Bifrost
Chapter 6: Vol. I - Ch. 06: Reason to Fight
Previous Chapter Next Chapter-FLUTTERSHY-
Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and myself left the arena laughing and smiling, basking in our first ever Bifrost victory. My individual loss was still weighing heavily on my heart but laughing alongside my teammates, celebrating a shared victory… it made it a little easier to bear.
The sun was high in the center of the grey sky, albeit barely visible through the foggy clouds hanging in the air, and the reminder of the time suddenly had me thinking about something that I had wanted very much to see.
“Um, excuse me?” I said timidly to Pinkie and Rainbow, stopping as they continued onward. “Um, excuse me, girls?”
Despite my hushed voice Pinkie heard me and turned around, Rainbow following suit, “What’s up, Fluttershy?” Pinkie said, bouncing toward me.
“Um, I was wondering if you girls…” I felt a little embarrassed that I wanted to say this, “do you want to see some of the other fights? I wanted to watch the one in arena B right now…”
Specifically, according to the schedule I’d leafed through this morning, right now Rarity’s team was fighting.
We may have been on opposing teams but Rarity would always be my friend. I was elated when I saw that she had made it here to the tournament like I was hoping she would, and I would kick myself if I let myself miss her first fight.
“Really?” Rainbow said curiously. “You do? I figured you wouldn’t be interested in that kinda thing.”
“Normally… I wouldn’t be,” I said, grabbing a lock of hair in front of my face and running my hooves down it repeatedly. I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell Rainbow about Rarity—I knew for sure that Rarity wouldn’t like it at any rate—so I tried to think of an excuse to watch the fight…
But then I realized I really did have another reason, “But… I want to get stronger. I want to see what some of the other teams can do, and see if I can learn anything from them.”
“Ooh, that sounds like fun!” Pinkie said excitedly, looking back toward Rainbow and pouncing like an overexcited puppy, and I had to work hard to stifle a giggle. “What d’ya think, Rainbow?”
Rainbow took a deep breath and looked to the sky, “That is a good idea, Fluttershy,” a warm smile crossed her lips as she continued to gaze at the sky. “Seeing with your own eyes what some of the other teams are capable of is a great way to gain intel and get ahead of the competition,” she looked back at me, still smiling, but reservedly so, “but I also want to read those team pamphlets and actually have the information in my hooves…”
“Why don’t we check out the pamphlets after?” Pinkie whined, shaking her hoof in furious dismissal, “Not like they’re going anywhere.”
“True, but…” Rainbow blushed and fretted with her mane. She bit her lip and moved a hoof up to her mouth, and it was only then that I saw that her legs were shaking, “I’ve waited a decade to go out on that stage and compete in Bifrost, to show everypony what I could do and how strong I am, to hear the roar of the crowd and feel the rush of victory on that stage… ten years… and I’ve finally done it!”
“You need some time to drink it in,” I said with a bright smile. It was really cute how passionate Rainbow was getting over this.
“Yeah, exactly,” she nodded, her cheeks becoming even more flushed as she smiled ear to ear. “So how about you guys go check out some of the other fights, I’ll go grab as many pamphlets as I can get my hooves on, and tonight we’ll have like a celebration feast together!”
“We don’t have any money for that,” I said dourly, Rainbow’s shoulders slouching in response with a groan.
Pinkie slapped my leg and said, “But we do have a whole bunch of snacks we took from the train and some complimentary breakfast stuff that I saved, so we’ll have like a broke-pony improv buffet!”
“Yeah!” Rainbow lurched her head up excitedly, her voice ringing with such joy, like the idea of a broke-pony improv buffet was the best idea she’d ever heard in her life, that I couldn’t help but smile as well. “That sounds awesome, actually!”
“I agree,” I muttered, biting down on my own lip self-consciously, almost as though I were nervous to let anypony see me smiling genuinely… which I think I honestly was.
“Then I guess it’s settled!” Pinkie cheered and jumped in the air before wrapping me up in a hug and waving to Rainbow. “We’ll catch ya later, Rainbow!”
“Have fun, you guys!” Rainbow said and ran off, practically leaping for joy as she ran off.
“She’s too cute,” I said aloud without thinking, immediately regretting it and blushing as Pinkie side-eyed me with a wide grin. “Not—not like that!” I stammered, frantically waving a hoof at Pinkie that probably didn’t help my case at all, “I just mean it’s really adorable how excited she is!”
“I know,” Pinkie let out a soft giggle, almost like a breath of relief after a long work day. “Rainbow has that edgy tough-girl vibe but when she lets her walls down for a sec, she’s totally precious.”
That was a pretty apt description honestly, and it made me smile. Pinkie leaned against me, squishing her cheek right up against mine and cheerfully adding, “The three of us together, we’re almost too cute to handle!”
“If you say so,” I said with a smile, gently pushing Pinkie away as she continued to laugh before walking with her toward the other arena, listening to her chatter furiously about Rainbow and about baking and parties and all the things she wanted to do when we reached Manehattan.
For the first time since we reached Baltimare, I felt totally and completely unworried. My faith in Rainbow and Pinkie was strong, and I couldn’t imagine not getting stronger with them by my side.
****
-APPLEJACK-
Burnt Oak and I stood opposite each other, both standin’ on floatin’ stone platforms in a river of lava with only a small stream separatin’ us.
“It shames me that you would keep your reason to fight so close to the chest, Applejack,” Burnt Oak sighed.
I clicked my tongue angrily and said, “Nopony gives a fat flank how you feel, Burnt Oak.” I was hopin’ those words left as much an impact on him as they did me. After all, even if he wasn’t the one who said ‘em when I was a filly, he darn sure believed ‘em back then.
“Ah, so that’s how it is,” the old man muttered and adjusted his hat. “I suppose you haven’t changed much at all since then, have you, child?”
I dunno if he was tryin’ to get me ticked off to throw me off my game or what, but he was about to regret it. I jumped back and off the floatin’ platform and onto the solid, if charred black, ground. I knew the trick to Oak’s magic and I knew that fightin’ in the enclosed space and lettin’ him take advantage of those platforms was a bad idea.
The old man followed me and I backed up a few more steps, keepin’ a suitable distance ‘tween me and that river of lava. Molten magma bubbled under the surface of the ground though, so my guess was that the ‘solid’ ground wasn’t all that sturdy either. I’d need to watch my footin’ and be extra careful.
Oak came runnin’ at me, typical for him since he was always the direct type. I dodged his first few kicks and jumped back again, keepin’ away from him. I was achin’ to knock his teeth out but this was no time to lose my head. I figured I had a good read on Oak’s style but I hadn’t seen him fight in eons, so I needed to test if he’d learned any new tricks.
“Going on the defensive so soon, Applejack?” he said mockingly. “Perhaps you have changed… you’ve gotten weaker.”
