange tree, noticing that its bark was cracked at the junction of one of the branches to the trunk, similar to the cut Aunt Orange had received on her hand.

        The Night Princess continued her exploration of the orchard, stepping next to fully grown, and healthy trees full of ripe-looking fruits. She quickly identified those as holders of precious memories of the blonde farmer. Like the one when a little red-haired girl stood up and took her very first steps in what Luna had supposed was the farmhouse living room.

        During her roaming, Luna stumbled across a rather thick tree whose bark looked like it had been torn away by a huge feline. She touched the trunk and the scenery changed again, though not much as Luna was still surrounded by countless trees. She looked around only to duck when a large, furry body was sent in her direction.

        While the manticore was knocked unconscious against a tree, Luna saw a slightly younger Applejack kneeling next to another blonde girl who the Princess recognized as Cloud Kicker. Luna watched with attention the events that followed.

        Luna couldn’t help but to let out a silent wow when she saw Applejack knee-striking the manticore’s jaw to stop its charge. The farmer diverted the beast’s stinger with one hand before locking its thick neck in a choking grip. The panicked roars came to a stop after a very sharp snap noise. 

As the beast fell lifeless on the ground, the scenery changed back to the Orchard after Luna decided she had seen enough. She had come here to see one event in particular, and by the Four Gods she would find it.

Luna searched through the trees for what seemed to be like an hour, until she saw what she was looking for. Well, she wouldn’t be certain of it until she saw the memory that the tree was holding, but the fact that some of its branches were on fire was a good hint for the Night Princess.

For the nth time this day, the scenery changed, though this time, the place was somewhat familiar. It took her a few seconds, but Luna recognized it. It was the ruins of the first Titanian Household in the Everfree Forest.

“Where in tarnation are we?” Applejack asked, looking at a mix of ancient tapestries and furniture around her.

“We’re in what’s left of the ancient realm of Unicornia,” Celestia replied slowly while taking off her tiara to put it on a nearby stone table. “A ruin lost in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Very practical when you don’t want to be disturbed,” she added while taking her bracelets off.

“Why did ya bring me here?” Applejack asked slowly, cocking an eyebrow when Celestia tied her long, waving hair in a braided ponytail with her magic.

“I already told you why, Applejack.” Celestia looked at the farmer before her hand glowed in a golden hue.

“No, ya di.....HEY!” Applejack shouted angrily when her hat and silver necklace were levitated to the table next to monarch’s jewelry. “Give those back!”

“Don’t worry, Applejack. They’ll be safe here.” Celestia pointed at the table before putting her right palm on her left fist and bowing to Applejack. “I do apologize…”

“Fer what?” Applejack blinked in confusion at the princess’ gestures.

“...For this!” Celestia replied with a pained frown.

        The next thing Luna felt was the hair at the back of her neck standing. Her trained eyes could see her sister coming closer to the unprepared farmer, but she doubted that the blonde’s could.

“TIA, STOP!” Luna shouted in panic, forgetting this was a memory.

        The Sun Princess’ punch flew straight to Applejack’s face, and was about to hit its mark before the farmer put her elbow in the way of the punch. At the impact, Applejack winced in obvious pain while a violent clash rang through the empty ballroom.

        The strength used by Celestia pushed the farmer’s back while making her stumble backwards as well. The Alicorn Princess lifted her other fist for a second attack, only to be blocked by a violent stomp from the blonde.

        Using both her kick and Celestia’s punch’s momentum, Applejack put a long distance between her and the monarch. Luna watched the two staring at each other: one with shock while rubbing her sore elbow, the other with an impassible face which cracked into a small, proud smile.

“Very good reflexes, my dear,” Celestia calmly commented like she would have at a tea party.

“....thanks, Ah guess,” Applejack muttered, her eyes stern as an eagle’s focused on her monarch.

“Shall we continue?” Celestia asked politely.

“Ah suppose.” Applejack slowly nodded before taking her jacket off.

        Now that Applejack had thrown her Ponyville Team jacket away, Luna could see the presence of a developing bruise on the blonde’s elbow. The next actions undertaken by the farmer surprised the Night Princess as well as her sister.

        Applejack took stance before Celestia before nonchalantly signaling her to come at her with her fingers.

“I didn’t know you were as cocky as Renée,” Celestia commented with a cocked eyebrow.

‘’Ain’t cockiness. It’s just a simple invitation,’’ Applejack replied simply. “It ain’t like Ah tol’ ya :’’ Come and git yer royal ass kicked!” Ain’t ma style.”

‘’True that would have been...” Celestia began calmly.

“Ah would have been honest and added ‘’fat’’ between ‘’royal’’ and ‘’ass’’.” Applejack smirked.

        Luna’s jaw attempted to reach for the floor at that comment while she saw her sister blinking in shock. Applejack took advantage of the moment of confusion, and leaped forward before throwing a scything kick in Celestia’s face.

“Sweet Faust,” Luna let out as Celestia was catapulted against the wall with a loud slam before disappearing in a massive cloud of dust.

“THAT was just rude!” Celestia commented sourly. 

She rose from the dust while massaging her jaw. Other than a few misplaced locks of hair, the Princess’ body showed no signs of being hit by the young farmer.

“It ain’t like ya brought me here to test ma manners,” Applejack replied with narrowed eyes. “Ya took me away from quality time with Rarity. Ya better don’ expect ma best behavior after that!”

“How odd… I’m angry at you for being so unpleasant with me, yet particularly proud of your reasons behind that bad behavior,” Celestia commented in a slow, casual tone. “With any luck, your skills are far beyond your poor behavior.”

“Try me, Princess.” Applejack snarled.

“Oh, believe me! I will!”

        The two opponents stared at each other for a few seconds before they both charged forward, and Luna stood there watching a scratch melee that would last a lot more than she thought it would.


******


        During her long existence, Luna had witnessed many things one might think it never happened. She had faced Discord’s random but extremely powerful magic along with her sister. She had seen Pinkie’s inventing the special harnesses for their flying carriages, thus canceling the need for the Princesses to cast a spell on their horses to make them fly. She even saw a living being other than her and her sister breaking the sound barrier while flying.

        Yet she was completely shocked by what she had been witnessing for the past two hours. It was something she couldn’t have imagined beforehand, something she knew was impossible but had happened anyway. Celestia had had a very hard time against Applejack.

Her regal sister, who had always been an embodiment of class, poise, and grace was a mess. Her left eyelid was swollen so much that only a tiny portion of her cerise iris was visible. She couldn’t close her left fist anymore, probably because of broken fingers. Her right leg was limping when she walked, thanks to a powerful stomp from the farmer, and her posture was oddly tensed since Applejack had elbowed her in the back.

Applejack was in a far worse condition though : she had so many bruises all over her body that Luna couldn’t see her natural skin color anymore. Her right arm hung limply while a small part of her bone was piercing the flesh with a tiny, yet constant flow of blood. Her legs were shaking so violently and her breath so labored that the Night Princess couldn’t help to wonder how she hadn’t collapsed yet. 

Though that question was overcome by the one about how she had even survived so far. Her sister had been far from her gentle, merciful self during the fight, and every single time, the farmer simply stood up to respond to Celestia in kind. 

How she had kept up for so long, Luna didn’t know for sure, but the fight was clearly over now. Celestia was holding Applejack on the ground after a rather strong blow from the monarch.

“You...You’ve clearly overcome my expectations, Applejack,” Celestia said through heavy pants. “… I must congratulate you for that.”

        Applejack’s response was to breath loudly and with great difficulty before nodding imperceptibly while the Monarch kept her palm pressed on the blonde’s chest.

“I… I have a proposition for you…” Celestia added slowly.

“Huh?” Luna cocked an eyebrow while Applejack remained silent.

“You clearly are above every Eponian I ever saw during my life…” Celestia continued slowly. “You’re fast, strong… both in body and in spirit… Yet you lack something important.”

Luna tilted her head in confusion while Celestia made a short pause for Applejack to guess, but the farmer didn’t seem inclined to speak and was just staring at her sovereign.

“Technique,” Celestia said softly. “While I doubt that anyone would be able to overpower you in basic hand to hand combat… There are many ways to defeat you… Had I used my Titanian magic, you would have lost about an hour and fifty minutes ago.” Celestia looked at the young farmer with hard, yet kind stare. “There’s also a lot more to Eponian magic than what you and others know about….”

“.... There’s more?” Applejack asked in a shocked whisper.

“Sister, what are you implying?” Luna wondered in confusion.

“Yes, much more… Let me teach you, Applejack,” Celestia demanded softly, leaning closer to Applejack’s face. “So that this time remains the only time you were ever defeated in battle. What do you think?”

Applejack licked her bloody lips. “Mighty… interestin’...” she answered with difficulty. “...But…”

        To Luna’s great surprise, Applejack’s forehead lunged upward and slammed against Celestia’s, causing the princess to release the pressure on the farmer as well as a small yelp of pain.

        Celestia had to take a few steps back, rubbing her forehead while Applejack stood up and stomped the royal’s chest as strongly as she could. Celestia fell on her back a few feet away from the farmer, her hand on her sternum, wincing in obvious pain.

“Except Ah still wasn’t defeated,” Applejack commented with a slow smirk despite panting heavily. “And ...Ah... ain’t interested…”

        After she said that, Applejack blinked multiple times and fell on her knees as exhaustion and her wounds were finally catching up with her. The entire scene started to get blurry as Applejack fell down, and was slowly fading to black. Though Luna still managed to see her sister sitting up straight to look at Applejack, her hurting frown slowly turning into a small smirk.

“I’ll just wait for you to change your mind then,” Celestia said as her hands started glow in her usual golden light.

“....Y’all will wait for a…. long time…” Applejack said before closing her eyes while her wounds shone in Celestia’s magic.

“You’ll find out that I can be quite patient, Applejack.” Celestia commented slowly as the scene disappeared and Luna found herself back in front of the flaming tree.
        
“To think that someone who could challenge Celestia like that existed…. right under her nose.” Luna passed her hand through her hair before taking a few steps back and leaning against another tree, which was surrounded by many lilacs and roses. “Huh?” Luna looked around as the scenery changed one more time.

        Instead of the orchard, she stood in the middle of barn at night. The moonlight coming from one of the windows lighting up the floor enough so that Luna could notice a tweed, red, checkered shirt on the floor. She turned around only to freeze when a white dress flew through her along with a frilly purple bra.

“Oh!” Luna let out in stun. “.... Well, apparently Jacquelyn’s wild for other things than fighting.” She thought outloud. “Rarity doesn’t seem to mind though.” A pair of panties matching the bra from earlier flew right through the Princess’ body. “And now I go!” she added before quickly closing her eyes to bring herself back in the middle of the orchard.

        As Luna took a mental note to not approach the trees surrounded by roses and lilacs, she felt someone blowing a large quantity of hot air on her neck. She slowly turned around, and realized that she might have overstayed her welcome with that last memory.

        A gigantic wooden horse, easily two times the size of the tallest tree Luna had seen (if not more), stood behind her, its head lowered so that its glowing orange eyes were staring at Luna.

“I suppose you want me to leave, right?” Luna asked the apparition casually.

        The tree-horse flared its nostrils so that a large puff of steam engulfed Luna, making her hair stand in a bizarre fashion as well as her clothes. Luna simply arranged her clothes and hair calmly as possible.

“No need to act like that, you know? I was about to go.” The gigantic, wooden equine whinnied loudly, as if growling. “Fine, I also promise I’ll never come here again.”

        Satisfied by the honest answer, the behemoth of a horse turned its back on the Night Princess who was focusing on leaving Applejack’s dreams and memories. As her body was fading into non-existence, Luna glanced a last time at the Guardian which inhaled the scent of the lilacs and roses bushes before trotting away.

Well, Jacquelyn’s Guardian’s much more intimidating than Twilight’s book-made Owl. Luna thought with a small smile as she blinked and found herself sitting cross-legged next to Rarity’s bed.

“You’re done already?” Rarity asked in a surprised tone as Luna rubbed her eyes while standing up.

“Yes. How long was I away?”

“Barely two minutes!” Rarity remarked slowly.

“Huh!” Luna let, easily as surprised as Rarity sounded. Even after four thousand years, I still can’t get used to how time flows differently in the Dreamworld. “Anyway, I have my answers. I’ll just leave you two rest in peace.”

“Wait up a minute, Princess!” Rarity called as she grabbed Luna’s shoulder. “You had your answers, but I didn’t!” she added with an angry stare.

“Rarity, your answers can wait until she wakes up,” Luna said softly, glancing at the sleeping Applejack.

“Oh, no! I deserve to know NOW! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through while she was gone?! How worried I’ve been?!” Rarity asked angrily.

“No, I don’t, but I’m pretty sure what she’s been through was a lot worse.” Luna argued sternly, immediately silencing Rarity who looked at her feet sheepishly. “I think she deserved her rest, and, while I don’t know her that much, I’m convinced she would appreciate it if you’d just join her!” Luna brushed a few locks of Rarity’s hair out of the way before pulling her chin up. “And I think you need it as much as she does,” she added while looking at Rarity’s concerned and worried eyes.

“O-Okay…...But..what if I hurt her during my sleep?” Rarity asked sheepishly after a good minute of silence.

Luna chuckled softly before nodding at the sleeping form of Applejack, making Rarity notice that many of the healing spells had stopped after doing their jobs: only her right arm and her left ribs were still glowing but far less than before.

“Just mind her right arm when you settle in,” Luna added playfully before levitating Rarity and shoving her into the bed next to her lover.

“HEY!!….” Rarity didn’t get time to complain to the princess as a strong arm locked itself around her torso and pulled her close.

“Shhh! You’re going to wake her up!” Luna playfully whispered. “Anyway, sweet dreams! And, don’t worry about Celestia. I’m going to have a few words with her about this!” she added sternly before teleporting away from the suite.        

        In the meantime, Rarity was being assaulted by a very snuggly Applejack as the farmer pulled her seamstress against her body, quite easily for someone who had their arm broken not an hour ago.

        Inside her lover’s grip, Rarity suddenly felt the sleep catch up with her. She yawned slowly before turning around to face the freckled visage she adored so much. Rarity slowly and delicately caressed her lover’s cheek, earning a soft, satisfied moan from Applejack.

“I suppose it can wait until tomorrow,” Rarity whispered before planting a delicate kiss on the farmer’s lips and snuggling in the crook of her neck. “It’s not like anything will happen tomorrow,” she added before slowly falling asleep.


~~~~~


“Are we sure this place is safe?” A cloaked figure asked with worry as she inspected the ruined castle she and her party were settling in.

“I inspected the surroundings,” A gigantic man wearing the same cloak as the first replied in a deep voice. “All the nests I had spotted close by a few weeks ago are completely empty. Like the herds were chased away not long ago.”

“Good thing for us then.” Another woman lead the group into another wing of the ruins. “It spares us the trouble of chasing them ourselves.”

“Aren’t you curious about what drove the beasts away?” the giant of a man asked abruptly. “It’s the Everfree Forest after all.”

“Considering our business here, no, I’m not curious.” the leading woman replied apathetically.

The group entered the Western wing of the castle in ruins, walking inside what looked like an ancient ballroom or banquet hall. When the leader stepped inside the room, she stopped right in her tracks.

“What is it?” the other woman of the group asked slowly. “Did you feel something?”

“Magic,” the leader replied slowly. “A lot of magic!”

“This castle was the home of the first Titanians,” a cloaked man commented slowly. “It’s probably traces left from a long time ago.”

“No!” The leader corrected as she glanced around the room. “It’s too intense to be traces from millenias ago.” she kneeled next to a small plant growing from between two stone slabs. “And, it isn’t only Titanian magic that I feel,” she added, nearly caressing the leaves of the plant. “Eponians were here…. Very recently.” She spotted a brownish stain near the plant’s root and touched it softly.

“How recent are you talking about?” the other woman asked in a worried tone.

“From the color of that blood, I’d say earlier during the day,” the leader replied matter-of-factly as she inspected the brownish liquid on her fingers. “Looks like the damage in the ruins might not all be from time. Search the room. I want any clues on who fought here of all places, then start settling in!”

“Aye, Aye, Ma’am!” the ten cloaked figures replied in unison before doing as instructed.

While her underlings searched through the room, the leader pulled her hood up before she spotted another blood stain. She went to examine it and found a long strand of blonde hair lost on the floor. 

The tanned woman brought the blonde hair closer to her face, close enough so that she could smell the faintest odor of apples coming from it. She hummed while thinking about something for a little bit until she levitated the unknown hair in her light, teal magical aura. Using the blood on her fingers and the hair in her magic grasp, she casted a little Divination spell she knew.

It lasted only the time of a blink of an eye and some other than her might have thought it was their mind playing trick, but she didn’t. For a brief second, she saw something. Something that looked like a tall woman with long blonde hair staring down at her with bright glowing eyes.

The sudden, short apparition made her shiver with an undeniable sense of dread. It was like her own instincts were shouting at her that the apparition was dangerous, very dangerous.

“Hey, you okay?” the giant of a man called with worry. “We heard you gasp and what not…”

“I’m fine,” the leader groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose, still feeling the cold sweat of an unexplainable fear running along her spine. “Continue with the preparatives! And you!” she snapped her fingers at one of the her underlings. “Return to Ponyville and keep a close watch on things.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” he nodded. He was about to leave when he pulled a thick file from his satchel. “Here’s the maximum I could gather before you arrived.” he handed his leader the file before taking his leave.

She leafed through the file until her gaze fell on the picture of a blonde woman in a red and golden armor holding hands with Twilight Sparkle. The picture was taped to a record of a reception that took place the saturday before. The notes on the record mentioned the two women in an apparently serious, love-relationship.

The woman frowned at that, and glanced at her slightly uncovered shoulder. Well at the clear, old and long cut-scar on it to be exact. She kept leafing through the report, finding a picture of the Baroness Rarity Belle with her arm entwined with the one of a tall blonde. The same blonde from her vision.

“Things might just have gotten harder.” she thought out loud before freezing at the sight of another picture in the file.

The picture showed Viscount Fancy Pants, his wife and Lady Octavia discussing with a blue haired woman who looked like she came to the reception straight from a farm, much like the blonde she had a vision about. The two tones of blue, the shade of red in her eyes. Those elements disturbed her a lot more than her previous vision.

“Althea, install the Mirror immediately!” the tanned woman ordered loudly. “I need to talk to the chief, stat!”

“Right away!” The other woman, Althea apparently, replied sheepishly. “It’ll take some time though.”

“Hurry up then!” She barked loudly.

“Of course, Sunset!” Althea nodded in fear.

> An opening Blitz!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You think she’s okay?” Ditzy asked with worry, pointing at the sleeping form of Applejack on the bench of Ponyville’s pit.

“I don’t know…” Vinyl replied, glancing at her sister with puzzlement. “I guess she’s just...tired.”

“Yeah, but.” Redheart scratched her brow in confusion. “She’s never been tired to the point where she just falls asleep in the middle of the day!”

“Well, we can suppose that her classy girlfriend kept her ‘’busy’’ all day and night yesterday,” Allie suggested uncertainly.

“Huh… How do you explain that Rarity’s up there fresh as a daisy?” Cloud asked, pointing at the Princesses’ private box.

        All her teammates looked up where the lieutenant pointed, noticing that white dress and purple, curly hair that accompanied their sleeping partner’s lover. From what they could see from their pit, any sign of fatigue was absent on the Council Member’s face, though she looked a bit put off to say the least.

“You think she outlasted AJ?” Raindrops asked slowly.

“........Not a chance!” The entire team, minus Applejack who was still sleeping, coaches, nurse and masseuses in the pit replied in unison.

“Then she probably had trouble sleeping last night,” Redheart supposed. “And, definitely not the kind of trouble Cloud is used to cause.”

“You know, someday I’ll start to get offended by those implications,” Cloud commented in an angry tone.

“One can’t be offended by something she’s proud of, Cloud,” Turner chimed in playfully. “Extremely proud of in your case.”

        Cloud simply crossed her arms with a sour pout before slowly, and discretely smirking to herself. She was indeed immensely proud of of the sleeping troubles she could cause, especially since they disturbed one of the greatest intellect’s in the country’s sleeping pattern.

“Hey, guys!” Rainbow called as she walked up to Ponyville’s pit, a gold medal hanging from her neck. “What’s so interesting to look at inside your pit?” she asked with no small amount of  curiosity.

“Do you have to still wear your medal?” Raindrops asked the Cloudsdalian with a cocked eyebrow.

“What?! It’s awesome!” Rainbow argued with a dismissive snort. “And there’s no problem with awesomeness!”

“Well, some might think you’re rubbing your victory from yesterday in their faces,” Allie suggested with slightly disapproving stare.

“Oh…” Rainbow let out sheepishly before scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

“Allie, don’t be mean!” Ditzy chastised softly. “Renée had an excellent performance in the race yesterday and managed to beat Spitfire by a hair,” the bubbly blonde reminded with with an approving nod at the Cloudsdalian. “She has earned the right to show off a little.”

“As long as it remains a little,” Cloud added with a wink. “Otherwise, we’ll ask AJ to bring you back down to earth,” she warned the rainbow-haired girl playfully.

“You think she’d even manage to catch me?” Rainbow asked with a cocky grin, while nonetheless hiding her medal beneath her jacket. “At least not in her current state.” She stared at the sleeping blonde with a hint of worry making its way on her face. “What’s wrong with her? I’ve never seen her even yawn past eight in the morning, and now she’s dead asleep around eleven!”

“We don’t know,” Vinyl replied softly. “She arrived about twenty minutes ago, asked Ditzy and I how we did yesterday and just fell asleep while we were answering.” She didn’t want to let it be known, but she was kinda hurt that her sister fell asleep during the tale of her dressage qualification.

“We’ve been trying to wake her up since then,” Roseluck commented slowly. “Without much success, sadly.”

“Well, the hurdles finals are nearly over,” Rainbow stated slowly. “You think she’s gonna be okay in time for the start of the Blitz-ball tournament?”

“We can only hope so,” Redheart replied softly.


~~~~~~~~


“Do you think Applejack’s okay?” Fluttershy asked in her usual, barely louder than a whisper, tone, pointing at the Ponyville Pit after resting her binoculars on her armrest. “I don’t think I’ve even seen her looking so exhausted before.”

“True,” Twilight commented slowly. “She’s always full of vitality… not like Pinkie, but she’s always looked above the simple concept of tiredness!”

“Probably too much celebration with Rarity yesterday,” Cadence supposed with a soft giggle, glancing knowingly at the seamstress.

        The fact that the purple haired Titanian wasn’t even listening to her would have been enough to cause the princess to frown in confusion, but the fact that the same Titanian was throwing a dark stare at a rather concerned Celestia was clearly more confusing. Rarity’s lack of response caused all the gazes to turn in her direction.

“What’s going on?” Octavia asked Twilight softly. “Why is she staring at Celestia like that?”

“Not a clue,” Twilight replied with a puzzled frown.

Luna, did you overdo it with your sleeping spell? Celestia, ignoring the curious gazes and the angry stare, asked her sister telepathically.

No, sister, I’m pretty sure I didn’t…. Luna thought her reply slowly. … I can only suppose that it’s the aftermath of your ‘’Research on her power’’ that’s finally kicking in!

That doesn’t make any se…

Don’t you remember Uncle Puddinghead and Aunt Cookie? Whenever they pushed themselves too hard, they’d sleep through the entire day after. Even days for Uncle, sometimes.  Luna interjected in a low thought, similar to a whisper. And, with what I saw in her memories before her Guardian ‘politely’ kicked me out, your fight with her was certainly the most excruciating one she ever had.

        Celestia frowned uneasily for a mere moment, merely more than a blink of an eye, -Rarity had almost missed it, almost- before she glanced at her sister.

Do you think she’ll be back to her usual self for her team’s game today? The Sun Princess asked with a hint of worry in her thoughts.

We can only hope so, Tia. It’s not like we can fly down there to give her a boost with our Magic, Luna replied slowly. It’ll do more harm to her team than good… That is if Rarity allows us to come near her in the first place.

Indeed… Well, let’s hope she can rest as long as she need it.

“Those were very exciting hurdles races finals!” Pinkie shouted in her megaphone from her Pink-Zep. “While Princess Celestia will give our great Champions their respective medals, the first matches for our the most great, awesome, fun-a-fun-fun magical team sport in all Equestria are about to start!” The flying announcer yelled in excitement. “The BLITZ-BALL TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO START!” The crowd responded by roaring and clapping in obvious excitement. “I invite the teams selected for the opening match to head for the Blitz-ball terrains the town installed outside the stadium!”

        Pinkie’s words were followed by a rather unusual reaction from the athletes and the spectators: They all looked at each other in confusion, asking about which teams were concerned by that announcement.

“Did I forget to say the names of the teams?” Pinkie asked sheepishly in her megaphone, causing Twilight, who had stopped paying attention to Rarity glaring at Celestia, to face-palm while the her friends and the crowd giggled softly. 

        It turned out that tradition wanted that the hosting town had to participate in the opening match of the Equestria Games’ Blitz-ball competition, much to the concerned team’s great displeasure as they’d have to play without the powerhouse of their team who they had failed to wake up.

        Zecora and Redheart auscultated Applejack repeatedly, but never managed to spot any relevant symptoms to explain the otherwise healthy blonde’s state. After trying the most extreme measure, that only cause their Zebrican coach to crush on a very rare and tough fruit from her homeland on Applejack’s thick skull, the team decided to let the blonde rest under the close watch of the twins and was about to head out of the stadium.

