Kyle eagerly took a cupcake from the platter and sat down alongside Lyra at the table with Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, the latter who still had her head to the surface of the plastic tabletop.

Raising an eyebrow at the state Lyra was in, Rainbow Dash looked at Kyle accusingly, “Alright, what did the two of you get into this time?”

Leaning back on his chair, Kyle smirked, “Oh nothing, its just that I dominated Heartstrings in rock climbing.”

Lyra sighed and brushed a few loose strands of her mane from her eyes, “That’s because he had the advantage with those hands of his, I just thought that maybe I could pull it off with my earlier experiences in rock climbing.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I can see how that turned out for you. You look dirtier than Applejack after a full day of work and running a few laps around the field.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Lyra groaned as she ran a hoof down her once pristine mane, “It’s going to take at least a spa treatment to fix my mane again.”

Kyle chuckled and took a bite from the cupcake. Normally delicious baked treats weren’t his forte, but he felt he deserved one after climbing that plateau. After all, it wasn’t every day that he schooled someone else in a sport.

“Let’s just never try anything like that again, agreed Kyle?” Lyra said crossly, “I don’t want to have a repeat of my mane getting ruined again.”

‘You’re right, humans are just superior in sports,” Kyle teased.

“Excuse me?” Lyra exclaimed incredulously, “No, I meant let’s not try anything competitive between the two of us, I mean we should just have had fun rock climbing together!”

Kyle grinned, knowing that the minty unicorn couldn’t resist the bait, “Yeah, and you shouldn’t feel too bad about losing to me.”

“Hold on,” Twilight had by now picked her head up from the table, “You don’t actually think humans are better at things than ponies are.”

“Oh I don’t think, I know,” Kyle smirked, “Face it, the human race is braver, faster, stronger, we’re superior.”

This got Rainbow’s goat, “Oh yeah, prove it.” The hot-headed Pegasus leaned over the table and went nose to nose with Kyle.

“All right,” Kyle scratched his chin briefly, “But the challenge has to be fair, which means both humans and ponies can accomplish.”

Looking back at her wings, Dash sighed, “Right, we’ll do challenges only the humans are limited to.”

“Oh, trust me gay pride, you can’t imagine – “ Kyle started to retort before the front of his shirt was grabbed roughly and he was now pulled eye-to-eye with a furious Pegasus.

“Don’t – call – me –that – name,” the once boisterous pony was dragging out each word.

Kyle winced, having remembered that Dash wasn’t too fond of that nickname he had given her. Sometimes it just slipped out, and a host of other nicknames he gave the rainbow-mane pony.

Deciding to intervene, Twilight used her magic to break the Kyle and Dash apart, “Alright you two, is this really necessary? Can’t we all just relax rather than partake in some pointless competition?”

Rainbow Dash snorted, “Oh no, I’m not backing down from the challenge. Alright Kyle, since you think humans can do anything better than ponies can, why don’t you pick the first challenge?”

Kyle grinned and shrugged, “Alright I will! Just let me gather the guys together . . .”

“Wait, we’re not really going to participate in this, are we?” Twilight asked worryingly, indicating herself and Lyra.

“What do you think?” Rainbow Dash turned and gave Twilight a cocky grin, “We’re going to beat these human’s flanks!”

An exasperated groan and Twilight’s head met the table once again.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie bounded out of nowhere balancing a tray of cupcakes on her head, “Oooh, a competition? Is it going to be like a game? Can I play?!”

Smiling, Kyle took another cupcake from the table, “Sure, why not? The more the merrier.”