I smiled and forced myself not to run at him and try to punch his lights out. After all, that was pretty obvious bait. I thought about snipin’ back with a witty retort or somethin’, but I had nothin’ more to say to that man that I couldn’t say with my hooves. That said, I couldn’t say nothin’ with my hooves if I didn’t hit him with ‘em.
The two of us were watchin’ each other warily, neither of us havin’ an inclination to make the first move. ‘sides, now that he’d tried to land the first blow and failed, plus set down his taunt, he’d probably try to go on defense now, wait for me to get in range and take me down with one attack.
Burnt Oak’s magic, true to his name, caused an aura of convection around his body when he activated it, and the more kinetic energy around his body the hotter the aura. So basically, even if he didn’t hit you with a punch he could still leave you with nasty burns thanks to his magic, and any kind of fast movin’ physical attack would leave burns on the attacker thanks to his aura too. Nasty setup, but nothin’ I wasn’t prepared to handle.
The trick was bein’ able to get in range without gettin’ taken down first. No matter who laid the first blow, this match was gonna have to be settled in one hit… I hoped.
I ran at him quick as a runnin’ bull, figurin’ he’d try to just knock me out with a perfectly timed counter. I was right and he moved his right foreleg to hook me, but I dodged into its direction and ducked under it, just barely avoided the aura, and readied my own attack.
I tried to hit Oak with an uppercut but he brought his foreleg down and slammed his hoof against mine, burnin’ my hoof pretty badly. I tried to ignore the pain and get him in the face with my other foreleg but he blocked it with his own free foreleg, deflectin’ my attack and givin’ me another nasty burn.
I jumped back and cringed as my burned legs touched the ground again. He was faster than he oughtta be, given his age. My left hoof was now seared to the point of near uselessness and my right foreleg had a distractingly painful burn on it. He’d definitely won that scuffle… but those were barely punches. Pardon the pun, but I was just gettin’ warmed up.
Oak came runnin’ at me this time, and he outstretched his left foreleg, most likely to hit my head… but I could tell that was a feint and he was gonna come in low. I jumped left and dashed toward him, meanin’ to hit him with a straight applebuck, but ‘fore I could turn around and gear up my hind legs, the old man brought his leg down square on my chest.
I cringed in pain cuz I felt like I was hit with a brandin’ iron and I jumped back yet again, cursin’ myself for takin’ so many darned hits. The pain was startin’ to catch up to me too and it was makin’ my reactions slower, so this was only ‘bout to get worse from here.
As he closed in on me again, I tried to hit him with a pretty feeble punch, but he just batted my wounded leg away and moved for my head. In a desperate gambit, I dropped down and hit the ground on my side, sweepin’ Burnt Oak’s legs with a hind leg, but he just jumped over it and landed right on top of my chest, raisin’ his forelegs and stompin’ down on my head.
I screamed bloody murder as I felt like my whole face was gonna get burned off.
This, uh… wasn’t goin’ great.
All in the flash of a single second I thought about Twilight and Rarity, I thought about Pinkie Pie, I thought about that idiot Rainbow Dash and I thought about my ma. But more’n all of that, I thought about the person that I really wanted to be. I couldn’t let ‘em all down, not when I’ve come as far as Bifrost, and I wasn’t about to let myself down neither.
I still had a bit of feelin’ in my right foreleg so quick as I could I grabbed my hat and threw it at Oak. He didn’t miss a beat as he batted the hat out of thin air and burned it to ash in a second, but that one second where one of his hooves was off my face was enough.
I slammed my leg into his other foreleg on me and weakened his grip, allowin’ me to roll away from him and get back to my feet as he stood back up to his. Granted, I was a sorry sight to be sure, with both sides of my face burned black, searing wounds on my right foreleg and limpin’ painfully on my left where my hoof had been burned. I was a mess.
“Give it up, Applejack,” Burnt Oak said wearily, his breathin’ gettin’ heavy. I dunno if age was catchin’ up to him or if he’d just overexerted himself, but seein’ him standin’ there tryin’ to catch his breath clued me in that my moment to strike was comin’ up on me. “This is a farce. Just look at yourself.”
I didn’t say anythin’ to Burnt Oak as I shut my eyes and connected with the Earth Aura.
Burnt Oak’s magic may have been strong, but mine was stronger. No one had a stronger connection to the Earth Aura than me and I proved it by healin’ the wounds he had dealt in two seconds. Healin’ myself like that wasn’t easy, it took an awful lot of magic, but it was worth it to see the shocked look on the old man’s face.
“Wh-what?!” he stammered, steppin’ backward, “That’s—“
I leapt off the ground and slammed him hard in the head. I may have underestimated the number of hit I’d need to take him down, but this was still gonna be the end of it. With him dazed and weary from usin’ his own magic, now he was the one who was too slow.
I turned on my heels and hit him in the head with an applebuckin’ kick, knockin’ him to the ground a few inches away. ‘fore he could get back on his feet I slammed my hooves into one of his legs, causin’ him to yowl in pain. And it’s true that his aura was still burnin’ my legs every time I hit him, but I had two more healin’ charges left so I didn’t bother to pay the burns any mind.
Burnt Oak stumbled back, managin’ to get back on his feet and into a defensive stance as I healed myself a second time, closin’ in on him slowly as the man kept takin’ steps back. His original plan must’ve been to wear me down with burns ‘til I couldn’t fight back ‘gainst his final blow, but with my ability to heal and his magic slowly runnin’ out, the tables turned on him in a big way.
He kept walkin’ back as I slowly approached him— the old man probably tryin’ desperately to think of a plan B— until he couldn’t walk back any further without fallin’ straight into the river of lava at his back.
“Applejack, you—“
“You talk too much, old man,” I interrupted with a wicked grin as I turned on my heels and bucked the old man in the head, sendin’ him straight into the river.
His terrified scream nearly shook me out of my confident victory feelin’… for one second the old stallion meltin’ into a river of lava in front of me wasn’t the old man who walked out on me after leavin’ me with an emotional anchor around my neck, he was the old man who taught me how to throw a punch and played ball with me every weekend.
I clicked my tongue and reminded myself that it was just an illusion.
“The winner!” Starlight exclaimed to my relief. “APPLEJACK!!”
Burnt Oak looked at his shakin’ hooves as the phantasm disappeared. He looked really bothered and shaken up, but… I just shrugged and turned around. I already said everything I needed to.
****
-FLUTTERSHY-
Pinkie and I got settled into the large crowd sitting in the stands watching the fight in progress in arena B. We arrived just after the first round wrapped up so I was hoping I still had a chance to see Rarity.
And to my pleasant surprise, after only a few moments of waiting, Rarity stepped into the arena!
“It’s Rarity!” I gasped and jumped to my feet, a big smile on my face.
“No kidding!” Pinkie said excitedly. “That’s your friend, huh?” I nodded, a big dorky grin still on my face as I sat back down. “No wonder you wanted to get here in a hurry. I’ll root for her then!”
“That’s very kind of you!” I said gleefully, hooves up against my mouth and I couldn’t believe that I was actually getting excited for a fight!