        It was at that moment that Pinkie span the “wheel of teams”, as she called it, to choose the host-town’s opponents. The matchups being established randomly for the tournament, and while the officials normally established them in advance by drawing lots, Pinkie explained that it would be more fun to do it in front of the spectators, so she managed to impose it to the officials. How she had pulled that off, nobody knew for sure, but those who were friend with the pink-haired announcer were convinced it involved baked goods at one point or another.

        After a good minute of intense spinning, the wheel started to slow down. Everyone held their breath at the suspense of waiting to find out who’ll face Ponyville’s team until the wheel stopped on the symbol of a winged lightning bolt.

“....And the first match of the Blitz-ball Tournament will oppose Ponyville to Cloudsdale!” Pinkie shouted, her excitement matching the ones from the City in the Sky’s supporting crowd. “Now, that the first matchup is done, let’s watch the other ones before I remind you all of the rules of the game…..”


~~~~~~~



Blitz-ball: An Equestrian National Sport




~~~~~~


“Oh, my gosh! The two teams are warmed up and ready to start!” Pinkie exclaimed from her zep, which she had flown out of the stadium to comment on the game. “What’s probably shocking is the lineups chosen by the two coaches as the players the crowd wanted to see after their respective gold medals yesterday, namely Renée “Rainbow” Dash and Jacquelyn “Applejack” Apple, are both not in the active roster.” Pinkie stated in a pensive tone. “Is that a secret tactic from their coaches? Do they have plans for two of the many rising stars of this year’s Equestria Games? Only time will tell!”

        The lineup for Ponyville’s team did trouble the town’s supporters, as it didn’t include Vinyl or Cloud, both known for their respective prowess. Instead of those two, rather famous athletes, the other four members placed themselves for the kick-off.

 Roseluck was wearing the brown band indicating her position as the Ground Player around her neck, like a scarf, while Allie twirled her Magic Player, blue band around her wrist in the center circle. Raindrops and Ditzy both attached their band, respectively green and yellow, around their waists before they took their starting positions: in front of the goals for Raindrops, and in the left flank of the terrain for Ditzy.

Cloudsdale team had decided to place Snowflake as their Keeper, while the Streak twins occupied the position of Ground and Magic players, leaving the Wing Player position to Lightning Dust.

“Alright, guys,” Rainbow called her teammates before they stepped in the terrain. “Keep calm, play just like practice and it’ll be okay!” she advised slowly.

“Please, Dash!” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes at her team captain. “Look at them! Apart from that Derpy girl, their lineup is nothing but a bunch of nobodies! Not a problem at all!”

“Her name’s Ditzy, LD,” Rainbow reminded with a frown. “I thought you had learned the lesson to not underestimate that team when she beat you on the obstacle course, or when Roseluck passed you and Fleetfoot on the first day.”

“Yeah, right,” Lightning Dust snorted in annoyance. “Also, the flower girl didn’t get past me on the first day! She choked when she was about to!” she added with dismissive smirk. 

“Whatever! Just play good, all of you!” Rainbow said softly before sending her teammates on the pitch.

        The players from Cloudsdale slowly took their positions; the massive Snowflake flapped his rather small wings to keep himself in the air before the central ring of his team’s goals; Fire Streak positioned himself just before the penalty line, his blue bandana wrapped around his forehead; his brother joined Allie in the central ring for the throw in and Lightning Dust hovered a few feet behind him.

“WOOOOHOOOOO! The rings are starting to glow,” Pinkie let out, her voice trembling in excitement as the two upper rings glowed in a brownish shade of light while the lower ones shone in a bright yellow hue and the center rings surrounded themselves by a blue aura. “Are you all ready?”

The team of referees waved their approval at Pinkie as they scattered around the pitch to watch over the game with attention. Allie and the blond twin leaned forward to the center of the pitch as Pinkie, still high above the terrain, pulled out her cannon and aimed at it.

“LET’S GO!” 

        In a loud bang, the cannon shot a leather, maroon ball at top speed right in between the two player at the center. After a sharp whistling sound, the ball touched the exact central point of the pitch. As soon as it did, a bell rang to indicate the start of the match.

        Allie’s arm glowed in her cyan, magic hue before she tried to grab the rebounding ball in her magic grip before Lightning Streak took it in his right hand. The blonde Jupitarian then lunged forward, shoving the opposing Titanian out of the way with his shoulder.

“And, Streak takes the ball after a rather strong tackle on his rather small opponent and makes way towards Ponyville’s goals,” Pinkie commented as the Ponyvillians groaned while the supporters of the City in the Sky cheered.
        
        The trio from Cloudsdale continued their advances Allie following them far behind after recovering from her hit. Ditzy and Roseluck placed themselves in defense while the three Jupitarians passed each other the ball at an incredible pace.

        The blonde from Ponyville licked her lips before charging between the two twins, hoping to catch their pass midair, only to miss it by a millimeter. Fire Streak caught the ball in a small twirl of wind and ran closer to the goals.

        Raindrops flew in front of the central goal in which Fire could score before he passed the ball back to his brother, who threw to Lightning Dust. The Wing player from Cloudsdale hovered close to the ground to reach for the lower rings before Roseluck came between her and her objective.

“Out of the way, Flower girl!” Lightning smirked as she feinted to aim left, only to shoot at the right, wrong-footing Raindrops and knocking the maroon-haired girl away with her wing. She threw the ball which passed through the undefended, lower-right, yellow ring.

“And, Cloudsdale opens the score after twenty seconds,” Pinkie commented, hearing the distant crowd roar and cheer from the stadium.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Lightning smirked at her teammates who high-fived her in response.


~~~~~~


        The first quarter of the game pretty much went like the first twenty seconds. Cloudsdale was leading fifteen to zero; Lightning Dust had scored half of those goals herself, and had kept bragging about it to Roseluck whenever she tried to stop her from shooting.

        Only good side, sort of, to the first part of the match was that Cloudsdale didn’t manage to score triple. On the five times would have been possible, they hadn’t anticipated the switch of aura on the rings. Matter of fact, they have more tried to shoot before the change to take Raindrops by surprise, something they succeeded two times out of five.

Applejack’s absence was a great disadvantage for Ponyville: since they didn’t have any reserve player, unlike Cloudsdale, they couldn’t switch lineups during the game. Things weren’t looking good for the hosting town, for now.

“Shouldn’t we change the lineups?” Allie asked uneasily. “If Vinyl replaces me, that will bring more power to our game…”

“Kiddo, you’re our best shooter,” Vinyl reminded with a gentle smile.

“But, I lack speed and strength compared to you,” Allie argued with a sigh. “I’m not cut out to play against Cloudsdale,”

        Vinyl’s response was to flick the nose of her youngest team member, making her yelp softly before covering her reddening appendage with her hands.

“That’s for the loser talk!” Cloud explained to her teammates. “It’s an Apple Family disciplining tradition,” she added with a shrug.

“How do you know that?” Ditzy asked curiously.

“I’ve been on its receiving end so many times that the skin of my nose lost all its sensitivity,” Cloud replied with a chuckle. “That’s mainly why I don’t nuzzle anymore!”

“Kid, you’re gonna do great if you just believe in yourself,” Vinyl advised, ignoring the interesting fact about Cloud’s nose.

“Yeah, but it's not that ea…”

“That’s it, girls,” Turner interrupted her, lifting his eyes from his note-pad. “It took longer than I thought, but I have it all figured out!” he said with pride, tapping his pad which was full of inscriptions and calculuses.

“Really?” Roseluck asked with interest.

“Trust me on this, Rose. I’m a doctor after all!” Turner winked playfully.

“Doctor of what exactly?” Ditzy wondered out loud.

“That’s for another day!” Turner waved off before signaling the girls come closer. “So, what you’re going to do is….”


~~~~~~


“And, after a deserved break, our players are back on the field,” Pinkie announced excitedly. “Seems like Ponyville didn’t change its lineup, much to everyone’s surprise… Maybe it’ll pay off in the end!” she added pensively as the players were taking positions. “For now, it’s Roseluck Greentouch vs Lightning Dust for the throw-in!”

“What’s so funny?” Roseluck asked with a cocked eyebrow as Lightning Dust snorted at her.

“Just imagining you trying to get the ball before me,” Lightning replied through her giggles. “Hilarious!”

        Roseluck humphed angrily before leaning forward the center, immediately imitated by the orange haired Wing player opposite of her. Pinkie shouted in excitement the start of the second period before the bang from her cannon resonated across the pitch, followed by the whistle of the ball coming in their direction.

“Say, Dust,” Roseluck whispered. “I have something I’ve been wanting to remind you for a few days now….”

“Huh?!” 

        The ball flew between them and touched the ground with a low thud, and as soon as it did, Rose took action. She extended her right arm between the ball and Lightning, and with a subtle movement of her wrist, the ball rolled up her lithe arm to her shoulder.

        The florist/gymnast rolled her neck forward smoothly so that the ball could pass from her right shoulder to her left one. As it kept its momentum along her left arm, Rose raised her head to face her surprised opponent.

“You owe me three medals,” she let out in a low tone. “Allie!” she shouted before ‘’slapping’’ the ball when it passed her left wrist.

Lightning Dust yelped loudly when the ball flew straight to her forehead before bouncing in Allie’s direction as the blue-haired was standing behind Roseluck’s right side. Her teammate caught the ball in her levitation field and started to run forward.

        While the Cloudsdalian recovered from the ball meeting her forehead, Roseluck skipped past her along with Ditzy, who flew above them with a pleased smile on her face.

“Yeah!” Cloud called after Roseluck. “Show her who’s got the bigger thorns, Rose!” she added while Vinyl and the coaching team chuckled softly.

“Hey, Ref!” Lightning shouted angrily. “Isn’t there a fault?”

“I didn’t see any.” The referee waved off before focusing back on where the ball was. “Keep playing.”

“Way passes the ball to Doo, who passes to Greentouch… OH MY GOSH!” Pinkie shrieked loudly.

        Roseluck had just run up to Fire Streak the ball under her arm before she tossed the ball above the other redhead and slided between his open legs while his eyes were on the ball. As it fell behind him, Roseluck kicked the ball to pass it to Allie. The diminutive Ponyvillian quickly feinted a shot and threw the ball at Ditzy.

        The Jupitarian with grey wings gave them a powerful flap and flew straight toward the the high, right ring which was glowing in a yellow hue. Snowflake positioned himself in Ditzy’s trajectory, his wings flared open on his back.

“Huh…. Doo’s not changing her course…” Pinkie commented uneasily. “Huh…. she keeps going straight to Snowflake….” Pinkie pulled her hair in frustration. “.... I can’t take it!” she covered her eyes with her hands, only to part her fingers to peek at the action.

        Snowflake licked his lips, slowly starting to sweat at the red and grey cannonball flying straight at him. Ditzy’s face grew bigger in his eyes as she came closer. He began to notice the details of her face’s structure… the small expression wrinkles around her mouth that showed she smiled a lot… the white surrounding her crossed, golden eyes. Out of reflex, he snapped his own shut.

He felt a strong gush of wind passing right in front him before he heard the bell indicating a goal ring loudly. Snowflake opened his eyes and look around, his gaze falling on Allie jumping in Roseluck’s arms to congratulate her, only to be joined by a crashing Ditzy.

“Wow! That was amazing!” Pinkie announced in awe. “At the last second, Ditzy Doo flew vertically and passed the ball to Roseluck who dunked in the central ring!” She pinched her cheek in disbelief. “Nope… I wasn’t seeing things. Are we sure it’s the same lineup as before?”

        The trio from Ponyville walked back to their side of the terrain for the throw-in. Lightning Dust glared at Roseluck the whole way while the florist simply smiled at her. The Cloudsdalian clenched her fist strongly, small sparks of lightning coming from it in anger as the maroon-haired girl turned her back to her. 

That was a second before a sudden gush of wind came from behind her and forced her hair in front of her eyes. Lightning Dust looked around in puzzlement after noticing that the soft wind seemed to affect only her. She glanced behind her, and saw that many of the other teams came to watch the second and following periods from closer.

Her eyes fell on a violet pair that was staring straight at her through long, pure white locks of hair. Confusion replaced the anger she was feeling when Fleetfoot of the Wonderbolts slowly and discretely waved her forefinger from right to left repeatedly.

Lightning Dust turned away from the celebrity, a strong feeling of uneasiness filling her mind before she took her position. Unbeknownst to her, Fleetfoot stopped looking at her and glanced at Roseluck who noticed the Wonderbolt’s attention was on her. The Canterlotian gave her a short nod with a thumb-up, earning a sincere smile in response just before the game started again.


~~~~~~~~


        The Ponyville team did a great match starting from the second period: They scored nine tenths of their attempts at a triple goal along with quite a number of regular ones as well. The Ponyvillians seemed to know wherever to aim to get the triple. Though the Cloudsdalians didn’t let them do as they pleased.

 The match was now in its last quarter and there was only less than a minute left before the end of the game, and Ponyville was in the lead by two points. There was only one opportunity for a triple and Cloudsdale had reinforced its defense by switching their keeper and by bringing Rainbow Dash on the pitch.

Their star player and Midnight, their new keeper, had given back the City in sky’s advantage in the second part of the third and the final quarters. With less than half a minute before the end, Ponyville had only one chance of winning: taking the last triple point which would only be possible during the last few seconds of the game.

“You think she’ll make it, Vi?” Cloud asked nervously.

“Don’t you trust her?” Vinyl asked back.

“She has trouble handling stress, Vinyl,” the blonde reminded.

“She’ll do great!” Vinyl assured. “The kid’s a tough one and she’s the only one who can pull it off.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

        On the pitch, Allie took a deep breath before the resumption of the game after Turner’s last time out. She gave a final glance at the only man of Ponyville’s team who brushed his nose with his thumb two times in response. 

        Licking her lips, the cyan-haired girl nodded and stood ready along with her teammates. Fire Streak kicked the ball to pass it to Rainbow Dash before she slammed her right wing in it to pass it to Lightning Dust, who was now occupying the Ground position.

        But, like many times before, Roseluck jumped above the orange-haired Jupitarian and caught the ball in her hands and ran for the goals, a frustrated Lightning Dust on her tail. Allie came closer as Lightning Streak pulled back in defense to back Roseluck’s charge while Rainbow was trying to get away from Ditzy.

        Roseluck was at a few yards from the goals when she realized that she would be blocked if she continued further along. She threw the ball at Allie, much to the surprise of Midnight, Lightning Dust and Lightning Streak, who clearly hadn’t expected it.

        Allie caught the ball in her magic and glanced at the goals. She still had a few seconds before the switch, so she decided to come closer.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow’s voice rang in her ears before a light blue blur passed above her with a strong gush of wind and she felt the ball escaping her grasp. 

        Rainbow flew straight for their goals at top speed and rapidly took a shot at the lower, right ring. Raindrops had anticipated that shot and dived to slam the ball away with her wing, only for it fly back at the Cloudsdalian. 

        Rainbow kicked the ball on-the-fly to the high left ring, which was completely undefended, but the teal-haired woman from Ponyville turned around during her dive, took a deep breath, and spat a large water bullet to intercept the ball.

        Diverted off its course, the crimson, leathery sphere bounced away from the ring. Rainbow was about to go catch it when Ditzy flew past her at top speed and kicked the ball toward the center of the terrain with the back of her heel. 

        It rebounded a few times on the ground before Allie caught it back in her magic grip. She faced the Cloudsdale side of the terrain, seeing that Roseluck was trying to distance herself from her opponents with a large amount of acrobatics worthy of her performance in gymnastics.

        Allie also noticed that aura around the rings started to fade as well as she heard Rainbow flying in her direction. She didn’t have time to come closer to assure a clean pass to Roseluck.

“SHOOT, ALLIE! SHOOT!” Vinyl roared from the replacement bench along with Cloud, Redheart and Turner.

        Allie’s magic field shone brighter than before as she took a bowling stance, the ball starting to spin on itself quickly. The bell indicating the change of rings rang through the pitch a tenth of second before she threw the ball with all her might and a loud groan. 

        The ball flew rapidly toward the lower left ring which had lost its brown color while the ball was halfway to it. Midnight had started to fly in its direction, extending its arm to save the goal, and thus assuring Cloudsdale’s victory. 

        Both the ball and the keeper were a meter and half away from the ring when all ten of them started recover a neutral, white magic glow. Everyone held their breath, waiting for it turn from white to one of its three normal colors.



















































        All the Cloudsdalians smiled in relief when the lower left ring turned yellow; the Wing player color, and all started to relax. 

But that was before the effect Allie had put in her throw kicked in. The ball started to follow a rising trajectory, much to Midnight’s dismay. It flew straight in the higher, left ring which had been glowing blue for merely a second and a half.

“YES! YES! YES!” Allie shouted, jumping on the spot repeatedly when the results table displayed the following score a few seconds before the bell ringing the end of the game:


Home: 77            Visitors: 76


> One failed attempt at a Royal Apology
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The enchanted ball touched the perfect center of the terrain before it bounced up to the eye level of the two players selected for the kick-off. The blue eyes of Graphite focused briefly on the green one of Applejack before gulping nervously as he spotted a somber smirk on the freckled face. The tall and muscular woman snatched the ball with a swift move of her arm before Graphite could even think of gathering his magic.

“AAAAAND, Applejack seizes the ball and literally catapults Graphite out of her way with a shoulder-strike worthy of an enraged minotaur!” Pinkie commented with glee while the grey-haired Manehattenite shrieked as his body left the ground. “She’s clearly determined to make up for her absence during the eighth-final , as she has shown us by scoring a total of thirty points of the sixty-two scored by Ponyville in the first three periods of the game!” The crowd exploded in cheers a few seconds. “Never mind, it’s thirty-one out of sixty-three now!”

        Manehatten’s keeper was getting told off by their trainer as he had hovered away from the goals as Applejack took aim, leaving them defenseless in front of the blonde Ponyvillian. The keeper had taken way too many balls thrown by Applejack in the stomach, all while not stopping her from scoring, to care about the game’s score. Especially when the gap between the two teams was over forty points already.

“I’m glad Applejack’s feeling better,” Fluttershy commented with a warm smile from their private box. “Though, I’m sorry for this poor Graphite fellow…”

“She’s been rather brutal whenever he tried to get the ball from her,” Cadence stated pensively. “Well, more brutal than with the others…”

“I think his duel with Vinyl’s still too fresh in Applejack’s mind,” Twilight suggested with a shrug of her shoulders. “Just like in Octavia’s…”

“YEAH! CRUSH HIM, AJ!” Octavia shouted as Applejack took the ball from Graphite’s magical grip after he intercepted a pass between Allie and Raindrops. “MAKE HIM PAY FOR WHAT HE DID TO VINYL!!!!”

“Octavia, you should try to be a little bit more neutral,” Celestia recommended with a short giggle before Octavia simply ignored her.

“Yes, take example from Princess Celestia,” Rarity commented casually. “She has never acted in favor or disfavor of any team or athlete,” she added slowly, though the venom concealed in her voice was not lost to the two thousand-year-old monarchs in the box.

You’re letting her off like that, Tia? Luna asked with a mental frown when Celestia simply let out a discrete sigh in response to Rarity’s passive agressivity.

I can hardly blame her, Lulu… Besides, didn’t you say that I would deserve it? Celestia asked back in a tone that suggested the raise of metaphorical eyebrow.

I saw the state Applejack was in at the end of her fight with you, Tia… You clearly deserve more than a few implicit bad words thrown at you…

That makes me feel so much better… Celestia rolled her eyes behind her closed eyelids. 

You’re welcome… But still, you’re her Monarch before you’re her friend, Tia!

Acting like a monarch wouldn’t help in this situation… And acting like nothing happened neither… I think I know what to do…

“And with that,” Pinkie commented cheerfully as the referee blew the end of the match with his whistle. “Ponyville wins the first quarter final with a score of eighty-six points to thirty-one thanks to their massively strong monster of a Ground Player: JACQUELYN APPLEJACK APPLE! WOHOOOOO! Who, in my humble opinion, just exploded the Games record of number of blitzeseses realized during a single match with a total of forty-seven tackles! I’ll need to check in the games records book!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“And a large pint of cider for the lady of the game!” Bon-bon shouted, offering a huge glass full of an amber liquid to the tall blonde sitting at the table with the rest of her team. “On the house!”

“Thanks, Bon!” Applejack beamed with a wide grin as she took the mug from the bartender.

        The group had retired to Bon-Bon’s to unwind after their crushing victory over Manehatten’s team while Zecora and Turner had remained in the Coliseum to watch the other quarter finals. As soon as they walked in, all the patrons stopped their conversations and cheered loudly for the local sports team. Once the walkabout with their enthusiastic fans was over, the Ponyville team enjoyed their drinks at the booth that had been named after Ditzy’s first medal.

“Roseluck, Canterlot’s quarter-final is the last of today, you’ll get to see Sergeant Stormwind in action, so stop checking the clock already,” Cloud shouted playfully as she softly elbowed the madly blushing florist in the ribs.

“Sh-shut up!” Roseluck stammered defensively, earning bouts of laughter from her teammates.

“Anyway, kinda weird to see you three here with the others!” Lyra stated to Vinyl, Applejack and Cloud as she brought a plate of warm appetizer for the seven red-and-golden-clad athletes. “By this time of the day, you’re usually in the arms of your respective ladies!”

“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, Lyra?” Cloud asked with a smirk as Vinyl and Applejack shrugged.

“More surprise than anything else,” Lyra replied with a casual shrug before casting a pouting face at the blonde Lieutenant. “I miss our third friday of the month already though… Unless you could pervert Lady Sparkle enough...”

“I’m sorry, Sweetie, that’s not gonna happen,” Cloud assured with a playful sigh before Lyra could finish her suggestion. “If I corrupt her too much, I’ll have her brother, her sister-in-law, the whole Council, these two,” she stated, pointing at Vinyl and Applejack. “AND Princess Celestia after my skin. I like my skin as it is just fine!”

“Hmmmm, your skin IS too pretty to be chased after by all those people,” Lyra admitted slowly. “Well, I tried at least!”

“Here’s to trying!” Vinyl chuckled softly before raising her own glass of cider.

“To trying!” her teammates shouted happily, mimicking the red-eyed Titanian’s gesture and earning a playful roll of eyes from their friend/waitress before she went on with her job.

“Say, Cloud,” Ditzy called after the group finished their first drinks. “I’ve been meaning to ask you a little something for a while now…”

“I hope it’s not a night of fun, since I can’t provide those anymore,” Cloud replied playfully. “Though, I have a friend in the Guard you might want to have a date with. A real gentleman, good with kids from what I know… and sized like his namesake,” she added with sly wink.

“And his name is?” Roseluck asked with curiosity. 

“Mustang,” Cloud replied softly.

“Woooooooh,” Allie and Raindrops whistled playfully, winking at Ditzy.

“That has nothing to do with what I wanted to ask,” Ditzy replied seriously before leaning toward Cloud softly. “But we will discuss about this Mustang character in the near future,” she added coquettishly. 

“What do you know, I thought your life was all about Dinky now,” Vinyl commented with a proud smile.

“It still is, but since she’s getting older, I can start thinking about myself every now and then,” Ditzy replied with a shrug. “Back to what I was saying!”

“Okay. Shoot!” Cloud assured with a nod.

“What’s the history between you and Spitfire?” Ditzy asked softly causing Cloud’s eyes to snap wide open. “I mean, she seems so angry at you for some reason… and yet during a few events, I saw her smile proudly whenever you did something cool.”

“And there was your sword match against Skytalon… When she said all those things about you,” Raindrops added slowly. “Boy, for a second I thought Spitfire was about storm in to break that bitch’s neck!”

“At one moment she hates your guts,” Allie stated slowly. “And at another, she seems pleased with you… It’s weird…”

“Welp.. It had been weird between her and me since my training days were over,” Cloud explained with a sigh. “Back when I was nothing but a constantly horny greenhorn soldier…”

“You were still a constantly horny soldier not two months ago,” Vinyl commented casually.

“But I wasn’t a greenhorn anymore,” Cloud replied with a shake of her head. “Anyway… For my performances during my three years of training, I was authorized to active duty and promoted Sergeant first class. It was sort of a big deal in my regiment so we went to one of Las Pegasus clubs to celebrate. Spitfire was there too, since I had been sort of her private apprentice or something…”

“You did something stupid, didn’t you?” Raindrops asked slowly.

“Something really stupid…” Cloud stated with a sigh. “We found out her fiancé and her had just decided on the date for the wedding, so it gave us another reason to celebrate…After that, I remember getting drunk… REALLY drunk, I might add,” she explained softly. “Next thing I know, I woke up naked between Spitfire and her future husband…”

“Woh!” her teammates, minus Vinyl and Applejack who knew the story already, let out in shock.

“That must have been quite the celebration,” Raindrops commented, earning a short nod from Cloud. “I can understand why things are awkward between you and Spitfire.”

“Oh, that wasn’t the problem…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, considering Spitfire’s status as a celebrity, you’d think her marriage would have made some noise,” Cloud explained with a sigh. “Well it didn’t… cause it never happened!”

“....Why?” Ditzy asked with a worried glance.

“I don’t really know the details but,” Cloud stated with a wince. “Let’s just say that two days after THAT Night, Spitfire’s fiancé came at my barracks while I was packing my stuff to come back to Ponyville. Of the bat, he said that he had broken up with Spitfire and claimed his undying love for me…”

“......” Her teammates stared at her blankly. “I’m sorry, what?!” they all asked in confusion.

“Apparently, he was convinced that because sex with me was awesome it meant that we had a special connection… Stronger than the one he had with Spitfire,” Cloud explained while scratching her head with a displeased groan.

“What did you say to him?” Allie asked slowly.

“Well, I shouted at him to get the hell out of our compound and to go back to Spitfire and beg for her to forgive him for his stupidity…” Cloud explained. “I think Spitfire’s attitude with me kinda tells you how things went on after that…”

“... Is this why you turned off many couples who asked you to join them for a threesome?” Raindrops asked after thinking about it for a few seconds.

Cloud nodded slowly. “Whenever I wasn’t certain they had understood that it was just physical, the deal was off.”

“Well, it wasn’t much your fault,” Allie stated softly. “I mean, it kinda is, but it’s mostly Spitfire’s fiancé’s fault for doing that to her… She should be mad at him more than at you… I think!”

“Ah ain’t sure of what Ah’ll say, but Ah think she’s just lashin’ on Cloud to stop feeling guilty fer lettin’ it happen and not knowin’ he’d do that to her,” Applejack suggested slowly. “It’s always easier to put the blame on someone else.”

“What exactly happened to him?” Ditzy asked with an angry tone. “Did he get what he deserved?”

“Oh, I think the Wonderbolts got a good hunting session after that incident,” Cloud chuckled somberly.

“You tried to talk to her about it?” Roseluck asked with worry. “She still seems to care about you, even if it’s hidden beneath her anger.”

“Before the games, I’ve hardly had any contact with her,” Cloud replied slowly. “Maybe when all this is over…”

“Huh, excuse me! Vinyl?” a feminine voice softly called from behind the blue haired Ponyvillian.

        Curiously, Vinyl turned around to where the voice came from, along with her teammates. Their gazes fell on a girl about Vinyl’s height wearing striped, dark blue and white leggings, a very light grey top and a light blue, denim jacket. She had long, deep blue hair with a large, pure white highlight just above her forehead. The newcomer gave Vinyl a short wave before flashing the whitest smile the Ponyvillians had ever seen, only to have Vinyl return it, only wider.

“Hi!” the new girl called cheerfully.

        Vinyl didn’t reply and stood up to lift the blue and white haired girl in the air with a strong, heartfelt hug. The new girl squealed in surprise at the sudden hug before she started to giggle softly.

“Who’s that?” Allie asked with curiosity as the new girl took Vinyl’s head in her arms to hug her back.

“Don’t know, but I sure hope for Vinyl’s sake that she’s not her college sweetheart!” Cloud stated with a smirk. “‘Cause Octavia doesn’t look like she’s appreciating the hug!” she added, pointing at the bar’s entrance. 

All gazes focused on where Cloud was pointing at, seeing that Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Octavia had just come in, the three former glancing at the latter with worry as she had frozen with a shocked expression at the sight of her lover lifting that unknown girl in a happy hug. When Vinyl put the other blue-haired girl down, Octavia recovered from the shock and walked up to her lover who hadn’t seen her approaching.

“What are you doing here, Colgate?” Vinyl asked excitedly. “Shouldn’t you be attending lectures by this time of the year?”

“You really think I’d have missed you competing in the Equestria Games?” Colgate asked back with a cocked eyebrow. “I have someone taking notes for me for the next two weeks!” She glanced up and down Vinyl’s red and golden sports uniform. “Look at you in your town’s colors…You finally look like a real athlete!” she added before pulling her tongue out.

“Says the laziest student of the C.R.U.M.?” Vinyl retorted playfully before she spotted Octavia walking to her. “Hold on a second. Hey, Ta….”

        Vinyl was silenced by Octavia pressing her lips against her own. Her red eyes widened in surprise along with Colgate’s blue ones before she closed them and relaxed into the kiss. Vinyl rolled her eyes in pleasure when Octavia’s tongue penetrated her mouth and started to dominate her own pink muscle with intensity. Colgate started to blush at the sudden passionate kiss before she noticed the dark-haired girl casting a dark glare with one purple eye while pleasing Vinyl with her tongue.

“... And here I thought AJ had the subtlety of a wild ghorgon,” Fluttershy stated in a whisper as Colgate frowned in puzzlement at Octavia’s dark stare, while Vinyl’s mind was sent in a world of blissful sensations.

“Yeah…” Applejack let out while the others nodded slowly. “..Wait a min....HEY!!!”

“....Ooooookaaaaay… You’re obviously busy so….… Plus the Blitzball match of Fillydelphia is about to start…. We’ll catch up later, or something...” Colgate let out slowly with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks before she walked away from the kissing pair. 

        It was only when the long blue haired girl was out of sight that Octavia stopped her fervent kiss with an audible pop. Vinyl mouthed a silent wow before she opened her eyes and realized that her friend from the University was gone.

“Where did Colgate go?!” Vinyl asked in confusion as all her teammates plus the other Council Members cocked a meaningful eyebrow at Octavia.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


        Later that afternoon, in Sweet Apples Acres’ furthest Western barn…

“.... I feel bad for Vinyl’s friend, Colgate,” Rarity let out with a sigh as she wiggled her back against Applejack’s chest. “Poor girl must have felt really uncomfortable…”

“Well, it’s not to me that ya have to say it,” Applejack replied in a whisper as she rested her chin on Rarity’s shoulder while the seamstress was sitting on her lap.

        The pair had retired after a few drinks with the rest of Ponyville Team. The rest of the team had gone back to the Coliseum to watch the last quarter-final of today that had opposed Canterlot to Las Pegasus, with Vinyl still a bit upset that Colgate had left so suddenly. 

“I wonder why Octavia did that?” Rarity wondered out loud. “She’s never shown any signs of jealousy before today.”

“Has she ever been in a relationship b’fore meeting Vinyl?” Applejack asked with a tilt of her head.

“You neither when you met me, yet I don’t see you glaring at all the boys that come to chat with me,” Rarity replied as she passed her hands over the muscular arm spooning her.

“Keywords here are “Don’t see”,” Applejack retorted playfully, causing Rarity to twist her head to look back at her with a cocked eyebrow. “...Also, Ah growl to every man that talks to ya too friendly fer ma likin’s, not just glarin’!”

“Don’t tell me you actually do that!” Rarity frowned sternly.

“Ah won’t tell ya!” Applejack shrugged before pecking Rarity’s lips delicately. “Ah know it ain’t the good way to go, but Ah can’t help it…” she explained slowly as Rarity opened her mouth to reply. “... That’s somethin’ that scares me ya know… The possibility fer ya to find someone who’s better match fer ya than Ah am…”

“....That’s what scares you?” Rarity asked softly.

“Eyup,” Applejack replied with a slow nod. “... Ah’d take on Celestia and Luna in a fight two to one if it would make ya stay with me…”

“....Well, no need to worry about that,” Rarity reassured as she straddled her lover to caress her cheek. “I definitely couldn’t find better person to be with than you,” she whispered with sincerity before she leaned in on her lover’s lips.

“Hmmmmm.” Applejack moaned with her eyes closed. “That sure as sugar is a relief…. Cause Ah didn’t win against one, and Ah’ll certainly never be able to win against the two of them!”

        Rarity’s loving smile vanished in favor of an angered frown at the mention of Applejack’s fight with Celestia.

“Rare,” Applejack let out firmly after she noticed the dark expression on her lover. “Ah told ya to let it go!”

“How can you ask me that?!” Rarity snapped furiously. “For all I know, you could have died in that Castle in the Everfree!”

“Ah didn’t!”

“You could still have!”

“BUT AH DIDN’T!!!” Applejack shouted vigorously, startling her lover. “Ah’m fine, and that’s all that matters!”

“What about yesterday then?!” Rarity asked in a shout. “Were you fine yesterday when you spent nearly the entire day sleeping to recover from the hurt she inflicted on you?!”

“Ah slept because Ah needed sleepin’ and now Ah’m rested!” Applejack argued sternly. “No need to be all dramatic about it!”

“I’m not being DRAMATIC!” Rarity yelled angrily as tears ran down her cheeks. “My lover was returned to me in state that wouldn’t have been out of place on a war casualty! All because Princess BITCHELESTIA provoked her in a silly fight!”

“.......” Applejack flared her nostrils as she exhaled loud and longly. “First of all, yer lucky Granny didn’t hear ya say that, otherwise yer pretty tongue would have kept the taste of soap for the rest of the year!” she stated, half-chuckling as she brought her fingers up to wipe away the tears in Rarity’s eyes.

“...Sniff… Sou-Sounds like experience is talking here,” Rarity commented through her sobs, cracking a brief, amused smile.

“You betcha!....Second, Ah understand that ya’re mad at Princess Celestia, but it ain’t fair for her,” Applejack explained slowly. “After all, Ah could have stopped the fight any time Ah wanted…”

“...What?”

“A fight involves two parties at least,” Applejack stated. “Ya really think she would have kept on if Ah hadn’t shown the will to fight back?”

“....”

“Ah’m as much to blame as her, Rare,” Applejack admitted slowly. “You’ve known her for longer than Ah have… Do ya honestly think she would have kept fightin’ me if I had yielded after the first punch instead of tauntin’ her back?”

“...... I.. I.. I can’t say that she would have,” Rarity let out in a whisper as she remembered the many times she had witnessed Celestia stopping her lessons at the first signs of fatigue coming from Twilight. “But…”

“Rarity!” Applejack whispered as she took her lover’s chin in a soft grip. “Ah’m fine, so let it go please,” she demanded softly. “Ya’ll get wrinkles if ya start frownin’ every time ya see her…And Ah’d rather to have ya keep yer purdy, young face as long as possible!”

        Rarity’s reply to that was to snatch Applejack’s hat and to start beating her face up with it while the blonde let out a loud, heartfelt laugh. After a few seconds, Applejack blocked a blow by delicately securing Rarity’s wrists in her grip. She pulled the two aggressing arms apart, causing her hat to fall between the two lovers and Rarity’s visage to open to her. Ever so delicately, Applejack leaned forward and captured Rarity’s pulpy lips between her own.

        Applejack’s hands slid up to Rarity’s shoulders before they stopped at the crook of her back while the purple-haired woman passed her arms around the blonde’s neck, reciprocating the kiss fervently. After the first kiss was broken, Rarity barely had the time to recover as Applejack started peppering her lips with affectionate pecks.

“...A-All Right- I’-I’ll let it g-go.” Rarity moaned blissfully, stuttering on every word because of Applejack lavishing her with kisses. “O-only be-because I wa-want to rema-remain pret-pretty for y-you!”

“Atta girl!” Applejack smirked playfully.

        The mouths met once again, only this time with both their tongues out to fight for dominance over the other. For the first time she could remember, Rarity seemed to have taken the advantage over her muscular and dominant lover, who tilted her head to the side and pulled the seamstress closer. 

A faint, deep blue glow was perceived by Applejack’s half-closed eyes as she felt Rarity’s skintight dress getting looser under her touch and her own shirt being instantly unbuttoned and pulled open. When Rarity pecked her way down Applejack’s neck, the latter threw her head back, getting ready to finally enjoy a more-than-deserved relaxation after an excellent performance on the Blitzball field and her fight with Celestia two days prior.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A bit later, outside Sweet Apples Acres’ furthest Western barn…

“Sister…. Why am I coming along with you again?” Luna asked a few minutes after a rather bewildered Apple Family member had pointed to West when Celestia had asked her where Applejack was.

“Why, you’re here to apologize to Applejack and Rarity with me!” Celestia replied matter-of-factly. “I thought that was clear enough as I told you that when we left the Coliseum!”

“Well, I understand why YOU have to apologize,” Luna retorted, pointing an accusing finger at the taller princess. “Since you’re the one who beat that poor farm girl up until she passed out in order to satisfy your for-too-long-repressed urges for blood and violence!”

“.... My for-too-long-repressed urges for blood and violence? Really?” Celestia cocked an eyebrow at her little sister.

“That’s what I’ll tell the media if the story leaks to them,” Luna retorted with a shrug. “Seriously though, why am I here?”

“Well, you’ve got something to apologize for if I remember correctly from what you told me had happened in Rarity’s suite after Applejack came back,” Celestia remarked with narrowed eyes. “That’s good, because I don’t remember asking it, my dear!”  Isn’t that what you said to Rarity before entering her lover’s mind?”

“.....Maybe,” Luna stated as casually as possible as the two rulers had almost reached for the sole barn of the orchard they were walking by. “I didn’t realize that this farm was so vast,” she added in a slightly awed tone.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think Twilight mentioned that the surface occupied by Sweet Apple Acres is as large as Ponyville itself if not larger!” Celestia commented as she glanced around her. “It’s hard to believe they’re hardly more than two or three people taking care of all that.”

“Quite hard to believe… Like the beat down Jacquelyn gave you,” Luna replied with a smirk.

        Celestia rolled her eyes at her sister as there was only a few feet separating them from the lone barn. On their way, a group of small, red with yellow dots creatures flew from a nearby tree to the barn roof, each carrying an old looking apple in their tiny paws. One of the smallest ones let go of the large apple it was carrying. With a high pitched shriek, it dove to the ground to catch its fruit before it crashed on the ground. It sank its small claws in it, but couldn’t fight the momentum of the falling apple. That was before both were caught in Luna’s midnight blue magic a few inches above the ground.

“What an adorable little thing,” Celestia commented softly as Luna lifted the tiny fruitbat up to her face.

        The maroon eyes of the small, fruit-looking bat looked deep into Luna’s teal eyes with a glint of adoration. Much to Luna’s surprise, it let go of its fruit and flapped its reddish, leather wings to land on Luna’s shoulder. Then the fruitbat wrapped its wings around her neck and squeaked softly as it nuzzled her.

“I’m not an expert on animal behavior, but I think this little guy likes you!” Celestia stated with a warm smile as Luna tried to pry it off her neck.

“Come on, little one! Let go of me this instant!” Luna protested softly as the fruitbat didn’t loosen its grip.

“Anyway, let’s get this over with,” Celestia stated before walking the distance that separated her from the barn door.

        Luna quickly stopped her attempts at prying the animal off her neck, the fact that it’s fur was really soft helped a bit in making that decision, and joined her sister at the door. Before Celestia could knock on the barn door, a loud, throaty growl came from within the barn, chasing the fruitbats away from the roof while the one on Luna’s shoulder started to shake like a leaf.

“There, there,” Luna softly whispered as she caressed the animal’s head with her finger in reassurance. “I didn’t know they kept wild beast locked up in that barn,” Luna added with a frown as more groans and throaty growls came from inside the barn.

“Darn it, Rare….” Applejack’s voice groaned in a tone that clearly indicated intense satisfaction. “Lower… LOWER!”

“Only if you say please,” Rarity’s voice chuckled sensually before a sharp slap was heard by the two princesses. “Kyaaaaaah!” she shrieked in a mix of pain and pleasure.