It was interesting to watch one of these fights after experiencing it for myself in the stage. When you watched, the illusionists threw a giant bubble of magic vision over the stage so you could see the fighters more clearly and track their movements. I suppose that makes more sense than just watching two small little blips… standing still while their fight takes place in a phantasm.
The pony Rarity fought against was a light brown stallion with grey sideburns and a black broad-brimmed hat. He seemed stoic and a little stuffy, but even from up in the crowd I could sense the strength within him.
“Do you know that pony she’s fighting against?” I asked idly, not expecting any real answer.
“That’s my dad,” Pinkie said nonchalantly.
“He’s what?!” I asked in shock, nearly choking on my own spit and letting out a hacking cough. “The—the pony who’s been in like sixty Bifrosts or whatever?! That’s him?! He’s fighting Rarity?!”
I was starting to hyperventilate. This wasn’t good at all, if this guy was so strong Rarity couldn’t possibly beat him and if she lost that would be really bad for her and I didn’t want her to lose and—
I was breathing heavily, my hoof over my heart. Pinkie grabbed my other hoof and gently rubbed hers against it until my breathing slowed down and I was able to focus.
“I’m sorry, that was—“
“It’s okay,” Pinkie said soothingly. “But yeah, that’s my dad. And this is his fifth Bifrost, not his sixtieth. But don’t worry, he’s old as heck! I’m sure your friend has nothing to worry about, so let’s cheer her on!”
“You don’t want to cheer for your father?” I asked concernedly.
“Nah,” Pinkie shrugged and batted a hoof. “I know he’s gonna get into the next round no matter what, so he’s not the underdog here. And what kind of friend would I be if I left your friend hanging? So let’s cheer for her together!”
“O-okay…” I said worriedly, my mind racing with a million awful reasons why she wouldn’t want to root for her dad… but I cleared those thoughts away and tried to focus. I was really touched by Pinkie’s concern and I hoped that Rarity would feel invigorated by our cheering, so I didn’t press the matter any further.
“GO RARITY!!!” Pinkie screamed, standing up on the chair and taking me by surprise. “KICK THAT OLD MAN’S BUTT!! YOU CAN DO IT!!”
“G… go Rarity,” I said softly. Pinkie looked over at me and arched an eyebrow.
“C’mon, Fluttershy!” she gently scolded, a serene giggle leaving her lips. “Let’s really cheer for her!”
“Okay!” I said confidently and puffed up my cheeks. I stood on my hooves, took a big, deep breath and, at the top of my lungs, said, “Go Rarity.”
“That-” Pinkie plopped onto her hindquarters in her seat, looking at me mouth agape in silence, which made me want to hide as my cheeks flushed and I shielded my face with my hair, “-was pretty terrible.
“C’mon! Let’s really scream! Like, really let her hear you! Hearing her friend cheering her on will give her the confidence and power she needs to win this!”
“You really think so?” I said hopefully, my breathing still a little tense and heavy.
“Of course!” Pinkie stood on her hind legs and threw her forelegs into the air. “So let’s do this! GO RARITY! YOU RULE!”
I centered myself, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. A pang in my stomach resonated through my whole body. This wasn’t something I ever did… I never drew attention to myself like this… as soon as Pinkie stood up I saw people giving her weird looks, even now with my eyes closed I heard people chattering amongst each other that she was being a nuisance… but if she could throw caution to the wind for Rarity’s sake… then I could too.
I flew into the air and screamed, “GO RARITY!!” I flailed my legs in the air and yelled, “YOU CAN DO IT!!”
“That’s the spirit!” Pinkie said with a huge smile that burned away any reservations I have as it filled me with joy, and then we both screamed together, “GO RARITY!!!”
****
-RARITY-
“Are you ready, Rarity?”
Twilight said as she dusted off my shoulders and futzed about with my mane, as though she were some kind of professional hair dress. A fairly lousy professional, as all she actually did with my mane was bat weakly at its curls, but I couldn’t blame her for being fascinated by pure distilled perfection, now could I?
“I am…” I said casually before giggling at Twilight’s antics, “…but it’s not like you to get so fussy about my appearance, Twilight.”
“It’s not like you to not be fussy about it…” Twilight said tersely, standing behind me and rubbing my shoulders, “I try not to say anything, but I can see you losing yourself, Rarity. And that scares me sometimes… so somepony’s got to watch out for you, and I nominate myself!”
I turned around and looked into Twilight’s gleaming eyes. My lovely sister was kinder than I could bear sometimes and I wished with all my heart that I could repay her support in kind.
“Thank you, Twilight,” I put my hoof on Twilight’s cheek, the lovely unicorn giving me a sweet smile in return… a smile which paled in comparison to the one I flashed back at her, “and I promise you, someway or somehow, that I will find myself by the end of this year. By the end of Bifrost.”
“End of the year, huh?” Applejack snickered as she walked back into the waiting room, having been wonderfully victorious in her bout. “So yer serious about takin’ this all the way to the end?”
“There’s no other way to do it,” I replied matter-of-factly, almost perturbed by Applejack’s inquisitive tone.
“I like yer attitude, Rarity,” Applejack couldn’t help letting a wide grin appear on her face and that made me smile in turn.
“Yes! Team Destiny, number one!” Twilight said exuberantly, dancing awkwardly and throwing her forelegs in the air, “Woo!”
“That’s right, darling,” I said with a wink toward my sister. “Now, allow me to show you both and all the ponies watching exactly why Team Destiny is number one!”
“Go get ‘em, girl!” Applejack cheered.
“You can do it!” Twilight added.
The morale-boosting support of my companions backing me up and lifting my spirits was almost enough to make me forget how woefully out of my depth I was in a fighting competition of this scale.
It wasn’t until I left the waiting room and found myself in the arena with the daunting murmurs of the crowd all around me, my opponent staring stone-faced at me from the other side, that I began to truly think that I had made a mistake in coming here.
Igneous Rock’s statue-like expression didn’t help matters, but I was determined to shake it off and prove myself worthy of being here, worthy of fighting alongside Twilight and Applejack. And if this gentleman was as strong as his reputation as a five time competitor suggested, then this would be a perfect opportunity to showcase my worthiness.
The illusory area we would fight in was a barren wasteland with some rocky crags placed here and there. It didn’t take long to find Igneous in the nearly featureless gray space, and find him I did, the man sitting on his haunches with two glasses of cider placed before him.
“Join me for a drink, Rarity?” He said calmly as he filled the two cups.
“I can’t drink,” I said coldly.
“Can’t?” Igneous looked up at me curiously.
“I’m an addict,” truth be told, I finally kicked a nasty smoking habit only a few years ago, yet the gnawing of that addiction still felt fresh on my heart, so seeing alcohol in my presence made me a little ill since I knew it had the same effect on me that cigarettes did.
Igneous quickly poured both glasses out, spilling the cider into the dirt where it quickly dissipated, then waved his hoof over the glasses and jug, returning them to whence they came via his magic.