“GO! LOWER!!!” Applejack ordered sternly.

“....Yes, mistress!” Rarity moaned in submission.

The Princesses had quickly turned their heels and had started walking away from the barn, both with their cheeks slightly pink. Luna had both her hands covering the oblivious bat’s ears while the animal was wondering what the fuss was all about.

“Our apologies can wait for tomorrow, right?” Celestia asked with a sheepish chuckle.

“Indoubtably,” Luna nodded fervently. “You nearly killed her, I wandered around her memories without invitation… One day more, one day less to apologize for those things won’t change much in the grand scheme of things.”

The two royals teleported themselves to their estate in flashes of blue and golden, leaving the West orchard of Sweet Apple Acres and all its local flora and fauna to hear what was happening in the barn. Well, nearly all its local fauna, as they had teleported a small, red Fruitbat along with them in their rush to leave.

> Shadows and Jealousy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Archery competition, Fourteenth Day of the Equestria Games...

        Allie took a deep breath as she pulled the string of her bow to her cheek, making it so the blue feather of her arrow’s tailplane was a few millimeter before her matching eye. She blocked her respiration as her target ceased to be an indistinct blur of red and white and took the shape of perfect circles. Allie lifted her bow a bit by arching her back a little bit so that sharp end of her arrow was now pointing at the top white circle of her target.

        Allie sharply extended the two fingers that held the string back while vigorously pulling her left forearm backwards. The bow took its original, wider curve as the arrow flew away from it toward the top of the target. Mid flying, the arrow started to curve its trajectory down before it planted itself just below the red center of the target, just between the height separating her two previous arrows.

“..AWWW! Just a teensie little bit under the bullseye!” Pinkie commented in her megaphone after she inspected the target with the judges as the crowd none the less applauded while cheering for the diminutive archer. “But, it’s okay for Allie because with a total score for this volley of twenty-eight opposed to her opponent’s twenty-five, she wins her third volley out of five and wins the match! Great job, Allie!”

        Allie shook her Zebrican opponent’s hand before she went back to her team who cheered loudly to celebrate her qualification for the finale of the Archery competition.

“Nice one, Kid!” Vinyl smiled before ruffling the smaller girl’s hair.

“Still one more match to win, and you’ll get the gold!” Ditzy assured strongly.

“Thanks guys,” Allie replied with an embarrassed blush as the other pair of semi-finalist took place on the shooting range.

“Look,” Raindrops pointed at the orange-haired archer on the field. “Lightning Dust sure looks nervous…”

        All faces turned to the field where they could see Lightning sweating bullets as her opponent joined her on the field. With her mane of white hair tied up in a messy ponytail that fell at the side of her quiver, Fleetfoot stopped at Lightning Dust’s right, extending her hand to wish her adversary good luck. Lightning sheepish shook hands with the Wonderbolt, gulping nervously.

“I think everyone would, and should be nervous against Stormwind,” Cloud let out calmly as Pinkie shouted in her megaphone that it was time for Lightning’s first volley.

“Fleetfoot’s that good?” Roseluck asked with interest? “I mean, she got this far, but she only had one point or two more than her opponent at every volley,” she added as Lightning ended her volley with a score of twenty-eight.

“Just watch,” Cloud advised, taking Roseluck’s chin to make her face in the white-haired archer’s direction. “And keep your eyes wide open.”

        Immediately after that, Cloud sharply whistled three times at Fleetfoot as the Wonderbolt was taking her position on the shooting line. The white-haired archer, who thought she had heard the signal that Spitfire used to grab the Bolts’ attention, turned around to look where the whistles came from. Lightning Dust, as a member of the Junior Wonderbolts, recognized the whistles too and turned her head to it, only to be surprised to see Cloud pointing her thumb at Roseluck.

How can Kicker know that call? Lightning wondered with a frown as Fleetfoot chuckled briefly before looking back at the target ahead of her. Only the Wonderbolts and the Juniors who worked under Spitfire’s command know about it.

        Fleetfoot took a short breath and readied her bow while taking an arrow from her quiver. She hooked it to the string and pulled until the aim-feather of the arrow was before her right eye. Fleetfoot kept her concentration for a few seconds. She waited until the small yellow circle at the center of the target became as clear to her as it would if it were just one meter before her. Then, she smirked deviously.

        To every spectator’s shock, Fleetfoot suddenly tilted her upper body backward while raising her arm, before letting go of her arrow. The audience barely had the time to blink before the Wonderbolt shot two more arrows to the skies. Pleased with herself, Fleetfoot turned away from the empty target before her to see the confused faces of the other teams, minus Cloud, Shining, Soarin and Spitfire’s. The young Ponyvillian was laughing softly while her three teammates were shaking their head with discrete smirks.

“What was that?” Lightning Dust asked with a confused expression. “You’re giving this volley to humiliate me later on?”

“No. Not at all,” Fleetfoot assured to her opponent. “I’m humiliating you right now,” she added in whisper as three thuds rang through the field before the crowd started to shout in awe.

        Lightning turned around before her jaw tried to reach for the floor at the sight of Fleetfoot’s target. Sure, the Wonderbolt’s arrows were plunged perfectly vertical into the target, something that was far from usual on an archery field, but all three of them had hit the cross mark that showed the bullseye of the target.

“And Fleetfoot of the Wonderbolts wins this volley after that amazing display of archery skills with a perfect score of 30!” Pinkie announced with excitement.

“....Woa…” Roseluck let out as Lightning, sweating even more than before, prepared herself for her second volley. “She’s that good?”

“More or less,” Cloud shrugged as her teammates whistled in amazement. “You should see her shoot while she shapes the wind to change the course of her arrows. That’s even more impressive than that!” she explained, pointing at Fleetfoot’s arrows in the target across the field.

“And, how am I supposed to beat her?!” Allie asked in a quiet whisper.

“Simple! Ya just do yer best,” Applejack stated matter-of-factly. “Even if she can do those fancy-looking shots, if ya still managed a thirty on a volley, she can’t do better than to tie with ya!”

“Besides, we can still have Roseluck distracting Fleetfoot,” Cloud suggested with a shrug as Allie nodded slowly to Applejack’s advice.

“...What?!” Roseluck asked in confusion. “What do you mean by that?” she asked with worry.

“You know, the Sexy-Distractions 101,” Cloud went on matter-of-factly. “Like, pulling your shirt down a little to make your cleavage more generous,” she suggested by giving Rose’s top a little pull downwards, earning a mad blush and meek squeak from the florist.

“Stop that!” Rose protested by covering her chest with her hands.

“Right, sorry!” Cloud let go of the redhead’s top instantly. “Cleavage isn’t thing for you… Maybe if you would pick up something by bending over very slowly… That should distract Fleetfoot, right?”

“NO!”

“Come on, Rose,” Vinyl let out playfully. “Where’s your team spirit?”

“Yeah, Rose!” Allie pleaded with a smirk. “Take one for the team!”

“NO!”

“If not for the team, do it for Allie!” Ditzy let out before joining Applejack and Raindrops’ chuckling fit.

“I SAID NO! I WILL NOT DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!!”

“I’m sure Fleetfoot will love it,” Cloud let out with a knowing smirk.

“........I….NO!”

“She hesitated on that one!” Redheart pointed out with a mocking smile while Rose turned as red as her namesake.

“Wooooooooooh!” Ponyville team let out in unison as Roseluck tried to hide inside the hood of her jacket while Pinkie announced Fleetfoot’s victory by three volleys won to none from Lightning Dust and a total score of ninety for the Wonderbolt. 

        A few minutes later, it was in a very lighthearted manner that Allie joined Fleetfoot on the field for the finale. While she knew she couldn’t possibly win against the rumored best archer of the Royal Guard, it didn’t tarnish the tranquility and peace of mind Allie had found after sharing a good laugh with her friends and teammates, even if it was at Rose’s expense.

        It was with that same serene attitude that Allie took her shots against Fleetfoot, conceding the first two volleys of the match by forcing the Wonderbolt to get a perfect score to beat her two twenty-nine’s. Though it was at the third volley that things got interesting: when both archers scored thirty points and thus had to shoot a fourth arrow the closest to the bullseye for the tie break. 

        Five tie-breaking arrows later, the volley was in full course. For every arrow that Allie had shot as close of the bullseye as she could, Fleetfoot landed hers at the exact same distance, forcing the match to continue. The crowd was silent as Allie hooked the sixth arrow on her bow-string before she pulled its end close to her eye.

        The sun had been shining rather brightly for a while now, and it made her start to sweat a bit. Her intense focus despite her calm attitude only made things worse. A small drop rolled down her forehead to her right eyebrow. A couple of others rolled down Allie’s skin before they converged with the one held by her eyebrow, causing it grow in size and to roll downer before it got stuck in her right upper-eyelash.

        The drop of sweat stuck on her eyelash blurred the vision of her aiming eye, making her curse under her breath. She tried to blink it away, but it only worsened the problem. Allie was about to loosen the string of her bow to wipe her eye, and thus looking rather ridiculous in front of the Wonderbolt and all of Equestria because she took too long to shoot her arrow, but that was before something happened.

        The drop of sweat that hindered her aim delicately floated off of her eyelashes, only to be imitated by the other droplets of sweat on her brow. Allie’s sweat turned into a faint, and nearly unnoticeable puff of steam that vanished into the air before her. Not breaking her stance, but her mind still confused by that magic trick, Allie’s right eye glanced around only to stop on the right hand of her opponent.

Fleetfoot’s right hand held her bow in a decontracted grip, but Allie noticed something odd about the fore-finger of the white-haired archer: it kept slowly tracing circles in the air for no reason. Allie’s teal eye looked up to Fleetfoot’s face. The Wonderbolt had the same casual smile she had been showing since the start of the archery competition, her eyes focused on the target at which Allie was aiming. Then, one the Wonderbolt’s purple eye turned to Allie’s direction before its lid closed for a second.

Grinning softly at the wink, Allie refocused her attention on the target ahead of her. She breathed in as the bullseye became clear in her eye, and breathed out calmly as she let go of her arrow. After it touched the target, one of the Games officials quickly went to check before declaring to the crowd that Allie’s arrow had reached the exact center of the target.

“Well done!” Fleetfoot commented with sincerity as the crowd exploded in cheers and applauses.

“Let’s see you try to beat that,” Allie let out without thinking at how cocky it sounded.

        Fleetfoot shrugged casually before taking her stance in front of the target as the official walked away from it. She twirled her arrow in her fingers before hooking it to the string of her bow. She took her aim for barely a second, and then let the arrow loose. A sharp whistle and a low thud later, the crowd shouted in awe: Fleetfoot’s arrow was firmly planted into the end of Allie’s own arrow.

“Okaaaay,” Allie whispered slowly. “That was mean, but insanely cool!”

“I do try to be cool,” Fleetfoot retorted with a smile as she looked at her opponent while the official unplucked their arrows for the next shot. “Shall we continue?”

“I’m not giving up, if that’s what you’re asking!” Allie replied firmly.

Fleetfoot’s smile only grew larger.

“Exactly what I wanted to hear!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        200 Meters Sprint Finale, Fifteenth Day of the Equestria Games…

“Ready for you second bronze medal of the day, Vinyl?” Rainbow jabbed with a triumphing smirk at the blue-haired woman next to her.

“Are you ready for missing the gold for the second time today, Renée?” Vinyl asked back to the Cloudsdalian to her right, earning a brief chuckle from Spitfire who was getting ready at her left.

“Yeah, right! You won’t best me this time around,” Rainbow assured with pride. “The student will surpass the master today!”

“Master?” Vinyl asked in confusion, while facing Spitfire.

“As a the Captain of the Wonderbolts, it’s my job to also supervise the training of the Junior Wonderbolts, of which Rainbow is the founding member…”

“Yeah, and I was so awesome as Junior that she personally took me under her wing!” Rainbow assured with pride. “I’m the greatest of Spitfire’s apprentices… Even if there’s only been two of them,” she added more humbly.

“Only two apprentices?” Vinyl asked slowly, slightly turning her face toward Spitfire. “Do I know the other?”

“Sure you do!” Rainbow assured before Spitfire could reply. “It’s Lightning Dust!”

“Runners! On your marks!” Pinkie shouted in her megaphone.

        Rainbow quickly put herself in position while Vinyl held Spitfire’s gaze barely for the time of a blink. The Wonderbolt and the Magic-musician then took position on their respective starting blocks. After Pinkie’s ‘Get set!’ the runners leaned on their starting blocks, causing them to raise their lower backs along with their heads. With their eyes focused on the finish line, the three girls lunged forward immediately after the bang of Pinkie’s cannon.

        When they reached the turn after the first hundred meters of the race, Vinyl, Spitfire and Rainbow had managed to have a second-long advance on the other racers. For the final straight lined sprint, all three athletes were neck and neck, none of the three succeeding in outrunning the others. That was until Spitfire created the gap between her and her younger competitors. The Wonderbolt’s feet always reached a few inches ahead of Rainbow or Vinyl’s.

        When Spitfire was only twenty meters away from the finish line, Rainbow started to gain on her, and got slightly ahead of Vinyl. Ten meters away, Vinyl’s opponents were respectively two and one stride ahead of her. She gritted her teeth when Spitfire was now about four meters away from the finish line, and three strides ahead of her.

        Vinyl leaned on her right foot heavily, ready to give it all for the final meters. When her foot left the ground, she heard a low buzz coming from under it and before she knew it, the wall of the Coliseum that stood far beyond the finish line was just centimeters before her. 

Oh FFFFFFUUUUUC….. She thought before her body slammed itself against the brick wall with strength.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Sweet Apple Acres stables, Sixteenth Day of the Equestria Games…

“I gotta say,” Colgate let out as she examined Vinyl’s shades with attention. “Lady Sparkle really did a good job on enchanting your shades… I mean, you crashed head first into a brick wall and there’s not a single crack on them.” She glanced at her blue-haired friend brushing the jet-black mare’s coat. “Too bad she didn’t think of enchanting your nose.” The University student had to bite her lip at the sight of the white bandaid on her friend’s face.

“Colgate, I like you, and everything, but don’t think you can laugh at my expenses, and getting away with it!” Vinyl warned slowly, before Alizee whinnied in protest at the blue-and-white haired girl. “Yeah! You tell her, girl!” Vinyl said to the horse before gently pecking it on the nose.

“Fine! Fine!” Colgate lifted her arms to surrender. “I won’t laugh about it anymore,” she added with sincerity. “How did it go with the Games officials though?”

“Well, I was disqualified for the two-hundred meters sprint, as you already know,” Vinyl explained matter-of-factly. “But, they all agreed that it was clearly an uncontrolled, and involuntary surge of magic from my part, so they let me participate in the trials I have left. Though, if it happens again, I’m off my team’s roster.”

“If they’re letting you participate in the rest of the games, why aren’t you in the Coliseum with the others?” Colgate asked in confusion.

“Well, the only trials I have left are the finale of the horse-riding competitions next week,” Vinyl explained matter-of-factly. “I’ll probably spent a large deal of my time practicing with Alizee here.” The mare in question snorted happily at that. “Something she doesn’t seem to mind. Is that right, girl?... You were jelly because I spent my time away from you, huh? You were jelly of the other lady of my life, weren’t you? Yes, you were! Yes, you were!”

        The baby-talk and Vinyl playfully caressing both sides of her horse’s head made Colgate giggle softly while Alizee let out a long, happy whinny in response. As the black mare nuzzled the face of her owner, carefully avoiding her recently, almost broken nose, Colgate grabbed one of the nearby mane-brushes.

“Need a hand for grooming her?” she asked with a warm smile.

“I’m not one to refuse free help when it’s offered nicely,” Vinyl replied, retaking the horse’s coat-brush. “Be extremely gentle with her though. She’s as fussy and delicate as Rarity… I’m quoting AJ on that,” she added with a wink.

“I still can’t believe you and your sister got together with two members of the Council of Harmony,” Colgate let casually as she shown the brush in her hand to Alizee. “I probably shouldn’t be that much surprised about you, because I know you’ve been crushing on Octavia Philharmonica for years, though I never thought you’d actually act on it. Your sister and Rarity Belle… Now, THAT was a shock alright!” Colgate chuckled as she passed the brush through Alizee’s black mane slowly and gently.

“I have not been crushing on Octavia for years,” Vinyl replied with a mad blush. 

“You had that giant poster of her with her cello in our dorm at the University since day one,” Colgate retorted with a cocked eyebrow. “Remember what you did to it when we got back from that Stalliongrad-themed party?”

“Oh come on! I just had a little too much vodka!”

“I wouldn’t call two whole bottles a little,” Colgate commented with a brief laugh.

“You drank more than I did,” Vinyl sorely reminded.

“I didn’t make out with a poster, so I’ll say I was in a better state of mind than you,” Colgate retorted with a wink.

“Ehenanahanahana,” Vinyl muttered angrily before she leaned down to hide her face with Alizee’ body.

“Wow! Really mature!” Colgate chuckled playfully as she brushed another lock of Alizee’s mane. “So, is kissing the real Octavia better than her poster version?”

        Her sole reply was an embarrassed groan coming from behind the black horse before her. As Alizee looked at her owner with an expression akin to puzzlement, Colgate laughed at Vinyl before brushing the front bangs between the horse’s ears.

“All jokes aside, you seem happy with her,” Colgate commented slowly as Alizee’s ears flopped down to let the brush pass easily. “And, I clearly saw that she cares about you a lot… Even if I barely saw her during ten relatively embarrassing seconds.”

“Well, if you hadn’t left….”

“I wasn’t going to stay if she didn’t like me,” Colgate stated with a shrug, causing Vinyl to stand up straight with a confused frown on her face.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“She doesn’t like me,” Colgate repeated slowly. “Your Octavia.”

“You’ve barely seen, yet talked to her!” Vinyl snapped a bit. “How can you say that?”

“Well, the look she gave me while marking you as her own was worth all the actually voiced Come closer to my precious, and I’ll end you! in the world,” Colgate explained with a chuckle. “You were too busy having your life sucked out of you to notice.”

“... She was a bit more forceful than usual with that kiss,” Vinyl admitted softly. “I just don’t get why she acted like that with you…”

“Simple jealousy, Sweetie,” Colgate replied with wisdom. “She probably just didn’t like seeing you hugging me… If I had been in her place, I would have been jealous too…”

“So, because I’ve got a girlfriend now, I can’t hug my friends anymore?” Vinyl snapped in a sour mood.

“I’m not saying that.” Colgate shook her head slowly. “But, put yourself in her place. If she knows you as well as I do… Probably even more than I do… Then Octavia probably knows that you don’t hug just anybody.” Colgate glanced at her friends with sadness. “Because of…” she added, pointing a trembling finger at her lower back.

“....What?!” Vinyl asked in a shaken whisper. “...How… How do you know about that?”

“I saw it once back at our dorm… You were getting changed when I walked in… I understood why you never told me, and I prefer never mentioned it before today,” Colgate explained with sadness.

        Sensing her owner’s uneasiness, Alizee nuzzled Vinyl’s arm softly before the Apple patted her flank to have her trot away from the two women. The black Saddle Arabian mare joined the other horses outside the stables while Vinyl looked at Colgate with a mix of sadness, and puzzlement.

“Then why are you telling me this now?” Vinyl asked softly, causing Colgate to come closer to her, and to rest her hand on her cheek.

“So that you realize Octavia’s state of mind about me, Vinyl,” Colgate explained gently. “So that, if you talk to her about it, you don’t get all snappy, and say something you might regret…”

“I guess that could have happened,” Vinyl agreed slowly. “I’m ...just not comfortable with those conversations…”

“If you want, I can stay clear of you for a while,” Colgate suggested. “To let Octavia’s jealousy die down a bit….Or I could flirt with you so she could mark you more,” she added with a wink. “You seemed to like that…”

        Colgate all but received a blank look from her friend, and her expression fell at that. Vinyl didn’t even blushed at the mention of her lover being a bit forceful in her displays of affection.

“Sorry, I was just trying to light up the mood,” Colgate explained uneasily.

“I know,” Vinyl replied quietly. “I’m just surprised you would joke about that… considering we dated for a while.”

“I just thought we were past that, Vinyl.” Colgate held her head low. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”

“Damn right, it was!” Vinyl’s voice rang cold, and furious before Colgate saw a glowing, blue hand grabbed her throat. “Where’s she?!”

“Vinyl, what...What are you doing?!” Colgate let out in a choked tone as Vinyl’s hand tightened her grip. “Where’s who?!”

“The REAL Colgate, bitch!” Vinyl snarled, pushing the other blue-haired woman against the wall of the stables. “Colgate would have NEVER flirted with me as a joke after turning me down when I asked her out years ago… So where is she?!”

“... You’re a smart one, Apple,” Colgate let out in a different totally different voice. “As for your friend, let’s say she had a fateful encounter on her way here…”

        Vinyl literally roared at that comment, before she conjured strings of magic around her fist. She was about to throw her punch at the imposter before said imposter’s hand flew up to Vinyl’s bruised nose. While yelping in pain, Vinyl unconsciously let go of the faker’s throat. The imposter caught her breath back before she started to hum a gentle tone.

        Vinyl’s pupils contracted to a needle’s width as she struggled to even stand back up. The imposter’s song grew louder before tendrils of blue magic converged toward the small gemstone she had just pulled out of one of her pockets. The red gem absorbed Vinyl’s magic for a while before a loud, angry whinny rang to the imposter’s right side. She barely had the time to look to her right, before she saw Alizee’s hooves coming down on her after the mare had reared as high as she could.

“Shit!” the imposter let out, interrupting her song before conjuring a gleaming shield just before the hooves reached her head. 

        There was a bright flash of light that followed the impact of hooves on the magic surface. When the light died down, Vinyl managed to look up from the ground, and saw a woman running away from the stables through the orchard. Choking a snarl, Vinyl was about to run after her when she heard Alizee whine behind her.

“.....Oh no!” Vinyl’s anger died down for a while at the sight of the bloody wounds on her horse’s front legs. “Shhhh… It’s okay, I’m here,” she added with sadness as she hugged Alizee’s head. 

        Vinyl levitated the veterinary first-aid kit they kept in the stables close to her, her hands never leaving Alizee’s face as tears rolled out of her red eyes. Vinyl was about to treat her horse when fury invaded her mind. She took a deep breath as her magic wrapped itself around her throat and Alizee’s ears.

“APPLES!!! INTRUDER IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN ORCHARD!!! GET HER!!!!”

        Vinyl’s order rang through the whole surface occupied by the acres, and even beyond. It made the imposter stop her run to cover her ears with a wince. It was as strong as if Vinyl’s amplified voice had come from just next to her ears. It took the fake Colgate a few seconds for the buzzing in them to vanish, but when it did, she only heard dog barks coming closer to her. 

She glanced back to see half a dozen of dogs lead by a small, white and brown Collie, charging in her direction from the open field in front of the South-Eastern Orchard, along with fifteen farmers that were close behind the dogs. She cursed a couple of times before she ran like Cerberus was on her tail, hoping to reach the Everfree Forest before the dogs of Apple Family caught up with her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Later that evening, in the Old Castle in the Everfree Forest…

“Got what I asked for?” Sunset asked casually at the two women in front of her. 

“It was easy,” Aria, the one with the two purple and teal pigtails, replied casually as she extended the red gemstone to Sunset.

“Hello! It was like super easy!” Sonata, the one with a two-toned teal ponytail, added in a chipper tone. “Lady Sparkle uses her magic for like everything!”

“Yeah, but you almost ruined our plan by asking for her autograph,” Aria reminded sorely, her purple eyes narrowed at the tealette.

“Oh, yeah?” Sonata argued childishly. “Well, let me remind you that it’s thanks to me that we managed to collect a sample of her magic from the pen she used. I totally knew she would use her magic to take the pen from me when I asked!”

“No, you didn’t!” Aria retorted with a frown. “You were too busy fangirling like a five years old to have thought of that.”

“Well, excuse me for being in character!” Sonata argued with anger. “At least, I have more than the broody girl in my acting repertoire.”

“Please, you’re like the worst actress ever!”

“You are!”

“.....Idiots!” Sunset muttered before taking the crystal from Aria’s hand as the pair continued to argue with one another. “Althea, bring me my tools, please!”

“Right away, Sunset!” the petite woman nodded before bringing the Titanian a thick, leather satchel. 

        After thanking her aide, Sunset opened the satchel and unfurled it, revealing a series of advanced-looking tongs, spoons, and hooks along with a series of lead boxes. Sunset then put her glasses on before she opened one of the boxes, and took what was inside with the longest tongs of her set. Under Althea’s fascinated gaze, Sunset brought the jet black shard she had pulled out of the box in contact with the red gem. On contact, the black crystal started to grow around the red one before Sunset’s finger lit up with her magic.

“... If we had followed YOUR plan, we would have been seen by Lady Sparkle’s girlfriend,” Sonata argued with an accusing finger.

“What difference would it have made?” Aria snapped with a frown.

“Are you, like, for real?” Sonata asked back incredulously. “Lovers on a date tend to remember people that interrupts their time together… That sexy blonde would have remembered us!” she crossed her arms with a pout. “Besides, I didn’t have it in me to interrupt their lunch date! They were so cute together….”

        Sunset suddenly slammed her hand on the table before glaring at the tealette with the darkest eyes she could muster. When Aria, and Sonata sheepishly looked back at the red-and-yellow haired woman in complete silence, Sunset turned back to what she was doing, though she kept an angry eye on the ponytail girl.

“What? What did I say?” Sonata asked in whisper filled with confusion.

“I don’t know,” Aria let out with a shrug.

“So, what’s the conclusion, Sunset?” Althea asked, changing the subject of the discussion.

“Just as I thought,” Sunset let out as she glanced at the bright, smooth purple crystal that used be a black, edgy shard of a gem a few seconds earlier. “Twilight Sparkle’s compatible.”

“If you already thought that Sparkle was compatible, why did you send me to that stupid farm?!” another, female voice snarled after the sound of a door slammed open was heard.

“You’re late, Adagio,” Sunset stated coldly, not bothering herself with facing the curly, orange-haired woman that walked up to her. “You have the sample of her magic?”

“Yes!” Adagio snarled, making the red gem she had with her roll on the stone table to Sunset’s right hand. “Though, I don’t know what’s the big deal about her… I sensed her core, she’s only a Beta! That’s clearly not enough.”

“It is indeed not enough,” Sunset agreed before taking another black shard from another box of her satchel. “For what we have planned, we need an Alpha, or an Alpha+ like Twilight Sparkle…”

        Sunset repeated the experience with the gemstone that contained a sample of Vinyl’s magical aura, only this time, the black shard didn’t change its color, and shape. It shattered in a bright, white flash, causing all the girls around to wince, and groan at the sudden explosion. While all the other girls looked at the table with gaping mouth, Sunset picked one of her tiny spoons, and collected the pure white diamond dust that used to be a black, crystal shard.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Sonata asked softly, earning a sole shake of head from Sunset.

“Then, what does it mean?” Aria, and Althea asked at the same time, confusion lacing both their voice.

“It means that someone lied to our leader,” Adagio replied instead of Sunset.

“Or that she lied to us,” Sunset added sternly, her eyes focused on the tiny, white diamonds.




> Cloud's competition free day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Fifteenth day of Competitions, a little while after lunch time,...

“Thanks for coming with me, Twilight,” Cloud said to her lover as they made way to the train station.

“I should be thanking you for letting me tag along,” Twilight retorted playfully, entwining her arm with Cloud’s.

“You want to thank me for coming with me to pick up someone at the train station?” Cloud asked with a cocked eyebrow before smiling brightly. “Please, knock yourself out!”

“.... You were supposed to return the compliment,” Twilight let out with a brief pout that disappeared after a chuckling Cloud gently pecked her cheek.

“That’s what they say in “dating tips 101” sort of books,” Cloud explained softly as her lover blushed before twirling a lock of hair around her finger in an adorable fashion. “I hardly do stuff by the book!”

“....Makes me wonder why I fell for you in the first place then,” Twilight replied, giggling softly. “Since I’m all about books.”

“Well, I think I’m way sexier than books,” Cloud replied with assurance. “That’s gotta have something to do with it,”

“.......I can’t really disagree with that,” Twilight commented as she leaned backwards a bit to subtly give her lover’s rear side an once over. “Can’t disagree at all as a matter of fact.”

        Very happy about that last whisper from her lover, Cloud swayed her hips just a little bit more than usual, earning a discrete gulp from Twilight who then went back to walking normally. Well, as normally as possible for a woman with her thighs unnaturally close to one another, and cheeks as red as an apple.

“So… Why must you go to the train station again?” Twilight asked after regaining her composure as they were getting closer to their destination.

“I gotta pick up someone,” Cloud explained casually. 

“If I remember the station’s timetable right, there are no trains coming to Ponyville for the next three hours,” Twilight let out softly. “Won’t you be a bit too much early?”

“..... You memorized the station’s timetable?” Cloud asked back with a surprised, raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” Twilight replied with a shrug. “Didn’t you?” she then said, tilting her head curiously.

“.... I’ll just say that I tried once… Missed a couple of trains before deciding to simply check the schedule before taking one,” Cloud explained slowly. “Anyway, back to your first question, I simply ‘rendez-vous-ed’ the person I’m picking up there.”

“Rendez-vous isn’t a verb, Cloudy,” Twilight commented drily. “You can’t conjugate it.”

“Yeah, I know.” Cloud shrugged as they reached the plaza before the train station. “I just love to hear your stern teacher voice,” she added, winking slyly. “It gives me ideas for the night to come,” she added in a faint, purred whisper in Twilight’s ear.

        Much like she had imagined her to do, Cloud witnessed Twilight froze mid step after her whisper, her cheeks almost glowing red as the battle between her reason, and her lust raged inside her mind. Cloud watched her lover with amusement for a few seconds before Twilight shook her head like a dog, clearing her thoughts. She then threw an embarrassed glare at Cloud who realized that, as she had expected it to, Twilight’s reason had won over her lust.

“.... I’ll…. “ Twilight opened her mouth a couple of times, but no words came out of it. “.... There will be consequences for what you just did, Cloud!” she finally stated in a shaken vigor.

“I’m not against consequences, Twilight,” Cloud retorted, wiggling her eyebrows at the flustered Titanian.

“...A new girlfriend I see,” a girl’s voice came from above the couple, causing Cloud, and Twilight to look up, the latter still sporting a set of brightly red cheeks. “She doesn’t strike me as your type, Cloud… She looks way too smart for you.”

        Twilight frowned at the condescending comment about Cloud’s intelligence given by the teenage Jupitarian above them. The violet-haired teen kept herself a couple of meters above them thanks to her pale yellow light-made wings. She took her flight goggles off her face as she floated down to the ground before putting them away in the travel bag that hung from her shoulder.

“I don’t think I’m type of girl to have a type,” Cloud replied softly, scratching her chin with a pensive expression. “Besides, trying to seduce someone smarter, and or prettier than oneself is good for self confidence. Actually succeeding in that endeavor is even better.” She glanced at the teen with a soft smirk. “You probably know what I’m talking about, right?”

“What are you implying there, Cloud?” the teen asked angrily as a puzzled Twilight glanced back and forth between her lover and the younger girl.

“What do you think I’m implying, Alula?” Cloud asked back mirthfully.

“I think you’re implying that I’m not that intelligent, or pretty,” Alula replied slowly, her light blue eyes narrowed at the blonde in front of her.

“Well, you’re obviously smarter than I first thought since you caught on it so quickly,” Cloud admitted casually, earning a shocked, mute gasp from Twilight.

“Of course, I am!” Alula retorted with a knowing smirk. “And, I’ll have you know that quite a few guys in my school in Cloudsdale are interested in m…”

        Before Twilight, and Alula could blink, Cloud had seized the younger girl by the collar with one hand, and had yanked close strongly. Twilight thought the worst when Cloud’s other hand was raised high above her shoulder, as if ready to slap Alula. She was about to grab her lover in her magic before she saw her suddenly smile before bringing her fore-finger in front of Alula’s eyes.

“First things first!” Cloud waved her finger at Alula. “I want to know their names, their backgrounds, their looks, and if they’re smart!” she raised her middle finger, forming a V with her other raised finger. “Second, You’re going to tell me exactly what they told you to make you think they’re interested in you, so that I can tell you if he’s into you as a person, or as a thing, because that’s REALLY, REALLY important to know that sort of stuff.” Her ring finger was raised quickly afterwards. “Third, we’ll get you a box of rubbers, and you’ll start practice putting them on… Don’t start thinking that boys know how to put one on correctly.” She finally raised her little finger as Twilight choked on her own tongue at that last recommendation from her lover. “And finally, we’ll have a large bowl of ice cream with whipped cream, sprinkles, and chocolate sauce on top. How’s that for an afternoon?”

“......Can I have just the ice-cream, and not the three other things?” Alula asked sheepishly after a few seconds of silence.

“The first two, okay, but you’re not escaping the third one, Alula,” Cloud replied casually. “If there’s one thing, just one thing, you will do just as your big sister did is not getting pregnant before the time is right,”

“.... Just so you know, I’m not going to the pharmacist with you,” Alula stated confidently.

“What for?” Cloud asked in confusion. “You’re sick or something?” she then asked worriedly as she rested her palm on her sister’s forehead. 

“Well, if you’re going to give me those...you know… You’ll have to buy them somewhere,” Alula reminded slowly.

“Ooh! No need for that, I’ll just give you those I keep at my place, little sis’,” Cloud replied with a wink. “I won’t need those anymore.” she added with a not-so-subtle nod aimed at Twilight. “Before I forget!” She pulled a flaming red Twilight closer to Alula. “Alula, meet my girlfriend, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, meet my sister, Alula Kicker,”

“Hang on!” Alula let out in shock. “THE Twilight Sparkle?! The same Twilight Sparkle who’s Princess Celestia’s student, and considered the leader of the Council of Harmony?”

“huh… Yes, that’s me,” Twilight sheepishly stated as she offered her hand to Alula who shook it half-heartedly.

“.... I’ve gotta ask why.” Alula stated slowly, her face showing nothing but incredulity. “Why would someone like you,” she waved at Twilight’s general direction. “..would want to go for that perverted ...thing there!” she then pointed at her older sister.

Cloud’s arm found its way around her sister neck, trapping her in choking hold before she brought the violet-haired head down. She then brought her other hand’s knuckles against the top of Alula’s skull, as the younger jupitarian tried to free herself.

“To think I actually missed you for a while, Alula,” Cloud stated calmly before she gave Alula a well-deserved, in Cloud’s opinion, noogie, earning a brief chuckle from her lover, and moans of pain from her sister.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


        After a rather awkward start, Twilight and Alula were properly introduced to each other before Cloud lead her younger sibling around: showing her all the things that had changed since she left Ponyville with their parents. When Cloud wasn’t there to hear her, Alula asked Twilight again why she was with her sister to begin with, only to have Twilight sheepishly answer that she had no concrete idea of how she fell so hard for the blonde, while inwardly thinking that was probably the main reason of their relationship. The thrill of something new, unknown to her, and learning all there was to learn from it had always been a good incentive for the Council Member, though she suspected that Cloud’s expertise in the many facets of the art of seduction had also something to do with it, but Alula didn’t need to know that.

        After buying Alula her promised bowl of ice cream, without mentioning the three other parts of Cloud’s idea of a pleasant afternoon with her sister, the lieutenant agreed on showing her little sister, and Twilight, her office at the Guard post. Cloud had had troubles keeping her giggling fit in check in front of her men, as the awed look on Alula’s face whenever someone saluted her was almost too adorable.

        While Alula sat on her sister’s chair, bombarding her older sibling with questions about the reports on her desk, which Cloud quickly, but playfully pulled away from her sister’s all-too-curious eyes, or about the various trophies on the wall: like that hydra tooth which was as long as Alula’s whole forearm, Twilight’s gaze wandered over the wall behind the desk. It displayed a series of framed pictures, newspapers articles, or official document, like Cloud’s letter of promotion to the rank of Lieutenant signed by Twilight’s brother, and Princess Luna. -It was more of a formality nowadays, but the Night Princess had always had to be the one to officially approve of the choice of a platoon commander.

Hearing Cloud’s tale of how exactly she came in possession of that Hydra’s tooth, Twilight kept glancing at the pictures on the wall. Her eyes stopped on a photo that dated from about four years ago. She immediately recognized the armored girl in the center of the image, as it was none other than her lover. Twilight also recognized the younger Blossomforth on the picture, whom Cloud had introduced to her as she toured them around the Guard post, and the tall redhead, whom she had spotted in the main court sharpening a sword for what seemed to be a new recruit. Twilight didn’t know who the tanned, grey-haired woman holding a crossbow was, but she couldn’t stop her frown when she recognized the girl with red, and yellow hair who had Cloud’s arm around her shoulders.

Return from Las Pegasus Maneuvers… Twilight read the caption of the picture before she noticed that all five armor-clad girls were standing in front of a dead, she guessed, Canis Minor. ...Cloud actually worked with Sunset Shimmer? Her frown deepened at the happy smile Sunset seemed to return to Cloud on the picture… There’s no way Cloud had been friend with that punk!

        Twilight had only met Sunset Shimmer once, but that one time had only confirmed what she had heard from many of Sunset’s supposed fellow Arcanists, and from her own Mother, who was in charge of her training: Sunset Shimmer was nothing but self-centered brat who thought herself superior to all others. Twilight’s mother had been more gentle in her comments about her apprentice, stating that her skill matched her feeling of superiority at least, but in essence Sunset Shimmer was not good company. 

And, if that wasn’t enough, Sunset also had no respect for the rules: like that morning when she had been mean to Twilight who just wanted to get back the book Sunset had borrowed from the Celestia’s school for the Gifted’s Library. Not only she didn’t want to return the book to Twilight, but she had been really awful to her as well. Twilight had never been one for petty revenge before, but when she found out that Sunset was having someone in her room, something strictly forbidden by the Arcanium, just before Sunset insulted her for merely doing her job, she didn’t stop herself when she came across her mother on her way to the library.


***************


“Are you certain of what you’re telling me, Twilight?”

“She didn’t levitate the book to her, Mom. Someone must have thrown it at her… And, she also said that thing about ‘’having Queen-sized beds in every room of the tower”... I’m quoting her on the matter.”

“Yeah… That sounds like something she would say.”

“She was also very huh…. messy in her appearance….”

“Messy?...What do you mean?”

“Her robe was all wrinkled, and not exactly well tied and closed… Her hair was a mess, and she smelled really sweaty… Not much, but still noticeable…”

“Hummmmm, I’ll go check to be sure. Thanks for letting me know, Twilight. I’ll see you later.”

“Later, Mom.”

“I swear if it’s that blonde slut from Pagétonas’ compound again, I’ll have her discharged…”


***************


Hang on, Twilight thought worriedly as the scene of her Mother walking away from her, grumbling in her proverbial beard was played back in her head. Cloud told me she did her training in Las Pegasus under Sergeant Pagétonas’ command…… Could it be that…

        Twilight turned away from the picture to look at her lover in puzzlement as she kept telling her story to her entranced little sister. Her gaze went back to glance at the group picture with Sunset, her eyes narrowed as she examined the Titanian’s face to determine if it was more than an expression of friendship that she had while standing next to her lover. Her musing about Sunset came to a stop when she heard someone running toward the office door.

        Cloud had heard it too, as she looked in the door’s direction at the same time as Twilight, and Alula. They also heard a few voices shouting someone to stop as the running steps came closer to the Lieutenant. At the sound of a body colliding with another, followed by the one of someone in armor falling heavily on the ground with a pained grunt, Cloud slightly pushed Alula behind her, and waved at Twilight to do the same. As she held a reassuring hand on Alula’s shoulder, Twilight saw a small patch of fog appearing around Cloud’s left hand.

        A few seconds later, the door of the office was slammed open, revealing who was the one who had charged in like a bull. Cloud blinked in shock at the sight of a well-known, muscular figure clad in jeans, and a red shirt with short orangish blonde hair.

“Mac?” Cloud let out in confusion as Big Macintosh realized that Cloud had company, unlike what he had thought.

        He was about to speak when something yanked on the back of his collar, forcing him to take a step back.

“I told you to wait!” Blossomforth snarled angrily as she tried to pull Big Macintosh out of the office. “Sorry for this, Lieutenant. I tried to explain to him that you were bus…”

“It’s okay, Blossom,” Cloud quickly assured as Twilight let go of the breath she was holding back. “Let him go,” she ordered gently while Alula waved excitedly at the tall Apple who sheepishly waved back. 

“All right,” Blossomforth nodded slowly as she let go of Big Macintosh. “Know that he shoved Moonshield to the ground when he tried to stop him.”

“That means that Moonshield still gotta work on his balance for when he’s opposed to people larger than him,” Cloud commented slowly before she stepped toward her best friends’ brother. “So, you were in quite a rush to get here apparently, Big Mac,” she stated casually, an expectant look on her face. “Wanted to tell me something?”

“...Eeyup,” Big Mac replied, his voice barely above a whisper before he brought his mouth to Cloud’s ear after he glanced at Alula, and Twilight uneasily.

        With Cloud’s back turned to them, Twilight, and Alula couldn’t see the Lieutenant’s reaction to what the tall Apple was whispering in her ear, but Blossomforth saw it all. She saw Cloud’s calm expression turn livid in a stupor before anger found its marks on her face. Whatever Macintosh was telling her, it was clearly serious business. A few moments later, he pulled away from Cloud’s ear, and looked at her worriedly. 

“.... Twilight,” Cloud let out softly after a few seconds of silence. “Could you do me a favor?”

“Huh...Sure!” Twilight assured, even if she was a bit surprised by her lover’s question. “Anything, you want!”

“Could you take Alula back to my place, and take care of her for tonight?” Cloud asked slowly, earning a puzzled “Huh?” from her sister. “There’s money in the living room sideboard, you can go to the restaurant with it,” Cloud explained as she moved closer to a double slide-door on the right wall of her office.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked worriedly as Alula was shocked by the serious expression on her sister. 

“My job,” Cloud replied matter-of-factly as she grabbed the handles of the slide-doors. “Sergeant Shields!”

“Yes, Lieutenant?” Blossomforth instantly replied after standing at attention.

“Go find Swiftwing,” Cloud ordered calmly. “Tell her the three of us are going on a little hunting trip.”

        As Blossomforth left the office, with Macintosh on her heels since he had told what he had to say, Cloud pushed the slide-doors open, revealing three sets of armor, and an impressive rack full of swords, and daggers. Twilight saw the ceremonial red, and golden armor Cloud had worn during Fancy Pants’ reception, along with the standard Royal Guard armor next to it, but Cloud turned to the third set: an armor made of black leather, with a matching mask and hood.

“Cloud, what’s happening?” Twilight asked as Cloud pulled the light armor out of its display. “Where are you going?”

“I’m doing my job. That’s what’s happening. As for where I’m going, it’s none of your concern,” Cloud replied with a shrug before she looked at her sister in an apologetic frown. “Sorry to leave you like that, Alula, but it’s really important. We’ll catch up when I get back. Promised!”

“It’s okay,” Alula replied softly, still awed by the numerous swords on display around her sister’s armors. “When you gotta go, you gotta go…” she added absent-mindedly.

“You can go take a closer look, but DO NOT TOUCH! You could get hurt!”

“Thanks!” Alula quickly added as she hovered to the weapon rack, her hands firmly holding each other behind her back.

“Cloud, I think it is of my concern,” Twilight whispered angrily as soon as Alula couldn’t hear her anymore. “WHERE are you going?!”

“Twilight, think for a moment,” Cloud replied softly. “There must be a reason for me not wanting to tell you. So let’s leave it at that!”

“.....Lieutenant Kicker, I’m ordering you, as a Council Member, and as your Lover, to tell me what’s going on!” Twilight demanded, her cheeks burning with a growing anger. 

Cloud paused her inspection of her suit of armor before she cocked an eyebrow at her lover. She then sighed before licking her lips in annoyance.

“Twilight, I love you, but if you think that I’m going to let you order me around HERE of all places..” she waved at the office in general. “...Then, we’re gonna have a problem a lot bigger than your mentor’s ass!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


        Much later, in the Everfree Forest, ...

        Cloud, Blossomforth, and Gale had flown to Sweet Apple Acres after they got geared up. Like Macintosh had said, many of the Apples were standing guard by the fence that separated the most secluded part of the orchard and the Everfree Forest. They had run after the intruder until they had reached the limit of the forest, which the dogs wouldn’t cross no matter what. The trio had started to follow the tracks left by the woman who had assaulted Vinyl two hours ago.

        They had followed them until they completely disappeared on the bank of a large river, making them think the runaway had gone by boat. They followed the current that went deeper into the forest without too much trouble, something that unsettled Gale quite a lot.

“I don’t like this,” the redhead stated for the tenth time as they hovered a few feet above the river, searching for any signs of a boat, or a woman having reached the shores. “It’s way too quiet to be the Everfree,” she added, reaffirming her grip on her battle axe.

“As much as I found annoying you repeating it, I must agree on that,” Blossomforth said softly. “We’ve been here for hours, and we haven’t encountered anything other than the trees, the river, and rocks…”

“We should go back,” Cloud stated with a groan as she glanced up the starry skies above them. “It’s getting too dark to continue further, if they followed the river in the first place…”

“What do you mean?” Gale asked with curiosity.

“Maybe the person we’re after teleported when she reached the river,” Cloud suggested slowly. “To get us off track.”

“I thought the Everfree Forest’s magic messed up any teleportation spells,” Blossomforth let out in puzzlement.

“Yeah, I know, but maybe that person is able to adapt her magic to still succeed in her teleportations,” Cloud said softly. “Stranger things than that happened around here before.”

“I guess you’re right,” Gale agreed with a sigh. “That’s probably why we didn’t find anything on the shores…”

“Wait!” Blossomforth whispered, raising her hand to silence her two comrades. “You guys hear that?”

“....Yeah…” Gale let out after pricking her ears up. “Sounds like someone’s singing...”

“Let’s go check it out,” Cloud called quietly after she landed softly on the right shore of the river.

        They stealthily moved through the thick canopy of the Everfree, slowly but surely getting closer from the source of the hummed song. They walked to the top of a hill covered with trees before they reached a clearing in which they saw who was singing. Remaining hidden by the trees, they observed the young woman with a two-toned teal ponytail, carrying a large, and nearly full basket of fruits.

“... I’m picking up fruits…. Just picking up fruits,” She sang absentmindedly as she plucked a polka-dotted papaya from a branch. “...In the middle of the Everfree… Cause I suck at drawing lots, so I’m here picking fruits… Just picking up fruits… I’ll make them into a punch… Without the grapes… ‘Cause Aria dislikes grapes… But she doesn’t know how to make a good fruit punch… So I’ll just put grape juice in it…”

“What do you think?” Cloud asked in a whisper as the girl kept humming her improvised song which was now about tacos somehow.

“She has a really good singing voice, but she sucks at coming up with lyrics,” Gale commented casually. “But, you’re probably talking about the fact she’s in the middle of the Everfree at night, picking up fruits.”

“Well, she’s clearly not on her own according to what she just sang,” Blossomforth stated slowly. “Do you think they’re lost travellers?”

“Lost travellers who would send a girl out alone at night in the Everfree Forest?” Cloud asked back slowly. “.... I don’t know about you two, but I don’t buy it!”

“Me neither,” Gale said before she readied her axe.

“Same here,” Blossomforth agreed as she uncovered the blade of her spear. “Should we apprehend her?”

“Let’s first try to see if she’s hostile or not,” Cloud replied slowly. “I’ll go talk to her, you two cover me, and wait for my signal.”

“Okay,” Gale, and Blossomforth replied with a nod.

        As her partners remained hidden, Cloud pulled her hood off, and her mask down before walking in the clearing. The girl was still humming her tune when Cloud stood a couple of meters behind her.

“Good evening,” Cloud called softly, making the girl jump in surprise. “I didn’t mean to scare you but…”

Her sentence was interrupted by a basket full of fruits flying to her face. One that looked exactly like a pineapple, if it weren’t for its bright blue color, hit her forehead with a faint thud. She rubbed her forehead before opening one of her eyes, spotting the tealette running away deep in the woods.

“Blossom! Gale! After her!” Cloud ordered as she took off in pursuit of the girl.

        The girl ran zigzag among the trees, making it difficult for the three Jupitarians on her trail to catch her by flying. While they had troubles getting close enough to apprehend her, they were moving fast enough to not lose her through the forest. After a good minute long chase, the girl escaped from the canopy in favor of an open space by a cliff. She stopped at the edge, muttering a curse, before she spun around, only to face three winged women clad in black armor, and with their weapons drawn. 

“You know, we were going to be civil about this,” Cloud explained as she pointed the end of her sword at the trapped girl. “But, now I’m as pissed off as when I found out my friend was attacked earlier today.”

        As she spoke those words, the whole plateau became darker, making the runaway look up to see dark clouds gathering above them, thus fainting the light of the moon, and stars. She then heard the sound of the wind, along with the one of thunder, and brought her attention back to the trio. She blinked in stupor when she saw drill-shaped tornado around the spear-head of the soldier with white wings, and the sparks of lightning surging from the primitive-looking axe wielded by the red-winged one.

“The choice is on you,” Cloud stated slowly, as the black namesakes above her became denser, and closer to the ground at each second. “Either you calmly come with us to answer our questions, or we will not hesitate to use the force on you.”

The girl whistled at the shapes the Jupitarian were displaying in front of her before she smirked softly. She took one step back, prompting Cloud and her friends to lean on their good, leg, ready to take off in case she would try to escape once again.

“So, what do you say?” Blossomforth asked in a stern shout.

“...... Shoo-bee-doo-shoop-shoop-bee-doo,” she replied in a singsong voice before she let herself fall backwards.

“DAMN IT!” Cloud yelled as the girl disappeared beyond the edge of the cliff.

        Instantly after her yell, the three Jupitarians lunged forward before flapping their wings to dive after the girl. Cloud managed to grab the girl’s collar just before all four of them reached the water in a loud splash. Their momentum brought them a couple of meters below the surface of the river. Due to the advanced hour, and the dark clouds above them, they could barely see ahead of them inside the water, as the only source of light came from Blossomforth, light-made wings.

        Cloud seemed to see her partners coming to her aid to bring the girl back to the surface, but that was before she felt a very powerful punch hitting her stomach. The shock made her gasp in pain, causing her breath out a large quantity of air bubbles. Holding her belly in pain, she closed her mouth as she barely perceived Blossomforth, and Gale getting beat-up helplessly by the teal blur that had replaced the girl they had caught before touching the water.

        When she saw blurry hands maintaining her friends’ mouths open so that they couldn’t keep water from entering into their lungs, Cloud swam forward, extending her hand toward the blur. Cloud’s hand found its way around a thin neck. Her fingers felt line-shaped holes on the side of the throat she had grabbed, before she focused her mind on the winter to come. 

A pained, inhuman shriek resonated in the water after ice formed itself beneath Cloud’s fingers. The neck freed itself from Cloud’s grip before she felt something heavy hitting the side of her face, scraping the skin of her left cheek. The shock blinded her for a second, but when she glanced through the strands of her own blood that floated before her, she saw a glimmering teal fishtail swimming away a lot more faster than the current that seemed to carry her. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


        A few hours later, South Orchard barn of Sweet Apple Acres, ...

“So, she managed to escape y’all?” Applejack asked angrily as Vinyl extended a bottle of disinfectant to Blossomforth as she tried to extract the scales stuck in her Lieutenant’s cheek.

“For the last time, bringing you with us wouldn’t have changed a thing, AJ,” Cloud replied with a sigh. “If anything, we’d have moved a lot slower with you around than just Gale, Blossom, and me, and we would have missed that girl totally.”

“Besides, we didn’t expect her to be from the Sea-folks,” Gale added with a displeased groan. “Even you would have had your ass kicked by her underwater,”

“....Maybe,” Applejack admitted half-hearted with a frown. 

“You’re sure that girl had a connection with the one who attacked me?” Vinyl asked slowly.

“She was in the Everfree, could sing as well as you described, we found her by following the river your attacker has probably taken, and she ran away immediately after being found out,” Cloud said softly before wincing in pain when Blossomforth pulled the fourth scale out of her cheek. “Blossom, be gentler,”

“If you’d stop talking so much when I try to get them out, it would be easier, Lieutenant,” Blossomforth retorted matter-of-factly. “Besides, only one left.”

“So, you’re saying that it’s too big for a mere coincidence?” Vinyl asked, earning a silent nod from Cloud. Vinyl waited for Blossomforth to pull the last scale out before speaking again. “What about Colgate then?”

“I’ll need a recent picture of her,” Cloud replied softly. “The Guard’s archivist, Print Sapiens, knows a very neat duplication spell. We’ll gave them to everyone under my command, and have them ask around in the hotels, and such. Also, try to reach for her, or someone who sees her often… For all we know, she might be safe, and sound in Manehattan.”

“What if she isn’t?!” Vinyl snapped with narrowed eyes. “What if she’s chained up somewhere?! What if they just killed her to take her place?!”

“....... I won’t lie to you, Vinyl, those are possibilities,” Cloud admitted slowly. “We can only hope for the best. Someone must have seen her, or her doppelganger… After all, from what you told me about her when you were in Manehatten, pure white on dark blue stands out a lot...”

“Why do you say that?” Gale asked in confusion.

“Colgate always wears dark blue, and white clothes,” Vinyl explained with a sigh. “She does that so that it matches her hair….”

“......” Gale scratched her chin in stupor. “Huh… Does she have blue hair that reaches over here?” she placed her hand at her shoulder blade level. “And a big lock of white hair on the front?” she grabbed her own hair that hung in the middle of her forehead to demonstrate.

“...Yes,” Vinyl replied softly. 

“About five feet and a half tall?” Gale asked again.

“...More or less… Did you see her?!” Vinyl asked in a hopeful tone.

“Actually, I saw someone like that today, but she didn’t say her name was Colgate though…”

“It’s her nickname. Her real name is Minuette Romana Tardie!” Vinyl quickly commented.

“Oh…. Then, I can say that she’s safe… Sort of!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘’ SORT OF’’?” Cloud, Blossomforth, Applejack, and Vinyl shouted angrily, making the redhead jump in reaction.

“Well, she’s in the cells of the Guard post,” Gale explained sheepishly. “One of the new recruits arrested her for the night after she got into a fight with another woman....”

“WHAT?!!!!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


        At the same time, in Ponyville Guard Post’s cells…

“They’re still at it?” a female guard asked to her colleague in charge of watching the drunk tanks. 

“Yep,” he replied, repressing a long yawn. “They have been at it all afternoon, and all evening. Sure they caught some sleep at some point, but it started again around midnight.”

“Woaw.” The female guard whistled in amazement as she looked at the two central cells. “I bet you’re glad Vinyl Apple agreed to teach you her sound-barrier spell for the Games,” she added with a knowing grin at the faint yellowish glow on the bars.