“My apologies,” he bowed his head. “I did not know.”
“It’s…” I stammered, not sure how to react. On the very few occasions I’ve had reason to share my history with addiction, I’ve always gotten eye rolls, scolding or mockery in return, except from Twilight and Fluttershy, obviously. “Don’t fret about it.”
I sat down on my haunches in front of Igneous and watched him calmly, as he did with me. I was still angry at the man for what he said to me in the hall, but the least I could do was show him the proper respect that he had just shown me.
“I am glad that you are willing to speak with me regardless,” he bowed his head again and I did the same, partly just by my polite instincts but admittedly partly out of respect.
“So this is your team’s shtick, I take it?” I said with a soft, polite laugh. “Sit down with your opponent and talk things out before a fight?”
“I like to challenge my opponents’ spirits,” Igneous said firmly, “not just their bodies or minds. I’ve been doing it since my first Bifrost and it’s become a tradition of mine. I ask for a fighter’s motivation, their reason to fight, and if their reason is not strong… then they lose.”
“How many people have beaten you in the prelims before?” I asked casually, trying not to betray the fear that was slowly drowning my mind.
“Hard to keep track over forty years,” he said ponderously, “but very few.”
“Naturally.” I sighed faintly, dreading my chances even more than before. Perhaps I should just surrend—
“GO RARITY!!!” Suddenly I heard an unfamiliar voice screaming my name and I looked all around for the source of it before realizing it clearly came from the crowd, at which I now stared perplexedly, “KICK THAT OLD MAN’S BUTT!! YOU CAN DO IT!!”
“I see you have friends who believe in you…” the man said, his mouth ever so slightly curved into a smile as he looked up into the crowd.
“I’m sorry to say,” I explained, my baffled eyes still locked on the stands surrounding us outside the illusion, “but I don’t know who that was. I don’t recognize their voice.”
“It is the voice of my daughter,” Igneous said proudly.
“Oh, dear, that must sting,” I said regretfully, turning my attention to the father, “to have your own daughter cheer against you like that?”
“It does not bother me,” Igneous shook his head. “If she has found friends worth cheering for, then that is something to celebrate.”
“As I said, I’m afraid I don’t—“
“GO RARITY! YOU RULE!” the sound of that girl’s cheering cut me off.
“You may not know her,” Igneous gave a very slight chuckle, “but she clearly knows you. How do you think that is?”
I pondered for a second. How did that girl know who I was? I thought about it for a second but before I could properly articulate my thoughts I heard something that shook me to my core, something I never expected, that answered the question better than I could have on my own.
“GO RARITY!!”
That was Fluttershy’s voice!
Her and the other girl screamed my name in unison a few times before quieting down, presumably on order from the arena staff… but to hear Fluttershy of all ponies cheering so loudly and energetically, and for me… it was an incredibly uplifting feeling.
I couldn’t help smiling like a goof until I realized… if Fluttershy was here watching me… Rainbow Dash likely was as well, and that made my blood run cold.
“Your daughter-” I said solemnly, unable to take my eyes off the crowd as though I could somehow scan the rows and rows of people barely visible through the phantasm’s vaguely translucent surface and find her watching, “-does she… do you know a pony named Rainbow Dash?”
“I do,” Igneous said and a pang of nausea resonated through my stomach. “I have met her many times, she is basically family.”
“I see…” I groaned, shaking my head and dragging a hoof across my face, “I hate to break this to you then, but my ‘reason to fight’ is to defeat her.”
“Is that so?” Igneous said, completely unfazed although I suppose I should have expected that. “And why is that? What will defeating Rainbow Dash get you?”
“I don’t…“ I scoffed, immediately and rather abruptly realizing that I had no answer, “that’s not what matters. It’s not about me, it’s about her. Rainbow Dash is a coward and a bully, yet somehow she had a ticket to Bifrost just fall into her lap! I can’t just…”
I growled, trying to make a rather flimsy justification for my actions sound like some magnanimous goal; I wasn’t exactly lying about the nature of Rainbow’s character, at least as I knew it at the time, but the truth was simply that Rainbow Dash made me angry—
No, more than that—she hurt me, and I wanted to hurt her in return.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“I can’t just let her get everything that she wants!” I harrumphed, turning my head in defiance and flicking my fabulous mane.
“Do you know what motivates Rainbow?” Igneous asked, his expression cold and his tone nearly a monotone.
“I don’t care!” I said flippantly, scowling terribly at Igneous. “Some selfish nonsense, probably, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, she does not deserve it. And I’m going to take it from her, to pay her back for…”
I grit my teeth and dug my hooves into the ground as I stood on all fours, “I need to settle things between us, and she needs to pay. I will defeat her, that is my motivation, my reason for fighting!”
“I see,” Igneous stood up slowly. “So you seek revenge against an enemy you fail to even understand… it is no wonder I sensed weakness in you right away.”
I glowered angrily at Igneous but he just held that same stony expression, looking into my eyes with such little emotion, as if I were nothing more than some statue or other such object, meant to be observed and discarded once it was no longer of interest.
I was starting to become seriously peeved with him!
“Rarity, I find your motivation lacking, and you will be defeated.”
“We shall see!”
My horn began to glow with a pale blue light as I surrounded myself with several blue flames, jumping back and firing them at Igneous. To my shock they completely dissipated upon coming into contact with the air around him.
I was more than a little shaken and before I could come up with a plan B, Igneous was already in my face. He moved far faster than any old man had a right to! He hit me hard in the face, hard enough to send me to the ground and even after my blurring vision returned to normal my jaw felt like it had been knocked out of place.
I ran from him and fired several bolts of flame at him as I tried to escape. He simply walked slowly toward me, every one of my shots failing to hit him. This was very, very bad. I could only assume his power was some sort of anti-magic aura, which put me at an enormous disadvantage, especially with my lack of non-magical combat expertise.
Still though, I had a plan if I could just reach one of those crags.
I ran for one of the rocky outcroppings, firing bolts of energy at Igneous as I egressed in order to at least slow him down. My attacks were seemingly unnecessary as he never bothered to run after me, merely keeping his same brisk pace as if he had all the time in the world and was not entertaining me as a serious threat at all… which he undoubtedly was not, and who could honestly blame him?
I made it to one of the crags and placed my back flat against it. This would be an all or nothing attack. Using my magic I tore strips of stone out of the crag and fired them at zooming speed toward Igneous. Even if he could block my magic, there was no way he could stop ten or twenty rapid-fire stone projectiles!
To my dismay, as the projectiles came close to him they started falling quickly to the ground, only a few remaining on target, which he effortlessly crushed with his hooves, taking no apparent damage himself in the process.
I was terrified as I leaned flat against this stone wall and my opponent inched ever closer to me.
“You are far too weak, Rarity,” the man said coldly.
Before I could even process what was happening the man was suddenly in front of me. He raised a foreleg and winded it back, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach as I realized what was about to happen.