“I have to pay more attention to what the prisoners might do, not having to hear their insults thrown at me, or at each other in this case, is quite a relief in itself,” he admitted with a shrug, before he turned his gaze back to the two women separated by a wall of prison bars shouting mutedly at each other.

“..Ten bits the blue-haired girl lasts longer,” the female guard called playfully.

“I hope you’re ready to give me money, then,” her colleague retorted, smiling. “Because the one with the pink bowtie sure packs some spunk.”
> After Everfree but before the Clash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

         Early fifteenth day of the Competitions, Ponyville’s Guard’s cells, 

“You’re just a wannabe-girlfriend-stealer!” Octavia shouted through the bars that separated her cell and the one of the her interlocutor. “A wannabe-girlfriend-stealer who’s flat as a chessboard!”

“You want to know what I think?!” Minuette Romana Tardie, also called Colgate, asked back in a shout. “I think you’re just an insecure little musician who needs to lean on her cello to keep herself straight with the weight of her breasts and her insecurity combined!”

“Oh, yeah?! Well, you’re just a skinny little nerd!” Octavia snapped back at the university student in front of her, her accusatory finger pointed straight at Colgate’s nose. “And not the brilliant or talented nerd, just the socially awkward, friendless one!”

“Pffft, that argument is completely void after you qualified me of girlfriend-stealer and besides, I went to college unlike someone here!”

“And what’s wrong with those who didn’t go to college, huh?” One of the young guards in charge of the cells for the night asked with a frown after he had lowered the soundproof-barrier that covered the two occupied cells.

“DO YOU MIND?!” Colgate shouted at the guard, startling him to the point he dropped his spear from the shock. “We’re in the middle of something!”

“WHAT’S THAT FOR AN ATTITUDE?!” Octavia snapped at him just after Colgate. “Do you always butt in conversations that are none of your concerns?!”

“THE NERVES OF SOME PEOPLE!!” Colgate shouted to the ceiling, oblivious to the fact the barrier had been put back in place.

“TELL ME ABOUT IT!!” Octavia commented with fury as the young guard sighed in relief after being saved from their shouts.

“THEY GET TO PUT ON A FANCY ARMOR AND SUDDENLY THEY THINK THEY CAN JUMP RIGHT UP IN PEOPLE’S BUS……” Colgate’s diatribe was cut short when she rubbed her throat with a wince.

“Running out of breath already?!” Octavia asked with a triumphing smirk as Colgate threw her a dark glare. 

 “...Dry throat,” she added in a low whisper.

“Understandable, you didn’t get your night’s mouthwash after all, Colgate.”

“YOU...GAAH!” Colgate tried to retort before holding her throat in pain. “....stupid bitch,” she managed to say in a dry, low tone.

“So, now that I can’t be interrupted, you’re going to listen to me carefully,” Octavia stated as she pressed her head against the bars to close the distance between her and the white-and-blue-haired girl. “You ever try to show a ‘secret experiment’ to my Vinyl ever again,” Octavia started as she remembered what Colgate had told her and that had lead to the fight that got them both arrested. “There won’t be any guards to put us both in jail...Got that?!”

        Colgate blinked in stupor at the threatening growl in the Council member’s voice before she pinched her lips close to suppress a laugh. Her cheeks turned bright red as happy tears escaped from her eyes under Octavia’s confused ones. With her sore throat, Colgate couldn’t really laugh out loud, but it was obvious that she was somehow very amused. Octavia, on the other hand, totally wasn’t.

“Can I ask what’s making you laugh like that?” Octavia asked with a frown, earning a raised finger from Colgate. “What’s so funny?!” she snapped loudly. “I was serious, you know?”

        Puffing quietly, Colgate wiped her tears away before waving her right hand in rapid and fluid motions, making strings of blue magic appear in air. As Octavia’s frown didn’t diminish at them, these oddly familiar strings formed a delicate, curvy handwriting.

Love really makes people stupid. Octavia read before the words changed in front of her. You’re about the stupidest girl I met.

“WHY YOU?!” Octavia growled, her arms passing through the bars to claw at the bluette without much success.

        Colgate stood calmly one step away from the cellist’s clawing motions, waving her fingers to form new sentences with her magic to rile up the trapped Eponian, who tried her best to reach for her. As sentences similar to “Stupid Lovesick Cellist” were written in the air with Colgate’s magic, the fury of the raven-haired cellist only grew while promises of multiples violences and tortures escaped her usually delicate mouth. Both girls in their cells were so focused on each other that they hadn’t noticed the young guard and his colleague suddenly standing at attention and saluting the newcomers that had rushed in the jails.

“...Huuuuh,” Vinyl let out in confusion at the two arguing women behind the bars. “Why is Octavia in jail?” she asked a shocked Cloud.

“I’d like to know that as well,” Cloud replied before facing the two guards on duty while Blossomforth raised an inquisitorial eyebrow at Gale. “What are the charges of these two?”

“Trouble of the public order, assault on a civilian, namely each other, and they both sort of resisted arrest, Ma’am,” one of the guards summed up instantly.

“Sort of?” Cloud asked in disbelief.

“What does that even mean, Soldier?” Blossomforth asked in a snapping tone.

“Well, those who brought them in got a few bruises when they separated them,” the other guard explained sheepishly.

“Did they explain why they started fighting?” Vinyl asked slowly as her eyes couldn’t do other but to stare at her lover trying to claw her University best friend’s face off while said friend kept writing insults with her magic before giving the cellist the finger.

“From what we know, the one with the black hair claimed that the blue-haired one was trying to steal her girlfriend,” the first guard explained casually, as Vinyl pressed her palm against her face with a groan. “It just escalated from that.”

“....And did you at least check their names before you put them in the cells?” Blossomforth asked with a frown while Applejack sympathetically patted her sister’s back.

“We didn’t, but the one who arrested them told us that one of them try to pretend to be in the Princesses’ entourage,” the other guard replied after a few seconds of remembering. "He supposed it was to avoid arrestation."

        Blossomforth and Cloud’s reactions to that comment were similar to Vinyl’s, besides the fact their groans were louder and their facepalms more violent. Both extremely confused, the two young guards turned toward Gale who was wincing while scratching her cheek.

“.... So, should we all start looking through the classified ads now or we wait for the medias to get wind of this?” Gale asked her two superiors in casual, yet somehow frightened tone. The only reply she got from them was a longer, more tired groan. "The usual?" A shorter synchronized groan. "Okay, good! Should I get a shovel then?"

"...A shovel? What fer?!" Applejack asked in confusion after Blossomforth nodded slowly in response. "An' what in tarnation is the usual?"

"It's something we did back in Las Pegasus we tried to hide something from our drill-sergeant." Gale replied, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the two young guards. "We're going to bury this whole mess as well as those two and the one who arrested Lady Philharmonica somewhere no one would find them!" she explained casually, earning terrified squeaks from the two recruits.


*********************************************************************************************************


        A couple of hours later, in Sweet Apple Acres, ...

“I still don’t understand why she has to stay in Sweet Apple Acres,” Octavia muttered in her proverbial beard as Colgate’s suitcases were carried upstairs by Braeburn.

“Octavia, Cloud told us that with the Games going on she couldn’t spare the men to watch over her,” Vinyl explained her lover with an exasperate sigh.

“But why here?!” Octavia argued back with a low growl.

“....Because there’s currently about one-hundred-fifty Apples and a dozen of guards dogs to watch this property,” Vinyl repeated for the tenth time since Cloud had accepted to bail Octavia and Colgate out of jail.

“Yes, what you say is correct, but why in your guest room?” Octavia asked with narrowed eyes. “You know, the guest room that’s just across yours?”

“For the last time, Tavi, I’m not interested in Colgate that way!” Vinyl stated firmly. “And she’s not interested me that way as well! Is that clear?”

“I don’t know!” Colgate intervened from the other side of the room. “The more I stay in this room, the more I’m feeling myself craving for a blue-haired girl,” she let out casually as she calmly looked around the rustic living room. 

“SEE?! I told you she had ulterior motives!” Octavia shouted at Vinyl who was pulling her hair in response to Colgate’s comment. 

“OUCH!” Colgate let out in pain while her hands shot up to the back of her head.

“Yer really not helpin’, Sugarcube,” Applejack muttered as she pulled her right hand away from Colgate who shot her a dark glare.

“Tavi, this is getting a bit annoying,” Vinyl replied firmly. “You don’t have faith in Colgate? Fine, but have at least faith in ME! You think I’m going to accept her advances, should she ever make them in the first place?”

“No! Of course, no!” Octavia immediately assured in a scared shout. “I… I didn’t mean to imply… Oh my gosh! How could I…”

“Tavi,” Vinyl called as she interrupted Octavia’s self-depreciating babbling with a small caress on the cheek. “...Please, shut up,” she playfully said before gently pressing her lips against Octavia’s.

“....I don’t deserve you,” Octavia whispered after Vinyl broke the kiss, prompting the blue-hair into delivering another, longer one. “...You’re so understanding…” And another one. “....So forgiving…” And a deeper one. “.... So amazing....” Tongues started to gently fight with one another. “.... So sexy…” She purred sensually, entwining her fingers in Vinyl’s blue hair.

“You should see you, Tavi,”  Vinyl purred back, gently pushing the cellist on a nearby couch. “You’re way sexier,” she added as she joined her lover on the couch.

“That’s about halfway between sweet and disgusting,” Colgate commented at the sight of her college roommate and her lover’s intense making-out session. “Are they always like that?”

“They have their moments. They’re probably gonna calm down if ya don’t put oil on the fire,” Applejack replied with a shrug, turning her back to the passionate exchange of saliva before noticing that Colgate still had a small suitcase in her left hand. “Wan’ me to put that upstairs as well?”

“Oh, that… Well, I wanted to show it to Vinyl,” Colgate replied, glancing at the small piece of luggage. “...Though, now that I think about it, it’s not a good time for that,” she explained with a brief nod at the kissing pair on the couch.

“What is it?” Applejack asked out of genuine curiosity.

“Just a prototype of my final project for the University,” Colgate explained with a proud smile as she opened to the case before Applejack. “What do you think?”

        Applejack looked inside the open case, blinking at the sight of what it held inside. The blonde farmer glanced up from it to see Colgate’s enthusiastic smile beam right back at her. Internally sighing, Applejack returned her eyes to her sister’s friend’s creation. It was made of many pieces of brass or copper, somehow built together around a blue gemstone -a shade that Rarity had once called dark cerulean- into a one-foot-long and eight-inches-wide rectangle that stood in the middle of a black-foamed case, most likely to protect whatever that rectangle was from possible travelling damage.

“It’s a nice-looking rectangle thingy,” Applejack commented awkwardly. “That’s what Ah think at least.” Colgate’s reply to that was to bash her free hand against her forehead with a loud, embarrassed groan. “Ah ain’t really the best judge for that sort of stuff, Sugarcube,“ Applejack admitted in an apologizing tone.

“It’s okay,” Colgate assured softly. “It’s my fault for not explaining. Hum-hum. This is a prototype Vinyl inspired me to create. It’s called a ...”

“OH MY GOSH! YOU MADE A PROTOTYPE FOR THE WTF ALREADY?!” Vinyl’s voice boomed through the house as she almost shoved herself on the ground after trying to push Applejack out of the way to see Colgate’s invention.

“I’ve never agreed to that name!” Colgate almost shouted, snapping back at her excited friend and thus spotting a disheveled Octavia left in shock on the couch. “It’s stupid!”

“I maintain that the Wub-Tuning-Fork is a better name than the Audio-Resonator-Kinetic you had first thought off!” Vinyl assured with fervor, oblivious to the dark glare her lover was casting at her. “Did you test it yet?!”

“No, I haven’t tested it yet,” Colgate replied slowly. “Besides, ARK sounds better than your WTF.“

“Colgate, we’ve been through that already during College! You should trust my judgement over yours!” Vinyl assured playfully. “Do you want to go test it now?”

“.....Vinyl, if your judgement was better than mine like you seem to imply, you’d not have asked me that question now.” Colgate slowly commented as Applejack tsked with a smirk at her sister.

“...What?!”

“Yep! If it was better, you probably wouldn’t have moved from that couch as well,” Colgate stated as she saw Octavia getting up from the couch, her amethyst-colored eyes burning with the fire of righteous retribution. 
        

**********************************************************************************************************


        Meanwhile, in the Princesses’ booth,

“So, Pinkie and Spike told me you didn’t answer to your door this morning,” Cadence stated casually as she looked in her sister-in-law and her guest’s direction.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Twilight snapped sorely as she looked apathetically at the fields of the Coliseum.

“Everything’s alright, Twilight?” Celestia asked with concern after Cadence shot the Sun Princess a worried glance.

“She’s just mad because she had her first fight with Cloud yesterday,” Alula, who had been invited by Twilight to seat with the Council and the Princesses, -she would have been on her own otherwise- commented matter-of-factly.

“Haaaa,” Celestia let out in realization as Alula seemed to remember who was sitting right next to her. “I see,” she added as Twilight glared at the teenager who whistled innocently in response. 

“About what did you two fight, if I may ask?” Rarity asked diplomatically as Princess Celestia returned her attention on the fields and on the ongoing trials, just like Luna who hadn’t even paid attention to what they were talking about.

“Nothing of importance!” Twilight sorely replied. “At least according to someone,” she added with a another glare at the teenager in the booth.

“.... I get the feeling that I must remind you that you’re mad at my sister, not me,” Alula pointed out casually.

“And I must remind you that I paid you twenty bits for not talking about it to anyone,” Twilight reminded with a dark eye.

“If Princess Celestia asks a question which I know the answer, I feel that it is my civic duty to answer it!” Alula retorted casually, prompting a small giggle from the Princess in question.

“Then it must feel that it’s your civic duty to pay me back,” Twilight remarked as the purple-haired teen blushed profusely because of Celestia’s reaction. 

“I can’t, I already spend it for this flag,” Alula replied, grabbing at the triangular red and golden PONYVILLE flag that stood between hers and Twilight’s seat.

“...Twenty bits for a little flag like that?!” Twilight asked in shock. “That’s scandalous!”

“It’s part of the games, Twilight,” Alula commented with a shrug. “Ponyville’s got to get back the money they invested for all of this,” she added, waving her flag at the Coliseum as whole.

“That’s still way too much for a flag this size!” Twilight assured as she grabbed the handle to get a closer look. “The quality is even so poor! You’re going to show me who sold you this. We’re getting you paid back!” she added after a quick inspection of the offending flag.

“.... Can I still wave it whenever Cloud’s in the air?” Alula asked with big puppy eyes and a small pout.

“I’ve been living with Pinkie Pie for more than three years now, those won’t work on me.” Twilight replied with narrowed eyes. “Besides, your sister doesn’t deserve our encouragement! Not after what she said to me yesterday.”

“.....What did she say?” Cadence asked with worry. “She didn’t insult you, did she?!” the pink-clad princess asked as her hand went to Twilight’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort as all eyes in the booth turned to Celestia’s prized student. Even Luna looked away from the aerial ballet of a fight between the Jupitarians of Baltimare and Las Pegasus. “Because if she did, she better fly faster than Rainbow Dash!”

“Twilight, just because you’re in love with her, doesn’t mean you have to accept everything she tells you!” Celestia added in a motherly, caring tone.

“As our sweet Pinkie would stay: We’ll break her legs!” Luna stated with a threatening finger.

“.... Huh,” Twilight let out in confusion as the three Princesses’ had scooted closer to her.

“That sounds a tad excessive for what Cloud said to her,..... Your highnesses,” Alula sheepishly retorted as all the inquisitorial looks of the three Princesses went from Twilight to her. “She just told Twilight to not interfere with her work.”

“She was supposed to be off duty!” Twilight added in a snappy tone.

“Yes, I know but it must have been serious business if Cloud told Blossomforth and Gale to go with her,” Alula argued in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Still, she could have just told me what was going on!” Twilight countered sorely. “I’m her girlfriend! She should tell me what happens ….”

“No, she shouldn’t!” Alula snapped loudly, startling Twilight and the rest of the booth. “If there’s one person here to whom Cloud should tell stuff, that would be me!” she added with starting tears. “You’ve been her girlfriend for what? 3, 4 weeks?! Granted, that’s a huge time considering it’s Cloud we’re talking about but I’m her little sister and I just spent the last four years apart from her. I think I have more rights than you to be upset that she had to ditch us yesterday but you don’t hear me complain about it. She said it was important and that she couldn’t or shouldn’t talk about it with us. You should just accept it like I did!”

        Twilight kept staring blankly at Alula who glared at her through the small tears that gather in the corners of her blue eyes. The other ladies in the booth quickly looked away from the pair after Rarity commented that the match between Baltimare and Las Pegasus had ended with a victory for the former. Twilight let out a brief sigh as Alula quickly wiped her tears away, her cheeks slightly red from having just yelled at a VIP of her country in the presence of the most VIP’S of Equestria.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted like that,” Alula whispered before Twilight rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay. If anything, I’m the one who should do the apologies, Alula,” Twilight whispered back with a soft smile. “You’re right, I should have just accepted it and shouldn’t have acted so selfish.“

“Meh, you’re in love and, from what you can read about it, it makes you irrational. So, I suppose I can understand,” Alula whispered before Twilight pulled her into a soft but tight hug. “... Just, try to avoid playing the extreme authority card with Cloud in the future. It didn’t work for my parents. It barely works with your brother who’s her boss, at least that’s what I heard. It most likely won’t work for you,” she added with a slow, half-hearted chuckle.

“I guess you’re right,” Twilight cracked a smile as she pulled away from the teen. “I suppose I’ll have to apologize to Cloud when I see her later.”

“Maybe you can start by cheering for her, Darling,” Rarity commented as observed the Ponyville’s pit with her opera binoculars. “She seems to get ready to compete.”

        As soon as Rarity’s words left her mouth, both Twilight and Cloud’s sister had leaned over the balcony with their own pairs of binoculars. While a bit surprised by Twilight’s sudden change of heart about cheering her lover, Cadence rolled her eyes while letting out brief, gentle chuckle at her sister-in-law.

“Ah, young love,” Cadence whispered with amusement at the sight of Twilight trying to find Cloud with her binoculars.

“So, did you change your mind about the Lieutenant Kicker, Cadence?” Celestia asked her niece in a discreet whisper.

“I still think Twilight’s too good for her but as long as she treats her well, I don’t have much reason to be spiteful,” Cadence replied softly, earning an approving nod from the Sun princess. “Though at the slightest misstep, I’ll sic Shining on her!”

“Dear niece, don’t take this the wrong way but I think your husband is not suited to ‘’sic’’ someone like Miss Kicker,” Luna commented as Pinkie gave the signal for the Aerial combat between Ponyville and Fillydelphia to begin from her makeshift zeppelin. “He’s not mischievous enough. Were it necessary, I’d suggest sending Pinkie Pie in his stead.” 

“... Auntie, you can be quite scary when you want to,” Cadence let out after blinking in shock at Luna’s suggestion.

“I know,” Luna retorted with a chuckle before returned her full attention on the Match.

All the attention from the women in the booth went back on today’s competition. Alula shouted in concert with Twilight, frantically waving her twenty-bits flag at the red and purple blur that dashed toward a shocked Fillydelphian. She had tried to stop her with strong gusts of wind but Cloud had flown through it like it was nothing. Cloud’s left wing was surrounded a thick, white fog before it stroke her opponent in the stomach. 

The Fillydelphian was catapulted to the ground by the strength of Cloud’s wing-bash as the white fog circled her barrel. As the crowd held its breath at the sight of the wounded athlete, Cloud snapped her left hand up, prompting her fog to become denser and bigger to the point it englobed her opponent in a cottony snow-white ball. Said ball bounced on the ground a couple of times before it came to a stop at the edge of the field, close from the teams’ pits.

“I knew your Lieutenant was good with a sword, Twilight,” Luna calmly stated as Alula cheered loudly with their fists raised in the air. “Looks like she’s good with her Shapes too,” she added with a nod of approval, while watching Cloud dissipate her ball-shaped namesake to free her opponent. 

“It was really admirable of her to rescue her adversary,” Rarity commented as the now-free Jupitarian signaled that she gave up with her left hand, her right one still pressed against her stomach. “Great show of sportsmanship,” the baroness stated as Cloud landed to help her adversary stand back up.

“Hmmm, maybe our dear Renée will have more trouble to reach the finals than she planned,” Celestia let out with a brief chuckle. “She was quite excited to finally face Spitfire in the airs.”

“We’ve noticed, Auntie,” Cadence retorted with a sigh, remembering Rainbow’s detailed explanation from the day before on how the Canterlot team had been placed in a different pool than Cloudsdale and Ponyville and that she could only have a chance to confront her mentor in the finals. “We’ve noticed.”

“Now, Now, Princess,” Twilight waved sheepishly. “As much as I’d like her to win, I don’t think Cloud will make it against Rainbow.”

“... It’s not nice to hold a grudge, Twilight,” Alula muttered after glaring her sister’s girlfriend in shock.

“..Wait? What?! I’m not holding any grudge!” Twilight stated in an offended tone, turning her back to her mentor. “Where does that come from?”

“You’re rooting for her enemy!” Alula argued with an accusatory finger waved fiercely between the scholar’s eyes. “Even though you admitted you were wrong about being mad at her!”

“I’m not rooting for her “enemy”!” Twilight replied after pulling Alula’s finger away from her. “I’m just saying that I don’t think she can win against Rainbow but that won’t stop me from hoping and cheering for Cloud to win.”

“You can’t cheer for someone’s victory if you don’t think that someone can win!” Alula retorted slowly. “You’re too smart and pragmatic for that…. Even if you’re prone to irrational behavior when Cloud’s concerned,” she added in a whisper.

“I’m not prone to irrational behavior!!!” Twilight argued loudly, flames dancing in her eyes.

“.... Are we sure they’ve met only yesterday?” Rarity asked Cadence and the two other Princesses in a giggled whisper. “She already figured Twilight inside out,” she said, eliciting a discreet fit of laughter from the three royals.

“There’s no reason to think that Rainbow will beat Cloud!” Alula argued with fervor.

“I’m not exactly happy about it too but there actually are a couple,” Twilight countered softly. “Rainbow is one of the best flyers in Equestria, second only to Spitfire in terms of speed, and that will probably change in a year or two. She’s also the founder of the Junior Wonderbolts and, as such, she has been trained by Spitfire, the strongest Jupitarian in the active forces of the Royal Guard, for a bit more than two years now.” Twilight ended her explanation with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Alula, but the odds aren’t really in Cloud’s favor.”

“Why? Because Rainbow is renowned to be faster?” Alula asked back in defiance. “Because that’s about the only difference between her and Cloud…. That and the title of Junior Wonderbolt.”

“.......Huh?!” Twilight let out in confusion as the Princesses Luna and Celestia cocked an eyebrow at the light-purple-haired teenager.

“What? Cloud was also trained by Spitfire. For an even longer period than Rainbow Dash!” Alula claimed proudly.

“........Huh?!” Twilight let out again at the same time as the other women in the booth, much to Alula’s displeasure. 

> When rainbows and clouds clash into the skies...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Ponyville’s Coliseum, Canterlot’s pit, fifteen minutes before the second semi-final of the Aerial duels.

“Good job, Spitz,” Soarin cheered with a thumb up as Spitfire jumped inside their team’s pit.

“Well, the competition isn’t really hard since the only ones really up to the challenge of beating her in the air are either in this pit or in Las Pegasus,” Quake commented with a short chuckle.

“Quake just took the words out of my mouth,” Spitfire muttered with a yawn. “Too bad Crystal isn’t one for sports.”

“Well, the sports you and Crystal are used to don’t exactly fit in the categories covered by the Games’ charter,” Fleetfoot reminded with air-quotes stressing the word sports, earning a cocked eyebrow from her fire-haired superior. “Turning a full stadium in a burning/freezing inferno isn’t exactly normal people’s idea of sports,” she explained flatly.

“I’m not even going to reply to that,” Spitfire casually stated as she let herself fall on a nearby bench. “This aerial fight competition is a tad boring after all the excitement I got from the running trials.”

“You mean the excitement you got when Applejack Apple left you in the dust for the 400 meters?” Soarin asked with a mischievous grin.

“It was both instructive and impressive,” Spitfire retorted with a shrug. “It helps to get a serving of humble pie once in a while, Soarin. You should know what I’m talking about, right?” she added with a small smirk.”

“Well to be honest, I’d have prefered an actual pie to the humble-one she gave me a couple of weeks ago,” Soarin reminded with a warm chuckle which spread quickly to his teammates.

“Remember that you DID get an actual pie out of that match,” Fleetfoot remarked, casting a brief wink at Spitfire who simply rolled her eyes.

“True. True.” Soarin nodded quickly. “Totally worth the effort and the pain, by the way,” he added with a smile.

“Spitfire’s special pie was that good?” Pokey asked, sharing a sly grin with the rest of his teammates, minus Spitfire. 

“The best I ever tasted! If it were up to me, I’d eat it everyday!” Soarin assured innocently, prompting the hilarity of most of his teammates. “.... What’s so funny?” he asked in confusion in response to their laughs.

“Dear Faust in heaven, stop me from doing the huge mistake of killing all these morons,” Spitfire whispered as she tried to bury her reddening face into the palm of her hand. “I’m going for a walk!”

“Don’t go too far,” Pokey reminded playfully as the Wonderbolt slowly walked up the stairs of the pit. You’ll miss your apprentice’s match!”

“Who’re you talking about?” Spitfire asked, turning around to Pokey with angry narrowed eyes, instantly killing the playfull mood of her team.

“Well, huh…, You know? Rainbow Dash. The one who can do the Sonic Rainboom. Leader of the Junior Wonderbolts. The same Junior Wonderbolts you’re in charge of training.” Pokey reminded with a nervous gulp at the hard amber-colored stare he got from his teammate.

        Spitfire held her glare aimed at the fencer for a few seconds before she turned her back to him and left in silence. Fleetfoot and Soarin both let out brief sighs at their leader while a puzzled Pokey looked at them, silently asking what had just happened. They knew what it was all about but they also knew it wasn’t their places to tell Pokey and the others.

        She hardly talked about it, but Spitfire hated the Junior Wonderbolts program. It wasn’t its concept that ticked her off -though she had a few beefs with it as well-, it was mostly that the charge of that program had been put on her shoulders. Spitfire didn’t want apprentices, sidekicks, students, etc. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the demand came from her former Captain, Firefly, with the support of the two ruling Princesses, Spitfire would have simply rejected the idea with the help of her middle finger. Since she couldn’t really see herself flipping off Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna for that matter, Spitfire had half-heartedly accepted the responsibility of “babysitting” the next generation of Wonderbolts oddly composed with Rainbow Dash’s close friends at its beginning.

        All things considered, Rainbow’s friends, Gilda Skytalon, Lightning Dust and few other members of Cloudsdale’s team for the Games, were talented enough to have earned their places in the Junior Wonderbolts, but Spitfire has never come around to appreciate training them. All the praises Rainbow received for her Sonic Rainboom and her various achievements from the ruling class and the whispers about the young girl being Spitfire’s replacement neither helped in the matter. As the word popped in her mind, Spitfire’s fist closed tightly. The air blurred itself around her, the dirt dried under her steps, the grass withered close to her feet as she walked away from her team’s pit.

“Watch out!” a familiar voice shouted from Spitfire’s left side.

“Hum?” Spitfire let out as she glanced in the direction the voice came from, only to have the content of small bucket of water splash all over her.

        After slowly bringing her hand to her face, Spitfire cleared her eyes from the droplets. Once her eyes were free to be open, she saw the one who had warned her and let out a short, annoyed sigh. As the offender’s teammates were looking at her with shocked, gaping mouths, said offender chuckled as she put the bucket on the ground.

“I assume you did that on purpose, Kicker, right?” Spitfire asked the chuckling blonde, chasing a wet lock of her hair that fell before her eyes.

“Just doing my best to protect the community from wildfires, Ma’am,” Cloud explained with a smug shrug as her coach, Zecora, started to mumble something in Zebrican while clenching her fists.

“You’re right, Madam, Cloud IS an imbecile,” Spitfire commented to the Ponyville coach, who looked surprised from having been understood. “The Bolts did a few shows in Zebrica a couple of years ago,” she explained briefly before glaring back at Cloud Kicker. “You could at least offer a towel as an apology.”

“I would if you actually needed one,” Cloud retorted casually with her arms crossed as Allie and Ditzy rushed to a nearby sports bag in the hope of finding a fresh towel.

“You somehow picked up Crystal’s sass over the years, Kicker,” Spitfire commented as she clapped her hands together.

“Here’s a towel, Mis….” Allie started as she extended a red towel to the wonderbolt, only to stop herself when all the water on her had disappeared in a woosh. “Woaw!”

“How did she do that?” Raindrops whispered to an awed Ditzy.

“I don’t know… her hair looks like a flame,” Ditzy commented, dazzled by the fiery aspect of Spitfire’s coiffure. “It’s so fabulous!”

“....What the heck happened to your face?” Spitfire asked with a cocked eyebrow as she noticed the small bandage on Cloud’s left cheek.

“I’ve met an angry kitten yesterday,” Cloud explained with a shrug.

“... A kitten?”

“Yeah, a kitten,” Cloud repeated casually, her eyelashes fluttering a bit.

“Huh-huh,” Spitfire let out as she leaned forward to give the bandaged cheek a closer look. “Did you know that you always flutter your eyelashes three times whenever you lie?” she added in a whisper that only Cloud could hear.

“Really now?” Cloud asked back in genuine surprise. “I would have never guessed.”

“Well, you do and, quite frankly, I find hard to believe that a kitten somehow managed to reach your cheek,” Spitfire commented slowly.

“It’s not like you’d know what a kitten is capable of. You’re more of a dog person from what I remember,” Cloud retorted calmly.

“True,” Spitfire agreed with a brief nod. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?” she asked again, pointing back at the bandage.

“Hmmmm. I don’t think I’m going to tell you, sorry,” Cloud replied after putting up a pensive frown for a few seconds.

“Suit yourself then,” Spitfire replied slowly as she looked at the fields behind her. “Shouldn’t you get ready for your match?” she asked, noticing Cloudsdale’s pit in which Rainbow Dash was busy warming up.

“I think I’m ready as I’ll ever be,” Cloud commented casually. “Considering who I’m up against,” she added with a sigh.

“Tsss,” Spitfire let out with a discreet snort. “Rainbow Dash intimidates you?”

“Why wouldn’t she? She’s the leader of the Junior Wonderbolts and your very first apprentice after all!” Cloud replied in an even tone. “I’m not worth mentioning compared to her.”

        Spitfire felt uncomfortable knots in her stomach when she heard those words. She avoided looking back at the blonde behind her as Pinkie’s voice rang through the Coliseum, telling that the second semi-final would start in five minutes. 

Pinkie advised the two competitors, namely Rainbow Dash and Cloud Kicker, to get ready, and to take place just next to her zep if they were. An instant later, with a trail of her namesake left behind her, Rainbow was already hovering next to her friend while the whole coliseum cheered her name loud and clear. 

“See what I mean?” Cloud asked as a thunder of applause filled the stadium while casually waved at Rainbow’s direction.

“I think you’re right,” Spitfire commented slowly, seeing Rainbow bow to and wave at the raging crowd. “… The comparison isn’t worth making,” she stated calmly.

“Boy, you still don’t mince your words, Lieutenant Maverick,” Cloud retorted with a dry, half-hearted chuckle.

“It would be the same as comparing a copper Bit and a golden Bit together.” Spitfire softly continued, sheepishly scratching her left elbow and looking at anywhere but the blonde next to her. “Those two coins serves the same purpose but, by definition, they’re different from one another. For one, they aren’t made exactly of the same materials. Second, even if one has been established as of superior value to the other, both only have the value people put in them. To some, a golden Bit handed to them like that is worth nothing to the copper Bit they worked hard to get.”

“I don’t get it where you’re going with that, Spitfire,” Cloud remarked slowly.

“I guess that Twilight didn’t rub on you enough to make an scholar out of you,” Spitfire commented with a brief chuckle.

“Let’s hope she doesn’t. You’d imagine me in the high intellectual sphere of Canterlot, discussing magical theories, or philosophy?” Cloud asked with small smile.“... Since when are you all philosophical like that by the way?” she then asked in confusion.

“Hehe, I guess I can thank Trend for that,” Spitfire explained in a whisper. “Moron as he was, he sure was good writer too: He was good at making any subject interesting.”

“I can’t say that I’ve read much of his work,” Cloud replied sheepishly. “I’m sorr…”

“You already apologized for him, Cloud,” Spitfire interrupted her calmly, but firmly. “Even if I had to apologize and you hadn’t, but I was too proud for that.”

“...Wait! What?”

“I always had great pride in what I did in my life and it came with the fear of being replaced,” Spitfire stated, her grip on her elbow tightening. “When Trend told me he chose you over me, I was devastated. My first apprentice had just replaced me in the heart of the man I loved. The only question that came to my mind at that point was : How long until she replaces me in the hearts of others?” Spitfire told with a sad sigh. “That’s why I turned my back on you all these years ago. My broken, personal pride made me cast my copper Bit away… The same copper Bit that used to fuel my pride to its fullest,” she then whispered, finally looking at Cloud straight in the eyes.

        Cloud could only opened her mouth in shock at what Spitfire had just told her. Her teammates and coach, who had had the decency to not pay attention to her conversation with her mentor, looked toward the field when Pinkie called for Cloud to join Rainbow so they could start the match. They were more than surprised to see Cloud staring blankly at Spitfire with her mouth left open. Zecora was about to interject when Ditzy waved for her to stop, pointing at Cloud’s face. More precisely at the starting tears in her purple eyes that seemed to shine with relief.

“.... You might want to stop the waterworks, Kid,” Spitfire commented with a shaking chuckle. “You’re waited elsewhere,” she added, nodding swiftly at an impatient, hovering Rainbow Dash and a questioning Pinkie Pie in her zep.

“Right...Right!” Cloud agreed, quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “.... I supposed this conversation in just on hold, right, Lieutenant?”

“Hum-hum,” Spitfire replied with a nod. “We’ll solve all the details during the final,” she added with a wink.

        After nodding slowly to the redhead, Cloud took off with a strong flap of her wide wingspan. As Cloud joined her opponent in the center of the field, Spitfire didn’t move from where she had left her until she felt a hand gently resting on her shoulder.

“So, you guys finally worked things out?” Soarin asked softly, oblivious to the stares they were getting from Cloud’s teammates.

“I wouldn’t say we’re quite there yet…We’ve got a lot left to talk about,” Spitfire admitted slowly.

“You finally took the first step in the right direction. That’s something,” Soarin commented warmly.

“Yeah, I guess,” Spitfire retorted, her eyes focused on Rainbow and Cloud as they were taunting each other before Pinke would give them the signal to begin. “Soarin, I realized I’ve never really thanked you for what you did to Trend with Thaddeus.”

“With reasons. I didn’t do anything,” Soarin casually replied, though he did so too quickly to be completely honest.

“Thanks anyway, Soar’,” Spitfire whispered before gracing his cheek with a light, gentle peck.

“....N-No problem, Spitz’!” Soarin said with brightly red cheeks as Pinke blew longly into a blue flugelhorn.

“And it begiWAAAAAH!!!” Pinkie screamed in panic as her zep was chased away from the center of the Coliseum by a loud bang that startled the whole crowd.

        Cloud maintained herself in the air by slow and regular flaps of her wings, her left arm extended toward Rainbow Dash’s curled-up from that hovered a good dozen of meters away from her starting position. The crowd gasped in shock as steam escaped from Cloud’s closed fist and Rainbow’s uncovered and bright red, right shoulder.

“You taught her how to do that shape?” Soarin asked Spitfire with a cocked eyebrow. “Didn’t you say the Juniors that it was way too dangerous to do for someone other than you?”

“....Soarin, how exactly do you think I arrived to that conclusion?” Spitfire asked back with her eyebrow raised higher than Soarin’s.


**********************************************************************************************************


“Wait! What exactly happened?!” Alula asked as she watched her sister still hovering in her punching stance, her voice filled by surprise.

“I’m not exactly sure,” Twilight commented in confusion. “It can’t be a wind-shape… It wouldn’t have made so much noise.”

“Rainbow seems to be hurt,” Rarity stated as she looked at her fellow council-member through her binoculars. “... I think she was burned by something,” she added, noticing the steam coming from Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Looks like the young miss Kicker’s claim about her sister’s mentor was true,” Luna commented with obvious interest.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as Alula glanced at the Moon Princess with curiosity.

“Only Spitfire could have taught Miss Kicker that shape,” Celestia commented in a low, serious tone. “Rainbow must be quite confused by now…. and probably angry.”

“Why would Rainbow be angry?” Alula asked in confusion. “Your Highness,” she added quickly.

“Because when Spitfire finally agreed to show Rainbow and the rest of the Juniors her Heat-bullet, she also said that she would never teach them how to do it…” Luna explained matter-of-factly. “It’s a shape that requires a lot of precision and that can be very dangerous for the user when not done properly.”

“Dangerous how?” Twilight asked with worry.

“As dangerous as putting one’s hand in a fire,” Celestia explained with a sigh, earning nervous and worried gulps from Alula and Twilight.


**********************************************************************************************************


“Shit!” Rainbow cursed as she saw the reddening skin of her shoulder.

        She tried to move it to see how bad she was hurt and rested her right palm on it when she only felt the skin sting at her movements. Her hand was surrounded by a pale fog as the burn cooled down instantly under her touch. She turned her gaze toward her blonde opponent, still in her punching pose dozens of meters away from her. Rainbow smirked a bit when she noticed the steam coming from her reddening fist.

“I don’t exactly know how you ‘came up’ with that shape, Cloud, but I can see you’ve not mastered it yet,” Rainbow taunted as she retook her fighting stance once her shoulder stopped stinging.

“Are you sure of that, Rainbow?” Cloud asked back with a smirk before gently blowing on her left fist. “I hope you’ve realized I’m not here to play.  As I told you, I must and I WILL get to the final!” she added firmly as the burn mark on her fist diminished.

“Not if I get there myself, Cloud,” Rainbow retorted back with a smirk. “I’ve got plenty to show off in front of Spitfire… Kinda have to show that the future of the Wonderbolts is assured, you know?”

        Rainbow’s confident smirk turned into a confused frown as the only reply Cloud provided to her question/claim was a soft, clearly mocking laugh that only grew louder each passing seconds. As Pinkie commented from her zep, which she had decided to move further away, how both contestants were lost into their pre-fighting taunts, Cloud’s laugh came to a stop.

“The future of Wonderbolts, huh?” Cloud asked, wiping away her laughing tears.

“That’s right!” Rainbow assured sternly. “What’s so funny about it?!”

“I’ve already encountered one of the “future of the Wonderbolts” in battle,” Cloud replied confidently. “She didn’t last longer than a minute.”

“....I’m not Gilda, Cloud,” Rainbow snarled angrily, her fists tightening. “If anything, I’m better and faster than her!” she firmly added as sparks of electricity gathered around her digits.

“Ha? So, it’ll be shorter than a minute then?” Cloud asked back with a smirk.

        Cloud heard Rainbow’s pissed-off groan and noticed her light-made blue wings flare on her back. She just had the time to take her stance when Rainbow had already flown half of the distance separating them. If anything, Rainbow was indeed much faster than Gilda had been. Though, Cloud had learned with the fastest, so she was ready when Rainbow reeled her lightning-surrounded fists in, only to blink in surprise when the Junior Wonderbolt conjured a powerful gust of wind with a strong flap of her wings.

        With her flight-pattern destabilized by the sudden current of air, Cloud couldn’t really dodge the approaching rainbow-haired threat. Rainbow halted just before the blonde, extending her electrified fists into Cloud’s trunk.

“CLEAR!” Rainbow shouted proudly as she released the thunder in her hands.

        The crowd gasped in shock as a blinding light shone and a thunderclap resonated through the coliseum. Pinkie was as silent as tomb, for maybe the first time in her commenting of the games. Twilight’s hands had gone over her mouth, fear obvious in her eyes while Alula gulped nervously as she trembled like a leaf. Even the Princesses, who had been rather unsettled through the whole competition, had blinked in stupor at what had transpired in the air.

“... Impressive,” Luna broke the silence with an approving nod. “I didn’t think she’d block it.”

“Likewise, Luna,” Celestia commented softly, prompting the council Members and the teenager in the booth to snap their head at the two of them in confusion. “Look closely, girls,” she recommended, nodding at the two hovering forms above the Coliseum.

        They looked back at the pair, but from where they were, they couldn’t see that Rainbow’s triumphing grin had turned sour after she let go of her lightning bolts. Her fists were supposed to reach for Cloud’s chest, shocking the blonde unconscious. It wouldn’t have been dangerous as the particular shape’s sole purpose is to stun another Jupitarian. Though, instead of her opponent’s chest, her fists had come in contact with a square, now-dark-grey fluff that had formed just in front of Cloud’s chest.

“Thanks for the juice, Rainbow,” Cloud calmly said before her wings suddenly slammed against the Cloudsdalian’s temples.

        Slightly stunned, Rainbow felt and heard the sharp whistle of the wind before it blew her away after hitting her stomach really hard. Recovering from the blow with a well-executed back-flip, Rainbow focused her gaze on the blonde before her, seeing her shape the grey cloud she had blocked her lightning with into a short club. 

Frowning a bit, Rainbow gathered another lightning bolt in her fist before hurling it at the blonde. As thunder once again resonated through the Coliseum, the bolt was about to hit its mark when Cloud raised her newly-shaped club above her head. The lightning suddenly changed its course and went straight for the cloud-made rod in the blonde’s hand. The shape absorbed the bolt almost instantly, turning darker as it did.

“Tsss, lightnings are a no-go apparently,” Rainbow whispered to herself. “Time for a change of tactics.”

        Winds gathered around Rainbow’s forearms as she leaned forward, her wings widely spread on her back. She observed Cloud carefully, waiting for the proper moment to strike while the blonde raised a fog-covered right hand. After a few seconds of mutual observation, Rainbow launched herself toward Cloud at top speed. Mid-flight, she unleashed two powerful wind gusts with two quick punches. Holding her storm-club behind her back, Cloud flew under the first windy projectile before conjuring one of her own by extending her right hand forward. 

Both currents of air clashed violently against one another in a loud bang that startled the crowd a little bit, though the concerned gasps of shock were quickly overcome by the shouts, whistles and cheers of encouragement. They had wanted to see a good show and the two Jupitarians were giving them just that.

With her wind countered by Cloud’s, Rainbow zigzagged toward the blonde, hoping to throw her aim off. Though, Cloud didn’t attack her during her approach. She barely moved from her spot and waited for Rainbow to come closer. When she did, Rainbow raised another wind-surrounded fist, ready to shoot another gust almost point blank. In response, Cloud quickly moved her fog-covered right hand so that the back of it would hit the under part of Rainbow’s fist. The fog got caught-up into the wind-shape, turning it white and fluffy before it puffed out of existence, much to Rainbow’s surprise.

“How did you do that?” Rainbow asked in an slightly awed tone.

“I’ll tell you what I’ve been told when I asked the same question years ago, Rainbow,” Cloud replied softly as she turned her hand to strongly grab onto Rainbow’s wrist. “Figure it out on your own, Kiddo!”

        Cloud vigorously pulled on the Cloudsdalian’s arm while letting herself fall down a bit. Thanks to the momentum she gained, Cloud managed to throw Rainbow towards the ground after making her pass above her. As Rainbow let out a surprised shout at being flipped over, Cloud chuckled playfully while whacking her backside with her club.

“OUCH!” Rainbow yelped as her behind was shocked. “ARE YOU CRAZY? HITTING ME THERE?!” She shouted with red cheeks after recovering her balance, her hands over her smoking pants.

“So, I’m just allowed to proverbially kick your butt?” Cloud asked after her chuckle died down a bit. “Surely, Spitfire kicked it into shape at some point during the time she’s training you.”

“Spitfire’s not obsessed by every girl’s butt like you, Cloud!” Rainbow snapped loudly, flapping her wings to fly forward so hard that it sounded like a thunderclap.

“Wooo, them fighting words!” Cloud commented as a blur of chromatic colors lunged at her. “Miss!” She shouted after dodging the charge with a sideways somersault. “And, since you’re so attached to it, you should keep a better guard on your butt, Rainbow,” she added as she dodged another charge from the Cloudsdalian while managing to once again shock Rainbow’s behind during her move.

        Growling in fury, Rainbow tried to lunge on the blonde, only to be dodged in extremis every single time and to receive a couple of electrical shocks on her lower back area. Even if Cloud was getting on her nerves, especially those of her bottom parts, Rainbow couldn’t deny that the blonde’s escapes were getting more and more laborious. Once or twice, Rainbow managed to graze an arm or a wing of her opponent.

Rainbow decided to rapidly fly in circles around Cloud, alternating between bombarding her with wind gusts and trying to land a hit with a punch, a kick or a wing-slam. It didn’t take long for Cloud to be overcome by the constant assault of the speedster: after a wind blast hit her left wing and destabilized her, Rainbow joined her fists together and raised them both above her head. 

After an intense whirlwind gather around them, Rainbow bashed her hands against the side of Cloud’s face, sending her crashing down below in a loud bang. The crowd gasped in shock as the Ponyvillian disappeared into a massive cloud of dirt and dust. The whole Coliseum was as silent as a grave while Rainbow panted loudly to get her breath back.

“Damn, she’s as hard-headed as AJ,” Rainbow commented as she massaged the sore edge of her right hand. “.... Maybe I was a little too rough,” she added with concern when Cloud gave no signs of coming out of the dust.

        As the Cloudsdalian voiced her worries for herself, as no one else could actually hear them, tension in the princess’ booth was thicker than the head of familiar farmer.

“Twilight, CALM DOWN! I’m sure she’s fine!” Cadence plead as Rarity held the Princess’ student on her seat while said student was going nervously freaky.

“HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?!” Twilight shouted, concern filling her voice, as she struggled against her friend and sister-in-law’s grip. “Cloud could have hurt herself really bad with that fall!”

“Twilight, I’m sure she’s okay,” Alula whispered softly, her voice was calm even if it had a slight undertone of worry. “She’s been through worse… I think.”

“Still, Rainbow could have hold back!” Twilight snapped after stopping from struggling against Rarity’s grip. “.... Why isn’t she moving already?!” she asked in a low whisper as nothing seemed to move inside the thick cloud of dust.

“She probably is, Dear,” Rarity suggested softly. “She probably just remains hidden to keep the effect of surprise.”

“That would be like her,” Alula commented with a brief, tense chuckle as nothing came out of the dust: no Cloud, no debris, no sounds…

“Worry not, girls,” Luna commented, her eyes glowing in a dark blue hue. “The lieutenant Kicker is about to retaliate,” she added with a devious, interested grin.

“Why are you smiling like that, Luna?” Celestia asked casually.

“You’ll see,” Luna replied cryptically while leaning forward a bit to not miss a single bit of the action.

        On the fields, some of the Games Officials and Nurse Redhearts were making their way toward the massive cloud of dust after Pinkie voiced her concerns in her megaphone. They were about to explore the smoke-screened area of the fields while Rainbow hovered close to it as well when noises of electrical sparks came from within it. The “rescue crew” stopped instantly when they noticed two floating, yellowish orbs of lightning through the dirty mist.

“What the heck?” Rainbow let out at the same time as many people in attendance.

        The two orbs slowly flew through the cloud of dust up to the point they floated a few feet apart from one another, a good fifteen feet above the ground. It was at that time that the dust started clearing itself thanks to a soft breeze. As the brownish mist was slowly dissipated, Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the two spheres of lightning. It almost looked as if those orbs were looking straight at her. And then they both blinked.

“....Hang on a...WHAAAA!” Rainbow shouted as a huge, greyish form surged from the dust at top speed in a low rumble.

        Thanks to her sharp reflexes, Rainbow managed to fly away from whatever-it-was that had charged her. As she took some distances from it, she took a closer look and couldn’t prevent the awed “woaw” from escaping past her lips as it looked back at her. Its serpentine body was of a smooth, shining light-grey matter, much similar to a matted silver. Its skull ended in fearsome-looking spines easily as tall as Rainbow Dash herself. Its maw was polished and almost toothless like a beak if it wasn’t for the two long and sharp tusk-like fangs sprouting out of it.

“Pretty cool, right?” Rainbow heard Cloud’s shout from her right.

        The Cloudsdalian turned her eyes away from the lightning-eyes of the beast and spotted the blonde right in the center of the almost-gone mist of dust and dirt. She stood tall on top of a large and fluffy cloud into which the “monster”’s base was merged. One of her hands delicately was probing her bruised cheek while the other was surrounded by light grey fog.

“Yeah, kinda,” Rainbow admitted slowly. “But…” she added, gathering the winds around her right leg. “Your little snake is still just a cloud!” 

        With a swift kick, Rainbow unleashed a powerful wind gust upon Cloud’s shape in order to blow it away. The gust crashed against the nimbus-construct in a loud clang, but the shape remained intact. Puzzled by this, Rainbow threw a couple of gusts more at the construct. Just like before, it remained unscathed. The Cloudsdalian glanced back and forth between the reptilian-shape and its creator, seeing her smirking playfully back at her. 

        At one wave from Cloud, the lightning-eyed Shape opened its maw, letting out a loud hiss similar to the rumble of thunder, and lunged in Rainbow’s direction. The blue-winged woman muttered a curse between her teeth as she flew away from the Shape’s snapping maws. The sharp clang that resonated through the stadium after it suddenly closed its mouth was more than enough to convince Rainbow that she wouldn’t appreciate its bite.

        Fortunately for her, Rainbow’s speed was more than enough to escape ferocious shape. Cloud had made it intimidating and probably quite dangerous but evidently not as fast as Rainbow Dash. As she kept on dodging the cloud-made-creature’s bites, Rainbow noticed that Cloud hadn’t moved from her spot at the end of her Shape. She cast a few gusts at the blonde, only to see them blocked by the cloud-construct, who had placed itself between its creator and her assailant. 

        Growling in frustration from her attacks not reaching past Cloud’s shape, Rainbow flapped her wings hard to give herself much more altitude. As she flew high above the Coliseum, Pinkie, who had been going on and on about the huge cloud-made monster in the said Coliseum’s premises, was now going on about all the words she knew to describe how high Rainbow was flying. Cloud couldn’t help but think that Twilight had something to do with Pinkie’s well-developed vocabulary. It was only when Pinkie used her binoculars to confirm that Rainbow Dash had stopped her ascension that Cloud realized what was about to happen.

“Shit!” Cloud cursed as a tiny dot in the sky dived back down to the ground.

        As Rainbow flew down, her arms extended forward, her wings placated on her back, the crowd gasped in awe before covering their ears plaintively. The sharp whistling sounds of the winds being torn apart by Rainbow’s dive proved to be too much to handle. During her descent, a wall of air formed itself before her hands. The wall distorted itself as she came closer to the ground, thus forming a sharper and sharper cone around her. 
        
In response Cloud placed both her hands at the base of her creation’s neck. As she closed her eyes in deep focus, the clouds of her shape under her palms grew darker every seconds, turning the silvery construct into a deep black mass. The electrical sparks in its eyes glowed brighter as more of them surged from whole its body. The rumble of its hisses grew louder to the point the ground above which it floated started to tremble, matching the loud whistle that came from Rainbow’s dive. As the cone of air restricting Rainbow Dash cracked after she managed to strongly flapped her wings, Cloud’s Shape opened its maw.

At the exact same time as a chromatic explosion filled the sky, Cloud’s monster released a massive bolt of lightning towards the skies. The roar of thunder along the shattering of the sound barrier forced everyone to cover their ears. A beam of light the color of the rainbow descended right towards the bright lightning that tore the sky upwards to meet it halfway. They were so bright that everyone in the coliseum looked away or closed their eyes instinctually before they clashed just above the Coliseum.

“....Is it over?” Pinkie asked timidly in her megaphone after the rumbling and the blinding lights died down. “Who won?” she wondered as she rubbed her eyes to chase the dark spots caused by the multiple flashes.

        As the crowd gathered its spirits back, and probably its sight too for most parts, Pinkie looked down after not spotting any of the two contestants flying at her zep’s altitude. She rapidly blinked in shock at what she saw before screaming in terror.

“RAINBOW DASH IS GETTING EATEN LIKE A CUPCAKE!” she yelled fearfully at the sight of a halfly shattered cloud-monster with the tips of blue wings and a foot sticking out its closed maws. “... Oh wait, there she is,” she added when the shape spit the unconscious Cloudsdalian out, her whole body restrained by silvery white bonds.
> A song of cloud and fire.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The deep silence that had reigned in the Coliseum had been replaced by a fanfare of cheers and excited shouts. All the Ponyville supporters were expressing their joy of seeing one of their owns beat the famous Councilor of Sports and Ethics in a competition, while the Cloudsdalians were clearly put out by their champion’s defeat but still applauded both athletes for their efforts and the show they provided. Though, not everyone in the crowd was cheering. Behind the standing crowd, on the furthest rows of the bleachers, two cloaked women didn’t seem pleased by the outcome of the match.

“Still thinking you can take her, Adagio?” Sunset asked, the shadow of a smile spread on her face at the sight of the blonde Ponyvillian raising her fist in victory.

“Of course, she’s still thinking that!” Aria muttered as Adagio kept quiet. “That whore can be as good as she wants, if Adagio or I can take her by surprise, we will…”

 “... get probably beat up and most likely caught,” Sunset finished in a calm whisper. “After the stunt Adagio pulled in that apple farm and Sonata’s fateful encounter in the forest, you can be certain that taking her by surprise won’t be easy.”

“You seem pretty aware of what the Lieutenant Kicker is capable of,” Adagio remarked with narrowed eyes. “Like you know her personally,” she added slowly.

“Are you implying something with that tone, Adagio?” Sunset asked in an innocent tone.

“You totally were one of her bitches, weren’t you?” Aria asked with a condescending smirk after glancing between her two partners during the few seconds-long silence that followed Sunset’s question.

“Like you and Sonata are Adagio’s? Not really,” Sunset waved off in a playful chuckle, earning a shocked silence from the two Sea-folks. “Unlike you two, I actually managed to be on top at some points.”

“Why you.” Aria began in a growl before Adagio put her hand on her shoulder.

“You really think we can’t get to her now?” Adagio asked in a cold, professional tone.

“At least, not in the current circumstances,” Sunset declared softly, her eyes fixated on the Lieutenant Cloud Kicker receiving a quick check-up from her team’s nurse while Rainbow Dash’s teammates struggled to unbound her. “We’ve got a bit too noisy these last few days,” she explained, casting a pointed look at the curly-haired siren. “Time to get back to being distant observers for a while,”

“So we forget what she did just like that?!” Aria asked in a low snarl after Adagio nodded with a displeased frown.

“If Althea’s doing her job right, Sonata’s frostbite marks should be gone tonight,” Sunset commented slowly. “So, yes, you should just forget about it.”

“Adagio, tell me you don’t agree with her!” Aria demanded in a low, angry tone.

“Sadly, I do,” Adagio whispered as she stood up from her seat. “I’m going back.”

“Adagio, wait!” Aria demanded as the curly-haired woman walked away from Sunset before she quickly rushed after the other sea-folk.

“Before you go, could you bring me a bag of peanuts?” Sunset asked, casually pointing at a nearby wandering salesman, as the silent girl and her loud follower almost reached for the stairs.

        Adagio simply ignored Sunset’s question and disappeared within the Coliseum’s staircases while Aria glared at Sunset and made a rude gesture with her hand. Sunset simply rolled her eyes with a sigh as the other Sea-folk went after her comrade. While muttering how rude Aria was, Sunset waved for the vendor to come to her. When he was close enough, she used her magic to grab a bag of the salty treats and popped it open.