As the man hit me in the head with his hoof, I heard a firm CRACK as my skull was slammed into the stone behind me, and then nothing, just a ringing in my ears. He took back his hoof and walked away, and through the piercing pain throughout my skull I felt something warm and wet trickle down the back of my neck.
I had just enough awareness still to know it was my blood as my vision started to fade. My legs buckled and I slowly fell to the ground, my head sliding down the stone wall and smearing it with my blood and other fluids as the open wound and my shattered skull caressed it on the way down.
I didn’t even hear Starlight announce the winner. Just a snap of complete darkness and next thing I knew my life was flashing before me and then I was back in the real world, staring at my trembling legs with wide, barely working eyes. My vision was still blurry and I started to panic before I realized it was merely from tears as I felt them rolling down my cheeks.
It felt so real. The memory of my skull being shattered against a stone resonated in my mind like it had actually happened. The fact that it was an illusion meant nothing, and I had no means of wrapping my brain around the phenomenon of feeling my own life being snuffed out.
“Rarity—“
Igneous tried to approach me but I shrieked at him, “GET AWAY FROM ME!”
My stomach was in knots and I was dead certain I was about to vomit. I couldn’t stop shaking or crying and I needed to be off this stage as soon as possible, away from the penetrating eyes of this massive crowd, away from... from that man. The thought crossed my mind that if Rainbow Dash saw that pathetic display I might honestly want to throw myself off of a building.
Inside the waiting room Applejack and Twilight tried to say some words to console me, and at least one of them tried to touch me, but I couldn’t hear or even acknowledge them. I made a beeline for the corner of the room, clutched my still ringing head like I was trying to keep it from exploding, and fell on the ground.
I wheezed and gasped until I just couldn’t hold my emotions inside any longer and I started screaming and crying like a child throwing a tantrum. I felt pathetic and for just an instant, just a fraction of a moment, I wished that my skull had been shattered and that I hadn’t woken up from the illusion.
****
By the time I stopped crying I was still sitting—well not so much sitting, more like curled into a ball— in the corner ready to just crawl into a hole and disappear from life. Twilight had left for her fight but I said nothing to her, gave her no words of encouragement; by the time I realized she had left I didn’t even have any idea how long she’d been gone.
Time melted away from me while I was sinking into the ocean of dark thoughts I was trapped in. Applejack left me alone but I knew she was watching me, either to make sure I was okay somehow or just to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. Either way, I appreciated it.
I don’t think it was long before I heard the guard outside our door talking to someone.
“I’m sorry, you can’t come in here!” the deep voiced man said in an exaggeratedly exasperated tone. “This room is for the current fighters only!”
“PLLEEEEEEASSSSEEEE!!!” a loud, high-pitched voice begged, catching my attention.
Applejack was staring bewildered at the door as well, and I thought it was because she was wondering who was so desperate to get in here, though in retrospect I realize she must have recognized the voice before I had.
“It’s an emergency! A dire, terrible, no-good, sadness-inducing, life-threatening, hug-requiring emergency!”
“Alright, alright!” the man yelled desperately. “Just make it qui—“
Before he could even finish, the door swung wide open, a chubby pink pony barging into the room… with Fluttershy standing right behind her.
“Fluttershy!” I exclaimed, jolting upright and quickly rubbing tears out of my eyes.
“Rarity!” she said gladly, her eyes lighting up as they locked with mine.
“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack said with a start, standing up quickly.
“Pinkie Pie!” the pink girl said with her forelegs in the air. “Oh, I mean, Applejack!”
Applejack laughed and the pink girl, ostensibly Pinkie Pie, ran at her and jumped into her open forelegs, Applejack catching her and spinning around before embracing her in a big hug.
I pulled my attention away from them and over to Fluttershy who was still standing by the door, gently tugging on some hair in front of her face.
“Hello,” I said, not knowing what else to say, honestly.
“Hi,” Fluttershy meekly waved her hoof. “It’s good to see you here.”
“Indeed…” I forced a smile despite being painfully aware of the running makeup all over my face and how I must have looked like an absolute ghoul, “I wish it could be under better circumstances…”
“I’m sorry!” Fluttershy said with tears in her eyes, rushing over and grabbing me into a hug, and after only a brief moment of being rather startled by her abruptness, I was happy to return her hug in kind. “I’m sorry you didn’t win your fight… I lost mine too…”
“Did your team…” I said worriedly, finding my hooves instinctively running gently through Fluttershy’s long mane.
“Rainbow and Pinkie won,” Fluttershy sighed, letting go of me and wiping tears from her face. “They’re both so strong…”
“Hey, hey!” Pinkie shouted suddenly, pointing a hoof at Fluttershy. “You’re strong too!”
“C’mon Pinkie,” Applejack grabbed Pinkie’s tail and dragged her away, “let’s leave ‘em be for a sec.”
“She is right though,” I said to Fluttershy, gently grabbing her chin and directing her to face me, “I think you are strong. It took a lot of guts to come here and compete… I know how much you hate crowds and performing.”
“Yeah…” Fluttershy chuckled nervously and pulled on her hair again, “it was pretty brutal, but… but I want to get stronger!”
She said confidently, a positively devilish smirk flashing across her face and I found myself taken aback by her conviction, “I really want to be strong enough to help my teammates… and to prove to you that I’ve changed, that we can both change!”
“Fluttershy…” I said weakly, heat creeping up into my cheeks as a ghost of a smile formed on my lips.
I had no idea Fluttershy was so serious about getting through to me, and the confidence she spoke with was so unlike her… I almost thought that maybe she had already changed… but then I remembered that people can bend and stretch but they’ll always snap back.
“I hope you’re right,” I said with a sad smile.
Fluttershy smiled back at me and seeing her happy was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t realize how much I needed to see her smile and hear her words again until she was right there. I missed her. But then I had a sudden pang in my chest as I realized something.
“Um,” I said painfully, my cheeks turning bright red, “Rainbow Dash isn’t… she wasn’t watching… was she?”
If Rainbow had heard all the stuff I said to Igneous about her, then watched me completely blow it during the fight, not to mention my hysterics right afterward… I would have been mortified.
“N-no…” Fluttershy said, twiddling her hooves and glancing away. I couldn’t tell at first if she was lying or just being Fluttershy, “I didn’t tell her that I wanted to see your fight, so she doesn’t know that’s why I came here… but she wanted some time alone to soak in her first victory.”
“Ah…” I breathed the biggest sigh of relief I’d ever had in my lifetime, “will you please do me a favor then? Can you just… not tell her that I’m here? I’m not even sure that she’d care anyway, but I…”
“Okay, I won’t,” Fluttershy said with a sweet smile, and it warmed my heart that she didn’t require me to explain myself. “Although, she went to look at all the team pamphlets… there’s more than a hundred of them so it might take a while, but she’ll learn you’re here eventually.”
“I know,” I said grumpily, impotently kicking a hoof against the floor. “But I… I don’t know, I just want to delay the inevitable, I suppose.”
“Hopefully we won’t get pit against each other then!” Pinkie said suddenly, appearing out of nowhere between Fluttershy and myself and startling us both.
“Where did you—“
“Sorry!” Applejack cut me off as she ran back to our side of the room. “Couldn’t keep her under control, she’s a squirmer!” Pinkie giggled and nodded effusively, clearly quite proud of herself.
“But I promise I won’t tell her about you, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, getting back to the matter at hoof.
“Same here!” Pinkie said with a salute. “So that makes it a Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie’s words were accompanied by a series of odd gestures that left me thoroughly confused, but honestly delighted.
“Right,” Fluttershy giggled. “Cross my heart and hope to fly… stick a cupcake in my eye.” Fluttershy repeated Pinkie’s words, and her gestures, perfectly. And seeing how quickly she was getting along with her new teammates made my heart sing.
“Thank you,” I said to Fluttershy, giving her a hug. “Both of you.”
I turned to Pinkie who opened her forelegs wide. I shook my head and she pouted and stamped her hooves. But something about her demeanor was so warm and inviting that… despite myself, I couldn’t help it and wrapped my forelegs around her, the precious pink pony reacting with a brief moment of surprise before happily squeezing me.
It was… very nice. She was quite good at giving hugs.
****
-TWILIGHT SPARKLE-
I didn’t have time to think about Rarity before heading off to the arena. I suppose, to put it more honestly, I didn’t give myself any time to think about her. She had ignored Applejack and I when she returned to instead cry herself into a near coma in the corner, and what could I do?
Nothing.
There was nothing I could do.
Feelings and emotions weren’t something I understood terribly eloquently, and consoling someone through their tears was a more terrifying task to me than slaying a dragon would have been.
So I said nothing. Did nothing. And walked into the arena in silence.
A moonlit grassy plain was the battleground of choice for my round of combat, which was perfect for me; I always enjoyed staring at the night sky and stargazing. Just like her teammates, Cloudy Quartz wasted no time in showing herself, marching straight up to the center of the plain and sitting down in front of me.
“So you’ve been doing this thing for a while now,” I said teasingly, “does anypony ever try to just kick you while you’re sitting there?”
I thought that perhaps joking with my opponent would help me take my mind off of the image of Rarity, black makeup streaming down her face alongside her tears as she screamed in panic and frustration. If that vivid description wasn’t an obvious indicator, it didn’t entirely work.
“Some have tried,” Quartz said calmly, grabbing a pair of cups and a bottle of cider which definitely piqued my interest. “Although I must confess, those that attempt such low tactics are often the most quickly defeated.”
“Naturally,” I said casually and sat down across from her, holding up one of the cups for her to fill. “If you feel the need to use dirty tactics to win, you probably aren’t that strong to begin with, right?”
“I’m glad that we can see eye to eye,” she said as she filled her own glass. We touched the two cups together and each took a sip. “So, I suppose I will not waste your time and I will cut right to it… what is your reason to fight?”
“And I suppose that if I don’t feel like answering,” I chuckled, “you’ll be upset and you’ll unleash some kind of devastating super attack?”
“No,” Quartz shook her head and smiled, “I will be disappointed, admittedly, but it is not my place nor that of my teammates to decide your path for you.
“If you wish to keep your reason close to your chest, that is your prerogative. But know that I have seen many fighters over the past forty years, and those who don’t believe in their cause enough to declare it openly are often crushed against the waves of destiny.”
“Perhaps…” I said ponderously, swishing my cider around a bit and taking a sip. “I’m still not sure if I believe in destiny though, despite our awesome team name. I used to… I used to think all I had to do was wait for that perfect per—er, opportunity to arrive in my life and it would make everything better…”
I groaned in frustration, “But all that did was leave me with loneliness and heartache.”
“I am sorry for the pain you’ve experienced,” the old woman said kindly. “You may rejoice in the realization however, that you can use your pain to build yourself up and build a bridge over the pain for others.”
“True, true…” I sighed. She wasn’t wrong, my experiences made me the person that I am and I could use what I had learned to help others, but… “I suppose to answer your original question, about my reason to fight… I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer. I don’t really know the reason I’m here myself.”
Cloudy Quartz took another sip of her cider and looked at me intently, and it took a moment for me to realize she was waiting for me to explain myself.
“I joined Bifrost to help my sister,” I said, “although there’s a part of me that’s always wanted to do this, to learn all about different kinds of people and magic and watch different personalities clash…”
I grumbled dismally and bit down on my lip, “I dunno… I have—had— a lot of romantic dreams I wanted to fulfill, and I mean romantic in the classical sense and not the literal one…”
I took another sip of cider, and let myself lie on my back to look at the bizarre combination of a starry night sky and the edge of the illusory dome that was just barely visible inside it.
“I don’t know…” I said wistfully, “…why I’m here.”
It occurred to me that I didn’t just mean ‘here at Bifrost’ but in a more general sense, I didn’t know why I was even alive, “Any dreams I had when I was a child have been drowned by the waves of time, and I’ve been drifting aimlessly in a pitch black sea for as long as I can remember. I want to help Rarity… but I don’t… know… anything else.”
“I see… a crisis of identity,” Cloudy said. I just nodded sadly, feeling embarrassed as I sat back up and faced her, “It is a journey we all must take; to carve out our own identity is no easy task, least of all when there are voices all around you trying to drag you this way and that…”
I laughed softly while preparing another sip of cider. She couldn’t have been more on the nose.
“I respect your motivation, Twilight Sparkle,” Cloudy said to my surprise, nearly causing me to spit cider out my nose. “You are at a tumultuous time in your life and you cannot see clearly. But you acknowledge your lack of understanding and have forged a clear path ahead of you to find your answers. That is respectable.”
“Thank you,” I stuttered bashfully, quickly bowing my head.
“The only advice I can offer is this…” Cloudy said as she stood up, taking her cider cup with her. “You should not give up on your romantic dreams, but you should know that they likely won’t appear to you in the manner which you expect.”
I stood up, levitating my cider cup in front of me, and muttered, “Thank you. I…”
I grinned proudly and looked Cloudy in the eye… only for like a single second, mind, before I started looking over her shoulder instead, but still!
“Cloudy Quartz, I thank you for your kind words. But now it’s time for me to defeat you.”
“A toast, then,” Cloudy said serenely, a sincere smile on her face, “to the waves of destiny, and the paths we forge to lead ourselves to them.”
I happily touched my cup against hers and we both drank the remaining cider inside. Once I threw the cup away, I said politely, “Now then, let’s dance.”
“Agreed,” Cloudy bowed her head and scraped a hoof across the grass, getting into a combat stance.
Her magic was undoubtedly strong and I had no way of knowing what she was capable of, so I jumped back to put some distance between us. The one thing I could be certain of is that, because she was an earth pony, her magic couldn’t have had very much range.