“That’s two bits, Miss,” he reminded softly after Sunset flicked a peanut in her mouth.

“Don’t worry, I already paid you for them,” Sunset commented softly, her eyes focused on Cloud Kicker’s far-away form.

“No, you didn…”

“I. Already. Paid. For. Them,” Sunset calmly repeated as she made a brief flourish of her hand before the vendor’s eyes.

“Enjoy the games, Miss,” he said joyfully before going back to his vending business.

“Thanks!” Sunset called as she heard the pink-haired girl in her zeppelin shouting that the next match would start in an hour.

Munching slowly on one of her already-paid peanuts, Sunset brought two of her fingers over her closed eyelids. A faint glow of teal later, her hand went for another treat and she opened her eyes. Sunset smiled with pride when she now saw Cloud as clearly as if she was standing a few feet from her. Her spells were still better than any pair of binoculars.


*******************************************************************************************************


“Rainbow, I think you should just give up,” Fluttershy whispered gently at her struggling friend.

“NO!” Rainbow snapped angrily as she tried but failed to force her wings open due to the band of silvery cloud constricting her torso and wings. “I can do this, Fluttershy! I just need a few seconds now!”

“Well, you’ve been saying that for a while now,” Fluttershy whispered back, too low for Rainbow to hear.

        It had been more than forty minutes since the end of the match between Cloud and Rainbow Dash. After having been declared the winner, Cloud was about to free Rainbow Dash but the latter stopped her from doing so, proudly claiming she would free herself in a matter of seconds. The blonde Ponyvillian hadn’t insisted too much and had walked away from her bounded opponent. Luckily for Rainbow, her teammates had carried her back their team’s pit so that she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of the whole Coliseum, and that despite Rainbow’s shouts to leave her be when they lifted her off the ground.

“FOR PETE’S SAKE!” Rainbow let out after she tried to heat the bindings off, only resulting in burning herself a bit. “What in Tartarus is that stuff made off?!”

“Do you want me to go ask Cloud to let you out now?” Fluttershy asked timidly. 

Of all of Rainbow’s friends and teammates, Fluttershy had been the only one to have stuck with her. The others had decided to stop trying to convince Rainbow to call for help about half-an-hour ago.

“NO! I can do it!” Rainbow claimed ferociously, prompting a soft face-palm from Fluttershy.

“No, you can’t,” Fluttershy assured firmly. “If you could do it on your own, you wouldn’t have lost.”

“....What?” Rainbow asked in a shocked whisper, staring blankly at Fluttershy.

“You LOST, Renée Marianne Dash, and you better start accepting it because your prideful hurt attitude is becoming ridiculous now!” Fluttershy assured, waving her extended forefinger at her bound, shocked friend. “There’s nothing wrong in losing when you did your best, nor in asking for help!”

“But..but...”

“No buts! Understood?!” Fluttershy asked with her big, angry but worried teal eyes focused on Rainbow’s nervous and shocked cerise ones.

“....Okay… I lost,” Rainbow Dash whispered with a sigh.

“Was that so hard?” Fluttershy asked in a gentle tone as Rainbow relaxed for the first time since the match.

“I hate losing,” Rainbow replied sourly.

“I know,” Fluttershy let out slowly as her hands went to the silvery band restraining Rainbow’s ankle. “May I?”

“I really wanted to go the finale, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said after nodding to Fluttershy.

“I know you did, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said with a gentle tone as she examined the restraints on her friend’s lower legs. “You can still win the bronze,” she reminded softly.

“It’s not about the medal, ‘Shy,” Rainbow let out with a sigh. “In the finale, I would have faced Spitfire! Don’t you realize what that meant?!” she asked a bit forcefully, briefly startling her friend. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Fluttershy gently waved off before sliding a hand between Cloud’s restraint and Rainbow’s ankles. “So, what did it mean to you?” she asked gently, trying to pull it off to no avail with her hands.

“I would have proven so many things by fighting Spitfire, Fluttershy!” Rainbow explained with vigor, before she felt a soft breeze tickling her ankles.

“You don’t have to prove anything, Rainbow,” Fluttershy assured, as the breeze she conjured slowly but surely loosened the silvery binding from around her friend’s limbs. “You’re already awesome as you want to be,” she added with a warm smile that made Rainbow blush like a schoolgirl.

“Thanks, Flutters, but still… I could have beaten my mentor and…” she started in a dreamy tone.

“Do you really think you’d have beaten Spitfire?” Fluttershy asked in a surprised tone as she maintained the breeze constant while pulling the cloud-rope down Dash’s feet. 

“You’d have asked me that before I faced Cloud, I would have said yes,” Rainbow confessed slowly, oblivious to Fluttershy casting away the first of her restraints. “Now, I’m not so sure anymore.”

“Cloud’s shapes were pretty impressive,” Fluttershy commented cautiously as she placed her hands between the restraint on Rainbow’s knees and said-knees. “Her last one was really scary!” she added sheepishly

“Yeah, it was,” Rainbow admitted slowly as a soft breeze tickled her knees. “I wonder where she learned to do the steam-bullet,” she let out, remembering the first shape Cloud had conjured during their fight.

“She maybe figured it out on her own,” Fluttershy suggested softly, loosening Rainbow’s knee-binding.

“No, it was definitely Spitfire’s technique,” Rainbow argued firmly but gently.

        Fluttershy didn’t say anything in response, and instead focused on pulling Cloud’s second restraint off her friend, leaving Rainbow in her thoughts and memories. The time when Spitfire showed the steam-bullet to the Junior Wonderbolts popped in her head. She remembered the stance the Wonderbolt had taken when she released her shape on the target: a heavy-armor-clad mannequin. The wings forming a wide V on her back catching a sudden ascending current, the loosely extended right arm, the left still in a guarding posture, the stiffness of her back. Everything was exactly the same when Cloud had released her own steam-bullet. The only difference from what she remembered was the state of the target afterwards. Rainbow looked down at her bandaged shoulder, silently thankful that the wound could pass as a bad sunburn. It was way better than the molten steel that had consumed the mannequin.

“I’ll have to ask Cloud a few questions once her match with Spitfire’s done,” Rainbow let out slowly with determination.

“You could ask her how to get her bindings loose for starters,” Fluttershy whispered with a brief giggle, prompting instantly a reddening embarrassment on Dash’s face.

“All right, all right, I was too stupidly prideful for my own good,” Rainbow declared as her friend threw the second restraint away after passing it past the athlete’s feet. “Can we please move on?”

“Of course,” Fluttershy agreed with a nod before leaning over the third restraint: the large one that kept Rainbow’s wrists tied to her waist. “You might need to flex your back for that one.”

“Just tell me when you…..Fluttershy, wh-what are you d-doing?” Rainbow stammered with a mad blush as she felt the delicate caress of her friend’s hand over a rather inappropriate part of her lower waist.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Fluttershy replied with a more discreet blush than her friend’s, pulling her hand away instantly. “It’s… Hum… It’s just the only place I can slide my hand under.”

“Oh!”

“Do you want me to ask someone else to do it?” Fluttershy asked sheepishly after a brief seconds.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Rainbow growled in embarrassment.

        Once again, Fluttershy didn’t say anything and simply went back to work. It didn’t take her more than fifteen seconds to slide the cloud-made binding to a less inappropriate area, but to her and Rainbow it felt much more longer. The latter was convinced her heart had beaten more in those few seconds than it should have in an hour. Her cheeks redder than a tomato, she craned her neck to see Fluttershy passing the restraint past her knees. She froze when she noticed something about Cloud’s last shape on her. The band kept her upper arms virtually glued to her torso was placed around her chest. It only had one spot through which Fluttershy could slip her hand in. It wasn’t exactly big, but the same could said about Fluttershy’s hands.

….. I think that’s the first time I wish I was completely flat! Rainbow thought in an embarrassed silence as her pink-haired friend placed her very small hands on her upper stomach.


*******************************************************************************************************


“How are you feeling, Lieutenant?” Blossomforth asked softly to the blonde sitting next to her in the Ponyville team’s pit.

“Like I’m about to puke, be it from excitement or fear, Blossom,” Cloud replied in a dry chuckle, prompting Redheart to slide a bucket in her direction with a casual shove of her foot. “Thank you, Nurse.”

“You’re welcome,” Redheart calmly said with a smile.

“What do you have to fear, Cloud?” Allie asked in confusion. “You rocked against Rainbow Dash! You’ll do just as awesome against Spitfire! I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah!” Raindrops and Ditzy shouted while pumping their fists.

“Yeah… thanks, girls,” Cloud let out slowly.

“Need Gale and me as back-up, Lieutenant?” Blossomforth asked smirking as Cloud noticed the Canterlot athlete hovering out of her team’s pit to stretch.

“As if that would help, sergeant,” Cloud retorted playfully, standing up swiftly. “Alright, I’ll see you all in a bit!” At least I hope so…

        It was under the encouraging shouts from her teammates that Cloud left the Ponyville’s team’s pit. Their shouts were quickly drowned by the crowd’s as she came into view. While they weren’t as loud as the ones for Spitfire, it was clear that her fight with Rainbow Dash had left a very strong impression. Taking a deep and slow breath followed by a soothing sigh, Cloud took off to join her former mentor in the air. While Spitfire simply hovered before Pinkie’s balloon, Cloud conjured a small namesake to stand on it calmly.

“Lieutenant Maverick,” Cloud called with a nod, her voice almost unheard due to Pinkie’s excited speech about the two finalists.

“Lieutenant Kicker,” Spitfire replied with a nod of her own. “Good job against Rainbow Dash,” she added softly, discreetly smiling at the blonde. “It was really an impressive match.”

“Thank you,” Cloud replied slowly, her right fingers drumming against her palm rapidly.

“You’re nervous?” Spitfire asked with a wide grin, nodding at Cloud’s right hand.

“A little,” Cloud admitted with a shaky chuckle. “It’s not everyday that I go against the best,”

“Pffff, you speak as if it’s your first time,” Spitfire let out with a dismissive wave. “You did just fine against Pokey, the best swordsman in Equestria, remember?”

“I mostly remember how he wanted to poke me,” Cloud retorted warmly, prompting the redhead’s hand into ending its wave on its owner’s face.

“Of course, THAT you remember!” Spitfire commented in a mix of a sigh and a chuckle. “Pokey’s pokes, asides, it’s far from the first time you’ve been pitted against the best!” she added, crossing her arms with a remembering expression.

“That was a long time ago,” Cloud replied slowly.

“In that case, I hope the passing years made you even better than you were before,” Spitfire declared calmly as her wings stopped moving.

        Instantly after that, Cloud felt something she hadn’t felt in years. The faint breeze that coursed through her long hair suddenly changed its course, making her locks flow towards Spitfire. A faint drought invaded her mouth and throat as her eyes travelled down to the ground. Trails of dusts were lifted and sucked into the air as a growing circle of fresh grass turned brown. Cloud then looked up for a second, seeing an expanding hole forming itself in the fluffy white mass that flew over the Coliseum. Gulping softly, and sorely due to the sudden dry spell, the blonde looked back at Spitfire who, despite standing only twenty feet away, appeared in a blur of colors like a distant mirage in the desert.

“Huuuuh, what is going on?” Pinkie asked, her tone slightly fearful as the ambient temperature raised slowly but surely.

“Pinkie,” Spitfire’s voice came from the floating blur of colors. “Do yourself a favor and give the starting signal from the ground,”

“....O-kay,” Pinkie agreed slowly before pulling a lever of her contraption, prompting a slow and safe deflating of her balloon.

“Ready, Kid?” Spitfire asked as the rising heat started to evaporate the cloud on which Cloud stood.

        The blonde gulped nervously as the drumming of her fingers increased its pace. Images and memories of gigantic wolves being thrown away by an intense heat flashed through her head. She had seen what Spitfire could do once she was in the mood and it scared her a bit that that specific mood was aimed at her. Yet, she couldn’t stop a smile to slowly grace her lips.

        The drumming against her palms came to a stop, as well as the dissipation of the platform Cloud was using. The whistling of the wind became quiet as a whisper as she focused her eyes on the blurry shape of the Wonderbolt before her. The only sounds she heard were the sounds of her heart and the crazy pace it kept in her excitement. She tightened her fists as her purple eyes burned with determination, a thickening white haze appearing around her arms before it spread around her. 

“I guess you’re ready, Kid,” Spitfire’s voice rang with note of pride.

“Well, I’m always ready for hot girls, Lieutenant,” Cloud reminded with a playful chuckle. “And, you’re the hottest around,” she added as the raising heat made her sweat pearl along her jawline.

        Cloud waited for a reply, be it a playful retort or an embarrassed groan, but she didn’t get any. She guessed that Spitfire’s hand went probably against her face, as the heat made her blurry but not invisible, just as planned but the Wonderbolt’s silence made her nervous. Well, more nervous than she already was. Luckily she didn’t get the time for her nervousness to conquer her whole as Pinkie blew sharply in her whistle to start the match.

        A blink later, a burning wave of flying flames suddenly appeared before her.

I probably shouldn’t have said that. Cloud thought with a nervous chuckle as the raging inferno moved closer as her namesakes gathered rapidly around her fists.

        The Ponyvillian extended her two arms forward, joining her two hands together as the greyish masses around them merged and formed a large, round shield before the blonde. Gripping the end of her fluffy shape, Cloud gave it a quick twist. The grey cumulus turned silver as it lost its fluff in favor of a smooth, polished surface right before the flames hit it.

        Loud hisses of evaporation resonated in the air over the cracks of the flames while Cloud pushed all the humidity she could find into her shape. Her shield thinned quickly under the fiery onslaught, but it still held on until the blazing attack died down. Cloud let out a short, dry breath of her relief as her shield had almost lost all its thickness and was now transparent. It allowed her to see that Spitfire hadn’t even moved from her spot. The only change in the Wonderbolt’s stance was her right foot being a bit more forward than before, with thin trails of smoke coming out from it.

“Not bad,” Spitfire commented with an approving nod, her arms still crossed over her chest. “You sure improved the durability of your shapes,” she added casually as the blonde reinforced her shield back to its full opacity.

“Thanks!”

“Let’s see if you’ve improved elsewhere as well,” Spitfire declared with a wolfy grin, rearing her steaming fist.

        Cloud quickly flapped her wings to place herself further away from the redhead, a dense fog forming itself around her wrists as she braced herself for another flaming assault. Her purple gaze, stern like hawk’s, focused on her ready-to-punch opponent hovering a good fifty feet away from her. Her foggy shapes started to take the form of silvery blades as she grabbed them both while taking her stance, ready for anything that Spitfire could throw at her.

“Think fast!” the Wonderbolt’s voice called loudly from her right.

        Cloud barely had the time to blink at the call that a foot came quickly into her right peripheral vision while a scorching heat came in contact with the right side of her face. The heat crashed over her skin before it was imitated by the foot whom, Cloud supposed, belonged to Spitfire. The offending limb connected with her face just as the hot air around her face cracked in a loud bang.
        
        The crowd held its breath in shock as the Ponyvillian was catapulted through the whole Coliseum, spinning wildly because of the violent kick. Even the Princesses Luna and Celestia winced in discomfort at the violence of the kick, as they knew full well the consequences Spitfire’s strikes could have. Twilight and Alula turned completely white as they witnessed Cloud spinning dangerously towards the bleachers’ open staircases. Many shrieks of worry rang from the crowd as the blonde fell to a violent demise while many more stood up, ready to either fly up or to cast a spell to catch her. Though, that was before a strong wind burst forced them back onto their seats.

        Cloud’s chest heaved strongly as her wings slowly and rhythmically flapped to keep her feet from touching the railing. One of her hands slowly climbed to her visage, a bluish white haze surrounding it. Her cooled hand covering and soothing the red skin on her face, Cloud turned around to look back at Spitfire at the same time as the crowd. The blonde let out a silent curse at the Wonderbolt while the audience let out gasps of surprise and shock at the sight of two hovering redheads in the middle of the Coliseum.

Okay, she’s even faster than I remember and she can shape ‘’mirages’’ of herself…. Cloud thought nervously, her uncovered eye moving rapidly between the two Spitfires. This is going to be trickier than I thought.

        Cloud let out a long, calm sigh as she moved her hand away from her face as her wings stood proudly open as two small puffs of white clouds appeared before her. They grew rapidly and turned dark as she raised her hands to them. While preparing her next shape, Cloud’s never let any of the two Spitfires out of her sight, something that was easier now that both of them stood side by side in the middle of the Coliseum, their arms crossed above their respective chests and both looking at the blonde with mild curiosity.

        The grey cumuli expanded as their creator kept her eyes on the two Spitfires, slowly forming two basic, guard-less swords. Cloud grabbed both her newly-shaped weapons before reeling her left arm back. With a small grunt, she threw the grey sword with all her might. The Nimbo-gladius flew straight toward her two adversaries who both hovered to the side to let it pass between them. The crowd mumbled in confusion at the Ponyvillian’s tactic, as Pinkie commented on how good of a throw Cloud’s has been. The two Spitfires simply raised a questioning eyebrow at the blonde. Only for the one in the right to let out a brief scream of pain just after the blade flew right between. 

“What the heck?” Spitfire commented, glancing at the long cut on her left arm while her mirage vanished.

Mid flight, the sword had suddenly extended itself and swung wide in between Spitfire and her mirage before following its course. The blade didn’t leave a mark on her mirage’s arm when it touched it, but the same couldn’t be said about hers. The cut was clean and quite deep, causing lines of blood to drip down Spitfire’s arms, reddening her light grey outfit’s sleeve.

The Wonderbolt heard sharp whistling sounds coming from behind her. She quickly looked where the sounds came from, seeing the blade flying back to her, as if an invisible Jupitarian was holding it. Spitfire couldn’t contain her proud, but discreet smile at the strategy employed by Cloud.

Really clever, Spitfire commented mentally, gathering heat around her bloody arm.

The Wonderbolt raised her heat-coated arm to block the Nimbo-gladius, her smile turning into a sly smirk as she did. The blade didn’t connect with her limb this time. The cloud forming the blade vanished in a loud hiss when it tried to cut Spitfire’s arm again. The redhead then turned back to face Cloud, blinking at the sight the blonde still holding her other sword and the dozen of hovering blades she had shaped during her back was turned.

        Cloud rolled her wrist, making the Nimbo-gladius twirl in her grip, which was then followed by the dozens of flying blades perfectly copying the movements. As the crowd and Pinkie let out a long wow at the multiples shapes flying in perfect synchronicity, Spitfire whistled in polite admiration with a brief nod of her head.

“Not bad!” Spitfire assured in approval. “It looks really nice,” she added as Cloud pointed her swords at her. “Can you hit me with those though?”

“I don’t know!” Cloud replied in a curiosity-filled shout. “Let’s find out together!”

        The blonde thrusted her sword-arm forward, prompting the ten Nimbo-gladii into flying straight toward Spitfire. The Wonderbolt quickly flew sideways to dodge the first twos, which suddenly twirled and tried to slash her after Cloud stroke to the left with the commanding-sword. Having expected as much, Spitfire quickly flew up, and thus out of their reach.

        But then, Cloud stroke down, bringing other two blades onto Spitfire. When the redhead noticed them and realized they were going for her wings, she gathered heat around her ethereal wing-bones. The two blades were dissipated when they tried to cut down the heat-clad limbs. She then glanced in Cloud’s direction, noticing the Ponyvillian fly high above the Coliseum.

        Cloud stopped her ascension just below few of namesakes that had gathered above the stadium, attracted there by the raise of temperature provoked by Spitfire. She took her command-sword with two hands, pointing at the Wonderbolts. The eight remaining blades merged together into two, thicker and darker versions of themselves, hovering in the same position as the sword in Cloud’s hands, one pointing at Spitfire’s back and the other pointing at her chest. Following Cloud’s thrust, the two grey swords aimed to pierce the Wonderbolt who, completely unfazed, gather even more hot air around her torso. 

        The heat had its effect on the nimbo-gladii, just like during Cloud’s previous attempts. The clouds forming the blades evaporated themselves while trying to pierce the protective warmth that Spitfire had layered around herself. Both blades had almost been reduced to their handles as the Wonderbolts sighed in disappointment. She cast a regretful look at what was left of Cloud’s shapes: she had expected much more from the blonde swordswoman’s craft.

        And more she received when a flash of silver appeared in the evaporating sword handle. It hurt when it reached the center of her chest, and it hurt again when she guessed that a similar something had reached her back. It wasn’t anything like the cut on her arm from earlier. It wasn’t deep and Spitfire highly doubted that nothing more than a drop or two of her blood would pearl out of the wound. It was more akin to what you feel when you get a paper cut when trying to turn the page of a book, but it still hurt.

        Grinding her teeth together in barely contained anger, Spitfire moved her hand to her chest, instantly finding the long and thin object that had pierced her skin. She firmly yanked it out of her chest, wincing a little bit at the stinging sensation that her action brought, and then she opened her hand to examine it. 

        There was a thin, silvery needle, barely measuring two inches longer than her open palm. Spitfire's eyes quickly found their way to the sharp tip of the needle, the one tinted red by her own blood. She examined it for a moment before she pressed her thumb on it. 
Despite looking cold and solid like steel, the needle felt warm and soft to the touch like if someone had found a way to harden a patch of silk. It was a sensation that she had felt only once. Her inquisitive look turned into a brief grin as her other reached for her back. Letting out a short moan of discomfort she pulled another, identical needle out from the skin between her shoulder blades. 

“Four swords to make a warning shot,” Spitfire commented softly before looking up from the needle to Cloud’s hovering form. “....And now you’ve got more than enough for a real shot!” She chuckled as she witnessed Cloud’s sword absorbing the lasts of the white namesakes that had been filling the Coliseum’s skies mere moments ago.

        While the blonde’s nimbo-gladius became shinier and sharper as the skies became clearer, Spitfire reared her fist in before throwing another Heat-bullet at the Ponyvillian. The mass of hot air travelled the distance separating the two adversaries at the speed of a crossbow’s bolt. It had almost reached her when Cloud finished her shape. The silvery blade almost sang through the air as blonde passed it from her right hand to her left. It only sang louder when Cloud flicked her hand and cut Spitfire’s shape in two before it reached her.

        A very warm, very dry and very strong breeze still caressed Cloud’s bruising face after her defensive stroke, as it was impossible to really slash the wind away from you. Cloud still considered it a small victory over what she knew the Wonderbolt’s shape could do. She would always go for a gust of wind worthy of a desert that left her throat over a scorching blast that could peel a steel helmet open before melting it down.

        Cloud then noticed Spitfire’s wings widely open on her back, reminding her of an eagle about to take off. The blonde tightened her grip on her sword’s handle, her eyes focused on the Wonderbolt below her. She would only get one chance to strike Spitfire down, so she couldn’t afford to lose sight of her target for a second.

        In a loud thunderclap followed by a powerful gust of wind, Spitfire had taken flight once again up to Cloud’s level. She was nothing but a grey and golden blur, coming closer than a lightning bolt, a trail of dark smokes and dust following behind her. Cloud started her swing, guessing that she would manage to hit Spitfire before impact. She had only began her moves when she witness flames suddenly appearing around a closed fist a couple of inches before her eyes.

Bingo!

Shit!


**********************************


        The cheers of the spectators went silent the moment a torrent of orange flames pierced the skies, right where Cloud’s head used to be. Like one single person, the crowd let out horrified gasps at the fiery fate that the Ponyvillian had endured as her whole body was consumed by flames that wouldn’t have been out of place coming out of a dragon’s maw. Twilight was livid of terror and Alula seemed on the brink of fainting from the sight of the older Kicker disappearing in a torrent of fire. Even the Princesses, who had remained stoic throughout the whole Games, stood up from their throne-like chairs, their eyes wide open with shock at what transpired above the Coliseum.

        As the flames died down, all eyes focused on the falling body that followed. All present members of the Ponyville team invaded the field, Ditzy and Raindrops even took off to catch their fallen comrade, before the whole crowd -and Pinkie who announced it loud and clear through her megaphone- noticed that woman falling wasn’t blonde in Ponyville Red. The athlete falling down to her defeat sported the Canterlot Grey and had wild hair the color of fire. 

        Along with Spitfire fell her cut-down light-made golden wings as well as the silvery Nimbo-gladius that had separated them from her back. A few paces above her, hovered a seemingly exhausted Cloud Kicker who managed to conjure a small patch of her namesake before collapsing on it. 

She had managed to trick Spitfire’s flames by hiding behind the mirage of herself she had created -another shape she had copied from Spitfire-. Thanks to that, Cloud could dodge the punch that a surprised Wonderbolt witnessed going through the mirage’s face. What the blonde hadn’t accounted for was that Spitfire would turn the punch into a fiery explosion in response. 

Luckily for her, even caught by surprise, the Wonderbolt kept a good control of her flames. It had singed a large part of her outfit, consumed a decent half of her left wing, and Cloud was fairly certain that her hair didn’t reach past her shoulders anymore. Other than that, she had been mostly unhurt by the fire, so she kept on with her plan. Cloud slipped through Spitfire’s guard and brought her Nimbo-gladius down on the bases of the Wonderbolt’s wings. 

Like planned, the heat that Spitfire had coated herself in, didn’t stopped the blade, and the light-made appendages fell down just before Spitfire. The thing that wasn’t planned was that said heat still penetrated the cloud-shape, all the way up to the pommel, which Cloud held with her bare hands. 

Now the blonde was trying to find in herself the focus to summon for a cool breeze that might soothe her brightly red and blistery palms, while Pinkie tried to reassure the crowd about Spitfire’s speeding descent towards the ground.

“Don’t worry, everybody! They’re forming clouds to catch her before she reaches the….OH MY FUCKING FAUST! WHAT IN TARTARUS IS HAPPENING HERE?!” Pinkie suddenly screamed in a voice that only displayed shock.

“What…” Cloud began with worry before a familiar voice coming from her left startled her.

“I gotta admit, I didn’t think you’d have figured out how to make the mirage,” Spitfire commented in a prideful tone that she badly tried to pass as casual.

“....You’ve got to be kidding….” Cloud whispered as she sized Spitfire up.

“I really thought you’d be scared by flames but no!” Spitfire kept on with a beaming smile. “Not you! You kept your focus and you went straight for the finishing blow,” she added with happy sigh. “That was awesome, Kid! You really went far beyond my expectations with that one.”

“... This can’t be happening,” Cloud let out in shock as Spitfire examined Cloud’s Nimbo-gladius that had cut her wings a few moments earlier.

“Also, THIS,” Spitfire nearly shouted in excitement, throwing Cloud’s shaped swords at the blonde’s feet. “This is top quality shaping, Cloud! A cloud-construct that I can’t dissipate! Oh man, wait until I tell the Winterjet about this! This will blow her mind!”

“....Spitfire,” Cloud called gently, pulling the Wonderbolt out of her thoughts of possibly testing the Nimbo-gladius’ resilience with her fellow ice-shaper. “You can fly without your wings?!” she asked, waving at the hovering body of a wingless Spitfire.

“What?!” The Wonderbolt asked back with a smirk. “You didn’t really think I had showed you all of my tricks, did you?” she added with a warm chuckle as Cloud let her back fall on the cloud she was sitting on.

“I give up!” Cloud let out with a brief chuckle before the wingless Spitfire flew down to sat next to the blonde’s lying form. “I’ve never had a chance, haven’t I?”

“To take the gold from me?” Spitfire asked back gently. “Not a chance at all,” she added in a cocky tone. “Hopefully, we can change in the time for the next Games!”