Earth magic generally gives its user control over their own body to some degree; healing, strengthening, etc. although having control over the space around them, the space inside their own personal aura, wasn’t unheard of either, nor was earth magic that could control the bodies of others, but even that required the earth user to be close to their target.
Point is, as long as I kept my distance, I was safe. At least, safe-er.
I cast a barrier of crystalline glass in front of myself just in case and watched Cloudy’s movements. She idly moved to her side, trying to slowly walk around my barrier, but I turned with her movements and kept the shield between us.
Cloudy galloped at me suddenly, taking me by surprise by how quickly she could move. When I watched Applejack and Rarity’s fights they both seemed surprised by the agility of their elder opponents, and I stupidly fell for the same trap. Even having seen her two elder teammates move so quickly and suddenly I wasn’t prepared for the speed with which she approached me.
She slammed her hoof into my shield, shattering it into quickly disappearing shards of light. I jumped back, fearing what would happen if that magic came in contact with my body, but Cloudy was on top of me before my feet even hit the ground, hitting me hard in the ribs and shattering two of them instantly.
I formed a giant fist of glassy violet light that slammed into her as hard as I could manage in order to push her away. She was sent back a fair distance but she kept her feet planted firmly on the ground and wasn’t as far away as I would have liked. I tried to grab her with the fist but she slammed her hoof into it and crushed it to pieces like it was nothing.
Feeling the agonizing pain in my shattered ribs, I suddenly concluded that her magic allowed her to break things. If I was right, I could use this information to my advantage.
I’m sorry, Cloudy. I dreadfully anticipated what would happen if my plan was successful, and tried very hard to ignore the idea of what would happen should it fail.
I took in a deep, silent breath as I channeled the magic of the Space Aura through my horn, and I conjured a bright flash of violet light that covered the ground three feet around me in all directions with an icy glass sheen.
Skates of light appeared on my feet and I did a jumping twirl to show my mastery of the new terrain, fumbling slightly on the landing though as I remembered I had no idea how to skate. Cloudy, meanwhile, just looked down at the terrain with a scowl.
The glass would mess up her traction, so she couldn’t super speed over to me, and if she took the time to break the glass first, I could seize that opening and end the fight.
Cloudy stomped onto the glass, shattering the area just around her foot. Her range wasn’t strong enough to disable the entire sheet and I quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
I danced around on the glass, skating and twirling and jumping while trying to both keep my balance and make it look effortless, which was easier said than done. Not to mention I needed to keep Cloudy on edge by throwing bolts of violet flame in her direction.
I expected none of the projectiles to actually hit her but the lack of traction and several missiles flying in her direction at any given time would be enough to keep her off guard, though to my delight but also terror, Cloudy was a rather accomplished dancer as well.
As I threw missiles from various directions she jumped and spun and danced, destroying my attacks with graceful precision then landing on the icy sheet and crushing it underneath her hooves each time.
At this rate she would likely close the distance between us fast and I would have to deal with her at melee range, which would not be good for me… in theory.
As I suspected, Cloudy inched closer to my position with every attack she deflected, leaving holes in the icy sheet that I needed to awkwardly glide around. Even as I kept moving with my attacks she always managed to come just a little closer with every wave… until she smashed the ice directly in front of me, the wave of force causing me to lose my balance just enough that I had to banish the skates off my feet.
Without my skates we were on equal footing, but with her ability to destroy the ice underneath her now it was me who was at a disadvantage. I needed to dispel the sheet entirely but I had no time… Cloudy’s hoof was coming at my head quickly and I only had a split-second to dodge…
But I didn’t.
Instead I summoned a mirror of light in front of my face. As Cloudy’s hoof hit the mirror, i.e. the magic-reflecting spell I had cast, her magic backfired and shattered the bones in her leg, reducing them to tiny splinters likely no bigger than a baby griffon’s fingertip.
She stumbled backward from the pain and the mirror became a radiant sword floating before me. A quick slash across Cloudy’s throat was all that was needed to end the fight, her blood spraying from the wound and spattering across my violet fur in a rather gruesomely beautiful display of my strength.
“The winner!” Starlight exclaimed. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!! THAT’S ONE WIN FOR TEAM… DESTINY!!!!”
The crowd roared and cheered. I wouldn’t know until later, but my victory had sealed Team Rock Farm’s first preliminary loss in thirty years. Team Destiny was now one of the major teams to beat and the crowd immediately knew it. Even though I wasn’t aware of the exact details, I knew what happened was a big deal as soon as the crowd started chanting my name.
****
-PINKIE PIE-
After the fights were over the two teams were given a few minutes in the waiting rooms in case there was anything left to be said between them. I kinda wish I’d known that after we’d beaten Team Sweetheart, but eh, then me and Fluttershy wouldn’t have gotten to Twilight’s fight when we did and then the Butterfly Effect would’ve caused the end of the world or something. Probably.
Anyhoo, Twilight and Rarity had nothing to say to my family’s team so they left right away with Fluttershy. Applejack wanted a few minutes with Burnt Oak in her team’s waiting room, so I went to the big room to talk to my parents.
I immediately embraced my mom in a big hug. She held me and for a sec it was just like old times. It had been suuuuper long since I’d seen my parents and I’d forgotten how much I missed hugging my mom.
I turned from her to my dad, opening my forelegs wide with a big grin on my face. My dad was never one for physical intimacy or anything like that so I was just kinda joking around with him, figuring the best I’d get from him was a pat on the head or something.
But to my surprise he came in and hugged me, me gripping him tightly like he was gonna disappear if I let go. I wasn’t expecting it at all and I started crying “I missed you guys!” I said weepily.
“We missed you too, sweetheart,” mom said as she walked up behind me and hugged me and dad.
“I trust you have been doing well?” dad said as we stopped hugging. “And that Rainbow is doing well?”
“And that she’s treating you right!” mom added worriedly, prodding me on the shoulder.
“Mom, I’m fine,” I said with a laugh and brushed her hoof away. “Rainbow treats me really great, and yeah dad, we’re both doing fantastic! I suppose you didn’t see our fight earlier today… it was like, less than an hour ago.”
“Unfortunately not,” dad shook his head.
“That’s a shame,” mom pouted. “I would have loved to see my daughter and her best friend’s first Bifrost fight. We’ve been waiting so long for you to join!”
“Do not coddle them, Cloudy Quartz,” dad said, “we will see their first fight in the tournament proper. The preliminaries are hardly a concern.” Easy for him to say, he’s been in like a million of ‘em.
“Just so you guys know,” I said confidently, flicking a hoof through my mane, “me and Rainbow both aced our fights.”
“I would not expect anything less from my own daughter,” dad said. Pretty sure that was his way of saying he was proud of me, but ehhhhhh… hard to tell with him.
“That’s absolutely wonderful, Pinkie,” mom said, giving me another hug.
“We should be going, Cloudy Quartz,” dad cleared his throat and walked toward the door.
“Ah, I suppose so,” mom sighed, giving me a sad smile and putting her hooves on my shoulders. “Now Pinkie, make certain that you say hello to your sisters during the preliminaries. They would very much like to be kept abreast of your progress.”
“Of course!” I said with a salute, trying not to giggle at ‘abreast’.
“Remember dear, you are always welcome among your family,” mom brushed a strand of hair away from my face and it made me smile. She was always so fussy about the littlest things and I loved that about her. “There is always a spot for you on our teams.”
“I know, but Rainbow…” I muttered.
“Rainbow Dash does not wish for our help,” dad said abruptly. “And we shall not offer aid unsolicited.”
“Right,” I said curtly.
Honestly, Rainbow wasn’t the only one who didn’t want help from my family, but it was super embarrassing to admit that I felt… overshadowed by how amazing my parents and my sisters were, and if I could get them to believe that it was just Rainbow who was stubborn and wanted to work on her own, then I wouldn’t have to admit anything to them!
“Anyhoo!” I said with a big grin, “You guys gotta get going! And don’t worry, I’ll make you both proud of me!”
“We are already so proud of you, Pinkie Pie,” mom said, giving me one last hug before walking to the door my father was already standing beside. “Your father’s proud too, are you not, dear?” Mom put her hoof on dad’s shoulder and smiled at him, leaning up to his face.
“Hm,” was all he said. He tipped his hat to me and gave a nod before walking out the door.
“He’s proud of you,” mom said awkwardly before leaving right behind him and I smiled at the two as they left, plopping down onto the couch with a grumpy frown once they were gone.
Wouldn’t kill him to say it once in a while.
****
-APPLEJACK-
There was a palpable tension in the air as me and Burnt Oak stood silently in the waitin’ room. I knew I needed to say somethin’ but I had no idea where to start.
“Applejack…” I tensed up at hearing Oak’s voice. Didn’t know what he was gonna say if he got the first word but too late to do anythin’ ‘bout it now, “I want to apologize. I want to sincerely apologize for hurting you when you were younger… I didn’t know any better… I tried my best… but I wasn’t a good enough uncle, father figure, what have you… so I am sorry.”
Never in my life did I expect to hear those words comn’ from the mouths of any of my family. All this time I’d been carryin’ a grudge, absolutely certain I’d never get an apology but deep down a part of me always wanted one. And to actually hear it…
…meant nothin’.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, tippin’ my hat in front of my eyes and shakin’ my head. “I’d be lyin’ if I said I could forgive you… but also if I said I didn’t want to.”
“That’s understandable,” Oak said morosely. “Your aunt and I were…” ‘Your aunt and I’? “…neither of us were ideal role models for you. We took you in after your mother…” he stopped himself short and just sighed, “well, we could never have replaced them.”
“That’s not…” I scoffed irritably. Would it kill this guy to take some kinda responsibility? All this ‘I tried my best’ guilt-trippin’ and ‘your aunt was bad too’ blame shiftin’… geez.
“Tell ya what…” I cleared my throat, “yer team might’ve gotten its butt kicked by my team, the much stronger and cooler team, but we all know yer makin’ it to the tournament proper. Meet me in Manehattan and we’ll settle this like—“ I almost said ‘men’ and absolutely cursed myself as soon as I realized.
“Adults?” Burnt Oak’s suggestion was way better than what I had.
“Right,” I said with a smile, grabbing Oak’s hoof and shakin’ it firmly. “Until then…” I let go of his hoof and just shrugged.
“You’re a remarkable young woman, Applejack,” Burnt Oak said, “and no matter what happens, it is my privilege to know you, and to call you family.”
With those partin’ words Burnt Oak was on his way out the door.
Instead of just followin’ Oak out the door from the waitin’ room, I had a gut feelin’ to go to the big room, and sure enough when I got there I saw Pinkie Pie mopin’ on the couch, all curled into a ball and her normally fluffy hair startin’ to deflate.
“What’s up, Pinkie Pie?” I said as I sat beside her, wrappin’ my foreleg around my little sister and pullin’ her close.
“I talked to my parents,” Pinkie groaned. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen ‘em. I just… I dunno how I feel right now.”
“I think I know what you mean,” I sighed exhaustedly myself, nuzzlin’ against my dear ol’ sis and delightin’ in the flustered giggles she made. “Parents, or adoptive parents in our case, can be… a lot.”
“Right?” Pinkie chuckled, sighing as she leaned up against me. “Like, I just want them to be proud of me…”
“Ain’t they though?” I said confusedly. I always got the impression the Pie family was closer’n anythin’.
“I mean, well, yeah…” Pinkie stammered, a flustered look on her face as she hopped off the couch and started pacin’ agitatedly around. “My mom is, and I guess my dad is too… I just want him to say it.”
“Pinkie, let me tell ya somethin’,” I said sadly, lyin’ on my stomach and lettin’ my forelegs dangle limply off the couch. “You can wait yer whole life for somethin’ and then get it and realize… it wasn’t what you wanted in the first place. That the hole you thought that’d fix is still inside you, and you need to figure out how to patch it on yer own.”
“That’s depressing,” Pinkie grumbled.
“Yup!” I said through gritted teeth, and then we laughed together for a moment. Pinkie jumped back onto the couch and sidled up real close to me, and I sat up so she could rest her head against the side of my chest.
“I wish you could be on our team,” she said.
“Instead of Fluttershy?” I asked confusedly.
“No! Absolutely not!” Pinkie bolted up and spoke like I’d offended her.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to imply—“
“No, no, it’s okay!” Pinkie said bashfully. “I just didn’t mean to imply that either. Fluttershy’s been a total joy to be with…” Pinkie leaned in and started to whisper, “…but she’s been feeling a little on the outs since she lost her fight, and if she heard us say that it would really hurt her feelings.”
“Oh,” I nodded and suddenly felt really bad. “Like I said, I didn’t mean to imply anythin’, so my bad. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pinkie batted her hoof dismissively before sidlin’ up next to me and restin’ her head against me again. “But I wish, like… that we could have four member teams. You and me, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, all working together!”
“You know I can’t work with Rainbow,” I chuckled wryly.
“I know,” Pinkie groaned, cradlin’ her face in her hooves. “Most people can’t work with Rainbow.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I laughed, and Pinkie couldn’t help but appreciate the humor and laugh a little despite herself. “You and Fluttershy seem to be doin’ okay with her though.”
“She’s super good to me,” Pinkie said wistfully. “And she’s been really good with Fluttershy; being honest with her and stuff, and being sensitive to her sensitivities and whatnot. She’s really trying to be a better person.”
“I see.”
I didn’t mean to sound cold but Pinkie picked up on the implications of my words, minimal as they were.
“Applejack…”
“Yeah?”
Pinkie looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes, “Do you believe people can change?”
I paused for a moment and took a deep breath, then just sighed and shook my head, “Nah.”
“I want to…” Pinkie sighed, and her voice started to crack like she was about to cry. “I want to.”